Top Stories

People Describe The Scariest Thing They've Ever Lived Through

People Describe The Scariest Thing They've Ever Lived Through
600+ Free Scared & Fear Images - Pixabay

Not to freak any of you out, but life can be scary sometimes. You're about to read some pretty unsettling stuff, so just keep that in mind. From bus accidents to comas to encounters with um, strangers... it's all here.

After Redditor Sqrootveg asked the online community, "What is the scariest event that you have been through?" people came through with their stories. We might have trouble sleeping tonight.


"I didn't know my neighbors very well..."

I came home one night after hanging out at a friend's house a few years ago. After I was sitting in my house alone for a few minutes, I heard screaming and crying coming from the neighbors. Apparently, their teenage son heavily overdosed and they found him dead on his bed with foam coming out of his mouth. The ambulance came, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

I didn't know my neighbors very well, but it was a pretty chilling experience.

TheFoxMaster00

"Dropped everything and went."

The birth of my son. My wife had to have a c-section when our oldest was born, so she had some complications with the pregnancy when she had my son. One night she comes out of the back after dinner and says she's bleeding. Call the doctor, who said get to the hospital ASAP.

Dropped everything and went. Dropped my wife with the nurses at the front of the hospital and parked the car. By the time I made it inside they had two lines in her and were prepping for emergency surgery. I was able to walk with her to the door of the operating wing, but then they told me I couldn't come. Spent 3 hours pacing in the waiting room. When a nurse finally came out they told me my wife died on the table twice. The complications caused her uterus to rupture during the c-section and she lost 7 units of blood. They more or less had her stabilized after removing her uterus and she was in the ICU recovery. Still couldn't see her.

Asked about my son. He inhaled a mouthful of amniotic fluid on his way out and was in the NICU under observation.

A couple of more hours and they finally let me see my wife because she was partially awake and screaming for me.

She spent two days in ICU, 4 in trauma recovery, and 5 in in-patient while she stabilized. My son was ok after 4 days in NICU. Her doctor told us flat out the trauma her body went through was equal to being hit by a train. All in all she had 9 units of whole blood, 8 units of plasma, and 5 units of platelets transfused before she finally stabilized.

Saw the doctor last year, as a customer at my work. I walked over and gave her the biggest hug in the world and thanked her again for giving me my wife back. I will never forget her and will always be thankful for that amazing woman.

cbite

"I was trying to nap..."

I was in a bus that crashed into a house. I was trying to nap after a late-night flight when suddenly the bus shook, so I opened my eyes and saw us going off the road, knocking down a small tree and then colliding with a house. There was a strong smell of gas, so we thought the bus was going to explode. We all had to get out through the fire escape window, and I cut my hand on broken glass when I landed. Thankfully the bus did not explode and everyone got out with only minor injuries. Nobody was home in the house either.

Lewa263

"As a kid..."

As a kid, I made a makeshift zipline between two trees in my yard with some rope and and old shirt. I went to go across it just after the sun set one summer night and my shirt was caught on a broken off branch from behind and started choking me. I thought I was as good as dead because I couldn't yell very loud due to being choked.

I held on to the zipline shirt for dear life when I saw one of my older brothers friends walking down the sidewalk. He saw me hanging and got my shirt off the branch.

wanna-be-wise

"Forty years ago..."

Forty years ago I got home very drunk late at night. The police had my house staked out waiting for me and tackled me in the driveway and took me to jail for burglary that they accused me of. Spent three days in jail before they figured out that I was innocent and just cut me loose about an hour from my home without my wallet which they still had at the county jail that I was originally booked into. Didn't have a cent on me but I was sure happy to be out.

Hamfiter

"London has held no joy for me since."

Being on a bus in central London on 7/7. Had travelled up from Bristol early morning to attend a work meeting and as the taxi queue was massive we decided on the bus. Bus moved a little but it was obviously gridlock. Internet access wasn't a big thing on mobiles then, so it took one of my colleagues having a phonecall with a friend to find out there had been a bomb on the tube. I called my Mum to say that I was in London but not to worry as I was on a bus and safe.

Then of course the bomb went off on the bus. With the mobile networks all bottlenecked my mum couldn't get through so she left a message. Honestly, the scariest thing was hearing the utter panic in her voice as she spoke. I can still hear it now. Just begging me to get off the bus. We got off at Marble Arch and walked back to Paddington. Work excused us from the meeting, we managed to catch the last train out of London back to Bristol that day and we were given the rest of the day off. I went straight to my mum's and held her for hours.

London has held no joy for me since.

OpheliaJean

"I remember very little..."

Saving a woman's life.

I was walking past my building's pool on the way home from the parkade when a guy flagged me down and yelled, "I think she's drowning!"

I remember very little of what happened next, but I pieced together that I ran like hell to get there, jumped in fully clothed, phone in pocket, grabbed her from the front - hot tip: don't grab a drowning person from the front, they will CLIMB you - and got her out of the pool.

I was in no danger, but after the crisis was over, fear washed over me like I could not believe. I cried in the shower for an hour until I finally calmed down.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

314159265358979326

"I still don't understand how..."

My 6'2", 300lb (now ex) husband decided I wasn't allowed to leave him.

For reference (not that it matters), I am 5'4", 155lbs.

I'd been out with friends one night and too "out of touch" for his liking... I came home to ugly accusations and verbal abuse. Unfortunately, I decided in that moment that telling him I wanted a divorce (this had been building for months) was a good idea.

As soon as I said "divorce," he escalated.


