It's always a nice day when a stranger is kind to you for no other reason than to be kind. I can still recall the random woman who once gave me a flower in the middle of the street and the man who told me I had a "kind face" when I handed him the wallet he'd dropped.
After Redditor Traizork asked the online community, "What is the nicest compliment a stranger gave you?" people shared the memories that still bring smiles to their faces.
"I am usually..."
I am usually a casual-dressed guy. The one day I wore a tie for the sake of wearing a tie, people commented on how sophisticated I looked, they complimented my hair (which I had not touched), and way too many random people told me to 'go get her tiger'. I'm confused by the association of girl with tie.
"Wasn't paying attention..."
Wasn't paying attention walking to class once and bumped into a girl talking on her cell phone. She paused for a second and proceeded to say to whoever she was talking to: "Sorry, I just bumped into this really cute guy." Made my week!
"The looks on their faces..."
I had an older gentleman compliment my customer service skills once. Later his daughter came in to thank me. Apparently he was so pleased that he told all his family about me, and they had the thought to come in to tell me how I made his day. My heart melted.
Along the same vein, on the tills at the same store. I served a man in British Sign Language and in the days to come we started getting more visits from the deaf community when word got around there was a signing cashier.
The looks on their faces was the compliment.
"An old couple..."
My 18-month-old son started tearing down nick nacks at a restaurant. I had to fix a few things and make things right with people at other tables. An old couple came up and said I was gonna make a great dad.
"I was at an old folks home..."
I was at an old folks home and was talking to an old lady when she said I looked beautiful and that I definitely had a boyfriend.
"When people..."
When people tell me I'm kind after an interaction at the grocery store or something, it has a way of making my day. It only happens once or twice a year but it means a lot every time.
Also when older ladies call me handsome I blush.
"A hippie lady..."
A hippie lady on the bus told me I had a very healing aura. I still think about hippie bus lady once in a while when I'm feeling bitter about myself.
"Walked into a small dance studio..."
Walked into a small dance studio for girls to speak to the program director. Froze at the door due to all of these 10/10s about my age (I was 17. Hard-core beta at that time) staring at me due to them having to stop so I could make my way to the other side of the room. Their instructor tells me "come on through. None of them are going to bite you". From somewhere in the class I hear "I will", then another voice says " me too". The girls break out in laughter as the cool literally got knocked out of my walk.
After speaking to the director for a few mins, I had to walk back through again and like last time, they stopped. Heard some giggling and murmuring then as I walk out the door I hear "Damn he has a nice ass" followed by more laughter.
I was at work at Subway like any other day and just mindlessly talking/taking the guy's order/making the sandwich.
He genuinely said he appreciated my quality service. it made me happy bc I wasn't even trying or having to put on a fake demeanor.
"He was so jacked..."
Squeezing past people at a club to get to the bar when a guy just lightly squeezes my bicep and holds my back because it was that crowded and just looks dead straight into my eyes and says nice.
He was so jacked and at the time I had only been gymming for 6 months, felt great.
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.
We need all kinds to make the world go round. This includes all kinds of people with all kinds of skillsets to do all kinds of jobs.
However, some jobs just aren't needed.
Sometimes it's because the occupation itself is silly. Other times, it's because the company went under or switched directions, but kept paying you for a job that no longer existed.
Whatever the case, Redditors have lots of stories about useless jobs and why they are considered useless, and are ready to share.
It all stared when Redditor Squirrelkid11 asked:
"What job is useless?"
Woof Woof
"Pet Psychic. Our Golden Retriever was getting joint therapy (shoulder injury, worked with a vet, dog did swimming three days a week in a heated pool where he could exercise without putting weight on the joint, also did some exercises, is now fine. The place also did laser therapy and acupuncture for dogs.)"
"Someone said something about 'Hudson' which is our dog's name only they were talking to another dog. 'Oh,' they said, 'That's the dog psychic's dog.' Apparently you could find out what your dog was thinking."
"I know what my dog is thinking. Most of the time he either wants what I'm eating or he wants me to throw the ball."
