Try as hard as we may, we can't always hide our identities. All these apps and websites we visit, we leave a print or an essence. We can come up with creative nom de plumes but once we start to let loose on some details or write in our usual styles, our voices will be recognized. And the internet doesn't have a communication violation.
People will blab...
Redditor u/Elijafir wanted to know about those times we've come to recognize a person whose secrets we know but only from a digital meet-up... what happens in an actual face to face or when you want to tell them but can't, oh the drama.... it was asked.... Have you ever read a story on Reddit and realized you know the person in real life? What happened?Polly?
Oh man the first one of these I get to answer and it's so lame.
I sold a baby parrot I hand raised for work to a girl and later saw her post pictures of him in a parrot subreddit.
I Concur...
I posted snow conditions on popular local trail. Someone commented and said that they are there recently and agreed with my description.
It was my husband whom I did the hike with. Hahaha. We actually know each other's username. We just don't look at first. When I was in China, Reddit was the only western app that wasn't blocked (yet), so that was how we stayed in touch.
We stay out of each other's profiles because we know that we are boring people. Lol.
I think so....
About a month or so ago a guy posted a thing saying his girlfriend believes she is a cat. He went on to explain their relationship and all her quirks and whatnot. The more I read the more it sounded like this girl I had a really complicated relationship with some years ago. Everything matched, even her age.
At one point she said something about wanting to quit her job and live full time as a cat, and I swear to god this girl I knew once said the same thing to me. The girl I knew even used to meow and mew like a cat.
I reached out to OP to see if we lived in the same area, to find out if it was in fact her, because if so i was gonna warn him about the fact that she was very emotional abusive and manipulative, but he never answered. I'm still fairly certain it's her though.
"That was me!"
We were telling our dog walker about this crazy story from Reddit of a guy who was in the big Boston blizzard that had just happened and ran out of this rare drug used to help with organ transplants, and someone on Reddit helped him by giving him some of their same rare organ transplant drug. And he was like, "That was me!"
you'er safe....
I chanced upon my partner's nephew's account last year. He was in his early teens and really socially awkward, and I always had a soft spot for him. I knew he wasn't popular at school and was dealing with some depression issues, and he wrote about that a bit on here.
I didn't tell anyone about the account because I didn't want him to lose the privacy of this kind of outlet, but I checked it every now and then to make sure he was OK. I've seen young people get quite candid about loneliness and depression on here, and I wanted to know that he was safe, at least.
I Know You
I'm like 95% sure I stumbled across my manager's reddit account a couple months ago. There were numerous points in a post I read that lined up perfectly with things he had been talking about at work for a couple of weeks before hand, and the word use and tone matched his speaking pretty perfectly, not to mention the account name was fitting. It was super weird reading through the post and having this slow realization that it was him. I didn't mention it to him, this kind of knowledge is too powerful.
I Remember Her
I told a story of when I broke my ankle skating and one of the other roller derby girls in my team commented! We used to chat through reddit a bit as I didn't skate anymore but then last year she died suddenly in her sleep. I still have her messages and I feel weird seeing all the comments and stuff she made knowing she's gone now. Just sad.
Hey Sis....
My oldest sister. I asked her if she had a username based off of one of her favorite bands, specified the album her username referenced, she said "DAMN. HOW DID YOU FIND ME?!" Her dog was on the front page of Awwww.
Never really went through her post history, sometimes see her commenting on stuff. She gets an automatic upvote.
The Dancer
In the Houston subreddit someone posted a picture of a belly dancer at a Greek restaurant they went to. I think they were there for their anniversary, and they really enjoyed the restaurant food and entertainment. I looked closely at the picture, turned out I knew the dancer, we had taught at the same charter School about three years before. One of her first graders had been allowed by her mother to get ice cream every day before school at 7 a.m.
Every day she crossed a major thoroughfare in rush hour traffic with her older brother. One day she ran ahead, and was hit by a school bus that couldn't stop in time, and was killed instantly. My friend was devastated beyond belief and ended up leaving education.
Well that's not weird.... I suppose.
The reverse happened to me.
About two years ago I was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells in my cervix, which simply put translates to I didn't have cancer yet but was going to if it wasn't handled. Thank God they found it early. I posted on reddit for a while during the whole ordeal because I wanted to reach out to others who had gone through the same thing and learn more about the procedures, etc.
Anyway, one day a friend came over and randomly asked me about it. Immediately I was confused because I hadn't told anyone about it other than my mom and SO. He kind of laughed, kind of apologized, and said he had found my reddit and read my posts about the whole thing. Like, even my replies to comments and stuff. Lots of honest and detailed things.
