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People Break Down What Goods Were Sold On The 'Black Market' At Their School

kids, teens, and college students all find unique ways of making money or obtaining "contraband" items in schools.

A relative of mine ran a gambling ring in junior high, for example, and that was how they (and so many of their classmates) obtained all the candy and chocolates they could stuff their faces with. This same relative has since paid for their black market wits with numerous visits to the dentist over the years.

You win some, you lose some, right?

People were all too eager to share after Redditor Alice_exists asked the online community,

"What was the "black market" at your school?"

"My school banned..."

"My school banned soda. I used to keep a cooler full in my car and sell them for $2 a pop."

jsmys

Look at you, you little entrepreneur!

"So she'd constantly..."

"My mum owned a sweet shop and sweets were banned in our school as we had to have healthy meals and all that. So she'd constantly give me bags of sweets to smuggle in and sell every day at dinner. Made an absolute bomb."

skraii

Your mum owned a sweet shop, huh?

Can you say "privileged"?

Well, you certainly got a leg up!

"I'd burn a bunch of copies..."

"I used to sell bootleg movies in high school. Not the kind of bootleg where you take a video camera into a theater, but I knew someone who kept getting early versions of movies that I guess are sent to theaters (they had some message about it being for screening purposes only/internal use - I don't remember exactly) and giving them to me."

"I'd burn a bunch of copies and sell them to people for $5. They were high quality and still early in theaters."

Cheese_Pancakes

The bootlegs which were nothing more than someone taking a video camera into a theater were the absolute worst.

"In 5th grade..."

"In 5th grade, I sold fairies to every single one of my classmates for $1 each. I gave them names and backstories and drew little portraits of each then would toss them an invisible fairy and then collect from the next sucker."

venuscries

WHAT?

Clearly I was not doing the right thing. You sold people imaginary crap?

"Teachers punished us..."

"Teachers punished us by making us write 'I will refrain from extemporaneous vocalization during valuable pedagogical opportunities' 50 or 100 times as homework. So over the summer, we would do up a few hundred sheets of that, and we could sell or use them, as necessary."

FlavoredCuDispenser

Now this is clever. I love everything about it.

"A porn ring."

"A porn ring."

"Kids would find their dad's VHS pornos or magazines and sell them to this kid. Then he'd turn around and sell it for profit."

"Funny thing is that when the principal caught wind of it and found all the porn in his locker but the money wasn't there. The kid used the locker under his and hid it all in the bottom."

"The porn hustler dude is now a cybersecurity analyst. I asked him at our reunion how much he thought he made back then. He claims $900 in 4 months."

HelpMyBunny1080p

Now the porn hustler dude probably makes sure people aren't spreading viruses with all the crappy porn sites they visit while on company time.

"In high school..."

"In high school, there was this game/fad where people would try to stealth zip tie other people's bags to their desks, shoes together, whatever so they'd be stuck when the bell rang. One guy sold the heavy-duty zip ties and another sold mini scissors for easy escape."

SaSaMei

I think I would hate it if someone did this to me.

"The most popular..."

"In elementary school, it was flavored toothpicks. The most popular were soaked in cinnamon oil. First time I tasted Fireball whiskey took me right back to first grade."

SignificantStuff4930

I'm just imagining you sitting in the bar sharing this anecdote while all the other drinkers around you get a wistful look in their eyes and just nod silently.

"Everyone wanted them..."

"In elementary school, my friend had a sticker maker, and we pumped out hundreds of stickers with Neopets on them."

"Everyone wanted them, we were making away like bandits before teachers started to get pissed they were showing up all over the desks/walls/etc."

"Eventually we got called into the principal's office and had to stop."

colorabro

Aw, the teacher and principal were absolutely no fun!

"The one that stands out..."

"The one that stands out is marbles."

"Marbles were banned at the school, because kids were getting into arguments over them, as well as digging up the gardens making marbles tracks."

FormalMango

Have you lost your marbles??

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Well, it's clear after reading all of these that my black market hustle was severely lacking. Now as an adult, I have to figure out how to obtain such infamy.

Just kidding. I have bills to pay now.

Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!

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Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

Keep reading...Show less