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.
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 arouse 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!
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One must really hate their job in order for them to get fired.
Depending on the actual job, it's not that difficult to follow established rules and work protocols. Deviating from them just to get terminated can take more effort.
That is, of course, the employees are completely inept or severely disgruntled and have no problem going on a self-sabotaging mission to be let go.
Why can't they just quit, you ask? Well, that'll be less dramatic.
Strangers online shared what they've witnessed at the workplace when Redditor ImaginaryBank9587 asked:
"How did that one coworker get fired?"
These former employees would do anything for a meal deal.
Egg Thief
"We had an employee cafeteria at a Fortune 500 company. You'd get your food at a counter and bring it, in one of those white foam clamshell containers, to the register where you'd just tell the cashier what you got. This one fellow regularly ordered 3-egg scrambles and told the cashier he had just one egg. He got caught once and told never to do it again. He did it again, and lost a $100k+ job for stealing eggs."
– Yossarian147
Costly Stand-Off
"Similar thing happened at my work, Fortune 500 company, VP of some department, company cafeteria but it was a salad. Would order a salad in line, the kind that they charge by weight and would loiter around until the cashier line got busy and then slip out the exit."
"Cafe worker noticed, told her boss …her boss told corporate security, they start watching for him and due to the guy’s position they watch for a few weeks. 2-3x’s a week he does this for close to a month. Finally they decide ok now it’s ironclad and we can fire him so they walk him out."
"Turns out he thought charging for salad was a ripoff and decided he wasn’t playing the game with the cafe. Well over 300k a year and lost it over a 5.00 salad."
– Due-Pineapple6831
The camera sees all.
Clumsy Ninja
"He was stealing Klondie Bars from the company freezer."
"One of the managers brought in a hidden camera to catch the thief. We all knew the camera was there so he crawled over to the freezer all ninja style to stay under the camera's field of vision."
"It would have worked, except, when he stood back up he tried to do it all fancy, and fell backward back into the camera's view."
– pirateteaparty
He May Have Fooled The GPS Tracker
"Dude would drive to the site, park his work van, then have his GF pick him up and take off for 8 hours, come back and pick up the van, thereby cleverly fooling the GPS tracker in the vehicle..."
"But not the camera pointing directly at the spot where he parked, got picked up, and dropped off. Cost the company a substantial contract. And himself a job."
– Dylsnick
Keep an eye on your baby wherever you go.
Free Baby
"She picked up a customer's baby without permission and walked off with her, the customer was beside herself thinking she'd been kidnapped. Co-worker didn't think she had done anything wrong because she's also a mother...."
– miss_demean0r
Up For Grabs
"My girlfriend had a coworker who did something similar, customer came in with a baby and she just grabbed the baby out of mum's arms and starts rocking it as this was a normal thing in her culture and her fellow co-workers freaked out about it but the mum was actually totally fine with it for some reason. She did not get fired though, they actually gave her a full time contract soon after which was a rare thing where she worked."
– Bubblez4
The Cart Pusher
"We had a cart pusher at target who did the same thing. He def have some mental disabilities, but I wasn’t privy to that info. I just know there were very few tasks he could do and he wasn’t very verbal."
"He was instructed to return carts, so he picked the child up from the child seat in the cart and held it out for the mom to grab after she finished loading the trunk. Mom was mortified, came in to raise hell at guest services. He wasn’t fired, but he also wasn’t allowed to push carts anymore."
– thisisntmyOGaccount
Alcohol and work don't mix.
Workplace Blackout
"Showed up drunk on the job, passed out on a chair in the lobby, then pissed his pants."
– SheZowRaisedByWolves
Sad Story
"At a prior company, we had a programmer who was brilliant. He actually built their computer systems from scratch and was able to update and maintain them. Only problem was, he was a total alcoholic. He was married and his wife did a damn good job getting him to work each day and keeping him reasonably coherent during business hours, probably because he was earning over $300K/year and it was worth her effort."
"Well, I guess she finally had enough of conducting his life and divorced him. He went OFF THE RAILS, like the company sent cops to his house for a wellness check. He was fine, just really drunk. The company paid for him to go to go rehab about three times, they were that invested in him. Each time, he'd stay sober for a bit, but then would be back to his old tricks in a couple of months."
