You think you and your friends throw some good parties? These people will make your most epic rager look like an afternoon of tea and scones with grandma.
Here are the 17 most legendary parties ever thrown. Enjoy! And make sure to check out the sources for even more.
(1/17)
It began as a normal peaceful day on October 17th, 1814 in St. Giles, London. However, trouble had been brewing behind the scenes for quite a while and soon the day would become known as the great London Beer Flood. Industrialization and a rapidly growing London population had led to a sharp rise in the city's production of beer (which was cleaner and safer than water at the time). Beer Barons had begun popping up over the city in fierce competition with each other, and Sir Henry Meux was determined to outdo them all. He created a brewing vat so large that 200 guests could dine inside of it, then filled it with porter liquor. The vat burst and the whole structure began to go, releasing almost 1.5 million litres of beer (approx. 7.5 million frothy pints) flooding into the streets.
The massive tsunami of beer caused at least seven drownings, and total chaos broke out. Attempts to rescue those drowning in beer were thwarted when thousands of people instead started to drink from the streets. An entire neighbourhood became intoxicated and had to make a trip to the hospital soaking in beer. Then the hospital patients began to riot thinking they'd been cheated out of free beer.
Meux was never charged, as the court ruled the flood was an act of God. Probably Dionysus to be specific.
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(2/17)
Imagine one of the most powerful Empires on Earth and all the massive wealth and power at its disposal, being run by a spoiled, narcissistic hedonist with the sole desire of throwing parties. Well thats exactly what happened when Nero became Emperor of Rome in 37CE. After the great fire of 64CE destroyed a good portion of Rome, Nero finally had the real estate that he needed to build the party crib of his dreams. Completely ignoring the starving citizens, or the entire empire that he was supposed to be running, Nero took up to possibly 300 acres to build the Domus Aurea (The Golden House.)
In order to entertain himself and his rich friends, he built a vast compound of artificial lakes, manufactured groves and exotic gardens. The winding pathways between the festivities were reportedly kept lit at night by setting Christians on fire.
At the centre was a massive domed building with over 300 rooms, plated with gold on the outside and decorated on the inside with ivory, diamonds and solid marble. Engineering marvels allowed entire rooms to rotate while guests were inside, and there were floors that could catch the light of the sun and project it into other rooms. Historian Suetonius wrote that all the dining rooms had ceilings of fretted ivory, the panels of which could slide back and let a rain of flowers, or of perfume from hidden sprinklers, fall on his guests. Oh, and he had a 116 foot tall statue of himself placed just outside the main entrance.
Eventually the Roman people got sick of Neros opulence and staged a revolt. Nero committed suicide rather than be captured and tried, and his party palace was condemned and filled in with dirt. Archaeologists are still finding new rooms complete with frescoes and artifacts that have gone untouched for centuries.
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(3/17)
250 gallons of brandy, 125 gallons of wine, 1400 pounds of sugar, 2500 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice and 5 pounds of nutmeg. Thats the recipe for the largest cocktail ever created in history, served to over 5,000 sailors and officers by Admiral Edward Russell. Out of appreciation for their service, he poured all the ingredients into his gardens fountain and let them drink their fill.
But this wasn't some low-brow grog chugging affair either, this was an Admiral's party after all. Russell set up a tent above the fountain to prevent evaporation and hired bartenders to serve up the cocktail. Unfortunately the walls of the fountain were too high to make regular service easy, so the bartenders had to paddle around the cocktail in canoes. Even for a bunch of sailors, the concoction still took an entire week to finish.
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(4/17)
Showing a total lack of social awareness that would give Nero a run for his money. In 1903 while the people were starving and freezing to death, Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra threw the most infamous Russian party this side of the Bolsheviks. In the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, the theme of the night was a throwback jam to the 17th century. Everyone dressed in the famously opulent style of the Baroque era, complete with musketeers, rapiers and feathered hats. Priceless artifacts were taken from the Kremlin to become accessories for the party goers. The more famous (and arrogant) guests dressed as famous kings and queens, including Nicholas and Alexandra as Tsar Alexis I and Tsaritsa Maria Miloslavskaya.
At the time Nicholas was worth over $20 Billion dollars, which would equal roughly $300 Billion in modern US dollars. Sparing no expense, the entertainment for the evening was a triple billing of some of the greatest Russian operas ever written, performed by the most famous musicians and dancers of the time. Followed by a dinner so large it spilled across three whole rooms while full orchestras played the music of Handel and Bach. At the end of the night formal photographs were taken of the Russian nobility, who were perhaps too drunk on the night to realize what the real cost of the party would be. It was the last time they would all be assembled together to be photographed before the October Revolution.
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(5/17)
Novelist Truman Capote swore up and down that one day he would become so rich and famous he'd throw a party no one would ever forget. The time finally came after the release of his classic 1966 true-crime novel In Cold Blood. Left with enough money and time to finally throw his dream party, Capote spent three months planning his masquerade at New York City's famous Plaza Hotel. The ball had a famously strict black and white theme, which was designed so well it was rumoured to be the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's use of black and white sets in his films.
