Retail therapy is a thing for a reason. In a capitalistic culture, we get used to using money as a means for comfort. So we think, let me buy some "comfort" food. Let me buy this new video game, because I deserve it. Ooh, this hat is cute. Buying this will make everything better.
But sometimes the usefulness of a purchase actually outlasts the simple thrill of just buying it.
u/WrathOfChevy asked:
"What's the best purchase you've ever made?"
Here were some of those answers.
Just A Quiet Moment
We were at the tail end of a 32 hour road trip with our 5 kids ages 5 to 15 years old at the time. I love them but I needed silence. I bribed them with a dollar for whoever could be quiet the longest. I thought I'd buy myself perhaps 5 minutes of quiet tops before someone breathed someone else's air. Nope. Complete silence for just over an hour until we pulled into our destination. I declared them all winners so they all got a dollar. By far the best $5 I've ever spent.
I Want To See
Got LASIK 4 years ago and continues to be the best money I ever spent. I wake up, and can just...see? With no glasses or contacts? Amazing
My Own Coffee Shop
Bought a Breville Barista Express espresso machine 5+ years ago. I drink at least 2 americanos or lattes a day. It has never failed in any way shape or form, and at this point has saved me approximately eleventy billion dollars at Starbucks over this time period. I absolutely love that machine.
Paco The Horse
I bought a horse named Paco for $500. My mom's hairdresser kept trying to sell him to me, starting at $3500 and every few months she would lower the price $500. When she got to $500 I said I would look at him. That was 18 years ago. He was the first horse my daughter was able to get out and ride on her own. She took him to the county fair the first year she showed there and won numerous ribbons on him, including hunter over fences jumping him over 3 foot fences. We didn't know he could jump.
After she moved on to other horses we kept him and many different kids showed him at the fair all doing very well with him. Another lady had a parade horse get sick, and borrowed Paco and took him to the Kentucky derby parade and the Indy 500 parade. He proudly marched in both.
He also became a lesson horse and taught hundreds of beginners how to ride a horse. Never once has lost his patience with anyone. The only thing he asks in return is some peppermint candy.
He's in his late thirties now and is still going strong. He doesn't do many lessons anymore, but every once in a while someone is lucky enough to get to learn on him.
When You Live In Suburban America
My car.. It isn't even that great (96 Camry).. But going many years without a car was a daily struggle. Now I can get anywhere I need to without having to bother friends and family. Something as simple as grocery shopping went from being embarrassingly difficult to not a big deal.
Our Best Friend For Life
When I was about 10 years old my parents and I were in our backyard clearing out a ton of weeds that had gotten out of hand. I had trouble focusing because our next door neighbor had this really adorable puppy and all I wanted to do was play with him.
We found out that they were actually going to take him to an animal shelter because their son was not taking care of him like he promised. I decided to ask my parents if maybe we could get him instead. I was an only child and never really have anyone to play with unless a friend would come over and the thought of having a puppy to play with whenever I wanted to was great.
My parents agreed and our neighbors offered to sell him to us for $20, which is really cheap for a dog when you think about it, but a lot of money for a kid. I had that saved up and immediately agreed and promised I care for him and love him forever. So, he became my puppy and like a brother. After a few days of debating I named him Snoopy.
Snoopy became my closest friend. He made me laugh, played with me, and would just hang out and watch TV with me. He was always there for me, especially through some tough times in my life where I was extremely self-destructive. He saved me from myself. He was there at my side through tough breakups where all I ever wanted to do was lay in bed. He was an amazing friend. He was there to see me graduate 8th grade, high school, and college. I hoped he would be there on the day I got married and maybe be around for when I had kids, but unfortunately as much as we wish for things, sometimes they don't happen.
This is the first picture of I have of us together and this is the last. He died 5 years ago after being by my side for almost 17 years. That little ball of fur in the first picture made such a huge impact on my life bringing me years of happiness, friendship, and love.
