People Describe The Absolute Scariest Moment They've Ever Experienced In Their Life

Fear is something that is nearly inescapable. It creeps up on us all at some point whether it's in the form of a traumatic event or something slower and more insidious. Sometimes the thing that jump scares you the most is actually also the cutest thing you ever saw... like your kids.
At least that's the case for this writer. A sweet pigtailed three year old tucked away in her bed, I hear a sound so I roll over and turn my phone flashlight on. As I swing it around to scan the room before I get up it illuminates her little face just a few over mine donning a huge crazy smile and wide bulging eyes. As soon as the light hit she let out this giant scream…
Just about fell out of the bed. Why are toddlers so creepy?
Deep-Television9794 asked the Reddit community:
"What's the scariest moment you've encountered in your whole life?"
“about 10+ officers were rushing to my location…”
“I was conducting a cell search and three cartel members ‘trapped’ me inside the cell by blocking the entrance. One of them held an improvised knife (shiv) and the other two proceeded to try to interrogate me on what I was taking.”
“I took off my utility belt as a show that I wasn't going to back down from a fight, an in doing so slyly triggered the panic alarm on my radio while simultaneously making it look like I was shutting the radio off. When the three saw that I was willing to fight to get out, they actually backed down and let me pass... of course by the moment, about 10+ officers were rushing to my location because I wasn't responding to my panic alarm.”
“Far as I know, they believed my reinforcements showed up because the bubble officer (camera watcher) called the emergency after not being able to contact me on my radio and never knew I had secretly summoned a small army to rescue me in the event of being jumped.”
“They even told me they thought it was ‘pretty gutsy’ that I didn't back down while in the cell, and from that day onward I never had any problems with them or their group.” TheRavingRaccoon
Racist, armed, and insane…he definitely wasn’t voting blue…
“Some lunatic put gun in my face while I was camping in an extremely isolated spot in The Olympic National forest. I listened to his xenophobic rant. It was mental chess. He was especially focused on race and orientation and luckily I am white and was able to playcate him. Had I been black or gay I'm convinced he would have buried my me out there. As soon as he was out of sight I packed my sh*t. Before he left he told me that nobody knew who he was or where he was. I bailed." Accomplished-Ad595
Children are terrifying.
“My younger brother sleepwalks. He would just stand by my bed, silently, until I'd snap awake and see his silhouette looming over me. Sometimes, he turns on the lights when he's sleepwalking. I woke up one night, and he was standing there, turning the lights on and off ... on and off ...”
“I get him back to bed, and I went downstairs to sleep for the rest of the night. Around 4:00 a.m. I woke up to see all of the lights downstairs were switched on.” __Dawn__Amber __
At night!?
“Oxygen tank cut off air while on a scuba dive 15m under water at NIGHT. To this day no one knows how the oxygen tank closed. It wasn't malfunctioning cause I realized the problem 20 mins into the dive. For 20 mins there was absolutely no problem.” Laelaps_d_paradox
In flight terror…
“I was on final approach to a local airport and had chosen runway 26 to land because that's what you are supposed to do at this particular airport, unless the wind favors another runway. There was a 3 knot tailwind and I should have landed the opposite direction on runway 8 but I thought 'what the hell, I can basically fly straight in and it's only 3 knots.'”
“I'm running low on fuel and I'm a student pilot flying solo so I don't want to fly around the airport, I just want to get down and fill up. I get down to about 20ft from the runway and all of a sudden I feel a gust of wind pick me up from behind and the nose immediately points down. My lift is gone so I'm basically falling to the ground.”
“I instinctively yank back on the yoke but there's no air flowing over the elevator so I hit nose wheel first (and I thought the propeller hit too but somehow it didn't) and sort of bounce forward into a precarious position where the left side wheel and nose wheel are touching the ground and my right wheel is still 2 feet in the air.”
