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People Imagine What Society Will Be Most Nostalgic For In 40 Years

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It can make us think back fondly on things that, at the time you hated. It can make things precious to you when, at the time, you totally took them for granted.


With our current lives being as bonkers as they are in 2020, the question of nostalgia becomes a bit more complicated. One reddit user asked:

In 40 years what will people be nostalgic for?

And we'll be honest, some of this seems like romanticizing inconvenience (looking at you, "flipping channels" response.) but some of this really got us thinking. Will we miss some of the ripple effects of this pandemic? Will there be a time when stars are harder to see? In 40 yrs will Trump be looked back on as a wacky old grandpa?

Here are some of the more popular responses.

YouTube

I think YouTube. Like how us 80/90s babies miss early Nickelodeon and Saturday morning cartoons I think future generations will miss the unlimited content.

- StonerLB

Yeah, I don't dislike the stuff that's on there now [well, other than the obligatory ads], but there was definitely a DIY quality to a lot of the older YouTube videos. Now they all seem like professional productions, which again isn't bad, but it's just different.

- chewytime

I already miss the early days of YouTube where you had friends instead of followers and you rated videos out of 5 stars and you could directly reply to vids with other vids sigh the good ol' days

Oh and the algorithm was actually good! God knows why they messed with that, I used to spend hours on there stuck in a tunnel, now I watch 1 vid and I'm done.

- Artaxxx

Privacy Please

black and white goodbye GIF by FilmStruckGiphy

Privacy

If the governments do it "right", they'll slowly erode people's privacy rights, and few if any will notice or complain.

In fact, it's already working. Congress renewed the Patriot Act last November, and the Senate voted this year to allow the CIA and FBI the ability to view US citizen browser history without a warrant. Do you remember either event being seriously covered in major media outlets, and do you remember any mass public outcry? Me neither.

Many people are repeatedly bringing up private data collection by companies. This is also a serious issue, and it's not mutually exclusive. Both problems need to be fixed.

- EndoShota

Gaming Through The Years

"Back in my days we used videogames with controllers!"

- AmaterasuWolf21

I was talking to my sons the other day, they asked me about my first job.

I was telling them how fun it was working at McDonald's in high school and a friend that I made.

"We would finish our shift then go to the mall and play games at the arcade"

At that instant I realized I might as well said "We would get a root beer float at the soda shop then go to the sock hop to meet some girls in our hot rods"

Crazy how fast things change

- 4mygirljs

Stealing A Simple Joy

Poppable bubble wrap.

- armyofmoose9

In case you haven't seen, there is now bubble wrap that will not pop. All the bubbles are connected and have plenty of free space. It's bad.

- markhasnodad

I hate that bubble wrap that the air just moves to the next bubble when you try to pop it. That stuff should be illegal.

- mynextthrowaway

From somebody who likes to pop bubble wrap,

what. In the fcking hell. Did you just say?

- thoseepicpokemons

If you are taking about what I think you are taking about, it is technically more effective because it is cushioned but doesn't pop. But I found out that you can pop it by bunching up one row of them and squeezing. It honestly just as satisfying if not more, in my opinion, once you learn how to do it. Safer transport and better popping

- AndyWR10

High Quality Guns

High quality nerf blasters

- NyeGuyTheBillNye

Nerf no longer makes anything worth buying unless you think it looks nice in my opinion. If you are not already, buy all your blasters and darts from Dart Zone!

- got-milk74

Kind of related... what happened to good super soakers?

When I was a kid we had super soakers that you pumped up and they stored air pressure in a tank, then you could shoot a consistent water stream.

Now when I see kids play with "super soakers", the guns don't seem to have a pressure tank. The gun fires on every pump. It doesn't store pressure.

What the hell. That's obviously a downgrade.

I think I saw something once that said it was related to a patent dispute or something?

- redditor1983

This is so true. They used to be the sh!t, and now they are just ... sh!t. They literally glue their blasters now, and use plastic springs instead of actual springs!

- SKENDRIK_PUGON

Aww, A Wholesome Answer

We just spent 5 months with family. Having dinners together, watching TV together, playing games, just being a family. Kids are going to grow up remembering the time they had with their parents and siblings. There will be good memories.

