People Who Worked At Blockbuster Share What The Final Days Before It Closed Were Like

There was nothing quite like browsing through your local Blockbuster... nothing quite like browsing through any local video store, really. Thanks to Redditor _PM_ME_UR_TIDDIES, we now know the answer to this age old question: "Redditors who worked at Blockbuster as the company was going under, what was it like working at your store during those final days?"
"We had a huge..."
We had a huge liquidation sale, and we just stopped caring since there was no longer video renting to customers, just selling remaining videos and games. I remember when I was first hired, our district manager said "Video stores will be obsolete by 2010, internet video watching will be the future." He was right.
"The liquidation sale..."
The liquidation sale at my local Blockbuster is how I got a copy of LA Noire for only $20, not even 7 months after the game came out. They let me mix and match the disks (360 version is 3 disks) between their copies so I could have the ones with the least amount of scratches on them
"Honestly..."
Honestly... we kind of had a blast. Nobody gave a crap anymore. By corporate policy, we were only allowed to put 'PG' and below movies on the in-store television system... but we watched Jurassic Park 24/7 and now I can pretty much quote that whole movie. We wrote funny signs for the hardware (e.g. "Large-size filing cabinet - makes a great stocking stuffer!") and made a special display for our very last bag of Twizzlers. And on the last day we threw stuff at the big Blockbuster sign in the store and made a huge hole in it. Maybe I'm looking at it with rose-colored glasses because it's been 10+ years but for some reason I remember it fondly.
"It sucked."
It sucked. It sucked hard. And it started sucking long before we knew for sure that it was the end (which for my store came in a mandatory meeting just a few days before Christmas).
We stopped taking our own gift cards. Had to redirect the customer to corporate because in store, they had no value at all.
I worked there for 8 years. My team was exceptionally close, and most of us had been together that whole time. On the night that we transferred all the rental inventory over into sale items, it was more of a going away party that lasted all night. We sang, and laughed, but it was also very sad.
My love of working for BBV wasn't necessarily because of the job itself, and it definitely wasn't because of the company. It was my coworkers, and (most of) our regular customers. I still miss them all nearly that many years later.
"I was an early casualty..."
I was an early casualty, our district started setting ridiculously high sales goals and pushing up selling merch. (I guess someone up the ranks was optimistic?) But my particular store was located in a lower income, largely rural area, and the bulk of our customers were people who had the monthly unlimited pass and would just trade out their movies every couple of days. Naturally we did not hit goals and our district manager fired me as "an example", as I was the lowest assistant manager on the totem pole.
"It was fun..."
It was fun and rough at the same time. Stores closing, combining with other local stores, team members being relocated or let go as stores were shut. It was such a fun job, everyday was work of course but, a retail form of the entertainment business. We had regulars that would come in often, kids that were excited to come in, etc. Something about families picking out games and movies together, not just selecting on a screen, made it kind of special I think. Buying candy, buying used movies, gift ideas for holidays and such. I will always miss being there.
"I left..."
I left before the literal final days, but worked for a few years just prior to them. I actually started in 2010, and it was already over. The environment was weird. Our SM was obliged to overperform a sense of "everything's fine" that literally no one believed. No one else cared even a little at all. I mean, we did the job, but the stakes always felt non existent when it came to things like making candy sales or getting game preorders and stuff.
Customers were all pretty great, though, and anyone who was an ahole...well we just felt no obligation to cater to anyone so there was a lot less "customer is always right" and a lot more "I mean you're welcome to leave if you're going to talk to us like that."
Honestly it was a wild first job experience. Not quite like anywhere else I've ever been.
"We took the hundreds..."
We took the hundreds of AOL free trial CDs that we had and every night after we closed we would take them out of the packages and frisbeed them onto the roof of the building.
So many discs. Those little buggers are probably still up there, blinding low flying planes.
"Worked at one..."
Worked at one as the company spiraled the drain and was fired before the stores in our area started to shut down.
