Baffled Adults Reveal The Weirdest Teen Trends They've Seen
[rebelmouse-image 18346347 is_animated_gif=And sometimes kids today... it's hard to watch. There are so many new developments in society that even those of us who were teenagers less than a decade ago tend to struggle dealing with this new wave of teens.
So when u/HugeTortoise151 asked:
Adults of reddit, what is the strangest teen trend you have seen?
We were all curious to know the answers.
Smiley?
[rebelmouse-image 18346348 is_animated_gif=Getting a "smiley"
Flame up a Bic lighter for a good few minutes until the metal shield is as hot as it's going to get.
Then hold out your arm and someone presses it into your skin.
How long you kept it there, how big the blister then scar was a badge of honour. I didn't move my arm. 15 years later and I can still see the "smiley" face scar, it's faded enough nobody would know.
I came from a very depressed part of the UK.
Hmmm....
[rebelmouse-image 18346350 is_animated_gif=When I was a teen, 90s, coloring your hair with kool-aid. My brother went to school with half tropical berry and half fruit punch or half lime green.
That's Enough
[rebelmouse-image 18346351 is_animated_gif=In middle school we would fold paper into these thick wedges and use rubber bands to shoot that at each other. We called them "hornets". Our folding skills and material choices became so elevated that a kid got hit in the neck and it left a massive welt. Another kit got hit in the eye and had to go to the doctor.
The school banned folding paper and rubber bands....
Sunburn
[rebelmouse-image 18346352 is_animated_gif=When I was in high school (late 90s), there was this trend for people to take the wrappers from Big Red cinnamon flavored gum, soak them with their own saliva and then stick it on their forehead and rub until it gave them a rectangular cinnamon burn on their forehead. It was bizarre.
Why Tho???
[rebelmouse-image 18346353 is_animated_gif=In the 90's when kids at school would knock each other out. Not by fighting, but by squeezing someone's chest until they passed out. Kids would volunteer themselves. I seen a girl have a seizure and another one fall and hit her head, only to wake up giggling.
The Powder
[rebelmouse-image 18346354 is_animated_gif=Smoking smarties was popular back in my middle school.
Fight Club Lite
[rebelmouse-image 18346355 is_animated_gif=When I was in high school (2002-2006ish) I had multiple friends take some salt. Lick part of their arm, sprinkle the salt and then hold an ice cube to that for as long as they could. Had a friend practically give herself frost bite and ended up with a giant "burn mark".
Baby Borne
[rebelmouse-image 18346357 is_animated_gif=There were a lot of teens in the 90's that thought wearing and sucking on pacifiers was really cool.
The Agony Of Defeat
[rebelmouse-image 18346358 is_animated_gif=A game called quarters. A test of pain tolerance I believe. Place your fist, knuckles flat against the surface of the table, while another participant shoots a quarter by force of his thumb as hard and as fast as he can via downward force applied to the quarter.
S Marks The Spot
[rebelmouse-image 18346359 is_animated_gif=I still don't know where the cool S came from...
A Step Too Far
[rebelmouse-image 18346360 is_animated_gif=When I was in 5th grade, back in 06-07 all the girls would walk around and punch each other in the boob. We'd yell "I just gave you breast cancer" as we did it. We had to have a huge meeting a couple weeks later with all the girls in 5th grade where the female teachers were telling us how inappropriate and idiotic it was...
I'm honestly not sure if this happened anywhere else besides my home town..
Sherlock Holmes In The Adventure Of The Dart Game
[rebelmouse-image 18346361 is_animated_gif=We played something called "the dart game" in high school.
You'd say somebody's name and if they looked and made eye contact you pretended like you were shooting them with a blow dart gun. They would then have to fall to the floor motionless until somebody pulled the invisible dart out of their neck.
MC Macarena
[rebelmouse-image 18346367 is_animated_gif=I thought the Macarena was the strangest thing ever as a kid. That or that dance move where you grab your ankle and act like a hammer or something.
Get Your Head In The Game
[rebelmouse-image 18346368 is_animated_gif=In junior high (around 93-94), it was cool for a few months to walk up to your friends and pick them up by their heads. The administration finally stepped in and made an announcement banning it because obviously you could break someone's neck doing that. I have no idea how or why that became cool but it felt like everyone was doing it.
