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The Most Ungrateful Jerks

The Most Ungrateful Jerks
Photo by Dorrell Tibbs on Unsplash

Sure, spoiled brats are annoying, but there’s something extra irritating about those moments when you try and do something nice for someone only for them to throw it in your face. These Redditors came together to share their stories of the most ungrateful jerks they’ve ever had to deal with—and they’re so infuriating, they’re unforgettable.

1. Now You See It, Now You Don’t

It was my niece's birthday and she just went to college so I thought I'd get her a laptop for her birthday. Now, I am a student myself but I still want to give her something special. So I searched for a good used laptop and I found a decent Toshiba Satellite. I sold my PSP and some other things so I can afford it. So there we were at the dinner table opening presents. When she opened mine, I couldn't believe her reaction.

"This is it? I thought you'd buy me a brand new one" "You know I can't afford it. It's the best I can do”. "I want a brand new one, not this. This sucks! Worst present ever!” She then shoved the laptop and box across the table and it fell down onto the floor. I picked it up and walked out. My cousin tried to stop me, but I just said "I'll never give her anything again”.

She even had the nerve to call back and asked for the laptop. Apparently, her parents punished her for her behavior and she will now have to buy her own things. No hand-outs or gifts. My friend bought it from me as a favor. He helped me pick it out, and he knows how much I bought for it. The profit was only $10. But the story doesn’t end there.

My niece called this morning, asking for the laptop because she will need it for college. No apology yet, only demands. Her brother said I would cave and give it to her. Heck no, and I’ll never get her a present again.

CarelessMonday

2. If I Could Turn Back Time

person holding pizza in box Photo by Arantxa Aniorte on Unsplash

I delivered a pizza to a low-income type apartment complex. The total was $18, so she handed me a $20 bill rolled up and told me to keep the change. I turned around and started walking down the stairs back to the parking lot while unrolling the $20 to put in my wad of cash. My eyes widened with shock.

Immediately I turned around, went back, knocked, and said: "I don't think you meant to include this inside the twenty," as I extended my hand towards her with the $100 bill in it. She instantly started screaming at me about how she didn't give me a hundred-dollar tip and that I was lucky she didn't call the authorities. She slammed the door, then called my pizza shop to complain.

I told the manager the whole story, and she was put on the do-not-answer list. Crazy lady.

anything_here

3. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

A couple of years ago, a friend and I were driving across the country in a big moving truck full of my mom’s furniture. We had been on the road for about 18 hours on the second to last day of the trip, so we stopped at a rest stop to stretch our legs and use the bathroom. That’s when we saw a devastating sight. Sitting at the rest stop late at night was an entire family: a mom, a dad, and two young kids. Their car was obviously broken or otherwise not working.

Feeling like I should try and help, I asked the father what was wrong and he told me they had run out of gas and just needed to get to the next town, which was about 40 miles away. I couldn't leave the rest stop with that family stranded, so my friend and I got back in the truck and drove the 40ish miles to the next town, bought gas and a can, and drove all the way back in our huge moving truck. The whole trip back and forth took us about an hour and a half. By the time we got back to the rest stop, we were both about to pass out.

Well, the family was still there waiting and I hopped out to give them the gas they needed so badly. I handed the can to the father and he looked at me and said "I would rather have the money". This caught me off guard as money wouldn't help them get anywhere. That’s when I made a disturbing realization.

It dawned on me that he never wanted gas to begin with and probably had some in the car. He was just fishing for cash and using his kids as bait. I felt really bad for the mom as she was just looking at me the whole time with this expression of "I'm so, so sorry". I was at a loss for words since the dad didn't even want the gas we had just driven for over an hour to get for them. I just set the gas can on the ground, got back in the truck, and left feeling like a giant idiot.

xe0s

4. Casting Pearls Before Swine

girl in pink dress doll Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

When we were very young, we were very poor. My sister's birthday was coming up; I think she was about seven. We had no money to buy gifts, but my mother had a small piece of white satin cloth and a box of tiny little pearl beads. She hand-sewed this beautiful little wedding gown for my sister's doll and sat up night after night hand sewing these tiny little beads on the dress.

When my sister was given it for her birthday, she reacted in a totally unexpected way—she threw it across the room in disgust, saying “I don't want that, it's my old dolly”. I'll never forget the heartbreak on my mother's face.

Lady_FriendofSpiders

5. Replacement Value

A girl in my high school received a used car on her 16th birthday. She was unhappy with the fact that it was used—three years old—so she intentionally totaled it. Her thinking was that if she totaled this one her parents would have to buy her a new one. But she'd eventually learn her lesson the hard way—she didn't get a new car and had to ride the bus.

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6. That Math Doesn’t Add Up

man in black jacket and blue denim jeans standing beside silver car Photo by Nima Sarram on Unsplash

My older sister Amanda is EXTREMELY spoiled. My dad practically worships the ground she spits on. Well, she's nine years older than me so, of course, she was able to do more things. I used to help my mom at a restaurant every day from when I was 5-8 years old. Because I was so young, people would give me tips throughout the day. When my mom’s shift ended, she would walk me next door to the bank and I would deposit my earnings.

By the time I was 8, I had a little over 800$ saved up. May came around and my sister was going to turn 17. For her birthday she wanted tons of hair styling stuff and makeup. Well, my father had other plans. He convinced me into letting him "borrow" my $800+ and combined it with his $500. He then went out and bought a cheap car for $1,000 and used the other $300ish for seat covers, new tires, a new stereo, etc.

May 5 comes around. We gave my sister the car and she threw the biggest fit ever! She wanted nothing to do with the car. So, she sold it for $700. Dad got his $500 back, Amanda got $200 to spend on hair products, and I got nothing back...just a load of garbage from an ungrateful jerk.

lexxiilou1108

7. Money Can’t Buy You Love

focused photo of a red rose Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Valentine's Day, 2004. Now, I'd never cared about Valentine's Day, but my girlfriend at the time had never been in a serious relationship and she wanted a special Valentine's day. I was more than happy to oblige. That day, I went to the local nursery where I used to work and bought two dozen red roses. I also grabbed an unused delivery invoice.

