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People Describe The Creepiest Encounter They've Ever Had With A Stranger

Reddit user SilentBaker8893 asked: '"People of Reddit, what's the creepiest encounter you've had with a complete stranger that still gives you chills?"'

Hooded person walking down busy street at night
Irham Setyaki/Unsplash

Depending on where you live, It's hard to be friendly with strangers because you really don't know about a person.

Gone are the days when you struck up a conversation with a random stranger just to pass the time.

Nowadays, you never know whom you're dealing with, and it's better to stay vigilant and be discerning about a person's character when you're out in public.

It's a sad way to be, but it's the way people are socialized in a very divided and bonkers climate.


Those who had unsettling interactions in public with people they hardly know shared their experiences when Redditor SilentBaker8893Baker8893 asked:

"People of Reddit, what's the creepiest encounter you've had with a complete stranger that still gives you chills?"

Keep an eye out behind you.

You never know if you have a new friend.

Give Me Your Number

"I was in a grocery store doing my weekly shop, and was approached by a man who said I was pretty and asked for my number. No intros, no asking me how I’m doing, just getting straight to it. I politely declined and said I wasn’t interested. He became persistent, so I ended up telling him to just give me his number so I could end the interaction."

"After he gives me his number, I go back to shopping without incident (or so I think). It turns out that this man was keeping an eye on me from the dairy section as i was walking up and down the aisles. As I’m getting ready to head to checkout, he decides to approach me again. This time, he’s super agitated and raises his voice while asking why I won’t just give him my number. I decide to be direct, and tell him that I said I wasn’t interested and I will not be giving my number to a stranger. He really had an issue with it, became irate, and had to be removed from the store. I was walked to my car, and he ended up following me out of the parking lot."

"I was on my street when I noticed I was being followed, drove past my house, and started driving towards the police station in my city. He followed me until he realized I was turning into that driveway and then sped off. Luckily I haven’t seen him since."

– Dismal_Ingenuity2247

The Homophobe

"I was walking home from work around 11 pm from Wrigley Field in Chicago. I walked home every night for years through these parts and never had any issue. I had my music in but never listened loud just in case. For about a mile I could hear someone yelling behind me, but they weren’t close and I couldn’t make out anything they were saying. I started to get a really bad vibe and decided to mute my music for a bit."

"I started to hear the voice getting closer but still couldn’t make anything out until I heard a distinct 'I just really really DONT like gay people.' I turned around and saw an old janky dude just sprinting at me full force from behind, I remember his arms were flailing in the air uncontrollably. I decided quickly to just cross the street and see if he would follow me. I turned to stare at him as he slowed to a walk and stayed on his side of the street. Once he was parallel to me, without even glancing over, he calmly said 'That’s exactly what I would have done.' And continued on, turning left into the train station about a block ahead. Gave me the creepiest feeling. I definitely was ready to fight if I needed, but dude had the most whacked out posture and vibe I’d ever seen."

– jaaaayy13

The Face Changes

"When my son was a toddler, I made a late night run to a 24 hour Walgreens to pick up a prescription for him. We lived in an urban area where that Walgreens was actually busy at that time of night. It was also right next to a Metro stop and was not a place where most people drove, so parking was super limited. I ended up parking at a curb a bit away from the store. When I got back to my car a youngish, very normal (by my estimation) guy came up to my window. I rolled it down a bit and he said 'I think I know you from xyz place.' I had actually been to xyz place before (xyz place was also a very popular place), so I tried to remember him."

"In that spilt second that I hesitated trying to remember him, his eyes went completely black, his whole face changed, and he grabbed the door handle of my car and tried to open it. I put the car in drive and peeled out of there, looking straight ahead. Only when I got to a red light a few streets away did I realize that the overhead light was on. He had actually opened my door a bit, and I hadn’t realized. I never forgot his face. How it changed. I remember one of Ted Bundy’s victims (survivor obviously) described how his face went from normal, attractive, friendly to black-eyed, unrecognizable, and frenzied. That’s how this man transformed. There were some missing women in our city, and I always wondered if this guy did it."

– teeshirtandundies

These are reminders to stay vigilant when traveling.

Stalker

"Driving across the country with my wife and dog, we stopped at a gas station around midnight. I was coming out of the bathroom, and I saw the guy mopping the floor had stopped, and was just staring out the window at my wife, who had finished letting the dog pee and was slowly walking back to the car."

"There was a super creepy guy slowly sneaking up behind her. He was like 20 feet back, but quietly getting closer, and my wife had no idea. So I got out of the gas station real quick, and loudly went over to them, hugged the dog said let's get going, etc. The second I walked over to them the guy turned around and ran away."

"My wife never knew there was a guy sneaking up behind her until I told her once we got back in the road."

– Veritas3333

Cadillac In The Rear View

"I was driving on a back road at night heading to my parents house when a Cadillac started following me. It was a one lane road at night, dizzling on and off and this guy I notice has been following me for a little over 2 miles. At first I thought it was paranoia, so I used my blinker and they copied me. Every time I did it. A sole blue light then went off on their hood behind me I guess trying to get me to pull over. I called 911 and stayed on the line until the police intercepted me. Lst: the guy ended up being wanted on warrants for skipping bail on an SA charge. Definitely came way too close that night."

