
Bad news is something you relive forever. Learning about death and tragedy changes the course of life, it's unforgettable because you always remember the moment your life split in two. We always discuss the awful things we can never unsee.... we should also cover our ears. The screams still return in the dark.
Redditor u/ArethaZum wanted to see who was willing to share somethings they wish they had never heard by asking....
What is the most heartbreaking thing you've ever heard of?
A Miracle
My Mom was in a Coma, her mother, my Grandmother came to visit. At this point my Grandmother had buried 5 children and a husband. She sat next to my mom and told her to wake up because she wasn't going to bury another child.
There wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was heartbreaking.
Guess who woke up 2 days later? Yep, my Mom. We were making decisions for a long care facility etc. and she spontaneously comes out of her coma.
We gave credit to Grandma and my Mom's stubborn attitude. Mom lived another 13 relatively healthy years, far longer than she should have and Grandma passed away peacefully about 7 years after my Mom woke up from the coma.
Mixed Emotions
When my grandma died my dad refused to go to the funeral. I was just a young man and didn't know anything so I tried to convince him to go. I drove by the house on the way.
He was crying, but this man was no wussy. I'd never seen him cry before, ever.
I told him to come with me - there was still time to make it and say goodbye... but he stopped me he said:
No I'm crying because this is one of the happiest moments of my life. I can finally go on without her. It's like my life starts now.
God that woman screwed him up.
Clint
When Clint Malarchuk had his throat accidentally slit by a skate during an NHL game, his main thought was to get off the ice as soon as possible so his mom wouldn't see him die.
He lived, barely.
"Malarchuk's life was saved due to quick action by the Sabres' athletic trainer, Jim Pizzutelli, a former US Army combat medic who served in the Vietnam War. He gripped Malarchuk's neck and pinched off the blood vessel, not letting go until doctors arrived to begin stabilizing the wound."
Farewell
My grandad crying as he kissed my mum's cheek and stroked her hair about 15 minutes after she had passed away. My mum was my grandparents only child. To this day I have no idea how they have managed to carry on.
bad conditions
I have a friend whose only child died suddenly in college from a never-diagnosed heart condition. Then her husband passed away a year later after a long struggle with cancer.
She always tells me to hug my loved ones tight and tell them I love them, because you never know what might happen, so I'm passing that advice along now to you all too.
I have a friend whose 9 year old son died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition. At first they thought it was appendicitis. Then they found out the mom and younger brother had it too. Now they're on medication but they had to lose a son/brother to find out.
The Merciful
When my nana was in a hospital after a stroke, my aunt was visiting her after work, and was brushing her hair and asked her, "do you know who I am?" And my nana answered "you are a merciful lady." It broke my heart. She didn't remember any of her children. She died the next morning.
The Good Dude
My cousin was a really good dude. One of those smart handsome jocks that's also incredibly nice to everyone. Went to college in Chicago and ended up in a bad part of town at a bar to watch a bears game. He had no idea he was at a bad part of town and even though there were some sketchy characters there he chose to believe in the good in people and not judge.
Some guy angry that this young white college kid was at his bar bashes his head in with a beer bottle while my cousin is watching the game. Total sucker punch. The bottle didn't break and now my cousin his forced to life with my aunt and uncle and has the cognitive abilities of a seven year old. Freaking cousin prays for his assailant almost every night.
The Scream
I was at a lake when a kid drowned while playing frisbee in the water. The mother screaming for her child was probably the most soul tearing thing I've ever heard.
Yes You Can
My son: "I CANT DO IT MOM! I AM JUST STUPID!" "I just want one good grade just like the others.." "I think I am just really dumb!"
It breaks ny heart. He does lag behind. He does have a learning disability. I did not realize he started to notice the difference until he was temporarily homeschooled because of COVID. He felt safe enough to express his true feelings and it kills me inside to see him struggle.
BUT: I managed to get him some help for self confidence issues and I organized a tiny "school practice corner" in our home where I am helping him with homework - tailored to his level by his teacher.
Last night, he finished a full page of maths without a single mistake. He cried happy tears and for the first time in a whole year I heard him say "So I CAN do it!!"
Forget Them
Getting called annoying by someone you really care about.
I got called annoying and i guess i was. It was my need for approval that made me that way. They started ignoring me and you know what, my life is better without them and i have good friends who like me for who i am. You will get better people. Screw them.
Lessons at the Car Wash
True Story that happened 5 days ago. I went to a car wash and the older gentlemen asked me to turn my car off (I didn't realize it was on). We got into conversation and I just explained that I am new to where I live and I just said I wasn't familiar with everything. I needed loonies to continue my car wash, grabbed some change and asked him for some extra loonies and toonies, which he promptly got.
