Sometimes the universe takes REALLY good care of you.
[rebelmouse-image 18345946 is_animated_gif=Some of the lucky people below were put in situations where they went with their gut instinct. Others happened by chance, and it's like the universe saved their lives for some unknown to us reason. Warning: violence and references to major destructive tragedies below.
u/S3Dzyy asked Reddit:
These are some of the lucky answers.
Hold The Pancakes Please
[rebelmouse-image 18347919 is_animated_gif=I once slipped on ice and into the street right after a truck went by. I had stopped to pick up my phone moments before, if that didn't happen I'd be a flapjack right now
Rob, A Robber
[rebelmouse-image 18350369 is_animated_gif=Didn't lend money to a "friend" because I was broke, few months later he disappeared with several thousands he had stolen from my other friends
Push Push Push
[rebelmouse-image 18350370 is_animated_gif=We were all set and ready to put an offer on a house. Did the paperwork with the realtor, signed the check, put down the offer. The realtor was super pushy but the room was 90 degrees and we weren't thinking straight. After signing the papers we go to see the house again with my in laws and notice a TON of issues we hadn't seen before. Got really anxious, big issues like plumbing, a huge wrap around deck that needed work, etc but we were stuck now.
Got a call the next day from the realtor saying that we never signed the bottom of the offer paperwork and can we please come sign it RIGHT AWAY. We decided not to and are going to wait a bit and do this smarter next time.
Don't rush when buying your first home folks.
Jobs
[rebelmouse-image 18350372 is_animated_gif=Got offered my dream job running an offshore aquaculture facility. Had to choose between the job and my SO's future. I reluctantly declined the job. A few months later i heard the facility was dealing with a serious disease issue and had no chance of being sustainable. Had i taken the job, i would have most likely being single living in a tiny seaside town, the job would have sucked, and I would have only worked there for max three months before the place shut down.
Truly Dodged A Bullet
[rebelmouse-image 18350373 is_animated_gif=Was in Vegas during the concert shooting. We arrived a couple of days prior and the stage where it happened was already set up. Everytime we passed by the stage my dad kept telling me "we should go there, looks fun". While I was in Vegas we went to a Golden Knights game and planned to go see what that stage was all about afterwards. I was so tired during the game that I could barely keep my eyes open. My dad noticed and told me we would go to the hotel to sleep instead of the concert.
Never Thought I'd Love Staten Island
[rebelmouse-image 18350374 is_animated_gif=I missed my ferry on 9/11, making me late to work. I saw the plane fly into the building from my next ferry.
So Many True Bullets
[rebelmouse-image 18350375 is_animated_gif=I had a ticket to the theatre 9 showing of Batman in Aurora 2012. I was the closing waitress at work that night and got "screwed" by a table coming in 5 minutes before closing. The person sitting next to my bff was killed- it probably would have me sitting there
Could Have Lost Everything
[rebelmouse-image 18350376 is_animated_gif=Moved out of an apartment complex this year where I did not have renters insurance. It burned down 4 days later.
Drive Defensively
[rebelmouse-image 18350377 is_animated_gif=Leaving work one day and I let someone else merge in ahead of me. We both get to a Traffic light and stop. The light turns green and we both start driving through the intersection. A SUV comes throught the guard rails and off the overpass just past the intersection and lands ON the car ahead of me. The car is flattened.
If I had been more agressive that would have been me.
Literal
[rebelmouse-image 18350378 is_animated_gif=I didn't understand how tickets worked. There was a fee and a court date and I assumed I had to go to court that day and pay it there.
Missed the court date.
Went to the district attorney's office and she looked right my 17 year old self and said "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to reduce your speed, I'm going to completely ignore the fact that you were out after your curfew, I won't have a warrant out for your arrest, and you'll just have to pay a large fine. This is an almost literal get out of jail free card, don't waste it."
I wanted to hug her through the glass, and I don't think I said thank you enough
So Much Work
[rebelmouse-image 18350379 is_animated_gif=Buying the wrong house. Put an offer on a house that needed some work. Offer was refused. House sold a year later for $100,000 less than my offer. Bullet dodged.
