Casino Employees Share The Worst Reactions To Gamblers Losing Everything
Most people know that gambling is a sure path to loss. Most casinos play games where the odds are never in the favor of the player, and always in favor of the casino taking every last cent you have. That being said... some find it very difficult to rip themselves away from the table and won't stop until they literally have no more to give.
Redditor Rilerific was curious to hear those stories
Casino Employees of reddit, what is the worst you have ever seen someone handle a loss?
Here were some of the most difficult to watch.
25. Pee-ker
A gentleman at a poker table in the five seat urinated on the dealer.
I never caught the signal the dealer used but it was effective as all the guys who normally collect boxes from the tables show up out of nowhere and removed him from the table like they were taking out the trash (well, they were...).
Table broke up so they could clean, dealer showered and put on a new uniform and I saw her on the floor again a few hours later.
24. Phoning It In
I work in I.T. for a Casino and just had to replace a phone that was ripped off the wall and thrown at one of our pit bosses over a bad loss.
23. Pocket Vomit
Dealer for 10 years. 3rd DAY DEALING, fresh out of dealer school I am dealing Pai Gow Tiles. (Asian domino game, try to get pairs and tiles to add up as close to 9 as possible). On a $25 minimum game. Guy bets $25-$75 for a good 2 hours. He then slides his whole stack on one hand for 3k.
For those who know the game, he gets Teen-Dai Bo. I pull Ji-Jun. For those who do not know the game, its like he got pocket kings and I got pocket Aces. Or he pulled a 20 in blackjack and I just pulled 11 cards to make 21. The odds are ASTRONOMICAL. It's the ONLY hand that beats him.
He slams his fist on the table swearing in Chinese, chips fly everywhere, and begins to shove his finger down his throat. He throws up all over my game... Close the table and pit down for clean-up. 3rd day dealing...
Money/benefits are great though. Highly recommend the industry. Made 30-40 an hr.
22. Plane Loss
I actually did work in a casino in Las Vegas a few years back, in VIP services. One of our high rollers, who visited frequently, had a very bad gambling problem that his wife was divorcing him over. He lost everything at the tables and couldn't even afford his plane ticket back home -- the casino felt so sorry for him, we ended up buying a ticket back home for him.
Never heard from him again after that.
21. Vegas Lights
Former table dealer here.
I've had drunk guys tell me I'm the worst dealer ever, I suck, etc. I would just reply "have a nice day!" The other people at the table were generally on my side. I've higher rollers slam the table with their fist or not react at all to losing thousands.
The worst and the saddest one that sticks in my mind is a guy who was around $2,000 down on blackjack. He was nice. He was tipping pretty well. I was rooting for him, as a I tended to do. I knocked his tens for good luck. Then he lost a big one and just yelled so loud that the entire casino must've heard it. It was the kind of desperation in his voice and everything about him that told me he could not afford to lose as much as he just lost. He went to the atm, and I rotated to another table.
It was stuff like that, the smoke in my face, sleep deprivation from the late nights that led me to get out of there. A lot of other unpleasant moments too, but they all blur together. Money was nice, but it wasn't for me.
20. For Luck
Table games dealer here.
I work at a casino in New Zealand. Had a Thai woman a few months ago betting 300k a hand. She lost 12 million at my table in less than an hour. The casino then paid for her private charter jet to Melbourne and back ($70,000) so she could get more money. Not exactly sure why she had to go to Melbourne to get more money, but I was doing a 16 hour shift and she came back to my table after her trip and dropped another 15 million.
Haven't had anyone close to spending that much money ever.
19. Revenge On The Slots
One guy was so angry at his losses that he took 200 quarters, cut them in half, taped one side, and proceeded to put them in various slot machines. Once they entered the machine, it would jam it up.
18. It's Only A Game
Was a waitress in casino establishment 10 years ago. Suicides were not common there but they did happen.
Saddest was an asian woman who hung herself . She lost 20k or so from memory and was not a high roller type.
3-4 days later her car was to be towed from the underground carpark. Sadly she had left her two fluffy dogs in there and nobody knew. Poor things were dead.
The establishment then put on parking patrol officers who check cars every few hours. They would find (alive) dogs and kids in there far too often.
[username deleted]
17. Revenge Of The Slots
I used to be a Casino Host on Cruise Ships casinos. Seen many people lose it, but there is one woman that I'll never forget... She was gambling A LOT. Towards the end of the cruise I would find her on the slots she was crying and playing. I asked her whats wrong and she said I cannot afford to play anymore, this is all on my credit card...talking/playing/crying at the same time. I banned her from the Casino but it was already too late.
16. Tricked
Worked in the cage before becoming a dealer, saddest thing I used to commonly see is people getting cash advances of $15 and paying a $7.99 fee to do it. (It was $7.99 to get up to $100, with $15 being the minimum). They would pay a 50% vig to piddle away $15....I guess they thought that big jackpot was just around the corner, sad.
15. After The Fall
Haven't been in the gaming biz since the 1990's, but I've seen everything from tantrums on the floor to attacks on workers. The worst one though was some moron right out of prison with his homies lost his money on the blackjack table, took it personally, went out to his car, waited for the dealer to get off work, followed him, and then tried to beat him when he stopped for gas.
14. Backwards Logic
Not a casino employee, but just the other day my Father in law (security) watched an elderly lady lose everything at a poker table, and then go around and steal a couple people's purses/wallets.
When they confronted her and asked for ID, she wouldn't give it to them because they weren't the police. When the police arrived, she still wouldn't give them her ID or even her name, saying they couldn't arrest her if they didn't know who she was. Needless to say, they arrested her anyways. The last thing the cop asked her was, are you at least going to cooperate and walk out with us to the car, or are you going to do it the hard way.
They had to carry her out and she was kicking the windows in the back of the car the entire time.
13. Winning and Losing
My girlfriend's grandfather won it big one night and then was followed home by 4 People and killed for the money. So that's the worst way I've seen someone handle a win.
[deleted username]
12. Ridiculous Time
My friend just started at the new Catskill Resort Worldwide Casino, and has already said one guy got naked in the bathroom and started washing his clothes. They have been open 2 weeks.
