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High School Reunions Gone Wrong

High School Reunions Gone Wrong
Photo by Antenna on Unsplash
The years after high school seem to pass in a flash, and soon it’s reunion time. As these Redditors know, a reunion isn’t just catching up with old friends. From settling old scores to spilling dirty secrets, these reunions went off the rails. Who would have thought there would be more drama after high school than during?

1. Wait A Minute

At my 10-year high school reunion, we had a decent turnout, maybe 100+ people. We were at a pretty nice hotel banquet hall. There was one guy I had known all through high school, Chris, and he was a well-known stoner. I saw Chris walk into the banquet hall, stop in his tracks, and turn around in a very slow 360-degree circle, surveying the entire room.

He just said, "Whoa," and he looked visibly alarmed. He stopped, and his eyes settled on me. I said, "Hey, Chris! Long time no see, man!" He kind of slid over to me and whispered in my ear, "This is weird...I'm pretty sure I know every single person in this room". And that is when I realized he was wearing the same clothes as all the banquet hall workers.

Chris was working as a server at his high school reunion, and he had no clue what was happening. I walked him out to the front lobby and explained it was our 10-year high school reunion. He was mortified, beyond embarrassed. He was never contacted and didn't even realize it had been ten years since we graduated.

He just knew he was working another catering gig in a never-ending series of catering gigs. I made him take me to his manager. I explained what was happening and told the manager there was NO WAY this guy was working his high school reunion.

Awesomely, the manager agreed. We found a different suit jacket and tie for him, and I took Chris back to the party. He ended up having a good night.

Foo-Fighters-Fan

2. Pay Him No Mind

At my five-year reunion, there was one guy who was always kind of a marginal figure in high school but a nice person. After some sort of discussion, he got his paycheck out and got loud, saying, “Now do you think I’m a loser? Don’t believe how much I make? Check this out”.

Of course, he just made things worse, and everyone was laughing at him. I mean, he had his paycheck on him.

kev_61483

3. Odd Man Out

three men and laughing two women walking side by side Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash

During our reunion, a social group of "cool people" that I had cordial relations with during high school but was never part of all met up and were pretty happy about it. Then, over drinks, it somehow came out that all of them had been sleeping together during high school, except for one of them.

He had always seemed like a core member of the group from the outside, not unattractive or anything, but for some reason, he was just never clued into the fact that all his friends were getting it on with each other end masse for basically as long as they knew each other. There was some very eye-opening loud screaming.

imariaprime

4. Top Prize For A Teen Mom

At my 10-year reunion, the organizers were doing the thing where they give "awards" for the person who came the farthest to attend, the person with the most kids, etc. The award came up for who had the oldest kid, and people started shouting out their kids' ages.

When it quieted down, this shy girl unexpectedly stood up in front of everyone. She whispered, "Eleven". Then we all realized why we had stopped seeing her right before graduation.

InfinitePizzazz

5. Wrapped Up Nonsense

When I was in 7th grade, this rich snob, John, grabbed a wool scarf my mother had knitted for me off my head. He threw the scarf into a pile of muddy leaves and jumped up and down on it.

When I went home that day, my mother was furious when she saw the torn, muddy scarf. She made me tell her who did it, then she called the school principal and yelled at him.

The next day, John got pulled into the principal’s office and paddled. That was back when they still paddled kids. Fifty-five years later, at our 50th class reunion, John came up to me and angrily said, “You got me into trouble in seventh grade!!!” I got “him” in trouble?! And he’s still mad about it 55 years later?

I said, “John, you were a [jerk] in high school, and you’re still a [jerk],” and I walked away.

GrandmasHere

6. Hand Him Over

two women talking while holding drinking glasses Photo by Michael Discenza on Unsplash

I was at a small college reunion with my core group of friends from university. This was about five years after graduation. We all partied pretty hard in school but mellowed out in our late twenties.

We decided to all meet up for dinner at a local bar/restaurant. One guy showed up already plastered, with a duffle bag full of multiple packets of illicit substances and the bottle he started on before meeting us.

He decided we were boring, finished his bottle in the restroom, and refused to come out. He ended up passing out in there. The bartender booted him out. He came alone in an Uber, and we had no idea where he lived.

None of us wanted to take him to our places, so we dropped him off at his last known address, which was his parents’ house. Both of them answered the door, and we handed him over. It was past midnight and incredibly awkward.

tallmatcha

7. Mean Girl Mash Up

It's been a decade since I finished school. I would see an old classmate sometimes when he did maintenance work in my apartment block. About a year ago, he asked if I was going to the reunion organized by some of our classmates. I said no because I couldn't think of anything worse and also hadn't been invited.

When I next saw him six months later, I asked how the reunion was, and he exasperatedly explained that it had been a real gong show. The mean girls who had started planning it together fell out and then started each planning their own, so there were about four tiny awkward parties, and everyone was confused.

bubblegummustard

8. Miserable In High School And Out

The people who were supposed to plan our high school reunion dropped the ball, so I figured it wouldn't happen. Then this other dude from our high school stepped up to plan it.

He was in a graduate program and also working part-time at a banquet hall and said that his boss would give us the banquet hall space for free. It was a nice gesture, and he seemed really into it.

