
For participants, the magic of the escape room depends on maintaining the illusion that you are, indeed, trapped inside a strange environment.
Even as adults, we love to play pretend. We suspend our disbelief for just long enough to imagine we are trapped explorers or people from other times.
And then we work together to free ourselves.
But what happens when a group of escape room goers gets a little too into playing pretend? It seems there is no limit to the lengths they'll go to get the heck out of there.
Redditor Curse_the_food asked:
"Escape room operators, what was the weirdest thing you've seen a group do?"
Many Redditors talked about the very gross things that happened. What is it that makes full-grown adults feel the need to spill their bodily fluids within the span of an hour?
DAILY?
"My daughter managed an escape room that had a toilet prop that moved away from the wall to reveal a hidden passage to crawl through after using clues to open it."
"Guests were informed that the toilet was inoperable. There was a note on the toilet stating not to use it. There was even a key hidden in the toilet."
"Someone peed in the toilet daily. They then had to fish the key out of their and crawl through a puddle of it to complete the game. Daily."
-- evelynesque
No Escaping a Hangover
"First clients of a morning, a player arrived wearing sunglasses inside, and ended up throwing up in the room. I made her boyfriend clean it up."
"A woman talking into an old (very obviously prop) shoe like it's a phone, hoping she'll hear clues."
"A group starting a game of ouija and waiting to hear voices instead of looking at the clues on the board. I went and shouted nonsense through their door."
Pee In All the Wrong Places
"A guy once proposed in the escape room I worked at, it was very cute, he had us put the ring in a treasure chest, and proposed on one knee when she opened the box."
"On a less nice note, I've had men pee in the corner of the room before/pee in the toilet with the door open, which was super awkward as the office is next to the toilet, at the end of a long corridor, which means I had to watch them do this whilst walking to the control room"
-- Saskyhu67
Didn't Factor That In
"A couple booked a private room in my facility and they showed up with a baby. They told me they couldn't get a babysitter so they wanted to play as the baby was in their baby carrier."
"I ended up accepting ; after all, nothing bad could happen, right ? The baby wouldn't be able to break anything in the room."
"What I did not expect is that the mother casually changed the baby diaper on the room's table, on the props."
"I threw everything away after that."
Others talked about the times that romance and relationship drama made its way into the escape room. Sometimes, pretend stress turns into real stress in a matter of seconds.
Doesn't Seem Very Comfortable
"Not exactly 'weird' but we've had several groups (couples) decide to hook up in our rooms, seemingly forgetting that every corner of the place is covered by cctv..."
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The Last Straw
"Breakups. You wouldn't believe the amount of long term relationships I've seen go to a head and become destroyed but just being in a locked room with puzzles."
-- clouds6877
Busted
"When I joined this company, they were the first in the city, and we were in an odd location that could be hard to find, so company policy was to call patrons who were 10min. late. We called this person, and it was a very agitated woman who didn't know who or what we are, and after confirming the booking name/number she snarkily told us that was her husband and we weren't something he'd be doing."
"We were polite and started to do some cleaning since we thought the booking was cancelled when the group showed up, acting jovially with the guy who booked it being very handsy with one woman. We confirmed the name on the reservation and mentioned that we just called and thought there might've been a cancellation. After confirming the number, the guy's face went white."
"We get the event started, with further PDA showing they were a couple. They win, we offer team photo. The guy did not want to participate in the photo, and had to be convinced by his entire team to jump in. Right before the flash went off, he dropped his head to hide his face. We figured out he was with his side-chick."
-- Ash_Fire
Finally, some shared the truly bizarre, unique, and hilarious memories they have from the job.
Happy Accident
"We had this group of 3, the theme was an abandoned subway station. We had some flashing lights so they would see something but I forgot to switch the flip on when bringing them to the room..."
"They never ever, turned on the lights (the button was next to the door) and spent the whole hour in almost complete darkness, only using the metro carriage headlight to check every clue they had (they were doing very well so I didn't told them to turn the lights on)."