Adults forget how resilient kids are. I can guarantee most of the adults complaining about getting "back to normal" would love to go back and have just 1 month with there dad playing catch or watching TV.

- LTJoe86

Predictions

40 years ago was 1980. I was a teenager.

If that question had been asked then, some very similar answers would have been given:

  • clean air, clean water, clean earth
  • non-radioactive land (between Three Mile Island and the getting hot Cold War, we thought there was a pretty good chance of some kind of nuclear apocalypse)
  • various species of animals (neither the California Condor nor the American Buffalo, among others, were looking too good)
  • there was some general fear about computers and what they could/would do (see films like 1983's Wargames)

And yet, here we are. A little better in some aspects and a little worse than others. 2020 is quite a downer of a year, but human beings are endlessly optimistic and adaptable.

I predict in 40 years we'll look back on some of our fears today like 80's folks look back on things like Genesis' "Land of Confusion" video - a little nostalgic, a little embarrassed and a little humbled by both how much and how little has changed.

- pcnauta

Adventures On Internet

The Internet.

Hell, I'm nostalgic for it now. Not the final form that the internet has taken over the past decade or so, but those wild west days before youtube, facebook, social media, reddit. Finding weird sites, geocities pages, looking up cheat codes for GTA, hanging out on forums, seeing something go truly grassroots viral and not just because it's trending on instagram or something. Those days when no company knew what the hell the internet was or how to market on it, it was just left to the nerds and the kids who were making up the rules as they went along.

I miss when the internet felt like a little adventure rather than a timesink or utilitarian tool to get the day to day done.

- shawnisboring

Physical Media

Movie DVDs. With everything going digital, I think production houses will soon stop making DVDs and just start streaming the movies in either their respective streaming platforms or sell them to other platforms like Netflix.

- a_guy_named_guy

I like physical Movies, CDs, Books, and Video games. I'm 16. Sure digital is more convenient. But some reason i like to HOLD my possessions. Plus being able to save movies/cds to my computer and "lending them" to my pals.

- FlamngVikavolt

Sea Snacks

Sea Jesus GIF by Nate MakuchGiphy

Seafood. There won't be anything left in 40 years

I get that there will be some sort of sea life clinging on to eat. My point is nobody will be eating halibut and tuna on the regular because we killed 90% of them

- qpv

Factory farming fish's calling, they want you to quit your bs! Jokes aside, we'll always have fish. They're the easiest animal to farm that way, and they're ecological, too. You can even hook them up to hydroponics.

The future is, if not lab grown meat, fish and chips.

- Lorenzo_BR

Flipping Aimlessly

Flipping through cable aimlessly not really sure what will be on any channel and just going til you hit something decent. The place I'm at now has free cable included and sometimes I'll waste hours just flipping through. It feels just like the early 2000s again and is a crazy throwback feeling to watching TV before everything was on apps and on demand. You kinda forget you used to watch TV by finding the channel, and how you felt like you just found five bucks if you happen to catch a good episode rerun of one of your favorite sitcoms late at night when most of the channels were doing late night infomercials.


Or how if you couldn't find anything good so you'd just sit there and watch an infomercial about bowflexes for half an hour. And watching the news air on TV instead of getting news through YouTube videos or posts on social media. If you wanted to know whether it was gonna rain that weekend you had to wait til the news cycled back to the weatherman every 20 minutes or so.

Having to plan bathroom sprints around commercial breaks so you didn't miss a big play during a big championship game. The experience of watching porn by cinemax late at night when everyone else in the house was asleep. Planning your whole afternoon around getting all your errands done by dinnertime so you could catch Jeopordy or Judge Judy. Watching cooking shows in your underwear and trying to write down a recipe and getting mad because you missed a step and its live so you cant rewind it like you can now with DVR or on demand.

- sushi_and_wrestling

Having A Social Life

Playing physical games with friends.

Going to friends' houses to play basketball/soccer and a few video games, and then have a sleep over.

Socializing to the extend even the youngest here have experienced.

