We try not to judge, but every once in awhile, somebody comes along that you just can't get a grasp of. That person likely stirred up/disturbed your day in a way that you didn't expect. But one thing is for sure--you will never forget them.
u/katiehanna_ asked:
Who is the strangest person you've ever met?
Here were some of those stories.
Conspiracies
GiphyYears ago when I worked at a shipping and copying place (similar to Kinko's) a guy would come in every so often with stacks of newspapers. He would cut up parts of different articles and tape the sections together to form his own stories, then run what he made through the copier to make it look like it was one actual article. He would then show them to me and tell me they were about him.
Usually the finished article was a combination of world news about terrorism and the sports section. The overall story was that he is a CIA agent fighting terrorism and his cover was being the quarterback for the Chicago Bears.
Organique
I used to work the drive through at a Del Taco that was open 24 hours a day. I had several odd experiences with a regular who came in about once a week towards the end of my employment there.
Experience 1: Man comes to window and asks if our bean and cheese burrito is organic. I say "probably not but I'm not sure." He decides that this means they absolutely must be 100% organic and orders 3 of them.
Experience 2: Same man comes to window shirtless. He explains that he is only shirtless because he was sweating profusely moments earlier (at 2am) and proceeds to hold a soaking wet shirt up to the window for me to touch as proof.
Experience 3. Same man comes to window, does not order anything, but tells me he is very happy that we are open 24 hours a day because "he is only awake at night."
Experience 4. Same man comes to window to tell me about a yoga studio he has been frequenting because they are open until 3am. He suggests I check it out. He does not order his usual "organic" bean and cheese burrito but rather our fish tacos because "he has decided to only eat fish."
Very nice man. Very strange man.
Charlie, Honestly
I went to a wilderness survival school and there was this guy there named Charlie who never wore a shirt, rode this really beat-up motorcycle everywhere, and mined Bitcoin for a living. He didn't bring a tent so he slept on a tarp on the ground for the whole week and ate canned beans even though we provided meals. He cried a lot and hugged everyone at the end of the week.
Charlie was pretty cool tbh.
Limericks
When I lived in Hawaii I used to meet a lot of weirdos. It's hard to pick a winner out of all of them but I'll go with the crazy Welsh guy for this entry.
I was sitting at a bus stop reading when he approached me.
"LIKE TO READ, EH?"
The caps lock is appropriate here because he always spoke like he's just barely refraining from going completely ballistic.
"Uh yeah," I said.
"I HAVE A BOOK OF POEMS I'VE WRITTEN. WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ THEM?"
"I guess so," I said.
He then thrust a manila folder at me, then added "THEY'RE WRITTEN BACKWARDS BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT WHO THE JEWS STOLE TIME."
"Uh thanks," I said.
"I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM," he said, then walked away.
According to the writing on the packet he was the co-president of the Hawaiian-Welsh Astral Society, which met weekly at a nearby park. The poems began with photocopies of a bunch of news articles he had annotated with comments I couldn't make any sense of before getting into the poetry itself, which made no reference to Jews anywhere that I could see but were dated in reverse chronology, which I guess is what he meant by them being written backwards. They were not very good poems.
Georgie Porgie Scared Me
GiphyGeorge
The first day I met him, he was rubbing his tummy. Under the shirt. It was weird, but not scary. I didn't think he was trying to be weird, just that he wanted to rub his tummy and this was the time to do it, mere coincidence that we were speaking.
One time he was shouting in his office, "SHUT UP SLAVE, SHUT UP SLAVE" over and over. We couldn't tell what he was saying at first, but he left quickly towards the elevators and still shouting in the lobby.
He would try to touch your elbow with his instead of a high five or anything.
He'd have random outbursts, similar to the "shut up slave", but more contained. Like, he'd know his reaction was uncalled for, however he wasn't able to control what he was saying.
As I got to know him more, I could tell that he was working on it and trying to get himself under control, however I don't know if he's ever been diagnosed with anything.
Psychological Lying
I called him John the liar...he was a coworker of mine in college at a sporting goods store. He lied about everything not just embellishing stories or adding a few extra details... just straight up lies. He would lie about what he ate for lunch even though I saw him eat it.
He told our manager that his dad was a 6'5 marine who helped take down Osama Bin Laden and then an hour later he told me his dad was a quadriplegic and had been for 30 years. Then he told me he got an override from the administration to take 24 credits one semester as a biology major...then I found out he was still in high school.
It was absolutely psychotic, I finally had to confront him about it when he started telling customers the completely wrong specs on all the guns we carried. He just lied some more and said that I was wrong or that I misunderstood him.
Eventually I had to ask my supervisor to schedule me on a different shift because I couldn't take it anymore.
Assault By Bookshelf
I managed a bookstore for a long time and you run into your share of weirdos, there. I could tell a million stories. One of the weirdest was this lady who came in a few times who would get dozens of books, browse through them, ask us to hold them, and then never ask to see them again or buy them, so we began just reshelving stuff immediately.
One day she came in and took over this one sitting area. She had probably close to a hundred books piled on the coffee table and the floor, and the other customers sitting there were clearly starting to get annoyed. I went over with a library cart and offered to take some of the books to the front of the store to hold onto them while she "shopped". She said no. I said at the very least I needed to put the books on the cart because it was hazardous to have piles of books in the aisle, but when I knelt to pick them up, she grabbed my hands and slammed them on the table, pinning my wrists down, and legit snarled at me. I managed to stay calm and told her to get her hands off of me, and told one of my co-managers who was nearby to call the police.
When the police came, they asked me if I wanted to press charges for assault, but I said no: I just wanted her trespassed from the property. He wrote out a trespass order and she pulled a folder out where she had a stack of trespass orders from various local businesses and filed it alphabetically - I guess she got banned from so many places, she found it hard to keep track.
The police ended up having to stay for a while because she kept circling her car through the parking lot and screaming obscenities at me. I don't remember everything she said, but I do know at one point she said "F*CK YOU. YOU'RE NOT THE REAL PRINCESS DIANA. I KNEW THE REAL PRINCESS DIANA AND YOU AREN'T HER, MOTHERF*CKER!" It took us over an hour to reshelve all her goddamn books.
I looked up her name online later when I got home. Turned out she was a prominent real estate agent the next city over. I cannot imagine showing up to an open house held by that lunatic.
The Lunch List
The cemetery groundskeeper in our hometown.
He did a very good job (the grounds were immaculate and perfectly landscaped), but he'd hover over people when they'd visited a grave - as if he didn't want anyone in his cemetery.
People wondered why he'd have his lunch inside the mausoleum on the grounds on sunny days instead of being outdoors. He'd say, "I prefer being with the dead than with the living."
I Hate You, Dan
I'll call him Dan. Dan was my roommate in a military school. Military school is already full of weirdos but Dan... Dan owns it. Here's a slight list of the atrocities I had with my man, Dan;
Dan kept a dead bird he found outside in his desk. He wanted to get its bones and sell it to a museum.
Dan was filling up a half gallon bottle with dip spit. He plan was to one day use the collected amount and "repackage" it into empty dip cans to sell to people. I almost threw up twice remembering this. One day, he didn't tighten the lid and it spilled into his footlocker. Three times almost threw up.
In six months of knowing Dan, I saw him shower three times. He was quite stinky fellow. I was his roommate.
