My mother cannot handle anxiety. She doesn't do feelings well... well sad feelings. She's great with love. So because of this she laughs, incessantly, at the most embarrassing moments. Someone has been murdered, she laughs. Lost your home in a fire, laugh. Your dog was stuck by lightning? Hysteria. It's all a defense mechanism because of her discomfort with emotions. But sometimes it can come off as a tad.... inappropriate?
Laughing is good for the soul. A deep, hearty laugh can save you years on your life, it can even burn calories. And in this day and age Lord do we need some laughter. There is a caveat, some of us do need to be aware of our surroundings when we bust a gut. For instance....
Redditor u/Pegi111 wanted to discuss the times a hearty chuckle may have been a bit ill timed by asking.... What is the worst thing that you have laughed at In public?In need of Autotune....
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My dad's funeral. My maternal grandfather got very emotional, and when he's emotional, he loses his English and lapses into Welsh. He's also a trained singer, so halfway through one of the hymns he starts bellowing it out in Welsh, which no one else in the church could speak (we live in Scotland). It was funny and awful at the same time.
Just STOP!
I happened to witness the immediate aftermath of a car accident between this woman and a younger guy who seemed to be a new driver.
The young guy had a STOP sign and the woman was cussing at him, telling him he should be paying more attention and that he will kill someone if he drives like that. The poor dude was practically speechless and still reeling from the shock of the accident.
Just as I was about to go on with my day, here comes a delivery guy on a scooter. He stops for half a sec to take stock of the situation and goes "Hey, lady! Leave the poor kid alone, you were going the wrong way on a one-way street" while pointing at a sign that confirmed what he said.
Suffice it to say, I pissed myself laughing at her as she went back to her car realizing she was at fault after all.
"I just wanna live"
I pissed myself laughing at my husbands funeral. He had a pretty morbid sense of humor and one of the songs he wanted played was "I Just Wanna Live" by Good Charlotte. In the moment the whole thing just seemed so absurd that I just cracked up laughing. However because most people could only see my back they all assumed I was just crying. But honestly I think that my reaction was pretty normal given the emotional distress that day.
Walking Like Deer....
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One time in college a few friends and I took a couple giggle stamps and went for a walk down the main drag of town, taking it all in.
At about the time that things were really coming to a head, a car crashes into a stone wall on the other side of the street at like 25 miles an hour. Without missing a beat 5 girls who were dressed to go out and were all wearing tall heels hop out and all run in different directions away from this car. They all looked like baby deer learning to walk.
The driver stumbles out seemingly intoxicated and then proceeds to try and reverse himself off the wall and leave the scene but ends up ripping off the front end of his car and then getting stuck.
Anyway I almost collapsed from laughing at all of this and after roasting the driver from across the street instead of helping like the Seinfeld gang for about 5 minutes we decided to leave.
'Come on and Celebrate'
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When my dad died we were trying to sort out funeral stuff. We're a religious family and he had chosen Hymns and Bible readings before he died. One of the hymns was an old school 80s praise song called 'Come on and Celebrate.' It involves some cringeworthy synchronized clapping. We're also a pretty musical family so we sang that song in full voice, clapping away and giggling to ourselves knowing how disappointed dad would have been with us if we hadn't given it our all.
Or so I thought.
I used to be a wedding planner. One wedding was set on a coastal beach. Really great day, I had been working on this for months. Now, the couple decided that the ring bearer would be their labrador and he would have the rings on a ribbon around his neck, fair enough. So a bridesmaid would let him off the lead at the beginning of the aisle and he would trot down to the happy couple. We did test runs and he was really good so he was the least of my problems.
Or so I thought. I'm right at the back with my schedule, ceremony starts but the dog had different ideas, he stormed down the aisle (almost knocking the bride over) past the couple, down the beach and into the sea with the RINGS. Half of the groomsmen running after him ending up drenched in the sea. I literally had tears running down my face with laughter, there was nothing all I could do, had to balance against a wall with my heels embedded in the sand.
Coping....
After the loss of my sister last year which was my first real experience with death and planning a funeral I will never question anyone's behavior at their loved ones funeral. The brains coping behaviors are weird. I went from hysterical laughter to full snot face crying back to hysterical laughter in 2 seconds over and over flat the entire day. There are no "wrong" reactions. I'm sorry for your loss.
DADDY!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE NEED?!
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Clearly tired dad and his, I'm assuming, 5 year old daughter in a supermarket, following behind him pointing out things that she thinks they need in an obnoxious voice.
Girl: Daddy, do you know what WE need?
Dad: silence
Girl: Daddy!! Do you know what WE need? DADDY!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE NEED?!
Dad: A muzzle.