A Breath Away
[rebelmouse-image 18350381 is_animated_gif=Not my story, but my moms. When she was a senior in high school, a bunch of seniors went up to the mountains to party a week before graduation. Someone's dad worked as a ranger, so we was able to secure the keys to everyone's cars. Mom's best friends show up late in their topless jeep. They decide to go stump jumping in the jeep. They drive up the path a bit, messed out of their minds, and my mom begs them to stop and wait for her while she pees. She hops out, goes to do her thing, her friends leave her. She hikes back to camp and tells everyone and so they go out looking for her 3 friends. Finds them the next morning, jeep completely turned over, everyone dead. If my mom went with them, she would have died too.
It absolutely messed her up, and she's said she's never had a best friend since that, despite her being very social and a wonderful person.
7s All The Way
[rebelmouse-image 18350384 is_animated_gif=The choice: A) Stay in a dead, remote town of 600 people because I liked (but did not truly love) the woman I was with, after the shop I worked at closed down. She had a good income (nurse), did not want to move, and was fine with me earning less developing my own business interests... or B), break it off and move to a huge city and roll the dice.
I chose B, and my girlfriend ended up fired for drug abuses (stealing them from work). I never suspected she was doing that, but she was making bank on selling what she stole. And I had an awesome time in Montreal.
Appendices
[rebelmouse-image 18350385 is_animated_gif=My appendix exploded, one hospital rejected me and told me to go home and use some low key painkillers. Got driven to another hospital immediately rushed for an operation. If I spent another day at home I would have died. I could have also ended up with a major scar from my ribs to the lady parts. So lucky but so shook.
Later Realizations
[rebelmouse-image 18350386 is_animated_gif=Bologna, Italy.
August, 2, 1980.
I was four years old and was with my dad at the Train Station, to look at the train timetables. We were planning our trip to the seaside the following week.
I was literally 10 meters tops away from where the bomb set off, two minutes before it did. We heard the explosion while entering the car to get back home.
That was horrific, but 4yo me didn't fully realise what happened till much later. I just remember my father being really scared while driving home.
Diverted
[rebelmouse-image 18350387 is_animated_gif=Death, twice.
First time I was 21 and was having stomach pains, like screaming in shear agony type stomach pains. But I didn't think it was anything crazy, I've always had stomach issues. Finally after a couple of days I went to the ER and that had to do emergency surgery. Found out I have diverticulitis and one of the nodules had popped, spilling bile into the rest of the stomach and had infected my appendix as well. Doctor said I had about 12 hours left to live.
Second time was this past year, around the scars from my diverticulitis surgery I had developed 2 hernia's. They weren't a bother for the longest time but finally late last year they started hurting. Each time I went to the hospital, they were able to calm my body down and then pop the bigger hernia back in and I was good to go. Until the last time (mid-May), surgeon came in and said "we're doing surgery now to fix this." Good thing too because he found some intestine had gotten stuck and was getting strangled and was dying. Said I was probably about a day or two away from having all sorts of problems if not straight out death.
I hate my stomach and it hates me.
Thank You, Eyes
[rebelmouse-image 18350388 is_animated_gif=When I was really young, I was pressure washing my driveway with my dad. My dad was watching the whole time but he had to go do something else, so he turned off the washer and said not to touch it. Stupid me didn't listen to him, and didn't appreciate the actual power of these things. So anyway I turned it back on when he left and ignored his instructions.
It suddenly cut out. I had no idea why, and I was freaking out as to why it was only pushing out a tiny trickle of water, and that my dad would be mad. I was trying to fix it, and I remember looking down at the nozzle. I remembered this years later as how dangerous it was-- I was essentially holding a misfired gun with the barrel right at my eye.
I am so, so. SO. damn lucky that thing didn't go off for whatever reason. So lucky.
Goodbye Mom
[rebelmouse-image 18350389 is_animated_gif=Was taken away from my mother at around 10 years old when I went to live with other family. I had some contact with her but very sparse, mostly letters passed between her and a neighbor at the time. 3 years later I sent an email to an email address I found in one of her letters. She had a good job and her life back together. Went back to live with her shortly after. This was around 2008.
Well we got into an argument one night, our cat was sick and she refused to take it to the vet. It got heated. I called my grandmother to get me. While talking to her my mom cut the phone cord and slipped a note under my door threatening me. They tried convincing me nothing had happened and I was making it up. I never went back.
