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People Recount The One Conversation With A Perfect Stranger That Had A Profound Effect On Their Life

The world is full of interesting people with unimaginable backstories and origins. They're journey, just as your own, is unique and full of just as many surprises. This is why when you get a chance to meet one of these unique, interesting individuals, it's time to put away your phone, open your ears, and listen.

You might learn something awesome.


Reddit user, u/wanderingsamquanch, wanted to know about:

What one time conversation with a complete stranger had the most profound impact on your life?

The Planet's Are Closer Than You Think

I was on a cruise in the Caribbean, three days out of Miami, to Nassau and back to Miami. Dude at the bar was chillin, about 20 years older than I was. I was already drunk, started talking to him and asked where he was from. "Jupiter!" was his answer. I assumed that this dude is just nuts and I left mid conversation.

Years later I learned that Jupiter, Florida is a real place and I was just oblivious and needed to get out more. The only assumptions I make are about myself now.

Way2GoBucko

When A Hobby Saves A Life

I do digital music production as a hobby and I release tracks every now and then, but I had one guy personally email me telling me that listening to my music helped with his mental health and prevented him from killing himself. It brought a tear to my eye because I was dealing with some heavy mental health (namely depression, anxiety) stuff back then and music is my way of expressing those feelings so to hear that someone understood my story/feelings through my music subsequently impacted me a lot and gave me motivation to continue

-Dayzed-

Important To Remember They're "People"

I grew up sheltered in a "retirement home" town where there were no homelessness. When I moved to the city, the majority of culture shock I experienced was the amount of homeless people I saw. I went from "Awe poor things" to "They're dangerous, stay away from them" like a child when seeing a stray dog. Either way, they weren't people to me, they were stray dogs.

I called the police on one man who screamed at me for ignoring him, he followed me around the corner and I guess I though it was the right thing to do. Cops showed up just to talk to him. The following month, the same man approached me and politely asked for food from a nearby convenient store. I figured I had the time and he wasn't just asking for "drug money".

When I gave him the food, he just started talking to me about his day and we ended up having a really great conversation. He's actually really smart, has a lot of good ideas and gave me some advice about how to help people like him (what supplies they needs and what bills to vote for).

Marty totally dispelled my "they're all dogs" mentality and I wish it didn't take this long for me to get a clue but I'm glad he helped me.

CoffeeAndPizzaRolls

Open Up In The Communities You Feel Safest In

There's this social media called amino. Like reddit in fact, you got little communities with post, chat and wiki's. Anyways, two of my friends (let's called them by their username, seïka and aï) told to get to an community called "Life Story" it was centered around roleplay. I met a girl called "Shion" (it's her username). She was friend with seïka and aï, I think she wanted to know me.

Anyways, she came to my DM and we began talking, at a certain moment, o told her that I wasn't in the mood, and she told if I wanted to talk about. Usually I don't, as a men, there's sometimes a lot of backfire when that happens and I also didn't want to bother her. But she said "if u don't, I will get mad >:(", it was cute, so I told her about the fact that I felt depressed.

Then, idk how, we began to talk about our fears, insecurities and those kind of things, and it felt so great because for the first time, I find sometimes with who I can open up with no problems. She even help a lot with my mental health and I did the same thing for her.

Bleizik

Puts Things In Perspective

I was in a plane at JFK stuck on the tarmac for three hours, feeling kind of sorry for myself. Struck up a conversation with the elderly man next to me. Turned out he was the youngest child to survive Dachau. Showed me his tattoo. Told me he survived because he ate whatever was left on the dishes he washed.

I don't feel sorry for myself so much any more.

spsprd

Clearing Things Up...But Not In The Way That You Think

A friend brought an older friend or cousin or something (don't remember) to a school dance when I was 14-ish. I was sad because my crush was with someone else. This dude told me "Think like a dog: if you can't eat it, or f*ck it, piss on it and walk away."

I knew right then I never wanted to be like that guy.