"Then, the same group spent at least 10 minutes reassembling a skeleton, arguing which bone would go where because they thought they saw some marks on the fake bones (still in almost complete darkness), after the skeleton was back in one piece they figured out it was useless and managed to find the final code and went out in time."
"Their main feedback was 'we really liked the darkness it made it a bit difficult to navigate and read the clues but the immersion was great.' We tried the room without lights a few more times afterwards on groups we thought would not be complete idiots and made some minor changes to accommodate (like making it easier to navigate without bumping your feet everywhere)."
"The lights off became the default setting in the end."
-- meuh210
Needed a Little Nudge
"Group shows up in the dead of night, high as a kite. There was an elevator door in the room, opened by a code. They stand in a semicircle in front of the elevator for a solid 20 minutes before asking for a hint."
"I chime in through the microphone 'Have you opened the elevator yet?' Dead silence for half a minute before one of them asks 'Dude, you got an elevator in here?' "
The Man for the Job
"Not an operator but a friend of mine was telling me recently about one where the final clue to open the door was in a file on the desktop of a windows computer."
"He's a devops and security professional, so naturally he turns off this computer, boots it into safe mode, gains access to the command line, uses that to access the files on the desktop, and solves the whole room in <5 minutes. I think the group then did the whole room properly but were pretty smug about their record."
-- goshpenny
Trying to Turn the Tables
"Last group of the night, they were drunk and got frustrated so they stole a bunch of sh** our of the room, we didn't notice until they left. They emailed us with a treasure map to find where they had hidden all the pieces through downtown."
"I waited until 8am the next morning, called the cops and the cops showed up with the guy, very hungover and made him go get all the pieces. While he did that, I Google him found out what company he worked for contacted their HR and offered them a company discount. His company booked and I informed their HR department that their employee was banned from the facility."
-- Thekrishub
Still Counts?
"There was one escape room that gave us a huge keyring with a million keys early on. We'd already solved the lock it went to, but were struggling to finish the other puzzles. The key item we needed to end the game was behind a lock. So when we realized we were low on time, we had one person try every key on that ring just in case."
"Turns out one of the keys worked, but none of them were supposed to. The operator was super confused and asked us which key so he could take it off the keyring for the future. I'm pretty surprised nobody else had ever tried that."
-- fuzzlequeen
Making Themselves Right At Home
"So, I managed this room that had a decorative dungeon-like area that was behind a closed gate that was screwed shut and wasn't meant to he opened."
"So one day, a group of slightly tipsy yet overall nice and polite middle-aged men come in to play. As always I instruct them about the rules and tell them the usual "Everything that must be opened can be done so without excessive force and use of outside-tools blah, blah, blah...". The game starts and at one point they seem to be stuck and unable to find the next clue. So they start flipping everything over and generally making a huge mess (nothing unusual)."
"I turned away from the monitor for literally a couple of minutes to go to the bathroom and when I came back I see that one of them has a mini pocket-sized tool kit with him, that he's used to screw open the dungeon gate and is now trying to take apart a piece of furniture, while another one has fully undressed the mannequin that was inside of the dungeon and put on it's "bloody" robe on himself."
"Needless to say, they did not find the exit key in time and the room had to be closed for the rest of the day, due to the damage they did. They were nice enough to apologize and offer to help with cleaning the place up, however, some of the stuff they broke, couldn't be repaired as easily."
Sounds Like a Good Time
"An operator told me once about this group that was very high. They game was supposed to start with them chained to the floor and trying to find a key in their reach."
"Apparently they stayed the whole hour sitting on the floor, looking at the ceiling and laughing for no reason. When the game was over they had to be unchained by the operator. They claimed they had the best time ever XD"
-- oUNdeSi
Came Prepared
"I was in an escape room, we had gotten to the end and needed the password to a computer so we could open files on a flash drive (I don't remember why, it was something about bomb codes)."