There And Back Again
I broke up with my HS sweetheart near graduation for reasons. She got a new boyfriend and I a new girlfriend (mine didn't last but 2 weeks). Months go by, I started college, and we remained in touch. I missed being with her and as our initial anniversary date neared I knew she was single again. So on that day I dropped by her job as a supermarket cashier and bought a pack of gum. As she rang me up I asked her if we could get back together. She said maybe, but would call me later. Of course she said yes and we've been together ever since, got married, & have 2 kids. Easily the best $1.07 I ever spent!
Halving My Size
The food and fees for the medically supervised diet I'm on right now. I've lost 121 pounds so far and only have 36 to get to my goal. I feel so happy with myself and very proud that I've managed to do this. And of course I already look damn good, I started at a size 26 and I'm a size 14 now, there's so many small and large benefits I've noticed from being a ton thinner. From no longer worrying about being able to fit in chairs to simply being more comfortable in my own skin.
It All Worked Out
My divorce. I didn't even know how miserable was until one day, I was planning how I could successfully abandon my whole life.
I was going to apply for jobs across the country. I was mentally making lists of what I could fit in the car with the dogs so I could ghost. I was going to abandon the house I just bought, figured my parents would disown me based on their anti-divorce stance and years of telling me "marriage is forever. You vowed good times and bad." I was going to change my number so no one would know where I was. Started trying to figure out how I could save the deposit for an apt. I would stay married but live separately and I'd just start life over as if I was an orphan.
Had this moment of clarity that to go through all that to get away from him, i should just divorce him anyway. My parents didn't have to live with him and it was worth severing ties with them to get away from him. Why was I giving up the home I'd bought, and the life I'd made?
Things came to a head one day, the next week I had a consultation with a lawyer. Took off work so as not to rouse suspicion. He told me I could think about it and I was like "dude, I've done nothing but. Here's my cc." I called my mom on the way home and let her know. I was expecting "we're disowning you" and was shocked and in tears when she said that she had been wrong, if it was that bad they would support me and help me pay the lawyer fees. I hung up with her, my dad called me not 2 mins later and said it was about time.
I was expecting this bitter divorce and... when I broke it to him he's like "I'm going to let you go." We had an uncontested divorce, I gave him an, as my lawyer phrased it, "overly fair", settlement. It's been 8 years, I'm still paying off the divorce settlement, but I am in a better place mentally, a better relationship and it was worth getting out of an extremely toxic, emotionally abusive relationship.
Puppies Are Good For Your Health
I was living with my mum when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had her surgery and had started the first of three years of chemo and radiation.
I drove her anywhere she needed and went in with her. Doctors visits and chemo can be really boring, so I always had two bags full of different things depending what she felt like doing.
We were in our way to a chemo visit and instead of going in with her, I felt like visit the animal shelter. No idea why, I had never left Mum during a chemo visit before.
The shelter was five minutes from the hospital and there were plenty of animals but I had my eye on one. A six month old lab x border collie puppy that was just terrified. Would not come anywhere near me. I couldn't leave him in that outdoor concrete kennel. How can a puppy be so terrified.
I drove with him back to the hospital. The chemo ward had a garden with windows, so we sat there waving at Mum. Mum came out and wasn't happy, there was enough going on let alone a puppy. But this dog was so quiet and timid. He curled into mum's lap and I never heard her complain again.
The best part was mum would walk him every day along the beach (she was covered head to toe in clothes and sun block) and she became stronger and healthier each year. When I was at work, I was comforted in knowing he was by her side.
He was $360 but easily the best purchase I've ever made.
"Bought my dog..."
Bought my dog during severe depression and loneliness. She's been a great friend so far and makes most days fun. Even when she shits on the carpet (she's still a puppy).
"Lived like a miser..."
My house.
Lived like a miser for 10+ years to afford a down payment. The feeling of putting money into the house instead of rent is fantastic.
"Thanks to..."