The first six months - year that I was there was awesome. We were a franchise location so things like upselling and add ons weren't really emphasized.
Then we sold out to the Blockbuster company because the guy who owned our store wanted to get out while the getting was good.
Basically all of our policies changed overnight. We went from having our goal being, ya know, finding the right movie to rent to someone to getting penalized if they left with only a movie.
There's an episode of King of the Hill where Hank spends a month talking people up about finding the right grill for them and then like Bobbie is hired to be a propane tank wiper but he sells people the grills they don't need and at the end of the month, Hank has to swoop in to sell people the stuff they actually need.
I was like Hank Hill. I knew movies and knew most of our regulars well enough to know who needed what so basically every day I wasn't in the guys who were good at sales were getting them what they didn't need and I would have to clean up the mess the next day.
People always say that Netflix killed Blockbuster but honestly what happened was Blockbuster panicked and then got greedy and shot themselves in the foot. Instead of providing decent service to people they decided that the best thing to do was try to make as much money as quickly as possible.
"When I was first hired..."
When I was first hired, we went from 10 employees:
- Store manager, assistant manager, 3 shift managers, 5 CSRs.
To 5:
- Store manager, assistant manager, 3 shift managers.
It was weird the way corporate tried to make us cut costs. If a store is telling you to reuse old garbage bags, you know they're in a bad place.
There were days where only 2 employees ran the whole store. One of the lead managers came in to open, and a 2nd manager came in to help close in the evening.
We weren't allowed to give any refunds for any reason. If the customer didn't want an item after it was rung up, we weren't allowed to cancel the transaction.
If the register was under for some reason, the store manager made the closer pay the rest and said they would refund them later. Often times they didn't.
They still made us push the rewards program up until the end. But instead of rewarding us for selling rewards cards, we would be given a write-up or fired if we didn't sell any in a month.
It kinda got a bit scary at the end.
Meeting someone new, even in the simplest of situations, is never easy.
Who doesn't want to be liked?
First impressions are everything.
So we need a list of all of the things that put people off instantly.
This way, we're all aware.
Redditor Nicole9391 wanted to hear about all of the things that send people running when they say hello for the first time, so they asked:
"What is an INSTANT turn off?"
I am always immediately turned off by people who don't listen.
Shut Up!
"When someone talks bad about their friends."
MarcelineVampQn
"Don’t talk about anyone behind their backs. If you are curious about something that’s okay but don’t say bad things about anyone even if you don’t like them."
wondafresh
'yeahyeahyeah'
"When someone asks you a question and you respond, they interrupt with 'yeahyeahyeah' and continue with their thought without taking anything you've just said into consideration."
"Why do people have a problem with just shutting the hell up and just listening for a second? Is your attention span that short?"
SuumCuique1011
"This is me, but because I have extremely short memory retention and cannot hold a thought for more than 10 seconds. I’m a great listener, but when I want to say something, I NEED to say it and quickly otherwise I’ll lose it and feel annoyed at myself for a few hours till I remember a week later."
DepressedPotato--
Economics
"Thinking people are below them. Not because of character or anything but individuals who just base their judgment on someone's socio economic situation etc. It's a big freaking turn off."
"Don't judge someone based on how much money they have, where they live etc. Judge them based on character."
"So yeah, definitely a**holes are a turn off lol."
TheTorontoExplorer
Be the Change
"Unwillingness to learn or change. Intellectually or emotionally, people who cannot admit that they are wrong or don't know something. And by extension, making sh*t up because they can't say 'I don't know.'"
DifferentShallot8658
"I can’t stand know-it-alls! Especially when you are more knowledgeable/qualified on a topic and nicely explain to them the facts and they brush you off!!! Haughty little sh*ts."
Affectionate-Car-317
If you can't have clean undies, just have none.
The Sign
"A 'it’s because of my zodiac' woman."
