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People Share Their Worst 'People Are Disgusting' Experiences

People Share Their Worst 'People Are Disgusting' Experiences
Gabor Monori/Unsplash

Humans are gross. We do gross things all the time, like checking our used tissue for boogers.

People have a strange fascination with the disgusting. There was a whole show in the 90s around people getting slimed.

Now that seems pretty harmless, but what if you caught someone doing something so disgusting that it made you re-evaluate the way you look at those around you?

If it make you feel disgusted to think about gross things humans do, it's actually evolutionarily hardwired in you to feel that way. We feel disgust to protect ourselves from eating rotten food that could hurt us.


Redditor k1rky25 asked:

"What was your 'people are disgusting' realization moment?"

You're not going to want to read these if you get nauseated easily.

Taking a dump into the trash can.

"Last month, our manager walked into the hallway leading to the break room only to find a customer with their pants around their ankles sh*tting in the garbage can."

- lieslmarie

"I used to clean at Home Depot. One store had a secondary set of smaller bathrooms on the other side of the store from the bigger, regular bathrooms. These bathrooms were mostly used by employees."

"At least once a week (because I only cleaned 4 days a week, while someone cleaned the other 3) I would find sh*t filled underwear in the trashcan of that bathroom. I wasn't that grossed out the first time I found them because, hey accidents happen and that was just a bad day for that dude. But after the 3rd week in a row, I realized this dude was just sh*tting himself for the love of the game."

"I quit soon after."

- Shoddy-Quality-767

Disgusting gym shower.

"Have you ever seen a gym shower absolutely covered in smears of shit? Literal handprints and finger trails of human excrement, from the floor to the ceiling? Like someone had a fight with a poop monster and lost?"

"Because I wish I hadn't."

- Inferno8429

"Janitor at psychiatric hospital I deal with that almost every day people are nasty it’s worst when they don’t take anti psychotics."

- Revolutionary-Row784

Please, don't eat in the bathroom.

"In the navy, enlisted folks clean the toilets on the regular. Depending on the ship and location, they get real disgusting even at the best of times. Some dirty guy ate Spaghetti-Os while he was taking a sh*t and left the can and spoon on the toilet paper rack. People are irredeemably disgusting."

- reactor_raptor

"Guy on my ship soiled his underwear and flushed them. Sewage on a ship goes into a tank and is eventually pumped overboard. The pump got clogged and the Hull Techs had to fix it. We knew who was at fault because all your clothing is permanently marked."

- Shadeauxmarie

Military medic.

Warning, this one is really bad.

"Patient with an anal abscess that he got shaving his a**hole a couple hours before a 45 day field exercise in the New Mexican desert. He hadn't showered or even attempted basic hygiene. His whole body already smelled like a barrel of fermenting jock straps, and he was face down with his rotten a**hole stuck up in the air. PA lanced it and it burst outward, splattering rotten pus all over the other medic, who promptly vomited all over the floor and my boots. I have been severely grossed out by people since then and left the military to do a series of plant science degrees."

- Con5equences

Child Protective Service workers have seen some things.

"Working as a caseworker for CPS."

- the8itch

"Had two friends that were going to save the world via social work."

"One left after three months and has since developed PTSD and Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome and the other lasted a year and went from a freewheeling hippy to the coldest hardest heart you ever met."

- karatebullfightr

"I work in healthcare, doing lab testing. One of my first days doing STD testing we had a 3 year old test positive for GC/CT. Both of them, and we retested them at least twice to confirm. Contracting both at birth is possible, but doubtful. It was definitely a case of abuse."

"I don't think I could concentrate at work for hours after resulting that out."

- Aldroe

Men in the DMs.

"My ex-girlfriend once showed me the messages she receives on a daily basis. It led me to one basic question:"

"What the f*ck is wrong with guys? Outwardly, y'all look and act normal. Behind a keyboard, you send peen pics, solicit threesomes, ask for nudes, hit on taken chicks etc…"

- Slyest_of_Boots

"It's sad that women are even too scared sometimes to dismiss men like this these days, but who can blame these women? They get sexual messages like this, tell the men ''no,' and then the women receive both sexual and life endangering threats. It's the worst and it makes me sick."

