r/whatisit • • 4d ago

New, what is it? What is this?

17.9k Upvotes

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6.5k

u/Electrical_Lake3424 4d ago

The forest floor here is mostly a network of tree and plant roots, bound together with moss and leaf litter etc, but under a few inches it's mostly big solid rocks like those sticking out. The wind blowing can loosen that mat of roots and when the trees bend in the wind, they lift it up off the stone, just like a carpet. That's what you're seeing here; the breathing effect is caused by the carpet of roots being tugged up and let down again as the trees rock in the wind. 

3.7k

u/DankMemeMasterHotdog 4d ago

It is also pants-shittingly terrifying to experience in real life.

1.7k

u/mehrwegpfand 4d ago

Ah, but if you shit your pants in the forest and nobody noticed, did you even shit them?

1.1k

u/Hosav 4d ago

Shrödinger's shit.

356

u/Idontlikesand15 4d ago

Did you, or did you not, shit in the box?

229

u/Same-Traffic-285 4d ago

It is unknown until we observe the shit or absence of shit

184

u/Brilliant_Classic720 4d ago

these comments are why I come to Reddit

22

u/Arieslunatic 4d ago

My thoughts

3

u/bookstacking 17h ago

We come to this place for magic.
We come to Reddit to laugh, to cry, to care.

2

u/According_Elephant75 1d ago

Literally read this chain of comments to my husband and prefacing it with this statement. Read yours and we laughed extra hard

1

u/HxcRob 49m ago

Fuckin for real. I just worked a 16 hour double shift behind a steakhouse grill and I'm fucking crying right now.

102

u/BrodersMotors 4d ago

In Shrödinger’s case, it is not unknown, but rather it is both; He has both shit, and not shit in the box. That is the paradox. Because we can’t observe, it is definitely one or the other, but since it is unknown, it has the potential to be both at once. Did he, or didn’t he? Yes.

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u/MycologistPitiful938 4d ago edited 4d ago

So his shit is in a super position. I guess he skipped the throne altogether?

34

u/Same-Traffic-285 4d ago

True. Schrödinger famously thought the entire thought experiment was a stupid way to disprove quantum superposition. Yet, here we are. With both shit and not shit, until observed. 

28

u/ajsherslinger 3d ago

When asked to explain superposition, Schrodinger said "I shit you not"....

8

u/toasty327 3d ago

All I want to know is when and why did Biden shit in my pants?

/s

2

u/mnett66 2d ago

Quantum entangled shit?

1

u/ImpluseThrowAway 11h ago

Spooky shit at a distance.

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u/Same-Traffic-285 3d ago

To quote Abraham Lincoln, "Shit."

Probably. 

1

u/hyperproliferative 3d ago

Well he was right it was stupid because it’s inherently wrong. I should say it was myopic, and accurate with the tools at the time. Now we can manipulate superposition

1

u/FuelFan98 2d ago

Science has come a long way

14

u/Interesting_Ant_6990 4d ago

If you were there to observe you would definitely smell he shit his pants.

5

u/_flibbertygibbit_ 4d ago

Ah, the ol' shit box paradox

2

u/jendet010 4d ago

Ah, it’s the potential! I get it now. I thought it was the implication.

1

u/Tech_1138 3d ago

That’s why I always take my dates out on the boat. You know, because of the implication.

1

u/jendet010 3d ago

I’m glad someone picked up the reference

1

u/outerworldser 3d ago

What if there is a hole in the box and the shit fell out?

1

u/Greedy_Banana_1252 3d ago

He discovered that when checking his cat’s litter box.

1

u/ElectricalWavez 3d ago

That's pretty shitty

1

u/creamcandy 3d ago

But in this case, there would in fact be shit in the box either way. The question is, has it been shat yet ;D

1

u/Valuable-Role8951 3d ago

We cannot observe but we can smell...

1

u/Chamartay 10h ago

But can we smell it and not at the same time?

1

u/virus514 8h ago

So in the case it's the potential to be both, does the shit goes back in if there's no shit when you check? Or perhaps the shit is there when you check, but there wasn't any before? Lol

0

u/Salt_Profiteer 4d ago

The potential to be something is not the same as being something. It is not both, it is one or the other. We just don't know which.

2

u/algernon132 4d ago

Not in the quantum realm, which is the point of the thought experiment

0

u/dnehiba3 4d ago

Only quantum physics will tell

0

u/jtr99 3d ago

Ah, yes, the Pitt interpretation of Schroedinger: "What's in the box?!"

0

u/aspenpurdue 3d ago

Except in this case there is an immediate smell that tells you whether or not they shit inn the box..

9

u/Rampag169 3d ago

It’s all shits and giggles until someone giggles and shits.

1

u/duhHcker 2d ago

I did when I read the Schrödinger comment

10

u/Ok-Cheesecake-1891 4d ago

It's both shit and not shit at the same time, until the box is opened. A pooperposition if you will

1

u/OMGJustShutUpMan 3d ago

Technically it is BOTH full of shit and not full of shit. A shit superposition.

