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Guys Share Their First Date Horror Stories

Guys Share Their First Date Horror Stories

First date horror stories are seriously some of the best cringe-reads possible, aren't they?

Yeah, they are. Thing is, they predominantly come from women complaining about men. It's almost enough to make you think women don't pull crazy first date stunts.

Think again, folks!

Reddit user adrien_68 asked:

Gentlemen, what is an absolute red flag a woman can raise on the first date?

Rather than respond with hypothetical red flags, these reddit users responded by telling real-live OMG NO first date stories. These red-flag first dates absolutely prove that women are just as capable of being cringe-worthy as men are.



Obsessive

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"A girl I dated was really obsessive over her ex, but not like wanting to get back with him, no no no, good sir!"

"She just wanted to make sure he didn't date anyone, and would force everyone around her to help towards that. Including me. I found out from her ex (who was actually a really nice guy) that on the first date we went on, she chose a specific restaurant because she knew he had a date there, and she wanted to ruin it."

- IzJustMeOG

TMI Too Soon

"Had a date who mentioned the fact that she only had sex one time, but she got pregnant and then had an abortion three months later. I met her all of ten minutes prior to her telling me this. Quickest I've ever got the hell out of a restaurant."

- Someone_other_than_you

Dinner Was Lovely

"I went on a first date with a young woman. Toward the end we were finishing our meal. Waiter came over and date said, pointing to me. "Dinner was lovely. He'll take the check now."

- YasJesusSlays

Not A Groupie

"She was a fan of a well known singer. Ok."

"She was member of a fan club. Well, why not."

"She spent her life travelling through Europe attending each and every concert whenever possible. Uuuuhhh."

"And she spent the whole evening telling me everything about this singer I never wanted to know. At least she "never was a groupie."

"Anyway. Two hours later I had a couple of beers with good friends and whenever I hear this singer on radio, I have to turn it off."

- Steinfall

Like Mexican Food, But...

"We went to get Mexican. I asked why she was so rude to the waitstaff, she said she liked Mexican food but "hated illegals." I was supremely uncomfortable."

- MrAndrewDonald

Daisy Said No

"I have a small white fluffy dog. Back when I was dating, I would bring the dog along for the first date - great ice breaker, hit with the ladies etc etc. Daisy (the dog) loves people and tagging along wherever I go, so everyone was happy!"

"ANYWAY, on one particular occasion we arrived at the pub to meet my date, and rather than the usual wagging tail greeting, Daisy started growling at her, and did not stop until we left, by which time I was convinced my date was a serial killer, and Daisy just saved my life."

"So if a dog doesn't like them.... BIG red flag."

- vareynick84

Spit, A Suitcase and Another Man's Child

Giphy

"Your well meaning coworker sets you up on a blind date with her fun friend. You agree to meet at a bar, but then her friend asks you to pick her up because she lost her license"

"You get to her apartment and she is arguing with a man out front. She flips him the bird before spitting in his face then gets into your car. It is at this crucial point you notice she brought a suitcase full of her things."


"After you finish the drink you ordered with your meal she finishes her fifth one. The entire time you haven't said more than a few words. Not because your being indifferent, but because she always interrupts with anecdotes about her abusive childhood."

"The bill comes, she slides it over to you. She informs you that she doesn't have any money and assumed you had intended to pay for the entire date."

"On the way to the car she informs you that she wants to have unprotected sex. Don't worry though. She tells you that you cannot impregnate her. She is already carrying another man's child."

"While taking her home she begins gesturing to her suitcase while asking to live with you a few weeks. She is broke and destitute till she begins her new job as a stripper on Monday. The man she was arguing with was letting her stay with him till she saved up enough money for her own place."

"Unfortunately that man had kicked her out since she was bringing other men over to his apartment. In her opinion it was unfair. After all, she never agreed to only be sleeping with him exclusively."

"Unfortunately you live in the same apartment complex. Only a couple buildings around the corner. Far enough from where you park but not so far that she doesn't follow you all the way to your front door."

