A common piece of advice is to trust your instincts and listen to your gut. Odds are if a situation gets a little dicey, even if it's one you haven't been in before, you can predict what a possible outcome might be. When your insides start screaming, "Eff this, I need to leave," then you should probably listen, just like these people did.
Reddit user, u/Scared_Sh-tless_123, wanted to hear about:
What was your "F-ck this sh-t I'm out" moment?
Any Principal Who Won't Support You Isn't A Principal
I'm a middle school teacher, and it's also worth mentioning that I'm a very petite woman and most of my students are bigger than me. Many year ago when I was considered one of the young and pretty teachers, I was walking down the hall. An 8th grade boy slapped me on the @ss and mentioned my car's make and model, implying that he was going to wait for me in the parking lot.
I immediately went to my principal who told me that reporting the incident would "reflect poorly on me" and I "don't want a complaint like that in my file."
I put in my resignation from that particular school the next day. The more I mention it, the more I realize that many teachers have similar experiences.
Oh Man, Even The Military?
Getting called up for active duty (will keep branch and state unnamed) only to encounter 99% of the others not wearing masks Indoors nor distancing and mocking me for wearing an N95 since I have high risk family members in my "orbit." Contract expired soon after that debacle and did not re-enlist!
Sometimes, Getting Out Is Worth The Pay
I worked in the wedding industry on-top of a full-time office job, and we were generally scheduled out months ahead of time. My best friend since kindergarten was getting married, and his brother texted me in March about his bachelor party which was going to be happening in June. I wasn't going to be able to attend his wedding which I was bummed about, so I really wanted to at least go to his bachelor party.
I immediately went and logged into our scheduler and requested the time off, as well as sent a text to my boss letting her know what was going on. She was always fairly accommodating, provided we gave an ample heads up. She granted my request and I thought things were all good. Flash forward to early May, I received an email stating I was booked for the day of the bachelor party. Simple mistake probably. I texted my boss (mind you, I could still see the texts about the time off request) and asked what was up.
She said that she had no idea what I was talking about, and that if I went to the calendar I would see that I did not have those days off. I told her that I had taken screenshots of everything and have proof that the time was granted (texts from her, the email conversation, as well as the days marked as "off" on the scheduler). She told me I was crazy and to not put words in her mouth. I called her, while I was at my other full-time job, and told her I was done. I would do the 3 weddings I was already booked for but that was it.
The f-ckers didn't even give me my final paycheck, but honestly, not dealing with them anymore was worth way more than the paycheck.
You Can Wait Until You Get To The Bathroom
I'm a lab technician. One day I was taking blood from potentially the millionth person of my life (I try not to dwell on sad statistics) when I told a man he needed AFTER his blood work a urine sample. Buddy whipped his dick out and pissed in the cup while I was currently holding a needle in his arm. I decided then and there no more and currently am finishing a bachelors of science hopefully a masters as well while waitressing.
"You Think I Can't Count?"
When I quit my job at a hobby shop. Me and the owner went through inventory before the weekend(because I had the entire weekend off) and confirmed everything was fine. Sunday night he calls me screaming about 2k of merchandise being missing and claiming it's my fault. When I pointed out that I had been at home and if anything had happened it would have been his fault he started saying sh-t like "You think I can't count?" so I hung up and never went back.
They Wouldn't Let You Leave?
Some promoter literally gave me $80 to go into his Vegas strip club with my friends. Said he would "throw in the limo and VIP package" if we tipped the driver because his other reservation cancelled. When we got there, we got different color wristbands than other people and were told we could ONLY leave though their taxi when we left. That was our only option.
One friend tried to leave and the bouncer wouldn't let him out. He came back and told us what was up. Nothing was adding up so we booked it out of the fire exit and down the street.
That was how I got paid $80 to go a strip club. Pretty sure we were going to get robbed when we left and would probably have been drunk.
Bad Boss Is Bad Boss
I was a shift lead at a fast food joint located inside of a gas station. Our manager was worthless at hiring people, so we were perpetually understaffed for months. I was working 50-60 hours a week. Absolutely ridiculous. However, company policy was that there HAD to be two people working at all times.
