Casual Friday is a gift, a blessing in a dull experience of droning meetings and angry clients.
It's something to look forward to all week long, even when the rest of the 9-5 days try their best to bring you down.
This makes it upsetting when people abuse that privilege, seemingly ruining it for everybody.
Reddit user, Logistics515, wanted to observe the worst outfits when they asked:
"What's the most NSFW outfit you've seen that someone actually wore to work?"
Dress To The 11s
Had a client coming in and the office Manager told everyone to please dress very nice. A girl came in dressed in her prom dress.
GiphyShowing His Patriotism...Question Mark?
A guy showed up to his sales job at a public event wearing a tank top that said F-CK ISIS.
Boss asked him to leave lol
Setting A Precedent Early On
I worked as receptionist for a government office. They were holding interviews for an important position which required lots of interaction with the public and a high degree of professionalism.
One candidate arrived wearing a low cut tank top and a short denim skirt, with frizzy 80s style hair. It was like she was trying to look 20 again (she was nowhere near 20).
They still gave her the benefit of the doubt and went ahead with the interview. I spoke to one of the interviewers later in the day and he told me she bombed it.
Seeing Too Much Of You, Jerry.
A male coworker who strolled through the atrium and through reception every morning in his red lycra bike shorts.
He might as well have been nude.
*cue "I Ripped My Pants" song
Guy at work split his pants and rather than go home for the day, took them off and duct taped them on the inside. Then split them again, gave up and went home. He was pretty good natured about it and nobody gave him any flack after they blew out each time.
Keep Them Up
I once went to a language tutor center with my wife. We were met with a young 20ish brunette wearing a see-through top. You could quite clearly see she wasn't wearing a bra underneath either.
She went through a 15 discussion about who they are and why we should pick them and considering my wife on my left, I had the longest and toughest 15 minutes of "my eyes are up here" that I've had in my life. I have no idea if she knew or just went with some random top braless and it just so happened to be see-through that day.
Comfy Is As Comfy Does
My dad works at a large company where they have trouble keeping employees. Girl shows up wearing PJ pants, slippers, tank top and, because it's cold outside, she "wears" a freakin' BLANKET. It was a big fluffy blanket that she kept wrapped around just shoulders all day. Worked her whole shift.
Don't Google It
Ahegao t shirt on casual clothes day at school (know school isn't work but we do work at school so I guess it counts.)
Woof...Just Bad Choices All Around, "Margaret."
Hopefully I'm not too late.
I used to work at a non profit part time through high school and college, sort of like the YMCA. I was super close to all the other recreation staff / counselors because we had all been in the program together too.
Anyways, Halloween comes around and I propose the idea to have a communal fall festival with the other local non profits, we all get together, play games, have a costume contest, the whole shabang. I show up the Saturday of the event about an hour and a half before anyone else to start setting up. Upon entering the office, let's call her Margaret (office admin lady), greets me in head to toe black face. Every inch of her body painted black with big pink lips smeared on. Mind you it was 6:30 AM, I wince to think about how early she must have gotten up to apply it all. She is also accompanying this with a bone necklace and straw skirt, bare feet, and black stockings hung from her chest with the nipples cut off baby bottles on the ends, hanging to her knees. She starts doing a dance and exclaims, "I'm a cannibal! Or a savage, however you want to interpret it."
I've never been so shocked in my life. It was way too damn early and I immediately panicked because a few dozen families were going to be arriving soon. A quick call to boss man more in shock than in anger and he dials her. I hear a few pleas: "oh no it's okay, my husband and I have worn this to all of our costume contests at temple and win every year, he dresses as an explorer too, then we kiss as part of the joke!"
She left for the day crying, and that is when I decided to leave that carnival of a job. Still close with all the guys I worked with though, chaos isn't too bad when you have a group of people to go through it with you and you can all laugh about it later.
Not Work, But, You Know, C'Mon Parents. Get It Together.
It wasn't technically their job, but once when I was in kindergarten somebody's mom showed up wearing a shirt that said 0-horny in 2.5 beers.
She was actually the reason the school had to release a dress code for parents and guardians when visiting the school.
Really? You REALLY Can't Tell Why We Brought You In Here?
One of the agents I was teaching in a call centre wore a dress so low cut and so short that when she moved the wrong way I saw /everything/.
Another girl liked wearing corsets to make her boobs spill out of her shirt and hoodies that said inappropriate things like "Blow me." She couldn't understand why HR kept pulling her in for meetings.
Well, I Already Got The Job, So...
The receptionist at a profesional office I worked at thought it was OK to wear an oversized Tupac t-[shirt] with no pants and slippers to the office for her first official day. Overall very confusing because she wore a beautiful outfit for her interview,
That's A New Kind Of Distraction
On Valentine's Day, a new hire dressed like "Cupid."
He wore a white shirt decorated with red hearts and a white tie with a large heart on the center of it.
Then, his pants were also white, but with angels going up and down the legs. Everyone loved it, especially the female employees. But his supervisor told him to go home and change because it was a "distraction."
London. France. Underpants.
I used to work in a call centre and there were way too many people dressed like it was Saturday night.
One girl in particular was wearing a short skirt one day. Her colleagues next to her kept insisting that it's too short and she kept insisting that it wasn't. One woman who's a little person (is that the right word?) walks by when that conversation is happening and says "It is too short. I can see your underwear, it's pink."
I May Not Play By Your Precious Rules, But I Get Results!
I used to work with a surgeon who once burst into an operating theatre in his pajamas and flip flops. He had gloves on but that's about it. No mask, no hat, no scrub.
To be fair, the patient was bleeding to death and he answered the call for help. Saved her life. Gave her loads of antibiotics though.
Doesn't Matter How Much You Walk
No t-ts and a-- here but many moons ago i worked for Royal mail as a postman. Had a new hire that came into work wearing high heel platform boots. She didnt come back the next day because she didn't seem to understand that those items of footwear are not conducive to the amount of walking posties do, and managed to knacker her ankle. Also complained that carrying bags and putting mail through letter boxes was damaging her nails.