"Eventually, the company hit its breaking point. I think the final straw was when he was in the parking lot, drunk, passed out in his car."
"He was fired and ended up passing from a massive heart attack about six months later, no doubt due to his addiction."
"Very sad story all around as he actually was great guy and an incredible programmer."
– Bleuet73
When I was a young performer in shows at a certain theme park, me and my coworkers got away with a lot of harmless but unprofessional behavior backstage that involved roughhousing and stupid antics out of view of visiting guests.
But when it came to showtime, we were always professional and helped create magical memories for our audiences.
The only time someone was fired was when a coworker tried to sneak a prop–in this case, a wig of a very popular princess–out of the park. Whenever we would "clock out" the security gate, they would always check our belongings for this very reason.
I guess my friend forgot about that part.
The next day, he didn't show up to work and none of us had a clue as to why. The company is so secretive when it comes to stuff like this.
We all eventually found out, and none of this played out dramatically. But one thing was made very clear.
You don't steal a mermaid's wig from this company and think you can get away with it.
For many people, escaping to the woods, either in a tent or a cabin, is just what they need to escape from their current realities and reset their mind.
Allowing themselves to be one with nature, and cut off from technology.
Not everyone finds the woods a peaceful place, however.
Indeed, being cut off from the rest of the world, all the while surrounded by wildlife, it's easy to see why some people find the woods scary, and not at all relaxing.
Particularly if their time in the woods included an experience which made them never want to return, ever again.
"Outdoorsmen of Reddit: What is the most terrifying experience you’ve encountered in the woods?"
In The Company Of Wolves
"Walking in the pitch black out to a deer stand."
"So dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face."
"Heard some circling around me of something large, it was trotting along."
"No big deal, figured it was a deer."
"Then it stopped and let out the most bone chilling howl I have ever heard."
"So loud it was like it was inside of me."
"A few wolves howled back in the distance and it ran off."
"Needed new underwear."- jubstep45
Who's That Cackling?
"I was backwoods camping in Canada with my ex."
"Deep forest, we'd been out there a day or two and hadn't seen anyone."
"That evening we were in the tent playing cards and heard something in the bushes, making a giant racket."
"It was getting steadily closer."
"It got to the area we were in and stopped."
"We debated what to do but finally opened the tent, both completely freaked out, and found... chickens."
"Three chickens, en route home to an organic farm we didn't know was nearby."- Worldly_Salamander_
GiphyIs That Water I Hear?
"An after dark flash flood that roared through camp."
"Twelve of us...five of them were sleeping in the canyon bottom."
"It's amazing nobody died."
"That was 32 years ago and I still sleep lightly and always pack clean underpants."- BrunoGerace
Stranger By The Lake
"When I was about fifteen yrs old me and some of my friends decided to go camping at a nearby lake."
"It was a 3-4 hr hike, and the nearest house was Maybe 3 hr away."
"We brought some homemade wine and drank the whole night and ate poorly grilled hot dogs."
"Life was good."
"We all shared the tent so it was crowded as f*ck in the tent but we all fell asleep around 2 am."
"At 4 I wake up because i can feel someone running their hand down my forearm."
"Not that unlikely that someone brushes up against me since there wasn't any space to move around in the crowded tent."
"But this is the arm that is facing the tent."
"So someone touched me from the outside of the tent."
"I sit up and gets instantly horrified to see that all my friends are sound asleep in the tent with me."
"I put on my deepest voice and shout 'whoever the f*ck you are you need to leave'."
"And a manly low voice answers me 'you should pack up your stuff and leave', not threatening or aggressive."
"Just calmly and in a dead kinda way."
"By now all my friends are awake and are just looking at me."
"No words just pure horror in their eyes."
"I say: 'Okay, we will go, but you need to leave'."
"Hurry up"
"When we get out of the tent this man, who is f*cking huge btw has taken the little row boat that was laying at the bank and gotten into it and is just sitting in the middel of the lake and watching us pack up our stuff and trying to get the f*ck away asap."
"We had to walk around the lake at our way back and he was just sitting there watching us."
"We never went back."
"This was 17 years ago in a rural Scandinavian country."
"We have a 'free to roam law' so we where not trespassing."
"We knew our way around the small town we grew up, everybody knows everybody."
"There have been no people missing and or found dead."
"Never."
