People Share The Nicest Things They've Ever Done For Someone Without Them Knowing
The kindest things are done out of a desire to be kind, not out of a desire to be commended. Being nice for the right reasons can not only brighten someone else's life, but can also lead to good karma. Here are some of Reddit's best stories of anonymous kindness.
u/indeed_indeed_indeed asked: What's the nicest thing you've done for someone without them knowing you did it?
Freakin' a**holes.
Had a friend who got super drunk, partially naked, and extremely... loose-lipped during a party (she started talking about her (dead) daddy issues). It was humiliating enough for her in the moment, but I noticed one guy and his buddies trying to film her as well. So, I sidled up to them later and then flirted my way into "borrowing" his phone (subtlety isn't usually my M.O., but I didn't want to risk it). Deleted all six videos the sh*t stain had recorded on there and then f*cked off (with my passed-out friend and one other to help carry her both in tow) before he had the chance to realize what was up.
She woke up the next morning and had zero recollection of the preceding night. I did not mention it to her.
ETA: I definitely did not have the wherewithal to wipe his phone further, sadly, but this was years ago and I haven't seen her on the Internet yet, at least. Also - I know what to do next time this (does not) happen in front of me, because I am too f*cking old for this sh*t now. Hopefully.
Everyone appreciates gum.
We had a German exchange student at my school with her and it was her first day and she was very clearly stressed and having a hard time. Halfway through class she was called down to the office to have a meeting with the other exchange kids, I'm guessing it was to get to know them better. But that meeting turned into an hour-long meeting where the next class would have started by the end of it.
So towards the end of class when everyone was lining up at the door for the Bell to ring I packed up all of her (exchange student's) stuff and put it neatly back in her backpack and threw some gum in there for her. I didn't know I had her next class but she came in chewing gum.
That's so heartwarming.
Several times a year I take my elderly neighbor to the cemetery to visit her husband's grave.
What she doesn't know is that before we visit there, I go to the cemetery in advance, place some flowers and trim the ornamental shrubs around the monument so it looks cared for and loved.
Self-defense is so important.
A friend of my wife is a single mom, her son is on the spectrum and overweight and was therefore a target for bullies. She signed him up for some self defense classes but could only afford 2 or 3. He really enjoyed the classes. I went into the dojo and prepaid a couple months worth. Never even told my wife. Her friend called my wife super excited thinking another friend paid. I just let it slide.
That's good karma.
I remember a poor kid that always used to go to my school - his uniform was from either the lost and found or donations, and he used to always wear hand-me-down footwear. The first year I met him, I found he didn't have recess or lunch for the first half of the year, because his parents were still trying to recover from paying for school.
The next year, I covered him with recess and lunch for two terms by leaving him something from the canteen on his table before school. I used to write in cursive, and nobody knew my print handwriting, so I also left him a note asking "want anything specific?" and left a little writing space for him. I also gave him a pencil case full of stuff because the teachers gave us a pencil and an eraser and nothing else.
This is so sweet.
I bought my cousin's wedding dress. She fell in love with one but couldn't afford it so settled for a cheaper one on a payment plan. I went back, had them order the nicer dress, paid it in full, and let her discover it when they said it arrived. She still doesn't know it was me. Our grandfather had bought the wedding dresses for every other of his granddaughters getting married but he passed away before she was engaged. It was my way of making sure he was part of her day.
A good deed.
When my brother had pneumonia and was hospitalised, I knew his wife wouldn't leave the house for shopping due to her anxiety and depression. So I ordered an online shop delivered to their door with 2 weeks worth of shopping, pack lunches, treats the lot. To this day they think her dad must have arranged it since she had been crying to him over the phone a few hours prior. He thinks he must have forgot he ordered it.
I'm sure he appreciated it.
When I was in Chicago, I saw a homeless guy sitting near a trash bin with a sign that said "no money, just food, I'm hungry". I was on my way to the store to buy some medicine and figured I'd get him something.
When I got back he was no longer there, so he never knew I bought him food.
What a d*ck.
I was at a college party (I tried to avoid them, but a friend insisted I start going) and noticed some guy put something in a cup belonging to a girl I knew from my philosophy in the matrix class (don't ask, it counted as a philosophy course and I needed a philosophy credit to graduate). She set the cup on a coffee table and wandered off somewhere, so I walked over and "accidentally" knocked her cup over. When she came back I apologized and offered to get her another one. Didn't have any classes together after that, the guy got expelled a month later after he got caught spiking another person's drink.
They truly care.
I used to be a probation and parole agent.
I had maaaany people on my caseload. If they were cool, not aholes, reporting and their house was in order and they were working and trying and whatnot, they got special treatment.
