People Break Down The Most Memorable Moment They've Shared With A Complete Stranger
We are told, from a young age, not to interact with strangers. And let's be honest, that is sound advice.
With plenty of creeps and weirdos around, it's best for parents to just nip any possibility of abduction in the bud early.
But when we grow into adults, we can take care of ourselves. We develop a keener sense of people: who is approachable, who's not, and when it is or isn't a good time to strike up conversation.
That well-honed sense can open us up to so many amazing interactions that, without being just a little bold, we would never have the chance to experience.
Some Redditors recalled the times they read the moment right and got a very memorable encounter out of it.
Defiant_Cat7301 asked, "What's the most memorable moment you shared with a stranger who you never saw again?"
Many times, the moment begins with an act of kindness from one stranger to another. Simply lending a helping hand can be enough to smash things wide open and lay the groundwork for a great back and forth.
Shockingly Similar
"I moved across the US a few years back (Washington to Ohio) and the first night I stopped at a random truck stop in Montana (I slept in the back seat of my truck). The next morning, I was letting my truck warm up when I noticed someone a few spots down was having a hard time getting his truck started so, of course, I went to help him."
"We got to talking and come to find out, not only did we work in similar lines of work, have similar backstories (both graduated in the same year from small towns, were navy veterans that were on subs, similar degree, etc.), but he was coming from Columbus Ohio going to Centralia Washington, and I was coming from Centralia Washington heading to Columbus Ohio. It was really weird."
-- UrasnoFlake2
Reese's Retrieval
"I was standing nearby this couple in Dollar Tree. I was deciding what snack I wanted and I overheard that the guy really liked Reese's bars but they didn't see any. Pre-Covid, I had frequented that particular Dollar Tree often, since it was nearby my house, and I knew that the store usually had those bars, they just weren't usually kept in the snack isle."
"I quickly checked the one island between the isles and the checkout and I found them. I went back to where the couple was, tapped the girl's shoulder and silently pointed them to the Reese's bars. Then I went back to doing my stuff."
-- CopyJ300
True Friends
"I was in the Flagstaff, Arizona area and hiked up 12,637 ft. Humphrey's Peak with a small group of people. On the way up, we met a young woman who had been hiking up the mountain with a group of her friends, but for some reason they left her behind."
"She was a slower hiker, but they should have never ditched her. She joined up with our group and made it to the top of the mountain, but on the way down it was clear that she was slowing us down. We weren't going to leave her behind like her friends did, however, so we went down the mountain at her speed."
"We ended up being on the mountain much longer than we planned, and soon it got dark when we were only about halfway down. That's when we realized we only had two small flashlights for 6 people. Hiking in near-pitch dark slowed us down even more, so I think we didn't even get down to the trailhead until around 10pm. It was unnerving not being able to see where we were putting our feet down, and I was sure someone was going to break an ankle. Luckily we made it down safely."
"When we got there, her friends were waiting, and they were mad that they had to sit and wait for her! After we made sure she was safe and good to go, we said goodbye and told her that she needed some new friends."
A Very Clutch Hitcher
"I was heading out on a three-hour drive from West Texas to The Metroplex. Stopped to fill up and, as I was pulling up to the pumps, saw a car pull in and let a hitchhiker out. When I was about to pull out of the parking lot and head for the highway, he started yelling, 'Wait!' and 'Don't let her leave!' which pretty much freaked me out until several people looked my way and signaled for me to stop."
"Turns out, I had a tire that was seriously under inflated. He helped me get air in the tire and we chatted for a bit. His last ride lived in the area, so had dropped him here beside the highway to catch his next ride. First and only time I've ever taken a hitcher while driving solo, but if ever a hitcher earned a ride, it was this guy. Made for a really quick trip, too, because he was smart and funny and made great conversation."
Major Upgrade
"I missed the last bus home (hour and a half away) after a big night out. I resigned myself to sleeping at the bus stop and was trying to get comfortable when some locals walked past. They asked me what i was doing and when I told them they said they were heading home and to come party and I could crash there."
"Went back to this guys waterfront mansion and drank and listened to classic records. Crashed out and left before they got up. I had his number so i texted him thanks later that morning and got a 'no worries champ' back. Never contacted him again."
Safety in Numbers
"Was being followed on campus and I ran up to three girls who were walking the same direction as me. I pretended to know them and quietly explained what was happening."
