Sometimes, no most times, truth is stranger than fiction. Often people will tell us wild stories and regale us with detailed recountings that just seem s bit.... embellished, but later we see ourselves proven wrong, which leaves us stunned. It is true, some people just live through crazy moments that couldn't be thought up by even the most gifted writers. So be careful when you accuse someone of telling tall tales. They may be spewing facts.
Redditor u/Not-A-Robot12 wanted everyone to chat about the times they realized the truth was the truth which left them stunned by asking.... What was your biggest "Oh, you weren't lying" moment?At 5
GiphyWas working in a care home, a lot of the residents had dementia and would often want to 'go home', not believing that's where they stayed.
I had just started working there and this lady was telling me all day that her mum was coming to pick her up soon, she was about 60.
Sure as heck, at five o'clock a little eighty year old lady comes to pick up her daughter
I felt like such an idiot, it was a very valuable lesson for me though, don't just dismiss someone because they've got dementia!
The Family Tree
Elderly neighbor told me that at one point in the sixties he was the only British person in Finland, and the Finnish secret service had spies on him all day.
Also told me his nephew cloned Dolly the sheep.
That his ex wife was a former Miss Finland.
That his mum had been the governess for the kids of an Indian Prince. (Not sure of proper title)
Yeah, turns out all of it was true.
Moneybags...
I worked with a guy in his late 30s who had all kinds of crazy stories from when he was younger and had won a big chunk of money. I just kind of brushed it off as him being a bullsh***er. Then he brought in a ton of pictures. Ok, so you really did party with Metallica, crash a Lamborghini, get arrested base jumping, and still own a vacation house in Italy. I thought he was just full of shit. Nice guy too.
Through the Smoke
scared on fire GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphyI was heading to school when I got a text from a friend saying my neighbor's house was on fire.
I said "haha, yeah sure" and kept driving. I pass by the fire department and see the ambulance pull out so I decide to follow. I see it pull into my neighborhood and from the highway, I see the fire truck and all the smoke, and I just remember being like "holy crap."
"Twas I"
I was the one suspected. I ended up playing semi-pro rugby in NZ and none of my friends back in the US believed me (even though I was captain of my college team.) Post season I ran into a teammate of mine who had made it big and we ended up in the news. "[Teammate] out on the town in Auckland CBD with former teammate [Me] of the [Our team.]"
But then I didn't want to be the guy to post it and be like "see, I told you guys." Luckily a friend of mine saw the paper and tagged me on FB.
"call the neighbors."
When I was in 4th grade, the teacher was calling each student over to her desk one by one and asked them a question. When she called me up to her desk she said. "You see thick smoke coming out of your neighbors window. What do you do?" I said "call the fire department." She asked "what else would you do?" I again said that I would call the fire department. Then she asked again "what else would you do?"
This went on for a few minutes until she said that I could go back to my desk. When I got home from school, I mentioned this to my mom, and I asked her if she could think of anything else which I could do. My mom said "call the neighbors." To this day, I have no idea if that was the answer which the teacher was looking for or not. I also have no idea why she asked that question.
That Day
I was in middle school during 9/11 and our school didn't announce it or put the tv on or anything so most of us had no idea what was going on. In lunch me and my buddies are sitting there when another kid, who was a known bull sh.... artist, came up and told us about the attacks. We laughed in his face and called him a liar because we didn't believe him. I didn't find out he was telling the truth until I got home and my mom had the news on.
4/1
Hilary Duff Laughing GIF by YoungerTVGiphyA neighbor called me on April 1st to tell me that I left a faucet turned on, and it caused damage to the apartments below.
Laughed my butt off.
Still paying, though...
Get the RAID!!
My daughter, aged 6 or 7 at the time, is the biggest worry wart. I've never met a more highly strung kid (I'm already aware she's got anxiety and going through steps now to help relieve it and give her tools as she grows) She came running in yelling that a spider ran across her face in her sleep.
