Top Stories

People Reveal The Biggest Crush They've Ever Had

Guys, I was an awkward kid. Shocking, I know. I was the kid who crushed way too hard and had no poker face about it. When I say I had no poker face I mean I made it weird with the constant staring, the swooning, etc. It was bad enough that the first (and only) song ever dedicated to me was a song telling the other person to go away.


Um ... ouch.


Yeah... so that's what happened when I caught by biggest crush. Reddit user SwiperNoSwiping42 asked

What was the biggest crush you had?

And yeah, some of these stories are just as awkward as mine. Some are heartbreaking. Overall, it's pretty clear that major crushes have huge impacts on people's lives... and awkwardness levels. I don't know where you are, Jason ... but my bad. I made it weird. 7th grade was intense.

A Golden Child

Oh man, this question breaks my heart. My biggest crush was a close family friend all through junior high and high school. He was a golden child. Good looking, charismatic, very intelligent (ended up getting a doctorate), and good person to boot. He was way out of my social circle and never interested in me, but he was always kind and considerate, when others weren't. Our families were out at the lake once, and I got stuck on a raft fair enough away from shore I didn't think I could make it back in as I was a weak swimmer, and was nearly in tears. He swam back with me, encouraging me all the way and helping me find the shallows where I could wade back.

He died of brain cancer when we were in our 30's. It just kills me to think about it.

- Teaandviolets

Still Gives Me Butterflies

Giphy

My husband. We first met when we were about 15 and liked each other a lot but he moved away before we could ever act on it. Over the years I would run into him occasionally when he came to visit friends in the city. It was always electric, and I was SO into him, but I was too shy to make a move.

Finally, eleven years after we first met I found him on Facebook, we started talking and fell in love. We've been together almost ten years now, have two kids together and he still gives me butterflies.

- Larmes-du-soleil

It Literally Hurt

I had a crush on a girl for two years from when I was 11-12 and never acted on it (because i was a kid) it was a very strange two years. I haven't had a crush in over 6 years and that crush was easily the strongest. I remember it literally hurting because I liked her that much. Kid me was weird.

- ElephantsOnTurtle

Not Me

Does a crush entirely made up of memories of the past count?

In third grade, I had a crush on a girl in my class. We had a great time playing soccer at recess every day, we even held hands once! Then after that year I moved away, but I never forgot, and the crush probably grew even bigger over the years.

Long story short, I found her on Facebook, and sent her a message. She did not remember me at all. Even remembered the class and the school, but not me. So yeah, there was that.

- numidianmerk

Win Win

I had a crush on a girl that I was friends with for about a year when I was 15 but I didn't say anything. Turns out she was gay and we became really close friends and I didn't have to say anything. So win win!

- sippin_on_tipex

Crushing Pretty Hard

I've had a few crushes in my teens, but right now at 28 I'm crushing pretty hard on this new girl at the office. She's gorgeous and kind and sweet and funny and outgoing and always has time to talk to me. Her smile lights up the room, and when she laughs at one of my jokes I feel lighter than air.

Even if she wasn't way out of my league (which she is), she has a boyfriend who she loves very much, and I'm a big believer in love so I'd never get in the way of it. Sometimes it hurts, but I'm mostly just happy to have her as a friend and I'm happy that she's in a loving relationship

- reincarN8ed

Life As A Preteen

I'm in the midst of one right now. I haven't had a full-on "crush" since 5th grade. It's oddly thrilling and disturbing as an adult. The maddening omnipresence of his smile in my head is no different than life as a preteen.

- rkgk13

Trophy Of Shame

Giphy

I'm crushing pretty hard right now. I'm 31 and IT at a medical school. She is a 24 year old dental student. When she smiles her eyes turn into little moons. Her eyes sparkle. I don't know if they naturally sparkle for everybody or only towards me (god i hope!), but they sparkle. I bought a tooth plushie for her for Christmas with a cheese ass note that says something like you're the reason smiles are merry and white. It's so cheesy I don't even want to read it again. I never gave it to her and it still sits on my desk right here. It is my trophy of shame. A reminder to not be a fool. I don't need to be harassing and distracting hard working students.

- omgcomeonidiot

That Ending, Though...