I mean, it wasn't a huge deal, but it was a little awkward at the time.
Shroomed...
I was browsing the sub for my city and saw an interesting post, I looked at the username and recognized it as an ex-coworker because the username is the same one they use on Instagram. Out of curiosity I looked to see what else they have posted and found out that they are really into taking shrooms. Never would have guessed it. This person was so straight laced and by the book when we worked together, I was really surprised!
Downsized...
I came across someone I knew from high school. We weren't friends or anything, but he was a nice enough guy. Him and his wife had lost something like 100 lbs. combined. I was happy for him.
Ups and Down
Yeah I saw someone I knew on r/RoastMe and it was so awkward. I started stalking their profile only to find that they posted various memes on depression and how even though they were extremely depressed they were also very determined and wanted to live. It was a mixture of inspiring and depressing since their posts were all over the place.
Get Out
I was the opposite, I posted about my (now ex) husband and he found it. I talked about his abuse and my fears about leaving with the children, I talked about him gaslighting me and being physically abusive. He called my very Catholic dad to tell him I was considering divorce (which was advised to me by redditors and my friends) and my dad called me and told me to make the marriage work (meanwhile my dad had divorced my mom when I was 4).
I said forget this and left his butt. Best thing I ever did and regret 0% of it. Met now husband on Reddit and am happier than ever.
Leave that fool and find your true happiness (even if it means being alone).
"where's his arms"
Saw a screenshot of this tweet and in the photo was this guy I recognized as a customer from the arcade I used to work at. He has no arms (this is relevant) and was decked out in sonic clothes i think his t-shirt said something like sonic for women's rights maybe? Everyone I worked with knew him he was really nice and amazing at playing guitar hero with his feet. All the comments were saying "where's his arms" and making fun of the sonic outfit. Made me sad cuz he's so nice.
"hey, that was me"
In my town a toddler escaped from his day care and was wandering down the middle of a busy road. He was found by a local worker, after hearing multiple people honking as they drove around the kid.
I posted to my town subreddit asking what the hell was wrong with our town that no one stopped. I got a beer with another dad and he brought up the story he read in reddit, which I had posted.
I said "hey, that was me" but the conversation just kept going. I don't think he heard.
Idiot Profile
Yeah some idiot that I was seeing briefly years ago kept mentioning reddit and certain subs so I started browsing because it sounded interesting. Came across a post that was undoubtedly him, had his car in it and wording only he'd use. I was just about to text him "found your reddit profile!" when I clicked on his username just to find a post complaining about my leg hair and saying that I don't shut up quickly enough when he interrupts me. I shut up real quick when he never heard from me again.
Are We Open?
Im only on reddit because my ex kept telling me to go on it. I was on the relationship advice page and someone had posted about being in an open relationship with (my age f) and (her age f) saying that he'd dumped one because this girl stopped wanting the open relationship and all he could think about was wanting her back, the other girl being boring and missing his now ex. Well I'm his now ex and I split with him because I found out he had another girlfriend in another city.
The Nutty One
I recently discovered an ex's reddit (we dated in 2004) and it was interesting to see his comments and posts but eventually they just stopped. Then a few months later I learned he had died. Life is short.
edit: https://www.reddit.com/user/BigGayMusic
He was a nut in 2004 - only got nuttier with time. He did a lot for me and I wish I could tell him that!
The Wholesome One
Soon after a wedding where I was in the wedding party (and knew the wife waaaay better than I knew the husband), I found the husband on reddit.
He was so wholesome.
I knew I liked him (and that they were a good match) but that was just an extra layer of being happy for the wife for finding someone like that to be in her life.
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Comedy is in a very tricky place right now.
There is so much to NOT laugh about in this world.
In truth, many of us have forgotten how to laugh.
And certain jokes that are told, make people afraid to laugh.
So what do we do?
We tell inappropriate jokes apparently.
Let's hear some...
Redditor CrewCreation wanted to hear some "risky" comedy. So they asked:
"What’s the best morbid joke you know?"
***WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE MATERIAL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!***
I can't think of anything hilarious at the moment. Make us LOL.
Lady
"I have this friend, love him to bits, but his wife has a tendency of just constantly showing everyone pictures of their son at every social event. At the start it was understandable, but now I'm just like 'Lady, it's been two years; they're not going to find him.'"
UnoriginalUse
at 9am...
"Not the most morbid but I love Anthony Jeselnik’s story about his neighbor who has Alzheimer’s. 'One of my next door neighbors is a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s. And every single morning at 9am he knocks on my door and asks me if I have seen his wife.'"
