People Share Minor Mysteries From Their Life That Will Likely Go Unsolved
"We may never find the answers...right?"
Bigfoot. Nessie. A film role Nicholas Cage says "No" to. Life is full of mysterious thing we may never find the true reasoning behind. Fortunately, if you pay attention, your day to day life is full of unknown events which will forever remain unsolved.
Reddit user, u/Moonwomb, wanted to know the greatest unknowns when they asked:
What is your life's biggest mystery that will probably go unsolved?
Just Say 'Thank You' To The Universe
A few years ago I got a citation, and when I went to pay it off ($350) they told me it was already paid for.
Asked everyone I know, no one claimed they did. I don't think I'll ever find out who it was.
Beware The Peacocks!
My childhood home in Utah was right behind a farm with regular farm things; horses, chickens, goats, etc.
One day a peacock shows up out of nowhere and makes the farm and our backyard his own home. He cries and cries for weeks. Later, a peahen shows up. They have babies, the babies have babies, loads of peafowl all over. They became part of my everyday life. My chores were to feed the peafowl our cat food, and scrape their poop off the deck everyday. This goes on for 8ish years.
Then, just as suddenly as Peter (the peacock) and Petra (the peahen) appeared, they all disappeared.
No one in the neighborhood had any idea where they came from or where they went.
The Bermuda Library
I worked at the public library. I scanned a guy's library card then went to hand it back to him. He saw me start to hand it to him. Our hands were about a foot apart. Then suddenly the card was gone. It never made it into his hand. We were both totally confused, I looked under the computer, desk in weird cracks but never found it.
I still think about it.
When Your Daughter C-Blocks You
I got home one day and my daughter told me a guy had turned up on my doorstep asking for me by name with a huge bunch of flowers. She sent him on his way and didn't even ask for his name.
I will never know who my lost love is.
Storm? Like, From The X-Men?
When I was little, me and my babysitter were outside and it started to rain.
My babysitter said "watch this" and walked out into the road (no cars)
She lifted her arms to form a T shape, and it started to rain heavier.
She put them down and the rain slowed down.
She put them back up and it poured again.
Im sure there's a valid explaination, but for now Im still baffled.
Officially Can't Trust Anyone Ever
About a year ago I found a playing card in my wallet with a scantily clad woman on it. No matter how much prodding I did, my husband and all our friends SWEAR they didn't do it.
I still have it in my wallet and occasionally ask friends about it but to this day no one has fessed up.
Broken Rear Light?
Car followed me home from work late at night, didn't know where the police station was, so I stopped on a dark road near my suburb to make sure he was actually following me, and sure enough he stops behind me. I got out and grabbed the emergency axe out of the truck without even shutting off the car and started walking towards it, and the car sped off.
I was tired and stupid for doing that, but I will never know why or who that was.
It's Returned To The Mushroom Kingdom
When I was like 7 I was playing my gameboy at my grandmas house and I got pissed that I kept dying in Mario so I took the actual game out and threw it at the wall. I saw the game hit the wall and fall behind the dresser, after moving everything in the room and many years of searching I still look for it and still wonder what happened to it occasionally
The Unknown Knock
A few years ago I lived in a flat with my then girlfriend in a major city. I'm a freelancer so I worked from home and she from an office. I kept quite unusual hours due to travelling a lot.
One day there's a knock at the door. It's a shared building with just one other person so it's already odd that someone is at the door without buzzing. I go downstairs and it's a guy in his 50s, harmless enough but something is off. He asks for my girlfriend. I tell him she's not in right now but can I help? He says no hurriedly and starts to back away.
At this point I'm still more confused than suspicious so I ask how he knows her. He says they met in the park and she gave him his address. My girlfriend was a very private person and, to be honest, quite unfriendly with strangers, who would never do this. I look at the guy incredulously and back away myself. He asks, rhetorically, if she is Hungarian. I just say no (she has a Russian surname). At that point I'm suddenly spooked and shut the door, even though he's almost out the front door himself.
Later found out the neighbour had let him in because she assumed he was my girlfriend's father. Called the police to report it but never heard anything or saw him again. Can only guess he was looking to rob the place and had got her name from the recycling bins outside. Either that or my girlfriend had a thing for greying pot bellied men in their 50s and I didn't know about it.
Shred your documents, people.