11. Off The Wall
Drove a car into the casino wall... Not the doors.. the WALL. The driver had a traumatic brain injury and luckily didn't injure anyone else.
10. Be Very Careful
I was a security guard at a native american casino for just under 2 years. I worked the graveyard shift the entire time before i had to leave for my own mental health due to how depressing this job could be. A few of the things i saw just in the category of losses were as follows.
• elderly people who would spend their entire social security checks in one night and be forced to use food banks for the remainder of the month.
• many couples getting into fights (sometimes physical) over the other "giving them bad luck"
• anyone who would win a lot in the first 20 mins they were there then "chasing losses" after they gave it back to the house often emptying their entire savings accounts.
• lots every month losing their entire paycheck, then savings, then taking out cash advances (that of course could be done in house) attempting to win back their lost paycheck.
The worst one i ever saw was a known local business owner losing what he called " over half my life's savings " in under 8 hours at $2,000 a hand on a blackjack table then attempting to strangle the dealer, I had to tackle him and put him in handcuffs he left the property in a sheriff's car and attempted to enter the building 3 times in the next 2 weeks.
9. The Vultures Circle
Not an employee but stuff. my mum's friend won a slot machine jackpot. Security had to swoop in and save her because she was a very casual gambler and would use like 5 coins then leave, but that night on one of her first coins she won the jackpot. The people around her were gambling addicts and some of them had been working that machine for hours before and felt it should have been their win. So they tried to attack her for the money but she did get it. This wouldn't have been a big win either because it was a small place but scary
8. Know Your Limit
This lady with a serious gambling problem was asked to leave as she'd been in the building for over her limit... as a protest, she pissed her pants and dripped it into the machine she was at and refused to stand up or walk out. Had to be dragged with pee running down her legs dripping onto the carpet, down an escalator and onto the street.
7. Fees Add Up
I worked in banking for a bit and being able to see people's accounts who are gamblers backs up this statement.
They don't go in and get say 500 out of an atm and then lose it, get upset, and go home. They get 100. Then 80. Then 140. On my end, I would see the transactions with the 3 dollar fee attached all on the same night within minutes of each other sometimes.
It seems like they are in some trance and probably have almost no idea how much money they lost.
[username deleted]
6. A Packed Day
I sat next to a guy. He drove a Pepsi truck. He said his mom died and left him $30,000. He'd never seem this much money before so he thought he could turn it into $100,000. We're at the blackjack table. He's getting wasted and crying inconsistently bc of his mom, talking about her dying. In 2 hours he loses everything. He has this look of nervousness on his face and said his wife is going to kill him if she finds out about this, bc they have 4 kids and wanted to buy a house.
He walked out, 10 minutes later I go to my car and see that he got a DUI.
In 24 hours, his mom died, he gets a ton of money, loses it all, will probably get divorced, gets a DUI, and is sitting in the back of a cop car.
5. Death Knell
I was security at a Casino for a few years, saddest story for me was this older gentleman let's call him "Tom" for privacy sake, Tom would frequent the Casino every day spending anywhere from $200-$300, I had striked up lots of conversations with him because he was a regular and he was genuinely kind person who I enjoyed seeing.
One day Tom comes in and I can tell he is upset, I don't make anything of it, but after seeing the guy for a few years almost everyday, that day he looked really "off" so a couple hours go by and I track him down and ask how's the day going? Any big wins? Just general chit chat, he starts sobbing, tears running down his face, his wife had passed away from "sudden cardiac death" is what I believe he called it, the night before, and he was devastated, we talked for quite awhile, I tried comforting him while he played the machines, I had noticed he was betting EXTREMELY large, $200-$300 per spin on the slot machine, I knew that was a lot for him, but I didn't saying anything because it's not my business and I was sure it's a coping mechanism for him at the moment, doing something he loved when he just lost the love of his life.
Hours later I see him heading out the door, I run up to him, catch him and wish him all the best and that I'll see him soon, he smiled, said thanks for the chat and thank you for the condolences and left.
[username deleted]
4. Pants Play
I watched my uncle lose everything at a blackjack table, so he proceeded to the bathroom came out with his pants off and throw them on the table and say pants plays. The dealer said "we can't take your pants sir". He said "Why not? You've taken everything else" Needless to say he was escorted out of the casino very upset.
3. Vacancy
Have worked in casinos for nearly a decade and the saddest ones are the players who lose and show no aggression or sadness at all.
I had a player who was down US$1 million at the end of a night of roulette and he had a completely vacant, 1,000 yard stare look on his face as he quietly left.
2. Clearly, He Could Lose
Not an employee but my girlfriend and I were at a local casino for dinner on Saturday so we decided to take a lap around the playing floor afterwards. We are walking by the blackjack tables and notice a small crowd around a guy who had a pile of chips in front of him. After it's clear he lost it all to the dealer he starts screaming that he couldn't lose and begins to slam his head into the table. Ends up leaving in handcuffs
1. Bemused Gambling
I do have a good story about the worst I saw someone handle a win.
This older gentleman was a regular and a total jerk. Never tipped, never smiled or said hello, and was always in a foul mood. I was watching him play a fifty cent machine one night when he hit 3 jackpot symbols and won five grand.
I went up to him and congratulated him and I'll never forget the bemused look on his face. When the machine hits a single payout of over $1,200, the machine locks up and won't spin again until an attendant resets it. He just kept hitting the button in vain trying to keep playing like a child who's toy stopped working.
When I told him that the machine was not going to spin until we paid him his hand pay, his only words were "can I play this one?" And motioned to the machine next to his. I told him that he could and he moved over and went straight back into his zombie trance.
When we brought his jackpot winnings to him he huffed and puffed because we asked him to stop playing for a minute while we counted out his $5,000. It's like the money didn't even matter.
The Absolute Worst Ways To Break Up With Someone
Reddit user StarGazingMouse asked: 'What is the Worst way to break up with someone?'
Ending a relationship is never easy.
True, some people who have an unfortunate amount of experience doing so have developed tactics and methods to ensure a lack of anger and/or tears.
This might include breaking up in a specific restaurant, having certain music playing while doing so, or timing things out just perfectly.
