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Build-A-Bear Employees Describe The Most Memorable Voice Recordings Customers Have Made

Build-A-Bear Employees Describe The Most Memorable Voice Recordings Customers Have Made
Barrett Ward on Unsplash

A Build-A-Bear workshop may be "Where Best Friends Are Made," as the toyshop claims.

But the stores also have the capacity to breed mischief, thanks to naughty customers taking advantage of the personalized voice recording option–a popular feature.


While most of the submitted recordings are completely innocent, not all of the customer-submitted voice recordings are always in line with the good-natured appearance of the affable toy bear.
Curious to hear examples of some "interesting" audio emanating from the stuffed toy, Redditor elephanturd asked:
"Build A Bear workers what's the strangest voice recording you've heard?"

These are examples of scenarios when a customer couldn't speak for themselves.

Regretful Bear

"I had a guy come in with loads of shopping bags. Flowers and chocolates. Typical gifts you'd get a girlfriend but WAY too many. He bought a bear and just recorded."

"Hannah, I'm SORRY!"

"He didn't seem in the mood to talk so I didn't pry but everyone in the store agreed it was a terrible idea. Reminding your girlfriend she's angry at you everytime she squeezes a bear."

– MoonMurph

The Private Message

"I can’t think of any truly strange recordings, but this did make me think of a semi-awkward situation I was in. A dad came in to make stuffed dog for his daughter. His partner was telling me that he was going through some sort of intense custody battle situation and didn’t get to see his daughter very much. He ended up going to like a separate part of the store (or maybe the bathroom? I don’t remember) to record the message. Like, the dude clearly didn’t want anyone to hear it. But then when I put the sound thingy in the dog’s paw and line it up correctly, I kept accidentally pressing it a bunch of times. It was basically him just telling his daughter how much he missed her—so nothing sketchy or anything like that. But I just felt super intrusive because it seemed like it was intended something really personal that I wasn’t supposed to hear."

"So just to be clear - this isn’t a judgment on the customer, just my awkward and clumsy-a** self."

– Skysteps00000

Sexy Bear

"I heard a man there, he had made a 'sexy' recording for giving to his girl. Kinda creepy, but if it worked...."

– IamtheBoomstick

A Bear's Purpose

"A friend gave a girl a bear, when asking her out, with the recording of his voice saying 'It is my duty..... to rock that booty.'"

– finnicko

Adult customers can be silly as mischievous children.

The Bear Doesn't Consent

"In high school at the time, making a bear as a gift for my best friend. Thought it’d be hilarious to put the little heart speaker into the bear’s crotch and have it say 'Don’t touch me there!' when pressed."

"Go to check out and this poor elderly woman working the register grabs the bear in just the right way that at least 10+ people around hear someone shout 'DONT TOUCH ME THERE!!!'”

"All heads turned. I thought I was going to have to resuscitate the poor cashier. Left and never went back."

– WholeKaleidoscope556

Dirty Bear

"I was a customer. One voice recording I managed to hear was 'C*CK AND BALL' very loudly.

– PALLABSemployee

Beware The Volume

"I worked at BABW from 2004-2010. I can’t remember any build-a-sounds that were especially outrageous. My favorite was when the parents really didn’t care, so the kid would record something long, rambling, and odd. The sound costs $8 back then, so almost as much as some bears, but the parents would just shrug it off as the kids screamed some random message."

"If it was an important message, like a proposal, I would try to persuade people to just buy the sound box, then go record it at home, and come back another day to make the bear. People don’t realize that Build-a-Bears are hella loud. Those stuffy machines were basically vacuums and playing your build-a-sound while standing next to vacuum and gaggles of children is not a great representation of what you’ve just recorded. It is going to play back LOUD. We’d have people record in the bathroom regularly, which was better than recording in the store, but very echoey."

– FattyOlive

Oliver, The Sardonic Bear

"Customer, not worker, but John Oliver has a comedy sketch about when he moved from the UK to New York and he was feeling really lonely, so his friends got him a present: a Build-a-Bear that said 'You will die, alone, in a dark, cold room.' That's friendship for you."

