It's easy to get caught up in the negative. A quick glance at social media would have you believe all of humanity is at each other's throats, angry over a grocery line or losing a parking spot to someone. This isn't every day, and sometimes the best thing for your mental health is to look at the positive bits of humanity. Remind yourself we're capable of great things.
Reddit user, u/badlungsmckgee, wanted to brighten your day when they asked:
[Serious] History is full of well-documented human atrocities, but what are the stories about when large groups of people or societies did incredibly nice things?
Starting A Movement
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In 1989 a man named Ian Kiernan got a bunch of people off their a--es and outside to "Clean Up Australia". 30 years on and it's still a massive annual event.. oh and now worldwide..
I remember that first time teenage me went out to my local beach to help and the amount of McDonald's rubbish was shocking... unfortunately it STILL is. But every year brings more people out to clean in their local areas. Ian died last October, rest his clean soul.
The Power Of Letters
A severely deformed English man named Joseph Merrick and known as "the Elephant Man" was treated horribly for most of his younger years, used as a circus "freak show" by different people (they covered him in a blanket and would take it off for people to see his disfigurements) who all robbed him blind and left him to die. He wound up in a hospital in London, where a doctor examined him and took care of him as best he could (the deformities were not painless). The hospital couldn't afford to take care of him, so the surgeon posted a letter in the London newsletter, telling Merrick's story and pleading for someone who would be willing to pay/care for Merrick for the rest of his life (it was not expected to be long).
A year later, the surgeon sent another letter to the newspaper, thanking the countless people that had sent money to the hospital, allowing them to care for Merrick until he passed.
When I first read those two letters I bawled my eyes out.
Edit: a few mistakes I made that should be corrected. The person who wrote the letters to the London Times was FC Carr-Gomm, a chairman of the hospital, not the surgeon Treves that had befriended Merrick. Treves had met him while he was doing exhibitions, not when he showed up at the hospital. The time between the first and second letters was three and half years, not one year.
Here is the link to the letters if anyone wants to read them themselves: https://www.lettersofnote.com/2016/08/the-elephant-man.html?m=1
Making The Best Of Any Situation
This is just one man, but his story has stuck with me ever since I heard it.
In 1939, Maximilian Kolbe was arrested and later sent to Auschwitz. During his time there all he did was help others, praying for the dying and comforting many. In 1941, after a prisoner from his block escaped, an SS officer arrived and announced that he would select 10 prisoners to be starved to death, and Kolbe was not among them. After hearing one of the men cry out for his wife and children, Kolbe volunteered to take the man's place. The officer agreed and Kolbe led prayers and sang with the other 10 prisoners until he was the last one left alive. He was executed by a phenol injection shortly afterwards.
Unity Across The World
The Choctaw Native American tribe sent relief funds to Ireland during the great potato famine. A remarkable act of generosity especially considering that was shortly after the Choctaw had been displaced off their traditional land.
Source:
Ireland has set up a scholarship to begin in Autumn of 2019 as a form of thank you. It allows students of the Choctaw community to come to Ireland to study.
Never Let Snow Stop You
In December 1917 a horrible accident in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia resulted in an explosion the largest ever created by conventional bombs. Two ships carrying ammunition for the war crashed into each other and exploded. The resulting damage killed 2000 people and injured over 5000. A 16-inch snowfall the following day made matters even worse.
Boston responded and sent trains and boats of medical and building supplies. They also sent most of the entire school of medicine at Harvard to help save lives.
To this day, Halifax remembers Boston's kindness by sending a large Christmas tree to be displayed in Boston Commons each year.
Let Others Not Suffer As We Suffer
During the plague pandemic, the residents of the small village of Eyam, in the countryside of England, democratically decided to build a wall around the city - not to keep the plague out, but to avoid it spreading to the nearby cities.
Supreme bravery and altruism, right there.
It was a virtual wall - they quarantined themselves in the village.
Supplies were left by a well nearby in exchange for money soaked in vinegar.
If you are ever visiting the Peak District it is worth a trip. The old houses have plaques on them showing who died there.
Take To The Skies
The Berlin Airlift.
After WWII, Berlin was divided by the Allies (West) and USSR (East). But Berlin was in East Germany which was controlled by the soviets. And they eventually blocked all access from roads and railroads to West Berlin in 1948. So the allies decided to airlift all the supplies to the city which was an enormous task. They flew about 200,000 flights in a year to the city and were able to keep it adequately supplied. Eventually the Soviets gave up and opened up the roads and railroads.
Holiday Exchange
During WWI on Dec 6, 1917, two military ships collided in Halifax harbour. One of them was filled with military explosives, and the resulting explosion levelled the city of Halifax, NS, Canada. The Halifax explosion was the largest man-made explosion until the development of the atom bomb, remains the largest mass blinding in history. 2000 people died, and 9000 were injured. Shocks were felt over 200 km away. It was a generally catastrophic event for the town I grew up in.