"She assaults you while trying to force her way into the apartment. You panic, but then hear your cellphone ring."

"It's a telemarketer telling you about your vehicles expiring extended warranty. You pretend it's work, push your way outside, lock the door and hope she forgets the number scrolling across it."


"She follows you to your car, asking when you will come back home. You leave her standing in the rear view mirror while you speed off into the night."

"You then spend a few hours sitting in the mall parking-lot; waiting for a chance to sneak back home. While on your third cigarette to deal with the second anxiety attack; even though you previously quit smoking for over one year, you come to a grand realization:"

"Your coworker is kind of a b*tch."

- TrailerParkSup

Never Felt So Happy To Drive Away

"I went to meet a woman from an online dating site and at the last minute she texted to ask if I could swing by her house which was only a few blocks away from the Starbucks we were supposed to meet at. That should have been a tip off in retrospect but we'd chatted a lot online so I felt comfortable enough. Maybe she just needed a lift or something.
Instead, I come up to her house and when she opens the door, she is wearing an ankle bracelet."

"She begs me to please understand how she didn't want to mention it on the dating site and to please hear her out. I was naturally uncomfortable by this point but also curious so I sat down for a few minutes in her living room. She told me of this domestic dispute she had with her ex that had turned violent and now she was on 30 days house arrest. A very overweight teenage girl came into the room at this point, and the woman said "oh yea I also forget to mention I come with this."


"Now I just wanted to get the hell out of there."

"I started making excuses to leave but she kept trying to get me to stay. "Please, just one date after I am done with house arrest. The things I could learn from a man of your smarts.." I said nothing besides "I really have to go, will think about it" I just walked out the door and she followed, explaining that the bracelet had a range of several feet outside."

"I got in the car without a word and just drove. I never felt so happy to drive away from a place in my life."

- dudeArama

"That poor kid. Her mom's on house arrest for a domestic dispute, kid was likely either a witness to it and knows her custodial parent is violent, then to top it off mom invites a strange dude over, and then refers to the gal as "this"? Not even a name, just "this" like a teenager is an ugly lamp or a pile of student debt. WTF."

- FrugalChef13

Live Stream

"I was on a date where she couldn't take her eyes off her phone."

"Her: "I'm live streaming our date. My ex is watching."

"Me: "Excuse me."

"I got up, paid my half of the bill with the waitress and left. Funny thing is...a few months later, I was in a Supermarket and I saw someone facing me at a dead standstill out of the corner of my eye."

"I turn to look and it's her of course, giving me the finger. I just started laughing my ass off, which made her laugh too. I said, "Have a good night." That was it."

- DeanSMartin

Whipped Cream

"This takes me back to the early 20s version of me and a fine lass named Rebecca. We met at a New Years party, she tall and artsy with some feather arrangement in her hair I complimented. Oooohhh midnight and a proper kiss on the cheek with the promise of a first date to start 1991."

"Picked her up for said date a few days later and same hair treatment. She tells me she's obsessed with birds and always wears a feather somewhere. Uh, ok, no problem, she's still cute in full light and this just makes her quirky, right?"

"I was just a few yrs older and we went to a really nice Italian place near DC. She remarks how nice to be out with a "grownup" as she's finishing college and has been dating "boys". Nice! Dinner's great until dessert. The whipped cream on mine reminds her of her last boyfriend. She then tells me in great detail how she stalked him, hiding in bushes near his house to spy, f-ing with his tires and covering his entire car in whipped cream and eggs. "Isn't that just the funniest?!?"

"Check. Please."

- drm38r

Army Wife

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"My brother was in the army when he was set up on a blind date by a friend's girlfriend. Apparently during the first ten minutes of dinner she was talking about how she would be such a great and loyal army wife, and how she thought army wives were so brave and admirable and how she would never leave him if he was injured. He had literally just met this girl."