He thought he was a vampire. I asked him why. He said he didn't like sunlight. I explained that he never went into the sun so that's why it bothered him. He said his mom had to file his fangs when he was born. I explained to him newborns do not have teeth usually. He told me he drank blood and liked it. I asked if it was his. He said no. I asked who the f*ck gave him blood. He said he was sworn to secrecy. I said the name of another weirdo at the school because I just f*cking knew it. He was basically like "lol, that's him."
We had these giant bed cover things we called bed condoms. It was a large cloth like bag that you put over a twin mattress in our barracks bunk beds. Nobody used them because it made it harder to make your bed for inspections. Reason I bring this up? Dan never did his laundry. We had pickup service. Literally you just leave a bag of clothes out your door someone picks it up and folds it. Dan never did his laundry. Dan's laundry was too much for his laundry bag. Dan starting using his bed condom. Dan filled his bed condom. One day, I threaten to beat his ass if he didn't get his laundry done. I woke up him up in the morning prior to the pickup and went to go shower. As I was leaving, I witnessed him pouring his dirty ass laundry onto his bed. I went to shower. When I came back, Dan was cocooned in a massive pile of dirty laundry on his bed that he was sleeping naked in. He did not emerge from his sacred slumber as a beautiful butterfly. He was still Dan.
Dan would masturbate at my computer at night when he thought I was asleep to weird anime flash games. I only caught him once and changed my PW. Who knows how many times he stroked that vienna sausage till his eyes rolled back.
One time, my buddy and I went out. We came back to watch a movie and Dan had like three beers or whatever so was laying in his bed. There was a beer bottle on my desk in which my buddy asked if it was mine and I said no. He said it was almost empty so he was going to spit in it as he put a dip in. After about 15 minutes, he said he didn't want to spit in it anymore because it was warm. I said something about it was on top of my computer hard drive so maybe the computer warmed it up. Buddy left for a minute. Dan proceeds to tell me that the bottle is warm because he peed in it. He left it it on my desk. I beat up Dan.
Dan left boogers under my desk.
Dan was morbidly obese and disgusting. Somehow Dan's mom was fine. Shockingly attractive.
Dan bought a Russian trench coat and a gas mask.He would sometimes sleep in them.
Dan snored loudly.
People were not fond of Dan. One night he was sprayed with the fire extinguisher while watching stuff on his computer... and hallucinating on Robitussin. He fell down and busted his head.
Dan got written up because the sow that he drank blood from and Dan were caught repeatedly playing around the dumpster by the cadet chain of command. We do not know why they liked the dumpster.
One time I walked into the room and there was a strange gold tint to it. I had been gone all weekend and was confused. I walked into my room and was like basically what the f*ck. I looked over and I see Dan and blood donation idiot smiling at me with gold paint on their mouths. I noticed the spray paint can on the desk. I left the room.
Ever heard of pouring Listerine through slice of bread will filter the alcohol out so you can drink it? Dan heard this rumor too. Dan got sick that day after growing frustrated and eating the slice of bread.
Ever heard that if you leave oranges out, the mold can make you hallucinate? Me neither. Dan did! He grew frustrated and ate the orange. Dan was sick again.
I am forgetting things about Dan. I know it. I may add if I remember some other ones.
I was not fond of Dan.
If you enjoy this, read about Buck.
I am not fond of him too.
Edit Specialist Buck It's full blown military jargon but pretty sure they came from the same breeding.
Trapped In A Convo
GiphyAn old lady that used to live in my town who was usually just known as the "I say!" lady. She was usually seen accompanied by a large dog. She was called that because she started all conversations with adults with "I say....".
She was an absolute terror to children. If a child came within a few feet she would berate them for being near and say the dog would attack them (the dog seemed more terrified of her and I never heard of it attacking anyone). We kids all knew to just leave her alone.
With adults, she was a totally different person and would be extremely friendly. Adults knew to avoid her too because she would talk to them for hours if you let them and literally chase after you if you tried to leave.
People's Absolute Worst Food Poisoning Experiences
Reddit user Plastickfantastick asked: 'What’s that food that gave you food poisoning?'
Food poisoning can hit you at any time and no one's immune.
All it takes is one horrific experience for you to swear off certain types of dishes, cuisine, or restaurants for good–even if you craved them before.
Even the foods you prepare in your own kitchen and consume can give you a night spent on the bathroom floor due to casual negligence like failing to inspect the expiration date on packaged foods or undercooking meat.
Strangers shared their microbe-attack experiences after Redditor Plastickfantastick asked:
"What’s that food that gave you food poisoning?"
Warning: these examples are extremely graphic. Do not read before eating if you have a weak stomach.
These Redditors never thought twice about what they were eating before realizing they were about to have a bad food encounter.
Bad Diner Chicken
"Fried chicken from a Kmart diner back in ‘97. Got it before a shift at my job, an hour later, explosive vomiting and diarrhea at my job . Those poor bastards."
– Graehaus
History Of Digestive Violence
"Improperly cooked and/or poorly sourced shrimp, in a Thai dish I usually love from our go-to takeout place. Last week. Minor case. Seattle."
"E. coli lettuce. 2005. Not as minor. San Mateo."
"Orange Julius. 1988. Required a trip to the ER. One night in the hospital. Prior to, I had no idea the human body could emit liquids with such sustained force and in such quantities. Great Falls, Montana."
– ifollowthisstuff
Microbial Passengers
"Egg salad sandwich from a truck stop. Ended up getting worms who transformed my body into a stronger person. But then my friends shrunk themselves down and got rid of them…"
– throwing_this_sh*t_
Red flags were missed here.
Hardly Boiled Egg
"I ate a questionable hard boiled egg and barfed so hard I slipped a disc in my back and couldn't walk for over a month. Eventually I had been away from my sh**ty retail job for so long, I had a full on meltdown at the thought of going back. I quit and got a way better job with more freedom, less stress, and decent pay for how little I work. It's awesome. That stupid egg changed my whole damn life."
– edie_the_egg_lady
Barely Frozen Pizza
"Frozen pizza that hadn't stayed frozen the entire time. My grocery store, that I no longer patronize, is very cheap and runs their freezers a bit too warm and has no problem tossing thawed or expired things back on the shelf."
"This pizza had odd ice crystals inside the plastic pouch that I had never seen before, that should have been the tip-off, but I baked the thing and it seemed fine before and after, like no discoloration or smell."
"But that thing came out both ends at around 2AM I barely made it to the bathroom."
– Kinetic_Kill_Vehicle
The Sadist
"Coconut shrimp from a Chinese place by my old place. Every time I went to that place, I got sick. Started going there to take a sick day. Still kept eating those tasty shrimps and getting sick."
"9/10, would eat those tasty little bastards again."
– Abadatha
Some were able to make it to the bathroom amidst their bowel distress.
Others, unfortunately, didn't.
Have It Your Way
"Burger King"
"me, my wife and 3 kids all fighting for one toilet."
– TrailerParkPrepper
"it's always burger king man 😭"
"one time I had a horrible ear infection and after I ate burger king i somehow ended up with a stomach infection as well."
"like what the F'K burger king. the smell of a womper gives me anxiety now lmao."
– beecycle
Emergency Stop
"It wasn’t food poisoning, but it was a bad time. We had gone about an hour away to a nice restaurant, and I knew the salad dressing wasn’t right- I even asked about it. They said it was fine, but not 20 minutes out, I had a problem. I have never before in my life felt like I was going to have no choice in the matter as to what was about to pass through my lowest sphincter. I pointed at a lone Walgreens that I knew was going to be my only choice at all between the points, and my husband stopped. I believe I uttered, 'Bathroom.'"