Never saw her again.
Dead Set On Nabbing One
Hospice central office. Secretary is looking to catch some doctor.
Fish net stockings. Skirt that shows the bottom of her a--. No underwear, maybe a g-string.
MD comes in and states "What, is this a strip club now?"
I about fell outta my chair.
It Would've Made Heff Proud
Playboy bunny outfit.
I was a server at a semi-nice casual restaurant that was frequented by business people. It was Halloween and we were encouraged to wear costumes. One of our hostesses wore this and our manager didn't flinch until a customer complained.
GiphyWow, Everyone Really Misses Him...
I worked for an instrument supplier and was installing equipment at a customer site (pharmaceutical company.) It was around Halloween and Hugh Hefner had just died.
Lots of employees were going around (including in the lab space) dressed like playboy bunnies. Not that their outfits were that skimpy (especially those who were in labs) but it was still weird seeing a bunch of scientists at work in bunny ears, bowties, and cotton tails paying tribute to playboy
Bad Gifts
Not quite up to the standards here but the funniest one I have seen in the last few years was the day we had to sit through Ethics and Compliance training to be told about not accepting bribes and gifts and one of my team turned up wearing all branded gear that he been gifted from one of his suppliers.
Overkill
A girl in my masters biology degree course, brought a water bottle into the first lab and picked a lab coat that was too small, so it only buttoned at the top, kind of like a Cape with sleeves. The lab PhD student got her a new one when she noticed the next day, but she still intermittently buttons only the top, meaning most of her front is not covered by a lab coat. We've been working with E. coli for most of the last 2 weeks. She has to be reminded every couple of days to tuck her headscarf into her lab coat, to the point where she was at risk of it falling over a lit bunsen burner. She isn't the only person who wears a headscarf in my lab, and everyone else has had no issues.
Again, we are masters students. Her poor choices in lab coats are far from the worst thing she's done.
Danger Fool
Girl came into the lab with open toed shoes. Freaking psycho.
lab scientist GIF by Hronotop GraphicGiphyI See U!
A girl I knew wore a see through mesh top to work without a bra in a call center I once worked at... oddly enough she wore it about 3 times before she was eventually pulled up about it (can't think why).
Statement Wear
NSFW in a different way - I worked in a law firm with a fairly casual dress code - jeans and t-shirt were acceptable, but just barely. The legal assistants regularly took documents to the local county courthouse for filing. One legal assistant came in wearing a "F**k the Police" t-shirt. I wasn't his boss but I couldn't resist telling him he couldn't wear that shirt to the courthouse. He borrowed a sweater from someone.
The Center
I worked a call center years ago. No dress code. People would literally roll out of bed and come into work in what they had on. It wasn't until one of the employees decided to hold a joint in his ear the whole day that they decided to implement some rules/dress code. But slippers and pajamas were still ok.
Black & White
When I did retail we would often have meetings after hours to discuss new merch, changes in the company, renovations, etc. and since it was after hours dress code was never enforced. Well, one day we have a meeting and the manager decides everyone has to come in dress code (for men it's a suit and tie) so I decided to go dressed in full white tie: tuxedo with tails, waistcoat, wingtip shirt, white bow tie, tophat, the whole nine yards. It was actually a lot of fun pretending that was my everyday outfit.
Oh Stanley
It wasn't so much the outfit but the bow and arrows. One person in accounting dies from a heart tipped arrow and suddenly it's "Maybe you should go home and change Stanley!" "We have a no Cupid policy around here."
valentines day flirting GIFGiphyMinx
A female co-worker wore saucy outfits when she and I worked in a hospital. She was already sleeping with a surgeon and was using that outfit to lure more doctors. Another surgeon saw me shake my head to myself when I saw her outfit that day, and he was unable to contain his laughter.
Accidents with crazy....
Secondhand story from my husband, but a guy on another crew wore a two piece safety suit instead of the one piece like he was supposed to for the job. He slipped and fell on his butt in some caustic waste. Since it was a two piece suit, it was able to leak into his suit and he had to basically run out of the job, strip down naked, and have coworkers pour vinegar all over his lower half, including down his butt crack and on his junk.
So remember, if you work a safety job, don't ignore the required gear. Sometimes the required gear seems silly, but they require it for a reason. Accidents happen and in a worst case scenario, proper get should save you.
Even from a Distance
One girl wore a pair of black leggings that were so thin you could see the color and pattern of her underwear from 50 feet back.
Binoculars Watching GIF by OriginalsGiphyThe position has been filled.....
Wasn't a job but a job interview. I was doing a remote interview via Skype and the woman being interviewed was driving a car.
She propped her phone up against the speedometer so she could use both hands to drive. When she set up the phone it was clear that she was wearing a very large and loose tank top with no bra and big sunglasses.
At one point she asked me to wait and I said sure, until i realized she was ordering food in the Wendy's drive thru. when i called her out on it she tried to pic up her phone and dropped it between her legs. This is the moment my team lead and i saw her bare lady bits. I just hung up and threw her resume away.
Iron Man for the Save
When I was a medical student when this happened during a cat 1 C section I was watching. Was about 3am (in the UK consultants don't usually stay overnight when they're on call for most specialties), consultant was a ~40 year old guy that came in wearing Iron Man pajama bottoms and flip flops. no time to get changed. he saved the baby tho so fair enough.
Cover your bits....
Call centers on the weekends. There was one Saturday it was like all the girls on the team came straight from a lingerie party. One girl was wearing a lace teddy with lace boy shorts. I mean there was just enough pattern to keep the bits mostly covered. On the other end of the spectrum someone wore a bathrobe to work one day. We weren't sure if there was any thing under it.
Bad Teacher
When I was doing my teaching internship, the 2nd grade teacher next door wore a leather miniskirt with black fishnet stockings. It was... questionable, to say the least.
cameron diaz film GIFGiphy"why not both?"