Erasure
[rebelmouse-image 18346369 is_animated_gif=The eraser challenge where you rub an eraser against your arm until it burns your flesh.
Meow Mix
[rebelmouse-image 18346370 is_animated_gif=More among tweens than teens (think 4-6th graders).
Been seeing a lot of Cat Ears. Not just little wire ones, either. Holographic ones, fake fur ones. They're wearing them in public places, like museums, stores, parks, trains. It's not necessarily bad but it is a little weird.
Bratz
[rebelmouse-image 18346371 is_animated_gif=The one where girls tried to make their lips bigger (aka swollen and disfigured) with everything from bottles to vacuum cleaners. Wtf? Honestly, wtf?
Squatz
[rebelmouse-image 18346372 is_animated_gif=The way girls squat in pictures. As if they're making room to not block the face of the non-existent girl standing behind them.
Never Go To ICP
[rebelmouse-image 18346373 is_animated_gif=I'm a high school teacher, so I've seen everything from the parted-down-the-middle penis head haircuts of the mid 90s to the whole emo thing to those fidget spinners that were popular last year, but the weirdest trend I've seen was the Juggalo/ ICP fans of 2006+.
Choking
[rebelmouse-image 18346374 is_animated_gif=Back in 2015-2016, there was this challenge where people would try to make themselves pass out. You'd hold your breath and blow air out with heavy breaths. Someone actually died (not from my school) from it because you can completely deprive your brain of oxygen and my school gave suspensions to some of my friends that tried it and anyone else that tried it
(c) Oh Myyy LLC
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Advancements in science happen every day in every way.
But often it feels like we are still so far behind.
How have we not cured so many diseases?
Shouldn't we know more about space?
What is Jello really made of?
So much to ponder and understand.
Maybe one day.
We all have a bucket list of what we'd like to see cured or invented before our last breaths.
Let's discuss...
Redditor yoda2060wanted to discuss all the science that needs to be devoured before the sand runs out of the hourglass. They asked:
"What scientific achievement you would like to see before you die?"
Life is infinite and we'll never know everything that is possible. But let's dream of what could be...
New pieces...
"I want to see us grow hearts, kidneys, livers, etc... In labs and end the need for donations and waiting lists for transplants."
IMadeThisBullS*itUp
"I waited for a heart/bilateral lung transplant for over a year and I spent 8 months living in the hospital waiting for it. You’re basically waiting for someone to die."
"Which feels all kinds of wrong… but my therapist (all transplant patients sees a transplant therapist) kept reminding me that me needing a heart and lungs doesn’t cause someone to die…"
"And what made even harder was that my mom died of Covid about 5 weeks before my transplant happened. So while I was praying and hoping so hard my mom wouldn’t die… I was also praying for my transplant to happen. I had a lot of mixed and confusing feelings. My transplant happened last November."
Junebug1515
"Idiot Bottom Line"
"To build an environment friendly world."
deadprotocol_
"That depends entirely on how far you want to go with 'environmentally friendly.' Some amateurish pseudo-intellectuals will say that humanity itself is devastating the planet by it's very existence so we'll call that the 'Idiot Bottom Line."'
"So you have to find an acceptable level above that to declare environmentally friendly. For example can we still have hear exchangers? Space debris? Artificial Electromagnetic radiation? There has to be a level before you can declare such and so far no one agrees."
PoorPDOP86
“20 years, tops”
"Viable nuclear fusion."
AlterEdward
"Nuclear Astrophysicist here. I know the joke is that we been saying '20 years, tops' for 50 years now - who do you think came up with that joke? But seriously, we are really close."
"We need a reaction that is self-sustaining and puts out more energy than we put in. We can easily do a reaction that’s one or the other, just getting one that’s both is hard. And with recent updates to the Greenwald limit we found some relatively minor tweaks that doubles previous theoretical max output."
Gleeful-Nihilist
Deep Within
"Figuring out what Dark Matter is, solving the mysteries of black holes. Proper thorough investigation of our own oceans."
fIumpf
So far, so interesting. We have so much to learn.
let me dream...