“It looked like the left wing might drag on the ground if I didn't just front flip onto the runway. Not really sure how that ended up settling, I guess the wind just died down”
“Next thing you know I'm stopped on the runway and the airplane is violently shaking (I'm thinking I bent the prop shaft) and I'm violently shaking (adrenaline) and I rev up the engine a little to get going and get off the runway. The engine ended up running smoothly after a few seconds and the shaking stopped.”
“Unsure about what just happened and how the airplane could possibly be okay, I taxied to the fuel pump and shutdown. It took me a few hours after I refueled, calming myself down and then building up the courage to get back in the airplane and fly home.”
“It is a 15 minute flight back to my home airport and I did the whole thing white knuckled and quivering. But I'm glad I did. I ended up having a great landing and had I not gotten back on the horse that day I may have never got my license.”
“Still though, that moment when I lost control and all I could see out of the windshield was runway… scariest moment of my entire life.” migwell28
The Best Questions To Ask During A Job Interview | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
"This was the moment I thought an man died in my hands…”
“I used to live near a large open stormwater drain with no fencing around it. Three drunk guys drove their car straight into it. I went out and found the driver trying to get his friend's foot out of the windshield."
“On the field on other side of the drain, I saw the third passenger who was covered in blood. I asked if they were ok and my neighbor called the ambulance/police. The blood-covered friend passed out and was twitching so I ran to the car, grabbed a towel from the back seat and ran to help him."
“I found a large, deep cut on the back of his neck/head. I rolled him to his back and used the weight of his head to put pressure on the wound. I was talking to him, trying to keep him awake and he went into shock, twitching and unresponsive."
“This was the moment I thought a man died in my hands. I was able to wake him and the ambulance took over from there. That was the most harrowing moment of my life" Dargroth-soul-taker
“This just brought back a memory. My dad, sister, best friend and I drove to San Felipe for a little get away for spring break. We would often go there for family vacations but this time we invited my best friend. Had an amazing week and started the drive home.”
“It was maybe 2 or 3 in the morning, pitch black in the middle of the desert when we got stopped at a random check point by a bunch of men carrying machine guns. They made us get out and stand on the side of the road so they could search our car and were asking us all a bunch of questions.”
“It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Didn't help that my sister (probably 16 at the time) turns to look at my friend and I and very seriously says ‘I hope you know that they can easily murder us all right now and no one would ever know.’ Great, thanks a**hole.”
“Pretty sure my dad slipped them as much cash as he could and they let us go on our way. That was the last time we went to San Felipe” pineyruacarajoo
Internet predators…
“So, 14 year old girl living in Northern UK at the time. (I'm now 27 happily married mum of one). MSN messenger was all the rage back then and every day was a race to rush home from school and log onto the family PC.”
“I probably should mention that my parents were teenage parents (mum 16 at my birth and dad 17), so I grew up in a really relaxed environment where sex, drugs and alcohol were regularly talked about openly to ensure I made informed choices in my teenage years. One night after logging into MSN, I got chatting to a really cute 15 year old lad (let's call him Luke) from the town next to me (10 minute bus ride).”
“We spoke daily for weeks and weeks turned into months of messaging, swapping pics and eventually we started talking on the phone. After around 3 month, Luke suggested we meet up, great idea I thought, I couldn't wait for my friends to meet him.”
“But Luke didn't want any of my friends to come and specifically states it should be just me and him on our first meeting (he's really shy). Ok no problem! So we arrange to meet at a local hang out spot for teenagers in my town, but Luke can't get there until 6pm - no issues - my parents were happy so long as I was home by 11pm on a weekend.”
“So the big Friday night comes! I race home from school, texting with ‘Luke’, both super excited. I've spent the whole day planning my outfit with my friends and they know where we are meeting up. 5.30pm turns around so I leave the house - now as I'm leaving the house USUALLY, I would always shout to my parents ‘Bye!’”
“But something in my head made me tell them where I was going and asked if my dad could pick me up at around 8pm - I still to this day do not know why I asked this - very rare that I ever asked my dad or mum to pick me up and never told them where I was.”
