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People Share Their Nicest Celebrity They Have Ever Met

They always say, don't meet your heroes. But here's the thing- sometimes your heroes are actually just chill, normal people. This can be refreshing in a world of egos.

A Quora user asked: Who's the nicest celebrity you've ever met?

What a nice person.

OK, the women of Quora are the nicest celebrities I have ever met on line.

But … face-to-face? That would be Priscilla Presley.

Now, I've met other influential people. Politicians, including one foreign president, and Generals, including briefing General Powell. Celebrities? Not really.

But Priscilla Presley???!!!

WOW!

She is one of the nicest, most decent, smartest and stunningly beautiful women I have ever met, and she is definitely a celebrity.

One of? That is to protect myself from the other nice and beautiful women I have met and will meet.

August 16 2007. Elvis's 30th Death Anniversary. Priscilla was a STUNNING 62. I was a younger 43. She had finished an interview with Larry King at Graceland.

Work … as usual. High pressure.

Finished the day at BB King's Place AKA Blues Club on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.

Beale Street puts the French Quarter in New Orleans, Old City Savannah Georgia, Duval Street Key West, and Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco on notice. Etc.

Having a beer at the bar.

A Big Guy sits down, and we start talking. Great Guy!

"Fred, I really enjoyed talking with you."

"John, I enjoyed talking with you. What did you say you do when you are not on Beale Street wasting your time with guys like me?"

He looked down. "Fred, I play football."

"Great! What college?"

"I'm a Pro." Very humble!

"Wow. Now that is interesting. Titans?"

"Yes. Let me do a favor for you, Fred. How'd you like to meet Priscilla Presley?"

"Your kidding! Of course. Thanks!"

"Fred, wait here."

Crowded place. Big place. Nice guy AKA Great guy. Loved talking to him. That's the last time I'll ever see him. Oh, well. C'Est la Vie.

I finished my beer and looked up. It was John. And I mean up. I'm 5′11″. He had to be 6′4″. "Let's go, Fred. She's upstairs in the VIP Room."

"John, upstairs? This is a one story tall building."

"VIP room on the roof. There is the entrance."

Three guys at the door in a far corner. Open collar shirts. Blazers. Clearly packing heat. We walked over. "Hi Mr. Schlimm. Mrs. Presley is looking forward to seeing you."

Door opens. Not searched. Is this real? And who the hell is John. More ESPN for me!!!

Landing. Two guys. "Hi Fred, she's upstairs." WTF!!!???

"Hi Fred." Door opened. John must have some serious juice. Silly me. More ESPN. He's got to be All Pro. NFL Pro doesn't get this with Priscilla on Elvis's 30th Death Anniversary near Graceland.

And as my eyes adjusted, I saw Lisa Marie, whatever she was married to at that time, other people, beautiful room, and the most beautiful creature I ever saw gliding towards me.

Took my hand. Other on my shoulder. Smile. "Hi Fred, John told us a lot about you. You look hungry. Join us for dinner."

WHO IS JOHN. WHY DID HE TALK TO ME. AND PRISCILLA PRESLEY!!!???

The rest of the evening was very decent and a bit foggy.

Got to Olive Branch, Mississippi. Typical 2.5 Star Hotel for expense account. Slept a few hours. Exhausted. Headed for work in Biloxi. I turned on the TV. Repeat of Larry King Live at Graceland. Yep. That was Priscilla before dinner. Lights. Makeup artists. Prepared questions.

She was better looking and charmingly spontaneous in person.

She was the nicest celebrity I ever met. More importantly, a wonderful person.

So was John. MORE ESPN FOR ME!!!

Fred Schlimm

That's actually kind of surprising.

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The first celebrity I ever worked for was Joan Rivers. Fashion Police. Red Carpet Heckler. The original "Mean Girl!"

I was terrified. They said they needed someone who was really good. I was an OK seamstress at the time and probably far from being really good, but I decided I could fake it.

I went to the store and bought $100 worth of every random sewing supply I could find within my budget. I lamented over what I should wear. I arrived an hour early because I wanted to make sure I got to the venue on time.

It was pouring rain as it does in Florida, when Mrs Rivers came rolling in the back door of the theater with a giant umbrella, a soaking wet assistant and her luggage.

