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'I Love Your Sister More Than You' And Other Brutal Things People Have Been Told

'I Love Your Sister More Than You' And Other Brutal Things People Have Been Told
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In a perfect world, those who are closest to us wouldn't hurt us so deeply. The opposite seems to be true, however. Other times, other people say things seemingly out of the blue that can have devastating effects on another individual's health and well being.

Today's burning question came from Redditor Sarah_Rosa, who asked the online community: "What i the most painful thing someone has ever told you?"

Warning, some sensitive material ahead.


40.

My mom said, "I love your sister more than I love you."

butterball38

39. 

(In tears) "I heard about your dad. I'm so sorry."

I hadn't heard about my dad.

FiveStarSuperKid

38.

I remember seeing my uncle in the waiting room of emergency. I was taking a bus to see my mom after surgery, and he wanted to intercept me before I got up to her room. My uncle had clearly been crying. He sat me down and told me that my mom had terminal cancer.

alphamikedelta

37.

For the last few months my girlfriend of 2 years has been in between jobs and I've been helping her find something new. In the mean time I've been paying all her bills. Last week she broke up with me because she couldn't handle the guilt of her cheating on me for the last 2 months.

GR3453m0nk3y

36.

I have ulcerative colitis. A few years ago it nearly killed me. I went from 210 lbs to 110 lbs at 6' tall. I had 1/3 the red blood cells of a normal male. I was always tired, always winded. Bleeding profusely from my intestines. The doctors were amazed I was still conscious let alone walking. I had to literally run to the toilet every 15-20 minutes. There was no holding it, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't live my life and go do the things I loved in fear of sh!tting myself.

My dad constantly berated me for being lazy for missing work, which was still a rare occurrence. Driving to work was a gamble of hoping I didn't get stuck in traffic. It happened a few times. I'd call my boss tell him I had to go home and I'd be in a few hours late. Go home and shower wash my clothes out and get dressed and go back.

One time it happened my dad was sitting on the computer right inside the front door. He asked me why I was home and I told him. He said, "How the hell could you do something like that? That's disgusting." With a look of just pure resentment and disgust on his face.

Tufthunter

35.

"I don't love you anymore, I love him, maybe not as much as I have loved you but I will, in time I will love him even more"

Most painful thing she ever said. it still hurts me to this day and this happened almost 2 years ago.

arbygoodknight

34.

My mother wrote me a letter, detailing how I was a waste of flesh, I was a disappointment to everybody, She should have had me aborted...yada yada yada.

Anyway carried it around in my wallet to remind me to prove her wrong and what a horrible person she was.

I told her about where I kept it, said if she ever used me as an excuse for her rampant alcoholism again I'd show the rest of my family.

Few years later it went missing at a family gathering, along with my wallet.

TheMonchoonkin

33.

"The growth is not benign."

The "not" made it even more of an emotional rollercoaster, as your expectation (what you want to hear) is that your fear has not come through, so I expected the "not" to be followed by a different word.

mjrkong

32.

"I just needed someone"

Said by my then-girlfriend the day before she broke up with me via text. I was so madly in love then, and thought it was mutual. She had a new boyfriend 3 weeks afterwards.

It was years ago but I still haven't felt right about myself since then. I always feel like I'm just a "someone" in every relationship. Maybe I'm a little extra dramatic because I recently got dumped in the same fashion, by a girl I was madly on love with who told me she could talk to me about things no one else seemed to understand. New boyfriend in less than a month. And yet again, I'm just a "someone".

I can't shake it off. It's getting old.

Stameris

31.

"He left because he didn't care about you."

What my aunt told me when my dad abandoned me while I was going through chemotherapy at age 10. That's not something I needed to hear.

StuftRug

30.

"I am sorry, there is no heartbeat" at 9 months pregnant, 7 days before my due date...

Nothing else comes close for me.

SunfireMoon

29.

Giphy

Nothing. After telling my best friend how much she meant to me silence was the response that I never would have thought would be the most painful.

darien0803

28.

"I'm so sorry, I truly feel as though I've failed you as a mother", my beautiful mum said in tears when she found out how incredibly suicidal I was and had a nervous breakdown in front of her. She certainly hasn't failed me, we have our ups and downs but she is the best mum I could ask for. I felt like I failed her as a daughter when she said that.

orange69juice

27.

My mother: "I wish you'd never been born."

I reacted with "I don't want you to be my mother then." I ended up not talking or seeing her for over five years.

Estelankely

26.

To be honest, the most painful thing didn't need to be said. We all knew.

It was Mother's Day. I was 35 weeks pregnant, and getting prepared to go to my maternity shoot. I had a feeling that something wasn't quite right, and had my husband take me to the hospital to reassure me that everything was okay. I knew the second she put the Doppler on me, that my worst fears were about to be realized.

