1. Playing Dress Up

In 1968, I was 11. My mom's brother had just retired and been divorced. He and my five cousins—three boys and two girls—moved in with us for a few months while he looked for work and a place to live. I have one brother, so it's a pretty full house. One day, the adults were all out, so I thought the kids were out too. I hung out in my room and decided to go downstairs.

I left my bedroom and noticed that my parent’s bedroom door was closed, which struck me as unusual. So, I opened it. There standing in my mother’s underwear in front of the mirror was my teenage male cousin. There was an awkward pause, and then I just closed the door. I never mentioned the incident to him or anyone else until very recently.

hammershiller

2. Bad Working Conditions

I used to be an exterminator. One time, I had to go to an apartment for a monthly treatment. I knocked on the door. A guy yelled to come through the back door, so I did. Well, the guy’s house was hoarded. And he was just lying on his back on a table looking at the ceiling and eating canned cat food with his bare hands.

I got out of there so fast and then called my boss to tell them that I couldn't treat his apartment. It scarred me for life.

jescott17

3. Way Out Of Left Field

My ex-wife played on a lady’s softball team in our little city. I drove and watched her play from the bleachers. The husbands made their own team and sometimes played on the adjacent ball field. After the games ended, husbands and wives said their goodbyes then went home. She was only on that team for less than a year.

One night, one of her teammates invited us and another couple to their home. I didn’t know any of them but went along with my wife. The three wives were chatting up a storm in the little dining room while I sat on their couch playing with their pet waiting for my wife to go home. The other husbands were somewhere else.

They played on the same softball team so they were already friends. I decided to wander from the living room. I found myself in the foyer looking out the front door for a few minutes. Then I turned and meandered my way into the kitchen. It was like I hit a brick wall, but the picture of the two men is etched into my memory.

Still in their team uniforms, they were in a tight embrace sharing the most passionate kiss that I had ever seen. The man facing me noticed me then instantly shoved the other man away. I just turned on my heel and walked back to the front door to resume my staring at the street thinking they were going to hurt me. They never did.

I just stared out the front door until my wife was ready to leave. I can’t remember if we said goodbye, but I never said a word to my wife. I definitely was not supposed to see that.

MWFTE

4. Delivering The Sad News

I delivered newspapers when I was 14. I had the route for the blocks around my house, so it was easy for me to do without a car. One day, I was walking down my street on my route when I saw sawdust on the road soaking up the large and long puddle of liquid on the road. I just assumed that there had been a car accident.

I thought it was probably there to soak up gasoline or something, so I continued. A few neighbors were out talking about a block down, and they asked me if I heard what had happened. I handed them their newspaper and told them that I hadn’t. They told me that something happened to my elderly neighbor across the street.

This sweet kind woman was in her nineties and had been showing signs of memory issues. Everyone knew she shouldn’t have been living on her own. Her husband had passed a few years earlier, and she had just met a new man around her age who picked her up and took her out to dinner and to church. It was the sweetest thing.

And she was very happy again. So, that day, she was late trying to catch the bus and about to miss it. She was on the wrong side of the street for the bus stop, so while the bus was paused at the stop sign, she grabbed the side rearview mirror to get the driver’s attention. But the driver didn’t have to look that way.

He didn’t notice her and hit the acceleration. She was dragged along the asphalt until the driver heard her screaming. That's when all the horrible puzzle pieces clicked into place. It hadn't been gasoline that the sawdust was there to absorb; it was her blood. I had to walk by it going home and realizing what she went through left me hyperventilating behind my house sobbing.

aahmazed

5. Bittersweet Realization

When I was a kid close to Christmas, I’d spent the year being good and asking for an electric toy guitar. I was playing hide and seek with my brother and hid in a refrigerator box in my mom's room. As soon I got in, I knew I messed up. There it was—the guitar that I’d dreamed of all year. My mom heard me and came in.

In one moment, I ruined my surprise and found out Santa didn't exist.

Downundermonkey

6. Big Show Off

My friend and I lived on an island and were out on his little boat going for a ride. One guy on the island had just bought a Jet Ski and had purposely splashed us as we were leaving the dock. There’s a line of big rocks piled up to shield the boats from big waves by the dock that also blocks people from the open water.

On the other side of the rocks was where our ferry came in to dock. We saw the guy on the jet ski riding at a high speed to the dock. He was trying to get between two rock piles, but there was a cable running between them just below the surface. He hit it, and the cable ran up the front of his jet ski, decapitating him.

TylerDuuurden

7. Poking Around

When I worked for my dad, I’d meet him at the station in the morning. One time, there was a man there begging who came over to us. Luckily, my dad handled him well. He looked like a homeless man and gave off a weird vibe. We’re just about to leave the station but looked back one more time to make sure the man was okay.

He was talking to a young woman still begging. We were listening to their conversation, and the woman aggressively refused to “help” him. After this, the man pulled out a knife and attacked the woman. Fortunately, she was wearing a big jacket, so the wound wasn’t severe, but we immediately called for emergency services.

iTzRainDude

8. On The Inside

I was little at a children's festival where the big show starred the Bananas in Pyjamas. I was too short to watch but decided to follow them at the end. I peeked in to see if they were still there. That's when I learned that bananas may have been in those pyjamas, but inside those bananas were bored, annoyed teenagers.

little_flowers

9. Where’s The Party?

Back in middle school, my friends and I always went to my best friend's house to hang out. One time, they texted me to come over, so I just assumed that was where they were. I went to my best friend's house very often, so it was quite normal for me to walk into their house without knocking or even ringing the doorbell.

We lived in the same neighborhood, so I quickly biked over to his house. I casually walked in assuming everyone would be in the basement gaming. As I walked to the stairs, I passed the bathroom. The door was open, and inside was my best friend's dad taking a dump. Needless to say, my friends were at a different house.

Nipnickels

10. Turning A New Leaf

One New Year’s Eve just after all my parent’s friends had gone home, we heard rapid knocking at the door. There was a woman in a pink and white coat who was shivering and stammering in Spanish. My dad, who’s fluent, began calming her down while taking her into the house. My mom came to his side, and then reached out to touch the woman's jacket.

When she lifted her hand, she had a horrifying revelation...She realized that the jacket wasn't actually multi-colored. The pink was blood, and she was shivering from the shock of a broken arm. My dad had calmed her down enough to get her to tell us what happened while my mom called the emergency number. She said that she and her brother had hit an ice patch.

It happened a mile away on a steep hill, and they went over the bank to the bottom. My dad and I grabbed our coats to go find the car. When we found it, my dad went down the hill first after firmly telling me to stay where I was. Being a stupid teen, I went down after a few minutes and when the car came into view, I learned why he’d told me to wait.

The car was wrapped around a tree, and the poor guy’s head was twisted all the way around. That sight still haunts me to this day whenever I drive on cold nights.

Qant00AT

11. Surprise Staring Contest

I was a sales rep and looking for a meeting room in a rural hospital’s pathology department. I got lost. I was opening doors to find someone who could help me. I opened a door and saw a non-human primate suspended by its wrists with all its skin flayed off. Presumably, it was a primate cadaver used for anatomy lessons.

But it was still terrifying for me to see. The skull had no skin, but the eyeballs were still there. It appeared to be staring at me when I entered the room.