"There hasn't been a murder in generations."
"We told our parents who at first tried to calm us down and they said that we where probably overreacting."
"But the way he caressed my arm before he told us to go was not normal."
"When we told them everything and What he said to us we where told to never go back."
"After covid we all met up and the subject came up and we tried to do some digging."
"There are no houses or cabins anywhere near."
"The lake is way too small to fish in."
"When he was sitting dead center in his little boat there was Maybe 60 feet to land on all sides."
"No one has ever seen this man before or after."- Withthisaccountican
Water Band GIF by TennisGiphyLose Lose Situation
"As a Boy Scout, we found a bunch of scorpions in our Adirondack."
"We ran outside screaming our heads off, and then lightening struck a tree like 20 yards away."
"We turned on our heels and ran straight back to the scorpions."- captainkatalis
A Bit Too Much Holiday Spirit
"Many years ago, when I was about 14, I was hiking deep in the woods behind my house with some friends."
"We were miles away from home- further than any of us had ever gone before."
"And we came up to the edge of a clearing and a little further down the tree line, we saw a lump of clothes underneath an old deer stand."
"We got a little closer and we could make out legs and arms and boots."
"They were wet from rain and had been there for a while."
"Obviously, our first thought was that it was a hunter who had an accident and fallen out of his stand and was dead."
"We were freaked out and it took us a little bit to get up the nerve to get a better look."
"It wasn't until we were practically on top of it that we realized that it was a dummy."
"We had wandered all the way up to the edge of a big Christmas Tree farm's property and the dummy was part of their decorations from a haunted hayride thing they did."
"They must have forgotten about it when closing up for the year."
"We had a good laugh but we were all scared sh*tless for a few minutes."- Ocksu2
season 1 premiere GIF by Jersey Shore Family VacationGiphyThe Bear Necessities
"I work in the bush and sometimes spend months out there."
"Most terrifying was seeing a bear start to circle me right as the helicopter pilot radioed me to say he couldn't get to my location because of the weather."
"Luckily I had a shotgun with me, and eventually the pilot got down to me, but yeah, sitting there in the sleet while watching that grizzly slowly and sneakily try to cut around my position in the fading light was absolutely terrifying."
"The whole time I was trying to come up with possible ways to keep from being outflanked and to keep visual contact with it in case I had to shoot it."
"This was in the late fall, so the bear probably hadn't put on enough fat for the year and was looking to supplement it."
"Spooky stuff!"- Psychological_Put395
Not A Terribly Uncommon Discovery In The Woods...
"I was backpacking with my dog and about 12 miles from the road and trailhead."
"So pretty far from people though popular enough that other hikers might be around."
"Though we saw no-one all day."
"About 2 a.m. my dog started this really low deep growl and wakes me up."
"Turn on my headlamp and see his teeth showing and he's right on top of me."
"I hear heavy footsteps (black bear / moose?) near the tent."
"I leash my dog so he doesn't tear thru the tent and the footsteps move further away, but keep circling my tent."
"All of my food and toiletries are hung in a tree in a bear bag - nothing in the tent to draw a bear's attention."
"I clap my hands - something is still slowly circling - not something a moose would do, and a bear might if he wanted food - but I've got nothing and a really big dog with me."
"I decide to step out of the tent with the leash in one hand and bear spray in the other - yelling 'hey bear'."
"The footsteps stop - dog's nose is in the air telling me to look right - but nothing in my headlamp that I can see."
"Didn't hear anything run off, but it's quiet."
"I give it 5 minutes or so, get back in the tent, and it starts up again - slowly circling maybe 50 feet from me."
"Maybe an hour later, I hear the footsteps wander off into the woods."
"At dawn, I take the dog, and the bear spray, and start looking for tracks."
"I find a clear path in the leaves that had been trampled, but no tracks."
"The dogs nose is on the ground, and I follow his lead - and he follows the loop around our campsite."
"We finally see a few human footprint - not shoe tracks - a regular size (not bigfoot) bare human foot."
"Plus - yup a human turd and toilet paper."
"Some a**hole was wandering around the middle of nowhere, near the tent and circling my tent for an hour or more, and left a dump for me to find."
"Hiking and backpacking is incredibly safe. I've been doing this for decades, and this is the only weird experience I've ever had."
"The hiking community is incredibly friendly."