Tears started to flow from me, and the (now panicked) nurse was trying to reassure me that sometimes a heartbeat can be hard to detect depending on baby's position, and that they were going to get me into an ultrasound immediately. She was holding back tears. I knew. I just knew.

They wheeled me into a dark room with a large screen. I saw the ultrasound of my son's lifeless body. Every nurse in the room started to weep. "I'm so sorry" was the only thing I can distinctly remember hearing. Everything is a blur. It was a f*cking nightmare.

freespiritedshadow

25.

The dead, awful silence was worse than anything else.

"Dad, you made me. What is my favorite color? My favorite food? What is my girlfriend's last name? Why don't you know anything about me?"

"I made mistakes, son."

"I'm not dead or missing, dad. I'm right here, in front of you. My whole life I wanted to be here just once because you wanted me here. All you had to do was make the slightest effort. Why am I the black sheep? What did I do so wrong as a son that you never wanted me?"

"..."

Tzudro

24.

"I can't let you talk to her."

The words I heard while I was in tears calling my mom asking to talk to my Grandmother, who I had found out had passed the day prior... through condolence wishes on Facebook.

PlottyTheAnimator

23.

Growing up I was very shy and socially anxious. When we would go out places my dad would constantly say to me, why are you so rude, why don't you just talk to people?

For years my dad would just constantly say, what is wrong with you, why can't you just be normal and talk? What is your problem?

Which just led to me being even more self conscious, withdrawing even more, which led to my dad getting even angrier and the cycle worse.

Ended up developing terrible self esteem and depression as a teenager and am now 26 years old and having terrible relationship skills because I have such hard time opening up and trusting people.

chalupabatman9213

22.

"You haven't been a very good son" For context my parents are going through a stupidly complicated and messy divorce.

Me and my dad were arguing over the phone and I was calling him these terrible names and said he couldn't believe I would say those things to him.

So I said "the reason I'm able to say those things is because you're not a good dad."

I explained to him that I never felt a strong connection or relationship with him; we never bonded or talked or had moments, he would just sit at the tv, watch football and eat potato chips. That's when he said I haven't been a good son.

Rangerstrown

21.

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings"

I was emotionally abused and manipulated by my best friend, and cousin, for years. She constantly used me as a means of taking out her anger and sadness from her personal life. Constantly came to my house to escape from her parents, used all of our electronic devices to talk to men she met online until five in the morning, yelled and screamed for me to always be with her to make her feel safe.

I always tried my best to comfort her and make her feel ok. I was always trying to be understanding and give her what she wanted. One day a boy got involved, he and I became a "couple". He used me to try to win the heart of my cousin, because he wanted to show her how great of a guy he was when dating me (ie. Buying my gifts, going out to dinner) In the end he cheated on me multiple times and lied to my face about talking to my cousin behind my back. When I found out that she had known he was lying to me and confronted her about why she didn't tell me, she said:

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings"

This was the biggest eye opener I experienced in my life. She did not care for me in the same way I had been there for her and put the feelings of some man between us. The relationship between her and I has been strained to this day, and there isn't a time where I can be in the same room as her without having to feel like I will always mean so little to her and bitter because I never received an apology. She's simply given excuses stating that she was young and didn't know any better. The words still hurt me to this day and she has no idea as to why it does.

queenetihw

20.

My childhood best friend and me grew up in a small town and ended up getting a our first flat together and he was very out going and loved his dirt bike.

As time went on he stopped socializing and would and spend a lot of time sitting in his parents garage avoiding the world. One morning he said I will see you in a few days going down south for work which he was a few days pass and his dad knocks on the door in a panic and asked if I have heard from will change his name to Sam and I could tell something serious has happened because he's missing.

I jump in my car to make the 4 hour drive down to were he was last seen with work a hour into the drive I had a feeling and knew he was dead hard to explain pulled over to side of road and decided to head home when I arrived his mum arrived she said he was found with a self inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

But the bit I got told by his uncle a year later that I constantly think about every day for the last 20 years is he was found about 200 meters from the gun he shot himself with that he didn't die straight away but started trying to go and get help can't imagine what he was going through breaks my heart.

creeksy

19.

I was being a typical kid at 11 or 12 years old. My mom was very physically and verbally abusive. I thought she was going to hit me for something (I don't remember what I did) but she just lit a cigarette, stood at the kitchen sink looking out the window and said, "Maybe you'll end up in jail and someone's b!tch." I didn't understand what it meant back then, but it was something that always stuck with me.