Not shy to show off, Capote invited all the elites of the day. Royalty, politicians, movie-stars and many, many writers that Capote personally admired were in attendance. Classic southern fare was served up to the guests, along with 450 bottles of notoriously expensive Taittinger champagne. The part finally raged through the night, but finally started to dwindle at 2:45 in the morning when Frank Sinatra left. Capote begged him to stay, knowing that once the crooner left he would be hounded by hungry reporters outside and in the process drag everyone to the impromptu after party at Jilly's Bar.
The party was apparently so incredible that it has been called the last great moment in New York City's social history.
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(6/17)
Paul Poiret was one of the most influential fashion designers of all time. Most well known for his modern dress designs that eliminated corsets in favour of using drapery to accentuate figure. By 1911 he was a celebrated Parisian designer set to release his much hyped fragrance, Perfums de Rosine. His marketing strategy? Poiret was going to throw the best party Paris had seen in a long, long time.
Held at his own villa with a Persian theme, all 300 guests and the house itself were decked in colourful, florid style that would make any Sultan envious. Palm trees, tropical birds and lots and lots of gold decorated wall to wall. Poiret's wife Denise took the place of honour, basking on a sofa in a golden cage suspended over the guest and laughing riotously at the patrons.
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(7/17)
Imagine one of the most long awaited parties of all time, celebrated simultaneously around the entire world. With the brutality of WWII over, Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan Day saw millions of people flock to city squares in France, UK, US and Russia. People who attended describe a feeling of overwhelming euphoria in the crowd, a chance to finally let loose and celebrate peace after years of watching the world being torn apart.
The party was so intense that Moscow actually managed to run out of liquor entirely and all the free drinks resulted in a vodka pond forming in the street.
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(8/17)
Celebrities are known for throwing incredible parties on their birthday, but the party to top them all remains the Sultan of Bruneis 50th birthday bash in 1996. As one of the last absolute monarchs and among the richest people in the world at the time, the Sultan spent 27.2 million dollars on his 10,000 guests.
Starting with a military march and display before treating them to caviar and champagne. The Sultan didn't even attend the entertainment for the evening, a $16 million dollar concert put on by the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.
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(9/17)
Whenever the Pope died, Italy found itself with a strange dual responsibility thanks to its position as the heart of the Catholic world. While there were days of mourning, the process of selecting a new Pope almost always meant a a serious party was in order. Of particular note was the Papal Conclave of 1667, which had come after a series of long and frustrating papal elections starting in 1644. Tired of all the political manipulating from France and Spain, as well as backstabbing between the cardinals, by the time Clement IX was elected Pope it was time to forget all that and get obliterated.
The city of Rome celebrated the elections at the famous La Fontana Dei Leoni. At the foot of the grand stairs designed by Michelangelo himself, the Renaissance revelers replaced the boring old water that the lion statues spouted with wine. Literal fountains of wine available free of charge to anyone who wanted to dunk their goblet in.
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(10/17)
Count Etienne de Beaumont and his wife Edith were renowned throughout Europe and America for throwing some of the greatest parties of the roaring twenties. Every summer they would host an extravagant masquerade party at their mansion in Rue Duroc, Paris. The parties were so exciting that frequent guest Raymond Radiguet wrote an actual novel about them entitled Le Bal due Comte dOrgel.
However, in 1924 they decided to kick it up a notch with an odd and outlandish theme. Everyone had to dress up as cars, which were still a fairly recent invention at the time. Pictures of costumes from the Automotive Ball are still circulating to this day, perhaps only topped by Beaumonts other theme party in which guests were required to leave exposed the body part they deemed most interesting.
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(11/17)
Coming from the Old Testament, the story of Belshazzar's feast may have been based on the true to life conquering of Babylon by Cyrus the Great.
According to the story, Belshazzar decided to throw a party for a thousand of his lordly friends in the ancient city of Babylon. Dining on treasures from all around the world, Belshazzar and his friends became so drunk on Babylons famous barley beer that they decided it was a good idea to swap their regular fancy chalices for the sacred golden vessels stolen from the conquered Solomons temple. Why? Because he had them, and he could.
Belshazzar's flippant rager came with serious consequences though, as his kingdom was assailed and conquered that night by Cyrus the Great. With all the leaders of the city too drunk to think straight it was an easy fight, and the much more popular Cyrus took control. Hows that for a hangover?
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(12/17)
Andrew Jackson ran his campaign as a man of the people. So it wasn't much of a surprise that after running on a populist platform he threw one of the most memorable inauguration parties in American history.
By the morning he made it to the capitol, 10,000 people had come to witness the event, and by the time he reached the White House at noon the crowd had more than doubled. The 21,000 strong crowd broke the ship cable used to keep them at bay and stormed the lawn of the White House to party.