“So I arrive at the 'spot' and sit on a bench waiting. The time ticks by and Luke still hasn't turned up. By 6.30 I was getting a little prickly so I try to call him and get voicemail. I get up to leave - obviously heartbroken and a little confused - and start leaving the park to head home."
“As I get to the main gate to leave, a man approaches me. Now let me just say, this man was very clearly in his 40's. He had sleeve tattoos and really long hair which was tied into a pony, with full facial hair. He was dressed smartly in black jeans and a black shirt."
“He called my name and I just felt instant icy fear through my veins. I looked behind me as though to pretend that wasn't my name, but this guys seen multiple pictures of me and my friends, he knows it's me. I put my head down and rushed past him but he grabbed my arm and started to shout 'wait, wait, I need to explain'."
"By this time i was Absolutely terrified and started to run. Sheer panic and terror just totally put me into flight mode. There was a taxi parked up at the side of the park, I pounded on his window and he unlocked the door. The taxi driver knew something was wrong and started to drive while I was bawling my eyes out."
"Taxi driver takes me home where my mum and dad are waiting at the front door - again something they never ever did. My mum still to this day says that she knew something wasn't right that night and they were about to come looking for me. Visit to the police station that night and handed over my devices, but because this guy, (turns out to be a reputable 43 year old businessman with a wife and 2kids from the next town over), never spoke sexually or indicated any sexual desires, nothing ever came of it."
"My folks obviously ramped up the Internet security from that point and it's something I hammer home to my 4 year old already. So yeah, I don't know what his intentions were but, he posed as a 15 year old boy to get me to meet him, and I'm just thankful every day for that taxi driver who took me home no questions asked and to my own tuition for telling me something isn't right here and leaving." daningham101
Don’t let these harrowing stories keep you up too late at night and stay safe out there friends!
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Don't be alarmed: There are some terrible corporations out there (looking at you, Nestle) but there are also some great brands that are selling decent products.
I know, surprising, right? Maybe we've all just gotten used to brands selling things of questionable quality that when we stumble across something worthwhile it stuns us.
Hold on tight when you find a brand deserving of your loyalty!
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor spwf asked the online community,
"What brand(s) do you swear by and why?"
"Their cast iron pans..."
"Lodge. Their cast iron pans are super durable and can last a lifetime."
StillForest989
Not just a lifetime. Your Lodge cast iron will outlive you, if (and even if you don’t) take care of it. Even if they get rusty they can be resurfaced. And damn is it satisfying to resurface a forgotten cast iron pan.
Asics, specifically the Gel-Nimbus series. I've suffered from joint pain and unbearable plantar fasciitis from a relatively young age... These shoes are life savers. Very pricey and I don't love the look of tennis shoes of any type but nevertheless I will praise these shoes to the end of days. Hopefully, I will always be able to afford them once a year.
Glad to hear you've found some much-needed relief!
"Warranty and service..."
"Victorinox. Excellent pocket knives, multi tools and their kitchen knives are probably the best ones you can get under 100 USD. Warranty and service is top notch."
CharacterComb3039
Anyone who cooks, but can't afford or doesn't want to invest in a professional-grade chef's knife should get a Victorinox. They aren't nearly as good as a top tier professional chef's knife, but they are night and day compared with everything else in their price range.
"This one brand..."
"This one brand of granola bars called Sunbelt Bakery. Every other granola bar brand is so dry I can't eat them anymore."
[deleted]
Yes, these are so good! An excellent choice.
"Very comfortable."
"Dickies. High quality pants. They're meant to be work pants so they're pretty durable and breathe well. Very comfortable."
GargantuanCake
"High quality" is right. Those pants last forever.
"It helps clean..."
"Dawn dishsoap. It helps clean dishes and it's great when one of my kids has an accident and I have to wash their clothes. Sometimes leaves a small stain but no smell. It has saved so many outfits."
[deleted]
Fantastic – it sounds like you should be their salesperson.
"They don't use..."
