
Non-Americans Share Their Local 'Bigfoot' And 'Area 51' Equivalents
[rebelmouse-image 18349518 is_animated_gif=Of course you do. It's an American cultural legend. Almost a ghost story--it's a clear cover-up by the government with no true explanation. Only theories. It's almost fun to stew on. But every country must have something like this, right?
ekrgekgt asked Reddit:
Non-Americans of reddit, what is the "Bigfoot" or "Area 51" equivalent of your country?
Here are some culturally diverse urban legends.
Dahut
[rebelmouse-image 18349519 is_animated_gif=In france we have a mythical creature in the mountain regions called a "dahut". What's funny is that it supposedly has shorter legs on one side, either left or right, to accomodate the slopes he lives on. So if you encounter one, you just have to shout, which causes him to turn around, thus falling down because the long legs are now on the top side of the slope... That flaw makes them a rare sight and an endangered species.
Ghost Train
[rebelmouse-image 18349520 is_animated_gif=In Stockholm (Sweden) we have a half finished metro station that you just pass through. It is rumored that there is a ghost train called Silverpilen (the silver arrow) traveling to that station. If you accidentally board that train your die and your ghost is trapped on the train forever.
Missing
[rebelmouse-image 18349521 is_animated_gif=Slovakia here - There's a myth of Bermuda triangle like phenomenon in mountains (or perhaps hills) of Tríbe?. It is nothing but few hills, forest and it is really hard to get lost there, because of its small size in square kilometres, but few people went missing there and were never found.
Sirens
[rebelmouse-image 18349522 is_animated_gif=Grew up in a rural part in the south of Norway. When I was a kid my parents and other adults would tell us stories about "Nøkken". A water creature that would lure you to the water and drown you. I remember the dad of my bestfriend telling me they could come through the toilet and drag you through to your death.
Méxicante
[rebelmouse-image 18349523 is_animated_gif=Mexico has "La Llorona" (the crying woman), who's basically a Mexican banshee lady who lives in the countryside.
Also, el Chupacabra, a beast said to suck the blood of farm animals.
Abandonment
[rebelmouse-image 18349524 is_animated_gif=In the Netherlands we have a bunch of military bases, which you can all look up on google maps and see the satellite pictures of, but there's this one area of a military school they felt the need to scramble. [link].
I've been in that area once (you can just walk to it, it's about as secure as a regular school), and there's nothing interesting there. It seems like a leftover they forgot to 'undo' when in the past they blurred every military area, but many people in the area think they train special marines there, which I highly doubt.
Unidentified Flying Mountain
[rebelmouse-image 18349525 is_animated_gif=Oh boy, I was waiting for this question to be asked.
I live in a small city in Serbia, Zaje?ar. About 35 km away from me is a pyramid shaped mountain called Rtanj . And why that mountain is popular, besides that strange shape is because there are rumors that aliens land there. But, the fun part is, there were lots of UFO sightings over Rtanj and over my home town too. Even I saw a couple of UFO's flying over the mountain. Scientists have gathered a couple of times to investigate what is happening over there. And the only thing they have said is that the UFO's might be lightning balls, although they don't know why they're forming on the mountain.
Now, I will try my best to describe them. My whole family has seen them, since our balcony is directly facing the mountain , and all of them behave and look the same way. Small circles that are moving extremely fast in similar patterns, their paths are usually like geometrical shapes. They also change color, and after travelling for a couple of minutes, they disappear into thin air, sometimes they can even reappear in a different place. Note: the sky was always clear, no clouds were near those things
Ogopogo..ie?
[rebelmouse-image 18349526 is_animated_gif=We've got the Ogopogo in Okanagan lake in B.C. Canada. It's kinda like the Loch Ness monster except... wait no there's pretty much no difference
Ghosts
[rebelmouse-image 18349529 is_animated_gif=Lots of them in Galicia, Spain. The one that scared me the most as a child was the myth of the "Santa Compaña":
The common belief is that of a procession of the dead (or a procession of souls that are in torment) that wander through the village paths of a parish beginning at midnight wearing white, hooded cloaks. The procession is led by a living person carrying a cross or a cauldron of holy water (sometimes he carries both), followed by several of the souls of the dead holding lit candles. The living leader of the procession is compelled by a supernatural force (in this case, a mysterious curse) to go out every night and walk by towns, villages and forests; but having no recollection of it the following day. By the same token, because the living person is unaware of what he is doing, there is no chance that he will renounce his duty in leading the Santa Compaña as the curse that forces him to lead the procession puts him into a trance every midnight.
The region of Galicia is pretty similar to Ireland, they even share to a certain degree some Celtic traditions. My parents told me that the rainy weather, the fog, etc... was the origin of such stories.
More Than The Yeti
[rebelmouse-image 18349530 is_animated_gif=India
We have Yeti, a snowy figure which is rumored to live in the Himalayas.