"Yeah I remember once my friend was trying to guess my Zodiac (I’m an Aries) she swore I was a Leo I said no. Capricorn? No. Oh oh! Sagittarius! I was like yeah! She said I KNEW IT! (With a brief explanation) then I was like nah I'm An Aries.🤣🤣🤣"
JustXTE
Be Open
"Closed-minded people. Which there are a lot of. If you can’t have a nuanced discussion with someone then how can you connect with people? Being able to humor ideas and thoughts intellectually without being overly judge mental is a big turn on. And that doesn’t have to be someone who’s open minded about politics. I appreciate people who let conversations flow despite not sharing all the same opinions."
D_Ubird
Bad Mouth
"Really bad or unclean teeth for me. Once met a really cute girl at a dark bar/club and we went for food after. In the well lit restaurant she looked even better until she smiled and in the light I could see that her teeth were a sickly gray color with a weird film of gunk all over and stuff in the cracks of her teeth as well."
"Literally reminded me of the orcs from LOTR. Pretty sure it was either from bad dental hygiene or drug use, or both but I instantly felt nauseous. A few crooked teeth is normal but when your mouth looks like an anglerfish I'm out."
thestrandedmoose
Don't Breathe
"Poor hygiene in situations where you really shouldn't be displaying it. Sure, we all fart into our sweatpants and occasionally forget to brush the grease out of our hair at home, but going out and public and being gross is, well, gross."
agent-a**butt
Hell No!
"Smoking cigarettes Or just being rude for no reason. I don’t mind saying something slightly rude to be a joke and maybe it just isn’t funny. But if they are just rude for rudeness sake. Automatic no."
Zordon56
Just Flow
"Not having their own opinion always going with the flow Like I understand sometimes but always going with flow might just make you a boring person."
nahhomi
"I'm a go with the flow kind of person because I like very few things, dislike only a handful of things, and everything else I'm just indifferent towards. It's hard to have an actual opinion comparing two things you couldn't be bothered to care about one way or another."
"When I do have a preference, sure I'll put my two cents in, but I don't see the point when I don't care."
ShortManRob
What have we learned?
First impressions are everything!
Anything you'd like to add to the list? Let us know in the comment below.
People Break Down How An Act Of Kindness Totally Backfired And Blew Up In Their Face
It's always wonderful to see people who do random acts of kindness for others, without expecting anything in return, and generally making the world a little bit better place.
But sometimes misunderstandings happen, especially among strangers or acquaintances, and sometimes our actions backfire, even if they came from the kindest of places.
Already cringing, Redditor UnorthadoxGenealogy asked:
"What's something you did out of the kindness of your heart only for it to backfire and blowup in your face?"
Past Job in IT
"I work IT. Naturally, people call you when their computer breaks."
"Of course, once you fix an issue, everything else that happens to that computer is somehow your fault."
"Replaced a laptop battery? Well, that must be why their hard drive failed six months down the line. Screw that. I don't work on other people's stuff anymore."
- EyeOfTheRedKing
A Close Call
"I was driving into a petrol station and saw a cyclist lying unconscious on the side of the road, obviously having been side-swiped by a car. I parked, ran in, and told the operator about it, asked them to call an ambulance and police, etc."
"By this time a bunch of people had gathered around the cyclist, and while we were waiting, this woman started accusing me of being the one who hit him. Because, 'Why would you care so much about helping him unless you were the guilty one?!'"
"The police and ambulance came, and I saw this woman immediately run over to them and start gesticulating in my direction. The police came over and asked me some questions 'as a witness,' but I began to get a bit worried."
"Fortunately, by this time, the cyclist had recovered consciousness and was able to describe a vehicle that was obviously not mine as being the one that hit him. The police apologized for bothering me and said they had no further questions."
"The woman looked visibly annoyed and frustrated that she hadn't been able to get me in trouble..."
- MisterMarcus
Lending Money
"I absolutely hate it when you lend people money and then they act annoyed and twist in a way that makes you feel bad."