I was waiting for her in her dressing room. I had all my sewing stuff in a neat little pile, ready for any kind of wardrobe malfunction known to man.

She came in, and her assistant and I started getting her unpacked.

She was soooo kind and chatty I was floored. She asked me where I was from, did I have kids and all kinds of other very "interested in me" normal, conversational questions as we were unpacking her.

She had everything crammed into her little suitcase like a Mary Poppins bag.

She had giant cue cards with her jokes written on them, four or five fancy beaded and feathered stage and after-show outfits and an enormous hot pink feather coat that looked like big bird and Barney had a baby! It was barfing pink feathers everywhere, some I still have.

Then she pulled out an industrial size can of Lysol and started spraying it everywhere. All over her chair, table and then she went into the bathroom with it.

She came out and instructed me not to let anyone use her restroom including me! She was sweet, cute and funny and reminded me of my grandmother.

We set out all of her makeup, her glorious perfume, her Sharpie eyeliner, jewelry and so on.

We went through her outfits for the evening, which I steamed and hung on a Z rack.

Then we went to the stage so she could do her rehearsal.

Here is where the publicly known Joan Rivers character emerged. It was like two different people. She was playing a role, being rude, cracking jokes and had everyone rolling.

She laid out her cue cards on the floor across the front of the stage.

We went through all of her costume changes and then we took a long break before the show.

She ate some dinner, met with some VIP guests and then we got her ready.

During the show (now on Netflix of this exact tour) she got her heel stuck in the back of her dress. I stood in the wings watching in horror as it began to unfold… when she realized what was going on, aggressively just ripped the shit out of the back of her fancy dress to get herself unstuck and just made a joke about it. I was dying.

We made her quick change into her Libery Costume and took her bows.

After the show we vodka-sprayed all her clothing and shoved it back into her Mary Poppins suit case.

Then, this happened.

The first and only photo I have of me with any of the now 50+ celebrities I've worked for since that day.

The lesson I learned from Joan Rivers has stuck with me. I have never since been nervous about working for anyone famous. She cured me for life of judging people from the public characters they play or perceptions we may have about them.

RIP, Joan. Thanks for the rest of the vodka, sunglasses and Fashion Police badge. I wear them proudly.

Gina Vincenza

Soft hands.

Chris Pratt.

He is one of the only celebrities I have ever met. I've bumped into Misha Collins and I've met the members of All Time Low. But out of all of them, Chris Pratt was definitely the nicest.

Here's the story:

It was the 4th of July. My friends and I were walking in the parade with our local community theatre float and we noticed a familiar face in the crowd. After we had gotten to our drop off location, one of my friends ran over to me and told me that she had seen Chris Pratt. This wasn't too much of a surprise because he had been to our town several times since he and his wife are wanting to move here with their son. We were still very excited, however. We've been dying to meet him.

Sadly, through several attempts, there was no way to reach him in the crowd and we watched with defeat as he and Anna walked away. We eventually gave up looking for him and started to make our way back to the community theatre to change out of our costumes. On our way there one of my friends saw Chris and Anna walking towards us. Well, not towards us, but in the same general direction. We ended up running into them on the corner of the street and upon seeing us, he exclaimed, "hey there, community theatre!"

It was overwhelming. He knew who we were! We got to talk to him for a few minutes and it was so crazy. He asked if we had any upcoming shows that they could go see (we are all actors) and what there was to do around town. We told him our whole schedule for the dramatic arts and he said he'd try to attend a performance. Then, the craziest thing of all, he asked us for a photo! You can view that below.


(I'm the one in the red, curly wig)

He and Anna were so sweet to us. They never even looked displeased like several famous people do. You could really tell they enjoy being around their fans and talking with them! It was such an amazing experience and I am so thankful that it happened. It's a young, aspiring actor's dream to meet other actors/actresses and the fact that we got to is mind blowing!

Overall, Chris and Anna are two of the nicest people I have ever met. (Not to mention he has really soft hands).

Alison Cole

An interesting person.