When I came out she told me, "I think it's disgusting," and hung up on me. We didn't speak for almost a year. I called her out of the blue one day and she acted like nothing had happened. Over the next few years I did some self help stuff and tried to tell her how she had affected me, but she just copped out with, "I did the best I could." It was then I realized we probably never come to terms with each other.

cpf79

18.

"i don't need you treating me like my dad." - an ex friend comparing me to her abusive father after i sat her down to talk to her about her unhealthy coping mechanisms because i was concerned about her. our relationship never was the same after that.

crypticdchic

17.

I suffer with bipolar, thought I'd met someone who understood (they said they did). After destroying myself to give her everything, putting on fronts every day she wanted to go out with her friends etc and dragging me along to which I kept putting on a amiable facade which she never appreciated.

one day I was too low to do anything, I'd spent 2 days in bed just staring at a wall, not eating, seeing, showering, she asked me to go out with her friends again, when I asked if she really thought that was a good idea she hurled a load of abuse at me, threw some stuff at me but the worst thing was when she told me I was f---ed up in the head, incapable of love and that nobody could ever really love me.

Fast forward 3 years I left her and met a truly amazing woman who not only appreciates that things can be bad sometimes she truly loves me regardless. My mood swings even seem to be far less frequent. Although at the time what the other ogre said to me cut Dee over time it become a nothing comment, my new partner helped me realise that. I hope everybody else who comments on here feels better now than they did at the time, chin up guys!

Smile-awhile

16.

I came home from school and mum told me I needed to go see my nana (my best friend) she was in the hospital dying. We sped 2hrs in the car to the hospital ... I jumped out of the car and sprinted and sprinted down all the long hallways of a hospital I'd never seen ... I made it to the door looked in and saw lots of people looking at her, I see her eyes roll back and someone says "You've just missed her."

I leave to the hospital carpark, someone is playing their radio very loudly song by the Black Eye Peas "Tonight's gunna be a good night."

SamJaYxo

15.

My brother was caught shoplifting when we were kids. When they asked his reason, it was because he said he wanted to play with me. It still hurts to this day because I usually keep to myself. It's hard being open for me.

As an adult, a lady I asked out reported me and when they questioned her, they said she was sorry for leading me on. Cut deep.

Rimefang

14.

"You're the middle child, you have it the easiest. No one cares about you anyway"

My mom told me when I was 13.

crocwearingcrocs

13.

"If you disappear like that again I will not look for you. Do you understand? I will let you go"

My ex wife after she found me after I tried to kill myself.

Gadget_SC2

12.

Growing up I was very shy and socially anxious. When we would go out places my dad would constantly say to me, why are you so rude, why don't you just talk to people?

For years my dad would just constantly say, what is wrong with you, why can't you just be normal and talk? What is your problem? Which just led to me being even more self conscious, withdrawing even more, which led to my dad getting even angrier and the cycle worse.

Ended up developing terrible self esteem and depression as a teenager and am now 26 years old and having terrible relationship skills because I have such hard time opening up and trusting people.

chalupabatman9213

11.

Probably not as bad as losing someone but for me it was devastating. Long story short when I was in the army the pain in my leg wasn't a pulled muscle. It was a blood clot. I went to the base hospital and they told me that I had to give myself injections in my stomach (no big deal, I was a medic) to make it smaller. I had to also avoid physical activity that could cause it to get loose which could cause it to go to my brain or lungs which could be fatal. I was literally about a 3 weeks out from deploying to Iraq.

The doctor tells me that I won't be able to deploy with the unit. I was crushed because I had worked really hard preparing for this deployment and was promoted to a position I had been aiming for for quite a while. I was going to be a line medic with an infantry unit. I had spent the entire year training with my platoon and worked my way into a position of trust and confidence. Not one single leader in the platoon I was assigned to would call me "Doc".

They addressed me by my name and rank. But eventually they say what kind of medic I was and even the hardened combat vets started to call me Doc. Not only was I proud but the entire medic platoon was as well. I felt like my guys knew they could count on me and now I wasn't able to go and they had to work with a replacement that they didn't know.

Anyway I was told that I would most likely be able to rejoin my unit in a few months. That's fine because I could avoid all the bullshit that happens the first month or two on deployment while you set up your shop and get your gear sorted out. But that didn't happen.

During some blood tests the doctors discovered that I had a rare medical condition that made my blood much more likely to clot like this and were quite surprised I never had one before. They put me on blood thinners and I was told I would no longer be able to serve in the army if I was on blood thinners.

That's like one of the few medications you can't be on in the Army. 12 years in with 8 or less (my retirement points were getting high because of the war) to go for full retirement down the drain. Not only was my career over and I had to restart my life at 36 but pretty much all I left with was the money I had in the bank. Not even a hearty handshake since everyone I knew was in Iraq.