I still had the uniform—just a T-shirt and hat, but enough to make me look like a legit delivery person. I then spent my entire paycheck on gifts for her, and on food for dinner. Everything: balloons, decorations, red and pink cutesy stuff, and several expensive gifts including an iPod and a new camera. I went back to her house and decorated it, transforming her kitchen and living room into what looked like a display at the mall.

I even did the rose petals on the bed thing, because I was sure my efforts would lead to a romantic evening. Then I enacted the best part of my plan. I looked up her class schedule to figure out where her class was (we had different majors) and proceeded to burst in, pretending to be a delivery person. I gave her the roses and a teddy bear in front of her entire class, even going as far as making her sign the fake delivery invoice. It was her last class of the day so I knew she'd be heading home.

I raced out of there so I could get there first, change, and start cooking dinner. I got there maybe 20 minutes before she did, and everything was going to plan. She was upset when she walked in the door. "Why didn't you wait for me after class”? She asked. I told her I wanted to start dinner before she got home and finish decorating the house. "Oh, I really wanted to go out to dinner tonight. Can we go out to dinner”?

I explained that I was going to make something special at home, and had, in fact, already started cooking. She looked at the table full of presents and the house full of decorations and just sighed, disappointed. Then she really twisted the knife in. "I really wanted this to be a special Valentine's day. Just this once. I was really hoping we could have a special day together but I guess not”.

Never again.

Verdris

8. Honesty Is The Best Policy

grayscale photo of books on shelves Photo by Sean Benesh on Unsplash

When I was younger I worked at a Blockbuster. I was the night shift manager and one night I was working by myself when a customer walked up and handed me a woman’s wallet, saying he found it on the ground. I peeked inside it to find an ID/membership card, so I could look up her account. Sure enough, she had been in the store about 30 minutes earlier so I gave her a call. She seemed pleased on the phone and said she would be right in.

The store policy for something like that was to lock the item in the safe until the customer arrived. I did so and went about my business. About an hour later, the woman came in and asked for her wallet. I told her it was going to be 15 minutes as the safe was timed. That was just the start of my troubles.

This was apparently unacceptable and she asked if I could get it faster than that. I told her no and continued helping other customers while she waited. Once the safe beeped, I grabbed her wallet and handed it to her. I had to put the line of customers on hold while I did this because I wanted her out of the store ASAP. She had spent the last 15 minutes fuming next to my register.

As soon as I handed her the wallet, she said, "My money better be in here". I explained that I honestly had no idea as I didn't open it all the way, and her membership card was on an outer flap anyway. It was one of those large female wallets that were more like a mini purse with lots of flaps and zippers and such.

After handing it to her, I asked for the next customer in line to step up, basically ignoring her. Unfortunately, I was in for a serious ordeal. She started screaming: "MY MONEY IS GONE, YOU TOOK MY MONEY," which really surprised me as she was a pretty normal-looking soccer mom type. I asked the customer I was helping to hold on for a second and I explained to her that I had not personally opened the wallet any further than the first flap.

She started screaming again, saying there were over 200 dollars in it and that she was calling the authorities. I shrugged and told her to go ahead. At that point, I was completely okay with ignoring her. She walked to the back of the store and whipped out her cell phone. I continued helping the line as customers were looking back at the woman. Most of the customers were like, "What a jerk," etc. I just shrugged and smiled.

After the line was cleared, the lady came back to the register and told me, with a super smug look, that the authorities were on their way. "Okay,” I told her. She thought she won, but she couldn't be any more wrong. About an hour later, an officer finally entered the store (she waited right next to my register the entire time) and she started waving at him and pointing at me at the same time.

I saw the cop and rolled my eyes. He asked her to repeat her story and as she was repeating it, he almost completely ignored her. He even started watching the football game that we have playing on our DirectTV kiosk. After she got done, he looked at me, rolled his eyes, and asked: "Did you take the money”?

"Of course not," I said. "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do ma'am," the officer said. He then left the store. As he got to the doors, he held them open for her and told her to leave if her business was complete. I smiled super big, like Cheshire cat big, and told her to have a super day as she left.

After she left, I bought pizza with the 200 bucks I took. Just kidding, but I almost wish that's how the story ended after she embarrassed me like that for close to two hours.

volothebard

9. Choke On It Then

When I was 15, a girl in my driver's ed class turned red and stood up. She put her hands to her throat, but couldn't make a sound. Her eyes looked crazy. She was choking on a piece of candy. Everyone looked for one beat, two beats. I was like, "What the heck" and I stood up, walked over to two tables, and gave her the Heimlich. On the second attempt, the candy flew out like 10 feet, as if it were in a movie or something. She started gasping and bawling. It was a big scene. She thanked me.

I thought that it was over—but my nightmare was just beginning. The next day at class, when our parents were picking us up, she was walking down the hall with her white trash mom. They walked up to me. I was expecting a "thanks" from the mom or something. I'd never seen this woman before and as soon as she got close, she started yelling, "What did you think you were doing? You aren't a doctor or a nurse! You could have broken her ribs! You're lucky I don't get a lawyer and sue your family! I still might!”

Varnu

10. Sounding Like A Broken Record

black Canon DSLR camera Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

My mom bought my little sister numerous laptops, iPhones, and cameras on the condition that she take care of them. Everything was broken in a month or two. My mom then bought her a $900 digital SLR that she knows I've been wanting for years because my sister claimed she was going to take a photography course at school. She got the camera, complained that she didn't get any other presents, used it for a day, then let it sit around for six months.

She uses it now for pictures on her blog, but she told my mom she never intended to take a photography course and she could only use the thing on auto. For Easter, I spent a couple of hundred dollars buying her tons of Hunger Games stuff and other random stuff for her Easter basket because I stupidly wanted to do something nice. I'd just pick up random stuff over the course of a few months that I thought she'd like.

She was upset that my mom wouldn't be doing baskets anymore because she was 15, so I thought she'd like my gifts—but I was so, so wrong. She threw a tantrum after she opened everything because we wouldn't hide Easter eggs for her or hide plastic ones filled with money like her friend's parents did. She’s 15, for heaven’s sake. I haven't gotten her a thing since. I bought my mom a MacBook Air to pay her back for years of caring for me—and my sister threw the biggest tantrum ever.