"He stuck it out through dinner, faked sick and left. She pursued him pretty hard after, but he lied and told her he decided he wasn't really over his ex and wasn't ready for a relationship. He said about a month later she tried to text him with a booty call, and said she even tried to "sweeten the deal" by saying he didn't need to wear protection because she was on birth control. Like how many red flags can one girl have?!"

- nickknox

The Mean Girls Test

"Oh boy here we go..."

"Long story short, I went on a date with a chick and we were vibing really well before she turned ice cold and began acting super rude."

"At that point I just wasn't enjoying it so I made up some excuse about having some stuff to do and left."

"Few hours later she texts me she was disappointed that I 'gave up' so easy and she was testing how much I liked her."

"Needless to say I didn't ask her on a second date. I'd rather be single/celibate than have a relationship/sex with the entire cast of Mean Girls crammed into a single person with a maturity of a high school freshman."

- Fruit-Dealer

Steak, Fries, And A Glass Of Champagne

"Had dinner with a blind date. Only saw her eyes maybe for 3 minutes before she was glued to her Instagram and Snapchat. Giggling to herself and replying to her followers. Tried to have a decent convo, but she was like "uh huh, that's cool" waitress comes, she doesn't even bother looking at the menu, "steak, fries, and a glass of champagne" then out of the blue."

"How much money do you make?"

"I got up, told her the date was done and left her at the restaurant. She was so glued to her phone, she just nodded. She blows up my phone a few minutes later raging that I was supposed to buy her her dinner and exclaimed she had NO money or ride to get back to her mans place."

"So yeah, she was phishing for free food and drinks."

- PrinceLewd808

MLK Day

"She was talking about how she went camping for a long weekend, being that she had MLK day off, but with the side note, "Ugh, I f***ing hate Martin Luther King" and then she fully admitted to not caring much for "the blacks."

- nubosis

When Mom Sets You Up

"There was this woman 20 years ago that I met because my mom knew her mom and both thought that's a nice idea that their only offsprings could become friends. That's what the premise was "Go and become friends!" Never met her before, she knew nothing about me so... yeah, why not."

"Met her at a restaurant, waiter ushered us to our table, we sat and even before the waiter was able to hand out the menus she said "I look for a man to have children with because I want children now."

"The waiter had that "bro... I'm so sorry" smile on his face when he gave me the menu."

"This ... "entree" was followed by a monologue of a list of guys who all failed in her eyes, because there were either from a bad family, somehow idiots, not able to have kids or had some other background she disliked and that she now has "high hopes" for me because her mom knows my mom and they told her that I am a nice and decent man."

"To make one thing clear: she was WAY out of my league. She was fit as hell and just beautiful with long black hair and blue eyes while I (still) look like Shrek. We both were on the same level of intelligence, but I never studied and worked in public service while she was becoming a pharmacist. She said on the first date that she wants kids asap."

"Now imagine sitting there in your mid 20s, with a goddess in front of you both intellectual and body wise, that talks for 2 hours just about herself and that she wants to marry asap and also wants kids."


"She offered me to drive home to her place but also insisted on telling me that we won't have sex as long as I'm not willing to marry her. So she drove me to my home, we talked about her studies and then she became furious because a woman I know saw me in the car while standing on the crossing and smiled at me. "Why is this woman smiling at you? Do you know her? Do you know many women?"

"When we arrived at my place I jumped out of the car, thanked her for bringing me home and almost ran to my door. She tried to contact me for the next 2 weeks but I kinda managed to be "not around". Learned later, she married a guy, had twins and then divorced him."

- uk_uk

Weird Food Combos

"I went on a date with a girl who ordered a steak and a cheese cake and then proceeded to eat them at the same time, like in the same bite. Look I get weird food combinations, but if you're going to make that combination on the first date there's a strong chance you have some body's under your floorboards."

- Boners_from_heaven

Firestarter

"This happened many years ago and requires a bit of backstory. I was at a house party where I blacked out and woke up naked in an unfamiliar room next to a girl I'd never met before. The friend I came with woke up shortly after I did and told me what happened."