In junior high I had a huge crush on this one blonde girl who I'll call Liz. She had just transferred to the school in seventh grade and was one of a handful of new girls that year (it was a relatively small, co-ed private school).

Pretty much every class had assigned seating, determined by the teachers. We had a few classes together and just so happened to have our assigned seats right next to each other in those classes, so we'd either be sitting across from each other or right in front of/behind each other. We got along great and occasionally got called out by teachers for talking/joking/laughing in the middle of class. This was back when AIM was all the rage in the early 2000s, so we'd often chat in the evenings because we liked a lot of the same bands, etc.


Never really confessed my crush to her that first year. The next year, eighth grade, I got a big boost of confidence when another lady friend I often goofed around with in class spontaneously told me, "you got really hot over the summer," and started asking me if I was into one of a few girls she listed off, indicating they thought I was cute and they were interested. Unfortunately, that list didn't include Liz.

Still, I "dated" some other girls (as much as a 13-14 year old "dates") from other schools in the area and I guess about halfway through the year I finally told Liz that I had a crush on her. She hadn't dated anyone in the entire time I had known her, so I thought hey, maybe I have a shot.


Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual. I was pretty disappointed, but we remained good friends and nothing about our friendship ended up changing. We still talked a lot and would sometimes be the class clowns on a given day, which often ended with our teachers separating us in the classroom. One instance that got me kicked out of class was when we were passing notes back and forth to each other (she was sitting at the desk behind me) with stupid/silly shit on them with the sole purpose of annoying our teacher, who was a middle-aged woman. At one point the teacher calls me out for handing the note but doesn't say anything about Liz. After a couple minutes when the teacher turned her back, Liz hands me a note that says something like, "Why is she singling you out? Am I invisible?" And I handed a note back to her that said, "I think she's into me. You got some competition."

Of course, right when I handed that note to Liz and right as she was reading it, the teacher called me out again, walked over to Liz, grabbed the note and was about to do the usual thing where the teacher reads it aloud to the class to embarrass the guilty students and put a stop to it. Knowing what the note said, though, Liz immediately started bursting out laughing, the teacher stopped herself from reading it and then sent me to the principal's office.

After junior high, Liz ended up going to an all-girls high school and we pretty much fell out of contact about halfway through freshman year. Even though I did all the usual high school social events, like football games and dances and stuff, I never saw her at any of them. I dated quite a few girls over the course of my high school years, lost my virginity, etc.

Fast forward to my senior year. I go to a football game with a group of my friends and end up running into her randomly. We immediately get so distracted talking and catching up that we don't realize our groups of friends had left us and moved on somewhere else. We exchange numbers and agree to hang out some time soon and went our separate ways for the evening. At the time, I honestly wasn't actively hoping we'd date or hook up. I mean, I was certainly fond of the idea, but truthfully I was just kind of happy to reconnect with a friend I hadn't seen or spoken to in so long.

The next week, we agree to hang out and go to the football game that weekend and then to the inevitable party afterwards at whoever's house it'd be that night. Only problem is, she didn't have a car yet so I told her it'd be no problem and I'd pick her up.


I picked her up and we drove to the game but ended up spending most of the time kind of on our own in the much less crowded areas just talking and laughing. We weren't into the game at all so I suggested we just go to my car and wait for everyone to leave and then drive to the party. As soon as we leave and round a corner completely out of sight from everyone, she pulls on my jacket and starts making out with me.

I was honestly surprised but was obviously quite happy with it. She smiled and laughed shyly after the kiss and I said something like, "13 and 14 year old me would've done anything to kiss you like that when we were in junior high." She thought that was cute and said she had no idea why she turned me down back then. We got to my car and she said she wasn't really interested in going to the party, so I suggested we go to a nearby park and hang out, just the two of us.

We had sex that night. Easily one of the happiest and most fun evenings I've ever had, even to this day, given the context and history between us. We never dated but eh, I was just happy something came of it.

- TheWaker

Tough School Year

My eighth grade English teacher. Raging teenage hormones and a hot teacher made for a very tough school year.

- overlyattachedbf

The Best Pickup Lines Of All Time

A Redditor asked: 'what's the best pickup line of all time?'

shallow photography of man hugging woman outdoors
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

When it comes to flirting, everyone has their preferences of how they like to be flirted with. Some people like cleverly crafted pickup lines.

