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My Ex Lost It After We Broke Up

My Ex Lost It After We Broke Up
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

One thing is for sure: Good reactions to a break-up are few and far between. It’s hard to keep your dignity when you’ve been dumped. We’ve all had moments where we maaaybe acted desperate or angry, but some unhinged exes take it to the next level. These Redditors came together to share their stories of brutal reactions to a break-up—and they’re so disturbing, they’re unforgettable.

1. Clear-Cut Revenge

man in orange and black helmet riding on brown tree branch under blue sky during daytime Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash

This happened to my neighbors. They were a couple who went through a divorce and she got the house in the settlement. However, it was only the house and the immediate house lot. Not the surrounding land, as that went to the husband. That’s how he got his revenge on her. The first thing he did was sell all the lumber off the rest of the land.

She went from living in a nice forest to living on clearcut land. But he wasn't done yet! Once the trees were gone he sold off the topsoil, then the gravel under that. By the time he was done her house was on a hill overlooking a barren landscape reminiscent of the lunar surface. This was years ago, and the place is still hideous.

TrueEnt

2. She Made Her Bed, Now She Has To Lie In It

white bathtub with shower curtain Photo by Alexander Fife on Unsplash

She took all my shower stuff while I was at work. Curtain, rod, all that stuff...and the toilet bowl scrubber. She took it all, so when I came home and I said, “Okay, not letting her take more of my stuff that's actually important”! So, I changed the locks. While at work that night, she calls and says she needs in the apartment to get her things.

I tell her nah, not without me there, I don't want you taking my stuff. She says she'll call the authorities, and I tell her to go ahead. A couple of officers show up at my work and ask what's going on. I show them my lease with her name not on it, and they say okay, we'll have her when she comes back tomorrow, call us when she shows up.

She comes the next day, and tells me she's taking my bed, worth $700. I tell her no, she didn't pay for it, and I have my credit statement printed ready to show the officers. She tries to argue that she's taking the bed. The officer says “Look, you're not taking it, if you think you deserve it, take him to court”. She then tries arguing with the guy.

The officer says “Did you not hear me right? Take him to court”! Well, I didn't hear back from her about it.

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3. Interior Decoration As Revenge

a room that has some tools in it Photo by Stefan Lehner on Unsplash

There was a couple who lived across the street from my family when I was younger. She was friends with my mom, and he helped my dad install our pool. Turns out they were having some issues, and while she was out of town for work, he gutted their entire kitchen. I mean, walls, appliances, ceiling...everything. So she comes back, finds it, they argue and she moves out and moves in with her mom.

Through court dealings, she ends up back in the house, but he's going to get the house eventually. I was only 13 or so, so I don't remember specifics. Just days before he's supposed to move back in, my parents help her move all of the furniture that she bought before they got married, which was literally everything besides the mattress and one recliner.

That's all he was left with when he moved back in. But it didn’t end there. After he moved back in and the divorce was final, he went through a phase where he had another woman living with him, but also had a boyfriend who would frequently visit. One of the last times we saw any of them was around midnight one night. The neighbor, the boyfriend, and an apparent third party had some sort of loud, drunken lovers' quarrel.

I don't know what happened inside the house after we called 9-1-1, but all three left in a police car after being tased.

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4. Party For One

person in blue NBA Dallas Mavericks crew neck shirt sitting while holding bowl with potato chips Photo by Phillip Goldsberry on Unsplash

Years ago, in the late 90s, I discovered my girlfriend's awful secret. I'd already been living with her for a year when I found out she'd been sleeping with her boss. The timing could not have been worse. It was the week of our Super Bowl party. We both had plenty of guests coming. We’d been planning it for over a month. I spent all my money buying every type of drink that we thought anyone would want.

We were young upcoming professionals. She was just under 21. Not able to buy the hard stuff. She pulled me aside and broke up with me on the Friday before that weekend. I saw it coming. She left to go to the beach with her boss and told me to move on Super Bowl weekend. So…I came up with a plan. I called my people and moved the party.

I took all of my furniture—everything but one TV, bed, one glass, and one chair. That was it! No dishes. Nothing. The place was bare! It took me many hockey bags to move the drinks, but we drank for weeks with it! I heard she had her own party—with everyone showing up to one bottle, one glass, one chair, and nothing else.

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5. She Was Cooking With Gas

black and white chess pieces on black and silver gas stove Photo by Callum Hill on Unsplash

We agreed that she'd collect her stuff from "our" place when we broke, without me being there. I arrived later that evening to make a seriously disturbing discovery. She’d left two gas valves opened—so I guess I'm lucky I didn't light a cigarette. I considered it, but I didn’t call the authorities. How would I prove it anyway?

At that point, I was just glad she was out of there and out of my life. And still am. So I decided to ignore it and not sound like a lunatic wailing at an officer about a murderous girlfriend. Believe me, at this point we'd been through enough.

Jehuy

6. The Houseguest

woman sitting on brown chair beside glass window Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

She "broke" into my house every day for about a month while I was at work. Showered, cooked food, watched TV, and then left before I got home. I came home early one day and she was sitting on the couch watching TV. She very matter-of-factly said, "Oh I didn't think you'd be home at this time". I asked how she got in. When we were dating I had lent her my keys once.

She got one cut for herself without me knowing. Of course, after arguing we…made up. Being with a crazy person can be fun. But that was the second last time ever.

FlubberBalls

7. T Minus U

brown short coated dog on brown wooden parquet floor Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

It’s kind of messed up, but more hilarious. My ex-wife was still staying in the guest room—we just split and hadn't completed the divorce yet—on a temp basis while she found a new place. I grew tired of her attitude and told her I wanted her and all of her stuff out ASAP. I got home from an 18-hour shift, and when I got home at 6:30 am, I was greeted by a chilling sight.

