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People Share Their All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Horror Stories

People Share Their All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Horror Stories
Negative Space / Pexels

My ex husband had a super strict NO BUFFETS rule. I thought it was a bit odd, but I had no idea how right that man was to have that rule. I'd only ever been to higher-end sushi buffets where you could see everything, and a Ponderosa once or twice as a kid during a Disney vacation. Six year olds don't care about hygiene when they're all hopped up on the mouse.


Fast forward a few years to my very own Disney vacation. My children (the oldest was about 7 for this) really wanted to go to a buffet. Since Daddy wasn't with us to act as a buffet-blocker, we totally went.

And we totally regretted it.

Can I just ask why people feel compelled to lick the communal serving utensils?!? How hard is it to cover your mouth when you sneeze? Do you really need to dip your finger into every sauce and taste test it?

I left with so many questions; as well as a newly adopted NO BUFFETS rule ... and a stomach bug.

Reddit user no_walking_anytime asked:

What are your all-you-can-eat buffet horror stories?

Brace yourselves, dear readers. Things are about to get incredibly vomitastic. I know that's not a "real" word, but trust me - it's the only word that fits.

Ranch Legos

Giphy

My mother insisted on going to Hometown Buffet because she found a coupon in the newspaper. The whole buffet smelled heavily of bleach. All the food tasted like it was trying to die but the preservatives were keeping it on life support far beyond normal reason. I stuck mainly to the salad bar and fruits. I'd been using the small portion plates to make salad with veggies and a little ranch dressing. I went back for a 3rd small plate of salad and veggies. I grabbed the ladle in the ranch dressing tub and poured it over my salad, at that moment a ranch dressing covered lego man fell out of the ladle and onto my food.

I kept him. He's chilling in one of my toolboxes somewhere.

- Influx_ink

Old Lady Vomit

One time I went with my parents and some relatives to Las Vegas. My dad was starving himself all day so he could fill up on crab legs at the Paris buffet.

So anyway, these relatives are just bitter, slow, awful people who make the whole day miserable. One of them is a very old woman in a wheelchair that my dad is pushing around all day. Basically he's hot and hungry and miserable; but excited for dinner. It's the only thing he's looking forward to all day.

We get to the buffet, get our table, dad doesn't even sit - he just goes straight for the food. While he is gone. the old lady throws up all over the table. Stinky, old lady vomit would bother anyone, but my dad specifically is a sympathy puker.

The relatives tried to complain and say the food made her sick, but we didn't even eat yet! We ended up leaving without eating anything. Some other tables nearby cleared out as well.

I was really young when this happened but I remember my dad walking back towards the table with a huge plate of crab legs and big smile and then his face just totally falling lol

- samanthastoat

Mystery Meat

Way back before you needed a Canadian passport to cross the border into the US, my family would make regular trips into Michigan and Ohio. Once we were at a Ponderosa buffet and my dad put something on his plate that he couldn't identify - he wasn't sure if it was chicken or fish even after tasting it but for some ungodly reason he ate the rest anyway.

Cut to twenty minutes later and we're all packed into the van listening to my dad LOUDLY vomit repeatedly into a bush in the parking lot. He sounded like someone was forcibly tearing out his insides and I still remember the sound to this day.

People walked right past him and kept going inside to eat.

- CrazyCatLushie

The No Sugar Kid

When I was an emo middle schooler, my best friend's mom forced me to join girl scouts with them. One day she took the whole girl scout troop out to a restaurant with a salad bar buffet. I got stuck sitting next to a girl I hated. She was VERY religious and this was the first time she had ever been away from her mom (she was around 14) and she wasn't allowed to have sugar.

She ordered a large strawberry milkshake, chugged it, ate a huge plate full of spinach with ranch on it, and then vomited bright pink vomit all over the table, the floor, herself, and me. The worst part was that we had to sit in the car with her for the 2 hour drive home, holding our breath.

- 99Stars

Boiling Hot Crab Water

Went to a buffet for my dad's birthday one Saturday night. The workers had just brought out the new tray of crab legs and there was a line forming. My family and I waited patiently in line, when the guys in front of us starting arguing because one of them was taking too long to pick which pieces he wanted. Arguing turned into shoving, and then finally one of the guys pushed ahead and stuck his hand into boiling hot water, grabbed a couple crab legs, threw them on his plate and left the line. Pretty sure he had to leave soon after because he had some serious burns on his hand.

- toomuch-freetime

The Loophole

I'll never forget when I was a teenager and working the buffet line at a Ponderosa steakhouse, this morbidly obese child had a plate with a MOUNTAIN of food. Like some of literally almost everything from the buffet. Mashed potatoes, pizza, chicken wings, jello, pudding, like EVERYTHING piled on top of each other.

