Teachers are supposed to be kind individuals, instructing a class of (most of the time) open-minded students how to learn and grow and critically think. In an ideal world this would be the case for all educators, but as any person who's been through the education system can tell you, a good teacher is not always a guarantee.
Reddit user, u/throwaaawayx0, wanted to hear about the worst of your class life when they asked:
[Serious] What really messed up thing did a teacher do to you?
Letting Preconceptions Get In The Way
I'll go first, its a story which I only remembered some years ago.
I come from an immigrant family (Iraqi).
I was always an extremely shy and introverted kid, never talking much.
So one day the teacher starts talking about antisemitsm and he says how I am Iraqi which means I HATE Jews and I would love it if they all just died, some people looked at me, for example a buddy who sat next to me asking me if thats true.
I said that thats not true and that I respect everbody regardless of religion, sex, sexual orientation or whatever and I was really confused, it was not a joke because he didn't laugh and even if it were a joke its not a funny joke and at that age many people will get brainwashed since they believe everything a teacher says.
In the end nobody except the people in class knew about what happened but I thats now probably 7 years ago and if I had said something to the principal (which I wish I did) the teacher would've probably gotten suspended.
Sad that people like that are teachers.
Keep Your Hands To Yourself
In high school, we were having some sort of drill/lockdown. Don't remember what the situation was exactly. Some students were laughing and talking during the it and the (substitute) teacher was getting clearly frustrated. She told them to quiet down repeatedly, which being high schoolers they didn't liste, until she was yelling at them to be quiet. I responded to her saying, "you're being louder than they are." Not trying to be rude, but for real she was.
She didn't like that, so she smacked me. After the drill, she called in a counselor, about the students. She probably shouldn't have done that, because it was just brought up how she was being loud and then continued to hit a student. Never saw her again.
Terrible
When I was in seventh grade, I was having issues with anxiety and depression, and I went to my guidance counselor. I was visibly crying and she told me to stop blubbering like a 5 year old.
When Your Dad Steps In To Have Your Back
Seventh grade. I was a shy, awkward teenage girl who didn't wear makeup, do her hair, and was going through a gangly growth spurt. I came in one day wearing shorts, in California mind you so it's hot six months of the year. My science teacher Mrs. Sylvia, a frumpy old bag of a woman who never smiled, made me stand up and humiliated me in front of the class for wearing "short shorts", which they were not, and claimed 'my ass was hanging out of them.' They just hung on me awkwardly because my parents hadn't bought me new clothes yet because we couldn't afford any at the time.
I was mortified to the point of being in tears and told my dad. Well, she messed with the bull there. He called a meeting with the principal and her without me there and tore her a new one. Said how dare she humiliate students like that, especially the way she dressed, which was in spandex workout shorts every day. The principal tried to calm him down saying, "Er, ah, let's not talk about personal appearances!" My dad said, "To hell we're not! She talked about my daughter's appearance so it's all fair game!" He called her an old burnout and told the principal his school was full of them, which was true. He told me that day that as a parent, you have to have your child's back, because no one else will, especially not teachers or administration. It's a lesson I have taken to heart.
A Little Sensitive
My music teacher for an extra curricular(so not even my actual band teacher) once yelled at me for like 5 minutes after I said "Ow" softly while he was talking. I had accidentally hit my back on the wall. He went so far as to insinuate that I did it for the attention! It was so unfair and humiliating, i started crying. After that day, I never went back. Jokes on him though. I saw him about 3 years later, in a university music hallway that I was attending at the time. He waved, I didn't.
Singling Out A Specific Type Of Student
I was in first grade, with another girl and I being the only kids of color in either of the first grade classes. One of the other kids got lice and my teacher (horrible woman) decided to ONLY bring out me and this other girl to the hallway and aggressively check our heads...as if to suggest we were dirty and the cause of the lice. I went home and innocently told my mom, because me being 6 I hadn't realized what happened.
My mom lost it.
She threatened to sue the school district and demanded the teacher have disciplinary action. Nothing ever happened to the teacher unfortunately, my mom only got a hefty apology from the principal and my teacher just never bothered me again. To this day, my mom still gets pissed talking about it and hates that teacher.
...wow...
I went to school without wearing a bra. I was 13 and completely flat-chested, but I guess the barest hint of nipple through my shirt enraged my teacher.
She made me stand up in class and asked me if I thought it was appropriate to come to school dressed like I was while pointing at my chest, then asked if I was "showing off" before ordering me to the principal. Nasty, bitter old woman.