Part of my weekly checks involved checking what their supervision fees and court fees looked like. I didn't care about court fines, so I would usually have them sign paperwork that I just wouldn't explain to have them restructured. I did the same with supervision fees. The supervision fees were 50 dollars a month. For some of these people they didn't report every month, so every time they reported, like every 3 months, that's 150 that they were behind. Some of these people that's actually a lot of money. So I just would restructure it without them knowing.
I had one girl that was busting her a** working the program. Then she was like "oh my god, and Agent Citadel, I haven't paid my supervision fees in like a year, court fines either. I'm probably behind 600 dollars. You're going to lock me up over that one of these days."
I was an absolute hard a** on people, but I do have a lot of respect for someone that's busting their a** and trying their best. So I explained to her that I've been periodically wiping her arrearage away. My logic was I wanted her focusing on paying her drug rehab fees and not worrying about the other small stuff.
She cried and cried in the office. "Agent Citadel they always say you only care about the money but you actually care about us." All that through huge boo hoos.
That's beyond kind.
A co-worker's mother died. Her mom was in a different country, and she couldn't go over there because she'd never make it back to the states, and she didn't have much money to send over there. I talked to my other co-workers and raised about $600 for her mom, not including what I put in. I even grouped all of us together, and we gave her the money as a group, because I didn't want her to know it was me that originally decided to do this.
She cried and gave us all a hug. Was beyond blessed to have the money to send and give her mother a proper burial. To this day she has no idea that I organized this.
Support the arts.
I gave $50 to an artist on youtube when her girlfriend needed surgery and they couldn't afford it. It may have been a scam but I don't really care. Hopefully that money went to good use, and if her girlfriend really was in dire need of that surgery, I saved a life.
Awww.
I made up a Christmas stocking for someone to give them a sense of childhood (Santa giving you stockings full of stuff) since they never had that. I got a relative to get up early to set it by the fireplace without him knowing. They assumed it was from their relative who's never given them anything for Christmas (supposedly) and I never had the heart to tell them it was me.
Kind of them.
A lady dropped her wallet whilst talking on her phone and holding her son's hand. I grabbed it and followed it up, but I didn't want to disturb the lady's call, so I just handed it to the son.
As I was about to walk off to my bus stop, I notice the kid started raising the wallet in front of her mom's face after she finished her call, and started mumbling to her about someone returning it after dropping it.
A true hero.
I once folded a stranger's clothes for them when I needed to use the dryer.
It's easy for Americans who haven't traveled outside the country to assume citizens in other parts of the world have access to the same amenities offered in the US.
But people who were not born in the States know very well how what a world of difference life in North America is compared to where they've come from.
Curious to hear of the things most Americans take for granted as citizens of the US, Redditor CapitalBread6959 asked:
"Fellow Non-Americans, what is something quite common in the U.S. that is completely unheard of in your own country?"
Americans do drinking differently.
Bottoms Up
"My German friend visited us in college. First party he goes 'THEY DO EXIST!!' and held up our pack of red solo cups. Haha"
â mulljackson
Cup Overruneth
"Free drink refills."
â internetsss
H2O Required
"Every single place with a bar is legally obliged to provide free tap water on demand in England. Most restaurants will give you a pint of tap water with food for free (you do have to specify tap otherwise you get stung with some fancy expensive shite!) Admittedly the measures of alcohol are small here, though, compared to other places."
â anon
Some industries have laxed work protocols compared to in other countries.
Bee-Lining It For Home
"Health care workers going home after work still in scrubs. And washing them at home."
â orebro1234
Work Clothes Stay At Work
"This!! It's so weird to me. Here it's literally forbidden to leave hospital grounds in your work clothes. I would hate having to bring them home and possibly carry some resistant hospital bacteria there with me. Plus you never know how well other people wash theirs, I like it done professionally at the hospital."
â pauliaomi
Making Sense Of It All
"Many moons ago, I did an IT internship at a hospital's service desk and being the intern, was always the one who had to run out and physically check things."
"When I had to go in to work on something in an operating room, I had to put on a full body tyvek suit, gloves, mask, coverings for my shoes, etc."
"Which made sense to me. Except the OR nurses who worked there wood just breeze in and out all day long, wearing the same scrubs they wore commuting to work on the bus."
"That DIDN'T make sense to me."
â caribou16
Meanwhile, over at school...
Dances Don't Happen Everywhere
"Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins, Winter Formal, Prom..."
"We have none of this, the closest thing is the graduation itself."
â badeksha
American Educators
"Teachers buying school stuff so they can teach."
â comicsnerd
The way certain things work in the US definitely raised eyebrows.
Feeding The Sink
"This thing were the kitchen sink has teeth."
â PoetPont
Going Nowhere Fast
"As a Dutchy, driving a car and turning right on a red light. That messed with my head. If you do that here you are gonna hit at least 5 cyclists."
â CowabungaNL
My Japanese cousin always comments on how Americans are friendly and are more open to striking up a conversation as opposed to citizens in Japan, where they prefer to keep to themselves and be captivated by their smartphones out in public.
