Top Stories

Generous People Share The Most Ungrateful Reactions To Gifts They've Faced

Generous People Share The Most Ungrateful Reactions To Gifts They've Faced

Generous People Share The Most Ungrateful Reactions To Gifts They've Faced

[rebelmouse-image 18350225 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Gratitude is one of those things that you almost don't notice when it exists, but WHOOOOOOOOSAAAAAAAU do we see it glaringly when it's absent. One reddit user asked a doozy of a question, and we picked out 20 of our favorite responses. Fair warming, you're probably going to want to punch people by the end of this.

My sister once started crying and locked herself in her room after my parents spent the last of their money buying her a Gameboy - because the Gameboy was grey and not pink. Reddit, what's the most cringe-worthy, ungrateful thing you've ever seen someone do?

1. The Pink Laptop

[rebelmouse-image 18350226 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My sister wanted a laptop. I was in college but had a little bit of christmas money saved up, so I decided to get her something.

I did a bunch of reading about what was the best kind of used laptop to buy. I ended up getting her a IBM Thinkpad T51. I formatted it, installed Windows XP, and went down to the school bookstore and got a student copy of Office to install on it.

I was talking to my mom the next day and mentioned what I Was getting her. My mom says "Oh, well she really wanted one of those new pink laptops, you should have gotten her one of those"

I explain I didn't have the hundreds to spend on a brand new Dell for her, but this was a perfectly nice IBM that would do great for her for her first year of college (she was graduating highschool that year).

Later that day I got a call from my sister where she proceeded to scream at me and demand I get her the pink Dell she wanted.

Fuck that. I sold it on ebay and ended up making some money on it. I don't remember what I got her that year, but it was something cheap, shitty and from walmart.

She dealt without a laptop until she was desperate and I gave her an even crappier one than the IBM a friend had given to me that was destined for his trash can.

2. Twenty-five YEARS or MONTHS old?

[rebelmouse-image 18350227 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My aunt gave a small birthday party for my cousin (who was turning 25) last fall. He got really upset and angry because she bought him a pair of black skateboarding shoes instead of brown ones. She tried to calmly explain that she couldn't find any brown ones, but he wasn't having it. I almost slapped him.

3. The Car: Round 1

[rebelmouse-image 18350228 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My sister was so unhappy with the car my parents got her that she tried to sell it every time it was parked. This was back before cell phones so the only number she had to give was the home phone which my parents always answered if they were there. They got her back by moving the car one day and telling her that someone had bought it but since it was their car they got the money for it.

4. Get Out

[rebelmouse-image 18350230 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I built my stepson a gaming computer, helped him set it up and got some games loaded up on it for him so we could game together and bond some. As soon as I had it all set up he told me to get out of his room and closed the door. I spent 4 months saving and buying parts for it one at a time.

5. The Car: Round 2

[rebelmouse-image 18350232 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

One of my friends received a car for their 18th birthday from their grandparents. A free car. Their response was to break down in tears saying how much they hated it because it was an old man car and then absolutely refused to drive it ever. That's about when I had an epiphany and wanted that person out of life immediately.

6. Suddenly Feeling The Christmas Spirit

[rebelmouse-image 18350233 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Similar issue with a group of children I'll allow to remain anonymous, they complained about their Christmas gifts being either too cheap, or too lame or one of many other things.

Their Father returned all of them to the store, and bought something for himself and their Mother. The following year they were very humble and thankful for the gifts they received.

7. The Car: Round 3

[rebelmouse-image 18350234 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

After my mom died my step dad took some of the insurance money and bought his daughter a brand new SUV. I heard she threw a screaming fit in the driveway because it wasn't a sports car. BTW me and my other siblings got nothing at all from him. Of course now she is 35 and still lives with her dad and still screams and whines for everything she wants so I guess karma is a bitch (and so is my step sister).

8. Forget The Life, Save The Carpet

[rebelmouse-image 18350235 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Here's just one of (too) many.. Early morning cardiac arrest call. We worked on this guy furiously, got a pulse back, everything went right. Good call. Guy gets into the cath lab right away, and walks out of the hospital alive a couple weeks later.

Then his cranky ass wife sends us a bill for carpet cleaning, saying that we tracked in mud on her carpet when we were saving her husband's life. :/

9. Made WIth Love

[rebelmouse-image 18350236 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My grandma spent a whole year, a WHOLE F*CKING YEAR knitting me, my brother and sister sweaters very nice sweaters in our favourite colours. My brother looked at his and said "why would you waste your time making this? I don't even wear sweaters, I'm more of a hoodie guy." he was 18 at the time, that makes it even worse. ungrateful bastard.