Unequal Grading System
My english teacher in 8th grade hated me. So when she saw I had got full marks in a test, she grabbed my test sheet and scanned it with full attention to find any minor mistake. She found a spelling error and deducted a mark. A friend of mine had a spelling error in the same test but he had only half a mark deducted for the same.
Adding Awful Fuel On The Terrible Fire
I had a math teacher in 8th grade pick on me a lot as well as (what felt like) single me out due to failing the class. I am adhd and depressed, I was struggling after the death of my mother 2 years prior and the subsequent abusive stepmother I gained shortly after.
He once asked me if I was planning on marrying a rich husband instead of having a career because I would need to if I kept up my bad grades and lack of attention during class. On occasion he would also humiliate me by reading or describing the doodles and jokes/stories I would write during class instead of paying attention. He really made me feel worthless.
A Serious Lack Of Ego
My teacher told me to go to the principal's office because I didn't want to take off my jacket.
Same teacher, he just wrote to my mom because I was cleaning my desk before the start of his class. In his words, I was being disrespectful because I wasn't looking at him when he greet us. After that he said that if I don't hurry up [cleaning my desk] he will call the principal.
Deadly Grass
4th grade my teacher would always open the windows when they had the grass cut. Now there's me a inferior gene'd child with bad allergies and asthma. I would always ask her to close the window because I was having trouble breathing and she never would. At a certain point I just stopped asking for her to close the windows. (Context this school had recess before lunch, why idk. Hindsight it's pretty stupid but w.e.)
So one day, like always the windows were open and they cut the grass later in the day. This meant, come recess they were still cutting the grass. Fast forward an hour to lil me on a stretcher, on oxygen after getting a breathing treatment being put into an ambulance due to an acute asthma attack. This Reddit, is how I ended up getting home schooled.
Excessive, Much?
When I was in third grade, if you didn't have your homework done the teacher would throw you a pity party.
She would make you stand up and then have the entire class chant "1, 2, 3, awwwwww"
Then she would put your name, and the assignment, in what she called the F-Tablet. She claimed that if you had a single assignment in the F-Tablet at the end of the year she would fail you.
You would also lose recess privileges.
Trying To Have Your Back
A little more light hearted than the other stories.
In third grade I was making a presentation in front of class. In the far back of the class I saw the substitute teacher pointing at her crotch and mouthing something under her breath. I was really confused.
At the end of the presentation I just HAD to know what the heck she was doing.
"Mrs. Smith, what's the matter?"
"YOUR ZIPPER IS UNZIPPED!"
I looked down, my underwear was clearly showing, everyone started to point and laugh.
Nearly 20 years later and I still triple check to make sure that I zipped my pants.
Endangering Students For Fun
When I was in sixth grade, we walked across the street for ice cream as a class. I lost my shoe in the middle of a busy street and the cars were already coming both ways, but my teacher made me run out and get it.
Same teacher would fail me on assignments for no reason. I don't know what I ever did for my existence to piss her off
Let Them Use The Bathroom!
Whacked me with a yard stick after I asked for the nth time to please use the bathroom. Then screamed at me when I pissed myself. Mrs. Peacock was my personal Snape in first grade.
A Hateful Vendetta
My 5th grade teacher would intentionally fail everything I did because my mom pissed her off.
Also, I flunked a math course the year I was supposed to graduate and I had to go to another town for summer school. The summer school gives me all of these packets that I'm supposed to complete. But they come back wrong. So my sister lets me use a computer program (like a calculator that teaches you how to actually do the work) to complete the work. Still wrong. I have a neighbor help me. Still wrong. I have a really old friend who was going to college for engineering help me. Still wrong. As it turns out, someone at this school did all of the answers BY HAND, and got them all wrong and they just assumed it was right this whole time. So they just passed me, which was the good part. The months of hard work, frustration and stress was sh-tty though.
Seriously. Messed. Up.
I had a restraining order against a family member, and the school knew and alerted all my teachers before events and open house. My art teacher decided she knew better than the court, and not only let him into a school event, but showed said family member all of my artwork and portfolio and divulged personal information about me. She somehow didn't get fired!
Probably Shouldn't Be Allowed Around Kids
Made fun of a disability in front of the whole class multiple times.
I have a prosthetic right leg. He would make fun of it all the time, impersonate me, ask me to "walk better", and then some. Even changed lyrics in a song the class was singing to joke about it one time. 4 years of that.
In addition, he'd intentionally try to make things awkward with people dating, etc... I had dated a girl briefly in the class and for the next 2 years he would keep making jokes and trying to make everything more awkward than it needed to be, and did it to tons of others as well.
One of those "haha I'm your friend I joke too!" a--holes. Dropped him from my contacts after high school when I realized how messed up it was in retrospect.
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Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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