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History Buffs Break Down Which Common Misconceptions Drive Them Insane

History Buffs Break Down Which Common Misconceptions Drive Them Insane
Mr Cup/Fabien Barral/Unsplash

History can be fascinating, but there's no shortage of misinformation and misconceptions out there. This can provide a major headache for historians, who are probably sick and tired of correcting the same things over and over again.

Can you believe, for instance, that there are many people out there who believe the Holocaust, the extermination of over six million Jews and others considered antithetical to the Nazi regime, did not happen? That's wild. Also, while there are plenty who do believe it happened, there are others who have claimed that the Jews went willingly to their deaths. And those people could not be more wrong.

People shared their thoughts after Redditor throwaway00689 asked the online community,

"History buffs, what is a commonly held misconception that drives you up the wall every time you hear it?"

"Not everyone..."

"That Jewish people and other victims of the Holocaust went willingly to their death and no one fought back. While it's true that a lot of victims did not believe the genocide was occurring and they were simply being relocated (Nazis/Hitler were very persuasive and no one could imagine a genocide), plenty fought back. There were resistance groups all over the place as well as people fighting from their homes when they were being taken for deportation. Guns were used, makeshift bombs, stolen bombs, etc. Not everyone was going to go to the concentration camps/death camps/detention centres without a fight."

PrnxceZuko

"Actually..."

"Louis-Michel le Peletier cast the single vote that sentenced Louis XVI.

Actually the vote was a pretty clear majority in favor of execution."

Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Poor Louis... he had a really bad day.

"Most Americans think that it was the vast majority..."

"Only around 40% of colonists supported the American Revolution. Another 40% was indifferent, and about 20% sided with the British. Most Americans think that it was the vast majority who wanted Independence."

placeholderNull

The story of American independence is one of competing factions. It's fascinating to read about – nowhere near as cuy and dry as you might think.

"I have had..."

"I have had way too many of my university students tell me that Lincoln owned slaves."

FeelFreetoIgnoreThis

He did not, though he certainly wasn't a fan of black people and at one point invited a group to the White House and tried to convince them that it would be best if the entire population left the United States.

"According to several sources..."

"During Paul Revere's Midnight Ride he did not shout "the British are coming!" The mission depended on secrecy so shouting loudly the "British are coming" kinda defeats the whole purpose.

According to several sources (e.g., eyewitness accounts) his warning was likely "the Regulars are coming out" or some variation of that and probably not loud enough to wake up a village (as I've seen in some media renditions)."

Animalion

Yeah, this never made sense to me. Why would he yell it out? That would mean he was terrible at espionage.

"If you're interested..."

"People seem to think peasants only ate bread and potatoes with no seasoning. In reality, while salt was indeed a luxury they often couldn't afford, they had access to plenty of herbs to flavor their food. They also had access to things like fish and other meats, so they weren't just eating bread, though it was an important staple of their diet.

If you're interested in how a bunch of civilizations ate throughout history, check out Tasting History on YouTube. It's a great source of historical information and entertainment."

Balrog229

"We also regularly mated with them and had kids..."

"That Neanderthals were monosyllabic brutes. There's no evidence of that whatsoever. Their brains were bigger than ours and casts of the inside of their skulls show that they had all the same structures our brains had. Their tool-making was comparable to any Homo sapiens' took making (at least before the Great Leap Forward) and they lived in communities just like we did.

We also regularly mated with them and had kids, which I really don't think we would if they were little more than quasi-gorillas."

PhilipLlorenas

It's rather funny to think that if we put a Neanderthal in a suit and dropped him in New York, no one would be able to tell the difference.

"The belief..."

"The belief that Anastasia did not die with the rest of her family."

AwareMasterpiece23

Sadly, she did, and the story of how the Romanovs met their end is such a tragic one.

"People didn't die..."

"People didn't die at 30-40. The high infant mortality rate skews the average. If you could survive into your teen years you had a pretty good chance of living into your senior years. Obviously, there are a lot of factors to consider (e.g. class, gender, occupation, where you lived, etc.)."

crazynekosoma

"Roman gladiator fights..."

"Roman gladiator fights usually weren't just pointless, bloody, fights to the death for scumbag convicts. The gladiators themselves were very highly trained celebrities who were very well looked after. It was entertainment done for show, much like WWE or similar today."

spookyvision

After reading some of these, you might want to head out there and correct some of your friends. Chances are, they're spouting all kinds of nonsense.

Also a history buff? Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

The Most Satisfying Instant Karma Stories
Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash

If what goes around comes around, then it’s true that people create their own fates. Doing a good deed or doing someone dirty both have direct consequences. Sometimes these consequences take time to materialize, but sometimes, we get socked with a bout of instant karma. These are some stories of Redditors who didn’t have to wait long to experience the universe in action.

1. Caught In A Speed Bump

I was in the passing lane on the highway, slowly coming up on a couple of cars in the right lane. The speed limit was about to decrease ahead, and another vehicle came up behind me, going pretty fast. Instead of gassing it to get ahead of the traffic to my right, I slowed down and pulled into the right lane while the other car behind me was right on my tail.

Once I got into the right lane, the car floored it and passed me, honking their horn. The passenger's body was half out of the car window yelling at me and flipping me off as they passed. But they had no idea what was about to hit them. It turned out that the car I pulled in behind was an unmarked state trooper who promptly pulled them over. Justice was served.

yesidumbx100

2. Just Rewards

Before we were married, I was out to dinner with my wife and her dad. At the end of dinner, my father-in-law offered to pay for the meal. My wife asked to get her leftovers boxed to take them home. Her father was being difficult and started in on her, saying, “Well, you'll just leave them in the fridge, then they'll just get thrown out, blah blah."

I told him, "Listen, it's not your fridge. Leave her alone.” He got mad and yelled, "Don't tell me how to raise my daughter!" I yelled back at him not to speak to her in his nasty tone. As a result, he threw the bill at me and said, "FINE! YOU PAY THEN," and stormed out. We were all mad at that point, and my wife said, “Why did you have to start something??"

I paid the bill and was waiting for the receipt, but we were waiting for quite some time. Tensions were rising. Her dad was waiting outside, building up steam. I asked the waiter, "Can I just get our bill and go?" They replied, "Oh no, sir, you have to wait for the manager.” That's when I learned the beautiful, satisfying truth.

It turned out they had a contest running where every bill was a winner or some prize or another. Usually, people would win a free drink or appetizer. However, we had just won the GRAND PRIZE that dinner—which was a trip for four to Florida. And here's the kicker: Whoever pays gets the prize. Because her dad stormed out like a child, I had won it.

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3. Target Practice

person standing in transportation vehiclePhoto by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash

When I was six years old, I was on the bus with my older brother coming home from soccer practice. We were seated at the back, right next to the big rear window. For some odd reason, I thought it would be funny to show the traffic behind us all the angles of my middle finger while staring at them with the most obnoxious facial expressions.

I would wait until the bus got to a stop and proceeded to do my thing when the bus shut its door and accelerated away. I was getting bored since most people would just ignore me and the reactions weren't as amusing as I thought they were going to be. I decided my game needed more thrill. Instead of flipping off oncoming traffic, my main target changed to pedestrians. This instantly turned into an enormous mistake.

The bus got to a stop, picked up the waiting people, and I had found my new target—a very buff man. As I heard the noise of the doors closing, I proceeded to show him both of my fingers and stuck out my tongue. This guy, however, didn't think it was all that funny. He sprinted alongside the bus, matching its speed for at least a block until the bus arrived at the next stop.

The bus was not that full, but the people in it witnessed this big chunk of rage giving chase and getting on to the bus. I cowered behind my brother, who had been oblivious to my shenanigans. I was in tears. The guy ended up being pretty cool about it and just told me not to do it again. He even gave me a piece of bubblegum afterward.

basketfullofkittens

4. Big Rig Rumble

It was raining out. I was coming onto a freeway with my big rig, signaling and smoothly switching lanes while keeping an eye on a car behind me that had been crowding me. As soon as he hit the merge ramp, he gunned it in an attempt to pass me, cutting into the no-drive zone. The problem was that my cab was 60 feet ahead of him, as I had already begun to merge.

Half of my rig was occupying the lane he wanted. Once this guy realized he couldn’t pass me, he flipped out. He screeched so hard back into his lane that I felt the road tremble. He began blaring his horn and flashing his lights. I was just cruising along, totally calm. I was watching the traffic in my driver-side mirror, and when I saw a break, I knew what was coming.

This guy jerked into the left lane, floored it, and got beside my cab, honking the whole way. He swerved at me and then cut me off. He jerked into place in front of me, jammed his brakes—and then it all unraveled. He completely lost control of his vehicle. It was suddenly sideways at 45mph. I was nowhere near him, having already slowed down.

His car continued to spin until it was facing me, then it whipped back forward and headed straight into the ditch. It plowed the earth like a farm tool in front of all of us there on the freeway. I stopped. The left lane stopped. We just watched as this guy slowly got out of his car, which looked pretty damaged. Other drivers got out to help, and some were on their phones. I just geared up out of there nice and calm. It was instant karma.

ohfail

5. It Was Smoothie Sailing

I suffered from insomnia. One morning, when I couldn’t sleep, I went to the convenience store at about 6:30 AM. On the way out, I saw a homeless guy who I had seen around the city for years. As usual, he was begging for change. I didn’t mind helping this guy out because he wouldn’t spend the money on anything bad; he legitimately needed food.

So, I went back in and bought him a couple of hamburgers and gave them to him. I proceeded to the smoothie shop, which opened at 7 am. I parked my car and opened the door. When I looked down, I saw a fresh $20 bill on the white line of the parking spot. Then, when I came back out of the smoothie shop, as I approached my car, I found yet ANOTHER $20 in the exact location. I checked my pocket, and the first one was still in there.

mappberg

6. Disheveled Do-Gooder

person standing between shelvingsPhoto by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

My infant son couldn't sleep one day, so we walked to my local supermarket to get some basics and blow off steam. I looked terrible. I was sleep-deprived, grumpy, disheveled, and unkempt, just like any other new parent. My son was in a sling on my belly. As I was checking out, the woman behind me stepped forward and said, "Please let me pay for this. I've always wanted to help out in this way."

Despite my appearance, I was pretty well off, but she wanted this. I didn't have very much to buy, so I graciously thanked her and walked out, both of us smiling. My son finally fell asleep, so I just loitered about. I eventually noticed someone trying in vain to start their car—it was the lovely young woman who "helped" me out. I was a decent mechanic and happened to be toting a multi-tool around with me. I was able to get her car running in no time at all. It felt awesome.

ohfail

7. It Was A Sign

I was a cart boy for a grocery store back in high school. One afternoon it was pouring rain out and terribly windy. A new black Escalade pulled up next to me while I pushed about 10 carts. The guy got out and yelled at me, saying I better not scratch his truck because "Heads will roll." I wasn’t in any way endangering his new car, but he proceeded to yell and warn me. And then *it* happened.

Just as he finished yelling at me, the sign from the pizzeria next door crashed into the side of his truck. That made my night a little better, even if I was soaked.

cluelesspuma

8. An Up Lifting Experience

I worked in a building with 10 floors. I was on the fifth. I was coming back to the lobby from lunch and in a hurry. I had just pressed the button to go up, and the elevator immediately opened. Before I stepped in, I noticed someone coming up the stairs about 30 feet away. I usually wait for stragglers to boost my elevator karma, you know.

