We've all heard the phrase "money doesn't grow on trees"—meaning that it's not exactly an easy thing to come by.
That's not always the case, though...
Every now and then the money gods smile down upon someone and gift them with some seriously easy money.
Redditor Jelz asked:
"What's the easiest money you ever made?"
A Coke And A Smile
$20,000 for a Coca Cola commercial in which I did nothing but sit in a convertible and cheer like I was on my way to a college football game. I didn't get it all at once, but I added up the residuals over a 2 year period for tax purposes and that was the total.
- Okika13
GiphySold My Spot
Was first in the queue at Apple regents street waiting for the new iPhone (5 I think) sold my space for £3k. I did it consecutively for 3/4 years probably made around £12-14k, got in some documentaries and TV shows because of it. Because I'm a fan boy I would take the week off work, and queue for 7 days, would normally sell the spot 2/3 days before launch morning. I would also have the person who bought my space buy me an iPhone.
Goodwill Goodies
Bought a second-hand jacket from Goodwill for $8. There was a $50 in the pocket.
I've found $50 and $100 bills used as bookmarkers in books from Goodwill. One time, there was a $20 bill in a signed hardcover first edition of William Gibson's Virtual Light. I bought it for $2.
- MrLeHah
I was showing my brand-new jacket I had just bought at a thrift store to the head of our legal department, and when I took it off a gigantic nugget of weed fell onto the floor. It was awkward, but, thankfully, his assistant was with me at the thrift store and could vouch for the fact that I hadn't put it in there.
- ljtwork
Pushing The Power Button
Went to a clients (I did computer repair) and he hands me a laptop and says "It's dead, if you can make it work, I'll give you $100. It is new."
I look at it, push the power button and it boots. So I figure it is not connecting to the internet or something. He freaks! Cannot believe I got it working. I show him the power button on the side. He says "Huh. Didn't know where it was."
He takes out a wad of cash, peels off 5 $20's hands them to me and the gives me another $20 as a tip. I was in and out in under 5 minutes.
- Fblonk
Flipping Cars
Bought a car that "didn't run" for $250, put some fresh gas in it and polished the paint, sold it for $2000 a week later.
- volvbro
Guardian Angel
As a waitress, I served a staff party and just did well. Really connected with one man at the table and told him I was getting married in 3 months. He tipped me $1000 and told me to use it for our honeymoon. I was floored. Reacted like Dr Grant in Jurassic Park when he sees a dinosaur in the flesh for the first time.
I was working three jobs at the time. We used the money to buy our wedding bands instead so we had a constant reminder that someone out there was rooting for us & the man who gave us the money heard about it and came to our wedding where he gave us $10,000. He changed our life & made it so we could afford fertility treatment.
Still doesn't feel real to this day & we hope to name our son after him if we ever get the chance. He was so lovely that sometimes I even think he wasn't real but was like a guardian angel. It sounds nuts, but strangers just don't do that kind of thing.
An Empty Plate
500 euros for an acting job as a waiter, I didn't have to say anything. I only had to place an empty plate on a table and walk out of the frame.
- RAMI_XXL
Happy New Year's
Three hundred bucks for my spot in line for the bathroom at McDonald's. It was new years eve. I took the money, walked far enough away and peed between two cars. Three hundred bucks was enough for me to have a little public leak.
GiphyBabysitting
"Baby"sitting my mom's friend's 14 and 11 year old. We played video games all day (with their mother's consent) and I got 150 euros for like eight hours.
Manning The Beer Tent
I worked as a barman for a few years. A neighbors niece was getting married but needed someone to run the bar at the reception set on a field. The "beer tent" was huge and I was running it with 3 others.
I agreed to be paid "normal rate". I didn't ask for their definition but they paid me blind drunk and gave me cash in an envelope.
For 10 hours work I got paid £750 and was under strict instructions from the father of the bride to "help yourself" to any left over booze.
Dom Perignon crates each and we each filled our car boots with booze as a tip.
Staples And Copies
I earned $300 in 5 days when I was 14 by helping my friend's uncle remove staples from papers and photocopying papers.
The Muted Singer
I can't sing well at all but a part in a movie was for choir. I was just a normal extra but they were desperate for people to play singers. The director says $150 hourly for it which is insane of course. I said I'll do it but I'm unsure I'm good enough. I sang the only song I memorized "knocking on heaven's door."
It was late at night and the main actor said "good enough" they gave me a printout of the lyrics of "Last Christmas." I sung it in front of the camera and got about 500$ for it.
Later while watching it, they muted me and put someone else's voice over it.
GiphyThe Cookie Bozo
Got sent out on a temp agency job to help unload a semi at a local cookie factory. There must have been a miscommunication, because it turns out a company like that has a whole team of forklift drivers for that exact purpose and they don't want a bozo like me in the way. So, I got paid to stand around and bullshit with the truck driver all morning.
