Aliens, love, tie dye... it's all beyond comprehension and definition. We all have come face to face with moments in life when we're not sure if we're experiencing déjà vu or we're still asleep. Sometimes we're reliving moments or seeing double of people and sometimes, it's just ghosts. The abnormal has very much become a normal part of the human experience. It kind of always was, now we just have to explain it.
Redditor u/queenofbras wanted to discuss the times we've all been left aghast without words to string together by asking.... What was the strangest moment in your life that you still can't explain upto this day?
twin GIF
We passed each other going super-slow, and made eye contact. We both started laughing, and then continued on. My wife was sitting in the passenger seat, and saw him as well. It was super weird, and really fun for whatever reason. We still talk about it 10 years later. I regret not stopping and finding the guy to take a photo together.
Isaac
My friends and I used to hang out at this coffeeshop almost every single night for years. There were six of us. One summer, this guy "Isaac" started showing up every night. He was around our age and was from out of state, staying with his grandparents for the summer. He became part of our group, playing board games with us, talking till like 2 am. He would walk to the coffeeshop and I'd give him a ride back to his grandparent's house at the end of the night. At the end of the summer, he went back home and we never heard from him again (this was pre social media).
Maybe about five years later, after our group had mostly grown apart and we were reuniting while everyone was in town for a holiday, we were sitting at our coffeeshop, reminiscing. I brought up Isaac ("I wonder what happened to him") and nobody knew who I was talking about. I even have a photo of him, which I eventually found and emailed everyone, but nobody recognized him. It's now been over a decade and still nobody remembers Isaac but me.
Off to McDonalds....
This one time when I was little my dad woke me up at like 2am and he said "get ready, we're going to McDonalds". . . . I was soooo freaking confused and kept asking why, but he wouldn't answer anything besides, "because" or "to have fun", the rest of my family (2 brothers, sister, and mom) didn't come with and IIRC they were still asleep when we left.
The play place was closed, and we just kinda sat there for an hour or so eating, then went back home. To this day, I still have NO idea why he frantically needed me out of the house and he swears he doesn't remember that happening, but the whole thing was SO weird that I kept the toy that I got from the happy meal to remember it by, that I still have it to this day....
BECAUSE it's my only proof of this weird freaking night that my dad (almost scarily) hurried me to McDonalds at 2am.
I have 2 thoughts, my sister crapped the bed and they were worried I'd make fun of her??? Maybe they somehow noticed like rats or something in my room??? But were worried I wouldn't be able to sleep if I knew that there were rats and they needed an hour or so to get it out???
Either way, very strange night that my dad refuses to tell me the truth about, which only makes me think it's something much worse??? Like. I'm 23 now, if he said "yeah ur sister pooped the bed and we didn't want you to know" I'd have been like cool cool cool nice good thinking lol, but he REFUSES to believe that it happened? WHAT HAPPENED?!
Ho-Ho-Ho Vancouver
santa claus GIF
Giphy
I saw Santa driving one day and I was so giddy from it my husband thought I was crazy for being so happy.
It was like October or something and this guy was dressed up in a good quality suit and he had a real beard and everything. It was amazing.
You know what... I live in Vancouver, Canada. I bet you be was filming something in the area.
I'm Done
I was at work several years ago, and a coworker (S) had a massive seizure. (He later told us he had never had one before.) Everyone started freaking out, and a man came over and gently held S down because he was in danger of slamming into a desk. When the seizure passed, the man stood up and said "Ambulance should be here soon, so my work is done" and left.
The weird thing? Nobody had ANY idea who that guy was. We were all so concerned about S that we didn't really register that the guy was a stranger until S was taken to the hospital. We were in a building that required a keycard to enter, and it was closed to the general public. There were only 12 of us in that office, and he wasn't one of us.
So who the hell WAS he?