She clawed at my mom's face and tried to take her car because it apparently wasn't fair that my mom got something nice for the first time EVER. My sister has since "accidentally" broken her laptop, hoping I'd buy her one too. Not going to ever happen.

insertnerdyusername

11. A Friend In Need

I had something happen at an ATM. The guy before me had pulled out what looked like $400 and then walked away without taking the cash. I didn't realize what had happened at first, so by the time I put two and two together, he was out of the store. I grabbed the money, ran after him, and caught him in the parking lot.

I handed him the cash and he violently grabbed it from me. Then, he escalated the situation. He started talking trash, saying I was trying to take his money. At some point, his friend mentioned that before he ever met me, he was $400 down, then I came along and he was back to even. He even defended me, telling his friend, "What the heck is wrong with you”?

The guy never did thank me, but his friend did.

CassandraVindicated

12. E-Class Vs. No Class

grayscale photo of mercedes benz sedan on road Photo by Endri Killo on Unsplash

My spouse used to have an old Mercedes E-class. It was like a 1995 or something. He wanted to give it away to my little cousin because her parents couldn't afford to buy her anything like that. So we gave her the Mercedes—but that was a big mistake. She started going on about how we were going to buy a new one and she wanted a new one too.

Immediately after hearing that, my spouse took the keys away from her and gave them to her older brother, right in front of her. The reason we didn't give it to him in the first place was that he had an old Honda that he had paid for himself; however, it was falling apart and needed a lot of work to keep it safe.

We even volunteered to pay for his insurance and his first year of college just to spite his little sister. That felt really good. We haven't bought my female cousin anything in over three years. We don't even send her a birthday card. If you act like that when someone gives you something, you clearly aren't worthy of anything.

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13. Riding The Gravy Train

When my son was six, he was really into trains. He had a fantastic wooden train set with all the bells and whistles, and we spent hours putting it together in different ways and playing. But he kept begging for an electric train, just begging and begging. I told him "Not until you're eight”.

Well, that Christmas I decided to surprise him and I put together a small electric train set on a 4 x 8 piece of plywood. I couldn't spend exorbitant amounts on it, but it was a nice oval with a split-off that went up and over the main track and rejoined. I also made a couple of engines, a few cars, some simple trees, and a crossing with lights. It wasn't much, but I spent hours putting it together after the kids went to bed every night.

Christmas morning came around, all the gifts were unwrapped, and I told my oldest, "There's another surprise for you downstairs”. He ran down and found the train and his eyes lit up, he was so excited. I showed him how to work it, then went upstairs briefly to help pick it up. 10 minutes later, I was coming back downstairs to play with him, and the train set, and he was walking up the stairs. His words shot me straight through the heart.

He looks me in the eye and says, "It's kind of boring," and walked past me. Yeah, I admit it...I cried.

cepheus42

14. Surprise Swap

a black car on a road Photo by Haryad Ali on Unsplash

I used to work for a local car dealership. I was selling the cheapest car on the lot to a dad and his daughter. It was a 2000 Daewoo for $3,000. She was SO excited to have her own car and it was what her dad could afford to buy her. At this same time, another salesperson was selling a brand new Ford Explorer to a dad for a present to his daughter. As I was presenting the Daewoo to the new owners, the daughter of the other dad came in to see her new Explorer.

She started throwing a fit, yelling "I didn't want an Explorer, I wanted an Expedition”! Well, her dad put an end to her tantrum in the most epic way. He walked back into the finance office and he changed the deal. He corroborated with the guy buying the Daewoo and switched the names. The girl crying over her "Explorer" now had an ugly Daewoo and the girl who was really grateful to have a car ended up with a fully loaded paid off Explorer.

I would never have believed it if I had not been the salesperson.

NikitaJ76

15. Make Your Bed & Lie In It

This kid I barely knew asked me for help moving because I'm pretty strong and I can move the couch and stuff. First problem: he had two friends there who were carrying the weight equivalent of a pack of gum up and down the stairs each trip. Then, I took the bed he has apart and his mom had the balls to ask me to speed up because her rental on the truck was only for three hours.

At that point, I turned around and asked her if she wanted to take care of it herself because she was more than welcome to. She just shut up and left me alone. At his new place, I helped him move in and I put the bed back together. That's when I had enough. He told me as I was packing up MY tools: "Oh can you leave your tools here? I have a couple of other things to build but my friends are coming over for dinner”.

I packed my stuff, gave him a piece of mind, and told him that this story would go around campus. I wanted everyone to know how much of an ungrateful little jerk he was.

OneAngryBunch

16. Lesson Learned

red power ranger Photo by Fran on Unsplash

This made me cry. It reminds me of something awful I did as a child. It was my sixth birthday or so, and my mother bought me this little musical statue that you wind up. It's an old record player with cute mice climbing and dancing on it. I opened it and just stared at it, then looked over at my brother's present—we're twins.

He got this remote-controlled Power Ranger Megazord toy. I asked why I didn't get a toy like him. I couldn't play with a fragile musical statue. And I just kept at it too...I'll never forget the look on my mother's face, it still makes me cry. She said she was sorry and started crying. I didn't understand but I knew she was crying because of me.

I started saying I'm sorry and that I did like the present. But she just turned and walked away saying for us to get ready to leave, she had to hurry and drop us off at summer day camp. She was recently divorced and my dad and all other relatives worked during the day so they couldn't watch us.

To this day, I have that statue on my shelf, and I'll keep it till the day I die. To remind me that thoughtless words can sometimes do the most damage.

Sanctity_of_Reason

17. As Good As Gold

A co-worker whined that her grandmother gave her a silver necklace for her birthday when "She knows I only ever wear white gold!” I laughed and told her that when my grandparents were alive I only ever got a birthday card and that stopped when I started high school. But the co-worker only got more defensive—she just kept trying to get me to sympathize with her situation.

This co-worker is actually a lovely person but she has lived a very sheltered life.

lampshadesnoopy

18. Forgiven But Not Forgotten

red and white christmas stocking Photo by Donna Spearman on Unsplash

I made Christmas stockings for my wife's two teenage children. I spent hours finding little specialty candies, little toys they'd like, make-up, etc. I tried to make them outrageously nice stockings and happily spent about 200 bucks (that I could not afford) on the two of them.

On Christmas morning, they spent about two seconds looking at them, judged them unworthy, and then just cast them aside. And that's not all. The boy actually stepped on his at one point, breaking one of the toys, and he did not care. To this day, I think he did it on purpose. It sort of ruined the whole "making Christmas nice for the kids" motivation for me.