Her hair was wild and it was like 2am in the morning. So I'm like "pickle, it was your hair, come on let's go back to bed"
Next morning as I'm getting her clothes ready I see a huge palm sized huntsman beside her drawers. It was indeed a huge spider who crawled across her face.
I'd rather Pepsi....
home alone pepsi GIFGiphyIn college, I was showing off by smashing Coke cans with my head. A girl in the group said "Yeah? I can do it with my boobs."
We didn't believe her.
She stood up, unhooked her bra, put an empty Coke can between her breasts, kinda flexed her arms forward, and completely crushed that can.
I don't remember much after that. I kinda rebooted, and then it was the next day. Dunno where she went.
Grain of salt
I had a friend who was just super dramatic and and full of over the top stories about how f*cked up and crazy their family was; I took it all with a grain of salt. As years went by I had multiple experiences actually meeting their family members, and gradually came to realize that they had not been exaggerating AT ALL. I now look at them in wonder and with profound respect, for managing to come out of such a background as well as they did.
Small town
I'm from a small town and went to a small high school. In the area it was common for kids to switch back and forth between tri-county schools due to parents divorce or guardianship/foster care. Well one day I was talking to a girl next to me in class and I was asking her where she was from. She said the small town and said "yeah there is only one traffic light in the town and it's in front of the middle school." I thought she was just joking around until about two weeks later my academic team went to said small town and I saw she was right. There was only one traffic light and it was in front of the middle school.
Snip
During my vasectomy. My doc said "ok I'm done on that side" it felt like he had been down there for an hour and it was painful. I laughed thinking it was him making light of the situation. He then scooted his chair over and kept working. 😬😅
Strike out
My grandfather told me that bowling used to have nine pins. I honestly thought he was joking, but I looked it up and it's true.
Spurt
I was a huge joker in 8th grade and my teacher (who was a really cool guy) knew it. One day I came in class asking for a bandaid because I was bleeding and he said, "Aw you're messing!" So then I squeezed my finger and blood just spurt out of it. He explained that he thought I was joking and proceeded to get the medical kit.
-
Wait, what?
At the beginning of the year, a supervisor where I worked asked me if I wanted to be on the Coronavirus Strike Team (where we'd go to other prisons hit by covid and help them out if staff got sick). This guy was a noted prankster and had a perfect deadpan delivery, so I figured it was another one of his many jokes. I laughed and said sure. Keep in mind, this was January, it didn't seem that big a deal then. Three months later, I got a text reading: "Pack a bag for 3 nights, we're going up to [redacted] Prison. They're hit hard and need people."
I went ahead and kept my word, but I wasn't happy about it.
Missing
When my parents believed I was kidnapped at the age of eight years old or so and decided to organise a search party after not seeing me for the whole day when I was actually in a new friends house from primary school that was up the road from us and I was happily stuffing my face with hotdogs etc with the rest of her family. If I didn't randomly appear in the square when I did during late evening when a family friend was walking back to her house, I'd have definitely ended up on the news as a missing child.
Talking stalk
A guy I worked with in the late 90's claimed he was being stalked by his ex, not entirely unusual. The picture he showed was of some supermodel who was so hot the picture was practically smoking. I did a double-take and looked at the nerdy little goof ball who showed us the picture. I couldn't believe for a half-second this little dweeb with his D&D obsession and fondness for everything Star Wars was being stalked by some woman with a body like an angel. I pretended to go along with it until one day she showed up and confront him, and yeah she had a heavenly body. You couldn't not notice how hot she was, a gay dude in the office couldn't take his eyes off her. She cried for him to take her back, apologizing over and over about something, but he kept shaking his head and told her to leave him the hell alone. We had to get the police to take her off the property.
