Everything is too expensive.
That's pretty much the whole article, and I was expecting that when I started writing this.
What I wasn't expecting was for a commenter to explain how everything being expensive directly impacts the US political climate.
Long story short, we're kind of doomed.
Reddit user r4tzt4r asked:
"What has absolutely no real reason for being so expensive?"
That sounds like a nice innocent question. Maybe someone will finally talk about why I'm suddenly paying so much more for an empanada.
Or maybe someone will offer a nihilistic view of the sociopolitical climate and we'll all need a hug.
Maybe both! Let's get into it.
Big Textbook
"College textbooks."
"I had a professor that was really against the college textbook industry and said it was a huge scam, so for the class I took with him he used a textbook that he wrote and provided a PDF version of it for free to all of us."
- -eDgAR-
"My geography teacher wrote her own book and workbook."
"The workbook consist of free use blank maps of the world and makes up 1/4th of book. The other 3/4ths is a notebook. Best $150 dollars I've ever spent."
"Her 'book' is organized like a badly structured Wikipedia page and cost $200. Both are required."
- JustASpeck765
"I had a professor that wrote his own textbook because he hated that the university’s recommended book was $600."
"He printed it through Amazon and sold them for cost - I think $40 or less. My class was the first to use it and we got to help him edit it."
"Unrelated, he died the next semester."
- FetusFritter
"He was definitely taken out by big text book."
- Taxitaxitaxi33
GiphyOh Canada
"Canadian internet and mobile plans"
- ReeG
"I had this argument with someone on Reddit once haha. They didn’t believe me when I said that the Canadian mobile plans are straight up robbery."
"$160/month for mine :( "
- [Reddit]
"Recently moved to the UK for my studies after being stuck in Toronto during the better half of the pandemic."
"It's ludicrous how much they're charging."
"My UK phone plan cost nearly 1/5th of what I pay in Canada, and I get better perks too."
- samakbarizadeh
GiphyPaying For The Privilege Of Paying
"My apartment charges $25 to process online payments."
"I just get a cashiers check at the bank and deliver it by hand because I can't pay that much extra for absolutely no reason."
- iremovebrains
"So my apartment complex charges a $35 processing fee for online payments. BUT, if I walk a paper check to the front office that they have to bring to the bank, no fee."
"Guess who still pays in paper checks, this guy."
- Mythradites
"We get charged $50 like what the f*ck is it doing that costs money?"
- bdizzle805
"Oh mine was $62 dollars a month lol"
- zazerite
"Mine charges 3%. Do the math."
"I just hand them a check in the office."
- pox_americus
"Mine charges 95 if I pay through PayPal, my other option is to give them my bank account login info."
- buttplugpopsicle
"In the last jurisdiction I rented in this was illegal: payments for rent could not themselves incur a payment, or indeed, any burden on the part of the tenant (or, e.g., drive across town to hand-deliver cash or a cheque)."
"What do the laws in your jurisdiction claim?"
- exfalsoquodlibet
GiphyHearing
"Hearing aids."
- pghreddit
"As an audiologist, I 100% agree!"
"Unfortunately the prices are the way they are due to two problems. One is most clinics 'bundle' services. This is mostly because insurance doesn’t like to pay for our testing or rehabilitation/counseling we provide."
"Two-if you’re a small clinic, the manufactures that make the hearing aids sell them at a higher price to you. For example, a small office might pay $1,500 for a pair of hearing aids. Whereas Costco, who can buy a lot more, only pays $100 for the same hearing aids."
"Its sucks because to become an audiologist you have to get a doctorate. You go through all that schooling just to end up 'selling' hearing aids nobody wants to buy from you because they can get it cheaper at a big box store."
"I wanted to help people, not be a sales person. One of the biggest reasons why I’m not practicing right now."
- Zelda_cat22
Giphy300%
"Born in the US, but lived in two different countries. Can confirm that medication in the US is in many cases more than 300% of what you’d pay for elsewhere."
- senseofphysics
"Xyrem. It can be absolutely life-changing for people with narcolepsy. However, most insurance doesn't cover it, and the out-of-pocket cost is about $6k for a 1 month supply."
- thotkeys
"Came here for this answer. No one pays the sticker price, but my insurance pays about $18k/month for this medication. It's nuts."
- PureKatie
"It's free in U.K."
- Attach_helicopter
"I've stopped my seizure treatment because its $100/month with insurance and discount card from the pharmacist."
