Dig if you will this picture; it's high school, chorus class, early 2000's. On Fridays, the students are allowed time for "free presentations."
One student asked the teacher if he could sing "The Pony Song." Yes, that pony song.
If you're not a fan of 2000's r&b you might, as the chorus teacher did, believe "The Pony Song" had anything to do with ponies. It does not.
It absolutely, positively, does not.
It does, however, feature a chorus that starts with the plead "If you're horny, let's do it. Ride it, my pony."
Thing is, this student was developmentally delayed and didn't understand why the song he selected, got approved, and performed with vigor and enthusiasm (he sang and danced, fam. passionately. he was lord of the dance for the briefest and most glorious of moments) was suddenly not appropriate.
His performance was cringey not just for the content, but for how poorly the teacher handled the meltdown that came from his legitimate inability to understand. She wasn't prepared to handle his needs. She wasn't ready with any tools or understanding of his condition or the way his mind worked.
The whole thing was such a "please stop" moment that one of the seniors who was a close neighbor and understood how to manage the students meltdowns had to step in. The teacher was obviously in way above her head, her lack of training caused some serious missteps, and unneeded stress on the student.
This story has a happy ending, though.
The teacher was so upset about unintentionally hurting that student by not understanding his needs that she went out of her way to study up and gather resources - way more than the school would provide. Fast forward a few years and she has left public education and is now one of the most successful and well-loved music therapists in her state.
All because of a love of Ginuwine, a love of education, and some "passionate" dance moves.
So when one reddit user asked:
What was the "please stop" school presentation that you witnessed?
That's what immediately came to mind. Digging through the responses had us cracking up, so we figured we would share a few with you.
Sorry to say, but none of them have as awesomely wholesome an ending as mine. There are, however, several songs. So we're thinking maybe it's best to just avoid singing in presentations. It's awkward for everyone.
Gatorade What?
Was in a video/film making class in high school. One group of guys did a parody of those Gatorade commercials where the athletes sweat is colored like Gatorade but it was a sweaty guy masturbating. Apparently there was a Gatorade money shot but the teacher just turned it off immediately before it got that far.
An Invented Example
GiphyIn high school a student died in a car accident where she was driving. There was no record that stated she was distracted by her phone or anything, but the school decided to have an assembly shortly after talking about distracted driving and using her as an example. They told the whole school she'd be alive if she was doing what she was supposed to.
- Orsus7
Hey Mister
For 8th grade talent show, 2 girls sang the "Mr. Bledel" song (Mr. Bledel was a good looking, recently college graduated teacher) that basically was about how cute they thought he was.
Even then, it was incredibly uncomfortable and I remember looking at the teachers face and he didn't seem very amused.
Porn Is Good
For a Public Speaking class in college, we had to give a persuasive speech. One kid did his speech about porn.
If he had had a legitimate argument, like "sex work is real work," or "porn has a negative affect on a person's self-image," the speech would have been fine - we were all mature adults. But all he did was list the different kinds of porn he liked - in detail, with visual aids.
I remember that he was into cartoon porn (but not hentai - I remember that his example was a Scooby Doo porn parody) and Asian porn (I remember that he showed a bunch of Tweets from Asa Akira).
The professor stopped him after a few minutes, and asked him to explain what he wanted to persuade the audience about. He answered: "Porn is good."
The Fear Boner
Once in college I was in my Spanish class and our desks were in a "U" shape, I was on the very end of the "U".
So some guy is giving a presentation, he is standing behind a podium. Gets a boner. I'm on the side and no one is opposite so I can see it.... dude just kept going on and on and on, I think he was trying to outlast the fear boner but his nerves just made it worse. He ended up getting it down before he had to sit down. Was like a 10 min presentation that only needed to be like 3 min though. In Spanish.
Poor guy.
They Heart Hitler
Presentation on WWII. Student had just discovered all the neat transitions you can use between slides and decided to use a different one each slide.
They used the flashing heart transition between a photo slide of a mass grave and a photo slide of Hitler.
In Blackface
In 1984, when I was in 6th grade, each class did a winter concert. The 8th grade football team sang "I'm dreaming of a black Christmas"
In. Blackface.
The teachers didn't stop them because the teachers were the ones who organized it as part of the holiday show. Green Bay Wisconsin, Bay View Middle School.
Tractors
GiphyGrade 12 advanced placement English. We were assigned books then had to do a presentation on a topic somehow related to it. The book I was assigned was "the Stranger" by Camus, so I presented on existentialism in literature.