As this person approached, I noticed she was fairly attractive and close to my age. She, too, was in a hurry and asked me if a specific company was in the building—she was running late for an interview. At this point, I realized she was not just attractive; she was gorgeous. I pressed the button for her floor. She asked me if I worked at that company as well since I hadn’t pushed the button to my floor yet.

I told her, “No, but since you're late, we'll get you there first, then I'll go back down to five.” She was very appreciative. We got to her floor, she gathered herself...and realized that she had forgotten her phone. She was supposed to call when she got there, so she asked if she could use my phone. I happily obliged. She said, "You were a great help. Thank you so much!"

I decided to go for it and replied, "No problem! Let me know how it goes." She smiled and said, "I sure will," and proceeded to tap away at my phone. She handed it back, smiled again, and walked away. She had programmed her name and number into my phone. For a guy who NEVER gets the girl, I was elated. The number worked, and we met up for a date.

Alamodome

9. A Minor Annoyance Had A Major Payoff

people in restaurantPhoto by K8 on Unsplash

One night, we went out with my uncle and his family for dinner at a nice restaurant. There were seven of us eating, and we were all drinking red. This increasingly belligerent guy from the bar kept coming up to our table and making conversation, commenting on how awesome my six-month-old son was, etc. By the end of the night, he was getting annoying, and my uncle was discussing whether or not he should say something.

We told him, “No, don't worry about it. He is just having a good time and seems like a good guy.” So when it came time to pay our bill, the waiter just said, "Have a nice evening. Thanks for coming in." My uncle and I were confused and asked the waiter about the check. His answer stunned me. He told us that the guy who kept coming up to us had paid our tab.

The server told us that it was already done and that the guy would do this all the time. Our bill was $1,500. My uncle sought the guy out and gave him a big hug. The guy just said, "You have such a beautiful family. Pay it forward sometime." He had even tipped the waiter some crazy amount from the look the waiter gave us. So, I learned always to be nice. You never know who is a millionaire.

spickett84

10. Karma Decked Him Good

My buddy and I were having a drink on a large wooden patio at an ocean-side bar/restaurant. A middle-aged couple was sitting next to us. Our tables were next to each other, and they were relatively close to us. As my buddy and I were just taking in the view, he caught eyes with the dude and said something innocuous like, "Good evening."

The guy retorted, "Mind your own business and keep your eyes to yourself." My buddy and I looked at each other with a "Did that just happen?” expression. My buddy looked back over at him and said something like, "Relax, buddy, sorry to bother you." At that point, we were a little put-off. We got back to our drinks and enjoyed the sunset.

Two minutes later, the guy pulled out a ring for his partner. It was a large diamond. She was excited, and he had a sufficiently smug, self-satisfied look on his face. She went to hand it back to him. Then disaster struck. When he grabbed it, he fumbled. It fell to the deck, rolled an inch or two, and then promptly disappeared, falling between two slats of the deck.

I felt bad for the woman. The guy’s face went white and then immediately red. He was barely able to maintain his composure. It looked like he wanted to strike his lady friend. The dude looked over at us, and now we were looking straight at him. We just smiled casually. He called a waiter over and started discretely explaining what had happened.

He wanted someone to pull up the deck slats. However, that was NOT going to happen. The waiter was cool as ice. Despite the guy raging at this point, the waiter flatly told him something to the effect of, "Look, man, you can come back tomorrow and talk to the manager, or pay your bill and leave now.” The guy sat down. His lady friend was visibly shaken.

While enjoying our drinks and the sunset, my friend and I remarked about how karma, while certainly inspiring, is almost magical when it's instant.

rainemaker

11. I Exceeded My Tipping Point

I was working at a bar. As I was on my way in one Thursday night, I saw a guy standing by the road with a sign that said something like, "Far from home, no place to sleep, and hungry.” I waved him over and gave him $5, the only cash I had, and told him to take care of himself. I usually took home about $5 in tips on Thursdays and $10 on a good day.

That day, three separate people won big on the slot machines, and each gave me $20 tips. I ended up taking home about $75 in tips.

nyerinohio

12. A Totally Car-mic Experience

assorted-color vehiclesPhoto by Drew Dau on Unsplash

When I was 16, I lived out of my car because I couldn't get an apartment since no one would rent to a 16-year-old. It was an old beater, and I had to push start it everywhere. I had just pulled into Walmart to buy some decent clothes, and there was a purse in the basket of the cart next to mine. When opened it, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Inside the wallet was a thousand dollars in cash, several credit cards, and an ID. I soo wanted to spend it, and I was going to. So, I grabbed the cash and put the purse back in the cart. Except when I was paying for my clothes, I just couldn't bring myself to pay with the money I had taken. So, I paid with mine and went back to my car. The purse was still there, so I put the money back in and looked at the address.

It was right down the road, but it took me about an hour to find. When I finally got there, I parked in the street. The lady was standing in her garage next to her nice new car, in a fancy neighborhood, on the phone, canceling her credit cards. I walked up and asked if she had lost her purse. I was pretty rough-looking, and I could tell she was a bit nervous.

So I handed it to her and told her I had to open it to find her address. She didn't say anything, and I got in my car and left. I was disappointed because it seemed she didn't appreciate it. I went on to where I worked, and where I would stay in my car. The next day before my shift, I woke up went to McDonald's to get breakfast.

I got to work. Then I noticed something strange. I saw the same lady leaving. I thought, "That wasn't her, just coincidence." When I went inside, the parts for my car were there, $100, and a note saying thanks. I was confused. I couldn’t figure out how she knew what parts I needed or even where I worked. But it was actually so simple.

A few days before, I had gone over what I needed for my car, along with the number to the parts store, and wrote it down on the back of a pay stub. When I got out by her house, this paper came out of my car. After I left, she picked it up. When she realized all her money was in her purse, she went down and picked up the parts and dropped them off for me.

It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done. I got about $300 worth of parts and $100 cash. The good feeling I had for weeks was worth way more than the money I would have made if I had kept it all.

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13. This Was The Tops

I used to deliver pizzas. One day, I was taking redelivery for an order that was wrong the first time. I was going to the worst hotel in our delivery area. The redelivery was a single, one-topping medium pizza. I pulled up, and a guy said he needed some cash for a tow truck. He gave me the typical sob story. Usually, I wouldn’t give in to those things, but for some reason, this guy’s story seemed plausible.

I cut him off and asked him how much cash he needed. He told me seven dollars, so I gave it to him. He ran back to the gas station, and I didn't see him again. I went to deliver my pizza. I ran up the stairs to the hotel room, gave them their replacement pizza, apologized for the first mistake, and left. As I was walking away, the guy came out and said, "Oh wait, we forgot to give you a tip."

Any tip on redelivery is a win, so I hustled back to the room. The guy handed me a $50 bill and told me to have a good night.

WhiteLightEcho

14. Karma Sealed This Deal

At one point in my life, I sold furniture and was terrible at it. Since I worked solely on commission, I barely made any money. Often, I had nothing left after paying rent and bills and wouldn’t eat for days because I couldn't afford to. One day, I was trying to sell furniture and sold nothing, so I had made $0. An old couple came in and was looking at TV stands.

All the other sales reps avoided them. We all knew that they would take up a bunch of time and end up buying something for around $100.00, so the commission was going to be $2.00. There would be no add-ons because no one in their right mind would purchase a $29.99 extended warranty on a $100.00 item. But I came up with a plan.

I figured I had nothing to lose if I helped them, and perhaps my luck would turn around. They ended up buying two stands but couldn’t put them together themselves because they were old. There was a service I could have referred them to for a fee, but I was desperate and didn't want to lose the sale, especially after having spent around 45 minutes with them.

So, I told them, "I'm off at 9:00 pm. If you come to pick me up, I'll come set up the stands for you for free.” They took the offer, paid for the furniture, and left. The other sales reps laughed at me. The old couple picked me up promptly at 9:00 pm. I loaded the boxes into their trunk. As we drove to their house, I found out that he was a retired judge and she had always been a housewife.

We got into their beautiful condo, and I began assembling the furniture. I could smell food cooking and tried to ignore it, but I hadn't eaten in about three days at that point, so it was hard. I worked for almost three hours straight. I then moved the finished product into position and moved their TVs for them. It was close to midnight, and I was trying to excuse myself from their home politely.

The old lady grabbed me and took me to the kitchen. She sat me down and pulled out a plate of freshly made roast beef. That was better than any money. I was so grateful. I held back tears as I ate the delicious home-cooked meal. It was now after 12:30 am. I thanked them again for all that they had done for me. But it wasn't even over yet.

I was about to leave to find my way home by bus, but the old man stopped me and offered me a ride home. The lady packaged up the rest of the roast beef and told me to keep the Tupperware. They both came for the ride, and I couldn't stop thanking them for helping me. As the car stopped and I got out, I thanked them one more time. Then the lady handed me an envelope.

I didn't open it, just thanked them. I happily went up to my apartment, knowing that I would sleep with a full stomach that night and that I would get to eat for the next few days. I was feeling great. I opened the envelope and burst into tears. There was a thank you card with $100 inside. After that, for the rest of the time that I sold furniture, I always ran to help the people nobody else wanted to.

I changed my focus from getting a big sale every day to getting all of the small ones nobody cared about, and it got me through until I got a better-paying job.

ScottRockview

15. The Universe Paid Us Back

File:Walmart store exterior 5266815680.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

I was at Walmart, and the lady in front of me was buying a bag of dry beans and some baby food. She didn't have enough money in her food stamps account. I said, “Let me buy that for you.” I was a little annoyed at the cashier because when I said that, the cashier remarked, "You don't have to do that. She gets more money tomorrow. She can come back then and buy it."

I didn’t care if she could go back the next day. She was obviously buying food for her family, and they may need it that night. The next day, my wife got a job offer that would give her a significant raise over what she was currently making, solving our own financial problems. The two events may not be related, but it was close enough for me to think that something else was at work there.

effnnc

16. We Curried A Favor With Karma

One night, my sister, my now-ex, my friend, and I decided to go for some curry. Since it was late, we called up the curry house to make sure they were ok with us coming down. The owner answered and said it would be no problem. As soon as we got there, we were greeted by the owner and were seated. However, it quickly became pretty obvious that the guy serving us didn’t want to be there.

We brushed it off. It went from bad to worse. He then started throwing our plates down and was being obnoxious, so we had a quiet word with the owner. Well, he proceeded to be even ruder, but we couldn’t do much. We left the restaurant and shrugged the whole thing off. As we were driving back home, though, I saw the server driving behind me, right on my tail.

He must have seen me get into my car and decided to follow me. He pulled up beside me when I was stopped at some traffic lights. He was swearing and showing me a rather impressive display of hand gestures. We ignored it, but I admit he was starting to aggravate me. The lights changed green, and he sped off like a lunatic, trying to run me off the road and swerving all over.

Sadly, he failed to notice the cruiser that had pulled up behind me at the lights, so on went the lights and the sirens. They pulled him over and booked him right then and there. We glided off into the distance, barely able to contain the euphoria from the instant karma. I never saw him at the curry house again. I assume he got fired!

SeriouslyDave

17. Stick In The Mud

When I was about eight years old, my family visited some friends one day after church. They lived on a farm, so one of their kids and I went out to look at the cows. I was dressed in my Sunday best, so I was careful not to get all muddy. The other kid noticed and grabbed a stick that was lying on the ground that had some muck on the end of it.

He started chasing me around, threatening to wipe it all over me. He finally cornered me against some fencing and was about to throw the stick at me when I saw their huge golden retriever sprinting towards him from behind. At the last second, he raised the stick above his head, and the dog, trying to get it, leaped in and full-on tackled him. He landed face-first in a mud patch, and I ran away.

