Everyday chit chat and normal conversation isn't as easy as it sounds to keep up. And there are some life stories and experiences we'd love to share but just can't. How do you fit in death, sorrow and misery? Some people have a gift to guide conversation in any possible way and the rest of us just shy away. But Lord the stories we could tell!!
Redditor u/MrGohan27 wanted everyone to dish about the one story that you can't escape.... What is the one story you want to tell, that you can never fit into a conversation?
Hey there baby Kong!
My dad is an OBGYN. He once got called by the local zoo to perform an emergency C-Section on one of their gorillas.
My mom has the baby gorilla's picture on the mantle with our baby pictures. EclipticEclipse
The Grand Story...
I went to the Grand Canyon years ago with my parents. A couple of stops in we get out at a lookout where there is only us and this biker couple. She was sitting on the edge of the canyon with something in her hand and he was videotaping her. We had to walk past them to get to a trail that led into the canyon. It didn't take me and my dad long to see what the couple was doing so we stopped and tried to give them space but my mom kept walking. The woman dumped something into the canyon and at the same time a wind blew out of the canyon and at my mom. The biker couple watched what they had dumped out fly into my mom's face. It turns out that it was the ashes of her brother and his last request was to have his ashes spread at the Grand Canyon. What followed is the most awkward 10 minutes of my life as they talked to my mom about the departed. At the end of the conversation the lady says "don't feel bad about it he loved to meet new people." My mom responds "well it was nice to meet you and your brother as well." Captain-Ellerby
Chris Tucker for the Win!
In 2011 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, it was 4 days before my 17th birthday. When I got home from the hospital that day, I wanted to put myself in a better mood, so I watched Rush Hour, and then I watched Rush Hour 2, and then Rush Hour 3. Fast forward to a couple months ago, I volunteered at a high profile event that had a ton of celebrities. We weren't allowed to fraternize with the celebs and ask for pictures and autographs and stuff, but there was one celeb that I needed to slightly break that rule for. At the end of the event, I made sure to be near the exit and wait there for Detective James Carter himself. I approached him, I shook his hand and walked him out while explaining to him that Rush Hour got me through one of the worst days of my life so far and it made me smile during a time that I had no business smiling in. He stopped dead in his tracks, looked at me and thanked me for telling him. He then gave me a hug before sincerely wishing the best for me and leaving the event. And that's what happened when I met Chris Tucker. _BrooksWasHere
We love you Alec!!
I think I've shared this on another sub before, but I made Alec Baldwin laugh.
It was Halloween and I was in NYC, and my office was near the W 4th street station, which is on 6th Ave where they do the massive Halloween parade every year. I was trying to rush to the station before the parade started so I could get home and avoid the craziness. I was heading down Bleecker and already there are tons of people dressed up on their way to the parade.
As I'm speed-walking down the street, I get into an awkward shuffle with someone heading the opposite direction - you know, where you both go the same direction at the same time, then try to go the other direction, but you basically just keep blocking each other by accident. I look up and the person I'm doing this awkward shuffle dance with is Alec Baldwin.
I normally don't think so quickly on my feet (and I realize I pretty much peaked in this moment), but I blurt out: "That's a great Alec Baldwin costume."
And he laughed. ebroms
Damn you Stephen King!
I live in Maine in the same town as Stephen King. I have worked at several stores when I was younger such as Home Depot and Walmart. He has come in sometimes. He recognized me when I worked at Home Depot from Walmart and said "You really need to stop following me." Jokingly of course. He was a pretty cool dude. Bought some screws and lumber. TheSleepyAmerican
BAMBI!!!
This past summer me and 2 of my friends were passing the time by just walking in a creek (we're in high school so we had nothing better to do) as were walking we hear what we thought to be a little kid whining. The creek wound around an elementary school so we thought it might be some daycare going on. We continue to walk down the creek which then let us to a slow flowing river about waist deep. We swim down it having a good time when we hear the same sound of the kid again only it's sounds less than 5 meters away and it's definitely not a child. I look along the bank and spot a fawn (baby deer) stuck in some tree roots that were dangling over the bank.I don't know how long it had been stuck there but it's front left and both back legs were stuck in the roots. I ask one of my friends to hold my bag and I head over to the deer. It had to have been stuck there for a decent while because it didn't seem to struggle when I got close, presumably cause it was too tired to. I go over and lift the fawn up and carry him over to a less steep bank where he can make his way into the tree line surrounding the river. I don't know what happened to it after that but I'm hoping it found it's mama. Shaff_Daddy
I am your Father....
I had breakfast with James Earl Jones, then went into pre-school and told my teacher that I had breakfast with Darth Vader. She didn't believe me until an article in the paper came out the following week about him being in town. Hollywoodv1
McDonald's is Rough!
Okay so when I was about six or so I was in the ball pit at a McDonald's play place. The other kids and I were playing this game that involved grabbing whatever kid tried to escape the ball pit and throwing them back in.
So this one kid tries to escape and I grab his leg. He was an amputee and I had grabbed his prosthetic. I was six and didn't know it was even possible to lose a limb. His prosthetic came off and suddenly I was holding this stranger kid's leg in my hands - I thought I had ripped his leg off! I screamed, I cried, I apologized, and I ran to my parents who had to explain the concept of an amputee to me in a McDonald's. craftsmanspet
Big Score for Mom!
My 50 year old mother is one of the best 2048 players in the world. Her high score is somewhere in the millions and she doesn't see it as a big deal but I googled it and she's like top 5 in the country. Nobody other than myself is interested in this so I don't get many opportunities to brag on her behalf. Jbachner19
We See you!
