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Honest People Reveal The Worst Gifts They've Ever Received

Honest People Reveal The Worst Gifts They've Ever Received

Honest People Reveal The Worst Gifts They've Ever Received

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Gift-giving is a high art form - and some people JUST are not artists. Have you ever gotten a gift so bad that it was actually uncomfortable receiving it? I once got an expired bag of chips so old that the company had changed packaging by the time the chips got to me. I have no answers. We sort of continued on with life never speaking of the vintage chip incident again.

One Reddit user asked:

What is the worst gift you got ever?

Fish Dinner

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A new aquarium heater that was defective and "cooked" the fish.

Storytime

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Not me but my wife. She makes a special point of giving a woman friend of hers special attention every year - buys her a nice gift - takes her out to dinner - celebrates her.

This past year, when wife's b-day roles around, her friend calls up to tell her she's got a very special b-day gift for her.

Wife was very curious and could hardly wait for the 'surprise'.

When they finally got together her friend says: "Here it is! I'm going to tell you all about my recent trip to Oregon to see the eclipse!" (a story she'd been telling anyone who'd listen for weeks.).

My wife was floored. Such a gift! Oh myyy!

Mighty Morphing Inside Edition

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I got the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers the Movie, on VHS used. This was three years ago from an aunt who I've only met twice in my life and has never sent me anything. Worst part was, I went out of my way to get a VHS player to watch the movie and half way through, it was taped over with episodes of Inside Edition.

I was 27 at the time I got this gift. I have seen the movie. I don't remember the episode of inside edition but if I remember correctly, there wasn't anything significant about the episode. I've tried to contact my aunt but she is constantly on the move. None of my family knows why she never stays in one place but I do know that she use to be one of those people that would hit flea markets and yard sales all the time. So my guess is she got the movie at a sale. But for the life of me, I don't know why she sent it to me. One other thing I remember too was when I open the package, there was one of those American Greeting Cards on the top of it. Not folded or anything. And it said "Congrats Grad!!!" or something similar. At that time, I was already out of college for 5 years so I have no idea what it was for. Nevertheless it's a gift I'll always remember. So there's that.

Thanks Mom

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On my birthday my Sophomore year of High School, my Mother pulled up as I was walking home from the bus (at my father's house) and handed me an envelope, said "Happy Birthday" and drove off. Inside the envelope was a letter that stated that she never wanted to see me again. There was also $50 though, so that was a nice thought.

Broken Crayons

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My Aunt sent me a coloring book and a package of crayons for my 19th birthday.

The coloring book was half completed and the crayons were broken in half.

I have no idea what it meant.

My First Meth Lab

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Got a chemistry set for a birthday or something when I was a kid. Used it once, then it "mysteriously" disappeared and I never knew what happened to it even though I would want to use my present. A few months later (a few weeks before Christmas) police and CPS knocked on the door. Turns out, ex-step-father was manufacturing meth and the police had been tracking his activities for months. Got taken to a foster "home", and didn't see any of my stuff ever again.

Worst. Present. Ever. 0/10 would do again.

All In The Family

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A calendar with pictures of my cousin in a swimsuit.

My cousin is a professional cheerleader, and they do calendar shoots. My family is overly proud of her for this, but she deserves it as she worked really hard to get there, and like to flaunt it at pretty much any point they can. I think it was two years ago, but my grandma gave me a calendar of one of the shoots.

It's the only time I've been audibly against receiving a gift, and most of my family did not understand why I didn't think it was a good gift.

Forest Friend

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My friend gave me a live squirrel. I didn't know what to do with it and released back into the forest.

Christmas Miracle

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My boyfriend at the time deleted his other dating profiles. That was my Christmas gift.

Kevin In Quebec

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One of them "instead of buying you a gift we have sponsored a donkey called Kevin in Quebec. They will send you regular letters from Kevin with his hoof print and what he is up to. Kevin loves you" things.

"I'll Throw It Out For You"

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An inflatable neck massager covered in cat hair, and a dirty travel mug (the lid was fused on with old smelly coffee)

I was at a friend's house while her parents had friends over for a Christmas party. they were doing one of those white elephant exchange things. Her parents got us to join, and that's what I ended up with.

