
As much as we're not supposed to feel satisfaction upon observing the struggles of other people, it can be hard to resist a silent, internal fist pump when some blunder occurs immediately after we tried to help the person prevent it.
It is all a result of stubbornness.
The person we're trying to help is stubborn. They think they know the best way to do something, or the exact information required for a given moment.
And, on top of that, they think we're being stubborn when we try to intervene.
So all of our attempts to help fall on deaf ears. And the results can be as calamitous as they are satisfying.
TenaciousBrit asked, "What's your 'I told you so' moment?"
Many people chose to talk about the times their friends or family ended up producing some truly entertaining physical comedy.
And the laughter was only enhanced with the knowledge that they'd just predicted the whole thing.
ZAP
"Was picking beans with my sister and mom. To this day I still don't know why the fence was electric but it was. I touched it and I got zapped. It wasn't too bad but it hurt. I jumped away and my sister saw me, I said that it was an electric fence."
"Of course she just thought I was pranking her. I was trying to tell her the whole time we picked beans but she didn't believe me. Right at the end she touched the fence and she didn't see it coming at all... Her face was just like, 'Oh shi-' "
"Loved the car ride home, 'I told you... Idiot.' "
No Babies, Two Hurt Backs
"My sister and I were out sledding when we were kids at this place with a really steep hill. I had unknowingly gone down a sled path that had a jump in it, and when I landed it really hurt my back."
"So when I got back up to the top of the hill I told my sister 'don't go that way, the jump really hurts.' She called me a baby and didn't believe me that it really hurt so she decided she would go down that path on her sled."
"Well, she hit the jump and didn't get back up, turns out she fell so hard she had broken her leg. When we finally got her back up the hill and to the car, I got to tell her 'I told you so.' "
Drenched.
"This dumb a**hole woman wouldn't leave the llamas at our petting zoo alone, even after I warned her."
"Eventually they had enough and spit alllll over her. Green goopy spit from head to torso."
"She threw up a bunch and I laughed. Until I smelled it and then I was retching too."
-- craxiom0
Others recalled the times they trusted their instincts, only to be gaslighted by medical professionals.
But they did, eventually, get the help they needed. And the mixture of pride and frustration toward the other doctor was palpable.
Non-MD Spouse
"Had a weirdly dark freckle. The color of chocolate. I showed spouse and he called me a hypochondriac and if I go to a doctor, I'd be wasting their time."
"I went to the dermatologist. It was melanoma."
-- weaponizedpastry
Years of Itchy Apples
"Since I was 14, my throat got itchy when I ate apples. I told my mom but she thought I just didn't want to eat apples and forced me to eat them."
"Went to the doctor's office and got a test for allergies."
"Turns out, I'm allergic to apples, peaches, and many other fruits."
-- CayonSalad
People Break Down The Best Loophole They've Ever Exploited
This Was a Baby We're Talking About Here!
"My newborn baby was projectile vomiting after every feeding. I took her to the doctor several times, always ended up being sent away with suggestions to try a different formula. I tried like 4 different ones, no change."
"The 4th or 5th visit, they sent me away again with the same recommendation even though I pleaded with them to figure out what was wrong with my baby. I left the office and drove to the ER instead. She ended up having emergency surgery that day."
"The surgeon said she would have starved to death (or maybe dehydrated?) had she gone much longer without the surgery. I gave the doctors in that office a piece of my mind."
Dirt: Not Always the Answer
"Went to the doctor on and off for breathing problems to no avail. A lot of 'rub some dirt on it' mentality. Wound up in the ER as a result of an asthma attack. Kept the bracelet on and everything when I went back the next week to see him."
"Not as satisfying as I would've hoped."
NOT Hookey
"I told my mom (who is a nurse) that I am sick and she said I was lying. After 2 months and a lot of blood coughed up she took me to the doctor. I had pneumonia and a double ear infection. I also had a bunch other issues that I can't really remember. I had to take 7 medications and have to use a nebulizer daily."
"That was the biggest I told you so moment I ever had."