I_Transmogrify

12. We Have Company

When I was growing up, my parents were looking to buy a new house. There was this new neighborhood under construction nearby, and my mom had seen a model that she liked. So, the realtor said that one was halfway through its construction, but she could bring us to take a look around so we could get an idea of the space.

We all hopped into the realtor’s car to go see the house. She showed us the first floor then brought us upstairs. Then, in one of the bedrooms, we happened upon something that scarred my mother for life: A man without a stitch of clothes on going at it. It was impossible for him to not have heard us coming up since the house was echoey already.

Well, my mom screamed, the realtor screamed, my dad shouted, and I just started to hysterically laugh. The guy grabbed his clothes and ran past us out of the house.

mrsheikh

13. Road Rage

I was driving to a concert years ago with my brother and two friends. We’re driving along and noticed this sedan in the right-hand lane about half a mile in front of us swerving. We figured that maybe they were also going to the concert and pre-gamed too much. So, my brother drove next to them to see what we could see.

As we approached, handfuls of papers were being thrown out the passenger window. Confused, we sped up and were just about to pass them on the left. We saw it’s a couple in their 50’s inside. The husband who was driving was just throwing major punches at his wife right to her face in the passenger seat while he steered.

Time felt like it stood still for a minute. We drove alongside them with me in the passenger seat window rolled down flailing my arms around and yelling trying to get the guy’s attention. Both of our cars were going over 50. Another car came, and together we managed to box the sedan in and get him down to a slow crawl.

Meanwhile, my friend was calling for officers who showed up within what seemed like an instant. They took our statements and brought the guy in. The rest of the ride to the concert was very quiet.

USMCseth

14. Surprise Viewing

I’m a guy and once had to deliver a note to the girl’s gym teacher in high school. She was in her office, which was connected to the girl’s locker room by a window. I knocked, and she told me to come in, which meant that nobody was in the locker room. I gave her the note, and she began typing something on her computer.

Just then, my best friend, who she somehow didn't notice, walked right in front of the window. My jaw dropped. She wasn't wearing a shirt. Instead of the expected course of action of covering up and running, she just smiled and waved, and then walked off seductively. When I met her after school, she wasn't even bothered.

Zer0DarkFlirty

15. Spot On Casing

Once, our dog was barking viciously when it was close to midnight. The dog could only move around in the backyard and normally barked at cats in the front yard. But this time, something about his bark sounded different. So, I walked to the window to see what was going on. When I looked outside, I saw a strange man looking back at me.

We both froze, and after a few seconds, he ran off. A few weeks later, when we came home after work, all our electronics and expensive stuff was gone.

HeartStoneTV

16. Pest Control

I was on a trail backpacking and stayed at a multi-story shelter, which was like a barn. These shelters were notoriously overrun by rodents, so things have to be stored in trees. Most times, it’s a group of strangers sharing the barn, which made it a great way to make new friends. One morning, I woke up to a huge thud.

I thought it was my imagination but kept hearing it. I peeked my head down the ladder and saw a guy sitting really still with a headlamp pointed at some peanut butter crackers. What I saw next was absolutely gruesome: A rat approached the crackers, and he slammed a knife into it. Then he took it and piled it onto a stack of other rats who’d met the same fate.

It creeped me out a lot, but the guy was rather chill for what he did and made everyone coffee the next morning. He had totaled over a dozen rats, and then we had a funeral pyre for them.

very-edge-of-space

17. Street Smarts

One day, I was coming home from my school, and there, in between two buildings, were three big guys beating up another guy. The guy was on the ground and had blood all around his head. One of them noticed me and walked over. He was wearing an orange ski mask and pulled it off. He got on one knee, so he was on my level.

This massive guy stared me straight in the eyes and said, “this is a bad guy. We’re teaching him a lesson, ok?” I nodded very fast; I was so scared. He smiled at me then said to keep it a secret and not to tell anyone what I saw. I nodded again, and he told me to go home. I obeyed and took off running all the way home.

When I got there, I just sat on my porch shaking. I realize now that the fact he took off his mask was to make me feel less scared. But if he was a different person, he could have taken off his mask because he didn’t care if I saw his face. He would have made sure I didn’t live to remember.

mrchill_26

18. What To Do

I’m a medic. There was a woman in the middle of nowhere on the roadway who called for emergency with her phone. We got there, and she’s totally out of it. All she knew was her name; she didn’t even know what state she was in—she thought she was in Florida. There was snow on the ground. We called the only number on the phone.

The guy who answered said he didn’t know her but would come pick her up. We thought something felt off. So, we took her back but didn’t know what to do with her after treatment. Putting two and two together, we realized that this girl had probably been trafficked and whoever had been in charge of her was done with her.

They had probably injected her assuming she would overdose and then dumped her on a rural road in the middle of winter. A woman later showed up claiming to be her friend and wanted to take her. Thankfully, the hospital did not allow that, and officers sat with the woman to keep an eye on her. It happened several times.

pokemon-gangbang

19. Hands Off

I witnessed a man beating on this woman. So, I went and grabbed my dog and my brother, and we chased him off. The saddest part was that the woman came back with three men who were aggressively trying to find the money she somehow got off the guy. Apparently, she’d thrown it into the bushes before we had chased him off.

They were super scary, and we did not get involved with the three guys who she knew or owed money even though they were rough with her. Luckily, I didn’t see any of them strike her, or I might have repeated my earlier behavior and ended up getting a bad beating.

ItsJussaMe

20. Early To Arrive

My office contacted a co-worker’s apartment management when they hadn’t heard from him. The superintendent checked and found him gone from a heart attack. I had to get office equipment and files he had. When I got there, he was still in his recliner; the funeral home hadn't picked him up. I did not have a pleasant day.

1964GamerBro

21. Out Of the Woodwork

When I was little, my family lived outside a city in the woods. We had a nanny stay with us when our parents were away. One day, it was only me, my sister, and my nanny at home, and we were playing outside. Then, out of the forest near our house, a bunch of people came walking out slowly like zombies towards our house.

They tried climbing the fence, but they were too out of it to do so. The nanny called our mom who immediately came home from the city and took us all to our grandparents. What we found out later sent a chill down our spines. Apparently, there was some drug-infused party going on not too far from our home where two people overdosed and one was fatally attacked.

Snapeeh

22. Behind Closed Doors

My uncle was babysitting me when I was a kid and brought me to work with him for the day. He was a landlord for some buildings in a city at the time and had received complaints from the neighbors that an elderly woman had not been seen for a while. She lived on the ground floor, and her door was locked from the inside.

So, he had me climb in through the window to open the door. I crawled through the window, and, being naturally curious, followed the awful smell instead of going straight to the front door. In the bedroom, I found this lady’s body face up on the ground. The place was a mess, so I’d assumed the smell was something else.

I bolted to the front door and watched them take her away in the ambulance. I don’t know anything else, and I never really talked about it. It was a weird day.

Wellick342

23. Dr. Jekyll Will See You Now

I was the first appointment of the morning at my dermatologist’s office and was sitting in the corner out of view of the receptionist’s desk. The doctor went to her behind the counter and started reaming her out about some situation I couldn’t understand. But he was screaming and was so nasty to her that it shocked me.