This was around summer last year, I had gone back to visit my hometown- St. Petersburg, Russia. We were on a tour bus sightseeing different places and museums. We made real good friends with the people in our tour bus as they were really friendly and all. But there was this one woman sitting way at the front who wasn't talking to anybody.

Weird. I thought.

Anyways, we went to different museums and I got a chance to notice what she was wearing. She was wearing all black tights, t-shirt, leather jacket and combat boots. She looked really intimidating and a little off to me, because while people were taking pictures of the Russia painting and Faberge egg; she was taking pictures of tiny descriptions instead of the actual priceless possession.

So I concluded that she was a thief or a con artist. Now bear with me here.

Then the entire group including me went to a Russian restaurant to sit down and eat food, they were all sitting and taking (and mind you, I was the only teenager in this group) so I decided to chat with the lady cus she seems bored.

Once I started talking to her, she told me she was an actress. I had a little panic moment (you know the general one when you meet a celebrity) but I couldn't quite pin point who she was. So I asked her about her works.

She replied, "Are you interested in any DC comic book shows or any Vampire related TV shows?"

And then I said, "Yeah, I watch Arrow and Vampire Diaries."

"Bingo, I've played a minor role in those two shows."

Then realisation hit me like a wave.

She was Kelly Hu.

For those who don't know who Kelly Hu is: She played China White in Arrow.

Much to say I was fangirling over her and all the adults in the group were looking at me like I was crazy.

Overall she seems a bit reserved but she opens up to you once she knows that you've seen her in the big/ small screen and appreciate her work. Plus she is aware that most teenagers would know who she is and hence she is really nice to them. We had lunch together and we talked about how it felt like working beside actors such as Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen a.k.a Green Arrow).

I felt really bad for thinking that she was a thief. (Gotta tone down all those Mission Impossible movies haha!)

The experience was great, she even took a picture with me and followed me on Instagram.

BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

Malibu is the place to be.

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So living in Malibu I've met many celebrities and had a couple conversations with them.

I'll start with Adam Sandler. This guy is the best. So my younger brother was about 1 at the time and barely walking and we were in a crowded mall. My parents suddenly noticed that my brother Scott was gone. They were freaking out but they had written their phone number on Scott's arm just in case this happened. They new he probably was back in one of the prior toy stores and were hoping someone would call. Soon enough someone did, we told the guy where we were, and guess who shows up holding my little brother, Adam Sandler himself. He was such a nice guy to go out of his way to help being my brother back.


Next, and this one might surprise you, but Charlie Sheen. So this guy has a bad reputation but his daughter was in my class for a couple years and I new her, I had seen her dad around the school at her volleyball games and things but had never actually met him until this time after I had preformed the lead in a school play, Charlie Sheen comes up to me and holds out his hand to shake mine and says "Hi, I'm Charlie" like all humbly as if we didn't know who he was. Anyways he was really sweet and he said he was really impressed by my performance and said he couldn't have acted that well at my age. He really is a sweet and down to earth guy.

Yes in his past he's made some mistakes but haven't we all. His past doesn't affect who he is as a person. I also respect him because he is turning his life around. He's really there for his kids, going to their shows and sports and dance events and such. He's a really devoted dad and I can tell his kids love him a lot. Don't judge people by their reputations or past, not until you get to see how they are as people, such as Bruce Willis is an ABSOLUTE AHOLE.

Also Kourtney Kardashian is pretty sweet. My dad happens to be her doctor (he was on their tv show) so I got to meet her.

Eliza Byrnes

We love a humble star.

Although I haven't had many encounters with any celebrities, the few I've had a chance to meet, have been very pleasant and respectful. The most down to earth, humble, and normal celebrity I've met, is Ed Sheeran. I got to meet him at a private radio show, and not only is he a superb musician, but an outstanding individual, as well. I met him after he had become a huge success in the UK and Canada, but was just getting started in the US.

We were allowed one picture with him, no autographs, but I wanted to try for one anyway. When I got up there to meet him, he gave me a smile, a genuine hug, and told me how glad he was that I came. He told me he loved my shirt, which had song lyrics on it, and offered to sign my stuff anyway. Unfortunately I didn't have a pen, and neither did he, but he wanted to break the rules for me, anyway, which made me admire him even more at what he would do for a fan.


