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Medical Professionals Share The Craziest Moments They've Had With A Patient

This is why doctors should have therapists....

Medical Professionals Share The Craziest Moments They've Had With A Patient
Photo by Marcelo Leal on Unsplash

Those in the medical field see craziness on the regular. How they make it through the everyday with sanity (mostly intact) is a darn miracle. Everyday life scenarios can be heartbreaking and sad and wild. So the amount of stories those in the profession have could fill the number of pages we'll never be able to count.

Redditor u/alexiiiyay wanted the people of medicine out there to vent a little by asking...

People of reddit who work in the medical field, what was the scariest/craziest moment you've experienced while working?

"torrent of blood" 

"Craziest wouldn't have to be when there was a patient who had suffered a shotgun blast to the chest started coding, I was assisting with the CPR, and his wounds were still pretty fresh so "torrent of blood" would be an understatement." MG87

50/50....

"A patient was having essentially last resort surgery on a tumor, 50/50 chance of making it. We have a special OR that is huge that they put these kind of cases in. I don't exactly what happened, but the patient started bleeding and they couldn't get it stopped. They called me because I was the gopher and essentially said, "get everything" which meant, clear the blood bank of all the compatible blood, plasma, and platelets and get here NOW."

"Here I am running through a surgical suite with essentially someone's life in my hands, dropping things along the way that other people start running with me grabbing said items. I get in the OR, drop everything off and see they are now on chest compressions. There was blood all over the walls and floor. I witnessed a patient die that day. I was pretty scarred from that and I never went in that OR again. The CRNA was absolutely destroyed over it and he left shortly after even though it wasn't his fault, it was just a bad situation and that patients time." likemong

(think Nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter)

"Sooooooo many stories!! But I'll start with the one I saw when I was still a medical student."

"Was in the emergency department when suddenly this ambulance brought in a patient with a huge white cloth with blood stains on it (big OH NO sign going up in my head), later to reveal a broken finger with blood spurting out from the artery just hanging on by a piece of skin (think Nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter)."

"Not only did we manage to secure the bleeding, the surgeon did such a great job at repairing the finger the only aftermath from this was a scar. He regained full function of the finger, sensation and motoric function both."

"One of the worse things I've seen as a medical student."

"EDIT: History of the patient reveals this to be an industrial injury as he was operating a bandsaw and almost saw his finger off (cutting wet wood)." Tough-tofu

$200! 

"Obligatory not my story, but my dad's. He's a family practice doctor but he told me this story after he got a page while on call one night from a patient whose daughter, around my age (maybe 15 or 16) at the time, was experiencing a high fever, aches, and a stiff neck, all signs of meningitis. He told the patient in question "Go to the ER, do not stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200." This advice was based on an experience while my dad was doing ER rotations in residency, and was taking care of a girl around the same age with the same symptoms who came into the ER laughing and talking and within the hour was pale and barely responsive."

"He said you could watch her get sicker with every minute. With meningitis, minutes can literally make the difference between living and dying. Both patients did end up surviving, but the condition is just so terrifying to me, and I could see on my dad's face that his patient was in trouble. You can be fine one minute and then paralyzed or dead the next and there's really no preventing it. (There is a vaccine for viral meningitis iirc but the bacterial one doesn't have one)." GrayGhoast

Intestines Out. 

"Not a human medic but a vet-went to a horse that had tried to jump a metal railing whilst still attached to it's carriage, missed and caught it's abdomen on the fence, pretty much eviscerating itself. The hardest part about it was that it was bright and happy and looking for snacks while it's intestines were hanging out." Iamme1980

"Watched someone die in front of me while having dialysis. The patient started out looking super uncomfortable and within 34 minutes of CPR, an ICU consult team, the renal team, the cardio team, lots of drugs and fluids, three defibrillations, the patient was dead. It was surreal to see it happen right in front of me, but I am so glad it did because it gave me an understanding of how things can go wrong so quickly and brought the understanding you cannot save everyone." vboak

The Pulse. 