- TheBostonKremeDonut

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Trashing the bathroom as a trend.

"I work retail, and a few months ago some teenage boys trashed the men's restroom. They left a few movies stolen from the nearby Walmart on the floor, dumped every paper towel into the toilets/urinal, and got either toilet water, urine, or both all over the floor."

- Funny_Alternative_55

"The trend is so f*cking annoying. If I want to go to the bathroom in school, there is no toilet paper, no toilet seats, no mirrors, and even if you can go to the bathroom with have of it missing, you cant even wash your hands because guess what? Mfs took the damn soap."

- IEatBruhMoments

People Explain Activities They've Added To Their Post-Pandemic Bucket List | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

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"Picture it: Fashion Bug, 2005. I’m a young assistant manager, making shit money and just trying to make it to closing. I start refolding Henley's and discover a bloody, snotty paper towel shoved between the shirts. F*ck people. F*ck society."

- StrangerKatchoo

"At least once a week I clean off bare footprints off the tables at my fast food job."

- ItsMyB1rthdayToday

"Why are people like this?"

- hellahater

Being a jerk to animals.

"I witnessed a grown man spit on a rhinoceros at a zoo, I've hated humanity since that very second."

- jalapenocupcakes

"That’s why Lamas spit at us, they hate us."

- PaleGravity

Those were some dark times.

"Beginning of Covid when all of the toilet paper disappeared."

- hateful73

"About that time I went to the store to get some baby wipes… everything was gone; baby wipes, boogie wipes and any wipe related to babies. That’s when I truly lost faith in humanity. I didn’t care about the toilet paper, I can work around that but leaving no baby wipes for people that need to wipe baby a**es? Go to hell."

- zwhiz

COVID really shed some light on this.

"At the height of the pandemic I was in a shop and saw a man sneeze in his hand and then wipe it on the shop conveyor belt. I had a pretty low opinion of people before that but that really destroyed what was left of my faith in humans."

- killingmehere

"Seeing masks all over the ground."

- Owen420xD

"I can safely say that is not something that in all my years I have EVER seen as litter. Until about a year ago, and they're now everywhere. F*cking animals."

- dr_freudenstein

"Try telling an a**hole to wear a mask inside a shop and you’ll have a pile of them outside as they angrily cast it aside as soon as they leave."

- reb0014

"At the grocery store. Middle aged lady opened all the rotisserie chickens (that are sitting under heat lamps), touched them all then picked one that was to her liking and left."

- Hentai-Flag

"Just last month I saw some older lady in the produce section 'sampling' the fresh herbs. She would take a small piece of cilantro, stick it AND her fingers in her mouth. Then she proceeded to do it to multiple bundles until she found the one she wanted and put her mask back on and walked away."

"I told my wife I was going to skip the cilantro when making tacos this time."

- -PM_me_your_recipes-

Corrections officers acting inhumane.

"When I worked in corrections, it was announced during briefing one day by a supervisor that one of the dorms was on hunger strike. An officer blurted out, “good, let ‘em starve to death” and many in the room laughed and some gave him high fives. The supervisor, who is supposed to keep things professional, so instead added, '[dorm officer’s name] feel free to write that we offered them food and they refused if they start to annoy you today.'

"An entire shift of officers were willing to purposefully lie on paperwork to force those on hunger strike to not even be given the option to end it."

"Myself and two medical officers went to talk to the dorm reps, found out the reason they were on strike is because the dorm hadn’t been allowed onto the yard for over a week because the dorm officers simply wouldn’t open the door for them."

"We contacted the captain (our boss’s boss’s boss) and told him that we were willing to stay an extra hour for voluntary OT to let them go on yard and thus give them reason to end the strike. The captain said, 'Why would you want to help those a**holes.'"