It was empty. There was a full-on echo in that house. She got it all out of there, I'll tell you that. I had nothing but a stripped mattress on the bedroom floor. She hated the mattress, but bought all of the furniture in there, so she took all that. The funniest part? We had our initials in wood lettering on the wall, and the only thing that was left on any wall in the house was my remaining initials.

She plucked her "T" off the wall. I took a laughing selfie next to it and sent it to her.

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8. Losing Two People With One Breakup

man kissing woman forehead Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

Me and my ex were high school sweethearts, she was my first and I was hers. We had been together for five years and been living together for three years when she broke it off. She waited about four weeks before she started dating my best friend, whom I had known since kindergarten.

Me and my "friend" had always been very close, he talked with me when she broke it up, consoled me, played the good guy while he and she were dating behind my back the whole time. This was a friend I was hanging out with almost daily for my whole life, skyping, playing all the new games together—we even went to the same schools just to be able to study the same things.

I didn’t see it coming and was heartbroken when it ended. She took all of “our” stuff and moved out on the same day. I was left in complete awe and didn’t even manage to put up a fight before she had 90% of everything we owned together. She even took my best friend. He just stopped talking to me after a few weeks and I haven’t heard from any of them for four years now.

I didn’t know that they had been dating so long until a mutual friend told me one year later when they announced their relationship. I guess it isn’t as messed up as many of these posts here, but it left me messed up. I have trust issues and have never been as lonely in my life as I am now. What really sickens me is that she took my best friend.

She could have had everything else, but why my best friend...

Deterdeg

9. Champagne For My Ex, Real Pain For Me

grayscale photo of person holding bottle Photo by Nathan Walker on Unsplash

On my first night in a new city, I call my mother to tell her I arrived safely. She tells me that the girl I dated when I was 16-17—I was 23 and hadn't heard a peep in five years—called out of the blue looking for me and left her number. Lonely and bored, I rang her up and had a strange catch-up session. She told me she was engaged to a woman and that her life after we broke up was a series of unfortunate events.

We hung up on pleasant terms with no plans to keep in touch. Three days later, I am exiting my building and who is standing there in the rain waiting…yep...her. She had flown 2,500 miles in the middle of the night because she thought we were destined to be together. She told me how she was so torn up about us not being together that she had pulled out all of her hair...down there.

She also brought her fiancé who was as crazy as she was, and was urging my ex to have a baby with me. I calmly tried to tell her that this was insane and that I had no interest in any of this when, out of nowhere, everything goes black. I wake up to chaos as my doorman is holding the fiancé down, waiting for paramedics and law enforcement to arrive.

It turns out she had hit me on the back of the head with a full bottle of champagne they had brought to celebrate with. Restraining orders followed.

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10. The Gift That Keeps On Giving

white and blue magnetic card Photo by Avery Evans on Unsplash

My ex reopened several credit cards that we had jointly but had paid off and closed before the divorce. What she did was nothing short of evil. Somehow she opened them back up in my name and charged them to the max, then moved out of state and stopped paying her car payments. All of these things ended up getting reported to my credit years later, and pretty much ruined any chance I have at decent credit for the next 7-10 years in the US.

I've been divorced and lived outside the US for eight years now. I recently got a strange letter in the mail—and that's when I finally realized what she'd done. I know all this can be corrected eventually but the hassle of explaining things to several credit companies and collection agencies is a major pain.

permexpat

11. A Moving Obstacle

woman standing near tree Photo by Mahbod Akhzami on Unsplash

I had an ex show up at my parents’ house—I was 19 and living with them—and demand we work things out. I asked her to leave and she refused. I grabbed my then 11-year-old brother, put him in my car, and tried to leave. Her reaction was seriously deranged. She blocked the driveway with her body, so I had to drive in the yard.

She then got mad that I left and drove to my mother’s place of employment to talk to her about it! After my mum told her to leave her work, she shows back up at my house and refuses to leave again. I locked up the house and she sat on the porch swing for three hours before my stepdad arrived home from work, tossed gas money at her, and told her to get the heck off his property.

She was crazy.

miniguy12

12. The Neverending Story

man holding smartphone leaning on bicycle during daytime Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

First, he checked himself into the hospital because he was threatening to hurt himself. Then he had his mother call me and leave me voicemails trying to get me to take him back. He went on all my social media accounts and liked all my pictures and posts from the past year, so I blocked him on everything. I ended up having to change my phone number because he constantly calls and texts me, begging me to take him back.

Then, when I don't reply he insults me and threatens me. He sent me a box with $400 worth of gifts for my birthday. Yesterday, he created a fake account on Pinterest and messaged me 25 times. He's insane.

screwyouzac

13. Now That’s A Power Move

white usb cable plugged in white electric socket Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

My ex called one day and told me that the power company wouldn't give her an account until she paid the remainder of the bill from when we lived together, so she decided that was my responsibility. She called—I could tell her new boyfriend was sitting with her—and told me that I needed to pay the bill for her new place. This was my moment.

I told her, "Okay, hold on a sec...looking at the bills from when we lived together...let's start with April, I paid this much and you didn't pay, so take half of that, May, I paid this much and you didn't pay, so take half of that, June, I paid this much and you didn't pay, so take half of that..”. I kept going, she said nothing. When I finished, I said, "So, looks like you owe me about a thousand dollars”.

I continued: “So, you can either send me that money or deal with your own bill on your own". She said okay and hung up—I never heard one word about it after that.

therealsix

14. Lie Like A Rug

woman in black and white dress sitting on concrete stairs Photo by Zhivko Minkov on Unsplash

I dated this girl right before high school who was having a rough time for about a year or so. She hurt herself, drank hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to take her own life, and nearly jumped off her roof at one point. Her parents were horrible to her, and she said they "dragged her by her hair" and "locked her in a closet for half a day”. I was so worried, I called child services.

They went to her—and they uncovered the disturbing truth. She confessed that she was lying. It took me a while to realize that she actually was lying. About a week after I stopped talking to her. All I felt toward her was pure hatred and disgust. Then she messaged me on Facebook, saying: "If you can't put this behind you, it's all your fault”.

