Humanity is a complete upheaval. This is the time for everyone to band together and fight for the greater good... or at least a few simple daily rewards, like kindness. Sometimes, when you're at your lowest it's in the eyes of a stranger that you find hope.
Redditor u/DC9Fancap wanted everyone to share some much needed faith in humanity stories, asking.... What is the nicest thing you've ever done for a complete stranger and vice versa?
The Fall....
GiphyHad a patient who was an older gentleman who fell and hurt his arm. Patient was crying at the scene because we had to cut the sleeve off of his shirt to get to his arm, and patient stated that he couldn't afford to replace the shirt. Came back to work two days later and my crew and I went to WalMart, bought him some new shirts, and went back to his house to deliver them. He was so surprised and so happy. And his X-rays were negative on his arm, which was even better. MyStacheHasAStache
The Save....
A homeless guy camped out in front of a Dunkin' Donuts ran inside to tell me the meter maid was coming. Saved me $45 and he wouldn't even let me buy him breakfast. raymond17funches
Umbrella-ella-ella....
Maybe not the nicest, but this has had the greatest impact on me. An elderly Asian woman was walking past my home when a sudden down burst of rain started with no end in sight. She took shelter in our entry under the canopy at the front door while it poured. I looked out the window to see the rain and noticed the woman. I walked to the closet and took out a large umbrella, opened the door, and offered her the umbrella. She spoke no English and was confused. I gestured that she could have the umbrella. She smiled and walked off into the rain. A week later, a woman dropped off a note and a package at our door. It was written in Chinese. I took it to a friend to read.
The woman had been in the states to attend the death of a child and had a terrible trip. The rain and lack of communication had her very upset. The simple act of offering an umbrella was an act of kindness she had never experienced. No one had ever simply given her something for no reason and she had no good experiences here except that simple act of kindness while in the states. She has sent me letters, pictures and gifts for years since that day. I replied with a letter written by my friend thanking her for the gift. We now share photos from major life events. Kindness has no boundaries and makes the world a wonderful place! NotJustAnyDNA
The Bike Ride....
Saw an old man riding his bike while trying to hold a large bucket and felt obligated to ask if he needs a ride. He said yes. We loaded his stuff up and off we went. He said he was heading to dollar general. I said no problem, anywhere else you need to go? He was going to ride his bike 15 miles to the Human Resources office to get his food stamps. I said I got you man. Asked him his favorite music. I put on "sitting on the dock of the bay." He just sat there eating his chips from dollar general and bobbing his head to the music. On the way back we got some McDonalds. He said it was the best day of his life. It was the best day of mine. beefcase2
We all need Store Moms....
GiphyIn high school I worked at a grocery store next door to a subway. It's where I would eat during my lunch everyday cause I knew the people who worked there and they were really nice (occasionally get a free cookie or chips for no reason) and the places were partnered so we got a discount.
We also got punch cards that said every 6th or 7th sandwich was free. I had a free sandwich that day I was looking forward to, however I overheard a coworker I didn't know yet (we were both 17) talking to another coworker (the "store mom" who everyone loved and knew) about how hungry she was. Apparently her family was really poor and she hasn't been paid yet so she wasn't gonna get to eat today. I waited till the girl went to go do something in the back and gave my free meal card to the "store mom" and told her to say a customer left this or something and give it to the girl so she wouldn't be embarrassed.
She did and the girl cried and then got a FAT sandwich. It apparently made her whole week. I never tell this story cause it makes me sound like I'm stroking my own ego. refertothecalendar
Keep Smiling....
I was driving a truck (18 wheeler) in an urban residential area of Houston TX. I had taken the wrong exit looking for the place I was supposed to deliver and evidently my paperwork also had the wrong address. Traffic was bad and I was somewhere trucks were most definitely not supposed to be. I pulled over onto a sidewalk and set my flashers to try and figure out where to go before I really screwed anything up. I was blocking several driveways and this family in a minivan. I got out and and the man (I'm assuming Dad) driving the mini van got out too. I was asking him for directions but he didn't speak English.
So he got his 10 year old daughter and she translated for us. When he didn't know where I was trying to go he got on the phone and called one of his friends. They drive up in another mini van with a family. At this point there are two separate random families helping me figure out where I'm supposed to go while my truck is blocking their road during Houston rush hour. They never stopped smiling. Eventually we figured out the best way for me to get back to the interstate without causing problems. Never learned any of their names but I still think about them whenever I'm sitting in bad traffic. They were beautiful families who really saved my ass in a bad situation. Limorides
Save the Cookies....
Recently, I was in line at a grocery store and the lady before me had two items. One was essential (can't remember what) and the other was a box of cookies.
