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Hotel Maids Recall The Nastiest Rooms They've Ever Had To Clean Up

I don't get paid enough for this!!

Hotel Maids Recall The Nastiest Rooms They've Ever Had To Clean Up
Photo by Nik Lanús on Unsplash

Cleaning up after people or animals or people who behave like animals can be a miserable job. Being a maid or cleaning worker is hard, honest work and after hearing about some on the job issues it is clear that they are outrageously underpaid. And under appreciated. We all wonder what goes on behind close doors but when we find out.... we instantly regret asking.

Redditor u/goSaya wanted to know if all the maids out there felt like sharing a few horror stories by asking.... Hotel maid staff, what's the nastiest room you've had to clean and why? (NSFW)


Gagged! 

Not a maid, but I worked as a maintenance man and had to clean out apartments. One apartment I had to clean had a refrigerator stuffed full of food because the occupants had been evicted. Unfortunately, the electric company had shut off the electricity so the food had been rotting for well over a month. It was the most god awful smell I've ever encountered in my life. Rotting fish, rotting chicken, and a lot of stuff that was so rotten you couldn't even tell what it had originally been. However, the boss said I had to do it so I did it.

I lost control and vomited several times while trying to scrape the goop out. I sprayed the fridge with strong cleaning chemicals and spent an hour scrubbing the hell out of it but I couldn't get the smell out. I finally gave up and told my boss about it and she insisted on seeing for herself. She walked into the apartment, gagged at the smell, and told me to throw the fridge out without even looking inside. All that effort and puking for nothing! Mange-Tout

Not a Charmin moment....

Giphy

Not a maid staff but used to work front desk at a hotel in Myrtle Beach. So many wild stories from that job... Once we had a customer check in late at night & came to the front desk to complain about a large chocolate stain on their sheet in their made bed. After some checking turns out the maid that cleaned the room, it was her last day on the job & she had decided to wipe her butt with the sheets & then make the bed. The customers ended up with a free stay. jettisonbombardier

Stays in Vegas. 

I can tell you one room I was in where someone set a cleaning trap.

Laying in bed with my wife, she felt a piece of paper down by her feet. It said "they don't change the dirty sheets in the room, check out the blood stains and pubic hair down here" which was both their.

Called the front desk and we were moved to suite in the other tower of this casino hotel in Vegas. scott60561

Luckily the guest wasn't there.

Not a maid but I used to install wifi systems at hotels across the midwest. The job required us to go into every other room and install an access point. One of the jobs was at an extended stay, and we only had one more room to finish. However the guest was being difficult and didn't want to let us into the room. According to hotel staff the guest hadn't let any of the maids into the room in several weeks. Finally the Assistant GM had enough and escorted us up to the room to let us in. Luckily the guest wasn't there.

It was one of the worst things I'd ever seen. Trash and cloths everywhere, cigarette butts all over the place. It appeared there was a dog living in there, as there was dog poop everywhere as well. The smell was horrendous. It looked like something you would see on one of those hoarder shows. We hurried up and got our AP installed and got out of there. GarageguyEve

Got Gloves?

Giphy

Not maid, worked front desk:

My coworker picked something up in the hallway and brought it to the front desk asking what it was. It was a butt-plug and he was holding it with his bare fingers. polkam0n

Flinging Poo! 

Another "not maid staff, but..." response: I used to work security at a resort. The worst that I witnessed was the aftermath of a couple getting into an argument. A husband and wife were drunk and taking a bath together, and then got into an argument. The wife pooped in the bath, picked up the turds, and threw them at her husband like a monkey. Then the husband accidentally stepped on one and smushed it into the carpet. I felt terrible for the 5 housekeepers that had to clean it up, and even worse for the couple's 2 kids that were in the room. Zed89

Atrocious.

Giphy

My fiancé's uncle owns a motel and I'll help out during the summer and there have been a few rooms , one was this midwestern family who literally would use the swimming pool in jeans and what not, only asked for towels the whole time except for the day before they were supposed to check out and it was such an atrocity in the room, fried rice and blunt guts all over the floor/ bureau / the bathroom sink as well as the whole bathroom being stained purple from hair dye, literal baby poop/pee soaked sheets and pillows festering in a corner sooo we told the front office and they got kicked out. The people were atrocious especially for having 3 children ranging from like 14-6 with them. MDizzleee

Puker....