I got to tell him how wonderful his music is, how much he inspires me as a singer, and how much I appreciate his love for his fans and the respect he has for us. He then, smiling really big, pulled me in to a huge hug again and thanked me for my support of his music. I've had several friends meet him, and they've also said how genuine he is.

Seeing as he is my absolute favorite singer songwriter, I am so glad he did not disappoint me. I am so glad to see that his rise to success here in the US has not diminished that laid back humble attitude he has. I've never heard of another fan complain about him.

Brittany Rogers

While honeymooning on a shoestring at the Turtle Bay Hilton on Oahu (we lived in Honolulu) as they had advertised some cheap midweek rates. I mentioned at the front desk that we were kama'aina's (Hawaii residents) and that it was our honeymoon and we got an upgraded room and some other privileges (which we didn't have time to do), making it possible to have a very nice, late meal in their dining room.

There were very few people having dinner that night and we had the full attention of the wait staff. The cast and crew of "Joe vs. The Volcano" was filming in the area and Abe Vigoda, Tom Hanks and some other actors were at a big table in the corner behind us. We tried our best not to stare. To our left, Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan were laughing and eating with a young boy who was trying to eat a lobster and making a mess of it, which Ms. Ryan thought was the funniest thing ever. Mr. Quaid kept smiling at us whenever I peeked in their direction (her laughter was wonderful) and asked the waiter who we were. I guess the waiter knew we had just gotten married and passed along the information to their table.

When they were leaving, both of them stopped at our table and gave us their congratulations and well wishes. Before we were done eating, the waiter came up with the dessert cart, and asked if there was anything else we would like, and to be sure to pick out whatever we wanted of the cake and pastries, as the cart had been paid for by the Quaid's for us as a wedding present.

The next morning, since we had to be up early to get the groom back to work, I decided to order breakfast in the room. We were brought six serving platters heaped with everything 'breakfast' - pancakes, bacon, ham, sausages, eggs, toast, French toast, croissants, orange juice, milk, coffee and all the extras. Enough for a dozen people and tucked into the payment folder, with no bill, there was a coupon to get a beach picnic with a whole chicken, sandwiches, wine, soda and side salads for later (which, I regret, we did not use), all 'compliments' of the film cast & crew.

We didn't get to see any of the cast or crew to thank them, but the desk said that they were all the best guests. Certainly a class act to us!

Ginger Morgan

A good childhood memory.

This goes way back to when I was 10 years old. A production of the musical "Show Boat" was being offered at the 1953 Season First Production at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Washington DC. I was chosen to be one of small group of children who would take part in the group segments of the story. For me, it was a magical experience. The huge outdoor theater in beautiful surroundings, the music, the songs, the dancing, the actors, everything was like living in a fantasy.

It was during the summer and my mother would take me there with a little lunch and snacks in a paper bag. All of the children, when we weren't needed, would explore the backstage, the tunnels and dressing rooms under the stage, the costume room, just everything. This was a world you would never know about sitting in the audience watching the show. It was always very, very busy with stage hands and actors always on the move.


The playbill states that "Showboat" was "Produced under the personal direction of Constance Bennett". She was a well known Hollywood actress at that time and, to me, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I remember she spoke with confidence when telling us what to do and she always carried her little dog under her arm. She was always nice to the kids.

Now, to the nicest celebrity I have ever met. Fred Kelly, brother of Gene Kelly, was the choreographer so the kids all spent quite a bit of time with him. We all worked hard and were treated with discipline and gentleness. I was one of the youngest and smallest kids and he always had me in the front of the group. In one of the big scenes, I think it was when the Showboat was either arriving or leaving. There was lots of excitement and waving. I rode on the shoulders of one of the dancers at the end of that scene.

Good luck, Fred Kelly

Ol' Man River was my favorite song. It was so sad that one time I cried. The actor who played "Joe" and sang it was a black man (no black face!) named William Smith who saw that I cried in a rehearsal and told me it was just a song but it told a true story of the south. He signed his picture in my program: To Ann, With Best Wishes, Ol' Man River.