"Doesn't really matter whether it is a big or small amount. If I realize someone isn't paying back small sums on his own and act annoyed or pissed, when you remind them (or when they even forget), then I usually do not lend them any money anymore."
"It shouldn't be my job to remind people of that. The thing is also that you can't win with those people. If you don't ask they will probably never give it back or at least drag it out for ages. If you persistently ask, more often than not, you get some undeserved snarky remark about how stingy you are or that you shouldn't take it so seriously, etc."
"Stuff like that ticks me off, but if you get agitated then you are the crazy one because you get worked up over 'a few bucks.'"
- Invictu520
Grocery Haul
"A guy that used to work for us had no car. His wife needed to go pick up groceries. I had the flu and wanted to just sleep in my bed, but she gave me a sob story about not having any food at all (this was before grocery delivery was really a thing), so I told her I could take her for a few things."
"She knew how sick I was and promised she would just get a few essentials while I slept in the car. TWO HOURS LATER, she walked out with two carts of groceries and loaded them up. I groggily took her home and drive home and crawled into bed."
"That evening, her husband came to my house and confronted me about being 'really grumpy' about taking his wife to the store and being mean to her."
"I straight up told him I had the flu, I wasn't grumpy, I was half-awake, but don't worry because I would never run either of them anywhere ever again. Ungrateful a**holes."
- GreenOnionCrusader
Boundaries Crossed
"I had an old, lonely lady who used to come to see me at work. She was sweet and we would talk quite a bit, and she told me I was the only person who 'understood her' or 'took the time' with her."
"I don’t remember how this happened but I gave her my personal phone number for her to give me a call whenever she felt depressed or lonely."
"I ended up getting phone calls every hour throughout the night and day, which I couldn’t always answer because I had a job? A kid? I was sleeping?"
"Anyway, she then began leaving me very nasty voicemails that I had 'abandoned' her and 'was just like everyone else.'"
"It was wild."
- Starlight_City45
New Level of Friendship: Unlocked
"I used to pop into a bar by my apartment after work and met a guy named Tom. At first, it was just small talk but eventually, we started having more serious conversations, and I thought, 'Cool, a new friend.' I gave him my number and suddenly my phone was blowing up every day."
"I was working full-time and had my own life; I couldn't drop everything at a moment's notice every time he called or texted and it was all the fucking time."
"The breaking point was him calling me on a Tuesday around midnight asking why I wasn't at the bar hanging out. Uh, because I have to work tomorrow?"
"Suddenly he was saying things like, 'I knew you were just like everyone else,' and 'nobody wants to be friend.' I just couldn't do it anymore. Like, I'm sorry you have trouble making friends but being hyper-clingy and texting me 50 times a day demanding we hang out isn't the answer."
- apocalypticradish
Tough Luck Stories
"I used to be a sucker for a hard luck story."
"Oh, you need $1000 to buy a car so you can go see your kid? Sure, I got you, just pay me back."
"You need help buying Christmas presents for your kids? Sure, I'll help!"
"You want me to let you crash at my place for a couple of days while you figure some s**t out? I got you!"
"Every single one left me with no money, fewer friends, and a growing distrust of people."
- bstyledevi
Let It Snow
"Not my story, my dad's..."
"A woman went off the road & into a snow bank right out front of my Dad's auto shop, and he happened to be in a tow truck (he'd just serviced) with a customer. They went up to the lady to see if they could help, and she was on the phone with the police (laughing out loud) for a tow."
"The police came, and asked if they could pull her out as they were already there and another truck could be hours. They agreed, but they made it clear to the woman and the cop they would not be liable for anything. Just get the car outta the ditch and back on the road."
"Sure enough, after almost an hour of shoveling and laying in snow/slush to get this thing out, the first thing she says is, 'Oh, you caused damage, look, that's bent, etc., etc.' The cop told them to get the h**l outta there and he'd sort the lady out."
