Top Stories

Things Poor People Loved Until The Rich Ruined Them For Everyone

Reddit user degreeofvariation asked: 'What was loved by poor people until rich people ruined it?'

fan of 100 U.S. dollar banknotes

Alexander Mils on Unsplash

They say money can't buy happiness, but it seems it can make a lot of other people miserable.

Whether it's the housing crisis or the high cost of living, people are pointing at the 1% to accuse them of ruining things for the 99% in a multitude of ways.

Reddit user degreeofvariation asked:

"What was loved by poor people until rich people ruined it?"

Accommodations

"Living in warehouses in the industrial, rundown side of town."

"historic brick warehouse gets torn down"

"Coming soon: Lofts"

~ SpecialpOps

"Yes! They tore down all the real lofts to build condos they call lofts."

~ StrainAcceptable

"Living in arty neighborhoods."

~ hinterstoisser

"This is what I was looking for. Creative poor people have been investing in poor neighborhoods forever."

"They use their talent to make it a cool place they enjoy living in. The rich say 'Hey, I want to be cool, let's buy this'."

"And then they price the poor out of the haven they created and turn it into a stale, crowded, overpriced place."

~ TwiceBaked57

"Dude what I find so frustrating about this is that when they move in, the corporations move in with them."

"Next thing you know, the cute cafe you liked so much is an apple store; the good thrift shop down the street got eaten up by a new whole foods; and the entire neighborhood has lost its soul."

~ Hollz23

"One of my favorite record stores just got evicted because their landlord sold the building to a bank that wants to be in the arts district."

~ Imakereallyshittyart

"Which will lead it to no longer being an 'arts' district."

~ Quacker_please

"Quiet out of the way country cabins sitting by lakes."

"Now they are over priced Airbnbs."

~ amyaurora

"I'd even say Airbnbs themselves. They started as a potentially cheap alternative to hotels run by people who have extra space they aren't doing anything with."

"Now people build guest houses specifically for Airbnb and treat It like a full on rental."

~ Jarf_17

"Van life and tiny house living."

~ Cooper_brain

"I live in my sh*tty van after almost being evicted from my apartment."

"Every once in a while I'll meet a rich couple with $100,000 van conversions and they ask me 'what's your build like??'."

"I'm like, there's a mattress and not much else. Can be truly offensive at times."

~ Tangelo_12

Shopping

"Etsy."

~ tattooedroller

"There are SO many accounts for cheap mass produced crap that you could get on a bunch of other websites as well."

"No, I come to Etsy for homemade stuff and support artistic individuals."

~ Physical-Primary-256

"I no longer use Etsy because of how terrible the platform has become (for buyers as well as sellers)."

"If you still want to use Etsy, always do a reverse image search on the product you are considering, and also look on Aliexpress, Alibaba, Amazong, and Ebay to see if you can find the same item there."

"Most of the time you can. And for less money too."

"Etsy is still coasting on the 'handmade' reputation but most of the listings that I've seen in the past 5+ years are for cheap factory-made stuff."

~ almalauha

"Going to the farmers market."

~ M-Squared804

"I went to a farmer's market where only one vendor was selling fruits and vegetables. There were three boutique honey stands."

~ randompedestrian382

"That's what our markets are turning into as well. It's gone from local farmers and affordable produce to artisanal creations for the elite."

~ KeepOnRising19

"Ebay. It used to be so useful to get all kinds of cheap or unique things."

"Then more and more big commercial sellers joined the club and eventually ebay itself forgot about what and who made their platform a success in the first place."

~ onesmilematters

"It was a treasure trove. I remember just searching for random things I had as a kid. Imported music. Some nights I would just sort and see what was selling for a penny within the next 10mins or so."

"My sister and I were still in high school in '98 and we would just browse for HOURS as if we were walking around a store. But that rating was so important. We took great pride in that and showed the same respect to others."

"Now I am constantly upset and disappointed by the entire process."

~ idontwantanamern

"Thrift shopping."

"I'm not "✨ thrifting✨ I'm f'kin broke."

~ Elduroto

"Sometimes I feel like it's cheaper to buy clothes at Target or Walmart brand new than it is to buy from a thrift store."

