People Who've Won Nickelodeon Games Like Legends Of The Hidden Temple Reveal What It Was Like
Does it occur to us that people we watched win Game Shows are people in the real world with us? Those people on Nickelodeon game shows shaped our childhoods. How awesome would it have been to get slimed on 'Double Dare'?! Or stump the panel in 'Figure It Out'? Honestly, some people are living our dreams.
u/xCanont70x asked:
Here's some of those accounts.
The Mid 90s
GiphyLegends of the Hidden Temple. It was a long day but we had endless pizza and soda (mid 90s). Every recent gaming system was available to play between shoots. There was a live audience that would get shuffled in and out. The host interviewed us all individually and it was a bit uncomfortable. Red Jaguars 4 life.
It Was Cool!
I was on double dare when I was a kid. The way it worked for us is that we went to the taping and prior to the show they picked out families to do games which would determine who would be on the show. I think they were looking for people who could follow directions and people who tested well for the camera. We got picked to try out only because during the last chance to be picked I physically grabbed the guy selecting people (again, I was a kid and this was the 90's) and yelled "please pick us" at the top of my lungs. Anyways we got picked and did a cake making challenge with the large styrofoam "cakes". You would pass them down and stack them while one person added slime to help hold them together. We won that and were selected for the show.
There was a little talk and paperwork before the show, mostly handled by my Dad. The talk we got was to encourage us to listen closely to the rules and to be enthusiastic for the camera. We were team "Ah, real monsters!!" which excited me because that show was dope. During the show we did a couple of physical challenges. I remember we did one where you flipped frogs into the other player's pants using a small catapult. We ended up winning the main show and got to do the obstacle course. I was picked to do, I believe, obstacles 4 and 8. 4 was the human gumball machine and 8 was the blimp. I remember being disappointed because my brother got to do "pick it" and that shit was my jam. The gumball machine was really cool though. You jump in and basically disappear into black for a few seconds while all you can hear are tons of plastic ball pit balls shifting. Then you suddenly see the stage lights again when you exit. The blimp was very straight forward. I was told I could not engage it until the whole family was under it. When they were in place I pulled a cord and we all got slimed. I got the flag and we won. After the show we were covered in slime, which tastes very good surprisingly. The crew gave us Ah, Real Monsters!! T-shirts that had glow in the dark parts. On a side note, I wore that shirt until it was so full of holes that my Mom threw it away. Back to the story though, my family didn't expect to get picked so we ended up having to find cardboard to lay down on the seats of the van so we could ride home without ruining the seats. It was an interesting ride back sitting around in my undershorts on a piece of cardboard trying not to touch anything.
For prizes we got Mountain Bikes, a Sega Genesis with Maximum Carnage, a Mario Paint game with the drawing board, a Nickelodeon flash screen, and random other things I'm forgetting. My parents paid taxes on all the prizes and they took a long time to arrive. I think it was several months before we got the first ones and about six months until we had everything. It was a great experience overall though.
Apple Sauce
GiphyWhen I was at Universal Nickelodeon I got called up to be a contestant on some test show. Got slimed, it was basically apple sauce. Got to meet the All That cast who were my age. Funny to see some of them around on TV and stuff.
Slime!
I was on Slime Time Live back when they taped at Universal Studios in Orlando. They had a bunch of us kids line up outside by the slime geyser where the producers could see how enthusiastic we would be for television. My sister and I got on the show thanks in part to my dad splitting us up so the producers wouldn't know we were related.
Anyways, once were chosen, we hung out in the green room at the old Nickelodeon Studios. They had a TV playing re-runs and couch... nothing too fancy. We did get to see where the slime was made, the prop room, and a couple of the sound stages. Sadly, the inside of the studio was largely deserted and a far cry from it's heyday due to its impending closure.
We geared up in jump suits and when they were ready to go live, we went outside to tape the show. I lost the first game, but my sister wound up going on to getting slimed and winning a kick scooter.
A Time Before Nick
I was on Double Dare in 1987. Back when it was on Fox before it moved to Nickelodeon. It was awesome. Our whole class and the other teams class were the audience members. My parents had to chaperone the school trip to go there (Philly) and they had to sit on a different set (Finders Keepers) so they would not interfere. My team won but I messed up the obstacle course on the fifth obstacle. We split $320 cash and then each won a phone/tape answering machine, a gumball and dog treat machine, $200 to Kaybee toy store and a remote controlled car. Dave, Robin, Harvey and Marc were all extremely friendly. I went home with slime (icing) in my underwear.
Do You Have It?
GiphyMy brother and I, while at universal Orlando in early 2000 or maybe 2001 , got chosen from the park to be on a short GUTS show/commercial break game or something where we were going to shoot free throws on their driveway/garage looking studio inside Nickelodeon. We go inside and see some awesome sets for the live shows and then get taken to the waiting room, which was basically a pimped out 90's Nickelodeon dreamland. Video games and whacky decor. Can't remember a whole lot, but they didn't let me wear the shirt I had on and took me into the enormous wardrobe room and gave me a baggy plain red shirt. I Felt like an idiot, I must've been 9 or 10. We go into the set and they tell me that I was too young to play so my brother played some free throws game with 3 other kids and I got to be the kid who rebounded the balls and passed them back. We didn't win anything but later we both got letters from Nickelodeon with our names on them that I bragged about until I grew up and didn't watch Nickelodeon anymore.
Slime Time, Live!
I was on slime time live in the early 2000s. We all lined up in a row to play one game. The winner of the game got Ice Age on dvd. Basically there were these teams of two and you were either a kid with the balloon on your head or the kid with a nail file. You popped the balloon and you either got red slime or green. Green meant you won the prize and red meant you just got slimed. It was apple sauce cause I tasted it after I lost but I was still on Nickelodeon and you can bet I bragged about it to my friends I was on national tv.
Letdowns Of The Hidden Temple
I was on LotHT. I was on the very young end of the 11-14 range, having just turned 11 a few months prior. The puberty gap was huge and some of these kids were much stronger than me.
I watched the show religiously to prepare and then I got handed the most difficult moat crossing I'd ever seen. Fell in multiple times, the fog made it kind of hard to breath. It took a really long time for one of the last 3 teams to get across the moat (which they reduced significantly in editing).
I went back to the dressing room and they were prepping the next 4 teams with the story for the Steps of Knowledge. I think they heard it at least 3x read to them and get a copy to internalize. Leaving this scene was surreal and I was already struggling to deal with it. I didn't yet realize the huge letdown experience was going to lead me into a bit of a depression.
I remember arguing with the kid from the Red Jaguars about whether O.J. was guilty, changing out of my wet clothes, visiting the biggest McDonalds in Orlando and then driving home with my parents.
I got a $50 savings bond in the mail maybe 3 months later and I never redeemed it. My episode aired and we taped it, but now the YouTube version of the episode is actually higher quality - it just doesn't have the commercials from the original era.
Pie Mom!
GiphyI was on the Double Dare Live Tour circa 1992. My parents and I were pulled from the audience to do a new challenge from the (new at the time) show What Would You Do. My parents had to do a chug a lug contest with a giant mug of milk. Marc Summers handed me a pie to smash in the losers face.