One girl was assigned Animal Farm. She started her presentation on...
Kinds of tractors used in farming.
She hadn't read the book and assumed it was about actual animal husbandry.
It was a very long presentation. The teacher had to actually hide her face.
I Am The Cringe
It's me. I did this. I cringe about it to this day, nearly 20 years later.
I was 16 and in high school. My high school was going to do a spring talent show. I wanted to be in the talent show and show off my talents. The problem was, my actual talents are not ones that I could show off at a talent show. So I decided to try singing.
I have never sung in my life. I have never had voice lessons.
I was in my prime weeb stage and chose an anime song to sing. I didn't know any actual Japanese, I had just memorized the lyrics from hearing the song so many times.
Luckily I didn't make it past auditions, but several people saw an overweight girl in a Sailor Moon shirt try to sing 'Butterfly' despite having never done any singing or voice training ever in her life.
Nearly 20 years later, and remembering it keeps me awake at night.
Never Stop Praying
My elementary/primary school was a religious school. So one day when we had an assembly by the religious members of our school, they were explaining the importance of praying and all the discipline issues. While one of the members were saying stuff about faith or whatnot one of the other members interrupted him and started to say to never lose focus while praying.
She then went on to say that even if there is a house fire to not stop praying, the most "yikes" thing was when she said that even if your parents are dying and asking for help to not stop your prayer. I was completely shocked by this and couldn't believe what she said to the whole school of children ranging from (4th grade- 8th grade). I looked around to see the reaction of everyone but everyone seemed normal.
Coming out of the whole presentation. I told one of my friends how messed up that particular message was. Basically someone heard me saying that and like a little snitch went to tell that lady what I had said. I was called to meet her and she confronted me about saying bad stuff about her speech.
I told her that yes, I did because one of things she said didn't stick to me well and told her which one I disagreed on. She said "well that's how we are suppose to be when praying." I was lucky she didn't take my words too seriously and let me off the hook.
I thought it might've been a slip of the tongue kind of thing she must've said in the presentation, But by the end of the confrontation I was proved otherwise.
The Applause
One day a group of highschool girls wearing really...uh appealing clothes went to the stage at my school's talent show and started twerking thinking they were nailing it. Everyone cringed so much, and the people with the middle schoolers were super uncomfortable. When they finished the teacher presenting the show went to the microphone and said "Congratulations! You got the whole audience clapping!"
But no one was clapping.
The BEST Best Friend
GiphyWhen I was in tenth grade, the english honors teacher made us present projects in front of all of her classes. There was like 100 of us gather in the auditorium to watch this. One of the popular people connects her USB drive to the laptop, which is connected to a projector where a bunch of her nudes appear on the screen. It took them a couple of minutes to realize this happens and one of her friends had to jump in front of the projector.
Another Invented Example
My principal in high schools biggest beef with us kids, was that we all constantly skipped class. He held an assembly in which he told us that we wouldn't get anywhere if we kept skipping class and that we'd be stuck in a minimum wage job forever. Sounds like a normal, hardass principal speech, right?
Well the example he used to show this to us was a former student. She worked at McDonalds, was the oldest of 6 kids, and her single mother was an alcoholic. She had to drop out of school to take care of those kids. He said that she was to blame because she skipped school to go to work. She did what she had to to take care of her siblings, that shouldn't be ridiculed.
A Passion For Pokemon
Did a presentaion with a friend about Pokemon. We made a page for every gen (4th was new at the time) every Pokeball, type, a few selected Pokemon and other stuff that is important in the Pokemon games. In the middle of the presentation my friend took over and started to rush through. He told me that he realized that nobody (including the teacher) wanted to listen to that many details or Pokemon in generel. My teacher was happy that he finished fast and we didn't use up the whole time. Now I cringe thinking about me being so oblivious xD
- Domitaku
I have been left utterly bewildered by what some people believe is acceptable thought, conversation, and behavior.
Like... "Do YOU hear you?"
It shows when a person lacks life experience and/or brain cells.
Words expose everything.
And sometimes shock is all that is left to grapple with.
Redditor nlwfty wanted to hear about all the things people have overheard that left them utterly stunned, so they asked:
"What's the most out-of-touch thing you've heard someone say?"
I once a friend's friend moan about how she and her husband were nearly destitute.
Almost penniless.