And some people discussed the times they knew or predicted a piece of information, but couldn't seem to persuade someone else through dialogue or conversation.
But, of course, the truth always came out.
Chose the Wrong Partner
"Lawyer here. Fired a partner who I found some real irregularities in their spending habits vs. what they were making after he couldn't provide a good answer to where it came from. Other partner left and started a new firm with them because they disagreed with my decision and refused to look at the evidence."
"Turns out he stole 500k of a clients money, got disbarred, and is now facing prison time. I told her to look at the evidence and she didn't listen. 🤷🏼♂️"
Sweet Victory
"Someone started talking about a bottle of Newman's Own salad dressing while at dinner with my family and I said something like 'I'm pretty sure that was started by the Actor/Race car driver Paul Newman.' to which one of my siblings replied 'No it was someone else.' "
"I grabbed the bottle and turned it around and started reading the label out loud. The first sentence was 'Paul Newman's career was acting, but his passion was auto racing.' I stopped reading after that."
He Knew Immediately
"Bed frame wasn't properly lashed down while moving, partner insisted the weight of the frame would keep it in place."
"Flew into the middle of a major intersection on a left turn. We dodged four lanes of oncoming traffic to collect the pieces."
"I fixed my partner with a look that could peel paint, and he said 'I know, I know, you told me so and you're right. I'm sorry.' "
"I still give him sh** for it every time we move something. It's funny now, but god damn was I pissed at the time."
Power Blinders
"Any time I'm asked to give an expected time to deliver on a project, give an honest assessment, and then told that estimate seems too large and the bosses give a much shorter timeframe."
"My original estimation is nearly always the more accurate of the two. Why ask questions you don't want to know the answer to anyway?"
-- calabain
Coulda Used That
"I spent months telling my mother to get a dash camera, I even sent her a link to a cheap one on Amazon so she would at bare minimum have something, some time later she got a new car and in less than a week she got into an accident (she was fine), but because she couldn't prove that the other driver was at fault their insurance company would only pay for some of the damage (car was totaled)."
"The worst part is that she still hasn't gotten a damn camera..."
-- DHA_Matthew
Believe the Dog Owner
"I once owned a dog who was very stubborn and independent. She lived a feral life in the mountains as a young pup, and I feel like that played a role. She felt more like a roommate than a pet."
"She was having heart trouble when she got older so she had to get a chest scan at the vet. These two men came out to get her, so I gave them a heads up that she would absolutely dislike being flipped on her back and held there for the scan (flipping a dog on it's back is putting it in a pretty submissive position)."
"One of the guys interrupted me and basically said they were professionals and I had to just let them work. They snapped a muzzle on her and took her to the back."
"A few seconds pass, then I hear a crash and a few yells. One of the guys who took her comes out and sheepishly asks for my help."
"It turns out as soon as they flipped her on her back she kicked out of their arms, unclipped her muzzle, removed it with her front paws, then made a mad dash for freedom."
"I caught her roaming around the back of the vet's office and she was perfectly well behaved while I held her for the scan. I felt bad for two guys she escaped from, but I had tried to warn them."
-- MrBigTimeJim
Talked Out
"I've talked about this cheating scandal at my high school before. Something I never mentioned was my friend was about to ask for the answers to a test that he really needed."
"Told him not to do it, wasn't worth and all. Thankfully, he didn't do it. When the whole scandal came out, three kids got expelled, eight suspended, I know a dozen more were caught but I don't know what happened to them. My friend's teacher ended up giving him and a few other kids an A just for being honest. Apparently, he was one of the few kids in that class that didn't cheat."
-- Hidden24
We can draw a couple of lessons from this list.
First, know that, at the end of the day, you can only do your best to share your opinion. You need to accept that they're going to do what they're going to do.
Second, when someone tries to give you advice, maybe take a moment to listen.
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Friends And Relatives Of Porn Stars Explain How They First Reacted When They Found Out
Sex work is work.
We really have to let go of the purist idea of sex.
People can do whatever they want with their bodies.
And make quite a fabulous living at the same time.
