The idea that all attention is good attention is one that toddlers AND media folk love.
Making something memorable, which is often the aim of advertisers, doesn't always mean making it awesome. Sometimes awesomely annoying is enough as far as they're concerned.
We, the people, disagree.
Reddit user Ragna_Blade asked:
"Has an ad ever annoyed you enough to never buy that product? If so which one?"
I'm not gonna name names (mostly because Reddit will) but advertisers, pay attention. It turns out being annoying will only get you so far... and by "so far" I mean backwards.
It'll get you backwards.
Nobody likes being screamed at and annoyed into buying things.
Forget It, Fi
"Most recently google fi, but pretty much any unskippable ad is a guaranteed way to get me to never use a product."
- RusstyDog
"I will never buy a pixel or Google-Fi plan. Their incessant, long, and unskippable ads cannot be successful."
- ThePhiff
"NOW YOU CAN SOAK UP THE FUN!"
"HELLO GOOGLE FI! THE PHONE PLAN THAT CAN!"
"That sh*t is in my nightmares at this point."
- AdmiralStarNight
"Hello Google Fi, a phone plan that CAN'T"
- Ph6r60h
"I just got irrationally angry."
- Mumblerumble
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Earning A Vengeance Rating
"Raid shadow legends."
"Every f*cking time I hear about it, it cements the fact I will never play it."
- -M_A_Y_0-
"When a game has to be pushed that much, I figure odds are it's because it isn't good enough to attract a fanbase organically."
- CarbonIceDragon
"I feel so depressed every time a YouTuber launches into their 3 minute Raid Shadow Legends ad read."
- JeromesDream
"I downloaded it specifically just to give it a 1 star rating. Didn't even play it. F those ads."
- stickacupcakeinmyeye
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It's Called Leaning In
"I get that the Liberty Mutual spokesman, Doug ,is supposed to be silly and off-putting, but holy sh*t is he off-putting!"
"The emu is bad but Doug is insufferable."
- 5-On-A-Toboggan
"Liberty, liberty… lib-er-Ty."
- s56820i
"I always had them on as background noise and never really gave them a second thought - then I actually watched one and realized, 'Wow, Doug is SUPER annoying.' "
- PAKMan1988
"Now that I think of it, ALL of Liberty's ad campaigns were annoying!"
- [Reddit]
"Still like Liberty Biberty bit, though. That one has me laughing just thinking about it."
- Pacer_44
"So I have the commercial free Hulu, my friend doesn't, and we were watching American Dad at his house."
"The Liberty Mutual ads came on Every. 3. Minutes. (It felt like) I hate that a-hole and his dumb ass emu at this point."
- twisted_nipples82
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ADHDont
“ 'Students with ADHD save 10 hours studying with this chrome extension. BUT NO. BY ALL MEANS. SKIP THE AD. SAVE A FEW SECONDS.' "
"If you condescend me there is no f*cking way I’m buying your product, ADHD or not."
- cactibob
"Same - I have adhd and since they wanna be such a know-it-all about it they should know I don’t have the attention span for this bullshit."
- ado_adonis
"Worst Part Is That Statistic Is Likely False!"
- AstaTheBakasta
"I have ADHD and that ad was so smug that it made me lose interest in the video it was playing during."
- CDewfus
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Screaming Us INTO A Headache
"HEAD ON! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD!"
- MrTeeWrecks
"Oh god I just had flashbacks."
"It was so incessant and so LOUD. I didn't have a headache before the ad, but you screamed me into one and I'm sure as hell not buying your product to treat it."
- [Reddit]
"Wait. Was it a real product?!"
"I always assumed it was a joke because no real product would be advertised that annoyingly."
- paulwhite959
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Predatory Advertising
"While we're here, not really a product but US Army commercials trying to appeal to young kids."
"They're all ads promising adventure and a way out of debt - like they recognize the student loan crisis but are trying to capitalize off it."
"The worst ones are the commercials that make it seem like a videogame. It's not a videogame, you're signing a 4 year contract to possibly be shipped overseas to kill people you've never met."
"Those commercials are predatory. They're trying to fool young people to fight a rich man's war."
- Sam-Miller
"Or to be killed by these strangers."
