We are very sorry, this is going to be one of those lists where you realize that you are, in fact, ruining your own life.
Not to worry-we're in the same boat as you. Your 20s are a hard time, you're just learning what life is, and your expectations versus your reality quite literally never match.
But if you can figure out a plan, you'll be okay. Just watch out for these pratfalls.
u/bbq_chicken_boob asked:
What are things people do in their 20s that ruin their 30s?
Here were some of the answers.
How To Be Immortal
Eat junk and not exercise. Get in the healthy habits early, maybe then you won't notice the encroachment of death as soon.
I think this the difference between people who are still living their life at 40 and those who are already falling apart in their 30's
Taking The Leap
Think that their personality, interests, life, etc. are fixed and not be open to trying something new. I've wished I learned to play guitar since I was 16, but didn't think of myself as "musical." Now I'm learning at 38, and regretting that I didn't spend the last 22 years playing.
Make Sure It's Planned
Have unprotected sex that leads to unwanted children.
I have children that my wife and I planned and wanted in our late 20's/early 30's. We love them and, while difficult sometimes, they have made life better.
We also have family members who had unplanned children early in life and their 20's/30's have been an extreme struggle.
As We Go On, We Remember We're Not 22 Anymore
GiphyGet addicted to drugs and alcohol. I am just freshly in my 30's now, and my god I squandered the majority of my 20's either being on something or recovering from doing drugs and alcohol.
Luckily I was able to pull myself out of it, but the first 7 years of my 20's were spent getting gradually and gradually more addicted and bottoming out.
Early Back Issues
Lift heavy objects with their backs instead of their legs.
Also, bending down at the waist instead of lowering at the knees.
My back is f*cked, and it didn't have to be.
Winners Only, Please
Stay with fixer upper partners in the hope that they will become better.
There are more dating options in the 20s. Don't waste that valuable young and hot time with losers.
Spent 9.5 years with a fixer upper from the time that I was 19. I'm now 29 years old and single for the first time in my adult life. I wish someone had given me this advice years ago. It was scary starting over again when I did. I wish I had realized I was wasting valuable time waiting for someone to change when he had absolutely no intention of ever even meeting me halfway.
Early Onset Aging
They start slowing down. I'm not sure how else to describe it but once we're out of school and get into a normal work/home/sleep routine most of us slow down our daily activities significantly.
You know how you've read that being sedentary can be as bad as a normal cigarette habit? That's what I'm talking about.
It's not that your metabolism comes to a screeching halt through your 20's - it's that you are freshly in charge of your own habits and have more opportunity to make the choice to slow down. Less activity + same/worse eating habits = weight gain and health problems.
Compare high school where most folks are up and down throughout the day carrying all materials from class to class and then part time work in the evenings usually involving some kind of on-your-feet customer service kind of job. It's no wonder that by the time we only have to put in ~40 hours a week that we're relaxing during our off-hours. But commuting to work to sit on your butt 8 hours and then commute to home to sit on your butt for another 6-8 hours... That's a killer!
I'm not saying everyone does this but a huge HUGE amount of people fall into this habit. This sets the pace for early onset aging conditions that can start popping up as early as your 30s.
Take a look at the humans that live longest. What is the number one thing they all have in common? They kept their momentum and continued to be active.
I'm in my 30's and my circle of friends are 30's-60's. The 'relaxed' friends are the ones starting to have regular standing doctor's appointments to manage their newly developing conditions where those of us that keep up on our activity and exercising are still in relatively good working order.
Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring
Go to concerts and loud clubs without hearing protection. Once tinnitus starts, it doesn't go away. MAWP!
Here's my advice... Go to a music store and buy earplugs that musicians use. They will lower the volume of the sound that makes it to your eardrums, but will do it equally across all of the frequencies so that the.sound doesn't sound as muffled as the old style ear protection sounds. Party on!
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
GiphyNot letting injuries heal.
