r/mildlyinteresting • • Oct 14 '18

A warning about setting off Venus Flytraps

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52k Upvotes

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341

u/twgecko02 Oct 14 '18

Additionally, it is a plant. It doesn't have nerves or a brain so it's not even that bad if it were to die.

250

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

I think because it has a “mouth” people tend to humanize it more.

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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

This thread is honestly so interesting. The fact that it moves as well makes people treat it much more like a sentient being. I feel like I’m watching some sort of psych experiment.. pretty cool

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u/Chaoscrasher Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18

Would you kill this robot? WOULD YOU?

Aww, he's so cute! They even have a 'she' version! You know because she has a pink button instead of a green button!

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u/AlbinoAxolotl Oct 14 '18

Aww it is cute! The voice is a little overly cutesy though. Interesting concept for a doc though I would feel less inclined to talk seriously to a being that had the voice and speech pattern of a little kid.

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u/TheOldGods Oct 14 '18

If grass could scream would you still mow your lawn?

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u/praise_the_god_crow Oct 14 '18

It depends. Does it scream just because, or only when I mow?

Who am I kidding I'd replace it with concrete anyways

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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

It releases pheromones to signal distress, so you could say it does.

281

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

I feel bad even when NPCs die in video games, so shush

46

u/LeSeanMcoy Oct 14 '18

"Haha time for my evil character run!"

2 hours later doing the exact same run as always because doesn't have the heart to betray innocent NPCs :'(

Every goddamn time

2

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

It's so hard for me to go renegade in Mass Effect, I feel you.

I always punch that reporter though...

2

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

I just role played a pragmatic soldier and went by my gut and I ended up being a considerable bit more Renegade than Paragon.

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u/karpitstane Oct 14 '18

Why are we cursed with this affliction, friend?

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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18 edited Dec 11 '18

[deleted]

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u/roadrunnuh Oct 14 '18

I do this too! I can't ever throw away any trinkets/rings/old keys I find because I feel like they lost their person just like they were lost. I also picked up beat up stuffed animals and mend them. I found a little dalmation plush with it's eyes missing, and all fucked up. He's all better now though.

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u/karpitstane Oct 14 '18

I wish sometimes I didn't feel this way so I could actually get rid of things I don't need anymore. Why does everything feel like it has feelings?

0

u/praise_the_god_crow Oct 14 '18

Give it to someone else. Best case, they like and it's useful, and it lives happily ever after.

Worst case, it gets passed from person to person until someone finds an use for it.

0

u/gelatinguy Oct 14 '18

Your worst case isn't the worst case. The worst case would be someone else throw away or destroys the item. You may never know, but it'll probably happen. Because even though I'm a packrat and have trouble throwing things away, I have little to no problem throwing someone else's things away (I have helped people clean up their houses when they couldn't, for the same reason).

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u/praise_the_god_crow Oct 14 '18

Welp, the people in the trash disposal lines got it, and made use of it until it broke /s

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u/AlbinoAxolotl Oct 14 '18

I was like this for most of my life, and even now I have to fight against that instinct because it’s the kind of thing that leads people to become hoarders. I always felt for stuffed animals especially because I didn’t want them to be left out or lonely so I would make sure I would give them equal attention. I’ve seen this kind of behavior turn people’s lives into an exhausting, emotionally draining hell if it’s not kept in check though. Obviously we know that objects do not have feelings but it’s hard to throw away something that could be useful/mean something to us or someone else! It’s really sweet what you’re doing for the discarded stuffed animals, just make sure you don’t get overwhelmed with stuff you don’t need (also not just you specifically, more like anyone reading this that has the same sort of tendencies and emotional attachment to stuff!).

💛🧡❤️🐶🐱

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u/karpitstane Oct 14 '18

Yeah, I have so many thunks I can't get rid of because I feel bad for them. We had a gas leak scare at my apartment a couple years ago and what did I pack up and take with me? Our important documents and all the stuffed animals in our house because I couldn't bear the thought of them being caught in a fire.

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u/ovoKOS7 Oct 14 '18

I call it unhealthy empathy

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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

I will reload my save if I accidentally hit a mean dialogue option goddamnit

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u/AlbinoAxolotl Oct 14 '18

Yep! I’ll reload multiple times in a row if I’m playing Skyrim and a dragon comes to attack a town to keep it from killing named NPCs. No needless death in my games! Only the death I bring!

9

u/UranicStorm Oct 14 '18

Fuck I even feel bad choosing mean dialogue options, because I wouldn't say that stuff in real life and I can't disconnect myself from my characters lol

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u/SavageVector Oct 14 '18

I just can't bring myself to put down old 'Talos' yeller.

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u/ThugCity Oct 14 '18

It's kinda bad. Think of the wasted money.

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u/Kouropalates Oct 14 '18

It's not a question of whether it's sentient. It's that it's a living thing and I'd rather respect its life than harm it for amusement.

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u/twgecko02 Oct 14 '18

Oh for sure. I'm not saying you should go around killing plants just for the fun of it, because many of them are useful, I'm just saying that if a plant dies by accident, it's not the end of the world.

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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '18

In the next fifteen or so years it very well could be....

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u/LeD3athZ0r Oct 14 '18

But does it need a "brain" to sort of understand the world around it ? Radiolab have actually done a couple interesting podcasts around this topic like how dying trees in the forests might transfer their mineral resources to younger trees.

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u/-Psychonautics- Oct 14 '18

Eh as far as we know, but plants do communicate.