- semeon_

Why wouldn't they do that! Human contact will never go old. We are saying that kids today are always on their phones etc, but we are, too, and kids today are still playing on the streets and with sticks and riding bicycles and everything. We tend to be cynical about "kids today", like every generation.

- [reddit]

At The Mall

Honestly probably malls. I feel like a lot of them are going out of business and getting torn down. Well at least the old mall experience.

- BalakayyTheGoat

I loved going to Hot Topic and Claire's and Spencer's as a kid and going to the food court for an Orange Julius but today if I go to a mall I just see a bunch of overpriced stuff that I don't want to spend money on. It's a lot easier when you're 13 and spending your parents money lol.

- w1nd0wpane

You might have something like the World Showcase at Epcot. There could be a era-specific mall-themed recreation, a disco-themed recreation, a blockbuster video...

- TemperPeeDick

Stargazing

The night sky.

By that time, Musk, Bezos, and god knows who else, will have hundreds of thousands of satellites in orbit. Our cities will have doubled in size, and urban sprawl will cause further light pollution. Stargazing will be something future generations will only hear stories about...

- iron40

For me, the night sky has always been black with white dots. I was mesmerized by just how many dots there were when i was out on the lake i mentioned with my grandfather, on his boat. It was, what, 40km out, at the end of a bay? Something like that. But it was still just... black with white dots. Yet, i must've spent 20-30 minutes just looking up on that folding chair... i felt like a kid, stargazing again!

I've seen the pictures of how it's meant to look like, they're everywhere, the ones that look like you're just looking out in space, y'know? But I've never seen it in person. I wonder how far away from cities i'd have to go... clearly further out.

- Lorenzo_BR

Strawberries and Vanilla

Strawberry & cream or vanilla bean Starbucks Frappuccino's. I made soooo many in college for hordes of teens. It will be the pop tarts and eggs waffles of 2010.

- mtbbebe

Simpler 

I don't wanna live in the world where someone says "Don't you miss 2020, it was simpler time"

- Franka035

Or the reality in my state, which is people being laid off, going on 5 months now, and not receiving ANY unemployment benefits they are qualified for this whole time, Because Oregon.

Or the essential workers like me, some of whom might have had temporary wage bumps, but in my case, I made the same hourly wage while having my hours cut for about 4 months. Now my hours are closer to normal, but it's because we somehow have a staffing shortage, so I'm doing twice the work, again, for the same wage. And I'm just a bank janitor; I have it real easy compared to most.

I'm just glad I'm not in a customer-facing position, so I don't have to deal with all the ratlickers throwing public tantrums over masks, and I'm not in healthcare, so I don't have to watch a dozen people die every day.

No, I don't think grocery workers and nurses and teachers are going to look back at this time and miss it much.

-poppysmear

The Movies

A small local theatre near me just shut down for good, and I can't express how disappointed I'd be if the movie theater industry just never pops back up after this pandemic. Some of my best childhood memories are from the the movie theaters.

- DoctorDonut0

The Golden Hour

Privacy and the ability to go somewhere without seeing 75 cameras all the time.

Went to the beach today and no one was in the water except for me and my friend. Everyone else was waiting for "golden hour" in their dry beachwear so they could get good selfies.

- BarryWeasley

An Expensive Hobby

Combustion cars being mainstream. I'm a petrol head who isn't rich, so storing away an assortment of petrol motors isn't viable.

- HowHardCanItBeReally

A Vampire's Perspective 

The harpsichord ...hell I already am but I'm a vampire so I guess that makes sense... don't know what I do without my spooky Jams playlist.

- AdventurousSelf471

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People Share Their Very Specific Dating Restrictions

Reddit user AceofSpadesYT asked: 'What is your most specific restriction when it comes to dating?'

silhouette photography of couple
Sean Stratton on Unsplash

When it comes to dating, I have my mental checklist. The guy must be kind, intelligent, funny, and a movie buff. He must be adventurous but also doesn't mind a Netflix and Chill date night.

Most of this is similar to the mental checklists other people have. Of course, I can be flexible. If someone is nice and I'm having fun with them, they don't necessarily have to check all the boxes.