Jackson had no way to calm the rowdy partygoers down, and had to climb out of a window in order to escape the mob. With no options left, someone suggested placing large tubs of punch and liquor outside the White House to get them to move.
Jackson would go on to have many parties at the White House, which probably made life difficult for his security detail.
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(13/17)
One of the most anticipated performances of its time, famed composer Igor Stravinsky premiered his ballet Les Noces (The Wedding) at the Thtre de la Gat in Paris on June 13th, 1923. The premiere was such a success that Stravinsky's rich friends Sara and Gerald Murphy decided to throw a massive party to help him celebrate. So on July 1st, they rented a barge on the Seine river and invited all the coolest people of the time. Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jean Cocteau, Cole Porter and the entire troupe of Ballet Russes were in attendance, enjoying the food of five-star French chefs and an endless river of champagne.
Sara Murphy originally planned to decorate the barge with flowers, but since the florists were closed on the day of the party she instead bought a hoard of toys, stuffed animals and dolls. Picasso decided these would look better in a massive abstract pile while Cocteau convinced partygoers that the ship was sinking and a very drunk Stravinsky jumped through the massive laurel wreath before calling the party the greatest night of his life.
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(14/17)
Because peace doesn't mean the end of competition, King Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France celebrated the Anglo-French Treaty of 1514 that ended the Hundred Years War by throwing two massive, rival parties. Although theres no record of how much was spent, the 2200 sheep needed are probably a good indicator of how much the party cost in medieval terms.
Endless jousting, melee and archery competitions kept the crowds entertained while hundreds of tents and even temporary castles were constructed for everyone to stay in. The party lasted seventeen days and ended with a wrestling match between the two kings that reportedly made the blood bad enough to start another war just months later.
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(15/17)
Just as Watergate became such a symbol of scandal that everything now ends in -gate, Woodstock has become elevated as the party to which all other American generations compare their parties. In 1969 over half a million people came together on a dairy farm in White Lake, New York for three days of peace and music that would forever leave its legacy on American culture.
First hand accounts describe the miles of overwhelming traffic and abandoned cars on the way to the festival, and it became almost physically impossible to get there.
The entertainment was what everyone was coming to see, and the line up of Jimmy Hendrix, The Who and the Grateful Dead among many others remains legendary to this day. Amazingly, despite a lack of proper hygienic supplies or food and water, no riots broke out among the huge crowd. And only two deaths were recorded at the festival, one from a tractor accident and another from an accidental overdose.
Thousands of iconic photos of Woodstock exist, but perhaps the most famous are those taken during the steady rainstorms that left everyone playing together in the mud.
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(16/17)
An annual party since 1924 that only gets better every year. La Sagra DellUva in Marino, Italy celebrates the defeat of the Ottoman navy by local hero Marcantonio Colonna. Patrons like to dress in the Renaissance garb of Colonna's sailors while attending jousting matches and eating ripened grapes hung from fountains. Every balcony door and terrace is strung with garlands of flowers while local shops and restaraunt's hand out free food to partygoers.
The festival lasts from the dawn of one morning to the next, but the event that everyone waits eagerly for happens right at dusk. When the sun hits the horizon the water is drained from the towns Fontana Dei Quattro Mori and replaced with sweet white wine to be enjoyed by everybody. Spending $250,000 on the wine alone, the resulting week long hangover is cured the next Sunday with the well timed donut festival.
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(17/17)
While Neros personal pleasure palace might have been impressive, it might have lasted longer if he didn't make everyone feel like there was an amazing party they weren't invited to. In contrast, keeping the public happy was the point of the famous Roman Colosseum. A ten year project completed in 80CE, at the time it was unmatched in scope and complexity. With over 50,000 seats, a covered dome and an intricate engineering system that delivered the entertainment to the stage.
When it was first opened, the celebrations lasted a hundred straight days. A hundred days of liquor, orgies and lots and lots of murder.
In total 9000 animals were killed, and 2000 gladiators died in the opening ceremonies alone. These numbers don't even include the water events staged in the Naumachia outside the stadium. An event in which entire mock naval battles were staged in a giant flooded pool complete with fake shipwrecks for obstacles.
Given how many vivid descriptions of the Colosseums opening survived, its unlikely that a party this intense will be topped for a long, long time.
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People Explain Which Things Blew Their Minds Once They Realized Them
"Reddit User r3tr0gam3r83 asked: 'What is something that blew your mind once you realized it?'"
Every moment we breathe is a moment to learn something new.
What's funny is the more we learn, the more we're shocked.
Some knowledge is so obvious it's stunning how oblivious we are.
Like, "How did I not know this sooner?'
And no matter what I can still be shocked.
Redditor r3tr0gam3r83 wanted to hear about which realizations in life have left people SHOOK, so they asked:
"What is something that blew your mind once you realized it?"
