People Describe The Creepiest, Most Unexplainable Events They've Ever Experienced
We witness things on the daily that follow us.
Some linger in our minds and haunt us.
Others shake us to the core.
It's inevitable that each of us may have a strange experience to regale a party of people with.
The more we discuss, the more repressed emotion we release.
Being haunted forever isn't fun.
Especially because another creepy event or moment lies around the next corner.
Redditor H5N1BirdFlu wanted to discuss the moments in life that left us haunted and shook, so they asked:
"What is the creepiest or most unexplained event that you have ever experienced?"
I've seen so much creepiness I wouldn't know where to begin.
Deal
"One car from one direction, and another car from the other direction stopped in front of my house. Both drivers got out and one gave the other a briefcase. Now that I am older I am guessing it was some kind of drug deal or something but at the time I found it very weird."
yapastaocho
'The Entertainer'
"We had a little copper music box that would start playing on its own. It was a man sitting at a player-piano and it would play 'The Entertainer' song. Now, I know that music boxes and such can spring (for lack of a better word) forward and play a few notes, but this thing would act like someone had wound it up and would play for a minute or two completely at random."
MercuryCrest
He?
"Me and and someone I used to know in high school way back when met to catch up. We were talking about our views on religion at some park. When we were walking back to our cars some guy said he had overheard us. We interacted a little and then went to our cars. I told her how awkward I felt knowing he overheard everything. She looked at me and said, 'He?'”
"After some comparing notes we realized we’d seen and heard entirely different people. She’d seen an elderly woman. I’d seen a middle aged man. Only problem is we only talked to the one person."
AccomplishedAuthor53
Overnight
"I usually go hiking and stay in the forest overnight, sleeping in a bivy and sometimes under a tarp. Now it's important to say I'm based in Europe. So no wild animals to be afraid of because usually they just boot it as soon as they notice you."
"So one winter night I'm sleeping under my tarp which connects to the ground on one side. It's in an area where there were fierce battles in the forrest on the border between Germany and Belgium in WWII."
"I hear something walking in the leaves, which is normal. There are always deer and ferral pigs on and about. But this time it comes closer and closer until I hear it right on the other side of my tarp and it starts growling. Its a noise I gad never heard and for a moment I was frozen trying to figure out what it might be and what to do."
"But I just decided to yell back and that did the trick. The animal walked a few steps and then turned back to growl once more before finally retreating."
"Let's put it this way, I didn't sleep for a while after that. I looked up the noise and think it was a badger."
Forest_Walkin
Devoured
"My family used to raise cattle. One morning I came out to check on them and I found one of the heifers had been more or less completely devoured."
"This same cow was perfectly fine the day before. There was nothing left but some hide, bones, and intestines. Thing is none of the predators that are in my area would be able to kill and eat an entire cow within the course of one night. Much less leave so little behind."
Aussieshepman
Poor cows. They live a rough life.
The Night Before
"When I was a kid, we lived in a kinda rural area. One night we came home late from an Uncle's house and there was a car parked up the road from our house with the headlights on."
"My mom suggested to my dad that we go see if they need help, he said no, so we went inside. Next morning police knocked on the door, a cyclist had spotted a body in the ditch exactly where the car was parked the night before."
Tpeest
Documents
"I have had a strange thing happen recently. I was waiting for my tax documents to come in so I could do my taxes. I had three documents that I put on my bedside table until I had the time."
"I decided to do it the other day and I couldn't find one of them. I tore the house apart, quizzed my husband (who swore he never touched it), checked the garbage, etc. I had resigned myself to the fact I would have to request another one, when it arrived in the mail."
"It was the same one, exact same information. I was really confused but grateful. I checked into it, it was not sent twice as far as the office could tell me."
"I don't know what to think. I KNOW I had that document because I had done some calculations with it. It's been itching at me like crazy."
monitormonkey
About 30 Feet
"A few months ago I was sitting in my living room on the couch, watching tv with a family member late at night. We have a high ceiling with a couple of rectangular windows at the very top of the wall just under where it meets the ceiling. The windows are so high (about 30 feet) we really only have them for natural lighting."
"So on the night in question, a green laser beam suddenly shown down through one of the windows, seemingly scanned the entire living room before stopping and pointing the beam right next to my family member for about 10 seconds and then disappearing entirely. It had to be either a drone or from some sort of flying aircraft. I live in a relatively secluded place which made the situation all the more unsettling."