IrritableGourmet

18. Dog Day Afternoon

brown and white long coated small dog lying on green grassPhoto by Ralu Gal on Unsplash

One day while I was driving down the highway, I saw this HUGE poster about a lost dog. About 20 miles down the road, the little dog from the poster ran out in front of my car. Luckily, I was able to stop in enough time. I picked it up and took it back to the owner's house. They were so happy, and I was so happy for them. When I went to get back into my car, it stalled and wouldn't start.

It was an old car, and the engine was done. It turned out that their daughter had just graduated college and was looking to sell her car. In return for their dog, they gave me the car for free.

pusher91

19. Karma Shut Me Down

I used to work as tech support for a college campus. There were classrooms with motion sensors connected to the lights. So if there was no one in the room, the lights would shut down. A professor came into our office and told us the classroom didn't have working lights. I instantly knew what had happened. The light switch was on, but the motion sensor turned them off.

When she flipped the switch, she turned the lights off instead of on. I bought a soda on the way to the classroom and hit the lights. They turned on. I went to the room where she was temporarily teaching her class and told her, "The lights are on in the room." She asked me how I turned them on, to which I smugly replied, "I just flipped the switch."

Her entire class started laughing. I paid for my rudeness instantly. Feeling full of myself, I turned around and opened the soda I got from the vending machine. It burst and sprayed my face and shirt with Dr. Pepper.

mattigus

20. It Was A Christmas Miracle

When my brother and I were kids, there was a Christmas when our family didn't have enough money to buy us presents, food, or decorations. Some distant relatives sent my brother and me $50 each. We gave the money to our parents so that they could buy a tree and Christmas dinner. We had accepted that we wouldn't get presents, and that was fine.

We went outside to play in the snow. While rolling the base to a snowman, I noticed something sticking out of the snowball and plucked it out. It was a $100 bill. We went to the neighbor and asked if she had lost it. She told us that indeed she had. She commended us on being noble and returning the money, then allowed us to keep it. She also handed me a Christmas card for my parents. In the card was another $100, so we could get presents that year.

dieflamingoes

21. That’s The Ticket!

people sitting down inside vehiclePhoto by Mitchell Johnson on Unsplash

One day, I was about to get on a bus. The guy in front of me wasn't moving onto the bus, and I quickly realized he was frantically searching for his wallet. After a few moments had passed, I finally piped up and offered him two bus tickets. He clearly had a problem accepting charity, but he took the tickets and thanked me profusely.

He promised me that I would see the tickets again. About six months later, I was about to get off the bus at the opposite side of the city when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around, and the person who tapped me asked if I remembered him. I thought about it for a second, hoping that he wasn't some friend of my dad's that I had met and forgotten about.

Once he saw that I clearly did not remember him, he told me that I had given him bus tickets a while back, and he was repaying me. He gave me two bus tickets and promptly got off the bus. Those two tickets are still in a hidden pocket of my wallet. I'm saving them for the next time I see someone who has forgotten their wallet and needs them.

cajj

22. My Car Ran On Kismet

I had just finished grocery shopping. I loaded the bags in my car, got in, and turned the key—nothing. For whatever reason, my car wouldn’t start. I sat there for another 20 minutes, checking the wires on my battery, making sure everything was properly in place. I had just changed the battery the month prior, so it couldn't have been that.

I called my girl to pick me up. She said it was going to be about another 20 minutes. I saw an elderly lady pushing a cart to her car. This cart had four times more bags than mine did. I knew it was going to be a struggle for her. I went over and offered her help. She accepted. I helped her load the groceries into her car and went back to give my vehicle another try. Surprisingly, it started. My first thought was, “This car must run on karma.”

Ih8YourCat

23. This Good Deed Suited Me Well

I was in line at Wendy's when a gentleman realized he had misplaced his wallet. He ran to and from his car, very flustered. He jumped on the phone with his wife to have her look for it and drive to Wendy's. While he wasn't paying attention, I had stepped in front of him and paid the $8 for his food. We were both obviously on our lunch breaks, so I felt bad.

The guy insisted that I don’t buy his meal, but I told him it was too late. I patted him on the shoulder and said, “Pay it forward,” with a smile. He approached my table and told me that was one of the nicest things he had ever witnessed. He then told me to come across the street to his tailor shop after work. He gave me a custom $800 suit.

Permalink

24. The Universe Took Them For A Ride

people sitting on bench in front of building during daytimePhoto by Sandy Ravaloniaina on Unsplash

When I was about 20, I was standing at a bus stop waiting for the bus. The street I was on had a little bit of construction going on, and there were some orange barricades set up down the middle of the road. They were made of metal and had a yellow flashing light on top. As I was standing there, I saw a Porsche convertible coming down the street with three guys about my age inside.

As they got closer, I could see them looking at me and talking to each other. The car began to slow down. I knew at this point I was in trouble. I knew that they were going to do something stupid. Sure enough, as they passed, they all turned in my direction and, on cue, yelled something rude at me as they passed. Unfortunately for the driver, karma was quick.

As he turned his head to yell at me, he swerved his car to the left, hitting several of the metal pylons and tearing up the driver's side of what I could only assume was his father’s car. Correction: His father's very, very nice car. Needless to say, the idiot sped off from me in a great hurry. I spent the rest of my day in a surprisingly great mood!

weshallrise

25. A Good Start To The New Year

I was walking home with my friend after a pretty tame New Year's Eve party. My friend and I hit a fork in the road where our houses were in different directions, so we said our goodbyes and I carried on for the 10-minute walk home. A minute later, I turned a corner onto an empty street, and as soon as I did, two young guys wearing all black raced around the corner behind me.

They slowed down a few feet behind me and started following me, so I crossed the street and began to walk fast. I turned around 15 seconds later, and it seemed as if I had put a good bit of distance between us, so I thought I was in the clear. I kept walking for another 20 seconds and heard a weird noise. I turned around just in time to see a fist coming towards my face.

I dodged it. The first dude put his dukes up and screamed at me unintelligibly, and the other started creeping at me from the other side, trying to back me into a corner. I decided to run. I dashed off right between them, and they started chasing me down the street. One was yelling to the other, "You better catch him!" We came to a main road.

Two cars were coming in opposite directions, perfectly timed for me to run between them and leave the muggers on the other side of the street. I kept running for another three solid minutes at a panicked pace and got a block away from my home. I tried to make sure they didn't follow me to my house. There was no sign of them. As I was leaning over to catch my breath, I looked down. On the pavement sat two £20 notes folded up. It was unbelievable.

adventurrre

26. Jim Wasn’t So Dandy

When I was 18, a group of friends and I spent a long weekend at my buddy’s place in the Adirondacks. We split our time between his grandparents' house, which was up on a hill, where we had our meals and where we showered, and a cabin right on the lake where we did our drinking. There were eight of us in all, but Tom and Jim were the most memorable.

Tom was relatively new to our circle of friends, somewhat awkward, but generally a nice guy. Jim was the opposite. He was immature, hotheaded, self-conscious, and selfish. The only reason he was there was that he had been friends with my buddy since birth. Jim was constantly belittling Tom to assert his dominance in an otherwise non-existent hierarchy.

One Saturday, after lunch, someone suggested beer pong in the cabin. We were all in. Impatient as always, Jim went railing down the hill to the cabin ahead of us, screaming, “I GOT FIRST GAME! I GOT FIRST GAME!” The rest of us followed casually behind. When he reached the bottom of the hill, he took a bounding step onto the front bumper of Tom’s green little Ford.

We suddenly heard an extremely unsettling crunch. He had driven his foot through the car’s windshield. Then, his forward momentum propelled him to take a fourth and final step, ripping his leg back out through the windshield. He collapsed onto the roof, screaming in pain. The image of leg hair trapped in the spider web of shattered glass and the gash on Jim’s leg will forever be instant karma for me.

Stolen_Elephants

27. Karmic Cupid

smiling woman in white long sleeve shirt standing beside yellow flower during daytimePhoto by Quentin billington on Unsplash

When I was in university, I dated this girl for about a month, and things were not going well. She was gorgeous. However, she was also a moron. So, I was hedging my bets. One day she came to my place after a night of partying and asked to go to a movie. I said, "Sure," and away we went. While walking to the cinema, we started having another enormous argument, and I decided to end it right then and there—so I did. I instantly regretted it.

She would not accept it and kept fighting with me until she finally walked away in tears. Immediately afterward, I called my best friend and asked if he wanted to get some drinks because of the unfortunate day I had just had. When I hung up, I saw the date—it was Valentine's day. I hadn’t even realized it. I sighed and started walking to my friend’s place, feeling like a fool. Then I got hit by a bus. It wasn’t serious, but it hurt.

SlyLikeAFox7

28. I Got The Stamp Of Approval

When I was in college, I used to volunteer at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. After volunteering for some time, I got to know many of the guests that came in. So, one day my girlfriend and I were getting frozen yogurt downtown when a homeless woman that I had gotten to know walked in. She was timid and usually kept to herself, so I kept my distance but acknowledged her by saying hi and asking how she was.

She seemed happy to see me, and we had a small chat. At the end of it, I offered to buy her frozen yogurt. I knew she had the means to buy it, but I thought if I could save her some money, she could spend it on something else another day. She respectfully declined. I then went to pay for my girlfriend's yogurt and asked the cashier if I could pay for the homeless woman’s as well without her knowing.

Since you would pay by weight, I just told the cashier to double the weight of my girlfriend’s food since that should have been a good estimate of how much the homeless woman would get. The cashier gave me the biggest smile. I paid for both, and she asked me if I had a stamp card. I did not. The cashier then took out a stamp card and stamped it ten times right then, which gave me 16 ounces of frozen yogurt for free. She handed me the card, thanked me for what I did, and told me to have a great day.

mariobat

29. My Fate Was Fixed

I was driving through my neighborhood and saw a man running in his pajamas with a gas can in his hand. So, I stopped and asked if he wanted a ride to wherever his car was stalled. He climbed in my car and explained that his kid needed to be at school, his wife needed a ride to work, and unfortunately, someone had taken all the gas out of their car the night before.

He also told me that my right tail light was out and that he owned a car shop. Later that day, I took my car into his shop, and he fixed the tail light and other minor problems for free.

spaceflag

30. If You Wish It, It Will Come

man in black jacket walking on sidewalk during daytimePhoto by Brandi Alexandra on Unsplash

My girlfriend said she was feeling very sick and asked me to go to her place. I was a poor college student and had just enough money to get to her place, but not enough for the bus fare to get to my finals the next day. Still, she said she needed me, so I went, thinking I could ask her parents for a loan. The next morning, I was already at the bus stop when I remembered I had no money.

There was no time to go back. I just stood there for a minute thinking. Then a bill large enough to pay my fares for the month slapped against my leg. There was no one else around as far as the eye could see. Even though I was an atheist, I had to look upwards that day—just to check.

7sigma

31. Karma Got Her Rocks Off

My wife had taken my kids, who were six and three at the time, to visit my parents. While romping outside, our six-year-old started picking up rocks and throwing them. For obvious reasons, my wife told her not to. However, my mother proceeded to tell her it was OK. She also told her that she should throw them at the geese. She got proven so wrong soon enough.

Although angry that my mother had usurped her parental authority, my wife didn’t say anything in the interest of keeping the peace. A few short minutes later, my daughter, for no apparent reason whatsoever, whipped a rock at my dad, hitting him in the temple. Finally, he and my mother both got to witness why my wife told our child not to throw rocks in the first place.

sirbeast

32. It Was Blind Luck

I had to meet a friend in town. I could have walked it, but was feeling lazy, so I waited for a bus. I was sitting, listening to music when some older women walked up to me. They asked if I could look after this other woman who was blind until the bus came. I said sure and introduced myself to the woman, and we talked a little while we waited for the bus.

