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People Describe The Most Bizarre Rule Enforced At Their School

People Describe The Most Bizarre Rule Enforced At Their School
Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

Not every rule is current nor should it be followed.

Unfortunately, for the hell of it, some people just enforce clearly archaic and bizarre rules for their own comforts or thrills.

Most of these totalitarians can unfortunately be found in schools, working with kids. These people love to sweep kids away into the principal's office or to detention.


u/ChipFan111 asked:

What was the most bizarre school rule you had in your school?

Here were some of those answers.

Name-Calling

Our handbook stated that you could only address teachers as, "Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, Dr., or Coach". The 60 year old woman (who was in no way involved with athletics) that taught biology tried to write a referral to one of my friends who insisted on calling her Coach for insubordination. Admin couldn't do anything about it, so they removed Coach from the list of acceptable names and re-issued the handbook.

GobbleGobbleDotCom

Continuing Odd Rules

Around my last year of primary school (Brit here), they suddenly added a rule where you can't talk during your lunch. They said it was so we'd have more time to play afterwards, but you'd have to wait to be dismissed first so how long it takes to eat doesn't matter at all

At first everyone was silent apart from a few whispers behind the teachers backs, but then it transitioned into everyone talking quietly. I think the teachers gave in at that point as they said that we can talk as long as it's quiet, then everyone learned to gradually get louder so by the time I left it was back to normal level.


At my prep school I went to for a year after that, we managed to get Rock Paper Scissors banned, it's a long story...

So towards the end of the year I spent at my prep school, my year group was on a coach coming back from a school trip (each year was small enough to fit onto one coach - I think the entire school only had about 100 or so people), where behind me were two classmates were playing Rock Paper Scissors with a twist: if you get Rock you punch the other person, if Paper you slap them and if Scissors you pinch them. This didn't take long to spread around the whole year and eventually the whole school was doing it. It became so popular that in the last couple of weeks, the headteacher made an announcement in an assembly that [forgot what they called this version of Rock Paper Scissors] is banned as it was getting out of hand. I though this was fair enough but a second later the head said that because [said version of Rock Paper Scissors] comes from the original version, it will be banned in its entirety. After that everyone was talking about if they should do Rock Paper Scissors just to see if they get punished (doubt they would though)

BigFatManiacPrat

Hair Don't Matter For School, Yo

I was told my hair was too long for school in I think it was 6th grade, so I shaved half my head. Was told it was a distracting hairstyle. I asked them to name the hairstyle and got detention. I then shaved the rest which wasn't what they wanted either apparently. I caught hell from a few teachers until it grew out some. Controlling a child's appearance is borderline abuse in my opinion. ESPECIALLY if you aren't their parent or guardian.

laporkra

Blanket Actions

Two that both happened in high school: No high fives, as administration considered it bullying. They never once explained how, but it was.

They banned any drink that wasn't water or plain milk. They would actually check lunch bags as kids entered to make sure they weren't sneaking anything in. They were especially hard on hot beverages. The years before, high schoolers could have coffee/tea from home, but then they became convinced we were adding sugar to it and banned it. I was getting over laryngitis once and had a travel mug of hot water with honey and lemon like my doctor suggested, and the b*tch of a gym teacher snatched it and dumped it even though I had a doctor's note.

Bonus: we were a K-12 school. They gave 18 year old seniors the same size portions as 6 year old kindergarteners. Aka 3 chicken nuggets and four carrot sticks, then they'd b*tch at the older kids if they brought snacks and stuff to eat

kcvngs76131

Europeans Don't Have It All Figured Out

You had to finish all the food on your plate. The worst part was that my teacher made me put on foods that I didn't like eating, so I told her that I will get nauseous but she didn't listen. It didn't take long until I got so nauseous that I threw up all over the table.

daystooshort

Memes Forever

Not necessarily a bizarre rule, but in 8th grade my school literally had to remind everyone to only use their google drive for school purposes because some student used over a terabyte of storage for memes.

HDMemes

I wonder who it was, HDMemes

WASD-ESL

Public Parking Passes, Pshaw!

Off the top of my head, my high school had a rule that you had to register your car with the school if you wanted to drive to school. That wouldn't be totally weird until you consider that my high school was in a very urban area, and only had one small lot that was for faculty only. Students had to park on the street.

So in other words, we had to get a pass from the school in order to park on the public streets.

BananerRammer

Chestnuts Forbidden

"Anyone caught with a chestnut gets suspended."

