This article is based on the AskReddit question "What is the dumbest rule you've ever had to follow?"
If you'd like to read more from this thread, check out the source at the end of the article.
1/20. During the D.C. sniper scare, my middle school would have "Sniper drills". Our drill was to run outside and lineup by grade in an OPEN FIELD.
-lovelymeha
2/20. Only allowed to use the bathroom 3 times each school semester. Seriously.
-77remix
3/20. In junior high, late 60s-early 70s, girls wore dresses so short that barely moving would show your butt. But we were not allowed to wear pants because that would be too "distracting."
Mid 80's, worked in back office at a bank. Never saw customers, but had to wear dresses and stockings all the time, no pants ever.
-TyrdFergison
4/20. I worked at Dicks Sporting Goods in high school. After the store closed for the evening, we straightened everything up. We were unable to leave until all of the employees lined up at the front door and was frisked by the manager to make sure we didn't steal anything during our shift. So if I busted my ass and cleaned my section quickly I had to wait for the slowest person to be done so we ALL could line up at the same time. I quit that job after a month. I was treated better when working at a sweat shop in NYC, but that's another story in it self.
-Steezy0626
5/20. In high school, someone snuck in alcohol, so after that we weren't allowed to bring beverages that were flavored or colored. Water was ok, but nothing else. The alcohol that had been snuck in was vodka. In a water bottle. So yeah, figure that out.
-EmiliusReturns
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6/20. At an office for my company they lost all electricity / internet / phone. Someone suggested that they go home and work from home - note that everyone has work laptops. Human Resources said "No because we don't have a work at home policy". So everyone sat in the dark all day twiddling their thumbs until they were done for the day.
-ooo-ooo-oooyea
7/20. My school had it the worst with carrying books around. We had to carry everything in our hands from class to class. We could have binders to store papers, as long as they had no straps.
1.Lockers lined every hallway, but we weren't allowed to use them. Something about how people using the upper lockers might drop stuff on the heads of people using the lower lockers.
2.We couldn't have backpacks. Supposedly, there were bomb threats and it took too long to check everyone's backpack.
3.When girls started carrying bigger purses, the school banned any purse bigger than a half sheet of paper. According to the principal, guys felt left out by girls being able to carry stuff.
-SomeFantastic1
8/20. I once worked on the grounds crew at a summer camp. The rule was that every path had to be swept clear of pine needles at all times.
Yes, the paths outside.
The camp was named "Pinewoods", by the way.
Aptly named.
-42words
9/20. My school wouldn't let us eat when standing up. A lot of teachers would use it when going on a power trip. I got told off for holding a banana at one point.
-DoctorLoveMuffin
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10/20. There were 3 key rules at my old job:
1.To take a break you must leave the building so you dont interrupt anyone around you.
2.No leaving the building during work hours.
3.1 hour unpaid lunch, you must use the lunch room, only 1 person may be in the lunch room at a time.
So you couldn't take a break and the vast majority of people couldn't eat lunch
-sleepingsysadmin
11/20.Not allowed to take notes while in class because "studies show that students who listen rather than taking notes are more likely to learn.
-awesomecutepandas
12/20. Not being allowed to open our school report until we get home. Seriously, like we're not going to check the god damn reports as soon as we get them (if we care that is). I'm in high school for god sake, is it a threat to my education if I look at my results!??!
-DrTexxOfficial
13/20. I did ballet growing up so there are a few:
1.We weren't allowed to yawn in class at my ballet school. Which was hard when you're dancing three-five hours a day on weekdays and 5-8 on weekends.
2.We had to only drink water, no Gatorade or Powerade. They said it was because ballerinas don't sweat enough to need the electrolytes but I think it was because they didn't want us taking in the extra calories.
3.In one of my teacher's classes we had to wear hairspray and makeup everyday and she didn't turn on the air conditioning. SO HOT.
-GoSmoke
14/20. You're American, you're 18 - you can join the military, get a loan, start a family, buy a house, start a career, but you can't f***ing buy a beer at a god damn bar.
-flaredo
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15/20. My job only allows me to take two vacation days straight, then must be followed by a personal day before any other vacation days. So if I want a week off I must do 2 vacation days, 1 personal, 2 vacation days. Makes absolutely no sense!
-plax1780
16/20. In my elementary school, you couldn't go to the bathroom 30 minutes before the busses arrived. My mom was chronically late for everything.
4th grade lunch was perfectly positioned to make me bursting by bus pickup. A bumpy bus ride, and walking dramtically increased the pressure on my bladder just to discover my house locked and no one home. I had no key, cell phone, or friend close enough to walk to.
This happened every day for three months. Some days I held it until someone got home. Three times I peed my pants and one time I defecated in a box.
-Fat_Kitty_Eats
17/20. I was never allowed to go on websites to get cheat codes for video games because my dad was convinced thats how we got viruses. So i went to the library and paid to print them out instead.
-gulpy
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18/20. My dad used to make me wear rubber gloves when reading books I borrowed from the library because they have too many germs.
-greenpineapple
19/20. "Don't let a customer see you take a sip from your water bottle."
Really? So dumb.
-variouswhatnots
20/20. At a former place of work, we had to punch in on the exact hour and punch out on the exact hour. You could not be one minute early or late. If your shift started at 7am, you could not punch in at 659am. Or 701am. No exceptions. And most people started at 7am. So we would line up at the time clock and wait. When 7:00 arrived, 12 people would punch in as quick as they could and sometimes the lucky few in the back would miss the cut off and be considered tardy. They could fill out a slip stating they were here and the reason they punched in at 7:01 but really? And at the end of the shift, on the hour. 3:00pm on the dot.
The supervisor had her office by the time clock and yelled at us for lining up to punch out. She said we should be out on the floor working until the end of our shift. We tried to explain to her that we would get in trouble by her if we punched out at 3:01 or 3:02. She rolled her eyes and told us we could work and watch the clock at the same time. We actually couldn't since it was a health care facility and our job was taking care of patients who lived in their apartments, not next to the time clock. So we would have to pretend to be busy and then when someone would notice that it was 2:59, we would all run to the time clock to punch out. And the lucky few at the back would be late punching out and be accused of trying to get overtime.
Clearly this company had never heard of the 7 minute rule that most places have. You have a 7 minute window to punch in/out before and after your shift. Their excuse was that it was too hard for the payroll lady to adjust everyone's time so we needed to be punching in and out to the exact minute.
I've honestly never wanted to bash my head in to a wall more times during the 7 months I lasted there.
Oh and we had to punch in and out for breaks too, on the exact minute. So you would spend the latter part of your break watching the time clock.
-elle_3
(Source)
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.