She lied about her entire life to me, and then said it was my fault.

LapidistCubed

15. Tick Tock

alarm clock at 10:10 Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

A buddy of mine was living in America at the time while his fiancé of a few years was back in England. When he went back to visit, he found out that she was sleeping with his best friend and basically kicked him out of their house. To get revenge, he bought 100 alarm clocks that he could set the day as well as hour and minutes.

When he went to collect his things one afternoon, while the ex-fiancé was away, he hid them all over the house. And by all over the house I mean in the vents, in the insulation of the attic right above her bedroom—everywhere! The kicker is: He set most of them for big days in their lives like their anniversary, birthdays, etc.

genreg

16. She Really Doesn’t Believe In Long-Distance

person walking in the middle on vehicles Photo by Ruffa Jane Reyes on Unsplash

We were living together at the time. I received a great job offer on the West Coast—we were on the East Coast at the time—so I called her to talk about it. Her reaction made my blood run cold. She changed the locks, sold my stuff, wrote a nasty letter to my mother, and contacted the company to tell them why they shouldn't hire me.

I took the job and moved anyway. She kept contacting the HR department. She moved to the same area about three months later. Every once in a while I would see her car in the office parking lot. It finally stopped when I sued her. Well, technically, it didn't stop until she dragged it all the way out to depositions and her lawyer finally had an opportunity to see the other half of the story.

The whole process took about two years before receiving a check from her.

jayscott

17. Man’s Best Friend

white and brown long coat large dog Photo by Pauline Loroy on Unsplash

Ugh. Mine tried and tried to get my dog. She actually had him for months while I was living in a place where I couldn't keep him. She did NOTHING for him the entire time. Her parents fed him, and he just ran around in the backyard with their dogs. I even gave her money to get him to the vet to get neutered and shots. She decided to spend that money on partying instead.

I never did get the money back, but as soon as I got my place, I went and got my dog back while she was out of the house. Her dad told me when she wouldn't be there. He said, "You don't take a man's dog from him". Dude always had my back when her and I were together, too. Solid guy.

Ted_Denslow

18. A Stab In The Dark

a hockey stick and a hockey puck in the snow Photo by Alina Belogolova on Unsplash

I met this girl over the internet on one of those stupid social sites. She lived in the same country as me and has roughly the same musical taste as me, so I thought: "Why the heck not" and met her. She was nice and we fell in love as much as pre-teens can love and had a relationship for about 11 months. She went through lots of depression and accused me of a lot of things.

Eventually, she broke up with me because she was "not sure I wasn't going to cheat on her". I was honestly kinda glad to be rid of her, but that wasn't the end of it. She called me a few days later because she wanted me back, but I was sick of her nonsense and told her so. Well, rule one of crazy people: do not call anything they do nonsense.

I had a few days of relative calm with just a bunch of angry texts, guilt trips, etc. Four days after calling her behavior nonsense was my half day at school, so I got home early and had the house to myself. There was a knocking at the door and since I was waiting for a parcel I didn't think much of it. I opened the door. That’s when I got a chilling surprise.

The next thing I know I am standing with my back pressed against the door I’d just hastily closed again, my shirt red with blood. My ex had brought a sharpened hockey stick—hockey chicks are crazy. I luckily only opened the door a bit and have relatively fast reflexes so what otherwise would've been a deep cut through my throat was merely a flesh wound.

The end of that story was a call to law enforcement, psychiatric help for her, and a deep mistrust to people for me for the longest time.

Luckilynotdead

19. Someone Watches The Bachelorette Too Much

silver-colored ring on top of red roses Photo by Esther Tuttle on Unsplash

He showed up at my place in a suit. Asked me to marry him. Had a ring and everything. I was already dating someone else (still am), which he knew. We were already broken up for a while, my guess is that the "dating another guy" thing was what set him off. That was probably the weirdest day of my life, seeing as the new boyfriend had just left 15 min before.

KgcS

20. A Rumor Campaign

white and black printed paper Photo by Ranurte on Unsplash

He made about a hundred or so little fliers and put them around town saying something to the extent of "You're a piece of trash. Got a problem with that? Call [my home phone number] or go to this address”. My family had to put up with angry idiots calling and showing up to our house for weeks. He also would phony call 9-1-1 with false reports, noise complaints, tales of underage drinking, etc., and give them my address.

The most twisted part of all? This was in eighth grade! We "dated" for like two months when I was in an "angsty" phase. We, thank god, never even got past second base. Guy was, and probably still is, nuts.

FroggiJoy87

21. Grand Theft Auto: Florida

a truck is driving down a dirt road Photo by Brian Beckwith on Unsplash

My ex tried to steal my truck. I always kept the keys on a clip, attached to a belt loop, as I'm notorious for losing them myself. I had watched her go outside and put her purse and other stuff in the truck, like somehow I couldn't see out the window. Then she started searching the house. She said she couldn't find "her" keys. Her car wasn't even there, she got dropped off.

I locked the truck with the remote and when she went out, I locked her out too and called her ride. She went from vengeful to tears in seconds when she realized she was stuck out in the Florida heat.

memberzs

22. The Breakup Protection Program

women Photo by Samson Ejim on Unsplash

I went on three dates with this guy. After the third date, I left to go back to London as an au-pair. The guy had his sister send me a traditional African wedding dress to my host family, and a letter stating that she was so happy for us and hoped I would visit her in Mali. I said absolutely NOT. He then had his friends and brother call me and berate me for breaking up with him.

But he didn’t stop there. He had them say I could not possibly break up with him, because his parents had already bought the plane tickets to come to see me before the wedding, and then tried to stick me with the costs for said tickets. I changed my cell phone number and had the host family say that I had gone back home and they had no forwarding address.