"It's not working well anyway and the doctor refuses to change it. Why pay $100 to still have seizures when I can pay $0 to still have seizures?"
- Professor01011000
GiphyLike Any Other Fast Food
"Panera is literally the only restaurant I deliberately avoid solely because of the prices. Last time I ate there it was like $40 for two people to eat f*cking sandwiches. Insane."
- trymyomeletes
"I worked there for a week (quit because I hated it lol) and the worst part is everything is frozen and prepackaged just like any other fast food place, yet they act like it’s some “farm to table” “healthy artisanal” option."
"That’s how they justify the price. Absolutely bonkers."
- bby_bambao
GiphyHousing
"Houses. Long time homebuilder here:"
"Homes for purchase or rent- for humans to live in are TOO EXPENSIVE for no good reason."
"Artificial scarcity: lets talk materials- only a handful of MEGA manufacturers are producing the bulk of construction materials and softwood lumber. when there are only 2 or 3 mega suppliers and they raise rates at the same time due to "market forces" that is not illegal. when they lower prices to destroy competitors - that is also OK as long as they do not state that goal publicly."
"Additionally the MEGA wood producers- (Weyerhaeuser, Georgia Pacific, West Fraser Timber) hold politicians in their pocket. Lumber is the biggest line item cost on most builds after land."
"Trump raised the Tariff to 20% on Canadian imports, the WTO ruled against this move and it was lowered to 9%. Now Biden admin is raising it back up again despite the ruling."
"Shingles are made of gravel and oil- not much has changed in the last 50 years. They are better- no doubt- but no major change in cost to produce. Yet, cost of basic materials with mature, highly automated production continues to skyrocket- (Market forces- supply and demand)."
"Land- homes are mandated by code to be safe- that is good. They are also mandated by code and zoning to be bigger, and more expensive that makes sense for many people."
Giphy"Builders must work within this framework and deliver what they can profitably, which pretty much means build the biggest house possible because density rules and overheads imposed on home construction make building smaller less expensive homes not viable."
"It is hard to find a 'starter' home for under a quarter million dollars- no real reason for this."
"Codes are written by industry lobbyists- (sound familiar?) Once a new patented (safety, energy improvement) device is mature and ready for market, the owners of the patent will promote/ push through code changes REQUIRING their product be used on every single new home if possible. I am all for safe homes - but where does that push the market?"
"I am a builder for 30 years and strongly believe new houses are WAY better than old by just about every measure. However, manufacturing and material improvements we routinely see LOWERING costs of other durable goods do not apply due to the artificial scarcity keeping supply low and cost high."
"Demand will ALWAYS be there- everyone needs a home. A super clunky supply chain primarily focused on shielding from liability adds tons of cost for no reason."
"Too many ways to get sued if you are a home builder - so all employees are separate contractors, distributers are separate from manufactures. Even new home sales are often done by realtors independent from the builder, offering separation and legal defense from the endless expensive lawsuits that can result from no cause other than customer preference, customer neglect, neighbors or other issues not related to the builders performance."
"And Finally- Financing: You are encouraged to buy the biggest house you can afford as early on in life as possible because your home is your 'biggest investment.' "
"Banks will loan CRAAAAZY money and the government supports, promotes and funds this process in loaning as much as possible (Trillions) to a market of people determined to have a home and a stake in real estate."
"Is there NO other way to save money other than building equity in your home? A much smaller home with a larger investment portfolio is not a mainstream option. Federal policy views home ownership as a positive to be supported no matter the cost."
"PROFITABLE New small homes for under 100K could be and should be a thing in every American city. Homelessness would evaporate if there was an alternative other than putting people in motels."
- Bulldogsleepingonme
Education
"Honestly, I can't believe that nowhere in this post as of right now can EDUCATION be found."
"College doesn't have to be free, but recently the prices have gone through the roof and based on this post, it seems to have been normalized."
- AnonymousMemeing
"I would argue that cheaper tuition is good for the economy as a whole. The more educated people are, the more likely they are to invent, improve, or otherwise contribute to society."
"Absolutely everybody getting a free university degree is not ideal from a value to society point of view, but the way it has become these days, it is going to cost the country in 20 or 30 years."
- CanuckSalaryman
"Yes, I don’t think college should be for free but it shouldn’t cost as much as a house. It should be where you can still pay out of pocket for it."