"It was almost closing, and I said nothing more as I left the car. I beelined to the bathroom and proceeded to experience my bowels expelling so much product with so much fluid I’m pretty sure I passed things I only thought about eating or drinking. I passed things my husband ate. I passed things I ate in other lives, in other realms, in other existences. For a brief moment, I defied physics and created matter from nothing. Every video I ever saw of oil being drained from cars, pipes being cleared of muck, and farmers towing old tires through backed up culverts flashed before my eyes. I had to flush out of fear of the pile getting too big. I was literally laughing at myself, which I am certain the kind workers vacuuming the hallway could hear- along with my underwater bassoon solo- as they patiently waited for me to leave, so they could close."
"It was probably 10:20 when I left that bathroom with as much pride as I could muster, patting the sweat off my brow as that smell followed me to the front of the store. Everyone avoided me, but watched from a distance with what I like to think was some sort of awe. I walked out, hearing the lock thrown behind me with speed and agility never before seen from a chain pharmacy employee, and briefly wondered if they thought that through- the door was the best way to remove the smell. I suppose having had twenty minutes to discuss it, they considered it more valuable to remove the creator of the smell than the smell itself. But I digress."
"I walked over to the car, my husband in the drivers seat, no real clue what was going on other than a 30 minute bathroom break. I opened the door, gracefully (but maybe slightly gingerly) got into the car, looked him in his concerned eyes, took his hands, and calmly said, 'Well, we can never go back there again.'"
– danceswithsockson
Rumbly In My Tumbly
"Not necessarily food poisoning, but I ate a pressed Cuban sandwich one time that ended up making me leave my underwear and shorts on a dirt road somewhere in Florida."
"Felt a rumbly in my tumbly while driving from Tampa to Destin and next thing you know I just sh*t all over myself. Thank god I happened to have a change of clothes."
– Emergency_Flounder58
Unpleasant Drive Home
"French Dip from Perkins in Blytheville, Arkansas around 2002."
"Was in town from 3 hours away for a job. Did job, grabbed lunch at Perkins."
"Started driving home. Mind you, there’s nothing but farms between Blytheville and home. Hour into the drive I’m sweating and not feeling great. Chalk it up to Arkansas heat and my sh**ty car’s sh**tier air conditioning."
"Feel a fart coming. Feels like a doozy, so being a man in my mid-20’s i give it some back pressure for bigger sound for a laugh."
"….annnnd i force-fed my pants a liter of liquid feces and had to sit in it for the remaining hot, humid 2 hours home."
"(Bonus: car was stick shift, so got to slosh my shame around every time i used the clutch)"
– Moist_When_It_Counts
After prom, I suggested my group of friends to go to a fancy Beverly Hills restaurant for some prime rib, and they were all in.
I was the only one who chose creamed spinach as a side while everyone else had mashed potatoes. I should've gone with the majority.
Something about my creamed spinach didn't taste right, but I figured a fancy restaurant could never serve up poor quality dishes.
I could've had a stomach flu, perhaps. When I got home after dinner, I immediately bee-lined over to the bathroom and projectile-vomited my fancy meal.
The worst part was when my older brother woke up from the sounds coming from the bathroom late at night and scolded me for underage-drinking when I had not been doing that.
Geez, kick a man while he's down.
Anyway, it was a great prom. The dinner, not-so-much.
There's an old saying which says "a team is only as strong as their weakest link."
However, if the team loses a game or competition, in most cases their loss can't be blamed solely on whomever that unlucky individual is.
As it's the team's job to work together and lift up their struggling teammates.
In other cases, however, one individual can be blamed for the misfortune or bad luck of one or more people.
As it was their poor judgment or bad decisions that put them and everyone else in the unfair, unfortunate situations they now find themselves in.
"What was ruined for everyone by one single person?"
A Penguin?!
"My primary school used to do relatively frequent trips to a local zoo, until one boy decided to vault the fence and punch a penguin."
"I wish I was joking."- eighttesticles
No One Likes A Snitch...
"I'm a contractor and I work in different kinds of plants and mills."
"In one mill I worked at, we had a gravy job, two hours of easy work, and get paid for twelve hours."
"Well, one guy decided he was going to charge them for sixteen, and now we get two hours for the job."- Juggalo13XIII
A Chaperone Has One Job...
"The elementary school I went to let 6th graders go on an overnight trip to a lodge where we could go skiing and snow tubing."
"My dad volunteered as a parent and was 'supervising' by letting me and 5 other girls pile on top of one tube down a steep hill and we all went flying."
"Two of the girls busted their arms when we all landed in a pile."
"It looked like a cartoon."
"Anyway, after that no more sleep overs at the lodge and tale has it 30 years later everyone at the school still blames my dad lol."- Carol_Pilbasian
Sledding Cake Boss GIF by TLCGiphyOn The Other Hand, Better Safe Than Sorry?
"Not having to take your shoes off before boarding a plane."
"F*ck you, Richard Reid."- DonRicardo1958
"The guy who attempted to smuggle a bomb in his shoe in 2001."
"Now we all have to suffer taking our shoes off at airport security every damn time we fly."- Plus-Statistician80
Those Boots Were Made For Walking...
"I worked as a park maintenance groundskeeper for Parks & Recreation"
"No it is not like the show."
"At a previous job, we got full uniforms."
"Shirts, pants, hats, hoodies, winter coveralls, winter coats, gloves."
"But we don't get shoes or boots."
"Turns out a couple of years before I was hired on, they used to give boots."
"But one guy would take his boots and sell them, then request a replacement, then sell those."
"He did this about 20 times before anybody caught on because of municipal bureaucracy being slow to notice."
"When they caught on, they stopped giving out boots to their employees."- Corgiboom2
boots dancing GIF by Sara AndreassonGiphyMaybe CPR Training Instead?
"The person who apparently choked on a lollipop at my bank and now we don't get lollipops anymore."- neoprenewedgie
Even When Cheating The System, Cheaters Always Get Caught...
"Other firefighters constantly ruin any sort of appreciation restaurants give out."
"We had a BBQ restaurant that would give a flat 10$ off your meal."
"If you didn't spend $10 it was basically free."
"One guy ruined it on an $8 order by demanded the $2 be given to him as well."
"Had people going in uniform on days they didn't work."
"Had one guy have a family reunion at a local restaurant then made a big issue they wouldn't give his entire party the discount."
"I don't understand how out of touch people can be."- wehrmann_tx
No Time For Bullying
"Back around the mid 2000s I was around 10 years old and I used to go to this place after school called 'the Boys and Girls club'."
"They had an area with multiple basketball hoops on a court which we used to play all kinds of games in; one of those games being dodgeball."
"These were not those big rubber balls but instead the styrofoam filled balls with kind of a thin layer of plastic so otherwise… harmless."
"One of the kids thought it would be a good idea to shove a rock into one of the balls and throw it at someone he didn’t like."
"Well he ended up throwing it right into that kids face and broke two of his front teeth."
"We never played dodgeball again."- Mi_trees
You Still Need To Work When You Work From Home
"Previous job I had used to be hybrid twice a week."
"One person, on their hybrid day, decided to slack off work and go out."
"They got a call from their manager because they were late for a virtual meeting and the manager heard a lot of background noise like they were at the mall or something."