Mom lost her job, got back into drugs, had a psychotic break, and was thrown into jail for threatening to kill multiple people, including a law enforcement official. Meanwhile I managed to pick myself up and while I am still dealing with some issues I have an ok life. I have no doubt that staying with my mom would have left me with serious mental health and or drug issues. Maybe worse.
Horrid Future Consequences
[rebelmouse-image 18350390 is_animated_gif=I dated a guy for almost a year, but he was abusive. I found out he cheated on me and he went to live with the other girl (much to my elation! I helped him pack).
A few years later, I see him on the news. He killed and dismembered his girlfriend (not the girl he was with when he left). They had a month old baby together too. It was disturbing.
The Tree Missed, Thankfully
[rebelmouse-image 18350391 is_animated_gif=There was a bad windstorm in 2008 in Cincinnati, Ohio that came from a hurricane. Cincinnati is actually in the Ohio valley which means it doesn't typically get that windy. It was my future father in law's birthday and we were trying to make it over to their house for lunch, only 5 minutes away. The main road is blocked by police cars as a trees and power lines had fallen, no worries I'll take the back way. I go a little further and have to turn around because another tree had fallen and blocked both sides of the road. I turn around and go another direction. I get to the end of the street and can go either left or right. The left is blocked by a cop car and another car just turned around so I'm going to go right. It's a 3 way stop and I stopped first. I started to go and the car on my left who just turned around wasn't stopping and ran the stop sign. I was frustrated but heard a creaking sound. A 25'+ tree fell with the trunk perpendicular to where me and my now wife were sitting covering all windows with branches. We crawl out of the car and notice the tree itself is only being held up by stretched out power lines. If those power lines wouldn't have held the tree we would have been crushed without a doubt. We just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and have 4 beautiful children but it all could have ended that day.
The US is represented in the majority of some of the biggest films recognized worldwide–from iconic movies like American Grafitti to The Color Purple, to recent critically-acclaimed films like Minari and Moonlight.
Even classic American sitcoms like Friends are known the world over as the ultimate example of American comedy.
But there are plenty of misconceptions about American culture seen in some of these entertainment offerings that foreign audiences seem to miss, and it's time to set the record straight.
For starters, an apartment in New York City is not at all spacious like the one that was inhabited by Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, and Chandler. So there's that.
Curious to hear more examples of what our friends across the Atlantic could stand to learn, Redditor Jazzlike_Fondant_518 asked:
"Americans, what’s something Europeans need to hear?"
American Redditors had a thing or two to say about how we roll here in the States.
Pristine Washrooms
"Free, clean, omnipresent public restrooms are indeed possible."
– tech_probs_help
Vouching For The Myth
"As a British person who now lives in the US I would say public toilets is something the US does really well. They are everywhere, accessible and usually very clean. Europe definitely needs to catch up on this."
– alienintheUS
Driving In Circles
"We have roundabouts here. They exist. Stop claiming we don't."
– MundaneConclusion246
Preconceived notions can be bye-bye.
Nothing Cool About This
"The flavor of America is not cool ranch."
– IronHarvestX
Maintaining Best Indoor Air Quality
"Invest in hvac and soon cause it won't get cheaper or cooler."
– pallysteve
American Temperament
"A large portion of Americans are rational and moderate people, and what you see on the television isn't indicative of every American you meet."
– accidentalexpat
Toxic Malaise
"America isn't the only country with racial issues."
– NicoTheFileClerk
Europeans, take note.
Moving On
"It’s past time you take James Corden back."
– xTHEKILLINGJOKEx
It's A Big Problem
"Europe is getting fat too."
– Advi0001
Kernel Of Truth
"Putting corn on pizza doesn't make it 'American pizza'. It just makes it disgusting."
– Best-User-Name-Ever
Cinematic Trope
"A good looking guy smoking a cigarette is not a movie."
– 0utcast9851
Despite everything in the news happening in the States creating division and leaving people feeling dejected, a good majority of US citizens are not jerks.
There are loads of kind, considerate, empathetic, and well-behaved people living here.
Europeans often don't get to hear this since much of the media focuses on iniquitous behavior.
Humanity is still intact here.
At least that's what I still believe.
