
Distressed Adults Share Childhood Memories That Scarred Them
[rebelmouse-image 18348013 is_animated_gif=We don't always see the bigger picture as kids. A lot of the times, stuff we accept as normal can actually be viewed as really creepy and terrifying when we get older (looking at YOU "Dinosaurs" series finale where the whole planet dies!). Other times, though, what we didn't see as kids can be something sinister and might break us as adults.
Reddit user, u/Ducknana, wanted to know what haunting us when they asked (TRIGGER WARNING: Some of these tales are brutal in their honesty):
What is a f***ed up memory you have from your childhood that you didn't realize was f***ed up until you grew older?
A Quick Pick Up
[rebelmouse-image 18344987 is_animated_gif=I was a member at some country club where we all played tennis as kids. I was like 6 or 7 at the time this happened, but one of my friends needed to go to the bathroom. I was assigned to go with him so nobody would get lost or something.
As we were walking down, some dude just runs up and grabs my friend and starts forcefully carrying him down the hallway. He covered his mouth but my friend bit him or something and started screaming. The guy just drops him and runs off. At the time we thought nothing of it really and just kept walking to the bathroom. All the coaches were pretty f***ing freaked out when we mentioned it so they searched the building.
Playing With A Balloon. What?
[rebelmouse-image 18348014 is_animated_gif=Found a condom on the school ground. I thought it was a balloon. Brought it home, blew it up and played with it. Until my mom came home, and with a look of horror, asked where I got it. When I told her, she screamed at me to throw it away... I was so mad at her, because she wouldn't tell me the reason.
Nope, still can't laugh about it...
Birth. Day. Two Separate Words
[rebelmouse-image 18348015 is_animated_gif=I was so poor as a kid we celebrated all birthdays on the same 1 day per year, and it was the best present ever: pop ice Popsicles.
I loved birth-day...yes, I thought birthday was a family thing, not every individual person...
What's Mommy Do For A Living?
[rebelmouse-image 18348016 is_animated_gif=My mother took me and a friend of hers to a farm out in the middle of nowhere. She told me I can look at the chickens while she was inside the house with her friend and some guy that lived there.
Of course me being a little kid and mischievous I decided to walk along the house and look in the windows. In one I see my mom sitting on a couch watching tv. The next window is a the bedroom and I see her friend half naked with the guy. I don't think to much of it and just keep walking along the house. Few years later I realized my mother was a "madam" and her friends were really just sex workers.
Symbolism Is A Thing
[rebelmouse-image 18348017 is_animated_gif=So I'm adopted. I'm black, my parents are white.
One day, when I was like 8 or 9 I was watching some old animated Lord of the Rings movie. The orcs were singing a song that went "Wherever there's a whip, there's a way". Well later that day, while doing chores, I was singing that part over and over. My mom, horrified, came and asked where I heard it and told me to never sing it again.
Couldn't understand why until I was older and realized how bad it would probably look.
Mom Wasn't Going For A Ride
[rebelmouse-image 18348018 is_animated_gif=One day mum was in the garage reving the car for ages filling it with fumes, I came in and asked her what she was doing.
I now realise she was trying to end it.
Not A Normal Punishment
[rebelmouse-image 18348019 is_animated_gif=I was once casually telling a friend that once I was locked in my room with a bucket and no food or drink for two days to a friend and laughed at how gross it was.
His face went pale as he said "that's the most f***ed up punishment I've ever heard". It was then I realized how awful my childhood was.
Abnormal Lockout
[rebelmouse-image 18348020 is_animated_gif=I remember my 16 year old sister crying as she banged on the back door, begging me to let her inside, but I was 5 years old and afraid that if I did, mom would be mad at me instead.
Other times my mom would lock my dad out for things like coming home too late or looking at the neighbor lady too suggestively. Another time my sister stepped in between me and my mom, e while screaming, "She's just a kid!!" I thought this kind of drama (and unending guilt over being too afraid to help) was normal until I grew up. I'm still working on it, but I haven't seen my mom in person for 7 months now. I just don't have it in me right now to deal with her crap.