I always thought pickup lines were a cheap way to get someone's attention. That being said, there are some good ones out there. I've been on the receiving end of both. "On a scale from one to America, how free are you tonight?" and, "You must be the square root of two because I feel irrational around you."

Both got me to engage in conversation, and I even dated the guy who used the first one for a while.

I'm not the only one that knows some good pickup lines. Redditors have both heard and used some pickup lines and are eager to share their favorites.

It all started when Redditor Sauce_Dealer420 asked:

"What's the best pickup line of all time?"

Read It And See

"You put the sexy in dyslexic."

– koookyko

"This made me laugh so hard."

"Because I can read properly."

– TappedIn2111

I'm Hooked

"This girl I used to work with and I went to a bar after work and we’re having fun, and she leans over to tell me a joke. And she says:"

"Three boy mice and a girl mouse were all stuck in a room with no doors and no windows. One of the boy mice asked the girl mouse how to get out and she said, “Sleep with me tonight, and I’ll tell you in the morning.""

"The next day, he is gone. The second boy mouse asks the girl mouse how he got out and she says, “Sleep with me tonight, and I’ll tell you in the morning.""

"Next day, he’s gone too."

"So now the girl telling me this joke says to me, “Do you want to know how the last mouse gets out of the box?”

"And I say “yes.""

"And she says, “Sleep with ME tonight, and I’ll tell you in the morning”. All this while staring me in the eyes and smiling."

"I said, “Check please bartender!!""

"I forgot to ask her in the morning, but that was the best pickup line I’ve ever heard."

– reb678

Statistics

"The odds we sleep together are 50% because half of us agree so far."

– AlfheimKitteh

"Math is always super sexy."

– Acceptable-News-6811

Money, Money, Money

"Hey girl, are you the English financial system? Because I'm about to give you a weak pound."

– onemanwolfpack21

"Yo girl, do you know exchange rates? Because Euro 10."

– kkirchhoff

Winner, Winner

""Are you a magician? Cuz every time I look at you, everyone else disappears.""

"This line got me a wife and three kids. 😊"

– PRSHZ

One Liners

"Are you a beaver? Cuz damn."

– Starry_Night-

"If you were a fruit you'd be a fineapple."

– Slainna

"Hi, do you want to go for a ride on a Harley?"

"(My name is Harley) 😁"

– OMNIxvTRIX

No Losers

"If I asked you for a date would the answer to that question be the same as the answer to this question?"

– SchemePale6222

"I got blue screen in my head."

"Explain please."

– TastyToothpasta

"You can't lose. Say no, the answer is yes. Say yes, the answer is also yes."

"Dang sounds kinda creepy writing it out like that. Still clever wordplay though."

– Steeze_Schralper6968

Clever

"My go-to was always:"

"I used to be a history teacher, so I know lots of important dates. Want to help me make another one?"

"A little corny, but it usually worked."

– StuffToday

Refreshing

"That one actually worked with my ex on the first try."

"-Hey, do you like water?"

"-Yes."

"-Then you like me in 70% already."

– azurskyy

Sneaky

"Would you date a complete stranger?"

"If she says “yes” you’re in."

If she says “no.”

“Then allow me to introduce myself.”"

– Blastspark01

Playing Coy

"Once a girl came to me and told there was somebody who thought I was cute."

"I asked her who and she said “Me.""

– evil_boy4life

Prop Lines

"You have to have a handful of limes available to do this:"

"Hold the limes, drop the limes in front of the lucky person. Then say 'Sorry, I'm not very good at pick up limes.'"

– cannibalcats

Egg-cellent

"Best one that worked for me was:"

"Me: How do you like your eggs?"

"Her: Over easy, why?"

"Me: Just making sure I have things right for when I make you breakfast in the morning."

– Radiant_Boss4342

The Best Line

"How you doin?"

– 2x4x93

"There was a time when this was the ONLY line you could use!"

– JohnsLong_Silver

That line would definitely work on me!

United States political map
Clay Banks on Unsplash

Twenty years ago, a question about politics and dating might have elicited very different answers.

But a large part of the United States seems to be getting more radicalized and more polarized.

