My mother often jokes that if/when she is finally declared the supreme leader of the world, the first thing she's going to do is outlaw chewing with your mouth open and other "offensive mouth noises" ... but the thing is, she's only half joking. If she could punish people for "offensive mouth noises" she totally would - supreme leader or not.
That got me thinking... I'm sure there are other people out there who would love to outlaw stuff that is totally legal. Reddit user notbradford actually asked about it!
What is something legal that should be illegal?
and honestly, what it boils down to is that people really, really, reeeaaaally hate being annoyed, taken advantage of, and disgusted. Can't say I blame them.
Robomarketing
"Robo telemarketing!! Get called 3 times a day by a machine saying it's in reference to my credit card accounts, I don't freaking have any credit card accounts!!!!"
- Merdin86
"My favorite is one I started getting a few weeks ago, where they say (and this is an exact quote)"
"The local government agencies have filed lawsuits against you for reasons. Contact immediately to pay fines instead of facing legal consequences"
"I mean come on, at least put in some effort."
"I had them say "there is a warrant out for your home". So apparently, since I didn't pay anything, my home has been evading the law for a few years now, and I expect it to be arrested any minute."
- ArtEclectic
Who Decides?
"Insurance companies getting to decide what medication or treatments a patient can get access to. Doctors are the only people who should be deciding these things."
"Pretty common in the U.S. I've had eczema (skin condition) since I was a child. It's pretty much gone away with age, but I had a little flare up this summer."
"Went to the doctor and got a prescription for some cream that'll help with it (same stuff I'd used years ago) but when I went to get it filled insurance denied it, cost around $120 to pay out of pocket for it."
"Insurance wants me to try another cream instead of what my doctor prescribed. I talked to my mother about it and she mentioned I had been put on the cream they wanted me to try when I was a kid and that it didn't really help back then. Which is why the doctor had been prescribing the current cream.
"Yeah, I live in the US. My doctor can prescribe whatever they want, but lately more often than not, my insurance company will kick it back when I try to fill it and be like "Nah, that's too expensive, you don't actually need that."
"So, then I COULD pay out of pocket if I wanted to, but the last medication I had that this happened with cost $2,780 for 8 pills. 8. Pills. I also had a 10 year long history of taking this medication with amazing results, all of which my insurance knew about and they sent me a formal letter saying, "We know you've taken this before and it helps, but we will not cover it because its too expensive."
"This was not a life saving medication for me, but this happens a lot with medications that people need in order to stay alive (like insulin) and then people can't afford to pay out of pocket when their insurance says no to covering it and they end up dying. The US healthcare system is so f-ed. If you're wealthy it doesn't matter, you can pay out of pocket if you need to, (but you're likely able to afford healthcare that covers everything you could ever ask for anyway) but the system is designed specifically to screw over the poor."
IE
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"Internet Explorer. It ruins my day when I click on it accidentally. Freaking piece of trash takes ages to open and close. Then there's this pop up 'Would you like to make this your default browser?'
"I would rather die and have all my friends and family murdered then make it my default browser."
"Free" Trials
"Free trials that auto charge when they run out."
"I signed up for one once, it was a one month trial for a subscription box, 20 days later the box still hadn't shipped, but a charge was placed on my account."
"I went to the website and sure enough in tiny print on the bottom of the page it said "subscription auto renews 10 days before the start of the next month."
"Kind of a dick move, and I hadn't even received the box yet. I went to customer service and tried to get them to reverse the charge and they just sent me auto responses. But waited a while to send them? Website also wouldn't let me cancel the subscription."
"10 days later 2 boxes arrived, in a single package, revealing this was the plan all along."
"I called them and the person on the other end of the phone wouldn't do anything, wouldn't even cancel the subscription."
"Ended up calling my bank and requesting a chargeback, explained the situation to them and they were able to reverse the charge and block future charges from that company."
"A month later I received a third box, since the company was blocked from charging me it wasn't charged to my account."
"Then I got an angry email from the company saying I must return the box, on my dime."
"I emailed them back "lol"
Public Bathroom Bandits
"The state some people leave public bathrooms in should somehow be illegal. I mean, whoever is wiping poo on the wall should at least be fined."
Fake Tips
"Leaving those fake 20/50/100 dollar bill pamphlets at a tip. You are a literal piece of trash if you do that to someone."
- dc5trbo
"I used to be a server. And it never failed that during Sunday brunch I'd get the church group. There was always at least one jerk that would leave those bills as my tip. On more than one occasion members of this group told me I should be ashamed of myself for working on the Lord's day."
"...Seriously? They came to a restaurant on Sunday and just expected the staff to be what - ..machines or ghosts or something? Or were they counting on being served by blasphemous individuals?"
Ad Sounds
"Playing noises like ringtones, vehicle sirens and doorbells on the radio ads. It pisses me off!"
"I hate cop sirens in songs or on radio ads. Always start looking around frantically wondering where the cop came from."
- lvl5Loki
"Baby crying has been making me go crazy lately, and my local radio station has at least 3 commercials that have it..."
- AcheeCat
"There used to be a drunk driving ad in Canada that was just 30 seconds of a baby crying alone in a crib, the premise being that a drunk had killed the mother. I can remember sitting in a room with two guys and three women, and that ad had come on for the second time in about 15 minutes and all three ladies got up and cleared out of the room."
Put It Back!
