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Millennials Share What 'The Rest Of Us' Just Don't Understand

Millennials Share What 'The Rest Of Us' Just Don't Understand
quinntheislander / Pixabay

Blaming millennials for all of the world's ills is a popular pastime of late, but the reality is that we don't have that kind of power. If we did, we would have fixed all of the things people complain about by now.


Reddit user u/GreenShirt7 asked:

"Millennials, What is one thing that the rest of us just don't understand?"

50. The Avocados Are A Red Herring

Giphy

What it's like to have no capital in you're 30s, and now be too old to acquire any.

Not all of us like "smashed avocado toast" (I don't even like avocado).

We're not adverse to hard work, life isn't any easier than it was when you were my age, life isn't going to get any easier when you're my age.

kryten2k35

49. Hear Our Plea

The minimum wage has not been properly adjusted to inflation for years and as a result all of our wages are lower.

I only buy avocados when I make tacos, I don't go to Starbucks, and I don't own an iPhone. The system is broken guys...

doghouse45

48. Inaccessible Expectations

I'm the oldest on the millennial age spectrum, I was raised with strict rules and worked since I was 14 (THINK about it, boomer, I've already been working for 24 years now and I'm not even 40 yet). I moved out of the house with only enough to buy a bus pass, and paid rent with my first full time-job paycheck after crashing on friends' couches. I had one fork, and no knife, and when things hit the fan, food banks didn't give food to people with jobs back then so I had to call friends and ask them for help.

Skip forward to today: housing costs a fortune compared to before, taxes are incredibly high, wages have stagnated for I've now lost count of the number of years. What is my generation going to tell their children? That things will get better?

Boomers lucked out on the biggest economic boom this planet has ever seen, got good paying jobs with little experience and bought real-estate at affordable prices. They also taught their children, either directly or indirectly, that this was the norm. Turns out they were only living conditions by boomers for boomers.

I am not the care-free, spoiled and lazy persona you associate with the term « millennial ». Although at times I find myself really wishing I could be for once.

svmtl81

47. It's Snowing

Calling us snowflakes doesn't make us snowflakes. It makes you look like a snowflake. Back in the 20th century it was legal to discriminate against so many groups too many to name here. And you want to call millennials snowflakes lol

Spanking, yelling, and having no empathy towards children (or others for that matter) doesn't make you a giver of "tough love," it just makes you an jerk. We can look at studies — PEER-REVIEWED ONES — about how children who were abused verbally turned out.

A sub-2000-square foot house in my neighborhood costs an average of $1.4 million.

cracksilog

46. Just Exhausted, Babes.  So Exhausted.

If you ask us a question, you don't get to reject the answer. That's what you don't understand: We'll be honest, you'll say we're whining. We'll be bitter, you'll say we're entitled. If you already know the answer why did you ask? What answer were you expecting? I'm at the point where I no longer answer questions from generations older than me; I ask them what they think the answer is, or if they'd believe me if I told them?

Sometimes it actually helps. It snaps the conversation out of casual and into focus. It makes them realize they either didn't think critically about the question they asked, or that they had preconceptions about my response before I gave it. Or I'm just told im being disrespectful and given a platitude about waiting for good things on hollow promises.

Wishgabishgus

45. Boomers Love To Shirk

We have to be taught how to do things. When I was in my early teens, about 12-13, the dishwasher was full, so my parents told me to do the rest by hand, which I hadn't a clue where to even start, like I was unsure whether I fill up one side of the sink with soap and let it soak first or just apply the soap directly. I decided to ask my dad, since he was right there.

He went off explaining how I was lazy and and dumb for not knowing, when I had never been taught how. My parents constantly expected me to know how to do things without even pointing me in the right direction to start, or helping me get setup. I would understand if this was something that they had taught me before, but they hadn't. You can't just tell someone to do something they've never done before, expecting them to know how to do it and executing the task perfectly.

