"What's an example of 'no good deed goes unpunished'?" –– This was today's burning question from Redditor anactualmeatball and if you feel frustration just reading that, then you've undoubtedly experienced this exact annoyance. You could mean well, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll walk away feeling appreciated or even glad that you helped out. Human beings are complicated, as you will soon recall.
"To be neighborly..."
To be neighborly, I once gave the couple next door some fresh veggies from my garden.
Thereafter, whenever I was at work, they'd raid the garden and take whatever they wanted without asking permission.
"I'm currently in a dispute..."
I wrote a semi-popular plugin for a software package that's common in my field and released it open source ("provided as is, no guarantee, warranty, or support is promised"). Occasionally I get an email asking a question which I am happy to answer if reasonable.
I'm currently in a dispute with a very angry professor in California who somehow thinks that I need to support him set up an entire bioinformatics pipeline because someone in his lab tried to download my free plugin.
"Guy lost his ID..."
Guy lost his ID for work, I brought him directly to security to get it sorted and they fired me on the spot for allowing a trespasser entrance.
"Basically anytime..."
Basically anytime I do something extra for a customer. I give them the benefit of the doubt and take care of something that's borderline? They are always the people that file a complaint about "omg, poor service!"
My office has a mantra that no good deed goes unpunished.
"When I was in the Air Force..."
When I was in the Air Force, I separated from my wife before a short tour overseas (England for 3 years). When I came back, we pursued a divorce (I was still getting paid for having a dependent since I was still technically "married" -- it was legit). When I went in to offer my finance group my divorce decree to get the dependent off my pay stub, the computer system was down, so I had to sign in on paper (they usually have a computer system to sign you in and direct you to the right person to help) and fill out all the paperwork by hand.
Six months later, I just happened to print up a pay stub to take in to Verizon to get a military discount on my bill and noticed that the dependent pay was still coming through. I verified every month prior to that as well (I wasn't checking each stub before then, just because I wasn't worried about how much was coming in -- so it's partially my fault).
When I went back to finance to tell them about it, they told me I was "stealing money form the government" and called my commander, who proceeded to demote me after I just tested for the next rank (I was a Tech Sergeant/E-6 at the time). They shredded my test results, took my stripe, and gave me an Article 15, non-judiciary punishment.
"God forbid..."
I was an events florist. This bride lost her grandmother days before her event and asked if I would make a small vase arrangement to place next to her photo on a memorial table.
Of course. I said It would be similar to her smaller centerpieces; great. She asked how much and I said I would cover it happily.
In the review she complained that the memorial piece "which was supposed to be very special" looked too much like the centerpieces.
God forbid your free flowers be cohesive with your event you cow.
"I let a friend of a friend..."
I let a friend of a friend stay with me while she "got herself together" for a little over twice as long as originally intended after going out of my way in the extreme she walked out one evening without a word said with my grandmother's silver place settings. Appreciation indeed.
"9 years later..."
A girl transferred into my school when we were 10, and bullied the sh!t out of everyone. She'd threaten the other kids, including me, not to tell on her, otherwise she'd make us regret it, and basically had a complete reign of terror over us. After about a year, I snapped and ended up being the one to tell the teacher everything she'd done and how she was treating us, and she got expelled. A lot of the other kids thanked me for turning her in, because I don't think it would have ended if someone hadn't, and we enjoyed the rest of our school years in peace.
9 years later, despite moving to a new town and getting an entirely new group of friends, she showed up out of nowhere and screwed my boyfriend.
"One day you're a TV performer..."
Cal Poly University had an incident in the 80s that made the school paper. There was a former Mouseketeer who worked in food services and one day a student asked for help because his purchase hung in the vending machine. She opened it and give it to him, but an alarm went off. She waited for security and explained things to them, but still lost her job.
One day you're a TV performer watched by millions, later in life you're fired because of a snack.
"I gave money..."
I gave money and made light conversation with a panhandler who frequented my campus. He ended up stalking me across three different address changes.
"Neighbors needed gas..."