"The girl he'd been trying to go home with at the party with came with her friend and was unwilling to leave without her. Her friend liked me. He found me later in the evening in a stupor, hoisted me over his shoulder, and loaded me into the back of his SUV. Evidently I was what made the deal go down."

"The girls got up after a while, and we talked for a bit. I was unsettled about sleeping with a woman and not remembering any of it, so I asked her to go out that evening for a date to get to know her to which she said yes."

"Fast forward to around six that evening. I'm eating supper and she shows up at my house early. I let her in and say "I'll be done eating shortly and we'll head out. Make yourself comfortable in the living room in the meantime."

"A few minutes later I came back into my living room and she'd made a small fire in a large ashtray with paper from my coffee table magazines. I stood there just staring at her dumbstruck while she kept stoking her little fire, not even noticing I'd entered the room. I asked her what the hell she thought she was doing, and she simply said she was bored."

"I put it out, then said, "I have tv with cable you're welcome to watch. Do not start fires in my home. I'll be ready in five minutes. If you feel the need to start another fire go outside and do it in the street."

"I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going guy and thought the situation was over with. She stopped burning things and I went into my bedroom to quickly change clothes to leave for our date. My phone rings about halfway through doing so and it's my neighbor from two doors down. He wearily asks me how everything's going over there, to which I said "OK, why?"

"He then informed me that in the middle of the street in front of my house there's a woman that's started a fire. After talking a bit we hatched a plan. I went outside like the date was still on and nothing was wrong. My buddy came over with an 'emergency' that required my assistance. She went home and was avoided ever after."

- DJBJD-the-3rd

Not Accepting It

"I picked up an attractive girl for a first date years ago. We started with the small talk, but as we got a few blocks from her house she said something like "I'm feeling like kind of a b!tch tonight, so if I act like it you're just gonna have to accept it".

"I didn't say a thing but spun the car around and headed back toward her house. She didn't say a thing but as I turned back onto her block she says loudly "What are you doing?"

"I said (really nicely) "Oh... you said you weren't feeling well." Then I pulled up to her house and didn't even look in her direction, just kept the motor running. So she opens the door and gets out. As I drove away I heard her yell "F*ck you!" Very satisfying."

- Loggerdon

The Ex

"She talked about her ex the whole time during a movie. Then after the movie she took me to meet her family, and then I got to meet her ex - who was working at a gas station."

"I thought she just needed to get gas, nope just wanted me to meet her ex and fight him."

"He was a cool guy and called me a cab to get back to mechanics so I could get my car and go home. Thank God picked me up from the mechanics and never saw what car I drove."

- slitthroatgoat

Hide And Seek

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"This is about a girl I was really into, she was into a lot of the same stuff I was. I invited her and a couple friends out to a hibachi restaurant down the road from our uni. She started texting me in the middle of our meal about how she wanted to kill herself. That she was going to kill her ex (who was also there) and another girl who was "stealing" her spot as best girl. What does that even mean?"

"I told her to just breathe and think about something else. We get back to my car and we have to stop at the Walmart just down the road."

"We get into the store and I'm having fun with my friends and I turn around and she's just gone. This sends everyone into panic mode. They can all tell something is wrong, even though they hadn't a clue that she had just texted me she wanted to kill herself. Not to mention several other people."

"We look all over the store and I eventually find her, only for her to run off again. She said she was playing hide and seek."

"When I find her again, she's in the jewelry area and threatened to kill herself if I didn't buy her a necklace as well as several other things. Cue me spending over 300 dollars on her that night as well as the money on food."

"I went through all of that only to find out two weeks later that she was seeing a guy who lived in a halfway house. A guy she started seeing while she was simultaneously using me and abusing me if we're being honest."

- Maine_Made_Aneurysm

It's amazing anyone finds a partner given some of these stories?

Do you have a dating horror story to share? Let us know in the comments below.

Movie Twists That Caught Audiences Completely Off-Guard

Reddit user -HornyCorny- asked: 'What’s a movie twist that caught you completely off guard?'