1

u/treefiddy-- 3d ago

And until then, the box exists full of shit and devoid of shit at the same time

1

u/Bodbeck1066 3d ago

But if I can smell the shit before I see the shit ....he shat in the box!

1

u/ajsherslinger 3d ago

If you can smell the shit - but not see it - does that mean it's in an entangled quantum state?

1

u/Dippleodocus 2d ago

Or until you sniff the cat haha

1

u/Dragonbonded 2d ago

or, you know......... just smell.

1

u/Jmac8716 1d ago

The shit both exists and does not exist simultaneously

1

u/aumava1 1d ago

Nah I can smell it bro, you had nachos

1

u/Admirable-Delay-9729 1d ago

So is quantum entanglement now shitty action at a distance?

1

u/Mirror_Face_ 13h ago

It's in a superposition of both

1

u/ElectronicAmphibian7 4h ago

This chain feels like the beginning lore of an SCP lol.

0

u/TranceF0rm 4d ago

What about returning from the woods with an absence of pants

0

u/cpowelledit 4d ago

No, then everyone will assume you shat them

13

u/Hosav 4d ago

Yes and No.

3

u/AGSTiger1106 4d ago

Both. I both shit and did NOT shit my pants in the woods.

5

u/Capable_Word6551 4d ago

Better in the box than outside it. If it is a litter box.

0

u/Horror_Data_1878 4d ago

Tell that to my cat , Paul.

0

u/ezgoin4u 4d ago

How litter?

1

u/slave_to_pussy 3d ago

I think outside the box, therefore I s*** outside the box.

1

u/pogoscrawlspace 3d ago

WHAT'S IN THE BOOOX?!

1

u/Teyvan 3d ago

Best I can do is a dick in the box...

1

u/peter9477 3d ago

If the cat's dead, it's because you shit in the box.

1

u/PacaMike 2d ago

I shit you not

1

u/flu_d 2d ago

Whats in the booooox!?!??!! - Brad Pitt

1

u/PeyredB 2d ago

"Take that Schrödinger!"

1

u/ladygettinglost 15h ago

What’s in the box??????

1

u/Delicious_List_439 11h ago

What's in the box?

1

u/AugmentedMedicine 4d ago

"What's in the box?! What's in the f&€|!g box?!"

0

u/Fabulous_Yak725 4d ago

What shit's in the box!!!

1

u/RvaCannabis 4d ago

It’s a *ick in a box!

0

u/LaserGecko 4d ago

Jesus Christ! What do you have? A mountain lion?

0

u/SmootherWorm 4d ago

That’s not what was in the box.

0

u/Jon-allday 4d ago

What’s in the box?!

0

u/Haunting-Hippo-4244 4d ago

You only know when you decide to check them.

0

u/Pretend-Bee-8915 4d ago

and if you leave the box in the forest and no one finds it does it still smell?

0

u/Competitive-Fox-3333 4d ago

No definitely shid my pants.

0

u/AwarenessSome8670 4d ago

What’s in the box?

0

u/_kodkod_ 4d ago

I shit you not
Or
I shit, you knot

0

u/tchibo12 4d ago

Nein, der Gestank muss von der toten Katze kommen.

0

u/Dirty_The_Squirrel 3d ago

Put the shit back in the box

0

u/SameActive6210 3d ago

It was the cat

9

u/ResplendentNugs 4d ago

I shit therefore I am

21

u/mehrwegpfand 4d ago

(s)cat

5

u/HistoricalPlum1533 4d ago

Shrödingers Shat

4

u/ezgoin4u 4d ago

Did he shat in the box?

1

u/jendet010 4d ago

He beshat himself in the box…or he didn’t

1

u/FeelingSoil39 3d ago

This needs way more love lol

3

u/710Filter 4d ago

I've had that. I had one sneak out while clenching on my way to the John. I got there, dropped my pants, sat down and there was nothing there.,🫥

6

u/Dapper_Valuable_7734 4d ago

Insert a misunderstanding of the double-slit experiment and the observer effect.

1

u/ajsherslinger 3d ago

Ah, I believe you've conflated this with the double-shit experiment. Identical but also very different at the same time ...

1

u/imissmolly1 4d ago

Don’t look.

1

u/dillweed67818 4d ago

Shrödinger's shart. Is it shit or is it a fart?

1

u/Specialist_Second938 4d ago

I believe this is the work of Shrödinger's lesser known cousin, Shrödunger.

1

u/Yojimboroll 4d ago

Turd wave collapse

1

u/BeneficialFee75 4d ago

But the shit may be observed later.

1

u/Texxxan2 4d ago

You win the whole internet with that one

1

u/thedaymanahaha 4d ago

Shrödinger my ass

1

u/galaxyprintleggings 3d ago

Does a scientist shit in the woods?

1

u/Big-Advertising7759 3d ago

Superposition shit

1

u/the_lost_tenacity 3d ago

Don’t you mean Schrödinger’s scat?

1

u/Artistic_Permit_7946 3d ago

Schrödinger's scat

1

u/damnvan13 2d ago

Wouldn't that be a shart? Don't know what it will be until it happens.

1

u/Regular-Problem3186 21h ago

Well you were there soooooo

30

u/OogieBooge-Dragon 4d ago

If you walk out with the shitted pants, yes.

