Listening to your gut can save your life. There is a reason why we have inner voices warning us about something that just does not feel right.
Sometimes, that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach alerting you of a suspicious situation can occur when you are alone or in some vulnerable state.
Whatever the case may be, it may be in your interest not to ignore your naturally built-in life alert.
Strangers on the internet shared their most vulnerable moments and fled the scene when Redditor firefly_girl_75 asked:
"What is your 'Oh sh*t, I've got to get the hell outta here right now!' story?"
Trapped
Nothing will make you hit a "panic" button more than when you feel trapped in a situation. Hopefully, you have the wherewithal to haul a**.
The Escape Route
"Living in Baltimore some years back and I was driving home through a rough area of the city. Sitting at a stop light behind an already stopped car, another pulls up next to me on the right. Not really thinking anything of this, the light turns green. Neither of these cars move and I see a car zipping up behind me. I look to my left and I see two guys running towards me. I am so thankful that I left a good deal of space between me and the car in front. I hooked it around the car I front and sped off. Pretty sure I was going to be a victim of a car jacking or maybe something worse. Glad they ill timed their plan and I gave myself that space. Lesson here is always keep your head on a swivel in Baltimore."
Justifiable Reaction
"I was on a restaurant and they were using a propane tank to power an outdoors heater. Suddenly the tank started to catch fire and I got out quickly because i thought it was going to explode."
"The staff turned the tank off and everyone laughed at me for overreacting but damn i got scared lol."
Never Forget
"I was in downtown NYC a couple of blocks away from the WTC gawking at a fire. There were tons of people milling around watching. They had blocked off some streets, and I asked a cop how I could get around to where I needed to go further downtown. He told me which streets were closed, but that they might expand it, so I should get moving. The conversation was pretty casual."
"As I started walking away I looked back, and he had his radio to his ear, and whatever he heard, he panicked, went as white as a ghost, and started yelling for people to move further back. I turned around and jogged the hell out of there and made it to the Brooklyn Bridge before the first tower came down."
– clukic
Bracing For An Explosion
"I was on a restaurant and they were using a propane tank to power an outdoors heater. Suddenly the tank started to catch fire and I got out quickly because i thought it was going to explode."
"The staff turned the tank off and everyone laughed at me for overreacting but damn i got scared lol."
– waycatowa
Scary People
You never know people's intentions, but usually, your gut has the correct instincts.
Temperamental Customer
"My friend and I met at Waffle House for lunch. A guy came into the restaurant looking for a piece of paper that he had accidentally left on a table. The waitress didn't know where the paper was located and might have thrown it away. The guy got upset saying the paper was important and he was going home to get his gun stored under his mattress. My friend and I quickly paid our check and got the heck out of the restaurant!"
Stranger Danger
"I lived in south Everett WA for a couple years. Was walking home from the bus stop to my apartment, which took me behind the home depot. Suddenly a van starts following me, I hear the side door slide open and look behind me to see a man with the top half of his body hanging out the slider door looking at me. I took off running towards my apartment, literally running as far as I could, the van started going faster. By chance a guy was pulling out of the driveway of my apartment complex, sees me running for my life, and stops. The van immediately turns around and speeds off. Guy asks if I'm okay. I ask him to just stay there and please watch me walk into my apartment, which was the building next to his. He did, thank God. I started carrying mace and a very large knife the next day."
A Very Convenient Store
"A coworker got off the bus at night in Scarborough, Ontario and a guy stepped out from behind the bus shelter and started calling to her to wait up. He ran up to her, she screamed 'I don't know you' and ran into a convenience store. The guy hung around outside for a few minutes, then walked over to a vehicle and got in and drove off. She waited for a neighbour in her apartment complex to come over and walk her home."
"She filed a police report and it turned out she had narrowly escaped Paul Bernardo, then known as the Scarborough Rapist, later known as a serial killer alongside his wife Karla Homolka."