Neighbors needed gas to get their car started, and asked if we had any to spare. We just so happened to have a full 5 gal can. We're taught as kids to 'take only what you need, replace what you use' well, not these people. Instead of only using a gallon or so (which would have been enough to get them to the nearest gas station) they use as much as they could get out of the can (would have used all of it if it weren't for the angle of the spout). Then they tried to return us the nearly empty gas can with a "here you go".
I looked at him and said 'well you've clearly never borrowed gas before'. Bet your @ss they'll never get another drop of fuel from me ever again.
"I was driving down an alley..."
I was driving down an alley and a car was coming up in the other direction. I pulled to the side to let them pass. They go through, I start to drive forward, and a piece of rebar sticking out of the ground ends up slashing my tire.
"Before long..."
When I was at lunch in junior high, there were a few times when, after I finished eating, I'd take one or two other people's trays up to along with my own and throw away their garbage for them. I was going up to dump my tray anyway, so I figured I could do some people a favor.
Before long, any time I left my seat to go to the bathroom, buy some desert, or whatever, I'd return to find 20 trays stacked in front of my seat with a mountain of garbage on top. I eventually got tired of being taken advantage of and told off everyone at the table. I only ever took up my own tray after that.
"I was in an exam room..."
I was in an exam room with a patient getting her history, taking her vitals, etc. She had recently lost everything and had found a mass on her body (can't remember where). She was a drug addict and did anything she could get her hands on, but she said she had been trying to get clean and had been so for a week.
I think I look like the type of person that people feel comfortable spilling their guts to (bc this happens a lot), because she vented to me about everything. I spent a huge amount of extra time sitting with her and letting her talk. She was sobbing. She said hadn't eaten in days and she was shaking, so I went into the break room and made her a bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and gave her some Gatorade and hot tea with honey. I really did everything I could to help this woman meet her basic needs, even if for an hour. Eventually I had to leave so the doctor could come in, so I gently wrapped things up and asked if I could give her a hug. She said she really needed it. I felt like I really made a difference.
"Right before the doctor..."
Right before the doctor came in to see her, she asked if she could step out for a cigarette (she had been waiting awhile). So she goes out to her car and around 30min later her car is still there but she didn't come back in, so we went to check on her. She was half conscious in the passenger seat of her car. She had tried to overdose and kill herself.
This haunts me every single day. I'm not really sure why I guess.
"Lady is outside a local restaurant..."
Lady is outside a local restaurant begging for a meal. Requests a specific meal, oddly enough. I bring her the meal, she b!tches about how I didn't get her soda and a dessert as well.
Thinking back now, I'm almost 100% sure she wasn't actually needy. Just a middle class lady who for some reason was looking for a handout. I was young and naive though and didn't know the difference.
"A kid stopped to help the trucker..."
There was a truck that went off the road and hit one of those woven steel cable barriers on the side of the road.
A kid stopped to help the trucker and the truck must have tensioned the cable to the point of near breaking. As the kid was helping, the cable snapped and hit the kid in the head hard enough to throw him across a four lane road. The kid ended up dying of his head injury.
"I used to be a secretary..."
I used to be a secretary for a business on the first floor of a multi-office building. As a result, I always had idiots from other businesses bumbling in asking for directions, to use the phone, parking validation, they have a meeting with a guy at another company in the building and don't remember the name of the business - it was a circus.
One day a lady on her cell phone came in asking to borrow a pen, which happened more often than you'd think. I obliged. Most times, the person will step just outside the door, take the message they needed to, dart back in to drop the pen on my desk, and leave.
This lady had the nerve to lean on my desk and hang out for the remainder of her phone call. I nearly shouted at her to leave but her call ended just in time.
"I offered to help a colleague..."
I offered to help a colleague with one aspect of their project and ended up having the entire project shirked onto me.
"And the list goes on."
Construction is my line of work. I own my own cabinet installation company and sub contract to cabinet makers.
So in my line of work I learned that if the supplier, who is in charge of the project we do, asks a favor then that « favor » ends up being part of the job for no extra money.
I'm asked to go back on an install to put an extra piece for just that one time? Well that extra piece is now part of my job at no extra cost.
I'm asked to go back and service a kitchen I did the week before and if I agree then it's also part of my job.
Site super wants more guys on the job? For the longest time I thought it was my problem when it absolutely isn't
And the list goes on.