My mom thought she had this in the bag, because my dad is severely lactose intolerant. My dad doesn't like to lose. He won, but spent the rest of the day in the bathroom. I pied my mom in the face. 10/10 would do again.
At Least There Was Cheesecake
Back when I was 12 or 13 (10-11 years ago) my family tried out for GUTS in Universal Orlando, at a pop up obstacle course, had to sign papers to okay footage and waivers and whatever. My team was myself (played lacrosse and soccer), my cousin whom is a month younger ( played basketball and football), my aunt (fresh out of the army) and my uncle (was a track runner), and we are all very competitive, VERY, competitive.
We crushed it, we were consistently in the top 3 out of 20 families, it took hours. The way it seemed they tried to make it fair was the higher your score the earlier you went on the new obstacle or task, so the worse you did the more you could see and plan. Again we weren't afforded that luxury, but we took it in stride with the other 2 families that we were neck and neck with.
After all was said and done we finished first, really we did, I promise, but they pulled us to the side, gave us a gift card to like the Cheesecake Factory and said we did great, but we weren't what they were looking for. We preformed the best athletically we just didn't perform the best for the camera, we were too involved in competition, that we did stop to be caricatures, pretty much. So we didn't continue.
Basically, my family competed for GUTS (MY FAMILY GOT GUTS!!) we excelled athletically, but performed poorly as showmen/cartoon characters. We didn't make the cut, but got a gift card to a hardly decent establishment.
So Close
I was gonna be on the Wild and Crazy Kids show. I was 5 and my sister was 6. She decided to ruin my life by getting her fingers caught in a heavy metal door jam. I guess getting three of your finger tips crushed is reason enough to cry like a baby? Anyways, we had to go to the hospital instead of fulfilling my destiny, and the rest of my life has been downhill since then....
Please Stop Fighting, We're Uncomfortable
GiphyMy family tried out for Family a Double Dare in Philadelphia. It was a disaster, as my parents were divorced, my brother was a sullen teen who was mortified to be there. I was the only one obsessed with the show, so I guess the rest of the family was there for me (which I still appreciate to this day). We had to do family team type games, and I guess act like we thought a "real" family acts like (or at least one they would put on TV). I remember feeling like we weren't convincing anyone. When we did trivia, I blurted our answers over everyone else (not demonstrating being a team player). Needless to say we didn't get a call back
Aggro Crag
I got to climb the crag on the roadshow thing they did. I was with my mom who got the tickets from her boss and the family next to us only had 1 child so I went on stage with them. It started with a dance competition and being the super rad 8 year old that I was, I pulled a Marty McFly and kind slid along the stage on my back. Needless to say we won. So we were part of the finale. Each family member had to do an individual stage. Like a weird hybrid of double dare and GUTS. Mine was the crag. I was legit nervous and the second they clipped my harness in I had to pee. Like squeeze it to not pee yourself kinda pee. We lost, because my fly dance moves didn't get me up the mountain any quicker. The family I went on stage with was super cool and they called my mom when they got the runners up prizes and let me have Ren and Stimpy for SNES.
A Heart Full Of Candy
My cousin was on a British Nickelodeon game show (forget what its name was) wherein several pairs of kids competed for a room full of candy. Standard stuff, except the winning group would be voted on by the public.
Nearly everything about the show was fabricated. The producers made it look like the kids were sleeping in log cabins in the woods, but they were actually staying at a hotel in a nearby town. They filmed all of the groups "winning" the room full of candy but just used the footage of whoever ended up being voted in by the public. Although apparently it was real candy in that room, and they were given boxes and/or jars of it afterwards.
Le Megadrive
GiphyWhen the National Lottery started in the UK, Nickelodeon gave away "lottery tickets" with numbers on and they would do daily prize draws. I didn't win anything from the draws but about 2 weeks after it finished, we got a knock on the door from the postman and it was a package for me! This was early 90s so getting a package was a big deal especially as a child, opened it up and there was a Megadrive inside and a note from Nickelodeon saying "have a good game on us".
I was so excited but my dad had to ring them first to make sure it was really for me before I could keep it. Turns out they raffled off all the unclaimed prizes. Only time I've won anything decent!
Not A Game Show, But Beloved All The Same
Pete and Pete filmed in a house my mother's friend grew up in and I was from a small town so when they needed extras on the show (I remember the gym scene they had us pretend to dance but there was no music) the entire high school was off for the day so we could attend the filming. I only graduated with about 300 other students I think. Anyhow filming was fun it was $50 a day and only a few hours. They stood outside our school and once a few kids started it just turned into the whole school practically.
People Break Down The Real Reason Their Coworker Got Fired
Reddit user wcslater asked: 'Why was that one guy fired from your work?'
When a co-worker or colleague gets fired, it naturally gets the rest of the office talking.
Namely, because everyone is immediately wondering why?
In some cases, the reason is no secret to anyone working there, and everyone knew it would only be a matter of time until this unfortunate individual got the sack.
Other times, someone's dismissal ends up taking everyone by surprise, and people begin speculating at the water cooler.
Most of the time, their gossip and conspiracy theories are way off, but in some rare occasions, they were spot on.
"Why was that one guy fired from your work?"
Sleeping On The Job Is One Thing...
"HVAC residential installer."
"Had a co-worker take a nap in the customer's house."
"In the customer's bed."
"Was confused why he was fired."- Wiggles349
That's Called Stealing...
"Work at a payroll company, we had an employee who Switched like 20 direct deposits to her own account."
"It was all very traceable and she was caught like later that day."- Familiar_Cow_5501
"Once worked at a big online retailer (Not amazon), we had 3 warehouses we shipped out of."
"One was smaller and only held one specific brand of item."
"The warehouse manager of that warehouse was fired and arrested at work."
"Turned out he was fulfilling orders printing labels with correct addresses, which would be emailed to the client."
"Then he would the next day do redirects through the Fedex system and assign new tracking numbers so the old ones wouldn't show final delivery address, just that it was changed."
"Everything got redirected to his house."
"He then was re-listing the same items on Ebay under a VERY similar company name to the one he actually worked for (not exact but changed the word World, to National)."- CoolHandRK1
Stealing Mike D GIF by Beastie BoysGiphyNOT Ready Player One...
"He spent the entire time playing a game on his own handheld console instead of testing the game we were doing overtime to actually test."
"Got very angry at being let go."- silverandstuffs
Violence Is Never The Answer
"He shouted, cursed at and invited the cleaning guy to 'meet him' outside to fight because he was denied access to the restroom until it was fully cleaned."
"The cleaning guy is known for being extremely calm, polite and nice to everyone."
"For someone to have a problem with him means that they have to be a certain kind of entitled a**hole."
"This happened in view of at least 10 co-wokers, me included."
"Everyone was confused, but our manager was proactive about it."
"He told the guy to meet him at the HR office, and was promptly fired."
"After the manager returned, he made a quick meeting."
"His words were: 'We're all grown adults here, well, some of us are'."
"'I just want to put it out there and say that I'll be considerably harsh to anyone that disrespects any coworker, specially when they're responsible for making sure that your a** cheeks sit on a clean toilet'."
"'Also, don't invite people to fight you if you're not willing to go through with it'."
