
We like to think we have more control over the world than we really do.
Not to venture into dime-store super-villain territory, but so much of the world is chance, or luck, or a random simulation of numbers assembling in front of us in a Matrix-like scenario. Life is chaos.
We can't predict everything that will ever happen to us, nor should we, because how could you ever predict anything like the following stories?
Reddit user, Financial_Lime_252, wanted to know what could never be fully understood when they asked:
"What’s the most unexplainable thing that’s happened to you?"
Turns out the world is not as big as you think, if these random chance encounters are anything to go off of.
What Are The Chances Of Finding You Here?
"I was visiting the united states, tens of thousands of miles from home, walking along the beach and heard someone call out from the terrace of this cafe. It was my former boss from back in my own country. My mind can't even begin to calculate the unlikeliness of that."
paconadamas
...Not That High, Apparently
"I was walking down a busy street in Dublin on my way to work and I bumped into a guy who was the bouncer at a club I used to go to before I left to go overseas. We both stopped, looked at each other and said "what the f-ck are you doing here?" at the same time. That was over 20 years ago. I'm back in my home country now and not long after I moved into my new place I bumped into him. He lives a couple of streets away from my place."
reverendgrebo
Maybe the inexplicable thing that happened to you isn't so much bizarre and otherworldly, but a just a crazy random happenstance that would take eons to do the mathematics on.
Baby Trash Panda Stories Are Always Cute
"Was in a Krogers parking lot trying to figure out a car issue. Dude who had something tucked under his arm came up, and asked me if I needed help -- I knew what I was dealing with, but said yes, because I'm a computer guy, not a car guy, and you don't know what you don't know, so to speak."
"He proceeded to take the tool I was using to mess with the battery terminal, and handed off the thing that was under his arm, which happened to be a raccoon pup, saying, "Don't worry, he don't bite." I'm completely stunned, holding and petting a completely calm raccoon while this guy sorts out my car. He takes it back, and goes about his day."
"One of many random and unexplainable encounters in my life, but probably my favorite."
Crimsonial
The Connection Is Made
"When I was really really small, like 4 or 5 years old, a woman my mom worked with at the insulation plant, gave my mom one of those 90's fisher price dollhouses because her daughter outgrew it. I even remember the night my mom brought it home, she was so excited that she woke me up at midnight to give it to me (she worked a late second shift). An insulation factory wasn't really a safe place for a really small child, so I had never met the lady. I only knew her name was Rosella, because I thought it was such a beautiful name."
"I had never seen photos or anything to identify her. Fast forward about a month after mom brought home the doll house, I was walking into the general store with my mom. I have no idea what compelled me, but I ran up to a lady checking out in line and yelled out "Rosella!!" Turned out, it was her. My mom just stood stunned, and Rosella had assumed that mom pointed her out to me. Except I had yelled out her name before my mom had even seen her."
todaysmomsawyer
Your Spider-Sense Tingled
"My husband was driving and I was a passenger in the front seat. I dont know what made me do this but I quickly grabbed his arm and I shouted “slow down!”which he did. Then a few seconds later a car on our left side sped past us really fast, then careened into our lane and crashed into the car in front of us. The person speeding died and the person in the car in front of us died. Had I not had told my husband to slow down we would’ve died because we would’ve been hit."
"It’s inexplicable what made me do that but I’d like to believe I have a good angel watching out for me."
CA_catwhispurr
We like to think there's random luck in the world, where fate and chance meet at the crossroads of life, giving us wondrous experiences to tell later on.
However, not all of these events are actually random, no matter how much we wish they were.
Do Dogs Climb Trees?
"like 15 years ago while still lived with my mom we had a big backyard and had two dogs, one night i heard the dogs running back and forth not barking but they were whimpering, like scared or something, and when I went out to see I saw another white dog, like a BIG white husky dog, and it looked at me with piercing red eyes, then turned around, climbed a fucking tree and jumped to the backyard next door."
"To this day I know for sure I wasn't high, and still don't know what that was."
orbit103
Well, That's A Little Easier To Comprehend...
"I have very bad luck, but I think the most significant was when a cop thought I was someone they were chasing (on an open street) and I got tazered in the back and was hit with a baton several times in the face and ribs. The cop realized I wasn't the person and just ran off without saying anything."
"I called the police and they claimed they have no record of it, and I got a lawyer and tried to pursue action against the police department but it all just fell flat and everyone acted like it didn't happen, even most of my family."
"So I got the pleasure of having partial blindness in my right eye (left eye dominant so thank goodness) and suffer from a broken nose and two broken ribs along with being tazed and humiliated in public for no reason. Things are good, I tell ya what."