GhoulGirlBaylee

44. I Want To Sit

We should give Cashiers chairs. Them looking ''less professional'' will be GREATLY outclassed by the improved attitude of not standing for 8 hours.

LeratoNull

43. We're Trying To Do Better

Tired of older generations accusing us of coddling our kids or otherwise telling us that we're raising our children poorly. We were all but ignored by our parents and want to do better by our own.

"I never let my children talk at the dinner table"

OK great, I'm sure there's no correlation between that and the fact your kid blames you for everything that went wrong in their lives to their therapist.

noopibean

42. It Would Be Preferable

At 27, I've worked more then people i know in their 60s. I've worked 6-7 days a week. 12-14 hours a day for the last 7 years. I have medical bills from doing so that i now can't afford to pay, so i need to work more to pay it off. I'm so tired and burnt out, I don't have time to rest, relax, recharge, find a hobby, have friends or relationships. I just want death to come and save me.

zeamda

41. It's Always A Struggle

No mom. I can not secure a 150K job (that my dad got with a high school education) with my teaching degree, post-bac and Masters degree. No, not even if I really wanted to.

Also, I really cannot afford to stay at home with my kids as I have a mortgage.. and three kids. Enough said.

NicAtNight8

40. You Ruined Everything

Giphy

Before judging the economic behaviors of millennials or calling us spoiled and entitled, please remember: Baby Boomers inherited the greatest economy in the history of our species from their parents in the 1950s-1960s, decided it wasn't good enough, and mortgaged their children's futures to keep the party going longer.

Nerrolken

39. "I'm Not Stupid, I'm Broke."

We aren't stupid. I constantly dread the fact that I haven't started saving well for retirement, and I'm 27 y/o. Things are still on my mind even tho I haven't made any progress. But until I make some more money I'm lucky to have an emergency $1,000 lying around. So grandpa get off my back while I establish myself before judging me at thanksgiving for not having a , probably disastrous , 401k set up. I'm not stupid, I'm broke.

KingKillerTI

38. We Should Be So Lucky

Forget the jokes about us killing diamonds and Applebee's- it is NOT the case that we aren't interested in things like going to the theater, art movies, going to see live music, having a general practitioner(!?), going to museums- any time you hear someone older bemoan the fact that millennials "just aren't interested in" something that is a real cultural mainstay, it's NOT TRUE.

We have a wide body of interests and more exposure to high culture than any other generation, but on top of all our problems with wages and housing, it's SUPER expensive to regularly go out to cultural outlets. Yes, some places have low cost/free programming and we love that, but that might be one program a year.

theworldbystorm

37. The Insurance Problem

I didn't see any mention of US health insurance here. And if you have a family, a good portion of your check will easily go toward premiums and deductibles. Pay $4500 per year and another 15k out of pocket and then your insurance will finally cover something.

Meanwhile boomers have insurance they got when they were hired 30 years ago that covers everything and can't understand why we won't go to the doctor.

DoesntEvenMatter2me

36. Lied To

We entered the workforce during the Great Recession. It wasn't possible to just walk into a business, apply, and get a job. The generation before us got the benefits of the 90s boom, and the generation after us is entering the workforce in the middle of a decent economy. We were also told throughout the course of our lives to do what we love and that college was essential.

It's not whining about how hard life is, it's ventin about the bad time we had and the effects that will take years or decades to get through...like enormous student loans we couldn't pay because there were no jobs and we got stupid degrees.

I didn't go to college until recently and enlisted straight out of high school, but my generation got screwed over.

daeronryuujin

35. Feeling The Bad Stuff And Choosing To Live Anyway

Being vulnerable and honest with your feelings is a good thing. Vulnerability is super difficult and it's a strength, not a weakness. A whole lot of older folks just stuff down all their "bad" feelings and sweep them under the rug.

ayzosh

34. We're All Going To Die

That the baby boomers and older messed up life as we know it, but will never realize because its effects aren't instantaneous. The permanent results aren't likely to be seen for a few decades, but they are in fact there and will hit the world right around the time you all die out.

you'll die of old age, i'll die of climate change

KillerChicken48

33. The Economy Will Also Crash

I'm a teacher, my wife is a doctor. We still can't buy a house without help from her parents, despite having full time, good paying jobs.