"After the meeting was over, some of us asked him what he meant with that last sentence and he told us that the guy got violent in the HR office and invited him to fight in the parking lot when he was told he was getting terminated."- novato1995
Season 1 Fighting GIF by GaslitGiphyOh No He Didn't!
"Stealing the boss's Pop Tarts."- MGris24
If Your Going To Lie, Always Cover Your Tracks...
"He claimed he was in the national search and rescue brigade which is entirely volunteer-based."
"They are sorta like our troops, they get perks and can't be fired if they get called out and so on."
"He skipped work all the time claiming it was because he was called in."
"One day someone from the office decided to check if he was and turned out he lied about the whole thing."
"I'm pretty sure he got blacklisted by the entire city which would explain why I haven't heard anything about him for years."- Lizzy_Of_Galtar
You'd Think He Would Have At Least Used Incognito Mode...
"Well, there *was* the new CFO who was shown the door at lunchtime on his first day."
"Then the stock email about 'Do not use the corporate internet to visit inappropriate websites' was sent out."- OldBob10
She Wasn't Even Working From Home!
"She watched Netflix at her desk and took naps."
"With the volume up."
"Her desk was in the middle of the office, there was no hiding."
"She also f*cked up a lot."- SuperstitiousPigeon5
Truth Is Often Stranger Than Fiction
"Worked at a publication."
"Hired a new guy who was super nice and everybody liked him."
"Within a week, found he was plagiarizing everything he wrote."
"Immediately gone - no questions asked."- phznmshr
Could He Have Possibly Been Bird Watching?
"He was keeping sick and injured birds under his desk that he found on his lunch breaks and using binoculars to watch people in other offices."- seanofkelley
Bird Watching GIF by Team CocoGiphyIt's Not Private If It's On The Country's Dime...
"Using govt funds to see his mistress."- Acceptable-Result-47
Tragic On So Many Levels
"He was caught stealing cash from work, and spending it on sex workers."
"Turns out he had terminal cancer and wanted to go out with a bang."- Throwaway7219017
Up In The Air...
"Salesman addicted to frequent flier points."
"He'd book flights with four segments each way, meaning extra nights in hotels and basically doing almost no work two days a week."
"He was told repeatedly to book direct flights but just wouldn't."
"Two kids in college and the finally fired him."- mekonsrevenge
check in george clooney GIF by Paramount MoviesGiphyThere is often more behind someone's termination than what people hear.
Sometimes it's bad blood, sometimes it's criminal behavior, sometimes it's budget cuts.
Most of the time, though, people are just really, REALLY, bad at their jobs...
Usually, it’s men that get a bad reputation for being creepy, and we rarely hear about when ladies have crossed that line. But women are guilty of doing and saying some weird things too. If you don’t believe me, here are 50 hilarious tales of when Reddit users experienced full creep mode from a lady friend.
1. Crazy Level Confirmed
Last year I changed the privacy setting on my Facebook account to make some of my posts public. I soon found out this was a huge mistake. My crazy ex-wife who I had successfully ghosted for 20 years jumped on there and tried to strike up a conversation. How crazy, you ask?
We were at a restaurant with her family one time and I got that “spidey sense” feeling when a woman is angry and not saying why. It eventually came out that she saw me "holding hands with the waitress and planning a quickie in the back room". I never interacted with the waitress beyond ordering food from her.
Another time she confessed that she purposely caused a rollover accident before we met, in an attempt to hurt her family. Another time I was taking a shower and smelled smoke. It was coming from the plastic handle of the butcher blade she had hidden in the bathroom light fixture.
2. Took Her Long Enough
A girl I dated stalked me for five years after we broke up.
She kept writing me letters at every address I lived during that five-year period. If she didn't have the address, she'd send them care of my parents. The most memorable one is the one where she told me she was married and "he's a great guy but he's not you".
Once, not long after I'd moved to a new address, I came home and found a box of cookies she'd FedExed to me.
Eventually I moved to a new state. I knew from her return addresses that she lived and worked there, and was worried we'd run into each other, but realized that was pretty unlikely. Then after less than a year, she found me through a blog I was keeping and left a message on my voicemail demanding we meet.
I posted a message to her on my blog telling her to stop following me or I'd call the authorities. Up to that point I'd been ignoring her, hoping she'd take the hint. That night she called, and I repeated my threat to bring the authorities in. I haven't heard from her since.
Five years. And we were only together for six months in the first place.
3. This Went Way Too Far
woman with sunglasses standing outdoor during daytimePhoto by Katsiaryna Endruszkiewicz on UnsplashBack when I was 16 and still in school, a female classmate became really obsessed with me. She would send me tons of weird messages. She was also always trying to pair with me in science class, and just staring at me a lot of the time. I was usually just polite in return, and never went out my way to interact with her. But then it escalated.
She ended up getting really creepy, and getting me in a lot of trouble. At one point her messages became genuinely worrying, and I did not know what to do. I remember the night it got really bad was when she sent me a picture of my name carved into her arm. I had no idea what to do. In hindsight, I should've told someone straight away.
The next day in fact, I was preparing to tell one of the teachers or just anyone, possibly to get her help. But before I could she was telling people I told her to carve my name in her arm. It was as a pretty bad time. I got targeted at school that day, had the authorities come to my house, my phone got taken, and I was being treated like a felon.
Everyone apart from my two main friends at school seemed to think I was in the wrong. But I was in for worse. The next day while at school, I get called into the principal's office and told I am being expelled. My parents were called. They were very angry and took me home. They didn’t want to listen to my explanation or side of the story.
Thank God that night the authorities came around with my phone and told me they'd established that I had nothing to do with her doing that. They apologized to me and seemed pretty genuinely sorry.
4. Her Timing Was Off
I was seeing this girl and we went out three or four times. Eventually we got to intimate times, and I brought protection but she said it was fine, she was on the pill. A few days later she called me crying, looking for me to console her.
Turns out she was crying because she wasn't pregnant. She wasn't on the pill at all, it turned out, and now that she wasn't pregnant after our romp, she thought she must be barren. Young me learned an important lesson that day and I didn't speak to her again.
5. This Is Just Cruel
I met a girl a while back when online chat rooms were popular. She just got out of a bad relationship. We started chatting and from the get-go I told her I only wanted to be friends. We shared similar interests, enjoyed each other's company, and through talking found out we actually didn't live too far from each other.
We'd meet up from time to time to play video games and hang out. After about two weeks of being friends, she admitted that she was having feelings for me. I said that's sweet but I only see you as a friend and I'd like to keep it that way. From that point on she would make intimate advances, which I kept refusing.
She progressively kept going into more detail of all the "nasty things" she'll do to me. Most of which made me feel super uncomfortable. After a month I couldn't handle all the uncomfortable behavior and decided that we couldn't be friends any longer. When I told her our friendship was over, she threatened to tell lies to the authorities about me.
It's hard to describe what I felt that day, but it was mostly fear. I blocked her from everything and blocked her phone number. Luckily that was the last I heard of her.
6. I Bet He Chooses His Words More Wisely Now
man in white dress shirt holding black penPhoto by Caroline LM on UnsplashMy dentist told me this story once. He was still studying to be a dentist and they would work free clinics, often in the poor areas around the campus, for practical requirements. A girl came in a few times to have some cavities filled and by the last session, he said, "Great, we're done, all your holes are filled".