Of course, those with experience might also tell you certain breakup methods that are guaranteed to end in acrimony and vitriol.
"What is the Worst way to break up with someone?"
Seeing Other People...
"He started making out with another girl while we were at a party, all sitting on the same couch."
"That deflates the romance pretty quickly."- Extension-Gap69
"Start an open relationship without telling the other party."- Kenton2k·
Running To Mom
"I once had a guy's mom break up with me for him."
"We were both in our mid 20s."
"For the smart alecks, myself and ex-bf were both in our twenties and dating."
"His mom was the one who told me he was breaking up with me."
"I wasn't dating the mom."- AutumnFalls89
Always In Person...
"Text them and ask, 'can we talk?'"
"Type for twenty minutes."
"Finally send the message, 'I’m breaking up with you'."
''Sorry'.”
"True story, found out later he probably cheated on me."- lamemayhem
"She texted me breaking up with me after going on a family trip."- Kangaroo_Exact
"Calling the day after my birthday (long distance)."
"Said she didn't love me anymore, she was sleeping with someone else, and I should get tested (last visit to her was months before)."
"I tested positive for Chlamydia."
"She said she waited to tell me because she didn't want to ruin my birthday"
". How generous of her."
'Also I didn't have any noticeable symptoms from the Chlamydia - I went about 4-ish months before I found out."- renegadepony·
Don't Bury The Lead
"Make them think the relationship is strong and then say some of their bad qualities and leave them."
"Then what you do is get with their ex or parent."- PhantomNuke12
If You're Going To Do It, DO IT!
"Ghost them."- Psychic_Wars_Warrior"My ex-fiance was supposed to escort me to my friend's wedding for which I was the MOH."
"We had a wedding date set, I had a 1/2 ct round diamond and a dress chosen."
"We rented a house off-campus at college and were seniors."
"That Friday before the wedding, he suddenly came down with the flu."
"He couldn't travel."
"I believed him and he acted loving and apologetic, etc."
"I went ahead and took the 3 hour trip."
'When I got back Sunday and walked in the house, everything, including furniture, was gone."
"My clothes and books were still there but everything else was GONE."
'I guess that meant he broke the engagement!"- WeatherKat3262I
Don't Try To Be Cute...
"'We're donion rings'."- Reddit
Now That's Cold...
"Show up to their family dinner as their relative's date."- PyukumukuGuts
Who Will You Be Trying To Impress
"I had a dream my partner broke up with me by making a PowerPoint presentation."- mcashleigh
Don't Make Public What Isn't Common Knowledge
'A woman broke up with me by changing her Facebook status to single.'
"In her defense, we had a fight over the phone that morning, but I didn’t think it was quite such a big deal."
'The nice thing about finding out that way was at least I didn’t have to deal with the sort of person who breaks up with by changing their Facebook status anymore."- Funky-Spunkmeyer
While plenty of people are able to break up amicably, all breakups come with enough hurt, pain, and sadness as it is.
So there's no need to try and make it worse.
...A little surprising no one mentioned a Post-It.
Do you have any bad break up methods? Let us know in the comments below.
So many people try to do away with scars and blemishes.
They can be seen as ugly.
But they tell the stories of our lives.
Maybe it's not the best memory.
But you're still alive to tell the tale.
However, not all scars are from some epic story.
A deleted Redditor wanted to hear the best stories behind everyone's body blemishes, so they asked:
"What is the dumbest way you've gotten a scar?"
I have a scar on my upper lip from when I was 5.
I learned fast... don't dance to Madonna on your mother's bed, in her high heels, on a dark and rainy Saturday afternoon.
Save it for the light.
Killer Kitty
"Tripped over my kitten and busted my head open on my sofa."
Fragrant-Prompt1826
"This is definitely believable, I swear my cat tries to off me everyday"
ShadAppNKissMe
Damn tart
"Pop tart. Wild berry flavor. Permanent burn scars on my leg. I was young and dumb. Toasting my pop tart. When I pulled it out the frosting was so hot it was literally bubbling. I dropped it because it was burning my fingertips. Dropped it right onto my leg frosting side down. I went to wipe it away. Gave me almost third-degree burns. Had to go straight to the hospital. Still have the scars 20 years later."
Travelerofuranus
Tough
"I have one on the back of my hand from rubbing the skin off with a pencil eraser longer than the other kid did when I was 13 just to prove I was 'tough.'"
"The real tough kids did three on each hand. So it looks like that's where your Wolverine claws came out."
KielReid
"I did that stupid crap in school, thank f**k it didn't leave any scars. But yeah I was that troubled youth who had no outlet. I hated myself for it until both hands healed up."
faultydatadisc
Bottles Flying
"An old roommate and I had a snowball fight but with beer bottles. We were the only ones home, one wall of the living room was like natural rock. And it started with throwing bottles across the living room into the wall and devolved into throwing them at each other. I caught a bit in the arm when one smashed near me across the counter, haha."
Revenge
"I twisted the head off of my little sister's baby doll."
"She hit me in the head with a garden hoe. 11 stitches."
TrailerParkPrepper
Revenge is real when it comes to the dolls.
Don't lose your head... or the heads of your siblings' favorite doll.
Stumbled
"I got a glass bowl full of ice cream, stumbled, and didn't let go of the bowl, so it cut open my hand. It's a common reflex of small children because ice cream 'is precious,' but still stupid because I had to wear a bandage for 2 weeks."
cantSleepalready
Cracked Brows
"My brother, sister, and I all have the same kind of scar on our left eyebrow and got them at the same age. My brother opened an empty dresser drawer and smacked himself in the face, my sister ran into a brick wall and I fell off the couch onto a coffee table."
Alternative-Volume82
"My dad and brother have a similar saga. My dad climbed out of his crib when he was little and split his left eyebrow open, my brother got out of the bathtub and cracked his head on the toilet and they have matching eyebrow scars."
TallOne101213
Stalagmite
"For my 8th birthday, a classmate got me something like a 'grow your own stalagmite' kit you could buy at educational stores. Apparently, the purpose was to add water to some powder material and use a funnel in the kit to drip it down to make your own cave features. Exciting, I know. Anyway, I kept it and the other birthday presents I got in a cardboard box in my room. Evidently, at some point, moisture got into the box and the plastic the powder was in, and it began expanding."