The Mystery Of The Midwest Toys R' Us
Back in the 90s I remember going to Toys R Us where they had a demo SNES set up. The game that was on it was a Mario style side scroller with all of the textures of the objects and background looking like they were made of upholstery fabric. I believe the protagonist was Yoshi, but I could be mistaken. I don't know what it was called because it was all in Japanese. The first block you hit caused a text box full of Japanese to pop up. I only played for a couple of minutes because I couldn't understand any of it.
Fast forward to the internet era and I can find no trace of this game anywhere. It wasn't Yoshi's Island and it wasn't Yoshi's Wooly World.
The big mystery though, is why a Toys R Us in the midwest USA would have a Japanese demo game for their SNES.
When You Just Can't Find Your Protein Blender, Bro
In my first house (I was around 24 at the time) I had this white hand held blender that I would use pretty often at night to make protein shakes. For some reason whenever I would look for it I wouldn't be able to find it for a while and then all of the sudden I would finally see it just sitting there on the counter. I was only looking in a space like 2 feet on each side of the sink.
There was a string of literally 6-7 nights in a row where I would look for it for literally 2-5+ minutes in this tiny area and then I would look up and it would just be sitting on the counter. Keep in mind it's not like the kitchen was cluttered and I was not drinking or on any drugs or anything. By the last few nights after I'd look for 3+ minutes I'd be like there's NO WAY it's going to be on the counter it's got to be in a drawer or something and then lo and behold I would look up and there it was. 4 years later I'm in a new house and don't use it anymore but I'm still confused by that.
Who Helped Dad?
Whether my Father was assisted in being euthanized or actually died of his cancer. Dad lived in Kansas and I live in Denver, I drove back every weekend (after he got his diagnosis he wanted to die at home). I left his house on a Sunday in care of my older brother. Monday he passed.
When I got back my brother was acting nervous - then he told me he flushed all the pain killers down the toilet. (Why just the painkillers?). It's never brought up, but a lot of people think either Dad took the pills by himself or was assisted by my brother. I should add no one asked or accused.
No one's mad either - Dad was in a lot of pain.
But still I wonder...
The Dreams And Stars Are Lining Up
To make a long story short, about twice a week my best friends brother and I had the same exact dreams. I mean like down to the details, they weren't just similar.. the exact same.
So weird
Nothing Involving Your Kitty Is "Minor"
Our missing cat. The whole situation is so weird. We let our cats go in and out of the house as they please. We don't live in a super rural area, but we're on 5 acres where other houses are on their own 5-7 acre plots. This one cat in particular was extremely agile and always "turned on" to things around her. She also rarely left a 20-foot radius around the house, compared to the other slower cats who would venture for hours on end.
Everyone is just dumbfounded by what happened to her. No signs of anything and it must have occurred in a 4 hour window in the afternoon when we were not home. I keep telling my wife that regardless of how many more cats we have in the future, I will never stop thinking about this cat and this situation. I'll be 60 years old sitting on our porch wondering where Nala went. I know it's minor compared to other problems, but it really sucks not knowing.
Ask Yourself: Stroke or Seizure?
When I was 19/20 I had a seizure during the night/morning, which actually fractured both my shoulders..Went to ICU for few days, docs put me on some epilepsy meds, which it wasn't. Some doctors mentioned it was a small stroke, which I believe is true. From that day I haven't felt 100% again.
So that;s my story.
Are You, By Chance, Cary Grant?
we call it the helicopter incident.
me and a friend were walking around the golf course near our houses pretty late at night, it was still bright enough to see clearly though. for a few minutes we had been able to hear a helicopter somewhere near and as we were beginning to walk back towards home we saw it coming towards us. it flew over us and into a neighboring field where it just hovered in place, facing directly towards us. after a little bit of watching it i walked out into the field towards it and it flew off again out of view. it had no markings or lights on it and we never knew what it wanted or why it was watching and flying around us.
weirdly, despite being a small town, we get a lot of random helicopters here.
When No One Is Watching You
I got home one night. The landlord and his family were on holidays in America so it was just me and a housemate at the time. There was only one bathroom. Housemate was showering but I wanted to take a p-ss so bad that I had to p-ss in the backyard.