So I go up to him because it was bizarre and I'm like "Hey you know you can use a second plate?"

He said "I'm only allowed to have one plate"

His parents were trying to restrict his diet and he just found a loophole. But if you have a kid with this sort of issue, maybe don't go to a buffet?

- givebusterahand

Roast Beef Lady

I remember going to one a few months ago and there was a lady seated next to my table. I was eating when she leaned in and asked, "Hey, what's that you're eating?" I told her it was roast beef. She said, "Looks good. Mind if I try some?" and proceeded to cut a piece off ofmy plate with a fork she had used! She decided she really liked it and left to go get some more from the carving station.

I pushed the plate aside and finished everything else. I left to go cut some more roast beef when I see that there's no more left. Then I see the lady - I kid you not- with about 3/4 (all that was left) of it on her plate. I just got something else from the food bar.

After about 30 minutes, the lady only ate a quarter of the roast beef before loudly exclaiming, "I'm full! Excuse me, may I get my check?"

The waitress came over and said that she had wasted too much food and explained that they charged 20% more for wasted food. The lady got really mad and yelled "Heck no!"

She tried to leave paying only the regular price before the waitress told her she hadn't paid everything. The lady yelled "This is one scam business you guys have!" but she finally agreed to pay. On her way out the door, she yelled "I'm telling all my friends about you guys!" and stormed off.

People just kind of looked at her and continued on.

- notfromconcentrate47

Mini Octopus. Never Again

Giphy

I had an internship a few years ago with an engineering group of an industrial plant. Every now and again they would go out somewhere for lunch and invite me along. One day they decided to go to a Chinese buffet nearby. I love Chinese food and cheap Chinese food so I was totally game. It was your typical Chinese buffet, and was actually pretty good.

But then one of my colleagues brought back on a plate the source of my soon to be woes. A singular mini octopus. I have no idea what the proper name was, but it was just a tiny octopus pickled in something, and was about the size of a thumb tip. He brought it back as a joke kind of passing it around trying to get people to try it.

Then I said "I'll give it a shot."

Everyone just kind of laughed and looked at me, but I insisted and he put it on my plate. Now I'm a pretty adventurous eater and love trying new and especially weird foods. I'll try just about anything and enjoy doing so. I had also had octopus many times before served several different ways so I thought "how bad can it be?"

Very. Bad.

I don't remember the exact flavor but it was vinegary and salty for sure. That and it tasted like it was sitting on the buffet for a week. The texture was worse. The best way to describe it is like trying to eat a rubber bouncy ball. I tried to chew it a bit but made little progress. So at this point everyone at the table is asking how it was, and somehow through all my grimacing I manage to say "not great."

They kind of awkwardly change the subject while I find myself in a weird position. I want to spit it out, however I was sure doing so would have made me vomit all over the table. But the thing was so damn hard to chew that if I actually chewed it properly I would have vomited anyway. So I decided to just swallow it mostly whole and get it over with. It was extremely unpleasant and an all around bad time.

However, my pain didn't stop there. Oh no. The real pain came when we got back.

Almost immediately after getting back to the maintenance office I could feel it. My bowels were in some of the most intense pain I ever felt. I very quickly got up and headed out of the office towards the bathroom, grabbing a clipboard on the way out to make it look like I was actually going to work instead of my own personal hell. I get to the bathroom and sit on the toilet.

The most vile poo you've ever seen. It felt like it was relentless. It burned so bad and I hadn't even eaten any spicy food. The fact that I didn't cry or scream still amazes me. As I'm writing this right now my bowels are crying in pain over the memory of what happened.

Wiping was the revenge of my expelled demon. It was like trying clean up an oil spill with one paper towel. The single ply toilet paper never stood a chance. Wad after wad, wipe after wipe came back brown, as if I had never even attempted.

Eventually though, I was finished. There was no more material, and no more wiping. There was already enough damage done. I wash my hands and look in the mirror at the broken man before me.

Then I check my phone and realize that I had been in the bathroom for over an hour and a half. Realizing this, I grab my clipboard, walk out of the bathroom, and head back to the engineering office trying my best to look like I accomplished something. I walk back into the office and sit back down at my laptop. No one says a word to me. They knew. They had to have. But they didn't say a thing.

So, yeah. That's my worst buffet experience. Mini octopus. Never again.

- CoreyCC97

The Moment It Dawned On Me

Years ago, I would take my father to lunch every weekend. He loved buffets, preferring all-you-can-eat restaurants over finer dining establishments. On one such lunch occasion, we were quietly enjoying our first plates, and I see a teenager hurriedly making his way to the restroom. The kid has one hand over his mouth, and puke is running through his fingers and around his cupped hand. I immediately lose my appetite, and just hang out as my dad goes back a couple more times.