"Having nowhere else to go, the 'stalagmite' material oozed its way out through the narrow slits in its box and hardened into razor-sharp edges. I found this out quite bloodily when I put my hand into my birthday box to grab another toy, and pulled it out with permanently altered fingerprints on my thumb, index, and middle fingers."
Real-Extent5559
Make the Cookies
"When I was 4 I got too excited to go outside and ran through a storm door. Ripped my arm up well and required a bunch of stitches. Due to the position, there was no way for them to numb it, so they stitched it without anything. Two days later, I was helping my mom make cookies, and I tripped and ripped them all over again."
"30+ years later and I now have a scar on my left arm that looks like a bite mark."
"I have another on my wrist because I once stuck my hand up a gumball machine, trying to steal a gumball, and it got stuck. When I finally got it out, it ripped the skin off a chunk of my wrist."
2PhatCC
The Fall
"In fifth grade, I asked a girl to be my girlfriend. She said no. I turned around and fell down a hill and slashed my ankle open on a rock. I have a lifelong scar to remind me of the rejection."
drmanhattannfriends
We really have to be more careful.
Our bodies are way too fragile.
Do you have an scar stories to share? Let us know in the comments below.
What author has only been outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare? It’s no mystery—it’s Agatha Christie, of course. But where did she get all of her ideas? Well, Christie’s story is just as gripping and twisted as any of her novels.
1. Her Parents Had A Close Bond
When it comes to Agatha Christie, her twisted family tree is the first mystery to untangle. Though her family was well-off, her parents’ backstory is seriously creepy. Her mother Clara’s family had sent the nine-year-old girl to live with an aunt. That aunt had a 17-year-old stepson named Frederick. Well, at some point—hopefully when Clara was a bit older—the pair fell in love.
They had three children—the youngest being Agatha.
2. She Couldn’t Be Stopped
Agatha’s childhood was normal and happy—if not a bit lonely, thanks to the age gap between her and her siblings. This wasn’t helped by her mother’s bizarre plan for her education. Despite the fact that her siblings were in school, Clara wanted to teach Agatha herself—and she didn’t want her to learn to read until the age of eight. Well, nothing could hold a bored and lonesome Agatha back from what she wanted.
She learned to read by four and escaped into a world of imagination—until it all came to a crashing halt.
3. Her World Turned Upside Down
When Agatha was just 11 years old, her family experienced a devastating tragedy. That was when her beloved father passed from pneumonia and chronic kidney disease. As she later reflected, his death marked the end of her childhood. And that wasn’t the only problem. The family didn’t have a lot of money without him, and her siblings had moved out, leaving her alone with her mother.
Despite their financial difficulties, the Christie family managed to send Agatha away to a series of good schools. It was there that she finally began to find her footing.
4. They Rejected Her
Agatha may not have excelled in the music programs the way she expected to, but the social environment—as opposed to her lonely childhood—seems to have been good for her. After graduation, she began to write short stories. Sadly, this was no overnight success story. She was the recipient of many a rejection letter—but her stubborn streak would, in this case, end up being a saving grace.
5. She Couldn’t Get A Break
Agatha kept her nose to the grindstone and penned her first novel, Snow Upon the Desert. Unfortunately, she was in for a major disappointment. Not just one, but six different publishers rejected her work. A glimmer of hope came when a famous novelist introduced her to his agent…who then told her he didn’t want the book.
Well, at least he encouraged her to try again? In the meantime, Agatha found a number of tempting distractions to soothe her bruised ego.
6. She Waited For The Right One
Publishers may not have wanted Agatha Christie—but plenty of men did. She was pretty and easygoing, with a lively social calendar. As a result, Agatha had a slew of suitors after her. She looked forward to getting married—but none of the men she met really made a lasting impression. However, another man did…and this one had staying power.
7. He Came On Strong
Archibald Christie approached Agatha at a dance and asked for three dances on her card, which was the custom at the time. After the first two, Archie asked for three more—which was quite unconventional. He left a mark on Agatha, which was a good thing, because he’d already made up his mind that he wanted to marry her. After three months, he proposed. There was just one problem.
8. She Already Had Other Plans
Though Archie had ruthlessly pursued her for months, Agatha was already engaged. In fact, to someone she actually liked quite a bit. But though Reggie Lucy had proposed, he’d also hesitated to rush into marriage. It was a mistake that would end up proving fatal to their relationship. After they parted ways, Agatha was free to accept Archie’s proposal—but that wasn’t their only roadblock.
9. Things Came Between Them
Agatha didn’t want to have to wait to marry the man she thought was the love of her life—but her mother was struggling to keep her home, and Archie didn’t have any money. She told Archie that she couldn’t marry him, because she had to support her mother. Well, after the hurdles he’d crossed so far, he wasn’t about to take no for an answer.
Archie’s persistence paid off, and Agatha eventually accepted—but sadly, their fairy tale soon turned into a living nightmare.
10. Disaster Disrupted Their Union
Agatha and Archie had a long engagement—but it wasn’t because they were getting to know each other. Archie was a pilot, and when WWI broke out, he went to France to fight. When he came home for Christmas in 1914, they quickly wed with the little time they had together. To say there was no honeymoon would be an understatement.
11. Conflict Separated Them
Agatha and Archie Christie spent the first six months of their marriage apart. While Archie fought, Agatha helped with the war effort in Britain. Despite her long hours at the Red Cross, she was still alone without her husband. And what happens when Agatha Christie is left alone? Well, she puts pen to paper.
12. She Got Back To Work
While working with the Red Cross in 1916, Agatha met a number of Belgian soldiers and refugees. These men would serve as inspiration for her newest character: Hercule Poirot, a clever Belgian detective. He became the centerpiece of her second novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Two different publishers rejected it before one finally agreed to pick it up.
The Bodley Head publishing house signed her for five novels—but Agatha had no idea what she was getting into.
13. They Took Advantage Of Her
Like many young artists and authors, Agatha Christie was just happy that someone finally wanted to back her work—but she didn’t realize there was a dark side to the contract she’d just signed. The pay wasn’t great, and she was now stuck with them for five books. As her popularity began to increase, the sense that they were exploiting her also grew.