I worked in a very stuffy, old, and famous law firm. Last year on Halloween a very attractive young female attorney came in wearing a skin-tight black cat suit with cat ears on. It didn't show any skin. But it didn't need to. She was clearly not wearing a bra and her nipples were VERY visible, so was the fact that she was wearing a lace thong underneath.
This was the kind of office where men wore ties every day and women wore skirt suits or pant suits at all times. Nobody said anything to her as far as I know, but it was whispered about for a while.
I try very hard not to sexualize my coworkers, who are all brilliant and accomplished lawyers and not objects of fantasy. But that costume made me ask "why not both?"
Wear Black
We had a human resources manager that would wear shear white dress shirts to work. Her nipples were dark as heck and you could see them across the room through the shirt. In the sun, you could almost see through the shirts. This started a few months after the sale of the company to another firm. They moved their own people in to top management positions.
A month or two into the wardrobe change, the General Manager made an inappropriate pass at her. She sued and was awarded close to 10 years worth of her salary.
Dodge ProMaster
Recently at work one of our vans decided it didn't want to start. It being a brand new Dodge ProMaster we decided it would be best for the dealership to figure it out. We called and a big flatbed tow truck was dispatched. The tow truck arrived and the driver hopped out wearing slip style sandals.
I would assume a job were you deal with heavy machinery all day would require boots but who knows.
Fast forward a month and I am getting gas at the gas station down the street from my office. I look over to the next pump and who do I see? That same tow truck driver filling up the tank on his tow truck. He was still wearing that same pair of sandals. I left in a hurry after watching him light a cigarette as he pumped his gas.
Rotate Out
Military O-5 (Army LTC) wearing thin spandex with no underwear and skin tight tankers top while on the job in a deployed location.
She didn't last the rotation.
Bless You
Girl where I worked came with a cut t-shirt, showing her side breasts and wearing no bra. Manager came and told her to go home and get change so she wouldn't catch a cold.
Billy Crystal Crying GIF by MOODMANGiphyThe Leader
One of the older men, getting near 60, wore short shorts, some women complained about his varicose veins being unsightly. He was asked to go home and change as knee-length shorts were ok, but not short shorts as stated in the terms of dress down day. His response was to comment about someone's Turban not being mentioned in the terms either. He was a team leader.
The Intern
The very attractive intern showed up on casual day wearing a sheer top. Wasn't too bad, but you could clearly see both nipple piercings.
Intern was a guy. A whole new group of people were suddenly interested in working with said intern.
Bejewel/Bedazzle...
We had a temp working at our donation bay (thrift store). The first week she was dressed appropriately- sneakers, jeans, t shirt- but was vocally concerned that the work was going to ruin her good clothes, and she was waiting on her paycheck to purchase work clothes. The day her cheque came, she was over the moon shopping for clothes, but as I was ringing her out, I noted they were all work inappropriate- filmy, low cut, rude slogans, etc.
Whatever, I thought, maybe these are her new good clothes and the jeans were now her work clothes. NOPE. Came in the next day in spangly short shorts, bejeweled flip flops, a gauzy shirt that was way WAY too tight, and a half shirt over it that said "I don't f@@@@@g care."
Clothes Optional
Topless. I'll explain: I walked in on the very attractive 19 year-old receptionist while she was examining her big breasts. They were completely out there as she had pulled her top to her waist. I told her to put those away and she giggled and apologized.
Was she in a private room, break area, or all-gender bathroom? Nope. This was at the front desk and a client could have walked in at any moment.
Before that job she was a stripper at a full nude strip club.
Tame the Leather
I used to work as an intern in a classic corporate office and one of the manager who used to wear tops with HUGE cleavages showed up with leather pants which front side and back side were pierced with 1 inch holes and tied together with ribbons.
Danger-Danger
I worked a fence building job and my moss hurt his toe so was supervising with one steel toe boot and one sandal.
Since he could barely walk he wasn't really doing much so he wasn't like in danger of anything but it's still weird to see a guy with sandal on at a job site with thousands of pounds of wood and concrete.
Bye Now
One time this temp wore leggings that were damn near see through, like idk if she knew but her stuff was all out there for people to see lol she was sent home that day and never came back.
See U GIFGiphyHi, Miss Kemp...
Newly qualified teacher (24 y/o, hot as hell) wore a Halloween-style 'stripper schoolgirl' outfit to my all-boys secondary school on 'Non-Uniform day' once.
It was utter chaos. 500 hormonal as hell teenagers literally howling and running out of classes to come and see. The head of department basically ended up locking her in an empty classroom and closing the blinds, leaving her on her own for the rest of the day as he couldn't get her safely to the carpark for her to drive home. She didn't come in for the rest of the week and left the following term.
Hi, Miss Kemp.
While Pregnant
I recently organized a conference with industry vendors. One of the vendors sales reps showed up, 7 months pregnant in a dress that would have already been too short had she not been pregnant. It looked like she forgot to put on pants. The look was completed with a weird shawl bolero and heels that were on the high side at the best of times, but must have been torture for her in the 3rd trimester. The woman was old enough to know better (i.e. mid 30s).
With Stupid
Not quite NSFW but I had a guy come in for his interview for a position that would require him to operate heavy machinery in a t-shirt that said "Caution : I do dumb things."
It seems this is an issue many people can relate to.
In the immortal words of The Office's Kelly Kapoor:
"Damn it, Meredith, where are your panties?!"
But no matter how bad that outfir is, keep your clothes on in the office people.