"We did it anyway because as medical officers, and more importantly as human beings that aren’t f*cking monsters, we wanted to give these guys a chance to get outside and a reason to finally partake in a meal, so, the strike ended, but I won’t ever forget the fact that multiple officials, of multiple ranks, and over multiple days not only made no effort to help solve a problem, but that many of them actively were seeking to worsen it for the sake of 'lol because we can.'"

"A lot of people seem to forget that an officer’s number one function in corrections is to 'ensure the safety and security of the facility and ALL persons located within,' not just the people you like."

- TheRavingRaccoon

Only cared about money.

"Went to an appointment and saw what a previous contractor had done to flip a home did everything the cheapest way and easiest basically screwing the next home owner to the point where they're paying a lot more now to fix all issues. Just showed me how much money matters to some and the safety and well being of others doesn't."

- CardiologistLimp7948

This was a truly horrifying list of things that people have actually done in the world.

If you made it this far, don't feel bad that your curiosity was peaked. We don't know why we are fascinated by the disgusting but there are a few theories. It could be "benign masochism," or the value of learning about a threat to protect yourself in the future.

Whatever your reason, we can agree that people are disgusting.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

The Weirdest Animal Facts People Know

Reddit user FunChemical3182 asked: 'What is the weirdest animal fact you know?'

platypus
Michael Jerrard on Unsplash

People accumulate facts throughout life on a wide variety of subjects.

Some are mundane while others are weird, wild or wonderful.

One subject a lot of people focus on is animals. Most people have a favorite animal that fascinates them that they want to know all about.

Keep reading...Show less

Content Warning: Mental Health, Suicide, Domestic Violence

We all know that we technically can't make anyone else do anything, and we certainly can't "fix" other people. Other people will only change or do something if they choose to; the only person we can really control is ourselves.

But some people really love to try, often to hilarious and terrible results.

Already cringing, Redditor Dapper_Algae6280 asked:

"People who entered a relationship thinking 'I can fix them,' how did that go?"

Time for an Upgrade

"There is a weird thing that happens when you 'fix' someone. They tend to think if you liked them broken, then they deserve better than you now that they are better than they were."

- TheRealLifePotato

"As horrible as it sounds, to have a happy, emotionally healthy relationship you need two happy, emotionally healthy people. If you want to be in that sort of relationship, you need to fix yourself first."

- inactiveuser247

"This right here. After three sh*tty relationships in a row, I realized this is a me problem. I took a few years off from dating to reflect and really learn to see red flags and understand myself so I wouldn't make that mistake again."

- MikoSkyns

No More Spark

"My now ex had PTSD, depression, and a variety of other issues she claimed. After two and a half years of dating (being my first and only relationship), she became more social, less suicidal, and overall happier as a person."

"She decided to cheat on me with someone else due to 'lack of communication' and us 'no longer having a spark". The irony."

"For context, we were 17 at the time, in high school, and I worked full-time hours with initiatives to hang out, which were refused. Red flags everywhere."

- elteragxo

"Your situation is eerily similar to mine, what the f**k?"

"I met a girl with mental and emotional issues and decided to fix them through a healthy relationship. She recovered and found someone else because 'the spark was gone.'"

- Aimlessdrifter8778

Misery Loves Company

"Now we are both broken."

- Brave-Butterscotch76

"The same thing happened to my sister-in-law. She married a very negative and miserable guy while saying 'he will get better' or 'we’re working on it,' and now she’s a very negative and miserable person."

- Moreofyoulessofme

Getting to Watch a Partner Grow

"At first we were only f**king. I don't know if I ever thought I could fix her, but I did fall in love with this beautiful lady with severe anxiety, depression, and trust issues after being in a domestically violent relationship."

"We were f**k buddies for about six months and I got a glimpse of her issues but I still went ahead and asked her to be my girlfriend The heart wants what it wants."

"We dated for a year and a half (two years since meeting), and I actually got to see her at her worst a few times, but I was finally able to get her therapy with a great psychiatrist and treatment, this is when I asked her to move in with me. We've been living together for six years."