There's nothing like leaving a movie theater having just seen an excellent movie.

Particularly one that took you by surprise.

Perhaps it was deeper and more meaningful than it purported itself to be, or on the flip side, had much more warmth and humor that you would have expected.

Or, the film took an unexpected twist that you never saw coming.

Resulting in your needing to bite your tongue until the rest of your friends and family see the film, and not spoil the surprise for them.

Redditor HornyCorny was curious to hear which plot twists left viewers utterly speechless, leading them to ask:

"What’s a movie twist that caught you completely off guard?"

He Didn't See It Coming Either!

"Brad Pitt in 'Burn After Reading'."

"So surprising and downright freaking hilarious."- thefirehairman

If The Shoe Fits...

"'The Shawshank Redemption'."

"Come on."

"It's not always a man notices another man's shoes."- FUBARspecimenT-89

Lucky For Some, Not For All...

"'Lucky Number Slevin'."

"Huge twist and very satisfying."- kvlr954

angry josh hartnett GIFGiphy

Rosie O'Donnell Would Agree...

"Fight Club."- BuchseeI

"once watched it with a friend who had never even heard of it, and she called the twist like, a half hour in."

"She said it as a joke and didn't realize she was right until the actual reveal, but still I was shook."- yugosaki

I See You Keyser Söze

"The ending of 'The Usual Suspects'."- Schwarzes__Loch

Definitive Shyamalan

''The Sixth Sense'."

'I love movies with plot twists, but I never imagined this one. It caught me completely off guard."- lucasduka

Haley Joel Osment Movie GIFGiphy

The Title Is Also Misleading...

"The second half of 'Parasite'."- iwontrememberthat4

Appropriately, They Really Toyed With Your Cognition

"'The Game'."- DudeHeadAwesome

"Good one!'

"I spent the entire movie going 'is it a game? Is it real?'"- fastpixels

There Were Definitely Ghosts...

"'The Others'."

"Unsuspected end."- NeckComprehensive743

scared horror film GIF by FilmStruckGiphy

One Unforgettable Opening Scene

"'Scream'."

"The Drew Barrymore role."- LivingTheLife53

The Real Reason Everyone Is Terrified Of Bees...

"When I was a kid, I wanted to feel good and happy."

"So at the video store, I decided to rent a movie with two happy laughing kids on the DVD cover, thinking it would be a feel-good playful story."

"That movie was 'My Girl'."

"Eff that movie."

"Seriously."

'The DVD cover lies."

"IT LIES."- buckyhermit

You THOUGHT you knew who the villains were...

"'From Dusk to Dawn' — midway point."

"Didn’t know at all what I was walking into when saw it in the theatre decades ago — just, you know, Salma Hayek. Good enough."

"Quentin Tarantino slurping tequila from her foot after it ran down the entire length of her leg — that was already a 'Holy WTF' moment."

"But then, well.. . you know."

"And if you don’t know — quick, go watch it. "

"No trailer, no synopsis, no summary."

"Find it and load it 'blind' and fasten your seatbelt."

"You’re in for a wild ride."- canada11235813

George Clooney Tarantino GIF by MIRAMAXGiphy

It's Title Is More Than Accurate!

"'Crazy Stupid Love'."

"The scene when the whole movie goes apesh*t in the yard is one of my all time favorite movie scenes."- Fimbulvintern

Trifecta Of Twists

"'The Others'."

"The end of 'The Mist'."

"'The Prestige' (though, I ALMOST had it figured out, but not quite)."- Krinks1

There's nothing better than when a movie surprises you.

Even if it does make talking about said movie with people who haven't seen it a bit more challenging.

Case in point, people who saw The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects after their endings were spoiled for them, don't seem to like those movies as much as those who went in blind.


Every family has its secrets.

It's up to every new generation to unearth it all.

Don't we all want to know if we're related to famous people?

Or what if we have a familial stake in lands and businesses?

Also, this is a good way to NOT end up dating blood relatives.

The more you know, the less awkward later.