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23. What Could’ve Been

man in black jacket sitting on doorway Photo by Elyas Pasban on Unsplash

We were together for five years, engaged for three. Nothing like sitting at work on your second day when you get a phone call from the state hospital saying they have your "fiancée". We had been split up for two months because he was terrible to me, and also just plain crazy. I asked to be excused from work, which they were surprisingly okay with, hopped across town to find him in the locked ward.

I walked in and asked what he did, seeing as he seemed to be physically unharmed. It turns out he was caught by security trying to jump off a building. He said that if I didn't get back with him that there was no point in living, I told him that there was no chance I was marrying him. But I'd always be there as a support. I called his mother who lived interstate and demanded she come and collect him.

As crazy as he was, he didn't belong in a place like that, with people who were so far gone they were more disorder than person. They would only release him into the care of someone else and I told him it wasn't going to be me and that was the end of it. The last time I saw him was just a few hours before his flight. He asked for just a few hours of "normal".

So we cooked dinner, talked about mundane stuff, went to volleyball together with our friends, and then at the end of our game, his mom stood at the doorway to collect him. And he left. I guess you could say the worst thing he did wasn't trying to emotionally manipulate me. It was giving me a taste of what could have been, allowing me to feel something right before he left my life.

Make no mistake, I am far better off out of the relationship, I'm borderline unrecognizable as being the same person. But that departure ruined me for a long time. Never have one last fling, it's better to end with bitterness on your tongue than deal with months of "what ifs" and "buts".

jolly_frog

24. Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe

selective focus photography of girl crying Photo by Arwan Sutanto on Unsplash

My friend's ex-husband was a powerful attorney, so he won custody of their three-year-old daughter. He’d then use the kid to toy with her in the most disturbing way. He would tell the daughter on a Wednesday that Mommy was coming to pick her up that night, when she was only supposed to get her on Thursday night and every other weekend.

The three-year-old would call her crying, asking why Mommy wasn't there to pick her up. He was a psychotic jerk.

galactica216

25. Barking At The Moon

man in brown hoodie standing on brown field during daytime Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash

My ex was a lunatic. Probably still is. The very definition of a lunatic. He was a classic jerk and I fell for it for a while—shame—but I wised up and dumped him. Then he started coming over, knocking on the door. I was on the ground floor so right at the sitting-room window. He kept trying to get me to let him in and talk to him. I got paranoid and had my blinds closed a lot.

It seems like a common-or-garden type of “Please take me back please” thing, right? But after a couple of instances, I realized that all his visits had one thing in common. It was a full moon. He'd come over every few weeks, during the full moon. It got so I could predict him turning up. He also jumped me on my way home so I got the authorities involved.

I never told them about the moon thing because I was embarrassed for some reason, but I didn't know where he lived so they couldn't even find him. Eventually, I moved across the city to get away. The move date was during the no-moon bit so I could relax and pack and just go without worrying about him turning up. I kind of wish I could have seen his face when he inevitably turned up a week or so after I'd gone and seen the flat empty.

Funnily enough, I recently talked about this to an acquaintance who I knew had been to court over her being stalked by her ex. I tentatively brought up the moon thing and she said, "Oh yeah, mine would do that too". It's a thing!

east_end

26. Flapping Her Gums

woman placing sticky notes on wall Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

She worked at the same place I did and after I broke up with her she told everyone I cheated on her—I didn't—with an intern we called “Gums,” because when she laughed all you could see was her gums. For a few months, everyone believed her and I was “the jerk”. A few months later, I almost got fired when my new boss went crazy in a meeting.

I didn't know why—but then I learned the bizarre truth. It turns out she was dating my boss. She told him all sorts of lies and he decided to get back at me in this meeting. I left the company shortly after. I later heard they spawned a demon-child.

SorryforbeingDutch

27. Timing Is Everything

woman wearing black sweater holding hand with man wearing gray suit jacket Photo by René Ranisch on Unsplash

We were a couple for seven years, and talked about marriage after her kids graduated from college. One night, she dumped me out of the blue. Three years later, she's engaged to the guy she dumped me for, and posted online about how wonderful her anniversary dinner was one night. The date of her anniversary dinner was over two weeks before she dumped me.

gjallard

28. Making A Scene

a person standing next to a car with smoke coming out of it Photo by Johannes Blenke on Unsplash

Five years ago, I broke it off with a "fine" young lady after just a six-month relationship. However, a week later, I discovered that it wasn't exactly over for her and she had been keeping an eye on me, to make sure I was okay, I guess. Keep in mind she lived on the complete opposite side of a major city too, so some dedication was needed here.

I was forced to confront her after she calls me freaking out about who I was hanging out with because I wasn't home at night. This was more than unsettling—so I took a look out the window and made a chilling discovery. I see she's in front of my house at about two in the morning. After a very heated argument, I demand that she leave me alone and never come back.

So she gets in her car and peels out and off into the distance. That relief was very short-lived. As soon as I thought she was gone, she turns around and floors it going 60ish in a quiet neighborhood. Somehow, it gets even crazier. She swerves to run me over, and I have to dive out of the way to avoid the car. She slammed into my neighbor's car so hard that it spins out into the middle of the street.

All I can hear is her crazy screaming. Her middle console catches on fire and I have to pull her out of the car. Shortly after, all the neighbors are awake and the place is swarming with sirens and emergency vehicles. This is burned into my memory.

eatporkplease

29. He Went Down The Rabbit Hole

white and black rabbit on green grass Photo by Gavin Allanwood on Unsplash

A guy that I broke up with two months earlier showed up at my house at 2 am and banged on the door until I opened it. He pushed his way past me into the house, and put a skinned rabbit in my freezer. It was almost completely skinned, but the head was intact, ears and all. I have no idea where he got it, but it was just in a plastic grocery bag.

I actually couldn't tell what it was until after he left, because it was all wrapped up. I was trying to stay calm, but he's 6'3” tall and I'm only 5'5”. It was scary. He was completely sober too. Did I mention that he lived 90 minutes away, had no friends in my town, and I had asked him numerous times to stay away from my house?

