Top Stories

People Who Met Their Significant Other After 35 Share Their Experiences

It can be easy to lose faith trying to find love as time passes. We're tricked into thinking you're required to meet someone then marry young, that they're the only happy stories worth telling. In reality, the older you are the bigger the lead you possess over your younger counterparts because you've had experience. Wisdom. Growth. You know what you want and what your time is worth.

Romance is only meant for the young? Please.


Reddit user, u/arcedup, wanted to hear the amazing tales when they asked:

[serious] People who met their long-term romantic partners when they were over the age of 35, could you tell us about how you met them and how the relationship developed?

Happens When You Least Expect It

I came from a domestic violence background. Divorced my husband of nearly 20 years back in 2003. I was in my mid 40s at the time. The state we lived in revoked his parent rights because of DV and I ended up with full custody of my 2 daughters with permission to relocate out of the state. Left in early summer 2005 without saying goodbye for obvious reasons & moved 1600 miles away to New England and he never knew where we went. I rebuilt our lives over again from scratch, as we couldn't bring anything with us - just what few belongings we could pack in our car to make the trip to NE.

I was a single parent & alone for the first 14 years I lived up here in New England, but didn't mind it at all. New England Rocks! Totally love this place - it's home - like REALLY home. Super nice people, very kind - though mostly quiet - unless you're visiting Boston, LOL!

In Nov. 2018, when I was 57, I went to a local small live music venue - not looking to meet anyone in going. Just went by myself to enjoy the music - great live jam band on stage. When I walked into the venue, this guy at the bar looked at me and it was like he did a double-take. I remember thinking it was odd at the time, but thought: "Hey, probably just my imagination." Walked up to the bar to get a drink and he strikes up a conversation with me. We chatted & danced the entire evening. When the band finally packed it in around midnight, he gave me his business card with his cell phone on it, but didn't ask me for my contact information - just totally left it up to me to decide whether to contact him or not. Plus his business card with his name on it gave me the ability to check if this guy really was who he said he was. (He was!)

The next morning I decided I'd enjoyed myself and felt comfortable texting him back, thanking him for the fun I'd had the previous evening. He responded in kind and asked me out to dinner for that following evening. I said yes.

We've been together since. Having a blast with this guy! We both just really clicked. Sometimes, it happens when you least expect it.

SouthernGirlInNH

Ha! True "Digital Love."

After six years as a non-dating single mom, I went on Match.com. I emailed a few guys and went out on one date with four of them. Met the last guy at a coffee shop. He compared kids to hidden co-processes running on a computer that will eventually crash your system unless you restore your RAM in the form of coffee.

I kinda fell in love right there.

NeverCallMeFifi

"How old is he?"

I had been married for 27 years when my husband unexpectedly passed away. Took a while to get back on my feet and get adjusted and content with my new normal. Had lots of good friends, a good job, great dog, and a beautiful home.

And then I went to the Holiday Party at my fathers nursing home. My dad and I sat with one of his fellows residents and her son who was so funny, attentive and charming, he was married, but I thought I'd like to meet someone like that.

During the entertainment, a residents daughter came up to me and said that there was a guy who wanted to meet me, So I agreed to meet him. First thing he did was introduce me to his mom and show me a picture of his daughter and new granddaughter.

Gave him my number and he actually called a couple of days later. That was 8 years ago. He's funny attentive and charming, Still together.

When I called my kids, or any friends to tell them I met someone I liked at the nursing home Holiday Party, with out fail, there would be a pause and then everyone asked the same question, "how old is he?"

DucatiDiva

You Already Know What You Want

I met my current wife when I was 36.

I'd been divorced since I was 33.. single dad with a daughter. Moved back in with my parents to kind of get back on my feet. About a year later, my dad passed away.. so I stayed there a bit longer than I probably would have otherwise so my mom and I could be there to support each other.