10. Feeling Ashamed Of Yourself?

[rebelmouse-image 18350237 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My brother and I were raised by a single mother, our father having died when I was four, my brother eight. After he died we moved from where we lived to where my grandparents live, to be closer to family. One day, my brother and I were apparently just acting like brats. I don't remember it, I was young, maybe seven at the time. We wouldn't help my mother clean up or something. Well my mother told my brother to watch me for a little and then she left for my grandma's, three minutes away. I learned later from my brother, who was told by my grandma, that my mother left that day so that she could sit at my grandma's and cry. She just cried about how she couldn't take everything that we were doing. I've never felt worse about anything in my whole life, and I was probably eight years old when I found out.

11. The Car: Round 4

[rebelmouse-image 18350238 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

A girl at my high school put a brick on her gas pedal and crashed her brand new mustang into a concrete wall, at school.

All because the car she got for her 16th birrthday was the wrong color.

And she kept bragging she'd "get a new one. I'm just teaching my parents a lesson."

She got expelled, and arrested. After that I don't know. It was two months from graduation.

12. Not Very Fair

[rebelmouse-image 18350239 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Know a friend whose mom absolutely spoiled her. Her mom, despite being disabled and with limited income, does everything she possibly can for her only daughter. Buys her phones, expensive clothes, whatever else she wants, and most recently a new car. Hell, she even does her homework for her, since my friend is D'ing or failing all of her classes, simply because she hates school and can't be bothered (even though she says she wants to go to college.)

All in all, this girl is blessed with this awesome fucking mom. My friend, however, usually doesn't have many pleasant things to say about her mom unless it's on Facebook.

So apparently there is this fair that they go to as a family every year, and her dad had recently died, so it would be the first year without him. Her mom brings it up and the ingrate called my friend point-blank says she is not going to let her mom go. Why? Because she only wants her cockhead of a boyfriend there. Her mom, who was on the verge of tears, said, "But.. we go every year.."

Broke my heart.

13. A Verbal Beatdown

[rebelmouse-image 18350240 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My spoiled teenage cousin almost earned himself a dickpunch last Christmas. We were talking about what we each got for Christmas that year, since we're both gamers. I was excited that my wife had gotten me SWTOR. He got a bunch of games, a new 360 since his old one was "dirty and scratched" (from his nerd-raging) with Kinect, a Fender guitar, a new drumset, an iPhone 4 (to replace his "stupid 3gs"), and since he'd just turned 16 his parents gave them their "old" 2009 Toyotta suv (thing is sweet, fully loaded, beautiful). I was like "Damn dude, that sounds like a hell of a haul." His reply:

"Yeah right that car is f*cking gay. My buddy at school's parents got him a Honda S2000, a Burton snowboard, and him and his girlfriend new iPhones, plus they got to go on a cruise for Christmas. I told my parents what car I wanted, they're just cheap." I gave him a verbal beatdown the likes of which he needed to hear, rubbing in just how rough his life is, all the while he's rolling his eyes.

14. Scene-Kid Sweater

[rebelmouse-image 18350241 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

It wasn't the most expensive of gifts, but my mom bought me a sweatshirt I really wanted for Christmas. I was in my scene kid stage and wanted my clothes to fit tight, so I told my mom to get me a medium even though she'd normally buy me a large. Well, I opened up my gift, got excited when I saw it was that sweatshirt, and then immediately threw a fit when I saw the sweatshirt was a large. I basically threw it on the couch and went "Great, well now I'm never going to wear this". I acted like a dick the rest of the day and made it a point to not even try the sweatshirt on.

Eventually I put it on in my room and it fit perfectly. I thought about the fact that I had yelled at my mom for something that she bought out of love for me, and didn't need to get me in the first place. I felt pretty fucking ashamed of myself and gave her a sob-filled apology. I'm always grateful anytime anyone gives me any sort of gift now, even if it's something that I wouldn't in a million years want.

15. Santa's Failed Miracle

[rebelmouse-image 18350242 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

One Christmas the only thing I wanted was a Super Nintendo. I was probably about 10 or 11. Granted, this was after the N64 had already come out, but I believed so hard that Santa Claus could work miracles that I thought he could get me a Super Nintendo new in box. After I opened all my gifts and realized a Super Nintendo was not among them, I began to cry. Looking back on that day, I feel really horrible about it. We ended up with a compromise: I returned one of my gifts and used the money to purchase a used Super Nintendo. The Super Nintendo stopped working a couple years later, but that Christmas morning is something I'll always be embarrassed of.