Take the Fire
I spent a night a bit drunk with some friends sketching and sharing new ideas for an art project we were working on. We talked a lot about using a fire extinguisher filled with paint for a background effect on huge canvas or a full room, but were wondering where we could get one for cheap and if it would work as we expected. Around 5 am I leave my friends apartment to take the first subway home and I kid you not, two streets further on my way and in the middle of the sidewalk there is a freaking (empty) fire extinguisher.
Took it home. It was such a strange coincidence, since i never stumbled upon an empty fire extinguisher in the street at any other point in my life. I was pretty sure I dreamt about it when I woke up later, but nope, it was still in the corner of my bedroom!
mama.....
When I was 7 or 8, I used to spend Friday nights at my grandma's house. And she spoiled the crap out of me, so I loved it. One night, though, I suddenly had a strange urge to call my mom. I dialed my phone number - I mean I knew my own number right? A woman answered, and I suddenly blurted out "mom come and get me". I have no idea why, to this day, that came out of my mouth.
Like I said I loved it there, and up until that moment had no thoughts of being picked up. Anyways, the person on the other end starts to sound panicky and says,"where are you??!" It hits me that this isn't my mom, so I just hang up, and go back to watching tv. So weird, and while it seems so minor it's stuck with me for 30+ years.
Papa can you hear me?
fathers day dad GIF
Giphy
I was t-boned in an intersection. Not a very serious accident, mostly just shaken up.
I was out of state at college at the time. Minutes after the accident, my cell phone rang and it was my dad. He said all the sudden he was consumed with an overwhelming urge to call me, and was everything ok?
I told him I was in an accident. He has passed away since but he and I always had a very strong connection. I wish he would call me now, but then I guess it would be the strangest moment.
"oh, girls, she's here"
When I worked in hospice I took care of a sweet man who saw his wife before he died. She had been dead for 5 years.
He was wheelchair bound, but the night he died, he was up and walking. He kept insisting his wife was coming to get him. When the nurse and I got him settled into his room for the umpteenth time, he looked at the empty doorway, and said: "oh, girls, she's here" and then he went unresponsive and died about an hour later.
The Dream
jimmy fallon dreaming GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Giphy
I had a dream once and within the next month, everything from that dream happened in real life.
For example, in the dream my wife rearranged our room which is weird because she hates rearranging stuff and then the next week she arranged it exactly like dream. In the dream i also got promoted and then less than a week later i did in real life.
The Transfer
It's probably just poor memory but in primary school apparently we had a new girl who was in our class for half a year before transferring to another school. A few years later in middle school, my close friend (she knew the girl outside of school) brought her up and none of us from the same primary school could remember her at all. Eventually she did convince us that the girl exists and I do have a vague recollection of someone transferring to our class for only half a year, but I couldn't remember having any form of interaction with her before.
joy farm GIF
Was leaving the stable and driving around on these curvy roads leading past several farms. All of a sudden, I had this sudden urge to go back to the stable and get a lead rope (basically a thick rope with a bull snap on one end that you clip to a horse's halter to... um lead them around). I ignored it, continued driving, came around the corner, and there was a freaking massive cow in the middle of the road. I just sat there in my car and laughed like really universe? Ended up waiting for the cow to finish being stupid in the middle of the road and wander off before I could get past it.
Doubles
I had a few weeks of pregnancy symptoms, id been pregnant before and it was exactly the Same. So i took some tests and did them daily until eventually i got weird faint lines. One night i had to stay awake next to my open window all night with headache and nausea. I knew at this point I was certainly pregnant and i was about to get a positive test soon.
So i tried that morning and it came up very faint. I asked my twin was she unwell lately or anything and she was like yeah i was up feeling ill all last night why? I said well I've been feeling sick a lot lately, she said "me too" and sent me a pregnancy scan telling me its early so not to tell anyone..... I had my period a couple of days after.
Looks Fine
I was in a car with my grandparents on our way back home from a road trip...