There are many equivalents of Area 51, mainly:
- Pokhran Test Ranges. Pokhran TR is secured by more than 5 Indian agencies working independently or in tandem with other agencies. The outer perimeter is secured by special BSF commandos while Indian Army secures the facility. Overall security Is maintained by RAW and MI officers. There is also a COIN team to check any leak of information from within. Various ISI spies have been caught trying to get soil or nail samples of the scientists working there. A CIA agent too was rumored to be caught.
- Wheeler's Island. India's missile testing base. India's strategic nuclear missiles and tactical missiles, all are tested here. From Agni 5 to BrahMos, everything takes shape here.
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Of the 572 islands in AANI, only 34 are open to public. AANI also hosts India's top secret Tried Service command.
- Trishul Airbase. Trishul Airbase in Bareilly is the largest underground airbase in Asia. This facility was so secure that it housed the MiG-25 fox bats which were bought under complete secrecy. The acknowledgement of Foxbats happened only on the day they were retired. Imagine an airbase so secure that you don't see which fighter jet flies out of it.
Iceland-Consonants, AND Monsters
[rebelmouse-image 18349531 is_animated_gif=Iceland, we have a few. I'll skip the elves, ghosts, trolls and dwarves for now.
- Nykur - a water demon that lures you to your death masquerading as a horse
- Lagarfljótsormurinn - cousin of Loch Ness Monster
- Yule Cat - it will eat the naughty children at Yule (called Christmas in some places these days)
Kareful Of Kappa
[rebelmouse-image 18349532 is_animated_gif=In Japan, it would be kappa. A human like green creature that lives around river.
The Fictional City
[rebelmouse-image 18349533 is_animated_gif=The city of "Bielefeld" in Germany.
If you look it up on any map, or even on Google, you'll find nothing except a normal looking city.
Except that city does not exist. No one is completely sure why it shows up on almost every map, but it has always been that way. There are some theories, that "Bielefeld" was created by a map maker a few hundred years back to check if anyone copys his maps and after some people did that, Bielefled has become some sort of easter-egg for map designers.
Some guys will argue that they are from Bielefeld, but thats just an old running joke in germany.
A Million Ways To Die
[rebelmouse-image 18349534 is_animated_gif=UK.
Instead of UFOS abductions our folklore has a lot of faerie/fairies abductions. People being tempted and drowned in lakes by Kelpies. People stepping into faerie circles/rings and dancing at a party for a few minutes but when they leave its been hundred years and someone see's them dissolve into dust. Fairies stealing babies and swapping changelings in their place. People destroying a fairy fort and getting cursed, even in modern day link and link some of these stories are still heard, but not so much in the abduction side.
Hasn't been a sighting for years but spring heeled jack is an old one.
There's always sightings of big black cats or hounds England) in the countryside and I've had one of these experiences myself. Saw a black cat in a field when I was a passenger in a car but it didn't look right like for the size and distance it was. Something didn't match up. Either a perspective illusion or it was a big cat.
Lot and lots of haunted places. Every town seems to have a good few ghost stories.
Secret societies and what they get up to. Freemasons being linked to jack the ripper (if you read they all love jack) or demon summoning if you follow they are based around king Solomon myths. Funnily Illuminati used to be a real but less sinister group and it sounds like most of the fears about them come from their rivalry with the freemasons. Though in most cases these societies and freemasons seem to be glorified gentlemen's drinking clubs and not that sinister nowadays. There's also Aleister Crowley and his former group the Golden Dawn too.
Tee Hee
[rebelmouse-image 18349535 is_animated_gif=In Portugal there's the "Honest Politician". No one has seen any in ages, our parents swear they were a real thing a couple decades ago, but it's been so long since anyone's seen any, that it pretty much became a mythical creature.
The Most Canadian Bigfoot
[rebelmouse-image 18349536 is_animated_gif=Aboriginal Canadian... Also Bigfoot. We call him Sabe and he is a tender manitou (spirit creature) of the forest that teaches us honesty. Arguable you could also include the windigo and our various sea serpents, some of which other people living in Canada also believe in.
Also a local Rez has a story about Monkey-Dog, half monkey and half dog that causes mischief. It's not my Rez so I don't know too much about it. I can only assume a white man brought it over to inconvenience them.
A Hot Place
[rebelmouse-image 18349538 is_animated_gif=Aussie here. I can't think of anything which fits the bill. Aboriginal people have plenty of legends, but nobody thinks they might be true. The Thylacine is believed to be extinct but if it was found in the wild, nobody would be totally surprised.
There is a story I heard of the Black Dac. Basically a DC4 Dakota painted totally black which is seen flying over the outback from time to time. Most of the stories have it passing over a campsite at 50 feet or so.
But I have never met anybody else who knows that story so it doesn't really qualify.
Evil Mountain
[rebelmouse-image 18349539 is_animated_gif=It's not my country, but Russians have Metro 2. It is/was a secret metro system buried deep enough under Moscow to withstand a direct nuclear attack. It was made to help ferry government officials from place to place and act as a nuclear shelter as well. Supposedly it has lines that stretch beyond Moscow so they can flee the city if necessary, but it also has living quarters and offices if they need to stay. Like Area 51, it's existence is confirmed, but there are many legends about what goes on in it, and nobody knows if it is still operational.