"'Which means that every single morning at 9am I have to explain to a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s that his wife has been dead for quite some time. Now I’ve thought about moving. I have thought about just not answering my door in the morning. But to be honest, it’s worth it… just to see the smile on his face.”
dreagan021
Comedy?
"Why can't orphans play baseball? They don't know where home is."
GW2RNGR
"Why can't orphans play tennis? They get confused when they hear love."
JayDub506
People who make comedy are evil. LOL.
The Darkness
"Dark humor is like food; not everyone gets it."
storm_the_castle
God Laughs?
"A Holocaust survivor dies and goes to heaven, where she meets God. To break the tension she tells God a joke about the Holocaust, but God doesn’t laugh. The lady shrugs and says 'I guess you had to be there.'"
“'I guess you had to be there' is a common expression used when someone doesn’t laugh at a joke. It means that the comedy may not translate without the context of the situation."
"In this case the Holocaust survivor is saying it, meaning that during the Holocaust God was nowhere to be found. It’s not really a joke about the Holocaust, but the absurdity of belief in a benevolent God. Hilarious right?"
semimillennial
Oh Baby
"How many dead babies does it take to fix a light bulb? More than 3 cause my garage is still dark."
sirnibs3
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Because I don't know what it says about us as people if we laugh. Oye.
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Life can change in an instant.
It can always change for the better.
Just ask any lottery winner.
Sadly, life can also take a turn for the worst and leave people shattered beyond repair.
Watching someone's life fall apart in a short amount of time is difficult.
You have to wonder if there really is such a thing as karma, bad luck, or Voodoo.
Redditor OkImagination5852 wanted to hear about the times we've been witness to personal disaster. They asked:
"People who witness a person's life crumble in a single day, what happened?"
I have lived through a lot of bad days. But thankfully they've been one disaster at a time days. So I guess I'm lucky.
Horror
"A friend of a friend had his entire family killed overnight. He was from my college and was home visiting his family. His parents, siblings, and extended family were all there together. One night, while they were all asleep, his father got up, took out a gun, and went on a shooting spree. He then killed himself."
"Everyone except this guy died on the spot. When my friend visited him at the hospital, the guy was still in shock. He had no idea why his father did that. This was more than a decade ago, and I have no idea how he's doing now."
DeadOnDeparture98
The IRS Called
"Knew a guy who had a nice house, wife, 3 kids. Machine shop in his garage, Snap On tool truck, sign out front, great mechanic. Never incorporated, didn't pay taxes on his business, cash only. Took nice vacations, bought a boat, then a camper. Five years later, the IRS came. I don't know what they estimated he owed but they seized everything. He lives alone in a trailer now."
Nobody_Wins_13
2 at Once
"My mom’s dad and dad’s mom both died on the same day. Completely unrelated. We were pretty messed up for awhile. It was 2010. Mom's dad had emphysema (lifetime smoker) and was pretty sick for a few weeks. I was in college at the time and came home to be with him, because we knew he was about to pass. Dad's mom was in the nursing home, as she had had a stroke and also had dementia (she often thought I was my dad, she thought we were in the 70s, etc.)."
"She took a turn for the worst, and so my dad left the hospice my grandpa was at and went to be with her. The towns they were in were about an hour apart, so I stayed behind with my mom to comfort her when her dad passed. A few hours go by, and he passes peacefully (huge thanks to the hospice workers for their respect and grace during this time)."
"Within an hour or so of his passing, we get a call from my dad saying that his mother had passed as well. It was a terribly dark day in our family, and the next couple years for me in college were pretty much a blur. Thankfully, things got better in time and we are all doing well now."
She lost everything...
"Her husband left her after previously persuading her to remortgage their house to save his business and he's already made her take multiple credit cards out in her name. She lost everything. He did it the week after their youngest turned 18 so he wouldn't have to pay child support. He'd obviously been planning for years."
Ieatclowns
a black sheep...
"My cousin was in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend died. She broke her back. When she was in the hospital she learned she was pregnant. It's been 16 years and we're still trying our best, she took an all too familiar path of drugs, burning bridges and more pregnancies."
"At this point she's fairly stable and clean as far as I know but a bit of a black sheep. Her mother has custody of all one of her kids. She has her youngest and seems to be doing good by her, but who knows. It's been hard on everyone, especially her mother and her brother."
Paradigm6790
Well this is the stuff of nightmares. I'm grateful for every moment I have alive.
Several lawsuits are filed...