0friday
Find Her
"Pretty sure I witnessed a kidnapping once and it still lives rent free in my head (the woman lost her slipper when she was trying to get away and i took a picture of it that i still have for some reason). I did indeed report it to police right after I saw it occur but they were pretty blasé about it and I never ended up being able to determine what they did to investigate."
ergaster8213
From Behind
"I was in Jr High and had really long hair. I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and almost tripped on a shoe on the floor. I bent down to move it and it felt like someone grabbed my entire pony tail and yanked it. I also could not sleep facing the wall for the longest time because it always felt like someone or something was right there behind me."
cheeseburgerphone182
Never face the wall. Life lesson.
These were some harrowing experiences, and we're glad these Redditors made it out to tell the story.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
People Break Down Which Historical Figures Are Seen As Bad Guys, But Weren't Actually Bad
It's easy to assume things about history since we weren't actually there. We're taught to believe everything we read, but often times, it takes more research to figure out the truth.
There are a lot of historical figures we believe were bad based on what we first read or heard. However, upon further research, we find out they weren't actually that bad.
Some of them got a bad reputation even though all they did was make a mistake. Others just weren't appreciated for their ideas and inventions during their own time. Some of them are even heroes!
It seems Redditors did some of that extra research and are ready to share their findings.
It all started when Redditor jamespeech111 asked:
"Who is a bad guy in history who actually wasn’t a bad guy?"
Before His Time
"William Thomas Green Morton died broke defending his discovery of anesthesia. He was a dentist and didn’t get much respect from the doctors at the time. IMO one of the most important medical discoveries."
– tindalos
"anesthesia is arguably THE most important medical discovery in history. Modern surgery is literally impossible without it."
– pdlbean
The Wrong Story
"Richard Jewel - initially lauded as a hero and a brave man who ran towards the bomb to help…"
"then the FBI and media turned on him and accused him of doing the bombing himself… because;"
"he was actually just as f*cking outlandishly brave and ran toward the bomb to help people,"
"They took his truck for evidence, he had to go into hiding… made a villain by incompetent people… For YEARS… finally exonerated and dies shortly afterward"
– wagwa2001l
Aye Aye Captain
"Captain Bligh. His mistake was being too soft rather than too harsh. He let his crew slack off while they were waiting to make sure the breadfruit trees would survive transplantation, and they mutinied when he put them back to work."
– JJohnston015
"It should also be mentioned that when his some of his crew mutinied so many of them wanted to be allowed to leave with him on the ship's tiny open launch that even fully laden they would not all be able to go and had to draw lots to see who had to stay on The Bounty. Captain Bligh then had to sail the tiny overcrowded poorly provisioned boat 6700km to Timor using dead reckoning. He did not lose a single man."
"Absolute hero."
– cAt_S0fa
Legal Action
"The McDonald’s coffee lady - the woman who sued mcDonalds after she spilled coffee on her lap received 3rd degree burns in her pelvic area. She was hospitalized for 8 days and required a couple years of rehabilitation."
"The media jumped on the story making it a poster case for frivolous lawsuits."
– The-loon
"Omg I vividly remember this story! It was so sad tbh. At first I thought it was stupid too, but then I read she had severe burns and all. She really wasn’t overreacting."
– lizarkanosia
One Comment Changed His Life
"Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli didn't invent the idea of lying or ruthlessness. He made an observation about what worked and tried to get a new gig."
"Now his name is synonymous with "heartless manipulator.""
– Sphinxofblackkwarts
"Agreed. People often reduce his message down to "you should be opportunistic and manipulative", which wasn't what he was saying at all."
"It was more that he recognised that the worst atrocities in society typically occur during or shortly after huge political upheaval, and believed that if preventing that sometimes requires being opportunistic and manipulative, then that is a price worth paying."
"And whilst we all have lines that we think a regime shouldn't cross, and limits to what power a state should be allowed to exercise, he did a have bit of a point. If we think of the worst atrocities across history, they do tend to follow political upheaval. Had the Treaty of Versailles not sought to punish a generation of Germans, Hitler may never have risen to power in the first place."
"Ironically, some of the people who were great admirers of Machiavelli's philosophy, like Joseph Stalin, were responsible for the very kind of terrible things Machiavelli was warning people about."