This particular day, someone called out. Nobody would come in to cover the shift, so the manager was forced to stay and work a double. She decided that since the only reason she was there was because we would have to close otherwise, she was just going to hang out in the office and chat with the gas station employees. 3 hours into my shift, and I have been single handedly running the front counter, the drivethru, making all the food, doing prep and doing dishes. The dinner rush hit, I had like 4 cars in the drive thru, 8-9 people inside, and then I ran out of onions. (Because I couldn't get the prep done)
My mind just quit. Brain turned off, emotions went cold. I ripped off my headset, told the people inside that they weren't getting their food, walked into the office and tossed my name tag, manager card, and hat at my boss. When she turned around in shock all I said was good luck and walked out the back.
Systemic Racism Is Definitely A Reason To Leave
During my studies, I had to undertake a three-week internship abroad in the fields of logistics. I went to Senegal in the local branch of a international company. It was run by French men.
On the first day, they took me to lunch at an expatriate restaurant. As we were served by locals, they kept on rambling about how everything was awful in this country. They spoke to our waitress, who was a kind senegalese young lady, in a very condescending way. It was « well-calibrated » so they couldn't really be blamed for racism when it truly was. I started feeling [uncomfortable.]
Fast forward to day 5, someone knocks at my door. A Senegalese employee says he's having troubles with his printer. As I follow him to his office, he can't stop apologizing for bothering me in my « important tasks » and as he walks he looks at his feet. He's very [uncomfortable] and explains that only white people can help. I'm confused and uneasy, especially as I know these employees are skilled. I enter his office and there are about 6 of them gathered around the printer, here to thank me non-stop for helping. All staring at the ground, no eye contact possible. I solve the problem and everyone apologize again for bothering someone from the direction.
On that evening, I walked out of the office and never came back. Five days of a seeing white direction making their employees feeling like subhumans. I was done.
Too Much Stress Is Not Good
I was bartending/waitressing for a bar and bistro for about a year. Throughout the whole year my manager would hurl abuse at me with sexist comments too. Would get in trouble for drinking water during my shift all the time. I ended up picking up another job at a restaurant so I was trying to work at both and it became too much, so I handed in my 2 weeks at the first job.
My manager told me that if I left now I'd never get the hours I wanted and that I needed to be there full time for the remainder of my last 2 weeks. He would stress me out so much I was having anxiety episodes and ended up needing a emergency MRI because the doctors genuinely thought I was having a seizure or possible stroke. After getting the MRI a doctor told me not to return back to work for my health. So 5 minutes before my next shift I called up and told them I was never coming back.
Meth? Too Much For Me.
Me and my brother were chilling outside a 711 talking to a homeless guy and he offered to take us into an alley and let us try some crack.
Still not sure if he wanted to rob us...or let us try his crack lmao.
Trust Your Gut. Protect Your Kid.
Just a few weeks ago actually. It's a long story so I'll try to boil it down to basics.
My wife of the last 3 years has cheated on me repeatedly, used her depression as an excuse to abuse our children, manipulated everyone she knows, had repeated breakdowns and refuses medication.
About 6 weeks ago she asked me to leave so we could "get our sh-t together". I brought our year and a half old baby with me, and after a few days to actually think about it, I decided I wasn't coming back and started the process of filing for custody.
Master_ManiacWhen The Boss Breaks Their Own Rules
I was hired as a temp, on day 91 I was told that they in fact didn't have to hire me after 90 days and they were gonna keep me on as a temp.
I clocked out for lunch and never went back.
That's How You Quit A Job
Recently I was hired by a company to be a foreman. My job was laid out in my interview as follows: Plant maintenance and welding. I would run a crew of 4 guys and do odd jobs at a potato plant 10 miles from my house. This is what I have done for other various companies for the last 15 years.
After taking the job they asked me to help another foreman doing the same thing at a different potato plant about 80 miles away. I agreed as it was for a few days.
Fast forward 3 weeks. I am still driving 160 miles a day and we have been doing concrete and asphalt prep for a week.(not my vocation) The boss casually mentioned at about 2 in the afternoon that we had to finish a particular part of the project before we left and that we would be there at least till 8p.m. I told him I couldn't work late on short notice because I had plans and still had to drive home. He said " if you don't pick up the pace you will be leaving earlier than that." I told him I agreed and since this wasn't the job I was hired for that I was done. He replied with " see ya" and I said probably not.
