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Some people break the rules for comedy, for chaos, and just because they can. For example, someone pressing a “Do Not Push” button just to see what happens. Or the guy who uses an expired coupon at a grocery store and actually gets away with it.
They’re just troublemakers with impeccable timing, and the internet has a name for them: mad lads.
Somewhere along the way, they got their own hall of fame: a subreddit that celebrates their unhinged acts of defiance.
We went through hundreds of posts to bring you the absolute best of them. Some of these will make you laugh, others will make you shake your head, and at least one will make you wonder why you never thought of it first.
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#1
This Mad Lass
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#2
Everybody Say Thank You To Andy
The origins of the term “mad lad” can be traced back to the UK slang “absolute madman” — someone who does something incredibly wild, dangerous, or rebellious. It’s a compliment reserved for people who pull off mundane stunts.
It was usually a badge of honor, even if a slightly ridiculous one.
The term took off on the internet around 2016, when a Dublin student noticed the phrase popping up all over Reddit, so he built a subreddit around it and called it r/madlads.
#4
A True Alpha Move
#5
Madlad Copyright
#6
Madlad 30 Year Old Lady Bashing A N*zi
That’s all I yam 14 hours ago (edited)
"The Woman with the Handbag … is a photograph taken in Växjö, Sweden on 13 April 1985 by photojournalist Hans Runesson. It depicts a 38-year-old woman, Danuta Danielsson, hitting a marching Neo-Nazi with a handbag." "The woman in the photograph was revealed to be Danielsson by the press in 2014, in the midst of debates over the installation of a statue as a public memorial of the confrontation. Her son condemned the idea and stated that Danielsson had never liked the photograph and regretted its fame." "The man hit by Danielsson was identified as Seppo Seluska, a militant from the Nordic Realm Party later convicted for the torture and murder of a gay Jew." (The Woman with the Handbag, Wikipedia)
What makes the subreddit interesting is that it’s a compliment and a joke at the same time.
As Philip, the subreddit’s creator, told Vice, “A lot of the time, people will be led to us by an ‘absolute madman’ comment, and they’ll understand pretty quickly that it’s a parody of lad humor.”
#9
Congrats My Dudes
Inigo Montoya 9 hours ago
It's better done than most the real ones. I bet the store was thrilled.
Over time, though, the definition has blurred.
For example, it features the woman who hit a N**i with her purse — an act that was emotionally charged, deeply personal, and entirely unplanned.
Others sit in murkier territory, like a prison escapee convincing a cop he’s just out for a jog.
The subreddit doesn’t really take sides. It just respects the nerve and the courage it takes to act.
#10
Turned Around To Return The Child Safely, Cussed The Parents Out For Leaving The Baby Alone, Then Hopped Back In The Car
#11
Not Wrong Tho
#12
Madlad Is Stepping Over The Line
So why do some people follow the rules to a T, while others love breaking them?
Experts call it reactance. First proposed by Jack Brehm in 1966, the theory says that the moment you tell someone they can’t do something, they want to do it more. It is the motivation to regain a freedom after it has been lost or threatened.
“Everyone experiences some psychological reactance. If someone gives you an order, tells you what you should be doing, even a friend giving forceful advice, it can get our backs up,” says Trevor Case, associate professor in the department of psychology at Macquarie University.
He believes that even little kids show this. “Classic experiments with children show that it is the toy that they are prohibited from playing with that they want the most. Adolescents, too, are renowned for their psychological reactance to parental restrictions.”
#13
What A Guy
#14
Respect For This Reporter
#15
Mad Lad Fixes Bug
But the thing about rule-breaking is that it is a slippery slope.
Research shows that people who break rules experience genuine cognitive conflict when they do it, but still choose to go through with it anyway. And the more often they do it, the easier it gets.
Ultimately, people no longer feel guilt. Instead, they think they’re more capable than others.
#16
Proper Madlad Move
#17
What A Real Madlad
Lily bloom 20 hours ago
Don't need to speak or understand the words when playing Scrabble, just spell them correctly
Research from the University of Washington, Harvard University, and other institutions found that people who break small rules actually feel smarter, and surprisingly cheerful.
It’s often called the cheater’s high.
#18
This Is Not A Drill
#19
I Don't Know What To Put Here
Binky Melnik 18 hours ago
Excellent! People who do these things “telling you to phrase things differently) don’t think them through!
A 2011 study found that rule-breaking is strongly associated with how powerful a person feels.
In one experiment, people who watched someone break a small rule — arriving late, throwing their bag on the table, putting their feet up — rated that person as more powerful and more likely to get what they want.
#20
French Madlad
Marleina Hershberg 17 hours ago (edited)
If only he'd been a stand-up comic instead of a murd3r3r.
#21
Me_irl
Shark Lady 16 hours ago
A group of students in Scotland used a stuffed Rhino's leg to make footprints around Loch Ness.