"Well, my sister thought it was hilarious, so I went and did it for her. You get some weird looks at the store, but even as she moved across the country from me, she took it with her and cherished that someone cared enough about her to build a stuffed bear telling her she would die alone to satisfy her sense of humor."

"She named the bear Oliver."

– Mijal

A Parent Bonds With Their Daughter

"My daughter when she was 11- in a creepy voice, 'Get your Paws offa me!' We laughed like idiots, playing it over and over on the way home. Her mom did not share our humor. We still laugh about it 15 years later, but I'm pretty sure wife burned the bear."

– Old_Study2105

Pleasure Bear

"Yesterday, a high schooler came in and wanted to record anime moans from his phone. BaB vetoes some recordings..."

– Mucidia

Get A Clue

"I mean probably not weird but I set up a scavenger hunt for my wife each clue solved gave her a letter collect all five letters and solve the cryptex."

"The clue I gave her was something like 'the beating source of life needs to be removed, do you have the stomach to do what you must?' I wrote the letter on the little heart they put on it and they sealed it up. I recorded the jigsaw quote I want to play a game' on the speaker and when she found the stuffed dog it had a picture of jigsaw and a knife."

– turk_turklton

Introducing, "Suitcase"

"My bear didn’t say anything he just mooed like a cow. I also named him suitcase."

– ecargrace

On the flip side, memorial bears are a poignant options for those in grief.

A Boy Memorialized

"My son works at BaB. His very first day of work he had to build a memorial bear. The mother and grandmother came in with a voice recording of the little boy who died of cancer. It was a recording of the kid saying he was brave and loved his life."

– MyPonyMeeko

Grandma's Heartbeat

"I can't count the number of memorial bears Ive made."

"Most recently had a family bring in a recording of their grandma's heartbeat to make a bear for each grandkid."

"I think the weirdest one I got was a couple preteens recording a tiktok onto the build a sound. I'm not sure exactly what was on it, but they were really awkward about it, so I ended up turning the computer down really low so it didn't project through the whole store. I made an extra effort to not squeeze the sound as I put it in the paw."

"Us Bear Builders have lots of stories. Some good, some sad, some downright terrifying."

– Raisyk

A Gift For A Bereaved Mother

"I had a lady come in to make a memorial bear for the mother of a baby who died, she put an audio recording of the baby crying."

– Bartok_and_croutons

Auditory Reminder

"Definitely not creepy. We had our baby’s heartbeat recorded during an ultrasound and put it into a stuffed animal. My newborn daughter passed away a few weeks after delivery and now that heartbeat is something we have to remind us of her."

– BigCaT31

It's no wonder that BaB toys are so popular.

It's next-level roses and chocolates gift-giving option for all occasions.

Of course, it's also a huge opportunity for vexatious customers to exploit the personalizing feature for their dirty deeds.

Which customer are you?

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Products That Failed Because They Were Way Ahead Of Their Time

Reddit user kingpin000 asked: 'What failed when it was initially released, but turned out to be ahead of its time years later?'

It is not uncommon in this world for people to be underappreciated or even ridiculed for their work because they were ahead of their time. Nicolaus Copernicus was mocked for his theory that the universe was heliocentric. Jackson Polluck's art was only revered posthumously.

This is true for many things, including inventions, movies, video games, and even restaurants.

Redditors know this all too well. They have identified what things failed when they were initially released but turned out to be ahead of its time, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor kingpin000 asked:

"What failed when it was initially released, but turned out to be ahead of its time years later?"

Dual Uses

"Viagra. Fascinating history. It was developed as a blood pressure medicine in the 80s. The bonerific side effect was “embarrassing” and “unwanted” in the 80s, but desired a decade or so later when sex became less taboo."

"So, it failed as a mainstream blood pressure pill, but succeeded as a boner pill."

– Myzyri

"It's actually used as a blood pressure medication still, but it's for the more rare Pulmonary Hypertension."

