This online community with 1.1 million members shares pictures of folks missing the joke so badly that they sort of became one with the bit, adding to the hilarity of the moment. Sometimes our gears turn slower than others fire their wit. But in the end, it’s all part of the fun. So why do our brains betray us in such awkward, embarrassing ways? Seth Slater, M.F.A., who’s a former dolphin trainer for the U.S. Navy, thinks it is because our routines are easy to disrupt. “We are often especially prone to the disruptive influence of a context shift when we are attempting to perform a chained behavior – one in which completion of each individual behavioral link becomes the cue to perform the next behavior in the series.” Familiarity signals to the brain it can downshift as an energy-saving measure, which makes us susceptible to glitches born of inattentiveness. However, Slater reassured us that we humans are not alone in fouling things up when a brain fart lets fly. “But even fully trained dolphins who had become experts at performing all sorts of tasks occasionally experienced mental glitches. Interestingly, dolphins react to such moments with as much surprise as we humans do to ours.” Some of them even whistle or squeak in acknowledgment of the awkward moment! Others might slap a pectoral fin against the surface of the water in mild frustration. And a great many of them slip beneath the waterline to expel a cloud of air from their blowhole in what looks, truly, like a world-class brain fart of epic proportions. For more whooshes, fire up our earlier articles on this subreddit here and here. Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