Avocados are not vegetables.
They're fruits, berries to be exact.
Like what?!?!
Colleagues
GIF by Bud LightGiphy"Sometimes it is more important to like your colleagues than the actual job."
"I had shi**y jobs with the most amazing colleagues and had shi**y colleagues and the most amazing job. I'd pick the first every time."
chr989
Star Trekking
"That you could legitimately travel at warp speed through the center of galaxies and never run any real risk of hitting a star. That’s how spread out space really is."
justanotherguyhere16
"Also, galaxies, stars, and even the Universe is constantly moving. I think time travel has been invented, but they can’t figure out the 'space' part of it.
"Yes, they can travel back in time, but relatively speaking, they can’t figure out how to navigate to the part of the planet they want to reach. So when they travel back in time, it’s relative to where they currently are, and end up not moving through space, thus ending up in the middle of an empty vacuum."
theknights-whosay-Ni
Jaws is Old
"That sharks predated the rings of Saturn."
BeardedDominant
"Sharks also developed the immune system that ended up in both dinosaurs/birds and mammals."
csiz
"We don’t know that. We can’t say for certain that the rings are only 100 million years old. It’s still debated."
The_Kek_5000
"I'm pretty sure that sharks are older than trees."
Cayderent
From the Trees
"One day I sat on a tram, passing a river. There was a duck in a tree. I realized I'd never seen ducks in trees. No one else seemed to notice, but I was puzzled. Now whenever I come across something that seems intuitive but I have never considered I call it a duck in a tree."
Ol_Pasta
"This realization happened to me this past year. We apparently have a family of wood ducks in one of the big trees in our yard. Our neighbor said she has seen a duck walking around on a branch. I made it 37 years without knowing some ducks can roost in trees. My wife caught a video of the mama leading like eight ducks into the field next to our house. We aren't even near water."
jwbourne
Artistic Timeline
Confused Eminem GIFGiphy"Pablo Picasso and Eminem were both alive at the same time."
leebon427
"I’d bet a lot of people think Picasso is a Renaissance artist."
editormatt
I admit it. I'm one of those people. Pablo and Marshall, in one lifetime.
New facts are fun.
The New World
Design Loop GIF by xponentialdesignGiphy"They were colonizing the Wild West at the same time as they were building skyscrapers in Manhattan. I always think of them taking place eighty to a hundred years apart. It's wild."
Emilayday
Oh the Power
"Nuclear power plants are just steam power plants that use nuclear reactions to heat the water. There's no fancy magic extracting energy directly from nuclear material. They just boil water and spin a turbine."
RenaKunisaki
"Most electrical generation is spinning a turbine. Photovoltaic solar power is pretty much the only exception, and it's not the only form of solar power. There's solar thermal power, which uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate the heat of the sun to make steam and turn a turbine."
Brawndo91
The Empire
"The Roman Empire fully fell less than 50 years before the discovery of the new world."
South-by-north
"The Romans also had copper wire, magnets, and battery acid. They could have invented electricity hundreds of years before it was actually discovered. But they didn't. The wire was used for jewelry, the magnets as lodestones, and the battery acid was used to clean the rust off of swords."
Kahzgul
"RIP Byzantine Empire. 1453 never forget."
crossbowman44
The Witness
"Owl‘s silent flight. I mean I always knew that but a while ago was the first time I actually witnessed it. Owl came flying towards me and landed only a few feet away and you couldn‘t hear anything. Crazy."
Zealousideal-You-324
"I saw a barn owl swoop down and catch a mouse while hiking at night, and the whole thing happened in complete silence. It gave me a deep sense of unease because it was literally like someone hit the mute button on life."
VulcanVisions
Bad Kermit
Kermit The Frog Meme GIF by IdentityGiphy"Poison dart frogs aren't poisonous in captivity."
"I own 5 of them and anytime I tell someone I own some I always get 'Do you ever lick them' or 'Can you go kill someone with them.' But yeah they get their poison from what they eat, and all I give them is fruit flies."
JMfury
Poison frogs?
That sounds like something Rose would have a story about on 'The Golden Girls.'
Romantic relationships are great. They are full of excitement, fun, and even some stress, though it's mostly good stress (yes, that exists).
However, not all romances are meant to last. Whether it's because you grew apart or you realized the person you were with wasn't who you thought they were, a relationship can end.
Sometimes, those relationships are something you can look back on fondly as you move forward. Other times, they are relationships you regret.
Redditors know a lot about the second type, and are ready to share their stories.
It all started when Redditor Ingenuiie asked:
"What are your dating regrets?"
You Must Matter
"Dont get hung up on someone who doesnt give a f*ck"
– Speedy-Thunder
"Never make someone a priority who only makes you an option."