We ended up waiting for ages. I called my friend to cancel since I was with the lady and I couldn’t leave. An hour later, the bus finally showed up. She was meeting a friend in the shopping mall, outside of a McDonald's. So, I walked with her to McDonald's to make sure she met her friend safely. All went well, and she thanked me for being kind.

I told her it was no problem and it was nice meeting her. Afterward, I was hungry and wanted to pick something up for dinner. So, I went to the supermarket and grabbed some cheap lasagne. I went to pay at the self-checkout, and as I put my lasagne in the bag, I saw someone had left a sushi platter. I loved sushi but never got to eat it because I couldn’t afford it.

There was no one looking for it, so I picked it up and put it in my bag. I went and sat by the river and enjoyed my fabulous sushi platter.

purplejasmine

33. I Was Finally In The Clear

woman in white long sleeve shirt holding clear wine glassPhoto by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

It was early in the morning and I was driving home from a New Year's Eve party. It was dark out. The road was icy and extremely foggy. The streets were twisty and narrow, and the likelihood of deer crossing the road was high, so I was driving very slowly with my fog lights and hazards on. About halfway home, some person peeled out of a side street and started tailgating me.

They were flashing their high beams, honking their horn, apparently in hopes that I would speed up or pull over. Given the road conditions and poor visibility, I declined to do either. I figured that when the road widened in a couple of miles, I would pull to the side and let the person pass. Otherwise, they could take their chances and pass me on the left. I made an awful miscalculation.

For four very tense miles, instead of passing, this dirtbag tailed me, weaving back and forth, shouting out the window. The fog was swirling around, my car was slipping on black ice, and I was worried that a deer would come bounding across the road at any moment. Just as the road widened into two lanes, and before I could pull over, the driver decided they had enough.

They screeched out from around me, narrowly missing my car, while the passengers hung out the windows shouting and throwing bottles and cans at me. When the last can bounced off the hood of my car, I pulled over and wished I could destroy their car with the power of my mind. Fortunately, karma was on the job! A state trooper, who'd been lurking in the darkness, pulled out and sped off after them.

By the time I crept by them, he had all four of them face down on the ground with their hands behind their backs.

electricgekko

34. Only Fools Rush In

I was in the middle lane of a three-lane divided highway. The lane to my left was ending, forcing people to merge into the middle lane. Coming up on where the left lane was about to end, some woman was trying to speed up to get in front of me in her Tahoe. Mind you, there was a ton of free lane space behind me, but apparently, she had somewhere important to be.

So I checked the lane to my right and saw a car coming up. I wasn’t going to cut him off, so I let off the gas and coasted a little to see if this woman was really committed to getting in front of me. She was. She cut in front of me and gave me a quick wave as if that should excuse her. At the same time, I was watching my right-side view mirror for the car that was coming up.

Sure enough, the car in front of her wasn't going as fast as she needed, and she just cut over to the right lane as the car I was watching passed me. I hit my brakes hard because I knew what was going to happen. The car to my right passed by me as this lady cut over to its lane. She ended up taking the front end of that car against her right rear passenger door, pushing her vehicle sideways. I smiled and waved as I went by.

oddchihuahua

35. I Was Awash With Good Mojo

I was in Bed Bath & Beyond, about to check out my items, when I noticed a pregnant woman with about 10 full bags struggling to open the door. I put all of my items to the side. I told the next person in line to go ahead of me and rushed to help the pregnant woman with the door. Afterward, I helped carry her bags to her car.

Once they were all loaded into her trunk, she turned, thanked me, and handed me an envelope, saying she hoped to repay me for my deed. After I got home from buying my items, I opened the envelope. Its contents were incredible. Inside were two tickets to a sold-out concert that I had been itching to see.

THE_DINOSAUR_QUEEN

36. Surfs Up

ocean waves crashing on shore during daytimePhoto by Subtle Cinematics on Unsplash

When I was about six years old, my cousin and I were standing knee-deep in the surf. A giant wave came and wiped her off her feet and washed her into the beach. I turned and started laughing while pointing, drawing attention to what had just happened. When her disheveled head surfaced, I said, "Hahahaha! You got dumped b—," and that's when an even bigger wave took me out. I deserved it.

dr_mike_rithjin

37. My Deed Scored A Major Goal

I was working at a concession stand. Early in my shift, a guy came in and asked if we sold empty cups. His wife was a kindergarten teacher, and her class was in the area for a picnic, but she had forgotten cups for the drinks. We weren't really supposed to, but I sold him 60 cups at the employee rate of 10 cents each. He thanked me, gave me $8, and ran out.

Three hours later, I was on my break when the cook ran to our break room. He told me that a Hall of Fame quarterback had walked into the concession stand. I was a huge fan of the player, so I went inside to help get his order ready. As I gave him his food, a guy next to him pointed to me and said, "Hey, that's the guy who sold us the cups!"

It turned out that the quarterback's daughter was in the class. When he paid his bill and got his change, he handed me $20 as a tip for helping out earlier.

ubbull39

38. In The Zone

I was driving on a two-lane road. There was a double yellow line, and I was approaching a flashing school zone. I slowed from 45 to 25 at precisely the right moment. The car behind me didn't seem to care about the speed restriction and proceeded to tailgate me, flashing her lights, honking her horn, and yelling as she passed me.

She floored it, ignoring everything about the situation, including the oncoming traffic. She zoomed in front of me and was almost out of sight when the blue lights of a cruiser turned on from a hidden spot just on the other side of the school zone. She immediately hit the brakes and pulled over. By the time I got to where they were, I had the passenger window down and was laughing loud enough that they both heard me. She glared at me, and I blew the officer a kiss as he tipped his hat to me.

beautiful_disaster11

39. Plenty Of Fish In The Sea

people riding on white boat during daytimePhoto by Gene Gallin on Unsplash

I worked on a charter fishing boat. I did everything from cut bait, clean fish, upkeep, and maintenance on the boat. However, since we worked for tips, a large amount of our day was spent getting to know the customers who paid to come out and fish. The more you connected with them, the more obligated they felt to tip generously after the trip.

One morning a man came aboard, and after the usual jargon, he revealed himself to be a local preacher hoping to catch enough fish for a fish fry his congregation planned to hold. We promptly told the other customers, most of which agreed to give him whatever fish they didn't want to keep. We had a good catch of croaker that day and sent him home with well over several hundred pounds of fish.

When it came time to collect tips, he offered the other mate and me a $20 bill. We told him to put it in the offering plate for us next Sunday. Teary-eyed, he expressed his gratitude and said that our generosity would be returned ten-fold. That afternoon a man and his son chartered the entire boat for themselves. Hours later, after an effortless and relatively fun trip, he tipped us $200 apiece.

kdrtadb

40. Taco Belles

I was fresh out of infantry training. It was my first weekend out on the town with my friend. We had it all—dog tags, moto marine corps shirts, the works. We were sitting on the beach one fine Saturday when a very hot woman with two of her friends approached us. Being the naive guys we were, we thought she was honestly just interested in our company. It took so much trouble to find out the truth.

My friend and I started talking her up to try and see which one of us she was interested in so the other could wing, if necessary. As we walked down the beach in the direction she recommended, we came across a humble taco shack. The girl said we should get tacos. Conveniently, no one in her group had any money, so my friend and I suggested we continue walking.

They declined, insisting that we find an ATM to buy them tacos. After we said it wasn't happening, they said, "Oh, we thought you guys were gonna buy us tacos.” My friend, realizing we were being used, said, "Heck no, we thought you were going to buy us some tacos." With a look of disgust, they promptly excused themselves from our company.

As we started to walk away, the owner of the taco stand caught up with us and said, "Thank you guys so much for not buying that trash any tacos—have some free ones on me." She gave us three delicious homemade tacos each, and we ate them as we walked past the women who were trying to lure their next victim into buying them tacos. The looks on their faces were priceless.

EdWrathChild

41. A Coke And A Smile

I worked at a pizza joint during college. We sold some beverages out of a fountain machine and others in a can. One day, this lady in a business suit came in acting a little frantic. She wanted soda in a can but wasn't happy with our selection. She got pretty nasty when I told her we only sold Coca-Cola out of the fountain.

She left the store mad and went across the street to a little hot dog stand to see about buying her drink there. They had it in a can, but apparently at a price she did not want to pay. So, she came storming back to my pizza joint and snottily said, “The Coke across the street was too expensive, so I have to settle for your fountain soda.” She wanted six of them.

She got even angrier when I offered her a choice of 12 or 32-ounce cups and even more aggravated when I told her we didn’t have carrying trays. However, I offered to get her a box to carry them all. She was just flat-out unhappy that she had to deal with this. To make things worse, we had a faulty batch of soda cups that day. About every tenth cup had a pinhole in it.

I did not know that, as I had just started shift when this woman first came in. Wouldn't you know it, but this woman in her business suit got one of the defective cups and soda sprayed ALL OVER the front of her suit. I was sure she thought we did it on purpose. I apologized offered her a wet rag and a replacement cup. But when she finally walked out the door, my boss and I had the biggest laugh!

LizzardFish

42. How The Wind Blows

white sedan on parking lot during day timePhoto by Gerrie van der Walt on Unsplash

It was a particularly windy day. I was in the parking lot at a grocery store with my dad. As we exited the building, we saw a shopping cart being pushed along by the wind at walking speed. The cart passed right in front of this woman who just watched it go by, despite it going slow enough that she could have easily caught it.

My dad turned to me and said, "Why didn't she just grab it?" We continued to watch this cart gain speed. After a few seconds, a burst of wind came through, and the cart rocketed across the parking lot directly towards this one van. We could hear it smash into this van over the howling wind and saw the huge dent in the driver's side door from over 75 feet away.

We then noticed that the woman from earlier who watched the cart go by her was walking in the same direction as the van. With each step, my dad and I could barely contain our excitement. When she got to about 15 feet away from the car, we saw her hands rise into the air. At that point, we just lost our composure and laughed until we got home.

rissen06

43. On The Brink Of Embarrassment

One day the armored transport company came into my work to drop off cash for us. One of the guards was the rudest guy we had ever met. He came in demanding, "I need your manager now," and "When are you going to take care of me?" So, the manager took the cash, finished the transaction, and the guy walked out. A few moments later, he came back in asking to use the phone. His partner had gotten out of the truck and locked the keys inside. We were all busting a gut. It was well deserved.

CoolMoo5e

44. Karma Stepped In

There was a kid at school who I always disliked. I was walking down the stairs after my last class had ended after a bad day. This kid proceeded to follow me down the stairs and be a total pain for no reason, saying, “I hate you.” Not even five seconds later, this moron fell down the entire staircase and landed right into a group of girls. His face reached a new level of red I didn’t think was possible.

balenciyagaborrower

45. The Universe Made Its Point

person showing right middle fingerPhoto by Franco Antonio Giovanella on Unsplash

One day, a coworker who slightly outranked me was joking around and busting my chops. She was giving me a hard time, saying I was dumb and that they paid me too much. She went to sit down and somehow got her right hand stuck awkwardly underneath her. The maneuver broke her pointer finger. Through the tears, she looked at me and said, "Guess I deserved that," and chuckled a little.

henny_316

46. That’s Nacho Order

I was at Taco Bell and had ordered nachos bell grande—and so did the man immediately behind me in line. We waited together for our food to get done, and when they called my number, he grabbed my food. He looked at me and said, “You ordered the same thing as me, but I'm in a hurry, so you can just take mine when it's ready.”