To which she apparently replied, in the chair giving him bad sleep-with-me eyes, "not all of them". His wife (then serious girlfriend) was the dental assistant, and he says the combination of location, situation, and the circumstances creeped him out so much he nearly ran out of the office.
7. It’s The Hair That Got Me On This One
Ok so here’s mine. I was at summer camp for blind and visually impaired people, and we were going somewhere. I was on the bus and me and my friend were talking and all of a sudden, he said: “Oh yeah, by the way there’s this girl that told me that she likes you and that she’s going to sneak into your room and watch you sleep. She wanted you to know that".
I didn’t believe it at first, but the next morning I noticed that I lost some hair. And then I thought to myself, “Okay, what the actual heck is going on here”. And then it happened every night. The next year I went, it happened again, and then I started to make sure my window was locked.
I then heard knocking repeatedly, plus: “I know you’re in there, open the window”, in a whispered voice. I got the heck out right then and there.
8. A Secret Admirer Gone Too Far
Back when I was 19-20 years old, I had a part-time counter job at local shop. After work, I started finding notes tucked under my windshield wiper when I went out to my car. They were casual, "You’re so cute, I want to get to know you" type of notes. There was no name or anything, so I just kind of shrugged it off and went about my business.
The notes started becoming more frequent, and eventually turned into full on love letters. They talked about being lonely and wanting to be my girlfriend, but she was too shy to talk to me. At that point I started to get concerned, so I asked the people I worked with if they knew anything.
None of them knew a thing about it, but thought it was hilarious. Then something really put me over the top. One night I went out to my car as usual. This time there was nothing on my windshield, but I get in my car and notice a wrapped present with an envelope taped to it. I open the gift, it's a very expensive bottle of booze, which I threw out.
I read the letter and its super inappropriate and vulgar, clearly from a woman. I still have no idea who is doing this. This keeps on going with a different gift the next few nights; a CD from my favorite band, a gift card to a restaurant. At this point I'm super freaked out and talk to my boss to see if there is anything they could do.
They basically shut me down and wished me good luck with the issue. That night I triple checked to make sure my car door was locked, and sure enough, after my shift another bottle and a letter. I called my boss the next day and quit. Never went back, never found out who it was.
9. Gotcha There
woman in blue tank top standing beside white wallPhoto by ThisisEngineering RAEng on UnsplashI started a new job and I shared a small office with a woman my age and a couple of other people. She was kind of cute but also weird and super naïve; she grew up in a very rural area. She'd flirt with me a lot, but I wasn't interested.
So, she started sending me emails. They were super long, detailing her whole day. And she sent them to me every day. I never responded. Then one day she sent me this long email confessing her love. I replied with the (very obvious) reasons why it wouldn't work and asked her to stop sending me emails every day.
She didn't. They kept coming. This went on for months. I asked her in person and online to stop, but I still got these email memoirs every day. Eventually, I had another female office mate who was her friend have a talk with her. Finally, the emails stopped.
Not too long after, I moved very far away. Like, the other side of the world far away. That's when I found out some extremely disturbing news. Another office mate sent me an email after I had been there a few months asking me what city I lived in. I told her, and she wrote back that she had heard the crazy emailer was moving there.
To this same small city halfway around the world. That couldn't be a coincidence, right? I asked the office mate for more details, and it got creepier and creepier. She was moving into my neighborhood, she had gotten a job nearby, and she was looking for an "old friend”.
It was about a week before the old office mate finally came clean that she was messing with me.
10. New Girl Intuition
The girl I was dating asked if I had changed the locks since breaking up with my ex, even though the breakup was months prior. I'm like, "No, but she wasn't a crazy person so I never worried about it".
She said if I didn’t change the locks, she wasn’t comfortable sleeping over. So, I changed the locks. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. This ex sent me an angry text the next day saying, "So you changed your locks huh? Real nice, jerk". Apparently she had been coming over this whole time and doing who knows what.
11. Young Crushes
When I was about 17 years old, I worked at a cafeteria and some girls (who were around 11 and 13) were chasing me for weeks. They even waited in front of my door when I had to go to work to chase me all the way up there.
One day I was working and the cafeteria was full of people when the 11-year-old girl said "When can I sleep with you?" Everyone instantly looked at me. Uncomfortable isn’t even the right word to describe my feelings at that moment.
12. Blood, Sweat And Tears
person cutting vegetables with knifePhoto by Alyson McPhee on Unsplash"Did you enjoy that dinner? I put my blood in it. Now part of me is inside of you".
Yes, this actually happened. I thought she meant she put a lot of work into it, like, "blood, sweat, and tears", so asked her. Nope, it was way worse than I thought. She actually showed me the cut she made to bleed herself into the dinner.
13. Run, Just Run
This girl I was seeing said, and did, something super creepy: "Just so you know, I wrote your name on my leg with a boxcutter so I'll always have you near me". I had no idea how to respond to that. I really hope it didn’t scar forever, because we are definitely not still together.
14. Woof, Woof
When I was in grade school, a girl snuck up behind me in gym class to sniff my butt. I caught her in the act, and just felt gross.
15. Stand-In Boyfriend
smiling man standing near green treesPhoto by Warren on UnsplashI have a good creepy story. There were some foreign students in a local university, who all told their family and friends back home they have an American boyfriend. They decided to work together to trick the people back home by getting a random average guy to pose in pictures with them, and even treat him to a nice dinner. I’ve was that guy.
16. Friend Zone Revenge
Someone I considered a friend started to catch feelings for me. She then found out I had a girlfriend and I didn't feel the same for her. Her response was deranged. First, she found out who my girlfriend was somehow.
She then messaged her and tried to tell her that I was cheating on her with her and that I was…into younger girls (the "friend" was a couple of years younger than us). Luckily, I was with my girlfriend when she got that message so I could explain the situation, then we blocked her.
The next day she messaged her again from an alternate account.
17. Cruise Ship Creep
I once got a message on Instagram from a girl I had met on a cruise saying she loved our time together and asking if I preferred her over my girlfriend. I had maybe spoken to her once and always with people around, so obviously nothing had happened.
My girlfriend was with me when the messages came through, so it was tough to explain at first. You can't really prove something isn't true without witnesses. Looking back now, I just wonder why someone would ever actively try to mess up someone else's life for no reason.
18. Oh, So It’s That Kind Of Party
group of people tossing wine glassPhoto by Kelsey Chance on UnsplashIn my early 20s, I was at a party and the hosting woman suddenly, full-on grabbed at my pants. Strange, yes. But what made it creepy is that we were right in front of her mother, who was cheering her on.
19. And This Is Why We Don’t Use Phone Books Anymore
Some girl found out my address from the phone book—this was the 90s—and she sat outside my house for multiple nights. She stayed ALL night, just watching my house. I live in the middle of the woods, miles outside of town. We only had one date and agreed to leave it at that. I found out some time later what she had been doing.
20. Anything But That
The creepiest thing a girl has ever said to me was: "I kind of write Twilight fan fiction". It was an instant deal breaker for me.