I don't know who's buying boomer houses, but they're going to be in for some disappointment when they try to sell their 500K - 1M houses.

BriSnyScienceGuy

32. The New Ways To Meet People

Video games are absolutely a reasonable form of a social life. Just because I don't see these friends in person doesn't make the social aspect of our relationship any less real than that of someone I know irl.

emotionalrek

31. No More Oppression

There isn't as much of a rise in the occurrence of certain conditions (autism, anxiety, depression, etc.), it's that thanks to better access to information, we can see and analyze the symptoms and find out who to go to for help.

Same goes for the "surge" of LGBT+ culture that I hear my elders complain about. Young people these days can tap a screen or type on a keyboard and see that they aren't alone in feeling the way they do. They find community, they embrace it, and they understand that they are not alone in being "different."

The Information Age is a double aged sword for sure, but it's raised awareness of so many things that we used to just shut up about and pretend they didn't exist.

andyhinomiya

30. Rewind (Wind Wind)

Giphy

Most of us aren't entitled, most of us are very aware how extremely lucky we are to live in the time that we do. Previous generations worked hard to get us to this point in society and there's nothing that can take away from that. But why can't we improve upon what was built instead of just accepting things because "that's how it's always been". Or even worse, why does it seem like we are being forced to go backwards in terms of progress?

ManifestYourDreams

29. No Cheek Please

Registered Nurse Full time job 31yo After rent and bills I have 100£ a week to live on, fuel the car, feed my dogs and get groceries.

And my dad has the cheek to ask why I don't have 'savings.'

Llquinn

28. You're Letting Us Down

How much it totally ruins your reputation as hippies, punks, and rock icons to constantly complain about the way "the younger generation is ruining America." We might not say this often, but we looked up to previous generations - to the point of obsessively searching for nostalgia with our tastes in clothing, music and even in the resurrected ideology of past generations. Don't get a millennial started talking about vintage anything.

You're still setting an example, and the example you're setting now is "everyone turns into an old curmudgeon eventually."

featherthorn

27. They're Just Full Traitors

That everything that's said about us is EXACTLY what we grew up listening to our parents' generation say about Xers and now it feels really bad seeing them turn on us in exactly the same way.

Or maybe thinking about all the ways that the Xers and Boomers have pulled up the ladder that they climbed to their success and now we get sh*t on for being lazy or not caring enough.

CAAD10onAMission

26. Mesmerized

Not sure how to word this exactly- older generations seem to label us (perhaps rightly) as materialistic and media obsessed, but it was older generations that ceaselessly advertised all this stuff to us. It's like they spent all this time trying to brainwash us to make a buck and then got mad that it worked.

inxca

25. My Mittens Aren't Attached To My Coat

We are grown ups now, so please stop treating us like we are ten. We have degrees, careers, marriages, children, and houses. It's way past time to let us be part of the decision making.

(I have some family matriarchs trying to rule with an iron fist.)

etds3

24. Give Up The Power

9/11 happened as we were graduating. A lot of us enlisted, served and died. (Us being Millennials, I personally did not enlist.)

Then those that served come home wrecked and infantilized by the general public. (2 of my brothers in law and some friends and associates, for example.)

Also, as adults, we've never known a stable economy where we had the possibility to prosper.

Our parents raised us on McDonalds and Lunchables and never set aside a dime for college, but we're called lazy and financially irresponsible. When we focus on our kids, we're criticized for coddling them. When we focus on ourselves we're selfish. We focus on our pets we're frivolous.

We'll never gain foothold until the Boomers die or decide to listen.