The cashier told her they don't accept visa there. The woman was pretty upset about not being able to get what she needed before having to bus pick her children up. I told the cashier to throw it on my bill. The woman was so grateful and wanted to put the cookies back but I bought her the cookies too. I could tell I really made her day. I offered her a ride as well but she declined and ran off to catch the bus. Affinity-Charms
Teachers Rule!
I was struggling keeping up in college, trying to learn Arabic, so my teacher, a very sweet 70 year old lady, gave me 2 hours of private tutoring per week for free for a year and a half. She retired after that, but I'm still very grateful. Best teacher ever. RtotheStotheD
Insurance for All!
I have some pretty severe chronic health issues. So I've been saving money ever since I got my first job to have a cushion just in case I was unable to work/without insurance.
I just found out a little girl has the same type of cancer I had a few years ago (pretty rare). She and her family are immigrants without health insurance and have apparently been trying to raise the money for her treatment for a bit. I'm in a good place financially and have great health insurance and am working in a field that is flexible and understanding of my health issues, so I did something arguably irresponsible and donated my health savings account to this girl anonymously.
My vice versa is that I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket for my treatment. What wasn't covered by my insurance was covered by charity that I never even asked for. That treatment was horrible but it saved my life and I was so grateful that I was given that opportunity and didn't have to worry about the money. I felt like this little girl deserved the same. VDaineSarassri
Pokemon brings us together....
GiphyMaybe not a complete stranger, but we definitely didn't know each other beyond being in the same classes.
In 6th grade, I had 2 copies of Pokémon Silver. I had lost my copy, and my cousin who was given a copy by a friend gave me his since he already had Gold version. I end up finding my old copy a couple months later, and around that time I hear this guy saying how much he wished he could play a Pokémon game on his gameboy that his older cousin had given to him (it was an old Gameboy pocket). The next day, I bring my second copy to school, and give it to him at lunch.
That guy became my best friend, and we still keep in contact today, 17 years later. Anteres
"Non-American people, what’s a thing that you don’t understand about America?"
You Mean, People DON'T File Their Own Taxes Elsewhere?!?!
"Does every worker have to file their own taxes or am I just confused?"- ThePencil67
"Why they make you calculate your own taxes, if they know what you owe."- redder2023
Flagrant Commercialism...
"So, why do you buy politicians' merchandise? "
"Shirts, caps, banners, stickers, etc."
"They're public servants, not rockstars."
"Also, usually the more boring they are, the better."- akashyy
Conor Mckenna Influencer GIF by FoilArmsandHogGiphyWork/Life Balance
"Scottish person here but the work/always available for work culture."
"Minimal vacation time, minimal maternity/paternity leave and the fact you can pretty much just be let go."
"It makes me sad to think about it!"
"But I do love that you guys cram so much into your time off - you guys love a road trip!"- Frosty_Dragonfly_682
Definitely Something To Consider...
"What is up with Homeowner Associations?"
"Why would you pay to let a nosy neighbor dictate what you can and can not do on your own property?"
"I understand living in an apartment block and paying maintenance fees etc, but in a suburban home?"- Skoodledoo
There Are Some Good Observations
"The amount of National Parks!"
"My dream came true in 2017 to make an RV trip southwest off USA."
"Yosemite blew my mind away."- Independent-Ad9787
national parks GIF by Visit The USAGiphyHAHAHA
"How you can say the word 'mirror' without the use of any vowels."
"Mrrrrrr."- Otto1968
I Ordered A Small!
"Why everything is just SO damn supersized."
"My first time in America I went to get ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts, I ordered a large and my friend is like, 'are you sure you want large'?"
"Yeah no biggie, in the UK a large is not overwhelming I feel so I was expecting the same kinda thing."
"Oh my god it was like a god damn bucket of coffee."
"I think maybe a small would have been equivalent to a UK large, lesson swiftly learnt."
Some People Are Lucky To Just Have One Roommate...
"How you have to share a room with some complete rando when you go to college."- ChoppingOnionsForYou
Roommates Move In GIF by James Madison UniversityGiphySome People Just Can't Stop Talking
"The culture of just talking to people, strangers you don't know and just up and start a conversation with them or join a conversation."
"I'm British, and we go through great lengths to not talk to people, let alone open up and pour our hearts out to a random person."- MrGlayden
In Other Words: Severs Deserve to Be Paid More!
"The tipping culture is so foreign to me, I would be so scared to make a mistake or not tipping enough if I ever go to America because it's not something which is common here in Denmark."- Cupsuu
The Commercials, Maybe?
"I’m American but I’ve worked with a lot of people who aren’t."
"The one thing they always wonder is why Americans are so obsessed with the NFL."
"They think it’s a boring sport."