Ive learned this the hard way. If u keep using something that hasnt healed (in my case , my left shoulder), it turns an acute, very fixable issue into something chronic and far more complicated. If i had spent 2 or 3 weeks away from the gym and the basketball courts after i had first injured it, I would have saved thousands in physical therapy, Dr visits, MRIs and not to mention, drastic quality of life difference.
Unsustainable Financial Decisions
GiphyLiving within your means but not in a sustainable way. Sure, you can afford to order food every day and have nice clothes and still pay your bills. But do you want to still rent a room in a basement when you're 35?
(this is the pep talk I give myself when I want to spend money foolishly)
Definitely Needing Healthy Habits
Don't get fat. If you are fat, lose the weight. Make an investment in your future and change the behaviors that led to your being overweight. It might require therapy to get to the bottom of it—do it.
On top of all the stuff everyone knows about with diabetes, and cancer, and dementia later in life, etc., you've got more immediate issues: If you're a woman and you're overweight, you can become estrogen-dominant, which causes a shit-ton of problems (and makes you gain more weight). It can lead to uterine fibroids, worse periods, irregular periods, bad cramps, fertility issues, etc. Your hormones are way more important than you know. Throw one thing out of wack and other parts of the endocrine system start adjusting accordingly and it causes a cascade of problems. Hormones affect everything. Ev.er.y.thing. Help them stay where they're supposed to be by being a healthy weight.
If you're a guy: Belly fat decreases your life expectancy, increases risks for cancer, heart disease, and all the rest, but more immediately: excess weight can make your peepee not work right. Fat messes up men's hormones and can lead to erectile dysfunction. Plus, gain enough belly fat and get enough of a fupa, and whoosh! You have smol peener.
Lose the weight while you've got youth and metabolism on your side. And if you don't have a healthy relationship with food, GET ONE. Go to therapy and work your shit out if that's what it takes. You will save yourself a world of angst, medical problems, and money in the long run.
It Does Take Tons Of Work
Not work hard enough to build a career. It requires sacrifices to become established, and you cannot mix business with pleasure. You either party with your friends or you work for your boss and climb the corporate ladder. If you value financial and professional security then you have to give up your childish ways.
The Dang Capitalist Society
GiphyEveryone in there 20s make poor life choices. They think about the present and not the future. They want the next best thing such as the new iPhone or a new TV and start using credit cards or start gambling. Then when they're in there 30s they're still paying of payments from those things.
Best thing you can do is never take out a credit card, because it's there for you to just keep using. You never actually pay it off because as soon as you've paid for something, you end up putting something else on it.
If you can't afford something then save up for it until you can. Don't pay monthly for anything other than your gym membership and phone contract.
Just stick to using a direct debit.
Only Onward And Upward
Dwelling on what you did or didn't do in your 20s while you're in your 30s will get you every time.
You'll miss opportunities, have too much fun, or not enough, no matter what you do, and that's just life. You will have regrets.
If you want your life to go somewhere, make goals and do your best to achieve something, but keep in mind we can't all be Bill Gates... Or even Keith Richards. Most of us will be average worker bees, just keeping the bills paid to fund our true passions, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Try not to f*ck your credit score or your back too badly, stay out of jail, and try not to get too fat, and odds are you won't have it too rough when life hands you some lemons.
It Is Still Early
Smoking. Not to imply that once you're addicted it's forever, of course, but starting a drug habit in your 20's because you think it makes you look cool can and will fuck you down the road. I'm talking about more than just cancer- my grandmother smoked for half of her life, and she can't tell when food in her fridge is rotten when for the rest of the family it's pungent.
Sunrise, Skin Set
Suntanning, using tanning beds. Acting like 'that first burn' is a good 'base' or at all wise. The effects are so delayed it's hard to be motivated about protecting your face *(and shoulders, and all your skin), but I'm paying for it now with interest.
I wore more sunscreen than most of my peers, used tanning beds sparingly, but still have to pay the piper with all the spots and sun damage that finally showed up in my 30s. more than just the vanity is the risk of skin cancer after all the years of damage.
People Share The Biggest Red Flags They Noticed In Their Partner
A Reddit user asked: 'What's your biggest red flag in a partner?'