The moment I stepped out, the light in the backyard just turned on by itself (I didn't want to turn on the light as I was afraid that someone might see me). I looked back and there was no one there. Housemate was still in the bathroom. Keep in mind that bathroom is further away from backyard. There's no way this guy would rush out of the bathroom and I couldn't see him. Anyway I couldn't care less at first.
Once I finished and stepped into the house, I checked the switch. It was definitely hit by someone but who?
P.S. Something strange about this house is, everyone sleeps with their lights on. So I'm wondering if there's something going on.
Who Drank The Last Shot?
Ths [sic] one happened one year ago. Me and my 3 friend went to a bar. Anyway we started to drink beer and chat. Later, we ordered 25 tequila shot. After they brought our tequilas we started to drink. So now here is where the mystery comes. We were 4 guys drinking tequila. And there was 25 tequila shots so everyone has to drink at least 4 and there would be 1 more tequila left.
When we finished the 4th tequila shot there was no one more shot left. But i was pretty sure that there were 25 shots. Because the shots came in order as 5x5. So we started argue about it. The guy who drank the fifth one didnt accept it. And we couldnt find who drink the fifth one.
Despite one year we still dont know who get the fifth one. And its still a mystery of my life. Mystery of tequila.
...But, How? Seriously!
I was traveling in Italy when two American girls came up to me and started talking excitedly about how they couldn't believe they'd run into me in Rome and wanted to know how my trip had been going, but I had no idea who either of them were. And if you're thinking "it's a prank, bro" they knew specific things about my life and my travels that only someone who knew me would have known. I still have no idea who the hell they were.
Brandy...You're A Fine Girl.
Fiancé and I come back to our apartment after being away all day. Get in, drop bags off, etc and I walk in the kitchen and there on my counter was a picture of a black girl. It was like a senior portrait with the name "Brandy" on it. My fiancé and I are white and we don't know anyone named Brandy. I remember unlocking the door, so I know the door was locked and nothing else seemed out of sorts. Just a wallet sized photo. So naturally. I framed it and now Brandy is an unofficial member of our family.
Brandy, if you are out there, we love you. Come visit.
Edit: HOLY HELL THIS BLEW UP! I've been trying to respond but it's too much. But to the ones that are asking for the picture, I will find it. We just moved and she's safe in my box of framed photos. But Reddit requests, who am I to say no? And to everyone that said landlord/maintenance: we lived there 4 years, had a great relationship with the front office and maintenance staff, took it down to show them and asked if anyone was in our apartment that day. No one knows who she is and no one was in the apartment for any reason (they gave us 24 hour notice.) I'm sure it's something like it was stuck to a grocery bag or something but who knows. A little mystery in life never hurt anyone.
Edit #2: Return of the Mack: I FOUND BRANDY! And I thought it said Brandy on the front but it was on the back and she graduated in 2002, so a year after me! And it's Brandi with an I. I'm so sorry girl.
H/T: Reddit
People Divulge Whether Or Not They'd Date A Porn Star
Reddit user Throwaway4561947373 asked: 'Would you ever date a porn star? Why or why not?'
Sex work is work. Honest work.
It feels like the opinion on this issue is slowly turning.
So that opens us all to a lot of progress.
But is it progress in every area of life?
Let's discuss porn stars.
We support them. We support their work.
But would we accept one in the family?
Would any of us enter into a romance with one?
Or someone akin to them?
Redditor Throwaway4561947373 wanted to discuss everyone's thoughts on dating options, so they asked:
"Would you ever date a pornstar? Why or why not?"
I did briefly date a porn star.
It was fun. But I'm way too jealous.
Schedule
Disgusted Season 6 GIF by Brooklyn Nine-NineGiphy"I dated a stripper. Her schedule was the real deal breaker. Well, that and her cocaine addiction, but that's beside the point."
C-C-C-Coolah
"The schedule thing was kind of nice at first because I value my alone time, but after a while the showing up at my house at 530am before I went to work was starting to make me feel really gross."
C-C-C-Coolah
No Mas
"I dated a stripper once. Craziest couple of months of my life. I still have no idea how old she is or what her actual life story is/was. The sex was shockingly tame, but she did have awesome ti*s. Not a chapter in my life I’d like to revisit tho haha."
Climate_Face
"I had a roommate who was dating a stripper and eventually dating her 'show partner' at the same time. It was a very wild 5 months where he got almost no sleep (schedule thing, not sex thing) and eventually said 'no mas.' Turned out there was too much of a good thing."
ksuwildkat
Wild
"I don’t think I personally could. Little too wild of a lifestyle/profession for me."