"They immediately incorporated me into the group and even when the guy stopped following me, they walked me to my dorm and made sure I got into the building okay."
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Science is science. Fact is fact. Truth is truth and simple is simple. These are things we must now attest to in 2021. Can we please all get onboard with wha...Suddenly, Roses
"A homeless guy gave me roses."
"I was barely scraping by as a daytime bartender, my car had died and I had to take a bus. The nearest stop to my job was in a dirty, edgy area of downtown and I had learned to not make eye contact with anyone."
"But one afternoon I saw a guy wearing nothing but a pair of filthy, bad-fitting overalls come ambling up the street barefoot, carrying something red. I did a double-take and our eyes met. Before I could react, he was standing in front of me with a bouquet of red roses, the stems wrapped in newspaper. He shoved the flowers into my hands, wished me a nice day, then went on his way."
"I was too stunned to react in the moment, and I looked for him every day after that, hoping I could buy him a sandwich or something, but I never saw him again. It's such a strange story that I wouldn't blame anyone who didn't believe it, but it really did happen and I'll never forget that guy."
"I was going through a tough patch and his strange and kind gesture reminded me that good things can happen when you least expect it."
Other people talked about a time that, for whatever reason, conversation began and everything else was history. They spent either a memorable moment, or even hours and hours, with a new person because the vibe was right.
Just a Good Day
"I met a guy at a restaurant. We were both in town for a short time. Me, for a convention and him for work. After eating and parting ways, I ran into him again, so we decided to explore the city together for the next 5 hours."
"He then walked me to the train station and I will always remember that day very fondly."
Like Minds
"Stuck in a traffic jam for almost an hour and got bored and did the swervy thing you see NASCAR drivers to during the pace lap. In my mirror a few cars back I spot a guy doing the same thing. He only ever did it after I did and we continued our swerve dance until traffic cleared up."
"He eventually caught up to and passed me, but not before exchanging a friendly wave as he went by. Hope he's doing well."
-- pnkstr
Glacial Buds
"Met a woman on a glacier excursion in Argentina. We went and had some beers afterward and had an absolute great time. No hookup or make out or anything -- just a great night out at the bar with a British chick, telling each other about life in our respective countries."
"This was like 16 years ago and I still think about it sometimes. Great night."
-- iLoveLamp83
Under Her Wing
"She was actually a cousin but still a stranger to me. We'd gone to visit my dad's family and to attend his family reunion one summer when I was 8. I'm the youngest of 8 (next sibling is nearly 10 years older) so I was basically an afterthought. She was 17 and it was my very first time meeting her."
"We were there for 2 weeks and for most days she took me on an adventure. Ice cream. Snow cones. Fishing. Flying kites. Swimming. Bike riding. She would tell me about how she always wanted a sibling and wanting to go to college to get out of that small town and she would listen to me drone on about things that my siblings could care less about. She even let me drive her car once. I had to sit on her lap and we ended up in a ditch but it was so much fun."
"She made me feel like I had a real sister and I loved her instantly. When we left I cried myself to sleep. I never saw or heard from her again because a few months later she was killed by a drunk driver."
-- IDGAF_GOMD
Sometimes, however, the circumstances were a bit grimmer. A crisis or medical emergency can be just the thing to dissolve the social norms and create some serious closeness, if only for the brief time that's necessary.
A Worthy Bystander
"Driving my kid to school last year and came up on a young woman laying in the road. She had just wrecked and was thrown from the vehicle."
"I covered her with a blanket from my car (it was late February in Indiana) and held her hand until the ambulance arrived. I hope she's ok."
-- indianayall
Nurses: A Unique Breed
"I was rushed into the emergency room to deliver my baby whose heart rate had dropped off during delivery. They literally ran me in the room and started operating. I could not move or talk or anything from the fear and shock. God bless the nurse that was right there by my side."
"I can't even remember what she said, and I never saw her again, but she just keep saying the most reassuring things in the worst of moments."
-- kragglemama
Shared Horror
"Definitely the time I was on a crowded bus with an incredibly erratic (and possibly drunk) driver. The person next to me and I kept joking around that we were gonna die every time the driver swerved the wrong way, pumped the breaks in the middle of traffic, and drifted in and out of traffic lanes."
"It became WAY less funny when the driver almost drove off the freeway & into a body of water below three times. People riding the bus had to come up to the front and literally help steer the wheel and navigate back on course, a couple people were on the phone with 911, some people in the back were literally crying."
