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People Share Their Craziest 'One In A Million' Experiences

People Share Their Craziest 'One In A Million' Experiences
Image by aL3x92 from Pixabay

I was visiting family in LA and I randomly suggested we check out the places we went to when my older brother and I were younger.

One day, we decided to visit the house where I was born.


I have no memory of that house near East Los Angeles since we moved to another house when I was two. But we pulled up to the house and I got out of the car and looked around the front yard.

A guy emerged from the home and we locked eyes. I didn't say anything out of fear went back into the car where my family sat waiting. My mother, however, insisted I go back out and explain to the guy why we were there in order to avoid further suspicion.



The man understandably stared me down and I told him this was the house where I was born. His surly expression changed instantly and he insisted my family come inside and meet his mom and dad and tour their home.

Under different circumstances, I'm not sure if we would have experienced the same outcome. To me, this is my one-in-a-million story.

Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor IcarusTheTaker asked:

"(Serious) What is your "1 In a Million" story?"

Connections

Interactions with strangers led to mind-blowing discoveries for these Redditors.

Family Secrets

"My dad died when I was 12. We had a favorite picture of him that my uncle made prints of and gave to us kids, and my two half-brothers, as well as other family members."

"Fast forward 15 years or so. My brother and his roommate are at a bar and pick up a couple of women and bring them back to their place. The women spend the night. The next morning, the woman that slept with my brother's roommate sees my dad picture on the mantle, turns white and says 'Who's that?'"

"That's my roommates dad. He passed away a while ago."

"Oh, thank God! I REALLY need to talk to him."

"That's how we found out we had a half-sister we never knew about."

"My dad got a girl pregnant in highschool and she decided to go it alone. She moved across the state and never contacted my dad other than to say it's a girl and what her name was."

"Our half sister never knew what dad's name was until word got to her mom that he had died. The mom contacted our mom and they had a conversation. My mom had known everything and had kept it to herself. My mom then had a copy of the photo sent."

"Half sister was visiting her friend, when they met up with my brother and roommate in a random bar in a random city."

"Family secrets, man."

2leewhohot

Passengers

"My friend was on the tube (london) and was forced to get off at an earlier stop due to line works. He was relatively new to london and didnt know what to do so he got talking to a guy who sat opposite him and he was heading the same way and he welcomed my friend to come with him. They started making small talk and asked about where they were from originally. Turns out the guy was from the next town over from where he lived. The next part is where it really gets 1 in a million. When my friend said that he knew the town and told him where he was from, the guy is like 'no way, my grandma used to live there' The guys grandma lived next to my friend, and it turns out they used to play together when were around 5/6 years of age (they are both around 30 at this time). When they realised this they recognised eachother."

"If the train never had to stop they would have carried on their journeys and never known."

Rare_Pollution

High School Buddy

"Went to New Orleans for Halloween a few years ago with a few friends. Ended up at the famous Cafe Du Monde for some Beignets. Was sitting at our table with my 4 travel friends, when I let out a loud laugh."

"Right behind me I hear someone say 'wtf, I know that laugh, that's gotta be whopper68!'. I turn around as he turns around. It's an old high school buddy that had just gotten off a plane on a last second trip decision to fly to New Orleans to meet his fiancé's parents before they flew back home."

"Hadn't seen em in 10+years."

whopper68

Familiar Face

"I was on a motor vehicle collision call out as a volunteer fire fighter. There was freezing rain on the Trans Canada highway and around 30 cars in the ditch. I checked on one lady in a flat bed tow truck who looked distraught because she just wrecked her vehicle. After speaking with her she seemed okay and I went about my business."

"A couple of years later I was hanging out with friends and family around Christmas and my brother-in-law mentioned he had a flight attendant friend staying over on her day off. She seemed really familiar, and after a while I figured out that she was the lady in the vehicle I checked in on during the freezing rain accident! What are the chances?"

