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People Share Their Most Embarrassing Injury Stories They've Had To Concoct Cover Stories For

People Share Their Most Embarrassing Injury Stories They've Had To Concoct Cover Stories For
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Come closer... I'm going to tell you about my boyfriend's embarrassing injury - but shh, don't tell him I told you guys.


So - like ALL guys - dude can poop for forever. I don't understand male physiology. Why does it take 45 minutes to poop? I can only assume it's because we have kids and that's the only place we can get any peace and quiet.

Anyway, so one morning about a half hour into his traditional morning poop, he sends me a text that he's thrown his back out. Pooping. How that's even possible I may never know. It's not the X Games.

He waddled out of the bathroom grimacing in pain about ten minutes later. There was absolutely no way he could work, he could barely walk! Time for a convincing cover story; he told everyone he hurt himself moving furniture (we were just settling into a new place at the time, so it was totally believable.)

It took this man over a week to get over his poop injury.

Reddit user jcrewz asked:

What's an injury you sustained, and lied about how it actually happened, because it was too embarrassing?

Toast

I was once buttering toast with my face really close to it (I like my butter to be spread precisely) then I sneezed and slammed my head on the counter, effectively knocking myself out, and had to go to the ER to be treated for a concussion. I don't remember what I told them, but it definitely wasn't the truth.

- Justchase22

Not Sure Which Is Worse

I was removing facial hair using a remover cream. I ended up leaving it on for too long which caused burns.

I told people I dropped hot noodles on my face.

- mynameisneelam

"Knife Fight" 

I have a 1.5" stab wound scar on my left bicep. When I was younger and attractive girls asked me how it happened, I would tell them it happened during a fight where someone pulled a knife on me.

Actually...I worked in a butcher shop of a market when I was in my late teens. Part of my job was to collect all the carving knives from the prep area, put into a large plastic bin, and carry them behind the deli case to the kitchen to wash. One time coming back out of the kitchen, I failed to notice that someone had opened the trap door to the basement, which was in my direct path.

The plastic bin of knives obscured my view.

I took one fateful step and tumbled into the basement, with the (very sharp) contents of the bin raining down around me.

Somehow I escaped with only a twisted ankle and the aforementioned stab wound in my arm for which I had to go to the ER for stitches. I'll always remember being dazed, sitting at the bottom of the stairs looking up and seeing a meat cleaver embedded in one of the steps.

- Thos19

Bowling Sucks

Giphy

I once punched a bowling ball because I was frustrated. It turns out bowling balls are pretty hard. Broke my hand, it was swollen and bloody. Told my boss at work I slammed my hand in a door.

Its still broken, this was like 6 months ago.

- ecksit

Loving Yourself Too Hard

I dislocated my kneecap while masturbating. Lied and said I was falling off my bed when I woke up from a dream.

- Hunter15991

Bless You

Threw out my back sneezing, told people I was moving something heavy because that was less stupid than the truth.

- eDgAR

GOAL

Finally a story I can share!

I was playing football (soccer) with a bunch of friends (I was 12). Since we were all still schoolkids, one team was usually gonna steamroll the other. On this occasion, I happened to be the keeper on the winning team, so I had nothing to do and I was really bored.

I decided it was a good time to do some pull ups, and so I grabbed the crossbar of the goalpost, and pulled myself up. Once I was on top, I stuck out my legs for fun... And got them stuck in the net. I couldn't untangle my legs no matter how hard I tried.

I ended up falling to the ground, but I stuck out my hands to prevent myself from breaking my tailbone.

I eventually found out that I'd broken my left wrist, with one of the bones inside the wrist being pushed out of position and slightly fractured.

What I told my parents (and the doctor too) was that I was running after the ball, and tripped over something, thus causing me to fall face first and break my wrist.

- Yordama

Buzz Buzz

I broke my toe running from a bee.

I'm a huge weenie about stingy bugs, so when a bee got in my hair I freaked out. I ran toward the house, lost my balance, kicked the concrete step of mom's porch and fell backwards. Mom was sitting on the porch and I accidentally backhanded her before crashing to the ground. She was laughing so hard she couldn't help me up, and I was laughing so hard I couldn't get up.

I was super embarrassed for a while and just told everyone I tripped. I got over the shame because it was pretty funny, so I don't lie about it anymore.

- DovahKeef

Lord Sheldon And The Burrito

I was walking my dog, Lord Sheldon, in the park and I dropped my burrito on a rock in the creek, so I reached over to get it and I fell and dislocated my shoulder. I told all my coworkers that I was mugged in the park because they would never stop teasing me about it if I told the truth.