21. Not Cool
a young boy holding his hands upPhoto by Oyemike Princewill on UnsplashI met this girl online and talked to her a bit. I did start to like her. Later, I found out that the picture she showed me of herself was actually a picture of her friend who had died from cancer some years back. I was mortified.
22. Never Give Up
I’ve had a girl create about 50 different Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, all to try to get me to friend her. I’ve never met this woman in person, and yet every few weeks I’ll get a handful of friend requests from her.
23. Too Soon
A woman once said to me, “I want a baby. I think you'd make beautiful babies”. I was only 18-years-old at the time. That definitely creeped me out.
24. She’s Closer Than You Thought
people sitting down inside vehiclePhoto by Mitchell Johnson on UnsplashI chatted with a girl online for a few days back in the day. One day we were chatting and she said that I looked sad on the bus that morning. There was just one problem. I had never met her in person.
25. Sealed With Love
I would have to say the creepiest thing for me was when a girl I barely knew figured out my class schedule. She would then leave me letters in sealed envelopes, giving them to my teachers to give to me.
26. Well, You Don’t Win If You Don’t Try
I was going to head home after a night out, and as I was getting into my taxi a girl jumped in after me. I asked what they were doing and she said "I'm coming home with you". Nope. The taxi driver helped me and she got out of the car eventually, but only after I repeatedly shot down her advances.
27. Hopefully She Wasn’t Projecting
brown short coated dog running on green grass field during daytimePhoto by Emil Priver on UnsplashI’m going to keep this one short because it really packs a punch…I once dated a girl who thought it was suspicious that a single guy had a female dog.
28. Daddy Issues
A girl I was hooking up with asked me to dress up in army gear and act tough. Okay, sounds reasonable enough, everybody is allowed to have their tastes in the bedroom. But I didn't know what she was really planning. She timed all this so that her dad was getting home mid-act. I freaked out and ran out of there.
29. That Escalated Quickly
The woman I was seeing carved my initials into her arm. Me, being the genius that I was, was flattered and married her.
I was not a smart man. We later divorced after I found her in bed with her teenage cousin. I’ll say it again: I. Was. Not. A. Smart. Man.
30. The Trash Took Itself Out
green trash bin beside brown buildingPhoto by Jake Heidecker on UnsplashA girl came up to me and said: "I had a dream that you and I messed around behind the dumpster, and I can't get it out of my head. Come on, let's go". And then she grabbed me by the waist to lead the way.
For context, I was in high school and this girl was "friends" with my longtime girlfriend, and everyone knew about our relationship. It was closed, monogamous, unexciting, and sweet. And this fake friend pulled this nonsense.
I was angry. But I didn't turn her in because who knows what she'd say I did to school admins. I did tell my then-girlfriend, who cut her off forever.
31. Hopefully He Got A Copy Of This
My ex wrote her 30-page final paper about me, going into great detail about how bad of a boyfriend I was. We were only exclusive for two months.
32. Don’t Forget The Hot Chocolate
I had a girl ask me to break into her apartment and make her hot chocolate in her kitchen, while she hid, scared in her bedroom… then I was supposed to go in and get it on with her. It was some weird role play idea. She really emphasized the hot chocolate though, which is what was weird to me. Especially because we didn’t even drink it.
33. Classic
pregnant near doorPhoto by Camylla Battani on UnsplashMy ex faked being pregnant to stop me from breaking up with her. Every breakup after that, I waited until my girl’s period before breaking up with her. Having a crazy partner bargain with the life of your unborn child will mess you up.
34. What’s In A Name
I was dating a girl named Alison. My Grandma is also named Alison. I had mentioned that I found it a little weird that they had the same name. Her response haunts me. Once as we were becoming intimate, she asked, "Does this make you think of your grandma"? It didn't. Until then.
35. He’s Still Salty About It
I was at a costume party dressed as a piece of bacon, and this girl who had been drinking casually walks up to me, bites my chest through the costume and continues to whisper in my ear "what a juicy piece of meat". I probably stood there for a solid minute trying to figure out what just happened before getting the heck out of there.
36. Midnight Watch
worm's-view photo of brown concrete buildingPhoto by Daryan Shamkhali on UnsplashOne woman I was dating climbed up the fire escape next door and came in through my first floor bedroom window. That in itself wasn't actually the creepy part. What was creepy was she didn't jump in bed or anything. Instead, I woke up to her standing in the middle of my room, watching me sleep.
She actually turned her head to the side with a creepy smile and said, “Hello, sleepy head”. It was freaky as heck. I put chains on my windows after she left that day and told her it was to stop the cat from getting out my window.
37. She’s A Keeper
She said: "I can poo bigger than you can"! as she began dropping her pants. To be fair, we were only four years old at the time, behind my parent’s garage. And though I lost that contest, I married her years later and have since upped my game.
38. Umm, What?
The creepiest thing a woman ever said to me was: "Your lips looked dry while you were sleeping, so I licked them for you".
39. He Needed To Come To Terms With Her Daddy Issues First
man in black crew neck t-shirtPhoto by Noah Blaine Clark on UnsplashI was literally in bed with this girl when she whispers "You know why I’ve always liked you"? I asked why and she said, "You remind me of my dad". I didn’t leave right away, but I didn't call her for a while after that.
40. She Put A Spell On You
Once, my long-ago ex wanted to collect my fingernails and toenails for some kind of spell. And she'd sing creepily by herself in the dark at the foot of the bed. It was the creepiest thing I have experienced to this day.
41. Future Son-In-Law
The creepiest thing a woman ever said to me was: "I should hook you up with my daughter". She said this while she and I were in bed. Oh, that's not all. Her daughter wasn't even 18, and I was in my mid-40s. I was very weirded out by it.
42. How Do I Get A Stalker Like This?
group of people near bonfire near trees during nighttimePhoto by Tegan Mierle on UnsplashThis didn't happen to me, but when my dad was at sleep-away camp as a teenager, this girl had a crush on him so she snuck into his cabin and folded and reorganized all of his clothes. To be clear, my dad didn’t know her at all.
43. He Put Her On The Porch
My ex of less than a week climbed through my first-floor apartment bedroom window. It was 2:30 AM and she had been drinking. While climbing, one of her shoes fell off, and when she saw it she thought that it was another girl’s shoe.
She began to beat me with her shoe while yelling, "Whose shoe is this"? I had to bear hug her to get her to stop, and then I carried her out to the front door and placed her on the porch.
44. She Was Asserting Dominance
This girl didn’t say anything creepy; she DID something creepy. She took my hand, put it between her legs, and peed in it. Without any warning. I was absolutely disgusted to say the least. She said it was her thing.
45. That’s Just Weird
persons left hand doing peace signPhoto by gryffyn m on UnsplashThe creepiest thing I experienced with a woman was when I found half a bag of toenail clippings in her closet. When I confronted her about it, she said, "Yeah, I like to save them for later when I want a midnight snack". I gagged and got the heck out of there, needless to say.
46. Oh, Sorry I Wasn’t Listening
About six months after our breakup, my ex called me because she wanted to see me. It seemed strange to me but I accepted. When we met, she was friendly and all. It turned quickly into a nightmare. At a certain point, she pulls out a sheet of paper in which there was a list written of all the men she slept with after our relationship.