AaronVsMusic

Kids Should Always Be Reading

I've shared this story before, but I'll never forget this interaction.

When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift stores. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which one I wanted to get and then decided after I'd gone through them all.

One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me and said, "Promise me that you'll keep reading." I was so happy and immediately stood up and said that I would. She smiled and walked away and I went back to my piles able to pick out an extra 10 books to take home.

It was just a small act of kindness for her, but for me having a random stranger encourage my love of reading and making me promise to never stop definitely had a lot to do with my continued love of reading. This was over 20 years ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book.

-eDgAR-

When Someone's Gone Further Than You...

Saw a woman sitting in the town sand pile just hanging out looking sad. The sand pile borders my long gravel driveway and I just happened to notice her. Initially I though it was sketchy. What the hell is this person doing here? So I walk over and I say "heyyy.. are you okay?" She didn't hear me at first and I kind of startled her, but I asked again if she was okay throwing a thumbs up or thumbs down.

She said she was okay. I was like cool I'm going to go about my business then. She called me over and we end up having a huge conversation. Turns out she's from Vietnam originally and came to America back in the early 70's when she was young. She told me stories of her time in the US Navy, and her upbringing. She lives in Hawaii but had to come to the east coast to take care of her grandparents that adopted her when she got here.

We ended up talking for a couple hours and I showed her my dog. I'm a lot younger than her and I've never traveled further than a couple states. I was quite fascinated hearing how she'd basically been everywhere. I could tell she really needed someone that could listen to her and not have to hold anything back. Times were very hard for her with all the COVID and dealing with her grandparents who both are starting to develop dementia. I believe I made her whole month better by just stopping and asking if she was okay...

creadgsxrguy

Shirts Are A Billboard For Personality

I went to a concert and the following morning in the hotel, some guy in an elevator started talking to me about the guy I saw because I wore the t shirt I had bought. It was great, he was telling stories about his tours in the 70s and he even met him once.

It was a short conversation but it made me realize how much I could learn about the world just by talking to other people. It really helped get out of my shell

gilbertbenjamington

A Glimpse Into What Could Be

I was on a trip with some friends and we came across a car accident where someone had drove off the side of the highway off a steep embankment. I scrambled down to give first aid. The guy had been thrown from his car and it was a miracle he was alive. He was in shock for a while but he snapped out of it eventually and was actually able to comprehend what was going on around him. Turns out he was trying to kill himself by driving off the road.

I sat with him for what felt like at least an hour and a half for EMS to arrive and listened to him talk and tried to reassure him that help was on the way. He kept saying how stupid he felt and how much he regretted his decision to try ending his life. The experience definitely made me think about how I deal with my own mental health and reminded me to never let it spiral out of control to the point where he had gotten to. It was very surreal to have a lengthy conversation with someone who had just had a failed suicide attempt, let alone him being as coherent as he was given the severity of the crash.

almost-illiterate

"You'll See Me Again...When The Wind Changes."

This is an honest to God true story.

I worked in a subway for the summer years ago. There was a regular customer, 60 odd, rode an old timey bicycle with a basket that he kept his dog in.

Anyway, one time he comes in and it's just me and him in the restaurant. He asks how I am, I tell him I am fine. He asks how I really am, and for no particular reason i told him some of the problems I was facing in my life. Let me note, this was particularly out of character for me, I keep myself to myself and dont tend to open up to my closest friends and family, let alone strangers.

He told me to "breathe, and listen to what the wind has to tell me". I didnt really know what to say to this, so I engaged in a thoughtful conversation with him. The way he spoke was unlike that of anyone I've ever met, so sincere, honest and calm.

He proceeded to explain to me how he has the ability to mentally travel to anywhere in the universe, he simply has to clear his mind and close his eyes and he will travel outside of his body and see the wonders the universe has to offer. He paused to tell me, if I think he is crazy just tell him to stop, as most people thought he was.