– Successful_Arm_7509

A Beautiful Distraction

"I was in Vienna during Christmas break. There is a large open air market in the middle of the city and thousands of people were milling about, eating, drinking, and shopping in the evening."

"A very attractive blonde woman with light blue eyes bumps into me, and in accented English apologizes. I said ‘No worries’ and we started chatting. She says she’s from Poland and she’s here for New Years visiting a friend. I mentioned I’m American but Polish in heritage and we continue to talk for several minutes. She says that she’s hungry and wants to get food. I offered to buy her a slice of pizza at a booth. I get one for both of us and she takes a bite and says she doesn’t like it and wants to go to a place away from the town center."

"Something about how quickly she rejected the pizza, which was quite good, set off alarms and I wished her a pleasant evening and walked away. I looped around the town center and coincidentally saw her walking down an alley with two large men, one on each side of her…very quickly I realized that she was bait to draw me into an alley so they could mug me."

"I definitely dodged a bullet that day."

– LaximumEffort

Listen To Your Gut

"I had a similar thing happen to me."

"Years ago I was in Edinburgh for the fringe festival. I was drunk walking back to my hotel when I passed by a bar and I hear an American voice say 'Hug me, it's my birthday'. She was cute and she sounded sad so I gave her a hug a cigarette and we started talking."

"We chatted for a few minutes, I can't remember many of the small details but I remember a few things that big red flags for me. The first was the she said she was in the UK doing an internship in becoming a pharmacist and every so often a word just wouldn't come out right. It just hit my ears wrong."

"My sister-in-law is a pharmacist and I remembered her talking about how hard it was to get her program to sign off on an internship in another state, let alone another country. And I got lost in that thought for a second when the girl said she just wanted to ditch her friends, and go anywhere else. And that's when it hit me why her words weren't hitting my ear right... she was trying to hide an accent. Sounded Irish to me but it didn't matter. At this point I had decided that I wanted to keep my kidneys so I gave her another cigarette and a hug, wished her a happy birthday and walked away.

"I don't know that I dodged a bullet but I'm pretty sure I was going to end up robbed or worse."

– NicktheEvil

These Redditors saw the red flags and avoided disaster.

Daughter Whisperer

"My wife and I stopped at a park with our then 7 year old daughter. My wife went off on her own for a few to look at some trees while I took my daughter over to the bank of the lake. Seemingly of nowhere this really creepy guy walked up and started addressing my daughter while ignoring me. He was going on about how to attract the ducks and was positioning himself in a way to get in between us. I did a quick calculation where I had a base set up to kick his @ss into the ropes along the edge of the lake which would trip him at his knees and send him into the water. I had my daughter by the hand and just interrupted the guy and pulled her away, the guy turned around and went right to his car, and left immediately. My insticts were strongly indicating that this man intended to abduct my daughter, and the chills from that experience still haunt me many years later."

– NorthernH3misphere

Item Was Not For Sale

"When I was 9, I was in K-mart with my uncle in the television section (remember when k-mart had those separate rooms for the tv's and big electronics?) It was Saturday morning and he sat me and my little sister down and told us to watch the cartoons on the tv's while he hunted down a sales person. Not 2 minutes after he was gone, we approached my 2 men and they tried everything to lure us out. We were petrified and didn't say a word. They finally lifted my sister to carry her out and was reaching for me when my sister peed on the one guy. He dropped her and she started crying. My uncle heard her and came running. The guys bolted. I still think about that all the time. We were so lucky that day."

– TheLastMo-Freakin

Wrong Signal

"When I was about 6 years old (this would have been around 1990), I was riding my big wheel bike down my block in a DC suburb. The way our street was situated, at the end of the block was the entrance to an alleyway that took you behind all the houses. I would frequently turn down the alley and go behind our house and enter through our back gate."

"As I got towards the end of the block, a car was coming and I stopped and waved my hand indicating that they could go ahead and I would wait for them to pass. The driver in the car refused to go and motioned for me to turn instead. So I went ahead and entered the alley."

"I got about halfway up the alley not quite to my house when someone grabbed me from behind. It was the driver and she was pissed. She had turned into the alley after me , drove down, parked her car in the middle of the alley and gotten out. She yanked me up by the arm, and screamed in my face 'Don't you ever use police signals with me!' I immediately began sobbing, ran to my house and told my parents. By the time they ran out the back door, the driver was gone."

"I'm 38 now and still think about it."

– hoyahoyahoya

Offering A Ride Home

It doesn't give me chills but I do reflect and wonder what would have happened."