She read it all to me, with an accurate description of every intimate encounter. Well, it was awkward so I just sat there quietly, and then ordered my meal.
47. This One Is Movie Material
My wife and I were in town with our two-year-old son visiting my parents when an old high school friend (she was only ever a friend) came by to meet my wife and son. After we all sat and talked for a few hours and after what felt like a pretty normal night of company, we all got up to say good night. Then the most shocking moment of my life happened.
The friend hugged my wife goodbye then turned to me, grasped me very firmly into a hug, kissed me on the lips, and then whispered into my ear, "Your son should have been ours. I love you"!
She then turned away like it was totally normal and waved goodbye to us and left. My wife didn't see or hear any of it and I never told her. She thinks the girl is a decent person and we'll never see her again.
48. Better Late Than Never
Tattoo neon signagePhoto by Sherman Yang on UnsplashHere’s a creepy one for you. My ex got my name tattooed on her foot...three years after we broke up.
49. Stranger Danger
This is copied from an email I received from a stalker seven years ago: “When you and she have your baby, rest assured, I’ll be the one that raises it”. This was just many of the creepy things she sent me.
50. Whoa, This Is Next Level
I was talking to a girl on the phone who started telling me a story about how when she was seven, she pushed a girl into a pool and watched her struggle. The girl didn't make it. But that wasn't all. Her grandma came home, found out about it, and told her to tell the authorities it was an accident. That was a warning sign right there.
Love doesn't always mean forever.
That is the more concerning part about chasing the dream. It comes with no guarantees.
Anything and everything can change in an instant.
That person you look at so lovingly for hours on end can one day turn into a troll in your eyes.
They might stand in front of the fridge, wasting cool air while trying to figure out a snack.
(Like, how hard is that to decide?)
They may leave the toilet seat up or wet, or both.
They could have night terrors that shake the walls.
All grounds for dismissal for some folks.
You never know someone until you know.
Redditor xxarisx wanted to hear about the "silly" reasons people have dumped another person, so they asked:
"What’s the pettiest reason to break up with someone?"
I have to admit, I can be petty.
Anything can turn me off.
I can't even explain why.
Wake Up!
Tired Wake Up GIF by Veep HBOGiphy"Your significant other had a nightmare you cheated on them and because of the dream they break up with you."
Cheeky_Guy
How Messy!
"Sports rivalries. That's definitely happened, which is hilarious."
LongBongJohnSilver
"My date and I (not yet in a relationship but very close) stopped seeing each other because of our sports rivalries. She is a huge Messi fan and I am a Ronaldo fan. But the thing is, I don't hate Messi and she really hates Ronaldo. So during one of our dates, we got into a debate about Ronaldo's bad personality (most of our dates somehow will have football conversations, and most of our football conversations are about Ronaldo because she keeps bringing him up; I never say anything about Messi)."
"I was so tired of listening to her talk badly about my idol, so I said: 'No matter how bad you think Ronaldo is, I will always admire him because he is a person who never gives up, even after being defeated many times. Unlike your idol Messi, who failed once and decided to quit the national team. The Argentina president even had to apologize to him to get him to come back, even though he was the one who missed the important penalty.' She stood up and left, and I haven't texted her since then."
hoainamduong
'Can we have one of each please?'
"She said she didn’t want dessert but then ate half my slice of pie."
RealBowsHaveRecurves
"When my now-wife and I were on our second date, the restaurant didn’t have a printed dessert menu, so the server was telling us the options. I completely zoned out because I was so nervous and also I kinda needed to pee but there hadn’t been a reasonable break in the conversation so I just smiled, and nodded, then when everyone looked at me expectantly, I just said 'Can we have one of each please?' Turns out there had been only two options (a crème brûlée and a chocolate pie situation)."
savingewoks
Smothering Me
"Not replying to a text message quickly enough."
nordictouch
"I was in a brief relationship recently with a guy who insisted I turn read receipts on even though I never do for anyone. I told him I felt a little weird about doing it but did it anyway."
"A few weeks later I read one of his texts and didn’t respond for an hour because I was working. After not hearing from me immediately, he texted, 'There’s something very untrustworthy about you' and then told me he needed space. He ghosted me for a week and then dumped me."
wilderthurgro
Natural Gases
"The other person farts in their sleep."
"Everyone farts in their sleep."
It_Wasnt_Me79
Blatant. Serial Killer. Behavior.
"She eats her peas one at a time."
henfeathers
"I had a friend who took hours to eat just about anything. A Snickers bar would take about an hour. She'd eat all the chocolate off first, in little pieces, and then each layer. Spaghetti. One noodle at a time. Drove all her boyfriend's nuts."
Azuredreams25
Sorry Justin
"In fourth grade, my bf Justin was demanding I share my cheese puffs. I jokingly said no. He got serious and said do it or I’ll break up with you. I made sure I only ate half and threw the other half away out of pure spite."
Elesmira
"Not your cheesy poofs!????"
RambleOnRose42
"And THAT is how you stave off people who want to get you into an abusive relationship. I'll remember that one. Damn, I love cheese puffs."
ElementalWorkshopII
Seeing Stars
"One time I broke up with someone because they were obsessed with Julia Roberts and I just thought she was meh, every time we hung out it was Julia Roberts this, Julia Roberts that. Sheeeeeeeesh."
TheRealOcsiban
"Same with my ex but with Pamela Anderson. And he says that he’s a big Pamela Anderson fan but he couldn’t name another movie she was in besides Baywatch which makes me wonder if he’s only into her because of her big jiggly boobs."
Dapper-Captain5261
Off Course
"I seriously considered calling off my wedding because he took the wrong exit off the highway. When I got irritated and pointed it out (we were in a rush), he got angry with me and claimed that a city street with stop signs every block was faster than the literal f**king highway going the same route."
"But it was just a symptom of the greater problem - he absolutely had to be the smartest person in the room, even if he had to lie or gaslight in order to make it happen."
"So yes, even though it would be ridiculous to call off a wedding the day before over a navigation mishap, I would have been better off (ignoring my gut cost me thousands in divorce fees, stolen cash, and therapy bills)."
SpookyBlackCat
Ok, Bye...
Bye Bye Goodbye GIF by Mickey MouseGiphy"I had a girl leave me after a week because her ex-boyfriend didn't like me. I gladly went home after hearing that."
Roostersnuggets
Wow. Some people really need to seek therapy before they start trying to date.
There is a lot to of mess to sift through in these brains.
Natural disasters, events gone terribly wrong, and legendary mistakes: The world is full of tragedies, and not just the kind you find in Shakespeare's plays. Here is a curated collection of facts about some of the greatest and most notable tragedies in history.
1. Drinking the Kool-Aid
In 1978, over 900 members of the People’s Temple Agricultural Project, led by Jim Jones, drank powdered soft-drink mix combined with cyanide and prescription sedatives. While many regard Jonestown as mass suicide, most people don't know that the survivors revealed a dark truth: Those that drank the poison actually did so under duress.
2. Don’t Mess With Texas
The worst natural disaster in U.S. history was the Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Storm of 1900. This Category 4 storm hit land in Texas with winds measuring up to 145 miles per hour, resulting in an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 casualties.