16. The Robot

[rebelmouse-image 18350243 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Well, unfortunately the only one that comes to mind was me. It was Easter 1995 (I think) and I'm all excited to be getting me some new toys. Then I see this big, stuffed robot sitting there with my Easter basket and I got upset because it wasn't what I wanted (what I wanted was most likely something Power Rangers related, but in any event it was anything but that). So I ran to my bedroom crying and sat on my bed thinking what a waste this Easter was. Cue my dad, who comes to the scene and sits down with me and explains that the robot in question was a gift knitted by my mom (which I'm sure took a long, long time), who was now upset by my reaction. He then went on to let me know that if I kept this kind of behavior up, it would be the last time I would get any presents for a while. Soon after I apologized to my mom, thanked her for the present, and then bawled because I felt really super bad about how I had acted. Especially since it was such a fucking awesome robot. A few years later, when we were still moving into our new house, I couldn't find my robot and asked my mom where it was. She told me that she had thrown it out because it was starting to get a little old and ragged, and I about cried. To this day I'm grateful to receive gifts, even if I'm not wild about them.

17. The Small Potential Murderer

[rebelmouse-image 18350245 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Just the other day my little 6 year old cousin, another 12 year old cousin, and myself were playing my PS3 in my room. We were playing Skate 3 which in only single player on one machine so we had a rule that you play untill you fall three times and then you pass the cotroller around and let the next person play. This system was working fine untill all of a sudden the youngest cousin fell his third time because he got the skateboarder run over by a car on one of his turns and when me and my other cousin told him it was time to share the controller he completely seriously replied with "I hope you both get run over by a car in real life... I will kill both of you in front of your fathers."

I was completely shocked by this and didn't know what to say, I just took the controller off him and told him to leave the room.

18. The Cell Phone Blackmail

[rebelmouse-image 18345392 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I work at a popular place that sells Cell phones. and The most cringe-worthy one I can think of is how this mom and her teen daughter come in the store looking to add another line to their family plan for the daughter. she was told to pick out anything in the $50 dollar range, and the mom said how the $50 is all that's left in their current budget. The teen girl pointed to the biggest most expensive android phone she could find and said "I want that one", it was a $200 phone. The mom says "sorry hun, we don't have the money to do that, its not in the budget, we can only get you a $50 phone". the kid's response was to so casually say "hah, well if you don't get me the one I want, I'll just misbehave until you get it for me" The mom instantly buckled and got her the $200 phone. All the while I'm standing there praying that she instead would do the right thing, take her child out back and beat her.

19. Regretting It Ever Since

[rebelmouse-image 18350246 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My mother was terminally ill with Colon cancer. She was bed ridden and I remember 8 year old me wanting to go to the public pool with a friend. At first I told my mom I would understand if she said no, but could she take me? She reluctantly told me no, she couldn't get out of bed. I flipped. I screamed and cried and threw a tantrum. I accused her of irrational things such as "if my sister asked you would!" or that "it really isn't that hard!"

Less than two months later she died. It wasn't until I was 14 that I found some writing she left for me. "I love you, but you need to curb your anger" was what made me fall apart, because I knew what she was talking about. I've regretted how I treated my mother every day. Kids can be so cruel.

20. A Happy Ending

[rebelmouse-image 18350248 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

It isn't really a present or anything... But one time my mother made Tuna Noodle Casserole for dinner. Now, a lot of people in my family hate fish, me included, but we were tight on money and we already had all the ingredients in the house so my mother didn't have to go buy stuff. My mom made it and sat down at the dinner to eat with the family... everyone said "I hate fish, why did you make this, I'm not eating this!" even my dad said "I'm not really in the mood" and of course I wasn't really all that thrilled either since fish, any fish, are my least favorite meals... but when I looked up at my mom and saw her really look sad at that empty dinner table with her sadly eating the casserole by herself it made me sad and angry that everyone abandoned her, so I sat down, loaded my plate (which was almost half the casserole dish) and started eating all the casserole my family wouldn't eat and saying "This is pretty good mom" me and my mother had a wonderful time eating together and truthfully it wasn't that bad, but I still wouldn't look forward to eating Tuna Noodle Casserole... I almost finished that whole pan.

H/T: Reddit

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.