Thanks to a Costco membership and basement shelving, My family of 3 were packing 60+ Charmin triple rolls when the shortages started. We just stock up whenever it is on sale and there had been a sale not long before. I wouldn't call myself a prepper but when at the prices costco has for things like 25lb boxes of high quality rice for around 10 bucks, you would be a fool to not keep one of those bad boys in the bottom of your pantry.
"Invested..."
Invested $20,000 of an inheritance into a weed grow. Now I've been working in the Cannabis industry 4 years and have made probably $300k on my investment.
"No one is allowed..."
The Complete Calvin & Hobbes, bound, three volume set.
No one is allowed to touch it. My daughter reads all the cheaper paperback collections I received over the years every xmas. She 17 now, I might just let her have a peek.
Also, a close second is a painting of a Hawker Hurricane I found in what I thought was a nice art store. I just felt like I should have it. I looked it up after i bought it and it appears to be commonly replicated. But I liked it, I love military history, and its one thing in our house that can be pointed to and said "that's here because of Kurt_Go_Bang."
"They will change your life..."
Birkenstocks! They will change your life, especially my high-arched comrades.
"I never had pets..."
The pet adoption fees for my cats.
I never had pets growing up (my mother is allergic) but my wife always had cats. So after we were dating for awhile and living together we adopted two cats.
I never felt so much unconditional love or had a stronger feeling of having a home until they lived with us.
"They didn't have much money..."
Laptop for my younger brother and his wife. They didn't have much money and really needed one. Started breaking down crying in Starbucks. Made me start tearing up as well.
"Got drunk once..."
Got drunk once on holidays and thought it would be a great idea to buy a dog. Woke up later that afternoon in my hotel room with a 10 week old Alaskan Malamute puppy I had somehow managed to sneak in.
It's been 6 years now and she is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.
"While on unemployment..."
When I was 23, I got let go from my job as a groundskeeper. While on unemployment, I bought a $2 scratch off ticket. Turned out, I won $2500! I used that money to purchase the parts to build a gaming PC, which I had no experience with. After buying all the parts, and with a little help with wiring, I found a love for computers, and how they work. I am now working at an engineer level at my current IT job, and am doing very well, mentally, which I was not before that $2 scratch off purchase.
"I can take a bunch..."
A crockpot. I can take a bunch of vegetables and meats or beans or whatever , and some water or chicken stock, throw in a pack of frozen seasoning vegetables (bell pepper, onion, celery), toss in salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, put it on medium to high heat and go to bed and literally go to work the next day and never worry about it. The roast and veggies? Perfect. The chicken fiesta soup? Immaculate. The red beans and sausage? Food of the gods. The vegetable stew? To die for.
All I do is throw things in it and then literally ignore them and the next day dinner is just ready, like I actually did something.
"I suffer..."
I suffer from severe insomnia and I'm currently pregnant.. So I'm a person who already doesn't sleep, who can't take any of my medication for this and I'm growing a human inside of me, which isn't comfortable.
I bought a new mattress about a month ago and have gotten the best sleep I've ever had in my life! Definitely agree!
"I've worked..."
Graduate school. Switched from an undergrad of Microbiology to Computer Science masters. I've worked for some of the top companies in the world, done some pretty cool stuff, and had a lot of fun along the way. Far and away the best purchase and 2 years of my life.
"I grew it..."
I purchased a pizza shop in 1999. I grew it to 4 pizza shops and then sold them all. I now own 8 restaurants in another concept and am financially set.
"She still hasn't..."
The engagement ring for my wife. She still hasn't figured out how far beneath her that she married. Please, nobody tell her!
"My old boss..."
My car. '08 Prius in 2014, 50k on the clock, perfect service history, 1 previous owner, $7.5k. My old boss had more money than sense.
"It's calming..."
A guitar. If you give it some time, any instrument can be great. It's calming and stress relieving.
"Trust me people."