Fullswell96

23. We're Not Gonna Take It

The fact that us US based Millennials grew up in the greatest country to ever exist in the 80's and 90's and we've watched greedy boomers suck the life out of it. We've watched everything we were promised get thrown out. Our bright, glimmering futures have been stolen from us by skyrocketing tuitions, medications, housing, etc. Then we get blamed for it.

GuyMansworth

22. Of Course What Really Matters Is The Blame

Telling us that we will be the ones to fix all the problems that the Baby Boomers caused.... Like you've left us barely anything to hold on to and you blame us for everything but Oh! We will fix everything ourselves... And we get blamed for why older people don't have jobs and that Millennials don't deserve jobs. I read that somewhere once in my emails and I was so livid. It isn't fair to us that we are blamed for things we can't control.

umeduskfox

21. Begone Ye Pestilence

It's not your religion that turned me off, it's the way your fellow adherents act in its name.

Deny science, spout hateful messages about gay people, or seriously claim a 12 year old assault victim has to carry a baby to term at peril to her life?

I don't want anything to do with such disgusting people.

Aarondhp24

20.

That it's hard, even in my early thirties with a good full time job, to afford rent and food and everything else. I wish I had been born in a time where working a job like I have now would pay for a three bedroom house and two cars. No, I'm not lazy. I just don't think I should have to work two full time jobs just to survive.

-Shadow-Company

Yes! And that most jobs aren't even full time. They're either contract full time or part time so that businesses don't have to pay benefits.

-sometimesiamdead

19.

Older generations: "Find what you love to do and do it!"

Also older generations: "No don't do that, you can't make a living off that."

-Phil-Michaels

18.

That if I fail to get a job from multiple different places it doesn't mean I'm not trying it means the place that I tried are just picky with who they hire.

-Thatboy_Dj

Can confirm. Recently moved states due to an emergency - put out over 40 applications in the span of a week, only received one callback and the job I did end up landing is only due to the fact that I knew someone working at the facility. :/ Looking for employment is an absolutely miserable process.


Edit: To add, I am more than qualified for the positions I applied for, but even with experience, it's just a really disheartening process.

-FuriousPancakes

17.

I'm the oldest millennial. I have worked ridiculously hard, with no end in sight, to make the same money my dad, with no degree or specialized training, made and makes to this day.

-MsTomHardy

I actually earn more than my dad does today.

I can't buy his house at its current price, though, whereas he did it on a single income (he started a new business) while supporting a a wife and one (eventually two) children. I'm single.

Not that this matters, because my job is hundreds of miles from his house. I can't afford houses here either.

-vzzzbux

16.

"I paid my way through law school with a night job"

Yeah, and your law school was $450 per semester, Dennis

-snora41

15.

The whole "I had my house paid by the time i was 25" from old people.

Houses cost a whole lot less then, Barbara.

-plagueisthedumb

14.

That nearly every place you apply wants you to do it online. No, going in will not help you get your foot in the door. More often than not it's just going to annoy them. Also - super annoying when people don't believe you about this so they go in and ask for an application and are told to apply online. Like..I legit could have told you this would happen.

I was at target, working behind the counter at the customer service desk, saw a guy walk in and INSIST on applying in person.

They found him a physical application and once he left they threw it in the trash. That was one of the managers who did that by the way.

Update : For clarification He walked in, asked for a physical copy, said he couldn't put in online because he didn't have a computer, the network for the store was down - He was friendly, shook hands, and had decent qualifications. They didn't care.

No, I don't find it shocking that you, your son/daughter, or your family pet got a job walking in some place. Not everyone's experience is the same. Every time I've followed up on an application, went in person, or tried to see a manager I get told to leave and that they will contact me when ready. At two places, they even put me on hold for half an hour before hanging up when I tried to follow up on an application. Call backs were rejected. Every job I've gotten involved either a phone interview followed by a start day, an online interview followed by a start day, or getting called to meet HR.

Target was just the most overt example, but nowhere I've worked has ever accepted walk-ins, taken physical anything, or let people talk to the manager about employment. For reference, I've worked big-box-store jobs, factory work, and non-chain stores. Your experience may differ, but you are the exception, not the rule. Even my local generic corner store and a new-age accessories shop want online apps, and my neighborhood family-owned pizza place has a detailed website.