I'm a super nice guy at heart but I learned to be a d!ck. And I get what I want now and charge extra if I want too. Being a nice guy os basically telling everyone else they can step on mu back. Every favor I did in the past ended up costing me money while the supplier or site super abused it. It sucks but that's the way it goes. We wondered why the mean guys got what they wanted. Doing it ow shows me exactly why.
It's understandable why so many people are afraid of the dark.
There is no clear sight ahead, no telling who might be around, not to mention being even more attuned to every sound you hear in your periphery.
There's simply no telling what may happen to you when you're out alone in the dark.
Unfortunately, nothing can stop the same things from happening to you in broad daylight.
Indeed, the most terrifying things many people ever experienced happened when the sun was shining high.
"What's the scariest thing that has ever happened to you during broad daylight?"
Never Trust Strangers
"When I was around 8, a man approached me in a busy park and asked if I wanted to come see his pet dog."
"He was pointing to a wooded area to the side of the park."
"I now know that in that woods is an abandoned rail line."
"Luckily I had enough common sense to say no and run to an adult."
"I shudder to think what could have happened now."- foxfaced95
You Meet All Kinds Of People At A Bus Stop
"I once was at a bus station in the morning, waiting for the bus that would take me to University."
"I was looking straight ahead when I felt a huge pain in my ear."
"I turned around and realized a guy had just punched me on the ear."
"I looked at him and the look in his eyes was terrifying."
"He was like on drugs or something."
"Never met the guy."
"I screamed 'what the f*ck?'"
"And then something unrealistic happened: a bus pulled over (not mine) and the driver who must have witnessed the scene hopped off, told the guy 'you don’t hit girls!' and jumped on him to fight."
"I was shocked."
"The bus I was supposed to take arrived and I ran inside."- elratoncitohermoso
The World We Live In
"For context, I live in Lebanon."
"The scariest day of my life was August 4, 2020."
"Let me explain."
"So it was about 6:00 PM, and I was walking to the living room to watch TV."
"(I was about 13 at the time) Then, the ground started shaking."
"I thought it was in my head. because I always get randomly dizzy. "
"So I held onto the wall, and the wall was asking to."
"I then screamed to alert mother and sister (my father was at work) and then all hell broke loose."
"I hear a loud explosion sound that rang in my ears, and a carpet hit me in the face."
"I look outside and see a huge purple cloud of smoke."
"Turns out I had just witnessed one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions to have been recorded."
"Killed over 200 people, 7,000 injured, and 300,000 left homeless."- jshayya184
It Happens More Often Than We Realize
'I once witnessed a police shootout directly across the street from me."
"I remember my girlfriend at the time not having the good sense to duck out of the way so I had to grab her and drag her to the ground then into a doorway to stay out of the line of fire."- Factsaretheonlytruth
What A Tragedy
Was out for a walk with my family when a drive-by happened a few doors down."
"No one in the house was hurt, but an old man was jogging on the sidewalk and was killed by the shooting."
"Wrong place, wrong time."- EdithWhartonsFarts
Nightmares Come To Life
"When I was probably around 7 or 8 I had an overwhelming fear of being kidnapped to the point where I’d duck down in the backseat of the car so that anyone passing us wouldn’t see me."
"Yeah I know."
"So one day my brother and I rode with my mom to the bank to deposit some checks or whatever else she had to do."
"I was scared sh*tless of somebody opening up the car door and grabbing me."
"This older dude pulls up next to us, gets out of his car, and proceeds to walk over to cup his hands on the window to look into the car."
'I about sh*t my pants."- rkcorinth
So Many Questions
"I was out back at work smoking a cigarette and this spray-painted van rolled up right next to me asking if we were gonna use some paint cans left over from the remodel."
"When he rolled down his window I saw that he too was completely covered in spray paint."
"I told him I didn’t know if he could take them and I started walking away and the dude in the van followed right next to me with his door open talking to me and I freaked and f*cking ran."- devilshibata
Why You NEVER Play on Train Tracks
"So when I was 12, me and my friends thought it would be epic to climb up the side of a stopped train and go to the top."
"Once we got up there we gazed amongst the clouds, starred onto the city scapes, it felt so high up."