"New Balance. They don't use slave labor to make shoes."
Tink2013
They are comfortable and fit well.
I personally still don't like the aesthetics of many of their shoes, but still recommend them to people who want a good shoe.
"They are a retailer..."
"REI. Stand behind everything in their store. They are a retailer but you can beat something up they sell and they give you a full refund."
bigturkey1738
Many people use them for shoes, for camping gear... all kinds of stuff. They're very reliable.
"I wear my Timberland boots..."
"I wear my Timberland boots almost every day, I’ve had them for almost ten years, and they’re still just about as sturdy as they were the day I bought them."
RedWestern
These shoes tend to last forever. "Durable" is the perfect word.
"One large bottle..."
"Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. One large bottle lasts me about a year and I use it for everything. No toxic BS in them like pretty much every other soap and they smell fantastic."
"Also when I say everything I really mean it. All purpose cleaner, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, carpet extractor wash, dog shampoo, it’s called 18 in 1 for a reason."
drumkid74
If you're interested in the story behind the company, the documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox might be right up your alley.
See? Not all brands are terrible. After reading about some of these, it might be time to change of your buying habits.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If society could just stop with arbitrary dress codes. If you're not working with the public, why should you have to dress up so much? If you're a police officer, then it makes sense that you'd wear a uniform that identifies you as a police officer. If you're Ted from IT who sits in the backroom all day, I really don't see why you have to come in every day in a suit and tie.
Let's just toss them out, shall we?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Levels2ThisBrush asked the online community,
"What should be socially acceptable but isn't?"
"Leaving the office..."
"Leaving the office whenever you've finished your tasks for the day."
misringuette
This is why I'm so glad remote work is the new office.
"And yet, I get it!"
"Taking off sick from work, WITHOUT giving an invasive reason. I supervise a small team and so I see all the OOO emails, and for gods sake I want people to PLEASE not feel the need to explain in detail what kind of diarrhea is afflicting them, or how bad their period cramps are, or how much bad sushi they ate the night before. Just say “I’m under the weather, I won’t be online today.”"
"And yet, I get it! I do it too! I feel guilty or like I’ll be looked at with suspicion if my reason for taking off isn’t sufficiently debilitating enough!"
"But… we need to stop this. As a manager I don’t care, I don’t THINK the people above me who are also on these emails care… let’s just all agree to take sick days without any details from now on!"
imnotwallaceshawn
I do not miss my retail days where I had to organise someone to cover me and beg on bended knee.
"Cashiers or workers who don’t need to be standing all day not having a stool or chair."
Lavatories
Another thing I do not miss from my retail days. Having to stand for hours and hours only to come home with my feet killing me was not fun.
"Prices on apartments..."
"Prices on apartments and their respectable reasons for such price directly on their websites or advertising without the need for a tour or any secrecy."
Spiceinvader3124
I always assume if I have to ask the price I probably can’t afford it.
"Being quiet..."
"Being quiet/not wanting to engage in conversation all the time."
[deleted]
In Finland, if somebody tries to talk to you, they are probably a tourist.
"Choosing not to..."
"Choosing not to have toxic family members in your life."
[deleted]
It feels very liberating once you accept that you don't have to put up with it.
"Employees..."
"Employees calling customers out in public for being a**holes."
gameboy1001
Absolutely. Many customers get away with treating employees horribly because they know they can do it without any pushback... most of the time.
"The fact that I sometimes..."
"The fact that I sometimes need to take my insulin in public. No, Karen, I am not doing drugs, I need to live."
blubberwinx
You’re getting that sweet sweet insulin high… the high of being not-dead.
"Afternoon naps."
"Afternoon naps. I’m on team nap. Give me 25 minutes to charge up and I’ll give you back 3 hours of high quality work. Everyone wins. Plus I go home with extra energy instead of dead tired."
Governmentwatchlist
Short naps don't work for me. I can't do a 25 min recharge. When I take a nap it needs to be like a solid 2 hours
"Speak up!"