This guy didn't care two bits what I had going on. He was in a suit and tie, and I was in my construction clothes. He took one step toward the door and slipped, spilling his drink and my nachos all over his shirt and jacket. At that exact moment, they called his number. I picked up his nachos, thanked him, and walked out the door.

HotrodCorvair

47. Hat’s Off

I was out with my girlfriend at a late-night movie when I spotted another older couple walking. The guy had a long coat, cane, sunglasses at night, and a bowler-type hat. The wind was blowing hard. All of a sudden, I watched this guy's hat fly off his head and into the street. He didn't seem to mind and just kept on walking. I began chasing the hat just for fun and to be helpful.

I brought the hat back to the guy and he said, "Thanks, brother," to which I replied, "No problem, man. I just like chasing stuff." He went in for a handshake, and I felt something in his hand. I wasn’t sure if he had just handed me a business card or something. I walked away with my girlfriend. Once we got in our car, I turned to her and said, "That guy just gave me this." I unfolded a crisp $100 bill. It was the easiest $100 I ever made.

Permalink

48. He Wanted To Be Starting Something

square of brown wooden tablePhoto by Nicolas Hoizey on Unsplash

I was walking to the pub after work one rainy evening when I saw a guy intentionally shove himself into a fairly nerdy-looking dude who was walking along with his girlfriend. He stopped and accused the nerdy guy of pushing him and then gave him a mouthful. What followed was pure karma. It was one of those moments that was so perfect and full of justice that it was almost too good to be true.

The big guy took a huge swing at the nerdy guy and ended up slipping because it had been raining out. He completely missed hitting the nerdy guy and ended up in a flustered mess on the floor. The nerdy guy looked bewildered, and his girlfriend was desperately trying to drag him away, but he stood his ground. The big dude seemed to become even angrier due to his embarrassing fall.

He got back up and took another swing, which the nerdy guy dodged. He slipped again and fell to his knees. The nerdy guy, who was as ruthless as he was good at not getting punched in the face, saw this as a great opportunity to get this nonsense over with. So, he smacked the guy right in the face with a sweet jab that made a “'thwack” sound.

The original guy went down once and for all, sprawled on the bridge in the rain, while the nerdy guy took his girl's hand and they went on their merry way together. Meanwhile, I went to the pub and had a pint in nerdy guy's honor. It was beautiful, just beautiful.

CantankerousPete

49. He Got His Kicks On Route 66

I remember taking a road trip through Ohio during a blizzard. I was used to driving in the snow, but this was so bad I could hardly make out where I was going. The roads were empty. Since my car wasn't really fantastic, I was chugging along at a slow pace in the right lane because I wasn't in that big of a hurry—and I didn't want to crash.

Suddenly, a fully-loaded truck blew past me in the left lane, kicking up a bunch of snow against my car and whiting out my windshield. I was flying blind for a few moments while my wipers got rid of the snow. When I could see again, a chill ran down my spine. The guy seemed to have slowed down and kept pace next to me.

Then, he slowed down more, revved his engine, and proceeded to do it again. He got his kicks off of harassing smaller cars, and there wasn't anything I could do. There weren’t any exits to get off, and I didn't want to speed up in such bad conditions. After blasting me three or four more times, he sped off. I spent the next half hour grumbling about this jerk on the phone to my friends.

While chatting, I spotted something. The interstate took a sharp turn, and off the road on the left, there was a truck flipped on its top, half-buried in snow. It was him.

WhyNotJustMakeOne

50. She Got A Doggone Sweet Surprise

I used to clean a local gymnastics facility on the weekends. The owner would rent out the place for birthday parties, and one of the coaches was always present for them. One weekend, I saw a car pull up about an hour before the party was to start. I was finishing cleaning the lobby, and we had no power as our lights were being replaced.

This woman came in and headed upstairs. About ten seconds later, she came STORMING down the stairs, got in my face, and started yelling, "WHY is there no power?! I'm supposed to set up for this party. HOW am I supposed to do that WHEN I CAN'T SEE WHAT I'M DOING?!" I was a little stunned and told her that, per the owner's policy, she couldn’t be in the building until the coach arrived.

Her face went purple. She yelled, "HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN NOT DO! THE OWNER SAID I COULD BE HERE WHENEVER I WANTED. I WON'T TAKE THIS GARBAGE FROM SOME STUPID KID!" I said, "Fine, but your power won't be on for another 45 minutes. You might as well go wait in your car until the coach gets here."

She stomped off, tried to slam the door, and proceeded to try and call the owner. When the coach finally arrived, I told her what had happened and how she acted towards me. I also left a note for the owner and called her to inform her. I left the gym and went home for the night. The following day, I went in to get paid. The owner pulled me aside and told me I did everything right in that situation. Then I found out the whole story.

I found out that not only was that lady completely nasty to the coach as well, but that she didn't pay for the party, and she stayed a full hour longer than what was rented. Then, I got the best news possible. When the parents were all inside, her dog had gotten into the cake that was in her car and ate about half of it. Her reaction was deranged.

She then said, "Oh, we can still use it. We'll just cut around the parts the dog ate." 40 minutes later, she came running back into the gym, grabbed a bunch of paper towels, and returned to her car. Within the time that she brought the cake inside to the time she went back out, her dog had pooped and puked EVERYWHERE in her car—on the seats, floors, armrests, even the dashboard. This car was COVERED in poo and vomit.

onemedicman

A man stands, arms wide open facing an office building
Photo by Razvan Chisu

Seeing people has become a real issue for many.

And by seeing, I mean like actually, physically seeing other humans.

That is why working from home and limited human contact altogether has become so popular.

We were heading that way already but the pandemic has only intensified the need.

So how do we work and make money without dealing with people?

There are ways to do it, lucrative ways even.

We just have to research and see what's out there.

Keep reading...Show less

We've all heard something that sounded so outrageous or unlikely that we struggled to believe it.

But in some cases, we might be the ones trying to find the words to tell an unbelievably true story.

Keep reading...Show less
I Just KNOW HE's Cheating: These Suspicious Partners Are Beyond Paranoid
Photo by Mario Heller on Unsplash

Relationships can be hard, especially in this era of online dating. It’s just so easy for people in relationships to peruse through their “other" options, or so it seems. This thinking can create paranoid partners who search for reasons of possible betrayal. There are times when the accusations seem to hold water, but it all drips out sooner or later. True or not, the innocent had nothing but their word against these truly ridiculous accusations.

1. A Favor For A Friend

My husband found a suspicious wrapper under the couch. He told me about it right away, but I was stumped—it definitely wasn’t from me. Then, it hit me. I went out with my friend who had crashed at our tiny apartment a few weeks before, and she told me that she slept with our other friend. I asked her where and when they slept together.

She told me it happened the night when they stayed at my place. I connected all the dots and wasn’t too thrilled that they’d done it on my couch. She spent the rest of the time talking about it, and she confirmed where the wrapper came from, which was relieving because I was going crazy wondering how it could have gotten under the couch.

SSOJ16

2. Number’s Up

Quarantine was weighing on us significantly. We argued about her having to approve everything I did. I thought it was controlling, and she always got emotional about it when challenged. Randomly, I started to get phone calls from the same local number I'd never seen before. The first time was at 1 am, which woke us up.

The second call was after a big argument, and I was in another room. She came to talk to me when the number called me again. I looked up the number and I was shocked at what I found—it was registered to a woman in her fifties. Immediately, the accusations started flying at me. I offered to call the number and have her speak to the woman.

But she told me that she wouldn’t believe anything because we could’ve “planned something out in advice.” So, I blocked the number while she watched me. We're in a better place now, and I still don't know who that person is that called me or who they thought they were calling.

Maker_Of_Tar

3. False Evidence

photo of bulb artworkPhoto by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

I came home one day and before I could even step through the door, my girlfriend asked who Jill was. I didn’t know a Jill. Then she whipped out a surprising piece of "evidence"—she showed me a note with “Jill” and a phone number written on it. I was stumped and wracked my brain. Then I realized, that it wasn’t “Jill,” but “Till” that I wrote down. Someone had suggested him as a contact for my business.

All that drama because my writing was messy.

bicycletourist

4. See Through You

My boyfriend went through my phone and did not find any suspicious messages from other guys. The only conversations I had with other guys were about work. I thought that would be the end of it, but I was so wrong. He then thought that I was deleting all of my “secret” texts. I wasn’t cheating and I never deleted my text messages unless I ran out of memory. He never believed me, but it didn't matter anyway...

Because a few weeks later, I found out that he was cheating on me. I dumped him on the spot.

Sea-Biscotti

5. The Wave Of A Wand

My girl found mascara under the passenger seat of my car. She didn’t wear any makeup. We were just leaving our friend’s place when she asked me where it came from, but I honestly didn’t know. I knew I didn’t cheat, and she knew everyone who’d ever been in my car. I wasn’t defensive since I didn’t have anything to hide from her.

We didn’t talk for the rest of the two-hour ride home, and when we did, she distanced herself from me. I tried talking to her, but she said that she wanted space. So, I gave it to her. She was furiously texting everyone who had been in my car asking if it was theirs or their partner’s, but no one claimed it. Then I started getting messages—and I hit my breaking point.

They were from my friends, telling me to “Come clean,” and “Admit it,” and “How could you?” Clinging to my innocence, I went to sleep and shed a tear because there was nothing I could do to prove that I wasn’t cheating. In the morning, I made her talk to me so I could explain while she desperately waited for someone to claim it.

We talked for two hours and the entire time, she was flicking her eyes at my phone every few seconds to make sure I wasn’t asking anyone to claim it. By the end of it, she believed me and apologized for how she acted. I wasn’t angry with her because I probably would’ve reacted the same way, but you never know until you’re in the moment.

A few days later, a friend texted her back claiming the mascara and apologizing for taking so long to reply. We saw the friend weekly, and it’d fallen out of her bag, which she’d put on the floor behind the passenger seat the last time we’d gone to lunch. But since we’d already resolved it, the text didn’t change much.

AddSomeSpice

6. Pants On Fire

woman in gray long-sleeved top sitting on chair near green leafed plant during daytimePhoto by Gokil on Unsplash

My girlfriend found a slip of paper in my work pants with a woman's name and phone number on it. She asked me who "Cynthia" was, but I had no idea what she was talking about. Then, she handed me the paper. I was confused and just stared at it because I honestly had no idea. Surprisingly, after a lot of back and forth, we managed to move on from that, and three years later, we bought a new house.

While we were sitting on our couch, it suddenly dawned on me. Cynthia was a customer who had liked the necklace I was wearing, and I had told her that I’d gotten it while on a trip to Europe. She gave me her number so I could let her know the name of the jeweler. I was too naive to realize that Cynthia had actually been flirting with me.

I told my wife of my revelation and apologized since it’d looked like I was cheating on her. But I think my obliviousness was key enough because she did marry me and had never brought it up.

BearimusPrimal

7. I Knew It!

My ex-wife got it into her head that I was cheating because many of my friends were women. She was convinced that I’d banged all of them at one point and she even tried getting her mom involved. Thankfully, her mom told her she was being stupid. Then she went on my social media to scour for the smallest clues of any infidelity.

Her examples of “cheating” included me wishing a friend a happy birthday or chatting with friends from work. I had to go to Korea for a year, and she talked non-stop about my imaginary Korean girlfriend who I loved. So, I spent the year in Korea without my imaginary partner but I came back to a blood-boiling surprise—my ex-wife was sleeping with her boss.

