Top Stories

Intuitive People Reveal How Their "Something's Wrong Here" Feeling Saved Them

Intuitive People Reveal How Their "Something's Wrong Here" Feeling Saved Them

Intuitive People Reveal How Their "Something's Wrong Here" Feeling Saved Them

[rebelmouse-image 18351666 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

You ever get that feeling in your gut like something is super wrong? Most of us have, and most of the time that feeling - thankfully - turns out to be nothing. Every now that then, though, that feeling is a warning that yeah, things are about to get really, really real. One Reddit user asked:

When did your "Something is very wrong here" feeling turned out to be true?

And honestly this is a list full of tons of people who may not be here had they made a different choice - or would be here with much higher therapy and medical bills. Some of these entries are on the disturbing side, move forward with caution.

Talk With Mom

[rebelmouse-image 18351667 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Mom sat me down when I was eighteen, already in tears proclaiming she had something serious to tell me. Being as sarcastic and nervous I am, I turned and joked "What? Is dad not my real dad anymore?"

Welp, folks..

Tornado Alley

[rebelmouse-image 18351668 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Used to live on a farm on the outskirts of Tornado Alley.

It's super disconcerting when the sky is looking ominous and it's really windy, maybe gusting up to 40-50 mph. Then at the drop of a hat....complete calm.

That's your cue to get inside. You don't necessarily notice that it's quiet, or green, or calm right away, but you just feel wrong. It's a real palpable sense of dread, like it's instinct. There is an actual physical feeling caused by barometric pressure changes, which are MASSIVE right before tornadoes and hurricanes. The people who felt that and acted on it survived, and passed on the idea that "Hey, this is a bad feeling, don't just mess about if it happens."

I had a couple tornadoes close and several nasty wind storms that were nearly as bad as a tornado. The whole "calm before the storm" saying exists for a reason and it's freaky.

Sister. NOW.

[rebelmouse-image 18351669 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My siblings and I were swimming at a neighbors house with their kid, but the adults were inside. Randomly a thought came into my head of "Wheres my sister?". She easily could've gone inside or have walked across the street and be home but i felt like I needed to find her ASAP. I got all of us kids to search when we noticed she was at the bottom of the pool, completely blue.

She made a complete recovery and is one of the best parts of my life.

Impending Doom

[rebelmouse-image 18351670 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

There is such a thing as a feeling of "impending doom" when your body is like - "yo, you are about to die" - it is a real thing.

I had not been feeling well, and all of a sudden I sat up and had a distinct feeling of you are going to die soon if you don't do something. I drove myself to the ER and on the way was getting chest pains. I went in, told them and they took me to the back. After some tests there were a lit of people around me injecting me with a lot of different stuff.

Turns out I had a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in my lung) which at any second could have gone to my brain and killed me then and there. The doctors said if I had left it any longer I would have been dead.

Thanks brain!

I Knew He Was Dead

[rebelmouse-image 18345178 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

The end of April, my friend and I were to meet up for drinks. He didn't show, didn't answer his phone, didn't respond to my texts. I knew he was dead. I got the call the next day...he died in a car crash on his way to meet me.

Grab The Students And Run

[rebelmouse-image 18351671 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

4 students of mine won the 1st prize for a project they did and we all got a free trip to London.

We had spent the day sightseeing and were exhausted so we got an ice-cream and sat on a bench in a park to relax. A couple of minutes later I notice this couple walk by slowly, staring at us. My spidey-senses go mental. I do not like these people for some reason. She walks by and sits on the bench next to ours and he sits on the bench across from hers. They arent talking, just looking at each other. And that is when I notice her reaching into her pockets. I jump up, grab my students and run out of the park.

My poor students are confused AF and wondering wtf is wrong with me, when all of a sudden we hear screaming. Turns out she stabbed a couple walking through the park, trying to rob them.

It scares the ever loving s*** out of me knowing had I not gotten my students out of there, we would have been stabbed and robbed.

Deleting The Evidence

[rebelmouse-image 18351673 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I was just 20, in London on my own. I met a guy (I can't remember how) and we went to a pub for a drink. I took a photo of him with my camera and then he asked for the camera and took some photos of me, and looked through them. We left the pub and he was trying to get me to go somewhere in particular, but I just wanted to stay public and go to another pub. I felt like something was off, and he seemed to get angry that I wasn't willing to go with him, so I basically sprint walked away from him. Later, I was looking through the photos on my camera and realized that he had deleted the photo I took of him. I'm certain he had a bad plan for me and I learnt a really valuable lesson that day.

NICU Nurse

[rebelmouse-image 18351674 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Worked as a NICU nurse for a few years. I had a micropreemie who in general wasnt doing so great. At 8pm baby looked fine, at 11pm I thought their abdomen looked a little grayish. Called all the other staff nurses in to look at baby. No other symptoms at this point. Everyone said kiddo looked fine. Abdomen was soft and nondistended.

Something kept nagging at my nurse brain so I called the NP to take a look. She agreed that everything looked okay but we should test a blood gas to see if they were overcompensating or something. Bedside blood gas came back normal. She went back to bed.