JessiePeteWhite
"Also, just imagining dealing with the fans that come from dating a regular celebrity makes me feel uneasy. The kind of people who'd seek out a pornstar in public would be a whole other level of cringe."
Poignant_Porpoise
"I wonder how you envisage their lifestyle. Plenty of them live normal lives and just go to work like anyone else. And especially with how many are independent these days the work is a lot more in their control and safer."
Athaelan
Patreon
"I dated a girl who sold nudes on Patreon back in the day. When we first started dating I knew she had nudes up on deviant art, bit didn't know about the Patreon. She never liked going out during the day except if we went to the movies. One day I got the tines for the different theaters mixed up."
"Got there, the next shoeing was in an hour, so we said f**k it and went to the cafeteria (the theater was attached to a mall) and ate some food. Some random chubby dude comes out excited and out of breath calling her by her handle saying he buys a bunch of her pictures and he couldn't believe he was meeting her."
"We were both frozen. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to scare the guy off or let her try to make another sale while she thought I was gonna be pi**ed that she didn't tell me about her Patreon. We laughed about it later."
AshyBoneVR4
About the $$$
Pay Me Kim Kardashian GIF by GQGiphy"Thought about dating a stripper but even outside the club when we just hang out as friends she’s very monetary about everything. If I have to pay a service fee to hang out with you then I’d rather just not."
Keyguin
Always follow the money.
That's where the truth is.
Work
Sexy Jessica Alba GIFGiphy"No, because I'd feel like I was asking them to work whenever I wanted to have sex. I never said it was a rational thought, people."
Froticlias
Do what you Gotta!
"I dated a porn star for a bit. he was straight but did mostly gay shoots because it's higher paid. when he would tell me he had a good day at work it usually would mean that everyone was being cooperative or something funny happened."
night-gloss
"I have a friend that’s a porn star, and she said sex on set is very different from sex with someone you love/care about."
Gogh619
"That makes sense, but I could still imagine feeling like you’ve been touched and simulated so much that doing it more seems overwhelming, even if emotionally you would want to do it. And if you’re a guy you might not have much left in the tank so to speak."
Leet_Noob
For Love
"It's easy to say I wouldn't judge but in all honesty pretty sure many people wouldn't be comfortable, some would be I guess but most wouldn't. I think it all falls down to when you are dating them if you are truly in love enough to allow this or well maybe you like they do that anyway, it's really hard to say in real life."
DemonCyborg27
Lack of Potential
"Definitely not. Whenever I've dated someone, I've been at least open to the possibility of it potentially turning into marriage and a family; I would not want my kids to have to deal with that. Can you imagine going through your teens, with people sending you clips of your mum doing whatever to and with whoever? Your teenage years can be a tough enough experience by their own merit; let alone adding in that crap."
J-in-the-UK
A Current Affair
"A former pornstar and I wouldn't have an issue, we all have a past after all. An active pornstar though would be a serious no from me. I know I wouldn't be able to handle my partner being intimate with another person while they are with me, it being their job wouldn't matter."
votemarvel
Well to each their own.
Just be nice about people's choices.
Adults, who told you that you were going to have to come up with something to eat, three times per day, every day, for the rest of your life?
That fact feels like a false advertisement for life sometimes, but there are ways of making what can be a tough requirement go much smoother than what some of us may be currently putting up with.
Redditor Penya23 asked:
"What are some cooking hacks you swear by?"
Reduce Waste with Water
"Revive veggies that have lost their water by cutting their edges and soaking them in cold water. Lettuce, carrots, and celery will be crisp again."
- Rosy180
"Old produce guy here. Luke warm water is best, then refrigerate. The warm water makes the plant cells open more to absorb more water; while the refrigerator makes them hard to retain water and crisp."
- tjipa84
Buy the Good Scissors
"A quality set of scissors will save you so much hassle..."
- Mitchs_Frog_Smacky
"They should be able to disassemble at the hinge point for cleaning purposes."
- adamadamada
"And for sharpening. I hate MLMs as much as the next gal, but those d**n Cutco scissors my mom has are still going strong 25 years later."