He had been a miserable person in high school—grumpy, sullen, unpleasant, and mean to other people. He came out in college, so maybe the weight of having to keep it a secret was part of why he was so unpleasant; maybe he'd be more fun now. But the truth would soon reveal itself—and it was not at all what I expected.

I was working a terrible job and had no savings at the time. So, I was neither interested in having my former classmates pity me nor was I wanting to shell out a lot of money to attend, plus my ex might be there and that didn't feel worth it. The organizer made a Facebook event and asked people to Venmo him the cost of admission before attending. He wanted something like $15–$20 ahead.

It didn't really feel worth paying for, but maybe if there would be some drinks included or something, I would go for an hour. I sent him a private message asking what the admissions ticket covered since the space was free, after all.

He then posted a truly peculiar message on the Facebook page. He said that i f the cost of admission was too steep, "Message me and we can work out some financial aid". What?

I then publicly posted, asking what the admission cost covered. There was no response. Other people asked too. He said it would go towards having a bartender and server dedicated to the event space, as well as towards food. Fair. It turned out HE WAS THE SERVER. My friend showed up having not yet paid him, and he barred her entry.

The people who had paid the admission cost showed up at an empty banquet hall. They were given a menu by their former classmate and told to order their food and drink from him. He pocketed the admission ticket money as his fee. After an hour, he brought out one grocery store sheet cake for 75 people to share. That was it.

SaltWafer

9. A Surprise Ending

group of people tossing wine glass Photo by Kelsey Chance on Unsplash

I was at my 10th reunion of a graduating class of about 850. It was a well-funded high school, and every class had a trust fund to fund reunions. A good friend of mine was our treasurer and organized it via Facebook. We started big with a ballroom, setting for 1,000, figuring spouses, etc.

A year out, there was lots of interest, but not as much for 1,000 people, so we scaled back. Six months out, there was less interest. Lots of people reconnected via Facebook and lost the drive to care, so we scaled back more. Three months out was the deadline for attendance.

The school’s alumni association would dispense the funds based on class size and allotment for the milestone. We hadn’t put a deposit down because the target kept moving.

Two months out, my friend finalized things and did a formal cut-off. She had kept taking RSVPs for a month due to a lack of interest. The day of it was at a local bar. Not a small bar, either.

Some 25 alumni showed up out of 150 RSVPs, and with spouses or whatever, there were around 40 people. The worst part was knowing so few people cared, but the best part was the treasurer’s smirk the entire night.

The school had allotted $50 per person for this, $15,000 with instructions to pay everything fully.

We drank and ate to the point of almost being Roman, and the bill was $7,500 between the food and venue rental. She paid the bill, then handed everyone $100 from the envelope, and then handed the rest of the envelope to the manager and was like “Here’s the tip”. Roughly $3,000 went to the waitstaff and crew.

Psykerr

10. Dude Was A Rock Star

It wasn't really bad, just odd. A guy came with full KISS-style makeup on—white face, black shapes around his eyes, and black lips. We were too awkward and polite to mention it, so everyone just chatted with him as though it was completely normal to turn up like that.

Fall_On_Me

11. The Joke Was On Them

One guy had made not one but two fortunes and had a net worth of well over $100 million by our 20th reunion. He had high-speed modem patents in the late 1980s and was an early investor in broadband. He'd already retired.

On our classmate's update bulletin, he listed his occupation as "unemployed and unemployable" as a bit of a gag. Some of the well-meaning but clueless types sought him out to offer encouragement and tips on how to find work.

MastadonBob

12. Begging For More

man learning on concrete wall Photo by Warren on Unsplash

A former classmate went around panhandling at my 10-year reunion. I didn't know his name and had no memory of him whatsoever, but I noticed he was sitting up front with the people who organized the reunion.

Towards the end, one of the organizers got on the mic and said, "By the way, I promised [name] that if he showed up, everyone would give him a dollar," in a tone that sounded to me like she was joking.

But no. He worked the room asking for handouts. He needed gas money to get home, even though he lived locally. He must've been completely immune to embarrassment. I'd probably hold up a supermarket before I resorted to something like that.

Commander_Cyclops

13. You Won’t Get Any Dancing Here

My 10-year reunion ended before it happened. Our class president—traditionally in charge of organizing—took a hard turn into a Footloose character after high school.

Her event planning included no drinks allowed—not even BYOB—she was adamant there would be no music or dancing, and ones were to be spouses only. Two guys happily told her they'd bring their husbands, and she ousted them both from the Facebook page.

The venue was the high school's soccer field in Iowa in August. We were welcome to bring our chairs. A few people offered to bring beanbags and bocce, and similar games. She said no because it would make the reunion "too much like tailgating".

Suggested entertainment was a guided tour of the school, which had undergone zero change since we graduated. Catering was from Hy-Vee, which is a grocery store. Their food was okay, but the tickets were $60. It was not $60 a ticket good. It was ultimately canceled because out of our class of 300, fewer than ten people bought tickets.

kenjiandco

14. Mic Drop

We had a teacher in high school who told us, "By the time you reach your 10-year reunion, at least one of your classmates will have died," during a discussion about mortality. The 10-year reunion arrived, and nobody from our class had lost their lives. The Saturday night of the reunion, we're partying and having a good old time.