When going on a first date, we are often on the lookout for "red flags", the key indicators that whoever is sitting across from us couldn't possibly be the love of our life.
More often than not, these red flags, be it something they said or did, are often a firm deal breaker in finding a partner.
Sometimes, however, there might be enough to make you overlook the glaring red flag you just had waved in your face.
And much to your surprise, you might find yourself falling head over heels in love with them, in spite of their one, obvious flaw.
"What's your biggest red flag in a partner?"
The Wisest Admit When They've Made A Mistake...
"Inability to recognize or admit when they've made a mistake."- UniversityEastern542
My Way Or The Highway...
"Using ultimatums to get their way instead of compromising."- Whed1956
And That Concerns Me, Why?...
"No respect for your interests or your time."- ElNakedo·
Bored Over It GIFGiphyIt's Can Be Easy To See Clearly Through The "Gaslight"...
"Manipulation on any level."- xfalinex
"Manipulating, gaslighting, 'winning'."- umbrex
Is It Really So Difficult To Say "I'm Sorry"?...
"Inability to apologize."- theregoesthevillage
Sorry Taylor Swift GIFGiphyHonesty is ALWAYS The Best Policy...
"My biggest red flag in a partner would be their inability to communicate effectively and be honest with me."
"Trust is key."- Proper_Ad5123
What You See Is What You Get
"Wanting to change my style and look."
"First girlfriend wanted me to wear button up shirts, colored my hair brown, and even wanted me to wear brown colored contact lenses."
"Coincidentally these were all features of her cousin who she later married."
"A good partner helps you grow and become the best version of you."
"They don't try to mould you into their own vision."- AdmiralClover
"Someone who wants to change you."- helloiamnat
Alicia Silverstone Makeover GIF by filmeditorGiphyWritten In The Stars
"Blames their sh*tty behaviour on their star sign."
"Yeah, I ain't buying the 'it's because I'm a Scorpio" bullsh*t."- A_Direwolf
...Or Maybe A Scratched Cornea?
"An eyepatch. It's a sign of dangerous living, possibly pirate or rustler but certainly an outlaw."- beathelas
Temper Temper...
"Can't control their anger and/or hits and breaks stuff when angry."- LilleSmurfine
There Is Nothing More Important In Life...
"Your significant other restricting you from hanging out with your friends."- AagamAaghnya
There Is So Much More To Life...
"If their political views are their whole personality."- V1p3rzach
brooklyn nine nine politics GIFGiphyIt's fair enough to have deal breakers when it comes to finding a partner.
Always remember though, first impressions can be misleading.
And love has a way of helping you overlook the imperfections of others.
Some people absolutely love spicy foods.
Spice is also closely related to culture. Some cuisines are well-known for their spiciness, with many of them from tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Bringing the heat to the heat?
Whereas other cuisines are known for a lack of spice—many being in Europe. Denmark was declared the country which uses the least spices, although a lot of Scandinavia gave them stiff competition.
And the UK?
Why so bland?
As the saying goes, Britain invaded and colonized over half the world for spices, but decided not to use any of them.
Imported spicy dishes are extremely popular in some of these regions—tikka masala and various other curries are takeout favorites in England.
But somehow the spices they enjoy from Asian foods, African foods or foods of the Western Hemisphere were never incorporated into their own traditional recipes.
This is interesting given chilies originated in the Western Hemisphere—along with other European staples like potatoes and tomatoes—then spread around the world and into multiple cuisines within only the last 500-600 years.
Maybe those regions have more people on average who can't tolerate spicy foods? Because for some people even a speck of chilies is excruciating.
Reddit user corgiman3000 asked:
"What's the lowest spice tolerance you've seen in someone?"
Was it at least whole wheat?
"My brother-in-law complained dinner was too spicy and, upon questioning, it was because he'd seen me dredge the chicken in flour before frying it."
"Flour."
"Flour was too spicy for him."
- purplhouse
Ketchup's the limit.