3. What’s in a Name
typhoonPhoto by NASA on UnsplashRecent hurricanes to ravage the Caribbean went by the names Harvey, Irma, and Martha. But until 1947, hurricanes and tropical storms did not have official names. That year, the U.S. Air Force started naming them after the phonetic alphabet the military uses to spell out words over the radio. They weren’t consistently given people’s names until the 1950s.
4. No Hurricane Juniors
In the case of a particularly damaging storm, a hurricane’s name is retired indefinitely.
5. Trouble at Sea
The sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945 resulted in the largest loss of life at sea from a single ship in the history of the US Navy. The ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II and sank in twelve minutes. Only 317 of the 1,196 crewmen aboard survived.
6. Sugar Rush
beige concrete building under blue sky during daytimePhoto by chris robert on UnsplashThe “panic bar” is the device that allows you to open a door by pushing on a bar. It was invented after an incident at Victoria Hall concert venue in England in 1883. 183 children were lost in a stampede caused by boys and girls who rushed to get the gifts and treats being handed out by performers onstage.
The children who rushed to the door were unable to open the bolt, and many were crushed.
7. A Rough Night at the Theater
The worst incident in a theater, though, was the Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago in 1903. More than 600 people lost their lives, in part because there were no exit signs and no emergency lighting. Other tragic factors that increased the casualties were ornamental doors that looked like exits (but weren’t), and stairways that were blocked with iron gates during performances to keep people with cheap tickets from taking more expensive seats.
8. Illegal in Ireland
Irish folk singer Christy Moore was found in contempt of court in 1985 for his song “They Never Came Home,” about the victims of a fire at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin. Because the song implied that the nightclub owners and the government were responsible, the song was banned and removed from Moore’s album. The song’s lyrics are still banned in Ireland as libelous.
9. (Un)Happy Land
white buildingPhoto by Matthew LeJune on UnsplashThe Happy Land fire might have the most ironic name in the history of mass casualties. This fire claimed 87 people at the unlicensed Bronx nightclub in 1990 when Julio González set the building on fire after a fight with his ex-girlfriend, who worked coat-check at the club.
10. It Went Over Like a Lead Balloon
The most people ever lost in a balloon accident was 19, when a hot air balloon caught fire over Luxor, Egypt in 2013. The passengers were all tourists on a sight-seeing trip. Along with the pilot, a single passenger survived the incident.
11. A Rough Couple of Years
The period between 1850 and 1873 in modern-day China saw some of the highest mortality ever recorded. Between imperialist expansion, the Opium Wars, and the Taiping Rebellion, the population dropped by more than 60 million.
12. You Thought the Snowpocalyspe Was Bad
File:Mount Tambora Volcano, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.jpg ...commons.wikimedia.org1816 was known as the Year Without a Summer. The eruption of a volcano at Mount Tambora caused a volcanic winter, and snow fell in June. Severe weather across North America, Europe, and Asia caused famine and flooding, which resulted in food riots and disease outbreaks. Fatality rates were twice as high as in other years.
13. Bad Weather Makes Good Monsters
The Year Without a Summer, however, helped to invent some of our most significant modern monsters. A group of writers including Percy Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (later Shelley), and Lord Byron had to stay inside during their trip to Lake Geneva because of the bad weather, and they passed the time with a story-telling contest. This was where Mary Shelley started her novel Frankenstein. Another staycationer, John Polidori, began work on The Vampyre, which eventually inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula.
14. Armed Forces
White Arkansas men hanged up to 237 black sharecroppers in the 1919 Elaine massacre, the worst racial conflict in US history. U.S. troops claimed the lives anywhere from 60 to 200 Pomo men, women, and children at Bloody Island in 1850; and up to 300 Lakota at the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890.
15. A Streetcar Named Disaster
File:Ninth Avenue station from Manhattan-bound platform, September ...commons.wikimedia.orgThe worst subway accident in New York City history happened in 1905, when an aboveground train turned too quickly, jumped the track, and fell onto Ninth Avenue. 13 people lost their lives. The accident happened, eerily, on September 11th.
16. Mother Nature’s Worst Day
The most lives ever lost in a natural disaster may be the Shaanxi earthquake in 1556, in modern-day China, which claimed approximately 830,000 people.
17. Can You Say La Grippe
The “Spanish Flu” was the name given to an 1918 influenza pandemic that cost 500 million people their lives around the world. The name comes from the fact that, while wartime censors suppressed news of the pandemic in the US, the UK, France, and Germany, the press in Spain was free to report on the tragedy. This gave the world a false impression that Spain was hardest hit by the flu—and the name stuck.
18. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Big Ben towerPhoto by Luke Stackpoole on UnsplashSince the 1200s, London has had problems with air quality, but in 1952, a severe air-pollution event called the Great Smog of London blanketed the city with yellow-black smoke for four days, making it hard to see more than a few feet. The city nearly shut down, and the smog resulted in up to 12,000 lost lives from lung and respiratory tract infections.
19. Not Just a Cherry Poppin’ Daddies Song
While the 1997 neo-swing single is a fun dance tune, the original Zoot Suit Riots were less light-hearted. The series of attacks on Mexican-American teenagers by white servicemen stationed in Los Angeles in 1943 was ostensibly sparked by the fact that the young men’s flashy suits flaunted wartime fabric rationing, but there were also racial motivations.
20. Just the Hali-Facts
The Halifax Explosion of 1917 occurred when a cargo ship carrying explosives collided with another ship in Halifax Harbour, killing 2,000 people and injuring 9,000. It was the largest man-made explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons, and the standard by which large blasts were measured for many years.
21. Lucky Number Seven
trees beside brown concrete buildingPhoto by Rap Dela Rea on UnsplashTime magazine reported on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 by saying that the bomb’s power was equivalent to seven times the Halifax Explosion.
22. Our Daily Bread
A famine in Malta in 1823 became even more tragic when 110 hungry boys who went to the Convent of the Minori Osservanti to get free bread on the last day of Carnival celebrations fell down a flight of stairs and were crushed.
23. The Luckiest Unlucky Man
Clifford Johnson was injured at the worst nightclub fire in history, at the famous Cocoanut Grove in 1942. He suffered third-degree burns over more than half his body but survived, and was seen as a medical marvel. After hundreds of operations and nearly two years in the hospital, he married his nurse. In an ironic twist of fate, he lost his life in a fiery car crash in 1958.
24. Flamin’ Hot Sportsball
cloud gate in city during daytimePhoto by Christopher Alvarenga on UnsplashSports teams at the University of Illinois at Chicago are nicknamed the Flames, to commemorate the infamous Great Chicago Fire.
25. Dam Unfortunate
The failure of the Banqiao and Shimantan Dams in China in 1975 caused 171,000 casualties—the largest dam-related disaster in history.
26. Whoops
In 1871, a lawyer named Clement Vallandigham accidentally shot himself while defending a murder suspect. He was trying to demonstrate that the murder victim could have accidentally shot himself. The client was acquitted, but the lawyer didn't survive.
27. The Beheaded Man’s Revenge
a close up of a man with a beard and blue eyesPhoto by shahin khalaji on UnsplashA ninth-century Norse earl named Sigurd the Mighty was slain by an enemy he had beheaded hours earlier. He tied the severed head to his horse’s saddle, but on the ride home the man’s tooth scratched his leg, and the succumbed to the resulting infection.