Canadabigjack

People Share The 'Dirty Secrets' That Their Bosses Don't Want Customers To Know

There's a lot businesses hope their customers believe, and there are many business practices you wouldn't dare believe. These are some of the secrets Reddit ...

Odds

Luck of the draw? Right place and time? Who knows?

Dad's Luck

"Me and my dad were on a hike, in the middle of the woods. We brought out knives, for whittling. So, we are carving out sticks, and he accidentally cuts himself. Nothing too bad, but it was big enough that you can't ignore. Then he notices something under the rock he is sitting on. It is a box, with a multiple bandaids in it."

"Also whenever he is looking for a parking spot, he finds one, right in front of where he needs to go."

NevenSesto

What Are The Odds

"I have a distant relative that was an author. I'm always trying to find the few books of hers that I don't have. I bought a copy of one off a used book seller via the internet several years ago. When it came it had an inscription inside the front cover from the author to my grandmother (I'm sure it's her, she had a very unique nickname). This book had come out of my grandmother's library and been around the country to come back to me!"

remick_renton

Small World

"I met a girl on a bus in Mexico traveling to Guadalajara. We sat next to each other and hit it off. She was only in Mexico for another couple of days but we exchanged numbers. We never ended up staying in contact but ran into each other 8 years later in Oklahoma City and found out that her family grew up with my best friend's family. Crazy stuff!"

uno-dos-siete

The Dodge King

"So here is the shortened version, i was playing dodgeball and was the last one on my team, i had three people throw a ball at me at the same time, i walked forward with my arms out as if accepting the fact that I couldn't dodge it even if i tried, and then they all barely missed me, never happened again and when i play dodgeball with the same people everyone calls me the dodge king and wont attack me."

litdragon99

Free Car On Tinder

"I met a girl on tinder, she came over and we... Well anyway before she left she told me she'd like me to go to her house the next day so i said sure! The next day she gives me her address and its in a different state but i live relatively close so i head over and she tells me to park out front by the mail box, ok sure. I go inside and we start making tea and just as the water starts to boil i hear a CRASH... Her 89 year old neighbor totaled my car, a lil dinky '95 saturn, with her brand new mercedes. So now im stuck. In another state. With a girl ive known for, oh about 16 hours.

Well she feels TERRIBLE and has me stay the night and takes me to work in the morning. Well at work i get a call from Mr. Tinder girl saying how he understands ive been friends with his daughter for a while and he heard what happened and is literally buying me a car while on the phone with him! Turns out he was a multi millionaire and worked on Wall st."

"No i did not stay with her. Money can buy negative happiness apparently and also spoil you rotten."

"R.I.P. Michael J. Fox, my '95 Saturn that shook a lot, thanks for the insurance money :'|"

newguyay

Drunk Hotel Heiress

"Amazing story!"

"I was on a vacation with some friends and on our way home from a alcohol and other things infused night we found a girl sleeping on a bench right in front of a closed coffe shop. As she was clearly not a hobo (judging from her clothing) we tried to wake her up and talk to her, because in this part of the city it was very unsafe, especially for a young girl dressed up for a night in the club... She was very drunk and could barely talk, after a couple of minutes she vomited and was desperately embarrassed. We weren't so sure of what to do, she was starting to feel save around us but was clearly very uncomfortable. We managed to get her address from her and decided to order a taxi. We were five guys, so we decided three of us should just head home, while I and a friend brought the girl to her apartment. Finally there, we asked for her keys, when she realized that she had lost her bag!

We called our buddies but none of them answered their phones. Well, we weren't exactly sober so we decided to smash in the door to her place, brought her to bed and wrote a short letter, mentioning the broken door, that her bag was missing and left an anonymous email-address for her to contact us if she wanted. Right when we got out of her appartment our buddies called, he had her bag, totally forgot that he took it when she was vomiting (as mentioned, a lot of alcohol has flown this night...). He took a cab and brought us the bag, we went up there again, put the bag beside her bed, plugged in the phone, saw a friend of hers was concerned, unlocked the phone with the passed out girls fingerprints, wrote a message to calm her concerned friend, plugged the phone to recharge, and added some lines to the before-mentioned letter."

