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Why would you even say that?
I think that is a question people really need to think about.
People seem to have lost control of their internal filter.
Even with good intentions, you can still inflict pain.
And just so everyone is aware, there is a difference between being truthful and flat out rude.
Words leave an impact.
It sounds dramatic, but it's true.
Redditor Themadadealtin wanted to hear about the times someone's words have left a wound.
They asked:
"What’s the most hurtful thing someone has said to you?"
I can't even begin discussing what I've been told. Let's just say... people don't like me fat.
Ouch
Shannyn Sossamon Cringe GIF
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"Everyone loves you until they realize how f**ked up you actually are!"
"I still wonder how much truth there is to that."
owlhandsondeck
Uninvited
"This actually happened last week. My brother is visiting from overseas. My parents, him, my GF and I spent a week on holiday together. Just before we left, I thanked my mom for inviting us. She turned to me and said 'I didn't invite you, (brother) did. You were only supposed to stay for two days.' For some reason that hit me hard. Like I wasn't welcome."
Tame_Trex
Cuts Deep
"'Why aren't you normal?' - My mom."
NeriosVag
"My dad said basically the same thing to me when I was around 14 and my depression and anxiety was worsening and it had gotten so bad I couldn’t even set foot in my high school without having full blown panic attacks so I had to be homeschooled and my dad said 'why can’t you just be normal like other kids?'”
"That cut so deep, I already was struggling with coming to terms with my declining mental health then to be made to feel even more like a freak was and still is devastating. I’m so sorry that you had to go through the same and I send you a huge virtual hug ❤️ no one deserves to be told that and treated like that especially not by a parent."
MarmaladeDreamer
Sniff Away
"40 years ago I was 18 and my father died suddenly, I was devastated and grieving, his then business associate told me not to sniff around the office because I would never be the man my father was. This still makes me sick to this day when I think about it."
geevesm1
Thanksgiving, 2009...
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"You're useless to me."
"My dad, right after I got my foot broken by a piece of heavy machinery while we were moving downed trees. I'll never forget it, the day after Thanksgiving, 2009."
AscendedExtra
Good Lord. Some people really shouldn't be parents. That's awful.
bad for me...
Youre The Worst I Hate You GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
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"'You going to therapy would be terrible for me' that was the beginning of a 30 minute lecture from my mom on Thanksgiving. I almost ended it."
Lwathorn
“I don’t get this.”
"I asked my teacher for help. I didn’t understand something in my workbook. I waited quietly and patiently for her at her desk while she helped her favorite students and when she got to me I pointed to it and said, 'I don’t get this.' She sighed, rolled her eyes, and said, 'You’ll never get it.' Then she walked away and ignored me."
"I was left standing at her desk, holding my open workbook, not knowing what to do or how to finish the assignment. I never forgot that. She did positively influence my life though because I am now a teacher myself, and that day was a huge reason why I became one! (I have a lot of student loans and I barely survive paycheck to paycheck but my students go home from school knowing they are loved.)"
agbellamae
“best friend”
"My mom passed from ovarian cancer when I was in my mid 20’s. I had just graduated college and dropped out of my graduate program to go home and care for her bc she wanted to die at home. It was just my dad (who was in deep denial and my brother who is disabled). Needless to say I was caring for everyone."
"About a month or so after my mom passed I went back to see my 'best friend' at the time back in NC where we both attended college. I was looking for a distraction from my grief and trying to manage it as well. We were sitting on her porch having a few drinks and joking around and my GF for some reason blurted out in laughter 'oh, just get over it already!'”
"I had no words. I was just so shocked and hurt - I just sat there and felt ridiculous and sad all at once."
Onlykitten
Don't Speak
"Everyone I used to work with, including management, quit very suddenly. I wanted to have a conversation with the person they sent from corporate who was going to be our temporary management. They told me, 'I don't speak to the hourly workers.' I quit on the spot and hope he chokes on his money but it hurt me anyway."
MotivaSean
Gross
Schitts Creek What GIF by CBC
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"I don't see what he sees in you, I bet you just lie there."
"-My mother."
teflonfairy
Burdens
“'Honestly, no one really wanted you around anyway.' An ex best friend, telling me I was simply an annoying tag-along whenever we went out with their friends. I struggle to connect with people now, and constantly feel like a burden to everyone."
honeycomb286
"You’re not the burden. Those kinds of people are."
shehulk55
Punch to the Gut
"I was adopted as an infant. A coworker found out I'm adopted and asked me, 'Why didn't your mother want you?' Felt like a punch to the gut. My step mom (who my adoptive dad married after my adoptive mom died) asked me, 'Why weren't you aborted?' She assumed my birth mom didn't want me and phrased it in the worst question ever."