- burnt00toast
Perfect and Easy Stuffed Shells
"When making stuffed shells by hand, mix the filling in a zip-lock bag, then cut a corner off and use it as a makeshift piping bag to fill the shells."
- PApauper
Include That Extra Zing
"If your food is bland even though you've added salt, then it's missing acidity. Lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar are easy additions."
- PhreedomPhighter
Use the Power of Salt
"Salting your food 20 to 40 minutes before cooking makes a world of difference in the salt permeating the food."
- illusiveXIII
"Pat the meat dry first, then salt. This shift in osmolarity between the surface and the inside allows better penetration if the salt."
- tossthedice511
The Soy Sauce Secret
"I use soy sauce in a lot of stews and soups to help bring out savory flavors. My minestrone, for instance, usually has some soy sauce in it."
- potentialEmployee248
Don't Forget the Cocoa Powder
"Don't knock unsweetened cocoa powder. I add this to stews and chilis, and it adds a rich depth of flavor, and no one can pick out the cocoa."
- rthaw
"Everybody raves about my pecan pie and always wants me to make them for potlucks or gatherings. It’s literally the Karo syrup bottle recipe with a teaspoon of cinnamon, the tiniest dash of ginger, and 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder, and it’s exactly like you mentioned, a depth of flavor without actually tasting like chocolate."
- loyalpagina
MSG is Not All Bad
"Try a little powdered MSG. It will make any stew better. Chili and gumbo in particular really benefit, in my honest opinion."
- Red_Spork
"It's not called Makes Stuff Good for nothing."
- aquila-audax
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
"Not my tip, but my wife browns the butter before she adds it to chocolate chip cookie dough and they're the best freakin cookies I've ever eaten!"
- dcbluestar
"If my recipe calls for cinnamon or other spices and melted butter, I let the spices cook in the butter for a bit to bloom them."
- screech_owl_kachina
Know the Difference Between Spices
"One thing that took me embarrassingly long to learn was that some spices are fat-soluble, and others are water-soluble."
"When I first started learning to cook, I wanted to figure out how to use each of the common spices."
"I put a dab of paprika on my finger, licked it, and it tasted like... nothing. I concluded that it was a useless spice and took it out of my cooking."
"I was wrong, of course. Paprika is fat-soluble, so when I put it straight on my tongue, there was nothing that could break it down. If I'd mixed it with oil or butter first, the taste would've been apparent."
"We have to be conscious of this in our cooking. Water-soluble compounds can be readily broken down by the saliva in our mouths, but fat-soluble ones need to be mixed with a fat (e.g. 'bloomed' in butter)."
"And a lot of spices (including garlic and cinnamon) contain both types of compounds, so they'll have one flavor on their own, but a different, fuller flavor when bloomed."
- FutureBlackmail
Easy Safety is the Best Safety
"Leaving a potholder on the handle of a cleaned cast iron pan to let anyone who might put it away know it may be hot as it cools down."
- Huntsmart2000
"Ditto for any skillet that comes out of the oven after roasting or braising. A towel immediately goes over the handle to remind myself not to instinctively go for the handle."
- Drach85
Avoid That Bitter Note
"If a recipe says to sauté onions and garlic together at the same time, DON'T."
"Do the onions first, and then add the garlic when the onions are just about done. Garlic can be over sautéed and it takes on a bitter flavor."
- dcbluestar
Prep Before, and Clean As You Go
"Prep everything first. Have all of your veggies cut and ingredients ready. You will be more relaxed."
"Clean as you go. Wash your dishes while waiting for your food to finish cooking. Fewer dishes to deal with at the end of the night."
- Draginia
Nothing Like High-Quality Knives
"Knives, get good knives and a sharpener."
- Pews_TRB
"Also, knife quality has NOTHING to do with how sharp it is in advertising or when you get it."
"If it dulls after cutting a few soft items, you probably got scammed."
- Ciryl_Lynyard
Small Additions Make All the Difference
"If your executive function is betraying you and you rely on microwaveable or premade meals, find something small you can add to make them more substantial and to feel more like a meal."
"Add chopped broccoli to ramen noodles. Cumin and red pepper flakes are great to toss in, too. Cook minute rice with a chicken boullion cube and some butter and pretend it’s risotto."
"My personal favorite is to dump a can of corn into a microwave-safe bowl and mix in a bunch of taco seasoning."