Until the end, she justified her cheating by claiming I cheated. After that, my downward spiral began—she drained my bank accounts before initiating a divorce, and now she’s broke while I’m buying a house. Go figure!

360Entertainment

8. Doing Too Much

In my third year of studying computer engineering, my girlfriend broke up with me because all I did was “stay home and do homework.” Little did she know that the tables would soon turn on her. After the breakup, I learned that she was cheating on me with a guy who found out that she’d lied about her name. He found her on social media and then sent me screenshots of their conversations.

I realized that all of the texts she was getting while we were together were from him. Seven months later, she messaged me telling me how sorry she was, how much she regretted hurting me, and how she’d been through so much since our breakup. She said that she didn’t appreciate how great of a guy I was. I sent her, “k.”

DekuJago713

9. Accusing Excuses

man in black suit jacketPhoto by Brock Wegner on Unsplash

My girlfriend was always accusing me of cheating. I slept in too late and didn’t send a good morning text to her at the very minute she had to leave for work, and apparently, that meant that I was guilty. Spent too much time with my parents? Definitely cheating. Talking to a life-long female friend whose husband plays video games with me on the weekends? “You’re cheating.”

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I had to dump her—but my nightmare was just beginning. She followed me everywhere and made me get a restraining order. My therapist taught me how to set boundaries and she said what I did was healthy because: “When somebody is accusing you so much, you almost start to believe you are doing something terribly wrong.”

Luthos_

10. Fat Chance

A few months after a business trip to Las Vegas, my wife and I were hit with a surprise that changed our lives forever—we were both diagnosed with HIV. Everyone at the doctor’s office glared at me, and a few friends and family of ours who we told thought I had been cheating on her. My wife, however, just asked me once. I told her the truth, which was a definite no. That was good enough for her.

Then, after six weeks of tests, our doctors told us that both tests had been false positives. Apparently, we both got infected by the Coxsackie virus, which caused our lymph nodes to swell up to the size of softballs. Our friends and family admired how much we trusted each other. My wife explained, “He isn’t exactly a ladies’ man; never has been. He would chicken out before he ever slept with another woman.” She’s right though, so it didn’t hurt.

thisismycleanuser

11. Looked You Up

Just after we got married, my wife called me at work accusing me of having an affair. She was so upset that she just kept rambling on and she wouldn’t let me get a word in. There I was at work, sitting amongst my colleagues who were working quietly, yelling at her to shut up and listen. Another group manager came over to ask if I was okay because I was so loud.

Reality finally hit me, and I needed to get home as soon as I could to figure out what was happening. I came home to an absolute shock: My wife was having a full-blown crisis. A woman had approached her at the grocery store and told her that she was my girlfriend and that I had promised to meet her there to tell my wife that it was over. She knew personal details.

It was enough to convince my wife that I was having an affair. When I didn’t show up, she told my wife to call me and ask for herself. I explained to her that I’d been working over 50 hours a week with complete accountability for being at work every day and never away at night.

I didn’t have time to have an affair. I then brought up her ex-boyfriend who was an officer. He was still jealous that she’d left him for me, and she agreed that he would be capable to pull a stunt like that. So, we blamed him and moved on.

bluerockjam

12. What A Turnaround

a woman in a white shirt holding a stethoscopePhoto by Alexandr Podvalny on Unsplash

I took a day off from work to drive across the state for medical tests because my insurance only covered one location. It took four hours to drive there, then a couple of hours for the tests, and then I got food with an old friend who had moved there, which took another hour or so. After all that, I set off for my four-hour drive back home.

While getting ready for bed, my girlfriend asked me a question that made my blood boil. She asked me how I got the marks on my back. I looked in the mirror and saw light red marks on my shoulder blades. She got upset about them, calling them “hickeys.” I was just as, if not more, confused than her and suggested that I might have sat wrong in my car or they came from the tests.

I also brought up that hickeys usually aren’t on shoulder blades. The conversation devolved from there with me trying to tell her how I should have more hickeys if I had been doing anything with someone and her screaming for me to admit that I had cheated. We lasted another week when I found out she was cheating on me.

PoetKing

13. Love My Bed And My Mama

When my wife and I first started dating, she let me know that she had trust issues from a previous relationship. Her ex-boyfriend was engaged to her and another woman at the same time and had chosen the other woman instead. So, one day, my mom called me, and we ended up talking for much longer than I had wanted. I didn't think anything of it—until my wife barged in and caught me completely off-guard.

My girlfriend flipped out after I hung up because it was 8 pm, but my mom lived in a different time zone. She told me that no one spoke to their mom that late. So, she checked my phone, and I showed her the call was from my mom’s landline. She calmed down, and we had a few other incidents.

But then, later on, she learned I liked D&D. Nerds don’t have time to cheat as it would take time away from hobbies. Plus, we’re happy that at least one person likes us and don’t want to mess that up.

CaptainShrubbery

14. Know What You Did

I learned that my boyfriend installed a key logger on my laptop. All he found was an old chat between me and a guy who I’d politely turned down. After I pointed out that he found no proof that I cheated, he went off about how I was never around or paid attention to him anymore, which was just as bad as cheating on him. But that's not even the worst part.

I had just lost my father a few months earlier. I hadn’t been around because between work and school, and I had to go back to my home to state to deal with his house and other affairs. I wanted to spend time with my family, and he had no consideration for my tough situation. I just threw the whole man out.

half_in_boxes

15. Have Another

empty chairs and tables inside lighte roomPhoto by QUI NGUYEN on Unsplash

I went to the bar where my boyfriend was a regular. I usually didn’t go, but one day, I randomly wanted to know what the fuss was all about. After we got there, he didn’t stay by me—instead, he wandered off socializing the whole time. Then things got really, really weird...he kept giving this random guy permission to hit on me. The guy kept asking if he was sure.

This happened for a while, and I politely declined each time. Then I decided to play along but did nothing physical. I was being playful since my man seemed to want me to be for whatever reason. Everything seemed fine. My boyfriend even acted like the guy’s best friend. And then the next day, he accused me of cheating!

I rolled my eyes and laughed about it. But he wasn’t joking. So, we had a big fight about his accusation. It was ridiculous.

Threnodyrose

16. Missing Something

My girlfriend grabbed my backpack and found a pair of black underwear at the bottom. After she presented it to me, I was stumped. The only thing that came to mind was when her sister showered in our washroom, or it could have been our nanny’s, but neither of them would fit the underwear. I left it because I had done nothing wrong.

Every few days, she brought it up, and I gave the same answer every time–I never did anything let alone disrespect the bed that we shared. Then, a few months later, we were spring cleaning and out of nowhere, she gasped—she found the matching bra from a set she had bought years before. I told her if she wore it more often, we’d recognize it better.

GrappleTackleChamp

17. Precious Time

When I started teaching, my school was over half an hour away from my house. I had to leave at 6 am because I led the orchestra and I had morning rehearsals at 7. The school day ended at 4, but it took time for the students to pick up their instruments or ask questions. Then at 4:30 pm, I locked up and left for home. By then, it was rush hour, so I got home around 5 or 6.

And on the weekend, I needed half a day to prepare for the next week’s lessons. We lived together, so he knew where I was and what I was doing. Yet, he had the most startling accusation—he said I worked too many hours, so that meant I was cheating on him. I dumped him.

Kariered

18. Too Close For Comfort

woman in gray tank topPhoto by Gustavo Lanes on Unsplash

I was dating someone from work. He told me that another co-worker saw me “hugging and kissing a guy.” The third-hand description of the guy sounded like my dad who lived down the street, and he had visited me one day when I worked. In our culture, we greet each other with a hug and a kiss, and everyone knew he lived down the street. But there's more.

There was also a woman who worked with us that looked just like me from behind. We dressed alike too. But nope, he said I was “definitely cheating” because a co-worker saw me from behind hugging a guy. He did me a favor and made me realize that he and the work environment I was in were horrible.

thallomys

19. Where’s The Love

When I came back from college on the weekend to visit my girlfriend, she found a thong in my backseat that was obviously not her size. I just laughed and explained that my roommate’s sister visited, and I dropped her at the airport on my way back. It must have fallen out of her bag. She didn’t buy it but didn’t end us. Little did I know that she was the one up to no good.

The next time I stopped by her house, nobody was there. Her car was not there, her lights were off, and nobody answered the door. Then I called her cell phone, and she insisted that she was in her room watching TV and her car was in the driveway. I told her I was sitting in her empty driveway and looking at her window.

MyNameIsRay

20. Uncovering The Truth

I shaved my head, which my girlfriend thought made me look irresistible. You would think that's a good thing, but in her eyes, it wasn't—apparently, I did it because I was cheating and to score with other women. That's when I realized a dark truth—I found out that she only convinced me to grow my hair out to make me less attractive and help her anxiety. I hated my hair, which is why I shaved it.

But that's not even the worst part. I later found out that she cheated on me, and she'd done it with some random hitchhiker. I found his cheap sunglasses that she kept as a memento. She also had another guy on the side who bragged about how high school girls were “always barking up his tree.” He was an IT guy in his 20s. I knew all this about him because she’d introduced us…after they started hooking up!

FelDreamer

21. Brace Yourself

woman in white long sleeve shirt wearing silver and green beaded braceletPhoto by Max Ducourneau on Unsplash

After dating for a while, my girlfriend moved in with me. My sister came to let our dogs out when we were both at work. Without telling me, she put a broken bracelet on my nightstand so I could fix it for her. She thought I’d know just by seeing it. So, I got home from work and went to the basement to play video games.

When my girlfriend came home, she went to change into comfy clothes. Suddenly, I heard her yelling—and I knew it was about to go down. She came downstairs, showed me the bracelet, and I told her I didn’t know whose it was, forgetting that my sister had left it there just earlier. We got into a heated argument, and at one point she even started throwing things at me.

Eventually, my girlfriend went to her sister’s to cool off. I went back to my video games, confused about what had just happened. Then I remembered. I called my sister on the off chance that she’d left it. We laughed, and she called my girlfriend to explain. She came back home, and we laughed more.

Blue_OG_46

22. In-Furry-ating

I was home after being gone for a month on a business trip. I sat on the floor to pet our dog. Then, I got up to find my wife of two years. We hugged, kissed, and then she pulled back. Her next move took me completely aback–She took a long blonde hair off my suit jacket and I could see the anger blooming. When she started yelling, I pointed to our dog.

Cbelt3

23. Message Received

I’ve been working at restaurants and bars since I was 18. It was easy to meet a lot of people, so hooking up was common. In college, I started dating a girl I really liked. I saw a potential future with her, and she knew I wasn’t hooking up with anyone anymore. One month, life got busy, and we stopped being intimate. I was stressed and angry about it.

Once we were finally able to meet, I got a message on my phone alerting me of some shocking news— a recent partner of mine had apparently tested positive for STDs and I was being advised to get tested. By then, we had been together for almost a year. When she read the message, she freaked out, screamed at me, and broke up with me on the spot.

I didn’t even get a chance to explain. Three months later, I was catching up with my high school sweetheart and telling her about it. She laughed and apologized. She’d entered my name on a site that sent anonymous messages to ex-partners of potential STDs. By then, my ex had already moved on, so it was too late for me.

respectable_cook2

24. Asleep Accusations

a man with a beardPhoto by Lance Reis on Unsplash

My ex was a super jealous marine. One time, his best friend came out to visit and we very much hit it off. He was really smart and a reader, and we discussed deep social and philosophical issues. My ex took four-hour naps in the middle of the day and was napping as per usual. His friend and I hung out and talked while he slept.