– Clem_Crozier
Queens On The Throne
"Pharaoh Cleopatra, she was actually a pretty good ruler with her focusing more on her nation than just abusing her position for her own benefit, there’s even some records saying that she wasn’t even all that beautiful, she was however very intelligent with stuff like how she learned around 10 different languages"
– No_Prize9794
"First member of the ptolemaic dynasty to bother learning Egyptian. She did amazing things in managing to actually expand Egypt's territory in a time of Roman dominance.... however in the end she monumentally screwed up/lost her nerve at the Battle of Actium and doomed pharaonic Egypt."
– menatarms
Money Talks...And Lies
"Captain Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez."
"He is often pictured on the helm of the Exxon swaying drunkenly going full throttle into the reef talking like a "pirate.""
"What actually happened."
"Valdez's critical navigation equipment was out of commission, faxs sent to Exxon and Exxon told them to sail instead."
"Coast guard budget cuts removed vessel tracking in the area."
"Green and tired crew was on duty, request was made to relief crew. It was denied."
"XO who was on Conn at the time was inexperienced on the passage and neither requested pilotage."
"While Hazelwood did drink that day he was not in command of the conn at the time and was in his quarters resting."
"Hazelwood made a comment that "He needed a drink." Because of how upset he was over the situation."
"Exxon's PR paid off the media to blame Hazelwood."
"However Hazelwood was charged with only one charge which was for pollution. He proved he was not a drunkard and retained his captain's license. Even getting offers to sail again which he turned down."
"The real villains are mass media, False News, and comedians but Exxon's PRs spending power to keep the blame off them."
"Hazelwood passed away last year after the annv of the spill."
"Random fact the Valdez sailed until 2008 under different name Oriental Nicety"
– Iuka297
Not A History Book
"In brave heart, William Wallace gets betrayed by Robert the Bruce which never happened, he was loyal to the end"
– Paskyc
"That movie made me so angry. I grew up on it, and loved it for what I assumed was a historically accurate portrayal. Not only is the movie absurdly inaccurate, the real history is arguably more interesting that the movie! There was no need for "artistic restructuring". They could have just dramatized the actual events and it would have been a great movie"
– Youbettereatthatshit
Not Enough
"In the film Titanic the character Murdoch killed someone, took bribes and generally came across as a right sh*t. He was a real life person who was actually a hero and saved many lives. His living relatives were so disgusted that the VP of Fox travelled to Dalbeattie to personally apologise and presented a £5000 donation to Dalbeattie High School to boost the school's William Murdoch Memorial Prize."
– cooshed
"That movie's initial gross was over $1.8B! Donating £5000 is like the average US man giving them a dime and saying my bad"
– randologin
A Bad Accusation
"That woman who was accused of kidnapping children because her kids didn't have her DNA, but in fact her uterus had different DNA than the rest of her body."
– gavlegoat
"Lydia Fairchild. She has chimerism, so her uterus has different DNA from the rest of her body (the DNA of her absorbed twin)"
– Heart2001
"Tom the cat. Jerry is a menace."
– nocturnalfrolic
"There was a post the other day talking about them and how they are actually working together."
"As long as jerry keeps running around, the humans think they have a mouse problem so they keep the cat. As long as Tom keeps showing he’s making an effort they think he’s doing a good job. But they are both in on it and just do it to keep up appearances."
"There’s apparently an episode where they work together to get food from the fridge, then hide and share it as friends before going back out and chasing each other again."
– bunkscudda
I can so buy into that!
Well, this was more interesting than many of our history classes!
Do you have any interesting tidbits to share? Let us know in the comments below.
People Reveal The Turnoffs That Make Them Not Want To Have Sex With Their Significant Other
Sex and relationships can be very dramatic.
It's not always fun and sweat. More often than not, it turns into wine and snores.
The truth is, it's not difficult to turn someone off.
One minute you're a hot dish. The next, you're stale meatloaf.
The question is, who is responsible?
Or is this relationship dead?
Redditor NeedSomeSparkInLife wanted to know who would be willing to share, so they asked:
"What makes you not want to be intimate with your SO?"
I'm an easily turned off person.
So it doesn't take much.