"Prosthetic limbs and organs that can work just as well as real ones. Affordably too. A cure for total nerve damage. Carbon neutral liquid fuel. FTL travel (let me dream)."
idonthaveanaccountA
Contact
"Making contact with another intelligent species in another solar system."
Pigs100
"That's probably not going to happen. I'd be overjoyed though if we discovered even just microbial life in the oceans of Europa or Enceladus. They'd be the first true extra-terrestrials ever encountered."
Cybyss
Going Places
"If we had teleports then we might also have other technologies integrated with it like instant dental work, instant food, instant surgery, things just unthinkable without the technology but before the steam engine travel was by horse so they could not imagine traveling cross country in any other way besides ships. Maybe with teleports we wouldn't need energy, just an infinite loop of the first spark."
Stickerdan
Sickness be gone...
"Cure for all cancer forms."
Kal-El1994
"I approached a nursing assistant with the question. They could describe it as trying to go after the stick of a lollipop. The treatments are mostly concerned with favors, not sticks. If they can discover a way to deal with the stick, then you may be able to treat cancer from there."
MissSara101
"I think it is important to add that there won’t be ONE cure to all cancers. Cancer is such a broad spectrum of diseases that sometimes have next to nothing in common. But hopefully we will keep getting the survival rates up with different medications for different cancer types."
TastyConsideration82
Simplicity
"Solve back pain please. We can do crazy sh*t like nuclear bombs, new fancy vaccines and space exploration, yet we don't have a solution to one of the biggest and most common ailments that existed though all of humanity."
inksane
I want to see all of this happen! Fingers crossed.
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Fast fashion is terrible for the environment, one of the largest polluters of clean water globally because of its all too common use of cheap, toxic textile dyes.
It also places producers under more and more pressure to manufacture more and more clothes on masse–the people working in the factories that make this stuff are being paid a pittance, contributing to much of the wealth inequality in less developed nations.
Additionally, it's estimated that the textiles industry produces 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year and that just two percent of all fast fashion emissions can be reduced through recycling. Ouch. Time to change habits, right?
People shared their thoughts on this and other topics after Redditor urmomsucked asked the online community,
"What should people seriously stop buying?"
"Pets..."
"Pets they can’t take care of."
WonderfulShop888
I have known several people who got puppies, decided they couldn't handle them, and dumped them. It's rage-inducing.
"Nestle products."
"Nestle products. Literally the most evil company currently in business. Unfortunately it's really hard to tell what brands they own."
I_used_to_be_hip
Nestle is responsible for the deaths of babies in undeveloped nations. It's sick.
"Designer clothes..."
"Designer clothes and accessories with logos slapped all over them. It wastes your money and makes you look idiotic."
Botryoild2000
The funny thing is, the designer clothes/accessories with logos slapped all over them are typically the cheapest options from said designer.
"Simple syrup."
"Simple syrup. It’s sugar water with an $8 price tag."
providentialchief
It's easy enough to make your own. Your iced tea will never be the same again.
"Cheap belts."
"Cheap belts. A quality leather belt will last you decades."
[deleted]
I have a few (quality leather belts, that is) and they've lasted for years and years. Can confirm.
"Cigarettes."
"Cigarettes. To anyone reading this, please just don't start even if it's out of curiosity. I'm 20 years deep into this and it's hell."
SeaSwimmer5386
Smoking is a brutal addiction to break. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently proposed rules prohibiting menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars to stop young people from picking up the habit.
"Garment workers..."
"Fast fashion. Garment workers get paid s*it, the environment suffers and you look like everybody else on the street with no personality or sense of individualism."
SenoritaBrownRecluse
This should be up at the top. The environmental impact is terrible.
"Unnecessarily large vehicles..."
"Unnecessarily large vehicles, which they'll then inevitably complain cost too much to fill the gas tank."
[deleted]
Gas guzzlers need to go. It's far past time that they be phased out.
"Anything advertised..."
"Anything advertised on Instagram. It’s a scam and those influencers are just making it look cheap AF."
megapintt
Or just avoid Instagram in general. That would solve a lot.
"New phones..."
"New phones when their current is just as good."
[deleted]
You've got that right. People buy a new one for the hell of it without even thinking about it.