Then not ten seconds later, he opened the door and came out doing a jig whistling and all, “aw shucks, good morning, Miss,” as he usually did. I had whiplash from the complete turnaround. I stopped seeing him because the transformation was that scary.

sanibelle98

24. Insides And Out

Some guy drinking and driving was hit by a car right in front of me in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. His condition was unstable, so the trauma helicopter was on its way. I was holding a sheet with another person so onlookers wouldn't see what was happening. And, well, it was nothing I wanted to see.

I heard his ribs crack from the CPR. Then something wrong happened, and the trauma doctor had to open his chest right there. I have no medical background at all and saw some things that I was never meant to.

oxide-NL

25. Splash Works

I was driving a friend to the airport. There was a trail of motorcyclists out for a ride. One guy collided with the side of a truck, cracked his head wide open at highway speed, and went end over end brain exposed. Two motorcyclists were blocking his body, but it was hard to miss the reddish brain-stain on the highway.

jhilsch51

26. Paying The Price

On my way home, I was looking at a busy street from the subway platform. And I saw this guy known well to be a scammer for throwing himself in front of cars for cash. But that day, he threw himself in front of an expensive car that struck him hard. He flew into the 4-way intersection with a look of shock from the pain.

A truck passing through couldn’t slow down in time, and I watched as it crushed his head driving over him. It looked like a watermelon exploding. It's crazy seeing an actual human who’d existed for decades just stop existing in a few seconds.

stakedrivers

27. Give Me A Hand

One morning, someone using an angle grinder woke me up. I knew it was my younger brother who usually used it to cut stuff. A few minutes later, I heard a noise of liquid splashing just like in the horror movies. I wasn't sure if it was a dream or not because I was half asleep. Seconds later, my brother came into the room.

He held his right hand with his other hand to keep it on his arm. He looked at me and told me to help him stay alive. I was in shock and then grabbed something to put around his arm and called the emergency number. But I was so shocked that I could barely talk. I put myself together and told the operator what happened.

So, we waited for the ambulance. I don't know how long it took them to arrive, but all that time, I sat there with my brother trying to keep him awake. I watched how slowly the light in his eyes faded. He passed out a few times. When the ambulance came, I got out of the house to get some air while they did their stuff.

The first thing that I saw was the angle grinder with the power cable cut off and a long line of blood. There was no time for them to get him to the hospital fast enough, so a helicopter came. My brother survived. He can move his arm and carry things but lost most of its dexterity which sucks because he’s right-handed.

re3fla_

28. House Rules

When I was younger, I worked at a hospital delivering food to patients. I walked into a psych room unknowingly, and there was a crazy lady sitting in a chair holding a bedpan full of poop. And let me tell you when I say crazy, this woman had a look in her eye that I have never seen and don't ever want to see again. She said, "if you don't get out of my dwelling, I'm gonna throw this on you, little boy!"

I'd have never been so freaked out in my life! So, I dropped the tray and ran out.

Efrnzy

29. Symbolic Gesture

I watched a show that described a tattoo located on a specific part of the body that identified the person’s gang and time served. I thought nothing of it. The next Monday, I was offloading equipment for a job, and as I passed a piece of gear to a new freelancer, I saw the exact tattoo in the exact place from the show.

He saw me recognize it, and for a short chilling moment, we paused. Then I grabbed the next piece of gear and decided to stop watching gangland shows.

oddsonni

30. Hard-Hitting

I was working in an office at the bottom of an apartment building. I was out having a smoke between phone calls and heard a noise from above. I looked to see a middle-aged woman coming straight down. I put my back against the wall then just watched the impact as it made a sound that I'll never forget. I slowly approached her body.

I thought that there might be something I could have done to help. But her color and pool of blood told me right away that there was nothing to be done. I ran inside and called emergency. Officers arrived to file a report, and I closed up and went home.

Lefebvre525

31. Mother Nature

My family had dogs since I was a kid, so when I saw a stray cat with her kitten, I knew not to approach her. I was observing mama licking the baby’s head from afar when suddenly I heard crunching noises. I wasn’t sure what happened at first then I saw that the baby no longer had a head. I was afraid of cats after that.

SwordfishScared101

32. Up-Skirting Justice

My friend and I were at an anime convention when a guy behind her bent down and took a close-up picture of her butt. I chased after him and made him delete the picture. But I knew deleted photos are saved to another folder and told him to also delete it from there. He had hundreds of non-consensual photos on his phone.

I could tell; They were all taken from inappropriate angles of girls who weren’t looking. He left quickly after that and reported him and his friends to security. Hopefully, they were found and kicked out but probably not.

LaneBerry

33. Shaken To The Core

Our first apartment was on the ground level with windows looking out to the brick-paved courtyard. I used my home as a daycare and was in the living room watching two toddlers. That was when I heard a loud sound from outside. I felt the thud through the floor. It sounded like someone had dropped a heavy box from above.

I looked out the living room window to see what junk got tossed out a window. I couldn't really see anything so stepped out into the lobby. After opening the door leading to the courtyard, I saw the body of the man who had just jumped off the roof.

benbraddock5

34. Friendly Neighborhood

When I was little, I lived out in the middle of nowhere in a town that had a population of about 30 who all lived several miles apart. My dad and I were out walking the gravel roads. I was wearing my Spiderman costume, which I insisted on always wearing. We approached this old overgrown road that was only just visible.

We walked down it, and to my surprise, there was an old abandoned house that looked straight out of a horror movie. We went inside where my dad noticed fresh food and signs that someone had been living there. He said that we needed to leave, so we quickly headed back home where I had a warm bowl of macaroni and cheese.

My dad talked to the countless numbers of officers and found out that someone had escaped prison and had been squatting there. The mac and cheese was the best gift to give a young superhero.

ChickenNuggz4lyfe

35. Dirty Jobs

I used to work for an animal shelter. One year, there was a huge hoarding case with over a hundred dogs and twenty cats. All of which had been living inside a tiny little house. They were all also very inbred with dirty, matted fur covered in their own waste. I got a chance to see the binder with pictures of the house. It was one of the most disgusting things I had ever seen.

Every square inch of the house, save for a spot on the couch and bed where the owners sat, was literally covered in filth. There were holes torn in the walls by the cats to avoid the dogs. They lived there, so the walls were destroyed with cat poop spilling out. The floor was covered in over half a foot of poop urine, dirt, and other garbage. But that wasn't the worst part.

There were also pictures of the bodies of dogs and cats in all different stages of decomposition.

thylocene06

36. What’s The Deal

I met up with my dealer who asked if I could pop inside his house while he dealt with something. We never hung outside our deals, but he was chill, so I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. The yard was full of kid’s toys. I knocked on the door, and some girl answered and let me in. The smell and smoke hit me right away.

It was so thick that it was visible in the air. At first, I was uncomfortable with two little toddlers running around in their diapers and young people like myself, including my dealer, sitting on the couches obviously out of it. My guy took my money then told me to wait a bit longer. He went out a door to a staircase.

He was only gone for a couple of seconds before I heard shouting coming from upstairs. They were yelling in mixed English, so I could only make out, “who do you think you are” and “you a big man, ya?” There was an audible crashing around, so it was clear that a fight had broken out. But not one person in the room reacted.

