Try as we might to control our impulses, it's not always possible. Sometimes something happens to us or in front of us that really engages something in us that we were not expecting.
We are animals first and foremost and sometimes the actions of others trigger a response in our animal brains. We really can't control it, but we can tell when it's happening to us and we can control our response.
"What is something a friend did that accidentally turned you on?"
Here were some of those answers.
Reding Is FUNdamental
"A friend was reading a brochure out loud to me, nothing salacious, but the feeling of being read to felt very intense and intimate."
"I fell in love for about 30 seconds. Haven't gotten anyone to read to me since :)"-squindy9
Parka De Car
"My friend was driving and he had to take out the card to tap into a carpark. He started to reverse into a lot and had the card between his pursed lips."
"He also placed his arm around the headrest of the seat next to him. When I looked at him... damn it looked kinda hot... I don't know how or why that aroused something in me."-aglioolio-burrito
"It was the reversing with the arm on the headrest thing. I have zero idea why, but that theme has popped up (hurrrr) is numerous threads like this."-Nihilator68
Just Basic Human Goodness
"Comforted me. I was crying about how I was struggling in life and in college. I was thinking about withdrawing for a semester to get things together."
"My mom had just been diagnosed with MS. I went to a female friend for help. She started rubbing my head and hugging me, and saying I'll be okay."
"I was so deprived of human touch it was amazing and made me feel so much better. Then I got hard which made me feel extremely guilty."-LordBungholeSurfer
What is it about the sly touches, the pursed lips, and the little sideways glances that really get us going?
Brush Brush
"This happened to me in 7th grade. I was seated behind my friend who turned around so he could copy something off my paper."
"I was hunched over it with my hair hanging in my face so he swiped my hair back from my face behind my ear and grazed my cheekbone when he did. Pretty much ignited my puberty in that moment."
"Come to think about it we had a very platonic relationship with a lot of playful fondling."-Camp_Express
This Is NOT The Start Of A Porn
"I went over to his friends house (where he was staying. He was working on his car and I was like yo, I'm here loser and he pushes himself out from under the car."
"And he was all greasy and the first thing he asked was if I'd help work on the car with him and when I said yes he just had the biggest smile on his face."
"He looked like an idiot and I dunno man, the greasy look with the beautiful white smile was just… ugh"-oh_the_struggle
Wolf Whistle
"Girl I knew in college for four years and we were strictly platonic."
"We came out of a bar one night and a guy who frequently asked people for money was walking up so without missing a beat she grabs me and starts making out with me."
"Guy walks away and she pulls back staring up at me for a second before patting me on the chest and saying 'works every time.'"
"We left and never spoke about it again. Nice improvisation, Kristin but now my pants don't fit right."-RevSnakebite
The Best "Give The Hardest Job To the Laziest Person" Success Stories | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Pro Tip: Don't Date Co-Stars
"I was a theater kid in high school. One of my costars had this odd habit when she'd need to focus on a difficult part or queue we were working on. She'd bite her lower lip and get this really angry look on her face."
"I don't know why, but that stupid look on her face drove me up the goddamned wall."
"We were in Sweeney Todd my senior year. I was Sweeney, she was Mrs. Lovett. There's a section of the play where we danced together and sang a song called 'A Little Priest.'"
"We were both great singers but god awful dancers, so it took a long time to master it. The whole time rehearsing, she'd stare at me angrily, biting her lower lip."
"That was like... 16 years ago and I still get a little flustered when I think about it lol."-Chingparr
But now you're starting to remember the little moments too, aren't you?
Thigh High
"Night out. Me (M[ale]) and few friends just chilling and drinking. Then one of my friends (F[emale]) who had drunk a couple of drinks too much tried to stand up from the sofa we were sitting on. "
"But then she fell back and at the same time she grabbed me by my thigh for support, in which point the little guy woke up. And now I'm scared if someone touches my thighs..."-MrZere
This Is A True Dream
"We would go on walks every night for a few months, just talking about our days. Her laugh was so interesting to me."
"I could feel a lot of conflict in it somehow, and I always wanted to know what was going on but didn't want to ask too many questions."
"Eventually she told me about life at home which was awful to hear, but while she was telling me she grabbed my hand."
"It lasted maybe two weeks just holding hands and walking, chatting and just strictly friendship then she moved to the opposite coast."
"She was sweet and beautiful outwardly and in her soul. She winked at me one time, when punking her young sibling. It left me breathless."
"We were 16 at the time, but I still wonder where she ended up. Ms. T. Haas.. if you're reading this let's go for a walk!"-RagingConfluence
Happy End, Happy Ending
"She was meant to be going out with her friends one night, so she was all dressed up, but agreed to help me get headshots for my art project at the last minute (needed reference pictures)."
"We took a little longer than expected so she ended up staying home and we hung out and chatted for a while."
"From the way she was sitting, her dress kept slowly sliding up revealing her thigh so she'd fix it. I was across the room from her so I could see what was going on."
"After this happened a couple of times she kinda stopped fixing it (it wasn't revealing too much), but I couldn't help but notice. That was the moment when I realised I had a thing for legs."
"We have a happy ending though, she's now my girlfriend and things are going really well."-Cyanide_Revolver
So it is a big thing and it happens all the time. That's not to say it's not notable when it does--but as humans, we are almost completely beholden to our feelings.
Sometimes those feelings even lead to happy endings. Literally.