"Here is multiple lives ruined in an instant. A friend was over at some other people house, drugs were involved. They had been playing with a gun. My friend points the gun at a girl, pulls the trigger and shoots her in the head. Girl dies, friend gets locked up until he turns 18. Parents at the house get arrested because they knew what the kids were doing. Friends mom goes into a depression and ends up getting evicted from her house. Several lawsuits are filed."
sentondan
Gone Forever
"It was me... got in a car accident and suffered a traumatic spinal and brain injury that I had no chance of surviving... a 7 vertebrae spinal fusion, yrs of physical and mental therapy... 18 yrs later and the pieces, though many forever gone, are finally coming back together."
2boneskuLL
A Bad Night
"He trashed his fathers vacation house with an axe before setting it on fire, stabbed the neighbor nearly to death, stole their car and then crashed it into a cop car so bad the cops were injured. He also got his girl pregnant, so once he is out of prison they're gonna start a family."
Dumbing_It_Down
"dangerous"
"Pregnant friend found out husband (43) was having an affair with young woman (19) who was a volunteer at their ecolodge. Friend had 'dangerous' pregnancy and had to spend a lot of time in bed. This betrayal destroyed their marriage, split the little town where they lived and caused two employees to quit because witnessing the affair going on was just too painful."
"She had a beautiful baby girl (to go with her other two girls, lol) and after the breakup was clinically depressed. Worked hard and got a divorce (she had a great lawyer); got the business back on track; beat her depression and now is planning a great vacation trip with her girls."
"Meantime, Dad has generous visitation but just 'hasn't gotten around to' buying a car seat so he can pick up the baby and for a long time asked my friend, 'Can you drop the girls off at my Mom's?'"
NoBSforGma
Lost it All...
"Recently, I know of a guy that had borrowed all his family’s life savings for the most part to participate in the whole game stop stock thing happening… he lost every penny of his money (credit card advances), and his parents retirement, and every other dime he could get… it makes me sick to even think of it."
Bangbangsmashsmash
Well those are A LOT of bad days. Good luck to all of you.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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Those who are wealthy have the luxury of acquiring the best of the best–whether it's dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant or status-identifying clothing from Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent.
But even the rich have their limits when it comes to frivolous spending before casting judgment on friends or colleagues.
Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor Sasquatchfl asked:
"Rich people of Reddit, what's the craziest/most unethical thing you've seen people in your circle spend money on?"
Expensive experiences were a priority over prized possessions.
Live Sushi
"An ex worked for Dell in the late 90s/early 2000s. He was pretty high up and there were lots of partiers in his work circle. Went to a party hosted by one of the dellionaires and there was a body sushi girl. I don’t know what was paid to her, but it was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen."
– 5hrs4hrs3hrs2hrs1mor
Pissing Contest
"Paid a group of homeless guys to only use the bathroom on a competitors business. Eventually bought that place for a massive discount."
– Haboobalub
Let's Work Out
"My mother woke up one morning and said she felt she was way too fat and she wanted to get a treadmill. The treadmill wouldn’t be a problem, but then she saw where it would be and didn’t like the lighting. Fast forward 2 months later there’s a 40k outdoor gym built and connected to the house. She hasn’t used it once."
– Herrera5449_
Taking A Leap
"Travelled with a bunch of ex 'friends' all fairly wealthy."
"First trip to SE Asia together and as an ex-local I was a de-facto tour guide (despite not being there in over a decade)"
"They somehow found and offered a bunch of kids diving off cliffs to jump for spare change."
"They increasingly challenged each other to land their coins as close to the cliff base and small surrounding rocks for the kids to dive for."
– Satakans
It's about the finer things in life.
Expensive Party Gag
"A 3k ouija board from Gwen Paltrow's store. I didn't even know it was a thing until the dude brought it out. I really wanted to cut it up and see what it was made from. Looked nice don't get me wrong but the thing is basically a party gag. For 3 grand, it better summon a demon that's all I'm saying."
– con_this
Slow Burn
"$600 USD for a candle."
– Jeffranks
It's not always about the things you acquire.
Minor Inconvenience
"I know a guy who went to get a new drivers license and had to pay ~$100k in back parking tickets, then joked about it after."
"Apparently he couldn't get a permit to park in front of his house, so he just did anyway, and accepted like a $200 fine everyday."
– melodyze
For A Successful Election
"Not me, but I know a guy who crowd funded (read: threw a bunch of money into, then solicited more at a flea market) $80,000 toward his friend's DA election campaign. The guy won. So far, this has paid back at least $120K in avoided legal fees. I know some rich people. Most of them are more boring than you think. Hell, most of them drive Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans."