I admit, and this might as well be heresy to lots of people, that I just don't like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Sorry, everyone.
I know ya'll love it, but there's very little about it that I feel accurately captures the feeling of magic and whimsy that I experienced while I read Road Dahl's stellar book.
Before you get on my case, I'll emphatically deny liking Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... because it's also terrible.
You just can't please some people (namely me), right?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Dame87 asked the online community,
"What is a film that gets a huge amount of praise but you think is awful?"
Paranormal Activity (2007)
"Paranormal Activity. I've seen scarier crap in a public toilet."
hushabyesecret
When it came out it was pretty freaky and I still wasn't in love with it. It's the definition of average.
The Notebook (2004)
"The Notebook. Both leads are so unlikeable and horrible to each other it's not even enjoyable in a 'so bad it's good' way."
"Especially when she actually breaks up with him, gets in a stable relationship with another guy who's not awful...and then ditches that guy to get back with the main love interest because respectful relationships are sooo boring, everyone real love requires being unable to be in the same room without coming to literal screaming matches."
dumbest-thotticus
Honestly, aside from some very good acting, the script of this film is pretty terrible.
But it's Nicholas Sparks, we're talking about.
The Blind Side (2009)
"The Blind Side. They turned an interesting real life story into Hollywood crap."
pamela9792
Even the film's subject dislikes it.
Sandra Bullock beating her competition for THAT? She was much better in Gravity.
Frozen (2013)
"Frozen. I hate it too much, but I can’t help it. People kept saying how it was the best Disney movie ever and it wasn’t even top ten."
MrWapuJapu
Disney really did this film a disservice by shoving it down everyone's throats for much of the last decade.
Les Miserables (2012)
"I know Les Misérables was super acclaimed and all that, but it was really nothing like the book. It made me sad."
jeff-the-nurse
It wasn't meant to be an adaptation of the book, it was meant to be an adaptation of the musical (which a lot of people don't like because it condenses many of the elements from the book).
That said, I can't stand this film either. It's horribly directed.
Crash (2004)
"Crash won Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing awards. Received six Academy Award nominations. I thought it sucked."
[deleted]
You mean the film in which Sandra Bullock is cured of her racism after she falls down the stairs?
Grease (1978)
"Grease. I HATED it. I can appreciate the choreography, but the storyline is awful, cheesy (not to mention misogynistic, which at my first viewing I didn’t know what that was). Couldn’t stand Stockard Channing’s character. Really bad acting too."
GuardMost8477
It's just a bit too hokey for my taste – it makes it difficult to enjoy.
I did see a stage production years ago that was a lot more fun.
Black Panther (2018)
"It has a nice looking setting, and it was good to see a movie featuring a majority black cast with a positive/comic book storyline rather than the stereotypical urban/hang setting. So to that end it read a good movie."
"At the same time, it was also just yet another unmemorable marvel movie - I know I have seen it, but I have no memory of what actually happened in it. Remove the political/seeing element of it and it gets completely lost in the crowd."
mrsyns
Considering that Marvel films do absolutely nothing for me, I was not surprised by Black Panther or the fact that it was more of the same.
Meet the Parents (2000)
"Meet the Parents. It’s just two hours of being vicariously stressed out and embarrassed for Ben Stiller."
jaycuboss
Something tells me this movie likely has not aged well. It would not surprise me at all if this turned out to be the case.
Avatar (2009)
"Avatar. It's just Pocahontas in space, God dammit."
fretfulmushroom
I prefer Dances with Wolves in space myself.
I rewatched this earlier during lockdown and dropped my DVD off at a local community center afterward. And who the hell asked for three more sequels?
We all have our tastes, sorry to disappoint. Besides, we're certain that you have a film or two you dislike in your arsenal.
Have thoughts about other films that are not included here? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Even though many of us have interesting events in our lives to share at a get-together, there is always someone who can top your story with a life event that can be a little too zany to be believed.
"What’s your wildest story that sounds too far-fetched to be true?"

Redditors' interactions with animals were either empowering or terrifying.
A Chihuahua's Hero
"Mine is when I was in high school I lived out in the countryside of Central Texas. I was just kind of bumbling around on the property and my mom's little chihuahua was tagging along. I heard a bird, saw a fast moving shadow, and threw my arm out, slapping a hawk out of the sky as it tried to get my mom's chihuahua."