Porn has long been looked down upon but now thanks to the rise of OnlyFans and such, everybody is becoming more acclimated.
Is it the dream? Probably not for most.
Is it wrong? Absolutely not.
So what if you knew somebody doing it?
Is that an issue? Why?
Redditorh00psz004wanted to hear about the times people learned the profession of a loved one or acquaintance and it a bit of a surprise.
They asked:
"Friends or family of porn stars what was your first reaction when you found out?"
I have known several porn stars. All good people and a load of fun. And no, I won't name names.
Her Niche
"I had a roommate who did porn. She told us about it herself and was very open about it. She was popular in a very niche kink, but didn’t work enough to be able to support herself solely off of porn. Now she has a masters in education and works as an elementary school teacher."
bittyitty
Mommy Dearest
"My mother is a porn star. It kind of tore our relationship apart. We were never close in the first place because she was a terrible mother but that pushed me over the edge to not want to talk to her anymore. I was 13 when I found out by the way. I didn't just find out, I saw. Things change in your mind when you see your mom's anal fisting porn. (I wish that was a joke)."
undergroundpolarbear
In the Woods
"I found my flatmate on a porn site too 😬 The shoot took place out on a hike somewhere (I believe she told me about the sexual encounter over a drink one night but not the fact it was all over the internet). I absolutely shat myself when I realised it was her- I felt so yucky and guilty for seeing her like that. I immediately shut everything down and didn't look at porn for ages afterwards lol."
Devojka_Iz_Svemira
That Girl
"First thought: Oh wow, she has nice breasts."
"Second thought: Yea, that's not gonna look good for her mom."
"The woman in question was a student in the grade below me in high school. I knew her sister and their mom was a teacher at that school."
slick1260
Something is Familiar
"Was browsing and came across one of my housemate titled 'Russian teen amateur.' First, she's Mexican. Second, she's like 28. Third, THAT'S MY F**ING BED!!"
voice_of_craisin
It must be daunting when you recognize the stars and your apartment. Like, you could've at least invited me.
Freaky & Brilliant
"My friend got into the porn industry because it’s much more lucrative than her degreed field (microbiology). I wasn’t surprised at all because she’s uninhibited and freaky anyway, and just assured her I had no issues or judgements about it."
xxplodingboy
Those We Lose
"Male porn actor here! My mom found out... and she was surprisingly way more chill than I thought she'd be. Of course she hates it and doesn't want me doing it, but she was essentially like 'the past is the past, now let's never talk about this again.'" I actually lost a group of friends over it."
"Not sure how they found out but apparently they started talking behind my back about it on Facebook. One of those guys reached out to me to let me know what was happening, and that he personally didn't care. I reached out to the group but they weren't interested in hearing what I had to say, and pretty much cut me off. I think they were worried that it might somehow affect them professionally in a negative way."
"I've had a few girlfriends/girls I was seeing find out. So far most have been fairly cool about it. One actually cried upon finding out, but at her insistence we watched a few of my vids together, and it was absurd enough that we could both laugh about it. My other friends (the true friends) were just like okay, cool."
pornishard
Family Matters
"Okay. So I woke up one day to a text sent from my cousin, M. Who sent me a pornhub link to another cousin, S. Apparently she has been doing it for awhile, and got another cousin involved in her sexual endeavors, T. So now I have family members who do porn and took Incest Porn a little too literally."
forskin_curtains
Mind your Business
"Recently in my friends group it came to light that one of our buddies wife's sister (F 23) started an OF page over the pandemic (she lost her job as a hair stylist, and where we live was in lockdown for quite a long time), and now has a page on PornHub, even a sub-reddit. She does mainly solo stuff, but pretty heavy with one particular kink."
"When we found out, most of use guys were not surprised as she always had a promiscuous attitude. I feel for my buddy though, him, his wife are born again Christian, and it has destroyed the relationship between the sisters, as well, it has also created a huge rift in his wife's family, were half want to shun her, and the half are accepting, (the parents are divorced, so there is lots of people in play)."