– KP_Wrath
The Lance Corporal
"I was stationed with a Lance Corporal who was wealthy beyond means after selling some of his patents. He owned and piloted four helicopters. Lived in a palatial waterfront house in Jacksonville, NC."
"The cheapest one cost 400K. That's the one he trained on. The most expensive was about 1.2 million. That's 1.2 million 1981 dollars. The two he's got now are about 5 million each."
"Had a floating landing pad out back moored to his dock and another landing pad in the back yard. Kept two helicopters and a Rolls inside his custom-built hangar at Norfolk International Airport."
"He drove a pair of Rolls-Royces. He also toyed with a 900K Miami-Vice type speedboat. He also housed and transported his squad to Camp Lejeune and back in a custom mini-bus."
– ApplicationConnect55
The dude was very giving and lived a very clean life. He'd fly us to Norfolk, pickup the car and we'd do our shopping and eating. Hop in a chopper and return home. He'd fly his fire team down to Miami on weekends. He kept a Limo there and wore a chauffer's outfit and did all the driving.
He bought a full-service and licensed pub in Northern Ireland. He lives there with his wife. Does a lot of charity work there. We still keep in touch."
– ApplicationConnect55
When there's plenty of money going around, there's no need to worry about a single thing.
That peace of mind is a luxury in itself.
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When marriages or relationships fall apart, infidelity is not always the cause.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Liam_Tang asked:
"People who've divorced, aside from adultery, what were the irreconcilable differences that ended the marriage?"

You think you know a person when you walk down the aisle.
These Redditors were in for a rude awakening.
Pet Neglect
"My wife divorced her ex for many reasons, but the final straw was when she went out of town for a few days, and when she got back he had not fed or given water to the dog. The dog lived a long and happy life after that."
– StrangeCrimes
Obsessed With A Crush
"Not me, but I had an old coworker that divorced his wife for spending their entire savings on candy crush and games of the same type."
– Hexis40
Compatibility Musts
"ITT: Intimacy (sex/romance), beliefs (religion/spirituality/politics), kids, and I haven’t seen it yet but it’s coming: finances."
"The big four. You REALLY need to discuss these things in detail BEFORE getting married."
– rabbiskittles
Physical violence is a legit reason for people to peace out of a relationship.
The Flattening
"She threatened to hit me with a hammer."
– michaelrohansmith
Hitting The Bottle
"She became an abusive alcoholic. It was sad but I had to get out."
– diegojones4
Emotional pain is too damaging to recover from.
Truth Hurts
"She told me as we stood in front of the judge ending our 7 year marriage, 'I never loved you, I just wanted kids.'"
– Pinch_Dogs
Can't Fix Angry
"She was beautiful/smart but an angry angry person. I thought I could be sweet to her and 'fix' that. Heh. She kicked the crap out of me emotionally. Wife II has been a walk in the roses for 32 years now :)"
– lowlandr
A change of heart is worthless if comes too late.
"We Could've Had A Nice Marriage
"He could not understand that my wants and needs were as important as his wants and needs. We tried to make it work for 7 years. During that time, for things that were really important to me, I tried explaining logically, asking nicely, begging, crying, yelling, passive aggressiveness... cycled back through all of these options multiple times."
"(If I knew something was important to him, I would do that. For example, he was really into sports, so I went to all his events, even though that is not at all my thing.) When I finally threw up my hands and told him it was time to get a divorce, he suddenly panicked and said 'What can I do? Do you want me to do half the chores? I'll do it! Do you want me to get a job? I'll do it! Do you want me to buy you presents for your birthday? I'll do it!'"
"So, in other words, he could have been doing that all along, but just couldn't be bothered. That made me so angry. We could have had a nice marriage that we both enjoyed, but no, by the time he saw the light, that ship had sailed."
"We are both happily remarried now (to different people) and I joke that his new wife owes me a thank you note. It was his experience with me that taught him to listen to her and take her needs seriously."
– Bluebird-True
"What Can I Do?"
"My ex was exactly like this. I didn't marry him but when I told him let's break up, he went all like, what can I do? Let's get engaged, let's look at houses, etc. Basically all the pre-marriage topics that we should be discussing about after being together for 7 years."
"I got so angry and straight up told him it's too late... I don't need you anymore."
– gudetarako
As much as a couple wants to stay together, unforeseen circumstances can eventually tear people apart.
Very few people can maintain healthy long-distance relationships.
When a new job opportunity takes a significant other away, would you begrudge them for wanting a better position to earn more money? Or is it better for them to reluctantly turn down the opportunity so they could stay with you? Do either scenarios breed resentment?
These were questions I've often asked myself with past relationships, and my answers varied depending on the person I was with.
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