GiphyWant to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
- People Share The Most Inappropriate Outfits They've Ever Seen A ... ›
- Hiring Managers Explain Which Outfit Mishaps Cost A Prospective ... ›
- People Share The Most Inappropriate Outfits They've Ever Seen A ... ›
- People Break Down The Worst Co-Worker They've Ever Had - George Takei ›
- People Break Down Which Pieces Of Clothing On The Opposite Sex Are Their Biggest Weakness - George Takei ›
- Hiring Managers Share The Most Inappropriate Outfits People Have Worn To Job Interviews - George Takei ›
- People Describe The Type Of Clothing They Find Most Attractive - George Takei ›
- People Confess The Most 'Not Safe For Work' Thing They've Ever Done At Work - George Takei ›
- Hiring Managers Explain Which Outfit Mishaps Cost A Prospective Employee The Job - George Takei ›
- People Debate The Most Inappropriate Things Someone Can Wear To A Theme Party - George Takei ›
- Women Share The Biggest Downsides To Being Female - George Takei ›
- People Share The Best Professional Weakness To Mention In A Job Interview - George Takei ›
- The Absolute Worst Job Interviews People Have Ever Had - George Takei ›
- You Can't Wear That! Inappropriate Clothing Choices at Work ›
- How to Address the Inappropriate Dress of an Employee ›
- 9 tips to tell an employee their clothes are inappropriate | BE Offices ›
- 19 people describe the most inappropriate outfits they've seen ... ›
- People Share Inappropriate Outfits Seen Coworkers Wear - Comic ... ›
We could all use a little love and care, but sometimes kind gestures come from the most unexpected places. Whether it’s a friend showing up at our door to give us the present we didn’t know we needed, or a complete stranger helping us out in a time of need, these stories about the nicest thing someone has ever done will warm your heart.
Face the Music
a young man sitting at a piano in the darkPhoto by Kiwihug on UnsplashWhen I was about 13, the pastor of our family church heard me practicing Chopin on the piano. Knowing my parents couldn't afford much, he offered to pay for my music studies so that I'd be prepared to enter music conservatory right after high school. All he asked for in return was that I'd help out with the church's music program when needed.
This kind, generous man spent thousands of his own dollars to help me along the way to a rewarding career in music.
Sleep Away Camp
When my parents were awful, and my sister was passing away, my friend’s parents took me in for a while. But it was even better than that. You see, they did it in a way that seemed like a sleepover, even though it went on for months. I didn't even realize until I was an adult how much they stepped up for me and protected me, right when I needed them the most.
Lean on Me
I had a sore leg, and it was sore enough that I couldn't put much weight on it. During this time, my school did this fundraiser run, and I wanted to participate even though I could barely walk. My best friend, who I'm still friends with to this day, stayed by my side, limping the whole way. I still thank him for that, it meant a lot to me.
To Serve and Protect
When I was 16, I was at a store getting some comics. I was 15 cents shy, because they raised the price by 5 cents a comic, and I was trying to decide which one to put back when a guy I went to high school with, and barely knew, gave me a fifty cent piece. He went on to join the Marines right out of high school, and retired a couple of years ago.
He's still just as awesome now. He restores old Volkswagens and sells them for cost to his fellow veterans. He restores old furniture and donates the pieces to families in need. He volunteers with wildlife rescue programs. He refuses to let me pay him back, so I'm going to try and buy his drink at our 30-year high school reunion. Gotta thank him somehow!
Something for Nothing
I went to a local breakfast spot one day after a rough night. I totally forgot my wallet, so I left my phone as collateral and went back to my house. When I came back, some guy had already paid for me. I know it doesn't seem that big of a deal, but it was a pretty bleak week for me so it meant a lot just to have someone do something for nothing.
A Friend Forever
boy feeding a animal during daytimePhoto by Daiga Ellaby on UnsplashMy wife and I were driving our kids, who were three and five at the time, to the zoo. We narrowly missed being smushed by a semi truck, but also almost flipped our top-heavy minivan doing 75mph when dodging said vehicle. All in all, we were very blessed to have our lives, let alone no damage to our car. The same couldn't be said for other cars, but no one was hurt either.
The State Trooper who showed up was the most generous young man. He gave my daughter a little teddy bear that she still has to this day 5-6 years later. She even remembers getting it, which is pretty incredible for someone that age. I think that was the most meaningful thing anyone's done for me, and I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of good people in my life. This one stands out because it was directed towards my daughter.
I’ve Got You, Babe
My mother passed, and I was so stressed trying to find a way to give her the funeral she deserved. My boyfriend went down to the funeral home, made the arrangements, and paid the balance. By FAR the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.
A Helping Hand
My firstborn had a severe deformity, and spent a week in hospital before we took him off life support. I was staying at the Ronald McDonald House, and even though one of the rules was that you are your own maid when you leave, complete with doing laundry and remaking the beds, I was a complete wreck and couldn’t do a thing. Then I got the surprise of my life.
A kind stranger took care of my room for me even though they were going through their own stuff. Another blessing from that dark time is that the funeral home took care of everything for me, including all bills associated with the service and cremation. I will never not donate to the Ronald McDonald House and I know what funeral home I'll be using when I one day need one again.
It was a very long time ago and very dark sad time. It destroyed my family, a few years later I lost my husband to the depression that happened from this, and while both tragedies changed me, I'm very good now and know happiness. I want to say that I've thought about how very, very bad things can get in the world, but this stranger, and people like him, showed me daily that the world is full of amazing loving people.
A Little Tune-up
A few years ago, I was going down to visit my grandmother in South Carolina. I needed an inspection and oil change on my car, and I was the single mom of a 5-year-old. The total cost ended up being 40 dollars more than I thought. At the time, that was devastating, and I had to tell my daughter in the parking lot that we couldn't go see her grandmother anymore.
Someone heard me talking to her and came over to us and gave us 60 dollars. That was one of the nicest things someone I don’t know has ever done for me.
Can’t Put a Price on Education
On September 14, 1986, my dad dropped me off at boarding school and gave me a five-dollar bill. I never heard from him again. He never paid my tuition bill. So, from the age of 14, I took every job I could get and worked my way through. At $4 an hour, I didn't even come close to paying off my entire bill, but the school let me stick around because I was a model student in and out of the classroom.
We get to graduation. I opened my little diploma thing expecting to see a bill in five figures. Instead there was a note: “Congratulations on your graduation. A group of us who believe in you and love you have taken care of your bill. We are proud to present you with your diploma.” I later found out that one of my friend's dad, a fairly well-off dentist, went fundraising among his golf buddies because he didn’t want to see me enter life at 18 under crushing debt.