14. She Had A Family
While Agatha struggled with the professional side of things, the end of WWI meant that her personal life was finally able to move full speed ahead. After Archie returned home, Agatha got pregnant and gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl. They named her Rosalind. But, as we’ll come to see, not everything was perfect in paradise.
15. They Were Big Travelers
During the 1920s, the British Empire Exhibition was touring the world to promote the last vestiges of the Empire. Agatha and her husband, Archie, were both involved in the promotion of said exhibition, and they went gung-ho about it. The Christies toured the world alongside the exhibition, going as far as South Africa and New Zealand—but there was a sad side to their world travels. They had to leave their young daughter behind for months at a time.
And soon enough, circumstances would soon land them back at home.
16. He Tried To Send Her Away
It seemed like the Christies were finally getting the honeymoon that WWI had denied them—but when they returned home, they were in big trouble. They were nearly broke. When Agatha brought up their money problems, Archie’s reaction was brutal. He suggested that she move back in with her mother. Was it a red flag? Oh, we’ll get to that…
In the meantime, Agatha rebuffed his idea and instead, began writing more—this time, with more success.
17. They Got Their Lives On Track
Archie got a job with the City of London, and Agatha’s writing began to take off. With the money they made, they bought a car and a house which they named Styles, after her first mystery novel. But all the new, shiny things in their life couldn’t distract from the cracks that were beginning to show.
18. He Pulled Away From Her
For one, it seemed like Archie preferred to while away the hours on the golf course over spending time with his family. When Agatha suggested that they try for another baby, he gave her a vehement no. Agatha appeared unperturbed by her husband’s indifference and threw herself into finishing her newest novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
It would go on to become one of her most talked-about books yet—but Agatha would be far too distracted to enjoy her growing success.
19. She Lost Her Best Friend
In April of 1926, Agatha lost her mother Clara. Despite all their hardships—losing Agatha’s father and all their financial problems—they’d remained incredibly close. The loss of her mother sent Agatha spiraling. She attended the funeral alone, as Archie was in Spain. But even when he returned, he left her alone at her mother’s home while he went to his club in London.
Soon, it all became too much.
20. She Was In Trouble
After losing her mother, the press began to print reports that up-and-coming mystery novelist Agatha Christie had left London for Biarritz, Switzerland in order to recover from a breakdown. They claimed that she was completely fatigued from working herself to the bone. Whether or not this was true, one thing was clear: the combination of career pressures, her husband’s behavior, and the loss of her mother had truly wreaked havoc on Agatha.
21. He’d Stepped Out
Unfortunately for Agatha, the worst was yet to come. In August of 1926, Archie made a disturbing confession. He’d been having a long affair with a young woman he’d met on the golf course. Her name was Nancy Neele, and they’d been carrying on for a whopping 18 months. Agatha was shocked. She’d never suspected a thing. And then, as the truth set in, so did the sense of hurt and disgust.
22. He Didn’t Stray Far
For months, Archie had seemed like a stranger—and now it all became clear. Here’s where the betrayal cut even deeper. In better times, Agatha frequently invited friends to stay with them at Styles. She’d actually invited Nancy numerous times, and Nancy had accepted. To add insult to injury, most of the people in their social circle knew about the affair.
Now Agatha was not only hurt—she was humiliated.
23. The Odds Were Against Her
Archie immediately left for two weeks. Agatha had her sister and her secretary to confide in, but neither could provide her with the answers she was looking for. Her sister told her they’d patch things up, but her secretary was more pessimistic, saying “He won’t stay.” Agatha’s daughter was the cruelest of all. Eight-year-old Rosalind told her mother Archie wanted to be with her, not Agatha—saying, “It’s you he doesn’t seem to like.”
Kids truly have no filter.
24. She Tried Everything
After two weeks, Archie returned. Agatha begged him to give the marriage another chance, proposing a year-long trial period. Ever the sensitive type, Archie would only agree to three months. Agatha tried what she could to make things work, and the pair went on vacation together. It was quiet and uneventful—but when they returned home, they fell back into their old habits.
25. The Pressure Was Mounting
On top of everything, Agatha’s publisher was begging her for her next novel, and magazines were begging for stories. She could’ve used the free time, but when Archie came up with excuse after excuse to get out of the house, it just made her angrier. Their fights started as screaming matches and escalated into Agatha throwing a teapot at Archie.
He may have been the one engaged in an 18-month-long affair, but for Archie, it was a bridge too far.
26. She Couldn’t Take It Anymore
By late 1926, Agatha was like a grenade with the pin pulled—ready to explode at any moment. And Archie was the one who made the mistake of dropping her. On the morning of December 3, he told her that he couldn’t spend the weekend with her. Eventually, she got it out of him that he’d be spending it with Nancy, and that he wanted to marry her.
Agatha finally had to face the truth.
27. She Was Cracking At The Edges
Archie left for work, and Agatha and Rosalind spent the day with his mother, who noticed that Agatha was behaving erratically. Later that night, Agatha ate alone and waited for Archie to come back. He never showed up. At around 9:45, she got in her car and went for a drive. Though Agatha was used to building a mystery, not even she could have predicted what would happen next.
28. Her Car Was There—But She Wasn’t
On the morning of December 4, 1926, a local cattleman found an abandoned car with the headlights on at Newland Corner in Surrey—approximately 15 miles from Styles. Someone else called the authorities to alert them, and they soon found the name of the car’s owner: Agatha Christie. The writer, however, was nowhere to be found.
It seemed like something out of one of her novels—but in fact, it was even more twisted.
29. His Reaction Was Brutal
The authorities showed up at Styles and informed the secretary, Charlotte, that it appeared that Agatha was missing. She called Archie, who was, of course, with Nancy. His reaction was characteristically callous. He came back and claimed he had no knowledge of his wife’s whereabouts, and that she hadn’t told him anything. Or so he said.
30. She’d Left Him A Letter
Archie Christie played it cool with the authorities—but he was hiding a dark secret. When he’d returned to Styles, he’d found a note that Agatha had left him. Before anyone else had a chance to look at it, he burned it. It doesn’t take a mystery writer to realize that’s extremely suspect behavior.