"Cut my arm pretty good, but saved that little rat of a dog. The chihuahua went on to pass away at a smooth 19 years old."
– itsthattedguy
Brush With An Owl
"I worked nights in college. I'd always take my two dogs out to pee when I got home and one late night an owl tried to snatch my Chihuahua but thankfully missed. My golden retriever ran back inside like the owl was going to somehow take his 60lb a** but my chi stood his ground like he could take it on. I got him inside and was much more careful after that. He, too, passed at 19. I miss him."
– jacyerickson
"I was almost drowned by a pod of dolphins while surfing at Salt Creek, Orange County, CA. I got up on a wave and one of them knocked me over, 2 wave pin down on a 5-7 ft day."
– jppope
These could be plot points in a movie.
Reunited Leash
"I was surfing in Santa Barbara County when I was a kid, maybe 14 or 15. When I would come in from a surf, I had the habit of undoing my leash from my leg while I was walking in the shallow water. Unbeknownst to me, the other side of the leash that connects to the board had come off. I lost my leash. I searched around the tidal zone but no luck. I was bummed but I just moved on."
"Three weeks later, I was surfing in Ventura county, and as I was walking in from the surf, a piece of kelp wrapped around my leg. I reached down to pull it off. It wasn’t kelp, it was my leash I’d lost a dozen miles north a few weeks back. It had algae and stuff growing on it, but no mistaking it was absolutely my leash."
– shah357
The Origin Of Love
"When my dad and step-mom met, my dad swore he’d met her before, but couldn’t remember when or where. Eventually, he decided he’d seen her in Cody, Wyoming, the town where he grew up. She swore she’d never even been to Wyoming (she’s from Oregon and that’s where they met)."
"Several years later, after they’d been married a while, step-mom mentions to her mom that my dad swears he met her in Cody, but she’s never been there. Her mom says 'Yes, you have,' and pulls out a photograph from 1956 of her, age 9, riding on a mechanical horse (a kid one) and in the background, standing around in the crowd, is my dad and his two brothers, ages 8, 10, and 11."
"She submitted the story to a local magazine for a Valentine’s Day contest one year and won a trip to a resort."
"Some honorable mentions: By the time I was 20, I was 1 degree of separation away from 5 different people who’d been murdered by 3 different serial killers (gotta love the PNW), and I almost hit Bob Dylan with my car once."
– JessicaGriffin
Getting Lit
"First time I ever smoked pot a police helicopter hovered above me and my friend and hit us with the spotlight. They were looking for someone else apparently because they immediately moved on. Nonetheless…"
– igottathinkofaname
VIP Client
"I took my VW to the dealer to get some work done. The service rep at the counter was so hung over (possibly still intoxicated) that he couldn’t handle completing the paper work. He told the tech that I was a VIP, specifically 'Britni Spears’s brother' and that he owed me a favor, so the work was on the house and they just never did any paperwork, didn’t charge me a dime, did the work, handed me the keys, and away I drove."
– peteschirmer
These Redditors couldn't believe their luck.
Contest Winner
"I won a two week cruise vacation for two in a contest."
"I never entered the contest."
"I was convinced I was being scammed."
"Even from the beaches of the Caribbean, I still wasn't convinced."
– Tokiw4
The Generous Friend
"Was in Vegas for a work thing. I was not happy about being there because it was a tough time in my life, money was really tight and Vegas is the last place you want to be when money is tight."
"I was telling my buddy about it and he says, 'Im going to pay pal you $150. Go play the poker tournament at the Venetian at night. You can drink for free and hopefully you last long. If you win anything, pay me back, if not, no worries.'"
"So I did. Won the tournament! $3200."
"The second night, I went off to play some craps alone one night because I did not like the work people and did not want to hang with them."
"Started with $200. 45 minuted later I 7’d out and had $37,000. Cashed out and told no one!"
"On the drive back (I lived in Phoenix) I called my buddy and told him (only) about it. I sent him $2500."
– Raspberries-Are-Evil
Beginner's Luck
"The one time I went to Vegas at the proper age of 21, I won $2000 on my first spin on the 25c slot machine. I didn't gamble the rest of the time and enjoyed the fact that my trip paid for itself. Came home with all the money I left with and an extra $800. Didn't tell my bf I was with at the time either; he would have tried to spend my money."