Being A Soccer Star
I used to play indoor soccer in the winters. For my grade I was on the younger side, so I sometimes would play my league and down one because I was young enough to qualify.
My uncle proposed that if he came to the game he wanted to see me score and us to win. So he said $20 for a goal and $20 for a win. That night I was playing down with the younger squad. At the time I was a winger, striker, attacking midfield player. I wasn't too selfish, but everything went my way that night. I made $100 in an hour.
Empty Pool
My job while I was at school. Worked at the school pool as a lifeguard, but it was almost always empty so I could sit in the office and work or watch YouTube videos and get paid £8.15 an hour for it.
Partying With Beer
Used to do craft beer tastings for conventions/events. It was a side gig through a friend. You basically stand there for an hour handing out beer and discussing it, and sometimes drinking if the patron asks to share with you. The events were always high class, so you'd get tips even though we weren't really a bar, more of a giant ice cooler. Basically I got paid to be at a party. Lots of networking too. Usually took home between $100 to $200 cash for the hour.
- Gravey9
Now look, most of this stuff is probably never going to happen to you, so don't get your hopes up ... but at the same time "never say never" right?
Maybe you'll be the next person to find money in a Goodwill coat or get paid a ridiculous amount of money just to walk past a camera!
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There's nothing like leaving a movie theater having just seen an excellent movie.
Particularly one that took you by surprise.
Perhaps it was deeper and more meaningful than it purported itself to be, or on the flip side, had much more warmth and humor that you would have expected.
Or, the film took an unexpected twist that you never saw coming.
Resulting in your needing to bite your tongue until the rest of your friends and family see the film, and not spoil the surprise for them.
Redditor HornyCorny was curious to hear which plot twists left viewers utterly speechless, leading them to ask:
"What’s a movie twist that caught you completely off guard?"
He Didn't See It Coming Either!
"Brad Pitt in 'Burn After Reading'."
"So surprising and downright freaking hilarious."- thefirehairman
If The Shoe Fits...
"'The Shawshank Redemption'."
"Come on."
"It's not always a man notices another man's shoes."- FUBARspecimenT-89
Lucky For Some, Not For All...
"'Lucky Number Slevin'."
"Huge twist and very satisfying."- kvlr954
angry josh hartnett GIFGiphyRosie O'Donnell Would Agree...
"Fight Club."- BuchseeI
"once watched it with a friend who had never even heard of it, and she called the twist like, a half hour in."
"She said it as a joke and didn't realize she was right until the actual reveal, but still I was shook."- yugosaki
I See You Keyser Söze
"The ending of 'The Usual Suspects'."- Schwarzes__Loch
Definitive Shyamalan
''The Sixth Sense'."
'I love movies with plot twists, but I never imagined this one. It caught me completely off guard."- lucasduka
Haley Joel Osment Movie GIFGiphyThe Title Is Also Misleading...
"The second half of 'Parasite'."- iwontrememberthat4
Appropriately, They Really Toyed With Your Cognition
"'The Game'."- DudeHeadAwesome
"Good one!'
"I spent the entire movie going 'is it a game? Is it real?'"- fastpixels
There Were Definitely Ghosts...
"'The Others'."
"Unsuspected end."- NeckComprehensive743
scared horror film GIF by FilmStruckGiphyOne Unforgettable Opening Scene
"'Scream'."
"The Drew Barrymore role."- LivingTheLife53
The Real Reason Everyone Is Terrified Of Bees...
"When I was a kid, I wanted to feel good and happy."
"So at the video store, I decided to rent a movie with two happy laughing kids on the DVD cover, thinking it would be a feel-good playful story."
"That movie was 'My Girl'."
"Eff that movie."
"Seriously."
'The DVD cover lies."
"IT LIES."- buckyhermit
You THOUGHT you knew who the villains were...
"'From Dusk to Dawn' — midway point."
"Didn’t know at all what I was walking into when saw it in the theatre decades ago — just, you know, Salma Hayek. Good enough."
"Quentin Tarantino slurping tequila from her foot after it ran down the entire length of her leg — that was already a 'Holy WTF' moment."
"But then, well.. . you know."
"And if you don’t know — quick, go watch it. "
"No trailer, no synopsis, no summary."
"Find it and load it 'blind' and fasten your seatbelt."
"You’re in for a wild ride."- canada11235813
George Clooney Tarantino GIF by MIRAMAXGiphyIt's Title Is More Than Accurate!
"'Crazy Stupid Love'."
"The scene when the whole movie goes apesh*t in the yard is one of my all time favorite movie scenes."- Fimbulvintern
Trifecta Of Twists
"'The Others'."
"The end of 'The Mist'."
"'The Prestige' (though, I ALMOST had it figured out, but not quite)."- Krinks1
There's nothing better than when a movie surprises you.
Even if it does make talking about said movie with people who haven't seen it a bit more challenging.