Cut to 20 min later, and I see puke kid at the buffet, loading up his plate, handling the same serving utensils as everyone else. I'm sure he did his best to clean up, but this still grossed me out. That's the moment it dawned on me that every customer, hygienic or otherwise, handles these same utensils. The guy that licks his fingers, the kid that picks his nose, the lady with an itchy armpit...

- Dutchapplepoptart

Pizza And A Fire Engine

I was a volunteer firefighter back in my home town. After a Saturday training class we went to Cici's, an all you can eat pizza joint. It wasn't my normal shift so I kinda pigged out, I think I earned it given the training we had just gone through. Most calls we get are medical emergencies and given that I wasn't on the responding shift I figured I was in the clear. I was wrong.

Towards the end of my pizza binge a call goes out a few districts over. It's a brush fire threatening a mobile home park. Weekends are usually when most volunteer departments have man power, and given that it was an actual fire we all figured departments would be fighting over it. Nope.

First department gets toned out, no answer. Second gets toned out, still no one answering. Third gets toned out, with an update of a confirmed mobile home fire. Well at that point we have made it to the fire engines and the chief offers our department to respond since nobody else is. One fire engine, one tanker (water tender, depending on where you are from), and utility vehicle with the chief and another fire fighter on board. We are bringing everything you could need to this fire. We are still the only department (district) that has answered.

So there I am in the back of the engine trying to get my bunker gear and scba on. It isn't easy to do that in a moving vehicle much less in an out dated fire engine with less room than a dressing room in a department store. I'm feeling the pizza at this point but once I sit back down all seems to be ok.

We get on scene and I jump out and start pulling an attack line off the truck. Get all 200 feet situated and ready. The chief puts two guys on that hose and yells for me to pull the other line. I feel the weight of every slice I put into my trap with each movement I make. But adrenaline has command so I pull another 200 ft of hose. By then other departments have started arriving.

Chief puts me and another fire fighter on that hose and we start concentrating on the fire on the outside and threatening other homes. I had to open my air flow valve all the way just to keep from puking in my mask. It's hot and sweaty and my pizza burps are not helping at all. I went through a 20 minute pack of air in 10 minutes. Once I was out of air the subs were put in.

The medical team there to support rehab zeroed in on me at this point. Apparently I was very pale and looked like I was going to pass out. I walked pass them, all the while they are trying to get me to sit down, and barfed up everything from that days meal. I swear it didn't stop for a good 2 minutes.

Once I was done with that I felt great. I continued to assist with outside operations, the med team wouldn't let me go anywhere near a spot where full gear was needed. We were able to save the surrounding homes. Once back at the station I let my mask soak in disinfectant to get the smell out.

- Acidain

"Yeah, We Know..." 

Giphy

Went to Golden Corral while I was pregnant, and after we'd finished eating I reached to get a napkin out of the dispenser on the table and a roach came out with the napkin. I immediately wanted to vomit. I called the manager over and told her what happened. She said "Yeah, we know. We're working on it but we just can't seem to get rid of the infestation. We even had somebody come spray last night but I guess it didn't help."

I freaking lost it. I ended up reporting them to the health department after the manager told me she wasn't sure anything had been cleaned after the pest control company sprayed the night before.

- RogueXZombie85

People Reveal How Things Ended With Their First Love

Reddit user xgc_promathia asked: 'How did your first love end? Do you still think of them?'

CW: Eating disorder.

Everyone remembers the first time they were in love.

Or, at least, the first time they thought they were in love.

Some people might very well have a true "one and only," remaining with their first love for the rest of their life.

For the majority of people, however, the first love is, indeed, their first.

The person who shows them what it is to love and be loved so they know when they've truly found the person they were meant to be with later in life.

With this in mind, some people find ending relationships with their first love easier than they might expect, as deep down, they knew it was never going to last.

Others, however, remember ending things with their first love as the first time their heart was truly broken.

Redditor xgc_promathia was curious to hear how people ended things with their first love and the lasting effects it had on them, leading them to ask:

"How did your first love end? Do you still think of them?"

The Folly Of Youth

"I was a dumb, selfish 23-year-old who wanted more than I had."

"Yes, all the time."- grow4road

"Summer Lovin'..."

"We talking love or 'true love'?"

"My first love was a girl I met at summer camp."

"Shel lived and hour away and since we were both 13 we relied on our mothers to shuttle us back and forth, swapping weekends at each others house."

"The next summer at camp we decided that since we would both be going to high school the following fall that we should enjoy that summer camp time together then break up."

"The last night they had a farewell dance and we spent all night dancing to every slow song."

"I still think of her from time to time but haven't talked to her in over 35 years."

"I spent a hour or so looking her up online and I'm pretty sure I found her but it's been so long and age changes people so I can't be 100% sure."