- crazygirl2981
GiphyBy The People?
"Running for office in America."
"The cost to run a successful campaign in America for virtually any state level or higher political office is simply unattainable for the common person and prices out anyone but the ruling class of oligarchs and those with connections to it."
"Sure there examples of candidates outside the typical wealthy and ingrained political establishment, but they are the rare exception, not the rule."
"With US House races costing over $2 million and Senate races costing over $16 million the average person, no matter how well educated and how well qualified, is automatically eliminated without a vast amount of personal wealth or connections to the individuals, corporations, and parties that do hold that power."
"So the halls of congress and the seat of power is never filled with our best and brightest, but instead those with the wealth to attain that power and the conviction to maintain that status quo at virtually any cost to the people."
- Pursuitofsleep
GiphyThat certainly took a turn for the depressing there at the end, huh?
I mean... we were already feeling pretty poor but that last one ... ouch.
We need a nap—and a revolution, apparently?
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People Reveal Their Biggest Dealbreakers When Dining Out At Restaurants
Eating at restaurants is usually great: you get awesome tasty food that you didn't have to cook for yourself.
Not every restaurant is created equal, though, and everybody has those one or two things that are just total dealbreakers when it comes to dining out.
Redditor jobokar asked:
"What’s a dealbreaker for you at restaurants?"
Nobody Likes A Sticky Table
"If the table is sticky and it gets stickier after they wipe it."
- kissingdistopia
"Was so frustrating at one place I worked at. When the varnish starts to wear off, it gets sticky especially when humid. Losing tabels to it and them not fixing it really sucked."
- Bbols23
Bad Salsa
"if you go to a mexican/tex-mex spot and the chips and salsa are terrible just pack it up and leave, nothing will get better."
- thejamielee
"I just don't know how you mess up salsa. Like if you can't combine tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lime juice with some peppers you should be out of business.."
- BaaBaaTurtle
"It’s a good metric for restaurants taking shortcuts and not putting a simple from-scratch component together."
- badlilbadlandabad
"There are plenty of good enough premade salsas you can buy. If they don't even do that, it means they don't care."
- -gggggggggg-
I Can't Even Hear Myself Think
"Loud music. I've been in restaurants before where I can't hear myself think, let alone hear people opposite me talk."
- Philcycles84
"On top of this, an over abundance of televisions."
"Sports bars are fine, but there should be some separation between them and restaurants.
- CarrieFisherStevens
Don't Invade My Personal Space
"Tables packed closely together to the point where you might as well just be sitting with the strangers next to you."
- jimcol
"I ate at a restaurant where it was like school cafeteria seating. Multiple parties sat at the same table. Haven’t been back."
- LittleRileyBao
"I got bad news for you. You're going to HATE eating out in Europe and Asia"
- CousinSkeeter89
"I got sat across from a stranger at a 2 seat table once at a busy restaurant in Japan. Definitely one of the more uncomfortable dining experiences I've had."
- SerbianSh*tStain
Pizza In Venice
"I sat at a table with a Japanese woman and her daughter in a pizza restaurant once during Carnevale in Venice. She spoke no English and I only spoke a few words of Japanese. It was one of the most delightfully memorable meals I have ever had and the pizza was to die for! Would I have wanted to share a table with strangers in a U.S. restaurant? Probably not. But it’s different in Italy. That wasn’t the only restaurant on that trip where I sat very close to and conversed with strangers, and it was a great experience."
- Catwoman1948
Odor Is Key
"The smell when you walk in. If you can smell sewage, mold or excessive bleach or ammonia when you walk in over the food, turn around."
- DarthGayAgenda
"Holy sh*t, there are places like this where you live?"
- icelandichorsey
"I've been to places like that in every US state I've eaten in except Utah (but only because I've only been to a single McDonald's there). The excessive bleach smell is especially telling because the only way that happens is if they dump the stuff by the bottle everywhere. The GM at my last job was like that. She believed the smell of bleach meant clean and used a lot on everything."
- DarthGayAgenda
"If a fish restaurant smells like fish, don’t eat there."
- BowwwwBallll
But How Much Does It Cost?!
"No prices on the menu. If I’m going to spend money, I want to know how much I’m going to spend. Just tell me the steak is $40 for f*ck sake."
