A long time ago, in a land far, far away (AKA Ancient Greece), it was believed that redheads turned into vampires when they died. This was because redheads are naturally pale and sensitive to sunlight, both of which are characteristics of fabled vampires.
This is known as a ridiculous historical fact. I only know it because of research I did for a paper back in high school.
Apparently, there are a lot of ridiculous historical facts, and Reddit users know a lot of them!
Curious to find out exactly what facts they know, Redditor yeet42021 asked:
“What are some ridiculous history facts?”
Car Accidents Can Never Be Avoided
"In 1895, the entire state of Ohio had only 2 cars."
"Both cars managed to still smash into each other"
– cannedrex2406
"And apparently no one here has learned how to drive better since."
– Supringsinglyawesome
Never Forgot The Scolding
"When Alexander the Great was a child he was reprimanded by a teacher for wastefully throwing two whole fistfuls of rare incense into a sacrificial fire. When he was an adult and captured Gaza, which happened to be the prime agricultural source of the incense he wasted, he sent home 18 tons of it home to the same teacher as a gift."
– oh_its_him_again
"Was that a "Have some of this valuable incense!", or a "It's not so rare after all, is it?""
– ThisIsUrIAmUr
"More like a “F*ck you, I’m Alexander. I’m so great I added it to my name.”"
– Smayteeh
Shoot Me Twice, Shame On You
"Former US President Andrew Jackson was approached by a man who pulled a gun on him.(smaller history fact this was the first assassination attempt on a US President). The man pulled the trigger and the cap went off but the gunpowder failed to light. The man pulled a second gun and fired, but the gunpowder again failed to light. The assassin tried to get away, but not before Andrew Jackson got him and beat the sh*t out of him with a cane."
– nkonkleksp
Mistaken Prediction
"Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day."
"July 4th, 1826. The 50th Anniversary of them both signing the declaration of Independence."
"Adams's last words were: “Thomas Jefferson survives.”"
"He was wrong by about 5 hours."
– MiataCory
Never Forget
"The first bomb dropped on Berlin by the British during WW2 claimed no human casualties. But it did kill an elephant."
– Dapianoman
So Many Interesting Tidbits Here
"When the romans laid siege to Themyscera, a real place weirdly enough, they attempted to tunnel into the city. The Themyscerans released bears into the tunnels."
– OnionsHaveLairAction
"RELEASE THE BEARS OF WAR"
– __xor__
Royal Heritage
"When the Netherlands was occupied by rhe Nazis in 1940 many people fled to Canada, including Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Their daughter, Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa."
"Not knowing if the baby would be male, and hence the heir to the throne, Canada declared the maternity ward of the Ottawa hospital extraterritorial, which means it became an international territory. This meant that the baby would derive its nationality only from its mother, making it 100% Dutch."
– SlothOfDoom
"I'm writing a paper on this for Uni right now."
"The Dutch still send thousands of tulip bulbs to Ottawa as a thank you every year, and as a result, Ottawa has its own tulip festival."
– PegBundysBonBons
Winter Is Evil
"The longest ever US presidential inauguration speech was made by William Henry Harrison on March 4th, 1841. The day had terrible weather, yet Harrison chose to deliver his speech nonetheless, running 8445 words."
"In fact the speech was so long, and the weather so terrible, that Harrison caught pneumonia and died on April 4th, making him the shortest reigning US president ever"
– TiBiDi
Well, That Tracks
"The only Japanese passenger on the Titanic, Masabumi Hosono, survived the disaster, only to loose his job for "Not dying honorably like the others.""
– Compens8ing
Repeated Trauma
"Abraham Lincoln's son (Robert Todd Lincoln) was present at three different presidential assassinations. After McKinley, he decided not to accept any more invitations."
– m_sporkboy
Malta
"The entire country of Malta was awarded the George Cross for its efforts in WWII. It's still on their flag."
PotentBeverage
"Interestingly enough, it sounds like the conditions for the awarding of the cross are kind of similar to how the Knights Hospitallier operated back in the sword and shield days. If you're unfamiliar, they were more or less a precursor to the red cross and the first real paramedics."
