Top Stories

People Explain Which Things They're Addicted To That Are Completely Legal

Plenty of addictive substances wreak physical havoc on the body of the user. With these addictions, the government has stepped in to make a lawful incentive against using them.

But addictive behavior is just that--behavior.


It isn't confined to the worst of the worst. If an addictive tendency is present, it will find a way to rear its head in daily life.

And so even the most legal, seemingly innocent activities, foods, and items can become villainous sources of the problematic pull.

And arguably, they're the toughest addictions out there. After all, they're not bad enough to become illegal. So they're always around, up for grabs, calling people's name.

A recent Reddit thread pulled together some of the most insidious, above water behaviors and substances.

Account28784 asked, "What legal thing are you addicted to?"

Is Everyone Here Guilty?

"The internet in general, I hardly read anymore or do things I used to enjoy, I'm just hooked on the internet." -- sami2503

"Same. Yesterday I saw a thread about hobbies people have started up since the pandemic started and I've never felt so unproductive. I saved the thread to get ideas for new hobbies. But here I am - still on reddit" -- jasminel96

No Pull More Powerful Than the Biological Imperative

"Sugar" -- look_for_the_helpers

"Truly an addictive substance" -- unnaturalorder

"Sugar, could be the most addicting drug. I think people should shift their conspiracy efforts there. Lol everything has sugar, corn syrup, etc. causes health issues with how much access we have to it... obesity, diabetes, cancers, etc" -- Proto216

*Slightly Informed* Gambling

"Gambling on the stock market like a degenerate" -- CaptFeelsGay

"Oh, that can get real bad real fast if you start doing crazy sh** with options" -- throwaway8u3sH0

"I've always said that gambling stocks is the same as betting on black in a casino." -- crotts1229

Gimme Gimme Gummy

"Walmart sells generic fruit snacks that I swear have crack in them. I actually have to limit myself to only buying a box every three months because I will INHALE them." -- RedactedNPC

"For me it's Mott's fruit snacks. They're considerably more chewy than other fruit snacks i've had and they're so damn addicting." -- versionRaccoon

How Wholesome

"Drinking water" -- ultimatefinesser

"Yeah, I drink probably 5-7 liters a day. I honestly don't know how some people drink barely any - I'm always thirsty!" -- ctadgo

"Hydrate or diedrate" -- musicalwaluigi

Everywhere You Look

"Caffine. It's actually a very physically addictive drug." -- faget460

"I am as well. I've recently discovered the power of cold brew coffee and I'm hopelessly hooked. Every evening I set up my French press with coffee and put it in the fridge for morning. It's delightful but it has me by the balls." -- eternalrefuge86

"I'm worthless before having some kind of caffeine." -- PMYOURBOOBOVERFLOW

Corporate Treats

"Subway's Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are just so much better than anything I can make myself. Heat em'in the microwave for 15 seconds and they taste as if they just came outa the oven."

"Reminds me of cookies my grandmother used ta make."

-- KPGamer2024

CONTACT

"Hugs. And my vibrator. But mostly hugs." -- mammatbone

"If only one could purchase a giant hugging vibrator." -- sQueezedhe

Would Be Tough to Legislate

"Getting really high, changing the color saturation on my TV to crazy purple and red and green and watching old godzilla movies while getting more higher" -- Recordcraptaker

"Love me som old Godzilla movies."

"There are some amazing ones and some real duds though. But it is all worth it in the end. Or so I tell myself after having watched all 33 movies..." -- Zahz

A Couple Classics

"My biggest addiction is my phone. Everyday is a battle to check myself and put it away. It got really bad during The lockdown to the point I was neglecting my family responsibilities."

"The other addiction I just picked up purposely is nicotine. I used to smoke a lot of hookah and missed the buzz id get. I don't like drinking so much so nicotine just gives the little buzz I need to stay sane."

-- sajoser17

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Historical Events So Ridiculous They Sound Made Up

A Redditor asked: 'What’s an event in history that is so ridiculous it sounds fake?'

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

Keep reading...Show less
person holding photo of three girls near chainlink fence
Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Life is all about learning new things, including learning new things about the people in your life. Sometimes, the things you learn are shocking, disgusting, or even scary.

I was the new kid in town when I was in fifth grade and my first friend was this quiet (and cute) boy in my class. He and I remained friends through middle school, and even though we drifted apart in high school, our interactions when we ran into each other in the halls or the cafeteria were really nice.

All throughout school and even beyond, he remained quiet, polite, and reserved. Just a few years ago, I read a news article written about him. He had apparently fatally wounded his father after an argument.

I had to reread the article several times to make sure it was really about my old friend. I think about it a lot, and still can't believe it!

I'm not the only one that has a shocking story like that. A lot of Redditors learned shocking or scary things about people from their childhood, and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor ValuableHovercraft90 asked:

"What's the scariest thing you have found out about someone from your childhood (old friends, teachers, etc)?"