"Save someone a penny, and it'll cost you a dollar..."
- kittenxx96
That Mean Girl Energy
"I sat down with a girl who liked me in a private setting and explained that I was already in a relationship but would like to remain friends. She used that opportunity to tell my girlfriend (now wife) that I was cheating on her."
"This, of course, wasn’t true but she proceeded to make up a lot of s**t to start fights between my girlfriend and me. It almost ended our relationship until we had a long conversation and realized that everything we had been told by her was a lie."
"You’re probably wondering why I didn’t figure she was lying to my girlfriend sooner. That’s because she pretended to be my friend through the whole thing and would seemingly take my side. My girlfriend and I talked for hours, and when we did, we realized who was lying to us."
- SwerveTheNerve
What a Catch
"I had an ex that lost her job and apartment. I told her (she was my girlfriend at the time) to come live with me if she wanted, so she’d have a roof over her head and access to necessities. I paid for everything under the premise that she would try and find other employment opportunities."
"I even bought her a car and paid for the insurance so she wouldn’t have to rely on public transportation, considering it’s not always easy to find a job in your immediate area."
"She was banging some dude in my own bed while I was working night shifts. Kicked her to the curb, sold the car, and used part of the money to buy a new bed."
- irnbrd00
Gotta Get That Insurance Info
"I saw an accident while driving through my neighborhood. Stopped to help the lady because her car was stopped in the middle of the road. The car that hit her drove off."
"When the cops arrive, the lady told the cop that I hit her. I figured she just made a mistake but then she told the cop some made-up story."
"The cops asked for my license/registration, and it took a while to convince them that it wasn't me because I had no damage whatsoever and the amount of damage meant that the other car was also badly damaged."
- frank-sarno
That High School Audacity
"Very simple but I had a friend in high school that was very upset that she had done poorly on an exam. Like full-on crying that she might not get an A (like she did well, but not up to her standards)."
"I got her her favorite candy bar from a vending machine and hugged her and told her that it would be alright, that she was smart, and that no matter what, she did her best."
"She, very coldly, told me to f**k off and that she didn't want a f**king candy bar. So I f**ked off and had a candy bar."
- cherrybomb_777
Le Sigh.
"When I was in high school, I offered to help a classmate who was struggling with French homework. I took time every week to help her with it."
"On the one occasion when I couldn't, she told other people that I couldn't be trusted."
- StuffEmersonSays
Literally Backfired
"I have the perfect response for this post. While trying to break people up from fighting, I got my head smashed in myself. One of the two went full rampage on me, and I remember receiving three hits."
"The next thing I remember is me feeling blood drip down my face to see my eyebrow fully split open, the side of my face swollen, my jaw hurting, and my tooth broken off."
"I did not even know any of the two fighting people. Just wanted to help and have an evening full of fun instead of this s**t."
- TheEpiczzz
Paid in Good Ravioli
"An elderly woman in my exercise class (I am no spring chicken myself) who was always grumbly and stiff was complaining about her shoulder. She also mentioned wanting to get her kitchen repainted but couldn't afford it and certainly couldn’t do it herself."
"I love to paint and am not afraid of a ladder so I volunteered, thinking this was a good deed I was doing for an old widow in a small house."
"Well, when I went to her 'small house' to discuss the job, it turns out it was at least 3000 square feet with a gigantic kitchen. She also wanted the ceiling done. I had to demur, it was overwhelming. She asked if I could paint her powder room. I said yes to that."
"When taking a break from painting, she and I sat at her kitchen table and she talked about going on vacation to Ireland with her family. Wow. So she certainly could have afforded to pay someone to paint or have one of her 40-year-old kids do it."
"But no. This perfect stranger volunteered out of the goodness of her heart and got paid in ravioli. At least the tomato sauce was incredible."
- SukiSouthfield
Doing good deeds generally feels wonderful, unless something about that good deed goes horribly wrong.