And I never heard from any of them again. I've never heard from anyone I was in the Army with ever again. And now for the rest of my life I need to go to the hospital and have a vial of blood drawn and tested every month. Sometimes more if I forget I have a test and drink a couple of beers a day or two before it.

PunchBeard

10.

"You haven't been a very good son" For context my parents are going through a stupidly complicated and messy divorce.

Me and my dad were arguing over the phone and I was calling him these terrible names and said he couldn't believe I would say those things to him so I said "the reason I'm able to say those things is because you're not a good dad."

I explained to him that I never felt a strong connection or relationship with him; we never bonded or talked or had moments, he would just sit at the tv, watch football and eat potato chips. That's when he said I haven't been a good son.

Rangerstrown

9.

This happened very recently, so it still hurts a lot, but maybe for the purpose of this thread is better like this: My crush told me that not only she didn't like me, but that she only was my friend because she pitied me.

I was making good progress in trying to attenuate my depression, but because of this not only I'm back to square one, but I also lost my hope in ever making progress again. Honestly I still regret not killing myself that night.

JustARandomPerv

8.

That one of my exes, one I was in a serious relationship with a few years prior, had been brutally murdered.

My dad called and told me. He saw it on the news. He confirmed her name and address with one of the local TV stations to make sure it was her, and it was.

osumba2003

7.

When my ex cheated on me, it was painful. It was a LOT more painful when I asked her for how long this had been happening.

Turns out they were at it for a couple of months already. The fact that it wasn't just a one time mistake but also emotional cheating, hurt like hell!

hansvanhengel

6.

I was working the tills on a busy Friday night in the local fish and chip shop. My boss grabbed my arm and took me out the back. He was grey and told me something bad had happened. He had tears in his eyes and I thought something happened to my dad who was sick at the time. He brought me outside to my auntie. She drove me home and told me my 14 year old cousin had hung himself that night. I didn't believe it so walked back to work and tried finishing my shift.

I still remember how you looked at me the day before, at the bus stop, when you said goodbye. I wonder if you knew it really was goodbye. It's been just over 2 years and I still cry for you, Patrick. My heart will always miss you wee man

CiaraSans

5.

I've always struggled with my weight and have a lot of self confidence/mental issues due to it. When I met my current boyfriend in person after a year of online talk, he relayed to me that I was "fatter than he expected". He didn't have any malice behind it since he's supportive of me and great but those words still come back to me every now and then.

It's funny because I used to have a presence online before I met him and the number one thing people would target me for was my weight. I got used to it but his comment still felt like a hot blade.

gladioliwarrior

4.

had a friend who had a rocky relationship with her dad. She was once telling me about a friend she knew who was abused by her father and a sudden look of revelation came over her face.

I asked her what she was thinking about. She responded, "I just realized how lucky I am. My dad could have hit me a lot harder than he did."

She sounded grateful when she said it, and I tried to pretend it hadn't broken my heart.

queenrodgeriii

3.

When I was a kid my parents got me a kitten. Life circumstances changed shortly after, we became very, very poor. My dad slipped into a depression he never really came out of and turned quite abusive.

The cat really hated him after that. Started sh!tting in his shoes and attacking him. I went to school one day and came home and the cat was gone and my parents told me he ran away. I spent years looking for him when I went outside to play, and cried when the weather was bad because I imagined him out in it somewhere.

My mum casually told me over the phone late last year that she thinks my father killed it. She said he took the kitten into the woods and came back alone and then nobody saw the cat again.

I feel sick whenever I think about it. That cat deserved better.

drewbbles

2.

My best friend (of 10 years) was diagnosed with epilepsy almost 3 years ago, she knew she had it but didn't feel like treating it, about a year ago (after an argument we didn't talk for a year) I finally spoke to her again and her first words to me were "I'm sorry, what's your name again?" I had to step away and sob.

The seizures had done so much damage to her brain, she had no memories we shared together, she didn't remember my name or anything. It truly broke me to bits. I'm now left with the memories and the ptsd from all of her seizures (anytime someone even twitches, I have a full panic attack) and she got to leave those memories and me behind and become a new person.

DexterousDragon

1.

"Grow up and get help. We're done, now move on. If this continues, I'll go to HR."

I remember every word like it was yesterday. She was one of my best friends until that point. She wanted to date and I didn't. I tried to set boundaries. She wanted to come over to my house alone. She wanted to take a vacation together. She wanted to have sex. No. No. No.

Despite everything, we were friends. And she had the audacity to talk like I'm the ahole.

Still hurt though.

ryguy28896

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.