My male roommate woke up and the ex took off after grabbing one of my roommate's books off of the living room shelf. When I texted him about the rabbit, he said I was overreacting and that he just brought it as a present because people like rabbit, and said he was just there to get "his book". I was a vegetarian at the time. I still won't eat rabbit.

starsinaparsec

30. Unpleasant Surprise

high-angle photography of two red and white vehicles on concrete road between trees and buildings at daytime Photo by Lance Asper on Unsplash

My exchange student ex was my first sweetheart and love during my senior year in high school. She agreed to study in Florida with me for college. I went to Saint Leo university, she went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. I would try to visit her every weekend. I would drive for five hours straight to just spend one night or two with her.

One day, I decided to visit her in the middle of the week. Long story short, her roommate told me she'd been hanging out with another guy and that she asked the room to herself a few times apparently with the guy. Her roommate told me she was at the library that night, so I went to go talk to her. I couldn't believe my eyes. I found her there with the other guy holding hands.

She saw me and got up, but I made a 180 and left. I didn't even have enough money to get back until Thursday, because I spent all my money going from my school to hers. I had to sleep in my car, which is a tight fit, and had to suffer through 25 missed calls and numerous text messages, which I deleted on the spot and didn't read.

The most embarrassing part? When I was driving back, I cried to the song “You Make Me Feel Like,” by Cobra Starship.

wozzy93

31. Tag Teamed

woman's face photograph Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

We had broken up a week before Christmas. New Years comes around and I'm at a party. She's blowing up my phone. I have no idea at the time. A friend approaches me, tells me she's calling him too. I step outside, see I have about 30 missed calls and 7 voicemails. Two from her, five from her mother. I hear all of them to get the details.

Apparently, a "close friend" of hers had passed. A friend I had never heard her mention. Her mother’s voicemails were telling me that if I really cared about her I'd be there for her, I'm a jerk, all that jazz. So I think, I'll bite, I'm not a jerk. I have a friend take me over there, call a friend’s mom on the way, and let her know that I'll be going to my ex’s house.

We get there. She and her mother are outside. I'm there with three friends. She's sobbing. I ask if she'd like to walk around and talk about it. She talks about the deceased for a whole two minutes and then changes the subject to us. 30 minutes of talking about us. We get back to her house. With everyone around. I tell her that I came to support her, but I don't want to get back with her.

Her reaction was terrifying. She goes off on a tantrum. She’s screaming at the top of her lungs, a neighbor even came out to make sure no one was getting hurt. She keeps screaming at me, asking how I can do this to her. She then lies about being pregnant, even though I always use protection. No chance. I call her out on that.

She throws her phone across the road, a throw of a lifetime. Unfortunately, there were no scouts for the NFL. She's on the floor hitting herself. Her mother is screaming...at me. I decide I should leave before it gets worse. I'm honestly scared. I go home, talk to my parents, and we change the codes to the house. My car gets egged every day for a whole month.

A whole month, save maybe three days. Oh, but that wasn't the end of it. Five years later, I see a familiar car pull in front of me as I'm driving. It brake-checks me to the point that I have to veer off the road. The car speeds up to a red light. I'm angry so I pull up to the car once I get off the grass. Lo and behold, her mother.

YoungVeggieTales

32. Catphished

blue and white logo guessing game Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

An ex of mine a number of years ago, after she ended things, subsequently sent me a dodgy e-mail that I thought nothing of. A couple of days later, I was locked out of all e-mail, Facebook, and any other accounts I had tied to that e-mail address. I also had my online bank details configured through it. She then emptied my bank accounts and posted lots and lots of horrific hate all over my social media profiles.

She even aimed some rants at my nephews who were only 14-15 at the time. Then she also contacted my university and unenrolled me from my degree. Basically, she set about trying to completely ruin my life.

Retro-Squid

33. If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Try Again

a woman with long hair and piercings on her head Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

When I was about 15, I went out with a girl from a different school. The relationship was messed up the whole time, as she was a very terrible person. Anyway, I tried breaking it off multiple times, and I was always faced with the old "Well, I'll just hurt myself then”. She used to be a cutter before we got together, so part of me thought she probably would try to take her own life.

Not wanting to have that on my conscience, I stayed with her for a while. After getting really fed up with the relationship I broke it off for real, and she did not take it well. She told pretty much her whole school that I got her pregnant. That rumor made its way to my school, which made its way to my family. This was crazy, we hadn't got physical at all, yet everyone believed her over me!

She even tried playing this out for as long as possible, even going as far as giving herself a “baby bump”. She was absolutely insane. I confronted her at her school when she had a bump, I don't know how the heck she'd done it, but her little group of friends carried that lie so hard. In the end, my parents obviously took my side, but them confronting me about teenage pregnancy at the age of 15 was frightening.

They thought I was just trying to cover it up as I didn't go to them with the problem first. I ended up calling the girl's mom and sat down and had a conversation with her, I'm not sure what she said to her crazy daughter but it seemed to work, she and her mum must have tried a little damage control as suddenly everyone stopped believing the lie.

Other than the meeting with her mom, I had nothing to do with her as soon as the pregnancy rumor was spread, so I don't know really what happened, I just tried to forget the whole thing and it eventually went away. My closest ally in this whole thing was actually my school homeroom teacher. He was very empathetic and helped me deal with the issue of her threatening self-harm as well as the whole pregnancy.

ToxicSneak

34. Make Up Your Mind

black Jeep Wrangler SUV on green under trees Photo by Thomas Tucker on Unsplash

He continued to come over "unwelcomed" to stay the night. By coming over to stay the night, I mean peaking in my ground-level windows and eventually breaking in, then falling asleep on my bedroom floor. I was woken by the sound of snoring that wasn’t from my cat. Did I mention he was engaged at this point? The next day he denied doing it.