I didn’t really know what to do. After a couple of more minutes, my dealer and two other slightly older guys came through the door. My guy had clearly been slapped around. There wasn’t any blood, but there were big red marks around his eyes that definitely became black. One of them gestured at me, and my dealer nodded.

He handed me a baggy and asked if I needed anything else. I thanked him and said there wasn’t, so he gestured towards the door. I walked to the door and gave my dealer a look. He smiled at me but was clearly stressed out. The other guy was standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder staring at me as I walked out.

Jordanc369

37. Got You

I had gotten into it with my dad. I was 20 living at home, but I knew everything. My dad told me to leave. So, I did. At 3 AM, I was at my cousin’s door. Usually, he let me in right away no questions asked no matter the time or day of the week. This time, he opened the door, let me in, then told me to stay where I was.

He went down the hall of the apartment, and when he opened his bedroom door, I saw something that made my stomach drop: There was a beaten and battered woman sitting there. He gave me a wad of cash and told me to beat it. I turned to leave, and as I went to close the front door, I heard the person say to my cousin that she couldn’t talk anymore because of how bad her face hurt.

osiris775

38. Bad Cellar Point

When I was younger, my family was going through a tough time. My parents and us four kids were living in our car. One day, my parents drove us somewhere where there were a lot of kids. We ran around and played with them. I sat down on the tornado shelter door for some rest, and the kids told me to stay away from there.

They told me that the basement was where the bad kids have to stay. I was freaked out, so I ran to find my mom. When I found her, she was talking to a lady. I waited for them to finish because I wasn't supposed to interrupt adults talking. My mom said something to her about my older brother and me coming to stay there.

It’d be only my older brother and me—not my younger brothers. She told her that we’d be back the next day. Then, as we’re driving away, I told my parents about the scary cellar, and my mom turned around and looked at me. She looked terrified. We never went back to that place, which I later found out was an orphanage.

If I hadn't told my parents about the cellar, they would have given me and my older brother up. About a year after that, we got into some income-based apartments, my dad found a job and my mom started nursing school. Still, decades later, storm cellars freak me out a bit.

Ma_Awesome

39. Traffic Stop

On a family vacation in Mexico, we were on an excursion tour on a school bus. The tour guides were handing out free drinks. We were having a great time being loud. Suddenly, there was a lot of traffic, and we stopped. Some of us started hooting and hollering and complaining about stopping and just being jerks about it.

We finally got to the problem. Another tourist family on ATVs had crossed the train tracks, but the kid got stuck and was hit. We saw his body on the road partially covered by a stained sheet. His family around him was sobbing. He couldn’t have been more than nine years old. It got very quiet after that.

starri_ski3

40. In For A Ride

When I was in fifth grade, my friend and I would stay up all night playing games, and then around sunrise, we'd go walk around town before everything woke up. One time, we took a shortcut behind an old abandoned theater that was overgrown and had a parking lot that was full of old abandoned cars from the '50s and '60s.

We were into old hot rods and stuff at the time, so we peered into the windows to see what kind of shape they were in. Surprisingly, for how faded and rusted the outsides were, the seats and dash of some of the cars were intact. We noticed one of them had the window halfway down, and we got excited to get a better view.

We both poked our heads in and saw movement. In the same instant, we heard a grizzled voice yell, "GET OUTTA HERE!" We realized it was a homeless man who'd been sleeping in the car. We ran as fast as we could, scared out of our minds.

kirksucks

41. Short Takeaway

My brother and I were staying at my grandma's house for the day. We were sitting in a room facing the street and saw a guy walking. Out of nowhere, four men jumped out of a white van that pulled up next to him. They grabbed him, closed the door, and sped off. Our grandma berated us for lying after we tried to tell her.

Seraph2593

42. Seeing A Holy Ghost

When we lived in a rough neighborhood, my parents sent me to a Catholic high school. They thought sending me there would be better for me. It was the first week of school, and I asked to go to the washroom. I casually walked my way over there, and the first thing I saw was a girl holding a needle. I froze in my tracks.

When she looked up at me, she screamed at me to get out. So, I turned and walked straight to class stunned.

Olspac

43. No Vacancy

When I was a kid, I needed to use the only restroom at a bookstore. I knocked, and no one responded, so I opened the door. There sat an older woman, completely frozen, staring right at me. I apologized and closed the door. I really had to go. Thankfully, an employee noticed that I was antsy and waiting for a long time.

So, he knocked but no answer. He asked a female employee to take me to the staff restroom, and I was happy. We were still there when the commotion started by the restroom. The woman had sadly passed while on the toilet. I had nightmares about it for a while and saw the school psychologist. I was definitely traumatized.

FallenAutumnLeaflet

44. House Of Horrors

Back in middle school, there was an open secret that this small, shabby house down the road was where men could “have a good time.” Sometimes big men stood in front of it, and a friend who lived next door could see into the backyard and told me that there were often scantily clad women laying around, tanning in the sun.

One early winter morning, I was on my way to the bus stop for school. It was still dark and snowy. I always walked past the house and had never seen anyone around, but this morning, there was a fancy black car parked across the road from it. Two men in suits were next to it while a woman in a dress knocked on the door.

I crossed the road with my head down, figuring they wouldn't pay attention to 13-year-old me going to school, and they ignored me as I walked by. I heard one tell her to keep trying when the door didn’t open. She did not look happy. My heart was racing, but as soon as I was on the bus with my friends, I forgot about it.

nimpasto

45. Pop-Up Pastor

I worked as an alarm technician and had a service job to set up a customer’s smartphone. Well, I had to use my work phone to do it because the internet browser on his phone was locked up with dirty adult sites. But that wasn't the worst part. While chatting, I found out that the man was actually the pastor of a church. He and his wife were very nice.

I felt more awkward than creeped out, but I don’t think I was supposed to see that. Why he gave me his phone, I’ll never know. He didn’t even seem to care.

wintermoon138

46. Still Life Photography

I was taking photos through my window in my student apartment. I was looking at the yellow window lights from the building in front of me when I saw a male neighbor suddenly grabbing a woman and sitting her on a table making out with her and then opening her legs. But then, they saw me with my camera still in my hands.

He stared at me while he closed the blinds. I think they thought I was being a pervert.

mynameisleii

47. Scary Movies

Our town had a mom-and-pop video rental store. It was a nice small place where my dad sometimes took me on Tuesdays or Fridays to pick out a movie. Back then, I was obsessed with Back to The Future and almost always picked it when I had the chance. One time I got it and brought it home then went to my room to watch it. The only problem was, the video was not a movie at all.

Someone had recorded a snuff film over the tape. It took me several minutes of watching it to realize what I was seeing. I ran out screaming and crying and told my dad. He ended up fighting one of the weird guys that worked at the video store, and I think officers may have even taken the guy in.

PointlessPoem

48. The Headless Horseman

I was driving on a road in between fields on a cold autumn evening. It was dark, and there was mist in the air just like in a horror movie. Suddenly, this creature walked in front of my car. A huge creature with almost no recognizable features. My old car didn’t have very good headlights, but it had functioning brakes.