So Creepy

"That the boy who lived across the street and moved when I was 6 is still obsessed with me and my sister 30+ years later and posts ramblings on Facebook with our names and that he's going to be with us. Pretty terrifying honestly."

– mrscrawfish

The Worst List

"A neighbour died when he was 30. Police searched a trailer he owned and found weapons, bombs and a list of people he wanted to kill. My uncle was on that list."

– Flashy_Somewhere_648

"I'm glad this ended the way it did."

– CreepyCandidate4449

Terrifying

"One of my best friends (and locker partner) from high school was kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq. After a nightmare of 6+ months, all went silent. We buried an empty casket in his memory 10 years later."

– francois_du_nord

"This is horrifying. How incredibly sad for family to never get any closure. Very sad to read this. :("

– fizzycherryseltzer

"About 15 years ago my dad received a very good offer for work in Iraq, as a construction specialist. He was considering going, since at the same time the financial crisis started in Europe, but then one of his friends, a civil engineer, was kidnapped. Never returned back either."

– 19lgkrn70

"Same thing for my dad old coworker told him how great the money was. Dude got sniped working on a radio tower or something. My dad luckily was like, "I got a wife and family that would kill me for doing something so dangerous.""

– tristanjones

End Of The Friendship

"One of my dad's good friends, and my "uncle", just stopped coming around one day. I was told he was always busy with work, away, etc."

"Turns out, he killed 3 people in a drug deal gone bad and got life in prison."

"What's scary, is that we were over at his house for a weekend BBQ with a bunch of people earlier in the day of the night he did it, and it happened at his house."

– pnwking509

School Friends

"Don't know if it was scary, but I grew up with a kid whose birthday was the day before mine so we almost always shared birthdays in elementary school. We were friends, even spent the night at his house growing up. Later on in our teens, he started getting into some really dark stuff. I recognize that now as his being a sociopath, but like most everybody else at the time, figured it was just him going through some kind of emo phase. Over the years, we lost touch but I would occasionally run into him around town and our meetings were cordial, if not friendly."

"Last year, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man back in 1993, roughly 3 years after we got out of High School. Apparently he, his sister and another man lured this guy out to the boonies and killed him to steal money he had gotten in an insurance settlement."

"The only reason they were caught is the other guy got religion, felt remorse and went on the local TV station and aired a confession before turning himself in (He got 25 to life)."

– 530_Oldschoolgeek

"A girl I went to school with did the same thing. She was the nicest girl, got good grades & was kind of a dork. Mixed with the wrong people after graduation. She and two others lured an old man into an abandoned building, stabbed him and robbed him. He later died from his wounds."

– HereF0rTheSnacks

The Worst Afternoon

"I had a friend in grade school who was being raised by her single dad. She had a unique name and pretty face. She never talked about her mom, and she was super outgoing, so all us kids just made friends with her quickly. It was weird her dad never brought her to our birthday parties, even though she was always invited, but we didn’t think much of it. A couple times, she was allowed to ride the bus home with me after school, and we played and had fun until her dad came to pick her up. Later in the school year, she invited me to ride the bus to her house, and my mom agreed. I was 10. It was the scariest afternoon of my young life. I cannot articulate the extreme tension in her home. We weren’t allowed to make any noise, and we mostly stayed outside, me desperate for my mom to arrive."

"Her dad screamed at us for opening the door, and I was too nervous to go into the house to use the restroom. I knew she was embarrassed that there were no snacks or comforting interactions, like at my house. I didn’t really tell anyone how uncomfortable the experience was. After that day, I didn’t hang out with her a lot. We were in different classes, drifted apart, and decades later, when my own daughter asked to go to a friend’s house, I thought about that girl."

"As an adult, I figured out her dad probably worked a night shift and tried to sleep during the day…or he was an alcoholic who was really angry. Maybe both? I looked her up on social media, and thanks to her unique name and face, I recognized her immediately. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted woman with a beautiful family. She even had pictures of her kids with her dad and tributes to him as the greatest father and grandpa. Her whole page made me wonder what the hell I experienced that afternoon in the 4th grade?"

– OlderAndTired

School Is Supposed To Be Safe!

"In our school, we had something called "de halte." In English, it means "the halt" literally translated. Basically time out. BIf you had a meltdown in class or you were just a little sh*thead, you were sent there for 15 minutes or so to cool off.

The de hatle teacher got fired and jailed for breaking 4 different wrists of 4 different students by bending them the wrong way..."

– Ok_Win7358

*Skin Crawling*

​"There was this classmate a grade below me but all grades shared the same drama class. She was weird and kind of "off." I tried to befriend her at one point and was rebuffed. It later came out that she was actually an almost 30-year-old woman who would show up in a new area claiming to be a 15-year-old runaway. Kind of freaked me out."

jackfaire

It turns out it was a good thing that the friendship didn't work out!