One of the organizers got up to the microphone and was making some announcements. She suddenly got a blank look on her face and dropped to the floor. She suffered a brain aneurysm; she was gone before she hit the floor.

ndphoto

15. Wrong Way Match

person holding persons hand Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

At my 10-year reunion, there were two married couples who dated the opposite one back in the day. Well, two hours into the reunion, I saw Guy Number One feeling up Lady Number Two. I shrugged it off, thinking that maybe my eyes were messed up from being a little tipsy. I went to use the restroom and saw Guy Number Two with Lady Number One. Now, I knew something was messed up.

Another hour went by, and I heard some yelling and name-calling. Lady One and Lady Two were catfighting each other. Guy One and Guy Two came from different angles to see what was going on. Then, they saw it was their wives going at it. They tried to pull them off of each other, and the wives started hitting their respective husbands, calling them cheats.

Pandemonium broke loose between the guys, and they started beating each other. The wives started brawling again as well. We finally broke it up. Both the women and the men had bruises and torn outfits, and bloody lips. Well, Lady One went home with Guy Two, and Lady Two went home with Guy One.

About two or three weeks later, we found out that they all got divorced and got remarried to the people they were hooking up with at the reunion.

Coiledviper

16. Looting Loser

The organizer at my 10-year high school reunion had set up a donation table for a college scholarship in memory of a classmate that had passed. This was in a midwestern USA city, so it was just a table with a glass bowl for attendees to drop money into. No worries, right?! WRONG.

Some jerk took all the donations and just walked out with probably at least a grand in cash when he had the chance. I never heard what happened to him, but everyone knew who did it. I have a feeling he will not be invited to any more reunions.

PhillipKatsabanis

17. A Grand Slamming Time

We'd been there less than an hour, having a great time reconnecting. Suddenly, an old friend approached and said, "Is that your wife over there? She's pretty hammered". As we watched, she tripped and fell face-first, full-body crash onto a table where many of my old classmates were sitting. The table broke, and food and drinks flew everywhere.

I walked over, scooped her up, and half-carried/half-walked her out the door. She had taken a Xanax before going (unbeknownst to me) and started slamming drinks as soon as she got there.

ImVerySerious

18. Last-Minute Cancellation

man standing near white wall Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

Someone I knew from school tried to arrange an unofficial reunion as the school wasn't going to do one. He was socially inept, so he would say and do odd things, but his heart was always in the right place. He put in a lot of effort, but very few people responded at all. Those who did mostly made snide comments about the event behind his back, like dissing the location, etc.

Close to the event, he canceled and sent everyone a (justified) message about how they can all go suck eggs, and he was just trying to do something nice and wanted to catch up with people. That was received with more snide remarks too. He passed unexpectedly just a few months later from a heart attack.

JustJenR

19. Two-Time Turmoil

The class officers did a five-year reunion on Thanksgiving weekend at a local bar. They only invited who they liked, about 30–40 people. One of the people they didn't invite had become a law enforcement officer who talked his supervisor into running a checkpoint. Almost half the people who went ended up going to the slammer that night.

Two of the organizers ended up with other charges as well. The 10-year started better but still ended up being a mess. They decided to go on a picnic at the same place we had our senior picnic. One of the class officers had started a catering company and gave themselves the job.

About one-third of the people ended up with food poisoning. Thankfully, Covid caused our 20-year reunion to be canceled.

leathermaker

20. Booted Over A Booze Bilker

I went to my partner’s five-year at the local Elks Lodge. He grew up in a really rich town, so it was super extravagant. The best part was the open bar until 9 PM and then cash afterward.

We were all having a great time until some jerk decided to ruin the immaculate vibes. He snuck into the basement and took a bunch of bottles (literally multiple boxes). When the bartenders found out at 8:30 PM, they were furious and booted us all out. They ruined what would have been an excellent night.

hareliza

21. No Great Expectations

ribbons and confetti on floor\ Photo by Matheus Frade on Unsplash

My 10-year reunion invite came up, and I thought, “Yeah, looks like it could be fun”. I noticed the venue was a fancy restaurant. I was disappointed, expecting some sort of party. The room was very limited.

I started reaching out to all the friends I had kept in touch with. Not one of them was even remotely interested in going. My old high school best friend suggested we catch up at his place and drink instead, so I bailed on the reunion.

It turned out that almost no one went. One of the girls who organized the thing was begging my mate to go because she was so embarrassed about how few people had RSVP’d. She ended up bailing herself. The ten people who went had to be split up since they booked a place that was not intended for large groups of people.

Unironically, the same group who organized it took it upon themselves to organize our end-of-school formal. They decided that we didn't want to go with the original plan and completely replanned it without really consulting the general student body.

So many people bailed on it that they had to start inviting ex-students just to meet the minimum required to move forward with the date. I don't know why I expected anything good from their reunion.

Gnemlock

22. Same Name, Different Outcome

My sister, now-husband, and I were all in the same graduating class, along with my husband's best friend, John Smith, who was very popular in high school. He was a super nice guy and stood out in a crowd. If you didn't know him, you certainly knew of him, even in a massive school.