They also have Mount Yamantau, which is their closest Area 51 analogue. The mountain itself literally means "Evil Mountain" in the Bashkir language, and the Russians have been constructing some kind of massive facility there. Tens of thousands of workers are housed there but the Russian government has been tight-lipped on what is going on there. They've refused to give the US even a hint of what Mt. Yamantau might be used for, and the speculation is endless.
Tikoloshe
[rebelmouse-image 18349540 is_animated_gif=In South Africa, there is a Zulu folklore about a little dude that basically looks like a dwarf/ water sprite/ gremlin type, and he just causes mischief wherever he goes. A lot of Zulu families until this day still put their beds on bricks because they believe that it's too high up for the gremlin to reach. He's known as the Tikoloshe. Zulu shamans created him back in the day to scare people off if they offended the shaman. Apparently he can do all sorts of things; from stealing to killing. The folklore says that the Tikoloshe mostly targets schoolchildren.
Space Dust
[rebelmouse-image 18349541 is_animated_gif=The Tunguska Meteorite.
The year was 1908, late June. For several days, in several locations in the Northern Hemisphere strange lights were seen in the sky. Mainly in Western Siberia, but also as far as Bristol in England. Then, on June 30th, an enormous ball of flames flew over Siberia. A giant explosion was seen and heard hundreds of kilometers from the crash site, with observatories all over the world detecting a shockwave from it. Glass was shattered within a radius of a few hundred kilometers, and a wave of hot air was reported by several people living far away from each other. Reports closest to the epicenter of the explosion say that the heatwave was so devastating that dry grass bust into flames.
The force of the explosion is estimated to be up to 50 megatons, equal to the power of the Soviet thermonuclear weapon, the Tsar bomb. The explosion was heard from 800 km and the seismic wave was detected all the way in Germany. For almost the entire month after that, lights in the sky kept appearing.
The year was 1927. A meteorite researcher named Leonid Kulik went on an expedition to find the crater from the supposed meteorite. Having gathered several witness reports in 1921, he determined where the epicenter should have been. He never found the crater. Not even after he photographed 250 square km of land from a plane in 1938. To this day, no crater was found, and consensus is, no crater ever existed. The meteorite exploded several kilometers from the ground. Yet, even now, nobody knows for certain what exactly it was.
The strange lights in the sky were actually easy to explain, it was ice from the meteorite. But it wasn't pure ice, and what caused it to explode before hitting ground is unknown. It's still a mystery, and it caused many science fiction writers to incorporate it into their stories. To this day it is used as a source for alien technology in fiction, with a video game Crysis 2 being a good example.
If someone were to ask us which book we either hated or could not finish, we all have an answer to that question.
There are some books that simply do not work for us, while others stick with us forever.
Redditor Fair_Swing_6461 asked:
"What is the most challenging book you've ever read and why?"
'Ulysses'
"I have been an avid reader for many years. Thick and difficult books usually don't daunt me. 'Ulysses' by James Joyce has me beat, though. I just can't take the rambling about nothing at all and gave up 200 pages in."
- AppealAlive2718
Finnegans Wake
"'Finnegans Wake' by James Joyce: hold my pftjschute."
- A_Mirabeau_702
"'Finnegans Wake' is very similar to this for me. I tried to read both 'Ulysses' and 'Finnegans Wake' and never got too far with either, even though they fascinated me."
- TopRamenBinLaden
"'Finnegans Wake' is so much more difficult to understand than 'Ulysses,' in my opinion. 'Ulysses' is like a waking man’s stream of consciousness while 'Finnegans' is almost in a weird dream-like stream of consciousness that hits different readers in different ways. 'Ulysses' is Joyce playing with style/prose while 'FW' is him playing with language."
- philsqwad
Infinite Jest
"'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace."
"Every page has footnotes that are required to understand the story. All 1,000 of them."
- HeliosTheGreat
House of Leaves
"I'm reminded of 'House of Leaves' by Mark Z. Danielewski, where the footnotes are the story."
- Viltris
The Silmarillion
"'The Silmarillion' by J. R. R. Tolkien."
"It's like the Old Testament of Middle Earth. I couldn't do it."
- doug1963
Being Mortal
"'Being Mortal' by Atul Gawande."
"My Dad read it to prepare himself for his death from cancer. He gave it to me and said he hopes it brings me the comfort of his demise as it brought him."
"I can't get past chapter three. I cry each time I try to finish it. Ugly uncontrollable despair cry."
"It is a great book, it has helped me a lot. The author has some important insights into mortality. But six years on, I am still not there yet."
- ohno_spaghetti_o
Les Miserables
"'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo, in French. I was a second-year French language student."
- bustedaxles
"I came here to say 'Les Miserables' in English. The plot, more plot, 50+ pages of the history of Paris's sewers, more plot, more plot, more extremely long history."
"I enjoy history but don't interject an extensive detailing of it in the middle of a story."
- XShadowborneX
Blood Meridian
"'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy. Judge Holden is one of the most disgusting yet intriguing characters in fiction I have ever read."