It was hard to find someone to date seriously. I had no interest in having any more kids, but many of the women I met either had kids and wanted more, or hadn't started a family and wanted to start their own family at 35+. I also met my fair share who didn't want to date someone who already had kids or who lived with their parents.. or both.

I decided to try online dating and met my now-wife on OkCupid. According to their metrics, we were actually the most compatible people for each other in the whole country.. and we only lived about a 20-minute drive from each other!

She was totally opposed to the idea of online dating and, really, the only reason she had a dating profile was because her coworker had created one for her to "get back into the dating scene". I met her after her deciding to finally take the site seriously for a few days. I guess the timing was perfect for that!

Well, we chatted online and on the phone for about a month, we had a lot in common but also a lot of different interests. She had kids too. Neither of us wanted more. Perfect!

I work evening shift so our first date was actually a lunch date. We met at Panera during her lunch break, but really hit it off.. so I took off Friday night from work and we went on a "proper" date. To this day, both of us still say it was the best date that either of us had ever been on in our lives.

We've spent most days together since then.

She had always maintained that she had no interest in ever getting married and never did.. but apparently I was special. :) We've been together for 8 years and married 4. Still going strong!

Caterham7

Bonded Through The Land Of Westeros

I'm 51 now and I was married for 13 years to a wonderful woman and we had a 10 year old daughter together. We live two houses down from her mother and step-father (we bought them a giant wooden spoon and fork for the wall even ala "Everybody Loves Raymond") and they were a huge part of our lives and the life of my daughter.

My wife struggled with acute pancreatitis since before we met but the attacks slowly became more frequent and more intense. We went to specialists, we went to the Mayo Clinic out of state, and every test came back negative. She gradually got sicker. Our lives slowed down and became a daily question of, "Can we do anything tonight or is she in too much pain?" On Mother's Day weekend in 2017 she had her last attack and she passed away from complications from the pancreatitis on the morning of Mother's Day. (Hereafter referred to as "Megan's Day")

Slowly we put our lives back together. My in-laws helped out immensely and we worked together to support each other and my daughter. I tried dating a couple of times but I wasn't in a good place for it mentally. I decided to just focus on myself and my daughter and moved on. I wasn't going to "settle" for someone who wasn't right for both of us and just kind of went about my life for a bit.

Last year I started noticing this woman in a Facebook group. My late wife had been my "Game of Thrones" co-pilot and with the final season coming out, I was bummed to not have anyone to share it with. I noticed that this woman also watched GoT and was going to re-watch the series before the final season came out and I asked if she'd want to watch it "together". She lived 1,000 miles away but we agreed to try. We'd get it set up and then count down together (I'd say 3, she'd say 2, I'd say one, then we'd both say "GO" and hit play) and send snarky comments back and forth. When the season started we graduated from messenger to phone calls and kept watching together and we'd keep talking in text afterwards.

Soon we were talking every night, until after midnight and all during the day. About everything. She's gorgeous and nerdy and she was also in a place where she was never going to "settle" for someone again. We fell in love over the phone before we'd ever met and it's been the most amazing relationship of my life. We got married last September and she moved here with her youngest son in October and we're making a new family together.

EighteenRabbit

Something New Slowly Turning Into Something Grand

Having been suddenly widowed in my early 40s, dating again was not something I had envisioned in my life. My late husband and I had been together for 20 years and wow is dating now different than [it] was then! I spent a few years thinking it wasn't going to happen - who would want a 40+ year old woman with 2 kids and a dead husband? That's a lot of baggage, but to anyone else out there solo parenting, let me tell you it's possible. I met my boyfriend on the apps and we've been together for close to 18 months now.

I realize this may not (yet) be the long term relationship asked about in the post, but I just wanted to give hope to others like me. I am with one of the kindest, most thoughtful men I've ever met. He loves me and my kids and we're doing well! He is not threatened by my late husband's memory or the fact that I will grieve him for the rest of my life. He understands that is part of what makes me, me. We don't live together, so we haven't been able to actually be together (except a few distanced drop offs) in over 7w due to Covid and that really sucks bc I miss him.

mpmp4

Never Say Never...