- indigoassassin
"Yeah what’s up with that? I’m trying to find a nice (er) restaurant for me and my wife’s anniversary. Everything in the 'nice' category doesn’t include prices. I feel like if I call the restaurant to ask, they’ll say something like 'if you have to ask, don’t eat here.'"
"Even if I had a million in the bank, I’m not going to eat somewhere that’s a total wild card."
- mr_blanket
You Staff Are People Too
"Owners being rude to staff in front of guests"
- LittleBlackBird0191
"Though, you’re in for a treat if owners being rude to guests in front of staff"
- Chickenmilk_
"Only if the guests deserve it."
"Managers being rude to entitled a**holes to protect their staff makes me fall in love just a little. Owners being a-holes to guests who have reasonable questions or complaints, less so."
- moratnz
Am I Invisible?
"If they just ignore you for 10 minutes. Even if you are (too) busy at least acknowledge you've seen me and will get to me."
- domin8r
"Or when they take your drink order and then disappear for 35min."
- curmudge
"I once stood at the cash register of a Dennys in Redding for 20+ minutes. We were the only ones standing there. After trying to flag down a staff member I left 30 bucks and took off."
- OCSupertonesStrike
Can They Really Make All Of Those Things Well?
"I’m from UK so maybe not relevant but HUGE menu with loads of variety. If they can just master 5 or 6 dishes they will taste far better that the 50 different options that the kitchen has to offer."
- Stokehall
"Yep, Gordon Ramsay calls this out on his restaurant makeover shows. Except for Chinese, they prepare a few ingredients in a million ways."
- RoboKat70
"I’m with you on this. There’s a little place near me who has at least 50 different things on the menu, maybe more. The food is always overpriced sh*t, most of it tastes like it came from the freezer section of the grocery store because a lot of it probably does at that point."
- mamasamsquanch
"I'm a chef and I can tell you, it definitely is mostly frozen. Depending on how many staff there are, usually Any menu over 20 or so items is a red flag. Ain't nobody got time for all that prep. 15 or less is a good sign."
- CautiousCollection5
Maybe Don't Lie To Your Customers
"We had a chucks roadhouse open up and they sent out “too good to be true” coupons in the mail (4 surf and turf meals for $25). It was just to get people to their tables and ordering, then they say “those aren’t valid, we sent out a retraction” (they didn’t). On top of all that they have an “honest to goodness fee” of 4% on every bill lmao"
- funghi2
"That sounds like a great way for people to never go back there again. After getting swindled like that I would never go back, tell all my friends to never go there and leave a terrible review on google."
- donscron91
While tasty food you don't have to cook is definitely awesome, maybe be careful where you're getting it from.
Pet Owners Describe The Funniest Drama That's Unfolded Between Their Animals
Pets enrich our lives in countless ways. One of the best is the way they seem to always be able to make us laugh, and this power multiplies exponentially when you have more than one pet.
The drama really ramps up when your pets are different species; different body language and communication styles between animals, as well as very differnt personalities, leads to some pretty hilarious drama.
Redditor ServiceCall1986 asked:
"People with multiple pets, what is some drama going on between them right now?"
Bully Ducks
"My ducks are so dramatic about sharing their pools. I have three ducks and two pools, one green, one pink. All three have decided the pink pool is their favorite and fight over who gets to be in it. They all three can fit comfortably in one pool, but they chase each other out and 'fight' about who gets to be the only one in there. It’s hilarious to watch. This spring, I’m buying new pools. Three all-pink ones lol."
"They also bully the wild birds and squirrels. And when they hear the neighborhood dogs start barking, they run to the back fence and start quacking really loud."
- lime-y
"Reminds me of when I got a cat bed for free because someone else's cat wouldn't touch it. Both my cats fought over it, so I bought an identical one. They fought over the new one for about a week, and then neither cat touched either bed ever again."
- kingofgreenapples
Chickens Are Scary
"i have a cat & chickens. one of my chickens chased my cat yesterday and now she’s hiding in my room"
- Exotic_Storm6788
"Guess you actually only have chickens."
- DazeLost
"Lol chickens scare me too!! Funny, my tuxedo cat is named Chicken Butt."
- Leading_Funny5802
"The cat desperately wants to play with the dog. The dog, who played with our last cat like best friends, absolutely refuses to have anything to do with her. It makes me sad, I feel bad for both of them."
- askingxalice
"He's afraid to love again 💔"
- GRYFFIN_WH*RE
"Oh is that what we're doing today, feeling? I didn't sign up for this."