"Mom can’t eat anything spicier than ketchup. I grew up on very very bland food"
- -Firestar-
"Same, discovering spice changed it all"
- SculptedSoul
"I'm certainly making up for it. Indian, Thai, whatever I can get my hands on. Anything with super flavor. And heat. Husband taught me how to eat spicy food and now I'm a heat fiend and must make up for lost time before I get too old to enjoy true spicy."
- -Firestar-
Phantom Garlic
"My dad tastes garlic in everything, even if it doesn’t have garlic in it."
"An example: I offered some of my macaroni salad to him. He takes a bite. 'I can’t eat this, it’s too garlicky.' No garlic."
- Old_Army90
"I once cooked for a couple of hundred university students who were on a get-to-know-eachother trip. We made a curry with lots of garlic and a little bit of green Thai curry. A kid would have eaten it with no trouble, but one of the students - a grown man - rushed out into the kitchen with tears in his eyes, shouting at us that we were insane."
"He was the type of person who thinks that garlic and black pepper is way to spicy to add to food.
It was a blast"
- KosmonautMikeDexter
Then why go to Nando's?
"Lemon and herb chicken at nandos was too spicy for them, they had to have plain."
- ambigulous_rainbow
"One of my friends did this. I was so dissapointed in him after that. wHat a waste of money"
- cutdownthere
"When Nando’s came out with their new 'Plain-ish' flavour that’s below Lemon and Herb, I was wondering why anyone would order that. I guess I know now…"
-TjMoore
Literal Ranch Dressing
"When I worked at Tim Hortons a guy complained that out ranch dressing was 'too spicy' and it 'burnt his tongue'"
- FunkyKong147
"I wonder if he was just allergic to something in the ranch. I’m always wary of spicy foods bc biting into something that I’m allergic to often results in it tasting spicy. So if idk it’s supposed to be spicy, I get anxious."
"I once bit into a chocolate protein bar that tasted very spicy. It was not spicy, I was simply allergic"
- InsomniacAcademic
Bell Peppers
"I’ve seen someone argue that bell peppers are spicy. Not black pepper. Bell pepper. Which are a kind of sweet pepper with zero Scoville units. They aren’t even tart or acidic."
- TerribleAttitude
"My spouse and I have a bizarre ongoing argument over this. He is always trying to tell me to be careful when I collect seeds from the bell peppers. I'm like, uh, why? Because of the capsaicin, he says. I say, there is none in here."
"We have this conversation over and over. I could literally stick my finger in my eye, that's how zero spicy bell peppers are. Also I'm deathly allergic to capsaicin so I would know as soon as I ate the dang pepper. (We didn't know I was allergic when he started this weird argument.)"
"I don't know why he continues to think there's spicy anything in sweet peppers, and why he will never ever believe me! I guess it keeps marriage...spicy."
- KiloJools
Tartar Sauce
"I CAN ANSWER THIS."
"I was married to this guy for awhile. His parents were VERY spice-adverse. I had never seen anything like it. I only actually visited their home once, because they lived in a state far away from us, and they usually visited us instead."
"My ex-MIL was always going on about how many spices I had in my collection and how unnecessary it was. When I went to their house I found out she had a spice collection of: dehydrated onions, pepper, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. That was literally it. I didn't even see cinnamon."
"Iwent to pick up some fried fish once when we were there. Got the tartar sauce on the side."
"His mother tried the tartar sauce and then said, I sh*t you not, "Oh my, that has some kick to it".
"IT ABSOLUTELY DID NOT. IT WAS F**KING TARTAR SAUCE."
- DoomDamsel
"Hooo boy. If she thinks tartar sauce has a kick she is gonna lose her mind when she learns about mustard."
- Fimpish
Low spice tolerance shouldn't be your whole personality.
"My aunt thinks having a low spice tolerance counts as a personality trait. It's so integral that as a goof my spouse once started to describe a chicken soup they were all having at a diner as 'really peppery' and despite my aunt having already ate like half her bowl suddenly couldn't eat it anymore."
- Ralfarius
Plain avocado
"Had a kid immigrate from Poland to Colorado. We were making guacamole for a school class and he tasted it and immediately said it was too hot."