- Andrista
Reading Comprehension Who?
"I've read a bunch of Thomas Pynchon and Dostoevsky cover to cover and forget everything that happened in them."
"I find it very hard to reconstruct the words on the page into a movie in my brain. I might as well be reading a bunch of numbers. Pretty much all fictional books are challenging for me."
- JFKRFJSRVLBJ
Lolita
"'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov. It's an infamous book that has been historically misinterpreted, romanticized, and weaponized as a love story, when it's really the account of the sexual abuse and manipulation of a 12-year-old girl, written from the perspective of the abuser trying to convince the reader of his innocence."
"Some scenes are gut-wrenching when you actually read between the lines and keep in mind who is telling the story. It's the ultimate 'unreliable narrator.'"
- CascadingStyle
Intruder in the Dust
"Anything by William Faulkner. Specifically 'Intruder in the Dust,' because that is the one I actually read. It was a requirement for one of my college classes. It was awful."
"He doesn’t use punctuation. Sometimes a 'sentence' can go on for pages at a time."
- Nomadic_View
"'The Sound and the Fury' did me in. I had to read it for my last year of high school at a time when you couldn’t look up summaries and whatnot."
"It was just an uninterrupted stream of consciousness with barely any punctuation or flow. The definition of word vomit. I felt the mental equivalent of motion sick when I read it, and thinking back on it I can vividly recall these feelings, even several years later."
- FEDophilliac
Quantum Ontology
"'Quantum Ontology: A Guide to the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics' by Peter J. Lewis."
"The book focuses on the three dominant interpretations of Quantum mechanics from a viewpoint of metaphysical ontology (the philosophy of what exists and what is real)."
"I have read many popular books on Quantum physics both in English and in Dutch. I can say I understand 70% of what is written in those books. This book sparked my interest very much when I came across it."
"I did not understand any of it. I could not finish the second chapter as I had no idea what the h**l this guy was talking about. It grounded my smug a** for a while."
- Some_Belgian_Guy
Moby Dick
"'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville. Just chapter after chapter describing whales and the whaling process. This might have captured the imagination in the 1850s, but when you’ve been watching Attenborough documentaries since childhood, explaining how big a whale is becomes tedious."
- berserk_kipper
"I think people approach it wrong. It’s not a book about an exciting adventure, although it does have that, it’s a book about being bored at sea and reminiscing on life. I hate when people say you should only read the plot chapters. The point of the book is finding meaning in the dull things around you, and the writing is beautiful."
- Tippacanoe
David Copperfield
"This is a strange choice because it's a classic, but I struggled with 'David Copperfield,' because of the writing style, by the author, Charles Dickens, who wrote these long, drawn-out sentences, and it got to the point, as I was reading, where I would just start to count, in my mind, how many punctuation marks there were, in each sentence."
- neoprenewedgie
While we could take this conversation as sad, seeing as how there are books out there that some people do not like, it's better to take it as a reminder that not every book is going to be for us, and we have every right to put that book down and pick one up that we'll love instead.
If we think back to our childhood and school years, we likely can remember someone who was always getting into trouble.
The assumption at the time might have been that this child was going nowhere, but as some will point out, these troubled kids can wind up being just as successful as everyone else, if not even more so.
Redditor bluewhalebluejay asked:
"Teachers of Reddit: Do you have a former student who you thought was doomed but ended up making it big? What's their story?"
Being Someone's Beacon
"I've had a few kids stand out."
"One of my first ones was a kid who was in my grade 10 drama class. Nice kid to me, with no major issues. Funny, not super academically inclined, but started to really like drama and we got along."
"He missed class somewhat frequently for excused absences that were noted as 'court.' I assume mostly weed related... just because of reasons. But I never asked."
"Anyway, halfway through the semester, he came in and announced it was his last day because he was being sent to juvie and he was upset he wouldn't be able to continue in drama (his other courses they could manage through distance education type things)."
"Was subbing back at the school the following year and ran into him. He'd caught up on all his missing credits while in juvie because he 'had nothing better to do so why not get some s**t done.' He was going to now graduate on time and was super proud of himself. Not sure where he's ended up now ten years later, but weed is legal now so as long as he's not dealing, so hopefully he's doing okay."
"Different school and where I ended up getting a permanent position so I stayed in the same place for a while, had this girl show up in grade nine and had her for Arts and English. She was... a lot. She would fully shut down and just not do anything. Or talk. Or she'd have a full-blown tantrum. She was exhausting."
"I drug her along through the Arts class and got her participating some days, which was apparently huge because in elementary, she was just left to do nothing all day because she wasn't disruptive. I jokingly suggested she take Drama with me the following year, but she hated speaking in public so figured that was a no-go."
"Did get her to do the lighting for the school show, though. She took drama every year. By the end of grade 12, she engaged with people, she could speak in front of the class, and she was completing credits (slowly and with a lot of support), but you could get work out of her. Apparently, I became her favorite teacher and I was one of the only ones she would do work for initially. But my god was she a lot of work some days. Glad I stuck it out because we got there eventually."