"Our hearts raced as we jumped over the 4 foot gaps in between train carts, we were high on life."
"My friends were in front of me jumping between carts, and suddenly as I was mid-air, the train jolted forward causing me to miss my jump and come crashing down tumbling in-between the train carts."
"I don't remember much about the fall, all I remember was that I smashed my head against something and then woke up moments later confused and in so much pain."
"So there I was, massive headache, confused as hell, under a slow but moving train, the under belly of the train just scraping against my back."
"I start to crawl my way out of the first space of the two carts but I realize I don't have time so I lay there contemplating whether I can crawl in-between the wheels of the length of the cart."
"I cant, it's too narrow, so I wait for the 2nd space in-between the next two carts for what felt like a life time."
"My heart was racing so fast, I was feeling light headed, I was in shock."
"As it approaches I start crawling, at this point the train is picking up speed so either I go now or I stay and pray to god nothing catches onto me and rips me to shreds."
"The opening approaches and I crawl over the rails. As I stumble over the rails I see the massive train wheel inches away from my legs."
"I made it out just barely."
"So close that the wheel caught my shoe and tore it up."
"But it wasn't over."
"After getting out from under the train, I take a deep breath of relief and stare up to the sky thinking 'holy f*ck I almost died'."
"Then I hear a loud horn, flip over and looked to my right."
"There was another oncoming train."
"There was another set of tracks."
"I realized I couldn't get up in time because of how fast that train was approaching, so I had no choice but to lay in the middle of the two trains and hope to god nothing bad happened."
"Scariest 5 minutes of my life."- mvfsullivan
Evaded Kidnapping
"Someone tried to pull me into his car in Broad daylight in Southampton."- TheToyGirl
ALWAYS Tell Your Parents. ALWAYS.
"Got harassed by a grown man when I was 13."
"My local Wal-Mart used to have a McDonald's and my mom let me borrow her debit card to go and get a snack."
"I ordered and paid, this man, probably 40s, came up to the counter, smiled at me."
"I sort of ignored him."
"I had my mom's debit card in my hand and my hand resting on the counter."
"Her debit card had her photo on the back of it."
"He reached over and rotated my wrist and said, 'you look a lot younger in real life than in your photo'."
"I didn't know what to do so I stared at him and he chuckled at me, all the time holding me by the wrist."
"He grinned at me and said, 'what, do don't want to talk? You just want to eat? You like burgers?"
"Again, I was so scared I couldn't move, couldn't react."
"He was holding me by the wrist."
"So I just stared at him. He kept smirking and chuckling at me. "
"Then his friend came over and joined him, asked what he was doing. "
"Guy 1 says, 'trying to have a conversation with my young friend here but she doesn't seem very interested'."
"Guy 2 looked at me, looked at his friend holding me by the wrist...and he laughed. Said I obviously had good taste to ignore his friend."
"The whole time this is happening we're standing at the counter of this McDonalds and no one even noticed."
"Not one person saw a scared pre-teen girl being literally clutched by a grown man, kept in place by two."
"Finally my order was placed on the counter and I took the bag."
"The first man still hadn't let me go. "
"I told him, 'my mom is waiting, I have to go now'."
"And he tightened his grip."
"I was looking around, trying to find a way to be helped."
"I had lost my voice."
"I couldn't speak."
"I was so scared."
"And then I saw my mom through the crowd and called out for her."
"Guy 1 let go of me at once and he and his friend walked off."
"I ran to my mom."
"I didn't tell her what happened."
"I never have."
"I don't know why."- carmelacorleone
Always stay alert, no matter where you are, or the time of day.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
While people try their best to be pleasant, sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own worlds that we don't realize some of our behaviors or actions aren't appreciated by everyone.
Things like talking on the phone in a public place or listening to music without headphones have become so normal that people don't always realize others may be irritated by this behavior.
There any many things that some people consider normal that others think are rude.
Curious to know what some of those things are, Redditor dentistani asked:
"What is something people find normal, but you find horribly rude?"
What Happened To Private Conversations?
"Face timing in public. Not everyone wants to be a part of your personal life or conversation."
– Fuzzy_Principle8075
"Talking on speaker phone in public. The number of people I see holding their phone out in front of their face while they yell into it is annoying."