I still don't understand how, but I survived strangulation, smothering, dragging, and all kinds of other physical assault while our kids slept in the next room.

Thankfully my neighbors heard me screaming for help and called the police.

He went to jail for 3 days and is still in deep legal s***.

But as of last week, my divorce is over.

Nearly a year of nasty legal battles and PTSD and panic attacks and single parenting and I am free.

2020 has been one hell storm after another, but it's also given me my freedom.

AdhesivenessWhole774

"I challenged him..."

My (now deceased) father pointed a gun at me when I was a teen and we were arguing.

It was about a dog that kept getting out. Anytime someone got close he would run even faster. When we finally got him my dad pulled his pistol and pointed it at the dog yelling about how if it doesnt behave he would just shoot it.

I challenged him and he pointed the gun at me. It was the longest moment in my life. On the bright side, as a 120lb woman I've never been more scared of any man than him.

strawhatchristine

"Six weeks..."

Six weeks in an inducted coma. I woke up six weeks later in a strange hospital and I couldn't move nor speak! I thought I was in Hell.

greencannondale

"My heart goes out to anyone..."

When I was 5 my parents were driving me to kindergarten, and on the way (it was a horrible Manitoba winter) we were in a 3 car pileup. The roads were so slippery no one could stop.

I thankfully was sleeping through the whole thing, but I smashed my face on my knees (this was back in 85 when kay cars didn't have shoulder belts in the back) broke my face and my collarbone.

My dad crushed all of his ribs on the steering wheel and broke his arm in 3 places holding my Mom back from hitting the dashboard. She ended up breaking her leg when it was crushed with the front end.

We all survived. But I was the only one that has lifetime PTSD. The only thing I remember and it plays in my head through night terrors is waking up in the ambulance and there was blood in my eyes, I couldn't scream.. and all I could hear was the paramedic telling my mom I'm not going to make it, and my mother screaming.

I'm almost 39 now. And I am heavily medicated and had to be put through 14 years of psychologists and psychiatrists to heal.

My heart goes out to anyone who's faced trauma. I wish I could have hugged the paramedics who kept me alive and the doctors who make sure 5 year old me still had a future ahead.

As much as PTSD is terrifying, I value each and every single day I'm on this earth.

chickhawkthechicken

"At some point..."

The scariest event occurred at work. My life wasn't threatened or anything but I was literally watching a woman bleed out and knew there wasn't anything we could do. I'm a respiratory therapist and I work night shift (important to this story). Night shift means that fewer doctors are around and that we have less staff in general.

I was working in the surgical ICU that night. A woman came out of surgery with her belly still open (not uncommon) because they couldn't completely find the source of a bleed. Her stomach had a vacuum pump on it. She was intubated. She had started to get unstable in surgery so they opted to bring her to stabilize her in the unit and go back to the OR in the morning. Not rare and more common than some people would like to think. The plan that I was told was that we were just going to leave her.

At some point, we were told we had to go get more scans (a CT/CAT) even through multiple objections about how we didn't think this patient was stable enough. We had a window where we thought it might be okay and since the objections were overruled by higher-ranking doctors we decided to go for it.

Normally a CT would take us 5 minutes on the table and 5 back to the ICU. She was on the table for over 20. At some point, the portable pump dies. I'm the one who caught it because her vent starts to alarm and I realize I don't hear the pump anymore (those things are loud). The surgical resident who came with us just in case runs in and starts to hold this woman's belly together. I'm running to the tube station to get the blood products that are coming down to hand off to the RNs. The whole thing from when we notice to getting her back to the OR probably was no more than ten minutes, it felt like hours. We put in at least five units (pints) of blood and it was just pouring into her belly.

The patient died on the table.

It wasn't my first or last serious situation, or time for taking a questionable patient to CT. It is the one that sticks with me the most and has been the scariest time in my medical career.

Shadowkatert

"If anyone else has had one..."

Having an anxiety attack. If anyone else has had one they know what I'm talking about.

NovaBoi_

"Was coming home..."

Was coming home from a Boy Scouts camp out and one of the drivers (my friends dad) didn't get a full nights rest I presume and he ended up closing him eyes for like 3 seconds and drifted lanes and hit another car. Luckily no one was hurt.

LoneBuilder1

"Ended up landing..."

Flying through a blizzard. Had to divert to two different airports and couldn't land at either of them because the conditions were just as bad. Ended up landing at the original destination nearly out of fuel and with a visibility of about 100 feet...

HereComesTheVroom

"We were going to a horse ride..."

When I was having horse riding lessons, at 8 or 9 years old. We were going to a horse ride, next to a golf field. Problem is, apprently, horses can only see silouhettes (aside from being fearful and kind of stupid as well). So, we assumed that one of the pony saw something creepy (like a golf ball flying towards us), because she panicked. Panicked hard. Like "oh shit I'm gonna die" kind of panic. So the others panicked as well.

They all entered in what we call "crazy gallop", when they run insanely fast to evade or something. We tried everything to stop them. Figures, directing them in bushes and stuff, but nothing worked. My pony was so freaking fast I fainted. I though I was gonna die. Then, he went into the forest, and I was thrown against a tree. I woke up after my fall, walked a few steps, to saw one of my friend with broken leg and arm, another one with a broken clavicle.

I was soooo lucky. This day, before riding, my father bought me a back protector jacket. Without it, I would have been paralyzed.

TheMidget

"Everyone..."

A guy crashed his car and escaped the police while on campus during the night. Everyone had to stay inside buildings while they searched the area.

thatoneweirdkidhere

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

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

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.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

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.