- somethingclever1712
Imposed Limiting Beliefs
"I had a teacher tell me I'd probably end up managing a Borders, but they went under in 2011, so the joke's on her."
- Kyengen
"My math teacher in high school moved me to the back of the room and told me to sit there and just look out the window. She said I’d be working at McDonald’s one day. I made $300k last year. She’s dead now."
- albatross_the
Reality Check
"Not a teacher, but I knew a kid who was your stereotypical couldn't give a f**k student."
"He never did his work, p**sed off teachers, cut class, did all kinds of drugs, and always had detention. I remember the highlight of his work was writing an essay on why he was Black, despite being white. About mid-senior year, he dropped out, and he kinda just disappeared. I honestly thought he'd end up in jail at some point."
"In 2019, my job sent me over to a site to do a survey for a company installing our AV equipment. Lo and behold, the guy leading the project was the same wild and crazy kid from high school."
"We chatted and caught up on things, but the guy really turned his life around. He got his GED, quit drugs, took up trade jobs, and worked his way up to a senior position in that AV installation company. It's interesting to see how people change like that when they enter the real world."
- draiman
Lack of Interests
"I had a student who was supposed to be a high school dropout but ended up graduating law school with honors."
- Somerset76
"That sounds like that was a case where the kid was smart but bored and needed a passion to find."
- whatproblems
"This sounds like my father and his brother. They were the same, screwing around in high school with bad grades, smoking weed and drinking and pulling pranks and playing poker all lunch, until college when they found what interested them. Now my uncle is a surgeon and my father is a scientist."
- jkssratmolo
Such a Small World
"I taught geography to a very talented (and now famous) footballer. He wasn't particularly academic but is now a multi-millionaire. The tabloids loved his scandals, but I dare say he's loving his retirement now."
- reiveroftheborder
Mental Health Assistance
"I did some volunteer work in mental health services for teens, specifically with music."
"Probably obviously, teens with mental health problems can be incredibly self-conscious and reserved. This one girl, in particular, was quite timid most of the time when there was anyone with her who wasn't a close friend."
"Over the course of a few years, I managed to coax her into singing in front of me, then to the group, then at a fundraising event for the group."
"The last thing I heard about her was a post on Facebook that a friend showed me. She was complaining about there only being about 50 people at a gig that she was playing! I still remember having to talk her into that first performance with just one or two people there!"
- Raephstel
Unbelievable Outcomes
"Son of two teachers, not a teacher. Our class criminal was acting out in grade school. He was a bully. He'd push kids down the stairs. He grabbed the boobs of the first girl in our class to have them."
"When he'd get in trouble, he'd run away from school, and the principal would get in his VW Bug and chase the kid down."
"In Junior high, he was suspended as often as he was in class it seemed. The same was true in high school. He didn't so much as graduate, as was passed on a plea bargain."
"Many years later, I saw him on Facebook. He's an oil man in Texas. His house is bigger than my yard, by a lot. He has a beautiful wife and daughter. On the surface, he made it and is living the dream."
"Now, he may still be a criminal. Financial success doesn't make one a good person. I don't know who he is these days. All I can say is growing up, I pictured him in jail or maybe in a trailer park as an adult. I never pictured him in a mansion living the high life."
- mike_e_mcgee
"The money may be nice but I'd rather have a small house than work on an oil rig, that's a dangerous life."
- whoamIreallyam8
"I bet he started on a rig or in a field, but he looks like a suit and tie guy these days. I agree 100%, though. My job gets me by (barely), but I'm safe and have a good work-life balance. I'd rather barely scrape by than be financially well off and either in danger or stuck at work all the time not enjoying the fruits of my labor! 40 hours a week is as much as I care to put in (I'd prefer less to be honest)."
- mike_e_mcgee
Deeply Underestimated
"I taught a first-year university course. It was the fall semester, so for many students, it was their first semester at university ever, and I had one student who struggled. She was young, it was her first time living away from home, and she seemed perpetually overwhelmed."
"I think she was just naive and inexperienced. About a month into the semester and her grandmother passed and they were very close. She came to my office to tell me she had to go home for the funeral and would miss a couple of classes."
"She was sobbing and I comforted her and told her not to worry about class. When she left my office, I honestly thought that I would never see her again and that she was going home permanently."
"I was wrong. She came back a week later and she was laser focused. She started speaking out in class and asking questions, she came to all of my office hours and study groups, and she began to make connections with other students in the class."
"She absolutely blew it out of the water, aced the final exam, and finished the course with the highest grade. We stayed in contact and I was actually her reference for an intensive internship that she was very excited about (and she got it)."
"I will never forget her and she truly humbled me. Was really a lesson for me not to underestimate people."
- littlepinch7
Measurable Success
"I worked administration in an elementary school. But I did take kids with low reading scores to the side to give them tutoring whenever I could."
"One kid stuck out. 15 words read per minute despite being eight years old. She had no confidence in herself, was too terrified to talk to anyone, and burst into tears at any mistake she made."