– LucasBN2
"I'm a pet psychic too, but unfortunately I can't speak dog. Whole lot of woofing going on in their heads though."
– Herzeleid-
Falling To The Wayside
"I once filed charges against my employer for an unethical issue that happened. Attorneys were involved and it was ugly for about 2 weeks. I had all job assignments taken away while the investigation was conducted. In the middle of the investigation is when covid took off and the world went into a tailspin."
"Everyone who was involved with my issue/charge just started exiting the company and I just never had any duties given back to me. I stayed in that role for 6 months without anyone ever questioning what I did. I would come into work, and make a lap around the site, take an hour lunch and come and go as I wanted."
"It was a fortune 500 and they just lost track of who I was or what I was doing. I was working on a project team and everyone just assumed my direction came from someone else. At one point the company slashed 20% of the salaried workforce and I never heard a word."
"When I left the company for an external opportunity they gave me a sizable exit package to resolve my charge and a wonderful review. It was the worst of times due to the anxiety of always expecting the worst, and the best of times because I was just coming and going with no direction or expectations of any kind."
– eedlez67
"I've had something similar to this happen myself. I wasn't paid, though."
"I'm an off-site subcontractor for a huge corporation. Huge, as in, not just one building at headquarters, it was an entire campus spread over 20 buildings. I work from home."
"So I'm a subcontractor, not an actual employee. And I need to go to HQ for a week of hands-on work that can't be done at home."
"The hands-on work required access to a server room. And the server room was locked, you needed a passcard to get in. So for the first day or two, I'd have to bug an employee to let me back into the server room after going to the bathroom, or to lunch."
"Plus, I had nowhere to "work". Nowhere to set up my laptop and actually get work done. There were no desks/chairs in the server room."
"So some low-level executive got the bright idea, let's get whomp a temporary badge and passcard to access the server room without bugging anyone else, and let's let whomp set up in one of those empty, unoccupied offices."
"The intent was for this to be temporary, but the corporate wheel started moving...."
"All of a sudden, overnight, that unoccupied office got all the things that a new hire would get. Staplers, monitors, file folders, pens, pencils, desk blotter. A binder showed up with company handbook, policies, maps, and so on."
"The next day, the office had MY NAME on it. A BRASS PLAQUE on the door had my name on it. And a phone was installed, and the office assistant came over to show me how to use it. I had a voicemail mailbox that now belonged to me. A laptop was issued to me. I was shown how to access the shared printer."
"My week ended, and I went back home, cross country."
"For MONTHS, "my office" was still there! I'd ask friends who worked there, to go check, and my office was still there. Others working nearby thought I was just traveling a lot. My voicemail stayed active for months too. To everyone's understanding, I was an employee who just happened to work odd hours, or something."
"About eight months later someone figured out the mistake."
– whomp1970
Ring, Ring
"Telemarketers, I don’t know a single person who has actually purchased something from a telemarketer. Maybe it’s something the older generation does but everyone hates them and immediately hangs up on them around me."
– Administrative_Toe96
"I don't even answer my phone when friends call."
– mscocobongo
"I worked as a telemarketer for State Farm when I got out of high school, and in 8 months I had one person actually let me give her a quote. It was my aunt."
– YoutubeRewind2024
What Did The Sign Say?
"No one is talking about those sign spinners that became popular."
"Who has ever seen someone flipping a sign and"
- "been able to read it"
- "went to the business to buy something because of it"
– Oshester
Privacy Please
"Bathroom attendants. I don’t need somebody in there pulling paper towels out the dispenser just to hand it to me and compel me to tip them."
– Ozzy_HV
"I never saw this until I was visiting Ireland a few years back, and man, was it f*cking annoying."
"It's bad enough there's a guy standing at the sinks watching you have a leak, but then he wants a euro or two for handing you a towel to dry your hands."
– Fresh-Hedgehog1895
Ouch!
"Influencers"
– sugarkiwipie
"What's the difference between a social media influencer and a philosophy major?"
"The philosophy major needed a degree to be useless."