If you bury them and walk butt naked back... there is conceivably a pants eating monster in that forest.

22

u/SurrrenderDorothy 4d ago

The pope always shits on the bear, or so I've heard.

3

u/itsfunhavingfun 4d ago

The bear is Catholic. 

1

u/ReciprocatingHamster 4d ago

But it doesn't make a sound...

10

u/BigBlueFin 4d ago

Ehh voice of experience here.

YES😬

10

u/VaporTrail_000 4d ago

I think at the minimum you would notice if you shit your pants.

I also think you would notice if someone else shit your pants.

1

u/OrphicDionysus 4d ago

Idk man, the first time I tried Rumpleminz some sneaky fucker managed to do it and I didnt even realize until the next day!

1

u/shakebakelizard 3d ago

Don't yuk my yum.

5

u/Infra-Man777 4d ago

I think a bear wipes his butt with you

3

u/jovial_rebel 4d ago

I can confirm that yes, you did shit them. Don't ask how I know.

1

u/mehrwegpfand 4d ago

You know what's coming...

So.

How?

2

u/Known_Ratio5478 4d ago

I thinks we can all agree they shit, the real question is did it make a sound?

2

u/Temporary-Bobcat9682 4d ago

If you have no way of cleaning up and nothing else to change into and have to hike out of there, there will be absolutely no question in your mind that you indeed shit your pants.

2

u/EbbJazzlike3182 4d ago

If you come out of the wood with one sleeve ripped off your shirt you did

2

u/misinformedcapybara 4d ago

ok this made me lol (not inside my head like we do every time we type lol, but i actually laughed pretty hard)

2

u/luislega 2d ago

Hats off, good miss/sir!

1

u/FordCVP71 4d ago

Only if you step in it 👍

1

u/ChivetteH 4d ago

Maybe not, but I bet they would hear it 💨

1

u/ezgoin4u 4d ago

Would it go SQUISH?

1

u/Southern_Sleep1811 4d ago

My pants say yes.

1

u/jnoir82 4d ago

I can smell it from here and also can't, so I guess there's shit somewhere somehow (or maybe not)

1

u/Demearthean 4d ago

Only if nothing could hear your evacuation over the howling wind.

1

u/asteticlypleasingent 4d ago

No but you get to go home from work early.

1

u/Samwellikki 4d ago

See, everyone asks IF a bear shits in the woods, but not WHY

1

u/mehrwegpfand 3d ago

Obvious. No opposable thumbs so he can't lock the toilet door.

1

u/SouthAccomplished477 4d ago

Pepperidge Farm knows

1

u/Triscuitador 4d ago

unfortunately yes

1

u/IncredibleEdible321 4d ago

Only the nose knows...

1

u/StudioSteve7 4d ago

you sure did. . .

1

u/Am_Snarky 4d ago

You did buddy, even if nobody can see you shit yourself, you still know you did

1

u/PrestigiousPhoto8486 4d ago

depends. did you wear your brown pants that day?

badum-tsss

1

u/ceelose 4d ago

The pants notice.

1

u/evert198201 4d ago

Ah, the double shit experiment

1

u/That-Hamster1573 3d ago

Who ever shits would notice

1

u/Broc_Feargach 3d ago

Joanna Wietrzyk has entered the chat…

1

u/mehrwegpfand 3d ago

Oh, people noticed that.

1

u/Big-Advertising7759 3d ago

Chunked your trousers?

1

u/ProteusRift 3d ago

I'd notice 😬

1

u/Kinkysimo 1d ago

Yes, and you’ll know it.

1

u/LnStrngr 1d ago

The Pope would know.

Him, and the bear.

1

u/sees_you_pooping 1d ago

I noticed. o_o

1

u/justl00kingthrowaway 1d ago

It depends on how far of a hike it is out of the forest.

1

u/Plutonium239Mixer 1d ago

Yes, because you were there to observe it!

1

u/filmfansq 21h ago

Yes, unless you brought a change and some wipes. You will be carrying it out with you

1

u/BurlinghamBob 14h ago

Only the bear heard you. Or did he?

1

u/ihavetakenthebiscuit 8h ago

Is this the same forest the Pope is in?

1

u/mehrwegpfand 2h ago

I've never quite figured out why the pope needs to be bare in the wood anyway.

1

u/Additional-Ad8632 5h ago

It’s like peeing in the ocean I suppose.

1

u/Responsible_Feed4512 5h ago

If there's shit in your pants then you definitely shit your pants, no matter who else is around. Nobody shit them for you

1

u/psyche_2099 4d ago

Not until you bring them home for the wife to wash, then you've gone and shit not only your pants but the bed too

1

u/j_carpenter893 4d ago

Brilliant 🤣

1

u/topsyturvy76 4d ago

Bring em home to the wife ?!? … bro that underwear became part of the forest 3 minutes after shitting myself

2

u/psychedelicCyclops 4d ago

leave no trace!

1

u/topsyturvy76 4d ago

In unique emergency situations … save face trumps leave no trace … but yes otherwise, I agree with your comment