And if any of these Redditors second-guessed doing a good deed in the future, we couldn't exactly blame them.
Though it's often used as the butt of jokes, there's still a lot to appreciate in the United States, whether you live there or are visiting.
But there are also a lot of things that leave onlookers infinitely perplexed about what it's actually like to live in the United States and why they do things like that.
Redditor DadIsMadAtMe asked:
"What’s the hardest thing for you to comprehend about the American culture?"
School Pride!
"School mascots. Where I live, we just have teams and just play matches against people."
"In America, it’s all like, 'GO, EASTTOWN EAGLES!!! OOGACHACKA!' and there would be some person in a cheapo eagle suit spinning a basketball on his fingers or something. You would have a full dramatic cheerleader dance-off before your match, we just shake hands and stare hard at each other."
- benderbrodriguez2
No Child Left Behind
"Canadian here on spring break in Florida."
"I can't get over the baseline... I don't know how to say it, the baseline education level? There are smart people, but there are also completely uneducated people. Like, the divide is massive."
- Spiffydude98
Little-To-No Paid Time Off
"Having two weeks vacation or no PTO (Personal Time Off) for most."
"In my current country, you have to take two weeks of mandatory leave in a row. Including public holidays, I get about seven weeks of vacation per year."
- poor_decision
Financial Debt Culture
"How casual debt is, how easy it is to take loans and credit cards out in other people's names without their knowledge, and how casual it is to rack up huge amounts of debt."
- StrangeDarkling
...Enough Said.
"College fraternities."
- Gorazde
Where's the Poutine?
"Americans love french fries, cheese, and gravy, but poutine never took off south of the border. Always found that odd."
- righhanddan
Zero-Tolerance Policies
"The zero-tolerance rule... Who came up with that s**t? The victim is the one who is f**ked. Either he gets bullied or he gets a penalty for defending himself."
- vomahaf244
Political Followers
"A lot of people follow and worship politicians like they’re gods with flags and all that s**t. In the UK, it’s universally acknowledged that we hate all politicians pretty much equally."
- Monkeytennis01
Tipping Culture
"Having to tip almost everywhere. It definitely makes sense at some places, but feel like we have to tip at the most random of places these days."
- Educational_Word_647
Cultural Appropriation
"I speak as a Latin American, just setting that down on the table."
"I don’t get why people think that using something from my culture or showing interest in Latin culture is 'cultural appropriation.' I’ve even spoken to a lot of people in my culture about this thing and we all think it’s alright."
- OG_sweaterguy
Healthcare
"Your healthcare system, it's so complicated and expensive. And people going bankrupt because they get sick, what bulls**ttery is this?"
- MrTempleDene
The Stereotypical American Eagle
"American here, fun fact! That stereotypical screech you commonly hear associated with the bald eagle is actually a red-tailed hawk. Bald eagles do not make that sound. They make more of a weird (way less cool) chirping sound."
"I was too old when I learned this for the first time."
- ay-aye-ron
Plus Tax... What?
"Why don't they include tax in the total price of something? Just include it and make life easier. I don't want to have to do maths every time I go there and buy something."
- Old_Understanding325
Not In That Exact Order
"You are allowed to drive a car at 16, own guns, and sign up for the military at 18. But alcohol, behold the devil's liquid!, is only for 21+. The math ain't mathin'."
- lover_of_wisdom_
Money Money Money Money
"Lobbying."
"Legal bribery, what the h**l."
"Also, why do you have to do your taxes? If the Government, in the end, knows if what you paid was what you actually owed, why not just tell you."
- Lolleos
People looking in on the United States definitely had some questions about the people who live there and the systems they have to observe. But the big secret is that many Americans are asking the same exact questions.
People Confess Which Things They Swore They'd Never Do As A Kid But Ended Up Doing Anyway
When you were younger, your protected perspective on life and the world was probably significantly different compared to now.