I managed to stop a meter in front of this monstrosity by approaching slowly. It had the shape of an animal, but it was enormous. Its head was higher than the roof of my SUV while standing on all fours. It had a huge chest, almost no stomach, an enormous moving neck, and the head...The head! It had NO EYES nor a mouth.

Even with the headlights, I couldn’t see any of its features. It was somehow absorbing most of the light. It was like most of the creature had no hair—just some solid plate-like skin. It moved its faceless head to look at me and then back. Then with two long steps, it walked into the field and then disappeared into the mist.

I immediately stepped on the gas to get into the safety of the city. I talked about this with many people, but they all just said I was making it up or had no idea what it could have been. But a few years later, I talked with my ex about it who lived close to where I saw the creature, and she finally shed some light on that disturbing night.

There was a farm where a horrible man lived. He was known for neglecting and mistreating animals. Before officers took him in, there were some incidents when his animals jumped over a broken fence in search of food and to get away from him. That day I had seen a horse. A hurt, suffering horse with incredibly long hair.

motorbiker1985

49. Team Reassemble

I was calibrating medical x-ray equipment in an emergency room of a level 1 trauma center. I heard the usual sounds—voices, doors opening, chairs shuffling—but then I heard this kid crying. He was actually screaming with what sounded like a very powerful set of lungs. I guessed he could’ve been around high school age.

Everyone was moving quickly as they normally did, but their faces showed grave concern. When one of the techs had a moment, I took the chance to ask if it was a kid who fell from his treehouse. He shook his head then said it was a full-grown man who came in, “some assembly required.” I could not resist and took a peek. Big mistake.

A man of over 6’ and 200lbs wearing a leather jacket lost his arm just above his elbow, and one of his legs was twisted in the opposite direction it was supposed to be in. It was a visual that I will never get out of my head. With that much blood, I can still smell the iron permeating the air. But that’s what I get for looking.

CatDaddyWhisper

50. What's In The Bag?

I grew up in a house with woods and a bike trail behind it where I spent most of the time with the other neighborhood kids. We were all between 12-14, and each had our own fort in the woods that we built with our best friends. We did our best to keep our forts hidden, so even the other kids didn’t know where they were.

One day, we’re outside and watching who was coming through on the trail especially listening out for when we heard bike tires. A car recently fatally hit one of our friends, and we all thought that he’d just show up again on the trail on his bike. So, we always ran out of the woods to the trail whenever we heard tires.

We heard some pass by and ran out to see who it was. We saw this out-of-shape adult man without a shirt on with a bag slung over his shoulder. He was riding away from us so didn’t know we’re there. We noticed that he gave off a whole creepy vibe, so we kept watching. He went a little further and pulled off to the side.

He walked into the woods with his bag and then returned a few moments later without the bag. He grabbed his bike and got back on when my friend yelled, “What’s in the bag?” He looked down the trail and saw one or more of us. Then he started coming right for us, cycling down the trail in our direction at a much faster pace than he did before.

We all booked it into the woods, but because none of us were familiar with where each other’s forts were, we didn’t end up running to the same places to hide. We split up and hid in our respective forts. I cannot remember how long we hid for. I just remember hearing movement not too far away but not knowing who it was.

When we finally came out of our hiding places, the man was nowhere to be found. We eventually walked down the trail to where he’d ditched the bag but couldn’t find anything. We just assumed that he’d gone back and grabbed it when he left.

skiimear

1. Independence

I had just told off my ex-boyfriend, who had been trying to tell me I had become too dependent on him and wouldn't be able to leave. "Screw that," I said, "I am independent. And I don't need you for anything!" Then I dramatically turned to get into my car and drive off...but I had locked my keys inside. Oh, but it gets worse.

The car was still running. I felt like a complete idiot. He had to call and pay for a locksmith because I had no cash and the dude didn't take cards. I will never forget that grin on his face. Dumbest moment of my life.

Permalink

2. Wrong Room, Lasting Trauma

A friend of mine is a medical intern. There was a patient in her hospital that a whole team of doctors had just convinced the family to remove from life support after weeks. My friend went into the room after reading the wrong patient's chart and told the family she expected the patient to make a full recovery...it was everything that the family had been praying to hear for months, only to find out it wasn't true.

Fost2527

3. The “G” Is Silent

I once sent a direct mail piece out quoting an Angus Reid poll. Left the "g" out, so of course, the spell-check didn't catch it. Based on the feedback I received, virtually all those who noticed thought it was an improvement.

moirende

4. Drive-thru Drive-by

I worked at McDonald's when I was in high school and finally got a better job, with better hours, closer to home after a couple of years there. When I quit, I was annoyed to learn that they wanted my greasy threadbare uniform polo and pants back after I was done. See, I didn't want them, but it seemed cheap and sort of insulting—they were just going to throw them away, same as I would, but they were going to require an extra trip back there for me to do it? No, I don't think so. Screw them.

Keep in mind I was 16 at the time, and apply "I'm such a rebellious free thinker" teenage arrogance to the situation. What happened next makes more sense that way. So, on my last day, I put my plan into action. I went out to my car, stripped down to my boxers, went through the drive-thru, and threw my wadded-up uniform at the woman working the window.

That's when told her to give them to the owner. The look on her face was priceless. I drove off, music blaring, feeling ridiculously happy and proud of what I had just done, and happened to run into a friend of mine who was also cruising around. I explained why I wasn't wearing a shirt or pants, he laughed and said we should go get something to eat.

Sure, no problem, I'll just change into the clothes I brought, grab my wallet, and...Ah, crud. That’s right. My wallet was still in the pocket of the pants I'd thrown in the drive-thru window. I had to slink back in, sheepishly ask someone to search through the trash for me to find my pants and find my wallet. They did. I didn't go back to that McDonald's for years.

squeaker

5. Talk About a Hot Ride

Worked at Circuit City circa 2005 installing car audio. One of my co-workers put a satellite radio in a brand-new BMW but apparently wired something wrong. As we were just about to send it off to the client, we watched as the car began to smoke. The thing burned to the ground and all we could do was watch. Oops!

jmpanc

6. It’s The Little Things That Trip You up

I scored an interview for a dream job. I did all of my research about the company, bought a new suit, the whole shebang. I gave the man interviewing me a firm handshake, answered all of his questions easily, and felt pretty confident. After finishing the otherwise flawless interview, we shook hands again, and I said, "Thank you sir." To my horror, she replied: "It’s Ma'am."

permalink

7. It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses a Toe

One day, I was taking a long leg cast off of a kid who was about three years old. After I got the cast split open, I started to pull it off, and the Mother suddenly said, "Oh, his toe fell off." I chuckled and replied, “Nice one,” thinking she was joking. She gave me a really angry look. It turned out that the kid had been in the cast because his small toe had been nearly amputated and then reattached.

The doctor was hoping that what tissue was still connected would be enough to vascularize the distal portion. It wasn't. The kid's toe had rotted and fallen off. Whoops.

shdwrnr

8. Insured Losses

About 10 years ago, I got a part-time job that miraculously offered health insurance. Unfortunately, the paperwork they gave me when I started only listed the insurance rates for full-time employees, which was something like $60 a paycheck. I didn't even realize there would be a difference for me until I got my first paycheck and it totaled about $20.

