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Paranormal Investigators Share The Story Of Their Creepiest Experience.

Most people have had a moment where they felt like they weren't alone when they should have been. These people have made a profession of this feeling, and invite it into their lives regularly. Thanks to these paranormal investigator (and the one dispatch officer) who shared their eerie stories.

1. 'Everything went quiet, then I saw her.'

The year was 2012. I was younger, unmarried with a hopeful eye on the horizon. It was in that year that I officially joined a paranormal group. Let me apologize in advance for keeping some information deliberately vague. I value my privacy but most importantly, Im uncertain if what Im telling you may cause me to run afoul of the other people that were involved.

Theres a particularly haunted location close to where I used to live when I stayed with my parents. The history of that spot was one filled with sadness and anger. A lot of horrible stuff happened there but the perpetrators were never found and therefore never brought to justice. There have been rumors since then of a white figure fleeting about in the dark. Some people claimed to have heard a girl crying but there would be no one there when they turned to look. A previous group had investigated this spot and they came away with some strong evidence, chief of which were footprints in powder (a trick I used when I investigated my house in the previous post).

When we arrived at the place, the six of us broke up into groups of two. I will only cover what one of the groups experienced because they had asked a question directly relevant to what I had experienced. The strongest activity, however, happened with me and my partner. And we were the first to go up, all gung-ho and excited.

Between us, we had an EMF meter each. Below and pointing at the structure we were investigating at, there was a regular camera and a camera that had thermal imaging capabilities. Our investigation happened on the uppermost floor of the structure, where the dense trees grew wild and made the entire area darker than it was, even with a full moon overhead. We were ready to start so we powered on the meters and began.

The responses came almost immediately.

With the EMF meter, we set a precedence for the entity. Light up the bulbs if the answer is yes, leave it alone if its a no. So all our questions, therefore, cant be open-ended since they would need to be answered in the affirmative or negative. The first thing we asked was, are you here with us. The meter had four bulbs with the fourth being the strongest. The first one lit up with the second flickering.

EMF meters cant lie and it takes quite a lot of energy to produce such a reaction. That were getting a hit on two EMF meters no less - while we were nowhere close to any power lines or electrical boxes is in itself an indication of something. But we do not rely on just one tick.

We kept asking and repeating our question. Are you here, if you are, light up the device again so we know it wasnt a fluke.

This repeated itself four times.

(Continued this story on the next page...)

Prior to coming here, we unearthed in our investigation a possible name for a girl who could have possibly been haunting the place. So we decided to put that to the test. We went through several names. For a long time, it was quiet until we mentioned the name that turned up in our research. This time, the meters went up to three bars. That got our attention.

Three bars require a strong blast of energy. For example, standing near a power box wouldnt even get you three bars. Its only when you press the device right up to the power box that you get four bars.

We deliberately went with a different name after getting the hit to see if it were a fluke. The device was quiet. When we mentioned the right name again, it lit up strongly.

After this, my partner went to answer a call from one of the people from the other group. In that time, I was left alone with the device and seemingly this spirit that was next to me. And I, being the polite one, told her we were sorry for disturbing her and if she were okay we were here? The device lit up to three bars.

I followed that up with, Do you feel lonely?

Three bars.

So, youre happy with our company?

Two bars.

(The number of bars does not indicate level of interest, merely the strength at which the entity can answer the question.)

Well, were happy to be here talking with you so thank you for being accommodating.

My partner was still on the phone so to whittle away at the time, I stuck out the EMF meter around me to gauge where the spirit might be standing. It was strongest in front of me. It lit up to a solid four. There was nothing to the left or right or even behind. But in front was when it would always light up. I traced the air up and down and the device stayed lit all the way until I brought it just inches from the ground. Then, the EMF meter, previously buzzing with activity went to zero. It was at that point when I realized the female spirit was hovering in the air in front of me.

Then, from my peripheral of the ground floor, I saw a dark shadow zip past quickly. It startled me and for a moment I wondered what I might have seen.

With no means now to investigate that, I tell her, Ill be moving over there, do join me.

I did this in part to test if the EMF meter was indeed working properly. Part of what made me good at this was my healthy dose of skepticism. As I left the spot where I stood, the constant two to three lit bulbs died. It remained quiet when I arrived at the new location, which was just ten feet away. I turn this way and that, attempting to pick up any EMF fluctuations in the air around when suddenly, it lit up.


(Continue this story on the next page...)

The meter was pointed toward the railing so I asked, Is that you? Are you here now?

Two bulbs.

Are you on the railing?

Two bulbs.

Is this your favorite spot?

Three bulbs.