"The trails have become more crowded since covid, and your definitely seeing more people on trails, and less trail courtesy (litter - leaving dog poop bags, pooping too close to the trail and not burying you poop)."
"Also - I was very far away from civilization. "
"Bad guys don't hike 12 miles to do harm, and I'm pretty sure they don't carry toilet paper."
"I've hiked thousand of miles without a single dangerous human interaction."
"What I think happened?"
"Much as I'd love to say it was a young sasquatch, a skin walker or a wendigo - I'm guessing it was a disoriented backpacker that left their tent to crap, and got confused."
"I was hiking a somewhat popular long loop trail, and I believe someone was probably hiking the opposite way, and stopped somewhere off trail ahead of me."
"I was backwoods camping - not at a campground."
"Regulations are that you need to be 200 feet off the trail and into the woods to set up a camp."
"So they could have been a quarter mile ahead on the trail and I wouldn't have known unless they were noisy (or smelly enough for my dog to let me know)."
"The most likely explanation is that they were heavily under the influence, got up to crap, and got lost on their way back to their tent, and found my site."
"They approach my tent and realized they were wrong, and tried to find their way back to their camp."
"Then they heard my dog, and me yelling to scare off a bear, and either thought we were a risk to them, or too lit to answer back."
"The circle around my camp was several hundred feet - and my tent wouldn't be visible for most of the loop - I was camping between several spruce trees."
"I didn't get back to sleep!"
"I couldn't get back to sleep."
"It was late Sept and sunrise was around 6 a.m."
"When we found the poop pile, I relaxed - I really didn't think there would be anyone nearby as we were in a very tough area to get to - requiring going over 2 mountain summits from my direction, and 6 other mountains in the other direction."
"The total hike was about 40 miles IIRC."
"We were going to be out for 3 nights, and 4 days."
"After I realized it was a human, my first assumption was that there was a lost hiker."
"I texted a friend that does Search and Rescue in the area t see if there were any reports of lost or overdue hikers."
"If there had been, I would have had my dog try to follow that trail to see if I could have found their campsite."
"As no one was missing, we broke camp and went on our way."
"He was the best dog ever."
"I lost him about 5 years ago."
"I knew that dog would die for me."
"Several years after this incident, I got diagnosed with cancer. **(**ETA - I've been in remission for several years and things look good)."
"This dog was so in tune with me that he knew how sh*tty I was going to feel before I did."
"He would walk with me to the bathroom, and sit right next to me as a puked my guts up."
"He'd walk me back to bed and let me rest my hand on his back if I needed a little help walking."
"Everyone has a heart dog - he was mine."
"I swear he knew I had cancer before I did."
"He used to sniff me right where my tumor was located."
"I still get teary eye'd thinking of him."
"Rest in peace big guy."- BionicGimpster
What Is It Reaction GIF by Nebraska Humane SocietyGiphyIt's What They Didn't See Or Hear...
"Absolute silence. No wind, no animals, nothing. One second there were all the sounds of nature, then nothing. Lasted for a few seconds that felt like an eternity." Reddit
There's a reason that so many fairy tales and scary stories are set deep in the woods.
For while staying alert and using your best judgment will no doubt keep you safe, the possibilities of what could happen to you are endless, and terrifying.
The older you get, the more you realize that having a worldview can be a disappointing aspect of life.
It's all the knowledge we acquire.
Sure, the more you know, the smarter you get.
But the more you know, the less you can pretend.
History can be difficult to learn.
Everything opinion and thought can change in an instant.
Sometimes that is a great thing.
Sometimes... not so much.
Redditor FlickTheSwitch167 wanted to hear about the times the truth of the world, just ruined it all, so they asked:
"What Historical fact have you learnt that ruined everything you ever thought you knew about this life?"
I feel like all of history is a lie. The more I learn, the less I'm shocked.
Aflame...
awesome rock on GIFGiphy"More of a fun one, but lighters predate strike matches by a couple of centuries. They originated from repurposed flintlock pistols that ignited tinder shoved in the barrel that was set aflame by the trigger mechanism."
Kataphractoi
Ice Ice Baby...
"Ancient Antarctica was actually a rainforest, a lush and verdant paradise, filled with flora and fauna. Despite the interesting fact that there was a whole continent of animals who lived on this planet that we’ll never know about - as their remains are locked beneath miles of ice."
