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People Break Down Which Things They Desperately Want To Know The Truth About

"The truth will set you free, but first it'll piss you off"

Have truer words ever been spoken? Especially at the beginning of a song? Probably not. But the thing about truth is that sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it's just not something we can ever really know.


One Reddit user asked:

What is something you desperately want to know the truth about?

And honestly we were expecting the answers to be full of conspiracy theories and aliens. Some people wanted to know about that, of course, but it seems like a lot more people are interested in more mundane personal truths.

Missing heirlooms, sketchy incidents, and friends who just vanished into thin air all pop up in people's answers right alongside those aliens we mentioned.

So have a read through and then tell us what truths you really want in life.

Where's The Ring?

I had a 200 year old ring stolen out of my house, handed down from my great-great grandmother and grandmother (every other generation) who are also my namesakes. I was at a low point in life when my grandmother gave it to me, and it kind of felt like - "I still believe in you. You CAN still live up to the name," and it meant SO much to me.

Just after moving into a house for the first time, someone broke in and stole it. There is almost no chance it would be recognized for its true worth or age, or history. And obviously, it could never have that sentimental value. I'm terrified it will have been dismantled.

I'd give anything to know where it is / get it back.

-in-site

Alone

ancient aliens GIF Giphy

Are we alone in the universe?

- DrBinkleton

The universe is enormous. The chances that life exists in other places is not only likely but might even be fairly common. But the universe is enormous. If there was life on the nearest star to ours it would take a generational ship to get there and explore. And that is the very closest star.

Even if we just wanted to send a message with a radio wave and see if anything in that stat system had the intelligence to intercept the radio wave and interpret it as different from background radiation it would still take years for that radio wave to get there, and years for that system to respond back. In summation it is virtually guaranteed that earth is not the only planet with life on it, but the chances of ever meeting aliens is almost zero. Space is just too big. Even if you could travel at the speed of light (which we cant and physics seems to say we never can) we still wouldn't be able to travel far enough to explore space for other life

- Maharog

That's just space. Don't neglect how huge time is. That nearest star could have fully-realized spacefaring civilization, but it exists two billion years in the past - - or the future.

We're ships passing in the night in a sea of time as well.

- 5-on-a-tobbogan

Indus Valley

Maybe not as exciting as some of the other historical mysteries, but I've always wanted to know more about the Indus Valley Civilization.

They were one of the earliest civilizations on the planet and built complex cities with extensive planning, including efficient sewage systems! And yet their writing script remains undeciphered to this day and thus a lot of what we know about their culture and society is mere speculation.

There's just so much about them I'd love to understand- What was the language they spoke and what family it belonged to? How extensive were their trade networks? What were their cultural practices and religious beliefs and what relation, if any, did these have to those of later societies in the Indian subcontinent?

- AvatarTreeFiddy

Consciousness 

What actually happens to our consciousness when we die?

- excusetheblood

Yes this! And how does it originate when we are born?

- poorees

From a technical point a consciousness is an evolutionary trait that develops as an infant matures and it has 3 stages

  • non active from 1-2
  • passive from 2-8 (when it acquires all of the societal values and is able to think however will follow what its environment mandates)
  • active, post 8, once all societal values are accepted and critical thinking becomes much more accessible

Babies dont have a consciousness as it hasnt developped yet and this trait is only found among few animals as an evolutionary trait that allowed us to survive.

This said, in theory we should cease to be once we die , the very same way we came into the picture

So the consciousness would be the same as pre-birth, nothingness once the brain ceases all activity. I would find it much more disturbing and horrifying if a consciousness doesnt fade away and makes you spend an eternity trapped in a void similar to when you re half awake after you passout

Now that would be horrifying.

Ceasing to exist, however, is just something that will happen and I don't think anyone should be afraid of what will happen as it would be the same as pre-birth

- ThatOneSadHuman

Solicitors

I wanna know why these people keep ringing my doorbell while the baby is sleeping trying to sell me pest control or a new roof.

Motherf*cker it's 2020. If I need some bugs killed or a new roof, I'm not sitting on my @ss waiting for somebody to ring my doorbell to give me a sales pitch.

- ialbertson90

I put a sign on the front door that said please do not knock or ring the bell. And it worked wonders! Never had a knock or bell ring even when I ordered take out and forgot about it haha but I was waiting patiently for my take out of course lol.

- FLmedgirl420

Gundam

gundam GIF Giphy

This is going to sound petty, but to me it's more important then anything political, I want to know what happened to the Victory Gundam Toy I leant to my friend when I was in the first grade. It was the MS in Pocket V- Dash.

My grandmother got it for me for my birthday, which means my parent's actually got it for me and wrapped it and put her name on it but she pretended to know what it was and I appreciate that to this day.

My parents probably got it from a store in Springfield Mall called "Another Universe". It was a one stop sci-fi novelty shop and after my dad took me in there one day I fell in love with the "Japanese Robots" because I grew up watching Robotech, and Ronin Warriors.