However, I have one specific dating restriction that is a dealbreaker regardless of how many boxes the person checks, and that's religion. I've never been a fan, and now I'm an atheist, and I would want my partner to be as well. That's because I want kids, and the last thing I want is for us to argue about how to raise the kids when it comes to religion.

I'm not the only person who has one specific dating restriction. Everyone has that one thing that is a dealbreaker when it comes to a romantic relationship. Redditors certainly do, and they are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor AceofSpadesYT asked:

"What is your most specific restriction when it comes to dating?"

It's Just A Joke!

"No cruel or rude pranks."

– detective_kiara

"I saw a post by someone whose boyfriend "pranked" her by pretending to be dead on the kitchen floor. That is exactly how she had found her previous partner, dead on the kitchen floor, which her current boyfriend knew. He was surprised she dumped him and didn't think it was funny."

– innocuousspeculation

We're (Not) Gonna Party!

"No party people. Nothing wrong with it, I just ain't dealing with that sh*t."

– PlantBasedStangl

"True. I like planning weekend stuff, but it has to be something meaningful - visiting a different city, movie marathon, mountain hike, fancy lunch, all okay. But... clubbing and drinking? How f**king old are we, 19? No thank you, I'm old and have no energy for listening to music I don't like while being surrounded by 50 people that I don't give a single half of a sh*t about."

– PlantBasedStangl

LOL

"Same sense of humor. I have 0 interest sharing physical space with someone who doesn't laugh with me."

– Legendary_Lamb2020

My Ears Are Bleeding!

"I'm a light sleeper. I cannot date a snorer. I can hear snores through ear plugs AND a fan blowing. It's not you, it's me."

– YourLocalOrca

At that point, it does sound like them 😂

– CuriousRedditor98

Funemployed

"Have a f**king job."

– Cuss-Mustard

"Found this difficult when I was funemployed. Was fortunate enough to be able to live off savings for a bit."

"People reacted oddly to it. “But what do you do???”"

"Was dating at the same time and some girls had the same sentiment. “You don’t have a job?”"

"I had a good enough job that I didn’t need one anymore. And one lined up 8 months from then. But there were two girls specifically who treated it as a deal breaker."

– DigNitty

"I had a similar situation. I worked a high-paying job for a few years that demanded a ton of my time and had crazy hours. It burnt me out badly and I lived off of the savings from that job for a while and tried to date now that I actually had free time. I had more money in my bank account during that time than at any other point in my life but so many people were put off by me being funemployed and assumed I was looking to leech. But I guess there’s really no way to know someone's history and hard not to assume. Now I work full-time and have way less money overall but it looks better..."

– Pinsit

Just Breathe

"No smoking. Ever. I'm not kissing an ashtray, or smelling an ashtray. Instant turn off."

–fishfood19

"100% I broke up with an old gf because she started smoking behind my back knowing I’ve got asthma and it was always a hard pass. She thought I was joking but it showed me that she was also untrustworthy."

– Jonowl89

That'll Do It

"I guess my husband restricts my dating."

– HeinousEncephalon

"My wife has the same rule. But the jokes on her, I get around it by dating her!"

– AuralRapist

Prehistoric Love

"Must like dinosaurs."

– Grungeceratops

"That goes without saying."

– Plain_Chacalaca

What's In A Name?

"Cannot have the same name as any of my relatives."

– Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

"My last ex had the same name as my Dad and I reeeeeeaally didn't like it. So, fair."

– severaltalkingducks

Be Polite

"If they’re rude to people they’ll never see again (Waitstaff, cashiers, etc) I’m out."

"I can’t respect anyone who doesn’t respect themselves, and when you’re not polite to people you’re disrespecting yourself."

– OctopusCandleCompany

God Only Knows

"When I was dating, you had to be an atheist. I don't mess with religion. And I genuinely just don't think atheists + religious people work out."

"And I know... There's going to be someone who comments (assuming there are enough upvotes) who says "I worked out with my spouse who's religious and I'm not!" but you're the exception. When it comes to making decisions long-term, how to spend your money, where you think you'll go after you die, not to mention basic morality (!), and if you have children - that's a huge hurdle."