King Size Casper Matress. Trust me people, it's LIFE changing. LIFE CHANGING. Second prize: an attachable bidet for 32 bucks off amazon. LIFE CHANGING.
"This little pug..."
Most stories here are a dog. And I agree that's the best purchase I made. My pug is my wife's and I kid and for all sakes, it behaves like one. We've been married for 5 years and got him after our first year married as a prelude to kids. Neither one of us would think that we would go thru infertility and the possibility of kids may not happen. This little pug has allowed us to fill that gap, not in an unhealthy way but definitely in the loving way. A little source of constant happiness while dealing thru the shittiness that's comes from infertility. It's the little things that allow for us to always maintain perspective.
"Recently?"
Recently? An herb garden. Got parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, dill, cilantro, and of course, catnip. Watering and watching them grow is extremely soothing. Plus, freshest possible herbs! And cat drugs for my kitties, because they should benefit, too.
"After driving nothing but..."
A new car. After driving nothing but crappy old cars with tons of mileage on them I got a new one. Crazy how nice it drives and how often it DOESN'T break down.
"My then girlfriend..."
$10 for a Kappa duffle bag.
My then girlfriend (now wife) bought one at the same time. We picked them up at a Kroger almost 20 years ago when we were in college. We use them nearly every other weekend to pack clothes and supplies to visit family and friends. Hell, my wife damn near lived out of hers for 3 years for her job. I would not be surprised if they last another 20 years.
"The kind that comes..."
Compact floor jack. The kind that comes in a plastic case and fits nicely in the trunk of your car. Makes changing a tire on the side of the highway a speedy, safer affair. Those scissor jacks are not good.
"I love being able to..."
My guitar has given me more pleasure than anything. I love being able to pull it out and play something to speak with people
"Honestly..."
Honestly, if I think of time used, reliability and just never breaking down in 12 years, it has to be a white Sony VAIO laptop. Astonishing in it's durability... shame they stopped making them, was the best $700 I think I've ever spent.
"Where I live..."
My central air conditioning. Where I live, we get two-three months of summer, but totally worth it. I hate trying to sleep when it is hot.
"Heading out..."
My hiking bag. 2012. Decided I was going to get one, hopped onto Kijiji knowing almost nothing about hiking backpacks and found a large mec brio for $50. Apparently you are supposed to try on different ones until you find the right size, well I just impulsively bought it and it fit like a glove.
It's carried me from memory to memory, bursting at the seams with tent poles, punctured beer cans, clothes, gear. Whatever I want to bring I can find a way to stretch the bag to accommodate. I have abused the hell out of it and it just doesn't break.
Regular visits to the Bruce Trail, Lake Superior, Kawarthas, Algonquin, Ganaraska trail. That thing took me through so many of the experiences of my 20's that made life worth living.
Heading out for my first hike of the season this Saturday, these days I store it prepacked with gear and whisky and add food and batteries the night before a hike.
"Maybe not the best..."
Maybe not the best but I recently bought a convertible sofa for 30 dollars. There was an error on the site and it was 94% off.
"I finally..."
My computer bag. I finally bought a good leather bag and it'll be the last one I ever have to buy.
"I've been sewing..."
I've been sewing for a while now, and my brothers birthday is coming up, so when my grandma dragged me into a fabric shop, and I found the best thing for his birthday, he's a cyclist, and I found a peoce of material with bikes on it. I bought it, and I'm really excited to get started! I've never given my brother a proper birthday gift, and I'm sure hell love it, at least I hope so!
- People Share Which Impulse Purchases Ended Up Changing Their ... ›
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- People Confess The Worst Impulse Purchase They Ever Made. ›
- People Explain The Wisest Purchase They Have Ever Made ... ›
- People Explain Which Events Broke Them Down And Made Them Even Stronger - George Takei ›
I love characters I love to hate.
Even when I hate them I can always find the reason they're involved in the story, so I find it difficult to want them to be erased.
Certain characters flaws and the most heinous decisions are written to further story and bolster the audience's love for the heroes.