"It was only avocados at that point, we hadn't added anything else."
"He ended up LOVING spicy food, but we never stopped giving him sh*t for that.... good dude, hope he's doing well for himself."
- DETRITUS_TROLL
Even half is too much
"I bought one of those curry sauces that come in a jar for my father who 'loves a good curry'. Knowing my father, I bought the mild version and used half the sauce recommended, figuring I could pepper my own plate up."
"He tucks in, but sure enough, half way through 'It's nice but maybe we could only use half the jar next time?' I looked him in the eye and said 'I did. Do you want me to maybe just wave the jar over the pan?'"
- joalheagney
Doritos
"Probably me from a long while back. Let's put it this way.. even nacho flavored Doritos used to be hot for me."
"Not anymore at least! Not sure why I used to be so sensitive to spices.. oh well lol."
- WispyCiel
Creative Vengeance
"I grew up mostly in Asia, my mother used to take the British executives who came for meetings who were disrespectful or misogynistic to her to the local places she loved."
"As the only person who spoke Bahasa she’d order the spiciest dishes (which she loved) and watched them sweat and struggle through the meals because losing to her would have humiliated them. They often spent the next day locked in their hotel suites"
- RxDuchess
Raw Onion
"Onions, f**king onions. once went to get lunch with a manager I worked with and we went to quiznos and I ordered a sandwich and got jalapenos on it.
he was like 'whoa you can eat those?'
'...yeah you can't?'
'no, even raw onion is too spicy for me.'"
- BronchialChunk
Do you love, hate or have a mixed reaction to spicy foods?
Or is there another flavor profile you can't tolerate, like sweet or sour?
Let us know in the comments.
When we think of children's movies, we may think of harmless fun.
But that doesn't mean there isn't some seriously messed up content in those films.
Like ever notice at least one parent is almost always dead—or dies!—during every Disney animated film?
Don't even get us started on Old Yeller.
Anyway...
Redditor Inflatabledartboard4 was curious about others' childhood cinematic trauma and asked:
"What is the most f**ked up kids' movie?"
All Dogs Go to Heaven
"Our hero is released from prison, only to be MURDERED by his former boss via vehicular homicide. Then that dog eventually winds up being continuously tortured by demon dogs in Hell."
"The giant demon dog filling the town with blood red smoke at the end is some pretty terrifying imagery."
‐ Diwari
GiphyBrave Little Toaster
"Suicide and abandonment all around."
- SkuzzleJR
"The air conditioner haunted my nightmares."
- Longjumping_Fold_369
"For some reason the part when the vacuum tried to eat its cord really freaked me out as a kid."
- ThoriatedFlash
"There’s a lot of scary stuff in that movie but the flower might be the worst."
"I remember feeling like, despair for the first time as a child seeing that."
- purplefirefly6102
"The blender getting killed onscreen. I first saw Brave Little Toaster when I was around six, but I knew from the atmosphere of that scene what was really going on when you see the shadow of that wire getting cut."
"I was kind of horrified, and the the very next scene is another customer coming in asking for radio tubes and Radio is put on the chopping table but survives at the last second."
- EeSeeZee
GiphyMonster House
"The movie is literally about a man living in a house possessed by his dead wife and the house literally eats living creatures so I'd say that's what f**ked me up as a kid."
- Supa_saint
"Not just that, the dead wife was a circus freak and hated kids because they would always taunt her. So they move into this house and she dies."
"The husband who actually loves kids, now has to keep everyone away from the house or his wife will kill them."
"And then at the end the husband has to kill his wife aka the house."
"Too f**ked up for a kids' movie."
- whskid2005
Coraline
"Coraline scares me so much more as an adult than it ever did when I was a kid."
"I still love the movie and watch it several times a year, but somewhere between childhood and adulthood I got way more scared of dolls and puppets and sh*t, and I don’t actually know why."
"Like nothing happened to make them scarier."
- Writing_Nearby
"I loved Coraline as a kid. I still do!"
"And the books are actual nightmare fuel, but I highly recommend giving them a read because the lore is really interesting and the story is different."