- UoFSlim
"Awh, I feel bad for the both of them. That sucks"
- Lanky-Major-2800
Sometimes Jealousy Is Helpful
"We have a new foster dog who is terrified of the world and everything in it. She's been cowering in the corner of the kitchen for days, but she's just now getting brave enough to start coming out to solicit attention. Our resident dog is jealous so she keeps coming over to try to steal the attention. The foster dog loves the resident dog, and seems to get braver when she's around, so that makes her more willing to come out. So resident dog's jealous is accidentally feeding the bravery and socialization of the foster. (She doesn't realize it, but that's exactly what we were hoping would happen.)"
- tah4349
"Task failed successfully!"
- VertebrateCrossing
That's Just Unfair
"Two cats and a hedgehog. The cats are in disbelief that the hedgehog not only eats dry cat food as her diet (the audacity!) but also that she gets a heat lamp and they don't. They are likely plotting a revolt."
- Smithssoni
"My cat used to get jealous of my hedgehog! Mom would go over to hedgie's cage to visit, and miss kitty would jump off my bed or chair to scamper over and meow at her!"
- lady-kl
Chonky Donkey Drama
"We have two donkeys, Geriatric donkey and Chonky donkey. Chonky has separation anxiety and freaks if she can't see Geriatric donkey. Geriatric donkey is too skinny and on a special high-protein diet. Chonky donkey is, well, chonky, and is on a diet, which she hates (but is looking much better).To keep Chonky donkey out of Geriatric donkeys food, I have to separate them. Now Chonky donkey is upset to be separated from Geriatric AND upset she can't steal Geriatric's much yummier food. Upset donkeys are LOUD."
- grainia99
Cats Are Definitely Instigators
"My cat was near a vent and meowed when I picked her up. Now the neighbor's dog is going nuts and they scream at each other through it."
- Sylar299
"The neighbor: 'Why is my dog barking at a vent?'"
- Comprehensive-Ad3963
"That's amazing. My cat is such an a**hole, he would do that on purpose to wind up the neighbor's dog if he knew he could."
- bluevioletta
"I'm pretty sure this is what she's doing! She looks too smug while doing it"
- Sylar299
Vicky Doesn't Give A F***
"My flock of chickens is very dedicated to my rooster and obeys his every command—with the exception of one hen named Vicky. She doesn’t give a f*ck about him and only wants to hang out with us humans. She follows us around and is just super friendly and cute and chatty, and of course, we spoil her with delicious treats all day. When I weed the garden she’s right behind me, scratching up the soil like she’s helping me lol and eating all the newly exposed bugs. She’ll walk up to us, look up, and say 'hmm-hmm?' like she’s asking, 'What’s goin’ on?' The other hens are always by the rooster’s side, but she comes and goes as she pleases."
"Rooster can’t stand it. He does everything he can to get her attention, like making the 'I found food' call and picking up a random pebble to pretend it’s a treat he found. She figured out this ruse very quickly."
"If she starts to run toward us he’ll run ahead of her, stand in her way, and stomp his little rooster feet. She just runs past him, lol."
"He gets especially mad when she’s late coming back to the coop at the end of the day because she’s hanging out with us, and he tries to herd her back over to it. She doesn’t give a F*CK and just sits on the porch with us, and we all watch him run around screaming and having a fit because she doesn’t want to go to bed yet. It’s hilarious."
"Somehow she’s still like #2 in the pecking order tho, she’s an alpha chicken"
- toss_my_potatoes
Tortoise-Pigeon Tensions
"We have a Pigeon thats half blind and can't fly that started using our tortoise's terrarium as its house in winter."
"Problems began when we started letting our tortoises outside in summer since they would randomly meet inside of it and the pigeon would panic."
"Now he has learned that the tortoises are harmless so now they just chill"
- NoLoveWeebWeb
Cats Are Scary Too
"My blue heelers scared of my cat. My cat chills with the jack russell but hates the blue heeler. The blue heeler doesnt like to be away from the jack russell. Cue a terrified dog staring into the room just to be hissed at."
- Stunning_Guest_8685
"the Heeler probably tried to herd the cat once and will never be forgiven for trying to tell the cat what to do."
- PersistentPuma37
Pet drama is the spice of life.
Truck Drivers Describe The Creepiest Things They've Ever Seen On The Road
CW: Graphic stories about accidents.