– Kanadark
Lost In Translation
"I was the only white guy working at a Hispanic restraunt and I dont speak spanish that's part of it. One night after work I get invited to drink at one of their houses. All is going good we're drinking and I even danced a bit. Then after going outside to the back patio to smoke a cigarette I come back inside and the guy whose house I was at has a knife and is yelling at these 3 coworkers of mine blocking the front door yelling in spanish that no one is leaving(I knew that much). A bar patron who knew me grabbed me and pleaded to the guy just to let me and him out since we had no part in it. The homeowner let's us both out. I ask the bar patron wtf was that when we're outside since I cant speak spanish and he says the guy thinks my 3 coworkers are sleeping with his wife and hes probably about to kill them. I got in my car and got the F out of there."
– myfriendlikestoes
Out Of Our Control
Nature and animals figured into these scenarios alerting of danger.
Heroes
"I was walking to my house from my ex house very early in the morning when I saw this little girl with a backpack running for her life from two big street dogs. At that moment I didn't think and I ran towards the dogs and missed a kick, the two dogs came after me biting my legs and arm. They were out of control and these were like the longest 5 minutes of my life. I couldn't stop them from biting me, the little girl kept running until I didn't see her anymore. It was just me and the dogs attacking me. I tried to climb a fence to get inside a house but I couldn't when a taxi driver stopped and went out of the car with a short stick and he tried to scare them off giving me a chance to run and without thinking I got inside the car, the guy just ran a couple of times around the car with the dogs behind until he got in and he drove off like really fast. He took me to the hospital where I got a lot of stitches on my legs, arms and hands. That guy is my hero. Every now and then I go to his taxi stop and give them sandwiches or something. We never knew what happened to those dogs."
– NerdBene
Not Leaving Kansas
"I was driving north on I-65 in the middle of Indiana. The sky was getting dark, the wind was picking up, it started hailing ... I turned on the radio to hear that a tornado was nearby. I determined it was behind me going from SW to NE and about to cross over the interstate. Other cars were driving slow or pulling over because of the rain and hail...I was hauling a** to get away from there."
– MrJDL71
Blair Witch?
"I was solo camping in the woods during a phase where I wanted to be a survival expert. I hiked out, miles from any roads or building, built a shelter and then hiked back the way I came."
"Less than a mile away from my camp, I found a dead coyote, decapitated, gutted, and laid out like a sacrifice or something. The eyes were gouged out and it was strung across a big, flat rock. A rock which I used as a marker on the way in, so I know it hadn't been there a day before."
"I ran out of there as fast as I could, knife at the ready, probably 10 miles back to my house. I still have no idea who would have done it, but I know I didn't want to run into them in the woods alone."
Sometimes, you find yourself already in the midst of madness.
The Pursuit
"I was leaving for work at 5:30 am, while it was still dark. I locked the inside door handle and walked out the door pulling the door closed behind me. As I turned around to walk off the porch toward my car, I saw four men jump out of a van and start coming toward me. The street was otherwise empty."
"My heart was pounding and I felt panic start as I was digging in my big, messy purse for my keys to unlock the door and get back in my house. The whole time, I’m just thinking they are going to grab me, shove me in the van, and rape/kill me. I was able to get back in my house before they made it to me, but it scared the shit out of me. Turns out they were immigrations officers looking for someone who used to live in our house, and that is standard practice for them if they think the suspect will run!"
– SugarDonutQueen
The Bible Guy
"I was living at a pretty upscale apartment complex. The perimeter was lined with REALLY nice ground level town home units. This one guy moved into one and he was kind of odd. On warm days he’d walk around shirtless in the complex’s park which is odd for PNW, but I mean okay... then he started pasting bible verses to his window. Now I’m not saying liking the Bible is an issue, but that was an alarm bell. ...then he started writing in charcoal over the Bible verses pasted to his window...."