~ Urchintexasyellow

"I blame the thrift stores for the shift. They literally pay nothing for their inventory, and pay barely over minimum wage in most places."

"Several times I’ve gone to thrift stores and seen items at or above what they cost brand new from the original retailer. Damn grift stores."

~ mrRabblerouser

Charities

"Food banks. My local food bank put out a news article basically saying that rich people need to stop using the food bank as a 'life hack' to lower their grocery bills."

~ ConfidantlyCorrect

"There were stories in the UK throughout the pandemic about it: those that needed it were having to walk to the Food Bank to get what they needed, but there was also people turning up in BMW's, Range Rovers. etc..."

~ Scotsgit73

"OMG. That's so evil. Some people really have no conscience."

~ BettyBoopWallflower

"I used to volunteer at a soup kitchen at a church, and it was kinda well known as having great food because the whole kitchen staff were actually a team of chefs from a nearby well known restaurant."

"They volunteered at the soup kitchen so they used it as like experience for some of their newer chefs etc...."

"Soon word got out that the food was good and you started seeing expensive cars pop up in the parking lot every now and then till they started coming more and more till one day like....80-100 rich people came and like basically ate so much that we ran out of food and had to let almost 50 homeless people go without food to starve that day."

"These rich people were literally coming to a SOUP KITCHEN for a free meal they don't need and literally preventing homeless people who, some of them this is their only meal in like 2 days, from getting food."

"AND WE TOLD THEM."

"We told them like we have a limited amount of food, we want to prioritize the homeless and those who don't have food security."

"Next week, the rich people would ignore us and bring even more of their friends."

"Plus it's not even like we got more donations once the rich people started coming either. F'k em."

~ ezodochi

Counterculture

"Counterculture-based festivals."

"Burning Man was on my bucket list until rich f'ks started showing up with bodyguards and started establishing private zones."

~ hgaben90

"Counterculture as a whole seems to be getting gentrified."

"In the Netherlands there are a lot of places you can go to that have a 'counterculture aesthetic', or more specifically 'squat aesthetic' but have exorbitant prices."

"Squatting used to be huge and multiple venues in the Netherlands (like Paradiso and Melkweg) have their humble beginnings as a squat. Ruigoord, a village close by Amsterdam that got squatted 50 years ago, also completely lost it's soul and is filled with yuppies."

"Counter culture is being gentrified, sanitised and sold back to people at exorbitant prices as something 'new, weird and hip'."

~ whazzar

Transportation

"Pickup trucks. They used to be much cheaper."

~ NCBadAsp

"They're luxury commuter vehicles for guys who think a $90,000 truck that will never see a dirt road is a smart move."

~ HauntedCemetery

Is there an affordable item you once loved that got expensive once it got popular?

Share it in the comments.


From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
money

People Break Down The Missing Person Cases That Just Don't Add Up

Reddit user yourlastnames asked: 'what missing persons case is the most confusing / doesn’t add up?'

A "Missing Person" sign
Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

Content warning: suicide.

There are truly some strange unsolved cases out there, but there's nothing quite like hearing of a person who has vanished as if out of thin air.

While some of these cases have been explained away or even solved, there are some that remain a mystery that truly does not add up, no matter how the puzzle pieces fall.

Curious about these cases, in particular, Redditor yourlastnames asked:

"What missing persons case is the most confusing [to you] or just doesn't add up?"

The Last Ride of Terrance Williams

"Terrance Williams disappeared in 2004. He's the subject of a fascinating podcast called 'The Last Ride.'"

"The short version is that he was taken into custody in Naples, Florida, after being pulled over in the early hours for traffic violations. He was never seen again."

"The deputy that pulled him over tried to conceal the traffic stop even from his own organization, but staff opening a local business saw the whole thing."

"When the sheriff's department finally looked into it, they discovered the deputy was involved in a similar disappearance of a man named Felipe Santos in 2003. To this day the deputy claims no knowledge of Williams's whereabouts, despite being caught out in a series of lies."

- AlanMercer

Paddy Moriarty and Kellie

"Paddy Moriarty and his dog, Kellie. They went missing in an outback town in Australia with a population of 12 people."