Desire
"Taking a moment to realize I'm the only one that makes sexual advances in the relationship. Makes me not want it. People think men only want sex for face value but a lot of men actually want the feeling of being desired more so."
Relative-Hour-9359
Anger Issues
"I've always heard of fighting then having sex after. Fighting has always made me not want it. The last thing I want to do when someone pisses me off is have sex with them. What made it worse is she always wanted to when we were arguing which made the argument worse when I refused."
DaMoonRulez_1
"I think you're supposed to resolve your fight, realize that you care for each other a lot, move past it, then have the passion because of that. Not fight right into sex."
Ksp-or-GTFO
Take a Shower
"My ex and I were together for nearly 7 years, but his hygiene never improved, so we stopped being intimate like, 3 years before I finally broke up with him. He showered only once a week, but he worked in kitchens, so he was sweaty and greasy all the time."
"He had an infected tooth, so he constantly had bad breath, but he refused to visit a dentist, even when he had the money to afford dental work. He stopped working out within the first year of us being together, which sucked because he would get jealous if I went to the gym by myself or with my girlfriends, but he refused to come with me."
GreenChorizo
Sober Time
"Personally, the only issue I have is my SO's drinking. He just becomes an unattractive person when he's drunk. It's one thing if we're both out socializing and drinking together occasionally, but he drinks almost every day, sitting on the couch in front of the TV and to the point of sloppy drunkenness way too often. His face changes, his posture changes, his personality changes... I just get so turned off."
WeptSiren3113
Hang Up
"When they are glued to their phones non stop! Put that s**t down and look at me before we go to bed!"
Palmwine
"I really dislike this too. Makes me feel alone in the relationship."
RealBrownPerson
No phones in bed. Hard rule for many of us to follow.
Step Back
"When I make a move, and then get the feeling she's not really in the mood/would only do it to please me. I want us both to have a good time, not only me. So when she seems not into it, I take a step back."
Level-Plate8372
Calm Down
"To be brutally honest, her anxiety and insecurity makes sex such a hassle. She doesn’t believe anything I say about wanting her, she can almost never relax during sex, she doesn’t take time to enjoy it, and if God forbid I have any trouble finishing, she takes it more personally than anything, which of course puts more pressure on me to finish, which then makes it almost impossible."
Ben_Franklinstein
When at Wal-Mart
"When they’ve done something really nasty/unkind that day. Cruelty is the most ugly thing a person can show, in my eyes. I had a boyfriend that I went to Wal-Mart with and he ended up flipping off and storming right past the sweet little old man that checks the receipts at the door."
"It was partially about how I used to check receipts and I remembered how I felt when people treated me like that- but I also remember the look on the little old man’s face and just how disgusted I was with my partner being so nasty about it."
"I couldn’t touch him after that and I got grossed out when he touched me. And then I started to notice how he was nasty to other people as well. It eventually led to our break up."
spxdergirl
33 Years In
"My husband used to dislike his job - he’d come home and do nothing but bi**h. After awhile, I just gave up trying to cheer him up with sex - you can only try so long. So, we had a long dry spell - like, whatever you think a dry spell would be, it’s longer. When someone is constantly annoyed, well, it’s hard to feel amorous."
"Anyway, he early retired (54) like a month before Covid kicked in and by autumn that year, well, let’s just say we’re back to what we were like when we first met. He’s not pissed off all the time. (I’m retired as well, and let’s just say, afternoon nookie is such a perk, as is morning nookie and 3am nookie because you can sleep in!) I’m glad we stayed together. Going on 33 years and we’re just so happy."
NicInNS
Rage
"Feeling angry. I hate feeling angry. I don't like being around other people when angry. So I'll go for a walk, a drive etc, and just clear my head."
jackfaire
It seems like "dead bed," as some folks call it, can stem from many things, from mood, attraction, hygiene, and more.
Do you have anything to add to this list? Let us know in the comments.
People Who Have Accidentally Sent A Nude Photo To The Wrong Person Describe The Fallout
Whether everyone would actually admit it or not, most people live on their phones.
They can take care of last-minute work tasks on the go, confirm plans with friends via text, and entertain themselves while scrolling through multiple social media pages.
However, one must be super cautious and focused when juggling between all those open apps.
Because being a multi-tasker comes with a risk that involves mixing private and public lives with unintended, and very embarrassing, effects.