"The laptop was a Chromebook, and since we were running out of time I rebooted it and logged in using my own Google account and got the files open. The operator told me no one had done that before so I was pretty chuffed."
-- Tajomstvo
So before you destroy a lock or pee in the corner of an escape room, remember that there is an employee watching you the entire time--and they're just trying to get through a shift.
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When I was a kid, I would occasionally watch this show called Big Bag. It went off the air more than 20 years ago and it seemed to only play at five or six in the morning. If I happened to wake up early, I'd catch it. It was targeted toward preschool viewers and was fun and silly, a partnership between Cartoon Network and what is now the Sesame Workshop.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who remembers it existed. But I'm not the only one with this kind of dilemma.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor LegitimateMangoHeir asked the online community,
"What's a show from your childhood that no one else seems to remember?"
Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat (2001)
"I thought Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat was a fever dream for so long."
lucianfoster
Probably because it only had a single season! Might as well have vanished off the face of the earth after that.
Hamtaro (2002)
"Hamtaro. For the LONGEST time I distinctly remembered watching the show but couldn't remember what it was called or anything else. I remember having a revelation in middle school and going "IT'S REAL???"
SurrealGod
It certainly was real! And it was quite possibly the cutest thing to ever be broadcast on our television screens.
Gargoyles (1994)
"There's a specific age group that really enjoyed Gargoyles."
[deleted]
Hi, it's me. I'm the age-group. There are dozens of us!
Mummies Alive! (1997)
"Mummies Alive! That and Gargoyles were my favourites to watch after school."
DiamondEyeOctopus
Another one that aired for a single season, it was part of a general trend of "mummymania" in 1990s pop culture.
Out of the Box (1998)
"Out of the Box. So long, farewell, to you my friends."
tryharderSr
This one had a good run. That theme song is now in my head.
Count Duckula (1988)
"Count Duckula. The best damn cartoon ever!"
Belthezare
I hadn’t heard that theme song in decades and I was just transported back to my childhood room.
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (2000)
"Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. Great googly moogly!"
peanutbutter707
O Canada! This one was cute!
Stick Stickly from "Nick in the Afternoon" (1994)
"Anyone remember Stick Stickley on Nickelodeon? I even remember the jingle but everyone I talk to looks at me crazy!"
eluzum
Write to me, Stick Stickley, PO BOX 963, New York City, New York State, 10108!
The Angry Beavers (1997)
"The Angry Beavers. People look at me like I’m a psycho when I mention it."
[deleted]
This one — along with CatDog — was super popular!
2 Stupid Dogs (1993)
"2 Stupid Dogs. Well, ain't that cute. But it's wrong!"
DeathSpiral321
I quote that line at least once a day. I loved that show.
You should probably run to YouTube and take a trip down memory lane. Thankfully, many of these are available in some capacity for you to enjoy!
Have some shows you love that you'd like to mention? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If "family influencers" didn't exist. I don't know what people get out of watching people do their shopping and raise their kids, but it sounds boring as hell. Oh, and did I mention that the children have pretty much no privacy from the moment they're born? Yeah... that'll be a treat for them to comprehend when they're older.
But there are a host of other things out there that are just as annoying. People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor RAZOR314 asked the online community,
"What modern trend do you absolutely hate?"
"News agencies writing articles..."
"News agencies writing articles about "all these people are saying X" when it's just a few random people on Twitter, and generally the trend of amplifying fringe theories, beliefs, conspiracies, etc."
DaveInDigital
I think one of the unfortunate developments in the modern media landscape is the obsession with Twitter. I think it really exacerbates some current issues of representation in the media.
"I hate these videos..."
"I hate those videos with a split screen and something interesting is happening on one half, while an 'influencer' is literally just watching on the other half."
"I do not give a single f*ck about the influencer. I just want to see the thing on the other side. You know, the thing worth reacting to."