"Said person eventually admitted they were not home working, got fired, and now everyone had to be in the office 5 days a week."- Shiekh_Bodi
Happy London GIF by Kick GameGiphyWhy? Just Why?
"The guy who killed the most isolated tree on Earth."
"Same with that woman who burned down the oldest tree."
"Imagine the history the trees lived through."- kavalejava
Seriously People, Do Your Jobs!!!
"Had a job where as a dialysis nurse where we added a position to pick up add ons and emergency cases that came in later in the day."
"In this role we worked noon to midnight which helped us cut down from needing a nurse on call every night to maybe once or twice a week."
"Whoever took this role didn’t have to take call and had weekends off."
"We loved rotating through this role and enjoyed taking a break from having to be on call and enjoyed having weekends off."
"Then there came the nurse who went out at 7 am instead of noon, and finished at 5 pm."
"When there was an add-on or an emergency case she wouldn’t answer her phone, which meant everyone had to go back to picking up extra patients and being on call again."
"She did this every time it was her turn to go through the rotation so they eliminated the position and we went back to having to be on call all the time."- Otto_Correction
You Don't Hear It Much...
"The name Adolf has gotta be up there."- Akatsuki_Accountant
Taste Is Subjective
"At one of my previous workplaces, management played music as a way of promoting good mood."
"They played all sorts of genres so everyone got a chance to listen to something they liked."
"One person complained that sometimes they had to listen to music they didn't like, so they stopped playing music altogether."- Dynasuarez-Wrecks
Dj Mix Clashing GIF by Digital DJ TipsGiphyBy definition, a selfish person is someone who only thinks of themselves, and doesn't give other people a second thought.
And sometimes, acts of pure selfishness have negative long-term consequences on many other people.
Seriously though, who punches a penguin?
When the money is gone... it's GONE!
And when that happens, we have to adjust.
People pivot in order to survive.
Some of us find coupons and discounts galore.
Some of us skip meals.
But when people are broke and still have to keep living, one has to get creative.
Redditor w3stward wanted to hear about the ways we've all stretched a few dollars, so they asked:
"What’s the brokest thing you’ve ever done?"
Payday
I Cant Hard Times GIF by La Guarimba Film FestivalGiphy"Called in sick on Wednesday because I didn't have enough gas money to drive to work but one more time, which I waited until Thursday to do, because that was payday."
TrailerParkPrepper
Pennies
"I was subletting a place and needed bus fare to get to work that day, so I searched every couch cushion and coat pocket in the hopes that I could find enough to get there. I ended up finding a ton of pennies, so I paid the bus fare in pennies. I was 30 cents short but the bus driver just gave me a transfer and waved me in. The first customer of the day tipped me like $5 on their coffee and I've never been so happy in my life."
GeoGirl07
Mitzvah Tanks
"In the early 2000s, the garment district in Manhattan had 'Mitzvah Tanks.' It was basically a mobile synagogue for the devout to come to handle religious observation during the workday with a Rabbi. Turns out they had bagels in there. I was just starting out my career (I was 21 or so) and money was tight. I would go in 3x a week and get bagels."
"If no one was looking I would stuff an extra into my suit pocket. I don’t at all look Jewish and almost no one from my part of the world is Jewish. The Rabbi approached me after a month and I told him 'I saw free food in a house of God and just figured since I am not a bad guy, God wouldn’t be too mad.'"
"Rabbi laughed and said something like 'From now on say hello. You don’t have to act like a thief trying not to get caught.' In a few months when money was less tight, I would stop by at lunch and chat with the Rabbi. It was a simpler time."
Itchy-Picture-4282
Scratch Away
"Brokest and stupidest thing I did. I bought scratch tickets in hopes to win money to buy Christmas presents when I was 18. I didn’t want anyone to think I had money problems at the time so I spent $10 on a scratcher and won $500. I don’t know how but it was enough for car insurance and presents."
FalseWeeknd
Yummies
Costco GIF by hero0fwarGiphy"Walked into a Costco with an expired membership card and had samples for dinner. I made the rounds a few times."
TheTyGoss
I do love a good, free trip around Costco.
Who doesn't love a good free sample buffet?
Eat Up
ramen noodles GIFGiphy"Bought a case of ramen noodles at the self-checkout at Walmart with 4 different debit cards that each had less than a dollar on them. You can make partial payments at Walmart self-checkout and nobody has to know how broke you are. Me and my 3 kids ate for the next 2 days."
-JunkyardDog
Grapefruit Pepper Chicken
"I had a small boneless, skinless chicken breast and a shriveled grapefruit in the fridge and only ground pepper in the pepper shaker, I had even run out of salt. That was all the food I had in the apartment. The grapefruit pepper chicken I made for dinner was disgusting but I ate half and saved half for dinner the next night."
"Driving home from work the next night I got 2 flats in my car tires and had to abandon my car on the side of the road. I had to leave it there until the weekend, I was lucky not to get towed or ticketed. I walked the two miles home, and then walked to and from work the rest of the week so embarrassed and afraid some coworker would see me coming or going without a car."
"I was able to borrow some money and added it to my paycheck to get my tires repaired. That was the poorest I have ever been in my life. I moved back in with my parents the next month."
DadsRGR8
Side of the Road
"Refused transport to the hospital, or any medical care at all, after I was hit by a car. I had been riding my bike home from work and going to the hospital would have meant leaving my only transportation on the side of the road. I didn’t carry a lock because I only rode my bike to work and had secure indoor storage for it at home and work."
Imaginary_Train_8056
Clean It Out
"I had $10 for food for 2 weeks so I got things to make a large pot of veggie soup (lentils, broth, canned veggies) and a large tub of plain oatmeal and ate vegan (not on purpose) for three weeks till it was gone. I've been told that rich people call this a 'cleanse' diet now."
Cantankerous_Won
See the Light
On My Way Goodbye GIF by Bubble PunkGiphy"My motorcycle headlight broke, so I started riding around with a flashlight in my mouth. True story. I was young and very, very dumb."
TedW
Anything for Food
"Sold my plasma for grocery money."
skidmarkzzz
"Ok, but that plasma kept my mom alive long enough to know she was going to have a granddaughter before she died from blood cancer. I’ll always be thankful for plasma givers ❤️."
bernelux
The things we have to do when our pockets are empty.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
Princess Margaret might have grown up in the shadow of her older sister Queen Elizabeth II, but she didn’t stay that way. By the time she was a teenager, the young, beautiful, and fashionable princess was the talk of the town…and not for the right reasons. From her scandalous bedroom tastes to her tragic end, Margaret’s life was far from a fairy tale.
1. Her Birth Was Surprising
Princess Margaret was born on August 21st, 1930 in Glamis Castle in Scotland. But her beginning wasn't what many people think. See, little Margaret wasn’t actually directly in line for the crown. Her father was a younger son of the King of England, and no one in the family expected to make it to the throne. Well, that all changed—and quickly.
2. She Became Bona Fide Royal Through Scandal
File:King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson on holiday in Yugoslavia ...commons.wikimedia.orgWhen Margaret was just five years old, her family had a transformation of fortunes. Her uncle became King Edward VIII, but then infamously abdicated in order to marry his love, Wallis Simpson. Suddenly, Margaret’s father was King George VI, and she was second in line to the throne after her older sister Elizabeth. Still, it might have been the worst thing to ever happen to her.