Curious to hear from strangers about a more NSFW faux pas, Redditor sollyman7999 asked:
"Ever sent a nude to the wrong person? what happened, how did they respond?"
Families can be close-knit but even they can have their hard limits.
WhatsApp, Doc?
"Sent a d*ck pic to my family whatsapp group instead of my girlfriend, who requested it. I got a lot of laughs from my sisters, a well done from my father, and not a single word from my mother, who to this day denies it happened. It was a horrible experience."
– Loud_Essay_7286
Sis Came To The Rescue
"I was meaning to text my boyfriend the picture, but must have still been in the iMessage chat to my dad at the time, and sent it without checking. Seeing that the nude had been texted to my dad, I immediately called him — I was going to ask him to delete the pictures, and that they were inappropriate and were supposed to go to my boyfriend. That way he wouldn’t see the images themselves; he would just know I had taken nudes. Somehow, by the grace of God, my SISTER answered his phone, as she was living at home at the time. I begged her for help, and she was able to delete the images off his phone. My dad never knew the incident ever occurred. I asked my sister how I could repay her, and she asked me to never ever bring it up again. I owe her one, eternally!"
– sjohns90
Sorry, Bro
"I was 26 at the time. Just shaved my junk. It was looking mighty presentable, so I decided the GF needed to see. I mistakenly sent it to my older brother. He replied with, 'I don't think that was meant for me.' I died a little inside. It was never spoken of again."
– ianj2807
Mother Approves
"Not me but my wife. She has sent a very explicit nude of hers to her mother instead of me."
"End result; 'Masallah, you're beautiful' as response from my mother-in-law, then similar responses from her sisters and sisters-in-law because yeah, her mother forwarded it."
– zztri
Leaders got more than they ever expected.
The Boss Gets A Surprise Message
"I accidentally sexted my Boss thinking I was talking to my Husband. He send back 'I don’t think this was meant for me' I sent him the biggest apology ever and we never spoke about it ever."
– Livinginthemiddle
At Attention
"I did the same thing with my platoon sergeant. D*ck pic with the caption 'love you' that was supposed to go to my ex. He just replied 'I like you, but this isn't love.'"
"Kill me."
– Reddit
Pay attention to which social media app you're using.
"Cute Lil Boobies"
"I have one like this that haunts me. When Instagram FIRST came out, like before I had ever even heard anyone talking about it, I thought it was a new photo editing app that let you put cool filters on your phone pictures and kept a little album for you, like any normal photo editing app would do. Keep in mind back then there wasn't really social media centered around pictures so I had no concept of that. I took some nudes on there and put lil filters on them and stuff and sent them to a boyfriend, then didn't think of it again"
"MONTHS later I get a text from a (very kind) ex saying 'did you know your cute lil boobies are on Instagram and everyone can see them?' I was mortifiedddd lol. Apparently he could find my profile because it recommended it via contacts or something, which I also had no concept of at that time, not many socials did that back then. So I have no idea how many people saw those pictures. Oops."
"To add insult to injury I wasn't signed into the account anymore so I was DESPERATELY trying to remember what email and password would get me in."
– Zenki_s14
For All To See
"Sent to the wrong person? No"
"Posted to my facebook feed? Yes"
"Few family members unfriended me, got a few DMs asking did I realize what I did, two DMs asking if I had more (not family - before you ask)"
– Craigothy-YeOldeLord
Nude Co-Worker
"I did once some years back. I (f) sent a snap to (f co-worker). I had absolutely no idea until I got a snap from her telling me I looked nice and asked if she was supposed to return the favor. Told her it was completely up to her but it was an accident! She sent me one back anyways. We left it at that and we would bring it up every once in a while and just giggle about it. Haven't seen her since I left that job but this question definitely brought this memory back lol."
"EDIT: I made this comment, went to bed, and didn't think about it this morning until I opened reddit not long ago. I was reading the comments and yall were making me laugh! It's so weird to have the most upvoted comment be me about sending a nude to a co-worker lol"
– MistressManor
And for others, it's all intentional.
Just Playing With The Homies
"The homies and I used to just randomly send each other photos of our family jewels and then make fun of them for looking. I miss it more and more every day."
– 28756
No recipient was harmed during this incident. I have multiple text threads, and it's very confusing to respond to one in which certain friends are also on other message threads.