This production was born when the composer, Jerome Kern, bought a copy of Edna Ferber's book "Show Boat" in 1926. About halfway through reading it, he asked Edna Ferber for the stage rights and asked Ziegfeld if he would like to produce it. Oscar Hammerstein II, who had collaborated with Kern to mount other famous plays on Broadway would write the the script and lyrics. So, then it began.

I apologize for going on so long. Once I began remembering and retrieved my old program it was all so clear in my mind. "Show Boat" was the beginning of my education about the old south literally on a visceral level. The actors, the songs, the story…a true learning opportunity. Thank you for reading.

Ann Niskanen Stirlen

A genuinely good person.

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I was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal for more than a decade, and interviewed a number of celebrities, CEOs and other big-shots—called in the trade "bold-faced names."

Most were courteous, professional and even humble. But one stood out: Garrison Keillor, the host of the long-running radio program A Prairie Home Companion.

During the height of his fame, he gave a speaking tour around the country. I went to one of these events at Lisner Auditorium in D.C., and went backstage afterwards to meet him.

Because he'd just made the cover of Time magazine, he'd been in great demand that day. He'd even been taken around Congress to meet various politicians who wanted to have their pictures taken with HIM.

That night, he'd given a one-man reading of one of his books, which went on for over an hour.

So he must have been exhausted by the time I met him. But the area backstage was full of various VIPs and their families who were standing in line to meet him.

He greeted them all cordially and asked them questions about themselves.

That made the line move slowly, and some people got impatient, particularly when the young man right in front of me was introduced to Keillor.

The young man, about 15, was in a wheelchair, and had a disability that made his speech very slow.

It took him a long time—more than a minute— to stammer out, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Keillor."

Keillor just stood there smiling as the young man struggled to get out the words, then reached out his hand and said in his honey baritone, "No, it's an honor to meet YOU!"

I just about burst into tears, he was so warm and genuinely kind.

On another occasion, I had the opportunity to interview him one-on-one during one of his book tours, and can attest that he's a cagey interview subject—deflects any question he doesn't want to answer—but his intelligence and quick wit shone through. He also was unfailingly polite and didn't hurry the interview, as many celebs do.

All in all, I think if Americans had a list of artists designated "national treasures," as Japan does, he should be on it.

June Fletcher

People Describe The All-Time Worst Dates They've Ever Been On

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What's the worst date you've ever been on?'

Closeup of two coffee-filled mugs held by a dating couple.
Jonathan J. Castellon/Unsplash

Finally going out on a date with the person you've been chatting with online is a very exciting yet nerve-wracking first step.

But when you finally meet the person with whom you've developed romantic chemistry online, one of two things can happen–Fireworks or bombs.

In other words, being face-to-face with a prospective love interest for the first time can either confirm your hopes or suspicions about the person whom you know very little about online.

Curious to hear nightmare stories about dating life, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What's the worst date you've ever been on?"

People and their obsession with their electronic devices is getting out of hand.

Mr. Invisible

"Sat for 15 minutes to hear him talk about himself, work and his future plans, and then as he asked me 'what about you?" his hand went to reach his phone and he starts scrolling. I can't stress this enough, his hand reaches his phone at the same time those words left his mouth. It felt to me like he already decided whatever I am going to say was going to be boring so might as well multitask as I talk."

– dracarysthemdown

Self-Incriminating Date

"Went on a date with a chick that took my phone and put a picture of her on my Snapchat, I got 20 messages almost instantly from chicks that knew her and told me to stay away. She was 2 months pregnant, didn’t tell me till my friends did. That was a wild date for sure. She was very upset."

– ThatBrenon131

The Salesperson

"Tinder date. She pulled out her Ipad and started introducing me various insurance plans she is selling."

– IndigoldWeM

"Oooooh god that's almost as bad as trying to recruit a first date into your MLM line..."

– OP

"I had a date that tried to sell me whole life insurance. She told me before the date to meet her at her office. It was downtown so I thought nothing of it. Then she walks me to her desk and tells me to sign some papers."

– Pissedtuna

Sometimes, dates turn out to be disastrous through no fault of participants.