They are adults now and I guess the fact that I still remember that scene points out how petty I am.

FletcherPratt

19. Odd One Out

Times were very tough the last few years when I was living at home. Everyone in my family worked, and we all helped to pay the mortgage on the house and the bills. We tried to save money and cut costs here and there, but overall, we still lived a pretty comfortable lifestyle.

One day, my father was talking about defaulting on the mortgage. I pushed even harder to save money at that point, and pretty much gave my entire paycheck each week to assist. I explained to him that we needed to get rid of things we did not need. He liked to provide us with everything we wanted, so it did not come naturally to him to cancel a $300 cable and internet bill, for example.

I told him it had to be done. We would drop cable and get super slow internet for $20 a month. My sister walked into the room. At that point, she was 20 years old and she never had a job. She just sat around the house all day. She's done fewer chores in her lifetime than my brother has done in a day. She whined and screamed, telling us not to cancel our cable and internet.

I calmly explained to her that we could not afford it, and that we did not have a choice. But she just wouldn't have it. She stood her ground...though her opinion didn't matter in the discussion anyway. I grabbed the cable boxes and returned them that day, and had the internet dropped to the cheapest they offered.

10 years later, to this day, my sister is still the same exact way. A firm but fair father, a loving but firm mother, two hard-working sons who have paid for everything on their own, with no debt whatsoever…and then there's her. Swapping between welfare and living with my parents. Complaining every step of the way. No appreciation on her part that I have ever seen.

oridjinn

20. I’m Not Lovin’ It

red and white concrete building near palm trees during daytime Photo by Thabang on Unsplash

I work at a McDonald's and a while back, I was taking orders and payments for the drive-thru by myself. A woman came through and ordered two Big Macs, two large fries, and two cokes, which came to a total of like $21. In the time she took to drive from the speaker box to the cashier window, I re-entered them as large meals to save her some money, and as she pulled up, I said "Hey, that'll be $16, thank you."

She eyed me strangely as she fished out some money, and when I held out her change and a receipt, she snatched them out of my hand and looked over what she had ordered. After what seemed like an eternity, she absolutely lost it. She started shouting at me about how she didn't want meals, she just wanted the burgers, fries, and drinks.

It actually comes up pretty frequently as understandably not every customer knows the ins and outs of the McDonald's menu, and generally, when you explain what they've actually paid for, they apologize and are appreciative of the money you've saved them. I started going through the routine with this woman, explaining the components of a meal and how she'd actually saved $5 while still getting exactly what she ordered.

I stood there waiting for her to realize she'd benefited from what I'd done when all of a sudden she started hurling insults at me. Stuff like "I COME THROUGH AND ORDER THIS EVERY WEEK AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME, YOU PRESUMPTUOUS LITTLE JERK," and "HOW DARE YOU THINK I'M SUCH A MORON THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ORDER MY OWN FOOD".

I tried explaining that I didn't think she was a moron, and that it was just my job to give customers the best value. I also said I was sorry that no one had done it before, and you know what she did? She threw her change at me (about 60 cents) and drove off. At this time, a woman in another car had actually come through to order a free cup of water and had driven straight to the payment window. As a result, she had seen most of what the woman had done.

As she pulled up, I was visibly shaking, because, despite the fact that getting yelled at is one of the things you're expected to handle as a drive-thru worker, I'd never been treated that badly. She told me that she saw (and heard) the whole thing and that I was totally in the right. I talked to her for a while and ended up putting through a free coke for her because I appreciated her making sure I was alright.

Eventually, she left and I went into the changerooms to cry.

doodlefiester

21. She Drove Him To It

This father and his 17-year-old daughter came into the dealership to buy her a new car for her birthday. Now, this ain’t no Honda dealership, we sell Porsches. 17-year-olds should not be getting Porsches for their birthday. I don’t care if they made the honor roll every year for their whole life. Well, the girl had her mind set on a 2012 Porsche Panamera 4S, which was a $100,000 car with 400 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a V8 engine.

The father, seeing the price tag, looked disappointed and said, "Well sweetie, I can’t afford a brand new one, so why don’t we get you a used one? The used ones go for about $85-90k, have barely any miles on them, are Porsche-approved and certified, and come with a warranty worthy of a brand new car." She replied, "Well, it’s not my fault you don’t make enough money for our family”. But then she got even more obnoxious.

She told him: “You’re going to buy me a new one or I’m never speaking to you again”. What really bothered me was that I could see the pain in the father’s eyes when she said this. He looked genuinely hurt that he didn’t make enough money. I wish I was a customer because I would have told her off. The father said, "Alright, we’ll get the new one". The funny thing was he leased it, and she had no idea.

When they got back from the test drive, the salesman told me that the girl disrespected him and her father the entire time. When the salesman was trying to show her all the different features, she flipped out and told him "I think I can figure it out okay, I’m not stupid". Then on the actual test drive, she did over 100 mph on the highway and told the salesman to "shut up" when he asked her to slow down, out of fear for his life.

He said the father just sat there and said nothing.

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22. Eggsplain Yourself

two fried eggs on skillet Photo by Gabriel Gurrola on Unsplash

My wife was rampaging on a Sunday morning for no real reason. She started screaming that she was tired and hungry, so I offered her something to eat to soothe her. She said she wanted fried eggs, and I asked her how many and she said three. So I cooked three fried eggs, and if you've ever fried eggs together, you know that they meld into one giant egg white with three yolks.

I came back with the eggs and she lost her mind. I laughed and asked her what her problem was. She screamed: "I DONT LIKE MY EGGS TO TOUCH". I said forget it and ate the eggs in front of her. Later, I got my revenge. That day, when her friend came over to do something, I came out of the kitchen holding two raw eggs and stood in the doorway of the living room.

Her friend and she looked at me, as I slowly moved the eggs toward one another. As soon as they touched, I started yelling and bellowing. It was very funny for me, and my friend was completely confused.

turkalurk5

23. Setting A Better Example

My friend’s youngest daughter had a Dora the Explorer birthday party for her fourth birthday which was in August, so naturally, I assumed she liked Dora the Explorer. Come Christmas time, I bought her a set of Dora's baby sister and brother—it cost about $30 which is a lot to spend on a child I didn't birth.