One time I responded to a group thread explaining to them that I was going to come up with an excuse to back out of another invite mentioned on a different thread.
I guess I should have double-checked which thread I was sending it to because I informed the wrong thread of my plan.
At least there weren't nude photos involved.
My heart goes out to those who've shared their embarrassing stories here.
Let them serve as reminders to confirm your messages before tapping "send."
When people talk about living life to the fullest and having independent, solo experiences, they often reference the importance of traveling internationally to experience more of the world.
But in the midst of describing the wonders of traveling in another country, they fail to detail the things that could go wrong, or how a local might try to scam an unknowing and unprepared tourist.
Curious specifically about this phenomenon in Europe, Redditor subuubalaa asked:
"What should people avoid while traveling to Europe?"
The Fines Can Be Incredibly Steep
"Another thing which primarily applies to Giethoorn, but also any place in general."
"STAY OUT OF PEOPLE'S YARDS."
"For those who don't know, Giethoorn is a small village where instead of streets there are canals. It is quite a tourist attraction where they can rent boats to travel through the canals. However, some people fail to comprehend that it's still an actual village and people live in the houses."
"It has occurred on multiple instances that tourists walked into the gardens of residents to take pictures."
- ThePotatoSauce
The Menu Should Speak For Itself
"Avoid any restaurant that tries to strong-arm you into entering."
- Kanguin
Who Knew?
"Watch out for pickpockets in Western Europe. There is a stigma that Eastern Europe like Romania and Bulgaria is dangerous but pickpocketing happens more in Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, etc."
- trustabro
Just Keep Walking
"Street scammers in Paris, anywhere really, I just mostly see it in Paris."
- missingtoothtyler
Keep an Eye on Your Stuff
"I hung my purse over the back of my chair at a restaurant on my first day in Bangkok."
"We were eating dinner and my tour guide came over to where I was sitting, and he was holding my purse. He asked if it was mine, and I said yes. Then he told me that he saw some guy take it but he was able to get it back before they left the restaurant with it."
"Turns out my guide was the 'guy' who took it to teach me a lesson. He did this to a couple of other people in our group to encourage us to be careful with our stuff. I spent the rest of the trip white-knuckling my purse so it worked for me!"
- starrfast
Your Future Looks Expensive
"In Sevilla, they hang around the cathedral. A woman will walk up and hand you a flower, then insist on telling your fortune. Just drop it and walk away."
- blitzen13
Seriously, Protect Your Belongings
"Do not put your bag/purse/backpack on the back of your chair when you sit down to eat, especially outside."
"Thieves look for this, in groups of three or four. One of them will come from one side of you as a snatcher, and the rest will stand in a group very close to you taking or smoking, etc., pretending that they don't know the snatcher."
"Then the one guy will snatch your item, and run right through the group, in case someone is quick enough to chase. They will 'accidentally' be in your way."
"Happened in Rome, but locals recognized it and broke it up."
- nctkcmo71
Instant Retaliation
"A guy tried to do the bracelet trick to me, but I knew it and told him no before he tried anything. He jabbed me in the side as I walked passed. I was so p**sed."
- Tortuga917
No Directions Needed
"Also: DO NOT STOP to 'help' people asking for directions. You're a tourist, you look like a tourist, and you're the last person someone would legitimately ask for directions."
"They're trying to get you to stop so they can pickpocket you. It's usually a woman, too, looking 'helpless.' Just keep moving."
- ThaneOfCawdorrr
Fake Disabilities
"Be careful if you encounter the fake disabled people in Venice. My dad fell into that trap. A guy pretending to have a limp and speaking disability came up to us and asked for money. I switched to Dutch and told my dad not to give him any. My dad gave him a 20 euro banknote."
"The guy walked away without a limp and started talking without issues a few meters away."
- DoctorWhoTheF**k
Try to Blend In
"Avoid letting the taxi know you don't know where you are or where you are going, the bad ones will drive you in circles and run the tab up."
"Also, one thing that opened Germany up for me while stationed there was one interaction. I would ask in German, 'Sprechen sie englisch,' do you speak English, followed by 'Mine Deutsch ist schei**e,' my German is s**t."
"Everyone from women at the bar to elderly people would laugh hysterically and then immediately switch to English in good spirits. They just like to see you try, and then they are more than happy to help you out."