Still something wasnt right and I dont know how I knew, but I did. I called the doc and made her come see the baby. She agreed with everyone else. I'm just being paranoid. I tell her that I KNOW something is wrong. She gives me the runaround and basically says she doesnt want to come to the unit because it's late. She eventually comes up and tells me they're fine, there's nothing going on, all while letting me know what an inconvenience this has been for her. She orders an abdominal xray just to basically say she did something. Baby at this point is still stable, no changes in vital signs or appearance.

Xray comes to the bedside stat and finds that baby's intestine has ruptured and he has free air in the abdominal cavity. Cue a collective oh s*** from everyone around. Kid had bedside surgery less than 2 hours later because they weren't stable enough to transport to OR. Meanwhile I sat back and basically said "I told you so" to everyone. Made sure the doctor knew that my annoyances are the only reason this baby is still alive, and maybe listen to your nurses next time.

They ended up making a full recovery. I'm 100% sure they're still alive today because I was the nurse that night. The parents agree. Feelsgoodman.

Written Up

[rebelmouse-image 18351675 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I worked at a fast food restaurant and I got an antsy phone call from my dad telling me to come home ASAP. There were storms on the way and he was nervous about the timing. I thought he was being paranoid until I got this really uneasy feeling as well. Every nerve in my body was telling me to get home RIGHT NOW.

I pissed off the manager when I left without mopping the floors. I rushed home and I had barely gotten into the door for two minutes before a tornado hit our house.

Looking back on it, if I didn't leave when I did, I would've been driving along the road the tornado followed and I probably wouldn't be here.

I got written up at work for leaving without completing my tasks but a write-up is better than being dead.

Finger Smells Funny

[rebelmouse-image 18351676 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My dad has had health issues since 2008 when the first stroke hit. Since then he was always in and out of hospitals and it became just another thing. It happened so much that he would dismiss symptoms just so he wouldn't have to go to the hospital again. It became even worse when he was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney failure and had to do dialysis three times a week.

Anyway, I went to visit him about a month ago and out of the blue he kinda looks at his hand and says, "you know, my finger has been smelling funny lately." I'm all incredulous and I tell him funny smells usually means infections. I joke around and tell him he needs to get it looked at before they have to amputate it.

Spoiler alert: by the time he had it looked at the bloodflow to the finger was compromised due to a fistula in his arm. He needed to get it amputated.

This is where the funny feeling kicked in. My grandmother, his mom, passed away in 98' after her leg was amputated. The fact that he had to have anything amputated starting making me anxious, and I dismissed it as being over dramatic.

His surgery was the Friday before Mother's day and I went to visit him after work to see how he was feeling. He was so groggy and kept falling asleep at the table so my mom and I basically carry him to his bed. He's a proud man, super oldschool in a 'I'm a man, I don't need my wife and daughter helping me' kind of way but he clung to us because he just couldn't do it on his own.

We got him to the bed and he couldn't even lift his legs up. I had to do it for him and stick some pillows under his head. I looked over at my mom and the look on her face made my stomach drop and I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her tonight. You know, just in case. She said yes.

2am I go downstairs to check on them because I can't sleep. He starts moving around and trying to take his sweater vest off because he's hot. He was still wearing the clothes from earlier. So I help him unzip it and he wakes up briefly, sees that it's me and smiles. He puts his good hand on my arm and just smiles.

4am Saturday morning mom wakes me up and real calmly says she doesn't think Daddy is breathing. I knew it before I entered the room because in addition to the kidney issues, he had some breathing problems too and always took laborious breaths when he slept. It was quiet, I heisitate to use the term dead quiet because thats exactly what it was.

We called 911 and the ambulance came. They got him back, lost him, got him back again but said he was clinically brain dead and we should probably call the family. So we do.

1:00 am Mother's day my sister and I are standing watch in the room. We agreed to sleep in shifts and it was her turn. My anxiety is skyrocketing and my fight or flight is kicking in and I just want to leave and go for a walk around the halls to calm my mind. So I get up and as I'm passing his bed my anxiety becomes more direct, if that makes sense. I suddenly felt that I needed to be there. So I stood by his bed and held his hand. I told him that we were there with him, and just spoke about anything that came to my head because honestly I'm just flying on auto-pilot when it came to cognitive function. I do remember saying, right before I sat down, that I know he's tired and that we don't want him to hurt anymore and we'll always love him. I went to go sit back down because I was crying and a few minutes later the machines started going haywire. He passed at 1:30am.

Buying Weed In Cuba

[rebelmouse-image 18351677 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Buying weed in cuba when I was sixteen.

Super nice guy, one of the first people I had met in Cuba, had only been there two weeks. I asked him for weed. He's like I just got to pick it up from my house. I was no problem, you are a friend this isn't weird.

So, we enter the house, but part of the side wall is blown out into an doorway to connect all the houses on the street. I would say there is about 10. So, we are walking through these houses. Its just old cubans watching tv. We get to the last house. Its the only one that has a door. He tells me, "okay I'm just going to get the stuff. you wait here." He enters, I hear him lock the door.