"We headed home to sleep out our intoxication."

"The next day around noon we got an email from the girl. She was in the city for university, the apartment was not rented but BOUGHT by her father just so she has a place to live near uni. Her father was the owner of the second most expensive and exclusive hotel in the country. She was very, very thankful, said the smashed door was no problem at all, and after speaking to her father, we all have an all-inclusive weekend at the hotel for free!"

leicester77

Genetics

Uncommon medical conditions and egg mutations take the spotlight.

Mutated Egg

"I cracked an egg and two yolks came out. I cracked another and three yolks came out. This was one after the other. Or consecutive as you might say in English."

"English isn't my first language, sorry for any mistakes."

GeneralKenobi4321

Fascinating Patient

"I have 3 different unrelated liver diseases the odds of having all three is about 1/ 2,000,000."

"I have Non alcohol fatty liver disease (1/4) weight related, hemochromatosis (1/300) genetic, alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (1/1700) genetic."

"The two genetic conditions are in completely unrelated genes, it was just bad luck!"

"The docs tell me I am fascinating medically, My blood test results are somewhat wacky, when they did a liver biopsy my liver was bright orange (its normally dark red / purple) but I am still alive and not expected to die anytime soon."

Stevetrov

Physical Anamoly

"I was born with a hole in the internal walls in my heart."

"Apparently this is pretty rare."

sorude27

Miracle Being Alive

"Took a common medication for a sinus infection when I was 15, and ended up with something called Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome. The 'lesser' but more well known is called Steven Johnson's Syndrome."

"Basically it's a reaction that acts like a burn, attack's your mucous membranes and your skin blisters up and peels off. Like, I had no face, and almost all the skin north of my legs was gone. Pretty much awful."

"If I remember correctly the case rate is like 1 per million per year, and the mortality rate is basically tied to the % of skin you lose. Most lose 10-30%, I ended up losing 80%. Spent 2 months in ICU burn unit. An absolute miracle I'm alive. I didn't even end up needing skin grafts and didn't get infections which are a big issue when you just...don't have skin. To look at me now you'd never know, except for some uneven skin tone and low profile white spiderwebbing scars where the "burns" were deepest."

FancyxFarts

Continuing with my one-in-a-million story, my family accepted the invitation and we walked around. The family was warm, kind, and let us take pictures.

My family was ecstatic and emotional walking around in a familiar environment.

We took a group photo in the living room with the current homeowners before we left, and the guy I initially had contact with told me his mother said we were welcome to visit again any time, and that they would serve us Menudo. (They were a lovely Mexican family.)

I'm glad my mom insisted I go back and explain to the son why we were there. Had it been a different – and not as welcoming – family, we probably would never get to have that night of enjoying Menudo we are now looking forward to.

This example of a Japanese and a Mexican family interacting despite a language barrier between parents was an example of the American dream my dad sought for after leaving Japan so many years ago.

Small Upgrades That Actually Made A Huge Difference In People's Homes

Reddit user Super_dupa2 asked: 'What small upgrade made a huge difference at your house?'

Smartphone showing a lighting switch app
Moritz Kindler/Unsplash

Making yourself feel at home takes work but not as much as you think.

Homeowners, for example, are apprehensive about renovations because of how much costs.

Even tenants renting a home can feel like they're stuck in a situation where they don't feel comfortable because of minor inconveniences they think requires major solutions to fix.

Cut to this Reddit thread, where the ideas for affordable home improvement options were shared that may make you wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Curious to hear some tips from strangers online, Redditor Super_dupa2 asked:

"What small upgrade made a huge difference at your house?"

We tend to overcomplicate things when solutions can be simplified.