"It was insane, and for sure the most memorable moment I've shared with a group of strangers. Never saw any of the people on that bus ever again, hope they're all doing well & haven't had to experience a bus ride like that ever again."
-- Reapermanee
A Worthy Distraction
"I was at a music festival with friends when I got a pounding headache (dehydrated most likely. Drink water people!). I told our group I was going to sit down for a bit against a nearby wall."
"I'd only been there for a short while when a girl came over with a look of genuine concern, asking if I was ok. I said I had a headache, but was feeling better after having a bottle of water. Anyway, she sat down and told her friends she'd catch up with them."
"We ended up talking for about an hour or so. We had heaps in common. At no time did I feel as though I should ask for her number or anything. It was just a really nice, easy-going chat about different subjects."
"Time went by so quickly that we were both surprised when my friends came over and said the next band I'd wanted to see was about to start. I thanked her for checking on me, she thanked me for a chilled chat and we both went our separate ways."
"This would be about 20-25 years ago and I still clearly remember it."
-- R0XiDE
So next time you're wandering around among plenty of strangers, maybe take a second to deliberately open yourself up. Put on an approachable face, or even make a comment out loud.
You never know the kind of day you might have after it.
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Since silent films began, we have been inundated with love story after love story, where happily ever afters are easily doled out.
Pop culture has molded the idea of romance and pleasure for everyone... just around the riverbend, it seems.
And guess what?
It's all a lie.
Sorry, that came off as bitter.
Actually, I'm not sorry. I am bitter.
Damn you, Julia Roberts, for the unrealistic expectations you've passed on to us through all your movies.
Redditor dwightanddilbert wanted to discuss and dig into the truth about how we've been duped on matters of the heart and lust, so they asked:
"What’s the biggest lie pop culture taught us about sex and romance?"
I learned long ago to give up on the movie love dream. But they're still fun to watch.
Being Real
bad romance....Giphy"That love is easy and relationships will have romance just fall into your lap if it's meant to be. Real life is not a movie and it gives people a very wrong image of what a healthy relationship looks like."
trevmc1
Happily Now...
"That there is a point you reach where you get your Happily Ever After. Then you just get to coast. That's not how relationships work - it's not the moment he tells you at the NYE party how he loves that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out or when you get married in a big ballgown."
"It's all the little moments, the everyday caring, the small affections and the avoidances of trust pitfalls. They add up to a Happily Now. But there's not a point you can hang your hat up and say, 'Okay. I got this marriage thing sorted out. Now I get to do whatever I want.'"
Carl__Gordon_Jenkins
“What about sleep?!?!”
"That we’re supposed to have long sex sessions. Honestly a good 15-20 mins is pretty good for me."
ItsMeThereHair
"When I was 20ish I was in a car with a few coworkers. A couple of them got to talking about longest active session. The girl was 18 hours and the guy said 24 hours."
"All I could think was 'what about sleep?!?!' ( I’ve always loved sleeping). At the time I was with my now hubby and back then we were more the under 5 minute get the job done types. Now we appreciate longer sessions but I’m ready to tap out at 20 minutes. If we get to 45, he’s out of luck."
Environmental-Car481
Know the Difference
"Persistence usually isn't romantic. It's usually creepy."
Pissed_Off_Pacifist
"Yep, thanks for mentioning it. I wasted many, many years pursuing that one guy I thought was the one. His friends liked me. He made compliments on my looks and on my skills. Everything seemed promising, so why didn't it turn out the way I wanted?"
"Well, surprisingly, some people just aren't romantically interested in you, no matter how much work you put into it. So easy to understand, but so hard to accept. Neither my stubbornness nor a miracle could turn the friendship we had into a relationship. Plus, I must've seemed desperate, which is unattractive as hell."
"It's okay to take your time, but it's also necessary to know when move on. Really just better for everyone."
OneGhastlyGhoul
Shut Up!
Disney Wedding GIFGiphy"For the love of God, DO NOT interrupt a wedding. It will not go how you think it will."
dcbluestar
"As a joke at our friend's wedding some girl stood up and said wait. Literally every head turned around so fast and although it was known to the bride and groom as a joke I think everyone was thinking wtf and she was about as red as a tomato."
Kyell
The drama queen in me knows it would be wrong, but who wouldn't love to witness a wedding interruption?!?!