By this point, I was completely hooked on his stories. He told me of worlds that rained diamonds, black holes, concious beings made entirely of gases and resin. As he left he said I would see him once again in my life, but only when I was ready. This was about 6 years ago.

I will add, the man did not strike me whatsoever as crazy, and insisted that he had never touched a drug in his life. I honestly believed that he wasn't crazy.

I dont know if he was just f-cking with me, having a bit of fun, or whatever. But the way he told me this story, I honestly believed every word, and I am not a very gullible person. At the time as well, I had never drank or taken any drugs.

The story honestly sounds so ridiculously unbelievable, and I have never spoken to anyone of it. But I hope I see him again.

theworldsbestjacket

"Let's Give It A Shot."

The "complete stranger" part is tough. I just don't have in-depth conversations with people I don't know. But I'll volunteer a story of a conversation I had with someone that I only briefly interacted with that they would have NO CLUE how much I took to what they said.

I worked at Arbys years ago. They instituted a policy that we had to complete break down the slicer twice a day, wash/rinse/sanitize all the components, and then reassemble. The problem was we were the busiest store in the area by far. So at the manager meeting where we were discussing implementation, I'm being the stick in the mud. I'm like, "We're too busy. If we pre-cut enough roast beef to handle business during the time it'll take someone to clean the whole thing, the beef will taste like sh-t, and our food quality will suffer..." One of the other managers looks and goes, "Hey, before we say it's impossible, let's give it a shot." And that changed the game for me professionally.

I realized I was a naysayer of work, change, and opportunity. And I tried really hard to change that. Years later, I had a boss who never gave compliments say to me, "You know what I like about you? No matter what we have to do or how comfortable you are with it, you're fine with it." And I thought about that manager back at Arbys that, again, has no idea the impact he had on me in that moment.

boyvsfood2

We've All Been There Before

Once at the mall I was chasing my 3-year-old. I was feeling real irritated when this guy yells to me "just like his dad, huh?" indicating I was a child too once. Really gave me some perspective, just that one sentence.

Shushuweysha

Nice, I'll keep that in mind when neice is doing the same in public, thanks!

wanderingsamquanch

An A-Class Human

I (f, 22 at the time) was at the airport waiting to go home after visiting my boyfriend that I don't get to see much. A little heartbroken, I just sat there trying to keep the tears in my eyes, but a random stranger noticed my emotional turmoil.

Instead of asking if I was okay, he simply said "I'm sorry to see you're in pain, can I do anything to help you?" And offered me a tissue. He was such a comforting presence. We ended up talking for a while as we were on the same flight that got delayed, and eventually cancelled until the next day. We hung out in the smoking lounge together, he made me promise to quit when I got home. He told me about his travels, I told him about mine. He managed to get my mind out of its pit of sadness, we talked about our shared hobbies, what we'd been doing in that town etc.

Next day we found out we were flying to the same destination via connecting flights, and as he was a flight attendant even on holidays he was able to change his booking to be on my flight and sit with me.

Our ways parted when we lost track of each other at the third airport. I never got to say goodbye or thank him for being such an A class human. His kindness made my trip home so much easier and I will never forget it. Sven if you're reading this, thank you. I hope to be able to pay your gesture forward to someone who needs a friendly face some day.

funwithallama

We Just Want Someone To Say, "We've All Been There"

My daughter was born and she wasn't breathing when they took her from us. I assumed she was dead but she wasn't when they took me to the NICU she was tubed with all these scary monitoring. All the other babies were in incubators but mine wasn't. I remarked to the nurse that that felt like a good sign. It was a gut punch when she said 'We only have her in the open air in case she has a heart attack and we need to move quickly. We will control her environment when the doctor says it's ok' A doctor came in an explained the she is very sick but getting better. I simply didn't believe him I was terrified.

One of the other parents in the NICU took me aside and told me that the doctors here wouldn't lie to me for liability reasons. If he thinks my girl is going to get better she probably will. It was like he untied a knot in my stomach and made it a little easier. She pulled through and is healthy.

Scoob1978

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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.