So as much as we loathe them, we need them; much like our enemies in real life. That is what makes compelling drama.
Redditor u/nekoandCJ wanted to spill the tea on the characters we could do without in our favorite stories by asking:
People of reddit, what fictional character do you hate with a passion?
The list is long for me. It all starts with the guy who shot Bambi's mom. Lord, to this day that is still traumatizing. But she had to go to give Bambi a story. And Michael Douglas's character in "Fatal Attraction," what a putz. He got what he deserved. But how else would we be able to sympathize with Glenn Close? Even though... well y'all get it.
Family Fail
Home Alone Christmas GIF by FreeformGiphy"Kevin McCallister's uncle… "look what you did you little JERK!"
- IcyVirto
"Watching Home Alone as an adult is so much harder because basically every adult in Kevin's life fails him."
HIM!
"Percy from the green mile, that freak can DIE IN THE MENTAL WARD!!"
"That was what was so good, there is a Percy in every large group and more that one in any team where failure isn't punished, like a government job working at a prison. He was a great comment on humanity."
Love Sharon Though
"Ginger from Casino."
"Major kudos to Sharon Stone, her performance made me utterly loathe that character. She was a manipulative junkie who tied her young daughter to a bed so she could go out to score. I wanted to reach through the screen and choke her."
"Loathe the character, but that performance is absolutely god-tier. Helluva an acting job. Her and Pesci just freaking nail it to the stratosphere, playing thoroughly unlikeable characters in the absolute most realistic way. Ginger is the holistic ideal of the gold-digging party girl. And Pesci is that moron Dunning-Kruger guy we all know."
Wimps...
"Manny from Diary of a Wimpy kid I think there's a while subreddit about that little monster."
"Honestly Greg is also pretty bad. He breaks his best friend's arm and is not only not sorry about it but also thinks he's the victim."
- ManMan36
Call a Doctor!
Giphy"Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. My favorite antagonist ever. Louise Fletcher was perfectly cast for the role, too."
Ohhhh... good choices thus far. Although, I found Sarah Paulson's Ratched more detestable. You know who else is a mess? Elmira Gulch. Love the Wicked Witch. Hate Elmira! Go figure...
True Evil
the sopranos hbo GIFGiphy"Livia Soprano made my blood pressure rise every time she was on screen. Great acting. Mission accomplished."
That Voice!
"Micah bell."
"I will say, I've seen Comic-Con panels with him and his smarta** sense of humor fit Micah perfectly. He may have hated the character, but boy oh boy was he a fantastic casting choice. As were all the main cast, for that matter."
"Currently replaying, and I so wish I could leave him to hang in Strawberry. Gotta give it to him though, he is a tremendous villain."
All the Drama
"When I tell you I stood up and cheered when I originally saw Heather from Total Drama Island finally get booted out of the competition. 'Twas a good day."
"Season 1 I HATED her and loved when she lost her hair. But then it was more of a love-hate relationship with her. She's a fun character. Owen, now that monster I hate. Loved him season 1, but then he just got reduced to fat guy who farts and contributes nothing."
Hit Him!
"Craig from Malcolm in the Middle. He's a selfish, annoying coward. Like the episode where he's injured and he makes Lois drive all over town to different restaurants for him. I love when the helper monkey turns on him, that's what he gets for treating it like crap. I especially hate the episode where Hal asks Craig to help him buy a comic book for Malcolm."
"And Craig also makes Hal drive him all over town for different meals and treats and gifts, then when Hal dares to ask when they're actually going to the comic book store Craig flips out and demands to be let out of the car and says he won't help Hal anymore. Like come the hell on, I just want to slap him."
harry potter book GIF"Do you need a cough drop, Dolores?!"
"I loved Umbridge for the simple fact that she brought out McGonagall's savagery like no one else, and it was glorious."
"Voldemort is just another generic, pointlessly evil type of character that only seems to exist in fiction. Umbridge is the type of tight @ssed bureaucrat that mimics the actual villain in many average people's real lives."