"Someone said it first. Probably Abe Lincoln"
– snarfdarb
"Don’t set yourself on fire to keep them warm"
– Stalkz_YT
Just Chill
"Getting so caught up in the fun early stages of the relationship and planning activities for dates that I forgot to just relax and be myself, take it a week at a time and see how things went. Pretty sure it made me seem too pushy, so things didn’t end very well for me. Lesson learned: chill tf out lmao"
– Spectronautic1
"That's me. I still struggle with it now tbh. Although I'm trying to keep a lid on it and just be chill."
– layinwitme-
End It
"I regret not ending relationships I was unhappy in sooner (like years sooner)"
– Zestyclose-Chef5215
"I'm in the middle of this right now. I knew 3 years ago but I convinced myself that maybe I was wrong and that things would change. We're still together, and I'll always love her, but I'm not happy, and I don't think I will be until the relationship ends. I can't let this go on much longer. Cheers."
– moniqer
This Is Me
"That I hid some of my hobbies and interests because I was scared they looked dorky."
"As soon as I stopped hiding it I met my partner."
"(Model railways ftw)."
– Singingmute
"Never be ashamed of your hobbies. It may make you look like a nerd or a dork but you don't need the kind of people who would make fun of them."
– aris_ada
"My SO loves the fact that I'm into model trains (her words, not mine.)"
"She laid it out for me when we first started dating: I'm handy around the house - I can tackle carpentry, electrical work, and have general knowledge about how to troubleshoot/fix things."
"It's a combo of artistry, technology, and history/research so there are always things to learn. It's a generally wholesome hobby that also promotes patience and working towards something over a long period of time instead of rewarding instant gratification."
"It's a fun hobby that I balance with other interests that we do together (outdoorsy stuff, board games, being history nerds.) We love each other for all of who we are, not just parts of who we are, and we wouldn't want the other person to change."
– dualsusser
Sometimes, Alone Is Better
"I should not have settled for someone I wasn't super compatible with just because I was lonely"
– Feline_is_kat
"This happened to me when I moved to a new city."
"It was great at first because I instantly had fairly large friend group and such but I realized years later just how much I had actually passed up on and compromised on."
"Still not sure I recognize myself anymore."
– nelsonalgrencametome
Love That Lets Go
"Always being the last to let go, and never letting go easy."
"Edit- the never letting go easy is the part I wish I could change."
– forex_1911
"Sometimes it’s just who you are as a person. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all have our personality traits that make life easier/harder for certain scenarios."
– ChlamydiaDonations4U
"That’s the best explanation for me because I certainly can’t seem to learn from previous mistakes no matter how many times I make them."
"To learn from them would mean to stop trying to date entirely"
– TuesdayNightMassacre
Take A Chance
"Not taking chances with various girls/ women throughout my life when I had the opportunities to."
– apG_13
"Honestly, this is why I (female) started asking men out. I was doing inventory in the supply closet when I heard my crush and several of his friends talking about me and wondering who I was dating. Because apparently I had to already be dating someone. One of the guys asked my crush if he'd ask me out, the guy laughed and said he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell, so he'd skip the humiliation. The other dudes agreed with him."
"And... I was just sitting there on the other side of the wall with my clipboard and a box of junk going... WTF?!? I started paying a little more attention and realized I got talked about a lot. It was infuriating. How could my dating life be utterly non-existent while guys were having those sorts of conversation about me?"
"So... A couple months later, I walked up to my crush on new year's eve at midnight, kissed him, and told him we should go out. I know I went a bit too far in the other direction from passive behavior, but it worked. He wasn't really coherent for the next half hour, just smiling and staring at me, but we were officially dating the next week."
"Being proactive was generally a very positive thing for me. Men were almost always absolutely thrilled to be asked out, picked up, and taken on a date..."
– LostDogBoulderUtah
"YES. This is exactly it. I wish all women knew this. I do the exact same thing and it works like a charm, men love being hit on and asked out! Women, they LOVE it do not be afraid. My boyfriend raves about how I flirted with him so obviously and kind of teased him and then asked him out lol. And I have done exactly that in probably 75% of the relationship I have had. Men like when you pick them and have a lot of confidence and just make it really fun for them to be hit on, and you don't have to be self-conscious about it bc believe me they love it. They hardly ever have this happen to them, usually they have to do the work. And it also just sets a really good tone for the relationship because you're going to ask for the things you want, overall."
– Subject-Hedgehog6278
Romantic Intelligence
"That I didn’t try to date more in my early 20s. Now I’m in my mid 30s with a combined relationship experience of a little over a year."
"I basically have the romantic intelligence of a 16-year-old."
– ThrowawayOfALoserr
"Looking at this thread, I'm seeing the regrets swing from "I dated even though I didn't like the person/people and they messed me up for future dates." to "I didn't date enough and now I'm not experienced enough for future dates.""
"I'm starting to think this "romantic intelligence" thing isn't about experience so much as self-love and self-confidence which can be found with or without romantic relationships. Plus a little bit of finding the right person."