Underwear Is Serious Business
Some young woman and an old lady were arguing about stolen underwear in our communal laundry room. Young woman called for her cracked out boyfriend who came running in with a gun drawn screaming bloody murder.
Noped right out. Then moved out that weekend.
It's easy for Americans who haven't traveled outside the country to assume citizens in other parts of the world have access to the same amenities offered in the US.
But people who were not born in the States know very well how what a world of difference life in North America is compared to where they've come from.
Curious to hear of the things most Americans take for granted as citizens of the US, Redditor CapitalBread6959 asked:
"Fellow Non-Americans, what is something quite common in the U.S. that is completely unheard of in your own country?"
Americans do drinking differently.
Bottoms Up
"My German friend visited us in college. First party he goes 'THEY DO EXIST!!' and held up our pack of red solo cups. Haha"
â mulljackson
Cup Overruneth
"Free drink refills."
â internetsss
H2O Required
"Every single place with a bar is legally obliged to provide free tap water on demand in England. Most restaurants will give you a pint of tap water with food for free (you do have to specify tap otherwise you get stung with some fancy expensive shite!) Admittedly the measures of alcohol are small here, though, compared to other places."
â anon
Some industries have laxed work protocols compared to in other countries.
Bee-Lining It For Home
"Health care workers going home after work still in scrubs. And washing them at home."
â orebro1234
Work Clothes Stay At Work
"This!! It's so weird to me. Here it's literally forbidden to leave hospital grounds in your work clothes. I would hate having to bring them home and possibly carry some resistant hospital bacteria there with me. Plus you never know how well other people wash theirs, I like it done professionally at the hospital."
â pauliaomi
Making Sense Of It All
"Many moons ago, I did an IT internship at a hospital's service desk and being the intern, was always the one who had to run out and physically check things."
"When I had to go in to work on something in an operating room, I had to put on a full body tyvek suit, gloves, mask, coverings for my shoes, etc."
"Which made sense to me. Except the OR nurses who worked there wood just breeze in and out all day long, wearing the same scrubs they wore commuting to work on the bus."
"That DIDN'T make sense to me."
â caribou16
Meanwhile, over at school...
Dances Don't Happen Everywhere
"Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, Winter Formal, Prom..."
"We have none of this, the closest thing is the graduation itself."
â badeksha
American Educators
"Teachers buying school stuff so they can teach."
â comicsnerd
The way certain things work in the US definitely raised eyebrows.
Feeding The Sink
"This thing were the kitchen sink has teeth."
â PoetPont
Going Nowhere Fast
"As a Dutchy, driving a car and turning right on a red light. That messed with my head. If you do that here you are gonna hit at least 5 cyclists."
â CowabungaNL
My Japanese cousin always comments on how Americans are friendly and are more open to striking up a conversation as opposed to citizens in Japan, where they prefer to keep to themselves and be captivated by their smartphones out in public.
As an introvert and one who can't stand small talk, I actually loved being left alone whenever I was in Japan riding the subway and walking about the city. Nothing against engaging with other people, but I found the quiet and my personal space being respected to be very calming.
People Break Down Things That Were Normal When They Were A Kid That You Don't See Anymore
The world is ever-changing.
One need only look at the evolution of home entertainment.
First, we had to go to the video store to buy or rent video cassettes, then video cassettes were wiped out by DVDs until video stores became obsolete owing to streaming services.
Making the one-season failure of the Netflix series Blockbuster painfully ironic.
However, those of us who grew up rushing to Blockbuster, hoping the last copy of Jurassic Park will still be there, can't help but wish we could relive the experience.
On the other hand, we are glad to see other things from our childhood have become extinct.
"What was normal when you were a kid, but you never see anymore?"
Honestly... Rude then, Rude Now!
"Showing up to someoneâs house without a text or call."- lpkrew
Before There Was Bluetooth...
"Cassette tape innards strung out along the highway, glimmering in the sunlight."- bigolfurryhead
No More Second Hand Smoke!
"Parents smoking in a car with kids with the windows rolled up."- WonderfulEmergency77
"Everybody smoked everywhere. At restaurants, the office, airports, everywhere."