"Then one night I took my dogs for a walk. It was during a bout when my dogs weren’t sleeping much and needed 2am walks. I go down to the park area in front of these townhome units. Lots of bushes and trees. My dogs are pissing in the bushes and suddenly my girl dog gets low and starts growling. We notice there are boots in the bushes. I then look around and notice a dozen figures in black tactical gear and masks. Virtually invisible. I freeze and start to panic. One of them puts his finger to his...mask? I assume where his mouth was. I got the hint and bolted. Right as I get to the entrance of my apartment I see them take a battering ram to the door and drag the Bible verse guy out completely naked as he screams about how god is judging them. The unit smelled HORRIBLE and was left as-is for months. Eventually a nice couple moved in. I asked the building management what happened and I was given a look and told 'you don’t want to know.'"
– geminiwave
Stuck Without A Passport
"I woke up one Friday in a hotel and the internet was down. I went to the hotel lobby to see what was up, and saw scenes of chaos on the TV. A crowd had started to gather to watch, including the hotel staff. One employee told me the government had shut down the internet to test it. The scenes on the TV were of violent protests beginning all over Egypt as people made their first push to occupy Tahrir Square. It was January 25, 2011 and I was in Benghazi, Libya. Without my US passport."
"Needless to say I spent my energy over the next few days trying to get out of the country. I was able to leave but many of the people I was working with weren’t as lucky. The revolution started in Benghazi less than two weeks later. It was surreal watching Anderson Cooper broadcasting live from the hotel I had just been staying in."
"EDIT: A bunch of people asked about my passport so I’ll elaborate further. I’m actually paranoid about giving up my passport when I travel, so it was an odd story how that happened. It was my second trip, and I always brought color copies of my passport to give when someone asked for it so I’d never hand over my original. My first trip I travelled with someone who had been to Libya multiple times."
"I’m an architect and we were working for a Turkish contractor. They requested the passport that first trip to 'get a stamp.' I initially refused and said I would do it myself if needed. The other architect was more senior and explained they just used a runner to take it to the police station and get a stamp which was required if you stay longer than a week. He showed me his so I backed down and let them have it. I got it back that day and it had the stamp."
"On my second trip they requested the passport for the same process, but I still didn’t have it back by the third day when the internet was shut off. I called our company from the hotel to get a plane ticket to Istanbul. The next flight was on a Saturday afternoon. The client had my passport and didn’t want us to leave because they were afraid we’d trigger a panic at the job site. So they kept claiming they didn’t have my passport back yet. We ended up in a full blown shouting match demanding it back when we were in danger of missing the flight out. They finally gave it back after we started threatening to call our company and walk away from the project."
"The stress didn’t end there, because my passport didn’t have the stamp once it was returned. I was stopped when going through customs trying to leave, and it was clear they were having a conversation about the missing stamp. They ended up letting me go, but I didn’t feel like I could take a breath till I was in the air."
"I had been communicating with a close friend via text throughout all this. I didn’t want to worry my wife about the situation. He knew to contact her if I stopped responding. I called her that Saturday night from Istanbul to tell her what had happened and that I was no longer in the country."
Of course, no one should be in constant fear and being overly cautious when they are out and about. Otherwise, what's the point?
There is no point in living life always searching for emergency exits.
But when your built-in life alert signals to you that you need to get the hell out of, say, your house, just remember this tidbit:
Never run up the stairs.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Most restaurant menus have caught up with the times to offer plenty of options to patrons with various dietary restrictions.
Vegan dishes tend to be a top priority, with gluten-free options being a close second.
Thanks to these options, groups of family and friends can dine together and not be limited by restaurant choices.
But when there's a sudden break in routine on the next outing, it can be jarring when the vegan in your group suddenly orders prime rib or a juicy burger that is not a plant-based patty.
What the whaaat?
Curious to hear from those who did a dietary 180 after routinely nourishing themselves with food grown from the earth's soil, Capital_Brain2676 asked:
"Vegans that started eating meat again, what happened?"
Some people were told what's good for them.
Point Made
"I know someone who was a vegetarian for 13 years simply because someone told them they couldn't do it. I guess he figured 13 years was enough to prove a point and went back to eating meat after."
– ottersandgoats
"I feel like 2-3 years would be enough though??"