-WakeYourGhost

13.

that the average millennial is 30 years old, not a teenybopper or college kid.

-Hrekires

Most people don't know the age of millennials....

To them, a millennial is someone that they hate and happens to be younger than them.

-deadlyrabbits

Can confirm. I saw a lady on Facebook who essentially trashed millenials in one paragraph and in the next bragged about her daughter being in a high level position at her company and working very hard after finishing college. She was convinced her daughter wasn't a millennial, even when people showed her the ranges. The discussion devolved into an argument about what the year range was.

-SpeedDemon020

12.

Every time I read a thread about being a millennial, it just ends in depression.

That's the legacy our parents' generations have left us — depression and anxiety.

-cmdrrockawesome

11.

How to rotate a damn PDF.

-dealiftsandcoffee

CTRL + SHIFT + [Plus]

There are a lot of hotkey combinations where CTRL + [Key] is different from CTRL + SHIFT + [Key].

Some useful info: https://turbofuture.com/computers/keyboard-shortcut-keys

-funkme1ster

10.

We didn't give ourselves participation trophies.

-irishcolts

To put it a little more directly for anyone who doesn't understand: Criticizing the way someone was raised is a criticism of the people who raised them, not the children who had no say in the matter.

-DarthCorleone

In addition, no kid ever got a participation trophy and thought "oh, this is amazing, I'm a winner!". You either didn't care about it at all or realized how much of a symbol of losing it was.

-blumberg49

Everytime you bash millenials for taking participation ribbons remember who came up with that stupid idea. Here is a clue: it wasn't us.

-Xazier

9.

Most things millennials gripe about aren't just whiny child BS, they're legitimate issues.

Unaffordable housing

Lower wages

Employers requiring more experience for "entry level" positions

Unreal student loan debt

These are real issues. Since the average retirement age keeps increasing, these issues will only get worse.

-bluthco

8.

We got some really bad advice, did everything we were asked to do, and when it didn't work we got yelled at for not doing it hard enough.

-EvilCoyote

I think this is really the big one. They complain about Millennials making bad decisions and doing things wrong when they did...EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE TOLD TO!

Boomers: Do your homework! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Study hard in school! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Get into a good college! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Go to class! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Get your degree! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Millenial: "Wait, I worked my butt off did all of this! WHY THE HELL AM I FLIPPING BURGERS for a living?!?!?"
Boomer: "Are you complaining about flipping burgers?!?!?!? Your generation is so ENTITLED!"

-Cyberhwk

7.

I think we are the only gen to have grown up in both the pre-internet and internet era.

I remember growing up with VCRs and Walkman's. I remember dial-up internet when the internet was still a gimmick and not all that interesting. I remember growing up in a state of constant change. Both socially, politically and technologically.

I think this state of constant change and constant adaptation is why we do so well with technology, when our parents, just one gen earlier, grew up with a mostly analogue world, and that's why it's so hard for them to change with the world.

For better or worse, we have been given a unique way of growing up, and we are the only generation to have grown up in both 'eras' of history.

-Safe_Ladder

6.

Labor jobs are not shameful and you can actually earn good money doing it. Trades are dying because we were told to go to college and then get a desk job because it's better than what mom or dad does now.

-epona111

I make more money now as a 23 y/o millennial in a labor job than my parents made combined when I was growing up. But they had a large 2 story house in the burbs when I grew up and now that I make such good money they can't fathom how I still can't afford to get my own house or why I still have to drive an old beat up truck rather than have a newer vehicle and park out in a garage of a nice house. Probably because y'all screwed up the housing market and economy so bad that making 80k a year I still can barely afford to support my wife (who also works) and son (the freeloading 2 y/o that just refuses to get a job geez).

-jrhocke

5.