"There's a picture of my grandma holding me as a baby in one hand and a cigarette in the other."
"Nobody thought that was the least bit strange."- MeghanFI
Now We Have Google!
"Using a set of 20 y/old encyclopedias as reference for my homework."
"JFK is president!"- ResplendentAmore
It Got Them Off Shelves...
"Toys in the cereal box"- NightDreamer73
How Sad...
"Fruit bats."
"There used to be a *ton* of them in my neighborhood as a kid and every evening you could look at the sunset as twilight set in and see flocks of bats flying around."
"Apparently, around the time I was in middle school, a fungal disease ravaged the local bat population and they never recovered."
"You never see them anymore."
"Funnily enough though, at the time, a local high school girl had this huge campaign to set up bat feeders to help bolster the local bat population and help them survive the fungal disease by giving them easy access to food."
"Said local girl has since become a federal Park Ranger as an adult and currently works for a state fish and wildlife service."- DoctorWatchamacallit
Now They'll Just Send Them A Text...
"Moms yelling from the front door to their kids to come home for dinner."- sflogicninja
Depending On Your Circle
"People talking about the Bermuda Triangle."- GarconMeansBoyGeorge
Best Not To Give Them Bad Ideas
"Candy Cigarettes."- Mechhammer
They're a dying breed indeed...
"Pay phones and answering machines."- Mondayslasagna
Even Printers Are Uncommon, Thanks to PDFs...
"Computer paper filled with lightly printed numbers and it had tear-off sides."
"My dad used to bring lots of it home for us kids to draw on."- reverendgrebo
...what were you watching?...
"Quicksand in movies and TV shows."- kzab81
Well That's Poignant
"Fireflies."
'I swear I saw them every year, in our back yard or when we went camping etc."
"Now I never see them no matter where I am, except for a few nights in the summer of '21 after I moved to a new house."
"It was so nice to see them again."- ModernCivilWar
Sadly, Not Because People Started Reading Maps...
"Printing out directions from Map Quest."- Keone_710
To think there was actually a time when we couldn't say "I'll text again when I'm close" and had to ask a friend to record a movie or tv show we wanted to watch.
Simpler times...
There's little more frustrating than a mystery that was never solved.
The victim's family never gets closure, a killer may still be at large, and our minds continue to spin trying to figure out how something happened.
Perhaps most frustrating of all is knowing that there is an explanation for it out there somewhere.
And, there are people desperate to find it.
"You get the opportunity to find out the truth behind one unsolved case, which are you choosing?"
Missing Friend
"I wish I could find out what happened to my childhood best friend."
"She went missing ten years ago and nothing was discovered about the case since."- Weevelle
Missing Neighbor
"There was a kid that went missing right around my hometown when I was a kid."
"Couple years younger than me."
"It was on the news a bit, it kinda fizzled out and I haven't been able to find anything since."
"Still see flyers for him now and then. Kyron Horman."- KnockerFogger69
Murderer On The Loose
"For all my french redditors here, I will say the Xavier Dupont De LigonnĂšs case."
"The guy killed all his family and buried them under his concrete deck, before disappearing completely without leaving any traces, and it has been more than ten years."- OopsieDoopsi
Mysterious Death
"Gareth Williams, that MI6 guy who was found dead inside a padlocked suitcase."
"His death was ruled as a self-inflicted accident and then later some former KGB guy would claim the KGB killed him after failing to convert him to a double agent."- adweeeb·
Not A Simple Hit And Run...
"Two boys I went to school with were killed in a hit and run by the side of the road while walking home from a party.'
"According to some reports, only one of the boys died from being hit by a car and the other appeared to have been beaten to death."
"It's been 20 years and no one has ever confessed or offered any information about the case."- an-invisible-titan
What Is Her Brother-In-Law Hiding?
"Rebecca Reusch."- illuminalice
Top Of Everybody's List
"Zodiac killer."- tdunc1994
Unknown Assassin
"Olof Palme, PM of Sweden."- Swedish_STD
What Are They Hiding?
"Where is Shelly Miscavige?"- Bucketlist074
Tragically Confusing
"Asha Degree."