– WebBorn2622
On A Dare
"I knew a girl in college who did that. She was dared in middle school to become a vegetarian and... she just stuck with it. More power to them."
– ComplexWest8790
Some people were left with no choice but to ditch veganism.
Thanks, Mickey Ds
"Got cancer. Ate whatever my body would take without throwing up and that just happened to be chicken nuggets."
– BratS94
When Choices Are Limited
"Homeless and pregnant = eat what I was given."
– anon
"I’ve always wondered this actually. If a homeless vegan eats what they’re given. I’ve given homeless people subs in the past because of veggies, protein, and carbs (all necessary things) and wondered if they would eat it if they’re vegan. I’m sorry you’ve been on that road. I hope things are better for you now."
– Saltwater_Heart
The Saying Goes
"There is a reason for the saying 'beggars can’t be choosers,' you give what you can/have and you can’t always accommodate the person you are giving it to, don’t think too hard about it. Also, hope OP is doing better."
– Reikotsu
Certain medical conditions prevented these Redditors from sticking to their restrictive diets.
Cooking For Two
"I still eat mostly vegetarian food and have done all my life. However my husband was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and coeliac which means that a high fibre/lower iron diet is not an option and a lot of the substitutes aren’t gluten free. More often than not when he has meat I’ll leave it or have the veggie equivalent but there are just not enough hours in the day to make 2 separate lasagnes and sauce etc."
– Chanel-Chic
Troublesome Ailment
"As someone who has UC, that's very cool of you to cook a more UC friendly diet. I dated a woman for 6 months who was a pescatarian. Every time I cooked, it was something we both liked and could eat. Every time she cooked, she focused on what she wanted and it didn't seem to matter whether I could eat it or not. She was nuero divergent and had it in her head that veggies = good regardless of what it did to my insides. For anyone who doesn't know, UC is inflammation due to my immune system attacking the lining of my colon. So it's inflamed (unless you're in remission, which a fair amount of people aren't). Large amounts of fiber makes the food sit there longer and get more packed, which hurts like all hell being tight up against inflamed tissue. And certain ones create gas of an unimaginable magnitude and strength."
"Anyway, a fair amount of the time, I had to order delivery or takeout because otherwise, I would have been farting or sh*tting my brains out overnight. So I appreciate what you've done like you wouldn't believe."
– Wishilikedhugs
Bye Bye Veggies
"My gastroparesis diet led me off my vegan diet as well. I can’t handle legumes, leafy greens, and most vegetables. Hard to be a healthy vegan without any of those."
– Jefauver
When Vegan Ingredients Turn On You
"Yup. Crohn’s Disease ended my 17 year vegetarian stretch. I’m in remission now and don’t eat red meat but I am sensitive to several vegan friendly ingredients like garlic, onions, cauliflower family and now I can avoid them without starving."
–friscodayone
Cooking For A Full House
"Back when COVID had everyone in lockedown, myself and my roommate's family would take turns cooking dinner and it was fine. Then my roommate went on the NOOM diet, her daughter was diagnosed with GERD and couldn't have anything acidic, and her husband was diagnosed with celiac. Oh, and another family member disliked potatoes. I finally had to bow out. It was way too much of a pain in the @ss to cook a meal that met all of those restrictions."
– panda388
Sometimes, you just gotta have meat.
Costco Chicken
"Not my story, but a good friend of mine was vegetarian, very nearly vegan for over 10 years. One day she was in Costco and walked past the rotisserie chickens. Without thinking she put it in her cart. When she got home she stood over the sink and ate it with her bare hands. She had no idea what came over her. Her telling me this story is still one of the funniest things I've ever heard. She is still very plant forward in her eating, but she won't hesitate to order a burger or a steak when she wants it now."
– NotAlwaysGifs
Ravenous
"I went on a weekend backpacking trip with a girl who had been religiously vegan for a few years. It was a pretty physically intense trip, and the last day heading back was in pouring rain the whole way, so by the time we got back to our car, we were absolutely exhausted, filthy, and starving."