Penguigo
So true. They can't create worthwhile content so they "react" to the worthwhile content.
"People recording..."
"People recording when they should be helping."
[deleted]
Sometimes recording does help — look at all the instances of police brutality that have made national headlines — but it's not when people are recording for likes, views, clout etc.
"The abundance..."
"The abundance of unskippable ads on videos. I 100% guarantee I will actively try to not buy your product if you're interrupting what little precious time I have to watch something."
Goatiac
Yes, it makes me so angry. Stop wasting my time. I will click out of something so fast.
"Corporations..."
"Corporations buying single family homes and turning them into rentals."
[deleted]
And people wonder why there's a housing crisis.
"All controls..."
"All controls in a car being through a touch screen."
"For driving safety I wanna keep my eyes on the road, and want to find controls (like window wipers, radio by touch. With a touch screen, I have to look to see if I am touching the right place on the screen for the control I want."
u233
Yes! It's an unnecessary design change, honestly more trouble than it's worth.
"The fact..."
"The fact that EVERYTHING is a f*cking ad."
badchad65
There are many ways to get around that and you can learn about it in my new book How to get rid of ads (free with your Amazon Audible trial).
"Everything nowadays..."
"Subscription services. Everything nowadays is being turned into a monthly bill."
TutuKitten
It's awful. And everything is so expensive. Why bother having all these subscriptions in the first place, right?
"The abundance..."
"The abundance of people trying to be influencers/streamers, while the majority of them are about as interesting as a boil."
mugen1337
To be honest, most people would rather watch the boil.
Frustrated yet?
We live in a pretty cool world. It'd just be better if most of this stuff didn't exist.
Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
TV audiences cheer when the terrorist or psycho-killer in their favorite shows gets killed off.
The offing of nefarious characters provides closure and brings us viewers a sense of relief in knowing that justice prevailed.
But sometimes, the characters we've grown to love meet their untimely demise, and it can be devastating to witness after viewers have established a connection to the characters they've grown attached to throughout numerous seasons of a beloved show.
Strangers online recalled the times they mourned the loss of a character as if they've personally known them when Redditor Mysticalmadss asked:
"What is the saddest TV show death of all time?"
Warning: spoilers abound.
Long-running series go through the process of "cleaning house," so to speak, a necessary evil in an attempt to keep the show fresh for loyal viewers and in the hopes of attracting new ones.
It's all heartbreaking just the same.
Late Rescue
"The transplant patient deaths in Scrubs. The hospital finally got organs (from one donor) for all the people on the transplant list, but they discovered the donor had rabies too late, by that time, all the recipient of the donated organs started dying off and John C. McGinley (who played Dr. Cox) was really emotional in that moment as he tried his damnest to save the transplant patients."
– Wilgrove
British Historical TV
"Not shown on screen exactly, but the ending of the 4th series of Blackadder where all the shenanigans suddenly come to a stop and nearly all the main cast get sent over the top to die in No Man's Land."
"The rest of the series is the usual Blackadder humour, some of it touching or morbid at times, but it's like it's just at the end when you remember where they are and the insane amount of death, fear and misery surrounding them. A really effective ending."
– ladyblithe
A Shocking But Understandable Character Exit
"Adriana in the Sopranos, she just loved her boyfriend and shiny things but was doomed and way in over her head from the start."
– ekm8642
Narrowing It Down
"Fry's dog in Futurama"
"Hank in Breaking Bad"
"Opie in Sons of Anarchy."
– [deleted]
The impact from the death of an individual can be more devastating if they are a parent, child or the elderly.
Bye, Mommy
"Buffy's mom. 'The Body.'"
–EmmyPoo81
"I always love the way the scene plays out because when Buffy first comes in she doesn't realize and is just telling her mom why she's upset before she realizes that her mom isn't answering. When she says 'mommy?' after realizing something's not right I break."