Had to duck into the next aisle so fast and burst out laughing, the people in that aisle had no idea what I'd just heard and looked at me like I was laughing at voices in my head.
Sit with Us....
I was out with a cousin that I had not seen in quite a while since she lives in another country. We were at a cafeteria/bar type thing. Since she was staying a few days only, she asked me if it was okay if some friends of hers that she hadn't seen in years came along. Told her sure and 10 mins later they come sit with us.
One of them (they were 3) starts telling us whats up with his life and casually drops "oh my father also died this summer" (as if he had bought a new phone or sth) and I almost spit my drink... I really tried not laughing but he didn't help. I left out a tiny giggle and he continued telling how his father died casually. I had to look at my phone to not lose it.
Kidney Needed....
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I was doing storefront fundraising at a WalMart for the non-profit I'm a part of. I pitched a guy on the way in and his reply was "I'll donate to someone else as soon as someone donates me a kidney."
I expressed my sympathies and moved on.
The guy I was fundraising with pitched the man again as he walked out of the store. The man must've said something derogatory and my partner looked at me, shrugged, and made a funny face. I laughed and the guy wheeled around and started screaming and cursing at me for laughing at a man who needs a kidney transplant.
He ended up calling the store and saying I was mocking his plight and we were asked to leave for the day.
Perfect Plank....
My neighbor (60F) was about to open her gate but then she saw us, and she quickly turned around to say hello. Well, she perfectly face planked to the ground while doing so, got up and acted like nothing had happened and continued talking. I tried to ask her if she was okay but couldn't stop laughing. I must have looked like an butthole, it was the most perfect plank I've ever seen.
the nut job
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A teenager was harassing a middle aged woman in a wheel chair.
The teenager tried to kick her in the face..... she caught his foot so he fell on his face, she held his foot up and repeatedly kicked his nuts with her giant special boot.
On the Floor....
I was in a restaurant and there was this kid a few seats ahead of me just being loud and annoying, so when he got out of his seat to do god knows what, he tripped and fell on his untied show and face planted into the hardwood floor, i laughed out loud so hard and i got a lot of nasty stares but it was worth it.
So Stupid...
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I joked about my friend and said he looked like he was having a seizure before my idiotic self realized he actually was having a seizure
Edit: He was fine. Something happened that triggered a ptsd flashback. He has since gotten counseling.
ya'll know me!
On jury duty for a drunk driving manslaughter case. He agreed to an interview on scene of the accident, drunk as hell. After the officer identified himself on the tape, drunk dude started hollering in a thick southern drawl "ya'll know me! My daughters a street walker down in (nearby town)". I started laughing at that. With the wife and family of the victim visibly upset, staring at me.
Then guy admitted he spent the day drinking at a strip club, with a n open 12 pack of beer in the passenger seat with empties on the floor.
Man, that trial was a joke. Why didn't he plead guilty? No defense to speak of, they even had video of the accident, not to mention he consented to a BAC test. And this was the guys 5th drunk driving offense.
Ashes to Ashes.....
At my grandma's funeral, when it came time for interment, all of us who'd gone to the cemetery were asked to stay some 50 yards away as they were sodding the whole new area of the cemetery we were in. However, my grandpa wanted to sprinkle some dirt on her casket, so they permitted him to do so, with my mom, aunt, and uncle alongside.
A few moments later, we heard a really loud thud--evidently, because of the nature of the dirt there, instead of being able to find a small handful of loose dirt, he picked up a little clod or two and tossed that into the grave. Hearing the thud in the distance, my wife and sisters and I couldn't resist busting out laughing. Luckily grandpa was too far away to hear it.
Sing Out....
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During my graduation ceremony, I was in the front row. We all got up to sing the school's anthem. The song was also gestured (?) in sign language. For some reason I found the person's gestures really silly and I was barely containing myself from erupting into laughter.
An Attack
When the polish president died in a plane crash in 2012 (I think) there was a nationwide minute of silence. For some reason I couldn't stop laughing, it was like an attack of just laughter because of nothing.
Anyways my family got pissed and took me away to a room where I sat alone in the darkness and laughed for few minutes till my whole core started to hurt.
"thou art butt dust"
My younger sister and I were altar serving on Ash Wednesday. We were probably about 13 and 11 years old.
The priest is making the cross on each parishioner's forehead with ashes and saying "remember, man, that thou art but dust and to dust thou shalt return."
My 13 year old brain decided to interpret that as "thou art butt dust" and I snorted.
That set my sister off and we were both sitting there laughing our asses off and trying to stifle it as much as possible.
One Punch...
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I was working at a McDonald's cleaning in front next door I saw a guy walking and some guy comes on his bike behind and lays him out with one punch.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.