The Tables Have Turned
people around tablePhoto by Zach Reiner on UnsplashOne of my high school tormentors invited me to his house to hang out for a day. I was really nervous it might just be to screw with me, but I was desperate for some sort of friendship at the time, so I went over. We're now best friends, and he and his family feels like family to me. Honestly, I have no idea how we ever disliked each other.
The New Normal
I was hugely pregnant and had very young children with me. We went to a free exhibit at an aquarium down town. I was unfamiliar with the area, but found free parking several blocks away. I was broke, so finding a free exhibit with free parking was really a special outing for us. After the exhibit, my young children and I started walking towards the car, but couldn't find it.
I figured I had gotten turned around, so we returned to the aquarium and started walking in the other direction, but still couldn't find the car. We went back and started out in a third direction, still unable to find our car. It had started to rain and we were just lost. All along, a homeless man had been watching us, as we had passed by him multiple times in our search.
His words were heartbreaking. He told me he remembered seeing us first go in to the aquarium hours ago and what direction he saw us come from. He offered to walk down that way and look for our car for us so we didn't have to be walking around aimlessly until the car was located. I thanked him, but turned his offer down, not wanting to send this homeless man out into the rain.
He told me he was impressed with how well-behaved my children were, and he offered a dollar to buy them a candy bar. I couldn't accept, I mean how horrible of a person would I be to take money from someone who clearly needed it more than me—but he insisted. He said the dollar wouldn't save him from being homeless, but buying my kids a candy bar for being so patient and well-behaved would make him feel normal and some days he just needed to feel normal.
It was an act of kindness I will never forget. I think of that gentleman often.
From Beyond the Grave
My grandmother made a ton of birthday cards in advance. After she passed, I still received birthday cards from her for the next few years. It was a little weird, but I cried happy tears whenever I got to read words from her after she passed.
Duty of Care
A paramedic helped me after I was in a car crash. He took his time to come back to the car and bring me back my front tooth, which was really tiny and he offered to go and look for in the wreck. At the same time, he found and brought back my partner's phone. I don't know his name, and I was in such a state of shock that I can't even remember what he looked like.
Still, he put my tooth in a special liquid and the hospital team managed to put it back, saving me a lot of money. There was also a woman officer who put a blanket on me and made sure I kept it. The hospital only managed to take it off me right before I left. It was a green standard first aid blanket, and I don't know why I refused to let go of it (again, shock) but it provided a lot of comfort. Thank you so much, guys.
Get Away From It All
The nicest thing someone I know has done was for someone else. My brother took a fellow band nerd on a high school graduation road trip for several weeks. Thing is, the friend was dying of leukemia, and they both knew that this was going to be his first and last road trip. No timetable, just one day at a time across the breadth of the US.
Found in Translation
people walking on street during night timePhoto by Yu Kato on UnsplashI worked in Korea for a bit. It was late at night, and I decided to surprise a girl I was talking to by heading to her apartment. It was around 10:30, and unbeknownst to me, the subway stopped running at 11:00. Unfortunately, I was halfway there, so I decided to message her. She told me to take a specific bus to get to her place. I get on the bus, and I don't have the slightest idea which stop I should be getting off on.
Well, about 10 minutes later, a load of people get off on this one stop. An older Korean businessman sees me and motions to me that there's an available seat next to him. He starts talking to me in English and he says that the stop where I'm getting off is one stop before he gets off, and that he'll let me know when. We start a conversation about where he works, how he learned English, what I'm doing in Korea.
By the time we knew it, his stop came up. He profusely apologized to me and said that it was the stop before. I said, "It's okay, I'll just walk the opposite direction." As we get off the bus, we're both walking in the same direction. As we come up to an intersection, he flags down a taxi, tells him the subway station to drop me off on, and he paid the fare. All this while still apologizing to me. That guy was just such a good person, you know?
Moms Just Know
I was involved in a hit and run on my bicycle in Chicago. I broke my collarbone, and a stranger drove me to the ER. I was going into shock and freaking out about finances—I’m a single mother. The stranger gave me her number for the report and such, but then she made a gesture I’ll never forget. She later sent me $5k because she knows what it’s like to be a single mother with nothing.
I sobbed. I hadn’t gotten my unemployment yet. I was overwhelmed by her kindness.
Friends With Benefits
I was having a panic attack for the first time. It swung between so euphoric I thought I was going to "ascend" and terrified that my life was going to end in pain. I called my loved ones to say goodbye, including my best friend. He came running from a block away. He was terrified too, but he held it together, sat me down, hugged me, told me that he didn't want me to go anywhere, and that he needed me right here.
I needed that. I needed to see what I felt wasn't based on reality, needed someone to say that I should not obey those feelings because I was needed and loved. On some level, he saved me. Years later, he voluntarily went into homelessness just to fly out to see me on another continent. Yes, we're together now romantically. No, I don't know how I got so lucky. We're planning the wedding. :)
The Art of Caring
When I was a freshman in high school, I took an art class that was a mix of 9th-12th graders. I was really bad with people back then, so I spent most of class sitting on the floor between the trash can and the drying racks and never speaking to anyone. Still, there was this one 11th-grade guy who would always make it a point to talk to me.
He didn't know me or anything; he just happened to sit near me. But he'd always ask about my day or compliment my art or offer to help me with my math homework. At one point, he even managed to get me to sit at the desk with the rest of the students. It's just one of those things I think about from time to time because he really had every right to ignore me like everyone else did, but he didn't. He really made art class into a second home for me. I miss that guy.
It’s the Little Things
I have an online friend in another country, and one time she made a cake for my birthday with my name on it because she knew no one else would do anything.
Know Your Worth
women's blue dress shirtPhoto by Tra Nguyen on UnsplashDuring my Physics graduate program, there was a terrible professor for two of my core classes. He was terrible at teaching, but also known for complaining at faculty meetings how the grades had been going down in his classes ever since more women started taking them. I put in a ton of work anyway, and despite all that he gave me two Ds for those two classes. I’ve honestly never heard of someone getting Ds in grad school and finishing, so I was convinced my life was over. Then, I learned that I was so, so wrong.