As much as there is a lot of trauma there could be a lot of cool facts to to discuss at parties.

Redditor ForthrightPedant wanted to hear some interesting family histories, so they asked:

"What is a historical fact about your family that you think is kinda neat?"

I don't have any family history.

Of course I've done no investigating.

Maybe I do.

I should look!

Super Talent

Excited Happy Hour GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy

"Great-grandpa created the Flintstones. Dan Gordon. Drew lots of Hannah-Barbara cartoons, and directed the first three animated Superman films at the beginning of WW2 as well as several seasons of Popeye, Scooby Doo, Smurfs, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound."

downnoutsavant

Bad Voyage

"My grandfather disliked America and wanted to return to Ireland. He booked passage on the Titanic’s return voyage. If it wouldn’t have sunk, no of us would be here."

mrseddievedder

"My great-grandmother was a Titanic survivor. She was a steerage-class Lebanese immigrant in an arranged marriage. Her husband went down with the ship but she managed to make it to a lifeboat and made it to the Carpathia. Then she remarried in a Lebanese neighborhood in Virginia. Had it not been for the iceberg that struck and sank the Titanic My family lineage would be different and I wouldn't be here. My family's official toast is 'to the iceberg.'"

jaspersurfer

Forgotten

"My husband's grandfather was one of the 'forgotten soldiers' in Canada. He was a Canadian-born Chinese man who asked the Canadian government to fight for his right to vote and a passport. Even tho he was born in Canada in the 20’s since he was Chinese he was not considered Canadian."

H"e was dropped into the Burma jungle and was told he would likely never return. He was in the 10% that did return. He was given the right to vote, to a passport, and to University."

"His wife is still alive today and my son is named after him."

cowskeeper

​Can you imagine?

"My great-grandmother had 13 kids, so she was pregnant for literally a decade. There’s two hundred of us now, all because of this one woman."

CoverlessSkink

"My great grandma had 14 kids. My grandma was the youngest. She died giving birth to my grandma. The oldest child who was like 22 years old raised my grandma. My great-grandfather remarried a woman who had 10 kids of her own. My grandma would tell me stories of them all living together. Can u imagine? 😦."

Content_Pool_1391

Long Ago

american wtf GIF by unimpressionismGiphy

"The land my dad was raised on and my cousins still live on was deeded to the family by George Washington as compensation for service during the Revolution. There was a document with his signature on it at the courthouse until a fire destroyed the records a few decades ago."

mustbethedragon

So much land and fortune and HISTORY has been lost due to fire.

Thank God we keep more than paper records now.

Over the Moon

Michael Jackson Dancing GIFGiphy

"My second cousin is David Scott who walked on the Moon and drove the moon buggy. My mom does. He was so busy during the time when I was young that he even said later in life that he wished she’d gotten to know more of his family."

Roadgoddess

The Union

"Great-great-great grandfather on my mom's side was working his field in the part of Virginia that split off and became a new state because they didn't want to secede from The Union. Union soldiers came along looking for conscripts and he was a young, able-bodied man so they told him to come with them. He informed them he was a Quaker and thus a pacifist. According to family lore, that discussion went on for a bit but he would not give in. So they shot him and left him there. Good thing he had a couple of kids well before that day."

SpottyNoonerism

Opportiunities

"My great-grandfather was offered a chance to invest in a new invention by a guy by the name of Alexander Graham Bell. He declined, saying at most there would be one telephone per town."

Carson4307

"That is apparently my family too."

"One uncle apparently built a version of a hot water heater and then sold the design to GE for a good sum back then."

"Another uncle was asked if he wanted to be in a photo during his military service. He said no so they raised the flag on Iwo Jima without him in it."

"No idea if any of these are true, at best they are enhanced truths, but for me, I really hope they are true."

Jormungand1342

Underground

"I have a relative who worked for the Underground Railroad and had a price on her head in the South."

dahlia6767

"My uncle was a carpenter. And was doing restoration work on old houses in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Many of those old, historical homes had underground railroad passageways and hidden walls. He got to see and restore many of them. He had photos of some of the work he was doing and I got to see those as a kid. Living in Southern Ohio, we have a lot of rich underground railroad history here."