– mattwb72
Don't Answer The Question
"When someone talks to you or asks you a question, then when I respond with a meaningful answer, the other person just talks about something else to someone else or just doesn't respond."
– aboxatar15
"My MIL does this. Whenever we visit, she'll ask me a question about work/my side of the family/a hobby I have/whatever as a platitude, and a lot of times before I'm even done answering, she'll be like, "Oh, hey, [my nephew], tell them about your baseball game last weekend.""
– Infinite-Weakness584
May We Meet Again
"Depending on culture, people will propose to meet up again but they do not really mean it. Where I am from, if you tell someone you want to meet up again you actually mean it. I learned it the hard way when I took people for their word and tried to arrange a meet up but they'd ignore me."
"They say they do this to be polite but I consider it more rude. Just say ''goodbye''"
– maya_clara
I'm Not Here
"People just showing up for a ‘surprise visit’, like I love my family and friends but sometimes I just don’t want to hang out and a bit of forewarning would be nice"
– red-and-misdreavus
"I've had to set boundaries with my mother as she was doing the "We're coming down and going to stay with you thing." Like could you ask?! Besides she's exhausting and never stops talking and needing attention."
– Fuzzyphilosopher
"If someone shows up unannounced at my door I just don’t answer. F*ck em"
– 360SubSeven
Text Me Back!
"Expecting me to be within reach at all times. Just because I have a phone does't mean I hate you because I leave it in the other room sometimes, or go on a walk without it. I'm not dead if I take a couple of hours to get back to you."
– billbaparker
"There’s a special place in hell for people who keep messaging you trying to get your attention simply because they want it and not because they have anything important to say."
– murderymcmurderface
Can't Hear Myself Think
"Kids watching videos or playing games with volume on. Sorry I was trying to enjoy my own thoughts."
– TheConstant815
"Listening to anything on your phone without headphones/earbuds while around other people. Don't care if it's radio, music, social media. Worse if other people are trying to have a conversation."
– Daedalus332
Personal Space, Please
"When clients stand directly behind me, looking over my shoulder at my computer screen while I'm at work. 1) Back up, I don't want you standing close to me. 2) I did not invite you to look at my screen, and it is intrusive and it is uncomfortable to have you watch me work."
– madindenial
Far Too Personal
"Asking married or older people why they don’t have kids."
– DragonFlyMeToTheMoon
Focus!
"Having your phone out while socializing. I’ve stopped hanging out with people who can’t put their phone away while having a conversation, it’s so rude."
– bamblb
"There was a guy I was seeing for a couple months and when I would message him he would take HOURS to respond most of the time. But then when we would be out together at dinner he would be messaging on his phone right in front of me, replying to his mates group chat. Really showed his priorities."
– MissMidknight
Someone's Not Listening
"Talking over somebody whilst they’re already talking."
"Everybody does it and it’s so ignorant! It’s as if they’re saying “yeah I’m not interested in what you’ve got to say, Me, me, me and me…etc…”"
– Jlaw118
"My husband does this! Sometimes I just stop talking. If I’m irritated, I’ll say, “Sorry, did my talking get in the way of your interrupting?”"
– godrainlovemusic
Going, Going, Gone
"Ghosting has become pretty normal and I hate it"
– toxicrith01
"I'll never understand why this has been normalized"
"What confuses me even more is why people get so defensive when you say that it's a cruel thing to do to someone."
– RadiantHC
Ask Me First
"Filming people without their permission, especially if they are dancing or singing. Just because people are looking silly doesn’t mean you get to make them your joke."
– Soobobaloula
"pushing someones face into a cake on their special day, that is terribly rude. Not funny or cool."
– winkledorf
"Dangerous too - fancy cakes with multiple layers can be held together by wooden skewers. People have literally lost eyeballs that way."
– merecat6
"Just this past summer, I attended a wedding where the bride gently put a bite of cake on a fork after they had cut it together then fed it to her husband... Even cupping her hand underneath so no crumbs or icing could fall on his suit. And instead of doing the same to her, the groom full on chased his bride down to smash cake in her face super hard and throw it all over her while she was being dead serious trying to run away saying "no. please don't!" . And while everyone laughed like hyenas and cheered him on like it was just fine. One big joke."