"Leaving cold stuff at the grocery store just anywhere random when you don't want it. Put it back! The store, especially during a rush, doesn't have magic elves to run around and put your crap back for you. ESPECIALLY NOT if you hide it behind something like a jerk."
"Unless the item was already out of date or damaged, leaving it out of the cooler to spoil is just wasting it for no reason."
"Do I come to your house and leave your lunchmeat out in the hot house all day without putting it back? Do I hide your lunchmeat in your cupboard so you won't know I was too lazy to put it back in the fridge? No, no I don't."
Rejection Notice
"Company's not responding to you after you go in for a job interview. I don't understand why it's acceptable for these places to bring you in for an interview, then if you don't get the job you will just never hear from them again. It's honestly kind of unprofessional in my opinion."
"I'm not asking for a real person to reach out to everybody who didn't make the cut. But an automated email or phone call telling me I didn't get the job would be nice rather than having me sit around for several weeks wondering if I'm gonna hear back or not so I can move on with my life. It should be required that company's send some kind of rejection notice to the people who didn't make it."
Littering Into My House
"Putting things through my letterbox other than my mail. I'm talking about pizza menus, adverts for double glazing salesmen, psychic readings etc. Stop littering into my house - sometimes I'll get home and there's a whole stack of this garbage."
On Several Notes
"On a severe note: Child marriage is still a thing in the US and a lot of folks don't realize it."
"On a medium note: Banks charging you money when you don't have enough in your account."
"On a softer note: Manhattan chowder."
Troubling Taxes
"Being poor and paying more in taxes than some billionaires."
"Tax write-offs for high net worth individuals. The 1% of the 1% really don't like to pay their debts to the government."
- qyjq
Zombie Debt
"Debt collectors harassing people to collect debt that has past the statute of limitations, as well as the debt of deceased loved ones. Zombie debt is nasty, and debt collectors will go through any means to get people to pay, even if they no longer have to or if the debt isn't theirs."
Eminent Domain Killed The Pickle Factory
"Eminent domain."
- "You own something."
- "The government wants it (or wants someone else to have it)."
- "the government says "it's for the public good", and they take it."
- "They pay you pennies on the dollar for it's value, even though you didn't want to sell it."
"The current Colts stadium in Indianapolis was built that way. Used to be a pickle factory on part of that property. But the city of Indianapolis valued 1 private business (the Colts) over another (the pickle factory). So the colts got a new stadium... Across the street from their old stadium."
Fossil Fuels Are Over
"Manufacturing any device that burns fossil fuels."
"Even Exxon knew since the 70's what it causes. Homeowners cannot buy insurance against floods in many places or wildfires in California now as the danger is beginning to outpace premiums. We will be completely on our own against real peril."
"So power stations should have been replaced with clean energy, engines in cars, ships, planes, lawnmowers should have been required to be replaced with clean energy, such as electric motors, etc. Same with heating and cooking, only non fossil energy burning technologies should be legal - like heat pumps, induction stoves."
Bullet Dodged
"My ex cheated on me and married his cousin. Bullet dodged, but cousin marriage is not illegal where he's from."
Declawing
"Declawing cats (it's already illegal some places but it should be illegal EVERYWHERE)!"
"Cats scratch; that is what they do, and if you don't like it then don't get a cat."
"Declawing is the removal of the first bone of the paw and it can be painful and debilitating for the cat long term."
"Imagine if you had the first bone removed from all your fingers!"
Social Media Permission
"Social media companies being able to use your pictures for promotional reasons without your permission."
"For example, there was a pretty recent thing where a YouTuber named Cody Ko had videos from his TikTok account, which was private, being used for TikTok ads. So even though his account and all the videos on it were private, TikTok was still able to access them and repurpose them for their own promotional reasons and it was all totally legal."
- eDgAR
Non-medial Exemptions
"Being able to not vaccinate your kids when they are not allergic to the vaccines. For some reason, this form of child abuse is legal."
- Ecoli42
"Some people are allergic to vaccines or otherwise can't get them for medical reasons. Those people are the very reason anti-vaxxing should be illegal. Their lives depend on herd immunity, when parents choose not to vaccinate, herd immunity wears down and puts those who cannot be vaccinated at risk."
"Jehovahs witnesses not letting their children get blood transfusions to save their lives. It's "sinful" in their eyes."
"A friend of mine's parents were part of a church that forbids blood transfusions, when she was injured and needed blood, her father approved it and when questioned said "Well I said they could, so its my sin, not hers. And God will have to sort out whether the sin of it outdoes the responsibility He gave me to protect my children the best I am able."
"They were kicked out of their church, which is how they ended up at ours."
- SeaOkra
Creeping On Kids
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1."Using Binoculars to look at parks or schools."
2. "Taking pictures of children without permission from them and their parents/guardians."
No Tolerance
"No tolerance" fighting policy for schools. You don't see a judge sending someone who survived a murder to jail for getting stabbed or shot. It's unfair that even if you didn't do anything to that person you still get suspended for being "involved." Just get punched in the face and then you get suspended for doing what? Getting punched in the face? It's ridiculous."
Timeshares
"Timeshares. The fees are perpetual, even after paying the loan. They are very difficult to get rid of, and most people who buy them do so after incredibly high pressure sales and tactics."
- Asti_
We'd like to see a few of these changes made!
Do you have something to add? Let us know in the comments below.
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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.