The reason older people can get away with "not being a computer/ technology person" is NOT because they are unnecessary. It's because you have your kids and grandkids to do that stuff for you. Stop putting down technology and maybe just say thank you to them.

-CaptainTrips1919

4.

Millennials are not one homogenous group.

Some are successful, some are struggling.

Some are urban, some are rural.

Some have college education, some do not.

Some live with their parents, some live alone.

Some have marriage and kids, some are single.

Generalizing an entire generation makes it an "us vs them" argument, that you assume everyone is on one side or the other. Don't fall for this bs.

If someone is an entitled person, it's not because they're a millennial, it's because they're an entitled. It's not a generational thing.

Stop projecting societal frustrations on people who happened to be born in a different year than you, and realize that if you accept and address the real issues of societal change, we're all better off.

-Mazzicc

3.

Burnout. You can't forget burnout, it's basically the millennial condition.

We work because we need to. We get tired of working. But we get paid jack and our benefits are we have a 50/50 chance of our two weeks notice turning into immediate termination. We can't stop because something like 40% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck to the point where they'd struggle to come up with $200 in an emergency.

Minimum wage hasn't increased in decades, college tuition and textbook price increases have increased wildly, and when it's all said and done older generations call us lazy and greedy for wanting any part of the American dream because the whole thing is only attainable by the rich who are taxed lower than ever.

-Istalriblaka

2.

The economy is growing but our paychecks are not.

Economists will tell you that wages generally increase with productivity – that you're paid in line with the value of what you do.

-zxkool

Related to this, that a $20K salary today is not equal to a $20K salary decades ago.

-ProtoMan94

This is so important. I had a VP laugh when I told them we needed to pay someone $60k minimum for a position I was tasked with replacing that had previously been budgeted at $42k. I had to work with the CFO and fight tooth and nail, and they finally asked our payroll company to estimate the job value. When it came back $72k, they immediately approved $60k with benefits without question.

We had a really awkward situation hiring last year where every applicant for a junior position were requesting $10-15k more than the manager that was hiring the position. They ultimately had to opt to go with a 22 year old straight out of college to get the rate. She's a rockstar, but that incident kicked off a huge company salary assessment.

-brenton07

1.

MS Word is not a design program and shouldn't be used as one.

-TheJadedSF

Also, powerpoint is also not a design program.

And if you’re going to use powerpoint as a design program, please at least export it as a pdf.

-hey_sjay

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

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

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

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

– -WigglyLine-

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

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

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

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

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

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

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

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

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

– Frozenthickness

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

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

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

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

OldMastodon5363

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

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

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

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

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

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

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

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

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

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

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

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

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

– Known-Committee8679

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

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

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

– KampferMann

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

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

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

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

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

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

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

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

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

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

Nuclear Fail Safe

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

- egorf

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

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

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

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

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

- oddidealstronghold

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

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

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

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

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

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

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

- horroscoblue

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

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

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

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

- SlefeMcDichael

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

- PMmecrossstitch

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

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

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

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

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

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

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

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

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

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

- JustDave62

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

- RRautamaa

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

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

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

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

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

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

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

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

- hefewiseman1

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

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

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

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

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

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

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

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

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

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

- thechaosjester776

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

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

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bleeding Out

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

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

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

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

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

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

– Crotch-Monster

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

Like Father, Like Son

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

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

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

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

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

– omgtater

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

Unplanned House Guests

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

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

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

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

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

– foxfood9116

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

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

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

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Tale As Old As Time..."

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

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

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

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

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

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

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

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

"I think he was a germaphobe."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

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

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

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

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

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

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

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

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

"It was very low key."

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

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

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

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

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

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I work in a public library."

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

"A popular book that just came out."

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

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

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

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

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

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

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

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

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

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

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

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

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

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

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

"It's just a party."

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

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

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

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

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

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

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

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

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

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

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

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

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

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

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

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

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

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

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

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

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

"I'm not kidding."

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

"My wife worked booking."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

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

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

Said absolutely no one.