I was super stoked to get this, and loved it dearly. And because I loved my best friend and sharing is caring etc, when he asked to borrow it one night, maybe a week after I got it, I let him. I never saw it again. We stayed friend's up until high-school when we started to drift apart, and it legitimately bothers me to this day that I never found out the truth.

- _Fun_Employed_

Elisa

What ACTUALLY happened to Elisa Lam. Like, come on. She couldn't have dropped herself into that tank. She didn't have keys to the roof, and she was too tiny to lift the hatch anyway. So, what? Did an employee kill her?

Your average hotel employee couldn't haul a sober young woman to the roof, restrain her, open that heavy-ass hatch, and throw her inside. Not without somebody noticing. There's no surveillance footage either. Besides all that, there's no evidence that Elisa was raped or assaulted, so what would be the motive for murder?

And she wasn't intoxicated. No drugs, no alcohol. But... why the weird behavior in that elevator, then? Why the imaginary conversation? Why hide from nothing?

Yes, she was bipolar, which could attribute to the strange behavior. Elisa was mentally ill, but that doesn't explain everything.

- thecreepyauthor

I lived down the street from that hotel when she went missing, I remember the posters going up around the neighborhood. What happened was a terrible, unfortunate accident and nothing more. In fact I wish the internet would stop trying to turn it into a "spooky mystery" because I can't imagine what the family must be going through.

The main thing you have to remember about the hotel she was staying at is it wasn't a normal Holiday Inn kinda place you're used to seeing. It was a run down building over 100 years old that was being used for low income housing that had started renting out rooms to tourists. I lived in one similar when I was really poor.

They're not well maintained, they're not well staffed (maybe some kid working security), and you can pretty much have your run of the place without anyone messing with you because no one who works there cares. Security cameras? LOL. I'm impressed the ones they had were actually working, most of the time they're just there to warn off people. The most mysterious part about the hotel is why anyone would chose to stay there on purpose.

Now imagine a girl off her meds having a breakdown (which is what authorities and her family have said is what happened). I talked to employees at local shops who saw her and told me she was acting crazy. She's in this beat up hotel, can't get the elevator to work, can't figure out what's going on. She ends up on the roof wandering around and takes a dive into the water tank and can't get out. That's it. Nothing mysterious. Just a tragic accident.

- ghostofhenryvii

Poisoned Pooch

Who killed my dog with poison. My dad knows but he doesn't want to tell me because he said it's going to be troublesome. Don't get me wrong he loved that dog but he got reasons to hide that from me. We live in a dangerous neighborhood.

- snowtruki

Tumblr Trouble

I had an internet friend who suddenly stopped posting on Tumblr at around 2014. I didn't realize it at first because I had multiple friends who would leave for a few days and come back again, but after a few weeks with no activity I started to worry. I think I even assumed that she wanted nothing to do with ME specifically because she wouldn't reply to my messages until a mutual internet friend of ours messaged me to ask me if I knew where she went.

She never came back. She wasn't sick, she wasn't going through anything, she never said she was going to switch accounts (she had multiple accounts dedicated for some core things she liked. When she stopped posting on her main blog, I checked to see if there were any activities on the others. Nothing.), etc. She was just there one day and then she suddenly wasn't. I guess I'd just like to know what happened to her.

- TunaEmpanada

Maybe A Little Too Great

The Great Pyramid.

Either the truth about how long it took and how Egyptians built it, or who actually did it.

History books say it took 20 years to build, which is just ridiculous to believe. 20 years was definitely not enough to build it, but that's only one of many facts that make me raise an eyebrow:

"Pharaoh Khufu began the first Giza pyramid project, circa 2550 B.C."


Egypt was founded around 3000 B.C. so the Pyramid was built pretty much at the beginning of their civilization, and I believe they claim the Sphynx is even older than that.

So these people had the skill and knowledge to build a monument that would last through eternity, featuring some of the most astonishing mathematical and physical properties but could never better themselves? Never in the history of our species, we have witnessed a civilization reach their engineering peak at the very beginning and then get progressively worse. It just doesn't make sense.

For reference, the Great Wall of China is 25ft tall, has roughly 4M blocks and it took several centuries to finish with the help of millions of workers. The Great Pyramid (just one of the 3) is nearly 500ft tall, made of over 2M blocks of stone, and only took 20 years???

In 2550 B.C humans could build at amazing speed with unmatched precision and a few millenniums later we lost all that skill?

If we wanted to, nowadays we could replicate any building or construction that's ever been made with the help of machines. But not the pyramid. Modern engineers admitted that even with our best technology, we would struggle to replicate a 4 faced pyramid of that size. Imagine building an 8 faced one that has VERY PRECISE astronomical and mathematical properties; the amount of resources and hassle required for such a feature would be ridiculous even for today's standards.

"The Great Pyramid embodies an advanced knowledge of geometry, geodesy (the science of earth measurement), and astronomy. It incorporates not only the value of pi but also the golden section, phi, found in the growth patterns of living things.


The Pyramid stands at the center of the earth's landmass and represents the earth's northern hemisphere on a scale of 1:43,200."

When scientists presented these and a million other facts just as mind-blowing, Egyptologists said it was all a coincidence and claim that to this day.