"Let's just say her family was... unsupportive and difficult. I did not see progress for MONTHS. I was worried about her future in school if she continued to lag behind and be too anxious to make it in the world."
"But eventually, she started talking to me. She stopped crying at mistakes, repeating my mantra ('It's okay to make mistakes, mistakes mean you're learning'). The words per minute score went up little by little as she began to show interest in different reading materials."
"By the end of the school year, she was looking forward to seeing me and her teacher said she was excited when the class took library trips. That teacher and I convinced the school to let me continue monitoring the student into the next school year. They agreed."
"One more year of tutoring passed. That shy, terrified girl became confident and happy. She talked to everyone, helped out in class, and demonstrated a fascination with learning new things. The new teacher told me how this kid was always trying to sneak books in-between classwork. In second grade, when we began, this student was one of the lowest-scored readers in her grade but by mid-year of third grade, she was the highest score. She was even helping out other kids!"
"I worked for a couple of years after she 'graduated' from my tutoring so I got to see her in the hallways. She always liked to tell me what she read in class, what she read in her personal time, and see what I'd recommend for her to read next. By the time I left my job, she was going to middle school and I knew she'd be just fine."
- SkysEevee
The End of the Bullying Era
"I had this classmate in high school who was the biggest d**k I saw in my entire life."
"He would beat people up if he didn't like the way they walked or whatever, would make teachers so angry in class that one of our teachers was rushed into the hospital due to hypertension."
"One day in our senior year, his mom and dad were tragically killed in a car crash, leaving him responsible for his three younger siblings."
"I didn't see him for a few weeks then one day came back and the principal was kind enough to accept him again back to school, but was informed that he may not graduate due to his very low grades."
"I have never seen such a sudden change of personality in my life. The dude became so focused and determined on graduating high school, it was scary."
"Fast forward 20 years to the year 2022, I had some legal issues to deal with, and one of my friends recommended me to a lawyer, and I was surprised when I saw him. All changed, turned his life around, saw the graduation pictures of his siblings displayed on his office wall, and has a beautiful wife and a daughter."
- Newbietron21
Talk About Leveling Up
"A stoner kid I knew who did nothing but doodle on everything ended up being some big shot at Lucasfilms and then Disney."
- hahahahthunk
Coming Full-Circle
"I am a coach and through a coincidence, two kids who used to be my neighbors came through my team. When we were neighbors, their house was known as the crack house. It ran off a generator for a while and the dad was siphoning gas out of neighborhood cars to run the generator."
"Their dog was left outside barking for two nights in a row (another neighbor and I decided if it went to night three, we were taking the dog, the weather was fair). Finally, the house was foreclosed and the pics of the inside lived up to the crack house name."
"Fast-forward some years and I took one of the kids on my team home. We happened to go past my house and he pointed and said he used to live down there. I put it together and asked if he used to have a dog named Oscar, and he did!"
"So it turns out his dad eventually went to jail for stealing cars and his mom was in recovery for addiction to pills. They had to move in with his grandfather in the local trailer park who was an alcoholic."
"So the older brother did well. He's in college in the next state and is gonna be okay. The younger brother, though, is about to graduate high school as the valedictorian and has a full ride to Cal Tech."
- kjm16216
A Different Perspective
"My husband had a teacher tell him with his efforts he would always be a B student, a B husband, and a B father. Another teacher, when learning of us getting married a few years later, said of me, 'Bless her heart.' He was a difficult, under-challenged student."
"I consider him an A+ husband and father, who runs his own 35-person company, a company that puts employees over profit. I'm just sorry those teachers didn’t see what has always been clear to me."
- merryrhino
An Irreplaceable Teacher
"For my primary school teachers, I was probably that kid. Never spoke and could never finish a worksheet to save my life. Had all the tutoring in the world and I just couldn’t understand numbers. Didn’t understand punctuation for a while, either. Luckily, English just clicked for me one day and I went from an F to an A in a week."
"Turns out I had undiagnosed Autism and the way they were teaching these fundamentals didn’t slot into my head right. God bless my extra help teachers because they sat me down and gave everything the most arbitrary rules so that it would make sense."
"I can’t remember them properly now but I just remember explaining my young self's logic of the world to her and she made all the punctuation and math symbols slot into those rules so I could use full stops and multiply things without going crazy."
"Now I’m in university studying STEM, probably still applying a lot of Mrs. Brown's logic without realizing it. Bless that women’s patience because I wouldn’t have been able to get into top classes in secondary school without her."
- h0n3yst
The Perfect 'Thank You'
"I was the special ed kid who was regular all along."
"I was semi-nonverbal as a kid, and wouldn't really do school work in Kindergarten through third grade. I didn't really have a support system at home and had no interest in learning to read or do schoolwork, really. I just wanted to go home and play Nintendo."
"Towards the end of second grade, they started actively monitoring me and another young child. They would sit in on my school day, take notes about my behavior, and leave. They wouldn't talk to me at all, and I didn't realize their presence had anything to do with me until much later."