"Honestly, you don’t become bullet-proof in boot camp, and real bullets are…real bullets."
- OldBob10
"Agreed. The ads are very well done and are borderline Call of Duty lookalikes."
- 12VElectronics
"I strongly believe recruiters should be banned from high schools. The only person a kid should be talking to if they're thinking about joining, is a veteran."
"But then no one would join."
- TheMeanGreenGoblin
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Pillow Problems
"My Pillow Guys commercials have always been bad, but the new ones really turned me off."
"His new commercials are a joke."
"He's claiming that he's a victim of cancel culture. Dude, you tried to get the former president to overturn the election!"
- TheDeadGunslinger
"How anyone thought a guy who took 5 years (!) to chop up some memory foam and shove it in a bag as a pillow had enough marbles to advise any politician at all, ever, is beyond me."
- UnknownQTY
"I'll never forget that time Trump brought him to the White House to pitch his sh*t from the White House podium during a presidential address or whatever it was."
"Why was there a pillow commercial in the middle of a Presidential speech?! It's not a YouTube ad, dude, and if it was at least it would probably be skippable."
"One of the cringiest things I can recall ever seeing on TV."
- User_492006
"I don’t have cable so I only get a handful of channels."
"My Pillow runs ads on literally every commercial break in the evenings. I am not exaggerating."
"I refuse to buy his products."
- chicagotodetroit
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No Family Talks About Poop Like This
"Charmin. Those f*ckin' bears, I swear."
- DenverDudeXLI
"It's literally like:"
" 'HEY MOM AND DAD I TOOK A SH*T AND WIPED MY A$$ WITH THIS SOFT TOILET PAPER!' "
" 'WOW SON! I,TOO, LOVE RUBBING THE SOFT TOILET PAPER ON MY A$$!' "
"No family talks like this. Especially about poop or the caress of anything against their anus."
- Hurricaden
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No Cars, No Kids, Where's The Charity?
"Kars for kids... Hope they all die."
- coolguy1793B
"Whenever someone mentions wanting to donate a used a car I make a point to explain that the 1877kars4kids charity is just funding a cult."
- Dave9387
"When I was younger, I heard that commercial all the time."
"I was unfortunately one of those kids that needed a car and had no emotional or financial support from my parents, they were really abusive."
"I tried reaching out to the company and had a really hard time getting someone on the phone. Once I did, they said they didn’t 'just give out free cars.' "
"I obviously understood that, no need to be so rude about it."
Giphy
"I asked what the qualifications or process were to apply for one of the donated vehicles. I felt I might qualify because of my situation. WOW was I wrong. lol"
"The lady vaguely and very carefully explained that they only TAKE donations of cars. They do not PROVIDE cars. There are, in fact, no cars for kids, adults, or anyone else."
"I never understood why they were advertising themselves as a charity. Every time I hear the commercial now, I scoff at it."
"Not sure what cult it is but is seems like some sort of scam or tax write off scheme."
- dirtyredheadhippie
"Did some research and found out in the fine print it explains that the cars will be sold for profit to benefit an Orthodox Jewish organization."
"That organization has ties to homophobia, mistreatment of young girls, anti-education stances, etc. So that's nice."
- [Reddit]
The Strangest 'Wrong Number' Stories | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Before we all had caller ID, wrong numbers phone calls were commonplace. But now that almost everyone screens their calls, it's wrong number texts that have ...I'm Telling Google
"I searched ONE TIME for Spartan Races and got absolutely inundated with those commercials on YouTube afterwards."
"It was so annoying that it got to the point where I actually spent time and figured out how to tell Google I'm not interested (it's somewhere in the advert settings)."
"I will never, ever, ever run one now."
- mr_etymologist
Jimmy Fallon No GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
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Drastically Tone Deaf
"The State Farm ones where it's different customers giving the company rep free steaks or pizza or whatever as a thank-you for the *winkwink* 'special discount' that is just their normal rate."
"Like we should be falling over ourselves to give more money to this corporation in gratitude for the honor of being gouged by the insurance industry?"
"That is just drastically tone deaf."
- FrankyDonkeyBrain
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Ok GIF by Saturday Night Live
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Like Clockwork
"Honestly, I largely avoid Procter & Gamble products because of how insulting their cleaning product ads are."
