We often have a physical response to watching others in danger, even if we ourselves face absolutely no threat, and the subreddit r/SweatyPalms proves it.

Created back in 2012, this online community now boasts 2.3 million members who constantly share footage of people’s stunts on tall skyscrapers, close encounters with wildlife, and everything in between.

So, we invite you to join us in scrolling through some of the subreddit’s most popular posts and see which of them elicit a reaction from you. Let’s test our limits!

Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

#1 In 1990, An Accident Caused A British Airways Captain To Be Sucked Halfway Out Of The Cockpit. The Crew Held Onto Him For 20 Minutes As The Copilot Made An Emergency Landing. The Pilot Survived And Made A Full Recovery

#2 Diver Sitting On The Edge Of Underwater Sea Cliff

We managed to get in touch with the moderators of r/SweatyPalms and they were kind enough to have a little chat with us about the subreddit.

“We actually don’t have to do much policing,” the team told Bored Panda. “Like any sub on Reddit, we get spam and repost bots. We guard against those, but that’s mostly it.”

#3 Getting Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed Is Not An Option

#4 Let Me Quickly Nope Out Of Here

#5 Some Final Destination S**t

The moderators said that the members are fairly active, and the posts receive a fair number of comments, too. “We generally get a good representation of Redditors who appreciate a jolt of fear and a good, old-fashioned adrenaline rush.”

“The pics that garner the most attention on our sub are the ones that involve everyday people in pretty extreme situations. I think those are the ones that resonate with members the most because it really doesn’t take much imagination to see yourself in those (very) terrifying scenarios!” they added.

#6 Talk About Sweaty Palms. Astronaut Bruce Mccandless Taking The First Untethered Space Walk

#7 Gorilla Family Checking Out Wildlife Photographer

#8 9 Lives

#9 Safety Standards In The 1960’s

According to Nathalia Gjersoe, who is a senior lecturer in developmental psychology at the University of Bath, there are various reasons why our body responds like this in the absence of any real threat.

For instance, do you wince when someone is punched in a movie or squirm when someone is shamed or humiliated on screen? “These reactions are triggered by empathy: feeling the same thing we believe someone else is feeling,” Gjersoe says. “Empathy allows us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.”

#10 I’ve Been Told By Employers That My Current Linkedin Photo Makes Them Nervous

#11 This Ofroad Trail

#12 H**l No

“Brain imaging studies have shown that there is a great deal of crossover in brain networks when we experience pain ourselves and when we observe others in pain. For example, people shown videos of patients being injected in the mouth showed activation in many of the same parts of the brain as if they themselves were being injected in the mouth.”

So when we turn on footage of people cycling down incredibly steep precipices or dangling from precarious overhangs, part of our physical nervousness on their behalf is because we are imagining ourselves in their situation and how scared we would be.

#13 Climbing The Hua Shan, China. The Old Path

#14 Oh No

#15 My Hobbies Are Smoking Weed And Rescue Stray Dogs In The Woods

#16 Someone’s Illegal Pet Tiger Got Loose In A Houston Neighborhood

Another contributing factor might be the fact that the sympathetic nervous system, which coordinates our fight or flight response, may not differentiate that much between real and not real.

“Visual information that conveys a threat might be translated directly into feelings of anxiety or urgency, which in turn trigger responses such as muscle contractions or increased heart rate,” Gjersoe explains.

#17 Extreme Camping

#18 Glass Bridge In China Breaks During High Winds

#19 Dropped My Phone On This & Had A Huge “Whew” Moment When It Didn’t Fall In. Drove Off & Realized My S Pen Is Missing 20 Minutes Later. Came Back To The Scene Of The Crime And Couldn’t Believe My Luck

#20 I Looked Over The Edge Of A Building In NYC And Saw This Crazy Reflection [oc]

Tamar Gendler, a Yale University psychologist, has proposed that we have two cognitive states for reacting to events in the world.

The first is our beliefs – those things that we believe to be true. We can say with considerable confidence that the protagonist of the movie will be okay in the end and that zombies will not subsequently break into our home and eat us.

#21 Alex Honnold Free-Soloing The Walls Of El Patrero Chico. Mexico, 2014

#22 Brown Bear Sneaks Up On Kid Who Actually Does An Amazing Job At Staying Calm Thanks To Dad’s Help

#23 This Is The Kind Of Sh#t We Have To Deal With In Aus. I Hate Huntsman Spiders

#24 That’s Kinda High

The second cognitive state, Gendler suggests, is our ‘aliefs.’ These states are triggered by associations, instead of consideration, and can be either conscious or unconscious. We then feel uneasy even though there is no direct threat to us.

#25 Bears Are Not Welcome Customers

#26 Why Would Anyone Attempt This

#27 A Bear Running Upstream, A Little Too Close

#28 Installing A Glass Rail On Every Floor

“Although our aliefs may differ from our beliefs, they trigger many of the same physical responses as a real threat such as trembling, sweating, and anxiety,” Gjersoe explains Gendler’s theory.

“This is why I sit rigid on the edge of my seat while watching the climber dangling from the top of the skyscraper with no apparent support. I believe he will be fine and that this video signals no threat to myself, but I alieve that some threat is occurring and my sympathetic nervous system responds accordingly.”

I guess we humans aren’t so different from one another, are we?