– Blueshark25

That's Why They're Called Sticky Notes

"The glue that became part of Post-Its. The guy who invented them was trying to create a stronger glue for the aerospace industry, but the adhesive he created was a weak adhesive. Years later one of his colleagues used that adhesive to create a bookmark that didn't fall out of the book he was reading. Eventually, that idea became Post-Its."

– mom_with_an_attitude

"If I recall the story correctly, it was a hymn book which had delicate pages."

"The Post-Its adhesive worked great on it by not ripping or ruining the pages."

– teems

Pre-Spotify

"I always feel like the Zune and their music model was ahead of its time. 10 dollars month for unlimited downloads while at the time you were paying 1 dollar per single. Now everyone just uses Spotify for the same thing."

– sausagepizza

"You also got to keep 10 of the songs you downloaded at the end of each month. It was essentially paying for 10 songs with as free streaming on top."

– evanzknigh39

If Only They Waited

"Touch screens."

"Yes they are everywhere now but the Buicks 1986 model had one, and most cars today have it."

"Hell, the concept was developed in 1965!!!"

– BotherDesperate7169

"Microsoft pushed a tablet computer about 5 years or so before the iPad got released. It failed miserably and they quickly gave up on the idea."

– saugoof

Almost, But Not Quite

"Vine. They were almost TikTok, but weren’t."

– Gauzey

"I don’t understand why Vine died and Tik Tok lives?"

– kapt_so_krunchy

"Because Vine was ahead of its time."

– MrBoomf

The Big Screen

"The movie Blade Runner."

– Agreeable_Pizza93

"Shawshank flopped in the theaters. It's a classic because TNT began airing it because it was cheap. Boys grew up watching Shawshank. Now it's one of IMDb ten greatest films."

"We can also look at It's a Wonderful Life."

– Econoj

"I've said it on here before somewhere. But The Thing went from being an absolute critical bomb at the time... to being one of the most lauded (and rightfully so) horror sci films ever created now. Specific tastes aside, anyone who enjoys horror probably has The Thing in their top 10."

– 10019245

Can't Believe This Flopped

"Bluetooth was released with a huge fanfare and then fizzled for a few years before it really took off."

– FearlessTomatillo911

"This should be a huge one! It flopped on the market for a long time before someone figured out how to use it correctly and now it’s a staple for electronics."

– ballnout

Just When He Got Rid Of It...

"Debit cards. My dad got one in the 70’s when they were a new idea and nobody seemed to understand them and didn’t take them. He finally got rid of his. Now……"

– sas5814

My Favorite Childhood Toy

"Slime (silly putty). originally, it was an attempt to replace rubber during WW2."

– pupunhaLover

Vroom, Vroom

"Electric car."

"German engineer Andreas Flocken built the first real electric car in 1888. The first electric car in the United States was developed in 1890–91 by William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa; the vehicle was a six-passenger wagon capable of reaching a speed of 23 km/h (14 mph)."

– george_sg

What Might've Been

"Google Glass the biggest argument against it was ppl being so angry about the wearers filming them. Here we are 10+ years later and everyone films everything everywhere they go. And we have ppl wearing GoPros and other klunky cameras all the time."

"The Google Glass offered AR, filming, assistant functionally, map and web access all in an easy to wear and use piece of tech that was also super cool and futuristic. I think if it had taken off we would have even more advanced models now. It was just WAY too ahead of it's time for widespread adoption. I think it would be wildly popular now."

– JubalHarshawII

For Man's Best Friend

"Pets.com. Everyone laughed at the idea after the tech bubble burst. Chewy.com is worth $10B today."

– Bishop_Pickerling

"If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that animal lovers will drop some serious cash."

– FunAdministration334

Shut Up And Drive

"The Sinclair C5 electric vehicle. Complete flop in 1985, but now a thriving hobby as many people are upgrading them with modern batteries, motors, disc brakes, etc. So much fun to drive."

– TheKingOfDub

"Sinclair C5."

"Can't help but feel had it been succesful, the following iterations would be superior to the e-bikes we have now."