3. Her Mother Controlled Her
Margaret’s upbringing is probably surprising to a lot of people. Although she was a royal and had access to the best teachings money could buy, her mother decided that her daughters would only receive a bare-bones education, since she aimed to make them simply “nicely behaved young ladies". Later on, this had disastrous consequences for Margaret.
4. She Had A Weapon Of Choice
File:Young Queen Elizabeth 1952.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgAs a child, Margaret idolized her older sister Elizabeth, and, as we'll see, the two carried on a close relationship into their adulthood. Still, there was a hefty amount of sibling rivalry, too, and the girls often came to blows. According to their governess, while Elizabeth liked to throw punches, little Princess Margaret was much more of a biter.
5. Her Family Hid Her Away
While Margaret grew up in her gilded bubble, dark rumors started swirling. When she was a young girl, people saw so little of her that a persistent whisper claimed she was actually deaf and mute, and that her parents were hiding her from the public. Eventually, the family dispelled the rumors...but it didn’t take long for more to start, and these ones were all too true.
6. She Was A Spoiled Brat
File:King George VI LOC matpc.14736 (cleaned).jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgGrowing up as second in line to the throne would turn anyone into a spoiled brat, but this went double for Princess Margaret. Her father King George loved his respectable elder daughter Elizabeth, but he absolutely doted on Margaret, claiming that while Elizabeth was his “pride,” Margaret was his “joy". And soon enough, Margaret's spoiled upbringing started to show.
7. Her Father Indulged Her
People around the British court started to notice just how much the King let Margaret get her way, even allowing the 13-year-old girl to stay up past her bedtime and attend lavish royal dinners. Many aides began to worry about the Princess, especially as she grew into a beautiful, vivacious, and very willful young woman...
8. She Was The Center Of Attention
File:Margaret prinses van Engel (Bestanddeelnr 092-1353).jpg ...commons.wikimedia.orgBy the time she was barely a teenager, Margaret could already walk into a room and light it up. One courtier commented that she was “full of character and very tart". Another noted her burgeoning good looks and how she was "very sure of herself and full of humor,” though also said she “might get into trouble before she’s finished". Well, that trouble started early.
9. Her Governess Tried To Ban Her
Surprise, surprise, Margaret's charm had a dark side. Her own governess, Marion Crawford, thought Margaret was an attention hog, especially when it came to taking the attention away from her more “important” sister Elizabeth. To try to curb the habit, Crawford actually once wrote to a friend, “Could you this year only ask Princess Elizabeth to your party?,” not wanting Margaret to come in and steal the thunder.
10. She Overshadowed Her Sister
File:Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret starring in wartime Aladdin ...commons.wikimedia.orgEven Princess Elizabeth admitted that Margaret could take the wind of her sails—it’s just that she didn’t mind it. Elizabeth, reserved and taciturn, actually liked that Margaret was so forceful, colorful, and irresistible. As she once said, “Oh, it's so much easier when Margaret's there—everybody laughs at what Margaret says". Too bad the sisters’ relationship didn’t stay so harmonious.
11. Her Mother Was A Spitfire
As WWII broke out, there was pressure for the royal family to relocate to Canada for their safety. Of course, this didn’t happen. Instead, they braved the danger with everyone else in England. In response to pressure, Margaret’s mother famously retorted, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave". Wonder where Margaret got her stubbornness from.
12. She Resented Her Upbringing
File:GoreVidalVanVechten1.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgEven at this point, Margaret was chomping at the bit for some challenges in her life. After all, she'd spent WWII inside and away from harm, and by then she felt completely resentful of her mother’s limited education for her. As her acquaintance Gore Vidal later recalled, "She was far too intelligent for her station in life". Is it any wonder she rebelled?
13. She Had A Famous Feature
As Margaret entered her 20s, she was one of the most stunning women in the royal family. She famously had a slender 18-inch waist and “vivid blue eyes,” and her good looks and pedigree got her into the most exclusive circles and clubs in London. Before long, the press dubbed her and her fashionable group of aristocratic friends “The Margaret Set". Then again, they weren’t always just “friends”…
14. She Was A Party Girl
File:Princess Margaret in Cyprus, 1977.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgWhile out on the town, Princess Margaret gained a reputation as “the world’s most eligible bachelor-girl” for the sheer number of men swooping in and out of her limo on late nights. Her little black book was a veritable who’s who of Britain’s gentry, from millionaire heir Billy Wallace to future Canadian Prime Minister John Turner. Yet as it turned out, Margaret only had eyes for one man.
15. She Nursed A Huge Crush
One constant presence in Margaret’s life was her royal aide, Group Captain Peter Townsend, a dashing war hero more than 15 years her senior. Townsend worked for Margaret’s parents and was their great favorite; many even said that King George treated Townsend like a long-lost son. Well, familiarity must breed romance, because Margaret was head over heels before she knew it.
16. Her Love Was Taboo
File:Princess Margaret and Sir Raynor Arthur.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgMargaret and Peter’s love story is now infamous, but few people know their scandalous beginnings. The palace first employed Peter when Margaret was just 13 years old, yet the teenager had her eye on the new arrival from the very start—even though he was already taken. When Margaret met him on his first day, she turned to Elizabeth and said, “Bad luck, he’s married". This only got worse.
17. She Flirted With Danger
Apparently, the vivacious Margaret wasn’t going let a little thing like holy matrimony—or their ridiculous age difference—get in the way of having her fun with Townsend. She flirted with him shamelessly, even once demanding he carry her up the stairs after a party, all in full view of her father King George VI. But harmless fun quickly turned into dangerous liaisons.
18. She Had An Exotic Romance
File:Peter Townsend (1914-1995).jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgIn 1947, Margaret’s family finally let her come with them on a state visit abroad—her first ever—to South Africa. But they made a fatal error. Ironically, Peter Townsend was her “chaperone” for the visit, and they often went riding together. Margaret later admitted that she fell in love with Townsend on this trip. But as for Townsend? Well…
19. She Had An Unrequited Love
For all that Princess Margaret was determined to seduce Peter Townsend, he wasn’t exactly sold on the idea at the beginning. In fact, many sources report that he, like most of the palace courtiers, saw Margaret merely as an “indulged child". Accordingly, Townsend treated her very distantly and firmly, and they had a bit of a love/hate start…at first.
20. She Seduced A Man
File:Øvrevold. Peter Townsend - L0060 922Fo30141701170265.jpg ...commons.wikimedia.orgAccording to Townsend himself, there was one exact moment where he realized that he was deep in love with Margaret, too. He claimed it happened in 1951, while the entire family was out for a picnic together. Under King George’s watchful eye, Margaret woke Townsend up from a nap, and he suddenly couldn’t deny his feelings.
Even so, Townsend was still very much married, and it would take an absolute tragedy to bring them together.
21. She Suffered An Enormous Tragedy
In the early 1950s, King George’s health started failing, thanks in part to his rampant smoking habit. Margaret’s father went under the knife for lung cancer, but surgery didn’t make things any better. On February 6, 1952, the monarch passed, making Margaret’s sister Queen Elizabeth II—and throwing the princess into a total tailspin.
22. She Fell Into A Crisis
File:King George VI and Princess Elizabeth.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgPrincess Margaret was incredibly close with her father, and his passing crushed her. She called him, “such a wonderful person, the very heart and center of our happy family". With that center gone, Margaret suffered from bouts of ill health and had trouble sleeping, even seeking out a sedative prescription to help numb her pain. And there was more upheaval to come.