There was a chestnut tree (wild, "horse-chestnut") in the schoolyard, so one of the activities during recess was of course having chestnut wars. When they were in season, as soon as we'd get out, everyone would pick up as many as they found, take cover, and start launching them at each other. We were all often bruised by it but no one was a specific target, so it wasn't bullying. I guess we all saw it as more of a friendly sport. It was the status quo and the school didn't seem to mind much, until someone threw one so hard it cracked the window on a teacher's car. A kid admitted it was him but still, it turned into a big thing and they got strict about not allowing it.

After years and years of not seeing each other, a few months ago (by an unrelated sad circumstance), a handful of us from class got reunited for a lunch and walk about town. Someone mentioned the chestnut incident, and as we talked about it, one of the guys said "It was actually me who cracked that window, I'm sure of it. I threw that chestnut and followed it with laser focus until it hit that car by accident. I knew it was me but no one else did, and then the other kid admitted to it. I never learned why he did, but of course I never complained.

valsday

Knee Socks As A Punishment

Just to bear in mind, this was an all-girls grammar school:

Shoes could only be black, brown or navy blue. This also applied to hairbands (hair ties). No trainers (sneakers) or boots.

Socks (white or navy) had to be pulled up at all times.

Write only in fountain pen, pencil is allowed for notes or draft versions. If you make a mistake, cross it through with a ruler and put brackets around it.

You have to 'cover' your exercise books - most people used wrapping paper or sticky-backed plastic.

G01ngDutch

Paid Vacation

In 11th and 12th grade we had four "get out of jail cards" per half year. You could hand those in after missing up to two days without an excuse.

The problem was that if you were late for more than 45 minutes you had to use one of those. So if I overslept and calculated that I will miss more than 45 minutes I decided that I might as well stay home for a day or two. And I wasn't the only.

MistakeNot___

Jump Around!

We had a uniform and if you had your jumper (sweater) on you didn't have to wear the tie, but if you took your jumper off you had to wear a tie. Fair enough I guess.

But you had to ask permission from the teacher to take your jumper off and you had to wear your jumper between classes in the hallway. So on a summer's day you would have to ask 7 different teachers if you could take your jumper off, and they could say no. Even if you had a tie. It seems bizarre to me that teacher could tell literal adults (18 year olds) that they couldn't take their jumpers off.

ShreddedKnees

Ye Olde Sexism

We were an all boys Grammar School, Liverpool UK. Next to our school, to the right, was an all girl's school. The powers that be did not want us mingling with the girls. Unless you lived in that direction, you were not allowed to turn right out of our school. You had to have a 'turn right pass' which you had to show to a prefect who was stationed at the school entrance to stop you turning right.

Esoteric_Erric

Bok Bok Bok

It isn't so much the rule that's bizarre, but the reason.

About a decade ago, several students worked together to acquire two chickens and tag them, then release them into the school. They went around the campus for most of a day before they were caught.

When they caught one, it was labeled "1". The other was labeled "3".

They spent a solid week asking around local officials if they had seen a chicken labeled "2". They checked the vents, the closets, worked with police, everything.

And thus the rule "No senior pranks allowed" was put into effect.

RedSky764

Forbidden Fruit

There were a few bizarre ones in my school, but this is the one that sticks with me....

In the middle of high school, they passed a rule of, "No black walnuts or pecans." There were a lot of pecan and black walnut trees at the school. Hell, the school planted some of them. So, us doofy teenagers would either throw them at each other, or hoard them in our pockets and crack and eat them in class. They were so strict about it that teachers would interrogate you any time you had a bulging pocket (thinking you were hiding them to eat).

What made it even more bizarre was they said that they were worried about students getting hurt by others throwing the walnuts or the pecans. Most of us laughed about it because our school has a trap shooting team, and one of our biggest fundraisers was a gun auction. Like, tree nuts will somehow hurt you, but students handling and shooting guns won't? That's not even mentioning our show team, where students handle livestock like hogs, cattle, horses, and goats.

SillyBlackSheep

Fun Is Prohibited

ABSOLUTELY NO MUSIC DEVICES ON THE BUS. if we went on a field trip, teachers would come around with a trash bag to collect your portable CD player and then give it to you when the trip was over.

Alone-Blueberry

U Yell U Cuss U Group 5+ U Out!

At my middle school, a group of 3+ all wearing the same color (regardless of the color) was considered "gang affiliation", and would lead to the group getting dress-coded (having to change into school-branded PE sweats or something, I can't fully remember). My friends and I would all wear a specific color once a week (most of the time it was purple) and would try to get as many other kids to join as possible.

Never got dress-coded... they didn't have enough loner outfits.

I also remember my principal giving me a strict talking-to because I had a white shirt that I was having people sign with sharpie at the end of the year instead of a yearbook. She said it was "inappropriate graffiti". In the 7th grade -.-

kenkenmeowmeow

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.