"I was a brand new paramedic, had been out of medic school for a month and just finished a couple of field training shifts and was set free on my own with a brand new emt partner. We get called around 8am for a pediatric cardiac arrest. It was my first pediatric code and my partner's first code ever. We show up on the scene and find an unresponsive 6 week old baby, not breathing and pulseless. Family states the baby was crying a bunch last night and they haven't been getting much sleep. Mom and dad smoke some weed and put baby in between them in bed. Sometime during the night baby got wrapped up in the blankets and suffocated."

"They woke up the next morning and found him dead. Family is going crazy and its hard to show up and not do anything even if you know theres nothing that is going to change the outcome. So I start CPR and ask my partner to start getting stuff we need. He is just standing there frozen staring at this kid because he has a child around the same age. I use an IO in the tibia for vascular access and the kid is so small it drills through the backside and is useless. We end up coding the kid for 20 minutes and field terminate. Deliver the news to mom who is unable to say anything but scream. Dad takes off running down the street screaming and collapses 2 blocks later crying." Madhatter1216

De-gloved. 

"ER nurse, penile de-gloving. Never found out the "how" of it. Understandably, the guy wasn't getting too many clear words out." Charlio35

"I never knew the term penile de-gloving until today and if I never see or hear it again it will be to soon." gritsandgravy94

Showing Restraint...

"I used to work at a residential care facility in the area catering mostly to clients with bad mental health problems and potentially dangerous behavior. Over the years working there, I had done so many restraints and got hurt so many times that I lost count."

"Eventually though we got a particularly troubled client. He had pretty difficult behavior in general but he was very strong and had an unusually hard head, which he would use to bash things at times when angry."

"One time we put him in a couch-hold and I was behind him with the protective mitts we used for ethical head restraints. I wasn't pay attention closely enough and eventually, he whipped his head back and bashed me right on the nose. I knew immediately that I got a concussion, while I felt my nose was broken and I was in excruciating pain. I had to basically just stumble on over to the main staff area to ask my superior to take over."

"Luckily I just got a deviated septum (which I still need surgery for), but I was very traumatized by this and. My nose and right eye were dark red and purple for days and luckily, I started working somewhere else about a week later. Even after almost 3 years, I still remember the pain, the ugly cracking noise, and the anxiety I experienced at the time." theshizirl

literally on the brink of death.....

"I work in mental health with teens. Im a peer recovery specialist and also PCA. I was on the dorm (inpatient unit) one night, doing my 15 minute checks. It was a pretty chill day, no fights or upsets with the kiddos. I walk up to one of the rooms and see underneath the bathroom curtain what appears to be one of the clients sitting on the bathroom floor. This patient had a history of suicide attempts so I went in to make sure they were okay. When I opened the curtain they had managed to rip apart a sheet and wrapped it tightly around their neck. Their face was purple, eyes bloodshot, and blood coming out their nose and eyes, literally on the brink of death. It was the scariest thing I had ever encountered. Luckily the nurse got in there quick and was able to cut the sheet from their neck and they survived." jackysiz1

RPG...

"When my buddy got hit in the back by an RPG and I had to sit there telling him it's okay as the light left his eyes. Knowing that all the training as a medic the military gave me there was jack shit I could do for this man." Sporkee

Farewell....

"My Econ teacher used to be a firefighter and he told us a really sad story about a crash. They ended up getting a call about somebody who rolled their car on the freeway. When they arrived, their captain pulled them aside after assessing the damage and said, "Listen, he's pinned under that car and is split down the middle. The moment we move the car his organs are going to shift and he will immediately die." They walked up to the guy and asked him, "Do you have any family you'd like to say goodbye to?" Everybody was crying as he told his wife and children goodbye for the last time." termikyu

Under the Skin....

"During my internship, I was in the pediatric emergency and a family arrived with two children (approximately 5 years old). One of the brothers had accidentally fully inserted a sewing needle into the other's chest, and it was totally submerged under the skin so it required surgery to remove it."

"The problem was that the father was extremely religious and refused surgery. We took a chest x-ray and you could even see the eye of the needle, but the father said it was only a shadow and that God was going to heal it."

"It became a race against time because in successive radiographs we saw that the needle moved under the skin of the chest. Luckily we managed to convince the father and the boy entered the operating room." DelAguila182

Massive pulmonary bleeding.