– 11Buckwheat11
Rip Off The Band-Aid
"Oh damn my first relationship was this gradual shift from we're in a relationship to we're kinda in a relationship but figuring things out but she still wanted all the things I was doing for her, to we're definitely not in a relationship but still talking regularly, it was months."
"Had I just stepped up and said "okay, this is either a yes or a no, there's no middle ground here, if we're a couple we're a couple but if we aren't, I can't have you in my life right now", it would have spared me QUITE a bit of pain."
– 1CEninja
Location, Location, Location
"So far my biggest regret was moving half way across the country with someone and when I was struggling to adjust to that location they refused to move a few hours for me to a different location. That really hurt. Felt like I gave up so much for them and it turns out they wouldn't do the same for me. I'll never move for love again."
– Barkingcat29
Keep Some Eggs
"Despite many warnings from people trying to help me, I put all my eggs in the same basket. Married young and devoted myself to someone thinking that devotion would always be reciprocated, but apparently people change even if you don't. Always be prepared for the other shoe to drop, I guess is my advice. Kinda cynical, I know, but recent experiences taught me a lesson I never wanted to learn."
– Silk_Song_
Ouch! That's a lot of regret. But I hold out hope.
Just remember, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince (or princess)!
People Explain Which Things They Thought Everyone Was Exaggerating About Until They Experienced Them
Life lessons are forged in experience.
So many of us love to think we know what another person is feeling, and their reactions are just emotional.
Or what they're saying about what they're going through feels a bit over the top.
So many people are just dramatic, right?
Wrong.
Until we walk in those shoes, we'll never know.
Redditor rentinghappiness wanted to hear about the things everyone really didn't know anything about until it happened to them, so they asked:
"What is something you used to think people were over-exaggerating about until you experienced it yourself?"
We never really know anything about anything until we try it for ourselves.
Mouth Issues
Dentist GIFGiphy"Dentist chiming in… tooth pain. I knew academically how painful they could be until it happened to me."
juneburger
"You know the pain is serious when you start looking forward to the inevitable root canal."
HailMari248
Wonders of Nature
"Giant sequoia trees. When I finally saw them in person, they looked fake. I could not comprehend a tree of that size."
schaefer001
"And we may have lost 15-20% of the remaining trees during some big fires in 2020 and 2021. A 2011 estimate puts it that there were only 80,000 remainings. They truly are wondrous organisms that I feel like everyone should have the chance to experience if they can."
"I'm a big believer in doing everything we can to protect and preserve these silent giants. It's really sad that so many were cut down by loggers when the wood is such poor quality for human purposes, to begin with. Such an utter and sad waste."
this_is_poorly_done
Just Me
"Loneliness."
Fried__SoapI
"I'm with you. Put all my cards into a girl who went suddenly cold and dark on me. Now I'm alone at rock bottom figuring out my next moves. You know, the smartest people in the world and also the happiest people in the world can be the loneliest?"
"I was only recently informed it's okay to talk to myself and hype myself. Enjoy my own company. I'm absolutely going to learn to do that. I'm thinking of painting, walking, and weekend trips out on a bus. Would be nice if you could have joined me even if we sat in silence."
Roofdragon
The Years Gone By...
"The physical pain of getting older. Damn."
marklikeadawg
"The emotional pain too. I get so nostalgic and teary over the past and how much has changed. It's a weird grieving process over losing your youth and the way things were."
heethersmeether
"On my 35th birthday, my wife woke me up with a cupcake and a candle, sang me 'Happy Birthday' and then congratulated me on being '15 from 50'... that really hit me hard. The other day I turned 45 and she said '5 from 50' and that hit me so hard, I just wanted to stay in bed all day. I still feel like an irresponsible teen but I'm pushing 50. Insane."
Opa_Kalaka
It's Hazy
Confused Always Sunny GIF by It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaGiphy"Brain fog. I had an alcohol withdrawal seizure in March. My short-term memory and sense of time are absolutely sh*t right now. On the plus side, I haven't had a drink in over 90 days and I don't want one."
Sideshow_Bob_Ross
Oh the wonders of the brain.
What a mess.
Scorched
Menopause Hot Flashes GIF by Kino LorberGiphy"Hot Flashes. I didn’t think they were this bad. I’m a 31-year-old man who took Wellbutrin for the past month and hot flashes are a side effect."
"I thought you just thought you were hot. No motherf**ker you are. You’re super hot legitimately, and you have to do something about it or you’ll go insane. It’s not in your head. It’s your brain raising your temps until you can’t focus on anything else."
_PswayZ_
Everlasting
"Chronic illness, there is absolutely no way you can truly understand the impact unless you experience it."
Disastrous-Phase-979
"Just that idea of always being sick and you will NEVER not be sick again."
"AND you're expected to participate in society just the same as everyone else. It's deeply f**ked up."
Farisr9k
"I like the part where I've been in pain for 25 years so I can kind of still function even when it's really bad."