"It also doesn't help that one of our other buddies went on a massive hunt for all the links and videos and sent them to us all, and presumably many more people, absolutely pissing off our buddy, as I guess he feels obligated in trying to defend his wife's family, it has created a rift between them, and overall a very messy situation."
cynicalyak
Who Cares?
"I overheard my parents fighting and heard my dad scream, “WHO GIVES A F**K IF I SMOKE POT AND YOU’RE A PORNSTAR?!?” As a slightly innocent 10 y.o. I was pretty shocked."
GoAndrevv
Sex is fun. And if you can make cash doing it, more power to you.
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In this day and age, with the state of the world what it is... it's a miracle people aren't sobbing at every gas pump, cash register and red light.
Tears are healthy.
Unless they're being used for manipulation or a tantrum.
We release emotion with our tears.
And one of the most emotional places to be is at work.
That can be a sobfest.
So what is the best way to help in that situation?
Let's compare notes and tissue brands.
Redditortiredoflandwanted to hear about the times they had to deal with emotions at work.
They asked:
"How do you handle people crying at work?"
I have cried many a time over the years. Especially when waiting tables. A hug always helped.
Condolences
"As a funeral director, I tend to just touch them on their arm and hand them tissues. And stay quiet."
Oct92018
Cry on Me
"I usually provide a tissue. I often get hugged. My last job, we had a meeting and one of the people in the meeting, well, she seemed off. Everyone filed out and I kind of lingered, asked, 'Hey, is there something wrong you want to talk about?' Boom, waterworks, she had to put her cat down this morning, etc. I am the guy in the office people cry on, I guess."
Nadaesque
to a science...
"I'm a teacher, so it's a near daily occurrence for me. I have a jar full of candy - usually chocolate- on my desk (the kids call it sad candy), a chair, and a big round plush bird toy just the right size for hugging. His name is Sherbert, cause he's colored like rainbow sherbet. They can talk it out with me or just cry in silence if they'd rather, but I just sit with them until they're ready to re-join the world. It's sad, but I have this crap down to a science."
ThePhiff
The Stress of It All
"I work for a 911 center, you better believe there is crying. Especially when an employee is new and they give CPR to an infant and its not a positive turnout, someone kills themself while you are talking to them on the phone. Pretty soon your heart and soul die and you can deal with it, but something especially awful happens and it hits you. I have been doing it for 28 years and have seen plenty people come and go, who couldn't handle the stress?"
One-Butterscotch-786
Fur Babies
"In the veterinary industry, unfortunately, if you notice a co-worker is or has been crying, usually you pretend not to have noticed, maybe ask them nonchalantly if they can do something for you that isn't client-facing for a while like fill prescriptions, and don't bring it up later unless you're friends outside of work."
"Everybody cries at work at some point, and it's not even usually about a sick/dying animal. If a client is crying though, you have to be sensitive, empathetic, comforting, gentle, offer them privacy and condolences without smothering them."
"Clients cry for the reasons you expect, and of course it's hard to see them through it, because dealing with a sick or dying pet is hard. Staff will often shed a tear in these appointments too, but most often when a co-worker is crying it's because another person went out of their way to hurt them. Be kind to your veterinary staff folks, we feel pain too."
sainttawny
People do seem to cry a lot. Makes sense, I do.
I'm Here
"'Is there anything I can do?' Then just listen. Often the listening is enough."
Pavlock
Kindness
"I work in healthcare, so this happens quite frequently. Usually it’s patients. Most often, people just want their feelings validated and that someone understands them. That’s all. Being empathetic goes a long way."
moscowmulesplz
"Yes! Empathy truly goes a long way!"
ElBarbon026
Alone
"Saw a chick crying at work, sitting outside. Half wanted to ask her if she was ok but when someone is crying hard sometimes they just want to be left alone in their feelings and it must be embarrassing enough to cry at work, so I left her alone and kept walking."
KiwiCatPNW
He is Awful
"Many years ago I (male) was having an extended discussion with a female coworker about something technical and I noticed that she would periodically start crying during our talk. I was so dense that I thought (perhaps out of intended politeness) that I should just ignore this and go on."