– SmeeegHeead

Eye Of The Beholder

"Van Gogh's paintings. Amy Pond from Doctor Who knew how good he was, but none of Vincent's contemporaries did, and he eventually died by his own hand."

– tunghoy

Poor Van Gogh. He's my favorite artist!

I'm glad he's appreciated now, even if he wasn't in his own time.

(And this is exactly why Doctor Who's Amy Pond was my favorite companion!)

A well dressed man screams into a phone
Icons8 Team/Unsplash

Life can be destroyed in an instant.

Every single moment of every single day we make choices that can further our existence or ruin it.

Sadly, it often feels like a majority of us choose the latter option.

We only get one life.

Why is it so hard to make the most of it?

We're all guilty of poor decision-making.

That's okay, as long as we learn from it.

It feels like there is always time to right wrongs.

The truth is, there's not.

That clock eventually runs out.

Redditor metalnxrd wanted to hear about the people who have brought personal wreckage to themselves, so they asked:

"Who are some people you know personally, or otherwise, who ruined their own lives, and how?"

I've watched too many people self-destruct.

It all starts in the mirror.

Don't be afraid to look.

All-In

Season 17 What GIF by America's Got TalentGiphy

"Took out a mortgage on his house and leveraged all his other assets to go all-in on Luna coin. It worked beautifully until it didn't."

Particular-Natural12

Bad Ideas

"Had a buddy who got scouted by professional baseball when we were in high school. They wanted him in the farm system, his mom wanted him in college. So the team allowed it."

"Dude found meth before leaving for college. He never made it there."

"He's now homeless and on his last legs."

BosskHogg

Receipts, please...

"Family member addicted to shopping. She & her husband made really good money and could have had a very comfortable life. Every single year she decided she didn’t like their house, sold at a loss, and then renovated and bought all new designer furniture for every new house. On top of that, she constantly bought multiple pieces of the same designer clothes and jewelry (why?), art, cosmetic procedures etc."

"Eventually they couldn’t even get a mortgage anymore and were in an insane amount of debt, lost their cars and everything else they owned. She ended up stealing her mother’s credit card to use for restaurants and attempted to make a bunch of frivolous lawsuits which just resulted in more legal debt."

Guineacabra

Out of Recovery

"I helped an old friend of my mother-in-law for some time, she was in recovery for some years. She had drunk so heavily for so long that she developed a neurological disorder that left her debilitated. She gradually lost her balance, her motor skills and coordination, and is now hospitalized and unable to care for herself."

"She is almost a decade younger than me and her life of independence is over. She will remain bedridden and rely on others for her most basic needs for the remaining years of her life. This is neither far-fetched nor the worst-case scenario, people die from addiction every day."

Optimal-Scientist233

Move On

"Staying in bad relationships, doubling down and marrying and having children. Now they have the same relationship problems that they had ten years ago but with children involved."

pitathegreat

Being alone by yourself is better than being alone in a relationship.

If you need a reminder please listen to Ms. Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right, But It's Okay!" on repeat daily.

Tainted Love

Shaking Head Reaction GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphy

"SIL is a trainwreck. Ruined her marriage, ruined her relationship with her kids, lost her house and car, all to be with some abusive piece of crap."

ThePelky

Weekly Drama

"A friend from HS won a thousand a week for life. Never went to college. Never held down a long-term job. Always worried some lady was trying to take his money by getting pregnant or or stealing it through marriage. Has had a very mediocre life without much progression or new relationships."

"The rest of the friend group used to think he was the luckiest guy alive. Now we all just try to keep his spirits up when we get together and keep our advice to ourselves. He is aware of the solutions to his problems at a 10-mile view but the $1000/week has sapped his will to execute any self-improvement plan."

TheUnblinkingEye1001

Dead Dreams

"Midlife Crisis... Came to a realization they didn't have something they really wanted in their life. Abandoned everything they already had (job, family, friends) to chase that dream. Finally forced to realize what they were chasing was an unobtainable illusion but the damage was already done."

varthalon

Ruined

"Someone in our friend group keeps having kids with people and then leaving, screwing him financially because of child support. He can't hold any jobs and has stolen from friends. Right now he's crashing on one of my friend's couches. I dunno why they are allowing him to stay there."

dinoaids

Make better choices.