We're In Love With The Coco
[rebelmouse-image 18348021 is_animated_gif=When I was a kid, my family had an all white cat that I loved... And his name was Coke.
At the time, I thought he was named after Coca-Cola. It wasn't until later in life I realized my favorite cat was named after a white substance.
A Shifting Personality
[rebelmouse-image 18348022 is_animated_gif=My father was an alcoholic.
But I did not know this so I could not figure out why he was nice sometimes and cruel at others. I did not know why he would laugh at something I did one day and beat me for it the next. Or why he would hurt me by demonstrating army holds on me and not stop when I cried because he thought we were having fun. So many things like that happened before I finally realized he was drunk.
It Just Doesn't Click
[rebelmouse-image 18348024 is_animated_gif=When I was in preschool this girl in my class would always bring up disturbing events happening at home. I remember one time specifically when we ate lunch one day she casually completely out of the blue said "oh by the way, yesterday my dad slammed my mom into a wall". Throughout the whole year she told similar stories and I always forgot about it when we moved on to something else. It wasn't until a few years ago that it all came back to me and I was shocked that a poor 6 year old girl had to see this with her own eyes.
A Missed Encounter
[rebelmouse-image 18348025 is_animated_gif=I was just starting my freshman year of high school, so I was 14. I can't remember why, I think marching band, but I was at the High School around dusk one night. I realized that my parents forgot about me, and everyone else had left and locked up the school. This was 15 years ago, so I didn't have a cell phone. My school was only a few miles from home in a nice suburban town, so I decided to walk home.
Partway home a guy in a pick up truck pulls along the road and yells out the window asking for directions to the mall. I didn't think anything of it, and told him. He then asked me if I could get in and navigate him there since he still wasn't sure. I was tired and wanted to berate my parents, so I said no and kept walking. It was only a few years ago that I realized he very likely didn't want navigational assistance.
And to be clear, I wasn't 14 looking 18. At 29 I get mistaken for 22, and at 25 I was mistaken for 16. Between my face and the way I dressed, I probably looked 11 or so.
I was super lucky that he didn't follow me, since soon after where he pulled over the shops and house grew really sparse, and it was getting dark. Thankfully my friend's mom saw me walking and picked me up a few minutes later too.
Still creeps me out to think that if I had been less mad or tired I may have gone with. I was very naive.
The Wrong Way To Deal
[rebelmouse-image 18348026 is_animated_gif=My mom would get mad and slam her head on the wall.
I thought that was a reasonable way to deal with frustration, until I tried it myself and it really hurt (go figure). So I stopped doing that, but would punch walls fairly regularly hard enough to break a bone or put holes clean through the wall.
Trying To Be Tough
[rebelmouse-image 18348027 is_animated_gif=I would constantly electrocute myself. Mainly 110 volts and see how long I could take the pain. I thought I was some kind of superhero. Loved the comics as a kid.
Had to add this: THIS IS DANGEROUS. YOU CAN DIE. I was lucky. Chances are you will not be!
A Retreat To Hell
[rebelmouse-image 18347290 is_animated_gif=Me and my family went to a retreat that was supposed to be of jesus or whatever. You know, the type where they sing and have you clap and stuff. And at the very end, "Jesus himself" comes out in a golden chalice thing and he "heals" people. Well during that ceremony, a mentally disabled woman started screaming loudly. I think she may have been scared as everyone was crying and screaming as well. But the priest went up to her and started screaming,"go away devil! Leave this woman alone! Leave!" What do you know the disabled woman didn't stop. So they had her removed from the room.
Needless to say, that was f***ed up.
Why, Daddy?
[rebelmouse-image 18348028 is_animated_gif=My mom caught my dad cheating with a woman from an online gaming forum some time in the very early 2000s. They were sending each other vulgar messages. She read the messages out loud when she found them. I was about 6 at the time. I didn't realize what any of those words mean until about 10 years later when it just clicked. Eugh.
The part my 6-yr-old brain was most upset about was that his forum profile pic was from a family photo on the beach, but he cropped all of us out. Why didn't daddy want me in the picture? :(
(c) Oh Myyy LLC
I tend to avoid public bathrooms if I can help it. They are terrible places. Few are clean and I admit I am a bit of a clean freak. My beautiful bottom will not grace a dirty toilet seat, no thank you. I have standards.