All while she was straightening up the house for the new au pair they had just gotten from Columbia.
The Who?
Over It Maid GIFGiphy"My boss once told me to have 'the maid' drop my car at the shop. WTF!!"
amboomernotkaren
Be Happy
"'You won't be happier at work if we pay you more, but we need to figure out why workplace happiness is so low.' This coming from a guy that made 10x what I did and was born into old money."
Dirac_comb
"I had a job that was paying below market rates and 'expected' daily overtime (unpaid, natch) and was trying to figure out how to improve morale. They were considering bringing in consoles and having video game nights after work... as if we weren't stuck there too long already."
"I did have the fun of leaving, then being asked to come back as a contractor to help out, and taking advantage of being on a short-term contract and giving no f**ks to suggest that maybe they should consider at least TRACKING the overtime people were working, even if they weren't going to pay for it since there was probably a whole extra job's worth of hours in there and maybe hiring another person might improve morale and reduce the risk of the kind of errors tired people make."
"Didn't stay long as a temp. Apparently telling the truth and discussing facts with your co-workers isn't good for morale >_< They told everyone I was leaving because I got a better offer (!), but I told everyone exactly what was really happening when they asked XD."
princess_ferocious
It hasn't?
"My dad (who is now the Director of Accounting for the school district I teach for) was talking about how my starting pay was way more than his starting pay."
"I said, 'Well, yeah... The cost of living has increased a ton since then.' This motherf**ker straight up said, 'No it hasn't.'"
"He started working there in 1992. This conversation happened in like 2017 (about a year after I started working there). Again, he is the director of accounting."
pjsans
Move On
"'You seem sad.'"
"My mother to my sister, at her husband's funeral."
blarg-zilla
"My sister's son was murdered. Two weeks later my mom asked her if she was over it yet."
NeverCallMeFifi
"One of my sons was murdered 12 years ago. Many people started telling me that I needed to 'move on' after 4-6 weeks. My brother refuses to say my son's name, so I no longer speak to him. Sending my deepest condolences to your family from a mom who understands losing a child to homicide."
PDXer328
Good Idea!
New Girl Facepalm GIF by HULUGiphy“'I don’t know why people get big mortgages. Just save up for a few months and pay cash for a starter home!'"
Hopeful-Moose87
People with money always seem to have a plan, unless the plan is sharing.
FInd the Treasure
Dragons Den Television GIF by CBCGiphy"When people were complaining about not being able to afford housing/food/living in general, one of the Dutch ministers (I think he was a minister or at least the leader of a party) said something along the line of 'well, find a rich boyfriend then'. ah, yes, that will solve the crisis!"
pastelchannl
Dumbfounded
"I went to an Ivy League college with lots of children of extraordinarily wealthy families. When discussing inequality and its effects on housing, my professor briefly mentioned how mortgages are out of reach for a growing number of Americans. The girl next to me stopped the class, and with a confused face asked the professor why people don’t just buy their homes in cash outright because 'surely the interest means it will cost them more over time.' The professor was dumbfounded. I found out later that she is the heiress to a major luxury brand that you have all heard of."
wildblue2
The Increase
"My former landlord and his wife dropped by to tell me and my financially struggling 20-something roommates that they were raising the rent, by nearly 25%. They said, 'We noticed on Craigslist that neighbors had higher rent so we’re doing the same.' The wife then earnestly reminded us that we’ve been great tenants but maybe we just needed to find some higher-paying jobs. 🙃."
agingcatmom
Not Me
"I was waxing a woman’s eyebrows once and she was complaining that sometimes after she gets a massage the pillow leaves a circular indent on her face and she can’t go out to lunch after. She then asked me if that ever happened to me? I was like ma'am I wax people for eleven bucks an hour; I’m not going out to lunch lol, let alone getting massages."
lomi08
Investments
Money Invest GIF by ProBit GlobalGiphy"Something like: Give a rich person $500 and they will invest it into $1000. Give it to a poor person and they will spend it in a week."
"Yeah exactly give it to someone who’s needs are met and they can save… give it to someone who needs to eat/pay rent etc they will spend it to survive!"
ExaminationLucky6082
You need money to make money.
One of life's biggest lessons apparently.
So someone give me some money.
Do you ever wonder what it must've been like to experience major events throughout world history when reading about them in text books?
But if you take pause and actually think about it, we're living through many newsworthy current events that succeeding generations will be talking about long after we're gone.