My friend's mom came up to me afterwards and said "just act like you forgot it, I'll throw it out for you after everyone leaves"

Wii

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Well I though getting a Wii was a great present ... until my dad got obsessed with Twilight Princess and would stay in my room until 1 am playing it every night. I had the worst time sleeping. I don't know why I didn't just move the system. I was in the 3rd grade.

Battery Powered Shirt

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My stepsister is 10 years older than me, and I think she is slightly out of touch with what gifts someone my age would enjoy.

One year she got me a hot pink t-shirt with a picture of a guitar on it that said "Rocker Gurl". The best part is that is came with a battery pack because the guitar would light up and play a song. I was 16/17 at the time and never once wore it.

A Jewelry Box Of Spite

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When I was 21 my mum wanted a new jewelry box. She asked if I wanted a new jewelry box. I said no, because I don't wear jewelry. She bought "me" a huge wooden jewelry box for Christmas and then threw in "if you don't want it, I'll have it" when I said "we already talked about this".

I took it because she always does this and I wanted to screw her out of the thing she clearly bought for herself. I never used it, and donated it 2 years later.

The Reminder

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My incredibly weathly uncle gave me the world's most hideous, pink fabric bag for my high school graduation. I tried to be polite about it because it was nice that he had gotten me something even if it wasn't in my taste.

But he couldn't help but brag about how he had purchased it from a blind street seller in India and that he had haggled the woman down from fifteen dollars to five. He made a great big show of explaining that he had just yelled louder and louder at the poor woman until, I assume, she gave him the bag so cheaply out of fear.

The gift itself wasn't so bad, but it was a constant reminder of just how horrible some people in the world are and that sadly I have to be related to some of them.

Baby Clothes, No Baby

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My friend once dropped off 8 garbage bags of various sized girls clothes because she was having a clean out...

It was 8 weeks after I'd miscarried. She knew about the miscarriage.

Portrait

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My uncle gave me a framed portrait of himself for Christmas

You Sure Can

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An evangelical Christian stand-up comedy dvd. The gift giver said "I hear this one is really good. Can I borrow it when you're done with it?"

I said "You sure can!" and handed it back.

H/T: Reddit

(c) Oh Myyy LLC

Two identical goats stare into the camera while standing in a field.
Photo by Jørgen Håland

When discussing love and relationships, the motto is usually less is more.

But what if there is more of one partner?

Being involved with identical twins can be quite the experience.

Can you really tell them apart?

Is everything identical?

If you're attracted to one, aren't you automatically attracted to the other?

So many questions.

Now we need some answers.

Redditor nicknamesofdaveryder wanted to hear about love and the twin experience, so they asked:

"Redditors who married someone with an identical twin sibling, why are you glad you're not with the other twin instead?"

I've never met a lot of twins, let alone gotten involved with a pair.

I have questions.

Hopefully I get some answers.

Saved

Comedy Central Wink GIF by Drunk HistoryGiphy

"My late husband's twin was a non-functioning alcoholic and my husband wasn’t. My husband says joining the navy was what saved him from going down that road."

iteachag5

Falling Asleep

"Story time! I am an identical twin (we still look so much alike!) and one night I spent the night at her house. She and I fell asleep in the same bed because we were up late talking, etc. Her husband slept on the couch. The next morning my twin went to take a shower and her husband laid down on the bed with me (thinking it was her of course). I jokingly said 'Hey sailor, looking for a little variety?' He shot off the bed and said 'If I was looking for variety, do you think I'd choose you??'"

tanyagal2

The Good Guy And The Other One

"I didn't marry him but I dated an identical twin. His twin's girlfriend and I used to joke around that she got the evil twin. He was just a selfish, messed-up person. One of the benefits of breaking up with my boyfriend was no longer having his twin in my life. Plus, his ex gf and I are still great friends! The good guy was just the lesser evil. She wanted to get as far away from that family as I did. The best thing to come out of those relationships was our friendship."

super-ro

Love Wins

"My dad's an identical twin. People have a hard time distinguishing them, but to my mom and me, they look like two completely different people because of the way they walk/talk/etc. Obviously, my mom only fell in love with this one person. When you love someone it's actually pretty easy to tell identical twins apart."

michaelsgavin

Issues

Threaten Ashley Olsen GIFGiphy

"The other twin has the same personality as I do. We argue readily and are super competitive with each other. We butt heads on a lot of issues."

why_not_send_a_nude

Personality clashes aren't just a twin thing.