Things Went Downhill

"I thought I would be a little more adventurous and suggest that we go skiing for a first date. At the time, I lived in the south where the closest ski mountain was 2.5 hours away and it was opening day. It became clear that we probably didn’t click on the drive up, but I figured we’d still have a fun day of skiing. On the first run, maybe 100 yards in, she falls hard and tears her acl, lcl, and mcl. It was a very long and awkward car ride back, and I ended up staying with her for several days after to help care for her since she lived alone and was new to the area. She was a very nice woman, but that was just a lot for a first date."

– houston_g

People were forced to make a run for it.

The Great Escape

"So many bad dates over the years. One of the worst was this guy I met on a dating site. We agreed to go to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Turned out his profile picture really was of himself but it was just a 'few' years old. BS! In person, he straight up looked like Santa Claus on vacation complete with the Hawaiian shirt. I was a little unhappy about that but it wasn’t the end of the world. I thought well maybe he is jolly and fun. That turned out to be a big NO."

"So we ordered dinner and he started talking about ex wife #1. She was a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #2 was also a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #3 was a psycho crazy b*tch from hell. He told me ex #3 hit him in the face with a frying pan. He seemed to enjoy my horrified reaction. That was, until I asked what he did he do to her to make her smack him upside the head with said frying pan. Personally, I thought it was an awful date and I couldn’t wait to go home. He ordered dessert. :/"

"mentioned getting home soon and he said We can discuss that later as he was paying for my meal and we were going to enjoy our time together. I waited for a few minutes and politely excused myself to the ladies room. He stood up and watched me go in and was watching me when I came back to the table. It was as if he knew I wanted to bolt out the door. I got my chance when he finally went to the men’s room. I handed the waitress money for my food plus tip and told her I was on a very bad date. I left the restaurant just before he came back from the men’s room. He saw me through the front windows and started screaming like a lunatic. I don’t know what he was saying but I ran to my car!"

– SassyDiva13

Tasks First, Eat Later

"Went out with a guy from POF who lived an hour away from me. (I live in the sticks so this is normal.) I texted him to let him know I was on my way and this dipsh*t proceeded to text me every few minutes to ask me if I was still coming. So much so that I finally had to call him and tell him to stop because I can't text and drive at the same time. In hindsight, I should have turned around and went home right then."

"Finally I get to the place we were meeting. It was a store parking lot. Since we were meeting there and going somewhere else right away, I texted him and said I was there, where are you and he replies insisting I come into the store. He absolutely would NOT come outside to meet me. So I had to spend the first hour of this date following him around an auto parts store while he pawed through every display and bin, not talking to me very much at all."

"Finally he was ready to leave the store and I thought we were going to eat, as we had originally planned. I was starving but he said no, I gotta go return my work uniforms to my old job first. Uhh, okay I guess."

"So we drove in his car to this factory where he parks and says hop out so I can lock my car up. It was cold and rainy so of course he expected me to stand out in it? After like 15 minutes I was like f'k this and I went in the lobby of this place to get out of the rain. For some reason it took this guy 45 more minutes to return his uniforms so I was glad I went into the building to get warm. But apparently this was a huge no-no to him because when he came back out from wherever he went to return this stuff he glared at me like I just dropped trou and took a sh*t in his lap and asked me why I didn't just wait outside. In the cold rain. For almost an hour."

"At last he decided it was time to go to the restaurant. I sat there trying to keep a poker face while he talked to the waitress like he was addressing a toddler, messily stuffed his face and chewed with his mouth open wide and kept glancing around every 30 seconds like he was scared someone was going to see him out with a woman in public."

"Plus he kept asking me invasive and crude sex questions the whole time too. Lovely."

"I quickly inhaled a salad and managed to pay for it at the front without him seeing me, I told him I needed to go to the little girl's room and bounced. Luckily this restaurant was across the highway from the store where I had left my car so I crossed it real quick and blocked him everywhere before I even got the car warmed up."

"I'll betcha a million bucks and a house salad that a**hole was married."

– produkt921

It's unfortunate that people on dating apps aren't always forthright about themselves.