While two decades ago most liberal versus conservative differences in the United States were about government size or spending, now it's about who has a right to exist or have body autonomy.

Keep reading...Show less
Man peeking through window blinds
Photo by Chris Nguyen on Unsplash

Let's be honest: It's 2023, and times are pretty hard for most of us. We're all just out here, trying to do our best.

But while our instincts sometimes really save our butts, there are other times that our curiosity and impulses might get carried away.

In fact, they might get so carried away, we might find ourselves in some deep, deep trouble.

Redditor Mr_Manta asked:

"How has morbid curiosity screwed you over?"

A Troubling Find

"I found a human femur when I was a teenager and decided to take it home and hide it so I could inspect it."

"I was on exchange in Spain at the time. I didn’t know what to do with it after I brought it home, so like an id**t, I put it in my luggage five weeks later when I flew back home to my family."

"Airport security and I had really, really, really, really, really long talk."

"Edit: To answer all your questions, my friend and I had taken a walk to some cemetery in a roadside town. The population was 81. We thought the town had been abandoned, by the looks of it. We were dumb kids."

"We went to the cemetery and into some abandoned mausoleum. In it were So. Many. Bones. I grabbed a femur cause I was a 15-year-old who loved biology. I took it. That wasn’t cool."

- cowsmilk1994

What in the Pink Floyd...

"I Googled my estranged father's name and found out he died of an overdose, and they turned his cremains into a brick for a homeless memorial wall."

- Planet_Ziltoidia

Not a Smart Google Search

"I once Googled Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment. I wanted to see his furniture and stuff. That is NOT what I saw..."

- Efficient-Regular-96

Emergency Medical Technician Troubles

"I work as an EMT, a young EMT so obviously, I’m curious when someone says someone is dead."

"If you are a new EMT, don’t be curious; there isn’t anything good to see just major trauma."

- Individual-Estate758

Accidental Pepper Spray

"I thought this cool lighter was on a keychain, so I pressed the button. Turns out that cool lighter was pepper spray."

- copsdoesntstarttill4

The Horrors of Fire

"From the news: 'The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, at The Station, a nightclub and hard rock music venue in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230.' During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. Within six minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames.'"

"There is a video shot by a cameraman from a local news outlet showing the start of the fire and approximately 13 minutes of heartbreak as the fire completely engulfed the building. As he circled the building he tried to open doors and call out to let people know that there was a way out, but the smoke was incredibly thick, and all you heard was screaming."

"The part that haunts me the most was the double doors at the front of the building, where people trying to escape were piled like wood in the doorway- one on top of another - people trying to free them couldn’t and eventually had to back off because of the fire. The video ends with the cameraman breaking down as emergency services finally arrived."

- Hot-Bandicoot8066

The Power of Electricity

"As a kid, I knew that you needed two wires for electricity to power an appliance. So I thought it would be a cool idea to let the electricity flow freely from one hole of a power outlet to the other, so I bent a wire in a U-shape and plugged it in."

"With my bare hands. At school, I believe in first grade. 220 Volt network. There was a flash, and I got thrown back, but thought nothing of it until some teachers came running and I got a lecture or two about safety."

- zedman_forever

A Recurring Mistake

"I found a memory card at work (retail). It sat on our desk for over two weeks. One day curiosity won and I stuck it in my phone."

"Memes, pics of family, and old man and old lady intimate parts."

"Then Google surprised me a few years later because it had uploaded them to my Google Drive."

- Itchy_Amphibian3883

Too Close to Home

"Finding out exactly where my dad died. He died in a car accident but I was never sure quite where it happened. I stupidly looked it up and found out it was right by where I lived and even drove past that exact spot plenty of times."

"Yeah, needless to say that did me way more psychological harm than good. I couldn’t handle it. Avoid that area at all costs. My husband got a job out of state and I was happy to move there just so I couldn’t be traumatized by living by that spot anymore."

- ZestyCloseTomato555

All Equal Deaths

"I killed a Rollie pollie when I was little and I still feel terrible about it."

- DoomSayerNih

Fair Enough

"Opening this thread and reading is officially at the top."

- Special_Lemon1487

Most of these entries were absolutely mortifying, and they remind us to be careful about what we're getting ourselves into, even if we're curious.