This thread could be endless. So many villains and loathesome characters so little time. But Lord the drama is good!
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Everyone has their own little quirks.
Reddit user, u/JBStudios1, wanted to hear about the odd things that turn you on when they asked:
What's the weirdest thing you find attractive?
Perhaps the thing you find the most attractive is completely unnoticeable to the average person. As in, if you weren't looking for this one tiny, small, completely negligible thing, you would never notice it.
But these people did.
Whip It Back And Forth
"My wife had shoulder length hair for a while. Once, when I called her name and she did the hair-swish-smile thing, I just about f-cking died from cuteness."
Little Stragglies Of Cuteness
"The neck, when a woman has her hair up and those little bits of hair curl around."
"Seeing a girl have to stand on her tiptoes to do basically anything, especially to hug or kiss me.
I think it's the cutest thing ever"
Then there are those people who find things attractive that, on first viewing, someone else wouldn't see as "Wow, that's a real turn on!" However, you have refined and cultured taste. Of course you'll love it when someone's bones stick out a little bit.
...What?
Wait...Bones?
"Collarbones. Can't even explain it. Just a shirt low enough to show a pronounced collarbone."
"Omgyes! Protruding collarbones and (at least imo) hipbones are crazy hot! It doesn't have to do with them being skinny though! Slightly curvy people can also have really nice defined collar- and hipbones!"
Controlling A Massive Machine
"My husband reversing the car. He puts his arm around the passenger seat and looks over his shoulder...."
"Oh, man, I love watching people drive. The arm-around-the-passenger-seat-while-reversing thing for sure, but also just people driving in general. There's just something about that focus people get when they're behind the wheel; the way their expressions are usually passive, but their eyes are attentive... oh man. I'm with you on this one for sure."
Someone Has A Thing For "Teen Wolf"
"Long canines. The teeth, not the species.
Not unnaturally long like vampire fangs, but just enough that they're longer than the rest of the teeth."
"Huh, weirdest compliment I've gotten from a guy before was that he liked my 'pointy teeth.' This was at a bar and it made my coworker do a double take."
Then there's these, which you may not have known did it for you, but after reading these there's no going back. You're hooked, now, and that's okay. Embrace the weirdness.
I See You Are Also An Individual Of Class And Substance
"Chokers, f-ck those things stir up something primal in me"
"Ah I see you also grew up in the 90s and watched buffy the vampire slayer..."
Wait, That Seems Pretty Obvi-Oh, That's Why...
"Guys who wear glasses.
For some reason I think it's sexy when we're making out and he has to take them off."
Seems Like You Like Everything They Do. Which Is Great.
"I like when women have to go pee really bad and do that dance. Yea it's weird.
Or when you successfully feed your girlfriend at the appropriate time of day and she does a little dance or starts humming a song as she's chewing.
I like watching the daily skin care routine as they furiously and rapidly circulate their little raccoon sized hands in various nonsense that I'll never understand"
Everyone is different. Everyone has different tastes. Everyone has things that speak to them. These are all perfectly acceptable, and steering into them might actually help you along as you continue your search for a viable romantic partner. Don't shy away from the things you find sexy. Embrace them. Be happy.
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People Explain Which Minor Injustice They Suffered As A Kid That They're Still Salty About
When we're kids, we expect the adults in our lives to notice everything, know everything, and maintain a just, sound moral order.
Psh, don't hold your breath.
Whether it's a teacher, the parent supervising a playdate, or mom and dad at home, kids expect them to have eyes on the back of their heads.
That way, when a kid gets into a spat with a peer, has something stolen, or feels a quiet emotion, the adult in the room will respond with full knowledge of all the facts at play.
But adults are just human beings with a limited bandwidth in their heads. Half the time they're doing other things when the incident goes down.
So they weigh in as best as they can with the limited info they receive--usually in the form of two screaming children pointing at one another.