"They were last seen leaving the pub riding his quad bike the one-kilometer distance to his house. He or his dog have never been found and no one has been charged in relation to his disappearance."

- Bigred0762

Susan Powell and Family

"Susan Powell went missing from her home in West Valley, Utah, on December 6, 2009."

"She is presumably dead. Her husband, Josh, was the main suspect and just a real piece of work. No one knows what really happened to her."

"Sadly in 2012, Josh murdered their kids and committed suicide after Susan’s parents gained custody of the kids."

- AlexisVonTrappe

"This case is so frustrating since his brother and father are both dead too. We’ll never know what happened to Susan, but I’m positive she’s in an old mine shaft somewhere. F**k Josh Powell."

- burittosquirrel

​The Last Call from Brandon Swanson

"Brandon Swanson. He drove into a ditch and called his parents for help. They stayed on the phone with him for 47 minutes while they drove around looking for him."

"They heard him say, 'Oh s**t,' and then the phone went silent. They eventually found his car far away from where he said he was but he was never found."

- kittengoesrawr

"Reading this was absolutely chilling. It seems at first glance that it's most likely he drowned, but that really doesn't make sense because the water was only 10 feet deep and they would have found the body."

"He just suddenly said, 'OH S**T!' and the phone went silent, but he did not hang up. The phone call continued with total silence from his end. What the f**k happened to him?"

- angelposts

Babysitter Mar Lou Bostwick

"Mary Lou Bostwick. She disappeared July 18, 1972, from Waverly, New York. She was dropped off by her dad to babysit at a friend's house. This was also her 16th birthday. Her mom stopped by later with a cake and presents."

"The people in the apartment told her that Mary never showed up. However, her bag was in the residence. Nothing else was ever found."

"There was another girl around the same age, Sharon Coston, who was abducted and murdered in a nearby town about a year later. October 1983 in Sayre, Pennsylvania."

"There was a man convicted of that, but he always denied doing anything to Mary. One of the people who testified against him and was given immunity was a suspect in Mary's case. Mary's mom thinks there's a connection, but nothing was ever really found."

"I've sadly never seen anyone cover her disappearance on any of the podcasts or YouTube shows."

- Vamp459

Derek Seehausen of San Diego

​"Derek Seehausen. My friend was dating him at the time of his disappearance, and he was actively planning his future in medicine, and was last seen in San Diego."

"I saw him about two months before he disappeared. Please send any tips."

- Hereforit2022Y

The Beaumont Children

"The Beaumont Children. Three kids go to the beach, are seen with a mystery man, and never make it back home."

"Never found out who the man was or where they went. Their parents just recently died without ever getting any closure."

- snguyenx96

Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes

"Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes. The whole family (parents and four kids) went missing overnight in 2011."

"Employers, schools, and the extended family received weird letters informing of their absence or departure (one of them saying they are going into a witness protection program). Two weeks later they found the corpses of the mother, the kids, and the dog hidden behind the house."

"They investigated and retraced the father’s whereabouts in the south of France. He was last seen leaving a hotel a few days before. The region was thoroughly searched, but he was never to be found."

- z4zazym

Branson Perry of Skidmore

"Branson Perry, aged 20, disappeared from Skidmore, Missouri in April 2001."

"He was working on his house with a friend, went to the shed to grab some power cords, and was never seen again."

- AdamR91

The Incomplete Story of Marshall Iwassa

"Marshall Iwassa. Good guy."

"He came back to his hometown to visit his family and friends, and everything by all accounts was good. He left to take the two-hour drive to where he was living and never made it. Instead, it was recorded he spent the entire night trying to get into his storage unit and then nothing."

"A week or maybe more, his truck was found 12 hours away on a back road in the middle of the woods burnt to a crisp with belongings thrown about everywhere, no sign of Marshal."

"From what I remember, the family was adamant that some of the things inside the truck, burnt or not, were missing, things they knew he had. The truck was even missing parts."

"It's been four years and there's never been answers. It makes me sad and fearful of long travels. From what I know of him, he was a fantastic friend; I hope they get closure one day."

- devbot8

Out Shopping Asha Degree

"Asha Degree."