"(Sorry philosophy majors)"
– Actuaryba
Pressing Buttons
"An elevator attendant."
"“First floor sir? I’ll press button number 1 for you.”"
– Carl_Clegg
"I’m so old I remember when they had these in department stores. Whilst shopping with my grandma one day we got in an elevator and the attendant asked if we wanted the second floor. My grandma replies, “why yes, how did you know?” He says, “ma’am, there’s only two floors, and we’re currently on the first one.”"
– Penguin_Dreams
Office Matron
"The lady who walks around the office saying "Don't be on your phones, if you have time for that then you can study about the company!""
"Same lady that is pushing hard to go back in the office, because remote work pointed out how useless that position is."
– digitalmofo
"We had that lady at my old job. She would put passive aggressive laminated signs in the bathroom about cleaning up after yourself. Since she's an idiot (big surprise) most of the signs had major spelling mistakes. Some coworkers and I would edit them and give an overall grade on the signs, usually with a note that said "Subpar work. Please see me after class.""
– tallhorsemusic
Tempting Fate
"I took a job scheduling residential HVAC technicians for a mid-sized company after a few years of working in the field. A few months in, the company ended its residential program to focus on commercial."
"Thing is, they already had commercial schedulers. My boss told me she'd find me a new roll, but then she took another job elsewhere and left."
"I stayed as a scheduler with no one to schedule in a department that no longer existed. No one in the office seemed to realize this, and for over half a decade, I would show up, make friendly conversation in the breakroom while making my coffee, and then literally just did nothing the rest of the day. Having left a stressful job, it was glorious."
"Occasionally someone would ask me an hvac or system-related question over email, and that was it. I made sure everyone liked me by bringing in bagels every Monday and donuts every Friday."
"Then covid happened and now I was doing nothing at home!"
"When I learned the company was being sold, I figured I wouldn't tempt fate anymore and applied elsewhere. My department head gave a glowing recommendation, having no idea what I even did but knowing I was friendly and helped him jump his car a few times."
– Belozersk
Got A Car? You're Safe!
"We have a specific security guard we've had for 13+ years now and is pretty useless. The security guard lives there and has a tv. He watches telenovelas most of the time."
"All he does is open the gate, and doesn't even bother to even inspect though, since according to his logic 99% of people who can afford a car aren't bad/harmful people. He doesn't ask names or house numbers, just opens the gate whenever he sees a car."
"Anyone can come in if they have a car, he doesn't even inspect faces."
"And do you know the worst part?"
"When moving into the privada, you are supplied with your own control remote. The gates are also automatic."
– Chandler367
"So he only opens the gate for anyone who doesn't live there..? Yikes"
– spencerandy16
Teach Me Tonight
"My math teacher who tells me to log in to Pearson and then disappears"
– NethrixTheSecond
"21st century version of"
"here's today's packet, it's based on chapter 4 in the text book, good luck" *plays solitaire for an hour"
– TitanicMan
"I dropped a university class this term because the week 3 assignment said to 'look up how to do this on Google, Stackexchange, or ChatGPT'."
"I'm not paying 1400 dollars to be taught by an ai chat bot lmao"
– 303Devilfish
The sad thing is, teaching is one of the least useless jobs out there.
Maybe if we paid them better, they'd want to be better!
Not everything is a good idea and not every invention should be placed on the market.
But you'll never know what can be a success without seeing if people like it.
It may sound like a billion dollar idea but in the end, you may take a loss.
Redditor istrx13 wanted to discuss the products that went nowhere, so they asked:
"What product was supposed to be the next big thing but wound up failing miserably?"
Life is all hit or miss.
Especially when inventing.
Transport Revolution
"The Segway was once touted as a revolutionary transportation device, but ultimately failed to live up to its hype due to its high cost, limited practicality, and safety concerns."
fulfillmen25
Drunk Fried Chicken GIF by Ethan BarnowskyGiphyShattered
"Google Glass."
doublebankshot
"I dropped I think it was $1400 on it back then, and when I got them it was immediately obvious that they were going to be a huge disappointment; everything from UI to battery life to comfort to photo quality was so bad that my first impression was that they felt almost like a joke product rather than an actual product manufactured by a tech company, not even an early developer version."
ds445
A great idea...