It's a human thing.

We can't help ourselves.

Different People

Triplets GIF by RuPaul's Drag RaceGiphy

"I work with a guy who married an identical triplet, one of the triplets also works with us. I asked him one day if it was weird working with someone who looked just like his wife. He got a little pissed and basically said they are all very different people and he doesn't see much of his wife in her."

LeafMeAlone_99

He's Evil

"We’re not married but known each other since we were 12 and have been together 3 and a half years. His twin is a massive di**head who tried to break us up multiple times, was madly in love with me in his own words, and after 2 years of pursuing me declared I was a terrible person and put him through hell. Because I didn’t break up with his TWIN BROTHER to date him."

xMollyP

Life Choices

"My husband and his twin brother look very different to me, although they are identical and get mistaken for one another all the time. They couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. They have different values and life goals, hobbies, one is introverted and the other is extroverted. If they were two people who didn’t look alike, I would automatically not be attracted to my brother-in-law simply because we are not remotely compatible personality-wise."

"Also they have very different styles. I do not find the way my husband’s twin dresses/grooms his hair attractive. It’s so wild to me when people can’t tell them apart because they couldn’t be more different in my eyes."

lanieeeeeeee

Opposites

"Well, my wife and I have been together for 30 years. She has a 'mirror' twin. Even now, if you don’t know them well or interact frequently you will not be able to tell them apart. They are complete opposites. I married the extrovert, she has never met a stranger, will try anything at least once, and can find a positive aspect in almost everything she encounters, they are also best friends, my wife drags her sister along all the time."

"Once she’s out she enjoys our activities. I love my SIL, all three of them, but so glad I married the one like me. The mirror part even goes for looks, when I see my wife’s reflection I see my SIL, it’s weird sometimes. Also, attitude and personality are everything, I have never been 'attracted' to her twin."

redbonecouchhound

The Look

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"I used to date an identical twin. Although I found his brother objectively handsome, I wasn't attracted to him at all. It was cool to directly experience how attraction goes far beyond just the looks."

Liatessa

I've never been intrigued by twins, and now I never will be.

confused man in blue t-shirt

Sander Sammy on Unsplash

My Father was considered a genius.

At 16 he graduated high school as Valedictorian, joined the United States Navy as soon as he turned 17 then was promptly recruited by Admiral Hyman Rickover's team converting the Navy from diesel to nuclear power.

He served as a nuclear and electrical engineer on naval vessels after the conversion project ended, then as a reactor inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after retiring from the Navy.

He also needed a full time babysitter in order to survive. Things like paying bills, buying groceries, feeding himself all escaped him. He lacked any semblance of common sense.

Really smart people doing very unsmart things isn't uncommon.

And sometimes a person is labeled a genius who's really an idiot with good brand marketing.

Keep reading...Show less

Corporations don't get big overnight.

A lot of tough decisions, big wins, and sometimes even bigger losses, go into their growth.

But sometimes companies make mistakes that the public simply cannot let slide, and it can be hard to imagine how the company could stay afloat after the backlash.

Redditor Astro_Shogun asked:

"What decision by a company received the most amount of backlash from the public?"

Dang It, Photobucket

"When Photobucket decided to take the whole internet hostage by asking for 400 dollars a year for what was previously a free image storage solution. The move broke years of forum posting and erased a significant portion of the web collective knowledge."

- denpo

"Yup. And now they're holding almost all of my son's childhood photos (some of which I managed to save in other places) hostage."

- KnockMeYourLobes

"Browse any forum thread from the early 2000s and practically all the images are gone because everyone used Photobucket back then. It will be the same way with Reddit whenever Imgur goes under."

- NothingOld7527

So Salesy

"JCPenny doing away with sales and trying to present itself as a more upscale store. Sales immediately plummeted, and they reversed course quickly."