ConnieSparks
People Explain Which Conspiracy Theories They Believe Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
It's often the bizarre, almost trivial conspiracy theories that take root in people's minds and a Reddit thread dedicated to plumbing the depths of these bel...Not Even Security Footage Can Explain This
"My wife had the week off work, so she offered to drive me to work. I asked her to check if she had her keys, phone, and wallet before we left. She noticed her wallet wasn't in her pocket and asked me to help look for it. I sort-of recalled her putting it on the mostly cleared kitchen island the previous evening. It wasn't there. We moved the few things off of it, but still couldn't find it. Both of us thought that she might've dropped it while she was out shopping the previous day, and to call around to the stores when they opened."
"So we went about our day and she drove me to work. She was quite disappointed to have to spend one of her days off calling the bank to cancel all of her cards, going to ICBC (auto insurance provider) to get a replacement drivers license, and going to her work to get a new key card. She stopped by the two stores she visited the previous day but both had no such wallet in their lost & found. She decided to head back home so she could grab her passport/other ID incase she was asked for it."
"She walked into our condo and saw the wallet, sitting alone on the kitchen island, in the exact spot that I remembered it was. We have security cameras but the footage during that hour corrupted and wasn't viewable."
"Neither of us can explain what the fuck happened. No one has spare keys except my MIL, whom was out of the country. No friends stayed over. The only "logical" explanation is that one of our cats took it off of the kitchen island, hid it, and then brought it back while we were out."
"We definitely had some odd situations happen in that condo."
fishymoo
You Found Your Doppelganger
"When I was 5y/o my mom opened the door to two cops who where telling her that her daughter, (me) was outside alone in spring with only a t-shirt and shorts at 1AM ish."
"At the time I was sleeping with her every nights. So she told the cops it cannot be true I’m in her bed right now. She comes to get me and we go in the entry. The two cops said that the little girl knew where she’s living and that’s her who said she was living at my house. The two cops then look at me creep out and ask my name. I have a very unique name by the way."
"Then the cops took the little girl to show my mother that it wasn’t a joke of some sort. The little girl entered and ran to my mom yelling “mommy mommy it’s me lili”. My name is Livia I don’t know how the f
"We often tell this story with my mother to family reunions. I wish I was kidding, she had similar physical traits too, not identical but similar."
"She knew my name and made a nickname with it to this day. I do believe she heard the cops asking me questions. Then I started to cry and eventually the cops left with the little girl."
According-Car-296
Helping Someone Pass Beyond
"My best friend passed away this past March. On the morning that she passed, right around the time that the coroner said she must have died, I woke up from a dream where she had been dying. In the dream, she thanked me for everything I had done for her. A few hours after I woke up, I sent her a text just wanting to check in. It was right after I sent that text that I got a phone call from her mother who told me she had passed that morning."
"I’ll never understand why I had that dream, but I like to think that on her way out she visited me one last time."
Itsnotaduck
Things. Hurt.
"I still have a print of the photo."
"Around 1996, I borrowed a new digital camera from my work and brought it to band practice at our bassist's house, who was also studying computer programming at the time. I took a bunch of "band pics" and excited about the new technology, we loaded the photos onto his computer to get a good laugh at our drunken foolishness."
"In one particular shot of the bassist, we were stunned to see something bizarre. The TV screen behind him in the photo was black, except for white, cloudy "ghost writing" that said "things hurt." We had NO explanation for this. My friend printed the photo on his black and white printer, and I still have a copy to this day."
Tomegunn1
The world is a big place, and a lot can happen to you in that time. Think critically. You'll find the world makes a lot more sens if you do so.
Keep an eye out for baby raccoons.
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Comedy is in a very tricky place right now.
There is so much to NOT laugh about in this world.
In truth, many of us have forgotten how to laugh.
And certain jokes that are told, make people afraid to laugh.
So what do we do?
We tell inappropriate jokes apparently.
Let's hear some...
Redditor CrewCreation wanted to hear some "risky" comedy. So they asked:
"What’s the best morbid joke you know?"
***WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!***
I can't think of anything hilarious at the moment. Make us LOL.
Lady
"I have this friend, love him to bits, but his wife has a tendency of just constantly showing everyone pictures of their son at every social event. At the start it was understandable, but now I'm just like 'Lady, it's been two years; they're not going to find him.'"
UnoriginalUse
at 9am...
"Not the most morbid but I love Anthony Jeselnik’s story about his neighbor who has Alzheimer’s. 'One of my next door neighbors is a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. And every single morning at 9am he knocks on my door and asks me if I have seen his wife.'"