"Zune was supposed to be the death of Apple's monopoly on MP3 players."
HoopOnPoop
"Zune actually wasn't a bad piece of hardware. It was just that by the time it came out, iPod was already entrenched. It was around the same price, so it couldn't undercut Apple on pricing. ZunePass was actually a pretty great idea, years before Spotify."
Wulfbak
"My favorite thing about Zune is that it featured what was actually a pretty cool and interesting design feature wherein a user could send a song to another Zune user for free, but Microsoft chose the single worst possible name for this feature, calling it 'squirting.' Zune kids back in the day had to be like 'Ayyy bro that song is fire, squirt that at me.'"
HostileSkittles
Fly High
"Hoverboards. I think their primary problem was their lack of ability to hover. Also 300 ish dollars for something that goes as fast as... legs is just dumb."
IceClimbers_Main
"Their main downfall was the many, many cheap and dangerous clones from china. When the OG hoverboards were too expensive for most, the big Chinese companies saw a hole to get into the market making them for pennies on the dollar by removing safety devices, using cheaper batteries, lower gauge wire, etc. It was for the worst."
ptthree420
Entertainment Options
"Curved TVs… oh and 3D TVs we’re a thing for a while too!"
Sherlockssocks
"I own a curved 3D TV. I've probably used the 3D less than a hundred times. I think if they'd pushed the spilt screen gaming thing a bit more they would have sold more."
Signal-Morning7669
Shake Your Rump Television GIF by Beastie BoysGiphyThose curved TVs freak me out.
I just liked my DVD
"Laser discs...? I think they were called. Picture a DVD the size of a record."
Drawn-Otterix
"Laserdiscs were successful, they're just an obsolete format now."
Born_Anteater_3495
digital audio spinning GIF by Feliks Tomasz KonczakowskiGiphyCleansed
"Olestra/Olean. It was going to transform all junk food into low fat. Instead, it transformed lower GI tracts."
1800sMan
"OMG this! Around 1998 I worked for a huge ad agency on Madison Ave in NYC that had the Pringles account. They were pushing that Olestra trash at the time and obvi it was to be part of the campaign we were creating. One day I grab a can and start munching away."
"Well 15 minutes later I feel like I’ve swallowed a hand grenade and start racing to the bathroom where I proceed to destroy the bathroom for a good half hour. It just would not stop. I swear I saw a demon that day while emptying my poor bowels. Never ever again with that Olestra garbage."
bruh_wut69
Guess What?
"Oh man this is really specific to my career field in childcare."
"Smart diapers. Yep, diapers that will inform you on your app when your child uses them. I don’t know anyone who seriously considered getting these. But I remember seeing ads on my social media for them. Guess what? No one wanted them."
Onlyfansnanny
"As a law student, my son worked on getting the patent and prototype on these a little over ten years ago. At the time, however, they were being marketed to nursing homes. IDK whatever happened with that."
Ok-Bee1579
The Mess
"Meta."
SuperScario
"I finally decided to look up what meta was on Youtube a few months ago and I swear I thought I was watching some Nintendo wii game or something. My jaw hit the floor when I realized that's what meta actually looked like, billions of dollars for a Nintendo looking world, what a f**king dumpster fire."
twister55555
Bute Sized
"Quibi."
chyna094e
"Part of it was the worst timing imaginable. The service was meant to be 'bite sized' entertainment, something you could watch in 5 minutes while standing in a queue or maybe a couple segments on a public transit ride."
"They launched the first week of April 2020. Remember all the queues you were standing in and public transit rides you took then? Yeah, the same as everyone else - NONE because 95% of the population was stuck at home for 6 months!"
alinroc
Minis...
"Spore. It was hyped as a game that went from spark of life to galactic conquest. It's just a bunch of mini games."
rosanymphae
College Hoops Sport GIF by NCAA March MadnessGiphyI missed the spore phenomenon.