Then there is the day he was waiting for me after I finished work. A confrontation happened and I slammed his thumb in the door of his Jeep. That bruised finger looked good in his engagement photos. The night before his wedding, he begged me to sleep with him so he could call off the wedding to "the loser”. That didn’t happen.

Uh, then there is the stalking, breaking into my internet accounts, anything to get his fix.

vitani1515

35. Broken Home

File:Toys R Us Hialeah Florida Closing Sale (26581532387).jpg ... commons.wikimedia.org

I was two hours away from buying my son Christmas presents at Toys R Us. It was the closest toy store. This was a big deal to me because I was finally on a (somewhat) upward trajectory in life after being a completely useless young adult for the last couple of years. My son was three, and this was the first year I was able to actually go and shop for presents for him, instead of relying on family to provide gifts as I made ends meet.

Well, I am blissfully shopping away when she had her dad come to the apartment we shared. They proceeded to load the trailer he brought with almost all of the content of my apartment. Keep in mind, I was a poor 20-year-old. I have no clue this is happening until a neighbor calls and fills me in. But it gets even more devastating.

It just so happened that a blizzard starts in at this time, delaying me from getting home before they have high-tailed it out of there. I arrive home to find they went so far as to take the toilet paper off the holders in both bathrooms, along with finding the couple hundred dollars I had set aside in case of emergency. It turns out, that weekend, she used that money to buy a plane ticket to fly her and my son 1,100 miles away to her mom's house.

It also turns out, she was pregnant with my second son. I have never met the second one, and have not seen the other one in seven years now.

manslam

36. Talk About Losing Track Of Time

red Honda Civic sedan Photo by Dieny Portinanni on Unsplash

We were living together and we decided to buy another much-needed car together. The car dealer gave me the car and asked me to get her signature to finalize the deal, he trusted us completely and stipulated just bring the paperwork back to him the next morning. Great! I bought a bottle of champagne that day and decided to get her signature ASAP.

I couldn't find her till the next morning at her mother’s house. Her mother was so happy to meet me at the door and tell me her daughter has been seeing somebody else for weeks at this house. I was floored! I had no idea, didn't even suspect anything like that could occur. I confronted her and she was like so cold and unresponsive to my questions about this new endeavor with another man.

Actually, I was getting visibly upset and was irate because of her lack of caring and answering me that I was told to leave. I left the car papers and champagne at her mother’s house. I turned the new car back to the dealer and told him I had inadvertently left the paperwork at her mother’s house. He said don't worry about it because if the deal is off the papers weren't needed.

Well, I kept tabs on her and found out who she was with, a school "friend". In time, my relationship and my love for her faded away. TWO years later, she comes back to me one night with the same car papers and the same bottle of champagne. She opened the champagne and started drinking it by herself. She was wanting to get back together! I was like what?!?

She had that same look on her face, cold and unresponsive, and she had this notion that it was just a few days ago, not two years ago, that we had a misunderstanding or a small fight??!! To her, time didn't move! And it was a only couple’s fight to her. She was actually telling me she was moving back in with me starting tomorrow without asking my permission! The girl was a loon!

When I told her this wasn't a few days ago, this was two years ago, she stared into space. That cuckoo look. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't take her back. This is what we wanted isn't it? To be together? I told her that was my sentiment two years ago and I don't have those feelings for her anymore. She looked at me like I WAS CRAZY and told me it was only days ago she was with this other guy.

She wouldn't leave so I called her mother up to come pick up her insane daughter and that was that. She was a lunatic!

Roxenrollz

37. Playing The Long Game

person holding black samsung android smartphone Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

She made a dating profile with all of my pictures in my hometown. She talked to a ton of hideous women, apparently very sweetly, and promised to take them everywhere. She set up dates that I obviously didn't show up to with countless women. Now when I visit home there are all of these hideous women that are mad at me for standing them up.

Honestly, it's so epic that I kind of respect it for its sinister planning.

ICYURNVS86

38. A Blessing And A Curse

close-up of lighted candle Photo by David Tomaseti on Unsplash

I had a bad break up with a girl who was trying on different religious affiliations like a shopper tries on pants. Throughout most of the lengthy break up process, she would show up at my door demanding to talk—with her beefy new boyfriend behind her looking like he was Ready For Action—or calling me to tell me how her new very religious boyfriend was giving her a proper rodding.

I found out she'd been doing the house visits even when I wasn't home, quietly taking things each trip, which got me even more wary. So I hatched a plan. Early in our relationship, we had done some quasi-religious ceremony she said would celebrate our union (not marriage, just union, she said) involving a big pillar candle we bought from a thrift store.

I found the candle and carved all sorts of “mysterious symbols” into it, and burned it for a couple of hours. I left it on the back porch on a plate next to a small fake brass dagger that was much more a decorative item than a weapon. It would've done a terrible job cutting butter or poking holes in paper. She called me the next day, growing more and more frantic as I openly pretended to play dumb.

She uttered dire warnings about dealing with powers I don't understand, what did you do, you don't know what you're doing, spells are beyond you, you'll get us both hurt or worse, etc., etc. I revealed nothing and everything, telling her I didn't know what she was talking about in a tone of voice that clearly said that I did. After she hung up, things were quiet for about a month.

She then showed up one night, alone, apologized, and politely asked that we talk about things, which we did, and there were revelations for her in the understanding department which eventually led to her finally leaving me alone and going her own way.

Billazilla

39. Ex And Ex Vs. Ex And Ex

red roses in white ceramic vase Photo by Christine Sandu on Unsplash

Oh god, where to start. I have been with my current significant other for a year. My ex and I still had to see each other because same friends and all that jazz, so we remained friendly. Or so I thought. At the beginning of this year, it seemed to click with him that I wasn't just with my significant other to make him jealous, and that I had zero intention of leaving my significant other for him.

He went nuts. He continuously made very negative FB posts about how horrible I am—never by name, but heavily implied and everyone knew who he meant. I was not friends with him on FB so didn't see any of them but mutuals told me. He showed up to a party my significant other and I were at absolutely obliterated and cornered me in the hall.