Graawwrr·
Potato Propoganda
"Potatoes were not very popular as a food in France. Like they were seen as fit only for animals. Not only that but they were considered generally not digestible by humans. So a pharmacist named Parmentier knew they were good food and wanted to popularize them among the working class. So he got a 2 acre farm to grow potatoes and placed armed guards around it at all times. People assumed armed guards meant something very valuable was growing there so they began to steal the potatoes."
"That's how potatoes became popular in france's working class."
burningmanonacid
Forgot to claim peace
"Montenegro technically was in war with Japan for 101 years and they signed a peace treaty in 2006. Montenegro was alligned with Russia in Russo-Japanese War and they declared war on Japan but they forgot to peace."
Erlichten
Spies
"Once FDR died, Truman didn’t know about the Manhattan Project, but when he found out he subtly tried to tell Stalin they were working on something big. Stalin was like “yeah dude, I knew before you did.” Since he had so many spies in America."
Lafuffa
Seclusion
"Henry Cavendish. The man who was vital in the discovery of gases and discovered hydrogen. He inherited a ton of money from his uncle, and built a special castle, I think. He was incredibly introverted, so it was designed so that he never had to meet or see any of his servants. He communicated with them through notes only. He did, however, appreciate other scientists coming to visit and talk. His works mostly came after his death of course, but I found this guy interesting."
Warden_2102
The Rules of Battle
"During the Viking era, there was a leader named Sigurd. He allied with a Viking warlord named Thorstein. He wanted to conquer more land and expand his territory. He had already been very successful in doing so. This was until he feuded with another leader called Máel Bucktoothed or Máel Tusk, as his front two teeth were abnormally large and bucktoothed."
"They decided to settle their matters on the battle field and both agreed on bringing 40 men each for the battle. However, Sigurd ignored the terms and brought 80 men. Bucktoothed had realised he had been betrayed but did not give up. They killed a number of Sigurd’s men, but alas, they were overpowered and were all killed."
"Here’s the catch; after the battle, Sigurd ordered his men to behead all the enemies and tie them to their saddles as trophies. However, as Sigurd rode home in victory, the severed head of Bucktoothed pierced his leg, which lead to an infection, killing him soon after."
sourcec0de1010
Yeah, I would’ve done the same thing.
Do you have any juicy historical tidbits to add? Let us know in the comments below.
All this popularity of fan fiction and fan theory.
Fans have continued to add to their favorite cinematic and television universe through different theories and fiction writing.
Some fill in gaps and major plotholes, and some make you look at some of your favorite classics with entirely new eyes.
Redditor phantom_avenger wanted to discuss what fan fiction may not need to be made, so they asked:
"What's a dark and disturbing fan theory from a kid's movie or show that you believe is 100% true?"
Fan theories freak me out.
Where do people come up with some of this stuff?
Donkey boys
Good Morning Smile GIF by DreamWorks AnimationGiphy"That donkey from Shrek is one of the talking donkey boys from Pinocchio."
Psychological_Put395
"I didn’t know who the 'donkey boys' were, but I looked it up and it’s horrifying on its own… to see one of those boys grown up and still a Donkey seems pretty dark to me!"
spolite
She's a Help
"The trolls in Frozen manipulated everything to get Christoph on the throne beside Anna, including making Hans go crazy, all the way back to their parent's deaths."
PicnutIn
"Frozen 2, guess who happens to show up in 2 mins after Elsa ‘activates’ the four elemental spirits to ‘help out’ the citizens of Arendelle."
"Guess who tells the queen and her only heir ‘we’ll look after the capital while you go the enchanted forest that no-one is able to escape from’. Guess who tells Elsa she needs to undercover the truth about her past which in the end makes her dive too deep and get frozen solid in Ahtohallen. Grand Pabbie is a villain confirmed."
Cryptand_Bismol
Crazy/Cracked
"Casper is the ghost of Richie Rich."
Apprehensive_Goal811
"I read a Casper 'parody' comic strip in 'Crazy' magazine when I was a kid that was a bit like this. 'Cracked' was a low-rent terrible shadow of MAD magazine, but 'Crazy' was the next tier down, just nasty."
"In the story, the kid's dad throws him head first into a TV (CRT type), killing him, and his spirit is left floating around: Casper the ghost."
"It made me so upset and worried as a kid and made me feel yucky inside. I wish I had never read it. It still comes to mind even today, and the sour feeling with it."
The_One-Armed_Badger
Thins them out...