Oh well.
When in public with your significant other, we all try to play nice, but people don't always know who is and who is not together.
So their is no reason to incite a brawl if someone flirts with your person.
But it can be difficult to sit back and watch.
Is there a calm etiquette for these situations?
Redditor Hot_Wine_2004 wanted to hear from the guys out there, so they asked:
"Men of reddit, what would be your response to a guy who suddenly starts flirting with your girl?"
I've always let a partner handle their own flirts.
Just like I do.
Thanks
"Had a guy buy our margaritas when my GF ordered them for us at the counter. I thanked him from across the restaurant, free margaritas taste better."
whiskeyriver0987
Episode 2 Margarita GIF by FriendsGiphySweet
"I’d step in and say something. Not because I feel I need to or because my wife can’t handle herself, but because I know her and she likes the feeling of being looked after. I know this because she’s told me."
Psycle_Sammy
"That’s very sweet. Just because you can stand strong doesn’t mean you should always have to. It’s good to know you have backup whether that’s your friends or your husband."
mickbubbles
Give Move Guy
"My wife had a guy offer to buy her drink and when she said she was married he said something to the effect of 'Then let me buy the lucky man his drink instead.' Which I thought was a great way to handle it, and gets you a bar friend most of the time since the guy gets a free drink, and if he is jealous or protective will respond better because he didn't buy her a drink after all."
WurthWhile
I Get It
"Nothing, She is beautiful and I get it. When she shoots them down and they keep trying is when I would step in because its harassments at that point and that is a problem."
To_Fight_The_Night
"Exactly. I had a customer invite my wife on a helicopter ride the other day, totally trying to chat her up. When he asked what she did there she just pointed at me and said 'I’m just hanging out, I’m married to him.' You could see him deflate like a balloon."
Nippon-Gakki
"Yep. My wife's a grown adult and can handle her own."
Kiss my Wife
"I looked at the dude and said 'sorry dude you are not my sister's type' then I immediately kiss my wife. We are both blonde so people think we are related all the time lol."
sled-gang
Let Me Go Love GIF by 3 Doors DownGiphyKeeping it in the family is healthy.
Hey Stud
"Ask him if he’s down for a 3 way to make him uncomfortable."
Smellmyhand
"Plot twist - dude is bi and is totally down for that."
RandomJPG6
Ice Cream Summer GIF by MochimochilandGiphyShe Got It
"I once let my girlfriend handle a situation on her own, and the thing I learned in the process is that it takes a woman a lot more work to deter an aggressive guy."
"As soon as I stepped in, Handsy McNoboundaries apologized to me. Not the stranger whose a** he touched and complimented. She absolutely could handle the situation on her own, and my first impulse was not to treat her like a possession some other guy was touching. But on some level it feels I was condoning the behaviour."
ClusterMakeLove
Trust
"My wife constantly gets hit on.I don't care if men hit on her. I trust her completely and have since the start she has never given me a reason not to trust her."
"When we used to goto the bar together she would get hit on. Guy's would offer to buy her drinks, she would always tell them my drink of choice."
"After she gets the drinks she would thank them walk away then hand the drink to me."
"If people don't respect her boundaries that's where I step in. We have never had any bad experiences with men hitting on her. Normally once they see her with me they basically just walk away."
Islefive
They Get the Idea
"It depends on the situation. Most the time I think good luck man, hope she doesn’t embarrass you. I know she’s coming home with me at the end of the day."
"If the guy is obviously creepy and making her uncomfortable, I typically step in and make sure he gets the point."
"I’m not a small guy so they usually get the idea."
"I don’t really care for confrontation or violence, but with that said, I won’t tolerate someone harassing my wife or making her uncomfortable."
assa9sks
Beautiful
"My wife is gorgeous in my eyes, but she is incredibly hard on herself. After kids, antidepressants, and being 20 years older than she was when we started dating she doesn’t always see that she’s the most beautiful person for me. Someone else gonna start talking her up and wants to get in her pants? I’d just tell her I told you so."
fuqaduck
beautiful happy endings GIFGiphyThe ladies got it handled and so do the men apparently.