At that point, I told another professor who had been supportive what happened, and he got me a stiff drink to talk it over. In that meeting, he said that technically there was no requirement to take the guy’s classes. Instead, he told me to sign up for two independent study classes, which he would supervise, and all I would be doing is practice questions for the qualifying exam.
So we did exactly that—I studied, and we would meet up a few times a week to go over problems. By the end of the semester, I took my qualifiers, and passed with margins to spare. Today, I’m a postdoctoral fellow in astronomy at Harvard, which never would have happened if that professor hadn’t taken a chance on me and put in so many hours to help me.
It makes me so determined to help all the students in my path and mentor them as well, because people can be so much more than one bad professor thinks they are.
Chosen Family
I had just had my father completely cut ties with me after years of estrangement and him being super distant. Obviously, I was a little emotionally uneasy about how “final” it felt, and the implications for the distant future. My live-in girlfriend knew, told her mom, and her mom sent me a bunch of snacks I’ve always wanted to try but never wanted to spend the money on.
Instant mood lifter, and it restated the fact in my mind that there are other people who care about me even if my dad doesn’t.
Pikachu, I Don’t Choose You
When I was like nine, I went to an arcade over in San Antonio, Texas because we were there for a vacation. There was this claw machine that had pokemon in it, and I was aiming for my favorite pokemon ever, but accidentally got a different one. The employee comes around to unlock the thing so I can get my prize. I whine to my mom, "Aw I wanted the Charizard though."
This dude puts the other one back in there, and hands me the one I wanted. I will forever remember you, bro.
Work to Live
My one co-worker got all my other co-workers to donate money for a gift to me from my hugely underpaid apprenticeship. I received $350, which was exactly how much I needed for an upcoming bill. It really saved me when I had literally $0.70 in my account. A few weeks earlier, actually, a different co-worker noticed me not eating and bought me lunch, then many of them brought me leftovers. That apprenticeship was the worst, but the people were the best.
The Good Neighbor
His name is Duong. When I was in university, he was my neighbor. I got into a motorbike accident and couldn’t go to class by myself, so he put me up on his back and brought me to the class like a hero. When my elevator was broken, he climbed all 13 floors to bring me dinner because he knew I couldn’t go out to get it. Whoever is with him for the rest of his life is a lucky person.
Child’s Play
assorted color of wicker baskets on displayPhoto by zakariae daoui on UnsplashI was walking through the streets of Marrakech after it had just rained, and I was wearing those flimsy flip-flops, so all the wet sand from the street was being catapulted onto the back of my legs. Out of nowhere, I feel a tap on my arm. It’s a young Moroccan girl, not older than 6 or 7 years old, offering me her water bottle to clean my legs.
I politely declined because I could never accept to take someone’s water in that scorching heat, but thanked her and her mother profusely. Children are so pure.
Do the Math
I went to a very small school with a bunch of really amazing math teachers, and one really bad math teacher. For example, she tried to sue a kid for "aggressively swinging his backpack" at her when she threw him out of the classroom for something trivial. He had only picked up his backpack in a completely normal manner.
I was slated to have pre-calc with the terrible teacher the following year and was complaining about it to my amazing math teacher, saying how much I was dreading her class. That’s when I got the offer of a lifetime. My amazing math teacher offered to teach me pre-calc over the summer so I could skip a year of math and go straight to calc with the amazing teacher.
So, once a week, each week over the summer, I met my amazing teacher in her back garden, where we had tea and cookies and she taught me pre-calc. A week before school started, I met with horrible teacher and took her pre-calc final, aced it, and got to stick with amazing teacher. I’ll always be grateful someone cared enough about that.
Second Home
Growing up, I was severely neglected and had no friends due to my lack of hygiene and social skills. One of my teacher aids got wise to it, and brought me to her house to play with her daughter, took me on family trips with them, gave me clean clothes, and just showed me an insane amount of kindness I'll never be able to repay.
Through Thick and Thin
I was fired from my last job. It was the first and only time I had been fired, and it sucked. I really liked that job, and I got super depressed. My friend also lost his job later that week, which really sucked because I knew he loved that job, too. He would always tell me that it was his dream job. And right as soon as he found out, he called me.
He called me to tell me that even though he lost his job, he knew he was going to be alright. He wanted to tell me that to set a good example. I knew he was heartbroken, but he put on a strong face for me. And I'll never forget that. Never.
24 Candles
I’ve never been able to celebrate my birthday. Between my awful mom and horrible relationships, it’s just become a tradition to lie in bed and cry every year. Well this year, my best friend and boyfriend put their heads together and threw me a surprise “party.” They decorated our apartment, baked me a cake and decorated it to the best of their abilities, and got me some small, thoughtful presents. 24 years old, and finally I had my first good birthday. I cried like a baby.
You Shall Not Pass
man in black jacket driving car during daytimePhoto by Thibault Penin on UnsplashI went out to a bar drank a bit too much with my girlfriends. Some guy saw and tried to push me into an Uber to take me to his hotel. Then, the bouncer wouldn't let me back in no matter how many times I asked because according to him, "I changed my mind and that's not the guy's fault." No one else passing by wanted to intervene. I was getting really scared—until a good Samaritan stepped up and changed everything.
The Uber driver popped out of the front of his car and wrestled the guy off me. He made sure I was okay, gave the bouncer and everyone else a piece of his mind, too. Hope that guy's doing well in life.
Let the Good Times Roll
I took my sister, who’s in a wheelchair, to the cinema for the first time on my own. At the end, I realized I couldn't undo the brakes because it was a new wheelchair. It was blocking everyone. I felt like crying because I thought everyone was angry at me, but some nice lady helped me, then took me and my sister out. She said she once had a son who needed a wheelchair. This was long ago, but I'll never forget her or the kindness she showed me that day.