Not quite 35, but around then.

I'd just gone through a truly hellish breakup. I did not think I would be able to trust another human behind again and was genuinely comfortable with the idea of never being in another romantic relationship.

Then there was this woman in my building who just seemed to materialize out of nowhere. One day she moved in and became a constant presence. I started noticing her all the time, in the building, local stores, it was like when she was in a room her presence alone drowned out all the other people. She was totally impossible to ignore. I know this sounds cliche, but there really was just something about her.

So I decided just because I wouldn't ever have another romantic relationship didn't mean I couldn't have female friends, so I got to know her. I waited for an opportunity to introduce myself, when she was moving something heavy up to her place.

We became fast friends. There was obvious attraction on both sides but I fought it at every turn because I was so determined to never hurt like I had been hurt in my previous relationship. We talked about it on and off but I always hid behind "relationships end, friendships are forever, and I want you in my life forever." She was definitely frustrated, but eventually she stopped pushing it and started dating other guys.

Then after a long while of being very, very close friends, I got sick. Not cold or flu sick, very seriously hospital sick. She completely stepped up to the plate without my even asking her to. She helped me coordinate my leave of absence from work. She helped me find specialist doctors. She took over the cooking of meals and made sure my apartment didn't fall into total disarray. She listened to me when I was scared, and she gave me space when I needed to be alone.

It was around then that I realized I had a real life partner on my hands, and I could risk being hurt by entering into a relationship, or I could guarantee hurting myself by allowing fear to deprive me of sharing life with this woman.

We are now are over a decade happily married.

InstructionFlock

Experience Means Knowing What You Want

Was a single dad for upwards of 10 years, mostly raising the kids on my own. Didn't date much in the early years because I was focused on home life and work.

Dating in my 50s with teenage kids in the house was difficult because most of the women in my age demographic were already done with raising children and weren't keen to return to it.

I was facing the possibility that I may not find someone when I met a lady near my age with a [son] who was a few years younger than my youngest.

A good thing about dating when you're older is you have a lot of time to reflect on who you are and what you want in a SO. Sue checked all the boxes - intelligent, shared values, integrity, honesty. And beautiful to boot. We dated extensively, did weekend outings when schedules allowed. Made time to spend together to know this was the choice we wanted to make.

In 2018 we sold our respective houses and bought a new one together, where we live with our 3 kids (2 in Uni, one in high school). We were married on my 60th birthday.

Canucklehead_Esq

A Complete Surprise

I met my wife at work. Falling in love with her was a complete surprise.

The prior year, I ended an engagement with a woman I dated for several years. That's another story. It's enough to say that at that point in my life I decided a bachelor life would be great. I was enjoying dating, no commitments, etc.

My wife and I didn't cross paths at work. But, one day, she stopped by my office. I can still see her standing in the doorway, chatting with me. After she left, I thought . . . "That was interesting. What's going on there?"

A few months later, we were at a company retreat and there was a band playing after dinner. I worked up the nerve to ask her to dance (up to that point everyone was dancing in a group). Funny thing, I waited so long that the song was "Last Dance" by Donna Summer and it was . . the last dance of the night. We always laugh when we hear the song.

She didn't match the description of who I was looking for in a partner and I was terrified of commitment. But, I am delighted that she stuck with me while I figured out "my stuff." It's still strange to me how much she complements my blind spots. I guess the relationship developed because we treat each other with respect and we talk about everything.

I love her more today than ever.

Thanks for asking.

Allgoodnames_gone

The Beauty Of Online Connections

I was 39, he was 43. We met by chance online. We lived far from each other, in two very different parts of the world. Cut to 18 months later, after a few visits to each other's homeland, we decide to make a life together. A visa is granted and away I move, across the world, to be with him. We are now married. A modern romance :)

CasualCuscusBoot

Meeting In The Most Obscure Places

I was 33, he was almost 34...We met at a renaissance Faire. I was dressed up, he was not. It was the first time I had ever been to a renaissance Faire, and he hadn't been since he was a kid. We got to chatting, and at some point I took a picture of him and his friend, he asked me to send it to him (very sly way off getting my number). He texted a few days later, we went on our first date a week later, and now we've been together for almost 8 years!