"Salary transparency. For some reason, in the US, there’s a taboo or stigma around discussing one’s salary. This should be done openly and freely, with zero embarrassment or judgment. The only winners from avoiding these conversations are the corporations that are able to pay people differently for the same roles. Speak up!"
Jumping_Bear
The "for some reason" you're referring to is simply propaganda on behalf of corporations.
It's evident that something's got to change around here, and we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
As much as many of us don't like to disrupt the status quo, there is only so much time a person can tolerate a miserable situation before things become so unbearable that they ultimately have to peace out.
For some people, it takes a while for them to reach a breaking point. Eventually, there comes a time when they realize their self-worth is more important than continuing to please others who don't appreciate them for the sake of keeping up with appearances.
Curious to hear from people whose patience ran thin and made a strong decision, Reddit Prestigious-Order-62 asked:
"What made you say 'f'k this sh*t im out?'"
The unwarranted reprimanding was something that was never mentioned in the initial job description.
Feeling Criminal
"In the late 90’s."
"One time I got pulled into the Security office at a Department store I worked at. They accused me of constantly using the sales day coupons for people that didn’t present one (we always kept an extra copy at each register). I had watched my own department boss do it many times so I assumed it was okay. We didn’t even collect the coupons to be counted for the cash office, we just chucked them after use."
"They claimed I lost the store hundreds of dollars and had been watching me 'for months' do this awful, unforgivable crime for people spending 90 bucks on already bloated price designer jeans. I’m sure the occasional 10% discount was just devastating. 🙄""I got this huge lecture of how I was LITERALLY stealing from the store and they COULD call the police but would give me a chance to work off the damage. I couldn’t believe how criminal I was made to feel over it. The best part when they called my boss in who pretended to have never done it before to save her own a**."
"I asked if they were firing me. They said 'Yes and No. You will be let go, but you can choose to work off the damages so we don’t take you to court.' I told them I will just quit and asked for my last check. They said they will deduct what I owe from my last check. And I said 'Well then you need to show me all the footage and prove that I was stealing.' They wouldn’t produce footage, finally called the cops, and when the cops arrived, they were just as confused and called it an internal problem and advised them that this was overblown. I think they felt sorry for me. So finally upper management came in and just said 'just issue the last check, I will sign it here.' So much drama over so stupid a thing."
"It was sad because that actual day my Mom and daughter had come to the mall to meet me for lunch and I had to explain I just was forced to quit that job and was never allowed in that store again like I was some awful jerk."
"It was nice a few short years later, the entire chain bankrupted."
– Munich11
Power Trip
"A coworker waited until we were in front of a large group of people to start 'disciplining' me for something 'wrong' I did (I took my lunch 15 mins late to help another coworker) when she wasn’t even my supervisor. Applied for a job transfer the next day and couldn’t be happier where I am now."
– _shes_a_jar
Abusive Boss
"I had a piece of sh*t of a boss. He'd praise you in private but berate you in public. In front of coworkers and customers. Always about stuff that didn't matter."
"He'd also happily break company policy to side with customers after you spent an hour telling a customer you can't give them stuff for free, for example. Any time he was around, everything was miserable."
"My only regret is that I wasn't there to see him marched out by corporate when he got fired, because I had gone on to a better job by then."
– redisforever
Human Punching Bag
"I used to work in a Kitchen at a pub, it was grim work, but I had freinds there and had worked there for 3 years, So it wasn't too bad."
"One Christmas season we were being absolutely pumped, full out functions and busy services. My boss at the time was very stressed and fair enough, We were busy, We were all working overtime and full out. He used any excuse to completely blow up and absolutely scream at me for little to no reason, essentially him yelling at me was his stress relief. But fine, whatever, kitchens are rough places, no appolagies or anything, move on."
"I then go away for 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays and spend the time road tripping around the country having an amazing time."
"First shift back, not pleased being back, he makes a snarky comment."
"F'k this, Im out."