Magic
Anne Hathaway Actors On Actors GIF by PBS SoCalGiphy"If you just take off your glasses and put your hair down, you'll be Anne Hathaway."
Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Gross Truth
"That there's no such thing as clean up afterwards. Everyone just has a slight, post-coital, glisten and that's about as far as it goes. No awkward wet waddle. No wet spot on the mattress that gets cold way too quickly so you both bend your bodies around it so you can still snuggle without touching it."
"No sex towel that probably should've been washed about two weeks ago and is getting to the point where it might make a worthy substitute for a crowbar with how stiff it is."
"Oh, and if you do it in a horror movie, you're 100% gonna die."
ACalcifiedHeart
Calm Down
"That sex always has to be very serious and profound. And I don't mean serious as in commitment, but as in how we behave. Some of the best sex I have ever had has involved cracking jokes."
Needydadthrowaway
"Or sleepy sex where the nights too late but you both just want to crank it out and sleep."
hogtiedcantalope
It can work...
"Opposites attract."
chingudo
"This is actually really untrue. While it is possible, and also, in my opinion, really rare for opposites to attract, they definitely do not a majority of the time. We tend to fall for people who are like-minded to us. People who have similar values, morals, thoughts, etc... to us."
AwesomeKitty6842
"So I married an opposite. Has not been easy but I think has been really good for both of us overall. That being said if it ever fell apart I would 100% look for someone more like me. Everything, and I mean everything, is a lot of work and requires so much communication between us."
notgreatnotbadsoso
Get a Chance
Brendon Urie Flirt GIF by Panic! At The DiscoGiphy"Two extremes:"
"1- If you're a stalker, they'll eventually give you a chance."
"2- If you're the nice guy/the best friend, they'll eventually give you a chance."
"#2 messed me up for a very long time."
plasma_dan
Lesson learned. Never trust the love stories in pop culture.
And fairytales lie!!
Being single is not a crime.
It can in fact be a super power.
Alone, with no one to hold you down.
But no matter how powerful, you still have to explain why you can't find a partner.
Like, why are you so emotionally deficient you can't find someone to care about you?
It's all a mess no matter the answer.
So let's hear from the singles best of the best.
Redditor XqueezeMePlease wanted to hear the answers about why they do life alone, so they asked:
"What to respond when someone asks 'Why are you still single?'"
Single and unloveable.
That's my Tinder title.
Too much?
Truth
The Gregory Brothers Writing It Down GIF by VidConGiphy"'Because I have raging personality flaws that I'm unwilling to work on.'"
"Usually prevents any follow up questions."
cesar_chris
"As a couple"
"'Have you seen the economy!?'"
YuuHikari
"In this economy?? Hahaha but I know people that live together 'as a couple' just because is cheaper then separate. I live in Brazil, but I know Brazilians in Portugal that live in 3 couples in a small 3 bedroom condo, just because 6 peoples working to share a rent is the only way to make the month."
aldeboy
Stay Calm
"Social anxiety."
Ornery_Bug_4108
"Yeh, too anxious to talk even approach and even then I know that while I am trying to manage it, I don’t feel like I’m loveable or attractive because of it, but of course that could be the dysthymia talking. So why bother, I’ve just been learning how to be by myself seeing as that’s where things are heading."
SayJose
Let's Date
"I don't meet people (who could be potential partners), and I think more and more that I am not a 'date' type of person."
visnjapile
"You missed the arranged marriage era it might have worked out for you, perhaps you could borrow someone’s overbearing Mother to find you a match."
Cryptoglue
"I have a couple of coworkers, one is Bangladeshi, the other is Indian. Their parents were like 'times are changing, you can marry for love if you want and we'll support you' and my coworkers were like 'wtf, you mean I'd have to DATE? F**k that, please find me a husband.'"
"Anyway one is now happily married and the other is constantly roasting her dad because he keeps offering her deadbeats riding on their dad's coattails."
Halospite
Picky
Alicia Silverstone Cherilyn Horowitz GIF by filmeditorGiphy"Go full on Cher from Clueless: 'You see how picky I am about my shoes, and they only go on my feet!'"
AlanaByrd
God Bless 'Clueless.'
Drama!
Braxton Family Values Drama GIF by WE tvGiphy"Because I'd rather be alone and happy than dealing with someone else’s f**kin’ work drama and emotional problems. LOL."
Schnozzletov
"Being in a relationship seems so exhausting, I've been single for several years now and have absolutely no urge to date."
arrjaay
MY MONEY!!