I'm a housekeeper at a 3 star hotel nothing fancy but not a motel. Young and need money for a new car I hate it but gotta do what I gotta do. Recently since its the holidays so many single people renting rooms and drinking loads of liquor (and eating cupcakes??? Idk why) and puking... everywhere. I don't expect tips but come on if you vomit please leave me something it takes 40 mins to clean that room they're so trashed. The smell is awful and they'll smile at me to check out and walk away I go in and its just pink/orange puke everywhere. Its depressing job for a young person I'm going to be honest but its a job so I'm thankful. pizzauwuw

Those Pearly Whites.

Not maid staff but I did general maintenance at a 5 star hotel in Ontario Canada. We had a room that the toilet would continuously plug up after a few uses. We would dump drain cleaner down it, plunge it, snake it, nothing seemed to work. So I remove the toilet to see what the blockage was. In the bottom of the toilet, caked in poop was someone's false teeth. An entire top plate with all the teeth.

Freaked me out a bit to see teeth looking back at me from a toilet. I gave them to management and they were able to determine who they belonged to and return them to their rightful owner. We assumed that during a drinking bender the owner must have been puking something fierce to loose his teeth like that. dukunt

 2 liters worth....

SIL was a housekeeper in a hotel which got a lot of business through organized vacations. Tourists would get dropped off by a coach. The coach driver would get a room too. Well, she walked into one coach driver's room, and she found the bed thoroughly soaked with urine. On a bad day, a guy might pee close to half a liter of fluid. This guy must've peed like a full 2 liters worth. Must've had some serious distended bladder issue. It was soaked through to the bed frame and leaking onto the floor below.

They had to wrap the mattress and throw it out. GrammatonYHWH

Serial Killer Toys.

Giphy

My ex worked as cleaning staff at a crappy motel in Florida. A few years ago she found a bunch of those realistic looking baby dolls and a small pile of used condoms in the bathtub - all had been partially burned/melted. Ejgee

Traumatized....

I was a line cook at a hotel back in the day and I remember this poor maid came out of the service elevator screaming bloody murder. She was from Haiti and was praying and crying at the same time. Everyone is asking what is wrong but she was hysterical. We later found out she went in to turn down a room and found the guest in the tub with his wrists opened. Apparently there was blood everywhere and lots of it. Poor woman. She quit that day. Sirnando138

Days Out. 

Had a friend that worked cleaning a Days Inn right off the interstate by a truck stop. She had some messed up stories. Most wrapped around bizarre places to find used condoms, like behind the TV or on the windowsill behind a curtain. She made it about 5 months. six_mpossible_things

The Aftermath. 

I walked in to the aftermath of an attempted suicide. A man had slit his wrists and drank LOTS of vodka. We called the ambulance and they took him away, still alive. The mattress was purplish brown with blood and pee, it soaked right through 2 'waterproof' mattress covers. We didn't even try to wash the sheets and covers, just stuffed them in black trash bags and chucked em in the dumpster.

The hotel owners wanted to try to salvage the mattress, so we stood it up and sprayed it down with all sorts of disinfectants and let it air out, but no dice. They even had to remove the carpet in the room because it held onto the sick blood smell.

UPDATE: I just got home from another fun day at the same hotel. I scrubbed lots of vomit out of a bed skirt this afternoon. Thanks for everyone being so horrified/interested in my hotel tale. SallySmallpox

With Friends. 

A couple of friends of mine had to clean a room here in town after a suicide. Guy blew his head off with a shotgun. Congealed blood, chunks of brain and bone.

For what it's worth, they successfully sued the owners of the motel afterwards, but I don't think the owners ever faced criminal charges for improperly disposing of biological material, which is crazy. Ashybuttons

Help our Vets. 

Elderly Vietnam Veteran rented a room for the sole purpose of having a private space in which to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. His family found out a bout his plan and called the police, they arrived just in time to find him, and the room, covered in poop and vomit. He survived.

Egodram

I was a scared young girl.

Giphy

My first 'real' job was stripping beds in a small motel at the age of 14. I would start a bit before the maids so that they just had to remake the beds. Easy enough job for a 14 year old.