Much later I learned that she wasn't always that hot little number, they had known each other through high school and got together around graduation. She too had quite the obsession with D&D, making her as rare as a unicorn at the time. The girls cousin came to visit and took her for a makeover and showed her how to maintain her appearance. She had instantly found success modeling and was taking courses to help her get into acting. Her looks got her lots of attention she'd never had before, but that was the problem. She wound up having an affair and kicked her boyfriend to the curb. Later she realized all of the guys she was sleeping with only cared about her looks, but her boyfriend cared about her. He was willing to let it all go, but wasn't willing to take her back.
Odd jobs
That's a common thing people have said to me, usually about my job history/hobbies. I've worked as a MMA instructor (adults and kids, with the kids I've taught martial arts summer camps too), makeup artist/hair assistant, personal support worker, and registered nurse. I'm 23.
When you look at it in order though, it makes sense.
I started jiu-jitsu at age 5, did a few small local exhibition-type fights as a teenager and taught as well. Then I worked at a salon after moving out, as a makeup artist/hair assistant (they provided the hair assistant training) while studying a year of biochem and then switching into an RN degree. I worked part-time as a personal support worker doing homecare in my last two years of my 4-year degree, while still working part-time at the salon. Now, I'm a registered nurse (with some odd skills in my back pocket)
Adoption
I was volunteering in an animal shelter, working in the small pet supply shop that was attached to it. A happy, excited woman came in and asked me to help her find a collar that would be a good fit for the dog she was about to adopt. She didn't have the dog with her, so I asked what kind of dog it was so that I could get an idea of its size.
She told me that it was a Rottweiler/dachshund cross. I admittedly thought to myself, "Right, OK, you don't know much about dogs, this is probably going to be a corgi." But I humored her and said, "Wow, that's an unusual one! Let's wait until they bring him out and we'll size the collar right onto him."
Out he comes on his little blue-and-white slip-lead, and I swear on my honor, there is nothing this dog could have been BUT a Rottweiler/dachshund cross. He looked like a stocky dachshund with a Rottweiler's head grafted onto its shoulders. His body was dark liver-dachshund and light liver-dachshund in the classic Rottweiler dark/light pattern. I was just speechless. He was quite a little sight to behold.
My absolute favorite part of this story: the lady turns to me, eyes shining, and says, "Isn't he the handsomest dog you've ever seen?" Lady, there sure is something beautiful here. Just warmed my heart.
Emergency
Working at Frito Lay, stocking a store in inner city St. Louis at 3:30 in the morning. Guy walks in and shouts "Call 911, I've been shot!" He looked completely fine until he turned around and the back of his wife-beater was completely red with blood.
Got the store clerk to lock the door and call 911 while I provided first aid until police/EMS arrived.
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Reddit user Kuli24 asked:
"What's a movie fact you know that pretty much no one else knows?"
The Departed/Arthur the Aardvark
"When filming the rooftop scene in The Departed, a giant inflatable Arthur the Aardvark—from the TV show Arthur—on top of a nearby children's museum would have dominated the background of many of the shots."
"The museum graciously agreed to temporarily deflate and remove Arthur."
~ el_goyo_rojo
GiphyMission Impossible
"The theme song from Mission Impossible spells out MI in Morse code on repeat."
~ BelgianBeerGuy
GiphyStar Wars
"Robert Englund, famous for playing Freddie Kreuger, auditioned to be Luke Skywalker, but didn't get the role."
"He told his roommate, Mark Hamill, to go try out instead."
~ Zefram0911
GiphyNightmare On Elm Street/Lord of the Rings
"And by extension, the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise is considered the reason we have Lord Of the Rings today.
"Because New Line was on the verge of bankruptcy until Elm Street saved the company."
"And New Line was the only company with the guts to green-light and fund Peter Jackson’s pre-production and production for LOTR."
~ hevnztrash
GiphyThe Princess Bride
"Cary Elwes broke his toe on André the Giant's 3-wheeler during filming The Princess Bride."
"He was worried Rob Reiner might fire him so he kept it a secret.