When you spend a lot of time on the road, you're bound to see some crazy or spooky things.
Truck drivers spend a lot of time on the road, and it seems like they've seen plenty of creepy things. The truck drivers of Reddit are ready to share those creepy sights and stories.
It all started when a Redditor asked:
"Truckers of reddit! What spooky things did you witness on the road?"
Yikes!
"my grandfather-in-law, who recently passed away, said back in the 70s, he saw a man get decapitated by some kind of heavy duty cable at a truck stop."
– _bakedgouda
Shouting Fire On A Street
"I was driving between Melbourne and Albury very late one night on the Hume Fwy. For the non-Aussies, that stretch of the Hume is very wide, flat, and straight, so it's boring and hypnotic, especially driving alone at night."
"It was the middle of summer, so I was surprised to see little wisps of fog whipping through my headlight beams, but then the smell of burning plastic hit my nose and I realised it was smoke. Up ahead, there was one other car on the road, and I could just see a tiny yellow light on the back, like a candle flame."
"Worried, I sped up to catch this guy, and by the time I reached him his entire muffler was on fire. I flashed my lights and honked my horn, trying to get his attention. Just as I drew up alongside him, I saw him turn to look at me, and then a HUGE gout of orange flame burst out from under the car and licked across his driver's side window."
"Needless to say, he pulled over in a big hurry and I pulled over about 50 metres ahead of him. I jumped out from behind the wheel and sprinted back to him to make sure he was out of the car and safe, then back to get my phone, and called emergency services while running back to him. It was less than a minute since he'd pulled over and the entire car was a fireball."
"I asked if he was okay, and he said yeah, but his phone and wallet were both still inside the car. I let him use my phone to make some calls and gave him all the cash in my wallet, which wasn't much at the time, and finally continued on my way once the firefighters and ambulance arrived."
"Let's just say I was WIDE awake for the rest of my drive."
– MCDexX
A Truck Driving Hero
"TL:DR Stopped to help a motorist with a possible flat, may have prevented a murder."
"I service fire equipment, so I drive a box truck, and cover parts of PA, NY, OH, MD, and WV. I was in rural NW PA, returning from a service call and heading towards the interstate to go home."
"On the way to this customer, I saw a small pickup truck on the interstate whose right rear tire was steadily deflating. A mile or so before my exit, they pulled off to the side. I didn't stop to see if they needed help, and felt a little bad about it."
"As I drove down this dark, twisty road, I passed a Dodge Durango pulled over into a barn driveway. There was a person lying on the ground behind it, struggling with something. It looked like the guy was trying to change a tire or get the spare out from under the Durango."
"Remembering the pickup from earlier, I decided to turn around and see if he needed help. I pulled into the first driveway I saw, about 1/4 mile down the road, turned around, and headed back. Halfway back, the Durango passed me, going the direction I had originally been headed."
"I got back to where I had seen the Durango, planning to turn around again, but as I swung into the driveway, my headlights caught a figure lying motionless in the snow."
"I stopped and jumped out just as the figure sat up. It was a woman, maybe in her 40s, in a thin, torn black skirt and top. Her hair was mussed, her eye was starting to swell, she had red marks on her throat, and her lip was bleeding."
"I helped her up, got her into my truck, and cranked up the heat. I had taken my jacket off, so I gave it to her, and she covered her torso and arms."
"She didn't want to say anything. Her throat was sore, and she was badly frightened. I called 911, and they dispatched a police car."
"I gave her a bottle of water, and she whispered, "Thank you", then sat with her head bowed and eyes closed. It took about 15 minutes for the police car to get there, and she stayed silent."
"As the car pulled in, she said, mostly to herself, "He's gonna arrest me." The trooper walked up and motioned me to exit, asked her if she needed an ambulance (she declined) then asked me what had happened."
"I explained what I had seen. He wrote everything down, then talked to her for a few minutes. He helped her out of the truck and into his car. She quietly thanked me for coming back, because she thought that guy meant to kill her."
"A far as I know, she wasn't arrested. She was pretty beat up, and the trooper spoke and handled her as if she were the victim of an assault. It was almost certainly a transaction that had gone badly."
"I never found out what had happened. I watched the news outlets for that area for a while, but never found anything."
– Jef_Wheaton
Put On Your Seatbelt
"A fresh solo traffic accident. the car was flipped upside down on its roof. the drivers head was halfway out to the neck, through the shattered front window. he did not have a seatbelt on."