"Four years ago, she had the worst breakdown I've seen. She went full-on paranoid, wall-scratching nervous, she was even doubting me and my motives to be there. It was a very difficult week, and she left the house and went to her mom's house in the middle of the night."

"Eventually, her therapist was able to get a hold of her and get her back to her senses. Her doctor then suggested that I also should go to a counselor or at the very least we should do couples therapy so we had strong bases for our relationship and we did."

"I now look back and won't change her for anything in the world, she has grown so much, and she glows right now. I now see her smile and it's glorious. She's achieved a great position too and it's amazing just to see how much happier she looks."

- Spiritual-Narwhal666

Not a Match

"I fixed what I wanted to fix, but that still didn't make us right for each other. In the end, I think she's in a much happier place than she could have been, so I think it was worth the time invested."

"We were wrong for each other, but at least we both came out better positioned to receive the happiness that would come to us later."

- MrWeb20

In Their Nature

"A couple of months into the relationship, I fixed him."

"After some irritation, he stopped peeing on the carpet. Now, my cat still brings mice, but I guess, that's just his nature."

- mobileJay77

The Importance of Boundaries

"I don't know if I would say that I 'fixed' her (and I wasn’t trying to), but I definitely taught my last ex the importance of being able to set boundaries and to stop going out of her way to please people who consistently hurt her."

"Eventually this would lead to us breaking up, but I have no regrets. I have issues of my own that were wearing her down and she did what she had to. Same rules apply. We’re both better off because of it."

- TylerTexas10

Happily Ever After

"She fixed herself and I fixed myself with each other's support, and we are living happily ever after, it seems, with ongoing work on ourselves and our relationship."

- DonPronote

An Uncommon Ending

"I didn’t fix them. But I tried my hardest to be patient and supportive while they fixed themself. Sometimes I was better at support than other times. Sometimes they were better at fixing than other times."

"It ended up being worth the patience. Things have been great with us for years now. I know this isn’t the normal outcome though, and I feel incredibly lucky."

- I_Invented_Frysauce

A Little Help from Our Friends

"Usually I'm the one people try to fix.. I think the repeated attempts definitely helped me. Now my current partner gets to enjoy the previous hard work."

"...I think I just got tired of hurting the people who love me and fixed myself, though."

- addrien

All Their Idea

"You can't fix anyone. You can only fix yourself, but if you really want to try and fix someone, you have to make it seem like it's their idea."

- BuhrZap

A Helping Hand

"I don't think you can fix anyone. You can only help them fix themselves, which is very different."

"If someone is actively trying to fix themselves, and you can actually be the person to support them through it, then it can work, but it could also not work."

"I do think there should be a distinction between the two. I mean, trying to fix someone is a bad idea, but if you like someone and are willing to support them in their journey to fix themselves, it's probably not the worst idea in the world."

- brooksie1131

Lesson Learned

"It went so well that they managed to cure me of the desire to 'fix' anybody."

"I’ll toss you a life preserver if you’re trying to save yourself. But I’m not jumping in the water with anyone so they can drown me on their way out."

"People who need to hit rock bottom in order to better themselves will use you to soften their landing if you let them."

- GlobalPermit5428

Best Friends Forever

"It went well but it didn’t work out."

"So we kind of fixed each other we were both at very weird points in our lives and we only dated for about one and a half years. We didn’t need a romantic partner but we did need a friend in each other."

"We’re both in better places now and the best of friends. We both want each other to be part of our lives just not as lovers."

"All and all, I say we got the best outcomes in our lives."

- CODMAN627

So Worth the Investment

"He was an Uber driver with only a high school diploma."

"I married him anyways and bankrolled his education because he was fun as f**k to be around, was the smartest person I’ve ever met, and loves me like I’m the only woman on Earth."

"Now, he’s a computer engineer and we are landlords together and have bought investment properties. We are very happy together."

"Partners work together to create success. I think selfish people ask, 'what’s in it for me?' Marriage is about selflessness."

"I’m glad I sacrificed for his education. His mind would be wasted otherwise and he’s a genius."