The 20-year reunion rolled around, and my sister was the only one who wanted to go. She called right after, very upset. There was a huge memorial wall for John Smith, who had just passed! None of us knew! My husband was like, “Huh? But we just saw him”.

He called him up and was like, "Hey dude, are you dead?" He wasn’t. He was surprised but alive. It turned out that the much less popular John Smith was the one who passed. They made a lovely memorial for the wrong guy, who was forgotten.

underpantsbandit

23. Living In Denial

My husband's 10-year reunion rolled around. The whole thing was just sloppily put together, and it was pretty clear the class was not interested in getting together. The gathering place kept changing every couple of weeks. At first, it was renting a place and getting food catered.

It's pretty typical in my town for most people not to go on to be successful by any means, so asking mostly unemployed or minimum-wage workers to cough up $200 to attend just didn't work out.

Venues kept downgrading to accommodate attendance until they got down to having a bonfire out by the lake, BYOB, no fee, just come hang out for, like, an hour or something.

Throughout the fiasco of finding a venue, a majority of the class declined to go. There was a good handful still marked as going, but with everything changing and people starting to tune out midway through, a lot of people forgot to change their status from going to not going. Two people showed up. That was it.

One was my brother, who had nothing better to do, and the other was the guy who had helped put the mess together. The gal who set the whole thing up was pretty mad about it, and the random dude that helped posted a long rant on the Facebook page about how awful people were and how they should've appreciated the efforts it took just to hold the pathetic gathering.

My husband had me sit and flip through the page after everything was said and done. It was pretty obvious the gal was in serious denial the entire time, despite it being pretty clear nobody wanted anything to do with the event.

magicrowantree

24. The Gang’s All Here

gray steel knife with brown handle Photo by Thanh Tran on Unsplash

The high school I went to had a really big gang problem. A great many people didn't attend due to being in the slammer. Some of those who were in gangs in high school had worked their way through the ranks. One, in particular, was pretty high up, and he decided to show up.

It was generally peaceful until somebody made a shocking move—the guy decided to stick him with a sharp object.

The dude who got shanked was a colossal jerk to me through all of high school, and now he was bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. Being an off-duty medic, I did what I do, half expecting him to bleed out on the gym floor. He didn't remember me; there wasn't that movie moment between us.

I doubt he even recognized me. I just kept plugging holes and thinking I shouldn't have worn my nice shoes. The authorities and EMS arrived. A few people were taken into custody, and he survived. I ended up tossing my favorite dress shoes and a nice pair of pants because they were too stained to rescue.

Zenmedic

25. Old News Was Bad News

I was at my 10-year reunion. Some girl confessed to cheating on her high school sweetheart, thinking enough time had passed it wouldn’t bother him. She thought wrong. The two of them hadn’t seen each other in years, and, as far as I knew, they broke up shortly after high school ended.

After she broke the news, somewhat nonchalantly as well, the guy flipped out and smacked her. Then, he started screaming at her. She ran away, at which point he broke down and said something about wasting his high school years and left.

BobMightBeCool

26. Life Just Got Worse

My wife and I went to her high school reunion at a brewery back in Michigan. A former friend of mine showed up after a bit. That friend happened to be in the same graduating class as my wife. I didn't attend the same school. She got there, and I asked how she had been. Her response was, “Really bad”.

She told me that she and her boyfriend split up, she had a low-paying job, and so on. It also didn’t help that she didn’t get along with most of her old classmates who attended. The night went on, and everyone was catching up and having a good time.

My former friend said goodbye and went out to the parking lot to her car. She came back in, saying someone ran over her car. Everyone assumed she meant someone hit her car and dented the bumper or something. Nope, someone with a truck or SUV ran over her car, drove on top of it, and took off.

norse_noise

27. Making The Grade

woman with blonde hair and red lipstick Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash

It was a fifth-year reunion. One of my former classmates attended with his girlfriend, but then he disappeared and left her alone almost the entire time. He was in bed with Miss Musa, our ex-English teacher.

An argument ensued and after he left with Miss Musa, and let the girl leave by herself. My friends and I felt so bad we followed her and gave her girl advice. They had been sleeping together since 10th grade.

Ilooovepink

28. Broken Dreams

Someone confessed to me that I was his “dream girl,” even though his fiancée was his date to the reunion. I barely knew the guy in high school. That was bad enough, but it gets worse. Unfortunately for his fiancé, she didn’t know anyone there, and he refused to leave with her. He said, “I’m not leaving with her, I’m leaving with you,” to me. I told her to text me when their car was outside.

Then, I whispered, “Let’s go” in his ear, walked him out, and put him in her car. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he realized who was driving, and I said, “Yeah, that’s how tonight is going to end”. They still got married.

erineestevenson

29. Crushed By Reality

This was not my reunion, but my husband’s. In high school, my husband was (and still is) a very reserved and quiet person. He tolerates no nonsense, though. We arrived at the venue, and everyone was mingling. All of a sudden, a woman called out my husband's name and ran over. He introduced me, and she lost her ever-loving mind.