My drunk crazy uncle showed up in an Action Bronson episode about the south bronx. They filmed him drinking beer out of a straw hidden in his jacket. Steamedcarpet
DANNY "I LOVE YOU!!"!!!!
So the wife loves Disney and I love the Philadelphia Flyers. I took her to Disney to propose and everything's magical. The next day was my birthday and we are waiting in line when the woman in front notices my flyers hat and says, "oh you're a flyers fan?" I said yeah as I look at her husband and it's Danny Briere! So I got to ride the tower of terror with one of my heroes. Also we had nearly identical outfits on. Also it was Danny's birthday too. BigBuffHuff
I'll Never Forget....
One time me and my brother were being signed up by my parents to do a Rugrats Campbell Soup commercial. My parents were both in chairs in front of this desk talking to a man. And I was sitting leaning against the wall by the door behind them. Then a hand comes through the door and clamps around my mouth and I get dragged out of the room. He's dragging me down the hall and I'm trying to kick and scream but he's this 6' ft 2" white guy with a long beard and I can't budge or make a noise past his hand. Then halfway down the hallway in the lobby the receptionist looks up at us and he let's me go. I run back to the room and sit on the floor between my parents chairs. The guy comes in again and whispers something to the man my parents are talking to and leaves
It still makes me angry today because when I told them this story they didn't believe me (I was 5). Im 27 now and now they believe me. It was so traumatizing I still remember it. Ayatoyato
Let Me Out!
7 years ago, I (18 at the time) was out to dinner with boyfriend's extended family and got stuck in a bathroom stall (had a door knob, not a latch). I panicked and kicked that crap open. I came out the bathroom, calmly sat down at our table, and said nothing. I felt guilty for breaking the door but also surprised at my ability to do so. Prudytudy237
I found the Right TOOL....
I met the bassist from Tool once. Super nice guy. The whole experience was great, until I went home and told my family.
Me: "Hey guys, I think I met someone famous today. Do you know the band Tool?"
Family: "No way you met someone from Tool?! Who? What did you say?!"
Me: "... I asked him if his band was pretty popular."
They mock me to this day. TheFalseShepherd77
But I have Pizza!
I used to deliver pizzas. I roll up to this one house, waltz to the door, have a knock and start waiting, when this cicada starts dive bombing me, kamikaze style, with rage. Like I could almost hear it screaming at me. This went on for the several minutes that my customer wasn't answering the door, and then the cicada conveniently flew away right as the door popped open. So I'm sitting there stressed, kind of in shock with a pizza in my hand, and tell the customer what happened for some reason. They don't care. Whatever. I walk back to my car, get in... the cicada is in my car. Attacks me again.
One of the most surreal exchanges with nature I've yet encountered. commiedad
Bowie Forever!
My dad was good friends with David bowie for a while. My mums best friend was having potentially life ending surgery (open heart for the 3rd time due to marfans disease) so my dad told bowie that she was a big fan, he ended up recording a video for her wishing her luck and she still watches it from time to time. (She's having another surgery on Tuesday.) rhgarton
The Good Ole Days....
I got done with my bartending shift in a college town over a summer, and headed over to my friends house for after bar. Everything in this town was walking distance, and since it was summer it was fairly quiet night at around 4:00 am as I'm walking home from the after bar by myself. Suddenly, a couple of guys come up behind me, completely wasted riding a tandem bike. These guys were barely keeping this thing on the street, when a car drove by, slowed down, and a girl from the back window of the car leans out and flashes her chest at them. They guys crashed their tandem bike into a curb in a fantastically comical way, and the car sped off.
I miss small college town life. huxley2112
Donate Now....
Two good friends of mine from medical school found out they were half sisters after they both separately sent in kits to 23 and me. The kicker is that the sperm donor was also a medical student. beakerbrains1785
Follow the Dog!
My girlfriend and I were at 7-11 and Dog the Bounty Hunter was there. My girl drives a smart car, which is adorable in its own right, but as we came out of 7-11 to leave Dog held the door for us and then when we were getting in the car he said, "that's one cute car!" My girlfriend had NO idea who Dog was until I told her, then she couldn't stop giggling that one of the most aggressive bounty hunters out there thought her car was cute. qu33fwellington
No More Death!
When I was about 8 years old, I was playing outside with a friend and her little brother (2 or 3 y.o). My friend was slowly riding my bike on the sidewalk and I was walking besides her, but her brother insisted on riding his tricycle on the middle of the road (it was a dead end without movement). There's a funeral home nearby that often left their hearse parked on that street. Little guy was right behind the hearse when it suddenly starts moving backwards. I quickly pulled him out of his tricycle as he was about to get ran over.
It still creeps my out how the kid could have died that day by the same hearse that would have taken him to his funeral.
Sometimes I see him on the street and wonder if he remembers he almost died that day. amargs_
Who is strong enough to admit one of their weirdest stories you can't escape?
Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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When we first meet someone–whether through mutual friends, at school, or in a new work setting–we generally feel people out to determine if they're worth getting to know.
While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"

Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
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Children tend to believe just about anything they hear.
That there are monsters under your bed, watching too much TV will make your head explode, and silly faces will be permanent if you make them too often.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to silly things that children will believe.
Some call it naivitée, other's youthful innocence.
But it's hard not to look back with embarrassment on certain things we believed as a child, that today might simply seem dumb.
Redditor Disastrous_Toe_6548 was curious to learn the multitude of silly things people believed when they were children, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?"
Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
Silly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
So that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
The miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
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