#22
Tricky Madlads
Upstaged75 18 hours ago
My job does that too. One time I went to click on the "report phishing scam" link and accidentally clicked on the scam link. 😫 They wouldn't believe me that it was an accident so I had to do extra training. 😂
Ultimately, rules exist for a reason. Not all of them apply in every situation, and not all of them deserve to be followed forever.
The reason why you’re breaking the rules matters. Is it for freedom? For laughs? For a story? That’s a mad lad.
Is it to gain power at someone else’s expense? That’s when you have gone too far.
#23
This Guy Is A Mad Man
Panda McPandaface 11 hours ago (edited)
It's so cute that he thinks he's the first to think of it.
#24
The Great Escape
#26
Shame This Lad Doesn’t Have Name
That’s all I yam 13 hours ago
According to Reddit: "Six-year-old Richard Baranski after winning a contest by eating a 10-inch cranberry pie in 15 seconds (1948)" (Richard Baranski, Reddit)
#27
Vengeance
#28
Mad 4 Year Old Spitting Lava
#29
Water Opener
#30
A True Hustler
Muffett 6 hours ago
These are still for sale in 'Merica.... And people still buy them because they are labeled as "eco-friendly".... And brag about what they have done, and refuse to believe if they bought the product just labeled as a clothesline they could have saved money! Advertising+ stupidity = more money in already rich people's pockets
#32
Just Watched A Middle-Aged Man Row An Insulation Board Across Bray Harbour With A 2x4
#34
Madlad Covers His House In Waifu Ping Pictures
#35
An Interesting Title
#36
His Yahoo Chess Account Ban Got Lifted This New Year
Rick Murray 2 hours ago
Wow, eleven years? What exactly do you have to do in chess to get a ban longer than a worrying number of penal sentences?
#37
This Mosquito:
#38
Barry Is A Total Madlad!
Marleina Hershberg 17 hours ago
I feel so sorry for her; she's married, yet all alone, since he refuses to communicate. I'm glad she's freeing herself of this prison. I hope she has lots of other loved ones surrounding her at this time.
#39
This Man Did It
#40
Absolute Chad
#41
He Dressed Up As A Bulldozer For A Jungle Themed Party
#42
Seems Perfectly Reasonable To Me
#43
Madlad Creates A Unescapable Labyrinth Just For The Heck Of It
Beak Hookage 12 hours ago
Isn't that what IKEA already is? I decided to check ours out and have now been living there for three years.
#44
Facts
That’s all I yam 13 hours ago (edited)
"Just kidding." A favorite response of people who don't want to be held accountable for what they say.
#45
I Dont Know Who Put It There But Damn
#46
An Interesting Title
#47
Well What A Lad
#48
Smart Socks
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 14 hours ago
There is a feature of the Twitter API (or there used to be) where you could change the device type to whatever you wanted, so it could be "Posted from my motorcycle", "Posted from my oven", etc.
#49
My Grandpa, 94 And Still Climbing Trees To Pick Fresh Mandarins, What A Madlad!
#51
What A Madlad
#52
Sike!!
Panda McPandaface 11 hours ago (edited)
Shouldn't that be 'psych' as in 'psyching someone out' or am I wrong?
#53
Absolute Champ
Luke || Kira (he/she) 9 hours ago
Well, I started digital art mostly because I got tired of AI "pictures" and wanted to be able to do better
#54
She Flew 4,000 Miles To Him Just To Tag Him, Then, On The Same Day, She Flew Back!
#56
I’m Imperfect. I Had No Pancakes. But I Still Tried To Right The Century Of Injustice
#57
I See Your Lad, And Raise You A Mad Lad
#58
Peyton Showed No Remorse For His Actions
#59
Reddit Unite We Must Find Who Tf Asked
#60
Dishonest Madlad LOL
#67
I Have Created Madness
#68
Posing With The Skull Of The Bear That Mauled His Eye Out
#72
No Explanations Needed
#73
He Bought A $600 Car, Registered It In His Ex's Name, And Left It At The Airport. The Parking Bill Hit $105,000
David Paterson 15 hours ago
You know that this is psychopath behaviour, right. Hurting yourself (financially) in order to hurt someone else more is pure psychopath. However much she ended up paying, she had a lucky escape.
#75
Based Madlad Rejects Fortnite Kids
Lily bloom 20 hours ago
This is a Halloween hate crime. Don't yuck someone else's yum. As long as not outwardly offensive/in bad taste, any costume effort/attempt is to be awarded with candy.
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Thanos'Fingers 5 hours ago
I wish they would take "Panda" out of the author signatures. "Writer, Bored staff". Would make so much more sense.
Thanos'Fingers 5 hours ago
I wish they would take "Panda" out of the author signatures. "Writer, Bored staff". Would make so much more sense.
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