"I do hope the woman I found is her because she has a beautiful family and from what I saw on FB she's doing really well for herself."- StuckInNov1999

What If...?

"My first true love, we were together for almost a year."

"I we lost our virginity to each other."

"We were making plans to elope after high school I broke up with her because I felt like she was hiding an eating disorder from me."

"She kept on losing weight and she started to look unhealthy, I kept on encouraging her to get help, I even offered to go with her and be there for support when she brought it up to her parents, she kept on refusing."

"I then broke up with her."

"I absolutely crushed her."

"She literally cried in school all day for a month straight."

"I felt really bad about it."

"Then she went NC with me for a few years and I stated to really resent her."

"We then reunited and buried the hatchet then remained friends."

"I haven't seen her in person for about 15 years."

"We are friends on Facebook."

"We comment on each other's posts."

"I think about her every now and then."

"Not so much the person she is now, but the fond memories."

"I have of 2 16 year olds intensely in love with each other."

"I wonder if we were really soul mates but we just met too early in life?"

"She has a nice husband and she seems happy."

"I'm happy for her."- Ill-Indication-7706

Forgive And Forget

"We were high school sweethearts, but we broke up shortly after high school because we were no longer good for one another."

"It was an ugly breakup, and we went several years without contact after I left the state."

"Five years later, my mother sent me a box of my stuff, and one of his old creative writing notebooks was mixed in with it."

"I reached out over fb to ask if he might want it back, and from there, we became friends again."

"Ten years later, we're still friends to this day."- Forward_Ad6168

Unable To Go The Distance

"Joined the military and long distance wasn’t working so I broke up with her."

"We tried to make it work but it was taking a toll on the both of us."

"Didn’t want to break up with her but I felt like it was the best decision for the both of us."

"This was over 3 years ago and yes I still think about her."

"I actually reached out to her for the first time since the break up last week lol."

"Was just curious to see how she was doing."- ReckSaber3664

Truly Love At First Sight

"Daily."

"I married him!"- Complex-Half8338

Ended Before It Could Truly Begin

"They died."

"All the time for last 20 years."- Deep_Ad_1874

Wrong Time, Wrong Place... Not Meant To Be...

"I was 18."

"He was 20."

"He was my first real boyfriend, my first sexual experience, and my first real love."

"We argued a lot all the time basically, I still thought we were good together."

"One day during an argument after he threw a plate of food at me I told him to get out."

"That was something I said a lot and it was a trigger for him because everyone in his life either died or abandoned him or kicked him out."

"He left, like actually called a cab took everything including his New flat screen TV and left."

"I spiraled."

"Eventually though after three years I moved on and met my daughter's dad."

"I have love for him and see that he’s now in recovery and having a baby with a new gf."

"This was over 12 years ago when we dated."

"I’m happy for him but also moved on and grateful for that."- SubstantialLove8330

"The Course Of True Love Never Did Run Smooth..."

"Long story short, my first 'real' love ended when she left to a different state."

"We were best friends for a long time but after she left, friendship ended too."

"We were young and I was too immature for a relationship."

"I was the one pursuing it and she wanted to just be friends which was one of the reasons it pushed her away."

"Like I said immature of me because I didn't consider her feelings and respect her answer at the time."

"Many many years later, I reached out and apologized for everything."

"Because I was the problem."

"She was in a broken relationship at the time and I didn't want anything but to say I'm sorry and become friends again."

"A few years later, she brought it up about a possible relationship with me and I agreed (and no I wasn't thinking about a relationship at the time because in my mind, that ship sailed LONG ago)."

"That caught me off guard."

"Years later after this conversation, we are married and have children."

"Not saying everyone's relationship will turn out this way but this was my experience."- VailStampede

As Nat King Cole once famously said, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."

Sometimes, to know what it is to truly love, we have to have our hearts truly broken.

Making the chance to have a "first love," be it at age 15 or 75, a right of passage everyone deserves.


white and blue kanji print card
Photo by Slidebean on Unsplash

Everyone has those brands that they love and will stay loyal to until their dying day.

For me, that brand is Bryers. Whenever I go to the store for ice cream, I first check to see if Bryers has the flavor I want on sale before I settle for anything else. If it's been a while, I sometimes splurge and just buy it at full price. That's because, to me, Bryers is the gold standard when it comes to ice cream.

Redditors have those brands that have their undying loyalty are ready to share which brands those are.

It all started when Redditor Loesser asked:

"Which brand are you actually loyal to and why?"

Life Changing

"Scrub Daddy makes one hell of a sponge."

– kbups53

"I'd been aware of them forever. "Just a sponge," I thought."

"Tried them last month and my mind is blown."

– gehanna1

Sparkling Dishes

"Dawn dishwashing liquid cuts through grease like crazy. Mix it equal parts with white vinegar for an excellent bath rub soap scum remover."