"So my advice would be to learn a quick-fire phrase that you can pop off too quickly to avoid fumbling and starting the interaction on a bad foot."
- Spirited-Tadpole-508
Scamming the Scammers
"I managed to find one of the bracelets they peddle on the ground midway through my trip. Threw it on every day when I was out in public and didn’t get hounded at all after that."
"I assume they probably thought I was a fool already caught in the trap, but man, the peace of mind was great!"
- brounchman
Please Be Polite
"Don't assume that everything will be open during the hours you'd expect in your home country. This is true no matter where you're going. It varies by country and region, but in my experience, grocery stores, banks, post offices, etc., had much more restricted hours than they do in the US."
"In the US, it's rare for a grocery store to close before 9 PM, if it's not open 24 hours. In Europe, it's normal for grocery stores to close quite early, and for things to be closed on weekends, though this varies by country."
"Also, mind your manners. In America, you can often skip over the formalities without being seen as rude. In Europe, this is much harder. Be more direct about what you want, and more polite about requesting it."
"Part of what perpetuates the unfortunate 'rude American' stereotype is that Americans tend to find European manners blunt, and Europeans tend to find American manners invasive."
- frisky_husky
Stuff Can Be Taken from Anywhere
"Don't leave stuff lying around anywhere. Don't put your stuff next to you on the table if you're sitting outside at a restaurant. Someone can just run up to you from behind, grab the phone/wallet and run away."
"Don't leave stuff in a rental car."
"Don't even put stuff in the trunk of the rental car after you park it. I've heard that in some touristy places, thieves will employ local kids to sit at the parking lots and see who puts their camera, laptop, or purse in the trunk of the car before walking away."
- TheChoonk
It's All About Playing It Smart
"I've seen it in Paris, France, Barcelona, Florence... any popular tourist destination is going to have pickpockets."
"These scams vary, and you should read about them before you go so you're aware. Some of the ones I've seen:"
"1. People in costumes (mostly Roman centurions) will accost you for pictures with them, and demand an absurd amount of money for the pictures."
"2. People will shove an object or a flower into your hands and then demand money. You may have to very aggressively say 'no.'"
"3. Someone will approach you with a map and ask for directions (their accomplice is behind you while you're distracted, and helping themselves to your stuff)."
"4. Someone will lay out paintings on the ground near monuments like cathedrals, and when you inevitably step on one (because you're looking up at the Duomo, not at the ground) they'll demand an absurd amount of money for the painting you just stepped on."
"Basically, you just have to understand that if you're a tourist in a city, no one is going to have a good reason to talk to you. No one needs directions from you, no one needs a petition signature from you, and anyone trying to stop and talk to you in a major tourist destination is likely a scam."
"If you do get into a situation where someone is demanding money from you (maybe you stepped on a painting or took that ill-advised picture with the Centurion) just say, 'Okay, let's go find a police officer, and I will pay you in front of the police officer.' That usually gets them to back down quickly."
"You may have to be aggressive about not letting people touch you or put something on you. My husband had to yank his arm away from someone trying to tie a bracelet on him outside of Castel Sant'Angelo. I had to quickly move away from someone shoving a rose in my lap on the Spanish Steps."
"And also, watch your stuff. Don't absentmindedly sling your purse over the back of a chair. Don't leave your phone on the ground next to you while you have a picnic on the Seine."
"I have a black purse by PacSafe that has some anti-theft features, like a lock so I can lock it to a chair at a cafe and a lock on the zipper so it can't be easily zipped open. Sure, a determined person could break into the purse, but it's all about not being an easy target. It's enough of a deterrent that if someone does try to help themselves to the contents of my purse, it'll be too much trouble and they'll go pick someone else."
"That being said, don't let the fear of being pickpocketed deter you from traveling! Rick Steves has a story about a family that had their passports and thousands of dollars stolen from them immediately upon arrival in Amsterdam, and they still had an amazing trip. Just be aware and have a plan in case the worst happens."
- evilcaribou
A lot can happen while you're traveling, and while being stolen from or scammed could easily happen in your hometown, there's something about suddenly being without your possessions or having to pay a hefty sum of money when you're in new territory.
But as the very last Redditor in this thread pointed out, this shouldn't stop you from traveling the world! As long as you are well-prepared and stay alert, you should be able to have a wonderful journey.