She opened it up and started screaming that it was for babies and that she was too old for Dora now. Her mom took her home without her present so I gave the dolls to my youngest, who fell in love with them. A few weeks later, when she came over to our house, she threw the biggest tantrum I'd ever witnessed. She took the dolls home because, apparently to her, they were hers first.

I know that kids don't have a filter when it comes to manners, but I know my kids would never do anything like that. They have received some pretty strange gifts from relatives in the past and they just say thank you and pretend to be excited about it until they get it home.

As to why I let the four-year-old take the dolls back? In the end, it wasn't up to me. I tried to convince her that she hadn't wanted the dolls and that my daughter loved them for her. Her mother, her older sister, and I all told her she was being silly and that she didn't deserve to have the dolls back. She didn't listen and started throwing a tantrum of ginormous proportions.

My daughter who was only 18 months at the time saw all this happening and gave the dolls to the four-year-old. She wasn't upset about handing them over, I think she was actually quite proud of herself because she managed to stop the screaming tantrum. I bought her a set of dolls of her own later that week.

9ninety_nine9

24. Grow Up

MacBook Pro on top of brown table Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

When I moved out to study, my parents bought me a computer. They don't really have much money, and it was partly on the loan that they only recently paid off. It was my going-away present and I actually really needed it to study. My sister is a couple of years younger than me. I suppose because of this age gap, she's always felt the need to "outdo" me in terms of possessions.

Well, she threw a massive tantrum when I was leaving because our parents had said no to her when she asked to go on an overseas trip. When I said something about it, she screamed about how I got to have a computer. My parents then got her a new PS3 that she never used to even out, plus a fancy laptop the following year so she could browse Facebook and not do anything productive.

That said, she does thank me for the gifts I get her now. She used to always complain if it wasn't something she liked, but not anymore. Some people are slower at growing up I guess.

kindersunrise

25. Everyone Has A Breaking Point

I have a friend that knew she had to be out of her place in a few months. No exact date, but whatever. She called me at around 6 pm at night saying she had to be out of her place the next day by 1 pm or the authorities would be escorting her out. I should also mention she has three kids.

Now, the moving wouldn't have been such a big deal. Her problem was she hadn't found anywhere to go. I wish I could say it was due to a lack of places, but it was just because she hadn't looked. So within 12 hours, I asked a different friend that she had NEVER met if she could stay with them until she got an apartment and moved her. That ended up being the worst idea ever.

Fast forward a month later, and she'd totally screwed over my generous friends. Financially, with her attitude, and with her lies. I was embarrassed and apologized. Eventually, she got her own place, but because she was not great at life, had no way to move. My friends were sick of her, so I decided to help move her since I felt I caused all this drama in the first place.

This is what became the final straw. I noticed she didn't have a crib mattress for one of her daughters. I offered to let her use mine because my son just got a big boy bed. She started screaming at me saying it was hers, and she even went as far as to say she has no friends that ever help her. I stood there in shock for about two seconds, told her to never call me again, and I walked out of the apartment.

Erixie

26. Opening A Can Of Worms

man in white and blue crew neck t-shirt Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash

I had a co-worker who was a good friend of mine choking in the lunch room. I reached over and gave her the Heimlich, everything went well. The next day her husband comes into the office to scream at me for touching his wife, that I had left a bruise across her ribcage, and he was going to sue me for everything I had, and THEN he was going to beat me.

I got right into his face and very quietly asked if he would have preferred that she had died...and that if he wants to arrange it to look like an accident, he should let people know ahead of time so we don't interfere. Guy actually started crying.

Later, I found out the disturbing truth. She told me that he confessed that he thought we were having an affair and that the bruising was because of some rough activity in the bedroom.

inibrius

27. The Grass Is Definitely Greener

My co-worker's sister was at the office. I ended up chatting with her around 7 pm while she waited for her brother to finish up work. I hung around only because she was kind of pretty and single. Big mistake. After mentioning her father paid 100% of her $100,000 tuition, a car, and all her living expenses, she started laying into her dad for promising only $500,000 as her future graduation gift.

She was expecting something more along the lines of $750k to $1 million so she was super mad and kept talking about what a tightwad he was being. Apparently, she changed her major one too many times for her father's taste and was living the lifestyle of a "forever student". This was when I was struggling to pay off my college loans, not earning very much, and barely staying afloat by paying my rent and covering my expenses.

permalink

28. Put Him Back In The Car And Leave Him There

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

Around 2:30 am on a Friday night, my friend and I witnessed the horrifying sight. A pickup truck run a red light and barreled through a white taxi van doing about 50 miles per hour. No brakes, just a big crash. The white van instantly spun around a couple of times until it hit a light pole. My friend and I were in complete shock but were the only ones around, so we got out of my truck to go help.

On the way to the van, my friend called 9-1-1, and a fire started flaring up from inside the crumpled hood. The man inside was bleeding everywhere and he was obviously very hurt, however, the driver’s door was smashed so much I couldn't open the door. The passenger door was blocked and resting against the light pole. By this time, the fire under the hood was starting to engulf the front part of the van and it was getting very hot.

I took my shirt off, wrapped it around my hand, and then broke out what was left of the glass on the driver’s side door. I proceeded to pull the man head first out of the van with the help of my friend and we dragged him about 30 feet away to a grassy area by an office building.

About two minutes later, the entire front portion of the van was in flames. Another minute later, the fire department showed up and put it out. I gave my information and such to the officers. The man I pulled from the van thanked me over and over again. I thought I had done my good deed for the day...but I was so wrong.

One week later, I was served papers, stating I caused physical and emotional damage and distress to the man. He was suing me for $100,000. One awesome public defender, three witnesses, and four days in court later, he lost.

maverickaz

29. That’s A Big L

A guy working at Big W (a chain retailer similar to Target for people in the US) was checking people's bags outside the door when a little kid knocked down a promotion sign. The guy stopped what he was doing to rush over and fix the sign. When he smiled at the mother, her response was totally uncalled for. She just stared coldly at him and kept walking with her pram. The poor guy was just being friendly.

subtly_irrelevant

30. Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

man in white button up shirt holding black and white box Photo by Jessie McCall on Unsplash

I worked at a restaurant when this happened. A guy finishes eating and then goes to the bathroom, the bus boys assume he's gone and start bussing his table. He comes back screaming for a manager stating that he left his phone on the table and the bus boys must have stolen it. He demanded that the manager search the bus boys.