"There was only one restaurant anywhere nearby, one of those highway diners. We get there and I notice she's got this kind of crazy look in her eyes. I ask if she's okay, and she just says 'I need a steak.' I laugh, but she goes 'I'm serious. I can't help it. I need a big greasy piece of meat right now or I'm going to die.""
"Sure enough, she orders the biggest steak on the menu, and wolfs it down in minutes, and the crazed look goes away. After that, she went right back to being vegan like nothing had happened. The look in her eyes was a little scary to be honest."
– AxelShoes
Unless it's a matter of life or death, there's no way I can survive being a vegan.
I don't have a strong enough will power to avoid eating meat.
So if that day ever comes when I'm forced to make a major change in my diet that won't include red meat and you're around me all the time, apologies in advance for my perpetual state of being hangry.
People's Wildest 'WTF Is Wrong With You?' Experiences
Reddit user nekorei2023 asked: 'What did the person do/say that made you go "what the f**k is wrong with you?"'
We all have that moment where someone we know says something so completely absurd, the only response we think of is 'WTF is wrong with you?'
Sometimes, it's something woefully inaccurate that you can't wrap your head around the fact that someone believes that.
Othertimes, it's something completely offensive and you regret your association with that person.
My college roommate was a girl I knew from my high school. I didn't know her too well, but we had some big things in common, so I figured it'd be fun to live with her.
This girl was half-Korean and talked a lot about racist people. At first, I let her rant, figuring maybe she or someone in her family faced some racism. I faced some myself, and I agreed with most of the things she said about racists. Eventually, however, I realized she was equating the word 'racist' with the word 'white.'
I spoke to her once, telling her she can't use 'racist' and 'white' interchangeably. She agreed to stop doing that, but within a few days, she started doing it again. She was a very bright girl, so I was a little concerned about this, especially since her own dad was white and was possibly the nicest man in the world. Not to mention, this made her and her siblings half-white too. Did that mean they were all half-racist?
I stuck by her for a while, but when she started saying things about what she wanted to do to racist people (once again using the word 'white' instead of 'racist'), I realized I couldn't be around her anymore. She couldn't talk about anything else after a while, and every time she spoke, I wanted to say, 'WTF is wrong with you?'
We did not room together the next year.
Redditors have stories similar to mine (and some even crazier), and they are eager to share.
It all started when a Redditorasked:
How To End A Friendship
"In college I used to kill time between classes hanging out with a guy who was from the same redneck county as myself. We didn’t really have much else in common, but he was nice enough and seemed eager to socialize so I figured why not. I wasn’t overly social myself and didn’t know a whole lot of people."
"One day we decided to go somewhere off-campus, and he drove us. While driving, on an interstate mind you, he proceeds to show me his handgun that he kept in his truck - not in a menacing way, but in a “Ain’t that cool?” way."
"I was not immediately frightened, but I respect firearms enough to recognize we are going like 60-70mph on an interstate in daylight, and nothing good can happen in this scenario. I calmly asked him to put it away because I was not comfortable in this situation at all. He then tells me “Oh it’s not loaded” and presses the gun to his head before pulling the trigger."
"Thank f**k he was right, but still it was a wild and frightening display of reckless disregard for his own life and mine for that matter in the event that he’d accidentally killed himself while driving us. I didn’t hang out with him much after that, certainly didn’t get in a car with him."
– omjf23
"“It’s not loaded” famous last words of many an idiot."
– GloInTheDarkUnicorn
The Worst Kind Of People
"When my dad was in the nursing home, they weren't running certain expenses, like ambulance rides, through his insurance. When I took over his financials, he was tens of thousands in medical debt that shouldn't have ever been charged to him in the first place. He was in numerous collections, and his credit score was tanked."
"When I complained to the nursing home director, he said, "Well, it's not like he's going to be buying a house or a car!" Then he laughed."
"My dad was paralyzed from the waist down and needed lifelong care, so he was never going to leave the nursing home. Even though he was technically correct, I gave him the "WTF is wrong with you look." Then I complained to HIS boss and he got canned a couple a weeks later. My dad's insurance was fixed pretty quick, too."