"For some reason I have often thought about this and reflected on the fact that it would have been much more humane to at least ask her if she was OK, if she would prefer to talk later, if she would like to talk instead about what was upsetting."
"Later I heard from someone else that she had travelled to the area from another state with her boyfriend. He had a job at another company nearby that was expanding rapidly and she had received the news that he was already cheating on her with multiple coworkers."
fund0us
I'm Blind
"I follow the golden rule so I ignore them, pretend not to see them, and later talk to them normally like nothing happened, because that is what I want in their position."
xyanon36
"Same! I tend to get more upset if someone checks on me, because now I'm embarrassed and feel exposed on top of what's causing me to cry in the first place. Since I never want to be the cause of that, I won't ever approach someone in that state."
Annonymous_97
There is no perfect way to comfort somebody. You just do it. Or apparently... look away.
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When it comes to religion, a person either believes in a god or doesn't believe that a higher power exists.
But people are more complex than that. As we evolve throughout our respective journeys in life, we are known to vacillate between conforming to some ideas while dismissing others.
What we used to believe in no longer applies based on our negative experiences and vice versa.
Does it work the same way with faith and believing in God?
Curious to hear from non-religious people online, Redditor Graysie-Redux asked:
"Atheists of Reddit: What could change your mind?"

The proof is in the pudding.
Proper Comeuppance
"Every single paedophile/rapist in religious positions of power being simultaneously struck by lightning."
– serharridan
Evidence
"Any actual evidence. Also change my mind about which god(s)? Yahweh, Zeus, Osiris, Amaterasu?"
"I'm always amused by people not understanding what athiesm is. It's not a belief. Its a rejection of a claim and that's it. It's not what evidence would convince me otherwise, it's what evidence do you have. I observe said evidence and say that's not sufficient evidence because..."
– Rdr198829
Deeper Persuasion Required
"Nothing could suddenly change my mind into believing in the Christian (all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving) God. Proof of an entity with reality-changing powers would certainly change my world-view, but only to the point where I recognize that such a thing exists in the known universe. Ability does not imply divinity (or altruism)"
– Piercewise1
A Father's Experience After A Heart Attack
"My dad is an atheist, and had a major heart attack last year which came extremely close to killing him many times. He was in a coma for more than a month."
"During that time, several Christian family members wondered if he was having a religious experience, had seen/spoken to god or maybe his late daughter as an angel, and would awake as a religious man now."
"I said there was zero chance. Even if he did actually have these experiences and then come out of the coma and tell us about them, he would never say 'I talked to god while I was in a coma.' He would say 'The chemicals in my brain did an interesting thing while I was in a coma.'”
"As it happened, he did live and was able to tell us about his experience. None of it was remotely religious. It was mostly memories of thinking the hospital staff were torturing him."
"The closest thing he had during the coma was a dream where he saw my wife telling him that my dead sister and my wife’s dead sister were talking in heaven."
– PRGuyHere
These atheists believe in heavy sarcasm.
The Mythic Creature
"As a former atheist, what changed my mind was that, i learned the flying spaghetti monster existed."
– ThundaCrossSplitAtak
Egyptian Deity
"Christians, what would convince you to worship the Egyptian god Ra?"
– RedofPaw
"Whichever one, Christ or Ra, shows up in front of me first and bitch slaps me."
"Edit: if one of you offering to slap me are a God please teleport to my location to prove it you coward."
– RikenVorkovin
Money Talks
"I don't even need proof. I'll believe in him for €10m. I accept cash."
– ShadyShamaster
"Now that's a conversion method I could get into."
– yomommasofat3
The jury is still out for these Redditors.
Time To See Someone
"Don't know if there's anything. If some god appeared I'd still wonder if this was some hallucination and make an appointment with a psychologist."
– Destriant_of_Perish
Seeing Is Believing
"I think for me god would have to appear on a societal level in addition to seeing them myself. If my friends and relatives (who are also mostly atheist or agnostic) testified to also seeing god, as well as the general public and it became a known thing that god was real and making appearances I would probably believe it too."