Tripping out
I am from 1980's rural Texas, where education was laughed at and where the idea of living in a foreign country was ludicrous. When I was 17, I met a Rotarian (like, a guy from a non-profit) who allowed me to go on a year-long foreign exchange. I had never heard of that concept before and had no real idea of what it meant. At 18, I packed my bags and discovered a brand new world! It honestly changed my life FOREVER. Definitely for the better.
While I was gone, I met other foreign exchange students and learned that it was fairly difficult to get into this program. I'd heard ambassadors’ children were being turned down from it. I honestly think that I got to go because no one else from my area wanted to leave the safety of our small town, while I jumped at the chance. I think about that old Rotarian a lot. I owe him everything for changing my life.
How to Save a Life
Back in 2018, I had a drastic decline in my mental health, which led to a failed attempt to take my life. I had enough of feeling miserable, so I checked myself in to a program. Afterwards, the hospital gave me a number and location to follow up with my newly-appointed therapist. Upon getting to their building, though, they needed me to pay a co-pay.
I didn't have a darn penny on me and said I couldn't pay. They denied me my appointment, and I remember thinking that when I walked out of there I was really going to go through with harming myself this time. Then a miracle happened. Right before I was about to leave, this other patient stopped me, pulled out her credit card and paid my co-pay.
She had told me that this place and these people saved her life. She said she didn't want me to lose mine because I couldn't afford to be cared for. The intensity of that relief almost cured my debilitating depression, I never felt so grateful in my life. I sincerely hope that lady is flourishing and being the best self she can be. She saved my life; that is the greatest kindness someone has ever done for me.
Those Who Can Do, Teach
My English teacher when I was very, very young. She was the sweetest I've ever had. She knew I loved the Harry Potter books, even though they were not super popular in France back then. So one day, she brought me HP-themed coloring books from her trip to England. It made me so happy that she thought about me even though she was away from school.
I Recommend This Man
white mug on brown surfacePhoto by Pablo Varela on UnsplashMy boss and mentor wrote me a glowing reference and pulled some strings to get me into a graduate program, even though I was severely depressed and my work performance was nothing to be proud of. I couldn't comprehend or remember anything due to an undiagnosed disease, and I also acted extremely awkward socially. I really don't know why he went so far out of his way to change the trajectory of my life, but I’ll always be grateful.
Guardian Angels
I've had many people do nice things for me, but one stands out. I was very young, maybe 16 or 17. I'd had a terrible car accident and needed to get to a specialist downtown during my recovery. I wasn't a confident driver to begin with, and I had never driven downtown and got hopelessly lost. This was before everyone had cell phones.
I stopped at a pay phone in a grocery store. I was sobbing and scared. I couldn't describe where I was, since I was so lost, and I didn't know how to get turned in the right direction. A little old lady stopped to ask me if I was OK, so I told her where I was going and that I didn't know how to get there. She was shocked that I was SO LOST.
I was so far removed from where I was supposed to be. I wasn't even close to downtown. So she literally drove there in her car while I followed her. She just pointed out her window when we got to the address and I turned in. I never got to properly thank her. But it was far from over. To make it so much worse, once I finally got there, I was told they'd had to cancel my appointment.
I broke down, and an elderly couple came to comfort me and gave me some money and said to please take some time to calm down at the cafe next door, have some lunch or something. Twice in one day, I was approached by kind people who just wanted to help a teenager. That was over 25 years ago. I still don't like to drive downtown, but I do. I think of those people every time I have to go there.
Saving the Day
My dad cancelled my weekend with him a day before we were supposed to go to Six Flags and do other stuff together. My best friend's parents found out and duplicated all the activities. It meant so much to me.
Hit the Road
I was given a car by a former co-worker. At the time, I was walking or riding my bike eight miles one way just to get to work, and then another eight miles to get back home. When working with her, she asked if I wanted a car. I thought she was joking, but said yes anyway. About two weeks later, she said her husband had this old car that he fixed up and it’s ready for me.
From there, she had me meet up at a notary, and all I paid was for a title transfer and tax, which only came around $150. It wasn't the nicest car, but it worked. The car lasted a year, but still to this day I am forever grateful someone would gift me something that truly helped out tremendously. Then, she said there was a catch. I started to get nervous, but it was actually so heart-warming.
The catch was that, whenever I'm able to, I have to pass along a good deed. I've tried to pass this whenever I can. I sincerely appreciated all the help, Debby, and I wish only the best for you and your family. I'm still working on passing along good deeds as we have agreed. Thank you so much for your kindness, especially during a time in my life where I thought there was little hope. There is always hope.
Color Me Surprised
A woman I worked with a few years ago knew my 30th birthday was coming up and asked me what I was doing. I just said I’m visiting family, but she also found out that I’d never had a “surprise” before. I might get a present and maybe a bit of money and I was happy with that. I had no idea the gift she was about to give me.
At my parents’ house, they’d forgotten to buy a cake, so I just picked up a Victoria sponge cake and stuck a couple of tea light candles on it. It was fine, I don’t complain. But when I got back to work a week later, my lovely colleague had organised this beautiful two-tier birthday cake surrounded by gifts! And then she really surprised me.
She produced tickets for us two to get a drink at this ice bar place and tickets to go to the theatre. She did this because she remembered me saying I hadn’t been since I was a kid and no one I knew was interested in going. I was so shocked, I was nearly in tears. This was the very first birthday surprise I ever had. I will never forget my 30th birthday because of my colleague.
A Purr-Fect Present
person walking inside building near glassPhoto by Heidi Fin on UnsplashI worked as a retail cashier at a drug store. It was the Christmas season and CRAZY busy. We had tins of chocolates on sale for under $10, and they had designs of kittens and puppies on them. I mentioned to a lady who was buying a bunch that one tin in particular looked identical to my cat. She bought the tin and gave it to me!
I actually cried. To have a stranger spend their own money on someone else in that capacity. I’ve never had it happen before. It was years ago, and although the chocolates inside are long gone, I still display that chocolate tin every year at Christmas.