31. She Left More Clues
Agatha had also left a letter for her secretary Charlotte, which gave at least a few more clues. She mentioned that Charlotte should cancel Agatha’s weekend plans, and that she “cannot stay in this house” any longer. When the detectives investigating her disappearance learned about the problems between Agatha and Archie, they began to fear that she’d done something drastic and intensified the search.
Unfortunately, this drew the attention of the press.
32. Everyone Knew
Her stories may have been wildly popular, but Agatha was a very private person. Unfortunately, after she was missing for a few days, the authorities had no choice but to send out a missing person's notice. Archie’s fears were twofold—one, that the case would expose his affair with Nancy Neele to the public, and two, that his infidelity had perhaps driven Agatha to take her own life.
Ultimately, only one of these outcomes would come true.
33. She’d Reached Out
Agatha’s name was making headlines in the UK and even made it all the way to the front page of the New York Times. As the local authorities gathered search parties, another clue emerged. Agatha had mailed a letter after her disappearance, sometime in the early morning on Saturday the 4th. She’d written to Archie’s brother Campbell, informing him she planned to go to an unnamed spa in Yorkshire.
The tone of the letter didn’t give any indications as to Agatha’s mental state or anything else—but at the very least, the authorities now had another hint as to where she might be.
34. They Thought He’d Bumped Her Off
However, when the authorities realized that Archie had spent the Friday night with Nancy at a friend’s home, in what staff of the time called an “unofficial engagement party”, they began to count him as a suspect in Agatha’s disappearance. After all, during one of their bigger fights, Agatha had told Archie that she would never allow for a divorce. It was also during this period that investigators discovered he’d burned a letter from Agatha. He refused to let them know what it contained.
35. He Tried To Turn Their Suspicions
Between this and the constant hounding from the press, Archie was beginning to crack—just as his wife had. On Friday, December 10—just barely seven days since Agatha’s disappearance—the Daily Mail published an interview they’d conducted with Archie. In it, he claimed that Agatha had talked about how easy it would be to disappear before.
He also suggested that she’d disappeared voluntarily or had some sort of episode over the possibility of murder or suicide.
36. They All Joined In
Other mystery writers got involved with the search too. Novelist Dorothy L. Sayer showed up at one search, looked around for a minute, and then authoritatively stated that Agatha wasn’t there. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, gave one of Agatha’s gloves to a medium, who said that she was still alive and that she’d pop back up “next Wednesday”.
It was all quite sensational—but the authorities were finally about to get a significant lead in the case.
37. There Was A Credible Sighting
Staff at a spa hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire, began to report that one of their guests looked like Agatha. Authorities thought it would be best to allow someone close to her to make the identification, so they waited for Archie to travel there. Late on Tuesday, December 14 (not Wednesday, as the medium had predicted), Archie identified the woman as his wife, Agatha Christie.
38. She Hinted As Her Reasons
One bizarre clue had made the authorities and the press sure that she was Agatha. She’d checked into the hotel using the surname Neele—as in, Archie’s mistress. Agatha had been at the hotel for ten days. Other guests had even spotted her reading the news about her own disappearance, yet none had clocked her as the author. Or, if they had, they’d kept her privacy.
After all, many famous guests frequented the hotel, preferring to stay incognito. And so, the question of where had been answered—but what about all the others?
39. She Didn’t Make Sense
When the authorities asked Agatha what the deal was, her response was surprising. She’d said she’d been in a confused state when she left home, couldn’t remember anything of the previous days, and that she was just remembering who she was again now after seeing Archie. To say they were skeptical would be an understatement. And they had good reason to be.
40. She’d Planned It All
When she sat down to speak to Archie, Agatha revealed the twisted truth. She said that she’d staged the disappearance after realizing her marriage was really and truly over. And that wasn’t the most twisted part. She’d had an ally—and no, not her secretary Charlotte. She’d recruited her brother’s wife, Nan, who had spent the intervening days acting extremely upset at Agatha’s disappearance.
Then she revealed how she’d done it.
41. She’d Set Everything Up Carefully
Agatha had planned many of the details of her disappearance as meticulously as she did the plots of her books. She’d left a fur coat, a suitcase of clothing, and her driver’s license inside the car to make it look as if something terrible had happened. Then, she’d rolled the car off the road in neutral, making sure to leave the headlights on to draw attention.
Agatha then took the train to London, where she stayed the night with her sister-in-law Nan. But what purpose was this all serving?
42. She’d Neglected One Detail
It seemed as though Agatha meant to stay away for three or four days, just to make Archie agonize over what he’d done. But there was one thing that she hadn’t counted on. She’d written her letter to Archie’s brother and sent it to his workplace over the weekend, expecting that when he got it, he’d send the authorities to the spas of Harrogate to find her.
Unfortunately, they never came knocking—and the delay led to an unintended consequence.
43. It Didn’t Go As She’d Planned
Despite the theatrical nature of her antics, Agatha Christie was, lest we forget, a very private person. If the authorities had discovered her at Harrogate on the Monday or Tuesday, as she’d intended, it’s entirely possible the press wouldn’t have picked up the story at all. After all, you can plot a mystery novel to a T—but while some readers will solve it ably, many can get left in the dark.
44. She Had To Deal With The Consequences
Agatha Christie quickly retreated to her home, away from the prying eyes of the press, who she refused to speak to. Neither they nor the general public was privy to much more than the barest details of her disappearance and discovery—and a claim of amnesia. As a result, the backlash was immediate and brutal. Many believed that it was a publicity stunt…or, even more horribly, a plot to frame Archie for murder.
45. She Was Still In Denial
Back at home, the press hounded Agatha and Archie for details, while the authorities got into debates about passing on the cost of all the searches to the Christie family. And, while Agatha thought she and Archie would continue to pass the year-long “trial” period he’d never agreed to, she eventually had to face the devastating truth. Her marriage was over.
This time, as opposed to a mysterious disappearance, Agatha engineered another kind of escape: a long trip to the Canary Islands in Spain.