When he came back he was complementing me on the studded winter tires I had and the car I had just bought recently (2019 Mini Cooper Countryman). He came back when my car wash ended and reached into his pocket put 2 dollars in and told me to use spotless touch because it looks good on black and mirrors and stuff.
When he left I couldn't find him to say thank you, I called the store and got him on the phone to say thanks and he told me I reminded him of his son who had passed at 17 a couple weeks prior and started tearing up. I pulled over because my heart stopped and he told me "My son didn't live long enough for me to teach him everything I knew, when I saw you, I saw him, and wanted to teach you something I never got to teach my son."
TLDR: I went to a carwash and the old man there taught me something new because I reminded him of his son who died two weeks ago.
X
I recently had a fight with my mom for some stupid reason and we haven't spoken for like 3 weeks and two days ago, while i was still in bed i overheard her telling my father that even X was a better child than me. X is this ex-best friend who i called out for spreading rumors among my classmates about my mother. And now that same mother decides to praise X, knowing very well what she did. :(
The Voice
A week after my brother got diagnosed with cancer (leukemia), my dad told all of my family, but waited to tell my Aunt and Uncle. He wanted to wait because in 2014 their son died from leukemia at 18 yrs old and my brother was also 18 when he got diagnosed. He wanted to figure out how to tell them because my cousins death destroyed them, especially for my Uncle.
When they asked to speak to my brother over the phone they both started crying because my brother sounded exactly like their son.
They talked to my brother as if they were talking to their son and apologized for his death while continuing to cry. They both feel extremely guilty for their sons death and the only reason my Uncle hasn't killed himself is because he still has another son and doesn't want to leave him without a father. It also doesn't help that their son died on the anniversary of my grandpa's death who also died from leukemia.
Stay with Me
When I was 8 my mom was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. For three years she fought it and in those three years I saw her a handful of time cause she was always in the hospital. One day my dad says let's go see mom. I get all excited and worked up cause I hadn't seen her for 7 months. She was staying at a friend's adult family home and I remember walking down this small hallway and hearing the nurse tell my mom "stay with me, stay with me, stay with me."
When I walked in my mom was laying on the bed with 3 nurses next to her. They were trying to stop her from bleeding out of her colostomy bag that looked like a red balloon ready to pop. She died before the ambulance even got there.
Waterworks
My neighbor's children. They're 8 and 10. I only know that because i came home one day and my wife had them at our kitchen table. Their dad's a single, working dad so I'm sure he tries his best. Haven't met him too much. But one day i guess the kids asked my wife if they could have a cup of water because dad was at work and their water didn't work. We sent them home with a few cooked meals and a case of water. For the first time in about 20 years i cried quietly.
While she Slept
I saw a photograph in an article about Syrian children separated from their families. The girl had drawn on the ground a sort of stick figure female that was her mother that she missed so much. She would try to hug the ground to get some comfort. The image was of her laying inside the outline arms spread trying to hold her as she slept.
The Boy
Today, I read about a policeman who picked up a little boy wandering around, alone at night trying to sell his teddy bear for food (In the US). I cried like a baby for all of the other kids who don't get rescued by policemen.
Be Good
As my senior season of football was coming to an end. A coach of mine had one of Those heart to heart talks with me. About how no matter how "Good" you may be in life such as the way you treat people and show kindness, there will be others who just seek to cause harm. His brother died earlier that week, shot point blank after helping a woman in front of a 7/11 I think late at night from a creepy dude who was harassing her.
Really hit hard especially since he wasn't one to open up and share sensitive experiences.
Swept Away
A few years ago my brother (a firefighter) saved a man stuck in a tree over a flooded river. he had been holding his 80 yr old father for as long as he could until the river swept him away.
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It's highly believed that it is important to learn history as a means to improve our future.
What is often overlooked is that what is taught in history class is going to be very different depending on where you went to school.
And this isn't just internationally, even different regions of the United states will likely have very different lessons on American history.
This frequently results in our learning fascinating, heartbreaking and horrifying historical facts which our middle or high school history teachers neglected to teach us.
Redditor Acherontia_atropos91 was curious to learn things people either wished they had learned, or believe they should have learned, in their school history class, leading them to ask:
What isn’t taught in history class but should be?
The Irish Troubles
"The troubles."
"Too many people in America do not understand why a wall straight through Ireland would be a BAD idea."
"I’m referring to the Brexit referendum and possible outcomes."
"If people were wondering why we were talking about walls through Ireland in the first place."- CLCVS.
Forgotten elements of World War II
"What the Japanese did to the Chinese during WW2."
"Unit 731."- CaptainMcBoogerJew.
"Japan gets off easy for their war crimes in WW2."