– Feral_doves
Hearing It From The Source
"A god showing me they're real."
"Not a person telling me why their god is real. That's evidence of nothing."
"Gods shouldn't need middlemen."
– Vic_Hedges
There is not enough convincing that can persuade atheists to believe in an all-powerful, omniscient entity.
Many of them would attest to a higher power if they could be presented with tangible evidence of its existence.
Yet, I'm pretty sure most people who claim to have faith have not witnessed any appearances by God.
So this is an interesting conversation about what leads people to believe or completely dismiss the possibility that there might be something greater out there than any of us can ever imagine.
What do you think?
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A life of convenience.
Wouldn't that be lovely?
Can you imagine driving around and only encountering green lights?
Or always having the phone battery charged?
That is what dreams are made of.
What if you were given a superpower to make all of that happen?
What would you do with it?
RedditorAdAppropriate6975wanted hear about what small, good things some of us would do for others if we had the power.
They asked:
"You’ve been granted the power to bless people with minor conveniences. How do you make their lives slightly better?"
I'd be giving people money.
Even if it's just singles.
That's a small start.
Thank You
"You'll always remember why you walked into a room or where you last put the item you need."
icantthinkofaname940
Faster
"From this day forward, you will always choose the fastest-moving line."
Irishzombieman
"That's impossible for me. It's a fundamental, immutable law of the universe. To change that would be to nullify all of existence as we know it. Hitting stop lights is part of the same fundamental physical force."
brndm
PROPER POCKETS FOR ALL!!!
"May your cellphone always have enough charge when you need it. Also, for the ladies: May you always have at least one pocket on your outfit."
APeacefulWarrior
"40m here. I bought a pair of light airy linen pants for summer. Thought I had bought the same brand as a pair I bought last summer and LOVED. First difference I noticed was a lack of back pocket… thought oh… that’s weird."
"Then I tried to put my wallet in my front pocket and it was too shallow. Wallet literally couldn’t sit in the pocket. Pocket so shallow as to be unusable. I finally understood your pain ladies. I had no idea. I’m so sorry. Consider me an ally in the PROPER POCKETS FOR ALL battle going forward."
Ignominia
Be There
"Your keys, wallet, and phone are always where you expect them to be."
MisterBastahrd
"Hopefully you don’t start having misguided expectations lol. I’m imagining a guy recognizing this happen and experimenting. He imagines his wallet is in an irretrievable void, then searches his house and finds it nowhere. Knowing that it’s gone, he would never expect it to be anywhere he’d find it."
um-souffle
My butter is always a mess, so this would be perfect.
THIS!!!
"Everybody's talking voice actually sounds like the one they hear in their heads."
Daft_Sauce
"Wait people hear the voice in their heads? For me it's not like a voice but more like... floating words or so. I never really tried to describe it but it's sure AF not an actual voice Or are you talking about the way you hear your own voice while actually talking?"
Interesting-Gear-819
"I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't hate the sound of my own voice."
JokicCheeseburgerMan
To match is Divine
"From this day forward all of your socks shall magically be waterproof and nothing will ever stick to them."
Joe-Schmeaux
"I threw out all socks I owned and then bought a couple boxes of the same kind of sock. I just throw all my socks in a bin now and pick two at random. Never need to throw away one sock because the matching on got a hole."
5348345T
"Now everyone has single use socks, because they won't live in a world that permanently smells like feet. Socks become the number one target of Greenpeace. You go into hiding due to the environmental disaster you have created."
andrewNZ_on_reddit
The Zzzzsss...
"The power to fall asleep once your head hits the pillow."
227743
"Clearly I don't think big enough, my blessing was going to be: every night when you fluff/squish/arrange your pillow to go to sleep, it's perfect the first time."
sonyka
"I can do this and my wife always complains about it. I can literally decide to fall asleep, turn around and be gone in seconds. Has always been like this, don’t know why."
KevinSpence
Perfection
"The toilet seat will always be in the correct state depending on your business when entering the bathroom."
Acceptable_Not-good
I would love for someone to do ALL of those things for me. Please and thank you.
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