Please.

Do you have any similar stories? Let us know in the comments.

As much as we might like to be, we can't be good at literally everything.

But when we struggle with something that everyone else seems to naturally "get," that can be a hard thing to accept.

Redditor B**IZDeepInUrMom asked:

"What are you below average at?"

Legible Handwriting

"My handwriting is nuts one person described it as looking like a serial killer's mad scribbles."

- Hopper-1986

"A nurse once told me I sign with doctor scribbles."

- tonytonyrigatony

Carrying a Tune

"Singing. I’m very bad. I only sing in the car and I still fear I may one day be cautioned by police for being so terrible."

- 24-Hour-Hate

"Do you know why I pulled you over? That B was way off-pitch, sir (or ma'am)!! I'm arresting you for murdering that song!"

- Abbadon0666

"One of my biggest fears is pocket-dialing someone while I’m singing in the car."

- hockeybag2

The Quiet Ones

"Words spoken per day."

- CrediblyHandsome

"Why say many word, when few word do trick?"

- TitanBrews

"Yessss, someone who gets it. I use like four words every day at school."

- harryyougoboom

"I go through more, but it's mostly 'Excuse me' and 'Thank you' and other s**t I'm required to say 1,000 times per day to not be thought a sociopath."

- RichardBottom

Listening Skills

"Listening. I'm trying, but it's tough to change a lifetime habit."

- Actual_Green_7433

"I'm sorry?"

- keeeeener

"Did you say something?"

- BigTenBiden

Basic Social Interactions

"Social interactions."

- DxNxWx

"I SUCK at social interactions."

"'Nice weather today.'"

"'Thanks.'"

"A new cringe core memory unlocked."

- antoine-sama

No Flirting Game

"I'm not good at noticing when someone flirts with me. I'm not even very good at knowing the difference between an extrovert being friendly and them hitting on me."

- Not_Jim3

"My current girlfriend and I met at a club. I was crossing the dance floor; she got in my way, and we had an awkward encounter. Happened a couple more times before I got the clue: 'Oooh, I think she wants us to meet...'"

"Other than my girlfriend, I maintain I have never been flirted with or hit on once."

"Not. Once."

- clever_username_eh

Vertically Challenged

"Height. I'm only five feet tall."

- Damseldoll

"Same."

- FlyingFox32

Elusive Math Skills

"I've always been the kind of guy who 'seems smart' because I'm good with English and communication, and I'm good enough at the kind of 'real world' math like percentages, multiplication, addition and subtraction, etc."

"Then it gets to sh*t like algebra word problems, trig, calculus and I'm suddenly the dumbest person alive and the world thinks I deserve to die alone in poverty. Go figure, eh?"

- amadeus2490

Poor Sleeping Habits

"Sleeping. As of writing this, I have been struggling to catch up on sleep for about a month and I have been awake for about 16 hours and it is 7:42 AM. I’m so tired."

- HeatoStrike

In Need of Driver's Ed.

"Driving. Watch out for me in the streets!"

- Jiggy_Turner

"Parallel parking. I’ve been driving for two years now and I’m utter garbage at it. I refuse to parallel park even if there’s no angle parking available."

- n123breaker2

Mind Reading

"My wife claims I’m a pretty lousy mind reader, and I’d have to agree with her."

- imacmadman22

Negative Self-Talk

"Probably the ability to feel good about myself."

"Like, why do I think I'm ugly, or why do I think I'm a good person or why the f**k do I think I am Autistic? Probably because I'm dumb as soup."

- Jerney_to_Nirvana

"Or you just don't trust your capacity to see yourself more. I struggle with that s**t."

- dustinAlt

Investing

"Investing. I have no clue what to do."

- cadcamm99

"No one does. It's either people who were rich from the beginning or some random guy who tries to sell you stuff."