"They killed an estimated 16mil Chinese civilians and another 8mil soldiers"
"Also, Pol Pot."
"Didn't know who he was until I was like 25."
"Worst dictator all time (in terms of percentage of population he decimated)".
The truth about the American Revolution
"That the American Revolution was part of a wider cold war type of conflict with France."
"The American Revolution was basically the UK's equivalent of the US version of Vietnam."- vinsant7.
The Dark side of Swedish history.
"As a Swede, I'd like to know more of all the horrible sh*t my country has done throughout history."
"It's a damn shame we're trying to hide our history."
"For example, Swedes killed a metric sh*t ton of all Polish people when we were at our strongest."
"That's the kinda sh*t we don't get to learn."- mogwandayy.
Colonization
"Basically what Belgium did to the Congo."
"A lot of people are telling me that they are taught about this actually."
"I'm glad to hear it because I wasn't taught about this in the USA during my public school days (1995-2008)."- EconArch.
The truth about "heroes".
"While teaching about historical Heroes they should also tell students about the unspeakable things some of them did."
"Many famous figures throughout history who are pillars of morality actually did many terrible things." - User Deleted
Intolerance for Mental Illness
"The dark history of mental illness treatments."
"I think it's worth learning about."- 7dayexcerpt.
Slavic Mythology
"Slavic mythology in Slavic countries."
"Don't get me wrong, I love both Greek & Roman mythology and as a person from the Balkans both of those cultures are part of my country's history and had great influence over not only my region but the entirety of the continent & the western world but I wouldn't mind knowing more about Slavic mythology as well."- ShorsShezzarine.
The truth about the CIA
"How the CIA was made and all the shady things they did over the years."- ALargeChip.
There is a lot about the history of our world, not to mention our own country which shouldn't be ignored.
And it's from learning from our mistakes that we really improve our future.
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So apparently we are in the endemic phase of this nonsense.
We have light at the end of the tunnel.
So what now?
Where do we go from here?
Normal seems like an outdated word.
How do we get back to normal though?
Is it even possible?
What are reaching back to?
Life pre-Covid.
Those were the days.
If only we could bring them back.
Redditor hetravelingsong wanted to discuss our new normal in this hopeful "endemic" phase. So they asked:
"What’s something random you miss about pre-COVID times?"
I miss people being sane. Though that maybe election cycle issues not COVID. We'll never know.
I thought I was Alone...
"Being able to grocery shop after 11 pm."
Reading_Rainboner
"Hell yes. I miss the days where the Walmart across the street was open 24 hours."
Small_Tax_9432
let's just go...
"I miss spontaneity... everything now seems to have a barrier of difficulty."
iidosee
"I live very close to Disneyland so I have an annual pass. My friends and I would just go there after work and hang out and grab a bite to eat."
"Now, we have to reserve a day to go. And most of the time, the days are at 'full' capacity so we couldn't even reserve. I don't want to schedule to hang out at Disneyland for a couple hours for July. So yeah, I definitely miss the 'lets go eat at Disneyland tonight?' texts."
mymymissmai
Not til 24-25
"Functioning global supply chains. Ah, the product you want has got microchips in it? 9 month wait."
richard-king
"Minimum, I'd been saying for a while now that I wouldn't expect a true return to normalcy in terms of electronics prices till 2024-2025. Although Crypto crashing through the floor really took some of the pressure off graphics cards which I really appreciate."
statiiic
WTF?!?!
"How affordable everything was!"
Disastrous_Hour_6776
"Yep. Today I was bagging up my things at the grocery store and I heard the cashier say to the lady behind me 'thats $78.12.' She had -- 2 boxes of Kellogg's corn flakes, a carton of 12 eggs, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, a small cheese cake, English muffins, coffee, and a small whole frozen chicken that could maybe feed 3 people if the meat portioning was small."
SnowyInuk
Sushi
"My favorite sushi place. It was good quality, close by, kid-friendly, and not too expensive."
InannasPocket
All of this... it was a simpler time.
NASTY
"As a retail worker, just how f**king NASTY some people have gotten."
DmitriPetrov*itch
"They applauded you for being an essential worker but won’t vote for policies that’ll raise minimum wage while insisting a wage cap for heavily paid employees."
sketchysketchist
CHANGES your DNA...
"Some of the people closest to me became very bitter and petty over the last 2 years. So many people have the 'crazy eyes' now."
__--__7
"So true and holidays with the family is like who has the biggest tinfoil hat building contest. How many jumps does your brain have to go through to think that the Covid vaccine CHANGES your DNA into the patented DNA so that the government now controls your body."