Taking Charge

"Methodically buying phone chargers with long enough cables to not have to ever move one again."

– ihadtowalkhere

"I am a pretty mellow dad (benign neglect parenting style for 5 kids) but I have two rules. Nobody messes with my bedside charger and nobody steals my two pillows."

"So, as such, I make many, long chargers available for everybody. It costs me a fortune:)"

– nicktam2010

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

"Blackout curtains for sleeping. Such a game changer."

– blehbleh1122

"And they keeps my bedroom cooler."

– BunjaminFrnklin

"Insulated blackout curtains make a 10f difference in my living room on hot days."

– TryUsingScience

A Cool Idea

"Attic heat exhaust fan. Our attic used to get up to 140F on the hottest days, and on those days our ceilings were hot to the touch. The whole house was consequently uncomfortable. Now the attic fan is thermostatically controlled to 90 degrees, and the whole house is cooler."

– jermleeds

"I added a passive whirly bird that does the same thing. Heat rises and escapes before it can accumulate to those extreme levels. It also happens to be clear acrylic so now there's always light up there too which helps keep away any vermin.

– cantwejustplaynice

No major bathroom renovations are required to make tenants happy.

No More Slamming

"Soft close cabinets and toilet seats."

– AreWeCowabunga

"We have a soft close toilet seat at our home and every time I'm at a hotel, I completely forget that they aren't usually soft close and the slam startles me 😂"

– PinkHamster08

Nozzle Upgrades Can Do The Trick

"A better shower. If you can't redo the whole bathroom, just replace the head. This also works if you rent, just keep the old one in a box, so you can bring the nice one to your next house."

– maartenvanheek

"I'm a renter and I finally installed a better shower head this year, after just using the default head in all my apartments for almost 20 years. 10/10, highly recommend."

– Am_I_a_Guinea_Pig

Perfect Welcoming Gesture

"My wife and I own a smallish apartment complex . One of the things we do every time a new tenant arrives is replace the toilet seat. I learned that trick from my parents who had about a dozen single-family rentals. It's amazing the goodwill you receive from a tenant simplify giving them a new toilet seat. We actually put the box behind the toilet so they know it's new."

– YouInternational2152

It's electrifying!

Think Smart

"Smart outlets for Christmas lights, both inside and outside. I have them scheduled to turn on at sunset and turn off at midnight."

– Revolutionary-Try746

"Smart outlets are one of my favorite purchases. During Halloween and Christmas, we’re using multiple outlets for inflatables, house lights, and tree lights. The smart outlets allow you to have everything synced so they all turn in at the same time."

– cppadam

Things Are Looking Bright

"Replaced dated lighting fixtures - fixtures are now properly grounded, the interior looks more updated, and there is more/better light."

– SnooCauliflowers9981

Energy Conservation Option

"Motion activated light switch for the laundry room. Never have to worry about turning off the light when leaving with an arm full of clothing."

– AmazingAsian

Creating an environment can make a huge difference.

Source Lighting For The Win

"Lighting can absolutely make a huge difference in the way you feel in your room. Get some shoulder height (when you are sitting) lamps for your living room. You will notice a shift in how much more relaxed you feel when you use those instead of the overheads."

– ShoesAreTheWorst

Home Art Gallery

"Spending a day mounting my artwork. It felt so much more like my home after that."

– GinGimlet

"Every time I've moved, I put that off for way too long, then finally break down and do it and the house feels so much better to be in."

– Triolion

One major upgrade was our VE hybrid tech water boiler and warmer we got from Japan.

The Zojirushi kitchen appliance uses VE, or vacuum electric, technology for very minimal electricity to maintain the water temperature at a constant 195° so we always have hot water at the touch of a button.

There's no more time wasted boiling hot water over the stove every time we want tea or the occasional instant cup noodles.