By this time, my partner had rejoined me. We asked many questions. There was a certain feeling that crept into the air around us. It was a mixture of sadness and yet happiness the sort of happiness you felt when someone unanticipated comes to visit.

We decided then that we were going to ask some specific questions about the crimes that happened on the grounds.

If we had pictures, would you be able to recognize them?

No lights.

Have you made peace with what happened?

Two bulbs.

Arent you a little angry?

Two bulbs.

The crime occurred sometime in the 1990s.

But youve still made peace?

Two bulbs.

Here, we were overwhelmed with emotion. It was bittersweet. I think I even teared up a little. We went quiet for a while but the entire time, she stood there, next to us, as evidenced by the lit bulbs. We didnt know how else to continue and since it has been over 40 minutes, we decided that now was a good time to bow out and let the next group up. So we said thank you, told her that we really appreciated her doing this and shes been real fun to talk to and that we hope she would extend the same friendship she showed us to the next group.

The second team (and the third) apparently received very little activity. We guessed that this was due to the spirit having used up plenty of her energy to converse with us. Either that or the two groups failed to engage her in the way that we had. But while the second group was up there, I hung around at the bottom, excited at what I had experienced first-hand. Though it was far from my first brush with the supernatural, it was the first one where it was in a more controlled environment.

So anyway, there I was mulling about and chatting with the other members when once again something caught my eye. I turned to look and there, on the second floor I saw something that to this day I recall vividly. (Continued)


Continue this story on the next page.

It was only for a split second I saw a face of a girl. Eyes, nose, ears, lips even her hair that framed her face was all visible. The face was a little off like it was swollen. And as soon as it flashed before me, it vanished. My hair stood on ends and my sudden quietness drew the attention of everyone near me. When I told them what I saw, the message was quickly passed to the group still up there and they asked the spirit then if it were indeed her that I had seen twice once the shadow and the other the face.

Both times, the bulbs lit up to a strong four.

We packed up and left, eager to go through the recordings. Someone else handled all of that so it was a few weeks before we heard anything. One night, though, he called me up and asked me if I was indeed certain of what I saw on the second floor. I told yes, I knew what I saw. He then sent me a picture. It was an infrared shot of the entire structure.

And there, on the second floor, hovering just above the railing, was a thermal image of a round object.

It was a face.

2. 'The door slammed on my friend.'

The craziest thing I have seen with my own two eyes was a door slam on my friend. We were in an old asylum and he was walking out of a room when the door just swung back really hard out of nowhere and knocked him on his bottom. It was just me and him as well. Needless to say he left the building right after that.

PM_ME_UR_number2s

3. We thought he was crazy, but we couldn't have been more wrong.

About 4 years ago I was working the dispatch desk. Around 11pm I received a call from a resident that stated he had just seen 6 diamond shaped objects fly over his house at only a couple hundred feet, making no noise and had mirrors of thousands of lights glowing from underneath.

No big deal I think. Another alien conspiracy theorist calling in. But he prefaced his whole call by saying, "listen, I'm not nuts, I know you get calls from crazy people but I'm not one of them. I have this on video and my whole family saw it." He gave me their approximate height, their travel direction, the times. It was weird and it sounded unbelievable but there was something about it that sounded different so I decided to dispatch someone out and check this guy out, and more importantly, to see the video.

So the officer goes out, sees the video and writes a report. He comes back to the station and I jokingly say as soon as he walks in, "So how crazy are they over there?" And with a straight face he goes, "That was something." (Continued)


Continue this story on the next page.

I had to then call the nearest military air base and ask to speak to a supervisor at their flight control center. I gave her the time and area it occurred and she stated that nothing had been in that grid for hours. Then, feeling like a complete fool, I had to tell them that I had to report a UFO. They took the information and I faxed them a copy of the report and they said they'd look into it.

I didn't think anything of it for two years since we only got that one phone call and I hadn't heard anything about it. Sure enough though, two years later, I had a friend going through county wide training who called me and asked if I had been the one who had dispatched that call. When I said yes and told him the story he explained that at his training they had gone over how to handle unusual events and calls and that my dispatch had been played and he recognized the voice. He told me that later that night that exact report was called in over 6 times throughout the county in various areas.

To this day I have no idea what those lights were. The investigation was out of our hands.

-MaybeACop

4. 'I had to investigate my own house.'

I needed to investigate my own house, after some suspicious activity. I didnt have any of the regular equipment I used, like the EMF meter, so I went old school. I recharged the batteries to my old camcorder, dusted off the voice recorders and got some powder. I set the camcorder out on the far wall of my living room where most of the apartment, including the bedroom door, dining area and entrance to the kitchen can be captured. One recorder I left by the bedside table. As for the powder, I sprinkled a generous amount near the main door, at the entrance to the kitchen, the entrance to my bedroom and across the perimeter of my bed, from wall to wall. I also sprinkled large amounts of powder in critical areas just in case.