– Aunt-jobiska

"I used to wash dishes in a restaurant. A LOT of dishes. They rotated through a few food service-grade dish soaps for a while, which I always assumed would be a little stronger because they're commercial-grade, and they aided in destroying my hands every night (steel scrubbers and hot water certainly played a major role, of course."

"Then we switched to Dawn. It wasn't some special food service formula, just regular Dawn. Same exact blue one you get at any grocery or convenience store. That was the first time I would soak the hardest-baked-on crap and practically be able to wipe it off after 15 minutes. I have never found a soap even close."

– Lothar_Ecklord

Q's Way Or The Highway

"Q-Tips."

"Every other cotton swab is inferior, and I think I've tried them all. Either there isn't enough cotton, or the stick is too flimsy. Only Q-tips get it right."

– CA1900

Strong And Sturdy

"Osprey. Super comfortable hiking backpacks, and their lifetime warranty is actually legit. They will repair or replace any damage or defect for any reason on any model ever made."

– RustyPickles

"I beat the sh*t out of mine and it’s in perfect shape. All the zippers work, no rips… amazingly constructed bags."

– CurtMoney

"My company gifted me one this year and I am in awe! I love useful backpacks and i always saw them and never went for it….so glad I have one now because I take it everywhere and I’m so confused how the little guy fits so much."

– imhereforthemeta

Quick Facts

"Not sure if this counts but Wikipedia - I've been donating since given the option and I appreciate that it's remained generally unchanged unlike most modern platforms/services."

– TaalKheru

"Yesterday while chatting with my wife I mentioned how I donate Wikipedia every year. She had no idea and it blew her mind a little bit, she asked me why and I tried to explain just how frequently I use that site. Any time I remember some random historical event or criminal case or famous scientist etc. etc. I'm straight to Wiki. It's an absolute treasure trove of useful and useless information alike and I f**king love it."

– thewokestlocust

All Intents And Purposes

"Victorinox - cuz Swiss Army knives rock, and they make great watches too. Add top-notch customer service, and they've made me a happy customer for life."

"Edit: forgot about my awesome Swiss Army card that a friend brought back for me from Geneva. I keep it in my car, and it's pretty fantastic too."

– ISmellElderberries

Created To Last

"Fiskars. Everything they do is top quality. That brand is like a national treasure to Finnish people. They do plenty of products with metal and plastic and pretty much everyone around here has had a pair of Fiskars scissors for up to 20 years. Sure, their products are more expensive but they're made to work and last for an eternity."

– hiemanturha

"Everyone else always complained about their "house scissors," how horribly dull and awkward to use they were, and I never understood -- my "house scissors" were indestructible and so sharp I wasn't allowed to touch them until I was 10. A few decades later I realized why: they're Fiskars. Those scissors are older than I am, and they're still going strong."

– ClearBrightLight

None Other

"Ain’t no cream cheese like Philadelphia cream cheese."

– shavemejesus

"In Brazil cream cheese is just basically called "Philadelphia.""

– mrubuto22

Just Easier

"Brother Printers, especially the laser variant. It just keeps working and there is no cartridge nonsense like that other brand."

"I would recommend it to everyone, always. Nobody ever has issues with them."

– mahade

"Their software is also far less obnoxious. Pretty solid brand for <$500 printers."

– AlmostRandomName

The Best Store

"Costco. It's not too expensive of a membership, and you get some great savings on gas (pretty big here in California) and buy in bulk items. Of course, I probably buy a bit more than I need to for my family, but the 3 month hassle-free return policy is very generous. It's kind of a game changer for expensive devices like laptops since we can always return them if they suddenly break within the first few weeks or were defective."

"Not to mention the $1.50 hot dogs, average but affordable clothes (esp. socks & underwear), and Costco Travel isn't half bad with some of the discounts when it comes to rental car & hotel packages. Sure there's cheaper ways to get stuff out there, but, generally speaking, Costco delivers pretty good value for the price."

– imbearnanas

Saving Me Money

"Aldi. They were there for me when I was broke and currently keep me from going broke with grocery prices these days. Some of their brands are superior in my opinion eg. salsa."

– gomez1608

​Inactive Choosing

"OXO. Most of their kitchen stuff is fantastic. I don't deliberately set out to buy OXO, but it winds up being the best choice on a lot of things."

– VinLeesel

Everything Else Pales In Comparision

"Heinz Ketchup. Not Hunts, nor Red Gold, especially not Sir Kensington."

– rich-lol

Old Faithful

"Honda, both cars and motorcycles. That sh*t just does not break."

– Adddicus

Honda is the definition of reliable. Those are the kinds of brands to stand behind!

A young man stands on a hill and waves a smoke signal
Photo by Chinh Le Duc

Nobody is perfect.