Girl Power
I was in a boarding school, so I couldn't go home or anything like that, and I was also really out of touch with my emotions. Very “keep calm and carry on.” One day in class, I was having REALLY REALLY bad period pains, and since I'm not the kind of person to share much, I was trying to hide it even though I was pretty much in agony.
My friend sitting next to me could clearly see something was wrong, and eventually I told her. So she sneaked into the dorm where you're not supposed to go during class hours for me to fetch some medication. She also offered to bring me dinner so I didn't have to move once I got home from class. She even told me jokes and stuff to cheer me up. I’ll always be grateful.
Memento Mori
I couldn’t be there for the passing of my grandmother because I was at university, so my uncle had a bracelet made for me. It was engraved with her handwriting.
One Happy Ending
I had a really bad home life growing up. My friend—and at the time she was only loosely my friend—had two incredible moms who heard what was going on with me, and pretty much immediately got involved. At the time, I was emaciated, constantly terrified, and never let anyone get close, especially adults. When it got really bad, I used to dumpster dive and collect scraps from the school cafeteria for food for myself and for my brother.
I was chronically sick, mentally ill, rarely slept, and skipped class all the time. My friend's parents started dropping off bags of food at school for me and my younger brother. One night, they invited me over and I just...never left. They moved my brother into the house. They had absolutely no money. Not a freaking dime.
The money that used to be split between four people (two kids, two moms) was suddenly split between six. The house we shared was a half-finished re-modeling project and a total hazard. We didn't even have doors installed inside! Just curtains. To me, though, it was magic. I thought the fact that we didn't have sinks—that we had to crouch over the tub to wash our hands—was mythical.
My moms hugged me every morning and told me how special I was and how proud they were of me. For the first time in my life, I was stupidly, ridiculously happy. Every morning I woke up, my heart would race until I thought it might burst. I was literally that happy to be alive. The second I woke up—I mean the second—I bolted to the kitchen to say good morning to my moms and get a hug.
My friend (now my sister) and her family did everything for us. No rhyme, no reason. I stopped skipping school. My grades improved. I started earning scholarships. I got into a fantastic university. I now have a degree, a fantastic job, friends, and a family that I love.
Kindness Is in Short Supply
On the last day of school, I was helping my art teacher clean up for the summer. She knew I was rather poor growing up, so she gave me all the leftover paper, some really high quality bristol board and watercolor paper, all of the leftover prismacolor pencils, tons of paint brushes, and other various art supplies. It was her last year teaching, and she didn’t care to save the stuff for the next year. I still miss her. She was the best teacher I've ever had.
Long Time, No See
photo of pub set in room during daytimePhoto by Jason Leung on UnsplashI was at a restaurant in Boston by myself on a Friday night. It was 7 pm, so I was just enjoying a nice dinner by myself before heading back to my hotel. There was a man with a wedding ring on who asked me if the seats next to me were taken. I told him no, and he and his friends sat down. He eventually started chatting with me and it was friendly, but then he started hitting on me.
I brushed him off, and he slightly backed off…but then started eating French fries off of my plate. I pushed the plate away and asked the bartender for my check. I was in the last seat at the bar, so I had nowhere to go other than to wait, and the bar was packed. The guy then tells me I’m beautiful and asks if I want to go back to my hotel with him.
I told him again no. He asked again, I told him I was married and he said “So? So am I.” I’m so grateful for what happened next. All of the sudden, this voice says to me “Oh my god! What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in so long!” And a woman hugged me. This woman and I chatted and pretended we were old friends while I paid. She then walked with me to my Uber to make sure I got into it safely and that he didn’t follow me. I don’t know where this woman is now, but she made me feel safe.
Mirror Image
I went on a homecoming date and ordered a bunch of food. While we were there, this old couple ended up buying our dinner because we reminded them of what they used to look like when they were young. I’m very grateful, because I didn’t actually have enough money to pay for dinner. I was maybe $30 short. I’m still with the girl three years later.
A Grave Secret
I have many family members interred in a small cemetery with a few unattended graves that I occasionally clean and place artificial flowers on. Sometimes I do the ones around them. I feel morally obligated to honor their memory. One day, I found a letter. Its contents were heartbreaking. Obscured behind my father's flowers, in an inconspicuous brown envelope, was an effusive message of gratitude from an old woman whose arthritis incapacitated her.
She had seen my maintenance of her husband's grave from her house across the road and wanted to thank me for my compassion. I was confounded because I never anticipated any recognition. She said she asked her daughter what she could do to compensate me, and she purchased an iTunes voucher for her mother to give me in the envelope.
It was one of those letters and gestures that the gratitude and appreciation emanated from the very paper. The handwriting was so elegant and fastidious; I know she took an inordinate amount of time composing her words. She loved her husband beyond articulation. We have tea together twice a month now.
A Class of His Own
When I was in school, I had a classmate who was terminally ill. He wanted to do all the things he wouldn’t grow up to do, and pretty much our whole school got involved. One girl’s parents owned a nightclub, and they decked out the VIP lounge and served mocktails to roughly 100 students. The kid wanted to be a police officer, and one boy’s dad arranged for him to go on shift with him for the day.
He wanted to go on a beach holiday, and the teachers put little kiddie pools around the long jump pit with water in. We all did something off his list. He got 62 valentines cards in October! He was always such a kind and thoughtful guy that everyone was happy to join in. His mom messaged me a few weeks ago just to catch up and she said she can’t believe that this year it’s 20 years since he passed, and she's so grateful that everyone made his brief time on earth so wonderful.
A Little Something Extra
My dad is a retired junior/senior high school art teacher. Every single morning for well over a decade, he packed an extra lunch and put it in a place in his classroom where a student whose family was struggling could take it without making a big deal of it. Eventually, when the older student graduated, one of his younger siblings started taking his class.
The kid would already know he could take the extra lunch bag without having to face talking to my dad about it, or being embarrassed in front of the class. I used to ask why Dad packed two lunches while I was growing up, and he would just say, “I sometimes get extra hungry.” My mom later told me the truth. He is such a quiet, humble, and extremely generous man.