As an introvert and one who can't stand small talk, I actually loved being left alone whenever I was in Japan riding the subway and walking about the city. Nothing against engaging with other people, but I found the quiet and my personal space being respected to be very calming.
People Break Down Things That Were Normal When They Were A Kid That You Don't See Anymore
The world is ever-changing.
One need only look at the evolution of home entertainment.
First, we had to go to the video store to buy or rent video cassettes, then video cassettes were wiped out by DVDs until video stores became obsolete owing to streaming services.
Making the one-season failure of the Netflix series Blockbuster painfully ironic.
However, those of us who grew up rushing to Blockbuster, hoping the last copy of Jurassic Park will still be there, can't help but wish we could relive the experience.
On the other hand, we are glad to see other things from our childhood have become extinct.
"What was normal when you were a kid, but you never see anymore?"
Honestly... Rude then, Rude Now!
"Showing up to someoneâs house without a text or call."- lpkrew
Before There Was Bluetooth...
"Cassette tape innards strung out along the highway, glimmering in the sunlight."- bigolfurryhead
No More Second Hand Smoke!
"Parents smoking in a car with kids with the windows rolled up."- WonderfulEmergency77
"Everybody smoked everywhere. At restaurants, the office, airports, everywhere."
"There's a picture of my grandma holding me as a baby in one hand and a cigarette in the other."
"Nobody thought that was the least bit strange."- MeghanFI
Now We Have Google!
"Using a set of 20 y/old encyclopedias as reference for my homework."
"JFK is president!"- ResplendentAmore
It Got Them Off Shelves...
"Toys in the cereal box"- NightDreamer73
How Sad...
"Fruit bats."
"There used to be a *ton* of them in my neighborhood as a kid and every evening you could look at the sunset as twilight set in and see flocks of bats flying around."
"Apparently, around the time I was in middle school, a fungal disease ravaged the local bat population and they never recovered."
"You never see them anymore."
"Funnily enough though, at the time, a local high school girl had this huge campaign to set up bat feeders to help bolster the local bat population and help them survive the fungal disease by giving them easy access to food."
"Said local girl has since become a federal Park Ranger as an adult and currently works for a state fish and wildlife service."- DoctorWatchamacallit
Now They'll Just Send Them A Text...
"Moms yelling from the front door to their kids to come home for dinner."- sflogicninja
Depending On Your Circle
"People talking about the Bermuda Triangle."- GarconMeansBoyGeorge
Best Not To Give Them Bad Ideas
"Candy Cigarettes."- Mechhammer
They're a dying breed indeed...
"Pay phones and answering machines."- Mondayslasagna
Even Printers Are Uncommon, Thanks to PDFs...
"Computer paper filled with lightly printed numbers and it had tear-off sides."
"My dad used to bring lots of it home for us kids to draw on."- reverendgrebo
...what were you watching?...
"Quicksand in movies and TV shows."- kzab81
Well That's Poignant
"Fireflies."
'I swear I saw them every year, in our back yard or when we went camping etc."
"Now I never see them no matter where I am, except for a few nights in the summer of '21 after I moved to a new house."
"It was so nice to see them again."- ModernCivilWar
Sadly, Not Because People Started Reading Maps...
"Printing out directions from Map Quest."- Keone_710
To think there was actually a time when we couldn't say "I'll text again when I'm close" and had to ask a friend to record a movie or tv show we wanted to watch.
Simpler times...
There's little more frustrating than a mystery that was never solved.
The victim's family never gets closure, a killer may still be at large, and our minds continue to spin trying to figure out how something happened.
Perhaps most frustrating of all is knowing that there is an explanation for it out there somewhere.
And, there are people desperate to find it.
"You get the opportunity to find out the truth behind one unsolved case, which are you choosing?"
Missing Friend
"I wish I could find out what happened to my childhood best friend."
"She went missing ten years ago and nothing was discovered about the case since."- Weevelle
Missing Neighbor
"There was a kid that went missing right around my hometown when I was a kid."
"Couple years younger than me."
"It was on the news a bit, it kinda fizzled out and I haven't been able to find anything since."
"Still see flyers for him now and then. Kyron Horman."- KnockerFogger69
Murderer On The Loose
"For all my french redditors here, I will say the Xavier Dupont De LigonnĂšs case."
"The guy killed all his family and buried them under his concrete deck, before disappearing completely without leaving any traces, and it has been more than ten years."- OopsieDoopsi
Mysterious Death
"Gareth Williams, that MI6 guy who was found dead inside a padlocked suitcase."
"His death was ruled as a self-inflicted accident and then later some former KGB guy would claim the KGB killed him after failing to convert him to a double agent."- adweeeb·
Not A Simple Hit And Run...