He was promptly told no, we're not doing that. The guy calls the authorities. They show up and tell him: "Sorry sir, that's abandoned property, how do you know a customer didn't take it”? The guy stormed off.

GoodOlSpence

31. It’s Not Just Ungrateful Kids

Last Christmas, a husband wanted to get his wife a brand new laptop so she could start using the internet for shopping, etc. He purchased from us, after much deliberation, a brand new Samsung 13" Chromebook. A few days later, the wife marched him back into the store demanding that I refund the order and supply her with a MacBook.

She then had the nerve to take it further. She told her husband he was useless and that he didn't listen or understand her. The phrase "open your ears" was used repeatedly. It really boiled my blood.

permalink

32. Nothing’s Good Enough

vegetable salad on black ceramic plate Photo by Vicky Ng on Unsplash

One time at work, they provided free lunch for everyone. It was all laid out, all you had to do was fix a plate. Apparently, that wasn't simple enough—things got heated real quick. Several of my co-workers got angry because they had to walk into the other room and get it. They felt like it should have been brought to their desks.

permalink

33. Ghosted

My wife and I had just moved into our first place on our own. After being on our own for about three months, my wife's sister calls her crying. Her sister, husband, and daughter had lost their home in a fire about a year prior and had been staying with some friends who were kind enough to let them stay with them.

We had an extra bedroom so we decided to let them come stay with us until they got back on their feet. It was supposed to only be a few weeks, but it turned into eight months. For eight months we let them stay with us rent-free; the only thing we asked them to pay was the difference in the electric bill each month, which amounted to only $30 to $50 a month.

I should mention that we were violating our lease by letting them stay with us. We hid them from our landlord for a while but eventually, she figured it out. Fortunately, she felt sorry for them and said it was okay for them to stay a little longer. But after the eighth month, she sent us a letter saying that if they weren't out in a week then we'd be violating our lease. So we had to ask them to go. Their reaction was seriously devastating.

Almost immediately after they left, they deleted us off Facebook, and never talked to us again. When we tried to get into contact with them to see why they were mad at us, my wife's sister claimed she was angry that we asked them to help out with the electric bill. And because of that, they weren't able to buy tickets to go see A Perfect Circle.

But my wife and I had bought ourselves tickets, and I even bought my little sister a ticket too since she's never seen them live before. And apparently, they were angry at us for this.

Ericyoung0322

34. In The Name Of The Moon, I’d Punish her

woman in white and blue sleeveless dress standing indoors Photo by Alex Sheldon on Unsplash

I made the mistake of being nostalgic while at my uncle's house and watching an old episode of Sailor Moon online. My younger cousin who's about ten watched it with me and was instantly obsessed. Her birthday is in August and I've been babysitting her for years, so I've seen her ridiculous birthday lists.

That year, she demanded that she get a full-on Halloween costume of Sailor Moon, complete with red boots, a scepter, and long flowing blond hair. My aunt searched tirelessly online—but to order one of those really nice cosplay costumes with custom measurements can be hundreds of dollars.

Instead, she made it, slaved over stitched this costume, and created this wig and little leg covers all for one day of my younger cousin’s life. It was honestly very good, and much better than some of the stuff they sell online. She presented it to her on Halloween—and my cousin shocked everyone. She just cried, threw down the costume, and started screaming and stepping on it; telling her mom how much she hated it and how it wasn't even close to what she wanted.

FreeTheGingers

35. There’s No Pleasing Her

This past Christmas, I went home to visit my family for our first Christmas together in 10 years. Because it was our first in so long, everyone was there—about 20 of us. Being Sicilians, we celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with lots of food. We were all at my mother's house, and she was stressing about everyone being there, so I ended up cooking all of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner.

I made the traditional feast of fish for Christmas Eve, as well as cookies and cannoli. I roasted prime rib and broiled lobster tails for Christmas day dinner. I did all this for 20 people. My whole family thanked me profusely–and then there was my mother. She yelled at me for leaving the kitchen messy, which my brothers cleaned up anyway.

dma1965

36. Return To Sender

pile of printing papers Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

The previous owner of my house occasionally still gets mail delivered to this address. He and I both work at the same university, in different departments. I generally take his mail to his department's main office/secretary, rather than writing "not at this address" on the envelope and putting the mail back into the box.

One day, I "bundled" two mail items—apparently, that was a massive mistake. It caused him to think I waited for the second piece of mail to arrive and thus delaying his mail. I happened to be on my way out of his department's mail room when I overheard him exploding to his department's secretary, complaining loudly that this was very important mail and that for me not to give it to him right away was "just unconscionable”.

So I coughed a bit louder than necessary, drew his attention to me, and left, not saying a word.

From then on, all his mail got the "not at this address" treatment.

blonderengel

37. Petty Revenge Is The Best Revenge

I worked in the cell phone department at an electronics store for quite a while. When the new iPhone 4S came out, I saw a lot of pretty astounding things. 16-year-old girls routinely cried because I wouldn't let them make changes to their parent's family plans or sign them up for new contracts, etc.

But one of the most astounding things I ever witnessed was a man who came in with his daughter who looked to be about 14-ish. The daughter was dressed in showy designer clothes from head to toe. Her dad walked up to me and says "She wants the iPhone 4S 64GB in white”. I'm a critic of Apple products and I saw the dad squirm when I told him that even on a brand new three-year contract, it would still be around $300.

Also, because it was an Apple product, if he needed any warranty work done, he'd have to send it away. My little corner of nowhere doesn't have an Apple store. I showed him the Samsung Galaxy S II, which was new at the time, and how it was faster, had a more durable screen, had better internet capabilities, etc etc.

He called his daughter over to see the Android device. That's when it all hit the fan. This kid started screaming at me "You're trying to trick my dad into getting me this loser phone so I'll be an outcast, you jerk"!

Needless to say, I may not have gotten the sale that day, but I did get the amusement of watching a 14 year-old-girl get dragged out of the store by security. I should note that her father profusely apologized to me and handed me a crisp $20 for my trouble.