That is lesson number one when looking for love.

No one person is going to check off every box.

So that means that every red flag or warning is not life-altering.

That is called compromise.

But as long as they aren't buying bodies and storing organs... there is a lot that people can handle.

Redditor Cerseiriously wanted to hear about what warning signs people can live with when courting romance, so they asked:

"What’s a red flag you don’t mind so much in a potential SO?"

I can handle cheap.

Well, frugal.

Cheap to waiters? No.

But frugal for the future? Yes.

I Get It

Stop Motion Yes GIF by MouseGiphy

"Someone who isn't close to their own family. I'm not close with mine, either. I'd actually think it was refreshing to be with someone who understood and felt the same way."

JoeyTepes

Can't Commit

"A certain type of dating history. Everyone has their own style of dating. For example, Person A has a history of 3-4 year LTR but has never married while Person B doesn't have any relationships beyond 6 months. Person A thinks it's a red flag that Person B 'can't commit' when the reality is they simply end a relationship they don't see going long-term."

"On the other side, Person B thinks it is Person A who can't commit based on the fact they have years-long relationships but don't progress. It's all relative to how you compare the person's history to your own style of dating."

FunctionCreepy2096

As an older person...

"Not having a lot of prior relationships (as an older person). When I met my husband, he was 34 and had had only one serious relationship up until that point which was 15 years prior."

"Now I know a lot of people would see that as a waving red flag and think there was something 'wrong' with him, but the reality was he was in a male-heavy specialty (engineering college to an engineering job), had a job where he traveled about 90% of the time and, when I met him, had just moved back to the area where he had grown up after being away for over 10 years."

"None of that was conducive to meeting people or a relationship and, beyond that, he's not a particularly social person or someone who really revels in the company of others, which didn't help."

"We met online, we clicked, we started dating, we got married 2 years later, and are still married 18 years later."

Sniffy73

In Person

"Not being very communicative or chatty through text. Some people simply aren’t into texting. I dated a guy who was like that. At first, I took his lack of communication and short answers as not being interested… when in reality, he simply wasn’t much of a texter. I just accepted that’s how he was. In person he was great."

sweet_dream515

Dear Mama

Hocus Pocus Halloween GIFGiphy

"'How a man treats his mother is a sign of how he'll treat you so be careful.'"

"Or if he dislikes his mom, doesn't want to help her, be there for her, talks bad about her. It could be because she's horrible and it's just a sign of how she treated him."

Prestigious-Phase131

Oh the mommy issues never end,

Love her. Hate her.

It'll all get covered in therapy.

The Socials

Social Media Facebook GIFGiphy

"I’ve been told my lack of social media is a major turn-off and a major red flag. But I find a guy that doesn’t have any social media or very little attractive. It’s all about perspective."

asterbluesapphire

I blame all the Wattpad stories...

"I don't mind some mild (MILD) possessiveness. In fact, I think it's kind of hot. I blame all the Wattpad stories I consumed during my formative years."

_hootyowlscissors

"Same! My husband and I joke that we're both stage 5 clingers to each other 😂 not really that bad as we don't control each other but we're best friends, have all the same hobbies, and love spending all of our free time together. There's nothing better than a hard day's work and coming home to someone who is excited to see you, even if it's just a Monday."

Buffyfanatic1

No Mingle

"Someone who’s been single for a long time! I find jumping from partner to partner more concerning. Some people never figure out who they are on their own."

geminibaby

"You just described me, I got to a point where I am not just going to jump into a relationship with someone not compatible like I used to do before I knew who I was, I’d rather be single, but when people find out how long I’ve been single they think it’s a massive red flag."

Just_improvise

Tell Me More

"Absorbed in their hobbies/their work. I love that. Go buck wild, even if it’s obsessive. Also because bruh I have a terrible rest/production ratio. I need someone who understands. LOL."

Probablyawerewolf

"I see you've met my partner. Well, he's a grad student, so he doesn't have much of a choice in his workoholism. I'm trying to get him to balance it out a little bit, but I love his passion. He could spend hours telling me about his research, about a conference, or just about a paper he read once, and I love listening to that."

smallangrynerd

Let Go

friends cling GIF by Nick At NiteGiphy

"Clinginess. I like it when she always wants to be around me and up under me."

​FruitSnackEater

Cling. In love. Dependent. Co-Dependent. In love.

Is there really a difference?

Person taking picture of the clouds from their seat on flight
Photo by Leo on Unsplash

For some people, flying is the epitome of great travel and adventure. The thought of entering the air is exhilarating.

For others, however, flying is to be avoided unless totally necessary. There's an underwater highway connecting the continents, right? Or an impossibly strong bridge?

But as laughable as it might seem to see someone dread flying, sometimes there's a key experience that can explain all of those negative feelings they have connected to buckling up and locking their tray tables.