Apparently, she had been in love with him since elementary school but hadn't ever said anything, and she planned on asking him on a date that night. She had no idea he was married or that his wife was seven months pregnant. She burst into tears and started yelling at me incoherently. We left less than 20 minutes after arriving.

alexzandria1111

30. Justice Was Served

man wearing gray blazer Photo by itay verchik on Unsplash

I went to my high school reunion, but I honestly don’t know why I did. The friends I kept in touch with, I kept in touch with. However, one friend managed to convince me otherwise, and so I went. The reunion was mostly people trying their best to one-up each other in their bid to look successful.

I sat down at a table next to my friend, where I was actually enjoying my time catching up with long-forgotten acquaintances. During the reunion, two people stood out the most. First, there was this chick I barely recognized. My friend and I kept asking each other if she was in our graduating class or a spouse of one.

I found out later that she spent close to $80,000 for cosmetic surgery, hence, why she was unidentifiable. She was so proud of herself that nobody was able to recognize her. The other was a guy who was so snooty back in high school. We’re talking about the cliche “if your address wasn’t within a certain neighborhood, you weren’t good enough to acknowledge” kind of snobbery.

He arrived late for the dinner portion, and all the seats at his old friend’s table were already taken. So, he sullenly sat down with the likes of us, people you looked down on all your teenage life. I took pity on him because most of the people at the table probably remembered his attitude as well and ignored him.

I started asking him questions about how he fared since graduation, etc. I asked, “So what are you doing now?” He told me he was working at a law office. I replied, “That’s impressive. Are you a Lawyer? Studying to be a Lawyer?” He said, “No. I’m working on it”. “Oh? Articling?” He replied, “No”.

So, I asked him, “So what exactly is it that you do?” At that moment, the DJ cut the music so that the MC could announce that dinner was to be served shortly.

But before that happened, the Snob got frustrated with all my questions and stated loudly into the unexpected silence, “I’m a mailroom clerk!” Everyone stared, and accidental justice was served. The Snob was taken down a peg or two by his own hands.

OneRaisedBrow

31. Love Bites

I went with my wife to her reunion. I may have had one or three drinks before arriving, and when I got there, I remembered hearing a story of a guy who was my wife's third-grade boyfriend. Later in life, he had a rough time of things. As a joke, I wrote his name on my name badge and went about my business.

Not long after, a rather strong and stocky woman turned around, looked at me, then at my name tag. When she saw the name, she looked up at me, screamed excitedly as loud as I've ever heard, bear-hugged me while lifting me off the ground, and bit my neck. No blood, but she gave me a decent bruise.

Doc-in-a-box

32. Reunion Rental

At my 20-year reunion, two guys showed up with rented “dates”. One guy had been pretty popular and was pretty nice, if not a bit wild, in high school. The other guy was a hanger-on to the popular crowd, whom I barely remember.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Both of them had SIGNIFICANTLY let themselves go and looked like trash, yet they were strutting around with these girls who looked young enough to be their daughters.

The girls seemed disgusted by them but were playing the part for which, they were paid. The guys both proceeded to get plastered and brag about how successful they were and how they were sleeping with these girls. It was very cringe-worthy.

dhemrick

33. Out Of My Shell And Onto The Floor

person holding band aid on left hand Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

I went to my reunion despite the high school having been difficult for me. I was the self-conscious girl who was pretty jumpy when someone would talk to me. I've long grown out of that, so I figured, why not go and see who I could talk to now? I spent the night talking with some people who I never talked with before because of the whole high school clique thing.

It was a great time, and then someone decided they were going to get severely trashed. He started an altercation with another guy for no reason, and the two of them crashed into me, and we all fell over into a table, breaking it in the process. I had some pretty intense bruising along my torso and hips. I also had a bruise going across my right cheekbone.

The authorities were called, and the dude was taken into custody. The guy he picked an argument with was taken in as well, although not charged with anything, and I was sent to the hospital. I had to take time off work for a few days. The guy's wife was nice enough to pay me back for my hospital bill, though.

jtrisn1

34. There Are No Words

I was one of the first recipients of an alumni scholarship from the class of 1999. For their 20th reunion, the guy who organized the scholarship reached out and asked me to come as his guest to give a speech encouraging people to donate. I lived about an hour away but felt pressured and thought, sure. After all, I got the benefit. Why not pay it forward?

I wrote a speech, practiced, and wrote notecards. I showed up at this hotel, and the party was in the front lounge. It was swarming with people ten years older than me. I found the guy, and he started introducing me, explaining what I did now but got it wrong every time.

I asked him when I was going to speak, and he said later and told me to enjoy the food, then disappeared. By random happenstance, in this sea of people having a reunion, I ran into a guy who worked for my old community theater. I clung desperately to him so I wouldn’t be alone.

I found the guy again and asked him when I was going to speak, and again, he said soon. Then, I asked him where because I realized there was no stage, and the party was spread all over the lobby. He pointed to where the DJ was and where everyone’s pictures from high school were playing on a screen. Another hour passed, and it was time for the group picture.

Everyone herded over, and I stood nearby to be ready. I am among the spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends. They asked who I was there with, and I said I was giving a speech. They asked when; I said soon. At an adjacent party, a band started playing very loudly. People began shouting to be heard. It dawned on me that I may not give my speech.

I went to find the guy and asked when I was going to give my speech. He said, utterly guileless, that it looked like I didn't have to, but he hoped I had fun! I got home at midnight from someone else’s high school reunion with my unused speech in my purse. I haven’t heard from him since.