38. Sit Down & Shut Up

people in bus Photo by Mark Cook on Unsplash

Back in college, I use to ride the city bus to and from my apartment to campus. Pretty much everyone did. My bus would sometimes get crowded so all of the seats would fill up and people would stand. Anyway, this tiny girl gets on the bus carrying a large box. I was seated but gave up my seat to her because I tend to give up my seat to the elderly. Her behavior was appalling.

She took my seat without giving a thank you and said: "You only gave me your seat because you didn't want me to fall on you”. God, I hate people sometimes.

impactplayer

39. Blinded By The Light

I did an insane amount of work on an old couple's house and yard, for no payment, because they were too fragile, and their property was in bad shape. I worked most days after school and every Sunday for about two months painting, cleaning, removing trees and shrubs, repairing windows, rehanging doors, pulling up nasty carpet, and replacing plumbing fixtures that had rusted to the point of failure.

When I was done, they called me over. I thought I’d get a thank you—I was so wrong. They told me to pray for the great things God has done for them over the past two months. I walked out without saying anything.

Later, I was at my grandparent's house, where I lived at the time, acting all dejected. My great uncle, who was a priest, asked what was wrong. I explained. He said to me "People like that have been brainwashed from childhood to believe that all good things come directly from miracles or people acting as agents of god's will. All bad things are attributed to Satan. They feel you are the acting agent of the lord in this situation, don't take that as not being appreciated. They just don't know anything else”.

It made me feel a lot better but at the same time kind of sad for them.

creepyredditloaner

40. Karma Strikes Again

Frozen Princess Anna doll Photo by Sandra Gabriel on Unsplash

When I was very young, maybe six, my mother took us to her friends' house for New Years' Eve. We were pretty poor, and her friends were a lot better off. They had a beautiful house with marble counters, a piano, and all kinds of stuff. Her friend was gracious enough to give us kids small presents.

Mine was a gorgeous domino doll with porcelain hands, a porcelain face, and a silk outfit. I still cringe thinking about what I told her. I said I was too old for dolls. My poor mother must have been humiliated. I was banished to the playroom with the other kids, where I started feeling...not so well. By the time we went home, I felt awful and itchy.

I got chicken pox because I was rude.

mari_who

41. Gone Fishin’

My 45-year-old sister who lives with my parents screamed and threw a temper tantrum like a four-year-old at my terminally ill father, whose only offense was accidentally waking her up at 6 am because he was getting ready to go fishing and made too much noise. She then made a veiled threat to my father ("I won't be around to bother you much longer") to try to make him feel like garbage.

To make things worse, she told me that she had taken a handful of pills when I went back inside to grab my hat. I just told her she was crazy, put on my hat, and we went fishing. When we came back and she was on the couch, still watching TV. I guess the pills didn't work.

Poxx

42. Now That’s A Twist

a nintendo wii game system sitting on top of a wooden table Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash

After getting close to $500 in gifts for Christmas, my sister tore down the tree, kicked other people's gifts, and started yelling and crying, because she didn't see a Wii among her presents. This was when they were really hard to find. Well, there was something that she didn’t realize—and it made her curl up in embarrassment when she found out.

We actually did get her a Wii, she just didn't get to it yet. I even had to take on a second-holiday job at an online gaming store to get it. She was a 24-year-old med student at the time.

permalink

43. Beggars Can’t Be Choosers

My father was a surgeon. He never turned a case down, and frequently did pro bono work. I worked in his office when I was a teen, filing insurance. One case was a woman who had a lump on her breast and no insurance. Because the lumpectomy was positive, he operated on her, avoiding a radical mastectomy. On the day of her follow-up, he had been called to the ER.

She then began to unleash her fury on him. She berated him to the staff for being so inconsiderate. When he came into the office, she saw him through the reception window, yelled at him for wasting her time, and told him she was going to go find another doctor—all in front of the other people in the waiting room and the nurses and staff. She also said she was reporting him to the medical board, which she did. They investigate every complaint.

Hers was that he was "curt" with her and rude. They spent his time on this investigation about a month later. She stormed out of the office and never returned. He absorbed every fee associated with the case and still didn't stop donating his services, which makes me proud to this day.

Unshavenhelga

44. Never Enough

person using laptop computer holding card Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash

My brother is the worst. There was one exact quote that sent me over the edge. He told my mom: "What have you ever done for me? Raising my daughter doesn't count”! Say what? My mom is raising his six-year-old daughter even though she is over 50 and just wants to enjoy her older years since she dedicated so much of her life and time to us.

She willingly offered her home to this little girl with a MAJOR expensive time consuming medical condition so she could have a stable happy home. She constantly goes to the opposite side of town, brings him to her house—a total of 1 hour 30 minutes of driving—so he can help her around the house, and then he demands payment. He gets mad every time she won't give him money.

He does not have a driver’s license and he screamed at her for two hours because she wouldn't let him borrow money to buy a car. I have yet to see him pay back any "borrowed" money. My grandmother just bought him top and bottom dentures because he messed up his teeth so bad they all had to be pulled and he got mad because she won't pay for implants instead of dentures.

That’s not even the worst part. I still am not sure how, but a scam check in the amount of $5,000 was sent to my dad's house. My dad graciously deposited the check into his bank account and withdrew the money (stupid bank). He gave it to my brother because they have the same name. SHOCKINGLY, the check bounced and the bank started accusing my dad of fraud.

My grandparents had to pay off the bank so they wouldn't press charges. When they attempted to talk to my brother about a payment plan to pay them back he threatened their lives and now can't understand why my dad's side of the family can't stand him. He was never stupid enough to try it on me—except once. Luckily his best friend is also a friend of mine. I still don't know why she sticks around, he isn't good to her either.

She warned me before he got too far into the scam and ever since then I refuse to provide him with money or anything else. He constantly says I am a jerk and I never help him, but when my mom needs a babysitter for his kid, who is there every time? Even though I have to rearrange my whole schedule at work, I have to get up earlier and stay up later to ensure that she has everything she needs.

I do it for him, I do it for her, and I do it for my mom. But evidently, his daughter doesn't count.

permalink

45. You Can’t Take It With You

I have an acquaintance who is 50ish. He’s threatening to take his parents, who are in their '80s, to court because they're five-star larking around the world and he's terrified that there won't be anything significant left to inherit. He's been living his life based on the assumption that he'll be getting a 7 figure payout when his parents kick. So his retirement depends on getting their money.