"'Which means that every single morning at 9am I have to explain to a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s that his wife has been dead for quite some time. Now I’ve thought about moving. I have thought about just not answering my door in the morning. But to be honest, it’s worth it… just to see the smile on his face.”
dreagan021
Comedy?
"Why can't orphans play baseball? They don't know where home is."
GW2RNGR
"Why can't orphans play tennis? They get confused when they hear love."
JayDub506
People who make comedy are evil. LOL.
The Darkness
"Dark humor is like food; not everyone gets it."
storm_the_castle
God Laughs?
"A Holocaust survivor dies and goes to heaven, where she meets God. To break the tension she tells God a joke about the Holocaust, but God doesn’t laugh. The lady shrugs and says 'I guess you had to be there.'"
“'I guess you had to be there' is a common expression used when someone doesn’t laugh at a joke. It means that the comedy may not translate without the context of the situation."
"In this case the Holocaust survivor is saying it, meaning that during the Holocaust God was nowhere to be found. It’s not really a joke about the Holocaust, but the absurdity of belief in a benevolent God. Hilarious right?"
semimillennial
Oh Baby
"How many dead babies does it take to fix a light bulb? More than 3 cause my garage is still dark."
sirnibs3
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Because I don't know what it says about us as people if we laugh. Oye.
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Life can change in an instant.
It can always change for the better.
Just ask any lottery winner.
Sadly, life can also take a turn for the worst and leave people shattered beyond repair.
Watching someone's life fall apart in a short amount of time is difficult.
You have to wonder if there really is such a thing as karma, bad luck, or Voodoo.
Redditor OkImagination5852 wanted to hear about the times we've been witness to personal disaster. They asked:
"People who witness a person's life crumble in a single day, what happened?"
I have lived through a lot of bad days. But thankfully they've been one disaster at a time days. So I guess I'm lucky.
Horror
"A friend of a friend had his entire family killed overnight. He was from my college and was home visiting his family. His parents, siblings, and extended family were all there together. One night, while they were all asleep, his father got up, took out a gun, and went on a shooting spree. He then killed himself."
"Everyone except this guy died on the spot. When my friend visited him at the hospital, the guy was still in shock. He had no idea why his father did that. This was more than a decade ago, and I have no idea how he's doing now."
DeadOnDeparture98
The IRS Called
"Knew a guy who had a nice house, wife, 3 kids. Machine shop in his garage, Snap On tool truck, sign out front, great mechanic. Never incorporated, didn't pay taxes on his business, cash only. Took nice vacations, bought a boat, then a camper. Five years later, the IRS came. I don't know what they estimated he owed but they seized everything. He lives alone in a trailer now."
Nobody_Wins_13
2 at Once
"My mom’s dad and dad’s mom both died on the same day. Completely unrelated. We were pretty messed up for awhile. It was 2010. Mom's dad had emphysema (lifetime smoker) and was pretty sick for a few weeks. I was in college at the time and came home to be with him, because we knew he was about to pass. Dad's mom was in the nursing home, as she had had a stroke and also had dementia (she often thought I was my dad, she thought we were in the 70s, etc.)."
"She took a turn for the worst, and so my dad left the hospice my grandpa was at and went to be with her. The towns they were in were about an hour apart, so I stayed behind with my mom to comfort her when her dad passed. A few hours go by, and he passes peacefully (huge thanks to the hospice workers for their respect and grace during this time)."
"Within an hour or so of his passing, we get a call from my dad saying that his mother had passed as well. It was a terribly dark day in our family, and the next couple years for me in college were pretty much a blur. Thankfully, things got better in time and we are all doing well now."
She lost everything...
"Her husband left her after previously persuading her to remortgage their house to save his business and he's already made her take multiple credit cards out in her name. She lost everything. He did it the week after their youngest turned 18 so he wouldn't have to pay child support. He'd obviously been planning for years."
Ieatclowns
a black sheep...
"My cousin was in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend died. She broke her back. When she was in the hospital she learned she was pregnant. It's been 16 years and we're still trying our best, she took an all too familiar path of drugs, burning bridges and more pregnancies."
"At this point she's fairly stable and clean as far as I know but a bit of a black sheep. Her mother has custody of all one of her kids. She has her youngest and seems to be doing good by her, but who knows. It's been hard on everyone, especially her mother and her brother."
Paradigm6790
Well this is the stuff of nightmares. I'm grateful for every moment I have alive.
Several lawsuits are filed...