ScathachRises

35. Repeating A Wrong

I waited at a high school reunion in a restaurant. There were about 20 ladies, and there was one woman who was kind of odd but nice. She ordered a glass of vino but no food. I was not paying too much attention, but all of a sudden, she was gone. The women were reassuring themselves that they did nothing wrong, and it was no one's fault.

When it was about time to pay the bills, I had hers, but she was still MIA. The women looked surprised and said, "She's not still here?" I finally found her in the bar by herself. She paid the bill along with her bar tab and left awkwardly. It turned out she was accidentally put on the email list for class reunions and showed up even though it wasn't her class.

When the women asked which Debbie she was because no one could remember her, she got really upset and stormed off. The women said she didn't even have a Facebook picture on her profile or anything, so when they tried to look her up, that didn't help either. The weirdest part was that she did this at the last reunion, too.

The same thing.

-hot_ham_water-

36. Wrong Choice Of Reunions

a woman laying in a hospital bed with an iv in her hand Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash

My 10-year and my husband's 10-year reunions were both on the same weekend. We decided to do him because it was well organized and looked like fun, plus we hadn't been back there in quite some time.

They hired a little party boat to cruise around a lake for two hours. Before that, they had a meet-up across from the lake for lunch and a happy hour bar hop.

The festivities started around noon, boarding was at 10, and everything was supposed to be over at midnight except those who wanted to do an after-party. The first problem was the lake they picked was 45 minutes away from the area they all lived. People had to find their rides, which was a bit of an issue since many didn't have vehicles.

Eventually, most people who wanted to come were able to carpool. However, a couple of cars were pulled over on the way because they had been pre-gaming and shouldn't have been driving, or the passengers were throwing empties out on the highway. This was in the middle of the afternoon.

Problem number two was lunch and happy hour were the responsibility of the individuals. Not everyone believed they should pay, so some people ran up tabs in the name of the school's class of 2005 reunion and then ghosted. The restaurant and bars got angry and started stopping any patrons who said they were there for a reunion.

They then held them until authorities arrived, even though some of those people didn't add to the tabs. We thankfully arrived late and only went to the last bar on the list. We had already paid for the drinks we had, so we dipped before they rounded us up too. But things were still about to get bad, real bad.

Some of those places were trying to sue the school to get their money. The next problem was the boat; it wasn't huge. It had a main enclosed area, a small deck on both the front and back connected by a very narrow single-file gangway on either side, and an even smaller standing-only area on the roof.

Everyone boarding was already pretty tipsy. The cruise was split up, so the first thirty minutes were had a where are they now, in memoriam, pub quiz thing, etc. Then an hour was unlimited drinks and snacks with dancing and mingling. The snacks were baked goods that had been carried from venue to venue.

Things started a little awkwardly because the emcee was one of those who was stopped for drinking and driving. The second in command was held up at the bar, and the third person was already vomiting bright blue and pink over the side of the boat.

Eventually, someone started things off, made bad jokes that no one laughed at, got mad, and quit. People then found a boom box, turned on music, and started mingling, eating more baked goods.

Suddenly, a ton of people started getting sick, about 30 of roughly 70 people. Not only were they puking but it was coming out both ends for some. There was only one bathroom for each gender on board, so it was a nightmare. We were at the furthest point on the lake by then, so it was going to take a while to get back.

It was a mess; people were throwing up whatever they could find. The captain only had one person on board trying to help, but it was a losing battle. Since that was in the enclosed space, the rest of us tried hanging out on the decks to try to get away from the smell and the noise, so we were all scrunched together.

I had gotten separated from my husband but was chatting with people I'd met earlier through him when a guy came up and started hitting on me. We all just kind of laughed it off. After some drinks, I started to feel woozy and soon passed out. When I came to, I was in disbelief—I was inside a hospital, and I couldn't believe what happened. When they found me, I was turning blue. I was having seizures and had choked on my vomit.

The hospital told me I was drugged with GHB. They wound up keeping me an entire day because I was also covered in hives, and they weren't sure why. Over half the people on the boat had contracted Norovirus from suspected contaminated baked goods. I'll never attend any kind of reunion again.

kitschywomble

37. Not Suitable For Children

My 10-year reunion was held at a bar owned by a former classmate; it started at 10 pm. The owner told people, “Adults over 21 only”. People said they needed to bring their kids and were told no. Several people brought their babies and toddlers anyway. Things quickly spiraled into chaos.

Parents drank like teenagers, and the kids ran wild. The owner called the authorities, who watched the parents be negligent. Parents were removed by some officers, and their kids were taken out by others.

WeedleBeest

38. The Vindictive Valedictorian

Our former Valedictorian, who was pregnant at the time, was getting high in the bathroom. Then, she got it into her head that the reason her husband was trying to get her to leave early was because he was trying to hook up with some other lady who was there.

She refused to leave, but some of her friends and husband got her to go outside to cool off. Two hours later, she got called up to the stage for a speech. She went off on everyone. Every dirty little secret or rumor from high school, she just vomited up and aired out everyone's dirty laundry.