"Based on those reports, they moved me to Special Ed. I'm not sure if they thought I was just slow or on the spectrum, but every day, I would leave class for half the day and go to direct one-on-one class with an aide. She taught me all kinds of fundamentals I should have had before then. I was in the third grade before I learned how to tie my shoes, for example. She taught me how to read. She taught me how to communicate."
"By the fourth grade, I didn't have to go to Special Ed anymore. I was vaguely normal. It would take until the eighth grade before I finally made friends, but it would have never happened with her."
"Unfortunately, much of my childhood is kind of a vague blur. I can't even remember which of the elementary schools I went to where she was. I wish I knew how to unlock this memory and find her if just to write a heartfelt letter of appreciation."
"Wherever you are, whoever you are, thank you for saving me."
- Mmmslash
These stories were both surprising and heart-warming, and they are a great reminder that no two lives look exactly alike, but also, a tough start does not necessarily mean a dark and terrible life.
CW: violence, fighting, and assault.
We'd like to believe humanity exists with plenty of examples around us of people doing good things for others.
Sadly, the harsh reality is that there are just as many individuals who have no respect for others and wish to cause harm.
People who've had bad encounters with someone they've never met shared their experiences when Redditor Jemuzu8304 asked:
"Whats the most f'ked up thing a complete stranger has done to you?"

Drivers and passengers recall their rude interactions.
The Prank
"One time I was in south Philly and a car pulled up with two guys in it. They called out to me asking for directions so I walked over. As I was explaining where to go the dude in the passenger seat spit in my face and they sped off."
– the_humbL_lion
Willing Victim
"You just reminded me of a similarly gross interaction:"
"Years ago after a doctor's appointment, I got into my car and turned it on, at which point a small child started leaning/sitting on the hood. His heavily pregnant mother stood by doing nothing, apparently distracted by her phone. I rolled down my window, and asked if she would mind getting her child off of my car, as I needed to leave, and was concerned he could get hurt."
"She asked if I had insurance. Confused, I answered '...yes?', to which she said 'Well I hope you DO hit him so I can get some MONEY!' She proceeded to lean in through my passenger window, and started spitting on me. The kid was no longer on my car, and I desperately wanted to get away from her, so I put my car in reverse. She then hurled her pregnant belly into my sideview mirror, and shrieked in such an exaggerated way, as if I had hit her."
"I eventually found a new doctor."
– TheHaydnPorter
Unwanted Car Wash
"Stopped at a red light one time. Someone from a building adjacent to the light threw a bag of ice and water on my car, from a few stories up. Dented the roof and shattered the windshield."
"Wasn't even a nice car, I was driving a Dodge neon sh*tbox."
– IAmPandaKerman
You never know the capabilities of strangers you encounter.
The Violent Thief
"I got held up at gun point 2 weeks ago in philly 10 feet from the door to my friends apartment. They stole both our watches. My watch was given to me by my dead uncle. https://imgur.com/a/V59aebW"
– xcpain93
Hit By A Hard Object
"Reminds me of something. Some a**hole tossed a lock, like the combination type out of a car at me and hit me in the knee. I had trouble walking correctly for damn near a month."
"I always thought if they'd have stopped at a light I'd have hurled that b*tch right back."
"Good thing they didn't. I wasn't in any condition for a fight."
– Ok_Relationship_705
Moving Targets
"I also have a drive-by experience but it was with a f'king paintball gun. My friend and I were in freshmen year, just walking to the park to play some ball and with no warning he suddenly recoils and shouts in pain. I had no clue what happened. He reaches at his back and when he turns around I see a bright red paint splat on his white shirt. I look up and see the car that just passed us turns around, pulls up next to us with the kid in the passenger seat hanging the gun out window saying 'Sorry bro, I’m just so surgical with this thing,' and speeds off. Pretty hilarious story in hindsight within our friend group now, but at the time we were pissed. Luckily we got their plates and the cops showed up at their house and they got in trouble. F'kers."
– zakxk
Wrong Target
"I was about 11 and me and some friends were standing on a small bridge over a lake. All of a sudden I was picked up and thrown over the railing into the lake below. I tried to grab onto anything I could as I fell and scrapped my arms up pretty good. I still have scars 30 years later. So I swim to the side and some older kid comes up to me and just say - sorry, I thought you were someone else."
– discostud1515
Attacks happen when you least expect it.
Random Attack
"Punched me, for no reason. I was standing. Waiting for the community bus. A stranger got out of the car and punched me. I filed the Police report but nothing happen."
– Hallo-Mapskollegen
Hitting The Elderly
"My grandmother was at the movies and a guy walking up the aisle punched her in the side of the head. He told the cops he was mad because he was on a bad blind date."
"Like...great excuse to wallop a 75-year-old woman minding her own business."
– BarracudaImpossible4
The Ferrari Guys
"Had a similar thing happen when I was in Downtown Los Angeles. I was crossing the street and just came up onto the sidewalk. Some dude in a Ferrari steps out of the car, walks up to me and tries to swing on me in broad daylight. I sidestepped this dude, and he then spun to try to hit me again, calling me a motherf**ker and not to dodge. I caught him with a nut shot with my foot and doubled him over."