Reading about them online or in newspapers is one thing. But seeing them happen unfold before our eyes is another.
Curious to hear from those who'll have anecdotes to tell in the future, Redditor "What is the most historically significant event you witnessed IN PERSON?"
People recall the natural disaster events they've witnessed.
Tremors
"1964 Good Friday Earthquake 9.2 Richter. Was a boy in Cordova, Alaska at the time."
– KitchenLab2536
"My father was skipper of the USCG cutter stationed there. He was inport, and when the quake struck shortly before 5:30pm, he and my mom gathered me and my three siblings on the front porch. At first, it felt like the house was crumbling at the foundation, but on the porch we could plainly see our whole world was shaking. I remember watching telephone poles swaying, and the wires snapping and crackling in the street. The quake lasted about five minutes initially. My dad got his ship underway to avoid the tidal wave which was sure to come. We had several aftershocks in the coming weeks, some of which were quite strong, though nowhere near as strong or as long as the quake itself. I was seven at the time."
– KitchenLab2536
Collapsing Freeway
"October 17th, 1989. I watched the 880 Nimitz freeway collapse during the San Francisco earthquake. The Honda in front of me had the upper deck crush her front-end engine compartment. The mother and her daughter were shaken up but completely fine."
"I was driving a convertible Triumph Spitfire, which was scratched up slightly from debris. However, I walked away unscathed. Aside from the fact I pissed my pants, which I didn't notice until much later."
– CatDaddyWhisper
Thar She Blows
"I sat on the roof of our house and watched Mt. St. Helens erupt less than 100 miles away."
– stinkykitty71
"This must have been fascinating and terryfing in equal measure. What a thing to witness."
– runrossyrun
"It was amazing! The ash that covered everything like snow was interesting to kid me, but less so to my parents."
– stinkykitty71
People recall seeing major catastrophes as a result of malfunctions or judgement errors.
Bomber Crash
"The b-52 crash that led to changing what large military aircraft are allowed to do for airshows."
"I didn't see the plane, but immediately saw the fireball. It was just a perfect, bright red turning to black mushroom cloud."
"Fairchild is a nuclear air base and there were a few minutes there where I was sure the world was about to end."
"A few years before a KC-135 doing the same thing crashed near the school while we were in class."
– goffstock
Tragic Takeoff
"I was standing on my front porch watching the launch of the Challenger."
– StarChaser_Tyger
"Was riding in my parents car to a basketball game in the next town over in north texas when we saw a shooting star and thought that was neat."
"It was the Columbia..."
– Misdirected_Colors
Demolition Gone Wrong
"The failed implosion of the Zip feed mill in Sioux Falls, SD in 2005."
"They hyped it up, sold tickets to it, had a big 'BOOM' marketing thing, and broadcast it live on TV."
"The explosives took out the main supports on the first floor, and the rest of the building above it just plopped down 10ft or so and came to a rest. It was a massive failure, and was a funny little blurb on news stations around the world that day. Definitely not major news, just the rest of the world taking 20 seconds to laugh at us."
"The building sat like that (the leaning tower of SuFu) for quite a while until they figured out how to safely demolish it."
"Here's a clip of the failed demolition."
– KitchenBandicoots
These well-known historical events were seen by very few who are alive today.
Historical Remnant
"The tumbling of the Wall in Germany… along with people selling bits and pieces of it on tables in lobby in front of commissary and px in the following weeks and months. I had picked up a chunk about the size of an oreo and kept it… has blue spray paint on the flat side. Wonder if anyone is buying them now?"
– SingedPenguin13
Major Upheaval
"I would have to say the LA riots. I lived about two blocks from where it started. I was on my way home from school and saw someone throw a brick through a window. I didn’t even wait. I just started running the whole way home."
– Scarlaymama0721
Day Of Infamy
"9/11, I could SMELL the collapse of the towers."
– go4tli
"A friend of mine was there. One day in the warehouse we worked in together there was an odd electrical burning smell. He stopped in his tracks and went 'this is what 9/11 smelled like.'"
– mantistoboggan287
I didn't physically witness the fall of the World Trade Center but I was living in New York City at the time.
However, I did see the smoke.
I was living up north in Washington Heights at the time and knowing what happened, uncertain of what was to come, and seeing the plumes of smoke from the attack site was the most ominous sight I've ever seen in my life to date.
Have you ever lived through a historic moment or witnessed something sure to be noted in history books? Let us know in the comments below.