– Mangobunny98
Educating Children About Death
"Mr Hooper from Sesame Street. I was in pre-k"
– gettingtobefree
"If you want to ugly cry about Sesame Street like I did then go watch 'Street Gang' on HBO. It's a documentary about the founding of Sesame Street/Children's Television Workshop. It is fascinating."
"Anyway, you get a big discussion of Mr. Hooper's death with the footage from the show which still guts me to this day, because it is such a moving representation of how young children view death."
"But that's not all! You also get Big Bird/Carol Spinney singing 'It's Not Easy Being Green' at Jim Henson's funeral (which also destroys me). And then you get to see some very melancholy interviews with a very aged but still delightful Carol recorded just before his death (which was about a year before this was released)."
– CasualAwful
The Mother Who Couldn't Take It
"On the M*A*S*H finale, when the woman killed her baby because it wouldn't stop crying."
– TwoTheVictor
Tragedy In The First Season
"Sybil in Downton Abbey. So sad and pointless."
– sweets4n6
Heartbreaking, Nonetheless
"Dr. Wilson, House MD... Even though I guess that's technically a presumed death."
– capricorny90210
Let's take a look at some more honorable mentions.
A Grievous Error
"When Bubbles gave that kid a hot shot on accident on The Wire. It eventually led him to getting his life half way in order but it was absolutely devastating to watch that episode."
– 1980pzx
Lost Lovers
"Sun and Jin on Lost."
– smstone24
Twisting The Knife
"Lots of great answers, but I still have to go with Leo McGarry’s death in The West Wing. Dying right before being told they’d won was bad enough, but the fact that it was written in due to John Spencer’s death was just last kick in the nuts."
– DirtyUncleSpider
The most devastating TV show death was each major character in Six Feet Under.
Every episode in the brilliant series about our mortality started with a prologue of incidental characters meeting their demise that brings them to Fisher & Sons Funeral Home.
In what is considered to be one of the greatest TV series finales ever, we got to say goodbye to each major character in a series of flash-forwards in an emotional montage.
I ugly cried then, and the poignant manner in which we parted ways with all the memorable characters in the show still haunts me to this day.
Finding the right pajamas can be a fairly stressful ordeal.
Which is perhaps why some people choose to forgo pajamas all together, and sleep in the nude.
No doubt saving people hundreds of dollars on what they might otherwise have spent on a pair of pajamas.
But in addition to being economical, people no doubt have countless reasons for their natural choice of sleepwear.
Or lack thereof.
Redditor -TheMidpoint- was curious to hear why people opted to sleep in the buff, leading them to ask:
"People who sleep naked, why?"
Because I can!
"Zero restrictions while sleeping means better sleep."
"I have learned to hang a robe by the bedroom door..."- IssaScott
"Freedom!I"
"I sleep better when my body is a bit cool."
"I hate having to wear clothes by day, so by night its a relief!"- Draculamb
'I have to wear clothes all day, f*ck having to wearing them in bed."- Purple-Homework764
Built in security system
"Wouldn't you be scared if you were a robber and saw a naked man running at you with a frying pan?"- makz_ammo
Read into it as you will...
"Same reason I shower naked, so I don't get my clothes wet."- dmack080288
Not just at bedtime...
"It stops people from sitting next to me on the train."- bujler
"When else does my genitals gets to see sunlight."- sex_chef
To get a head start on the day.
"In the morning I don’t feel like taking off clothes to get into the shower so i just sleep naked."- Zoie10135
It just feels so good...
"because it's way more comfortable and I won't feel every single crease in the clothing and it won't bunch up."- everyonesBF
The most important factor when it comes to sleepwear is comfort.
Which, for many people means ditching sleeping attire all together.
And let's face it, there are few better feelings than that of the sheets against your skin.
Well, maybe one or two things, which also involve a lack of clothing...
People Confess The Most Soul-Crushing Thing Someone's Ever Told Them