I will say that this relationship was different, in that he didn't play games. He answered texts and calls right away, but wasn't needy or clingy. It was refreshing after dating guys in their 20s that were always being shady, and making me feel like I was crazy. (Turns out those shady 20 year olds were cheaters, so I wasn't crazy)

KarbMonster

Twitter Actually Did Something Good!

My husband and I were 33 and 40, respectively, when a cat introduced us on Twitter. My husband had a Twitter account for his cat, Stripe, that was cute and clever. From Stripe's tweets, I determined that his owner was male, and because he ordered takeout a lot, probably single. So one day I asked Stripe if his human was as cute as he was. My now husband introduced himself on his own account, and he was!

I was in Texas, and he was in Ohio. We were Twitter friends for awhile, but I was crushing hard. He never took my hints, so I just came out and told him how I felt. He said he had lots of vacation time and could visit if I was serious. We decided to talk on the phone that night, both agreeing that it would probably only last five minutes. We talked for five hours. I messaged a friend to start looking for bridesmaids dresses, because I was going to marry this man. A year and a half and three visits later, I did! We've been married for seven years now.

Jenny010137

You Keep At It And Never Give Up

I was a single father for many years. Ex and I split when my kids were 4 and 2. Relationship was toxic and I left it after years of emotional abuse.

It seemed that almost every woman either wouldn't date me because I had kids already (and couldn't have more) or wanted to date me because they thought they could 'save' me and help me with my kids. It was very frustrating and honestly stopped trying.

Then went to a wedding. A woman asked if I wanted to dance. I was drunk so I did. Thanked her for the dance and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Wedding shut down and getting ready to leave and I see her sitting alone at a table. Not sure why, but something drove me to go talk to her. We chatted for a few minutes then decided to go down the street to a coffee shop to talk more. We talked for a couple hours. She was a relative of one of the people who got married, in from out of town for the wedding. I was friends with the other person who got married. Turns out we were both going to the day after party the next day. So after talking for hours, we said we would see each other tomorrow.

Got to the day after party the next morning and I had my kids with me. She had her daughter with her. The kids were roughly the same age and got to playing with each other. We talked more as it seemed the rest of the party was nothing but background noise. She was staying at a hotel close by and asked if my kids would like to go swimming later that afternoon. My kids enthusiastically say yes, so yes it was. We are poolside watching all the kids playing and knowing they were going back home the next day I asked if her and her daughter wanted to join me and my kids for dinner at a nearby restaurant. They said yes and we all went for dinner.

After dinner we all went to our respective places, but not before exchanging phone numbers. It seemed like a polite jesture on both our parts as she lived 2000 kms away.

She was catching an early flight the next day and I was awakened to her calling me to say goodbye. We talked for a bit and before she had to board I told her to call me when she got home. She did and we spoke twice a day for weeks. I wasn't sure what this all was, but I knew I looked forward to us talking daily.

During those weeks, a friend of a friend whom I had been social with asked me out on a date. I turned her down as I felt it would be cheating on my phone friend. It was at that point I realized I felt more for her than I realized. I kept that inside as to me it was insane that I was falling for someone I had only met in person for a total of about 12 hours. We continued to talk on the phone and one day she said she was thinking of moving to the city I lived in. She felt the same about me and she wanted to see if there was a relationship there. And she rationalized that her moving to where I was would be easier as her ex lived a few hours away and it would be easier for him to see his daughter.

Well she moved up here and got her own place. We started 'dating'. Months later we moved in together. Years later we got married. A decade later we are still together and love each and every day.

keiths31

Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "🤐" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk him about it.

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.