Rumors are born from some basis of truth. If you kissed a girl back in middle school, the rumor mill would take that nugget of truth and transform it into a full-on marriage story, ending with both of you running away from home to live in a cottage by the sea. Clearly, something gets lost in the transition and they can spiral out of control if not kept in check.
Reddit user, u/redmambo_no6, wanted to know the strangest half-truth you ever heard about yourself when they asked:
What was the weirdest rumor you've ever heard about yourself?
The Science Checks Out
Somebody who I went to elementary school with told me that they thought I was so tall as a kid because they thought my mom had died at a young age, and somehow I turned the grief into size.
My mom is still alive and well, fyi.
Never Forget
My principal's wife started a rumor when I was around 10 that I was hanging out with a local journalists daughter trying to figure out who killed Jonbenét Ramsey using a Ouija board.
My mom confronted me and quickly dropped it when she realized I had never heard of Jonbenét Ramsey and didn't know what a ouija board was...
A Faux Romance
My mom was talking to a coworker. They mentioned another coworker and he said that she "always feels awkward around you [my mother] because she slept with your son [insert my name here]."
Naturally, she felt a little weird finding that out. One day we were hanging out, she brought it up to me and so I asked who it was.
Turns out, I didn't recognize the name. I looked her up and I've never even seen her. So I have someone lying about having slept with me and my mom has heard it.
You'd Think You'd Know If That Big A Change Happened...
That I was pregnant and my parents had disowned me.
I hadn't even had sex yet. I moved away for university and talked to my mom weekly if not more. I guess my great aunt needed some gossip fodder and my name popped up. She didn't realize she was talking to my friend's mom.
Just Really Unfortunate Timing
I was working as a welder for a prominent artist in NYC. After a long day of welding, I was covered in soot, and had caught on fire a few times that day, so was looking very raggedy. I ran in to an old high school friend, who I hadnt seen in years (this is pre internet, so no facebook, etc) we talked a bit, discussed the upcoming 10 year reunion, said our goodbyes and moved on. I did not attend the reunion, but about 5 years later I ran into another old friend who was amazed I was able to climb out of the gutter and get my life together - as it happens my friend went to the reunion and reported I was homeless and destitute, covered in filth and living on the street.
If Only...
I was just at a conference and went to bed after dinner one night. When I got up in the morning everyone had heard I was the ringleader of a binge drinking run at the pub, followed by partying until 6am... Only I hadn't ..
When a rumour makes your life seem much more fun and exciting than it really is...
Thanks...Social Media?
My parents went bankrupt so I had to move from an expensive private school to a public school. This included completely changing neighborhoods, and my parents realizing that the private school system just wasn't for me. Public schools were considered to be a status of poor families in my old school.
Few years later, Myspace became a thing, and I got to reconnect with a lot of classmates from that school. I had numerous messages telling me that everyone thought I got expelled for beating up a kid.
Just Trying To Get Healthy
I was overweight as a kid.
After sophomore year, I decided I wanted to lose weight and be more athletic. Spent the whole summer exercising and eating healthy, and I lost about 40 lbs. Came back to start junior year, and after a week I had heard that I was dying of AIDS and cancer.
EDIT: for all the people asking if I was, in fact, dying of cancer and AIDS, yep. I died.
Deadly Nails
I mover schools due to mom's work in 4th grade and moved back in 8th. Apparently I grew my nails out and sharpened them and stabbed a kid with them and was in jail/mental asylum.
Dude, what even.
That's A Good Rep To Gain. Right?
Someone started a rumour that I was having sex parties in highschool, Like straight up orgies every weekend. I was flattered but nonetheless offput
Just Call Him Mr. Jones
lol a girl just told me I thought I should know that there had been a rumour that I'd tried to get with one of my teachers.
I have a boyfriend that I love.
what an unnecesairy rumor.
ugh.
A Lot Of Death In This One...
One time I had to get a plate put in my right arm so I missed school for a week. During that week one of my friends but some of my other friends that I had died.
One Bump Is The Same As The Other
I got a black eye in elementary school during recess. I was playing basketball and this kid threw his head back into my face.
Right after recess was band and then I realized my eye was really swollen so I asked to be excused and I went home early. The next day I came to school and everyone thought I got a black eye from hitting myself in the head with a trumpet (the instrument I played).
When You're The Fire Starter
I started this on accident back in HS...
my friend David had to go to court for a speeding ticket or something anyways he snapped me a picture in class of another girl with a kid that was in the same court room as him and my desk mate asked what he was doing there. Without think I told them he was there fighting for child support.
He came back to school a father kept it going as a joke for the next year and a half
Inferred Romance
A girl who was friends with my best friend at the time started a rumor I was gay with another one of my friend's friends (they were all on a team together) who I had met ONCE and certainly got on with but was merely acquainted with. I found this out years after the fact and it still baffles me on so many levels. I'm not gay, I didn't know the girl who made it up, and I barely knew my rumored lesbian lover.
So strange
The Fools...
There was this weird rumor that I killed a puppy and buried it in the school playground.
When I heard about it, I laughed for 5 minutes straight at the fact that they thought it was a puppy.
Again, How Do You Get One From The Other?
While going in and out of intensive CBT, my twin told me that schoolmates thought I'd chopped off my legs (which in their heads, perfectly explained why I was hardly in school).
Confront The Starter
So this one time we had Friday off at school. So my family took Monday off so we could go do something fun (don't remember what).
I come back Tuesday and everyone is all like "oh my god, where have you been?" I ask what's up. Apparently everyone thought I had switched schools. Ask who told them this and trace it back to this guy in my history class.
Go to class and glare at the guy. He just bursts out laughing. Literally was able to convince everyone I had transferred schools for missing literally one day.
Death Is The Ultimate Victor
That I died.
I crashed my motorcycle and no one could contact me for a bit. I got out of the hospital and I had a bunch of memorial messages posted on my facebook.
Spiral. Out. Of. Control.
In 8th grade we had a lot of snow days, like, 10 of them. As such the end of the school year got pushed back a lot. I always went to summer camp for the first month of the summer. There was an 8th grade "middle school graduation dance" at the end of the school year that was also pushed back to coincide with the last day of school. Because of all the snow days camp started the same day as the end of school. I was going to skip the last day and the dance to go to camp (didn't want to end up with the worst bed or whatever.)
Anyway, like three days before the dance this girl (who I barely knew and never talked to) asked me to the dance on AIM. I told her sorry but I wasn't going to the dance at all. She got pretty upset and never talked to me again.
A lot of people were surprised when I showed up for school next year. I guess she told a lot of people she was going to the dance with me before she asked me and to save herself from embarrassment told everyone at the dance I died. I guess not many people believed her because she had kind of a history of this kind of stuff but luckily I had a good friend who KNEW I was at camp and he joined in, telling people he had even helped identify the body at the morgue, insisting that yes I was dead (because he thought it would be hilarious.)
Apparently they played a song for me and had a moment of silence at the dance. There was even talks of a "in memorial" tree to be planted outside the school but teachers caught wind of the truth before it happened I guess. Still friends with the guy, no idea what happened to that girl.
Heard a wacky, out-there rumor about yourself? Tell us all about it!