I'm being only sort of serious. I've been in a pinch before. But have you ever seen a gas station bathroom that was utterly destroyed by the patron (or patrons) before you? It's a horrible sight. 0/10: Do not recommend.
Naturally, some crazy things happen in your local public restroom. We heard some stories after Redditor RuffNBoy asked the online community,
"What is the wackiest thing you've seen in a public restroom?"
"At the theater I work at..."
"At the theater I work at I was cleaning the mens restroom and in one of the stalls was an open condom wrapper, a tiny empty bottle of the nacho cheddar seasoning we sell, and the seasoning scattered near the corner on the floor. Bethesda wishes they had environmental storytelling like that."
theshazzmaster
Do I really want to know what went on there? I honestly don't think so.
"I used to be..."
"I used to be a hotel maid. Cleaning one room I found two things in the bathroom garbage can: a used condom and a whole pickle."
[deleted]
"I was taking a dump..."
"I was taking a dump at a movie theater and a little kid climbed under the stall and grabbed my foot. I screamed and kicked that kid so hard right in the face just out of sheer instinct. He cried. His dad said, "That's what you get Gavin."
AUSpartan37
Gavin is at it again and this time he faced some consequences.
"I walked in..."
"I walked in and my eyes were immediately assaulted by a fully naked man running a stick of deodorant up and down his crack."
JscottPilgrim
Wow... what a terrible day to be able to read.
"Not only did this bathroom..."
"Gas station bathroom in the middle of nowhere. Not only did this bathroom have a bathtub (?) but there was a fully dressed and made up mannequin in the tub. Very jarring."
AlpinePinecorn
This sounds surreal... and honestly rather creepy.
"I once stopped..."
"I once stopped at a gas station on a road trip and the bathroom was full of dolls…. Staring with their little painted eyes…."
Rabbit_Mom
Noooope.
Their creepy and unsettling eyes!
"Two women..."
"Two people were having sex in the handicapped stall. I was seven."
madamwhatnot
So something tells me you learned about the birds and the bees rather early.
"A clogged urinal..."
"A clogged urinal filled to the brim, with an anaconda sized turd spiral floating in it, in hypnotic circles. How a turd that size could be buoyant I have no idea."
effy4eva
This is quite the sentence. I don't think I needed it in my eyeballs, but it's too late now.
"I was in a Berlin dive bar..."
"Olives. I was in a Berlin dive bar with some friends. In the bathroom, there was a vending machine, stocked with tinned tapas. So I came back from the bathroom with a can of olives. When asked where I got them I just replied "bathroom.""
cristicusrex
This is simultaneously hilarious and horrifying. I can only imagine the looks on your friends' faces...
Okay, so now you understand why I can't abide public restrooms. If you're smart, you'll run for the hills the next time you're in the proximity of one. Things can only go downhill from there. (Am I being serious? Maybe... maybe not.)
Have some stories of your own to share? Tell us more in the comments below!
One should never be fooled by a first impression.
Certain people might behave in a way that is less than indicative of what they are actually like, and might prove to be far more impressive, or much less friendly, once you get to know them a little better.
However, sometimes people will behave in a certain way which leaves one unable to avoid making assumptions about people.
Namely, their intelligence.
Redditor sparklingshanaya was curious to hear what behavioral traits the Reddit community took as a sign of possessing a considerable lack of intelligence, leading them to ask:
"What are some behaviors that scream unintelligence?"
An unwillingness to learn
"I feel like the classic example is being unable to change your opinion or idea when you are presented with new information."
"You don’t have to set everything you believe in stone."- Rusty_of_Shackleford
"I think a key thing that separates the intelligent from the less intelligent is curiosity and how far you actually go to learn."- TuxedoWolf07
When even they don't know what they're talking about.
"Maybe not unintelligence but ignorance."
"People getting angry when I ask them to explain what they just meant as I want to understand them and not misunderstand."- smokinstuff·
"Getting angry when someone ask them to explain their point."- SuvenPan
It's never attractive to gloat
"Obsessively telling everybody how intelligent you are."- terribleUsername18
It's ok to admit defeat every now and then...