"They explained 'you wait for 30 seconds, they hike the ball, you get about 5-10 seconds of action, then you wait another 30 seconds, another 5-10 seconds of action, then commercial break'."- yougotthesilver12
Kansas City Chiefs Football GIF by Fighting Illini AthleticsGiphySchool Is No Place To Have Fun!
"My mom is from Moscow during the Soviet Era, and she is confused why there is no teacher-student hierarchy."
'She thinks it's weird when teachers participate in school plays or speak to students informally."
"She also DOES NOT GET pajama day."
"To her, it's just the weirdest thing in the world."
"In Russia, there is an important distinction between 'clothes for home' and 'clothes for outside'."
"They have a concept of 'home clothes', like your cozy or ugly clothes, that you are supposed to change into after school or work."
"At bedtime, you change out of your 'home clothes' into pajamas."
"As a result, pajamas, for both adults and children, are considered extra-extra private in Russia."
"My mom perceives pajama day as something extreme like wearing only undergarments to school."
"That's how private pajamas are considered to be in Russia!"- racheltolmach2022
A Debate Which Will Likely Never End
"MM/DD/YYYY"- SuvenPan
animation domination calendar GIF by gifnewsGiphyLiving in America comes with a number of advantages and a number of detriments.
Speaking personally though, had I known I wouldn't have to file my own taxes in Australia, I would have expatriated long ago...
"What made you realize that something you always did wasn't normal?"
Undiagnosed Medical Condition
"'You know that high pitch sound everyone always hears? Wait... you don't?'"
"Apparently, I have tinnitus."- FarAmphibian4236
Hard To Imagine It Never Occurred To Them...
"When I was very young I thought it was normal to have blood on the toilet paper after pooping."
"Turns out it was hemorrhoids, apparently I have always had them."
"Yay!"- SuperevenDuper
And, Exhale...
"My mom is a yawn-yeller."
"When she yawns, you can hear it from anywhere in the house."
"One time my sister had a friend over, and we were in the basement'."
"My mom yawned upstairs, and my sister's friend asked 'was that a coyote?'"- ViolaWPeyton
sam winchester yawn GIFGiphySweet Or Disturbing?
"When I first started dating my now husband, ever time we kissed he made a 'muah' kiss sound with his voice."
"Like he literally said 'muah' every time we kissed."
"I asked him why and he said he thought everyone did that because his mom did it growing up."- thti87
Unusual, But Pretty Cool...
"As a kid I would read a street sign as we drove past and I would then make as many possible words out of the letters in that sign."
"Stop, top, tops, sop, pot, pots, to, so, post, etc."
"I told my sister one day that I couldn't come up with any more words to make with some sign and she made fun of me the rest of the way home."
'I quit after that. I'm still a pretty mean Boggle player though."- Limited_turkey
Whatever Helps You Sleep...
"Pre Bedtime cereal, I had a sleepover when I was a kid and was confused when we skipped bedtime cereal."- Mre64
Old Man Reaction GIF by LaffGiphyThere Are Worse Offenses
"I thought eating cereal without milk was normal until I went to summer camp and everyone stared at me like I killed the camp counselor."- spoilerdudegetrekt
It's Only Polite
"For me it was something I never did. In my twenties, I realized you're meant to make eye-contact when talking to people (I was feral)."- wys15wyg
Who Hasn't At Least Once...
"I got stopped by a cop once because I was talking to myself."
'I literally thought everyone just mumbled out their thoughts out loud."- azuresegugio
Talk Talking To Yourself GIF by The ChallengeGiphyUnlikely Source of Inspiration
'I'm an artist."
"I got asked one time why I draw hands looking 'like that' with all the fingers bent backwards.'
So I held up my hand in the same position as the one I just drew and it looked the same.'
"And that's how I found out I had EDS."- koinadian
The Bradys Can Certainly Relate
'Grew up in a house where seven people all shared one bathroom."
"Thought it was normal to get in the shower without waiting for the water to warm up."
"Everyone go fast before the water gets cold."
"Always wanted to try and be one of the first in line for the shower."- littleflower0929
Gesundheit!
"I was diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation, which I like to say means my brain is too big."
"My wife says I have a misshapen skull...whatever...the bottom line is that my brain stem is excessively squeezed where it exits the skull through the hole on the bottom."
"I have a very minor case, but it causes randomly occurring neurologic issues."
"Upon learning of this diagnosis, my wife was reading up on the symptoms...many of which I knew were abnormalities."
"I was worried I had ALS because that is neurological."
"After reading a bit, she says, 'Do you have problems sneezing?'"
"I say, 'No, I sneeze all the time'."
"I mean, about every 4th or 5th sneeze, my vision goes white and I get dizzy and lose my balance, but I catch myself before I fall'."
"Sometimes I feel like I'm going to pass out, but I never have'."
"The look on her face was one of pure shock - wide eyes and mouth open'."