"Former hospice nurse here. Massive pulmonary bleeding. We know it could happen, you prepare stuff for when it does happen but seeing someone basically drown in their own blood is messed up."

"This guy had a tumor in his lungs and it kept growing and it basically popped an artery. I just laid the guy comfortably in his bed and walked out the room when his wife screamed and I heard something wet splattering on the floor. Ran back in there, saw what was happening, grabbed a stack of dark towels and knelt down next to his bed. Send his wife out of that room."

"Spread out some towels but the amount of blood coming out was massive. Grabbed his hands and told him everything would be over soon. He tried to speak but there were only some gurgling sounds. I have never seen a man more afraid. Pure fear in his eyes. He was in shock after 3 minutes and dead in less than 10. Blood congeals really fast. Huge blobs on the floor and my uniform was red and sticky."

"I will never forget the look in his eyes and the sounds he made when he tried to speak." Mclovinisawesome

Breathing But Gone.....

"In the ER, a woman in her mid 20s is brought in unconscious. She was found on the floor of a store aisle. People thought she just fainted or had a seizure. Turns out she had a massive brain bleed and was brain dead. A healthy woman just enjoying her day will never wake up, and that can happen to anyone anytime. The brother was in shock seeing his sister was breathing but gone forever."

"Second one. A man brought his wife to the hospital because she was acting confused. They've been married 40 or so years. Turns out she had cancer all over her body. Stage 4. Biggest problem was the brain. He asked what we could do for her. The Dr had to tell him that his wife would die in about a week. There was nothing to do but make her comfortable. Watching him realize that his entire world is vanishing in 7-10 days was terrifying. Then we had to go in the room and tell the woman that she was dying. I don't know if anyone can fully accept that they're going to die in one week." echristine12

"he isn't acting right"

"I am an emergency department nurse and we regularly see blood, gore, and death. You have to become accustomed to it pretty quickly or you will not last long in the profession. The one thing I cannot get used to is the child abuse. Not infrequently we get infants who end up dying because of some horrific neglect or abuse. People will walk-in a blue, not breathing baby and say things like, "he isn't acting right". You hope it is due to abysmally low health literacy but often times it is just terrible neglect."

"The scariest crap isn't the gore or death but the angry and aggressive drug addicts. They look like zombies and they have nothing to lose. Most of the time it is just threats like, "I will wait for you to get off and then beat your butt" or "I will find you and murder your family." Honestly, I have had numerous individuals tell me this. Sometimes they get violent and come at you swinging, biting, and spitting and the only thing between you and them is some tiny waif of a security guard making $12 an hour. It can get pretty gnarly. Nurses, who are just trying to help and can do very little to defend themselves, are regularly punched and kicked. We mostly just laugh about it and chalk it up to the nature of the emergency department." CreamedCornFiend

The First Guard.... 

"Oh man..."

"Okay, so, full disclosure: I'm a clerk. Yes, a simply desk jockey. Real witch made position."

"That being said, I see everybody first. Every patient who enters our office, they first come to me. There was one girl being seen in one of our facilities that would stop by and chat me up from time to time. We just saw a lot of each other in passing, with me working there and with her being a regular patient. Her name? Don't know it. Reason she came in? No idea. So we're just chat buddies. Months go by. We kinda click, joke around more. Real funny girl, bright. Smiled a lot."

"One day she walks in, shaking. Eyes bugged out. A woman is standing behind her, obviously concerned. The girl asks me to come out from my desk so she can talk to me. She's shivering. Looks like she's not slept in days, but is wearing pajamas, disheveled hair. Sunken eyes. Classic "Oh Crap" appearance. Obviously I oblige and go stand next to her. She turns to look at the woman behind her, turns back to me, leans in. She says, "They're after me. They're going to take me away. That woman is trying to get me to take these pills. I need to see my doctor now. She understands*."

"Turns out she was one of out psych patients, suffered a complete melt down. Stopped taking her medication. After I walked her up, I went to talk to the woman. She was crying, it was her mom. Horrifying to see what can happen to people. I mean, I'm no stranger, I have my problems, but I expect it of myself. To see this seemingly chipper girl do a complete 360* was scary as Hell."