I was casually watching random cars go by on the opposite side of the highway and whatnot (no iPads or anything in 93) and then suddenly in my peripherals, I saw something that caught my attention....
It was an RV/mobile home and it was literally ROLLING over and over sideways.... It must have rolled 2 or 3 times and then came to a stop, upright, on its 4 wheels...
I kinda gasped and tried to describe what I saw to my grandfather but they didn't really pay much attention to me. I remember my grandmother looking back through the back window and saying "it looks fine"... I guess they didn't believe me.
They didn't even slow down..I have no idea how it happened, what happened to the people or anything. I think about it every few months.
Vacation Daze
I told work I had to go out of town for a week for a family member's (my grandmother's cousin in Texas) funeral. Completely fictitious. ... in reality I just wanted time off to hang out at the luxury home my friend was house sitting, hot tub, full bar, etc.
The day my "vacation" started, I got a call that my grandmother's cousin passed away and they were going out of town for the funeral and expected me to go with them.
Photobomb
george costanza photobomb GIF
Giphy
My Mom was looking at an old photo album and talking about a party that she organized for her coworkers more than 25 years ago. She said that it was nice of me to have help her there setting up the tables etc...
I have zero recollection of that party, nothing, so I thought she was joking. Then she showed me the pictures and I'm there!!! Wtf! It's not like I was a kid. I was maybe 19 or 20.
When in a Mazda....
Friends and I in my crappy Mazda smoking weed in the ally behind my gfs house. Neighbor walks out and starts punching an electric pole until his hands look like hamburger meat and there is blood soaking his white shirt. He calmly walks back into his house. We uncalmly get the hell out of there.
Take Care
When I was in my teens, my dad relapsed into his drug and alcohol addiction again. It was the last straw for my mom and I, and we took off in the car at night to go for a drive and get out of the house. We were both angrier than we'd ever been.
As we drove down the street, each streetlight we passed popped and went dark, for at least three blocks. At the time it really felt like our anger was so destructive that it was affecting the world around us.
My mom and I still talk about that night and wonder wtf was going on with those lights.
Edit: since I've never gotten so many upvotes before, I'll take this opportunity to hijack my own comment and advise everyone to treat your bodies kindly. My dad ended up dying at 55, alone in rehab, after lying down for a nap. He didn't feel well and nobody took him seriously because he was a junkie in rehab. His heart gave out after years of abusing it. He was extremely flawed, but nobody deserves to die alone and ignored.
Take care of yourselves while you can.
The Light Show
Ok, this happened at my grandma's house. I was lying awake on the couch in the middle of the night, when this kaleidoscope of colors and lights appeared on the ceiling and began moving around the walls. I silently watched it until it disappeared and went to sleep. I shared the living room with my sister, and my grandma slept in a chair to keep us company. Since it was dark and I hadn't heard anything, I assumed I was the only one still awake to see it.
The next morning at the breakfast table, my grandma brought up the "light show" she had seen the night before and didn't seem to know what it was.
She described what I'd seen perfectly.
After she left the table, my dad and aunt both seemed very concerned that she might be losing her mind. In my little kid brain I thought if I told them I'd seen it too they might think the same about me, so I kept quiet about it.
If it hadn't been for the fact she'd seen it too, I would've chalked it up to a number of things. But I honestly don't know what to make of it.
The Arrangement
meeting startup GIF by chuber channel
Giphy
When i was 9 i was told to clean my room and we would go to the local video store to rent a video game for the weekend.
I clean my room, my mom approves of the cleaning job, we go to the store and i get my game. Whole trip lasts 20 minutes tops. Get back and all my toys are spread out across the floor in neatly organized lines, very deliberate looking. No one else was in the house. Nothing missing. Just this strange toy issue. My guess is it was a friend of mine either screwing with me or looking for something of theirs but no one ever confessed.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
Giphy
Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
Giphy
See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
homer simpson episode 23 GIF
Giphy
Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
Giphy
Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIF
Giphy
The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.