"Here is multiple lives ruined in an instant. A friend was over at some other people house, drugs were involved. They had been playing with a gun. My friend points the gun at a girl, pulls the trigger and shoots her in the head. Girl dies, friend gets locked up until he turns 18. Parents at the house get arrested because they knew what the kids were doing. Friends mom goes into a depression and ends up getting evicted from her house. Several lawsuits are filed."
sentondan
Gone Forever
"It was me... got in a car accident and suffered a traumatic spinal and brain injury that I had no chance of surviving... a 7 vertebrae spinal fusion, yrs of physical and mental therapy... 18 yrs later and the pieces, though many forever gone, are finally coming back together."
2boneskuLL
A Bad Night
"He trashed his fathers vacation house with an axe before setting it on fire, stabbed the neighbor nearly to death, stole their car and then crashed it into a cop car so bad the cops were injured. He also got his girl pregnant, so once he is out of prison they're gonna start a family."
Dumbing_It_Down
"dangerous"
"Pregnant friend found out husband (43) was having an affair with young woman (19) who was a volunteer at their ecolodge. Friend had 'dangerous' pregnancy and had to spend a lot of time in bed. This betrayal destroyed their marriage, split the little town where they lived and caused two employees to quit because witnessing the affair going on was just too painful."
"She had a beautiful baby girl (to go with her other two girls, lol) and after the breakup was clinically depressed. Worked hard and got a divorce (she had a great lawyer); got the business back on track; beat her depression and now is planning a great vacation trip with her girls."
"Meantime, Dad has generous visitation but just 'hasn't gotten around to' buying a car seat so he can pick up the baby and for a long time asked my friend, 'Can you drop the girls off at my Mom's?'"
NoBSforGma
Lost it All...
"Recently, I know of a guy that had borrowed all his family’s life savings for the most part to participate in the whole game stop stock thing happening… he lost every penny of his money (credit card advances), and his parents retirement, and every other dime he could get… it makes me sick to even think of it."
Bangbangsmashsmash
Well those are A LOT of bad days. Good luck to all of you.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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Those who are wealthy have the luxury of acquiring the best of the best–whether it's dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant or status-identifying clothing from Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent.
But even the rich have their limits when it comes to frivolous spending before casting judgment on friends or colleagues.
Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor Sasquatchfl asked:
"Rich people of Reddit, what's the craziest/most unethical thing you've seen people in your circle spend money on?"
Expensive experiences were a priority over prized possessions.
Live Sushi
"An ex worked for Dell in the late 90s/early 2000s. He was pretty high up and there were lots of partiers in his work circle. Went to a party hosted by one of the dellionaires and there was a body sushi girl. I don’t know what was paid to her, but it was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen."
– 5hrs4hrs3hrs2hrs1mor
Pissing Contest
"Paid a group of homeless guys to only use the bathroom on a competitors business. Eventually bought that place for a massive discount."
– Haboobalub
Let's Work Out
"My mother woke up one morning and said she felt she was way too fat and she wanted to get a treadmill. The treadmill wouldn’t be a problem, but then she saw where it would be and didn’t like the lighting. Fast forward 2 months later there’s a 40k outdoor gym built and connected to the house. She hasn’t used it once."
– Herrera5449_
Taking A Leap
"Travelled with a bunch of ex 'friends' all fairly wealthy."
"First trip to SE Asia together and as an ex-local I was a de-facto tour guide (despite not being there in over a decade)"
"They somehow found and offered a bunch of kids diving off cliffs to jump for spare change."
"They increasingly challenged each other to land their coins as close to the cliff base and small surrounding rocks for the kids to dive for."
– Satakans
It's about the finer things in life.
Expensive Party Gag
"A 3k ouija board from Gwen Paltrow's store. I didn't even know it was a thing until the dude brought it out. I really wanted to cut it up and see what it was made from. Looked nice don't get me wrong but the thing is basically a party gag. For 3 grand, it better summon a demon that's all I'm saying."
– con_this
Slow Burn
"$600 USD for a candle."
– Jeffranks
It's not always about the things you acquire.
Minor Inconvenience
"I know a guy who went to get a new drivers license and had to pay ~$100k in back parking tickets, then joked about it after."
"Apparently he couldn't get a permit to park in front of his house, so he just did anyway, and accepted like a $200 fine everyday."
– melodyze
For A Successful Election
"Not me, but I know a guy who crowd funded (read: threw a bunch of money into, then solicited more at a flea market) $80,000 toward his friend's DA election campaign. The guy won. So far, this has paid back at least $120K in avoided legal fees. I know some rich people. Most of them are more boring than you think. Hell, most of them drive Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans."