At 10 pm the same day, Boston sent a train of medical personnel and supplies to Halifax. Although it didn't reach us until two days later due to a snowstorm, they provided critical supplies to the town and relief for local medical teams who had not rested since the event. Their help saved many lives, and helped to mitigate the effects of a horrific event. To this day, we learn about the help Boston provided us in school, and every Christmas we send them a Christmas tree to thank them.
That's ONE Way To Handle It...
the gulabi gang.
in rural india, women area treated worse than property, and after witnessing their daughters, sisters, mothers and even themselves getting beaten by men and being met with "what did you do to egg him on?" a bunch of women formed a 'gang', wore pink(or 'gulabi') saris, and went around beating the sh-t out of men with sticks who beat women. Together they were terrifying to wife-beating sh-theel men, and men started to fear their wrath so much that domestic abuse began drying up in the area. The concept started spreading all over to where there were rampant problems with domestic abuse.
Keep The Awful To A Minimum
When a few men sacrificed their lives to prevent a secondary explosion in Chernobyl that would've spread radiation across Europe.
A Ticket To Escape
I'm not sure if a Filipino Redditor mentioned this already but the Philippines saved a large amount of European Jews by giving them Filipino passports just so they can escape Nazi Europe - all thanks to the efforts of President Manuel Quezon and his team that did it over a brunch meeting, if the history books are to be believed.
It is why Israel considers my country a friend of the nation for the actions of our first Commonwealth President.
Work Without Stop
This story is from Bihar state in india. Dashrath Manjhi, famously known as the Mountain Man who single-handedly carved a path through a mountain. He carved a path 110 m long (360 ft), 9.1 m (30 ft) wide and 7.6 m (25 ft) deep through a hillock using only a hammer and chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km.
And this was just because he wanted his village people to have faster access to medical facilities. Death of his wife inspired him to do this, because she couldn't get the medical attention in time.
Brothers Across Arms
I always remember the Christmas truce of 1914 as a remarkable act of chivalry and peace between enemies during one of the most devastating wars in history. That despite all the horrors around them and the fact that human beings were being killed in their thousands, for a few days everyone managed to lay down their arms and treat each other as friends.
Welcome, Emperor!
In 1859, an insane homeless man from San Francisco named Joshua Norton proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States... and the people of San Francisco went along with it. He was widely beloved, treated with great deference, and the currency he created himself was honored at the establishments he frequented. When he died, 10,000 people went to his funeral, and he is either referenced by or inspired characters in works by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, Morris and Rene Gascinny, Selma Lagerlöf, and Neil Gaiman.
No one seems to be adding on some of the amazingly nice things he did in his life as emperor. He was once arrested and after public outcry, released. Instead of being upset about the ordeal he gave his official imperial pardon to the officer who arrested him. From that moment on San Francisco police saluted him on sight.
There was another well recorded instance where a race riot was potentially about to break out, San Francisco being famous for its controversial treatment of Chinese immigrants. As a fight began to break out, before it could get bloody, emperor norton stepped in the center and began loudly reciting bible verses. Instead of fighting everyone just listened.
You Have Only 6 Days
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It is the winter of 1924 and there is only one doctor, Doctor Curtis Welch, in the small town of Nome, Alaska. Weeks after the deaths of several children, from what was originally misdiagnosed as tonsilitis, Dr. Welch confirms the presence of diptheria in his hospital. By great misfortune, all of the hospital's diptheria antitoxin had expired just after closure of the port; more would not come until spring. Fearing an epidemic and more fatalities, Welch pleads for assistance from the U.S. Public Health Service.
A meeting of the Board of Health determined that the only way to deliver the necessary amount of antitoxin and prevent a diptheria epidemic was by dogsled relay.
Over a distance of over 1,000 kilometers.
In the middle of the Alaskan Winter.
In under six days.
In favorable conditions, this journey would normally take around 30 days. It had to be completed in six, or exposure would cause the antitoxin to expire and, as Dr. Welch had sadly discovered, expired antitoxin had no effect.
With winds exceeding 40 km/h, temperatures at or below -50 celsius, and the low visibility from the polar night, 20 men and dozens if not hundreds of dogs braved all of these conditions and, in exactly six days, successfully delivered 100% of the antitoxin.
Several of the men suffered severe frostbite and many of the dogs died on the journey. However, the epidemic was stopped and, depending on who you ask, saved thousands of lives by stopping the disease from spreading outside of Nome.
What Better Day To Put Your Life In Front Of Another?
I don't remember how long ago it was, but certainly around the time of the Arab Spring, when Egypt's Coptic Christian community was particularly vulnerable, a bomb planted by Islamic extremists exploded near a Copt church shortly before Christmas, which put the fear amongst the Copts that they were being targeted. Sure enough, on Christmas day they arrived at their Churches to find them surrounded by crowds of Muslim demonstrators.
Who then acted as human shields to protect them from more bombs. They knew that the extremists would be less likely to risk killing fellow Muslims.
Are you a historian with knowledge of a wonderful act of humanity? Share it with us!
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.