Older Woman

"I wouldn’t say it was the worst but it was the most interesting. Met a lady on a dating app. A Beautiful woman who claimed to be 38 which is my age. I suspected through the pictures she might be in her early 40s. Her profile said she had 3 kids. We talked and she seemed cool. We then met for dinner a week into talking. I could tell she was older but looked younger than she should because of Botox. Within 15 minutes she said she had to tell me the truth because she really likes me. She does not have 3 kids but 6! She is not 38 but 48!"

– bobismymother

The Date That Wasn't A Date But Actually Was A Date

"I didn't even know it was a date."

"Girl I worked with was talking up a breakfast place in a nearby town, and I was like 'that sounds great, let's go this weekend!'"

"We went, I had a great time, the pancakes were amazing, and I had fun hanging out with a work friend outside of work. I thought she had a good time too, she was laughing and fully engaged with the conversation just like normal."

"Like three weeks later, I was talking to another coworker when it all came out that she'd been telling people we went on a terrible date, how I didn't even make a move or flirt or do anything that guys she goes on dates with normally do, and how I even talked about a date with another girl at one point."

"I was flabbergasted, my fat a** genuinely thought we were just a couple of friends getting pancakes."

– SadlyReturndRS

If you're no longer in the dating pool because you found your person, congrats.

There's no doubt you have kissed some frogs along the way to finding true love.

Because if it weren't for all those "horrible dates," you might not be able to appreciate what you've got when the right person comes along.

Hercules statue

Simone Pellegrini on Unsplash

A bad@ss is defined as:

"a tough, uncompromising, or intimidating person."

The term is attributed to North America, dating back to 1809. But use remained fairly minimal throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

The term really took off at the beginning of the 21st century and continued a swift upward trajectory until the present.

Even though the widespread use of the term is relatively recent, the attitude and attributes of a bad@ss goes back to the beginning of human existence.

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airport check-in

Phil Mosley on Unsplash

The United States Department of Homeland Security was created November 25, 2002 in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Some existing agencies were transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly created cabinet post.

Among the agencies moved to Homeland Security were Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Secret Service and the United States Coast Guard.

Some agencies were created to address new security measures then placed under Homeland Security. Among the new agencies created post 9/11 was the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

TSA was created on November 19, 2001, to "improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a dedicated federal administrative law enforcement agency." TSA handles security for transportation systems within and connecting to the United States.

For most people, their interaction with TSA is at the airport. Those interactions aren't always pleasant for travelers.

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When I was a little girl, I adored the American Girl books. These were books about girls in different historical periods of time in America. They weren't just books, however. There was a lot of American Girl merchandise, including dolls.

I adored the doll I had of Felicity Merriman, my favorite American Girl. A few years ago, I started reading the American Girl books to my cousin. She had her own favorite character, Samantha, and I decided it would be nice to get her a Samantha doll for her birthday. I went to order one only to find out they had archived the dolls of the four original American Girls, including Felicity and Samantha.

Eventually, new versions of the dolls were re-released, but they looked completely different from the characters from the books, which the original dolls captured. These dolls are just one thing that existed in my childhood that no longer exists.

I'm not the only one who has experienced these. Redditors have identified plenty of things from their childhood that no longer exist and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor lil-gatorwrangler asked:

"What is something from your childhood that no longer exists now?"

Breakfast Gifts

"Cool spoons from cereal boxes!!! i miss the color changing and straw ones."

– pompomcinnamon

"Nothing like only buying a box of cereal because of the cool lil gift inside. 🥹"

– lil-gatorwrangler

"This reminds me I haven't seen my Taz spoon in a while. It makes Taz noises when you dip it in milk."

– TransformerTanooki

Family Phones

"Yelling “SOMEBODY GET THE PHONE.”

– Jfonzy

"Adjacent: “Get off the internet! I have to make a phone call!”"

cold_dry_hands

"The ring tone was......the phone."

– DEADFLY6

Slime!

"Nickelodeon game shows. I miss Legends of the Hidden Temple and Guts."

– ShawshankException

"Every time I have to take a headrest out and put it back in my car seat, I pretend I am completing a mission from LotHT."

– ReineDePlatine

Ah, The Book Fairs

"Do you remember filling out book orders when it was time for your school's book fair? :'("

– sn0wballa

"Omg yes!!! And just say dreaming about all the books I could have, if I could afford it lol."