– Lulu_42

"We worked it out. It's absolutely an exception and not the rule. Don't do it if you can avoid it."

– Alcoraiden

Let's Move Tonight (Literally)

"They need to be ok with cold weather."

"I grew up in the north, live in the south, and I'm tolerating it until I can move back north. If someone says they hate the cold it's an instant turn-off because I don't want to drag someone into a climate they hate."

"The same thing also applies to walkability. I want to move somewhere walkable, and I hope to meet someone with that same goal rather than try to talk them into it."

– ThePresidentCantSwim

"Let me know when you find this mythical northern walkable community."

– Partner-Elijah

My Purr-fect Match

"Cat has to approve."

– Possible-Source-2454

Non-Negotiable

"They need to be male. Kind of important."

– RMHaney

"So weird, I want the complete opposite."

– eightvo

Yeah, the male thing is kind of important for me too!

Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments.

Life is full of shock and surprise.

Apparently, that is part of the fun.

Who hasn't been left stunned by life events?

We always think we're immune to way too many things.

Anything and everything is possible.

It's important to be ready.

Redditor Bob_the_peasant wanted to hear about the things that have left people SHOOK, so they asked:

"What 'That can’t happen to me' thing happened to you?'"

I haven't been left that shocked that often.

I'm always expecting the worst, so I'm prepared.

But you never know.

I'm Dead

Snakes Imacelebau GIF by I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! AustraliaGiphy

"A snake fell out of a tree and bit me on the head."

"ETA: I have always been more scared of snakes than anyone I know, so it’s just so ironic that this happened to me of all people."

amanitachill

Crash Into Me

"A car crashed through my kitchen last year."

aster636

"I woke up to a truck parking in my bathtub 2 weeks before Christmas a few years ago. I watched my sink roll past my bedroom door followed by a hubcap. The driver managed to cross a median, 3-lane road, up an embankment, through an iron fence and between trees. He'd been involved in an altercation nearby and was fleeing the scene."

anjie59k

Hot Air

Swinging Hot Air Balloon GIF by Red BullGiphy

"My family and I were in a hot air balloon crash."

GymDoll2000

"My friend had one crash into her pool when she was a kid."

Environmental-Car481

This is why hot air balloons and skydiving are just a HELL no for me.

Always have. Always will.

Tragic

Cat No GIF by Looney TunesGiphy

"My wife cheated on me with my best friend. They’re moving in together next month. I’m in a new city thousands of miles away. I found out a month ago."

Tssodie

Bad Penguin

"Everyone else’s stories are very sad so here’s something a bit lighter. I’ve mentioned this story before but I got bitten on the neck by a penguin."

"I was at an event where the local zoo had a penguin and owl sitting on tables with handlers so you could take a picture next to them. The penguin went for my glass of wine, I moved the wine, and it bit me on the neck hard enough to bruise. They removed the penguin after that. 😂."

archaeologistbarbie

All Gone

"Our house burned in a wildfire, we lost absolutely everything we owned and only salvaged a single coffee 3 cup."

"On the good side: There was a boy I crushed on all through high school. We went to summer camp together and I adored him. We ended up getting together in our 20s after reconnecting, and have now been together more than 20 years, married almost 17. We’re as madly in love as ever."

toomuchisjustenough

Good Luck

"Homelessness. It came swiftly and out of nowhere. had no savings and the landlord sold the house I was in. couldn’t afford a new place so lived in my car with my dog for a few months. ended up finding community assistance and got into an apartment."

jumbospicyslimjim

"I can’t even imagine being in that situation. Hopefully, this is just the start of things turning around for you. Sending you good energy!"

frappbarqueen

Early Michael Myers

"About 10 years ago, I was stabbed in the arm with a flathead screwdriver. It was a coworker whom I had previously gotten along well with. He had stopped taking benzos and smoking weed a few days before and was on a hair trigger. I said something sarcastic, and he just snapped."

Mr_Spaghetti_Hands

Bad Landing

Bad Day Seagull GIF by Sound FXGiphy

"I was lying on the beach and a seagull flying very high took a poop and it went straight in my mouth."

Competitive_Show6205

This is why I say... "Never trust a seagull!"