How did he react to the news that they were getting a reverse mortgage on the house? Full-on screaming hissy fit. Dying (almost) broke = doing it right in my opinion.

bloodguard

46. Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Cartoons

black coupe parked on parking lot during daytime Photo by Mohamed Osama on Unsplash

When I was a kid, I was home sick from school one day. My mom told me she'd go rent a movie for me to watch. Expecting a cartoon, I got really excited since I loved cartoons, and back then they were seldom on TV. She came home and had brought a live-action film. I was so disappointed I cried and yelled for a while, and said I didn't want to watch it. I would soon eat those very words.

She was like "Fine, I'll watch it on my own”! When she started watching it I pretended not to watch, but I couldn't help not watching it. It turned out it was the best movie I had ever seen. It made me both appreciate live-action films and convinced me my mom always knew what was best for me. The movie was Back to the Future.

Scambrero

47. From A Fuss Over Nothing To Nothing To Fuss Over

My mother's friend threw his daughter a birthday party. This was a fairly affluent family, so she got a big party with all of her friends, and this girl got a lot of nice stuff. She got dolls, a dollhouse, various toys, a freaking horse with all of the riding gear, and the promise of lessons and everything she could ever need for the horse.

This brat got what millions of little girls all over the country dream of, and you know what she did? She flipped her lid because it was the wrong dollhouse. She got a horse and she threw a huge screaming temper tantrum over the (enormous) dollhouse.

Now, I shall digress a bit and tell you about her father. Her dad came from Africa to the US as a refugee, and most of his friends and family were killed. This guy competed in the Olympics and worked so hard to become a doctor. As one might expect, this guy did not take kindly to his daughter's obvious lack of appreciation for her privileged lifestyle so he cut that stuff right out. He made sure she got what she deserved.

He canceled the party right then. The guests still got to eat cake and keep their party favors, but he packed up all the toys and took them back to the store, He even took the horse back and grounded the heck out of his spoiled kid.

Bakoro

48. That Act Of Kindness Fell Flat

red mercedes benz c class Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

I saw this woman on the side of the road who had a flat tire and was clearly having issues changing it. So I decided to halt my run and go see if I could help out. I strolled over and offered my services to her—she accepted, but she backed away a pretty far distance. I proceeded to change her tire and helped get her on her way.

As soon as I finished, I proceeded to extend my arm for a handshake. Her reaction was chilling. She said, "Back away, I have 9-1-1 on my phone right now and all I have to do is press call”. I don't know if she thought I was going to attack her or something, but you don't just do that to someone who just helped you change your tire. Flabbergasted, I ran away and I haven't seen that woman since.

I don't understand what she may have been through in the past, but if it was that uncomfortable for her to accept help from a stranger, then she should have just thanked me for offering but still graciously declined. Instead, she accepted my help and then threatened to call 9-1-1 on me.

Unfriendly_alien

49. Scarred For Life

I was visiting friends at their farm years ago. I was with my friend from high school, his wife, and their daughter who was about 16. The daughter was out saddling her horse when the horse kicked her in the chest. The aftermath was brutal—it collapsed her throat and she couldn’t breathe. I performed an emergency tracheotomy saving her life. Well, about two months later, I got a letter from a lawyer.

They changed their mind about how grateful they were and decided to sue me for leaving a scar from the tracheotomy.

permalink

50. Code Red

orange parrot Photo by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash

I work at a pet store. A few months ago, we had a scarlet macaw up for sale. I was weighing her in the front of the store since we have to track their growth when we get them.

A little kid and her grandfather came into the store while I was doing this. The little girl, who looked about 10 years old—as in, old enough to know better—RAN towards the bird.

That was already not good, but it got even worse. It took me a good 10 minutes to coax the poor bird out of her cage to get her weighed. She was a very timid bird, and she was slow to trust people. Anyway, the little girl was running at me, while I had a very large bird on my arm, and she ended up spooking the bird. It jumped off of my arm and luckily landed on the register counter where there was also a scale, thankfully.

As politely as I could, I asked the girl to please take a few steps back because the bird was very afraid. I told her she could watch, but she needed to keep her distance. She was okay with that for about 10 seconds. After I weighed the bird, I got her to step back up onto my arm and I told the little girl I had to take her back to her cage now and give her some treats for being a good bird.

This did not go over well. The little girl followed me back to the cage and kept asking if she could pet the bird. In case you don't know much about birds, scarlet macaws have VERY large and VERY strong beaks. If they feel threatened enough, they will defend themselves with that beak, and I have no doubt that they could easily take a finger off if they wanted to.

So she asked if she could pet it. I told her no, I'm sorry, but she doesn't like strangers touching her, and she might try to bite you, I don't want you to get hurt. Wrong thing to say, apparently. "I WANNA PET THE BIRD!!! LET ME PET IT! LET ME PET THE BIRD”! She started throwing a temper tantrum, and I just ignored her at this point, since the macaw was starting to bite ME on the arm. I still have bruises from this.

I just wanted to get her in the cage and get the girl as far away as possible. And the whole time, her grandfather was just standing there watching. He didn't say anything; he just let her carry on. So I got the bird back into the cage, and she was now on the other side, sticking her fingers in. Again, I asked her to back up, since the bird could lunge and bite her very easily. So she backs up.

Thank God, I was thinking to myself. Maybe she'll go look at the hamsters or something else now. Nope. She went up to her grandfather and literally screamed at him, "BUY ME THAT BIRD! I WANT THAT BIRD! BUY IT FOR ME”! He just looked at me and asked how much it was. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

First off, I told him the bird was $2,000. Plus the cost of the cage, plus food, substrate, etc. Second, I told him they can live quite a long time. On average in captivity, they can get up to 50 years old, and sometimes longer. This bird was not something you buy just because a 10-year-old girl demanded it.

I actually had to stand there and talk him out of buying this bird for about 10 minutes. At least I could figure out where this girl got her attitude from. He was about to buy a screaming 10-year-old a $2,000 bird without a second thought. Good lord. I lost some of my faith in humanity that day. Luckily, they walked out of the store after that, though she did not leave quietly. She was kicking and screaming the whole way out of the store. I haven't seen them since.

nonsensicalalexis

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.