America is in the know about a few things.
I know it seems we're crazy and hostile.
That doesn't mean clueless or blind.
Say what you will but the one thing we're not is naive.
We're blunt. Just roll with it.
Redditor Tell_me_why- wanted everyone to sit down, take a deep breath and listen to some hard truths. They asked:
"Americans, what is the rest of the world not ready to hear?"
Why do humans hide our heads in the sand? You can't ignore reality. At least not for too long.
400 What?!?!
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"That someone personally spent over $400 million on a replica of Noah’s ark in Kentucky. Like actually. I’m not even kidding. It’s several football fields long."
Csj2454
Extremists
"Twitter/Reddit are probably the worst representation of American culture possible. Life outside these two platforms are completely different no matter what way you spin it. Reason being, extremist opinions are the ones that get the most fake internet points, so thats all you will ever see."
WRiPSTER
Psychos
"Most New Yorkers aren't psychopaths... all of us are."
You8mypizza
"I find this so weird - I've been to NYC twice. Everyone was super friendly. Like way more friendly than I expect other Scottish people to be."
"At one point we were standing (to the side, we're not animals) trying to work out how to get somewhere and a nice man in a business suit stopped and helped us without asking? Admittedly, NYC was less friendly than the less of the US, but still way friendlier than I'm used to at home. Folks in shops would talk to you, folks on the bus would hear our accent and want to talk to us, it was honestly exhausting."
BonnieMacFarlane2
"American pizza"
"I went to Italy and there was a restaurant selling 'American pizza' which was pizza with french fries hot dogs and more ranch than pizza. He said it's authentic American pizza and it's how everyone eats pizza over there. I told him I'm from America and I've never once seen anyone eat that. He told me i was wrong and it's how all Americas eat pizza y'all are crazy too."
Arik_the_Bruce
The Coolest
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"Henry Winkler gets even cooler after happy days."
myclueis
"Met him at a comic con. Nicest guy, let anyone take pictures with him and giving hugs to everybody."
Silent_Bob_82
Oh the Fonze. Who knew he'd get a second wind?
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No Laughs
"M*A*S*H is better without the laugh track."
McFlyFarm
"I just listened to a podcast that mentioned this today (Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend) - apparently there was a rule that they could never use a laugh track while they were in the operating room. The guest of the episode (Stephen Merchant) explained how he thought MASH was great in the UK, then saw it in the US with the laugh track and thought 'My god, Hawkeye’s an a-hole!'"
jwilcoxwilcox
Sunshine State People
"The only reason 'Florida Man' exists is because of Florida's laws about the accessibility of crime documentation, which makes it a goldmine for tabloid journalism."
Agent_Onions
Bad America
"America isn’t the best by far, but as an African American I know the racism in other big countries is way more overt, I’ve experienced it and sadly realized America is one of the few places I can live in somewhat peace."
Low_Lettuce_8467
"No doubt. The racism in America can be very subtle at times but in other countries when they’re racist, holy crap, they’re freaking racist! Like mimic a monkey, throw a banana at you racist. It was wild to experience."
Concealer77
Still Important
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"The use of the Metric system is way more prevalent than you think."
Foresight2187
Americanized...
"American food isn’t just burgers and fries. It’s Americanized versions of all the cultures that immigrated here. Like hard shell tacos, ny and Chicago pizza etc."
idk-though1
"We have lots of variety."
Traditional-Ad-4712
"We did make buffalo wings though."
GoobsterInc
Color
"Racism is not just an American problem. I’ve heard so many Europeans say that only in America do people of color experience discrimination, and that in Europe everyone lives in total peace and harmony and no one 'seeing color.' Complete BS."
Geodudette2014
"I think the main reason racism is so heard about in America is shearling that we have more Black people. America is around 13% Black while Europe is around 3%."
"Surprise, sur-f**king-prise, racism is more vocal when there are more chances for it to happen. Also, we have for decades, really centuries, had equal rights be a constant debate. I find that when you hear about bad stuff a lot, it becomes more of how much of a thing you hear than the scale that is most memorable."
CaptainBlobTheSuprem
Not Exclusive
"America is not as exclusive and xenophobic as you might think. Nearly anyone of any origin can come here and be considered American. Whereas if you visit a lot of other countries no matter how much you know about or appreciate their culture, or how long you have lived there, they will never consider you one of them."
xthesavior
Oh Florida...
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"The only reason 'Florida Man' exists is because of Florida's laws about the accessibility of crime documentation, which makes it a goldmine for tabloid journalism."
Agent_Onions
100%
"The government is not an accurate reflection of the people. The vast majority of Americans are moderates who have views all over the spectrum depending on the topic. I was really thinking about how its everywhere that the American population is either 100% left or 100% right like many of the politicians. It's so hard for bipartisan policy to go through because the majority of politicians, specifically on the federal level."
"Just go with whatever their side of the isle is pushing and not really making the decision based on how they view the proposed policy. Like how we keep getting stuff with 100% Republican support and 100% democrat rejection or vice versa. I could've explained it better."
spade13F
Get Fit
"The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. [beep] "
"A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. [ding] Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start."
Super_Adventures
Travel Issues...
"We have more cities than New York, LA, and Miami. It's not just these 3 places and the rest is flyover country. Also, our country is HUGE. The bigger states, like mine (PA), you can drive for 6 hours in one direction and still be in the same state. I remember my family had to tell an English couple that was going to be in Erie for a week or two that we wouldn't be able to meet them for tea since we're on the opposite side of the state. That goes for flights, too; you won't be able to visit New York, LA, and Miami all in one or two weeks."
_Ping_-
We have enough...
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"We have a buttload of fresh water. When the climate crisis is in full impact we will still have usable water in the country. I said in the country, not that the entire country will have usable water. The Great Lakes are one of the largest fresh water systems in the world. And if you are worried about pollution here, you clearly haven't been to much of the rest of the world."
Food Constraints
"Despite there being an obesity epidemic, there are many MANY children who are hungry. Unfortunately, the foster care system is a worse outcome sometimes. We have many, many hungry children."
RioBlue93
"Currently teaching 'saving and spending' to my first graders. They had to answer the question 'what is one thing you would like to save up your money for?' One of my students wrote 'money to buy some food.'"
BreezyBolognese
It's time to face realities. We can't ignore facts or life. Move along.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.