- BabyElephantWalks

In most of these cases, the situation went poorly after a Redditor tried to change someone, and for good reason. If that person isn't ready or doesn't want to be fixed, it's only going to damage the relationship.

There's also something to be said about unconditional love. If you don't want to date the person exactly as who they are right now, why are you even trying to date them?

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Guy at the gym
Anastase Maragos/Unsplash

Tough guys put on a facade that indicates to others that they always know what's going on.

But their confidence doesn't always match their intellect, which is probably why they cover their insecurities by walking around and trying to show everyone who's really the boss.

If that's the case, they should keep their mouths shut because not everything that comes out of their mouth needs to be heard.

Yet, it can be amusing to everyone else.

Curious to hear examples of these, Redditor PrototypeShadowBlitz asked:

"Reddit, what is the stupidest thing you've heard from the 'alpha male' community?"

You might find these guys at a bar.

The Dude Must Be Hungry

"Had a run in once with a group of young lads about something in a bar and one of them said we are top of the food chain bro and you will be the prey."

– insertitherenow

"'Whatever, mall ninja" -proper response."

– TheEighthLord

If The Shoe Fits

"That they were an alpha male."

– I_Have_A_Name37654

"The use of 'Alpha Male,' unironically is every indication that you're dealing with a child's understanding of manhood."

– 88Dubs

Brat Pack

"Me and my bros are all alpha males."

– SonOfDadOfSam

"I was skiing one time and rode the lift with a guy that said, 'I don't feel no pain. I live with 5 roommates and none of us feel any pain.' Okay, bud. That's a really interesting coincidence."

– NicPizzaLatte

They sure thrive on making sexist comments.

Contagious Femininity

"A coworker said, 'I don't spend too much time with my girlfriend because I'll become too feminine.'"

– Lazy_Natural6154

"FELLAS IS IT GAY?!"

– aliebabadegrote

Sexist Categorization

"I have been called a beta for saying that my wife makes more money than I do. She works in a more lucrative field and is more educated than I am, so it makes perfect sense that she makes more than I do."

"So I came back, and this post has really blown up. There's just a few things I want to clarify."

"1- I have only ever been called a beta online."

"2- I work full-time in project management. I have a master's degree. I have a 6 figure salary."

"3- My wife has a PhD and works in finance. She also has a 6 figure salary, it's just a higher salary than my own."

"4- I'm sorry to anyone who might feel as though my original post misled them."

– ExaminationDouble240

It's Teamwork

"A real man would be proud of his wife for achieving success, and not fall for that sort of insecure bullsh*t."

"It's not a contest, that's the real joke here. Good on you for seeing the big picture."

– Mrbeardoesthethings

Do these roles about parenting sound familiar?

Childish Things Are Too Girly

"Real men don't take their kids trick or treating is one that I heard recently."

– constructionguy89

"Related. Guys who brag about not changing diapers, not playing 'girly' games, etc. Essentially guys who brag that their only contribution to fatherhood is money and masculine things like fishing or football. Even then some of them brag about not paying a lot of child support to prove they didn't let the system take advantage of them."

"I can't imagine a life so empty my only accomplishment worth bragging about was being a terrible parent."

– Green7000

This Woman's Work

"I was told that taking care of my kids is woman's work. Apparently it's concerning that I try to spend so much of my free time with them. Oddly enough the meatheads at my grappling club think it's sweet I occasionally have my daughters' hair clips on and nails painted."

– MrFunktasticc

People discussed rules in the bedroom.

Never Submissive

"That a man is turned off when their wife/girlfriend seduces them, because if she wants sex and shows it she is a sl*t, also making the man the submissive one…"

– kamalaophelia

Stifling Emotions

"Not the whole community, but was cuddling with a guy once and could tell he was trying not to get emotional over something that was bothering him. He said, quite literally, 'it's not alpha male behaviour.' I told him that I liked that he showed emotions sometimes, and he looked disgusted by the fact that I pointed it out."

– LambLifts

In high school, a classmate who was on the football team said I was a "sissy" for listening to classical music.