"Two boys I went to school with were killed in a hit and run by the side of the road while walking home from a party.'
"According to some reports, only one of the boys died from being hit by a car and the other appeared to have been beaten to death."
"It's been 20 years and no one has ever confessed or offered any information about the case."- an-invisible-titan
What Is Her Brother-In-Law Hiding?
"Rebecca Reusch."- illuminalice
Top Of Everybody's List
"Zodiac killer."- tdunc1994
Unknown Assassin
"Olof Palme, PM of Sweden."- Swedish_STD
What Are They Hiding?
"Where is Shelly Miscavige?"- Bucketlist074
Tragically Confusing
"Asha Degree."
"9-year-old girl left her house in the middle of the night, while it was storming and cold, with a pre packed bag of clothes."
"She had no reason to run away, and had limited computer access."
"A truck driver said they saw her walking that same early morning on the dark next to the highway, and that she ran into the woods."
"Over a year later, her backpack was found wrapped in a plastic bag about 26 miles away, which didnât yield any further developments."
"Why did she leave?"
"Why did she run from the trucker?"
"How did her backpack end up so far away?"
"Is she still alive?"
"Was she met with foul play?"- bookloverpink
A Step-By-Step Guide
"Alcatraz escapees."- Ceyram
Who Was That Guy?!?!
"Jennifer Kesse."
"I am not sure why, but this is the one case I haven't been able to stop thinking about for years."
"The surveillance video of the perp who parked her car drives me insane."- imalittleredhouse
They Deserve Justice
"My friends' murder."
"He was killed ten years ago over Thanksgiving weekend, and his case still remains open today."
"His family deserves to know."- ToulouseDM
Hopefully Not For Long
"I know it's very recent but the Idaho college murders."- surgeryboy7
It's tragic that these mysteries remain unsolved.
But if there is anything to be gained from this mystery, it's the fact that these poor people will never be forgotten.
As the saying goes, "you die twice, once when you take your last breath, and once when they stop saying your name."
All languages have certain words that roll so beautifully off the tongue.
It's no wonder why listening to vocal arias from operas and oratoriosâwhich are typically in languages other than Englishâcan be such a satisfying experience.
Examples coming to mind that are pleasant to the ear include, "Un Bel Di Vedremo" from the Italian opera Madame Butterfly and "Au fond du temple saint"âa duet from the French opera, Les pĂȘcheurs de perles.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor candela1200 asked:
"What is your favorite word in a foreign language?"
People found these words fun to say.
Not Always, But...
"Tokidoki - 'sometimes' in Japanese, just really fun to say lol"
â rogue_rocketeer_
It Flutters
"Papillon. Means butterfly in french and its fun to say."
â kk1289
Der Emergency Vehicle
"Krankenwagen"
"German for ambulance."
â 8thFurno
A Childhood Memory
"When I was a kid, the first Xbox 360 game I ever got was a Spanish copy of Halo 3 (I don't speak Spanish). At the beginning of the campaign, the characters keep saying 'careful' over and over again. Because of this, 'cuidado' has become one of my favorite Spanish words, and the voice they used has become my default voice to say other Spanish words. My other favorite has to be 'resbaloso'. A large, exaggerated r roll and a boisterous tone just makes this one of the most fun words to say in any language."
â AdriftMusic
A Favorite Pasttime
"Winkel. It means 'shop' in Dutch."
â MrRonObvious
These words are not compliments.
Those Darn Kids
"Gowniaki - polish for 'Sh*tling' in reference of annoying kids."
â BmMjO
Referring To Contemptible People
"Pendejo."
â Broccoli_Vivid
Like The F-Bomb
â'Tabarnak!' I love how, instead of being bodily-function based like English swear words, French Canadian sacres are mostly related to Catholicism. This one is my favourite as itâs the rough equivalent of the versatile 'f''k' swear in English, so many uses."
â jerrys153
You may want to sound these out slowly.
Well, We've Tried
"Verschlimmbesserung - German noun for an attempted improvement that only makes things worse."
â JR_0507
The Translation Doesn't Track
"Meerschweinchen, itâs German for Guinea Pigs, I like it because it literally means 'little sea pigs'. Which makes no sense."
â AdvantageBig568
What An Inebriate Would Say
"kalsarikÀnnit - originating in Finland, in which the drinker consumes alcoholic drinks at home, dressed in as little clothing as possible, mainly in underwear with no intention of going out."
â evendronesflyaway
My favorite word or phrase really, is "Oh la, la, c'est cher"âwhich means, "Oh my, it's expensive," in French.
It was one of the first phrases I learned in middle school when I started taking French as an elective.
When I went home and shared with my mom what I learned, she was so amused by how the alarming phrase sounded. She couldn't stop laughing.
This led to her constantly asking me to repeat it whenever we were in the presence of her friends, and I milked it.
This is one of my treasured memories of my mother.