– KP_Wrath
The Lance Corporal
"I was stationed with a Lance Corporal who was wealthy beyond means after selling some of his patents. He owned and piloted four helicopters. Lived in a palatial waterfront house in Jacksonville, NC."
"The cheapest one cost 400K. That's the one he trained on. The most expensive was about 1.2 million. That's 1.2 million 1981 dollars. The two he's got now are about 5 million each."
"Had a floating landing pad out back moored to his dock and another landing pad in the back yard. Kept two helicopters and a Rolls inside his custom-built hangar at Norfolk International Airport."
"He drove a pair of Rolls-Royces. He also toyed with a 900K Miami-Vice type speedboat. He also housed and transported his squad to Camp Lejeune and back in a custom mini-bus."
– ApplicationConnect55
The dude was very giving and lived a very clean life. He'd fly us to Norfolk, pickup the car and we'd do our shopping and eating. Hop in a chopper and return home. He'd fly his fire team down to Miami on weekends. He kept a Limo there and wore a chauffer's outfit and did all the driving.
He bought a full-service and licensed pub in Northern Ireland. He lives there with his wife. Does a lot of charity work there. We still keep in touch."
– ApplicationConnect55
When there's plenty of money going around, there's no need to worry about a single thing.
That peace of mind is a luxury in itself.
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When marriages or relationships fall apart, infidelity is not always the cause.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Liam_Tang asked:
"People who've divorced, aside from adultery, what were the irreconcilable differences that ended the marriage?"

You think you know a person when you walk down the aisle.
These Redditors were in for a rude awakening.
Pet Neglect
"My wife divorced her ex for many reasons, but the final straw was when she went out of town for a few days, and when she got back he had not fed or given water to the dog. The dog lived a long and happy life after that."
– StrangeCrimes
Obsessed With A Crush
"Not me, but I had an old coworker that divorced his wife for spending their entire savings on candy crush and games of the same type."
– Hexis40
Compatibility Musts
"ITT: Intimacy (sex/romance), beliefs (religion/spirituality/politics), kids, and I haven’t seen it yet but it’s coming: finances."
"The big four. You REALLY need to discuss these things in detail BEFORE getting married."
– rabbiskittles
Physical violence is a legit reason for people to peace out of a relationship.
The Flattening
"She threatened to hit me with a hammer."
– michaelrohansmith
Hitting The Bottle
"She became an abusive alcoholic. It was sad but I had to get out."
– diegojones4
Emotional pain is too damaging to recover from.
Truth Hurts
"She told me as we stood in front of the judge ending our 7 year marriage, 'I never loved you, I just wanted kids.'"
– Pinch_Dogs
Can't Fix Angry
"She was beautiful/smart but an angry angry person. I thought I could be sweet to her and 'fix' that. Heh. She kicked the crap out of me emotionally. Wife II has been a walk in the roses for 32 years now :)"
– lowlandr
A change of heart is worthless if comes too late.
"We Could've Had A Nice Marriage
"He could not understand that my wants and needs were as important as his wants and needs. We tried to make it work for 7 years. During that time, for things that were really important to me, I tried explaining logically, asking nicely, begging, crying, yelling, passive aggressiveness... cycled back through all of these options multiple times."
"(If I knew something was important to him, I would do that. For example, he was really into sports, so I went to all his events, even though that is not at all my thing.) When I finally threw up my hands and told him it was time to get a divorce, he suddenly panicked and said 'What can I do? Do you want me to do half the chores? I'll do it! Do you want me to get a job? I'll do it! Do you want me to buy you presents for your birthday? I'll do it!'"
"So, in other words, he could have been doing that all along, but just couldn't be bothered. That made me so angry. We could have had a nice marriage that we both enjoyed, but no, by the time he saw the light, that ship had sailed."
"We are both happily remarried now (to different people) and I joke that his new wife owes me a thank you note. It was his experience with me that taught him to listen to her and take her needs seriously."
– Bluebird-True
"What Can I Do?"
"My ex was exactly like this. I didn't marry him but when I told him let's break up, he went all like, what can I do? Let's get engaged, let's look at houses, etc. Basically all the pre-marriage topics that we should be discussing about after being together for 7 years."
"I got so angry and straight up told him it's too late... I don't need you anymore."
– gudetarako
As much as a couple wants to stay together, unforeseen circumstances can eventually tear people apart.
Very few people can maintain healthy long-distance relationships.
When a new job opportunity takes a significant other away, would you begrudge them for wanting a better position to earn more money? Or is it better for them to reluctantly turn down the opportunity so they could stay with you? Do either scenarios breed resentment?
These were questions I've often asked myself with past relationships, and my answers varied depending on the person I was with.
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