46. They Escaped From It All
Both her daughter Rosalind and her secretary Charlotte accompanied Agatha on the trip. Not only was it a timely refuge from the scrutiny, but it also gave Agatha plenty of time to write. Her disappearance ended up having an unintended consequence. While she hadn’t exactly been a household name before, she was one now, and her book sales eventually went up.
But there was, of course, an unpleasant matter to address back home.
47. They Each Had Blackmail Material
When Agatha and Archie finally addressed the subject of divorce, they found themselves in a brutal stalemate. Agatha could reveal his affair to the world and bring all sorts of negative attention to Nancy Neele. But, if Archie chose, he could expose the truth about her disappearance—that it was staged, and not part of an amnesiac episode.
Archie agreed to give Agatha custody of Rosalind as long as they each kept quiet.
48. She Took A Chance
Agatha and Archie finally got their divorce in 1928. To add insult to injury, Archie married Nancy Neele just a week after the courts finalized it. When Rosalind went back to school, Agatha was alone again—but not for long. While planning her next trip abroad, Agatha made an impulsive decision to cancel what she’d already booked and take the Orient Express (it was a real train!) to Baghdad. It would wind up changing her life.
49. She Met A Younger Man
There, she met a British archaeologist named Max Mallowan. It wasn’t long before the two fell for each other. Agatha had finally found love again after two of the worst years of her life—but there was a scandalous side to her romance. Max was a full 13 years younger than her. Coming on the heels of her divorce, Agatha had many reservations, as did those closest to her.
Would Max pass the test?
50. She Didn’t Want To Repeat History
One of the major problems in her relationship with Archie—aside from his affair, of course—is that she’d made a lot more money than him, but refused to let him have any. Agatha took stock of her past before accepting Max’s proposal of marriage. She came up with two conditions for him.
First, they’d split everything evenly, including the profits from her books. Second? He had to vow to never take up golf. Was it a happily ever after? Well, yes and no.
51. She Moved On
Agatha continued to produce novels at a prolific rate, and the memory of her disappearance faded into the past. She lived happily with Max until the outbreak of WWII, when he went to serve in North Africa. As she had during WWI, Agatha filled her time helping by volunteering at a hospital pharmacy. But as she spent each day banking what she’d learned about various poisons in order to use the info while crafting plots for her novels, someone was watching her.
52. They Had Their Suspicions
During WWII, British intelligence agency MI-5 opened an investigation into beloved author Agatha Christie. Her 1941 book N or M featured a character named Major Bletchley. MI-5 feared it was a reference to the covert codebreaking center called Bletchley Park and that she had a man on the inside. Christie’s explanation for this coincidence was that she had been stuck at Bletchley Park while on the train to London, and she used the name for one of her “least lovable characters” as an act of petty revenge.
No doubt MI-5 was relieved to hear that.
53. She Cut Him Out
Agatha came up with two of the most beloved characters in fiction: Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Shockingly, Christie actually despised Hercule Poirot. She denounced him as a “detestable, bombastic, tiresome, egocentric little creep.” As a result, whenever she would put on theatrical adaptations of her own novels, she would completely remove him from the stories whenever possible.
54. She Never Stopped
Even after Max’s return from WWII, Agatha’s output never slowed down. She published an average of one novel a year, even as her health failed her. While readers often searched her work for revelations about her mysterious disappearance, it was her last novel that gave the most devastating glimpse into the dark truth about her final years.
Experts who studied her work believe that the changes in her writing style show she may have been experiencing Alzheimer’s or dementia.
55. She’s A Legend
Agatha Christie died of natural causes at her home in January of 1976. She was 85 years old. In her lifetime, she sold over 300 million books and, at the time of her death, was the “best-selling novelist in history.” Agatha’s talent for crafting mysteries has cemented her place in history—and she kept the fun going, even after her death.
56. She Left A Treasure Trove
Many years after Christie’s death, one of her former trunks was bought by a fan. Inside, there was a locked box that the fan actually refused to open, content to keep the mystery alive. Four years later, the box was eventually opened: It contained gold coins and diamond jewelry worth tens of thousands. Mysteries are great and all, but I think I'd take the treasure.
57. She Did Speak About It Once
While she remained mostly tight-lipped, Agatha actually broke her silence on the subject of her disappearance in a long-forgotten interview with the Daily Mailin February 1928, some 14 months later. She claimed that she was dazed and had lost memory after hitting her head in the car, winding up at Harrogate believing she was a woman from South Africa named “Tessa” Neele.
The problem? There were so many holes in her story that it read like a pair of fishnet stockings.
58. She Kept Trying To Hide The Truth
For one, she’d used the name “Teresa Neele” to check in. And for another, memory loss and secondary personality don’t occur in tandem. If she truly was an amnesiac, she would’ve been wracking her brain trying to remember who she was—which doesn’t fit with all the accounts of her remarking on her similarities to the pictures of Agatha which appeared in the newspaper.
But did she ever come clean?
59. She Crafted A Story
In her autobiography, Agatha made claims about how broke she was during and after the demise of her marriage—which for many women of the era, would’ve been a real issue. There’s just one problem. It wasn’t true. After her mother’s death, Agatha came into a generous chunk of money, which is not to count the fact that her career was taking off. So why lie?
60. She’s Forever A Mystery
Well, no one crafts a story quite like Agatha Christie. She made herself appear beset by both marital troubles and financial pressure: the perfect set-up for a complete mental breakdown. While Christie never explicitly mentioned what happened in her autobiography, she certainly implies that those were factors.
In keeping with the nature of her books, the episode in her life remains a complete mystery to this day.
The Most Ridiculous Things Someone Said With A Totally Straight Face
We've all heard someone say something totally inaccurate and thought to ourselves, "What?"
But the really troubling incidences are when the person speaking clearly believes what they're saying and they make the misinformed comment with a totally straight face.
Redditor ButterflyOverkill asked:
Swimming with Tsunamis
"My brother, against all laws of known physics, is absolutely certain that if he was ever in a tsunami he could just 'swim under it.'"
"We've both been in the ocean plenty of times, surfed a bit, and have definitely had our share of waves wreck our sh*t, but he's still certain he could do it if he got the timing right."