I called HR in panic mode certain that there must be some mistake only to be informed that for the number of hours I was working, health insurance was $400 per paycheck. And no, I couldn't cancel my enrollment unless I had a "qualifying life event." I took home $20 paychecks for four months until open enrollment ended when I could finally cancel.

Luckily, I had another job at the time so I wasn't out on the street, but it certainly taught me a lesson about carefully reading paperwork.

Cephalophore

9. Musical Urinals

We went to a movie. During the movie, she got up to go to the bathroom. After she left, I thought I could run to the bathroom myself, and be back before her (for some reason, I thought it would be rude to leave her alone). When I came back to our seats, she was already there but I didn't give it much thought.

I hung out at her place for a bit afterward, gave her a kiss goodnight, and went home thinking that I just had a pretty nice date. A week later, after she wouldn't return any of my calls, I asked our mutual friend who introduced us what the deal was. Turns out that when I went to the bathroom, I accidentally walked into the women's room.

I peed in the stall next to her, and she recognized the boots I was wearing. She was totally freaked out. When I finally got a hold of her and tried to explain myself, she told me she was moving to Turkey to get back together with her ex-boyfriend.

lostandalong

10. Hi, I’m Stupid

Oof, I knew a guy named Ben who had the worst tattoo backfire of all time. He was obsessed with Asian culture, especially China, and he got a tattoo of his name (as a Chinese symbol) on his bicep. Instead of introducing himself when he was in Chinatown, he'd just point at his tattoo. Here's the problem: Ben in pinyin = “pen” (pronounced pe-hn, which does sound like an Asianfied “Ben”). But “pen” in Mandarin means stupid. Dude introduced himself as stupid for years. As far as I know no one has ever told him.

CabaiBurung

11. Dearest Ex Wife

I used to work at a call center for a popular gift company. This one couple calls up and says "we need to cancel our order!" I look it up, and tell them UPS already has the order to deliver it. They tell me, "You don't understand. We are sending this to our son and his wife. We accidentally put his ex wife's name on the card. It will ruin Christmas if they receive this gift!!!" I was finally able to call UPS and get them to not deliver the package. Not my screw up, but dang.

IHaveTheMustacheNow

12. Sweet Disaster

I went on a blind date with a sweet guy that my friends all said was perfect for me. We order a small snack for our coffee and as it's arriving at the table and we're chatting, he pulls out his Nokia phone. Trying to make a lighthearted joke, I say, "MAN, that has got to be the oldest phone I've seen in a while." I really dug it in, trying to break that awkward first date wall. Well, it turns out that it was not a Nokia, it was something much more embarrassing. It was his insulin pump.

bacon_butter

13. Rush Order

At the company where I worked, there was a new trading assistant named Eli on the floor who thoroughly believed he was The Guy. He was going to take the world by storm and decided he was next in line to make partner. Only first, he was assigned the task of sending in an option exercise one Friday afternoon in order to capture a particularly large special dividend.

Poor Eli knew how to do it, but he was in a bit of a rush. He sent the fax through to the broker and then left before getting the confirmation. The fax failed and the options weren't exercised, costing the firm about $150,000. Poor Eli was met by a very angry head trader at the door on Monday morning and he got his walking papers. Poor Eli.

optiongeek

14. Nailed It

I still have nightmares about this date.When I was about 20 or so, I got a date with a girl who I really liked, she was exactly my type and I couldn't believe my luck. We met in a local pub for a few drinks and things were great. I was getting all the good signs with lots of hand touching and the like. An hour of pure bliss went by and I needed to pee.

After washing my hands, I went to the hand dryer only to find that it didn't work. I wanted to dry my hands because I wanted more of the hand-holdy stuff. Then I had the single stupidest idea of my life. I thought, "I can fix this!" and put my hand inside the nozzle of the dryer. WHY!? WHY!? Obviously, I got buzzed by the electric heating element, fell back, and cracked my head on the wall.

I didn't get knocked out but I needed a few minutes to sort myself out before going back. I didn't have the guts to tell her what had happened; dumb idea number two. I had a banging headache and I wasn’t quite right. Not much later she made her excuses and left and turned me down when I asked her for a second date. A year or so later I found out she had told her friend that she really liked me, but I went to the toilet and came out acting really weird and she "wasn't up for dating someone on drugs."

Theory3k

15. Bad Math

I offered to pay for the bill on a first date with a gorgeous girl. She insisted to pay half. I didn’t fight it, but I only had a large bill so I did some mental math, pocketed her money and put my bill in. Anyway, long story short, I did the math wrong and ended up fleecing 20 bucks from her. She sarcastically said, "Thank you," and I thought she was being sincere. I'm an idiot.

mkramer4

16. Don’t Mess With the Internet

Not my mistake, but I think our CEO wins this. I used to work for a telecom company and our CEO went to a site to look at our new fiber optic shelter. While going around the shelter, he accidentally stepped on fiber that was transmitting more than a quarter of the data of our country. All our country had outbound connection problems for 18 hours.

It affected more than 10 million people.

Msc1

17. One Wild Ride

After a date, I dropped the girl off in the parking lot where her car was parked. We said goodbye to each other and parted ways without a kiss, as it was our first date. As she got out and began walking across the parking lot, I suddenly got the courage to whip my car around, stop it right in front of her, get out, and kiss her.

In my head, it was going to be like something out of a movie. In real life, I pulled up to her, forgot to put the car in park, got out, walked away from the car, watched her look at me in horror and point, turned around, and ran towards my car as it slammed into another parked car. Just a typical day in my life really…

Permalink

18. Trashy Day

I threw my keys away. It doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but I threw them down a chute into a large apartment trash compactor so retrieval was impossible. I had to pay a locksmith to let me in my apartment since it was the middle of the night. Then the next day I had to pay a tow truck to tow my car to the dealership which was huge ordeal because he couldn't fit inside the parking garage of my apartment complex. We had to break into my car, have a dummy key made, jimmy it into neutral and push it down the ramp.

Finally, I had to pay a nice chunk of money to get fancy new keys made. I then had to contact the realtor for the house I had just bought and received the keys for that same freaking week and explain what happened and get a new set of keys made for the house. And this all made me miss a day of work. That was a fun day.

hometowngypsy

19. It’s The Thought That Counts

I offered my seat to an elderly lady on the bus. Turned out she wasn't that old and felt offended, so she screamed at me for the entire ride home.

dajz

20. Almost Infecting Yourself

Pathologist here. Biggest mistake I ever made was cutting myself during an autopsy on an HIV patient. Lucky for me, I did not acquire the virus, so everything had a happy ending (For me, anyway. That guy was still dead.)

Permalink

21. Getting Hot in the Cockpit

Dad retired with 36,000 hours, closest disaster was almost a cockpit fire. So I got the short story from him: He was supposed to fly from Orlando to Boston, but as he was taking off, he noticed that there was a lot of super hot air pouring into the cockpit. What had happened is instead of wiring the engine valve shut like the mechanics were supposed to, they wired the valve wide open.

As I understand it, the engine valve usually automatically regulates the amount of hot air that the engine bleeds into the cockpit. However, the wiring they did made it so the maximum amount of hot air was coming in continuously from the engine. He made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, and by the time they landed, they couldn't touch the controls and they were using clothing as oven mitts.