One room was a stay over and I knocked on the door. Guy answered and I asked if he wanted service that day. He was in poop stained briefs. He said yes, he wanted service. I told him I just strip the beds and I could come back later with the maid and get it all done at once. He told me to just come in then and strip the bed and dirty towels out. So I did. When I went to leave I told him the maid would be to his room after a bit to give fresh towels and make the bed. He got angry and wanted me to make the bed right then.

Mind you there were nasty dirty underwear next to the bed and in the bathroom along with a ton of dirty magazines on the other bed.

I explained again that I don't make the beds, just strip the rooms. I was a scared young girl. He got angrier and I dipped out of the room fast to go talk to the head housekeeper. She was supposed to tell me that morning before I got started to stay away from that room and forgot to pass on that info. So since she screwed up she went with me and the maid and we had to make his bed and put in fresh towels while he was sitting there staring at us in his dirty nasty underwear. WyoGirl79

Hopefully someone isn't missing a kidney. 

My Dad works in the hotel industry for a major chain and showed me pictures of what they thought was some sort of crime scene at first. The sheets were all bloody and stained and there was transfer on the sheets from a person of what looked like dotted lines of magic marker. They think someone used the room for a back-alley plastic surgery of some kind. The police were called, but I don't know what happened after that. Hopefully someone isn't missing a kidney. Herpmancer

College Days...

My college would rent out dorm rooms at a low cost and students could work as cleaning staff. I did it one year and decided it was not worth it. We had a baseball team stay at one of the dorms and they spit chewing tobacco and sun flower shells everywhere. You would lift the trash bag out of the can and it would have a puddle of chew spit at the bottom of the can. One of them also wrote Forget you in poop on the wall of the bathroom.

Edit: It was only during the summer not the full year. Protists

Meow.

Giphy

Not a maid staff, but I once checked in at a small motel and was greeted by the feline employee when I entered my room. I thought that was cute until I saw the welcoming present she left on my pillow, a bloody dead bat. purplejackhammer26

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

REDDIT

person holding photo of three girls near chainlink fence
Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Life is all about learning new things, including learning new things about the people in your life. Sometimes, the things you learn are shocking, disgusting, or even scary.

I was the new kid in town when I was in fifth grade and my first friend was this quiet (and cute) boy in my class. He and I remained friends through middle school, and even though we drifted apart in high school, our interactions when we ran into each other in the halls or the cafeteria were really nice.

All throughout school and even beyond, he remained quiet, polite, and reserved. Just a few years ago, I read a news article written about him. He had apparently fatally wounded his father after an argument.

I had to reread the article several times to make sure it was really about my old friend. I think about it a lot, and still can't believe it!

I'm not the only one that has a shocking story like that. A lot of Redditors learned shocking or scary things about people from their childhood, and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor ValuableHovercraft90 asked:

"What's the scariest thing you have found out about someone from your childhood (old friends, teachers, etc)?"

So Creepy

"That the boy who lived across the street and moved when I was 6 is still obsessed with me and my sister 30+ years later and posts ramblings on Facebook with our names and that he's going to be with us. Pretty terrifying honestly."

– mrscrawfish

The Worst List

"A neighbour died when he was 30. Police searched a trailer he owned and found weapons, bombs and a list of people he wanted to kill. My uncle was on that list."

– Flashy_Somewhere_648

"I'm glad this ended the way it did."

– CreepyCandidate4449

Terrifying

"One of my best friends (and locker partner) from high school was kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq. After a nightmare of 6+ months, all went silent. We buried an empty casket in his memory 10 years later."

– francois_du_nord

"This is horrifying. How incredibly sad for family to never get any closure. Very sad to read this. :("

– fizzycherryseltzer

"About 15 years ago my dad received a very good offer for work in Iraq, as a construction specialist. He was considering going, since at the same time the financial crisis started in Europe, but then one of his friends, a civil engineer, was kidnapped. Never returned back either."

– 19lgkrn70

"Same thing for my dad old coworker told him how great the money was. Dude got sniped working on a radio tower or something. My dad luckily was like, "I got a wife and family that would kill me for doing something so dangerous.""

– tristanjones

End Of The Friendship

"One of my dad's good friends, and my "uncle", just stopped coming around one day. I was told he was always busy with work, away, etc."

"Turns out, he killed 3 people in a drug deal gone bad and got life in prison."

"What's scary, is that we were over at his house for a weekend BBQ with a bunch of people earlier in the day of the night he did it, and it happened at his house."