– Divutski
"With a seatbelt you not only protect your life but also the mental well-being of others. No one should have to see something like this!"
– Deleted User
Never Found Out The Truth
"I used to travel for work doing construction. My boss was driving and I was passenger. were on our way back home from Tennessee to Illinois. Just leaving the mountains but still pretty much the middle of nowhere and we notice a couple dead deer on the road. These things are like... Exploded. My boss and I say something about "that sucks, a semi must have been hauling and clipped a herd". We get to the top of a hill and there are so many more dead exploded deer. Possibly hundreds. Definitely dozens. They didn't look like they got hit by a semi. They looked like they had sticks of dynamite put into them and lit off."
"Semi trucks had definitely been driving through because we didn't have to dodge any of them. And we were driving our big work truck and trailer so if we had to crush a couple it was no big deal. It went on for more than half a mile. Maybe up to a mile and a half."
"My boss had been on the road a lot more years than I had. I asked him "what the hell was that?" And he seemed just as lost as me. Said "I have no f*cking idea and I'm not stopping to find out. That sh*t didn't make any sense.""
– kickaguard
Migrating Tarantulas
"My mom is a trucker, this is her story."
"She was driving through Arizona when she saw what she thought was leaves blowing across the road in the distance. This puzzled her since there's mostly pine trees in northern Arizona. When she finally got to the "leaves" she realized that they were migrating tarantulas, 1000s of them. There were so many of them that her truck was sliding on their guts so she had to slow down. She stopped at the first truck stop and told her co-driver to fuel up (he was sleeping at the time) because she wasn't going to step foot outside after what she just saw. Her co-driver was pissed since it was technically his time off, and he thought she was crazy, until he saw the tarantula guts and legs caked in the inside wheel well of the truck."
– digitalmarketeramil
Last Words
"She also outran a tornado in the midwest. She was about to pull over and take cover until she saw another big rig that was parked on the side of the road get tossed a couple hundred yards like a toy. She called me and told me that she thought she was going to die and wanted her last words to be "I love you" to me. She pulled off the freeway and got to a Wal-Mart, where she ran into the basement where all the staff and customers were taking shelter. After the tornado passed, they stepped out of the basement and into daylight, since the Wal Mart was destroyed."
"She has many many stories like this. Trucking is 90% boredom, 10% insane sh*t like this."
– digitalmarketeramil
The Dog-Man
"A trucker I know claims he was driving a logging truck down a remote dirt road in the middle of a forest at around midnight when a "dog-man creature" walked out in the middle of the road. It stared at him for a few seconds plainly visible and well illuminated by all the auxiliary lights on the truck, then it just took off and disappeared into the woods on the other side of the road."
"He's not a superstitious man and he rejects everything supernatural as fiction, but he 100% believes that what he saw that night was real. I've only heard him talk about this twice, he was very drunk both times he opened up about it. Just talking about it rattled him, he was clearly uncomfortable thinking back about that night."
– Kitten-Eater
Truly Tragic
"This happened in Chennai, India. Was driving back into the city on the two-lane coastal highway with a few of my friends. Most of the highway has no streetlights, just reflectors. Around on of the bends, my friend who was driving slammed on his brakes. This was just after sunset."
"At first, all we could see were two motorbikes on their sides, little debris from them scattered around. It was only when we got closer that we saw three guys laying down awkwardly."
"Turns out, the bikes were heading in opposite directions at high speeds, lost control and slammed head-on. The riders of one of the vehicles wasn’t wearing his helmet, and his face was smashed. We could hear his shallow gasps for air, but he was definitely a goner."
– dontdieinthesky
Definitely Ghosts
"When I was a kid my mother was driving at night with my step-dad in the passenger seat and us three kids in the back."
"Apparently (I learned about it later as I was asleep) what happened was my mother and father both saw, flitting across the road from one side to the other, two glowing silhouettes of what looked like two little girls holding hands. My mother said, picture a silhouette, only instead of featureless black this was featureless bright yellow/white, in the perfect shape of two little girls holding hands and moving across the road in their headlights."
"They saw them for so long that my step-dad was able to process the scene and sternly tell my mother not to steer suddenly, just to brake and not to attempt any huge steering movement."
"The forms reached the side of the road and faded away; our car slowed but didn't stop, and my parents continued their journey."