"He worked the scenes before the Fire Swamp to make his character kind of nonchalant but really he couldn't put much weight on his foot."
~ Inevitable-Roof4992
GiphyAliens
"In Aliens, after the first encounter with the aliens as the Marines are retreating, there is a scene where they get in the troop carrier and as they are getting ready to leave, an alien tries to get in."
"Hicks picks up his shotgun off the deck, jams it in the alien's mouth, yells 'Eat this' and blows it away."
"That whole scene was shot backwards because the actor, Michael Biehn, couldn't perform the move."
"So it was shot backwards, played in reverse and then sound dubbed over it."
~ LordBaranof
GiphyCoco
"In Pixar's Coco, the boy who was going to play Miguel hit puberty, changing his voice."
"The people in charge replaced him with someone younger."
"The original boy got a cameo where he is the guy working the stage asking him if he's ready to go on."
~ numbersev
GiphyAirplane!
"Leslie Nielsen was a critically acclaimed dramatic actor and leading man before he did Airplane!."
"On the set, people were intimidated by him because of his status."
"But they had no idea that he was the set prankster."
"He's actually buried with a fart machine that he used to carry around to mess with people."
~ G-Unit11111
"His prior career was the primary reason for casting him in Airplane!."
"A respected serious actor giving those jokes as serious lines was what made it so funny."
~ SaltWaterInMyBlood
GiphyFinding Dory
"In Finding Dory, the original voice of Nemo had grown up, so his voice had obviously changed."
"But he still got a cameo as one of the truck drivers."
GiphyDead Zone/Christmas Story
"The movies Dead Zone and Christmas Story were being filmed only a couple miles away from each other at the same time."
"Both productions were waiting for snow so they could film. It was an usually snowless winter."
"Finally late in the season there was a significant snowfall. The scene where Sheriff Bannerman arrives at Johnny’s house is being filmed at the exact moment of the tongue to the flag pole scene."
~ Annual_Rooster5678
GiphyShrek
"In the first Shrek movie, Lord Farquaad is removing all the fairy tale creatures from the swamp."
"He wants Shrek's home too."
"In the old DVD extras they explain it’s because he wants to build a theme park there."
"It’s not explained at all in the movie."
~ bickel89
"Farquaad was modeled after then Disney CEO Michael Eisner."
"Shrek was produced by DreamWorks which was co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenburg who ran Disney before Eisner."
"Farquaad is also a play on the word F*ckwad."
~ TheGoadingGoat
GiphySir Anthony Hopkins
"Sir Anthony Hopkins is an incredible mimic."
"Throughout his career, he’s looped (post-production sound re-recording) many well known co stars who were unavailable for re-recording sessions."
"He’s never taken credit for this."
~ smdanes
GiphyToy Story/Monsters Inc.
"The original choice for Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story was Billy Crystal. He turned it down and went on to say it was one of the biggest mistakes of his career."
"When the opportunity to voice Mike in Monsters Inc came up he jumped at it, as he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice."
~ DorkusMalorkus89
GiphyContagion/Seven
"In Contagion the autopsy performed on Gwyneth Paltrow used a prop head that was originally made for the finale of Seven."
"The latter decided against showing what was in the box and thus, years later it was repurposed."
"In other words, we finally got to see what was in the box."
~ thepoeticpatient
GiphyEdward Scissorhands
"In Edward Scissorhands, the version shown to critics and reviewers contained a scene that got cut from the final theatrical version. The scene was during the opening when the grandmother starts telling her story to the little girl."
"Essentially, it made it clear that everything we are seeing in Edward’s story is not as it actually occurred, but rather we’re peering inside the little girl’s imagination, seeing how she’s interpreting what her grandmother is telling her."
"This brings whole new meaning to things like the way the houses are painted, how all the dads leave for work at exactly the same time, and the quirkiness of how everyone behaves.
"Once you know that this scene exists, you see the movie in a very different way. Much of what we think of a 'Tim Burton weirdness' is actually childlike imagination once you know."