He said he and his co-pilot were also completely drenched in sweat.

altabuse

22. Spam-a-Lot

I once worked for a music PR company. My first job was to send a promotional email out to about 1,000 journalists. I forgot to BCC every one and instead just CC'ed them. 90% of the mailing list unsubscribed. As you can imagine, those 1,000 journalists were this PR company's bread and butter. I…did not keep my job for long.

jetglo

23. Kickfall

This one time in sixth grade we were playing kickball in gym class. I went to a private school, so I was wearing a white polo and grey slacks. Well, I had just started playing football so I was bragging that I could kick the ball really far. Mind you I was the short little pudgy kid everyone picked on. Well, I was up to kick, I pointed way into the outfield, ran at the ball and tried to kick it realllllly hard.

Well, not only did I completely miss the ball, I farted really loud as my leg fully extended and ripped my pants and underwear down my butt, then I fell right back into a puddle of mud. Everyone started falling over laughing, even the gym teacher who pitched the ball to me.

hitbyaparkedcar67

24. No Kids Allowed

My place of work has a 21 and over policy after nine pm, and a group of people walked in and I immediately assumed they walked in with their child because I couldn’t see her over the counter. So I said, “Hey guys I’m sorry but we’re 21 and over right now.” Turns out she had dwarfism. Oh my lord. I tried to save myself by apologizing and telling them they all looked young despite obviously referring to her earlier. MORTIFIED.

Permalink

25. It Runs in the Family

Was at a friend's brother's 21st birthday party and was standing around talking with some other guys. On the driveway, a bunch of girls were dancing to the music. It was a really chill night. But it was about to get a lot chillier. The guy next to me said to the guy on his other side "How about the rack on that blonde chick?" The other guy replied, "That's my daughter.”

valiantfreak

26. Like A Canary

I was the director of an a cappella group. During auditions, I projected sheet music from my tablet. After one girl finished her audition, the assistant director texted me from across the room, “Oh, that was awful.” My tablet received the message, and everyone saw the notification...including the girl who’d just auditioned.

nervous4future

27. Chubby Chaser

Dude was so proud of his grandson that he wanted a tattoo that said “I love my grandson” in Chinese characters. Except I’m guessing everyone just googled “I love my grand son” because it came out reading “I love fat boys.” Whoops.

MisterComrade

28. Thank You, Facebook Robot

I was sending an "adult" link to my girlfriend and accidentally shared it to my facebook wall instead of in a message. I don't know how, I must have been tired or something. We're talking some really bad stuff here. I didn't even realize I'd done it until the following day. I woke up to so many messages. The worst one was from my grandma...

Permalink

29. Big Tech

I used to work in the inventory department of an aerospace company. They did repairs mostly on Boeing hydraulic units. There are some very expensive parts on those planes! One in particular was about an inch long, and cost over $11,000. I saw the price tag and couldn't believe my eyes. I'd seen expensive parts before, but never one so small.

Being the idiot that I am, I took the part out of the little baggie that it was in, snapped a picture of it to show my friends, and put it back in the bag. I came back to my desk later that day to put it back in inventory, and it was gone. I lost it. I had absolutely no idea where the part went. I was a bit panicked, but I didn't think it was too big of a deal.

The part had never been needed and had been in our inventory for over two years collecting dust, so I felt like I had some time to search for it. I kid you not, the following day, we had a job that required that part. I almost passed out right at my desk.

PirateNinjaJedi

30. Accidental Hypocrite

I’m a paramedic. Just two weeks ago, we had a call to pick up a paraplegic at a nursing home. He had called 9-1-1 himself because he had end-stage cancer and was in constant pain, and he was claiming that the nursing staff wouldn't give him pain medication. Turns out that was exactly what was happening, so I played hero and lectured the staff. Then I totally blew it.

I returned to the man’s room and saw that my partner and our student had him on the cot already. Forgetting he was paraplegic because I was still flustered about the nurses, when I buckled the straps over his legs, I thoughtlessly said, "Let me know if these are too tight on you." Totally straight-faced, he replied, "I can't, I'm a paraplegic." I wanted to disappear.

5-Oprolene

31. Save Some Cringe for the Rest of Us

A female friend of mine–to whom I was admittedly attracted–had been expressing her reservations about an upcoming vacation with her family. Though it wasn't being overtly presented as such, the trip was meant as a way of re-solidifying her parents' marriage, which had been more than a touch rocky at the time.

They would all be driving from San Francisco to a small town in Northern California, where they'd stay at a bed-and-breakfast inn for a weekend before continuing northward for some unknown destination. In keeping with the alleged purpose of this so-called vacation, two rooms had been booked at the inn in question.

To her dismay, though, my friend discovered that her mother would be occupying one room, her father would have the other, and that she and her sister would each have to bunk with one of their parents. This was worthy of lament on its own, but it was made unforgivably worse by the verbal diarrhea that I offered in an attempt at providing comfort:

"Aw, it won't be so bad!" I told my friend. "Your father will probably enjoy sleeping with you." A moment passed before I realized what I had said. Then, with a feeling of growing horror, I tried to explain myself. Suddenly, I made it 10 times more awkward. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that!" I hurriedly said. "I mean, like, he's probably sick of sleeping with your mom."

"No, wait, I mean... I just mean that he wants to spend some quality time with his daughter." If I had stopped there, I might have been able to salvage the situation, but as it happened, I decided that the best course of action would be to keep talking. "I can't say that I blame him, really. I'd love to sleep with you." She and I don't talk much these days.

RamsesThePidgeon

32. The Mac Daddy Of Mess ups

At the first advertising agency I worked at, one of our clients was an oil drilling company. I was working on some very standard ads for them, one of which had the headline, "FASTER, FARTHER, DEEPER." I made a typo that caused the ad to read, "FASTER, FATHER, DEEPER." Thankfully, my Creative Director caught it before it went to the client.

We all had a big (nervous) laugh about it and the original ended up on the creative department's wall.

Linds360

33. Just Didn’t Click

I made a mistake sorting a list of addresses with Excel. I didn't select all the columns and consequently sent couriers to 400 addresses that didn't exist. It cost something like $8,000.

asurah

34. Crystal Clear Idiot

I broke a champagne flute at a wedding once. It was one of the bride and groom's matched set. I was picking up cake plates and saw the glass on the edge of the table, told myself, "Be really careful, that's at a bad spot," and then proceeded to tap it just enough to knock it off the table to the ground, shattered. The glasses were crystal and a family heirloom passed down through their Jewish family from before the Holocaust.

I have never felt more guilty or terrible in my life. I still think about it sometimes and want to curl up in a ball and die.

NakedCave

35. Slippery When Wet

Oh God…here goes. Working at McDonald's three years ago, little kid spills coke on the floor. I happily wander over to clean it up. Mop that stuff up lightning fast with a smile and everybody is happy. Go behind the counter and retrieve the “slippery when wet” sign to place over the newly-cleaned area, and when I get there, distracted by something, I slip! Embarrassing right? You have no idea...

My foot slips out like a javeline and kicks a baby's high chair, the baby's head whiplashes against his table so hard both of his shoes fall right off. I just stared in horror at the family. I place the sign down like an idiot and run back behind the kitchen for my dear life. Then I proceeded to crack up in the most maniacal nervous laughter accented with breaths of horror. What had I done?!