"We had just moved from Illinois to Florida. I had just turned 12, so this was '86. It was a weekend; I don't remember the specific day. I got up early and went to the basketball court in the apartment complex I lived in. Started playing and this hatchback pulls up. Guy gets out of the car and asks if he can shoot around with me. He's talking to me, don't remember the actual conversation. I do remember him telling me that he had a job interview and needed to borrow a comb. He asked me if I had one and I told him yeah. He asked to borrow it and I said sure, I just need to go grab it real quick. He said that he would drive me and I told him, 'no, that's ok. I live right over there and I could walk'. He was pretty insistent on giving me a ride. Finally I just told him that I'd be right back. Went towards my house through the courtyard, but never went there. Waited around the corner to see what he was doing. One of the older girls that I played ball with showed up. He left a couple minutes later."

"Coming from small town Illinois, I was pretty naive. But that whole thing felt off. The dude didn't bother me; just the insistence on him giving me a ride."

– ReapYerSole

The term "Stranger Danger" was used heavily in TV programs and public service announcements aimed at children during the 80s through the early 2000s.

It basically educated kids to be aware of possible dangers associated with adults they don't know.

The same could even apply for adults.

I once interacted with a guy at the Gap in Manhattan while I was shopping for a pair of shorts and I initially thought he was "normal." He was a really good-looking customer–with dark hair, blue eyes, 6'2–who told me that the pair of shorts I was holding at the time would look very attractive on me.

I was flattered, and we got to talking. I was impressed by how articulate and smart he was, and I was under the impression he might be flirting with me.

He wasn't.

Long story short, he gave me his number and insisted I call him for information about this group he was a part of and that I would be the perfect candidate for joining and making money and going on various retreats around the world attending seminars on how we could better ourselves.

Yup. He was too good to be true.

Knowing he was trying scam me into joining some pyramid scheme-y cult group (I still have no idea what it was), I said I'll call him only if he went out with me for coffee after shopping and if he let me passionately make out with him while I was wearing the shorts he thought would look hot on me.

I was kidding, of course.

But he didn't know that. Suddenly, his entire demeanor changed. He called me a homophobic slur and stormed out of the store.

He even left his bag of purchases, and I yelled out before he exited, "Sir, you left your bag!"

Turns out it was a prop.

Careful, everyone. Don't be fooled by a gorgeous smile.

There are despicable people in our midst who can hide their true colors until it's too late.

It's all unfortunate really, as I've generally lost trust in people.

My experience–along with separate mugging incidents–has left me acting socially awkward when out on my own in public.

Jobs That Seem Easy But Are Actually Incredibly Challenging

Reddit user CeleryLover4U asked: 'What's a job or profession that seems easy, but is incredibly challenging?'

Woman stressed at work
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.

But some jobs are much harder than they look.

Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:

"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"

Customer Service

"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."

- gwarrior5

"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"

- Conscious_Camel4830

"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."

"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."

- First-Combination-12

High Stakes

"A pharmacist."

"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."

- VaeSapiens

"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."

"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."

- Worth_University_884

Teaching Woes

"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"

"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"

"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."

- bq87

Creativity Is "Easy"

"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."

- rubberduckyis

"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."

"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."

- whitepepper

Care Fatigue Is Real

"Care work."

"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."

- MangoMatiLemonMelon

Physical Labor Generally Wins

"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."

- anachronistika

Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild

"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."

"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."

"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."

"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."

- Yak-Mak-5000

Professional Cooking

"Being a chef."

- Canadian_bro7

"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."

- ChuckDeBongo

Team Leading, Oof

"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."

- Counterboudd

Not a Pet Sitter At All

"Veterinary Technician."

"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"

- forthegoddessathena

Harder Than It Looks!

"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"

"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."

"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."

"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."

- Joebroni1414

Twiddling Thumbs and Listening

"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"

"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"

"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."

"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."

- mylovelanguageiswine

Constant Updates

​"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."

"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."

"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."

- GlizzyMcGuire_

Performing Is Not Easy

"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."

- ThrowRA1r3a5

All About Perception

"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."

"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."

"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"

- DrHugh

It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.

This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen Giphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPost Giphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIF Giphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...


Close up of an owl tilting their head to side, looking bewildered
Photo by Josh Mills

The old wives' tales.

They are the stories of legend.

I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.

Where did they originate?

WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!

You don't hear about them as much anymore.

It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.

But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.

Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:

"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"

"Wait an hour to swim after eating."

What a crock!

So many summer hours wasted.

I want revenge for that one.

Say Nothing

Giphy

"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."

LonelyMail5115

"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."

I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA

Say Something

"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."

Severe_Airport1426

"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."

crappycurtains

"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."

AlbinoShavedGorilla

Body Temps

"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."

chriseo22

"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."

"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."

apocalypticradish

Arms Down

"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."

Fatmouse84

10 Years Actually

Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine Giphy

"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."

REDDIT

"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."

Gecko-911

I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.

This tale is haunting.

High/Low

Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace Giphy

"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."

LeastFormal9366

"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."

IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI

The Cursed

"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."

"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."

SmoreOfBabylon

Stay In

"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."

"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."

worldbound0514

Dreams and Facts

"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."

"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."

mattshonestreddit

"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."

Darthdemented

Cracked

Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office Giphy

"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."

Choice-Grapefruit-44

"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."

MacyTmcterry

I love my knuckles.

Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.