The other classmates laughed at me, which was hardly surprising since all of the guys on our unbeatable football team were considered stars on campus.

This kind of mockery was a typical day for me.

I can laugh at their idiotic comments now but back then, I don't know why I ever let them get under my skin.

A shocked young man cups his face with his hands
Nachristos/Unsplash

Who doesn't love a first date?

The anticipation. The hopes and dreams. The romance.

Even those first-date butterflies are fun.

You're hoping this could be the one.

Or maybe this will just be a lot of fun.

Then you sit down with one another and they open their mouth and BOOM... dating disaster.

Life is ruined. Or maybe you were saved.

Redditor MiloMilkOnDrugs wanted to hear about the conversations that can ruin a romantic time, so they asked:

"What's the worst thing someone can say on a first date?"

Having worked as a waiter as long as I did, I can't tell the things I've overheard without fainting.

I'll just say... sometimes it's okay to stay single.

Promises

Players Association Sport GIF by NBPAGiphy

“'I need you to promise not to tell my wife.'"

FriendNegative6013

Honk Off

"My cousin (F) went on a first date where in the middle of the conversation, her date reached over and squeezed her breast and said 'Honk.'"

"She said 'What on earth do you think you're doing?'"

He said 'I've had quite a lot of success with that move.'"

"There was no second date. My cousin was the girl. I realized from a comment it was ambiguous."

blu3teeth

Circa 2005

"My mother was freshly divorced and we signed her up on a dating website (circa 2005) Helped her take pictures etc..."

"She met this guy online real smart, seems to have his sh*t together, independent, etc..."

"They set a date at a local restaurant they park side by side."

"The moment she greets him he says: WOW I love those big boobs I can't wait to taste them!"

"She 180° stepped back in her Mazda 3 and f**ked the right off this parking lot lol."

mageakeem

Safety First

"Does anyone know you're here?"

Baby-hazell

"It's a safety thing. Sometimes, people let others know where they'll be before meeting a stranger for a date. However for him to ask can be seen as a little creepy like he would be planning to do something to them and would need to know that info so he can figure out how long she'll be gone before the police are called. If that makes sense."

Hachiko75

Previously...

canadian what GIF by CBCGiphy

"I was on a date once, the woman apologized before looking a bit rough because she had just had sex before coming."

REDDIT​

What happened to putting your best foot forward?

My goodness, it's not that hard to at least run a brush through your hair.

Mirror Mirror

"'My ex looks way better than you.'"

Academic_Ingenuity84

"What a coincidence. My ex looks way better than you."

"Maybe they can get together and leave us ugly fools to mope about it together."

LurkerOrHydralisk

Oh Baby

"After pulling her chair out for her, you pet her head then rub her belly saying 'I’m gonna put a baby in here.'"

BuffaloInCahoots

"Ha, can you imagine, being a proper gentleman and then ending with a head pat and belly rub?"

phillmybuttons

"I once had a guy tell me on the first date he wanted to have at least six children. I heard later from his sister he married a woman who was already pregnant with someone else's kid, and he had her pregnant again within the year."

ashoka_akira

Family Dynamics

"'You remind me of my mom.' Bonus points if there is this weird attraction component to it."

Kiunan5

"My partner went on a date with a young woman shortly before we met, he said she repeatedly compared him to her father ('my dad drinks scotch', 'my dad is also bald,' etc). He said no amount of attraction could save the date after that."

Digital_Punk

"Oh God, I'm guilty of this one. It wasn't a date. but I told that to a woman I tried bedding later on. Honestly, she didn't look like my mom i was just shooting my shots at trying to keep her around."

Bobtheguardian22

Be Serious

Shouting The Goldbergs GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy

"I went to a nice French bistro in the Bay Area, there was a table right behind me and the friend dining. The guy literally said to the girl 'I am the alpha of this relationship.' (in a serious manner). Me and buddy sort of looked at each other while the girl literally burst out laughing, grabbed her bag, and then walked out of the restaurant."

295DVRKSS

It feels like some men have no one to bounce conversation ideas off of.

Or do they really believe what they say?