"Playing 'last word' in an argument you've lost."- LennonMcCartney65
"Being defensive when corrected instead of just accepting it."- Marthstewart123
"Claiming they are always right but not being able to argument why or have a serious debate about it."- GReatChinook
Are you sure about that?
"Constantly saying 'facts' that are extremely false."
"Gets on my nerves."- Sharkifish
Read the instructions!!!
"I just started driving for UberXL."
"The amount of people who think they can fit 8 people with all their luggage into a midsize SUV is astonishing."
"You can see which car comes to pick you up and it says fits 5 people."
"If you have a piece of luggage each then it's more like 3 people."
"I had one group sit there and stare me down like they didn't understand."
"I swear some people just have a mental limit for figuring things out and they all find each other and never get anywhere."- predict_irrational
One should always reserve judgment, as one never knows for sure what lurks beneath the surface.
Even if more often and not, you are left with little to nothing which encourages you to see what's there.
One of my favorite horror films ever is Black Christmas (1974). It's the perfect slasher film. It's scary. It's uncompromising. It's sordid. It's eerie. It leaves you with a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach. It features some great acting, too! There are some powerhouse talents in it, including Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and Andrea Martin.
But did you know that the film has been remade? It's been remade twice, as a matter of fact. The first remake, which was released in 2006, was so ridiculous. Not even Martin, who showed up in a glorified cameo in the role of a sorority house mother, could save it.
It was remade again in 2019 — this one bore few similarities to the films that came before it. One wondered why this one even had the same name, but there you have it.
Suffice it to say that the original Black Christmas is untouchable. But it is not the only film out there that should never have been remade. Far from it.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor CrescendoX asked the online community,
"What movie is so perfect that if it would remade, it would be a crime against humanity?"
Misery (1990)
"Misery. I could totally see a remake of Misery that used the way social media creates parasocial relationships so prevalently."
DocBenzanone
But let's not. I mean, who could ever replace Kathy Bates? She won an Oscar for the role!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
I've seen the animation they've done for some of these new "live action meets cartoons" things.. The work the art/animation team put into Who Framed Roger Rabbit is STILL to this day putting them to shame."
TONKHANAH
A good choice. It was a pretty groundbreaking film and it's still influencing filmmakers to this day. That cast!
Aliens (1986)
"It would be impossible to remake that perfect movie. The cast, story, and practical effects are wonderful. A remake would be full of CGI and a BS script."
[deleted]
Don't you dare suggest this! Don't you dare give those horrible Hollywood execs any ideas!
Spaceballs (1987)
"Spaceballs. I don't want any other version."
OllieAreOllio
But think about the merchandising!
Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money
Jaws (1975)
"Jaws. I read somewhere that Spielberg won't let it be remade."
ferox965
If someone did someday remake it, I would highly suggest they remove a lot of the unnecessary subplots that are in the book!
Did we really need that affair?
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
"The Silence of the Lambs. Remakes should only be attempted when you are sure that it can outclass the original but Silence of the Lambs cannot be outclassed."
[deleted]
Two Oscar-winning performances. It doesn't get any better than Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. The film is a masterclass — the Criterion edition is especially beautiful.
Stand by Me (1986)
"Stand by Me. It would be an insult to River Phoenix and many others to remake that."
Gluonyourbosom
This film is so highly regarded that a remake just seems foolish. Why even bother attempting one? Go and read the novella instead.
Back to the Future (1985)
"Back to the Future. Please please please PLEASE don't ruin it with a remake."
Frodo_noooo
As long as Robert Zemeckis doesn't kick the bucket we're safe!
Uncle Buck (1989)
"Uncle Buck. Don't you dare touch it."
Wokonthewildside
Without John Candy that would be like trying to remake the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in a Denny's with only ketchup and mustard. Just a tragic, ill-conceived imitation.
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
"My Cousin Vinny. Joe Pesci's performance is perfect."
[deleted]
Hey, don't forget Marisa Tomei! She stole the show. And she won an Oscar for the role!