"She went missing at the age of nine from Shelby, North Carolina, United States. In the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, for reasons unknown, she packed her bookbag, left her family home north of the city, and began walking along nearby North Carolina Highway 18 despite heavy rain and wind."

"Several passing motorists saw her; when one turned around at a point 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from her home and began to approach her, she left the roadside and ran into a wooded area."

"In the morning, her parents discovered her missing from her bedroom. No one has seen her since."

- EstateWeary5789

The Vanishing Marion Barter

"Marion Barter here in Australia."

"She boarded a plane overseas in 1997 and changed her name beforehand (didn't tell family). She apparently came back to Australia for a few days (according to passenger records) and completely disappeared."

"It's an ongoing investigation at the moment, there is a podcast about it called, 'The Lady Vanishes,' featuring her daughter."

"It's so tragically fascinating."

- CuddlySubject

The Grieving Bryce Laspisa

"Bryce Laspisa."

"He was driving to his parents' house (three hours) after an argument with his girlfriend, apparently due to his alcohol and video game addiction and abuse of prescription medication."

"Partway through the drive, he pulled off the highway and just sat there… from 9:00 AM to 3:'00 PM."

"A roadside assistance guy checked on him twice and said he seemed fine and coherent, and Bryce told him he would be carrying on back to his parents shortly."

"Sometime later, his car was found only a few miles away, driven off the embankment, and he was nowhere to be found. They never found him."

- Just_Raisin1124

News Anchor Jodi Huisentruit

"Jodi Huisentruit was a news anchor who disappeared in the early morning in Mason City, Iowa."

"There were signs that she was abducted and the investigation is still ongoing with new leads nearly 30 years later."

- Have_you_eaten_yet

Three-Year-Old William Tyrrell

"William Tyrrell. In 2014, the three-year-old boy went missing from his foster grandmother's yard whilst playing with his sister. His foster mother and foster grandmother were apparently watching them play outside, and the foster mother went inside to make a cup of tea."

"They then noticed they hadn’t seen or heard him in a while and searched the house and yard."

"In 2021, police began searching national parkland near the grandmother's home for human remains. They also revealed that the foster mother and grandmother were persons of interest in his presumed death."

"Earlier today, the foster mother pled not guilty to assaulting another foster child that was in her care (a 10-year-old girl). She has also been charged with intimidating and stalking a minor. Her husband has also been charged with the same crimes, but plead not guilty to all counts. The foster grandmother is now dead."

"Basically, police believe that William died whilst in the care of the foster family, and they disposed of his body to cover it up. Police are recommending that the foster parents be charged with perverting the course of justice and interfering with a corpse."

"His photos went viral at the time of the 'disappearance,' and he went missing whilst in a Spiderman costume, and the photo that was distributed was taken minutes before."

- Red_bug91

These stories are truly haunting, and it's no wonder that Redditors have worried themselves with what might have happened to these missing people.

We can only hope that answers come for at least some of these cases and that their closest loved ones achieve some sense of closure eventually.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

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

missing person

People With Young Coworkers Divulge The Moment They Thought 'I'm Officially Old'

Senior citizen using a camera
Tiago Muraro/Unsplash

The realization you're getting older can smack you in the face at any given time, and boy-howdy is it fun!

It can be in the morning when you get up out of bed, and your body makes crackling noises, or when you can't seem to keep up at the gym and you cut short your running time on the treadmill.

That's just the physical.

When you suddenly have the epiphany that you're suddenly the oldest one in a group setting, it's humbling.

Curious to hear from strangers online who are no longer the young whipper-snappers they imagined themselves to eternally be, Redditor redmambo_no6 asked:

"Redditors with younger coworkers, what was your 'I’m officially old' moment?"

These moments of realization never get old. But people do.

Senior Kitty

"My childhood cat lived to 21.5 so teaching (freshman biology lab, so students were ~18) became very weird when I realized my cat was older than my students."

– mollusck_magic

Aging In Reverse

"I'm a preschool teacher. It's been a TRIP to watch parents go from Soooo much older than me, to the same age as me, and now they're younger than me!?!?"