At this time, I was nine months pregnant. But after he woke up, his face was red with rage—he was convinced that we had hooked up. He had no evidence other than the fact that we had an opportunity and we must have taken it. Well, his friend and I laughed it off because we thought he was joking. Nope. For the rest of our marriage, he was convinced that we were having an affair.

LowThreadCountSheets

25. Thin Reasoning

I was dating a girl who I really liked for six months. She had mood swings, but sometimes I thought that she was just testing me to see how I would react. Once, she asked to borrow my vacuum cleaner, and I lent it to her. When she came back with it, her next move took me completely off-guard—she literally threw it through my window. Incredulously, I asked her why she did that.

She told me that she found a strand of blonde hair in the bag that was too long to be mine. We broke up. Three months later, I bumped into her with a friend who was blonde. I asked how long they’d known each other. They said for their whole lives. I turned to my ex and said, “I guess you found your blonde hair,” and walked away.

WolfThick

26. Eating Image

I was at work and my wife called. She told me that someone who knew me told someone who knew her that the previous Wednesday, I was seen having lunch with a beautiful young woman. I allegedly fawned all over this woman, and as we left, I kissed her and told her I loved her. Then we got into separate cars and drove away.

My wife was enraged. I was dumbfounded. There was no way I did this, but I didn’t know how to prove something that never happened. I was miserable the rest of the day. But just before leaving work, I came up with a genius way to prove my innocence—I called my wife and I came clean. Then, I asked her what she did for lunch that day.

Turns out, it was her who I had met for lunch. Let me tell you, her reaction was priceless. It was one of those rare times in our marriage when, for about two weeks, I was treated like a god.

Kelson64

27. Uh, Uh, Girlfriend

person holding blue Sony PS4 Dualshock 4 cPhoto by Florian Gagnepain on Unsplash

An ex-co-worker and I became pretty good work friends. We’re video game nerds, so I texted him about it after work hours. Then, I found out his wife was the super jealous type. First, she accused him of cheating on her with me, but then she took her paranoia to the next level—she came to the office once just to look at me. It was so weird.

The next day, he told me they’d fought because apparently, I had slept with him. They fought so much about me that I stopped texting him after work hours; and during work hours, I only texted him about work. It got to the point where context didn’t matter–she was mad just at the mere fact that I was texting him. I tried to be friends with her to help ease her suspicions.

It didn't help. I didn't do anything wrong. He didn't do anything wrong. She’s just had major trust issues and always been that way, so he doesn't have many friends. He wanted to divorce her but stayed for the children.

Thatgrrrl117

28. Constantly Catastrophic

I had a rocky relationship with a girl who I dated in high school. We began our relationship after she cheated on her boyfriend with me. She didn’t have a good home life and she needed a lot from me. My mental health and grades plummeted because of this. Whenever I tried to focus on myself, she projected. Nothing was ever enough for her.

At all times, I had to tell her who I was with, where I was going, and for how long, or else she freaked out. She eventually accused me of cheating, but I had a rock-solid defense—I had a condition that gave me seizures, so I couldn’t even drive around to get lucky. We still broke up, and she spread a rumor that I’d been taking advantage of her. She also slept with two guys behind my back.

Apprehensive-Try-994

29. Choices, Choices, Choices

I’d been friends with Mike for years before he met Sally. She was jealous and didn’t like any time he hung out with any woman, even if she was there. He loved her, so didn’t set boundaries. Once, Mike was redecorating, so he invited me shopping so he could use my discount card. We went to the store, he chose new furniture, and then he dropped me off. When he got home, Sally accused him of cheating with me.

Another time, I invited Mike to my work event. My company was holding a snowboarding day for employees and their guests. We hit the slopes together each winter, which was why I asked him to be my guest. We drove up, spent the day on the slopes, and then he dropped me at home. That night, she blew things up to gargantuan proportions. Yelling and curse words aside, she told him she wasn’t comfortable with him being alone with me.

Then a few weeks later, Mike and I met up for a sports event when my husband was on a work trip. We attended, then we went our separate ways. When he got home, Sally gave him an ultimatum because she said she had evidence of us having an affair. Mike and my husband were best friends and they always talked, so this was doubtful. She pointed to the texts about my discount card, the free snowboarding day, and the sports event.

The time we spent hanging out and texting each other was apparently evidence that we were cheating. She told him that it was either her or me. Our friendship stopped existing after that.

sirmegsalot

30. Washed Up

woman in white shirt wearing silver necklacePhoto by Amanda Hortiz on Unsplash

My husband’s therapist recommended he stop drinking for his mental health, but he didn't listen. He told everyone that he was sober, but I could see straight through his lie. Anyway, at one point, his ankle gave out and he ended up breaking our glass shower. He needed to get surgery on it, which sucked because he already had two surgeries on his ankle when he was a marine.

I brought him to the hospital where we spent the night. Later, when we came home, I started cleaning around the house and I found a necklace I didn't recognize. When I confronted him about it, his reaction made my blood boil—he accused me of putting it there and he denied cheating on me. I believed him and continued to be a good wife. I treated his many stitches on his back, butt, arms, and legs while working over 50 hours a week.

Two months later, I found out who owned the necklace—some girl was wearing it in a racy photo that was on his phone. I immediately left.

terrifiedofgolfcarts

31. Not A Big Deal

I used to come home after a 10-hour shift plus two hours of commute. In his eyes, being gone for half of the day of course meant that I was cheating on him. He would start accusing me if I was even just a couple of minutes late and hadn’t texted him ahead of time. If I didn’t say “I love you” enough times a day, he’d break down and start crying.

I broke up with him after I made a shocking discovery—he had tested positive for an STD, according to the test results I found in crumpled up in the trash. The first thing he told me when I got to the hospital was that he didn’t cheat. I then got tested and I didn’t have an STD; but at that point, we hadn’t been sleeping together much because I was in pain from what I know now as my autoimmune disease that he never believed I had.

On the few days that I wasn’t in pain, he’d beg and cry for us to do it, which turned me off instantly. But the cherry on top of it all? He wrote a break-up letter to me and referred to me as "J" in the entire thing. My name doesn’t start with a J...but his best friend’s name did.

doej0

32. The Truth Bro-Hold

My ex-husband left me after his friend told him that I was coming on to him and offered to sleep with him. It was far from the truth–I did not even like the guy, which I was I think he did it. Years later, after our son was born, my ex told me that two years after our divorce, he knew that his friend was lying to him.

happyhappy2986

33. Step One, Two, Three

woman in white sleeveless dress kissing man in blue dress shirtPhoto by Long Truong on Unsplash

I’m a teacher and I like to be super involved in school events, so I volunteered to chaperone the prom. My wife always joked that I had no proof of going to school functions and that I probably had a secret family. Prom went on pretty late, and I was there making sure the parking lot cleared and everyone got home safe. Then I got a text.

One of the students who’d been at the dance was in a panic because she’d taken off her designer stilettos and forgotten them. She asked if I could look for them then bring them to school on Monday because she didn’t know what the venue would do with them. I found them easily enough–they were huge, sparkly, and gaudy.

I tossed them onto the passenger seat of my car and forgot about them when I got home. My wife asked me the next morning to borrow my car phone charger. I said yes and then passed her the keys. Less than a minute later, she came back in freaking out about the stilettos. I laughed and showed her the message on my phone.

ThePhiff

34. Multiple Suspects

My girlfriend and I rented a place together where I’d stay on the weekends because I worked miles away. During the week, I shared an apartment with my co-workers. One weekend, she found a pair of undies that did not belong to her. I told her the only explanation could be that they belonged to my roommate’s girlfriend.

I called him and described the undies. His girlfriend said they weren’t hers but she’d say they were if I wanted her to. I thanked them but I told my girlfriend the truth—I didn’t know where they came from. That was it. Upset, she tried getting a confession, but I had nothing to say. So, she ignored me for a few days...but she would soon laugh about the whole situation.

The truth eventually came out. Her friend had stayed over and dropped her underwear in our laundry bin and forgotten. She’d called a couple of weeks later asking about them.

ralmeida

35. Jumping Through Hoops

When I was in college, I had a boyfriend from “back home” who lived about an hour away. He didn’t like me going to college and he was always suspicious of who I was with. I always invited him down to the campus, but he never wanted to come. This resulted in me spending every weekend driving an hour north to stay with him.

On Halloween weekend, he finally agreed to come down to see me. My friends wanted to go to this party and I was invited. I think he didn’t want me to go, so I figured I would just bring him along with me. I was staying at a friend’s house as a temporary living situation, and the entrance to her duplex was very hard to see.

I told my boyfriend to call me when he was close so I could walk out to the street to direct him down the driveway. He texted me to say he was approaching, and I waited for the call but I never got one. Finally, I went outside, and my stomach dropped. I had terrible cell service in this area, so as soon as I did, I saw five missed calls from him.

Listening to his angry voicemails, he’d called because he couldn’t find the house where I was staying. I walked to the street then called him back. Immediately, he said that he had “heard everything I said” and that he “couldn’t believe I would do this.” I had no idea what he was talking about. I saw his car turn a block away.

I started waving my arms to get his attention while asking him on the phone what he was talking about. He told me the first house where he parked was having a gathering in their backyard behind a fence. He swore he could hear my voice telling some guy how I “hated my boyfriend but couldn’t think of a way to dump him.”

He said he even heard people addressing me by name. I was stunned and tried to reason that it did not make sense as he’d watched me walk out of the house to get his attention. It would’ve been impossible for me to have been there and then appear 30 seconds later at the actual house. But his lofty accusations didn't end there.

He then said I must have hopped over the fence and ran up the street to call him back. I didn’t know what to say as the claim was so ridiculous and physically impossible. We spent the entire night fighting, and he screamed at me so loudly that I broke down and cried so hard that I threw up. I stayed with him for six more months.

stoned_fox

36. Photographic Evidence

pumpkin -head Scarecrow decorPhoto by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

On Halloween night, I sent the guy I was seeing a picture of me and my openly gay friend who he had met on multiple occasions. He immediately got all sulky and quiet, then he proceeded to ghost me. I tried texting him over the next week trying to understand what happened but then realized it wasn’t worth trying to save us.

I ended up getting him on the phone about a week after. The call was civil but felt quite awkward. After a few minutes of small talk, I brought it up and asked what happened. His response shook me to my core. He said, “Well, you cheated on me. You literally sent me a picture of it.” I couldn't help but laugh. I explained to him that was my gay friend.

But he refused to believe me. I even texted my friend to ask if he remembered taking a selfie with me, and he said he did. I sent the conversation to the guy and only then did he believe me. I continued the conversation with my friend, and he told me he saw my ex hook up with another girl at another party the next day.

lophile

37. The Only Way

I went from a part-time position to full-time, and my income increased drastically. I had over 15 years of experience in my field, so it was justified...except to the guy I was seeing. To him, a pay raise meant that I was sleeping with someone because an assistant could never become a director without some kind of seductive means.

He brought up how I worked long hours when I was doing overtime when my colleague got sick. And the fact that I refused to break up all my friendships to only spend my time with him meant that I was sleeping with them or else I wouldn’t mind excluding them from my life. Ridiculous. Once, I had a six-hour choir rehearsal.

He knew about it in advance, and I sent him pictures of all of the cakes people brought for a break. But after, I couldn’t reply to him, and rehearsals lasted for hours. He instantly lost it. Apparently, my lack of replies meant that I was somewhere else sleeping with someone. Anything I did was cheating in his eyes—grocery shopping, seeing friends, going to parties.