- RichieiRocket

Beauty is in the Eye of...

"Convincing my wife she's beautiful."

"The good fight continues."

- toolatealreadyfapped

Clean and Tidy

"Cleaning. I’m slowly getting better but I’m definitely below average."

- SnooGoats7133

"Bro, same, I don’t try to be a slob but everything ends up a mess because I get distracted."

- N3rdy_Cat

"Yeah! And if you’re like me you will not notice until it’s BAD."

- SnooGoats7133

If this was not one of the most relatable threads we've read to date, then we don't know what would be.

The funny thing is that, many of these struggles are struggles we all have or at least think that we have. Perhaps that means that we're really not doing as badly as we think we are, and really we just need to show ourselves some grace.

Closeup of two coffee-filled mugs held by a dating couple.
Jonathan J. Castellon/Unsplash

Finally going out on a date with the person you've been chatting with online is a very exciting yet nerve-wracking first step.

But when you finally meet the person with whom you've developed romantic chemistry online, one of two things can happen–Fireworks or bombs.

In other words, being face-to-face with a prospective love interest for the first time can either confirm your hopes or suspicions about the person whom you know very little about online.

Curious to hear nightmare stories about dating life, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What's the worst date you've ever been on?"

People and their obsession with their electronic devices is getting out of hand.

Mr. Invisible

"Sat for 15 minutes to hear him talk about himself, work and his future plans, and then as he asked me 'what about you?" his hand went to reach his phone and he starts scrolling. I can't stress this enough, his hand reaches his phone at the same time those words left his mouth. It felt to me like he already decided whatever I am going to say was going to be boring so might as well multitask as I talk."

– dracarysthemdown

Self-Incriminating Date

"Went on a date with a chick that took my phone and put a picture of her on my Snapchat, I got 20 messages almost instantly from chicks that knew her and told me to stay away. She was 2 months pregnant, didn’t tell me till my friends did. That was a wild date for sure. She was very upset."

– ThatBrenon131

The Salesperson

"Tinder date. She pulled out her Ipad and started introducing me various insurance plans she is selling."

– IndigoldWeM

"Oooooh god that's almost as bad as trying to recruit a first date into your MLM line..."

– OP

"I had a date that tried to sell me whole life insurance. She told me before the date to meet her at her office. It was downtown so I thought nothing of it. Then she walks me to her desk and tells me to sign some papers."

– Pissedtuna

Sometimes, dates turn out to be disastrous through no fault of participants.

Things Went Downhill

"I thought I would be a little more adventurous and suggest that we go skiing for a first date. At the time, I lived in the south where the closest ski mountain was 2.5 hours away and it was opening day. It became clear that we probably didn’t click on the drive up, but I figured we’d still have a fun day of skiing. On the first run, maybe 100 yards in, she falls hard and tears her acl, lcl, and mcl. It was a very long and awkward car ride back, and I ended up staying with her for several days after to help care for her since she lived alone and was new to the area. She was a very nice woman, but that was just a lot for a first date."

– houston_g

People were forced to make a run for it.

The Great Escape

"So many bad dates over the years. One of the worst was this guy I met on a dating site. We agreed to go to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Turned out his profile picture really was of himself but it was just a 'few' years old. BS! In person, he straight up looked like Santa Claus on vacation complete with the Hawaiian shirt. I was a little unhappy about that but it wasn’t the end of the world. I thought well maybe he is jolly and fun. That turned out to be a big NO."

"So we ordered dinner and he started talking about ex wife #1. She was a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #2 was also a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #3 was a psycho crazy b*tch from hell. He told me ex #3 hit him in the face with a frying pan. He seemed to enjoy my horrified reaction. That was, until I asked what he did he do to her to make her smack him upside the head with said frying pan. Personally, I thought it was an awful date and I couldn’t wait to go home. He ordered dessert. :/"

"mentioned getting home soon and he said We can discuss that later as he was paying for my meal and we were going to enjoy our time together. I waited for a few minutes and politely excused myself to the ladies room. He stood up and watched me go in and was watching me when I came back to the table. It was as if he knew I wanted to bolt out the door. I got my chance when he finally went to the men’s room. I handed the waitress money for my food plus tip and told her I was on a very bad date. I left the restaurant just before he came back from the men’s room. He saw me through the front windows and started screaming like a lunatic. I don’t know what he was saying but I ran to my car!"