Curious to learn about the times when the adult got it wrong, Redditor Butterat_Zool asked:
"What minor injustice was wrought upon you as a child that you're still salty about today?"
Many people talked about times when a prized possession was stolen, destroyed, or squandered. Sure, things are just things.
But to kids they mean a whole lot.
Covering Her Tracks
"We had a special arts and crafts week when I was about six, maybe younger. I made my dad a Christmas stocking out of clay, because I'd always thought it was unjust that he didn't have one. It was going to be my Christmas presents to him."
"I took it to the teacher to show her, and so it could be fired later. She methodically destroyed it by balling it up in her hands, and then tried to put it down to a brain fart. I was shocked, but mostly I wanted a replacement stocking, since it was meant to be a gift. I asked her to remake it for me, since she, a teacher, would be allowed to use the clay any time, but I only had a few minutes left."
"The next day I was told I'd been bad and I wasn't allowed to participate in the arts and crafts week any more, and that was that."
-- Pippin4242
No Help From Pa
"When I was 4 I had a little red rocking horse necklace. It was my favourite. I wore it to a puppet show my dad took me to one day and took it off and put it beside me."
"The kid next to me picked it up and wouldn't give it back. We fought."
"My dad told her dad he didn't recognize the necklace and let her take it. I'm 45 and still salty."
In-School Pawn Shop
"Teacher took my 2ft long pencil and sold it to another student."
"Yup. A few teachers at that school sold supplies like pencils to students. It just so happened that this one was taken from me because it was 'too distracting' "
-- Airsnipes
All Them Nintendos
"When I was younger I wanted a Sega Dreamcast. My parents wouldn't just buy it for me, since 'I already had enough Nintendos.' I got a job at Hollywood Video. I couldn't even drive yet, so I would ride my BMX to work in my tuxedo uniform."
"When I saved enough money, I told my parents I was going to buy it myself. They told me no. When I asked why, they said it was to teach me that I can't always get what I want, even if I can afford it."
"I bought one anyway and successfully hid it from them. Every night when I went to 'bed,' I'd hook up the Dreamcast and play as quietly as possible. I still give them sh** for that decision, but they stand by it."
Other people fixated on the times an adult embarrassed them in front of multiple people. Of all the examples given, these are enough to make you really worry about some of the people watching kids out there.
Shot Down
"We were on a field trip to some Washington forest and the ranger started asking about products that grow in or are made from forests."
"3rd grade me who had just discovered in some Ranger Rick article that latex rubber comes from tree trunks confidently raised my hand to share."
" 'Uh rubber from trees, now that doesn't sound right does it' and she moved onto another. 35 years later and the salt is still there."
-- plains59
Defensive Strategy
"In 4th grade our teacher told us to write a paper about what we thought of our school, now our school wasn't great and I was homeschooled up until that year and struggling with the change so wrote about my frustrations and how I was generally unhappy with it..."
"...and she insulted me in front of everybody until the point that I cried and then told me I should get up and read the paper to the class, I refused and she made me rewrite that paper until it was positive, you know instead of trying too help me with the problems I had"
-- -redmenace-
Don't Cross a Paleo Nerd
"I was failed on an essay in English class because my interpretation was incorrect. The poet was describing an airplane and they asked us to figure how what it was being interpreted or anthropomorphized as."
"I was a paleo nerd and chose a pterosaur, because the author described the engines as screeching, and heaving, wings outstretched but still, etc. This was in 6th grade and in my essay I wrote 'and pterosaurs weren't like modern birds, they certainly didn't chirp!' "
"The teacher specifically read my essay out loud to the class as an example of something bad and wrong and 'incorrect.' She also didn't know what a pterosaur was or how you say pterodactyl. Big Salt could mine me until the sun explodes."
-- Casgrey
And finally, others shared the times they found themselves doing the wrong thing, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The adult only saw a snippet of a much broader context of behavior.
And the minimal knowledge led them to punish exactly the wrong person.