"Why not?"
xepci0
"That’s basically my response when my extended family asks this. They all have that small town, hurry up and settle down mentality, and are ALWAYS on my case about being single with no kids whenever I visit. Took me far too long to realize some of them are actually jealous. My money is MY MONEY. My time is MY TIME. I don’t have to confer with anyone before making a decision."
Thesqueegeable
I live alone...
"I tell the truth. I'm shy and don't really meet new people. I've not added to my friend group, aside from partners of existing friends, in about 20 years. At work I have acquaintances from work - they're nice people but I don't communicate with them outside of work. I live alone, I work mainly alone, I don't have any hobbies or interest groups."
Shi*BritGit
Tragedy
"Dating in your 30s and 40s is either a game of 'Find the fault or tragedy' or taking on being a step-parent. I really don’t want to deal with either. My tragedy is I worked 10-16 hours a day, six days a week from 20-38, and it ruined two long-term relationships. Retired at 40, no regrets.FortyandDone
"It is hard to meet people in their 40s without kids or horrible issues! I actually got really lucky and found someone on tinder of all places lol. It took a year though. When I was single I didn’t have a lot of people ask me why. But I have resting b*tch face so maybe that was a factor. lol."
tnicole1976
Thank you, Next...
Flying Kiss Flirting GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"I'd take it as a compliment as that means you don't have any obvious bad qualities that would make you undatable to them. Nobody would ever ask me that question lol as there are many obvious reasons they could come up with."
Hatedbythemasses
Being single isn't the worst.
Do you have any reasons why being single is a positive? Let us know in the comments below.
Let's face it, when emotions are running high and something important is at stake, we're bound to make mistakes and either say or do the wrong thing.
This might even be especially true of parents.
But even if our angriest and most vulnerable moments, there are things we should never, ever say to a child.
Redditor son_of_x asked:
"What are things parents should never say to their children?"
Exposure Therapy
"Don’t make your kids do the things you’re afraid to face."
"When I was a kid, my mom dumped all that s**t on me. Rent was late? I had to face the landlord. She’d try to convince me it was a fun game, like see how fast you can run to his door, drop a check in the mail slot, and run back to the car."
"Even at ten years old, I knew it wasn’t a d**n game. All she was doing was transferring her anxiety directly to me."
"Be honest with your kid about the s**tty situations you might be in, but don’t make them carry the weight in your place."
- Ineedyoursway
They're to Blame
"NEVER tell a child that the divorce is their fault."
- ashabranch
"I remember back when I was like 10, my mom didn’t take me to school one morning because she was upset that the clothes in my dresser weren’t folded."
"My dad had to take me to school instead. And on the way there, he yelled, 'You’re tearing this family apart!’"
"I’m like... Bro, if unfolded clothes in a dresser are what tears this family apart, then you all have other sh*t to be concerned about."
- _mike_hunt
Life: Ruined
"'Having you ruined my life,' is the worst I ever heard."
- Tough_Stretch
No Accountability
"'I don't remember that, that never happened!' when a kid brings up a past trauma."
- dafrstofus
"My MIL (Mother-in-Law) [96] is the healthiest human I know with the caveat that she has the usual ailments that affect old arteries, etc. She has three sons, my Dear Husband (70), a slightly older, quasi-celebrity brother, and a younger brother. They work like animals. They can’t help it, although they should try."
"Every single time my husband brings up a childhood memory, my MIL rebuffs it by saying the incident he’s recalling never happened. No one’s allowed to have a memory but her."
"It drives my husband (and me) up a wall. We live fairly close to her, but he struggles so much with spending time with her because of this."
"She just tells him, 'That’s not true.' Instead of embracing what he and they remember, she shuts them down."
- l31l4j4d3
Controlling Diet
"My mom stuck me on this super restrictive diet when I was 11. The entire diet was the whole reason I struggled with eating disorders in my childhood."
"I brought it up in therapy at 17 and at first, she claimed it never happened. Then she remembered talking to doctors about my weight, then googling diets for children, and then putting me on a diet sounded like something she would've done... but it still didn't happen."
"Gotta love her. But, to be honest, I can't even say I love my mom."
"I was the neglected child as she had four other kids, and I'm the middle one. After some point, I stopped wanting my mom's approval for anything."
"I actually had my therapist ask me what a good mother-daughter relationship would look like to me if we were to ever get close, and I honestly couldn't answer."