- SimplyAurallz
GiphyPinocchio - Disney animated version
"I'm surprised I was never traumatisedby Disney's Pinocchio as a child, because watching it as an adult, there are moments that are straight up nightmare fuel."
- neohylanmay
"When the boy who is with Pinocchio turns into a donkey, he cries out for his mother. I can’t."
- MLAheading
"Ugh, watched it for the first time with my partner and two kids, during that scene all I could do is look at the two kids and wonder how they were not crying while I was on the brink of tears..."
- NurseJessisStressed
Peter Pan - Disney animated version
"The racism in Disney's animated Peter Pan is pretty f**ked up."
"Princess Tiger Lily and the song 'What Made the Red Man Red?' is just gross if you're an Indigenous kid watching it."
- LakotaGrl
GiphyThe Cat In The Hat
"The Cat in the Hat is something out of a back rooms nightmare in my opinion."
- hbombgomer12
"I literally just watched this, and I’m still questioning if I actually saw a movie, or just tripped out for 2 hours."
- LaMorak1701
The Last Unicorn
"Is The Last Unicorn even a kids movie? It's super scary."
"BTW I loved it as a kid and I still do. The whole Mommy Fortuna part was really dark, though."
- horschdhorschd
"I watched it in the last couple years. I never understood Molly Grue’s meltdown at realizing she was with a unicorn. That scene hit hard as an adult. Missing out on the things you wanted in your youth only for opportunities to come by too late. I cried."
- cats_and_vibrators
"Super scary and way more sexual than I remember from when I was a kid."
- lovemyneighbor
The Last Unicorn Skeleton GIF by MauditGiphyThe Fox And The Hound
"The Fox and the Hound. Still traumatized to this day."
- asayle88
"That move absolutely wrecked me as a child, and I refuse to watch it ever again."
- droopingcactus25
"My best friend and I wept in that movie."
- CraftyRole4567
E.T.
"E.T. The scene where Elliott watches E.T. die is all kinds of traumatizing. Never mind the Christlike resurrection afterward, the damage is still done."
- Brilliant_Tourist400
"The bit where the kids find him in the ditch looking like a piece of fine Italian deli meat.."
"Also the feds in biohazard suits crashing through the kid's house scared the f**k out of me at 7 years old"
- feeb75
"Having your home invaded is terrifying enough....seeing it through the eyes of the kids and the mother screaming 'This is my home!' Sends chills down my spine."
- LaCroixBoy89
Sci-Fi Movie GIF by MANGOTEETHGiphyWhere The Red Fern Grows
"Where the red fern grows. My grade 5 teacher made us read it then watch it. I remember thinking she was an absolute b*tch before the movie. As an adult I’m 100% sure she hated children."
- DesperateFunction179
"My 5th grade teacher made us read the book and watch the movie too. She cried during the end of both."
- BadBackNine
"I read and watched this in 5th grade also. Shudder sobbed through most of it. Added it to my list of things that made me an overly empathetic adult"
- maiden-of-might
Dumbo — Disney animated version
"Dumbo. The animal abuse, neglect, and let's not forget the 'Elephants on Parade' scene when Dumbo gets drunk. Have not been able to watch this movie as an adult."
- ArtisanalMagi
"I have a friend who made the mistake of showing it to a kid she was babysitting overnight. The moment the Baby Mine scene came up the kid was done. I think the night was unsalvageable."
- lowercase_underscore
"I was a really sheltered kid and never picked up on how awful it was. So then I have a kid and I’m like “oooo let’s watch Dumbo!” What in the actual f**k?!? I turned it off. I honestly don’t know if my kid ever watched the rest of it."
- littlescreechyowl
GIF by tomcjbrownGiphyBridge To Terabithia
"One of a few movies that have actually made me cry. I went in expecting some Narnia like thing and I was wrong. I still get mad thinking about that movie"
- KickittoHester
"My mom has still not forgiven me for asking to see it in theatre’s as a kid. We all bawled our eyes out. Same damn thing with Marley and me being shown on Christmas Eve, why did we go and why did they think that was an appropriate release to make people cry 😅"
- Troll101Catz
"I was having a terrible depression a few years ago, and decided to put on and watch a kids film to cheer me up. It couldn't have gone any worse tbf."