– MNWNM
"“Sorry, what was funny about that? Could you please explain.”"
– v3n0mat3
...Seriously?
"MIL told my wife she should divorce me bc I googled whether a lasagna should be covered with foil while cooking."
– Struggle-Silent
"This is my first laugh of the thread lmao wtf."
– koreantrvp
"It actually ruined this entire trip. It was at my BIL’s wedding, which was only close family (siblings + parents) and they had the caterer make a lasagna for an evening dinner."
"Father of the bride was gonna pop it in the oven and asked if it should be covered. I googled lasagna cooking instructions and said yes it should be covered and cooked at this temp. MIL said absolutely not!"
"Me and the father of the bride kinda gave each other a look and he covered it. MIL was furious and texted my wife that I was an a hole and she should divorce me before we had kids."
– Struggle-Silent
Hostile Work Environment
"Boss at old job told the team we needed to ‘get used to a healthy level of conflict, fear and anxiety in the workplace.’ I dipped so fast after that."
– Prestigious-Energy69
"Similarly, a boss told me that I owed him my loyalty because he was paying me."
– Kylearean
How To End A Relationship
"A girl I was with while we were still together just looked at me while I was driving to her house and said.” You know I would get over you faster than you’d get over me” I was like …… Tf did you just say?"
– omega91301
"Huh. And just like that I'm over you."
– Pineapple_Spenstar
"Honestly, that would absolutely do it for me. When I was younger, I would be stupid and hurt and argue. I'm past 50 and I got no time for that nonsense."
– Terpsichorean_Wombat
There Are Other Ways To Stave Off Boredom
"I was DD for some buddies who wanted to go to a particular dance club in Baltimore. They're all hammered, it's too loud and we've been there for several hours. Casually an older woman next to me chats me up and notices my eyes are nearly crossing from boredom. I explained what I was doing there and casually (stupidly) mentioned I'm a bit bored. This psycho BITES ME on the chest! Afterward says "Well ya ain't bored now, are ya??""
– Mike7676
"Well, were you bored after that?"
– DontWannaSayMyName
"I must say, I was not!"
– Mike7676
That Goes Both Ways!
"I'm a man who works with kids, and when I started this job, I was talking to one of my old coworkers about how every once in a while I'll get weird looks for being a man working with kids and my coworker said I deserved it because some men can't be trusted with kids. I was shocked and she went on to say that I did it to myself and deserve to be questioned about it. I immediately stopped talking to her."
– Dolhedew
"What? What in the actual f**k? Doesn’t she know there are women who can’t be trusted with kids?"
– Anonymoosehead123
That Escalated Quickly
"The lady that accused my kids of cutting the line. (They hadn't, I was watching). When I went to ask her what was wrong, she told me to go back to my own country with that sh*t. (I was born in Massachusetts.)"
"The line was to pet dogs at a Renaissance Fair."
– pasafa
Everything All At Once
"While alone with a coworker, he told me that "women in the work place will lead to the decay of the fabric of society" to me. A woman. He also asked me out, got an attitude when I didn't say yes and continues to walk around with huge incel energy. He always complains that he has no one to go home to yet refuses to look at himself as a possible reason."
– Nopeferatu31
"Sounds like they should learn something from the phrase, "if you meet one a**hole, they're the a**hole. If everyone you meet is an a**hole, you're the a**hole.""
– tmpope123
Ouch!
"I told a coworker my wife had died."
"Her response: "You're one of those bald middle aged guys with a dead wife.""
"Me: "Yeah.""
– WalrusCello
"I want to think this was a wholesome thought that came out wrong. An awkward attempt at dark humor."
– ThisUsernameIsTook
*Cringing*
"Had an otherwise normal co-worker who was completely convinced windmills will cause the earth to stop spinning."
– Shadowmant
"WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! GOOD NIGHT!"
– Torvaun
These are all crazy 'WTF is wrong with you' stories, but that last one blew my mind in 'how is it possible people think that could be true' sort of way!