- BeAN_183

Comics Are Life

I was going to the bathroom and I was reading comic books. I was on the toilet for so long that my legs happened to fall asleep. As I was getting up I fell over with no use of my legs and broke my wrist. Told everyone I got in a fist fight.

- AtlanticHDMI

Imitating The Cat

Giphy

I said I broke my toe hitting it on the radiator, which wasn't a lie in itself. What I left out is I hit it on the radiator because I fell off my bed, which happened because I was trying to imitate my cat and see if I could lick my butt. I could not.

- The_Sown_Rose

Tinnitus

I have bad tinnitus in my left ear. I tell people it's from firing rifles in the army without earplugs.

The real reason is I strained really really hard trying to poop when I was 13 and my ear popped. It's never been the same since.

- Blanb

Habaneros 

The morning after the first time I spent the night with my now husband he made egg burritos for us for breakfast. We starting fooling around after eating and he hadn't washed his hands thoroughly enough to get the habanero (a kind of spicy pepper) off apparently.

After a couple days of still being in absolute misery in my vaginal area, I broke down and called my mom asking for the doctors number (I was 22). My mother offered to make the appointment for me and asked what was wrong. Instead of telling her I had slept with a stupid dude who injured my vagina in the worst way and I need to get a full STD screening while I'm at it, I told her I thought I had a yeast infection.

I had to wait two weeks for the appointment. I get to the check-in with the nurse and as soon as she says yeast infection I started crying, telling her what actually happened, why I lied, and she tells me not to worry, while trying to keep professional and not laughing. They did what they do and gave me a cream for my chemical burn and an antibiotic for a UTI.

I get home my mom sees my prescription cream, instantly freaks out and asks me what the hell happened. I come clean, she laughs hysterically. The moment my dad walks in the door she tells him, they both laugh hysterically. Nearly 10 years later, any chance they get they bring it up and laugh hysterically. Should have just stuck with the lie.

- Subtleglow87

Sitting For Dinner

I once semi-dislocated my kneecap (in such a way that my leg locked up and I was in incredible pain) by sitting down to eat at the dinner table and twisting my leg somehow.

I hurt myself sitting down.

Instead I told my friends I had fallen down a steep hill on the local heathland, but my brother told them the truth and I was promptly mocked.

- TheBrokenSnake

R.I.P. Jicepy

I was around 15, messing around with a bunch of friends, and we found a stuffed toy monkey in the bushes. We decided to call it Jicepy and took some dumb pics with it. Then my friend decided to toss him into the trees.

Me, having grown attached to the plushie we had walked around town with for three hours, dunking in puddles and taking pictures of posed with beer bottles and half smoked cigarettes, decided to dive after this thing in an attempt to rescue him. The only thing I came back with was a torn open knee and a nasty scar....RIP Jicepy :(

I just tell people I got the scar from falling over in a pool lmao (I worked briefly cleaning out the drained pools for rescue seals, they were slippery) No one can learn I actually got it diving into the bushes shrieking to retrieve a small dirt covered plushie monkey.

- CaligulasPeri

Snuggles Gone Wrong

I once got a black eye from smothering my dog with love and hugs. I had my arms around her and my face pressed up against hers and when she heard the sounds of the neighborhood dogs, she jolted her head down and back up to break free of my embrace. Basically a blunt snout to my eye caused an almost immediate black eye to appear.

A very odd and difficult story to explain in passing at school, "Uhh, haha yeah... my dog gave me a black eye", so I lied and said I got in a fist fight.

- MadMrMeeseeks

Exacto

I had an exacto in my hand, but I was trying to move some plastic that I didnt want to cut/scratch, so I put the exacto in my back pocket. This is something I NEVER do. After moving the plastic, I see an exacto on the table I was working at, so I didn't think much of it and several minutes later I went to use the restroom. As I went to pull up my pants, I felt something slice my thigh open. The exacto was still in my pocket...and it took a fair chunk out of my thigh. Ended up needing 5 stitches...I didn't lie about it, but it's definitely the dumbest way I've hurt myself.

- StreetFullOfUppercut

Military Hopscotch

Giphy

The back of my left hand has a huge gash across it and two of my fingers don't have full range of motion anymore. I tell people its a scar from the military that I don't want to talk about.

Really, I was playing hopscotch in my Moms living room with my nieces. I back handed a light bulb. Passed out from blood loss, and woke up on the way to the ER.

- AdamJDills

Spinny Chair

Um, I broke my left shoulder last September, cause I got a chair that spins for the first time in my life. Wanted to play with it a bit so I tried to get on with my knees. Somehow, the leg that got on pushed the chair away and started creating a split, with my one leg pushing the chair away and the other being stationary on the ground. I fell and broke my left shoulder.