"9-year-old girl left her house in the middle of the night, while it was storming and cold, with a pre packed bag of clothes."
"She had no reason to run away, and had limited computer access."
"A truck driver said they saw her walking that same early morning on the dark next to the highway, and that she ran into the woods."
"Over a year later, her backpack was found wrapped in a plastic bag about 26 miles away, which didnât yield any further developments."
"Why did she leave?"
"Why did she run from the trucker?"
"How did her backpack end up so far away?"
"Is she still alive?"
"Was she met with foul play?"- bookloverpink
A Step-By-Step Guide
"Alcatraz escapees."- Ceyram
Who Was That Guy?!?!
"Jennifer Kesse."
"I am not sure why, but this is the one case I haven't been able to stop thinking about for years."
"The surveillance video of the perp who parked her car drives me insane."- imalittleredhouse
They Deserve Justice
"My friends' murder."
"He was killed ten years ago over Thanksgiving weekend, and his case still remains open today."
"His family deserves to know."- ToulouseDM
Hopefully Not For Long
"I know it's very recent but the Idaho college murders."- surgeryboy7
It's tragic that these mysteries remain unsolved.
But if there is anything to be gained from this mystery, it's the fact that these poor people will never be forgotten.
As the saying goes, "you die twice, once when you take your last breath, and once when they stop saying your name."
All languages have certain words that roll so beautifully off the tongue.
It's no wonder why listening to vocal arias from operas and oratoriosâwhich are typically in languages other than Englishâcan be such a satisfying experience.
Examples coming to mind that are pleasant to the ear include, "Un Bel Di Vedremo" from the Italian opera Madame Butterfly and "Au fond du temple saint"âa duet from the French opera, Les pĂȘcheurs de perles.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor candela1200 asked:
"What is your favorite word in a foreign language?"
People found these words fun to say.
Not Always, But...
"Tokidoki - 'sometimes' in Japanese, just really fun to say lol"
â rogue_rocketeer_
It Flutters
"Papillon. Means butterfly in french and its fun to say."
â kk1289
Der Emergency Vehicle
"Krankenwagen"
"German for ambulance."
â 8thFurno
A Childhood Memory
"When I was a kid, the first Xbox 360 game I ever got was a Spanish copy of Halo 3 (I don't speak Spanish). At the beginning of the campaign, the characters keep saying 'careful' over and over again. Because of this, 'cuidado' has become one of my favorite Spanish words, and the voice they used has become my default voice to say other Spanish words. My other favorite has to be 'resbaloso'. A large, exaggerated r roll and a boisterous tone just makes this one of the most fun words to say in any language."
â AdriftMusic
A Favorite Pasttime
"Winkel. It means 'shop' in Dutch."
â MrRonObvious
These words are not compliments.
Those Darn Kids
"Gowniaki - polish for 'Sh*tling' in reference of annoying kids."
â BmMjO
Referring To Contemptible People
"Pendejo."
â Broccoli_Vivid
Like The F-Bomb
â'Tabarnak!' I love how, instead of being bodily-function based like English swear words, French Canadian sacres are mostly related to Catholicism. This one is my favourite as itâs the rough equivalent of the versatile 'f''k' swear in English, so many uses."
â jerrys153
You may want to sound these out slowly.
Well, We've Tried
"Verschlimmbesserung - German noun for an attempted improvement that only makes things worse."
â JR_0507
The Translation Doesn't Track
"Meerschweinchen, itâs German for Guinea Pigs, I like it because it literally means 'little sea pigs'. Which makes no sense."
â AdvantageBig568
What An Inebriate Would Say
"kalsarikÀnnit - originating in Finland, in which the drinker consumes alcoholic drinks at home, dressed in as little clothing as possible, mainly in underwear with no intention of going out."
â evendronesflyaway
My favorite word or phrase really, is "Oh la, la, c'est cher"âwhich means, "Oh my, it's expensive," in French.
It was one of the first phrases I learned in middle school when I started taking French as an elective.
When I went home and shared with my mom what I learned, she was so amused by how the alarming phrase sounded. She couldn't stop laughing.
This led to her constantly asking me to repeat it whenever we were in the presence of her friends, and I milked it.
This is one of my treasured memories of my mother.