"It's weird to think that the one thing I wanted my entire childhood, I don't want now. At least not with my biological mother."
"My boyfriend's mom, on the other hand, is amazing, and I love the mother-daughter-like relationship we have. I'm still in awe that I even found a family that loves me as if I were their biological kid."
- pumpkinthighs
Whose Opinion?
"Your opinion doesn’t matter."
"That one still haunts me and is the reason I never speak up."
- TapReasonable2678
Foster Care Warnings
"Threaten to send them to live in foster care if they don't do what the parent wants. My mother used to use that threat if she saw me picking my nose. I didn't realize how f**ked up that was until I was an adult."
- adeon
"I remember my mom doing this. That I need to just stay in my room and be quiet, or she'd send me away. F**ked me up, man. I was probably around six."
- Substantial_Part_952
Body-Shaming
"This is kind of a low bar as far as bad things my parents did goes (they also hit us for far dumber reasons than not eating our food)."
"When I was a kid, my parents were very controlling. Now, that meant, among other things, that they didn't let me go outside, for fear that neighbor kids would wander by and I'd hear things that went against my parents' ideologies. It also meant that they controlled exactly what and how much I ate. As in, if I didn't want to clean my plate, I was beaten."
"Well, I was also a fat kid, and given how much control I had over both my food intake and the exercise I could do (since I couldn't go outside), I didn't have much say in the matter."
"My parents gave me so much s**t about it over the years, though. Like, even if you were allowed to have some agency in your life, you shouldn't get that kind of s**t. It was pretty miserable."
"Anyway, when I went away to college, I was finally on my own, and I took charge of that. Everybody was warning me about the freshman 15, but I was looking at my intake. That's not great of course, but I lost a couple of pounds. Not even that much."
"And then I went back home for winter break, and my parents were all, 'Oh, you're too thin, you need to eat more,' and I was like, 'No, I'm good, thanks.' At one point, my dad said, 'Eat more or I'm kicking you out of my house.'"
"And so I gained that weight back over the break, and by the end, they were back to giving me s**t about it."
"So, I dunno. Maybe don't be such a d**k about your kid's weight. Certainly not with demands and expectations that oscillate between two extremes like they did."
- Aperture_T
Mind Games
"'Until you start paying bills, you have no rights, so you’re d**n right I’m coming into your room whenever I feel like it, and I can take anything I want from it, too, because it’s actually mine.'"
"'You’re too stupid and lazy to be able to make it in the real world. And if someone ever did hire you, they’d fire you as soon as they realized what a mistake they’d made.'"
"'You have no idea how much you cost me. I could do X, Y, or Z things if I didn’t always have to pay for your crap.'"
"'We’re free thinkers in this house,' but then rages when I express a thought/opinion that’s different than theirs."
"'You’re just a kid, what do you have to be depressed about?' or 'You have nothing to be depressed about.'"
"After I told a doctor how I was actually feeling, they said, 'You can’t be that stressed, you’re just a kid! Are you trying to make me look like a bad parent?!'"
"Yes, I’m in therapy now."
- Ki-Larah
Useless
"Don't tell kids they're useless. The variant I used to get from Dad was posed as a question, 'Are you good for ANYTHING?!'"
" I mean, how was eight-year-old me supposed to answer that?"
"High school valedictorian, graduated from one of the US services academies, have a good, steady career, and live 2000 miles from where I grew up (wonder why?). But I was more into reading than outdoor sports, hunting, or working in our garden all summer, so not 'manly' enough for him at the time."
"It took until my mid-50s before we became close, and he passed away two months ago. Lots of wasted time."
- JEFFinSoCal
Intentional Provocation
"My dad antagonizing me purposely and then saying, 'dOn'T bE sO sEnSiTiVe,' when I get upset about the s**t he says."
- LianOLis
An Important Reminder
"Moms, stop criticizing your body in front of your daughters!!"
- buceethevampslayer
"Seriously! My mother would say that she hated her body and that we looked 'so alike' in the same breath, it was very damaging."
- 97ratsinatrenchcoat
Comparison Culture
"Comparing them to others, talking about their weight, focusing on the negatives or their wrongdoings, constantly dismissing them, unwilling to hear their opinions because of the 'I'm right, you're wrong' mentality."
"There's so much."
- The_gentle_one
Confusing Lessons
"Always punishing and complaining about what you shouldn't do, but never saying or rewarding what you should."