- flyingcircusdog

Cheap Jewelry

"Gerald Ratner said the reason his jewelry company could sell stuff so cheap was because the products were crap. It destroyed the company overnight."

- simplemtbman

Front Wheel Drive

"Ford, in the '80s, tried to replace the aging Fox body Mustang with a front-wheel drive, Mazda-based car. This was pre-internet, but car people got UPSET and deluged Ford with a letter expressing their anger."

"Ford backtracked, kept the Fox body around, and released the vehicle that was going to be the new Mustang as the Probe. It lasted two generations, but the Mustang soldiers on."

- StillN0tATony

Online Only

"Microsoft got roasted when they announced Kinect and always-online were required for the Xbox One. Took all the momentum they had from the 360 era and put them miles behind Sony."

- Jerry_Williams89

Childhood: Destroyed

"Sonic having human teeth."

- LightDash

"I just immediately pictured teeth in a Sonic milkshake and had a horrified reaction before my brain caught up to you meaning the character."

- Rolizas

Questionable Upgrades

"Very recently, T-Mobile. A company that 10 years ago called itself the Uncarrier by making a series of pro-consumer changes to its plans and the previous CEO built almost a sort of cult of fans of the company. Then T-Mobile acquired Sprint and got a new CEO."

"A couple of weeks ago, T-Mobile internal documentation revealed it was going to automatically upgrade customers on old grandfathered plans up to new plans, which were more expensive. Customers would have to call in to opt out of the change. 'They weren’t raising customers’ rates, they were moving them to better plans.'"

"Well, major tech news got ahold of that, and then even some local news stations, and T-Mobile quietly 'clarified' a week later via internal communications that only one percent of their customers would be affected."

- artimaticus8

Coming Together in Hate

"Anyone remember the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad when she solved police brutality?"

- vernon3

"Those moments are precious. There are a few things these days that bring everyone on the Internet together. That was one of those things. We all hated the Pepsi ad that solved police brutality."

"That ad had it all. Pandering, ignorance, arrogance, and talking down to their audience."

- notwoutmyprob

"And a Kardashian."

- Kitchen_action

With Every Purchase

"I couple of years back a local Detroit area car dealership decided the best way to celebrate MLK day was to give away free car alarms with every purchase."

"Nobody liked that."

- graveybrains

A Sale Gone Too Well

"Hoover UK offering two free flights to America if you spend £100 on their products. They anticipated that people would spend a lot more than the minimum required which would cover the approximately £600 value of the tickets."

"When the company was deluged with purchases around the £100 mark, they reneged on the offer, which prompted a very expensive lawsuit. The fallout was so bad that the UK division of the firm was sold to a rival company."

- Live-Dance-2641

New Drink, Who Dis?

"New Coke."

- PeggyWithPhatA**

"After the relations disaster, the public clamored for the decision to be reversed, and Coca-Cola released 'Coke Classic.'"

"Coke Classic soon had an even higher market share than Coke did before the public relations fiasco, and a new theory made the rounds: that Coca-Cola deliberately made these decisions, simply to gain publicity, and increase market share."

"The reaction from Coca-Cola’s executives was, 'We aren’t that smart, and we aren’t that stupid.'"

- Malthus1

A Tweet Turned Sexist

"Burger King stating that 'Women Belong in the Kitchen.' What they were TRYING to say was that they wanted more diversity. People didn't see it that way, and in the end, they had to issue an apology."

- zerbey

The Downfall of an Incredible Publication

"Here’s one there should be a public outcry about."

"Disney bought National Geographic and controls everything it does. This is the last year the iconic magazine will be available. I’m incensed."

- redheadMInerd2

(The writer of this article is equally incensed.)

Predicting the Future

"I feel like whatever YouTube is cooking up lately will be the next one."

- Just_Aioli_1233

"Tech companies sure know how to kill off highly popular and profitable apps, super quick. It’s interesting to watch it happen in real-time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all losing tons of followers and destroying their own stock."

- Eleanor_of_Accutane

It's easy to see how all of these mistakes resulted in huge backlash, sometimes at the total expense and downfall of the business.

But some of these mistakes were made by companies that are still huge today, and to a certain extent, that's kind of surprising.