A lot of relationships that had been together since high school got into altercations that night, thanks to her. All the big "popular kids" got dragged. It was like watching a trainwreck.

Permalink

39. Move On, Buddy

man in black shirt singing on stage Photo by Michel Grolet on Unsplash

A classmate did a “comedy act” and began slamming a specific teacher that was well-loved and respected by those who knew her. He was one of those kids who got away with everything, and this teacher didn’t let him. They had one incident where he was caught trying to put something in the yearbook without her knowledge.

She caught him, and he was tossed off the yearbook staff. Although he seemed to do okay for himself with school and career, he apparently couldn’t let go of this teacher daring to do her job. So, we were “privileged” to hear his pathetic comedy act slamming her. It was sad that he couldn’t move on.

NovaNerdMonica

40. House Party Gone Haywire

I went to a tiny private high school. The graduating class was 60 people, and the majority of us were pretty close, so we decided to have an “unofficial” reunion five years after graduating. It was hosted at our class president’s parents’ very bougie house, complete with a gorgeous pool. We all got pretty trashed since most of us were still only 23.

It was all good fun until someone’s plus one girlfriend decided to squat in the MIDDLE of the pool deck to pee in front of EVERYONE. She then proceeded to BARF on her puddle of pee. Then our class president, our host, had to go to the hospital due to an allergic reaction to some of the potluck food.

SimonEbolaCzar

41. Their Ruling Reign Came To An End

We had the jocks, preppies, and cheerleaders. They were the people who ran our school. Everything from the pep squad and dance committee to the yearbook and class president. They were a small group but great at manipulating people. I was a nerd in high school, so for our 20-year reunion, I tried to volunteer.

I was told to sit down and shut up. The reunion committee—and you can guess who they were—held a vote on where to hold the reunion. The overwhelming majority voted for a beach party. That didn’t suit the clique, who decided to hold it at the high-end hotel that belonged to one of their fathers.

So, there were two reunions held at the same time. Seventy-five percent of everyone went to the beach party. I got an email asking why I volunteered to help if I didn’t go to the “right” reunion. I told them to get back to me when they grew up.

calladus

42. We Got The McBoot

a mcdonald's sign with a cloudy sky in the background Photo by Jurij Kenda on Unsplash

I was attending my 20th high school reunion with my girlfriend. I am a "person of color," and my girlfriend was Persian and with a dark complexion. We had driven about 120 miles to get to the reunion in my hometown and stopped at a McDonald's before we got there.

I needed to change clothes into something a little less comfortable while she waited in the lobby and ate. An Iranian woman can't just sit in the lobby and have a Big Mac or chicken nuggets without raising an eyebrow or two.

And her darkish boyfriend can't walk into a bathroom with a suit bag and spend 10 minutes or so changing clothes without being told to leave by the kid with the shift manager hat on. They had called the authorities and reported me/us as suspected terrorists because I must have exceeded the bathroom time limit while being the wrong shade of brown.

They thought I was putting an explosive in the bathroom to destroy the restaurant. I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. My girlfriend and I had only been back in the US for a few weeks from deployment in Afghanistan.

The real kicker for me was that this wasn't just any McDonald's. This was the McDonald's that I used to work at many, many moons ago. It was my first real job other than a paper route. I used to work there, and they booted me out.

We were still in town the next day, so I had a little chat with the store manager about it. I wasn't even mad, but it was the principle of the matter. At least it made a good story at my reunion, which turned out to be pretty uneventful in itself.

capodecina2

43. Flabbergasted By A Familiar Face

My ten-year class reunion was a three-day event. The second night was the formal night which everyone and ones attended, with catered food, a rented venue, an open bar, a band, and the works. The night was going smoothly, and people were letting loose and having a good time.

As I went back and forth to grab drinks at the bar, I had this feeling that I knew the bartender from somewhere or had seen him before. I asked some friends, and they said the same. So, by the next round, I brought it up and said, “Hey don’t I know you from somewhere?”

He looked me straight in the face and went, “Yeah, I was part of the graduating class, I didn’t even get an invite”. THE POOR GUY GOT HIRED TO WORK HIS OWN REUNION THAT HE WASN’T EVEN INVITED TO!!! The worst accidental mistake I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m now that jerk who recognized him just enough to bring it up.

goldenmonkeybuzzer

44. No Cause For Celebration

At my 10-year reunion, I was talking to a couple of girls I knew. I asked one girl how her dad was. She got sad and quiet all of a sudden and said that he had cancer. I said, “Oh! Did he kick it?” meaning did he beat the cancer? She said, “Yeah,” so I replied, “Hey, that’s great!” I then merrily carried on with the conversation, changing the subject.

However, I could tell from the look on her friend’s face as we kept talking that something had gone wrong a few beats back. So, I circled back and said, “So, how IS your dad?” I'll never forget the look on her face. She answered incredulously, “Uh...He’s not here anymore”.

It’s a funny misunderstanding in hindsight, but to this day, I’m annoyed that she thought I had nonchalantly asked if her cancer-ridden dad had kicked the bucket and then celebrated when she told me he had.