– KnowItOrBlowIt
Given A Second Chance
"I went jogging one night and came across a lady laid out face first. No heart beat. Started doing cpr. Never saw another person was able to call 911 while doing cpr. Kept at it twenty Minutes till FD got there. She made a full recovery. They said cpr that long has a 95% fail rate."
– DullAd2253
A friend back in high school told me he was a vampire when he dropped me off from band practice.
This was at a time when Anne Rice was super popular and everyone was reading the Lestat books.
Being an impressionable 15-year-old at the time, I believed him, because he warned me that if I ever revealed his identity to anyone, "I will find you."
A couple of years ago, I reunited with a mutual friend and I joked about how I believed so-and-so was a creature of the night. We nervously laughed.
Whether my blood-thirsty friend was weighing on my conscience or not, I've been visited by him in COUNTLESS dreams ever since I told my friend about him.
Call it what you want–paranoia or self-fulfilling prophecy–but there are some things in this realm I will never be able to explain.
I'm just glad I'm still here to talk about it now that I let the proverbial cat out of the bag.
When you're younger, you might think you come from a great family. But as a kid, you miss out on a lot of nuance. You do not see all the drama the adults around you are involved in. And when you do eventually notice it, you start to realize that maybe few—if any—of your family members actually like each other. So why put up with all those tense family holiday dinners?
This isn't to say that all families are like this. Absolutely not. There are some very happy and wonderful families out there. But seeing families hurt each other is enough to teach you that maybe that age old tradition of getting together for Christmas dinner might not be in everyone's best interest.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor captrober157 asked the online community,
"What family tradition ends with you?"
"Being an alcoholic."
"Being an alcoholic. My dad is an alcoholic. Both my grandfathers were alcoholics, which is what killed them. One of my grandmothers used to be an alcoholic and the other one still is. I could go on and on."
Iamyes_ok
Be strong and bold man, don't let the family pressure get to you!
"200 years..."
"200 years of living in London and my kids will never be able to afford to rent or buy here."
Shoreditchregular
200 years of living anywhere, it seems. It's insane.
"My dad interrupting dinner..."
"My dad interrupting dinner, so we can CALL LONG DISTANCE to relatives who couldn’t travel to the event. Then we’d have to pass the phone around the table for brief, superficial greetings as our food went cold. Yikes."
Comfortable-worry-84
Ummm... what? No, thank you. There's no way!
"Expecting the oldest child..."
"Expecting the oldest child to parent the younger one and getting pissed off when the oldest ends up acting like a parent. My younger brother is eight years younger than me. I stopped being a kid by the age of 8.5."
RustproofOrb
Very frustrating and sadly the case for many families out there, especially those of more limited means.
"Expecting my son..."
"Expecting my son to join the military. Almost every male family member on my father's side have fought in every conflict since WW1. I did two tours in Afghanistan and I never want him to experience anything like that."
Afapper
War is traumatic and ideally, no one should ever have to experience it.
"Being hush hush..."
"Being hush hush about mental health related topics and untrusting of medicine in general."
1kateviax1
It's great to see the younger generation be so open about mental health and fighting the stigma!
"Telling the boys..."
"Telling the boys to not cry. To push it down. Going to let my kid cry and talk about his feelings as much as he damn well pleases."
FullBoardDad
This is so important — young boys need to grow up knowing that their feelings are valid.
"Arranged marriage."
"Arranged marriage. Should have ended that tradition myself but was too much of a coward."
Dry-Communication901
The best time was for yourself. The second best will be for your kids.
"Not practical."
"Massive extended family gatherings. Not practical. Besides, grandma kicked the bucket 10 years ago."
MarketNeither9970
Often, families splinter once a matriarch or patriarch dies and people realize that they were the glue keeping everyone together.
"I'm the first..."
"Living below the poverty line. I'm the first member of my family to be middle class."
KnockMeYourLobes
Fantastic! Break the cycle!
It takes a lot of courage to break from your family, especially if they've always done things a certain way. A lot of respect to people who decide to and are able to create new lives for themselves!
What does breaking the cycle mean to you? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!