"And a doctor (who was overweight, too) told me, 'You'd be pretty, if it wasn't for the weight.' There was no reason for her to say that. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I know I need to lose weight. But I don't go to the doctor to have my attractiveness evaluated."
OMGhyperbole
‘apologize’
"My now ex-boyfriend went to see his ex in the Netherlands to ‘apologize’ for what he did during their relationship. He was supposed to come back Monday morning, I asked him when he was coming back, he was online and ignored me. I knew it in me that he was with her not to talk about the past for sure, I tried to call him, he ignored me even tho he was online. I sent him a text saying that if he didn’t called me that he could pretend that I never existed in his life, and he answered right away with an alright."
Adventurous_Bedroom2
Laughs
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"'I understand exactly how you feel (after my father's passing).... I felt exactly the same way when X broke up with me...'"
"I wish I was joking."
lou3745
3 years later...
"Its a while back and like most of these comments it’s something my ex said. She said that she doesn’t fine me attractive anymore and that her feelings are not enough to love me as a boyfriend anymore but more like a good friend. We ended the relationship of 5 years and were just friends till i couldn’t do it anymore. 3 years later and I still think about it on a daily."
nothinglowhere
Not Perfect
"I'm going to make your son hate you when he gets older."
Moletheus
"As someone who was the kid in this situation. Just be there for him and do the best you can. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be honest. He will likely figure it out. It’s going to suck but you guys will get there."
birdof_death
I Still Remember
"I was in grade 3 and I was friends with 2 girls in my class. Their older sisters were a few grades above. One day they just collectively ganged up on me and told me that I can no longer play with them and they don't want to be friends with me. I was also still an only child back then and I just moved to a new school far from my best friend. I don't know why I still remember that moment but I do."
inc_mplete
Shattered
"I was 16 when my childhood best friend/boyfriend lost his battle with cancer. A few months later my big sister was ticked off and told me he was lucky he died so he didn’t have to spend the rest of his life with a *itch like me. I’m 29 and I’ll never forget the way that shattered my soul."
Melliemelou
Passion
"I am autistic, so when I get passionate about something, I get really passionate. Like, consumes-my-life-learn-everything-there-is-to-know passionate. As a teenager, that topic was horror movies. I would talk to anyone who would listen. One day, someone interrupted me and yelled 'would you shut up??? No one cares about the stupid things you have to say!' It really hurt me and to this day I’m really hesitant to talk about my interests."
Catnip_cryptidd
Time to say "Bye Felicia!" No one needs this mess. Be kind. Be strong.
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The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
Every now and then, a friend of ours might say something, or we might overhear a complete stranger say something that makes us stop in our tracks.
More often than not, what we can't believe we just heard is something so ridiculous, we can't help but put the person who said it in their place.
Other times, however, what we just heard might have stunned us silent because of how shockingly clever it was.
Resulting in our not wanting to scold or yell at someone, but rather give them a handshake.
Redditor SubmergingOriginal was curious to hear the sharpest and wittiest things they've ever heard, from friends and strangers alike, leading them to ask:
"Enough with the dumbest; what is the wittiest thing you've ever heard someone say?"
Don't Give Me So Much Credit...
'I was on a team at work that was on a project working insane overtime."
"One night after an 80-90 hour week, we were all sitting around the table trying to finish up so we could go home."
"Around 11, my buddy's wife called, dubious about the hours he'd been keeping."
"We heard her through the line - 'are you cheating on me?'"
"Exasperated, he looked at our boss, then replied 'honey, if I was cheating on you, I would have been home by now'."- lionbatcher
Eternal Optimism...
"Asked a blind guy if he'd been blind his whole life."
"He said 'Not yet'."- Feeling_Mode_6465
Free time Isn't The Only Thing He Has On His Hands...
"My brother got a vasectomy and when the doctor was releasing him and giving him instructions (with the nurse listening in), one of the orders was to 'come back and have a follow-up appointment after you’ve ejaculated 30 times'.”
"Without missing a beat my brother asked 'what time do you open tomorrow?'”
"The nurse couldn’t keep it together after hearing that."- UtahUtopia
Awkward Season 8 GIF by The Office
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Double Whammy!