"It blew my mind that Antarctica only fully froze over about 35 million years ago, despite breaking from its supercontinent ~ 180 million years ago."
"That means Antarctica supported independent life for ~ 145 million years, which ruined any sense I have for time and perspective. We really are specks on this planet."
oohaaahz
GONE
"There was a Spanish explorer that first visited the Inca empire and saw lots of prosperous cities and a great civilization, and told his peers about it when he returned home. But when other folks went to visit the said cities they found nothing but jungle and thought the explorer lied about his story."
"The fact that blew my mind is that nowadays we discovered that his story was true and the people he encountered died from diseases brought into the new world. And the cities and civilization they build were consumed by jungle in the span of a few years."
Manu82134
Modern Day
"Can't remember the exact quote but it went something like, If the entirety of human (Homo) history was condensed into a 500-page book, modern anatomical humans wouldn't show up until page 450, and homosapiens wouldn't build empires until page 490, the atomic bomb and the foundation of Rome would be on the final page and only a paragraph apart."
"And yet in all of this, the vast amount of technological advancements from the discovery of the atom to the modern day would fit in the last few sentences, of the last paragraph of the last page. And people wonder why we are reckless, we're still effectively great apes but with shiny toys."
JitterySuperCoffee
Tastes and Colors
All Stars Reaction GIF by LifetimeGiphy"Ruined in an interesting, not bad way: ancient Greek and Roman polychrome. The Parthenon temple looked a bit like Disneyland."
ipakookapi
"Same goes for European churches. Statues were painted in flashy colors. The ones outside got washed blanc but there are still some inside that still have their color. By today's standard, it would be considered tacky and bad taste."
chinchenping
One does want a hint of color. Right?
Part of that World
Happy The Little Mermaid GIF by Disney PrincessGiphy"Prehistoric, but still: Given that humans tend to concentrate along coastlines, and that sea levels have risen a bunch in the last 200 000 years, it is likely that our conception of human prehistory is fantastically distorted due to most of it being lost under the sea."
HaggeHagglin
Pennies and Pennies
"Victorian era London was a terrible place to be alive as a member of the working class. If I recall correctly. You could pay a penny to sit indoors on a bench but no sleeping! Two Pennies and you could swing your arms over a rope and sleep standing up or if you made hella money that day you could pay 4 Pennies and sleep in a coffin. The water is undrinkable and children expected working hours were 12 to 18 a day starting at 4 yrs old. By those standards, a lot of us would look like royalty to them."
UnicornBrainsRPointy
Horrendous Horrors
"Learning about the depth and breadth of slavery in human history was a real eye-opener. We have really detailed documents from more modern history to show WHY that idea is so heinous, but it's always been a significant part of cultures all around the world serving as anything from a social construct to the very currency of war and with autonomy ranging from that of livestock to that of a low caste."
"Evidence of slavery predates written records and is even included in the code of Hammurabi where it was already an established institution and we still haven't stamped it out today, April 10th, 2023, where slavery affects an estimated 46 million people (that's more than the total population of California, and approximately the population of Spain). It's crazy how awful humans have always been to one another and that we still can't seem to hold each other accountable for basic human rights, despite indelible proof."
FridayInc
Far Far Away
"When I learned that NASA had discovered over 100 billion GALAXIES and saw the image to put into perspective that our entire solar system is only about the size of a coin compared to our galaxy which in relation would be the size of the United States. We are so incredibly small within the universe."
cheeseburghers
A Strange Loop
Over It Ugh GIFGiphy"If you look at the history of mankind, you quickly see that nobody ever learned from our history."
Plastik-Mann
"History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man."
Kvesh
If history has taught us anything, it's that we're doomed.
But let's keep learning.
Whether we're huge television watchers or not, most of us have at least one television show that we've really enjoyed.
And all too often, the show ends long before we're ready for that final episode, and we dream of a reunion episode or encore season.
Redditor Putrid_Cry19 asked:
"Which canceled TV show deserved another season?"
Anne with an E
"Anne with an E."
- Unusual-Neck9547
"Three seasons, and just when Gilbert and Anne realize their feelings, it gets canceled. Excuse me, what?!"