They are minions of the devil.

Person cooking in home kitchen
Conscious Design on Unsplash

We've all heard the phrase, "You can't eat at everybody's house," but some of us have a few examples of our own to live by.

From not properly cleaning the environment to questionable hygiene ourselves, there are countless reasons why a person may not want to eat what you've cooked after watching you prepare it.

Bracing themselves, Redditor 195901 asked:

"What is your 'you can't eat at everybody's house' horror story?"

Fly Spray Sandwiches

"I told my dad my sandwich tasted like fly spray at my grandma's house. He didn’t believe me."

"Two days later, I caught my grandma spraying the benches 'clean' with the two-dollar fly spray you find at the cheap store."

"Dad figured it was safe to make sandwiches straight on the countertop because they looked clean. I dragged him over to see and he apologized and took my sister and me for fish and chips for lunch."

- littlehungrygiraffe

Special Seasoning Deviled Eggs

"My crackpot aunt served us a lovely tray of deviled eggs, complete with very old paprika sprinkled on top. So old, in fact, the many weevils mixed in it were dead."

- PhoneboothLynn

A Disturbing Surprise

"I visited a friend's house who was living with his mother, and she asked if I wanted a coffee and I said I would."

"Upon getting to the bottom of the cup and taking the last few gulps, I found there was a used bandaid stuck to the bottom… I never ate or drank there again."

- MrRailton

In Need of Child Protective Services

"I was babysitting a kid in a pretty dirty house. I was told to wake him up, supervise bathing and changing clothes, and feed him. I was welcome to whatever was in the fridge. Okay. The house and his clothes were filthy."

"Then, when I opened the cabinets, floods of roaches poured out. There were roaches in every opened box and container."

"I took him back to my house and returned him later that day. I hope the boy ended up in a better situation. I found out CPS (Child Protective Services) got involved shortly after."

- Alltheprettydresses

Traumatized by Raisins

"I was gonna complain about raisins in the potato salad but the other comments on here are scary. Oh my god."

- tcumber

"When I was a young kid, I stayed over at a friend's place, and his mom made veal or something with godd**n raisins INSIDE the meat somehow. It was so nasty, I never forgot it."

- User2716057

You WISH That Was Vinegar

"My MIL fished around in the green bin (compost bin) with her bare hands, didn't wash them, WIPED her GARBAGE JUICE HANDS on the tea towel, and then WENT BACK TO PREPPING THE SALAD."

"She also got horrifically offended if I didn't want to eat at her house."

- 116843189

Poor Home Hygiene

"My first boyfriend’s parents invited me for Thanksgiving. I came over a few days before Christmas and all the same dirty dishes from Thanksgiving were still in the kitchen. I passed on coming over for Christmas dinner."

- MinimalistHomestead

Every Surface Covered

"I went to a friend's house after school, he was going to teach a group of us to play D&D (Dungeons and Dragons)."

"We got there and his house was disgusting. I'm not the neatest person but the carpet hadn't been vacuumed in forever, clothes were all over the place, and dirty dishes were stacked everywhere."

"I tried to be polite even though the place reeked, but at some point, he was like, 'Who wants snacks!'"

"He picked up a bowl that was crusted with stuff, splashed in some water, wiped it with a towel that clearly hadn't been washed that decade, and poured chips into it. Then he asked if we wanted to stay for dinner. We did not."

- KnittinAndB***hin

O Holy Expiration Dates

"When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was always celebrated at Grandma's. I always got sick afterward. Like, Merry Christmas, you're going to puke now."

"It wasn't until I was all grown up and helping her out in the last weeks of her life that I learned why. She did not believe in expiration dates on anything!"

- SundayMorningTrisha

An Immune System to Remember

"My grandma made me a food phobic from a young age. Whether it was ramen with moths floating on top, or chunky milk in my cereal, it just scarred me for life."

"Dinner at her house was always a fight. Not eating her food was not an option. I'm not sure why that was the hill she would always choose to die on, because she was an amazing grandma other than this."

"Expiration dates aren't a thing. If the cheese was moldy, you cut it off... I think living through the great depression and raising kids in poverty changed her mindset on food."