Curious about others' experiences, Redditor prettyKaitlynn asked:

"What's the most horrifying thing you've experienced on a flight?"

The Sudden Loss of a Loved One

"On a red-eye flight, everyone was asleep, but I can't sleep on planes. A few rows behind me, a girl started screaming, 'Mama!? MAMA!?'"

"The flight attendants walked over and then ran back. Then ran over holding a defibrillator. Then they walked the hysterical girl, who looked to be about a teenager, to the front of the plane. Then they walked back with blankets."

"When the plane landed, no one was allowed to move. A stretcher came on board and wheeled the blanket-covered body out. The sobbing girl followed behind."

"I can't imagine losing a parent on a flight, with nowhere to go and no way to contact anyone else for help, surrounded by nosy strangers in tight quarters."

- KnittinAndB***hin

"Oh my god, that poor girl. I traveled a lot with my mom when I was her age, visiting my big brother at college. I can’t even imagine the horror of this situation and how traumatic that must have been. I hope she is happy and thriving somewhere now…"

- doodle_d**ks3000

Fallen Flight 4184

"On Halloween night in 1994, I was on a United flight from Vancouver to Chicago."

"Back then, 'Channel 9' on the inflight entertainment system let you listen to air traffic control. That night as we approached Chicago, I was listening to Channel 9 when suddenly ATC told all the other planes to quiet down."

"Then they started calling over and over for another flight, American 4184, and asking the other planes if anyone else could see an ATR."

"This went on for a few minutes and then, CLICK, channel 9 was switched off. I felt a chill go down my spine."

"When I got to my hotel, I switched on CNN."

"Flight 4184 had gone down in a field in Indiana and everyone was dead."

- CohibaVancouver

Worthy of 'Final Destination'

​"Just after takeoff from Ixtapa Mexico, we were climbing out over the ocean at about 1000 feet when I looked out my window. Headed directly at me about 500 feet away was a twin-engine Beechcraft (I think). I would guess it was three to four seconds from impact."

"Fortunately, the pilot of the aircraft saw us and pulled up sharply just in time, missing us by maybe 25 feet."

"My wife, who's deathly afraid of flying, asked me, 'What was that?' I said, 'Nothing,' and pretended nothing had happened until we were on the ground in the US, and then I told her."

"Without question, if that pilot had pulled up even a second or two later, everyone on board both planes would have been dead."

- lobeams

Fear of Flying

"As soon as the engines revved up for take-off, a woman started screaming like she was dying."

"The flight attendants couldn’t get up to go to her until the pilot rang the bell, about five to ten minutes. She was screaming the entire time."

"Turns out her daughter put her on the flight even though she was terrified of flying. An attendant held her hand the entire flight, walked her all the way to meet the other daughter, and told her to never put mom on an airplane ever again."

- zenos_dog

"Just so everyone knows, if you are afraid of flying, tell the stewards when getting on the plane."

"They will make sure you are checked in and will pay special attention to you to make it easier."

- DeezNeezuts

What Dreams Are Made Of

"Flying out of Chengdu China in the early 80s on an old Russian turboprop, It was a wicked snowstorm, and I thought there was no way we were taking off in that mess. Visibility was only a few hundred feet."

"I looked around in panic and I realized the guy sitting across the aisle from me was the spitting image of Buddy Holly. I recall thinking that if this guy pulled a guitar out of the overhead bin and started singing 'Peggy Sue,' we were all f**ked."

- WeekendDesigner4734

"Oh sweet, you're a Steven King character."

- moslof_flosom

Allergic to... Flying?

"This was in 2015 (luckily not during the pandemic as I probably would have been kicked off the flight). But suddenly I felt a tickle in my throat, so I started coughing."

"But I COULD NOT STOP COUGHING. No matter what I did, I could not get that tickle out. The people around me were understanding, but I decided to go to the back of the plane just to be courteous."

"The flight attendants gave me ice and that was the only thing that would give me any sort of relief."

"We finally landed. That night, I went to bed and woke up at 5:00 AM with a swollen shut eye, huge f**king lips, hives ALL over my body, and a tightness in my chest."

"Turns out I was having a severe allergic reaction to something I ate (?) at the airport or something on the plane. My throat was literally CLOSING on the plane. That’s why the ice was helping because it was bringing down the swelling."

"But here’s the weird f**king thing. I’ve never been allergic to anything in my life before OR since that incident. So it’s a huge freaking mystery. The hives also showed up in different places on my body each morning for two weeks after."

- TheReinsOfFullNight

Take Off Mysteries

"On a flight from San Francisco to Denver. The plane was loaded and it was time to take off, but we just sat at the gate. The pilot announced we would be leaving soon and that we were late taking off because they had to balance out the luggage."