"And if clean-up is a struggle too, use paper plates and bamboo flatware. Disposable chopsticks are super cheap and easy to find online."
"When you’re struggling with depression, fatigue, or anything that makes taking care of yourself harder, taking shortcuts isn’t laziness, it’s how you survive to make those more daunting tasks a little less scary."
"Unrelated: if you’re making a soup or stir fry with lots of veggies, sauté the veggies a bit before adding other ingredients until the onions are translucent. I’m sure there’s some food science reason that this makes soups taste better but I have no idea what it is."
- ThunderDash
"As a multiply disabled person, f**k yes!"
"I swear by those 90 second rice packs. I get Ben's Original (Kroger, $1 sale), as well as Walmart and Target store brands ($1.25 to $1.50). Is it so much more expensive? F**k yes, but it's worth it."
"Frozen vegetables, canned beans, and rotisserie chicken are shortcuts that many poo poo on, but for me, they mean the difference between not eating and eating."
"And my personal favorite, adult Lunchables made from a handful of nuts or a spoonful of nut butter, crudites, and fresh fruit with cheese and crackers/pretzels/mini bread is such an easy thing to throw together and snack on for hours."
- annimdi
While cooking may not be everyone's favorite past time, there are ways to make the whole experience easier, much more enjoyable, and tastier than anything you've whipped up before.
We all have our own ideas about what our lives should look like and how we want our individual households to run.
When a young person wants different things for their home than their parents do, it might be time to move out.
Redditor RavenGreekGod asked:
"What made you move out of your parents' house?"
Too Many Cooks
"Too many adults under one roof. I needed to branch off and be my own person in my own space."
- cmf1990
Simple Independence
"I love my parents, and I honestly have a great relationship with them. In fact, I'm moving across the country to be near them in about a month, and I'll be living with them for a bit while I search for my own place."
"However, when I live with them, I struggle to act as an independent adult. It's as much my fault as everyone else's, but I still prefer living on my own long term."
- retief1
Financial Trouble
"Mom was downsizing due to financial difficulties and didn’t have room for me in the new apartment."
"So, I struck a deal with the manager of the little restaurant where I worked part-time to rent a room from him and his wife while I finished high school. It was a good growing-up experience."
"The only downside was I’m pretty sure my manager didn’t bother mentioning to his wife that some awkward pimple-faced 17-year-old would me moving in until that Saturday morning when I was dragging all my crap through their living room towards the back bedroom."
"She gave me a frosty reception and frankly, I couldn’t blame her."
- Southern_Snowshoe
Not So Merry Christmas
"My brother's friend called home from college in early December, to make travel plans for coming home over Christmas break."
"His parents said, 'Oh, uh, yeah, about that, we meant to tell you before... we moved... to a one-bedroom apartment... but I guess if you wanted to come here and sleep on the couch for the break, I guess that would be okay...'"
"He did not go home over break, or to my knowledge, ever again. He spent Christmas at our house that year, instead of with his own family."
- DaddyBeanDaddyBean
"Crippling Disability"
"Living with my s**tty, controlling parents for 18 years was enough to make me move out and run to the farthest, most remote college I could without having to pay out-of-state fees."
"They wanted me to stay home and go to community college because I was their 'precious, delicate little girl' and because I had ADHD, it meant I was destined to be incapable of looking after myself, and they needed to shelter me."
"Everything I accomplished, my grades, my awards, my honors, they attributed it all to themselves, not to me (I couldn't achieve those things, I had ADHD after all. In their eyes, it was all them). They believed being verbally abusive somehow helped me succeed (it didn't, it just stunted my growth)."
"I took my diploma, my scholarships, and my PC and got the f**k outta dodge. Best decision I ever made. I did just fine, and I am a successful electrical engineer with a husband, a house, and an active healthy social life."
"So much for my 'crippling disability.'"
- McMew
Severe Anxiety Attacks
"I found an okay job and left immediately. I’m lucky I did. I can survive about a week with my dad before remission into panic attacks and severe anxiety. The last time I spent more time than that, we had an argument that ended with me in the hospital (no violence, just fear)."
"Yeah, no thanks. I’ve since gotten a support group of friends that I can stay with if something goes wrong, and I’m lucky I can live without him spending much time in my life. I don’t think I’d be around if I couldn’t."
- MountainMan2_
Packed the Bags
"We didn’t have a house. We lived in an apartment. I had been paying half the rent since I was 15."