– Smart_Alex

The Shook Pediatrician

"My kids pediatrician was also my husband's pediatrician when he was a kid. He was the first kid she had to come back as a parent and she was SHOOK."

– trixtred

Older Together

"See, that's what really kinda drives it home for me."

"I'm not bothered that I'm 48. But that means my school friends are 48, and that's weird for some reason. Like, I went to school with a guy who was wild and crazy. That guy is 48 now, and has a new grandbaby. Somehow, he's old, and I'm just 'getting up there '."

– ThatWeirdTexan

Relics of the past don't just pertain to humans.

Dialing It In

"Had a co-worker ask me, 'Back before cell phones, did you just have to wait around at your house for a call?' Uh, yeah, pretty much."

– Status-Effort-9380

"Reminds me of having to explain the concept of collect calls to my kids. The whole speed speaking where you were for pick up during the recording so your Mama never accepted the collect call."

– DaraScot

Legendary Aircraft

"Various colleagues were debating whether the Concorde had been real. They couldn’t fathom that supersonic civilian aircraft used to exist and now they don’t anymore."

"The Concorde last flew in 2003, when these colleagues were toddlers."

– geckos_are_weirdos

Foreign References

"We were talking about where we were on 9/11, and my coworker went quiet. He wasn’t even born."

"We also had a band that was famous in the 90s stay at the hotel, and he had no idea who they were, meanwhile I was so star struck as they were my entire childhood!"

– Itsagabby

Gravity is not our friend, and not just because of its effect on our faces.

The Day It Went Downhill

"When i fell down the last couple of steps on a stairway. No one pointed and laughed like I expected, instead they helped me up and asked me if I was okay. That’s when I knew."

– day_of_duke

It's About The Recovery

"F'k. That has to be a bummer."

"You fall. You know you're fine. You feel like an idiot. You get ready to wave to the crowd as they laugh and clap. But then... a hand is placed on your arm and you hear 'that was a big fall, are you ok?' You stay in shock for a moment. Of course, you're fine. Everyone is looking at you. They all have concerned faces. Sh*t. Two weeks later, the soreness finally subsides."

– minimalfighting

Ice Slip, You Slip, We All Slip

"This happened to me as well....walking my dog the day after a huge snowstorm. There were some rowdy teenage boys having a snowball fight across the street (schools were closed that day, of course). I slipped on the ice, my feet flew over my head and I landed solidly on my backside. As I struggled to get up I braced myself for the laughter and catcalls, but all I heard was "Are you OK Ma'am??' 'Do you need help??' I was in my early 50s and had never felt 'old' until that moment."

– Ouisch

Conversations with younger coworkers can be fun.

You can quote lines from your favorite TV shows and talk about the latest CD you bought at Target and brag about your new digital camera that takes better pictures than a smartphone.

And then you can watch the blank expressions on your coworkers' faces because they haven't a clue about what you speak.

Yeah. This has never happened to me...

Old.

old

Rethink The Ink: People Explain Which Tattoos Are A Total Red Flag

person getting a tattoo

Collins Lesulie on Unsplash

The art of tattooing has been practiced across the globe since at least Neolithic times, as evidenced by mummified skin, art and the archaeological artifacts.

The oldest tattooed human skin was found on the body of Ötzi the Iceman from between 3370 and 3100 BC.

Tattooed mummies were recovered in almost 50 archaeological digs across the Earth with locations in Greenland, Alaska, Siberia, Mongolia, western China, Egypt, Sudan, the Philippines and the Andes.

But while advancements in tools and inks have opened up endless possibilities for body art, some designs have garnered a bad reputation.

Keep reading...Show less
red flags

The Most Unprofessional Thing A Doctor Has Ever Said To A Patient

surgeons looking down at patient

National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

"I shall do by my patients as I would be done by; shall obtain consultation whenever I or they desire; shall include them to the extent they wish in all important decisions; and shall minimize suffering whenever a cure cannot be obtained, understanding that a dignified death is an important goal in everyone's life."

~ English translation of the modern abridged Hippocratic Oath

It is the hope of those seeking medical help that the medical professionals providing it will be just that—professional.

But no profession is immune to bad days, bad attitudes or bad apples.

Keep reading...Show less
healthcare