Phone-triloquist
"Someone's phone went off in class, so teacher demanded that person turn their phone it. No one budges. She holds us in class for a good 20 minutes into the next period antagonizing us about this phone that rung. Eventually she let us go and warned all other teachers about this phone incident."
"My 8th period teacher then gets involved and antagonizes us all again. Said he was gonna stand out in the hall and whoever knows anything to report to him. Some kid went out there and said it was my phone. I got yelled at, got written up for Saturday detention, and later that year found out the kid who told on me was the one who's phone rung in class."
The One Time
"In kindergarten, we sat on this foam mat made out of large puzzle pieces, and we were all assigned one. My puzzle neighbor, Tommy, threw his garbage onto my square. Every time I pushed it off, he'd put it back."
"I eventually got mad and told him to knock it off, and the teacher noticed and yelled at me for throwing garbage into his square. I sat out for the rest of the day and my pin was brought down to 'bad day'. I accidentally broke his nose on the metal spider a few weeks after during tag, though."
Pulled In to the Chatter Hole
"Once a week, in kindergarten, they would pick a name of a kid who would win a toy. Only good kids could participate."
"I was alway a good kid, but not really lucky. My name got picked only once in the whole year. That day, unfortunately for me, I was next to a kid who would not shut up during the lesson. I spoke once to ask him to please stop talking. Guess who the teacher chose to punish for disturbing the lesson? That's right. Me. Didn't get my toy."
-- Maauve91
Until some kind of horrifying technology comes out that allows adults to see and know every facet of their child's existence, tiny injustices like this will proliferate.
But perhaps those couple slights are totally worth the freedom of adults that don't know everything we're up to.
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People Imagine Which Medical Condition They Would Have Died From Without Modern Medicine
Modern medicine is a marvel. It's the reason why we've been able to effectively eradicate some serious diseases and improve the quality of health care around the world. When you take these two things into consideration, it's easy to see why vaccine hesitancy can be such a frustrating topic for people right now.
Many people would not be able to survive without the benefits of modern medicine. That's what we learned after Redditor forevernostalgic23 asked the online community,
"If modern medicine didn't exist what medical condition would have died from or been severely impacted by?"
I had bad vision until my early 20s. I second this.
"I would have had a very short life..."
"I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven. I would have had a very short life without modern medicine."
Having known many people who live with diabetes, I am glad that they are still here.
"I probably would have died..."
"I probably would have died at 6 years old from strep throat."
This is a big one: In the past, it commonly killed many people. And guess what, it still does? The CDC estimates approximately 11,000 to 24,000 cases of invasive group A strep disease occur each year in the United States, with 1,200 to 1,900 of those cases resulting in death.
"I was born..."
"I was born with a bilateral abdominal hernia and amniotic fluid in my lungs, no way I would have survived infancy without modern medicine."
"My brother and I..."
"Rabies.
My brother and I were bitten by a rabid farm kitten when we were 6 and 4 years old. Without the foresight of my grandfather who had the cat tested and modern medicine creating the vaccine, my parents would be childless."
Frightening! I saw Cujo as a child and that told me all I needed to know about rabies, thank you very much.
"I would have gone deaf..."
"I would have gone deaf from recurrent ear infections as a child and then died at 14 from pneumonia."
"But since that..."
"I was born two months premature, so I'd likely not survive that in an earlier era. But since that, nothing."
"Mom and Dad..."
"The way I was born. Mom and Dad had to feed me through a tube down my nose the first year and a half."
"If the recurrent..."
"If the recurrent tonsillitis didn't get me, my appendix would have been the end of me as a teen."
"Neither kiddo nor I..."
"Giving birth. Neither kiddo nor I would be alive without emergency surgery."
Amazing, right? Be grateful for modern medicine––there are new developments each and every day. And who knows what the future has in store for us? Will there be a cure for cancer? Alzheimer's disease and dementia? The sky's the limit.
Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below!
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