28. But Not the Last
The robot fatality was Robert Williams, in 1979. The Ford assembly-line worker was hit in the head by a robot’s arm.
29. Dancing in the Dark
400 people in Strasbourg, France were struck by dance madness in the summer of 1518. They were compelled to dance for about a month for no clear reason. Several danced themselves until their hearts stopped.
30. Hands Off
Queen Sunanda Kumariratana of Siam (now Thailand) drowned when her boat capsized in 1880. Many witnesses stood by, unable to help, because it was a capital offense to touch the queen. Some boatmen did eventually jump in to try and save her, but it was too late.
31. Lager Than Life
Eight people drowned in the London Beer Flood of 1814 when a massive vat of fermenting beer burst, filling the streets with over 1,000,000 imperial pints’ worth of beer.
32. High Expectations
An Austrian named Franz Reichelt invented a parachute in 1912 and tested it himself by jumping off the Eiffel Tower. The invention didn’t work. He didn't get the chance to go back to the drawing board.
33. White Light White Heat
Basilica San Nazaro in Brolo @ Milan | Guilhem Vellut | Flickrwww.flickr.comIn 1769, lighting struck the tower of the Church of the San Nazaro in Italy, where 207,000 pounds of gunpowder had been stored. The resulting fire claimed 3,000 people and destroyed one-sixth of the city.
34. The Fall of the King
King Albert of Belgium disappeared while rock climbing in 1934. His body was found, but it wasn’t until 2016 that DNA evidence proved that his injuries were caused by a fall, putting to bed the conspiracy theories that had existed for decades.
35. A Disarming Crew
Among the people who wrestled the gun away from presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968 were writer George Plimpton, Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson, and former New York Giant Rosey Grier.
36. Aftermath in Ohio
Kent State University - May 4th Memorial: Prentice Parking… | Flickrwww.flickr.comImmediately following the shootings at Kent State University in 1970, when the National Guard fired and slew four anti-war protestors, 900 university campuses had to be closed due to protests. 100,000 people rioted in Washington, DC, President Nixon was evacuated to Camp David, and the 82nd Airborne was deployed to protect the White House.
37. Unlikely Advocate
When the British soldiers who shot colonists in the Boston Massacre during the American Revolution were tried in court, their lawyer was none other than John Adams, founding father and future president. After being convinced by the court to take the case, Adams persuaded the jury that the soldiers had feared for their lives, reducing the charge to manslaughter.
38. In Your Heeeeeead
The Cranberries song “Zombie” was written in memoriam for two young boys who lost their lives in a 1993 bombing by the Irish Republican Army in Warrington, England.
39. It Actually Is Rocket Science
January 28, 1986 – Space Shuttle Challengerwww.history.navy.milDesigners of the parts for the Challenger space shuttle, which exploded in 1986, warned that the shuttle shouldn’t have been launched because a seal could come loose in cold weather. NASA officials disregarded the warning, with one asking, "When do you want me to launch—next April?"
40. Survivor
Imagine the odds of being struck by lightning twice. Pretty rare. I'm sure if that happened to you, you'd think you must have been cursed by some sort of vindictive witch.
So imagine the confusion and suffering of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a Japanese man who survived the bombing of Hiroshima...only to move to Nagasaki immediately after.
The torment he must have experienced is beyond belief.
41. Situation Twenty-One
At the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, a group of armed Palestinians broke into the apartment of Israeli athletes, killing two and taking the rest hostage. The Palestinians then demanded the release of 236 prisoners and a plane to fly them to Cairo.
Nearly every detail of this scenario had been foreseen by police psychologist Georg Sieber, who the German government had tasked with coming up with possible Olympic disaster scenarios. Sieber had 26 scenarios; the 1972 events were Situation Twenty-One.
42. He Should Have Accepted the Offer
Google signPhoto by Pawel Czerwinski on UnsplashIn 1999, the founders of Google approached Excite CEO George Bell, offering to sell him the search engine for $1 million. When Bell refused, they lowered the price to $750,000, which he also rejected. Today, Google is valued at $365 billion.
43. We’ll Pass
In 2009, Facebook turned down a pair of programmers for jobs. No big deal, right? Must happen all the time at FB HQ....
A few years later, though, the pair developed WhatsApp. Facebook subsequently purchased that venture for a cool $19 billion.
44. Trains Were Too Wide
The French state railway SNCF spent $15 billion on a new fleet of trains, but unfortunately, they were the wrong size, and were too wide for their 1300 platforms. The mistake cost them an estimated $50 million to correct.
45. A Case of Bad Timing
File:Napoleon at Fontainebleau, 31 March 1814 (by Hippolyte Paul ...commons.wikimedia.orgJust over 200 years ago, Napoleon’s army attempted to invade Russia.
Whoops.
A combination of factors spelled doom for the invasion. There wasn't nearly enough food for the soldiers and horses. Poor discipline was rampant in the ranks. And, of course, none of the men were prepared for the unimaginable brutality of a full Russian winter.
It was a devastating failure. Napoleon lost 500,000 troops.
46. A Flaw in the Design
On 26th April 1986, engineers at the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station, a Soviet facility, were testing a new cooling system designed to reduce the risk of a meltdown. Their test caused a meltdown, and the resulting explosion destroyed Chernobyl’s reactor 4.
The Chernobyl Forum predicts that the eventual toll could reach 4,000 among those exposed to the highest levels of radiation. That said, what many people don't know is that the plant actually remained a fully-functioning power plant for years after the disaster.
The disaster destroyed reactor 4, but reactors 1-3 remained open for business. Due to high levels of radiation, plant employees could no longer live beside the facility, but many continued to commute to work to supply power in Europe. The final reactor only ceased operating in 2000.
47. Gambled and Lost
The Spanish telecom company Terra took a gamble when they purchased the search engine Lycos in 2000 for almost $12 billion. At the time, Lycos was the third most visited site in America... but that was before dot.com bubble burst. In just about a year, most internet companies in America lost millions in value. And Lycos was perhaps the biggest loser.
Terra would eventually sell the search engine in 2004 for just $95.4 million. That's an astonishing loss of $11.6 billion dollars on their investment.
48. Don’t Drink and Steer
The Exxon Valdez, 25 Years After — FBIwww.fbi.govIn 1989, an Exxon oil tanker was headed to California when it ran aground on the Bligh Reef off the Alaskan coast. The tanker spilled around 760,000 barrels of oil into the water, and the captain was later accused of being drunk at the time of the accident. He was convicted of negligent discharge of oil.
49. The Worst Nuclear Accident in U.S. History
The nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island in March of 1979 was the result of mechanical failures that were made worse by poor training and oversights in the human-computer interaction design. It was the most significant nuclear disaster in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.
There are conflicting reports on the cost of the disaster, with some sources stating that the radiation exposure wasn't significant enough to result in additional cancer fatalities, while others insist that thousands more have been observed.
50. Loss of Cultural Knowledge
The Great Library of Alexandria was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world, and was dedicated to the Muses—the 9 goddesses of the Arts.
The burning of the library resulted in an irreplaceable loss of knowledge and literature.