- RoDeltaR
The Perfect Rebuttal
"'I brought you into this world. I can take you out of it,' was my mom's favorite."
- belle254
"What I wish I would have said back: 'No, you can't. You'd be arrested, and the world would view you as a monster and a psychopath.'"
- Narren_C
While parenting carries with it a lot of demands, there are certain things that absolutely should not be done, including statements that should never be uttered.
It's clear the damaging impact they have when they are used. Avoid them at all cost.
Not all knowledge is power.
Some knowledge is straight-up horror-inducing.
I mean, I suppose it's good to know as much bad stuff as possible so we can try to avoid it all.
Redditor Possible_Hawk495 wanted to hear about all of the worst possible things in life, so they asked:
"What is a disturbing fact you wish you never knew?"
I'm not sure I'm ready for this...
"WARNING - The following is not for the faint of heart or anyone under 17. Or anyone with a pulse probably..."
Preferences
Whitney Houston Reaction GIFGiphy"It's illegal in India to find out the gender of your baby, because so many prefer boys over girls."
dont_u_know
"Just like China, they don't think long term enough about it."
Rock_of_Spaces
While You Were Sleeping
"That one can be aware they are in coma and not able to get out of it. I get anxious just thinking about it."
tooshyforreddit
"I’ve been in a coma, it’s different experiences based on the conditions, I believe. I was in it when I had multiple organ failure when I was 22."
"Even though you’re aware, I wouldn’t equate my experience to being fully aware and stuck. It kind of feels like when you wake up from a very very deep nap, and things seem fuzzy. Weirdly enough being in that state for a few week was some of the most peaceful my body ever felt being honest."
JelloisYummy
Horrifying
"Just how painful and torturous extreme radiation sickness is."
Scarfs-Fur-Frumpkin
"Between that video and the scene in HBO’s Chernobyl where the firefighter is screaming for help in the hospital as his skin falls off, I have learned not to be too cavalier about the use of nuclear armaments or nuclear safety."
aspidities_87
The usual suspects...
"After any significant natural disaster or conflict starts up, human traffickers swarm to the country looking for unattended children. Law enforcement will start watching ports of entry for the usual suspects... the usual suspects."
Ausramm
Good Lord
Red Carpet Teeth GIF by Recording Academy / GRAMMYsGiphy"A toddler's adult teeth are right below their eyes."
SuvenPan
"Yeah, I saw a photograph of a small child's skull with part of the area around the jaw removed and it's just packed with teeth."
CRtwenty
My teeth were where? OMG!
From the Inside
"Tarantula hawks are giant flying wasps that sting tarantulas, inducing paralysis. They then drag the paralyzed tarantula back to their nest and lay eggs in them. The eggs hatch, and the larvae slowly devour the still-alive, paralyzed tarantula from the inside."
GlassHalfFullofAcid
Fatality
"Rabies. Just everything about rabies."
spade13F
"Once you're symptomatic, 99.99% fatality rate and that 'lucky' iota that survive in medically-induced comas end up with permanent neurological damage. Also, the horrifying hallucinations."
Tiny_Parfait
"Rabies is pretty interesting. if you are vaccinated then it's 100% preventable, if not your chance of dying is 99.9%."
Unaccounted_fart
After the Hatch
"I remember watching an episode of the show Monsters Inside Me where this 16-year-old kid was doing something outside and a fly flew into his eye. It only made contact for about a microsecond, but it was enough time for it to lay eggs. After they hatched they started eating his eye from the inside and he was starting to go blind until a doctor finally figured out what was wrong."
"Just imagine that, getting your eye eaten from the inside and losing your sight all because a fly very briefly made contact with you. Ever since I learned about this I get really paranoid when there is a fly around my face because of the fact that this could possibly happen to me."
-eDgAR-
The Spine Attack
"A guy I used to work with had either a condition or got a virus (I don't remember which, this was about 20 years ago) that attacked his spine; he went to bed fine and woke up the next day totally paralyzed from the waist down. He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. There was no slow progression, just walking fine one day and completely unable to walk the next."
"I just looked up his obituary (he passed in 2011) he apparently had Transverse Myelitis that led him to become paralyzed."
A911owner
Put it Back
Giphy"Seems obvious when you think about it, but after an autopsy, they don't put everything back where they found it. It goes in a bag in the abdominal cavity."
clevebeat
Well I'll never sleep again.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.