"Just remember, you never know. You never know what someone is carrying inside of them. So, be kind. As much as you can." ninetofivehangover

Unlivable....

"I am studying to be a paramedic in South Africa. While we study we work on ambulances and in hospitals etc."

"The first time I went into a red zone (area of high gang presence or previous known attacks on service personnel/vehicles that requires us to take a police van in with us) I didn't really think much of it. Then my elderly gentleman patient and his lady friend get in."

"He requires assistance walking but she (the classic hunched-over lady with enormous bag) climbs in and sits down with a smile. Just as she gets comfortable, with her bag on her lap, she looks up at me, smiles and says very calmly and as a matter of fact: "we should go quickly, they might shoot us".

"I have seen other violence, what gang shootings look like and people with a lot of physical trauma (attacks etc) but this was the scariest to me. Just the acceptance of it, as the police force in some areas lack immensely and there's not much anyone can do."

"I don't want anyone to live like that." JamieLee711

Bloodletting....

"A coworker and I were getting a patient washed up and as we were turning him to the side he said he felt funny and then in the next second liters and liters of blood started gushing out of his mouth and nose. I screamed for help, slammed on the code button and started compressions bc he went pulseless."

"In minutes the room was completely filled with staff and I remember as I was doing each compression, more blood would leak from his nose, mouth, eyes and ears. His mom and fiancée were in the background pleading with the staff to help him but we couldn't do anything. He'd had cancer and the disease had infiltrated his vascular system."

"All I remember is the blood everywhere, the cracking I felt with each compression and his family wailing when the physicians called it. It was my first code and I'll never forget it." chewybears

20 Seconds....

"That moment when the power went out for a little too long and every single oxygen concentrator on my wing turn off and started emergency beeping."

"The backup generator kicked on after like 20 seconds or so but it was the longest 20 seconds of my life." ModAbuseo

No Cuts....

Pulling a 15" Optimus Prime figure out of some dude's butt. It was in up to the waist, and as we tried to remove it, the arms went out like a grappling hook. Had to cut it out. (I didn't do the cutting)." Magurdrac

Some of these almost read like a Grey's Anatomy plot line.

Do you have similar stories to share? Let us know in the comments below.

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medical professionals

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

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

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

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

– -WigglyLine-

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

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

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

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

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

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

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

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

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

– Frozenthickness

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

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

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

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

– OldMastodon5363

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

– CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

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

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

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

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

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

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

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

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

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

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

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

– Known-Committee8679

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

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

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

– KampferMann

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

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

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

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

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

internet rumors

People Share Their Best 'Don't Ask How I Know That' Fun Facts

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

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

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

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

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

Nuclear Fail Safe

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

- egorf

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

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

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

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

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

- oddidealstronghold

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

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

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

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

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

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

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

- horroscoblue

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

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

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

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

- SlefeMcDichael

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

- PMmecrossstitch

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

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

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

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

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

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

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

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

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

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

- JustDave62

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

- RRautamaa

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

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

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

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

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

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

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

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

- hefewiseman1

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

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

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

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

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

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

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

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

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

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

- thechaosjester776

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

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

dont ask

People Break Down The Times They Had To Sober Up Real Fast

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bleeding Out

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

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

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

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

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

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

– Crotch-Monster

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

Like Father, Like Son

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

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

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

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

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

– omgtater

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

Unplanned House Guests

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

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

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

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

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

– foxfood9116

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

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

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

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

The Most Ridiculous 'First World Problems' People Have Heard Someone Complain About

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Tale As Old As Time..."

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

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

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

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

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

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

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

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

"I think he was a germaphobe."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

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

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

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

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

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

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

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

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

"It was very low key."

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

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

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

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

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

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I work in a public library."

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

"A popular book that just came out."

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

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

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

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

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

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

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

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

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

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

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

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

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

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

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

"It's just a party."

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

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

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

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

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

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

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

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

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

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

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

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

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

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

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

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

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

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

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

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

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

"I'm not kidding."

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

"My wife worked booking."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

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

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

Said absolutely no one.


problems