"One day, I got home, and my mom was packing bags. I asked what’s up, where was she going? She said she was going to go stay with my sister and see my nieces. I was like okay, cool, see you in a few days, I guess."
"I got a call two weeks later that she wasn’t coming back and already told the landlord I’d be out in 24 hours. I called the landlord and told him I had no idea what was going on. He gave me a month to move out."
"I put all my mom's stuff in storage and started life on my own. To this day, I don’t know why she chose to up and leave me. I’ve asked her and she just says she missed my nieces and wanted to be with them."
"Really going to drop a 17-year-old and give them 24 hours to move out. Took a long time to get over."
- captainkrakin
18 and Homeless
"She kicked me out the day after my 18th birthday because I turned 18. She dropped me at a homeless shelter with a small laundry basket of clothing and no money."
- AkKik-Maujaq
Time to Cosign
"I went to college. When I graduated, I moved back until I could find my own place."
"After a week of living there, I felt it was time to go. I had a fine childhood and my parents are nice and all. But my dad went right back to treating me like a high schooler. If he wanted me to do something around the house, I had to do it right then, like I didn't just work 8 hours like everybody else."
"The funny thing is, he told me that I had six months to find my own place (which is fine, this was in 2006). I asked him to cosign on an apartment and moved out after two weeks of living there."
"He then told me he was joking about the six months. I think he missed me."
- CaptainAwesome06
Unreasonable Standards
"My dad raised the rent to pay half of his mortgage while I was 17 and had barely gotten my first job. Talk about killing your kid's economic future."
"It was an easy decision to move out. He was also an alcoholic and smoked like a chimney. You live and move on."
- Intrepid-Ad-3871
Anxiety-Inducing
"I could practically feel their breath on the back of my neck."
- burn-babies-burn
Classic Scapegoat
"I was already in the process of finding a place to live when I got kicked out by my mom. And it was for something I didn't even do! (It's so ridiculous that I can kinda laugh about it now, but the situation was so messed up.)"
"My parents have a terrible marriage and apparently, my dad decided to use something I said in an argument against my mom. Thing is? I never said the things he claimed I did. I was asleep for most of this screaming match (they happened daily, so you learned to sleep through it) and was entirely unaware that I had been thrown under the bus."
"I woke up the next morning to my mother waiting for me in the kitchen, going absolutely bananas, yelling at me, and I could not get a word in. I had to leave with no warning and just stuff as much as I could into my backpack and two plastic bags and drag my belongings with me to my first-year uni math lecture. I had to explain to all my friends why on earth I was dragging so much stuff around all day, fun times."
"To this day, six years later, they still have not acknowledged that it happened and just pretend that it was a 'disagreement' where I was equally at fault."
- mihio94
A Golden Scapegoat
"I was every parent's dream. A law-abiding, obedient, straight-A student going to college on scholarship."
"I nannied, tutored, chauffeured, and cleaned up after my three younger sisters. My part-time job went to groceries for the family instead of luxuries or even savings for myself."
"But somehow Mom was unable to communicate with me in any form other than lecturing. I was never good enough."
"I left at 17 and never looked back. I have a chill, successful, happy life surrounded by people who appreciate me and tell me so. Mom doesn't understand why I don't call her (for more lectures)."
- bluescrew
The Circle of Life
"I got pregnant at 18, married, moved out, and had the baby at 19."
"Then I divorced, went back home, and then out, and then back in a few times over the following years."
"Finally at 26, I moved out again with a degree, a career, and the best husband ever."
"And then five years later, my parents moved in with me. Life is crazy."
- Gladyskravitz99
There are all sorts of reasons that a young adult will decide to move out beyond simply turning 18.
Though some will move out because of toxic homes and parents who make them move out, there are others who move for far more independent reasons, like going off to college or wanting to start a life of their own.
Outdoorsy People Break Down The Most Terrifying Experiences They've Ever Had In The Woods
Being surrounded by nature by going camping or hiking is a yearning many people have to escape their everyday metropolitan trappings.
However, as much as a breath of fresh air is a good thing for everyone, not everything encountered in the woods can be utopian or blissful.
Because we just might encounter a wolf disguised as grandma, or even worse things.