"She looked so heartbroken after with cake all over her hair (which looked beautiful), her face (with perfect make up) and her dress (which was a unique style of dress that she had sewn a piece of one her father's shirts on since he had passed. So her dress was obviously something that she put a lot of thought and care into). He then proceeded to chastise her after she was upset in front of us, threw back his champagne in one gulp and then went back to the bar then dance floor."
"She spent the next 45 mins trying to fix herself. F*ck that guy forever. She's a distant cousin and although we aren't super close, I have ALWAYS known her to be a perfectly sweet, kind and loveable person so I couldn't believe she was with this jerk! I hope it's gotten better but.. My hopes aren't high for her. I wish I had felt comfortable enough to approach her and tell her she deserved better. I should have anyway."
– iwant_torebuild
Mind Your Own Business!
"When someone you don't know very well asks you personal questions."
– Back2Bach
"Add to that, someone asks you personal questions you don't know too well and feigns that are suddenly really concerned/ supportive of your struggles. Like I didn't want to be vulnerable in the first place with you and now I feel like I have to be appreciative for your fake a*s empathy."
– GreenIce2022
I 100% agree with that last one!
Do you have anything you'd like to add? Let us know in the comments below.
Perhaps one reason horror films are so popular is that people know they are watching a work of fiction.
As soon as they leave the theatre or turn off the TV, they are out of the terrifying world they've been a part of for two hours but got the rush of adrenaline they need, similar to riding a roller coaster or thrill ride.
For this reason, no movie, TV show, or book, no matter how scary they are, can never equal being scared in real life.
As finding yourself, or worse your family, in a dangerous and/or life-threatening situation is an experience so terrifying, it genuinely defies description.
"What was the scariest moment in your life, and why?"
Witnessing A Near-Death Experience
"I walked in on my dad, looking like he was dead (eyes open, but lifeless)."
"He was suffering a full cardiac arrest."
"I called 911 and gave him chest compressions for 10 minutes until EMTs arrived."
"When they got there they told me his heart and lungs had stopped (full cardiac arrest) and they were struggling getting a pulse."
"I thought no way this is it and he did end up getting a pulse, being transported to the hospital and having his heart operated on."
"He survived!"- Caseylightning
A Life Nearly Over Before It Even Began
"When I went into preterm labor at 25 weeks."
"Same night she was born but wasn't making any sound."
"She was floppy and not breathing."
"So grateful to our team who breathed for her."
"She's delayed some but she's now 20 months and thriving."- prettysouthernchick
Taken By Surprise In Your Sleep
"When a poster hanging above my bed fell on me in the middle of the night."
"Thought I was being attacked."- Midnite_St0rm
Black Ice
"Hit black ice on an exit."
"My Sis in the car with me, I was driving."
"IDK how many 360's we did."
"Ended up not hitting anything and stopped inches from a light pole."
"How we both didn't piss our pants is beyond me."
"We were in our teens."
"It was the worst carnival ride ever."- pgabrielfreak
Heroic Behavior
"I used to live near a large open stormwater drain with no fencing around it."
"Three drunk guys drove their car straight into it."
"I went out and found the driver trying to get his friends foot out of the windshield."
"On the field on other side of the drain I saw the third passenger who was covered in blood."
"I asked if they were ok and my neighbor called the ambulance/police."
"The blood covered friend passed out and was twitching so I ran to the car, grabbed a towel from the back seat and ran to help him."
"I found a large, deep cut on the back of his neck/head."
"I rolled him to his back and used the weight of his head to put pressure on the wound."
"I was talking to him, trying to keep him awake and he went into shock, twitching and unresponsive."
"This was the moment I thought a man died in my hands."
"I was able to wake him and the ambulance took over from there."
"That was the most harrowing moment of my life."- TinaDunk559
Escaping For A Better Life
"It was the night that I (17 F[emale]) was escaping to Europe from Turkey (at the time I was 15)."
"I wouldn't call it a moment because it was a whole night."
"A few things happened so I'm gonna write them down here."
"The first one was actually in daylight."
"The driver was taking the group that I am escaping with to the border."
"And out of 5 people, at least 3 of them were wanted by the police ."