- BobbOShea
Watership Down
"This god forsaken movie was literally the source of ALL of my childhood nightmares. Deadass. Grandparents brought it over when I was 4. I was not ready."
"I don't blame them though, they didn't know lol"
- Flaminmallow255
"I've always been fascinated by this because I read the book quite young (I think I was seven or eight) and loved it instantly. I don't recall finding it upsetting at all, and it's remained my favourite novel into adulthood through many rereads (I've obviously come to appreciate the themes more as I've gotten older). The movie, alternatively, while pretty faithful to the book, I've always found pretty unsettling, even though I didn't watch it until I was an adult. I don't want to say it's not an appropriate story for kids, but there's just something about that movie..."
- VictoriaBells
"I saw it in the times before my memories form. Just uttering the title gives me chills."
- Sensitive_Ladder2235
GiphyWhile no one was hoping to traumatize kids with these films—we hope!—there were some really messed up moments described here.
So what's your most f*cked up kids' movie?
GiphyBack before we became self-conscious adults many of us sang our hearts out. But we weren't all singing the greatest hits of Barnie or Disney.
Probably more than a few of us belted out what we heard on the car radio, home stereo or streaming music services our parents or older siblings listened to.
Which led more than a few of us to expand our vocabulary beyond our years.
Reddit user Ok_Way_2341 asked:
"As a child, what’s a song you sang loud and proud, only to find as an adult it’s super inappropriate for a child to be singing?"
His Purple Majesty 👑
"'Gett Off' by Prince. My mother heard me sing '21 positions in a one night stand' and took the disc off me."
"It unfortunately belonged to my older sister."
"Got punished twice in one week."
"I still love that song."
- Cherrianje
Giphy"I was very very very old before I realized what 'Little Red Corvette' was about. Like mid-century old."
- Street_Roof_7915
"She had a pocket full of horses..."
- heatherbyism
"Trojan and some of them used…"
- Ferraenz
"I guess I should've closed my eyes, When you drove me to the place where your horses run free, 'Cause I felt a little ill when I saw all the pictures, Of the jockeys that were there before me."
- heatherbyism
"That line was so confusing to me as a kid."
"Toy plastic horses, maybe?"
- absentbusiness
GiphyMaybe not on that car ride.
"In the car, riding shotgun with my dad driving… 'I’ll make love to you, like you want me tooooo' - Boyz II Men."
- ADrunkenBotanist
"That’s in that weird intersection of 90s R&B that was tender and not necessarily nasty, but still definitely about sex.
"And sometimes, the songs were nasty, but if they were smooth, you could get away with it. 'Freek’n You' by Jodeci and 'Too Close' by Next come to mind."
- bearded_dragon_34
Who was it?
"'It Wasn't Me' by Shaggy"
- AnimeTattooChick1836
"My classmate told me when she was younger she thought it went 'we were both butt-naked, banging on the bathroom door'."
"Seems a little strange that she didn't question the fact that they were naked, but yeah."
- No_Location854
"Oh no, I still thought it was floor."
"But for some reason my innocent little brain legit imagined just two naked people on their knees banging their fists on the actual floor."
"Ahhh simpler times."
- mikehawksux
GiphyMmmm... candy.
"The particular song that mentions 'I'll take you to the candy shop and let you lick my lollipop' left me completely unaware of its underlying meaning back then, as I blissfully enjoyed its melody."
- dimarikl
"That song is 'Candy Shop' by 50 Cent."
- Zcoombs4
We blame Austin Powers.
"'I Touch Myself' by Divinyls"
“I don’t want anybody else. When I think about you I touch myself.”
- Sorry_Rhubarb_7068
"I still remember the day my early 20’s self figured it out, that holy crap! moment."
- MyOldGurpsNameKira
"I figured it out when I was 14."
"To be fair, that’s a major hobby of pretty well all 14-year-old kids."