"Finally around 30 minutes after we were supposed to take off, the plane backed out and went to the runway. Once again, we just sat on the tarmac, this time for another 30 minutes. The pilot got on the PA again and said we had to return to the gate because the plane was low on fuel from all the idling."

"Back at the gate, three armed law enforcement officers entered the plane and escorted a man off. After that, the pilot announced that we were finally ready to take off and that the previous wait was actually due to a security issue."

- TXRichardCranium

Unforgettable Turbulence

"Just (but didn’t feel like 'just' at the time) really bad turbulence; people’s purses hit the ceiling of the cabin and I think some people who weren’t belted in injured themselves too. People were screaming, praying, and crying (I was in that last category)."

"I wasn’t crazy about flying before, but that experience put me into phobia territory and I didn’t fly after that for probably about ten years, and still weigh it as a cost-to-benefit thing whenever I travel. It’s helped a bit to learn that turbulence isn’t really a thing that causes plane crashes, as far as I now understand, but it can feel very different in that moment to the illogical mind."

- bottleglitch

Oh, the Humanity

"On an airplane, but not technically a flight."

"Sitting at the end of the runway, the pilot was doing his pre-flight or something. There was a fireball in one of the engines. Passengers panicked, flight attendants popped the emergency doors, and the emergency slides deployed."

"It was mayhem; people knocking others down, crawling over the seats, lots of screaming. Several people were injured."

"Of those I saw, one man fell off the wing; I found out later he broke his arm and collarbone. Another fell off the middle of the slide. She went away holding her wrist, not sure of what happened. The guy in front of me on the slide tumbled face-first at the bottom of the slide, and got up with a bloodied face."

"Emergency slides are not fun. It's not like in the movies."

"The ironic thing was, there was no danger to the aircraft or passengers."

- chileheadd

Not a Question You Want to Hear

"The scariest thing was being asked by the guy on the other side of the plane if there was oil spraying out of the engine on my side, too."

- cablemonkey604

Happily Ever After

"We took off after a seven-hour delay. The plane climbed for a little bit and went into a pretty tight bank turn."

"The Captain came on and said there was smoke in the cabin, and we were going in for an emergency landing. As we were coming in, there were the fire trucks and emergency vehicles waiting for us."

"Long story short... it was a wiring harness for the coffee maker. They swapped it out without even having to deplane. We got free drinks for the rest of the flight."

- Bigkid6666

No Small Talk Welcome

"We barely had our butts in the seat and a woman turned to us and said, 'Are you two teachers?' as an icebreaker."

"We responded with 'no,' and then she said, well, she was a teacher, and she then proceeded to talk THE ENTIRE nine-hour flight about herself."

"My husband pretended to fall asleep within the hour, and I find it painfully hard to stop conversations with friendly people, so all I could do was listen to her ramble."

"Ugh, AND we were seated right beside the toilets which smelt of old pee."

- No-Lack4969

"That would be my personal h**l. Just let me read my book, lady."

- Ninyu

Chaos Ensues

"Captain here. Two hours in on an early flight, and the in-charge Flight Attendant advises us we have run out of coffee."

- scooterjay2013

A Strange Turn of Events

"I had a woman next to me on a 15-hour flight, with two kids under the age of five. She sat next to me with the kids on the aisle, and the first thing she did was apologize for what was to come."

"It was terrible, stuff constantly knocked onto the floor, a drink spilled on my leg... but that was just the woman herself."

"She soon swapped seats, and the kids just did normal kid stuff. They were not so bad at all, aside from the occasional accidental bump when they squirmed, while she continued to drop stuff on the floor: food, drink, phone, basically anything on her tray table was going to be on the floor sooner or later."

- FrightenedOfSpoons

"This weirdly sounds like something out of a rom-com."

"Her: 'I'm sorry for the trouble that will be caused.'"

"Him: 'I understand, kids will be kids.'"

"'No, I mean me, I'm a super klutz when flying.'"

"Strangers to Lovers. Annoyance softens to Endearment."

"Instant love story."

- saruhime

A Fuzzy Passenger

"Flying in a small eight-seater from the mainland to an island, a kitten got loose, climbed over the pilot's shoulder, and generally was frantic."

"That's the type of scene that disaster movies start with!"

- GSVNoFixedAbode

"Something similar happened on a flight. It was kind of funny, though, because the pilot got on the P.A. to ask whoever was missing a kitten to please come to retrieve it, in a very official, somewhat annoyed, pilot-ey voice. Pure comedy."

- ljuko

While some of these stories were amusing in the end, most of these were absolutely chilling, and it's no wonder that these Redditors don't enjoy flying or refuse to travel by airplane ever again.

It's pretty safe to say, honestly, that most of us would choose the same thing if we experienced something like this.