"We weren't criminals, don't worry."
"Government is led by a dictator so anything you do that they don't like is a crime."
" So as you can guess, we weren't supposed to get pulled aside by the police to check IDs."
"But there was a control thing on the highway and they were almost gonna stop us."
"We got lucky and the police pulled the truck in front of us and we were let through."
"I was so scared that I hold my mom's hand and didn't let go until we passed them."
"After I let go, her hand was white as paper."
"The second one is when we were out of the car and running to the border with two smugglers leading us."
"They were stopping us to lie on the ground every 30 seconds just in case there are soldiers."
"But one time they stopped us and we lay on the ground for almost 30 minutes."
"The smugglers were gone and all we can see was the starry sky."
"We didn't move, breathe when necessary, and didn't say a thing for 30 minutes."
"It was quite scary."
"And this one happened in Greece."
"We were in Greece for about 10 minutes before the soldiers found us."
"The smugglers told us to leave our bags on the ground and put our hands up if we ever see a Greek soldier."
"I am not an idiot but after some emotional breakdown on the way there and seeing the soldiers with guns, I started crying and made up all those weird scenarios where they execute us by a firing squad lmao."
"I know where it doesn't sound like a really scary thing but it is quite hard to explain the atmosphere. "
'You have to live it to understand it."- semrAwashere
Fear Of Flying
"I'm absolutely terrified of flying, so being stuck on a long haul flight with what I considered to be terrible turbulence wasn't exactly fun."
"I was in an absolute state of panic and was certain we'd crash and die."
"I've avoided flying ever since and when I have to in the future, I'll make sure to get whatever prescription that knocks me out completely."
"If I still know who, where and why I am when I'm boarding, I'm not getting on that plane."- sadsledgemain
Nearly Dying... TWICE
"Had a couple of them that I couldn't decide between."
"First one: Driving fast on a rural road, two lanes & hilly."
"I pop over a hill and there's a car stopped in the lane just ahead, and another car coming from the other direction."
"No way to stop in time and no open lane.'
"Everything went slow motion in my head, and I whipped my car onto the tiny gravel shoulder with inches to spare and got around without losing control."
"My friends in the car were all screaming."
"Second one: Just got out of surgery for my neck and was pretty much immobilized."
"They told me if I felt any pain to click the button for the morphine drip taped to my hand, and that it self limits to every 15 minutes."
"I'm in pain and click it."
"No relief."
"This goes on for a while and the pain gets worse and worse."
"The young attendant finally starts paying attention and says 'Oh, We left the clip on the drip line' and pulls it off.'
"I knew I'd clicked that button a few times so there was probably a lot in the line."
"My last memory was the older nurse in the room yelling 'Nooooo!' and lunging towards me."- lapsangsouchogn
Even Stephen King couldn't come up with material this terrifying.
One of the hardest things in the world is being able to afford life's necessities. We all work and make money (or have parents that do), but having money and being able to afford what you need are two different things.
I'm not just talking about the latest gadgets, either.
Not having a fancy knife set or the newest Apple Watch won't destroy your life.
I'm talking about the things so vital to our survival that they should be cheap, but are actually near impossible to afford.
Redditors know this to be true and are ready to share what some of those vital things are.
It all started when Redditor vashisthaa asked:
"What should be cheap and affordable but is not?"
Money Doesn't Account For Taste
"Caviar. It tastes awful, and comes in mass quantities, and costs $50 for a small tin. Idk why."
– TheGuy_1985
Life-Saving Medicine
"Insulin"
– Negative_Ad8513
"I don't understand how something whose patent was given away for dirt can become so expensive."
– SoftWinterPeach
"45 years ago, my sister went into diabetic coma, nearly died. My parents, of meager means, were able to get her insulin for free. What's going on now is unacceptable."
– frederick_ungman
Hourly Rate
"Therapy."
"Anything mental health related, really."
– IWantOneSpatula
"My psychiatrist reluctantly prescribed me meds with the intention I seek therapy. I keep telling him I’m too poor and “maybe this summer”. But I’ll never be able to afford 200$ a session to talk to someone."