- dagbrown
Giphy"I forget what year that song came out, but I think I was around 15 when it did. (so about 1990, I guess?) I remember getting what it was about, but thinking I had to be wrong because it'd be 'illegal' for someone to release a song like that, so it must be about something else and I'm just too dumb to understand what it's really about."
"I had this weird idea as a kid that I was only one of the people on the planet who knew what sex was, so I assumed almost everything sexual related was an accident (as in, they didn't mean to make it sound like it's about sex) and it was actually about something else and I was too dumb to understand the true meaning."
"I actually made up a number once of people who knew what sex was and that number was 7. I thought myself + 6 other people on the entire planet knew what sex was."
"I honest to God thought this, by the way. I never stopped and wondered where all these kids came from if only 7 people knew what sex was."
- temalyen
Mini Monster
"My 11 year-old, completely innocent niece: 'let's have some fun, this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick' [from 'Love Game' by Lady Gaga]."
"Me: 'Let's play a different song'."
- 314159265358979326
"Skyrockets in flight" wasn't about NASA?
"Apparently 'Afternoon Delight' [by Starland Vocal Band] wasn’t about getting out of school."
"I did not know that."
- HuellMissMe
Giphy"My mum told me it meant having cake in the afternoon, which made perfect sense to me because that IS delightful."
- HelpfulName
"My aunt told us 'Afternoon Delight' was about going to get ice cream. 🙃"
- Truecrimeauthor
"I thought it was about a picnic!"
- MoonLoony
"I thought it was about a picnic too!"
"In 3rd grade we were each allowed to bring in our favorite record and play it for the class."
"That’s the one I brought."
- _ThisIsOurLifeNow_
GiphyIgnorance is bliss.
"My friend's daughter used to loudly sing Katy Perry 'Peacock'."
"Literally Everyone: 'Ummm...'."
"Friend: 'It's a song about a bird, and you will not say otherwise'."
- domestic_omnom
Got milk?
"'My Humps' - Black Eyed Peas"
"Apparently they were not just talking about milk and Cocoa Puffs."
- happygolucky226
"No, that's that 'Milkshake' song [by Kelis]."
"She makes really good milkshakes, right?"
- CatOfGrey
Giphy"My cousin (4 at the time) loved singing the 'Milkshake' song."
"Then she and her sister were gently told not to sing it so they moved onto 'My Humps'!"
"I couldn’t bear hearing about lovely lady lumps, so I tried to find another song more appropriate."
"They settled on another Peas one 'Shut Up!'."
"Slightly more tolerable I guess, but there was no telling the girls to shut up because they’d just start repeating it back in song at you."
- 3rdslip
GiphyBut Uncle Luke was so subtle...
"'Me So Horny' by 2 Live Crew."
"My Dad once said 'It’s your mom’s favorite song'."
"Thanks Dad."
- Geriatric_Sloth
"When I was a kid, my little brother came into the room singing [from 'We Want Some P***y' by 2 Live Crew] 'Just nibble on my d*ck like a rat does cheese'."
"My mom in outrage said, 'what did you say!'"
"He calmly looked at her and spoke confidently, 'All I said was just nibble on my d*ck like a rat does cheese'."
"He was like 4 or 5 years old, that tape [Is What We Are by 2 Live Crew] was confiscated immediately."
- Tweedbreak
Uncle Luke of 2 Live Crew
GiphyAnd now for something completely different...
"In about 3rd or 4th grade I came home from playing at a friends house…said friend had been singing some weird song that got stuck in my head."
"So I stroll in and take my seat at the dinner table and start singing as loud as I can: 'Sit on my face and tell me that you love me! I’ll sit on your face and tell you that I love you too!!'…my parents damn near choked."
"They couldn’t stop laughing and then told me never ever to sing that again. Luckily they were huge Monty Python fans…nothing I knew about at the time."
- roygbiv_87
*WARNING: NSFW*
Ah, to be young and innocent again.
Did you learn anything new about what a song really means?
Or did you sing something as a child that didn't make the list?
Share your story in the comments.