– FlannelPajamas123

"Oh my god the happiest days of my school year."

– clover219

​Cell Phone Plans

"I remember when cell phones were newish and scheduling your calls to after 7 on weekdays and anytime on weekends because nights and weekends were free and didn't count toward your monthly allotment of minutes. You also only had a limited amount of texts per month included in your plan."

–cartertucker

The Old Food Options

"Wendy's salad bar."

– SirBlack_

"Wendy’s 4 for $4. Rip 🥲"

– lil-gatorwrangler

Toy Stores

"KB toys."

– AcademicSavings634

"It always felt so cramped and jam packed full of stuff that every time you went you felt like an explorer."

– MrMojoFomo

"I worked at KB Toys throughout college. Can confirm that cramming stuff in there was a corporate policy, maybe for exactly this reason."

"Had to be careful going exploring though— more than once I found a dirty diaper someone had hidden behind a bunch of Barbies. I feel like everyone should work retail for at least a little while, so they can get a taste for what monsters people really are."

– Engelbettie

"Toys-R-Us. I miss that place. I remember my dad taking me and I’d just wonder through the aisles amazed at all the toys. I got one of my childhood favorite Barbie dream houses there."

– FrostQueen05

A Thousand Words

"Photo Albums. My mother has been cataloging some of the old photos she never got around to putting in albums recently. It is a different experience than looking through someone's phone at curated pictures. You would get the pictures back and 90% of them would go in the album. No editing, no my hair looks like crap. You would find photos of yourself years later that you never knew existed. When your grandparents die and you start looking through albums for their memorial and can reminisce. It is so nice."

– HighFiveYourFace

Christmas Was Never The Same

"I recall hearing about a concept mentioned in movies known as a 'Christmas bonus.'"

– mockhouse

"I actually worked at a place where I got to see the idea of a Christmas bonus die."

"They had, for years, given out a Christmas bonus the 2nd week of December that was a cash bonus equivalent to about 1 week's pay. It wasn't huge but it was just that little extra for people already living paycheck to paycheck to have something to buy the wife and kids some Christmas presents."

"Then one year some dude in management came up with this really awesome idea: Instead of giving each employee a couple hundred dollars in cash we should totally give them a frozen turkey."

"It will be great! everyone needs a frozen turkey for Christmas dinner and we can order a whole semi truck trailer full of of them for a great bulk discount so they only cost like $20 each... employees win and we save money!"

"So that is what the company did."

"Only they did't tell anyone that was what was going to happen until the truck backed into the loading dock and happy managers started handing out frozen chunks of discount birds to people who had been budgeting their entire Christmas shopping on getting the cash instead."

"Christmas morning the owner of the company woke up to find hundreds of rotting turkeys on their front lawn."

"We never got a Christmas bonus again at that company - cash or cold turkey."

– varthalon

MY Personal Info

"Privacy. Mostly in the sense that we didn’t have big Meta mining our data/location/listening."

– ilike2makemoney

Weekend Mornings

"Saturday morning cartoons. Nothing beat the joy of waking up early in Saturday morning to watch five hours of your favorite cartoons, most of which were only on at that time on that day."

– nijaxi4567

"I know what you mean. There are cartoons on Saturday morning but with cable and YouTube and streaming and because those run 24-7, it isn’t an event."

"Few things beat running downstairs, pouring yourself a huge bowl of sugary cereal, and flipping on a full hour of Ninja Turtles, Garfield, Ghostbusters, and topping it off with Saved By the Bell all while your parents slept in."

– vmikey

Movie Night

"Blockbuster movie rental."

– lordharliquin

"Oh. My favorite thing we used to do is we would go to the video store and blindfold one of us and pick out a movie and just watch something random. It was so fun fun!"

– darforce

"I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS!! Those are some of the best memories from my childhood! So much better than Netflix!"

– betaflc

No Streaming

"Yelling "IT'S OOOOOOOON" as your siblings hurtled themselves back into the living room and across the couch after the ad break. That 'will I make it' few minutes of just not knowing if you had time to both pee and ALSO get kitchen snacks, were andrenaline-inducing."

– wildgoats2345

That was me and my brother as we watched Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sometimes, I really miss those days!