Curious to hear what other horrors might be lurking in nature, Redditor Inevitable-Print-702-702 asked:
"Outdoorsmen of Reddit, what’s your most terrifying encounter in the woods?"
Some things are better left undiscovered.
Lost Hearing
"Man I don't even go out that often but the one time I do I found a severed ear on a hiking path."
– hausenbergerdorff
Fertilizing The Grounds
"A grown man taking a sh*t, when I was maybe 8-9. He was squatting in the trees off the trail, dressed in business casual. We made eye contact, he looked absolutely terrified, and I turned and started walking away. For some reason, he said, 'Wait!'"
"I did not wait and took off running."
"He might've been some kind of pervert with a sinister post-dump plan, but I think he just panicked and probably didn't know why he said that. I like to imagine him fleeing through the woods, watching for the police and thinking, 'why the hell did I tell him to wait???'"
– FoldedaMillionTimes
Ominous Dwellers
"In the 90s, I was on a week-long backpacking trip with my uncle in the Colorado high-country. He was a professional rock climbing-trail guide at the time, so he knew his stuff while off-the-grid."
"The second day in, we were following some old trail that hadn't been groomed in years, and came across the outskirts of some random commune deep in the woods. We knew there were people there because we could see campfires and laughing/talking in the distance."
"My uncle immediately freaks out, tells me to keep quiet, and then made us back track nearly five miles, and then around. It was the first and only time I've actually seen him panic off-the-grid."
"Afterward, he lectured me that it was some kind of small sect or cult that had a rep for being very territorial in the area at the time, and was known to shoot at trespassers without provocation."
– Avery_Di_Umbra
Animals are cute...when you're not invading they're territory.
When Comes Mama
"I was all dressed up in a ghillie photographing bee-eaters and then some little boar piglets start getting near me sniffing at me. 10 seconds later I hear a very loud noise and the mom was running towards me. I left there my camera and climbed the nearby tree faster than a monkey. I stayed up there like an airborne turd half afternoon."
– Ares982
Adrenaline Rush
"While on horseback came across a deer carcass. Horse was spooked and about 30 yards away saw a grizzly stand up...... Felt my heart pumping hard."
– Quiet-Cancer
Bear-ly Breathing
"Had an over-curious bear climb up the tree I was in during a hunt and man I almost jumped out of the tree. He just wanted to say hi but sh*t yo I definitely was scared to death."
– MaximumMajestic
Bye, Kitty Kitty
"Face to face with a cougar while making my way to the deer stand. I had to check my drawers afterwards."
– otcconan
Welcome Cow-mittee
"I was on a month-long canoeing trip though the sub-arctic tundra. I was looking for a good place to set up my tent, I hadn't realized I had just accidently stumbled within 10 meters or so of a massive Caribou bull and two cows."
"We all just stared at each other for a minute or so, then they ran off."
– Drach88
Unpredictable dangers befell these innocent Redditors while in the forest.
Open Season
"When I was like 14 I was hunting deer with my dad and heard a weird sizzle. I heard 2 more and my dad screamed at me to get down. It was the sound of another hunter shooting in our direction. He hadn't seen us despite the orange. I will never forget that sound. It's a very different experience being on the other end of the bullet."
– Post-Scarcity-Pal
Close Calls
"Slipped and tumbled backwards head over heels down a rock face. There was about a twenty foot drop after that but I got wedged in between a tree and the rock face. Ended up walking away with just a couple bruises."
"Another time in the Sierra Nevadas I fell through a hole that was covered in snow. My rifle stopped me from falling straight through and I yelled for help. When I was getting pulled out all I saw was a black hole beneath me that covered in snow again. No idea how deep it was or if anyone would have heard me if I just poofed through the snow into a crevasse."
– COCKBLOKALYPSE
Raining Bullets
"Bullets whizzing over my head. Some smooth brains were target shooting in the middle of an established hiking trail. Wasn't a one off experience either!"
– _old_relic_
Woods in general freak me out due to the lack of clear line of sight.
For that reason alone, I tend to avoid wooded areas and prefer prairies, meadows, or a clearing when I go hiking.
So if I find anything that doesn't belong out on my hike, it won't raise alarm because being out in the open somehow makes it less ominous for me.
Now, if I see a wild animal that might want to cause me harm or views me as lunch, I'm pretty much screwed since I won't be able to scamper up any trees or hide behind one.
Well, so much for that.