"So, go watch it again. It’s not a whole new movie, but it feels and comes across in a whole new way."
~ Darnitol1
GiphySo, what cinema secrets do you know?
There's nothing like leaving a movie theater having just seen an excellent movie.
Particularly one that took you by surprise.
Perhaps it was deeper and more meaningful than it purported itself to be, or on the flip side, had much more warmth and humor that you would have expected.
Or, the film took an unexpected twist that you never saw coming.
Resulting in your needing to bite your tongue until the rest of your friends and family see the film, and not spoil the surprise for them.
Redditor HornyCorny was curious to hear which plot twists left viewers utterly speechless, leading them to ask:
"What’s a movie twist that caught you completely off guard?"
He Didn't See It Coming Either!
"Brad Pitt in 'Burn After Reading'."
"So surprising and downright freaking hilarious."- thefirehairman
If The Shoe Fits...
"'The Shawshank Redemption'."
"Come on."
"It's not always a man notices another man's shoes."- FUBARspecimenT-89
Lucky For Some, Not For All...
"'Lucky Number Slevin'."
"Huge twist and very satisfying."- kvlr954
angry josh hartnett GIFGiphyRosie O'Donnell Would Agree...
"Fight Club."- BuchseeI
"once watched it with a friend who had never even heard of it, and she called the twist like, a half hour in."
"She said it as a joke and didn't realize she was right until the actual reveal, but still I was shook."- yugosaki
I See You Keyser Söze
"The ending of 'The Usual Suspects'."- Schwarzes__Loch
Definitive Shyamalan
''The Sixth Sense'."
'I love movies with plot twists, but I never imagined this one. It caught me completely off guard."- lucasduka
Haley Joel Osment Movie GIFGiphyThe Title Is Also Misleading...
"The second half of 'Parasite'."- iwontrememberthat4
Appropriately, They Really Toyed With Your Cognition
"'The Game'."- DudeHeadAwesome
"Good one!'
"I spent the entire movie going 'is it a game? Is it real?'"- fastpixels
There Were Definitely Ghosts...
"'The Others'."
"Unsuspected end."- NeckComprehensive743
scared horror film GIF by FilmStruckGiphyOne Unforgettable Opening Scene
"'Scream'."
"The Drew Barrymore role."- LivingTheLife53
The Real Reason Everyone Is Terrified Of Bees...
"When I was a kid, I wanted to feel good and happy."
"So at the video store, I decided to rent a movie with two happy laughing kids on the DVD cover, thinking it would be a feel-good playful story."
"That movie was 'My Girl'."
"Eff that movie."
"Seriously."
'The DVD cover lies."
"IT LIES."- buckyhermit
You THOUGHT you knew who the villains were...
"'From Dusk to Dawn' — midway point."
"Didn’t know at all what I was walking into when saw it in the theatre decades ago — just, you know, Salma Hayek. Good enough."
"Quentin Tarantino slurping tequila from her foot after it ran down the entire length of her leg — that was already a 'Holy WTF' moment."
"But then, well.. . you know."
"And if you don’t know — quick, go watch it. "
"No trailer, no synopsis, no summary."
"Find it and load it 'blind' and fasten your seatbelt."
"You’re in for a wild ride."- canada11235813
George Clooney Tarantino GIF by MIRAMAXGiphyIt's Title Is More Than Accurate!
"'Crazy Stupid Love'."
"The scene when the whole movie goes apesh*t in the yard is one of my all time favorite movie scenes."- Fimbulvintern
Trifecta Of Twists
"'The Others'."
"The end of 'The Mist'."
"'The Prestige' (though, I ALMOST had it figured out, but not quite)."- Krinks1
There's nothing better than when a movie surprises you.
Even if it does make talking about said movie with people who haven't seen it a bit more challenging.
Case in point, people who saw The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects after their endings were spoiled for them, don't seem to like those movies as much as those who went in blind.