UntoldEnt

45. Her Psycho Stunt Backfired

person in swimming goggles in swimming pool Photo by B Mat an gelo on Unsplash

Our boy's swim team, which I was a part of, and the girl’s swim team were very comfortable with each other the year I graduated. I'm pretty sure every girl on the team had seen every boy without clothes on more than 20 times. The coach was retiring that year, so he didn’t care what we did.

The other way around was mostly true as well, as almost half of the girls graduating with me tried showering with us at least once or twice.

That year, my team captain threw a graduation party for us at his parents' house, and once the weed and drinks came out, we all made ourselves extra comfortable in the backyard pool. Ten years later, a reunion was planned, but it never happened. Ten years after that, a semi-formal twenty-year reunion took place in a very fancy hall.

One guy who had become very successful paid for almost everything. While we were all eating and talking and having a good night, this girl came bursting in like she had a mission. She started going on and on about how everyone treated her terribly in high school and how she didn't get an invite to the reunion, which went out to everyone on Facebook.

Tickets were available to buy for almost a year before the event. She also said how she didn't get an invite to the party ten years prior, either. At that point, everyone was confused. She went on to say that she wasn't invited to the graduation party, even though she lived right next door.

We on the swim team started looking at each other like, "Does she think our party was an official school party?" No one was invited to that; it just kind of came together.

Then, she pulled a bunch of papers out of her bag and started going from table to table, hurling the loose printer pages onto each table. When she got to our table, we could see that they were pictures from both parties that she had taken of us from her window.

I guess she was trying to embarrass us. She was promptly thrown out, and someone gathered all the papers and threw them out. Then, suddenly, everyone started laughing about it.

We were all old at that point, coming up in our 40s. Most of us were overweight, if not in terrible shape, and suddenly someone showed up with pictures of us in the buff from when we were young, fit, and hot. Half the people at the reunion were at the original party, so it's not like this was some deviating shocker.

The pictures from the second party were much more embarrassing, as people who were married were acting like they weren’t. However, I think no one besides those of us who were there really caught on that these photos were from two different decades. If they did catch on, no one mentioned it.

Zero111of160cru

46. Let’s Get It On

At my 15-year reunion, two of our very popular, promiscuous, beautiful girls from high school were both going through high-profile divorces. Once about 60% of the people left, and all the rest of us were still there dancing, they got up together and cleared a circle around them on the dance floor.

They took off their clothes and started making out and rubbing against each other while the live band played. My husband and my best friend and her husband, and I were getting ready to leave when it started. We stopped and watched in disbelief like the rest of the group.

To think we almost walked out and missed this! No one could look away, but no one wanted to see it! Our husbands said it was the best reunion of their lives and never miss one now, hoping for a repeat performance.

GeekyAccountantGirl

47. A Party With A Premonition

A girl who didn't show up had her picture on the "In Memoriam" table with a candle lit. She didn't keep up with anybody, and everyone couldn't believe she was gone, but no one knew what had happened. The truth hit everyone in the face like a runaway train. She was, in fact, alive and showed up around halfway through, much to the surprise of everyone else. It was like seeing an actual ghost.

I was already shocked, but then she pointed at ME and called out MY name. Turns out, she thought I was the one spreading rumors about her "passing", since I was part of the planning committee for the reunion. Thankfully, after I explained to her that it the whole ordeal was just a miscommunication, she calmed down.

While she wasn't really happy about it initially, it all ended as a funny story. Then, she passed a year later. Our 20th is next year, and she'll be on that table again but won't be showing up.

Permalink

48. Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me?

man in white dress shirt sitting on couch Photo by Ali Jouyandeh on Unsplash

At my 20-year reunion, I saw our class president, who married his high school sweetheart. We were all close as a class, and she wasn't there, which was uncharacteristic. I asked him where she was. He said, "Don't ask".

I was kind of confused by that, but they had been married a long time at that point, and I just figured maybe they had an argument or something. I found out not too long after that I was the last person in our class of about 150 people to hear she had tried to throw herself off a bridge. It was awful.

She had some underlying mental health issues nobody knew about. She's OK now after multiple surgeries and lots of therapy, but I still cringe thinking about when I asked him about her. I can't believe nobody told me about what happened to her.

Redrum Bunny

49. Pick And Choose

My 10-year high school reunion was, of course, organized by the “popular kids”—the girls who still lived in our small hometown and were past their peak. They were rotten people. By the time our reunion rolled around, four from our graduating class had passed. At one point during the reunion, they had us all sit-down, and they dimmed the lights for a slideshow.

It was a memorial for ONE of our lost classmates, the one they were, of course, good friends with. I was so furious I stormed out. Maybe because I was friends with another girl we lost, but how self-centered do you have to be to have a class reunion and not have a memorial for everyone gone?

Permalink

50. High School Secrets Spilled

I had this friend who got someone pregnant back in the day, and she kept the kid. They had both been great about it, and he helped financially, but that was the extent of his contribution. She married soon out of high school and met a great guy who has been the de facto dad.

Our reunion was a day to bring-your-kids-if-you-had-them type of event, and someone let it slip that my friend was that kid’s “real” dad.

The kid heard it, and it was a MESS. Everyone was trying to figure out who said that, and how someone could spill that secret, etc. In the end, my friend pretended he was shocked and laughed it off as a joke, which, honestly, in front of the kid was probably a good move.

Toubaboliviano

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.