"When they related their encounter to my grandparents, whom we were visiting, they said that two young girls had been killed in a traffic accident on that same road."
– MagicSPA
That last one is the scariest in my mind!
Oh, the things people say.
Sometimes you wonder if people have the capability to think before they speak.
It's an especially thorny issue in relationships.
Redditor Human02211979 wanted men to share about the things they're over women saying, so they asked:
"What's a phrase men hate hearing from women?"
I don't dabble with the ladies.
I feel like I'm about to be glad about that.
Thoughts?
season 6 episode 24 GIFGiphy“'Do you know why I pulled you over?'”
WHEENC
"It depends on how long you were following me."
ersomething
Just Pick!
"The food thing."
"'I'm not hungry or you pick... but not there not there not there not there or there.'"
"It's one of the most widely joked about relationship tropes... but it has to be one of the truest. I watched two married friends this weekend almost lose it over this lol."
HotelRwandaBeef
"Frustrating for anyone in a relationship whose partner does this. I'm a woman and my male fiancée can't make a decision about food to save his life, almost literally. If you put him in a room with his 2 favorite foods and told him he can't eat until he chooses one, he would starve to death. It makes me freaking crazy."
forestfairygremlin
Not Good Enough
“'They couldn’t handle me.'”
"Relationships are about building each other up, not constantly having to deal with the other person’s attitude or poor behavior/mental health. This is not as much of a flex as a lot of people think it is and raises major red flags for me."
OreoKing10
"Dude this is so true, God *amn its true. These type of girls who say that are ONLY trouble and have no insight to why they act like they do. Its mental."
TheZwoop
“nothing”
"'How can you not think anything, you must be hiding something.'"
SuvenPan
"I mean sometimes it’s nothing but most of the time 'nothing' is just a random situation that makes no sense that I’m thinking of in my mind. I don’t know why I’m trying to think which animal would be the best drift racer and I don’t know where to start explaining the thought process behind it or how I even got there."
ThePowerPoint
Say Nothing
quiet tim and eric GIFGiphy"'Do you like my friend?' Because it always ends up in an argument either way."
nothinglasts21
Oh that is a dangerous setup.
It's a Trap
the office no GIFGiphy"'Tell me what you are thinking. Do I look fat? Be honest.'"
illini02“
"'As a modern woman, you do not need a man to validate your self-image. Take a look in the mirror and tell yourself whether or not you look fat.'"
Jedi_Master_Baggins
Start Over
"Are you even listening to me, and I think to myself what a weird way to start a conversation."
bigfish3636
"I sometimes forget that whenever my boyfriend is doing something like reading the paper, I have to get his attention BEFORE I start talking. Often ends in me talking for a minute before noticing an all too familiar blank stare on his face which prompts the question 'did you get any of that?' and then he repeats the last three words in an unsure cadence. Then I start from the beginning, lol."
shadythrowaway9
Nonsense
“'How are you still single, you’re a great guy?' Hear it a bunch from some women friends of mine. I always just brush it off but kinda stings a bit more each time."
AverageJames
"I lived in a big house with lots of roommates. We had this big vent one night. We were going to go bar hopping but all the girls vented about how often they were bothered and hit on at bars. How they needed to go in groups to feel safe. And they never could go to just have fun with each other."
"2 weeks later I mentioned how frustrating dating can be at group dinner. There was a communal laugh about how easy it was. 'Literally just go to any bar.'"
DigNitty
Not my Owner
"Thankfully my current girlfriend doesn’t do this but don’t ever say you 'trained' your boyfriend or even friend to do something. Friendships and relationships are a great way to have a different perspective and take things on in different ways. To say you trained your friend or boyfriend is incredibly dehumanizing and makes you seem incredibly narcissistic and manipulative. Plus, you didn’t 'train' your boyfriend to use conditioner, you just made him realize that even though he doesn’t think it’s significant in his value system, it isn’t worth the fact you keep bugging him about it."
DuncanRobinson4MVP
Oh Lord
Come On Man GIF by IdentityGiphy"'I was thinking...'"
"Whenever my wife says that means I'm gonna be doing something that I don't want to."
Revolutionary-Rip-40
"And it's always 'I was thinking we should...' There's no WE here, just come out and tell me what I will be doing."
BusterOfBuyMoria
Know your warning signs gents...
Anything else anyone would like to add? Let us know in the comments below.