"And then I try to get an ambulance guy or an admin assistant in a hospital to believe that I'm having an emergency and they're like 'You seem fine, take some Tylenol and go home' until I finally get a blood test, and then the doctor goes 'Holy crap, you're about to die, why didn't you come to the ER sooner.'"
"Like, listen up MF, I had to take a go**amn Uber to get here and then argue with reception for an hour."
BlahBlahILoveToast
Stoned
"How much a kidney stone hurts."
SpiritusSanctu
"Most people expect it to hurt the most when passing a stone through the urethra. Nothing prepared me for the pain as it passed through my kidney/ureter."
"One second I would be fine, carrying on conversations, prancing around nimbly-nimbly. The next second I would be keeled over, crying in agony, losing my lunch due to the sudden onset of crippling pain. 0/10 ... Would not recommend it."
King_of_Lunch223
Close Your Eyes
"Insomnia."
Successful_Fall7801
"Oh, what I would give to not have insomnia! I go through periods of sleeping more or less normal, and then for seemingly no reason, I’ll have weeks on end where a good night of sleep is IMPOSSIBLE. I’ll get 2-4 hours of sleep despite pills, tea, baths, white noise, meditation - everything."
"I’ll spend my days so deeply, utterly exhausted that I can barely think, and my whole body feels heavy, lifeless. It’s hard to feel any kind of emotion, let alone happiness or contentedness. Just existing as a human-shaped puddle until the time when I can go to bed and hope to god that tonight will be different for some unknown reason."
"Insomnia is a real bi*ch. It will tank your mental health and send you spiraling really fast."
thesmallshadows
Beep
Meme Reaction GIF by TravisGiphy"Tinnitus. It’s torture."
DissidentBliss
"I don't mind it much 'cause I've had it since I was born. That means I don't know what proper silence is."
77x5ghost
"Me too, they thought I had hearing issues when I was young because I couldn’t really hear some of the beeps well because they matched the pitch of the ringing."
ehter13
Don't judge another until you lace up their shoes and walk a mile in them!
Do you have anything else to share? Let us know in the comments.
Stuffies, plushies, stuffed animals, or plush toys; whatever you might call them, we likely all can remember a fluffy friend we had in our childhood.
But some adults might have carried their childhood friend into adulthood, or even made others along the way, and they might even still go to sleep with them at night, too.
Redditor Old-Horse1185 asked:
"34 percent of adults sleep with a stuffed animal or other sentimental objects."
"Are you one of these people? What do you sleep with?"
The Twin Bond
"My twin sister died when I was 18. Ten years later, I still sleep with her unicorn pillow pet, she gets a nice spot on the bed, and I'd never be with someone who made me feel bad about having it. Only my girlfriend is trusted enough to give pillow pet a bath."
- insomniacinsanity
"My twin brother died when we were seven, and I used to have a specific stuffie that was given to him by an American lady who worked in the hospital he was in, but it got damaged in a house move when I was a teenager and was unsalvageable."
"It was a limited-run stuffie that you could only get in a specific American store in the 90s, so it was basically irreplaceable. My husband, 10+ years later and without letting on, tracked one down and paid a silly amount of money to have it shipped to the UK and gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago."
"I sleep with it every d**n night. I'm mid-30s, and I'll never stop."
- beesandsids
Keeping Them Close
"My partner passed away a few weeks ago, and I now cuddle his shirts that still have his scent. When my son spends the night with his grandparents, I also cuddle w his blanket or the pillow he sleeps on."
- anonmomanonnin
Cuddles and Fidgets
"My grandma made me a pillow when I was born. She sewed the pillow together and the pillow case, which had kittens all over it."
"I’m 33 years now she passed when I was 31, and I sleep with the same pillow in my arms every night."
"The pillow case is worn to bits because I guess I use it as a fidget thing I rub in between my fingers. Yes, I’m weird."
- Valuable_Panda_4228
From the Beyond
"I bought my wife a big stuffed seal for our first Valentine's Day. This seal has a slight green tint to it, so we named him Sealo Green. She had Sealo for a couple of years before she passed away."
"I hug Seal-o every night and pray to my wife, tell her about my day, things coming up, etc. I'll start using her perfume on Sealo soon, so I can smell her while I pray to her. My heart can't take it right now."
- Cubbycupcake-Uther
A Gift from Grandma
"I am one. My grandma gave all the grandkids a cat plush. A cat food brand had a promotion, if you bought enough cat food you'd get a free plushie. With 14 grandkids, a lot of food was bought to get there. Her cats didn't complain though, lol (laughing out loud)."
"I still sleep with it, it's a feeling of comfort, safety, and home."
- DavyJonesLocker2
An Evolving Friendship
"Stuffed dog I've had since my mom was squeezing him while giving birth to me. That dog has seen some s**t."