- Magic_Man_Boobs
Accent-Based Geography
"The Caribbean coast is off the coast of England because they have British accents in 'Pirates of The Caribbean.'"
"This man was in the military and had no knowledge of geography."
- Aware_Statement_205
"Man, the Death Star must have been built in England, too."
- Faust_8
The Earth is Flat
"My co-worker. We were all having a conversation. I don't remember what we were talking about, but I said something to the extent of, 'Crazy, it's like someone thinking the earth is flat.'"
"His response was, 'Well, it is.'"
"My other co-worker and I looked at each other, confused."
"Our Flat-Earth co-worker continued explaining why the earth is flat. He was saying it like he was stating facts."
"We're engineers for crying out loud. You paid too much money for your glasses and degree to see things this way!"
- Boyblack
"One of my good friends I had once respected went down this route. He effectively said because he hadn't seen the earth from space, he doesn't believe it's round. He believes nothing he hasn't seen himself."
"I proceeded to show him the red bull guy literally land on Earth from space, and it was round, but he still didn't believe it because it wasn't him."
"He also couldn't explain why nobody had ever fallen off the edge of our flat earth since if it is flat; it clearly has to end somewhere. He just said, 'I don't know. I just know it isn't round.'"
"I thought I would lose my f**king mind."
- QuaintHeadspace
"Has he seen his BRAIN?"
- dpet_77
That's not how this works
"My cousin was not the sharpest tool in the shed. He was convinced he could have unprotected sex with any woman because his current girlfriend was pregnant, so there was no risk he could get another girl pregnant…"
- joeyboii23
Drive to Hawaii
"A nurse I used to work with asked why we can't drive to Hawaii. She was absolutely serious and I wasn't surprised when she didn't last beyond her training period."
- Veritaserum25
Hawaii's Neighbor, Alaska
"I was asked, 'Why is Alaska so cold but Hawaii is warm when they're right next to each other?' because on US maps, they're always both in a little cutaway box down by Mexico."
- Msktb
Misunderstood Roundabouts
"Putting in a roundabout was stupid because now they had to stop four times instead of the one time if they had just left it as a four-way-stop."
- SaraSmashley
"We recently got a few in my town. People treat them like stop signs and come to a (somewhat) complete stop before entering."
"If it’s clear, I just breeze through without stopping like you’re supposed to. I’ve had passengers tell me I ran the stop sign. It’s a yield sign."
- caseyjosephine
The Caribbean Moon
"That when we were in the Caribbean we were seeing a different moon. Their moon."
- robkat22
"I’m living in the Caribbean and went out to look at the moon after reading this. It’s such a clever duplicate, I never would have known."
- inconsistencyItself
No Accountability
"My ex-husband was a horrible driver. Wrecked everything he ever owned and then some, but he somehow thought he was an excellent driver."
"We were riding through a town with a four-lane main road. He started to change lanes oblivious to the car that was located exactly where he was headed. I told him to stay in his lane, and fortunately, he did."
"He said, 100 percent seriously, that if he'd changed lanes and crashed into the car that was already there, it would have been their fault because they didn't honk their horn to warn him."
- sirdigbykittencaesar
"This reminds me of an old joke:"
"A man is driving to work when his phone starts ringing. It's his wife."
"She says, 'Be careful darling, the news has just said there's a maniac driving the wrong way down the road.'"
"The man replies, 'Not just one maniac, f**king hundreds of them!'"
- Mackem101
The Sun and the Moon
"'Why do they call one side of the Sun the Moon?'"
"This 30-year-old legitimately thought the moon was just the other side of the sun."
- JoisChaoticWhatever
Seatbelt Safety
"'I never wear a seatbelt.'"
"And why the h**l not?"
"'Because if I am in a wreck, there’s no way I’d be thrown to safety.'"
- BreatheMy
"I had a friend with a similar theory. She didn’t wear them because she had heard stories of people wearing seatbelts ending up with serious head injuries in car accidents."
"She honestly couldn’t grasp what the results would be without them."
- ghjkl098
Scary Orb in the Sky
"Former 911 dispatcher here. I had a guy call once freaking out about the white orb thing in the sky."
"The moon. He was very worried."
"I made him promise not to drive or leave his house. I told him to call back if he felt sick, but we never heard from him again."
"I wonder if there’s a dude out there who remembers that time he got [baked] and called 911 because of the moon."
- Here4TheShinyThings
Bluetooth Shower Head
"She was very serious that she wanted a useable hand-held shower head without a hose because the hose was 'ugly.'"
"I asked if she meant an overhead or a wall-mounted shower head because those didn’t require a hose."
"Nope. She wanted the water to flow from the wall into a handheld shower head without a hose."
"I tried to tell her that wasn’t possible and ended up sending her to a different home improvement store."
- Lone_Ronin_
"She wanted the wireless version."
- thatvixenivy
Those Darn 5G Headaches
"My wife’s grandmother was complaining once how her phone’s 5G was giving her headaches and asked my wife to turn off the 5G."
"My wife works with phones and was easily able to tell her grandmother that her phone wasn’t even capable of 5G."
"Her grandmother didn’t like that answer and later took her phone into her carrier to only be told the same thing."
- croyalbird13
Trapped in "The Oregon Trail"
"I'm 43 now but used to do a fair bit of traveling in my younger days, up until I was about 30. I always came back home for Thanksgiving and Christmas."
"Anyway, I had hitch-hiked back into town and was walking to my Grandma's house where I'd be staying, carrying my Alice pack."
"A girl got to talking with me on my way, and it came up that I'd just got back from Oregon."
"Dead-faced confused, she was like, 'They have towns out there, like cities and stuff?'"
"She genuinely believed it was still like the Oregon Trail days... except this was in 2005, lol (laughing out loud)."
- lightsaber_lobotomy
"People on travel forums sometimes ask if the roads in Arizona are paved, especially the road to the Grand Canyon."
"I always want to reply, 'No. You need to rent a covered wagon.'"
- mesembryanthemum
We've all been misinformed about something at some point, but these accounts were very surprising.
It's tough decide if these instances would be worth talking about, to help the person know better next time, or if it's just better to smile and nod.