– pnwking509

School Friends

"Don't know if it was scary, but I grew up with a kid whose birthday was the day before mine so we almost always shared birthdays in elementary school. We were friends, even spent the night at his house growing up. Later on in our teens, he started getting into some really dark stuff. I recognize that now as his being a sociopath, but like most everybody else at the time, figured it was just him going through some kind of emo phase. Over the years, we lost touch but I would occasionally run into him around town and our meetings were cordial, if not friendly."

"Last year, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man back in 1993, roughly 3 years after we got out of High School. Apparently he, his sister and another man lured this guy out to the boonies and killed him to steal money he had gotten in an insurance settlement."

"The only reason they were caught is the other guy got religion, felt remorse and went on the local TV station and aired a confession before turning himself in (He got 25 to life)."

– 530_Oldschoolgeek

"A girl I went to school with did the same thing. She was the nicest girl, got good grades & was kind of a dork. Mixed with the wrong people after graduation. She and two others lured an old man into an abandoned building, stabbed him and robbed him. He later died from his wounds."

– HereF0rTheSnacks

The Worst Afternoon

"I had a friend in grade school who was being raised by her single dad. She had a unique name and pretty face. She never talked about her mom, and she was super outgoing, so all us kids just made friends with her quickly. It was weird her dad never brought her to our birthday parties, even though she was always invited, but we didn’t think much of it. A couple times, she was allowed to ride the bus home with me after school, and we played and had fun until her dad came to pick her up. Later in the school year, she invited me to ride the bus to her house, and my mom agreed. I was 10. It was the scariest afternoon of my young life. I cannot articulate the extreme tension in her home. We weren’t allowed to make any noise, and we mostly stayed outside, me desperate for my mom to arrive."

"Her dad screamed at us for opening the door, and I was too nervous to go into the house to use the restroom. I knew she was embarrassed that there were no snacks or comforting interactions, like at my house. I didn’t really tell anyone how uncomfortable the experience was. After that day, I didn’t hang out with her a lot. We were in different classes, drifted apart, and decades later, when my own daughter asked to go to a friend’s house, I thought about that girl."

"As an adult, I figured out her dad probably worked a night shift and tried to sleep during the day…or he was an alcoholic who was really angry. Maybe both? I looked her up on social media, and thanks to her unique name and face, I recognized her immediately. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted woman with a beautiful family. She even had pictures of her kids with her dad and tributes to him as the greatest father and grandpa. Her whole page made me wonder what the hell I experienced that afternoon in the 4th grade?"

– OlderAndTired

School Is Supposed To Be Safe!

"In our school, we had something called "de halte." In English, it means "the halt" literally translated. Basically time out. BIf you had a meltdown in class or you were just a little sh*thead, you were sent there for 15 minutes or so to cool off.

The de hatle teacher got fired and jailed for breaking 4 different wrists of 4 different students by bending them the wrong way..."

– Ok_Win7358

*Skin Crawling*

​"There was this classmate a grade below me but all grades shared the same drama class. She was weird and kind of "off." I tried to befriend her at one point and was rebuffed. It later came out that she was actually an almost 30-year-old woman who would show up in a new area claiming to be a 15-year-old runaway. Kind of freaked me out."

jackfaire

It turns out it was a good thing that the friendship didn't work out!

Group of people dining out at a restaurant
Dan Gold on Unsplash

When we think of the term "red flags," we're quick to think of red flags that might appear in a problematic or abusive relationship.

But red flags can appear in any place in our life, especially the workplace or places that consumers frequent, like big box stores and restaurants.

When it comes to restaurant red flags, these are important to note, as they could have a negative impact on a consumer's health.

Redditor FlintTheDad asked:

"What's an immediate red flag at a restaurant?"

Fair Enough

"When you see the owner breaking apart frozen chicken on the curb outback."

- Mourning-Poo

High Humidity

"High humidity inside."

- Presitigious_Gold_585

"Yes! The small that causes is unmistakable."

- TemperatureTop246

Sticky Furniture

"All of the furniture and menus are weirdly sticky..."

- Silver_Sunshine360

"I know what *some* of that is. Some furniture and cleaning solutions aren't compatible. The cleaning spray reacts with the finish on the table tops, and softens, it, which makes it feel a bit sticky, and dulls it super fast... but it's the sanitizer cleaner they use for *everything*, and they don't want to have to deal with a separate cleaner for certain surfaces."