Case in point, people who saw The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects after their endings were spoiled for them, don't seem to like those movies as much as those who went in blind.
Every family has its secrets.
It's up to every new generation to unearth it all.
Don't we all want to know if we're related to famous people?
Or what if we have a familial stake in lands and businesses?
Also, this is a good way to NOT end up dating blood relatives.
The more you know, the less awkward later.
As much as there is a lot of trauma there could be a lot of cool facts to to discuss at parties.
Redditor ForthrightPedant wanted to hear some interesting family histories, so they asked:
"What is a historical fact about your family that you think is kinda neat?"
I don't have any family history.
Of course I've done no investigating.
Maybe I do.
I should look!
Super Talent
Excited Happy Hour GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy"Great-grandpa created the Flintstones. Dan Gordon. Drew lots of Hannah-Barbara cartoons, and directed the first three animated Superman films at the beginning of WW2 as well as several seasons of Popeye, Scooby Doo, Smurfs, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound."
downnoutsavant
Bad Voyage
"My grandfather disliked America and wanted to return to Ireland. He booked passage on the Titanic’s return voyage. If it wouldn’t have sunk, no of us would be here."
mrseddievedder
"My great-grandmother was a Titanic survivor. She was a steerage-class Lebanese immigrant in an arranged marriage. Her husband went down with the ship but she managed to make it to a lifeboat and made it to the Carpathia. Then she remarried in a Lebanese neighborhood in Virginia. Had it not been for the iceberg that struck and sank the Titanic My family lineage would be different and I wouldn't be here. My family's official toast is 'to the iceberg.'"
jaspersurfer
Forgotten
"My husband's grandfather was one of the 'forgotten soldiers' in Canada. He was a Canadian-born Chinese man who asked the Canadian government to fight for his right to vote and a passport. Even tho he was born in Canada in the 20’s since he was Chinese he was not considered Canadian."
H"e was dropped into the Burma jungle and was told he would likely never return. He was in the 10% that did return. He was given the right to vote, to a passport, and to University."
"His wife is still alive today and my son is named after him."
cowskeeper
Can you imagine?
"My great-grandmother had 13 kids, so she was pregnant for literally a decade. There’s two hundred of us now, all because of this one woman."
CoverlessSkink
"My great grandma had 14 kids. My grandma was the youngest. She died giving birth to my grandma. The oldest child who was like 22 years old raised my grandma. My great-grandfather remarried a woman who had 10 kids of her own. My grandma would tell me stories of them all living together. Can u imagine? 😦."
Content_Pool_1391
Long Ago
american wtf GIF by unimpressionismGiphy"The land my dad was raised on and my cousins still live on was deeded to the family by George Washington as compensation for service during the Revolution. There was a document with his signature on it at the courthouse until a fire destroyed the records a few decades ago."
mustbethedragon
So much land and fortune and HISTORY has been lost due to fire.
Thank God we keep more than paper records now.
Over the Moon
Michael Jackson Dancing GIFGiphy"My second cousin is David Scott who walked on the Moon and drove the moon buggy. My mom does. He was so busy during the time when I was young that he even said later in life that he wished she’d gotten to know more of his family."
Roadgoddess
The Union
"Great-great-great grandfather on my mom's side was working his field in the part of Virginia that split off and became a new state because they didn't want to secede from The Union. Union soldiers came along looking for conscripts and he was a young, able-bodied man so they told him to come with them. He informed them he was a Quaker and thus a pacifist. According to family lore, that discussion went on for a bit but he would not give in. So they shot him and left him there. Good thing he had a couple of kids well before that day."
SpottyNoonerism
Opportiunities
"My great-grandfather was offered a chance to invest in a new invention by a guy by the name of Alexander Graham Bell. He declined, saying at most there would be one telephone per town."
Carson4307
"That is apparently my family too."
"One uncle apparently built a version of a hot water heater and then sold the design to GE for a good sum back then."
"Another uncle was asked if he wanted to be in a photo during his military service. He said no so they raised the flag on Iwo Jima without him in it."
"No idea if any of these are true, at best they are enhanced truths, but for me, I really hope they are true."
Jormungand1342
Underground
"I have a relative who worked for the Underground Railroad and had a price on her head in the South."
dahlia6767
"My uncle was a carpenter. And was doing restoration work on old houses in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Many of those old, historical homes had underground railroad passageways and hidden walls. He got to see and restore many of them. He had photos of some of the work he was doing and I got to see those as a kid. Living in Southern Ohio, we have a lot of rich underground railroad history here."
AddictiveArtistry
Family Empire
blood discussion GIFGiphy"My great-grandfather was the town police chief in the 1920s. His brother was the Mayor. Their cousins ran the casino."
"My family was a smaller version of Boardwalk Empire."
nowhereman136
Wouldn't we all love a show based on our families?
Then that's even more neat family history.