The audience must be engaged from the start. Filmmakers have the challenge of quickly trying to win over moviegoers in the hopes that they'll remain invested in the succession of events about to unfold.
Some films fail to deliver on their promise of wowing audiences with a misleading or clumsy opening–while others brilliantly pull it off.
Strangers online discussed some of their favorite films when Redditor ah-screw-it asked:
"What movie has the greatest opening of all time?"
These cinematic masterpieces impressed audiences from the get-go.
Epic Pan
"Contact."
"Starting at Earth, then panning out of the solar system, then the galaxy, then out to the edge of the universe, all while listening to older and older radio transmissions. Genius."
– Midnight-Ran
The Dystopian Thriller
"Children of mens opening scene is definitely up there."
– Ahhhsnowmen88
"Whole film is a work of art."
– nutmeggerking
"Goodfellas"
"As far back as I remember, I always wanted to be a gangster"
– geobass76
"People looked at me differently and they knew I was with somebody. At thirteen, I was making more money than most of the grown-ups in the neighborhood. I mean, I had more money than I could spend. I had it all. One day the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was out of respect."
– MR_NIKAPOPOLOS
Oh, the horror!
There's nothing like a serious jolt to kick-start an action or horror flick.
Killer Opening
"Scream 1996 - I was startled."
– RavenGirls
"What really sold the opening at the time was the fact they really played up Drew Barrymore as starting in the film. So much so that she’s the main draw on the poster. The entire theater was shocked."
– Cheese_booger
From "Inglorious Bastards"
"Au revoir Shoshana!"
– fearthebeard037
"Tarantino said he kept Waltz out of all the rehearsals so that the reactions from the cast on film would be genuine."
"And one point when he asks one of the daughters to get him some milk, he grabs her wrist is a friendly way. Waltz later said that his character had the ulterior motives of checking her pulse to see if she was nervous. The subtly of his character was as terrifying as anything."
– UnfairMicrowave
Master of Shock Value
"Tarantino openings are, by and large, some of the most iconic there have ever been."
– throwdownhardstyle
The establishing shots in these iconic movie classics raised the bar for the next generation of film directors.
Trippy And Mind-Bending
"The Matrix."
– Living_Murphys_Law
"Screenwriter guy: We're gonna start the movie with some cops trying to arrest this lady Trinity and she's gonna kick all their butts."
"Producer guy: How is she gonna do that?"
"Screenwriter guy: In such a way that movies are gonna try to imitate for a full decade."
– Wilma_Tonguefit
Iconic Archaeologist
"Raiders of the Lost Ark!!"
"No contest. It’s movie magic defined."
– canadianleroy
Spielberg's War Film
"Saving Private Ryan."
– astragalblack
"I knew a few survivors from ww2. One of them was a medic in the first wave of Omaha beach. He didn’t speak often about the war but he said the movie was pretty darn close to being what it was really like."
– EnderOfHope
A Gangster Genre Landmark
"The Godfather. That opening scene with Brando, the cat, the music. Just perfection!."
– REAIMY
Don't underestimate cartoons.
"It's The Circle Of Life"
"Lion king"
– wetlettuce42
"Using that opening as the movie's official trailer was absolutely brilliant. When that trailer dropped, it was an event. Every kid was counting down the days for when it came out, we all knew that movie was going to be life-changing."
– QuarantineTitans
When Reality And Toons Collided
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit was classic!"
– prince-pauper
"The transition from cartoon to the real world cartoon kitchen was so well done."
– Spongedanfozpants
Disney films in the 90s did a fantastic job setting up their opening shots.
I have to give props to 1991's Beauty and the Beast for its brilliant prologue–owing its effectiveness in part to Alan Menken's haunting musical underscore.
The stained glass art depiction of how the spiteful prince came to be forever transformed by a curse with the narrator concluding the introduction with, "for who could ever learn to love a beast"–before introducing our heroine in the musical number "Belle"–remains a powerful opener preceding Lion King's "Circle of Life" in 1994.