Permalink

36. Filling With Poop

I'm not the doctor, but a couple years ago my father went in for a colonoscopy after experiencing abdominal pain. His doctor was a pretty young guy, and the procedure went routinely, with one "growth" removed for biopsy.

Within hours of the surgery, my dad spiked a fever of 105 F and went to the emergency room. With no idea what happened, the doctors opened him up to find actual poop all over his body cavity. The young doctor had removed my dad's appendix tie-off scar, which had been done using an out-of-date method from the 90s. He had no idea what it would look like, and didn't realize what he was cutting off, basically popping a poop balloon inside my dad's body.

He's okay now, but he nearly died. We didn't sue, but the hospital paid for the colonoscopy and the following emergency procedures for us, which was nice of them.

NotableNobody

37. Studying Hard

I was attending a school that did a drawing for free housing each year. It was a big production with prizes given out throughout the night with the big prize of free housing for a year, about $5,000, given out at the end. I stayed for most of the night but decided to study instead of stick around for the drawing. Guess who was called out first? You had to be present to win.

Sharkbait_ooohaha

38. Slow Drip

There was a leak from my bathroom upstairs to the kitchen right underneath it. Every time someone would shower, water would slowly begin to drip into the kitchen. I thought there was a leak somewhere in the drainpipe and I took the kitchen ceiling down looking for it. And this was an old home, so there was this cement type of plaster with metal latticework through it on top of wooden slats.

It took forever to expose the drainpipe...only to find out that the little knob thing on the shower faucet that you pull up to turn on the shower had broken and I just needed to replace that. That piece costs me $7. Then I had to completely replace my kitchen ceiling.

-Words-Words-Words-

39. Walk It Off

I was discussing a recent surgery I had at work to a bunch of people, including a lady with spina bifida who lives in a wheelchair. I specifically was talking about how annoyed I was by not being able to walk for three weeks. I revisit that one a lot.

Tavyan

40. Beyond Remedy

I work in pharmaceutical manufacturing. A co-worker of mine in error threw away a filter used to sterilize drugs before it is filled into syringes, vials, or whatever. The company searched through a local landfill looking for it. Without this filter being tested for integrity, the product cannot be verified as sterile.

The filter was never found and the entire lot was thrown out. The total loss was nearly $2.5 million USD.

dontreadthisreddit

41. An Old One And Not A Good One

This was in high school. She invited me to her house to have dinner with her family and I didn't know them very well yet. The conversation turned to names we thought were old-fashioned and ugly-sounding. We all threw out a few like Gertrude, Bertha, and Eugene, and then I said the one thing that ruined everything.

I said, "At least that one's not as bad as Deborah!" I used my ugly voice and everything. Her mom's name is Deborah. Her grandmother was also at the table with us.

Fridge_crisis

42. Forgetting To Lock The Tiger Away

Once I left a door to a tiger's enclosure unlocked and let the tiger back in after I was done cleaning. Walked by a couple minutes later doing a lock check, realized my mistake, and nonchalantly placed the lock back on the door and kept walking past coworkers while internally freaking out.

I could have gotten myself or someone else mauled by a tiger that day.

tigerwaitress

43. A Life Well-Lived Isn’t Over Yet

Not commercial, but hobby flyer. I was out with a couple of mates on a nice day, and we decided to all go out. I don’t have my pilot's license, but a mate offered to let me take over. Anyway, we’re flying at a medium kinda altitude, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed our altitude drop significantly—my heart leaps into my throat and I panicked.

My friends didn’t notice. I started remembering things in my life: my first bike ride; my dad walking in on me shoving a chessboard in my butt and telling me we got a new puppy; my first love. I told my friend, a more experienced pilot, who politely told me that the dial was just broken, and the altitude was fine.

notafrogbutalmost

44. Tinder Stack

I accidentally left a stack of paper coffee cups next to the stove. Shortly after I headed home from my shift, I heard sirens go wailing by. The restaurant was on fire and when they put it out, there was several hundred thousand dollars in damage for equipment alone. Needless to say, I was fired and then under investigation for quite a while afterward.

Permalink

45. Runaway Driver

I was working on one of those TV shows where you do stupid things in public and film people’s reactions. In the skit we were doing, a man would be jogging with a stroller containing a life-like baby doll, and I was going to hit him with a car. The jogger was wearing bright green—they dress funny on these shows so that you don't mix up the cast with pedestrians. So, I'm cruising up to the stop sign in a beat-up old ford, my adrenaline is really pumping.

This was my first time actually being involved in a skit. I see the bright green jumpsuit, and I rev it—but when I realized what was happening it was too late. I hit the wrong guy. It was just some dude jogging with his kid. I realized what happened when the guy I hit didn't jump onto the hood the way you're supposed to in these stunts. I honestly don't remember anything about the incident after that, I was in shock. The dad had a few broken bones, the baby was fine.

Needless to say, there was a huge settlement paid out. I'm currently pursuing an unrelated career.

ranoverbaby

46. Nepotism Doesn’t Work, People

I lost my father's company three million dollars in assets due to a typo. As an 18-year-old intern.

tehichigo

47. Having Your Heart Ripped Out

My brother is a surgeon, and during part of his residency, he had to work in the pediatric unit. He was working with two newborns. One was getting much better and fighting for life. He was going to make it just fine. The other baby was hours from death. He wasn't going to make it. My brother was in charge of informing the families.

My brother realized about 15 minutes later that he had mixed up the families. He told the family with the healthy baby that their baby wasn't going to make it, and he told the family with the dying baby that their baby was going to be just fine. He then had to go back out to the families and explain the situation to them.

How devastating. To be given a glimmer of hope and have it ripped away from you not even an hour later. That was most upset I've heard my brother. He felt destroyed.

AndromedaStain

48. Under Pressure

I cooked a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner for an ex of mine back in 2002 or so. I was making some sort of chicken dish. I put it in a pot to cook. Meanwhile, my girl and I were hanging out in the bedroom while it was cooking. Let’s just say we got a little “preoccupied” for the next little while. Then, a few minutes later, I suddenly thought “Uh oh, the chicken!” and went running downstairs to check on it.

I ran into the kitchen completely naked and grabbed the lid off. Apparently, I had unknowingly used my roommate’s pressure cooker. I didn’t actually know what a pressure cooker was at the time, but I definitely do now! I forced the lid open and got boiling water all over my stomach, arms, and private area. I spent the rest of that Valentine's Day in the emergency room getting burns treated.

drewuncc

49. Second Time Is Not A Charm

This will probably get buried and although I am a doctor this was NOT me but this happened to a doctor I know.

A patient had gone in for surgery on their right knee. The surgeon did surgery and everything was fine except he did the surgery on the wrong knee. Fast forward a few days and the patient returned for surgery on the correct knee. The surgeon did surgery on the patient's knee and forgot a sponge in the knee. The wrong knee, once again.

altiff

50. Explosive Touch

I blew my hand up with a firework. The surgery alone to fix the five bones I broke cost $27,000. That doesn't include two casts, pain meds, physical therapy, and two braces.

Gusgus73014