"My pal uses the phrase 'he doesn’t look strong enough to carry information' and it cracks me up every time."
"Calling someone stupid and weak in one fell swoop."- JennyW93
Can't Hide Your DNA...
'Whenever I jokingly insult my mum, she says 'that must be where you get it from'."
"She cracked the code."
"I can never offend her without offending myself."- JennyW93
Self-Sufficient!
"My brother was a line cook at a New Orleans restaurant."
"My mom was in town, staying at a fancy hotel, and he stopped by after work, still wearing his kitchen whites."
"He was reading a newspaper in the lobby waiting for her to come down when the shocked lobby manager sputtered at him, 'MAY I HELP YOU!?!?'
"He answered, 'thanks, but I know how to read',” and went back to his paper."- jobrody
Morph Current Affairs GIF by Aardman Animations
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A Miracle!
"My brother-in-law’s comment."
"The entire family went out for my mother’s 80th birthday and after the meal we all went to a local park, largely occupied by the elderly, to rest."
"My mother needed crutches at this point, and they were resting against her bench."
"My 10-year-old niece, who looked like every starving waif image from Dickens, grabbed the crutches and started hobbling round the park."
"All the OAPs were following her progress with looks of pity until my brother ran up behind her, and kicked away the crutches."
"There was an audible gasp from round the park and then my niece picked the crutches back up and started chasing my brother, clearly intending to hit him."
"In the confused silence my brother-in-law’s voice rang out 'Praise be! She can walk again!'"
"We still think this was the highlight of the birthday celebrations."- DdraigGwyn
Still Legal, Whichever Way You Cut It...
"I picked up my pleasantly tipsy boyfriend from a nightclub."
"We were stopped by the Police for a random breath test."
"They asked me my age, and I said, 33."
"My bf blurted out '33? You told me you were 22'."
"Police just laughed and let me go."- Aggravating-Corgi379
Music Video Police GIF by Andrew W. K.
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A Bit Too On The Nose?
"Business law class in college years ago, talking about the issues that black Americans had before the Civil Rights."
"Amendment, trying to travel through the south with the discrimination so rampant, trying to find restaurants to serve them and decent lodgings."
"My instructor was posing a hypothetical: 'So you pull up out front of this place, you're exhausted from driving for hours, and you see the sign out front says 'Ku Klux Klan Motel'."
"'What would you expect to find there?'"
"Without missing a beat, from the back of the room came this gem: "'Extra sheets in every room?'"- NedsAtomicDB
Not Yet, Anyway...
"I was working with my friend and his dad."
"My friend (26) heard an ice cream truck near where we were working."
"He asked his dad if he could have a couple dollars."
"His dad asked, 'what for?'"
"My friend told his dad that there was an ice cream truck in the neighborhood, and that they were playing music."
"My friends dad told him "'They don't charge anything to listen to the music'."- tatersalad1234567890
Words Escape You In The Literal "Heat" Of The Moment...
"A friend of mine is a teacher and her husband is known for his wit."
"She told this story to him:"
"One day at school a kid took the hall pass and returned reeking like smoke."
"She asked the kid if he’d been smoking and he denied it over and over."
"She was about to send him to the office when she noticed smoke coming from somewhere."
"She told the kid and he realized that he didn’t put his cig out completely and it was burning in his pants pocket."
"The kid noticed and frantically tried to put it out and someone finally poured water on it."
"Her husband sat listening to this with a weird look on his face."
"She asked him what was wrong."
“'What’s wrong???'"
"'This was probably the only chance you’ll have in your life to say literally, ‘liar,liar, pants on fire’ and you missed your chance'."- Luder714
On Fire No GIF by PEEKASSO
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Amazing What You Might Say A Few Drinks In...
"When I went to a renaissance faire once, I went to a beer tent and ordered a Newcastle Brown Ale (seemed the most fitting for the surroundings)."
"The beer wench, without skipping a beat, said, 'Everyone wants a Newcastle - no one wants to remodel!'"- jayhof52
Read The Room People!
"My dad wiped out when skiing down a mountain and lost a ski."
"After a few minutes of hunting for it, he gives up, slings the one remaining ski over a shoulder and starts walking down the mountain in his ski boots."
"About half-way down, another skier stops and goes 'Gee! Did you lose a ski?'"
"My dad instantly replied 'No, I was out for a walk and found one!'"- PeterJoAl
There's a reason your mother always told you to "use your words".
As clever remarks can have a much more lasting effect on people than a push or shove.