Game changer.

man with girl on his shoulders

Brittani Burns on Unsplash

"Daddy's Girl, Daddy's Girl, I'm the center of Daddy's world..." ~ "Daddy's Girl" by Red Sovine

A lot has been written about the bond between fathers and daughters.

But there's always room for improvement, right?

And who better to offer constructive criticism than daughters?

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woman making the shushing gesture

Bjorn Pierre on Unsplash

Full disclosure at all times with your significant other, right?

Yeah, good luck with that.

Let's get real—there are things we don't tell our partners for a lot of reasons.

Sometimes you just don't feel like having to explain something that doesn't really affect them.

Sometimes you're protecting them from something that will have a devastating effect on them.

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We all have that moment where someone we know says something so completely absurd, the only response we think of is 'WTF is wrong with you?'

Sometimes, it's something woefully inaccurate that you can't wrap your head around the fact that someone believes that.

Othertimes, it's something completely offensive and you regret your association with that person.

My college roommate was a girl I knew from my high school. I didn't know her too well, but we had some big things in common, so I figured it'd be fun to live with her.

This girl was half-Korean and talked a lot about racist people. At first, I let her rant, figuring maybe she or someone in her family faced some racism. I faced some myself, and I agreed with most of the things she said about racists. Eventually, however, I realized she was equating the word 'racist' with the word 'white.'

I spoke to her once, telling her she can't use 'racist' and 'white' interchangeably. She agreed to stop doing that, but within a few days, she started doing it again. She was a very bright girl, so I was a little concerned about this, especially since her own dad was white and was possibly the nicest man in the world. Not to mention, this made her and her siblings half-white too. Did that mean they were all half-racist?

I stuck by her for a while, but when she started saying things about what she wanted to do to racist people (once again using the word 'white' instead of 'racist'), I realized I couldn't be around her anymore. She couldn't talk about anything else after a while, and every time she spoke, I wanted to say, 'WTF is wrong with you?'

We did not room together the next year.

Redditors have stories similar to mine (and some even crazier), and they are eager to share.

It all started when a Redditorasked:

"What did the person do/say that made you go "what the f**k is wrong with you?"

How To End A Friendship

"In college I used to kill time between classes hanging out with a guy who was from the same redneck county as myself. We didn’t really have much else in common, but he was nice enough and seemed eager to socialize so I figured why not. I wasn’t overly social myself and didn’t know a whole lot of people."

"One day we decided to go somewhere off-campus, and he drove us. While driving, on an interstate mind you, he proceeds to show me his handgun that he kept in his truck - not in a menacing way, but in a “Ain’t that cool?” way."

"I was not immediately frightened, but I respect firearms enough to recognize we are going like 60-70mph on an interstate in daylight, and nothing good can happen in this scenario. I calmly asked him to put it away because I was not comfortable in this situation at all. He then tells me “Oh it’s not loaded” and presses the gun to his head before pulling the trigger."

"Thank f**k he was right, but still it was a wild and frightening display of reckless disregard for his own life and mine for that matter in the event that he’d accidentally killed himself while driving us. I didn’t hang out with him much after that, certainly didn’t get in a car with him."

– omjf23

"“It’s not loaded” famous last words of many an idiot."

– GloInTheDarkUnicorn

The Worst Kind Of People

"When my dad was in the nursing home, they weren't running certain expenses, like ambulance rides, through his insurance. When I took over his financials, he was tens of thousands in medical debt that shouldn't have ever been charged to him in the first place. He was in numerous collections, and his credit score was tanked."

"When I complained to the nursing home director, he said, "Well, it's not like he's going to be buying a house or a car!" Then he laughed."

"My dad was paralyzed from the waist down and needed lifelong care, so he was never going to leave the nursing home. Even though he was technically correct, I gave him the "WTF is wrong with you look." Then I complained to HIS boss and he got canned a couple a weeks later. My dad's insurance was fixed pretty quick, too."

– MNWNM

"“Sorry, what was funny about that? Could you please explain.”"