Before life experience informed your decisions, younger you most likely had higher aspirations to achieve a specific goal or swore off doing something you found objectionable.
But here you are, as an adult, doing the exact opposite of what you had intended.
Curious to hear from strangers online about their developmental growth, Redditor 1234kyou_ asked:
"What did you swear in your childhood you would never do, but ended up doing anyways?"
Some hobbies that delighted us as kids never really go away as these Redditors have experienced.
The "Bird Creep"
"Birdwatching. I used to think it was the lamest way someone could spend their time when I was a kid. How could anyone just sit around and look at birds? What are you, some kind of bird creep? ... 20 years later and I'm obsessed with birds. Love hearing their songs and seeing all the beautiful colors."
– Koala-teas
Unfilled Dream
"Give up drawing."
"I actually broke my own heart when I recently found a school project we did back when I was a kid. We had to write a letter for our future selves and mine starts with: 'Hey, did you become an artist already? I really hope you did not become a boring adult with a boring job who gave up on his dreams and passions.'"
"Well, sorry little me, but I kinda did."
– Aesma_
Tending To One's Garden
"Gardening. We had a large garden. We raised and preserved what we grew. It was me and my sister's job to care for this garden. This was back when whipping your child was acceptable punishment. I was whipped sooo many times, because I hated that I had to grew and preserved vegetables I did not like. I hated it! Swore I'd never have a garden. Never do THAT to my kids. Then I had kids. A switch flipped in my head. I had to have a garden! I never made my kids take care of it. Gardening was my 'me' time. But being little kids, they wanted to be with mom and 'help' with the garden. I 'gave' them an area and they were allowed to grow whatever they wanted. If it was a fruit or vegetables , they had to eat it. As a result, they both love gardening and neither are picky eaters."
– Eogh21
When it comes to keeping it in the family, it's not always the goal.
Like Father...
"I have become my father."
– jer1303
Like Mother...
"I have become my mom.... even the voice is similar."
– rogue1206
Dad's Cynicism
"I've taken on a lot more of my dad's cynicism than I would like, but mostly I have my mom's wonder and carefreeness."
"But my dad is rich and mom is poor."
"He does not share the wealth he just shares 'you should've done X like this'. But his advice is the level of 'tear down the sign punch them in the face and say you're looking at your new employee'. I've also never heard a single dad joke from him."
– BugTester350
Posthumous Disapproval
"When I was touring houses to buy before the pandemic, my mother's spirit must have possessed me because I opened my mouth and her voice said 'i don't know, i don't think I could live in a house without both a coat closet and a linen closet.'"
– TJtherock
Adulting is hard.
The Financial Hole
"Get into debt I can't pay off."
– lilviviv
Potty-Mouth
"I said I wouldn’t curse unless a nuke was dropped on my house. That was a f'king lie."
– -notjosh-
Can't Wait, Don't Hate
"Have sex before marriage. Thank f'k I never made good on that one since I'm 41 and have never been married."
– squid1891
I'm a pretty fussy eater. Always have been.
I grew up in a Japanese family where regularly eating natto was a thing.
Natto is a Japanese dish made from Bacillus subtilis-fermented soybeans. It's known to have magical health benefits but the smell is overwhelmingly powerful, and the nutty taste leaves little to be desired.
Many people not used to eating exotic foods can't stand the flavor and slimy, sticky texture–let alone the pungent aroma.
I swore as a child that would be the one food I would never eat again after having a bad experience.
And yet, here I am as an adult, eating it for breakfast 2-3 times a week after truly understanding the health benefits.
Natto–which is rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals– helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels, reduces blood pressure, and can prevent heart disease. Some studies have suggested it can prevent certain cancers.
Once I trained myself to get used to flavor and smell, I actually crave it now.
It's definitely an acquired taste, but it's crazy to know that we are all capable of liking or appreciating something previously thought of as repulsive once we set our mind to it.