- thesnoodlee
"Especially when you have so much source material to work with. Heck, the old adaptation went along with an older Anne and followed her life."
- No_Eyed_Dear
The Black Donnellys
"The Black Donnellys."
- Lookslikeseen
"Did they even get a complete first season? That show was canceled 15 years ago, and I’m still mad about it!! The cast was amazing and all of them fit perfectly in their roles. The story was intriguing. I can’t figure out why it ended so abruptly."
- mandyama
"I always scroll far enough down on these posts until I find 'The Black Donnellys.' F**king great show and I was glad they at least put the final episodes online. They were pulled from TV mid-season and I remember just being really bummed it wasn't on."
- GrimwoldMcTheesbyIV
Lodge 49
"'Lodge 49:' it was the dose of weirdness, reality-bending metaphysics, philosophy, blue-collar camaraderie, and kindness I needed weekly. Great cast, great cameos."
"I guess AMC needed the empty slot so they could have more 'Walking Dead' spinoffs or shows where people talk about the previous show they just aired."
- AdamInvader
The Last Kingdom
"'The Last Kingdom.' They had to rush through so much in Season 5 that it overwhelms you, although it still manages to give a great send-off to the series. F**king Netflix canceling great shows but keeps renewing 'Big Mouth,' lol (laughing out loud)."
"Highly recommend 'The Last Kingdom' if anyone hasn't watched it."
- OneThicBoii
Sense8
"'Sense8.' The writers convinced Netflix to do a special series ending episode but it didn't do the show justice. You could tell it was a rushed ending. One more season and it could have been much better paced."
"If I remember correctly, the reason it was canceled was that it was extremely expensive to make."
- Interjessing-Salary
Stargate Universe
"Stargate Universe."
- Ulkrum
"I was hoping I'd see someone else say 'SGU.' I really did enjoy it, different from SG1 and SGA, but I was enjoying it. Really want to know what happened to Eli after everyone else went to sleep for a bit. Like come on, it's like Schrodinger's cat! I need to know."
- Mad-Ma84
"They literally left this show with the ability to pick it up again."
"S4 episode 1: Eli wakes everyone up from their Cyro sleep. Due to whatever mechanical failure or attack, these pods didn’t work and these characters have been killed off, some of them aged."
"Stargate opens up and new characters board the Destiny."
- Jon_F**kin_Snow
"And someone brings Eli a clean shirt. But just one."
- MrVeazey
The Tick
"The Tick."
- dreadrabbit1
"I agree. And it doesn't matter which version you're talking about, the answer is yes, that version deserved another season."
- Funandgeeky
The Punisher
"The Punisher, with Jon Bernthal."
- xXxLordViperScorpion
"Absolutely hands down! He was crazy good in it."
- MessagefromA
Carnivale
"'Carnivale.' I loved the world that was built in that show."
- m0rris0n_hotel
"This is one that gets me. Thanks for nothing, Management."
- the_murders_of_crowe
"This was the show I came looking for. I think the show creator had three more seasons lined up."
- coolmike69420
The Mick
"The Mick."
- Full-Ask3638
"I said the same!! I love that show."
- No-Teacher9713
"I came here to say this. That show was hilarious. As a Sunny fan, it was great to see Kaitlin Olson take even more of a lead role, and really helped me appreciate what she brought to the show. I was so bummed it got canceled."
- Childish_Calrissian
1899
"1899."
- TheGreyPotato
"I remember when everyone thought it wouldn't get canceled just because 'Dark' was allowed to be fully completed."
"'1899' had so much potential, especially after the ending scene of the Season One finale. Such a shame."
- HahaLookyHere
Santa Clarita Diet
"I'm still salty about 'Santa Clarita Diet' being canceled. I need to see what's next for Joel!"
- lemonjelly88
"Netflix: You should watch Santa Clarita Diet. You really should. You really, really should. Here are 15 gajillion recommendations!"
"Me: Okay, fine! ...Hey, this is really good. When's the next season coming out?"
"Netflix: Oh, we canceled that."
- GarbledReverie
"I love how well Timothy Olyphant portrays a man who's on the edge of a complete breakdown whilst Drew Barrymore is living her best life. Such a great show."
- unluckypig
"One of my all-time favorite shows. I will never forgive Netflix for robbing us of seeing what happens to zombie Joel."
"Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore's chemistry was so on point. This show made me realize what kind of a relationship I want with my spouse, lol (laughing out loud). They were the best 'relationship goals' I've ever seen on TV!"
- thathunzygirl
"This is my answer for every single AskReddit post that asks about canceled TV shows. I will never freaking forgive Netflix for canceling 'Santa Clarita.'"
- spooteeespoothead
My Name Is Earl
"'My Name is Earl.'"
- ftran998
"Greg Garcia did an AMA where he shared how he envisioned the ending:"
"'I had always had an ending to 'Earl,' and I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to see it happen. You’ve got a show about a guy with a list, so not seeing him finish it is a bummer. But the truth is, he wasn’t ever going to finish the list.'"
"'The basic idea of the ending was that while he was stuck on a really hard list item, he was going to start to get frustrated that he was never going to finish it. Then he runs into someone who had a list of their own, and Earl was on it. They needed to make up for something bad they had done to Earl. He asks them where they got the idea of making a list, and they tell him that someone came to them with a list and that person got the idea from someone else...'"
"'Earl eventually realizes that his list started a chain reaction of people with lists and that he’s finally put more good into the world than bad. So at that point, he was going to tear up his list and go live his life. Walk into the sunset a free man. With good karma.'"
- edlee98765
"Oh wow, that's such a good wrap-up for the show that even just reading it feels like some solid closure. Wish it had gotten made, but it's the perfect capstone for the series."
- l3rn
The Last Man on Earth
"'The Last Man on Earth.'"
- Historical_Ad2890
"I f**king loved this show. I get that the style of humor and awkwardness wasn’t for everyone, but godd**n, this show made me laugh more than most shows do."
- The_Number_None
"I need closure closure closure."
- Klutzy-Addition5003
The Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency
"Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency."
"A lot of people didn't like the 2nd season, which is completely fair. It's hard to live up to the expectations of such a solid first season."
"The reason I personally would like a 3rd season is that the cliffhanger is so. d**n. tasty. Also, I want more Rowdy 3 (6?), Alan Tudyk, and Tyler Labine."
"I recognize that it deviates completely from the source material, and I understand why a lot of people are upset by that. There are a lot of examples where I hated the adaptation (looking at you, 'World War Z'), but I personally believe this is a perfect example of how you take inspiration and run with it."
"A dark, gritty version where Dirk was the fat slob the books described him as might also be fantastic, and I'd probably watch the shit out of it."
"However, I think this adaptation captures the whimsical nonsense of Douglas Adam's writing perfectly, and I'm ok with it. It's just a shame that the show was attached to such a scumbag. Otherwise, we might have seen that third season that gave us all the answers they teased."
- GrownThenBrewed
"That show is still my absolute favorite."
"With absolute bangers like:"
"'The Rowdy Three!'"
"'But there are four of them!'"
"'I'm WILDLY aware.'"
"They captured Douglas Adams's whimsical nonsense so perfectly in that show."
"I feel like the second series went completely off the rails, but I still loved it."
- Conductor_Cat
"This was so gloriously, bizarrely brilliant. It was completely different from the (excellent) books, but it took on some of the core ideas and added a bunch of its own, then ran with them in multiple directions all at once."
"It was a joy to watch and made me feel an almost childlike wonder. It surprised and delighted me; a modern-day fairy-tale for grown-ups. Gutted me when it was canceled."
- wretched_cretin
Teen Titans
"This may seem a bit childish, but Teen Titans. The original one from 2003."
- Sadblackcat666
"It’s a bummer because every character got one season where they were the focus of the ongoing plot. Season One was Robin, Season Two was Terra, Season Three was Cyborg, Season Four was Raven, and Season Five was Beast Boy."
"It was set up perfectly to have a sixth season focused on Starfire and we never got it."
- JRBehr
"I rewatched the whole series fairly recently. It really was such a unique show for the time. I remember seeing reruns on Boomerang after the series had finished airing on CN. It's unfortunate that they no longer air anything from the original series or movie."
"Season Five absolutely ended in a way that demanded something more, and the movie did not scratch that itch."
- ChrisTheKnight03
This is a great reminder of how entertainment can bring people together, first as a fandom and later for the nostalgia.
And there are quality selections here that absolutely should have gotten more time, and deserve a watch from those who haven't seen these shows before.