AddictiveArtistry

​Family Empire

blood discussion GIFGiphy

"My great-grandfather was the town police chief in the 1920s. His brother was the Mayor. Their cousins ran the casino."

"My family was a smaller version of Boardwalk Empire."

nowhereman136

Wouldn't we all love a show based on our families?

Then that's even more neat family history.

Rolls Royce hood ornament
Matheus Bardemaker on Unsplash

The super wealthy aren't like most people.

How can they be?

They live in a world of rarefied air most people will never even glimpse.

That privilege inevitably warps perspectives.

Keep reading...Show less
Burger and fries on plate
Photo by Haseeb Jamil on Unsplash

A lot of things have gone downhill since the pandemic, and it's made the whole process of bouncing back from those two to three years that much harder.

One thing we can all agree on is the quality of the food that we now find in restaurants, especially the fast-food joints we used to frequent and hit the drive-thru for on the drive home.

Curious what other people thought, Redditor Soy_tu_papi asked:

"What's the worst fast food restaurant?"

Eat... Expensive, Not Fresh

"Subway. The ingredients don't taste fresh. They don't give you enough meat or cheese. The bread tastes sweet. It's not even that cheap anymore."

- Brilliant-Mango-4

There for the Nostalgia

"Tim Hortons. We’re nostalgic for a time when they made fresh donuts and great soup and sandwiches. But that was more than 20 years ago and now everything is just heated from frozen garbage with garbage dish water coffee."

"The only reason they’re around is nostalgia and convenience. Americans for the most part didn’t fall for their crap when they expanded south because they didn’t have one on every corner, and they don’t have the nostalgia, and they already have a s**tty coffee and donut place called Dunkin."

- Strain128

Microwaved Soup

"Really, we all going to pretend like Panera is not fast food?"

- WelderNo6075

"It’s not fast. It's always a 20-minute wait."

- Greedy-Time-3637

"For microwaved soup."

- InsertBlueScreenHere

Hospital Food. Gourmet Prices

"Panera. For when you want hospital food, but you can’t afford the $127,209.00 hospital bill."

- BarnacleMcBarndoor

"Yeah, it’s only $126,208 for Panera."

- sherlock----75

"There is a similar yet worse than Panera hospital food restaurant called Atlanta Bread Company. How these two hell holes stay in business, I have no idea."

- GrandUnhappy9211

New Horizons

"I think KFC abandoned the American market and put all its resources into the Asian market, because omg KFC in Korea is something else. The chicken is breaded perfectly, with no mouth-destroying rock-hard breading and the ratio of breading to actual chicken meat is perfectly balanced."

"Also, the sauce selection; they have so many good sauces. The fries were great too."

- LolitasDaniel

RIP, Potato Wedges

"In my opinion, KFC. They got rid of their beloved potato wedges. The only thing I got there anymore was those and the mashed potatoes."

- dirtymoney

"Wendy’s breakfast potatoes almost fill that hole in my heart."

- Karsa69246

Those Darn Screens

"Any of them that have replaced their menu boards with TV screens that change every 15 seconds so I can't find the price of anything."

- xkulp8

"I hate the TVs. Maybe I'm just a bitter old guy, but they really don't seem to be an improvement. There's just too much going on, and it's too bright. Sure, it's probably more convenient for menu/price changes. But when you add in the cost and electronic waste, it doesn't feel like a net gain."

- BumpyMcBumps

No Longer Affordable

"McDonald’s. They’ve forgotten their role as the place I eat at because I’m broke, probably drunk, and want to fill up for a few bucks. Have you seen their prices lately!?"

- Jlace001

"A quarter pounder meal is over $10. $4 More bucks and you can get a chills old-timer and fries. And they always park you, so not very 'fast,' unless you are talking about the stomach cramps you get after."