– v3n0mat3

...Seriously?

"MIL told my wife she should divorce me bc I googled whether a lasagna should be covered with foil while cooking."

– Struggle-Silent

"This is my first laugh of the thread lmao wtf."

– koreantrvp

"It actually ruined this entire trip. It was at my BIL’s wedding, which was only close family (siblings + parents) and they had the caterer make a lasagna for an evening dinner."

"Father of the bride was gonna pop it in the oven and asked if it should be covered. I googled lasagna cooking instructions and said yes it should be covered and cooked at this temp. MIL said absolutely not!"

"Me and the father of the bride kinda gave each other a look and he covered it. MIL was furious and texted my wife that I was an a hole and she should divorce me before we had kids."

– Struggle-Silent

Hostile Work Environment

"Boss at old job told the team we needed to ‘get used to a healthy level of conflict, fear and anxiety in the workplace.’ I dipped so fast after that."

– Prestigious-Energy69

"Similarly, a boss told me that I owed him my loyalty because he was paying me."

– Kylearean

How To End A Relationship

"A girl I was with while we were still together just looked at me while I was driving to her house and said.” You know I would get over you faster than you’d get over me” I was like …… Tf did you just say?"

– omega91301

"Huh. And just like that I'm over you."

– Pineapple_Spenstar

"Honestly, that would absolutely do it for me. When I was younger, I would be stupid and hurt and argue. I'm past 50 and I got no time for that nonsense."

– Terpsichorean_Wombat

There Are Other Ways To Stave Off Boredom

"I was DD for some buddies who wanted to go to a particular dance club in Baltimore. They're all hammered, it's too loud and we've been there for several hours. Casually an older woman next to me chats me up and notices my eyes are nearly crossing from boredom. I explained what I was doing there and casually (stupidly) mentioned I'm a bit bored. This psycho BITES ME on the chest! Afterward says "Well ya ain't bored now, are ya??""

– Mike7676

"Well, were you bored after that?"

– DontWannaSayMyName

"I must say, I was not!"

– Mike7676

That Goes Both Ways!

"I'm a man who works with kids, and when I started this job, I was talking to one of my old coworkers about how every once in a while I'll get weird looks for being a man working with kids and my coworker said I deserved it because some men can't be trusted with kids. I was shocked and she went on to say that I did it to myself and deserve to be questioned about it. I immediately stopped talking to her."

– Dolhedew

"What? What in the actual f**k? Doesn’t she know there are women who can’t be trusted with kids?"

– Anonymoosehead123

That Escalated Quickly

"The lady that accused my kids of cutting the line. (They hadn't, I was watching). When I went to ask her what was wrong, she told me to go back to my own country with that sh*t. (I was born in Massachusetts.)"

"The line was to pet dogs at a Renaissance Fair."

– pasafa

Everything All At Once

"While alone with a coworker, he told me that "women in the work place will lead to the decay of the fabric of society" to me. A woman. He also asked me out, got an attitude when I didn't say yes and continues to walk around with huge incel energy. He always complains that he has no one to go home to yet refuses to look at himself as a possible reason."

– Nopeferatu31

"Sounds like they should learn something from the phrase, "if you meet one a**hole, they're the a**hole. If everyone you meet is an a**hole, you're the a**hole.""

– tmpope123

Ouch!

"I told a coworker my wife had died."

"Her response: "You're one of those bald middle aged guys with a dead wife.""

"Me: "Yeah.""

– WalrusCello

"I want to think this was a wholesome thought that came out wrong. An awkward attempt at dark humor."

– ThisUsernameIsTook

*Cringing*

"Had an otherwise normal co-worker who was completely convinced windmills will cause the earth to stop spinning."

– Shadowmant

"WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! GOOD NIGHT!"

– Torvaun

These are all crazy 'WTF is wrong with you' stories, but that last one blew my mind in 'how is it possible people think that could be true' sort of way!