23. She Got Her Deepest Wish
1952 was already shaping up to be a stressful year for Princess Margaret, but then Peter Townsend had to throw her another curveball. The palace aide went and divorced his wife, suddenly making him a free agent and fair game at last. I’d say Margaret made the rational decision and took it slow…but when has this girl made rational decisions?
24. She Had A Secret Rendezvous Spot
File:INF3-75 pt1 HRH Princess Margaret.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgThrown together by their grief and the respective total messes of their personal lives, Townsend and Princess Margaret soon began seeing each other in secret. Margaret had private apartments in the already secluded Clarence House, and the pair made good use of their alone time, visiting regularly on the down-low. Then, the inevitable crisis hit.
25. She Got An Indecent Proposal
As it turns out, people who are trauma-bonded go fast and hard in love, and Townsend proposed marriage to Margaret in April 1953, just over a year after her father’s passing. Margaret, who had been a love-sick girl for Peter right from the get-go, gave him an ecstatic yes in response. Except there was just one more enormous problem…
26. Her First True Romance Was A Disaster
File:Øvrevold. Peter Townsend - L0060 922Fo30141701170161.jpg ...commons.wikimedia.orgAs a divorced man, Townsend’s betrothal to Margaret presented a catastrophe for the monarchy. After all, the government and the Church of England had just denied Margaret’s uncle Edward VIII his marriage to Wallis Simpson for much the same reasons. Plus, since she was only 23 years old, Margaret also had to ask her sister for permission to marry anyone at all. It, uh, did not go well.
27. Her Sister Forced Her To Keep A Secret
When Princess Margaret informed her elder sister and sovereign of her steamy romance, Queen Elizabeth II definitely didn’t welcome it with open arms. Afraid of the stir it would cause at the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth insisted that Margaret wait for a year and keep the relationship a secret until after her coronation. Guys, this ALSO didn’t go well.
28. She Accidentally Revealed Everything
File:Princess Margaret 1965b (cropped).jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgMargaret and Townsend tried their best to keep their love under wraps, although some foreign papers did get wind of a romance brewing. But on coronation day, chaos really broke loose. In a casual, thoughtless moment during the ceremony, Margaret fondly picked some lint off of Townsend’s coat—and the press went wild.
29. She Became A Lurid Tabloid Story
Suddenly, seemingly every newspaper in the United Kingdom started weighing in on Margaret’s princess-and-pauper relationship with the civilian Townsend. They did not mince words, either: Most publications were appalled at the idea, with The People even running the headline “They Must Deny It NOW". Still, that was just the beginning of the nightmare.
30. The Government Turned On Her
File:British Houses of Parliament.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgWithin months, England had gone into full constitutional crisis mode. The parliament and the Church of England predictably criticized the match, insisting that Margaret denounce her royal privileges and allowance if she wanted to go through with the marriage. Yet within the inner circle of Buckingham Palace, things were even more tense.
31. Her Own Family Rejected Her Suitor
Margaret’s royal brood was totally torn over her girlhood romance. Elizabeth’s husband Prince Phillip detested the idea of Townsend becoming part of the family, and he let everyone know it. Meanwhile, Elizabeth herself just wanted her sister to be happy, yet felt bound to tradition and couldn’t say yes to the union. Instead, they came up with a desperate plan.
32. She Came Up With An Escape Plot
File:Queen Elizabeth in Aden 1954.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgTo buy Margaret more time, Elizabeth begged her sister to wait another couple of years, until she turned 25. At this time, she would no longer need to ask the monarch for permission to marry. If her infatuation with Townsend lasted, she could wed him then, all while Elizabeth avoided a crisis. It was supposed to be the perfect solution...in reality, it was a complete disaster.
33. She Had Multiple Flings
For one, Margaret and Townsend had to separate during this time, and many courtiers hoped that absence would make their hearts grow weaker. For a hot minute, it looked like they were right: While Townsend studiously avoided spending time with women, Margaret gallivanted around town with a series of men on her opera-gloved arm. But the lovers were hiding yet another secret.
34. She Had A Side Piece
File:Clarence house.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgDuring the entire time that they were supposed to be apart, Townsend was still secretly meeting with Princess Margaret. He would travel in from the continent for nights and weekends at their old love nest at Clarence House, or else stay with friends if he wanted to look super incognito. And then the long-awaited day came…
35. Her Birthday Was The Talk Of The Town
On August 21st, 1955, Princess Margaret turned 25—and everyone in Britain noticed. Hundreds of reporters swarmed Balmoral Castle, thirsting for any drop of news, and newspapers set up “ring watches” for Margaret’s hands. As one publication put it, "Nothing much else than Princess Margaret's affairs is being talked of in this country". But they’d have to wait for the next development.
36. She Had A Public Courtship
File:Prinses Margaret , Lord Snowdon en Prins Bernhard in de ...commons.wikimedia.orgMonths later on October 12th, 1955, Peter Townsend returned back to England, this time as Margaret’s official suitor. For the next weeks, the princess and the Group Captain courted each other at various dinners around town, all while the entire nation held their breath to see what Margaret would do. In the end, it was nothing but a tragic disappointment.
37. She Made A Shocking Announcement
After weeks of speculation, no betrothal had yet materialized—and that's when Margaret dropped an absolute bombshell. On October 31st, she released an official statement declaring “I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend". After such a whirlwind romance, the populace was flabbergasted and at a loss for her reasons…but we now have an idea what they were.
38. Her Sister Gave Her A Heart-Warming Gift
File:Queen Elizabeth II - 1953-Dress.JPG - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgOne of the biggest urban legends around Margaret’s split from Townsend is that Queen Elizabeth II is to blame for their breakup. Nothing could be further from the truth. Official documents reveal she was working tirelessly to change certain policies to make it easier for her sister to marry. Instead, the main culprit was something much more heartbreaking.
39. There Was One Thing She Wouldn’t Give Up
Although some aspects of the scandal remain a mystery, one of them is very clear: Margaret didn’t think she could live as a civilian. One way or another, marrying Townsend would mean giving up her royal allowance, and they simply couldn’t live on the money he took in. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like heck—and Margaret’s next actions didn’t help matters.
40. She Rebounded Hard
File:Princess Margaret.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgMany people believed that Margaret would never marry after losing Townsend—after all, she had waited so long that most of her eligible male acquaintances were now married. That’s not what happened. Soon after disentangling herself, Margaret took up with her old friend Billy Wallace, even accepting his proposal of marriage. Sadly, it too ended it heartbreak.
41. She Got Her Heart Broken Again
Wallace wasn’t exactly the best rebound for poor Princess Margaret. First, he called her relationship with Townsend “girlish nonsense that got out of hand,” which definitely smacks of insecurity to me. Even worse, he cheated on the princess while on a trip to the Bahamas. Thankfully, Margaret broke things off when she found out, but it was out of the frying pan and into the fire…
42. She Fell In Love With A Rebel
File:Antony Armstrong-Jones 1965b.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgIn 1958, Margaret met bohemian photographer and man about town Antony Armstrong-Jones at a dinner party. On the surface, he represented everything she was looking for in a man: Dashing, daring, and bound to anger the establishment. They fell into a hot, heavy, and above all secret romance. Then, like everything Margaret did, it moved fast—too fast.
43. She Had A Quick Engagement
In October 1959, Armstrong-Jones got down on one knee and proposed to Princess Margaret with a stunner of a ruby engagement ring, surrounded by diamonds and shaped into a rosebud. For the third time in her life (that we know of anyway), Margaret said yes to her suitor. But there was a chilling reason behind her answer.