"I used to sell commercial office furniture, and we'd run into this issue sometimes. The worst was when a company asked us to source some tables they found from a local craftsman (since we were already an approved vendor in their system, they often had us buy and deliver stuff for them). Beautiful, hand-made stuff."

"So we bought them and arranged for the delivery and placement. When we got to the site and saw where they wanted them, I cringed... I knew the tables were finished in shellac, and they were having us put them in their lounge area, where I knew they often had events with drinks."

"Shellac dissolves in alcohol. Spilling a drink on it can ruin the finish. Before we left, I left a note on the tables about being careful and emailed the client some care tips. The NEXT DAY they sent us pictures of the ruined finish, asking, 'What is wrong with our tables?!'"

- NecroJoe

Sounds Fishy

"A seafood restaurant should NOT smell fishy."

- turtyurt

"And conversely, a seafood MARKET that does not smell fishy is indeed fishy."

- FourMeterRabbit

A Specific Smell

"That *smell.*"

"You know the one. floors feel a little slippery/slimy underfoot and it smells like they've been mopping the place with the same dirty mop and bucket water for weeks."

"This isn't something you're likely to see in a nice place but I've encountered it in more fast-casual dining places than I care to remember."

- y2knole

"THAT smell. It always reminds me of yeast rolls. I guess it's bacteria in the mop water that has been setting in that bucket for three days."

- SpeelingChamp

Restroom Cleanliness

"Dirty restrooms."

- carboncanyondesign

"This is a dead giveaway. If they can't keep part of the restaurant that the public DOES see clean, you can imagine how the non-public facing parts look."

- OkaySureBye

"Health inspector here. The key is to look for build-up that looks like it's been there more than a day. Most places don't have bathroom attendants and it's unrealistic to expect public bathrooms to be spotless every minute of the day."

- Vives_solo_una_vez

The Right Audience

"Whenever I have friends come to visit me in Osaka and they're dying to try some authentic ramen. My goto line is:"

"'Look for the most run-down looking, back ally shack you can, the more run-down looking; the better. Guaranteed It'll be the best ramen you'll ever have!'"

"And to anyone who happens to read this, no, Ichiran is NOT the best reman joint. It's nice don't get me wrong but please ask around, research ramen in the area you're visiting, I guarantee you there's SO much better out there!"

- kevo998

"I look for people of that ethnicity eating there. Mexican restaurant with only white people? It might be good. Mexican restaurant with Mexicans wearing high-vis shirts? S**t's going be fire. Bonus points if there’s a grocery store attached."

"The same thing goes for Asian restaurants sans the high-vis shirts."

- PsychoticMessiah

Too Many Variables

"A huge menu."

- dnb_4eva

"A huge VARIED menu."

"Places like Chinese, Mexican, and Indian restaurants generally have large menus, but most items use the same base ingredients."

"It's the places that try to incorporate lots of wildly different dishes that you want to avoid."

- MagnusPI

Unexpected Restaurant Guests

"A raccoon falling through the ceiling tiles. 1:00 AM, drunk as h**l, looking for something to eat, and I found a dive that was still open. I ordered my food, and while waiting for my order, a raccoon fell from the ceiling."

"The waitress ran to the back screaming. The cook came out armed with a cleaver and chased it into the kitchen. The look on his face was like it had happened before. Other people eating there were in shock and got up and left."

"Mystery meat: the new special. Get me the f**k out of there."

- alwaystired707

That Wait Time

"I immediately look to see if there is anyone actually eating. If there are a half dozen tables with no food on them, and people looking anxiously to the kitchen, I'm out."

- scotttr3b

Cleaning Response Time

"Multiple dirty tables that haven’t been cleared. If the restaurant isn’t crowded, staff should have time to clean them. If it is crowded, staff should be trying to turn tables over quickly."

"Dirty tables mean they are either severely understaffed or the staff just doesn’t care. Either way, you will be waiting a long time."

- 787la57la47al

Inappropriate Smells

"Once went into a restaurant that boasted the biggest Cinnamon Rolls in the city/state... Only for there to be a pervasive smell of absolutely raw stagnate sewage throughout the dining room. Needless to say, did not return."