The list of movies that should not be touched is endless and you no doubt have your opinions.
Which movies should be left the hell alone? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Sex talk is still considered a taboo subject in many households. And I don't mean going into detail about your bedroom conquests at the dinner table.
Overprotective parents tend to be evasive about discussing the birds and the bees with their kids because they feel it's not up to them to have that conversation.
Remember Carrie White's religious mom who refused to talk about intimacy with her 16-year-old?
We all know how that turned out in the classic Stephen King novel.
Anyway, parents turning down an opportunity to have the uncomfortable convo or having their kids miss out on sex education can lead a child to potentially develop damaging misunderstandings about their body and puberty.
The effects of which were explored when Redditor sparklingshanaya asked:
"What’s a sexual misconception you had for way too long?"

It helps to have an earlier understanding about your body when you're younger.
Sex Education
"As a girl, I had no real idea of where/what the vagina was until I was like 11 or 12. My mom didn't give me a real sex talk, just a puberty/body book that said 'the vagina is between the woman's legs' and just had a full frontal diagram (legs closed) of a woman with an arrow pointing to her pelvic region. I also didn't know a period lasted longer than a day until I got mine at 14, and then wondered why it was still going on the next day."
"When my mom realized how abysmal my sex education was, her solution was to rent a video from the library about it and make me watch it on the big family TV in the living room at like 3pm. Granted— it was a very educational video but I won't ever forget one of the educators (a 50 year old woman) talking about how to give a satisfactory blow job."
– ash-on-fire
Hard Epiphany
"Ok so I grew up in a VERY conservative household. Was not allowed to take sex ed in middle school and they helicoptered in high school. Any internet access they had access to view so I never watched porn/looked at pics. Absolutely nothing. So for a long time I thought penises were shaped like a smaller pringles can. I thought it was just like...a straight up cylinder. Moved out at 17 and googled some things and man I had men's anatomy SO wrong."
– WholeLottaIntrovert
Wrong End Of The Stick
"Friend of mine has a similar background and I just about lost my mind when she said the balls are the END of the penis. Like she had seen those doodles and had it upside down so they just dangle off the end of the shaft lmaooo."
– xchakrumx
Let's get verbal about getting oral.
Satisfy A Woman
"Learn to go down on a woman, like become a master at it. Do this."
– ecallawsamoht
Excuse For Supper
"I second this. Been married for 20 years and it's something I'm happy to do."
"Get involved, people."
"Edit: thanks for the medals and upvotes, people! Be assured that I'll be celebrating tonight."
– AhabVanCleef
Semantics
"Friend of a friend thought it meant kissing. And they were like 19. So glad they found out through a conversation and not through a dude asking for it, or her talking about it. That would've been extremely confusing for everyone."
– SilverWaters793
Pucker Up
"My friend back in middle school thought a blowjob meant to literally blow on it. I still tease her about it to this day."
– Ashurii_desu
Failed Expectations
"Man, I thought I was gonna get so many blow jobs. That’s just not true."
– Studying_Politics
As young adolescents, these Redditors got these terminologies mixed up.
Dirty Talk
"When I was around middle school age I thought that oral sex meant talking dirty :’)"
– strawbrykat
"I used to sext with my girlfriend in high school. When we broke up, she just went crazy and told everyone in our grade that I was great at 'oral sex' (she meant sexting💀) School hasn’t been the same since then."
– Particular-Ad4356
Learning By Example
"I was kind of sheltered growing up, and like most sheltered kids, I learned a lot about sex through porn. I kept seeing 'blowjob' videos, and (i had no idea what a blowjob) assumed it was some kind of sex blooper. Like, something got messed up and the director said 'Oh darn, you blew it! Let’s take it from the top.'”
– Danny_my_boy
I had sex education in sixth grade after my parents gave the school permission for me to attend the special assembly centering on the topic.
But I remember how vague the instructor was. By the time I eventually had my first nocturnal emission, I remember being terrified, yet simultaneously elated. It was very confusing, and I didn't know what happened.
I remember reflecting back to sixth grade and thinking the school must've skipped that part in sex ed.