– SassyDiva13

Tasks First, Eat Later

"Went out with a guy from POF who lived an hour away from me. (I live in the sticks so this is normal.) I texted him to let him know I was on my way and this dipsh*t proceeded to text me every few minutes to ask me if I was still coming. So much so that I finally had to call him and tell him to stop because I can't text and drive at the same time. In hindsight, I should have turned around and went home right then."

"Finally I get to the place we were meeting. It was a store parking lot. Since we were meeting there and going somewhere else right away, I texted him and said I was there, where are you and he replies insisting I come into the store. He absolutely would NOT come outside to meet me. So I had to spend the first hour of this date following him around an auto parts store while he pawed through every display and bin, not talking to me very much at all."

"Finally he was ready to leave the store and I thought we were going to eat, as we had originally planned. I was starving but he said no, I gotta go return my work uniforms to my old job first. Uhh, okay I guess."

"So we drove in his car to this factory where he parks and says hop out so I can lock my car up. It was cold and rainy so of course he expected me to stand out in it? After like 15 minutes I was like f'k this and I went in the lobby of this place to get out of the rain. For some reason it took this guy 45 more minutes to return his uniforms so I was glad I went into the building to get warm. But apparently this was a huge no-no to him because when he came back out from wherever he went to return this stuff he glared at me like I just dropped trou and took a sh*t in his lap and asked me why I didn't just wait outside. In the cold rain. For almost an hour."

"At last he decided it was time to go to the restaurant. I sat there trying to keep a poker face while he talked to the waitress like he was addressing a toddler, messily stuffed his face and chewed with his mouth open wide and kept glancing around every 30 seconds like he was scared someone was going to see him out with a woman in public."

"Plus he kept asking me invasive and crude sex questions the whole time too. Lovely."

"I quickly inhaled a salad and managed to pay for it at the front without him seeing me, I told him I needed to go to the little girl's room and bounced. Luckily this restaurant was across the highway from the store where I had left my car so I crossed it real quick and blocked him everywhere before I even got the car warmed up."

"I'll betcha a million bucks and a house salad that a**hole was married."

– produkt921

It's unfortunate that people on dating apps aren't always forthright about themselves.

Older Woman

"I wouldn’t say it was the worst but it was the most interesting. Met a lady on a dating app. A Beautiful woman who claimed to be 38 which is my age. I suspected through the pictures she might be in her early 40s. Her profile said she had 3 kids. We talked and she seemed cool. We then met for dinner a week into talking. I could tell she was older but looked younger than she should because of Botox. Within 15 minutes she said she had to tell me the truth because she really likes me. She does not have 3 kids but 6! She is not 38 but 48!"

– bobismymother

The Date That Wasn't A Date But Actually Was A Date

"I didn't even know it was a date."

"Girl I worked with was talking up a breakfast place in a nearby town, and I was like 'that sounds great, let's go this weekend!'"

"We went, I had a great time, the pancakes were amazing, and I had fun hanging out with a work friend outside of work. I thought she had a good time too, she was laughing and fully engaged with the conversation just like normal."

"Like three weeks later, I was talking to another coworker when it all came out that she'd been telling people we went on a terrible date, how I didn't even make a move or flirt or do anything that guys she goes on dates with normally do, and how I even talked about a date with another girl at one point."

"I was flabbergasted, my fat a** genuinely thought we were just a couple of friends getting pancakes."

– SadlyReturndRS

If you're no longer in the dating pool because you found your person, congrats.

There's no doubt you have kissed some frogs along the way to finding true love.

Because if it weren't for all those "horrible dates," you might not be able to appreciate what you've got when the right person comes along.