"Then I said, 'Now that I say that out loud, that probably isn't normal, is it?'"
"She responded with an emphatic, 'No it's not normal!'"
"It was normal for me because it has been that way for my entire life, so I never thought to mention it.."
"And no one had ever asked me what it felt like when I sneezed."
"And why would they?"
"Everybody sneezes, so everybody knows what it feels like."- TroubledWaterBridge
snow white and the seven dwarfs sneezing GIF by DisneyGiphyHeartbreaking
"The first time I was staying at a friends house when I was in middle school I kept waiting for his parents to start fighting."
"His dad came home, food wasn't done yet, I was waiting for that fight."
'The Youngest brother didn't do his chores."
"I kept waiting for the screaming to start, I had braced myself for it, and it never happened."
"That's when I started realizing that parents aren't supposed to fight every night and drag their kids into it."
"Every day I got off the bus and would have to mentally brace myself before walking through the front door."
"Hoping my mom wouldn't find some random reason to shout at me for 3 hours."
"FYI I'm pretty good now."
"Moved out immediately when I was 18 and lived with a different friend."
"It's been 10ish years now."- Wesley_Otsdarva
If the worst thing you might be doing is getting on someone else's nerves, it doesn't really matter whether or not what you're doing is "normal."
But if you're worried something might not be normal about your health, probably best to call your doctor immediately.
Redditor Shadowclook21 wanted to hear about the times we've seen people waste money on nonsense, so they asked:
"What is the dumbest thing you've seen someone spend their money on?"
I get we all like nice things, but we have to be smart with our coins.
Wake Up!
Good Morning Time GIF by Berk's Beans CoffeeGiphy"An alarm clock coffee machine. It was me."
ineedanusername_
When on FB
"My wife is in a lot of mom groups on Facebook. The amount of people who beg for help for their poor babies who won’t get any Christmas/birthday gifts who also show off brand new giant tattoos is amazing. She shows me every time she finds one of these people and it happens all the time. Usually multiple recent photos of them out drinking and partying as well."
"So yeah, there’s a lot of people out there who blow big money in tattoos and partying instead of setting aside a little bit of money for their kids."
clocks212
Scratched
"Knew a girl who would spend all her money on scratchers and drugs. She would constantly go on about how when she finally won big she was going to move and get clean.... He grandmother gave her a 20 - 30k inheritance. Nothing changed except how many scratchers she would buy. I saw her buy out whole rolls occasionally. She wised up with the last few thousand and put some advance rent on an apartment (was in a motel) and fixed her car. But that money was gone in less than 2 months."
Sub_pup
60 Bucks
"PSA: Accidental subscriptions. Remember, kids, if you sign up for a free trial, be prepared to cancel that s**t the second they allow you. Otherwise, they'll start charging automatically."
xisiko1120
Kaboom
Im Ready Independence Day GIFGiphy"My neighbors once spent all their money on a private firework show, then had to hide their cars from the repo man for months. No longer neighbors."
redheadedstepchild54
Neighbors are always going to neighbor.
Classics
sia diplo GIF by LSDGiphy"I bought a cassette tape two weeks ago. I don't even have a way to play cassettes but I still bought it."
sibipi3040
They're Everywhere
"My Mum has spent $1000s on crystals and stones. She continues to, and gives them as gifts, I have no idea wtf to do with them so I put them in my plants pots then she gets upset for some reason. Send help please."
Necessary_Oil_9779
"Get her a rock tumbler and have her tumble her own and try to identify them. Cheaper in the long run. Makes for a more interesting hobby too, if she gets into it. It will get her out of the house and into nature. Crystals are everywhere, they literally litter the earth. A lot of ordinary-looking rocks turn out quite beautiful once they've been tumbled."
TerrifyinglyAlive
Just a Waste
"I dated a guy who would still use his debit card even when his account was over drafted because he didn’t realize he was charged overdraft fees for every transaction. I had to explain to him his single snickers bar or bag of chips or whatever from the vending machine was now costing him an extra $35. And he did this multiple times every single shift he worked."
beaniequeeny
5 More Minutes
"Gambling machines. I work in a bar room. People will play these machines for 12+ hours and never win. Then they Win $700 the next night and think they’re on top... it’s insane. They look like zombies sitting there in a trance. Once had to unplug the machine on a patron who would not leave for closing. Kept saying '5 more minutes.'"
BrianFrom97
OnlyCrap
"I worked with a guy who'd spend 200-300 bucks a week on OnlyFans. He'd brag about it, I guess he thought of he'd spent enough he might get lucky or something."
TheRealJokar
Why do some people spend with such abandon? It makes no sense to me, but it's not my money.
Have you ever witnessed someone blow a load of cash on something crazy? Let us know in the comments below.