44. She Got Back At Her Ex
As it turned out, Margaret couldn’t quite forget about her first love Peter Townsend. She actually accepted Armstrong-Jones’s proposal the day after finding out that Townsend was planning to marry a beautiful Belgian woman named Marie-Luce Jamagne. It was a desperate revenge on Margaret’s part...and it gets even more twisted than that.
45. Her First Love Was Creepy
The thing is, Townsend probably wasn’t over Princess Margaret either. Eerily enough, Marie-Luce was the spitting image of the young royal, down to her long oval face, dark hair, and captivating eyes. Still, Margaret and Peter now seemed done forever (hint: they might not have been). It was enough to make any woman rush into a totally doomed wedding.
46. She Had A Fairy Tale Wedding
File:Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip host Queen's Dinner for ...commons.wikimedia.orgOn May 6th, 1960, Princess Margaret finally walked down the aisle, tying the knot with Armstrong-Jones in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. True to her fashion-plate reputation, Margaret wore a Norman Hartnell dress with the stunning, gigantic Poltimore tiara. Yet for all that the procession looked good, there was something missing…
47. The World Snubbed Her
If you looked closely at Margaret’s wedding ceremony, you might have noticed a disturbing absence: Almost no foreign royals attended. They refused to accept Margaret’s marriage to a common photographer, and only Queen Ingrid of Denmark was a noble guest Margaret wasn’t directly related to. If you're wondering, this was definitely a bad omen.
48. She Got A Bizarre Present
On the surface, the beginnings of Princess Margaret’s marriage were wedded bliss. Her possible ex-lover Colin Tennant even gave the new couple a plot of land on his private Caribbean island, Mustique, and it soon became one of Margaret's favorite getaway spots. For the record, I also accept tokens from my exes in the form of tropical land grants.
49. Her Life Looked Perfect
For a brief moment, the public good times kept on rolling for the couple. Although Armstrong-Jones fought privately against getting a title, the newlyweds soon became the respectable-sounding Countess and Earl of Snowdon. By 1964, they also had two children, David and Sarah, together. But behind the scenes, it was falling apart.
50. Her Husband Betrayed Her
File:Anthony Lord Snowdon.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgIn truth, the Snowdons had massive, reality TV levels of dysfunction. Antony, who was openly bi, had no qualms about going after nearly every bedroom prospect that came his way; as one friend put it, “If it moves, he'll have it". Before the ink was dry on Margaret's marriage certificate, Antony had had more than a few late night sleepovers.
51. Her Husband Abandoned Her
On top of all that, their marriage was a total mismatch of personalities and goals when it came to relationships. Armstrong-Jones was a workaholic, and Margaret often complained that he was never around and that she was constantly lonely. But don’t go thinking the princess was totally blameless…because she certainly wasn’t.
52. She Had A Huge Addiction
If Armstrong-Jones was a workaholic, Princess Margaret was hiding a much darker addiction. She'd always been a partier and had even dabbled in hard substances, but good old alcohol was her dangerous drug of choice. So when her husband was off working, Margaret was often hitting the bottle. Oh, and there was that other thing…
53. She Slept With Famous People
File:Mick Jagger (1982).jpg - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgAlthough Armstrong-Jones had a steady stream of male lovers and mistresses behind Margaret’s back, she didn’t have a leg to stand on. In the 1960s, she embarked on a string of extramarital affairs of her own, and there are rumors she even fell into the beds of celebrities like Mick Jagger and Warren Beatty. But, as it happens, Margaret’s very first indiscretion was one of her worst.
54. She Did Her Daughter Dirty
When the princess first dipped her toe into infidelity in 1966, she went big and went home with none other than her own daughter’s godfather, the vintner Anthony Barton. I mean, this doesn’t seem particularly smart on her part, but I guess there’s no accounting for taste. Even so, Margaret had a more notorious affair up her sleeve.
55. The Public Caught Her In A Lie
In 1967, Margaret engaged in a brief affair with Robin Douglas-Home, a nephew of a former British Prime Minister. However, she later denied everything and insisted their relationship was platonic. Until, that is, she was caught red-handed. Her love letters to him came out, spilling the beans—and her lies—to the world. And somehow, it got messier.
56. She Was A Black Widow
In the end, Princess Margaret had a good reason to deny the fling, given the tragic way it all turned out. Robin Douglas-Home never really recovered from their breakup, and Margaret’s denials probably did nothing to comfort him. Then, just 18 months after their romance fell apart, he fell into a deep depression and took his own life.
57. She Could Be Heartless
File:Prinses Margaret en Lord Snowdon Anglo Nederlandse ...commons.wikimedia.orgAround this time, Margaret's famous wit took on a very mean streak, reflecting her own bitter personal life. Once while she was at a fashionable party in New York, a fellow guest asked the princess how the Queen was doing. Margaret's reply was legendarily cruel. She sniped, “Which one? My sister, my mother, or my husband?” And her claws only sharpened as time went on.
58. She Had A Biting Wit
It now didn't take much for Princess Margaret's serene facade to crack, even in public. One time at an event, she sat next to the supermodel Twiggy. For two hours, the princess flat-out refused to speak to her companion, but eventually turned to her and asked who she was. “I’m Lesley Hornby, ma’am, but people call me Twiggy,” Twiggy said. Margaret's only response? "How unfortunate".
59. Her Husband Wrote Her Hate Mail
By the late 1960s, Princess Margaret’s marriage to Armstrong-Jones had turned into a tragedy. And one day, her husband went way too far. The Earl of Snowdon started putting little notes around the house and in books for Margaret to find, but they weren’t love letters—oh, no. Instead, they said horrific things like “You look like a Jewish manicurist and I hate you". Dear GOD.
60. Her Family Dealt Her A Cruel Blow
Despite Armstrong-Jones’s obvious mistreatment of the Princess, Margaret had very little in the way of a support system. Sadly, her stiff-upper-lip family often took her husband’s side in their squabbles, thinking that it was just Margaret being dramatic again. The tension and anxiety got so bad, even Margaret's psyche started changing...
61. She Had Terrible Nightmares
a black and white photo of a woman wearing a tiaraPhoto by Museums of History New South Wales on UnsplashAccording to Margaret herself, she often suffered horrific and recurring nightmares. The subject of these nightmares? Her own sister Queen Elizabeth II. In these dreams, the younger princess would imagine disappointing her sibling again and again. It’s no surprise, then, that Margaret's personal life eventually hit an infamous breaking point.
62. She Had A Boy Toy
Desperately lonely and almost entirely estranged from her husband, Princess Margaret started what she called a “loving friendship” with a man named Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener 17 years younger than her. She even invited him for several visits to her private island of Mustique…and that’s maybe where it became less “friendship,” more “loving”…
63. She Tried To Kill Herself
Honestly, I don’t begrudge Princess Margaret getting her groove back—but her relationship with Roddy quickly turned dangerous. She grew so dependent on him that one day when he left on a spontaneous trip to Turkey, she became despondent and overdosed on sleeping pills to shut out the world. And the real scandal was yet to come.
64. There’s One Infamous Photo Of Her
In the winter of 1976, a notorious photograph hit the British tabloids. The snap showed Princess Margaret and her supposed boy-toy Roddy Llewellyn sunning themselves on the beach in Mustique, clad only in their swimsuits. Politicians immediately and cruelly denounced Margaret as a “floosie” and a “royal parasite,” but the photo’s real damage was to her marriage.