– Freddy54323
Even though these employees weren't chewed out in front of co-workers, the low salary without room for negotiation made them not wanting to stick around for much longer.
You Only Get One Job
"They cut my hours so I had to get a second job. 3 days before I was supposed to start said second job, my manager at the main job told me that I couldn't get this second job because I had main job first and I needed to make it my priority. That's when I said f'k you and left. I didn't even give a notice, I literally just sent an email saying I wouldn't be coming in the next day, grabbed my sh*t and went home."
– ginger_princess2009
Meager Wage
"I used to work Retail and after 7 years at the company, I found out I was only making 50 cents more an hour than someone who just started yesterday. I understood if they couldn't pay me more and asked for a good schedule. 7-3 or 8-4 every day and the same two days off every week. I didn't even ask for weekends off."
"I was told that they couldn't give me a good schedule so I quit."
– maybeashly
Situations weren't much different outside the work place. Social dilemmas prompted these Redditors to say, "nope."
Rude Reception
"Went to a pub because a friend kept asking. When I got there, he was with a group of people I didn't know, so I introduced myself and got the next round. As I come back with the tray, I hear them saying something along the lines of 'why is that b*tch still here? I thought she was just supposed to drop off a bicycle?' 'Ya, we don't want her to come to <this other town with more pubs> and now she is drinking with us?' 'She's so dumb' *proceeds to imitate and ridicule me as I was actively listening and nodding when I was having a conversation with my friend."
"Gave the beer to random people and walked right out after saying good evening to my friend and briefly explaining I did not appreciate being tricked into being a bicycle taxi for people who hate me directly after meeting me."
– ILikeLamas678
A Shocking Incident
"I was on my boat fishing for bass. I casted out my line and watched the lure hit the water but the line just floated in the air. Lightning and thunder crashed and the line fell to the water. F'k this sh*t, I'm out."
– fsh4fun051
Femme Fatale
"She lined my bed with broken glass put the blankets over it and I dove on in lol."
"Edit: She was violent/crazy and on drugs, was like the 20th attack I took and that made me really think lol."
– MyLifeForAuir1Ally For The Ex
"I found nudes of his ex (from ten years ago) that I’d previously asked him twice to get rid of tucked in a pair of MY socks. Our couples counselor asked why he’d kept them and he said, 'You know. In case I ever needed to blackmail her.' He said it like it was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to plan to do. The therapist and I locked eyes and I noped the f'k out of there and moved out."
– Previous_Mood_3251
Most of these Redditors realized leaving their situation was better than dealing with the consequences of sticking around.
The latter is never a good option. Why remain in a scenario you know is already going to consume your soul?
The lesson for today is–Don't be miserable. Your sanity is worth saving.
Besides, you would never know that something better awaits if you just don't get the F out.As we enter into the summer months, people now have to decide whether or not they want their morning coffee to be hot or iced.
Lucky for them, it's delicious either way.
One could make an argument that foods that are equally delicious hot or cold are perhaps the best, or at least the most reliable.
And this can include foods which are not customarily sold both hot and cold (cold pizza anyone?).
Redditor NectarineOther4989 was curious to hear which foods people enjoy either hot or cold, leading them to ask:
"What is something that tastes good both hot and cold?"
Fresh out of the oven, or the next day!
"Cookies."- SuvenPan
Chocolate withstands all temperatrues
"Brownies."- Reasonable-Software2
Can't go wrong with fruit and pastry
"Pie."
"Apple pie."- Hak_Saw5000
This doesn't only apply to food
"Revenge."- pushthestartbutton
Let the flavor develop
"Banana bread."
"2 totally different flavors depending on warm vs cold from fridge."- nonkowledge
So many to choose from!
"Sandwiches."- Designer-Usual1691
A matter of textural preference
"Cheese, ya fools."- eat_dontpray_love
Under a hot greek sun, or during a cold winter's eve.
"Spanakopita."- mrsxpando
While there's no better smell than a batch of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, those eating them the next day likely aren't missing out either.