- Eric12345678

Define 'Pizza'

"Little Caesars Hot-N-Ready is for when your manager promises you a pizza party when you exceed your sales goal and buys enough for one piece a person, but he's been talking up this party he's going to throw for you all week, so you come in on your day off and see two Hot-N-Ready boxes sitting there and some Dixie cups for water. Sometimes nothing is better, STEVE."

- cold08

"The secret technique for Lil Caesars is to give it another few minutes in the oven/under the broiler at home until it's to your liking."

- KaRabbit

The Great Pizza of the Past

"It hurts me to say this, but Pizza Hut."

"Back in the 80s and early 90s, Pizza Hut was amazing! It's somehow worse than Dominos now. It's a f**king travesty."

- Ocku2

"Their marinara sauce with breadsticks is watery now..."

"My friend and I used to ride our bikes there and play Pac-Man in eighth grade. Their breadsticks and sauce were amazing."

- KkdBaby

Small and Stale

"Whataburger is very hit or miss depending on the individual location. It was also better before it sold out and went national."

- HoovesCarveCrater

"It used to be so good, but it's so bad now. Earlier in the year, I went, and I got a stale bun with a tiny piece of meat they called a hamburger. Then I stupidly went again months later, and got the chicken sandwich. Both the bread and chicken were somehow stale. Never again, it's not worth it."

- user_base56

Belly Bombers, Indeed

"White Castle. I ate there once, and I now know what it feels like to reject an organ."

- flyzapper

"I have a stomach of steel when it comes to fast food. Not even Taco Bell gives me an above-average s**t. But when it comes to White Castle, some things just can't be saved."

- STILETTO_exists

A Rise in Poor Management

"Sonic used to be good."

"I feel for the two workers running the whole place. There used to be a lot of staff to handle the load."

"But now I feel bad going there simply because it's unfair to the workers. Which means corners get cut, things aren't clean, people aren't happy and workers end up catching the blame because there aren't enough of them."

"They really need to get it together. And treat their customers and employees right. It's going to kill their business."

- That_90s_Kid_

"The only Sonic near me stopped serving onion rings, which to me is their best side. And they take for-f**king-ever now to get you food, and half the time it's wrong or half-a**ed. I used to love Sonic, and I still want to and will go there, but every time it's a let-down in some form."

- SweetCosmicPope

"Sonic used to give their managers minority ownership as part of their compensation package. The result was highly motivated managers. Unfortunately, they had to work 80 to 90 hours a week. I thought about getting onboard with them but after using two weeks of vacation from my current job to work there, unpaid, I quickly decided smelling like French fries 24 hours a day, seven days a week was a very bad idea."

- the_beeve

A Series of Failures

"A bad KFC is tough to top, but there are still some amazing ones out there. The key is that it’s busy enough to have fresh chicken and a few employees that aren’t strung out. Not all. Just some."

"Burger King increasingly tastes like the burgers from my elementary school that sat in that weird burger water after being boiled in its own juices. I like their nuggets though."

"What even is Jack in the Box? It’s just some random assortment of food you take kids who can’t agree on what hot garbage they want to eat so you go here and make everyone unhappy."

"I’ve been to Whataburger once and it was bad, but since it’s crazy popular, I assume maybe it was just a bad experience and it was in AZ vs TX."

"I feel like I’m left with Little Caesars at this point, as the person buying those godawful hot and ready things is the epitome of a desperate person just trying to fill their children’s with ‘pizza’, thus the reason why there are any in existence."

- bowindine

So Real for This Answer

"Basically, every single one since the pandemic."

- MythicalMango123

"Dine-in prices for dollar store flavors."

- WannaBeTraveler87

"This is the answer. They are all awful now."

- chris1out

Especially for those of us who had the pleasure of experiencing these food places in the 80s, 90s, and maybe the very earls 2000s, it's terrible to think of how much these places have declined now.

As some Redditors have said, it's almost not worth going to these places anymore. We'd rather preserve the happy memories of going there with our families and friends rather than go for an unhappy meal now.