He was yelling at me when my significant other and my friend came in to try to help me shut it down. My ex snapped and physically came after me. I got away only to find out he had gotten his hands around my friend's neck. After that, I told him that because of his actions, I would have to cut him out of my life completely and that any friendliness that we had left was gone.

A week or so later, I got an email asking me if I had received the "gift" he sent me. It went to my parents’ house which was weird because I do not live with them. I didn't know what he was talking about, so I called them. Apparently, they had kept it from me because it had arrived right before a holiday that he usually ruined for me, so they didn't want to ruin the holiday.

It was a big bouquet of flowers, a heart necklace, and jewelry box, candy, and a few other knick-knacks. My parents didn't want me anywhere near him so after talking to me they made a plan to leave it on his porch. Of course, he posted about it on FB. I emailed him back regarding the package and that it had been received and that he would shortly be receiving it back.

He then started talking about how my significant other is still in contact with HIS ex and that he texts her all the time and went over to her house, etc. I knew this was absolutely untrue but asked him where he had heard that and after some hemming and hawing sent me some screen shots of a FB conversation. My significant other’s crazy ex had contacted him and they had messaged back and forth a few times.

She claimed that my significant other still loved her and was always calling and texting and emailing her. Again, I knew this girl was unhinged and that this was not true because, if it was, she would have sent evidence straight to me to break us up. I can see through that garbage. I thanked him for the screenshots and stopped responding.

I showed them to my significant other and he was furious, called his ex and told her she was out of line for contacting MY ex and that she needed to leave both of us alone and that he was blocking her on all social media and his phone, and to not contact him again. About a week later, he received a package at work. After the phone conversation, she had brought up their FB conversation (his ex and my ex), took screenshots of EVERY WORD and printed them out on photopaper. The craziest part? She then MAILED them to his office.

Their conversation was horrible. My ex claimed that I bled him dry and dumped him when he lost his job (we split before the loss of his job and he lost his job because of his own actions, not some inevitable layoffs or anything like that). They went back and forth. She claimed that I was manipulating my significant other, a pathological liar, and going to get pregnant to keep him around.

Mind you, she tried this. This person does not know me at all, she was just spouting random garbage. She said I was "ridden hard and put up wet". But that wasn’t the worst lie. She said I threatened to take her life. Again, no, I do not know this person. We were in the same room for a charity event and that's when she made that horrid accusation. At a charity event in front of a large group. Yeah.

My ex said horrible and very untrue things and they just bashed me over and over. It was a really rough time. It felt like the ultimate betrayal, my ex was still claiming to love me more than anything and would never do anything to hurt me, and then went behind my back to a person actively trying to ruin my life and threw out vitriol and lies.

Thankfully my significant other and I made it through that. It was a very hard time. It almost broke us but we are doing fine now and their trash seems to have FINALLY stopped and we can live in peace. Hopefully, it stays that way. You never know with crazy people.

kati8303

40. A Breakup With Fallout

a video game controller laying on top of a lush green field Photo by Rohan on Unsplash

My overly dramatic ex tried keeping my Xbox 360 Elite. When I asked for it back, she said that she'd only give it back in the presence of law enforcement officers...for whatever made-up reason she came up with. It was bad enough that I had to see this psycho chick one more time, but now she's dragging me out to the PD?! To give me my Xbox 360? Are these guys babysitters now?

I really didn't want to go anywhere near the psycho when I picked it up, so I brought my brother-in-law along. He went in there, picked it up, and on his way out I saw him laughing. He said that when he went into the station, there was an officer there with a crate of my Xbox stuff, laughing at the situation. The thing about it was that I didn't even really want the Xbox, I just couldn't stand the idea of her getting MY stuff.

What a crazy person though. Who makes someone pick their Xbox up at the PD? A crazy person, that's who.

ernie1850

41. Fishing For Alimony

person holding DSLR camera Photo by Jannis Edelmann on Unsplash

I was in the process of a divorce but it was not yet finalized. We were getting divorced because of my ex's cheating. Apparently, there was this somewhat vague, unclear rule that if I were to do the deed with her during this time it could constitute as a reconciliation. In any case, my ex was still living in the apartment with me. I got home from work and she started to seduce me.

To me, this seems pretty weird as she hasn't wanted to do anything physical with me for months. I knew I shouldn't do it but she stripped down to nothing and got really physical. Basically, she strips down and starts trying to push me into the bedroom and pull my clothes off. I think for a minute, contemplating what I should do.

Fortunately, I decide to walk out of the apartment. When I open the door, I’m greeted by a sight that still makes me furious. One of her friends was standing right there with a camera. The plan was to get me in the bedroom and then have this friend film us without my knowledge so that she could say we reconciled, using the video evidence.

She potentially would’ve then been entitled to alimony.

atom5583

42. What’s Worse Than Hate? Indifference

woman lying on bed Photo by Yuris Alhumaydy on Unsplash

The worst reaction to a breakup I’ve experienced? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that was the most messed up thing. We had nine years together, two married. One day she tells me she doesn't love me anymore. A week later I find out she's seeing another guy. A couple of weeks later it had all fallen apart and she moved out.

To go from a position when a part of everything you do is for them, for the both of you to have the best life together you can. Sharing everything with each other, to absolute silence. She didn't want to talk to me, see me, or have me contact any of her family. It was like she disappeared right then and there. I later found out she got pregnant with someone else less than a year after walking out.

It's not a very exciting story, but to me, it was more messed up to do that to someone than any revenge story.

permalink

43. Thou Shalt Not Seek Vengeance

a sign on the side of a building that says no junk mail Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

She put me on the mailing and call list for every church group she could find. For two months my phone was blowing up with calls from churches and evangelicals, they wanted money, they wanted to send me bibles and pamphlets. The ones that had my address did send me bibles and pamphlets. It took a lot of patient explaining, and occasionally some frustrated yelling to get myself removed from everything.