- nekroves

Construction Said It Best

"A green flag for a restaurant is when you see a lot of construction workers going there for lunch. You'll know it's cheap and good, hearty food."

"In my old city, there was this tiny little family-owned Chinese restaurant with delicious and cheap lunch specials. Every construction worker downtown sat at the counter at the front for lunch."

"Meanwhile, the waiters would be in this little back room watching TV and the chef must have been at least 70 years old. The food was genuinely so delicious and filling. Probably not good for your cholesterol but so tasty!"

- okaymoose

Atmosphere Matters

"Not a red flag about the food but if a place has their music up so loud I can’t hear the person I’m with, then I won’t eat there."

- Adro87

"Conversely, if it's TOO quiet; as in, not only is the sound system way too low, but if the customers are also weirdly quiet (barely having conversations, just sort of sitting there) and the atmosphere seems almost stifling."

"A couple of years ago we walked into a gastropub in Scotland just like this - very low music, the room was half full (and this was at peak lunch time), and everyone who was there were just sitting, looking sullen, barely speaking, waiting for their food. Just really... odd... vibes."

"After five minutes of sitting at the bar trying to get the attention of staff (who were all standing around looking at their phones), we left and went to a definitely *not fancy* cafe down the block that was the absolutely opposite: people just seemed happy to be there, staff were attentive, and the vibe was really welcoming."

- Good_Difference_2837

The Ultimate Red Flag

"Gordon Ramsey walking in with a camera crew."

- Tint-kicker

"One of the local restaurants we like was recently closed for a bit due to filming for 'Kitchen Nightmares.'"

"My husband still likes to get their food, but I'm waiting until the episode airs!"

- Lington

No restaurant is going to be perfect 100 percent of the time. They're going to have a slow night or poor response time or get some orders wrong from time to time.

But there are far more problematic behaviors and characteristics to find in a restaurant that are perfectly good reasons to never go back there again, no matter how good they may have been in the past.

Apple on a stack of textbooks
Element5 Digital/Unsplash

Teachers are not only educators, they're also inspiring leaders.

The most memorable teachers are those who genuinely encourage young students to do their best so they can be empowered to pursue their dreams.

However, we tend to revere them to such a degree, we forget that they're people too with real emotions.

Curious to hear from strangers who witnessed a vulnerable moment from someone they were inspired by at an early age, Redditor throwthrowwthrowwww asked:

"Students who've witnessed their teacher cry during class, what happened?"

There's no bigger heartbreak than people who are struggling with illnesses or know of someone facing medical challenges.

Ailing Teacher

"One of our music instructors 7th-12th grade. She had a long ongoing battle with stage three/four cancer. She always did her best to try to have fun during our classes, like it was an escape for her because she loved music so much. Over 85% of the entire high school joined choir because of her. Her chemo and radiation treatments left her exhausted some days, though, and she would occasionally break down. In 2012, when her condition worsened, she would have to take more days off because the cancer had become so debilitating."

"We continued to practice our songs while she was gone, and I swear we would sometimes spend an hour on one small section of a song, ripping every note apart, and repeating the same words over and over until we couldn't mess it up. One of the final days in class with her, I remember we were rehearsing for our upcoming state competition, and we sounded damn good. Mid-song, she stopped conducting, closed her eyes, folded her hands, and listened as we continued singing for her. The energy and sound was so profound throughout the room, I can't find the words to describe it."

"After the song finished, we stood in a long, complete silence before she opened her eyes with tears streaming down her face. She wasn't able to go to our state competition with us, but we ended up placing that year. It wasn't first like we were hoping, but it was the highest the school had ever placed. She later passed away that same year. She was one of the strongest women I had ever met in my life."

– Top-Box2372

Losing A Student

"My high school Spanish teacher also taught some homebound students with medical issues."

"One day the vice principal came into our class and told Ms J that one of her homebound students had passed away from his cancer. She couldn't hold back the tears."

– que_he_hecho

Wise Toddler

"I’m a teacher, I cried in front of my toddlers when I got a call from the hospital telling me it was time to make the call as to whether to pull my dads life support. One of my toddlers came up to me while I was crying, put her hand on my cheek and said 'it’s ok to feel sad, it’s ok to cry,' then gave me a hug. I love my job."

– Cheekygirl97

Students witnessed the following teachers get emotional.