After breaking up with him, I found out that he was projecting. He even planned to visit a festival with his sidepiece and me at the same time. I am still baffled how he would have tried to avoid her without me noticing. The two of us became friends after having an interesting conversation. That upset him the most.

feralheartHH

38. A Piece Of Work

I was in a group project for college with four guys. Everything was going fine, but one guy suddenly stopped messaging us back in our group chat two days before the project deadline. So, I messaged him privately to ask if he was getting our messages and sent some information from our project. It was all school-related.

All of a sudden, I got a startling message from his wife. She said I “should never be talking to a married man,” and she wanted to call me to “talk it out.” I just didn’t respond to her. She then removed me from the group chat, so I had to send the other three guys the messages so they could know what was happening and add me back.

When I was added back to the group chat, I just said, “Moving forward I will only communicate through this group chat. At this point, I want to just get the project done and will be putting 100% effort into it and expect everyone else to do the same.” I don’t even date men.

icedcoffeefs

39. Working It Out

five pairs of socks pinned on clotheslinePhoto by Christian Fickinger on Unsplash

Once, a co-worker sent me a text after we hung out with our kids. It said something about how I’d left the "monster sock" at her house. My ex assumed this was slang for something dirty—but the reality was far from that. It was actually my two-year-old’s sock with a cartoon monster on. She wasn’t having it. A few months later, the same co-worker and I were out of state for work.

I’d hidden the fact that the co-worker was also going because I was tired of being accused of being a cheater when I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was a just sign of our broken marriage. During the trip, about 20 of us went to dinner together. Someone took a picture, and I just so happened to be sitting next to the co-worker.

We were in the same division, which was how we were seated at the restaurant. Later that night, the co-worker had a breakdown at the bar because she said she missed her kids and was dealing with custody issues. She also drank a bit too much. Another co-worker and I called for a ride and took her back to sleep it off. First, she got car sick. Things started to spiral from there.

I threw her my jacket, into which she immediately vomited. I had to literally fireman carry this woman back and drop her off with our other female coworkers to make sure she got to bed without issues. My ex, again, didn’t want to hear it. The picture alone was the obvious proof she needed to believe I had, “cheated again.”

My ex caused such a mess for me at my work that I ended up turning down over $100,000 in bonuses to stay with her longer. She even went as far as to call all of my superiors to inform them that I was having an affair with that co-worker and that she had proof. She had railroaded my career as my superiors didn’t want the drama.

She also gave me the ultimatum: the job and divorce, or leave my job to “do the right thing for my family.” She told me she would seek full custody and move with the children. My job wasn’t very family-friendly, so I left the job and moved with her back across the country to try and make things work for my kids’ sake.

FCMB

40. The Night Is Young

When I was 23, I had plans to sleep at my partner’s place on Christmas Eve to spend time with her and her daughter. Prior to leaving my house to go there, the 12-year-old sister of my friend was texting me about a drawing she had made from an anime we both enjoyed. When I got to the house, I ignored my phone for the rest of the night.

I got up in the morning, and while my girl made breakfast, I checked my phone to go through all of the Christmas messages. She looked over my shoulder many times, saw me messaging the younger sister back, and jumped to the worst conclusion without context. I set my phone down to talk...but that was the wrong move.

To her, it looked shady. However, she looked the sister up on social media and apparently refused to take the age and family connection of my best friend into account. That relationship didn't work out in the end.

apexassassin247

41. Hat Trick

We had opposite work schedules–he worked overnight, and I worked during the day. Once while I was working, he sent me a picture of a hat asking me whose it was. I told him that I didn’t know and asked if it was his because he had so many. He sent back a snarky "no" and more questions while I was supposed to be working.

So, I sent the picture to my family since we’d had them over recently. No one claimed it. He’d found the hat in between our dog’s crate and the wall, which was odd. When I got home, it was bugging me because I had no idea whose it could be. I even sent a text to his mom asking if it could be her hat. Her reply was the key to my innocence.

It was her boyfriend’s. After she told me, she called my husband and let him have it for accusing me of bringing someone into our home while he was at work. He came home early from work with flowers and apologized profusely.

xo_Mia-Clare_xx

42. Third Strike

woman in black long sleeve shirt standing near brown wooden shelfPhoto by Kelvin Han on Unsplash

I worked with a small group in a warehouse where we just talked all day. Every so often, I’d be talking with my girlfriend and I'd remember something a female co-worker told me. I wasn’t always bringing her up–it only happened a few times. But once, when my girlfriend and I were talking about lightning, I mentioned her again.

She’d said that lightning can make glass out of the sand if it hits the beach. My girlfriend freaked out and said that she’d told me that. I suggested that she might have told me over the years, but I didn’t remember and my co-worker had just mentioned it the other day. My girlfriend then took things to the next level—she accused me of cheating with my co-worker.

I told her that was ridiculous and if she accused me again, I’d break up with her. She did apologize to me later, but that relationship didn’t end well.

GimmeDatSideHug

43. Where Oh Where

I had an app that shared my location with my friends. I worked nights as a first responder, so I went to bed around 8 pm and I usually knocked out hard after a shift. It was a normal day–I went home, showered, texted my girl for a little, then fell asleep. My girlfriend was on the app and saw I was at a different address when I said I was going to sleep.

She called me when she knew I’d wake up, which she never did, and asked what I was doing at the other address. Confused, I asked her what she was talking about. She told me about my location on the map. That's when I shut her down so hard. My phone had probably pinged a tower further from my house and placed my location a mile away.

I wore a fitness tracker that showed that I went to sleep at the time I said I did and located me at my address. I still bring it up once in a while just to mess with her.

Throw-me-in-daTrash

44. Technically Mistaken

When we were first married, my wife and I got home from work around the same time. One evening, she came home earlier than me and found our home computer on without a screensaver. So, she assumed I had come home and just gone out again. She called and I told her I was running late at work and would be home in an hour.

When I got home, I couldn't believe how she reacted. She yelled at me for some time, calling me a liar and a cheat. While she did, she saw that the computer screen was still on even though it hadn’t been touched in over ten minutes. I had set up a game update before work, which froze the computer. It took a while for her to believe me though.

Aescorvo

45. What Goes Around

woman whispering on woman's ear while hands on lipsPhoto by Ben White on Unsplash

A good friend of mine informed me that my wife was having an affair with a guy from her work. His proof was that my wife, who was his wife's best friend, had told her "in confidence" that she was seeing this guy at work. I then did something I swore I'd never do—I took a look at her phone messages where I saw a whole bunch of messages between her and another friend from her work discussing the entire thing.

I confronted her and she explained how it was actually a "test" for the first friend as she suspected that she was gossiping about her to my wife's ex-husband (and the father of her child). She just neglected to tell me about her "genius" plan that she cooked up. Turns out, her friend was gossiping about her; but the problem was that now this "fake" secret actually made its way around town.

I had a conversation with the alleged affair guy and told him he better tell his wife outright that this had happened. The dumb “test” nearly cost two marriages and ended our friendship with them. I looked at my wife in a completely different light, but she didn’t see any problem with what she had done. She blamed her friend for telling her husband in the first place. We’re no longer together.

Djinjja-Ninja

46. All In Your Head

My husband had been behaving strangely for some time. My social life has always only been online, and most of my friends are men. It started with him worrying about me possibly having feelings for my friends because I’d smile at my phone whenever I was talking to them. I was suddenly defending myself almost full-time.

It seemed my new job in life was to constantly reassure him. And it got even worse—he was coming home early from work or lying about his shifts so he could come home hoping to “catch me in the act.” His behavior was never abusive in any way, but his paranoia definitely caused a massive rift in our relationship.

It was to the point where I was so tired of always having him look over my shoulder and checking on me when I wasn’t home that I was getting ready to leave him. I told him that straight up, and he asked me to stay, promising he'd seek help. He booked a marriage counselor who we saw for a year and a physician for a psychiatrist referral.

The doctor sent him for blood tests that showed a severe b12 deficiency, which caused extreme paranoia. True to his word, my husband worked on himself. He saw a therapist, we went to counseling together, and he took b12 supplements and anti-anxiety medication. I fell in love with him again and decided I wanted to stay.

VeryAwkwardLadyBoner

47. What’s The Game

My ex accused me of cheating with his best friend. I’d never been a cheater and I hate cheaters. He already knew that, so it was out of nowhere. Meanwhile, this stranger online was bothering me. He texted me constantly what I wore and did, came and messed with my house, threatened to hurt me, and even tried to blackmail me.

I didn’t give in. But then, things took a turn for the worst—the stranger got naughty pictures of my best friend, and he sent them to me from a fake account. The stranger said if I didn’t send naughty pictures, he’d post my friend’s pictures online...and he did. Officers got involved and figured out it was my boyfriend behind it all.

I also learned that he was cheating on me with multiple girls. I did break up with him for the online harassment. I regret staying for too long, but he’d threatened to hurt himself if I left him.

Sea-Nectarine-1522

48. That’s Not Ice

women's white crew-neck t-shirtPhoto by Katie Smetherman on Unsplash

He thought I was cheating on him at my job with no one in particular. I was not. It escalated quickly from accusations to texts every half hour, and if I didn’t answer them, he'd immediately get upset. He knew I worked at an ice cream shop in a busy mall and he showed up to sit in the food court to watch me for my whole shift.

When I confronted him, his response was absolutely ridiculous. He defended himself telling me that the mall was a public place where he was allowed to be. I then decided to break up with him. I don't know what his side was; I don't care, and I was not dealing with that nonsense. He then texted me all the lyrics to a breakup song. I blocked his number.

t12aq

49. Together And Apart

I went on a few dates with this girl in my archery class. Things were going well, and I asked her to be my girlfriend. She agreed. Well, a week later, we were at breakfast when she straight up burst into tears and went outside. I followed her to talk, and she revealed her well-kept secret—she wasn’t completely over her last relationship.

She wanted to keep dating me but couldn’t handle a full relationship. I liked her and wanted to keep seeing her so agreed. Everything was fine until a few weeks later when my ex called to hang out. We had dinner and ended up back at her place where things started to get physical. I told her about the girl I was dating.

My ex told me it was fine. She was single and wanted to have a night of fun not get back together. So, we had fun. This got around to the girl who I was dating who went off on me about being a cheater. I was confused because I didn’t know what she’d meant then about not being my girlfriend or in a relationship with me.

I had already accepted that she was still being physical with her ex, and we hadn’t even done anything more than make out a few times.

03throwaway03

50. Picture Perfect

I was looking for something on his computer and I ran into a mysterious folder. When I read the name, I was shocked—he had named it "Bedroom Shots." I was furious because I knew that he had not taken any bedroom shots of me (we weren't freaky like that). Of course, I opened the file...and I immediately rolled my eyes. It was pictures of our bedroom that I had taken when I was redecorating.

aeraen

51. Getting Fruity

woman holding stomachPhoto by freestocks on Unsplash

I was eight months pregnant and I got some blisters on my lip. I also developed a really noticeable rash on my chin. My husband and I went to get it checked and the urgent care doctor thought they were cold sores. It seemed like a common problem, but my husband immediately became furious. I have never had cold sores, nor has he, so he automatically assumed that I must have been sucking face with somebody who did.

This turned into a situation where I became very upset because I was eight months pregnant. I was not thinking about any kind of intimacy and definitely not with anyone but my husband. My test ended up coming back negative for herpes. The doctor said that I was allergic to the mangoes that I’d shoved my face in a few days before.

pinkmatador