My story now is that I tripped and fell down the stairs. It sounds less embarrassing.

- ElonTheRocketEngine

When Hoarders Recycle

I think this was 3.5 or 4.5 years ago. Mom and I were cleaning house on New Year's Day because her brother and his wife were going to come over. Mom, for the first time in more than ten years, cleaned out her desk (both of my parents are compulsive hoarders, my dad is also a compulsive shopper/spender, so this was an exciting development).

We were about done cleaning, so we gathered up the trash and headed down to the dumpster and were going to get right in the car to go buy some dinner. Mom is very much out of shape, so I trekked across the parking lot to the dumpsters while she cleaned the snow off the car.

I managed to get rid of the trash without trouble, but the recycling bins were blocked by some discarded appliances: a dishwasher, two mini-fridges, and a fridge/freezer combo. I was determined not to bring the paper back upstairs or to contribute further to the American waste problems. They'd clearly been there for a few days as they were completely covered in snow and ice. I eyed up the situation and decided that injury was likely.

Obviously I ignored my assessment. As a short person, I determined I would have to mount one of the mini-fridges and would not be able to just step OVER it (later discovered that my legs WERE just long enough to have done so). I set a foot atop the mini-fridge immediately next to the fridge-freezer and held the handle on the freezer door for stability's sake. As soon as I placed my weight on the mini-fridge, the snow and ice sitting on it slid right off and I fell backwards.

In my descent, the back of my head hit the round steel pipe that formed the top horizontal edge of the dumpster and I slid down the side of the dumpster. I thought for about five seconds that I'd gotten away with no injury as I have very thick, curly hair which was down and my hood was up. It turned out that I'd struck the dumpster hard enough to split my scalp (kind of like a crack in the flesh of a dropped watermelon) which being cut by a sharp edge of any kind.

Being a head wound, the two-inch scalp lac turned by hair almost completely red in about five minutes. We were planning to get dinner out by one of the nearest hospitals, so I waited until we got that far to decide if i wanted to go to urgent care or not. The bleeding had slowed by then, so I decided not to bother.

I had a headache for at least a week, was nauseated, had trouble sleeping, and obviously had a concussion (not my first). I wasn't able to take any meds for the first 36 hours because I only had ibuprofen at home and you should only take acetaminophen with a head injury.

Moral of the story, if you assess a situation and deem injury to be a likely outcome you will most likely be injured and it will suck.

- emmejm

Meatloaf Gravy

I have a gnarly 3rd degree burn scar on the inside of my upper arm.

What I've told people: accident with boiling water in the kitchen, I was moving a pot and the water splashed out when I moved too fast

The truth: after getting a Stouffer's meatloaf out of the microwave and peeling off the plastic, I placed it, still in the container on another plate, because it was too hot to carry. When I was walking it over to the table I jerked my arm (can't remember why) and it slipped and poured the hot gravy all over the inside of my upper arm. It's so embarrassing. I've only told a few people what really happened.

- NoHoney_MedVed

Untieing Shoes

Broke my wrist while untieing my shoes.

I did a weird jump to switch feet so I could untie the other shoe. Foot got caught, fell on my hand.

Usually I just say, "Yeah, Ive broken my wrist but that's it" and leave it at that.

- Silva_Wings

Tieing Shoes

In school I once bent down to tie my shoelaces and hit my forehead on a radiator. Started bleeding like a waterfall. Told my teacher I slipped on some moss and hit my head on a stone wall.

- Tylerich

Defeating The Dark Lord

Giphy

My husband and I were having sex and he "missed" and rammed me right in my lady taint. It hurt so much I was convinced I was going to either throw up or sh*t myself, so I ran to the bathroom and sat on the toilet. I woke up 3 minutes later in my husband's arms covered in blood. I had passed out on the toilet and fallen head first into the bathroom door hinge. I got 6 stitches in my forehead and now have a lighting shaped scar.

I told my family and friends I was having such bad stomach cramps that I passed out in the bathroom and hit my head (not unusual for me to pass out with pain.) They bought it. I did once tell a drunk man in a bar who asked that I got it defeating the Dark Lord. So worth it, maybe?

- Whatsinaname490

Tap Dancing

I was tap-dancing in the shower & I fell over. Broke my ankle in three or four places. Told everyone I was playing netball against big bro. I am such a failure.

- TheLoraxIsMyMum

Waving To A Friend

I once tripped while waving to one of my friends at church and scraped half of my face. I just didn't tell anyone what exactly had happened, because I felt so stupid afterwards because I wasn't paying attention at all.

- Breethebree

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.