Thoughtful Sixth-Graders

"The class surprised him on teacher appreciation day. Someone brought pop, snacks etc. He was surprised. 6th grade teacher."

– Stephlynn1234

Appreciation Day

"Had a philosophy course in uni during covid. So the class was held on zoom. It wasn't teacher appreciation day, but it was the second to last lecture of the term and we all really enjoyed this prof (and because of him most of the class became friends). So we organized an appreciation thing for him."

"We all started class without our cameras on, which was unusual and made him question (he got sad actually). So one girl said 'before we start, we just really wanted to do something for YOU because you've done so much for us. I hope this is okay.' He gave us a confused look, and before he could say anything in response we all turned our cameras on and held up signs saying 'thank you professor [name]' and our green screen backgrounds were of his face lol. He laughed so hard but started crying. Told us how he wished we could do this in person and that he genuinely cared about all of us."

"He had a lot of health issues, the most prominent one being MS. Whenever he didn't start class on time we all got worried, and there were a few times where he cancelled altogether because he fell or something. He also had a cat, and we asked to see him just enough times that his cat learned what time our class was at and would climb up to see us and stay the whole class. It was cute. During the breaks he would email a link to play chess since he lived far from his family and couldn't visit and wanted the company. We organized a Christmas movie day with him over the Christmas break and he loved it. He retired after the following year because of his health, and I still wonder what he's doing now and if he's doing okay. I've been in uni for 5 years now and he is the only prof I've actually spoken to consistently and genuinely liked."

– Burnt_Your_Toast

Sad Literature

"5th grade teacher reading Where the Red Fern Grows out loud to the class. He shed some tears. He did every year."

– SnoBunny1982

"Our teacher read that book to us in 5th grade also. But when it got to that part, she elected me to read it and she left the room. Luckily I had read it before and knew what was coming, but it was still rough."

– MIBariSax81

The Private Life Of An English Teacher

"I forgot his name, but he was one of my favored teachers in high school. He taught English."

"During class, he was called out to talk to some members of the school administration and a few proctors. It took several minutes. But he returned, taught as much of the class as he could, and then just walked over to his desk and started crying. Whimpering. He then left."

"He just found out his wife, who had also been a teacher, was having an affair with one of the female students. We didn't find out that specific fact until later on though."

– Typical_Samaritan

Some students, however, can force a teacher to realize they're in the wrong profession.

Bad Attitude

"Student that had behavior issues and a hard time maintaining emotional regulation threw his recorder (the instrument) at the music teacher and it snapped in half. He then threw his desk in her direction and walked out. This was 3rd grade, and all she had asked him to do was listen to the song we were learning. She quit the next week after almost 30 years of teaching."

– Last_Tuesdays_Beans

Bullying The Substitute

"Ms. Hanlon... Substitute teacher, I still think about her and hope she's doing well. She was posted as the teacher when the usual teachers were off sick. Absolutely zero respect was given to her and the class knew if we had Ms. Hanlon it was just an extended lunch, we could just mess around and act like animals for the whole lesson."

"She had physical conditions like a dent in her forehead and a gravvely voice which prevented her from being able to raise her voice to tell us to be quiet. So the kids would all do Hunchback of Notre Dame impressions, spitballs through straws and do the 'coughing game' where they would just cough through whatever she was trying to say."

"Even as a kid I felt kinda awful after we'd essentially broken her and she'd just come in not even say hello and pull open a book for the hour and sometimes cry into it. I weirdly still think about her randomly once or twice a month, I hope she moved on to way better things. School children really have no filter at all."

– PNCL

Absolutely Zero Respect

"Substitute teacher in Jr High must be among the world's worse jobs. 8th grade we had a sub that demanded and got no respect. Kids would throw stuff at her etc. She left the classroom crying then the vice principal, who was not to be messed with, came in and took over."

– woolash

Major Mockery

"I had a substitute teacher named Mr. Crane who looked exactly like Ichabod Crane from the old cartoon. Some kids in the class bullied him relentlessly for this and he just kind of broke down one day. Poor guy."

– backflip10019

In seventh grade, I witnessed a classmate talk back to our homeroom teacher and saying very inappropriate, bullish things to her in front of the whole class.

But that didn't make her cry.

What made her tear up was when another student defended her and yelled at the bullying student for being out of line.