At least, that’s how I thought it happened for a long time. A few years later, I was telling this story to my friend when he burst out laughing. I was confused—and then he explained. He was the one who'd done this to me, and he's just been letting me think it was my ex for the last eight years.

prattastic

44. Switching Teams

man in red suit jacket beside woman in white and purple floral dress Photo by Max Harlynking on Unsplash

First off, this guy broke up with me because he wanted to be straight. Two days later, I had to drive him to a con in Oklahoma from Nebraska. It was a prior arrangement. I guess I thought we were friends still. The first day we are there, he says he's dating a girl. He just met this girl too. Three days later, he asked her to marry him.

Can you guess what she said? Yes, the girl said yes. They were only engaged for a month or so before he broke up with her to go on to another girl shortly after. The father of the girl even bought them a house because of the engagement.

JakeFawkes

45. If I Can’t Have You…

I spent four years spoiling this girl, and almost never getting emotional or physical love back from her, only to have her break up with me over something very trivial. I spent a year begging and pleading and bending over backwards to have her take me back, but her response was essentially, "I don't think you're good enough". I, finally, with the help of some great friends and family, moved on and found a great girl to start dating. That’s when my ex snapped.

She went nuts, and started showing up at 3 AM at my apartment, calling hundreds of times, the whole nine yards. She got physical and verbal with me, but I finally got her to understand I was done being manipulated. But the surprises weren’t done yet. Then, a week after she tearfully told me, "I'll never love anyone again," she and my (former) best friend post on Facebook that they're together.

uppity_chucklehead

46. The Other Man

couple holding hands Photo by Alekon pictures on Unsplash

I developed a relationship with a woman over many months, things were blissful, I fell in love. I got to know her son, and loved him too. I was seriously thinking of marrying this woman. She broke it off suddenly with no explanation. I was a wreck, totally in love and confused. The relationship went from 100 to 0 with no warning. No contact, nothing.

Then she called me and scheduled a date so we could talk. She wanted to go to a place where we'd had a lot of good times. I was kind of psyched. She told me to pick her up on a certain day at a certain time. I showed up and the house was empty. She'd moved. I had just stopped feeling so destroyed, and she did that. That’s when I learned her dark secret.

Turns out, she was married the whole time. She moved with her husband across the country. She's just a piece of trash who'd fooled me.

LVOgre

47. The Virgin Birth

woman in black off-shoulder shirt sitting on brown wooden stairs Photo by Jon Ly on Unsplash

She was a smoke show, but absolutely crazy. She would lie about the dumbest things; what she had for breakfast, family members, the car she was "working on". Okay, lady. Anyway, enough was enough, so I decided to call it quits. A few weeks passed, and my youth pastor from my church came to my school—a private Christian college prep school—and pulled me out of class.

He sits me down to have a serious conversation, and I'm so confused. He asks me what I'm going to do about this girl and the baby and I start laughing my head off. He's a cool dude, but he got furious! He knows I'm not a virgin at this point and I've talked to this dude about everything under the sun. The priceless moment was when his face went from pure rage directed at me to pure rage directed at her when I told him we never even did the deed.

Apparently, she had started going to my church in the middle of the week to "seek god" and told him she was pregnant, blah blah blah. So my youth pastor did the only logical thing he could—he caught her red-handed in her lie and told her mommy.

ChaunceyWellington

48. Fools Rush In

gray scale photo of man Photo by christian buehner on Unsplash

When I was 18, I met a Lebanese man; he was handsome, a doctor, and 13 years my senior. I met him on my college campus one morning at a coffee shop and ended up having a long conversation with him about the Middle East and his experience working in the US. Eventually, I had to leave and he invited me to have breakfast again with him the next morning so we could continue our conversation.

Me, thinking he was just being friendly, and wanting to seem friendly too, accepted. The next morning, I meet up with him for breakfast. The mood has totally changed. He pulls out the chair for me, kisses my hand, and starts talking about going to Lebanon to meet his grandparents. He asks if he can pay my bills. He tries to give me a diamond necklace.

I noped the heck out of there the second breakfast was over. For weeks after that he wouldn't stop calling me, leaving messages when I wouldn't pick up. At first, they were all giddy and excited talking about plans for "us." I still never called him back. Then he started leaving messages about how I had sucked the light out of his life. But that’s not the creepiest part.

His friends would start calling, too, talking about how awesome his libido was, how I was breaking his heart, as though one "date" was enough for anyone to feel that way. It made my head spin, but at that point I was too afraid to try and respond even to ask them to stop. Eventually, the calls petered out but, man, it was weird...

kudrabeets

49. The Flat Food Diet

black umbrella on window during daytime Photo by Nathalie Hurova on Unsplash

I had a buddy whose ex, upon breaking up, raced him back to his house, got there first, and then proceeded to lock herself in his room for several days. I don't even think she talked much while there. She would just sneak out at nighttime to use the bathroom. Buddy's kind-hearted, Christian parents fed her by sliding flat foods like bologna and pancakes under the door.

ProgressCheck

50. Locked Out

turned on silver iPhone X Photo by Koby Kelsey on Unsplash

So when my ex started to get considerably more clingy and obsessive she would lose her mind at me when I would hang out with my best friend—who happened to be a chick. That definitely had something to do with it. Long story short, I told her that that was ridiculous and then it escalated into a fight, with the end result of me telling her I wanted some space to myself for the next few days so I can think straight.

In retaliation, she went and asked my brother for his phone, as he went to the same school. She then put a passcode lock on it and told him that she'll give him the passcode when he can get me to talk to her. Obviously, I thought this was extremely immature and unnecessary. She should've never gotten my family involved. Just way over the line.

I ended up just asking her to give me the passcode because the entire situation was outlandish. She seemed pretty sheepish when she gave me the passcode, so I assumed that she knew what she did was uncalled for.

gray_goose

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.