– Snowfreak2507
A Monthly Expense
"Tampons, pads, birth control. Any product that is needed for women that is considered a ‘Luxury’ in todays standards"
– Tobias-Maggot9
"As someone with a uterus I agree."
– Wii_wii_baget
"They should be free. Bleeding is involuntary. Plenty of Dr's offices and clinics give out free condoms. They should do the same with period products."
– inuratus
What Came First?
"Eggs apparently"
– criticalvector
"Seriously, what exactly happened in the last two years? Did the hens unionize?"
– ElSagradoOrden
We Need More Apples A Day
"I would assume, for Americans, health care."
– Less-Print-8829
"Health care...f*cking 'Murica"
– figuringthingsout__
Secondary Health Care
"Including eyes and teeth, for those out there who (like me) aren't American."
"Yeah, a visit to the ER doesn't cost me a cent and my meds are very affordable, but the optometrist and the dentist still cost me a lot, even if they're partially covered by insurance and the parts that aren't covered can be deducted from my income tax. I shouldn't have to reconfigure my whole budget every time I have a cavity or need a new pair of glasses."
– BananasPineapple05
Homes
"Rent"
"As a fellow new yorker"
– SlimePrice
"Montrealer chiming in. Hear-hear! Yeah, our rents are far more affordable, but then our salaries are proportionally lower, so if you're unwilling to have roommates or are unlucky in love, good luck to ya!"
– BananasPineapple05
"My older sister is currently renting an apartment in a somewhat cheap neighborhood and she works as a waitress. She says that the rent is very expensive even though they are 3 roommates."
"(I don't pay the rent since I am a school student and I live with my family)"
– MettatonNeo1
Baby Gear
"Diapers"
– baby4ktreyy
"Baby formula. It’s required in order to feed an infant if breastfeeding isn’t an option (and yes, there are absolutely many valid reasons why it might not be possible to breastfeed. Lack of milk supply, baby has an intolerance to it, mother is taking certain medications, mother’s mental health prevents it, adoption, and that’s just what comes to mind off the top of my head). You literally cannot feed an infant anything other than milk until at least 6 months, and it’s not always an option to rely entirely on donated breastmilk. I’m sure in many locations, donated milk isn’t even a thing!"
"For children old enough for solid food, it’s possible to choose budget-friendly options just like for adults’ food, but there’s no alternative for little infants. Milk (breast or formula) is the only option, and the companies know that so they know they can charge a premium and still sell their product. This leads to families trying to stretch their supply of formula in unhealthy ways like watering it down (babies can’t regulate their electrolytes well, it can be very harmful) or adding fillers like rice (doesn’t have the required nutrition, again babies that young can’t adapt to macro/micronutrient imbalances the same way older children can)"
– BabaTheBlackSheep
Insult To Injury
"Divorce"
– iamadirtywizard
"I agree! It should be very expensive to get a marriage license and very cheap to get a divorce decree."
– Old-Bug-2197
Sounds About Right
"Electricity. When you provide something in such quantities as to turn it into an everyday commodity, you don't get to charge double fees to sustain everyday life."
"Like increasing rent because you live on a higher floor."
– Bhelduz
Free For All
"Fruits. God allows these to grow without human interference mostly. They should be everywhere like hand sanitizer. Take some if you are hungry .. just not the entire Container"
– Lisa4today
A Girl's Best Friend
"Diamonds. They are one of the most common stones in precious gemstones, and yet -- thanks to De Beers Corporation marketing them for the last century and gaining a monopoly world wide on their mining, they are super high priced. Fake diamonds can be made for 50-100 dollars per carrot that other than a specific frequency of light passing through them slightly differently are unrecognizably different in every way (they literally are diamonds just made faster). Given that and a lot of non-diamond look a-likes you would think it would be less valuable, but nope... they're still crazy expensive for no reason other than monopoly. Ruby's and Emeralds (even more so) are actual rare stones unlike diamonds (common)."
– heathm55
Living. Just Livin
"living (your life)"
– DarkFluids777
"No kidding. Brought here against my will and then have to work my a** off to just keep my head a little above the water."
"I only stick around out of pure f*cking spite."
– thecatwhatcandrive
"If living was cheap, everybody would do it."
– lavahot
The sad thing is, this is all true.
Do you have anything you'd like to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.