Imagine making a tomb for your king and, just by pure chance and a bit of luck, recreate a replica of our planet that gives exact data of its dimentions and movement in space LMAO

I have been to the Plateau, Karnak and Luxor (Valley of Kings) and let me tell you, by the end of the trip my eyebrow had raised so much it became one with my hairline.

- rPiperboy

Human Relationships

I wanted to know the truth about human relationships. Now there is nothing else I want to know desperately..

There is no want anymore about anything in life. The truth is,"Human relationships are need based. They are never absolute and hence keep changing. It takes enormous energy to keep a married relationship going."

So choose wisely. Choose somebody for whom it's very easy to love himself and you. And not somebody who talks about leaving you or breakup at the drop of hat!

- idWithUniverse

Death Night

grim reaper death GIF Giphy

What the fck exactly happened in Stammheim prison on the 'Death Night' of Oct 18 1977 at the height of the German autumn.

Three prisoners of German far left-wing terror group RAF were found dead in their cells. The story goes that they killed themselves and other members of the group tried to frame it as murder by the state

But official reports have some holes and some things don't quite line up. Were they actually murdered by the secret service? Did the sercret service know about what they were planning but didn't intervene? Why was there a power loss in that prison block right around the time they killed themselves and why was the officer that was assigned to watch the cell block called away from his position by an unknown person right around the same time? One inmate killed himself with a gun, how did no one hear that?

- enderlux

After The Crisis

I work in a suicide/crisis line. We never know what happens after the call ends. And there is this one call that still haunts me, and all I desperately want to know is what happened to the caller after they hung up. I just want to know the truth.

- bubble_bibble

Catfished

I talked with a girl for years. Started on a chat room, we talked with letters, Facebook, on a phone (our record was 9 hours straight), we became "a couple" at some point. We never saw each other, shared only few photos, but we had fun talking so it didn't bother me. Webcam wasn't a common thing back in 2009 and 2010 when this started and since we were young, we couldn't travel and see each other.

(Yes, this is starting to sound like a Catfish episode)

In 2011 things changed tho. I went to army for 9 months and during that time I learned that she had leukemia and she had few months to live. We talked on a phone, cried together and she told me she wanted to do the things she always wanted to do, travel to other countries. She went to USA, UK, Brazil, sent me letters and postcards. One day she was dead, just like that. We had one common internet friend who told me the news and later I saw her face to face and she gave some stuff so I could remember her.

Later Google came out with image search, where you can search images and see if that picture is on internet. I think like a year had passed at this point. I tried it, and voila, her pictures came out with some hits. She was a fake? I immediately asked her friend, what is this. She came clean that yes, she was fake and no, she didn't die. She said "I don't want to become between this, so she can tell the truth, if she wants to". Never got the truth, never heard from her again, she never explained anything.

I just want to know, why.

- JohnnyJayce

Just Want To Plan

When am I going to die? I have stage 4 breast cancer. I've seen and heard prognoses from two years to ten years to it can actually go away.

Obviously, I'd like it to go away, but if I only have two (or five, or ten) years left, I need to know that. That will determine how I spend my time and money.

If I refuse to entertain death as a possibility and live like I'll have the chance to become elderly, I may not do all the travel I want because "I can do it later" or "I'm paying off this new car that I need."

If I assume that I'll be dead in three years, I could be caught with my pants down in 2024, having spent all my money on my bucket list and being unable to buy a car. (Mine is a 2002, 232k+ miles)

I assume I'll know more as my death gets closer, but I'd like at least a year or so of being mentally with it before I die so I can wrap up all my loose ends.

- insertcaffeine

A Detailed Catalog

I wish archeological sites hadn't been looted for centuries before the scientific method was developed. The amount of historical knowledge that has been lost to human ignorance and greed is tragic.

I also wish some angelic being would descend from the heavens and gift us a fully detailed catalog of all the creatures that have walked the Earth. I'd spend the rest of my life poring over the information on animals that evolved, thrived, and went extinct millions of years ago.

- Gadsens_Ghost

Brother Allen

What happened to Brother Allen.

20 years ago, there was a man in my church who went to Texas for work and was found bound and gagged and dead in his room. He was an FAA investigator, there was no sign of a break in at the hotel, and reportedly guests heard nothing. I was friendly with two of his daughters (we were Mormons, he had like 7 kids) and both he and his wife had served in youth leadership and education positions together. I keep thinking at some point I'll watch an episode of Forensic Files and find out the truth...

- AngryDratini

Hoping For Nightmares

Who killed my brother (happened in the 90s). My parents refuse to tell me or my siblings anything besides a few details. Pretty much, all I know is that the driver of the vehicle was a friend of his who had too much to drink.

I don't know what I would do with the knowledge if I had it.

Maybe visit him in jail if he is still there. I'm told I look eerily like my brother. So I'd go in for a visit using my brother's old clothes. Say nothing, then after a few seconds, get up and leave. Hopefully give him nightmares for the next decade, make sure he never forgets what he did.

- -PM_me_your_recipes-

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.