It's pretty clear that many of us need to change our habits now. Our wallets will thank us later.
Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
If you make too many funny faces, your face will stay that way permanently.
Watch too much tv and your eyes will fall out.
Break a mirror and it's seven years of bad luck.
These are among the many myths and superstitions we heard as children, more often than not from our parents and teachers as a way of scaring us into behaving.
But while there is not one ounce of truth to any of these tall tales, there are many who still believe them, and many more.
Redditor RedditPersonIf was curious to learn what superstitions people continue to believe are true, leading them to ask:
"What myths are obviously false, yet most people still believe they are true?"
When they fly the coop...
"If you take care of a baby bird, the mother won’t want it anymore because it’ll smell like a human."- GreatXs
No amount of fiber can help you
"If you swallow gum, it'll stay in your digestive tract for 7 years."- stinky_cheese33
It was every other subjects he had trouble with
"Albert Einstein failed math in school."- Nothingreallyend
Though it does make shampooing easier
"Shaving your hair will make the hair grow back thicker.'- RunWithScissorsss
Sleep with your mouth closed
"The amount of spiders you eat while being asleep."- pantsofafatman
Just... No...
"That you are supposed to pee on a jellyfish sting to ease the pain."- Actuaryba
Olé
"Bulls not liking the color red."
"Bulls are partially color blind and can only see yellow, green, blue, and violet."- Rogurzz
Call a Lyft instead
"Coffee, speed, and uppers sober you up."
"Nope!"
"Too drunk to drive?"
"Now you're drunk AND on drugs, you just don't feel the effects of the booze but your motor skills, reaction time and decision making are all still drunk AF."- kirkrjordan
Best let nature run its course
"The damn alpha wolf."
"It was one study under captivity, the poor researcher made it his life's work to try and set it right."
"If you want a brutal hierarchy where everyone pecks down, what you're looking for is chickens."- raxeira-etterath
Give this one some thought
"We can only use 10% of our brain."- UnbearableHuman
A little bit of research will clear up any doubt you have on these old superstitions and beliefs.
And for anyone who helped out a friend who got stung by a jellyfish, no need to be embarrassed.
Who hasn't looked at a scarf someone knitted for a loved one, a flawless homemade birthday cake, or an immaculately planted garden and thought, "I wish I could do that"?
But you'd never dare try to attempt it yourself, knowing that it's well beyond your personal skill set.
But is it?
Intimidating as they may seem, some skills might be deceptively easier than they appear to be, or might come more naturally to you than to many others.
Redditor halfmoon599 was curious to hear what skills people believed to be much easier than they seem, leading them to ask:
"What skill is actually easier to learn than what other people think?"
Everyone can be ambidextrous!
"I'm left handed and and I wanted to learn to write with my right hand."
"it was much easier than I thought and now I can write with it making it look somewhat decent."- JE3V4N_
"Using your off hand skillfully."
"I worked on this when I owned a woodworking business and it has helped so many times over the years."- karg_the_fergus
Should you ever forget your keys...
"Picking a lock."
"It only takes about 1 or 2 hours to learn, contrary to popular belief." - DifficultAd5113
Can't get to the genius stand? No problem!
"Fixing computers."
"It's just a lot of googling and YouTubing."- theassassintherapist
"Basic IT troubleshooting."- usmarine7041
You'll have a blanket done in no time!
"Crocheting!"
"It looked really difficult to me but I was really pleased how easy it was to pick up."
"Especially with YouTube tutorials."- geeltulpen
But do get a license first...
"Flying a small airplane is actually very simple."
"It's everything else like weather and flight planning, emergency mindfulness, airspace and traffic, and confidence in yourself that gets tricky, but any person with eyeballs and a pulse could fly a plane."- Clyde-MacTavish
With practice, of course
"Parallel parking."- Feels2old
Give your arms a rest!
"Unicycling."
"It takes just 10-20 minutes a day for 3-10 days.'
"Find a railing you can lean on to start."
"At some point, you'll be able to let go and ride!'- Vegan_BTW_VR
... Is it though?...
"Driving a stick shift."- fantazja1
Next time you think, "aw, I wish I could do that," rather than keep wishing, why not just give it a try?