"His buddy hops out of the car, and another of his buddies (I assume) gets up from the side of the sidewalk and both are yelling at me, and I'm like, 'ah, f'k, I'm not ready for this.'"
"These absolute legends who had been watching all this sh*t go down just appear out of nowhere and jump these guys for me. Like, six different people from out of the woodwork. Nutshot and Scrub (Ferrari guys) hop in the car and just take off, scraping the car and taking the right side view mirror off. Their (assumedly) other homeboy gets left behind, but he tries to stumblef'k his a** away after having taken a couple of hits to the head. One of the guys who helped me jogs up and punts this dude in the side right after he falls over, doubling him up. Meanwhile, everybody else is checking on me and making sure I'm good."
"Cops show up, detain us, figure out what's going on, let us go, and arrest homie that couldn't get away. Come to find out, these guys have been doing this for weeks, and the people who helped me were local residents who had been on the lookout for Nutshot. Arrested homie later squealed, and all the guys involved got a couple of years for aggravated assault."
– feronen
My bad interactions with strangers were all random but definitely premeditated assaults.
I was mugged twice in New York City while I was typically minding my own business.
Also, while I was in Barcelona, I had a team of youths pick-pocket me and run off with my wallet containing my passport and credit cards. Fortunately, the friend I was with saw what happened and ran off after them. She sucker-punched the young lady who had my wallet, causing her to drop it.
Be careful out there, folks!
As the saying goes, you can't believe everything you read.
But every now and then, you might find yourself reading or hearing a piece of information that you at first think couldn't possibly be real.
Until you are presented with verified, reliable information to back it up... Then you have to eat your words and put your disbelief behind you.
Perhaps the most surprising instances of these are statistics, which at first glance you can't possibly believe are accurate and find yourself proven otherwise.
"What is a fact or statistic that seems fake but is real?"
And You Thought Sharks Were Dangerous...
"Horses kill more people every year in Australia than all the other beasties combined."
"Everyone thinks it's the spiders and snakes that'll get you, but it's the horses you've really got to watch."- Gingerbread_Cat·
The Dangers Of Scientific Advancement
"It took us more time to go from bronze swords to iron swords than it did for us to go from iron swords to nuclear weapons."- IMJUSTABRIK
Frightening People For Generations!
"Sharks have existed longer than trees have."- Capital_Indication_4
The Great Unknown
"I saw a scale model of the earth, moon and sun in a museum."
"The sun was about the size of a basketball, and the earth was on the opposite side of the room, the size of a small marble, I'd guess about 30 metres away."
"The moon was the size of a tiny pinhead, about 10cm away from the earth."
"On this scale, the nearest star to earth, Proxima Centauri, wouldn't be in the same building, or even in the same city."
"It would be 10,000km away."
"And that's just one star, the nearest one to us, in a galaxy containing billions of stars, which is just one of billions of galaxies."
"The scale of the universe really is mind bogglingly big."
"Far bigger than we can begin to comprehend."- Qabbalah
Zero Points To The Lost World For Authenticity...
"We live closer in time to Tyrannosaurus Rex than the T Rex did to the Stegosaurus."- reiveroftheborder
From Bad To Worse?
"After the British made head protection mandatory in WW1, the amount of head wounds increased."
"It's due to they were no longer KIA, but 'only' a head wound."- WouldUKindlyDMBoobs
Sarah Palin Can Confirm...
"USA is only 2.4 miles from Russia."
"2 islands in the Bering Strait, the body of water in the Pacific Ocean that separates Alaska from Russia, are 2.4 miles from each other at the narrowest point; one island is owned by Russia, the other is owned by USA."- Qabbalah
But Where Did "Ginger" Come From?
"In English, the color orange was named after the fruit."
"Before that, orange was just considered a shade of red."
"That's why gingers are called redheads."- I_might_be_weasel
At Least We Can Be Sure He Didn't Lie About It
"George Washington didn’t know dinosaurs existed."- Silver34
But What Did They Want To Do With Those Cobras?
"New Delhi hired people to hunt cobra snakes which led to people having Cobra Farms to earn money, then the government stopped the project which led the Cobra Farmers to release their snakes, causing twice as many snakes than they first started."- cathabit
The Truth Lies Between The Lines...
"Barcode scanners scan the white lines, not the black ones."- the_blast_radius
But Does It Make It Easier To Avoid?
"Wombat poo is cube shaped, to stop it rolling away."
Perception Can Be Dangerously Misleading
"The Oxford University in England existed centuries before the rise and fall of the Aztec civilization."- RefrigeratorStatus96
"Time Is The Longest Distance Between Two Places..."
"A million seconds is 12 days."
"A billion seconds is 31 years. "
"A trillion seconds is 31,688 years."
"People have a lot of trouble comprehending numbers that big."- sunbearimon
One thing that makes science so remarkable is how difficult it can be to believe.
And yet, scientists have been working since the beginning of time to prove that facts are, indeed, facts.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.