I get the "Oh, I'm about to get robbed" feeling. I turn around I see all the doorway were passing now have doggie gates to prevent a quick get away.

So, I bolt.

I'm doing some Olympic vaulting over these doggie doors. I hear the door swing open. My friend lacks weed yet has a knife.

So, I speed up. Old Cuban women are attempting to grab me. They are getting an american sixteen year old stiff arm to the face.

I get to the street. He is right on my tail. Book it about 5 more blocks. I see a cop. Basically power slide behind him. Look up, I see my "friend" half way up the block. Gasps. Turns around. Yeah, I made it to base.

The Cuban cop said something to me, I don't speak any Spanish. So, I just shrugged and walked in the opposite direction. Never saw my friend after that.

Those Flowers Are Too Nice

[rebelmouse-image 18351678 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I'm working one morning and my fiancée is off. She texts me around 10 or 11 and she says she had gone out to breakfast with her family and they bought her flowers and she was having a good morning.. blah blah.. I was glad to hear that because she didn't really get along well with her family. The more the day went along, the more it all didn't sound right.

Later that evening, she was acting unusual and she wouldn't tell me what was going on.. so I checked the cell phone account activity and learned not only had she been texting and calling this random guy constantly but she had been repeatedly lying to me about what she was doing or why she'd go do this and that or get off the phone with me (like to get back to work).. there were so many instances where she hung up with me and immediately called him and had lengthy conversations. I then pointed at the flowers that were sitting on my table in my apartment (really nice flowers, vase with marbles.. probably cost $60 easily). I asked if they were from him. They were.

That relationship ended right then and there.

Playing Catch With Broken Glass

[rebelmouse-image 18351680 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I was at my grandparents for a gathering and me and some of the other older kids were playing catch or tag in the front yard, I can't exactly remember, doesn't matter. The younger kids were playing in the backyard, doing whatever the hell kids do. While playing, I could SWEAR I heard a crying/wailing/screaming sound, but it was very quiet and distant. It was one of the most horrific screams I've ever heard, but I asked the others and they didn't hear a thing, and all insisted it was nothing. I don't know why but felt absolutely dreadful and terrified, yet everything was fine, so I decided to go check it out. I run into the backyard and it turns out my little sister (4-5 yrs at the time) was bleeding severely, she was covered in blood and trying to crawl towards the house, I swear it was out of a damn horror movie, looking back I can't believe this actually happened. Long story short my little cousin (7-8 yrs at the time) decided it was a good Idea to play "catch" with some broken glass he found in the backyard, and ended up cutting her jaw very deeply.

Kids are dumb.

Spider Senses Tingled

[rebelmouse-image 18351681 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Once at a party I was about to kiss this girl, but my spider senses tingled. I took a few steps back, and she was like "what the fu- " before throwing up. So glad I dodged that bullet.

All Over The News

[rebelmouse-image 18351682 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I used to clean vacant houses for a living. One day I was working at a house near the end of a dead end street and there was maybe 6 or 7 houses on the one side of the street before an intersection with a stoplight so it was a pretty heavy traffic area. I was cleaning out the property just fine when my Spidey-Sense went off the charts. I was inside the house but I pretty much dropped everything, got in my car and started to drive outta there. On the corner I saw a weird looking guy that had a nasty feeling about him.

When I got home it was all over the news, that guy killed a police officer right on that street corner about 15 minutes after I hoofed it. Told my boss that I wasn't going to go back to that property. He understood.

Station Nightclub Fire

[rebelmouse-image 18351683 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Friend invited me to see Great White. Was going to go but last minute changed my mind on him.

He died at the Station Nightclub fire.

Fake Identity

[rebelmouse-image 18351684 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I lived in the Middle East for about 9 years. One night I was out with 3 friends of mine and we were hanging out having a smoke out on the street.

Two cars pulled up and about 6-7 grown men stepped out of the car rather aggressively right in front of us. As soon as that happened one of the guys I was with very quickly took off. Another guy leaned in grabbed my shoulder hard and told me firmly "Your name is Ahmed and you're muslim!"

That's when I thought to myself "Something is about to go very wrong here."

Turned out this was a group of Muslim extremists. They stood aggressively close to us and started telling us about their brotherhood. The friend who had given me the fake identity instructions (who was actually Muslim), did most of the talking to cover me. We were forced to stand there and talk until a military truck pulled up, guns drawn, and told them to piss off.

Military asked us if we were fine and told us to stay out of this area late at night.

The Man With The Gloves

[rebelmouse-image 18351685 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I was like 6 years old and in the backyard of my best friend/neighbor swimming in a 3ft play pool thing. She went inside to ask for something and right as she left, a guy on a motorcycle drove down the alley and stopped. The fence was a small chain link fence, so he definitely saw me and stopped. And I could see him clearly, like 20 years later it's still so vivid.

He pulled out some gloves and put them on which is the last thing I saw him doing as I got out and ran through their garage out the front, and inside my house next door terrified. He drove around the front down the street slowly and about 10 minutes later shot 2 kids at the park at the end of my street.

H/T: Reddit

(c) Oh Myyy LLC

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.