Otherwise, it can lead to terrible injuries if not terrible memories, which might even be worse, because they're so impossible to forget.

Man enjoying sangria solo
Sangria Señorial/Unsplash

When the cat's away, the mice will play.

That scenario could apply to many situations, but it generally refers to an individual enjoying temporary freedom to do as they please in the absence of a foe or constant companion.

In romantic couplings, this may involve a spouse or significant other finally engaging in private activity that could be frowned upon in the presence of the other person.

Curious to hear examples, Redditor shaka_sulu asked:

"Married folks, what's a non-sexual thing you look forward doing at home only when your spouse is away?"

Some people are happy to take up extra space.

Spacious Parking

"Parking my car in the middle of the garage."

– starkpaella

"Genius answer. It always brings joy."

– Heynicejobtoday

Hush

"The quiet. My husband constantly has the TV on, even if he’s not watching, and I enjoy silence."

– 2workigo

"This. My wife lived alone for many years and always has the TV on, even uses the one in the bedroom as noise to fall asleep to. The first thing I do when she’s gone is make sure all the noisemakers are shut off around the house. Well, except the cats. They don’t have off buttons."

– jaybeeg

Bed Positions

"Sleeping on the diagonal."

– snogweasel

"When you're there, I sleep lengthwise And when you're gone I sleep diagonal in my bed."

– downvotingprofile

Quiet Viewing

"I had a day off work today. Husband was at work, kids at school, so after I did the school run I came home, wrapped myself in our softest heated blanket, lay on the sofa and watched 3 movies with no interruptions. It was bliss."

– PheonixKernow

These Redditors can finally revel in their respective indulgences when they finally have the place to themselves.

Taste In The Finer Things

"The wife is a picky eater. When she is away, I either make a meal that she doesn’t like or I go to a restaurant that she doesn’t care for."

"It’s the little things. 😂"

– aizzo4

All Mine

"I cook almost all the meals. Almost being that we occasionally get take out. When I have a day off and my husband is working and my kids are at school/daycare, I go get breakfast and Waffle House. By myself. I sit there and eat a waffle, two scrambled eggs and bacon and I DONT HAVE TO F'KING SHARE! My husband despises Waffle House, but f'k I love those waffles. My parents used to have a waffle iron that made the traditional style waffles with the tiny squares until the cord shorted out. I miss them."

– missag_2490

Cheers

"My wife is in recovery, six years sober, and I support her in every way possible including, obviously, no alcohol in the house. If she’s away for a few days, I’ll grill me some steak tacos and wash them down with a really good Cabernet."

– Tom__mm

"I’m a recovering addict and I think you’re a great husband."

– JLHuston

Screen Time

"Watching TV shows he'd never watch, on the big TV."

– sexrockandroll

"There isn't an ancient aliens, shows from the early 80s (chuck Norris and Jack klugman), or horror movies that he won't watch - pausing every 3 seconds in case I miss something - that WE have to watch. When he travels for work I relish the quiet. Even the weather channel is enjoyable."

"My love for my husband has no end but he has the stupidest taste in shows yet whines if I would rather deep clean the basement than deal with any of it."

"But I can only deep clean the basement so many times..."

– Big-Mine9790

To each his/her/their own.

The Organizer

"Deep cleaning and reorganizing. I know, I'm a real party."

– Dependent_Top_4425

"You are my people. The garage door is hardly down before I'm getting busy!"

"There is not one thing better in this whole world than having some alone time in my spotless house."

– Individual-Army811

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

"Hike all day, get the sh**ty chinese takeout that she hates and I love despite knowing full well it’s objectively not good, and drink some nice beer while watching movies all night."

– holographoc

Establishing Order

"Putting things down and having them still be there when I want them."

"Having a clean house that stays that way for more than 30 seconds. I love him, but he's just a whirlwind of plates and seltzer cans some days."

– Lyeta1_1

When my husband's away, I watch all the horror films that have been stacking up in the queues of my streaming platforms.

He has a weak stomach for gore and violence, so we often avoid home invasion movies or slasher flicks and instead stick to comedy, drama, or dramedies, and documentaries.

Which is all well and good.

But when I have the place all to myself, I bust out the wine and Doritos and watch the latest Halloween or Scream movies I've been missing out on.