As most paranormal investigators are intimately aware of, many investigations are spent whittling away the boredom for hours only to be hit by a sudden explosion of activity that, more times than not, disappear just as quickly. Its like ghosts are trained guerrilla fighters. Great with making little disruptions, but not so great when you want them to sit down and chat.

The same thing happened of course. I started my business soon after midnight when the wife had fallen asleep. The first hour was purely for me to get into the right mood. I sat quietly in the dark in the living room, occasionally asking questions but largely leaving the digital recorder to run.

Other than the sounds of traffic caught during playback, I didnt get any response to the questions I asked. There werent whispering, strange sounds or shadows moving around my apartment. At around 2am, I decided it was time to retire to bed. While I was used to holding investigations right up until 5am, I dont do that anymore. I had work to wake up for in about five to six hours. So I left one of the recorders on the dining table since it was closer to the bedroom door and went to bed.

At about 3:30am, I awoke suddenly.

The room felt noticeably darker but it was deathly quiet. Even the low drone from my air-conditioner seemed to have stopped. I turn over and my wife was in deep sleep. Yeah, that woman sleeps like the dead. The first thing I checked was the thick line of powder I drew to separate my bed from the rest of the room. It was intact. I got out of bed and left the room, careful not to disrupt the line of powder in front of the bedroom door. I checked the camcorder and it was still running. Thats good. Ive had situations before when in lieu of activity, fully charge camera batteries and flashlights were completely drained. Anyway, the powder at the main door was also intact and the random blotches of powder in the bedroom and the living room were undisturbed.

But then I came to the kitchen.

Granted a gust of wind could have caused the line of powder to be broken but my apartment is like a vacuum. On stormy days, with all the windows and the door opened, not a gust of wind makes it way in, which was why we resort to air-conditioning constantly. The air-con in the living area was turned off but there was a clear break in the powder line as if someone stepped out of the kitchen into the living room.

Still not much to go on so I went back to bed, once again careful not to step on the powder. I understand that all of this is terribly boring but hey, its not like I could choose a method of preferred haunting.

Anyway, when I awoke in the morning, it was to my wife roughly shaking me. She wanted to know why I tracked powder all over the house. I was in a daze, having just been rudely awakened and with less than my ideal hours of sleep so it took a while before I understood what she asked.

I jumped out of bed and there, to my utter surprise, were footprints all over.

(Continued)


Continue reading on the next page.

Some of them had been disrupted by my wife but the line I drew was broken and there were footprints all around our bed and in the connecting part of the room where the computers were. I rushed to open the bedroom door and the powder there wasnt broken but there were footprints leading up to the door.

I checked the camera and the battery was completely drained. Well, that wouldnt do. I didnt have time to check the footage now let alone clean up the mess. So while my wife went off to work, I took a shower, dressed and hopped on a cab to work. I was late but I really wanted to spend the next 30 minutes or so on the way to work uninterrupted by commuters while I listened to the recording taken by the recorder on my bedside table.

Much of it was of my wife snoring. Wow, that woman is loud. I had no idea I was sleeping next to a bulldozer. I might have missed something but I fast forwarded quite a bit right up to the point I was awoken at around 3:30am. Her snoring had stopped and the quiet I heard and felt when I was awake at that hour was somehow captured on the recorder. I thought that the recorder had malfunctioned because there literally was an absence of sound.

It was only when the sounds of me moving to check the area came through the recorder, that I knew the device was working. I fast forwarded a little bit more but stopped at the one-hour mark when a strange sound caught my attention.

It was footsteps.

And it wasnt just one person walking around. There was audible running. Like a bunch of people racing around my room. Somehow this didnt wake me or my wife. I listened closely, more intrigued than scared but what I heard next tipped that scale almost immediately.

The running slowed to a walk and the sound of feet moving quite deliberately toward my side of the bed could be heard. I knew this because the footsteps got louder as it reached the recorder. Then there was silence, quite like what I had heard earlier. This time, though it felt pregnant, like something was waiting to happen.

And then, I heard it. In broad daylight in the cab, my hair stood on ends and I wanted to trash the recording.

Im here.

It was loud. And by loud, I mean speaking-directly-into-the-recorder loud. Over the sound of that male voice, I heard my own breathing and the snoring of my wife so I knew that I wasnt speaking in my sleep. I dont sleep walk either and neither does my wife.

I have yet to listen to the recorder left on the dining table or reviewed the footage from the camcorder. Hopefully, therell be more information I can extract.

Thanks for reading!

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.