"I mean obviously, she's doing something right because she's 91. She must have the immunity of a superhero."

- tha_stormin_mormon

Neighborly Love

"I used to help an old neighbor out with grocery shopping, I’d drop the bags at her door and she’d give me a check for the amount of groceries. She’d give me homemade cookies once in a while, chocolate chips."

"I didn’t ever eat them because one time I caught sight of her apartment. It was a large studio, a small kitchen, and tv, and a bed/couch. And there were about 20 cans of cat food, half-eaten, and one million flies and small maggots in different stages of growth, dishes with crusty food stuck to them, and a wall of empty beer cans."

"After I saw that, and got a whiff of her apartment, I started helping her with taking garbage out and putting groceries away, cleaning out her fridge, and making sure her cat was healthy."

"A couple of months later, she got the virus, ended up at a rehab facility, and passed within two weeks."

"Some people need help and a little company…"

- SnooPeripherals6557

No Longer Rice

"A girl I was interested in at the time had cats. I came to her house one day to pick her up for a date and he had a large sack of rice open in her pantry with the pantry door open."

"One of the cats hopped out of the sack of rice and she just casually laughed at it like, 'Oh, they are always getting into things.'"

"I came over the following weekend that SAME sack of rice was in the pantry and I could hear one of them tussling around in it again, we stopped dating sometime after that but anytime she offered to cook for me I immediately pivoted to taking her out to eat instead."

- justad**nfool

"Those cats probably used it as litter."

- Anonymanx

"Yeah, that was my fear."

- justad**nfool

Could Have Warned Her

"My mom told me one about going over to her aunt Virginia's house. She, her parents, and her siblings were sat around the kitchen while her aunt cooked, and my mom could not figure out why no one else was having ANY of this incredibly delicious bread that was on the table."

"She was on her third slice when her aunt stepped out to do something else, and my mom was told by her brother to go look in the flour bin."

"It was absolutely filled with miller moth larvae. Aunt Virginia had been losing her eyesight for years."

- smoothiefruit

"It's f**ked of her parents not to warn her not to eat the bread... like, what the f**k, you KNOW the bread isn't safe, so you're not eating it, but you're fine with letting your daughter have three slices?"

- whydontthissitework

Bad to the Point of Malnutrition

"I graduated high school at 6' 10" tall, but weighing only 120 pounds."

"That's not skinny, that's emaciated."

"The food prepared by my bio-mom was so bad that it wasn't providing me with the nutrients or calories I needed to survive. I went off to college where I had to cook for myself (I wasn't allowed to cook at home because my father insisted that "cooking was women's work")."

"Not only did I discover that food didn't have to be burnt to a crisp, flavorless, or boiled until everything was grey. I also discovered that food can be made to taste good, and using things like salt, or pepper, spices, or various condiments can make it taste amazing."

"The "freshman 15" likely saved my life."

"The thing is, I don't think that my biomom was even aware that her food was that disgusting. Whenever we went out for dinner (which was more often than what my father wanted, but he was the one who insisted on going), she did nothing but complain about how the food was undercooked, 'practically raw,' or 'too spicy,' to eat."

"When she went to other people's houses (including her own extended family) she would criticize them for 'doing it wrong' when she watched them cook anything. She would often end up refusing to eat their food because she 'watched them ruin it,' when they cooked it. We never had guests over to eat her cooking. Ever."

- Galaxy_Ranger_Bob

Clean Hands

"We have a chili contest every year at work around Thanksgiving and I've stopped participating in voting for it because I want to know whose I'm eating before taking any. I work with some great people, but I wouldn't eat at or anything from their house. Strangely enough, the guy I absolutely despise I'll gladly eat his chili because he is clean and well kept and I know his house is."

"I also work with a bunch of people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom in any capacity and we've secretly kept a list so to avoid any potlucks where they take food or to get food before they do."

- SafewordisJohnCandy

We're left with chills after reading these stories.

Where some people might make some mistakes in the kitchen out of just not knowing, like not properly washing rice before cooking it, most of these are just careless mistakes that have disgusting, if not dangerous, results.

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.