65. She Had A Scandalous Divorce
Guards British Images | Free Photos, PNG Stickers, Wallpapers ...www.rawpixel.comAfter the tabloids hung Margaret’s dirty laundry all over their front pages, the British public could see just what a downward turn her “fairy tale” marriage had taken. With the jig up, Margaret and Antony finally sought a separation (and thank goodness for that), officially divorcing in 1978. However, Margaret’s tragedies were far from over.
66. She Lost Her Beauty
The moment Margaret finally got rid of Armstrong-Jones, the bloom of her beauty seemed to die on the vine. She was in her late 40s, single again, and the weight of the world was back on her shoulders. After seeing her briefly at a party, photographer Cecil Beaton recalled that, her “eyes seem to have lost their vigor, her complexion is now a dirty negligée pink satin". Yet his reaction got harsher.
67. Karma Came For Her
Margaret's acerbic wit had won her many enemies, and Beaton was apparently one of them. He not only compared Margaret unfavorably to Queen Victoria on this occasion, he all but gloried in the loss of her youth. As Beaton continued, “She was not very nice in the days when she was so pretty and attractive...But, my God, has she been paid out!”
68. She Was A "Burlesque" Of Her Sister
By the end of her life, many thought that Princess Margaret became a parody of herself. The caliber of her lovers plummeted, and her crudeness only grew with her disturbing drinking habits. Even the most casual monarchists felt she disgraced her family name, and people started characterizing her as a “nightclub burlesque of her sister". Wow.
69. She Loved Dirty Party Tricks
Another one of Margaret’s more scandalous alleged lovers at this time includes the gangster John Bindon. Shockingly, Bindon claimed they embarked on an affair after he awed the princess with a lewd but admittedly impressive party trick—balancing five half-pint glasses upon a part of his body that, uh, I won’t name here. Look, use your imagination.
70. She Was A Snob
File:Prinses Margaret aan de lunchtafel in het Amstel Hotel ...commons.wikimedia.orgAlthough Margaret maintained a kind of young, care-free, and fashionable image to the public, many said that her real personality was much different—and much darker. She could be incredibly snobby when she wanted to be, and some even claimed she looked down on her own grandmother because she was a lower-rank princess.
71. She Had A Scandalous Daily Routine
Margaret's daily routine as an adult was just as spoiled as it was when she was a little princess, only with darker twists added in. When she was in her mid-20s, she often insisted on having her breakfast in bed. After that, she would get into freshly laundered clothes; she only wore an outfit once before washing it. Then, she'd wander downstairs for a mid-morning "vodka pick-me-up". Natch.
72. She May Have Been Involved In A Robbery
In 1971, the infamous “Baker Street Robbery” of Lloyds Bank occurred, where a gang tunnelled through the building and emptied hundreds of safety deposit boxes. But there may be more to the story. According to some conspiracies, the burglary was actually a cover-up to retrieve some “compromising” photos of Margaret. In some versions, MI5 hatched the whole plot to protect the Princess’s honor.
73. Her Friends Dropped Her
Perhaps the greatest sadness at the end of Princess Margaret's time was how all her fair-weather friends left her one by one. Still, she also pushed them away: The diarist Sir Roy Strong wrote that Margaret became “tiresome, spoilt, idle and irritating" during her later years and he complained that, “She has no direction, no overriding interest. All she likes is young men". Honestly though, same.
74. Her Body Started To Fail Her
Eventually, Margaret's lifestyle caught up with her. In addition to her other unsavory habits, the princess was also a near lifelong smoker, having started when she was just 15 years old at the latest. By the 1980s, she needed to have doctors remove her left lung, a procedure that eerily recalled her father’s demise. Sadly, her own end was near.
75. She Had A Steep Decline
File:Lockenfrisur1947.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.orgIn the 1990s, the Princess began to go downhill fast. She suffered a series of strokes, and also scalded her feet in a bathroom mishap, leaving her bedridden or wheelchair bound for months on end. By 2001, she was partially paralyzed and even had difficulty swallowing. Although the Windsors are famously long-lived, the once-vibrant Princess Margaret wasn’t going to make it long.
76. She Had A Direct Line To Her Sister
Despite shows like The Crown playing up the rifts between Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, and despite the incredible hardships the two royals went through, they remained close. At one point, Margaret even installed a direct line from her home in Kensington Palace to Elizabeth's quarters in Buckingham Palace so they could always stay in touch.
77. She Was Much Different In Private
Princess Margaret could be bright, witty, and informal, but she also had her "average" moments too. As her governess once recalled, "Impulsive and bright remarks she made became headlines and, taken out of their context, began to produce in the public eye an oddly distorted personality that bore little resemblance to the Margaret we knew".
78. She Had A Cute Nickname
She might be “Princess Margaret” to us, but the royal family was very close-knit at the time, and all gave each other nicknames. While they called Elizabeth “Lilibet,” they most often called Margaret “Margot".
79. Her Name Might Have Been Different
Although her family nicknamed her "Margot," her birth name was almost completely different. Margaret's mother actually first wanted to name her "Ann," and she was "very anxious" to get her way. Except, well, she didn't. Her husband King George didn't share his wife's love of the name, and vetoed it completely. Thanks a lot, patriarchy.
80. She Met An Eerie End
File:St George's Chapel from the Altar, Windsor Castle, from ...commons.wikimedia.orgOn February 9, 2002, Princess Margaret passed in King Edward VII’s hospital at the age of 71, after her long and difficult battle with multiple illnesses. The day holds an eerie meaning. Following a decline that looked much like her father’s, Margaret also passed just three days after the 50th anniversary of King George VI’s own death.
81. She Stooped To New Lows
As Margaret's addictions to cheap drinks and sleazy men deepened, she developed some seriously tragic habits. According to one rumor, she got so used to smoking and drinking constantly that she simply glued matchboxes to her tumbler glasses to make for easier access to both vices. Is this dignified? Heck no. Is it genius? Yes.
82. She Just Couldn’t Quit Her First Love
Late into Princess Margaret’s life, people still wondered if she continued to carry a torch for her dashing Group Captain Peter Townsend after all these years. Few people know the real story. Even after their official announcement and split, the pair saw each other on and off, though they swore it was only in a friendly capacity. But there’s more…
83. Her Letters May Reveal The Truth
Although the Princess and her captain maintained they were only platonic in the decades after their romance, Margaret also made one final visit to Townsend in 1992, just a few years before his death, showing that they still kept tabs on one another. In reality, we may not know the full truth until much later. Their palace will release their love letters 100 years after Margaret’s birth, in 2030.
84. Her Husband Gave Her One Final Insult
Even in death, Princess Margaret couldn’t escape the horror show that was her marriage with Antony Armstrong-Jones. In 2004, a vicious report came out claiming that just three weeks into his marriage with Margaret, Armstrong-Jones fathered an illegitimate daughter with a mistress he had been seeing during his royal engagement. Oh, and it doesn’t end there.
85. Her Ex Told A Huge Lie
a close up of a double strand of gold glitterPhoto by ANIRUDH on UnsplashAt first, Armstrong-Jones vehemently denied paternity, despite the fact that the girl, Polly Fry, claimed she had done a DNA test and that he was most certainly the father. Yet four years later, he finally admitted that the story was true. Seriously, only Antony Armstrong-Jones could do Princess Margaret so wrong even after she died.