"He's a 'Sad Sam,' and his eyes used to break my heart when I was a kid, so I buried him under other stuffed animals or made him face the wall so I wouldn't have to look at him."
"Then I felt really guilty because I didn't want him to feel punished when all he wanted was to be loved. So I've been sleeping with him for almost 40 years now."
"I recently bought an original one off eBay to see the comparison and man, I have loved the daylights out of that dog!"
- dumdadumdumAHHH
A Special Bond
"I now sleep with my girlfriend's stuffed bunny she has had since birth. He’s my best friend now! I love you, Bootstin!!"
- silversauce
"Aww, that's awesome. My partner is the only person I've ever been with who didn't make me feel like crap for still having my blanket. When I travel, I leave it with them, and I think they probably cuddle up with it as much as I do after a rough day."
- the_Ozz
Keeping a Partner Close
"Sometimes when I take a nap and my wife doesn't, I'll take her pillow to sleep with because I like the smell."
"It smells like baby powder, vanilla, and her."
- TrailerParkPrepper
Very Considerate
"Huge jellycat bears. I don’t even wanna, but I’m just afraid I’ll hurt their feelings if I don’t."
- CommonAd9606
"As a kid, I routinely slept with a zillion stuffed animals on the bed because I didn’t want any of them to feel left out."
- PumaGranite
"As a kid? I'm 26 and still have to hug them all as I go to sleep or they'll feel left out!"
- Scymber
Lower Back Pain
"I sleep with a body pillow (plain cover). Doctor recommended it a few years ago to help with my lower back pain and it really does help."
- HappyTimeHollis
"I sleep with a body pillow but it's an alligator. My grandparents gave it to me when I was 11 years old. It has a huge open mouth you can put your arm through or use to prop your phone. Had it 24 years. Love it to death."
- smoretank
Full Body Support
"Squishmallows. I have sciatica and they're great for when I go to bed. I put one between my knees at night (side sleeper) and I snuggle up with one."
- Raging_Utahn
Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty
"I'm not one to sleep with plushies, but my cat likes to snuggle up to me and sleep with his fluffy little head on my shoulder."
- imaybeacatIRL
"Cats have to count. My previous cat actually slept as the little spoon, snuggled in my arms."
- disapprovingfox
The Long-Distance Relationship
"I am a guy, I recently got to sleep with a stuffed animal for a week, I won't go into the details as to why or how, just know that I lovvveeeed it. I would get called a weirdo if I confess to this to the world, so I have kept this to myself and my bestie only."
"The stuffed animal was a large teddy bear, since then it has been taken away and now it is placed in the living room, my bedroom has one small stuffed toy that I sleep with, it's not super large and not as comfortable as the teddy but it works."
"It makes me feel good and less alone, the closest person in the world to me is 700km away, what I'm about to say is weird but hugging the teddy and pretending it's her makes me calm and makes me want to sleep."
- uninformed-but-smart
Build a Friend... with IKEA
"Ikea Hippo, Ikea Elephant. The Ikea bigs are the superior sleep companion. I also have the shark, but he is not right for my shoulder when cuddling so he guards."
- pm-me-neckbeards
"I also keep my Ikea shark on guard at night! The Ikea octopus is the guard when I sleep at my boyfriend’s house."
- jeff-buckleys-teeth
A Comfort Become Real
"When I was a toddler, I got a stuffed animal as a present from my uncle. It was a light brown rabbit with button eyes and ears with rainbow stripes on the inside. I'm unsure of when I got it, but I was either one to two years old or four years old."
"I don't know how or why, but it had a distinct scent, not particularly noticeable unless you shoved your face in its fur, like I did, haha. As I grew up, I needed to have this rabbit with me or I would not be able to sleep. I remember this one time when I couldn't find it in time for bed, and I was so distressed trying to fall asleep that I started hallucinating."
"Over time she lost an eye, her ears became frayed, her fur fell out in patches, and she looks like a well-loved creature (because she is) or hot garbage, depending on who you ask."
" Even in my rebellious teen years, I couldn't pretend to dislike her because the scent and texture of her fur gave me a feeling of comfort and safety, even when it felt like everyone was against me."
"I live by myself now at age 34 and you better believe I still keep her in my bed. The scent is gone but sometimes I can trick my brain into thinking it's still there, and when I touch the texture of her fur, I will still get a wave of comfort and reassurance the same way I did as a child."
"It's amazing not only how humans will bond with anything, but also the effect these things will have on a person."
"This got sappy, my apologies."
"PS: Her name is Ninni."
- Mwuuh
"'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'"
"I'm reminded of this quote from 'The Velveteen Rabbit.'"
- tinycole2971
While everyone might feel a little silly about their sleeping arrangements, most of those who still sleep with a cuddly friend have spent a great deal of their life with their companion already.
From sentimental reasons to physical needs, everyone needs comforted from time to time, and there's nothing quite like the unconditional love of a favorite stuffie friend.