"So like vaccinated people now have a singular DNA set. I feel like I still have a chunk of my brain just broken off due to that comment alone. I was also told by same family member that I could never donate blood again due to the vaccine. I guess it is so my patented DNA doesn't affect people?? FYI my vaccinated butt just donated today fine and multiple other times after the vaccine."
tyreka13
Homeward Bound
"House prices."
adrianinked
"I'm resigned to never thinking I have a chance on owning property where I live. I'm 30 and just can't imagine it anymore. And I don't want to live anywhere else so, whatever."
Osdab2daf
"That didn’t happen because of the pandemic. That was already happening regardless."
CH11DW
Oh Mickey
"All Day Breakfast at McDonalds."
hutch2522
"It was honestly hell to do, and not very popular. ITs margins aren't anywhere dinner and lunch specials. ON top of that, the temperatures are such that They require its own grill, meaning that if you have 2 grills in shop, you are down 50% of lunch capacity."
Freyas_Follower
Way back when...
"Hanging out with friends. And I mean waaaaaay before Covid. Like 2006 back when I had some friends."
LoocsinatasYT
I miss the old days. Maybe we'll get back there.
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What do you believe?
Is there a GOD in the sky?
Is he guiding us and helping us?
Life is really hard. Why is that is a big entity is up there loving us?
Atheists have taken a lot of heat for what feels like shunning GOD.
What if they've been right all along?
Maybe let's take a listen and see what they really think.
Redditor __Jacob______ wanted to hear from the people who don't really believe all that "God" stuff. They asked:
"Atheists, what do you believe in?"
I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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The list of what irritates me is endless.
I mean... breathing too loud or dust can set me off.
I'm a bit unstable, yes.
But I'm not alone.
So let's discuss.
Redditor Aburntbagel6 wanted to hear about all the times many of us just couldn't control our disdain. They asked:
"What never fails to piss you off?"
I feel like this article can go on forever. Let's get some highlights.
Wasted Time
"Meetings that could and should have been an email."
Sirena609
Lotto People
"Getting stuck behind people playing the lottery at a corner store."
thenuggetlover
"I also used to work in a gas station and you’re SO right. I f**king hated the lottery people. Especially since my store had a small staff and there was usually only one of us working at a time, which meant that I couldn’t get any of my other work done as long as they were there."
"And you’re right, it’s also pretty sad to watch. I had one lady who used to come in every day and spent hundreds and HUNDREDS of dollars on scratch tickets. One day, she won $200 after spending probably around $600 and she was so excited and saying she can 'finally pay her bills.'"
i-am-your-god-now
Aware...
"No situational awareness. Job, home, shopping, driving. Think for one minute and go about. OBSERVE!!"
Dizzy-Foundation8122
"My mom is one of those people who leave the shopping cart in the middle of the damn aisle and proceed to walk twenty feet away. After correcting her a million times to no effect I just walk away now so people don’t know I’m with her."
OutrageousEvent
Shut Up!
"Endless barking in the middle of the night, I love animals but that sh*t I can't stand."
Acceptable-Lemon2924
"Endless barking in general drives me up a wall. One of my friends dogs was barking almost an entire gaming session the other day. I wanted to reach through the computer and smack him for letting it go on."
bangersnmash13
Kindness
"People being mean to service workers, especially if the workers are very young."'
scaryboilednoodles
All of these things. I hate them all.
Admit It
"People who never accept fault when they mess something up. Like, why blame a million people when it was clearly you who did it???"
Quirky-Area-8978
From Above
"My upstairs neighbors."
lutzow89
"I had terrible neighbors at my previous apartment. It was a one person studio for students, but her boyfriend was clearly living with her illegally and he was loud."
"One night we knocked n the door at 3 AM because of the loud music and an unknown girl opened the door. I just thought they were having a little party. But the next door I saw the girl living there come home with a suitcase after having been away for the weekend... Her BF was cheating on her in her own apartment."
Th3_Accountant
Move Away
"People who sit directly next to me at the airport, movie theater, any other place where you can choose a seat when there is PLENTY of other seating."
BacardiPardy33
"I can’t YES this enough and the ones who can’t park for crap so they park so close you can’t open doors on one side of the car or the ones who park directly behind when you pulled through so the door won’t open to load groceries."
BacardiPardy33
It's Over
"People who try to restart old drama. Like I'm done with you, just leave me alone."
Tired_Potatos
"Yep, half the reason I've basically quit playing one of my favorite online video games. People keep bringing old crap up or sh*tting on on someone who used to be our friend. I got tired of it so I just ejected the game out of me."
CaucasianHumus
AHHHHH!!!
"People walking too slow in front of me with no way to get around them. It’s even worse if it’s a couple or group taking up the whole sidewalk. HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!"
_-v0x-_
Life in general pisses me off. I'm easy.
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