"It’s like clockwork: kid/husband spills or breaks sh*t, is clueless as to how it should be tidied up. Mom/wife steps in with a playfully emasculating grin and does the cleanup."
"It’s beyond stupid, and reinforces exhausted stereotypes."
- CampVictorian
Sponge Bob Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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Quiz-NO.
"I have never eaten at Quiznos solely because I've hated all of their ads."
"From the spongmonkeys to the one featuring a chef so obsessed with Quiznos he neglects everything else - there's one I can't find where he walks past his bird cage where we see his dead bird at the bottom, presumably having been there for a while, like wtf?! - I've never liked a single one."
"But the very first Quiznos ad I saw sealed it for me; this guy has a Quiznos sandwich prepared, and when he turns his back to get something, his dog grabs the sandwich."
"The guy chases after the dog, pulls the sandwich out of its mouth, and eats it anyway. I get that they're trying to say 'It's so good, I'll even eat it out of a dog's mouth,' but I was so disgusted by it."
- PAKMan1988
Cbs No GIF by HULU
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"Military Grade"
"Literally any VPN advertisement."
"They all promise you 'military grade' protection and privacy, while "military grade" means that there is https before a website, and "privacy" means that there's one additional company having all your data."
"If they at least admitted that the main purpose of VPN's is to do illegal activities (watching content that is banned in your own country)... but no."
"It's just pandering to people who don't know what they're doing, but get off on anything that sounds like it involves guns and explosions or whatever."
- StawberryIchigo
Game Time GIF by Hollyoaks
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So Tightly Controlled
"I listen to a lot of podcasts, and ads in general make me less likely to buy the product or service advertised, because break up the flow of the content and they immediately get me thinking 'What's the catch/grift here?' "
"Especially when the hosts personally endorse the product/service they've almost certainly been given gratis/at reduced price."
"But a major red flag for me is when the ad copy is so tightly controlled by the sponsor that I hear the exact same script being read out by my favorite podcasters like they've all suddenly become pod people."
"Looking at you, re-skinned Candy Crush– I mean, Best Fiends! Yeah, Best Fiends."
- captainthomas
Laverne Cox Abc GIF by Emmys
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Loud Jellyfish
"Prevagen- 'NOW MADE WITH REAL JELLYFISH PROTEIN!' "
"I wouldn’t have bought it anyway, but the fact that the commercial always came on at 120db higher than the show I was watching (and because they were advertising blatant bull) made sure that I wanted to burn all of them to the ground."
"Also advertising using real jellyfish is gross."
- busyB_83
Disney Pixar Ocean GIF by Disney
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On Repeat
"The ones they repeat over and over and over again."
"Last year it was Academy. This years winner is Disarrono Velvet Cream & Target."
"Ho ho no! You can add any plaque psoriasis and diabetic medication."
"And, for decades now it's a certain CGI gecko who can't decide if it's British or Australian, but who's company obviously has WAY more money than they should."
"Honestly sometimes I feel positively harassed by repeat advertisements. I wish they were regulated like in Britain."
- spacednlost
Exhausting Mariah Carey GIF by Apple TV
Giphy
So it's my turn to go now, huh?
When I was younger, the 877-Cash-Now commercials drove me bananas, but recently a much worse campaign has wormed its way into my brain. Not because it's annoying, but because it makes me incredulously angry.
Has anyone else seen that "Recharge yourself with dairy" ad featuring the student trying to stretch their 2 page essay into 3?
She's sitting there going "in conclusion, with the conclusive summary whereabouts..." just BS-ing her way through things. The struggle is real.
But then she takes a sip of milk and suddenly has language skills!
That's not how milk works.
Most people are kind of lactose intolerant, so this should be illegal on the grounds of ... like ... inciting a digestive riot? I don't know. It seems aggressive.
But even if you're not lactose intolerant - who is sitting around going "wow I really need a pick me up, let me chug some milk!" ????
Nobody, that's who!
No student is using MILK to power their way through a late-night BS sesh, let's be real. Get that girl a Cuban coffee and stop trying to trick stressed-out students into gastrointestinal distress!
They're already dealing with enough!
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
Giphy
See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
homer simpson episode 23 GIF
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIF
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.