"Peter Pan kills the Lost Boys when they become adults. The pirates are Lost Boys who ran away and formed a conclave to protect themselves from Peter."
"The book technically says that when Lost Boys grow up Peter 'thins them out' which could be killing or could be kicking them out of Neverland. But if he kicks them out, where do the pirates come from?"
Lord_Mikal
"Peter Pan is definitely killing the Lost Boys that start to grow up, and the ones who dare to rebel against him, the ones who get tired of playing with him too. Those who survive then become pirates."
Rare_Hovercraft_6673
And Piggy?
Press Conference Kermit GIFGiphy"Kermit the frog caused 9/11."
"In lt's a very merry muppet Christmas movie, they edit out the twin towers, however, they forget to do it in the 'what would life be like if I didn't exist bit.'"
"Meaning canonically, kermit the frog caused 9/11."
kg123xyz
Now that one is wild.
Torn
beauty and the beast smile GIF by DisneyGiphy"That the Beast from 'Beauty and the Beast' killed some of his servants because of a brief scene revealing torn apart furniture and several other inanimate objects."
Kandy_669
Science
"The Telly Tubbies are human scientists on a terraforming mission in the far future. They crash landed while still in hypersleep, trapped inside their bio- encounter suits, their minds reduced to those of children. The world they live in is the result of the attempts of the ship AI (sunbaby) to simultaneously complete the mission and rehabilitate the crew."
WittyNomDePlume
Yo home to Bel-AIr
"That Will Smith died during the fight on the playground and being sent to his family in Bel-Air was actually heaven. That’s why his parents would only see him on his birthday/other holidays, because they were visiting his grave."
G8585
"Would also make sense as to why he and the fiancé just randomly called off their wedding at the altar. Entangling someone else wouldn't match with whatever purgatorial state he was in."
"Then the parents bizarrely getting married instead let him know his loved ones were going to be ok without him. Kinda sweet in a way. Still, I never understood that storyline."
Dangercakes13
The Dark King
"Prior to the events of Lion King 2 Simba and Nala had another child (this is the cub seen at the end of the first movie), however that cub was murdered by Zira resulting in the banishment of the Outsiders.
"Hence why Zazu refers to them as 'murderous' outsiders and why Simba is so overprotective of Kiara. Also, while not in itself 'evidence' the movie does make a quick reference to Kopa from the Lion King books. At the start of the song We Are One Simba pushes Kiara off a rock and her tail lands on her head."
"The way the tail floor is positioned makes it look like she has the same mane as Kopa did in the book (so even if this theory may not have been intentionally part of the story it is possible Kopa still served as a partial inspiration for some of the writers and animators)."
"And yes, IK Kopa survived in the books, but I prefer the idea of him dying or at the very least never returning. Since if that isn't the case it'd mean he's the 'true' king and that'd undercut Kiara's story."
Theher0not
Interesting
Flying George Jetson GIFGiphy"The Flintstones and Jetsons take place at the same time, reflecting the widening divide between the wealthiest and poorest of society."
FalseAlarmEveryone
Now that is a show I'd watch.
Do you have any other theories? Let us know in the comment below.
Few things can give you a better cry than a sad movie ending.
It's cathartic and horrible all at once.
I still weep at 'Ghost.'
That ending will always be relevant.
Also, there is something beautiful about crying as a group of strangers in the dark together.
Note: there are movie spoilers below.
Redditor Fl1p1 wanted to talk about the times movies left us in tears, so they asked:
"Which movie has the saddest ending of all time?"
I've shed so many tears in theaters. I can't keep track.
But I will say one word... "Titanic."
Knock Out
morgan freeman boxing GIFGiphy"Million Dollar Baby."
thesweet_submissive
"Damn, I was gonna say the same. I went in blind and that sad ending hit me like a truck. I wept so much alone in my room. The only movie to evoke such a strong emotion from me."
if**kbarney
I Love Literature
"Of Mice and Men."
3BlindMonks
"Oof we had to read the book in high school, and we read THAT part aloud in class. Before we began, the teacher gave a tissue box to each row of desks, and all us teens were like 'that’s a bit dramatic isn’t it haha.'"
"Then while reading that scene, most of the class ended up either quietly crying or at least visibly sad. I love literature, i majored in English, and I know reading isn’t everyone’s cup of tea; to see a novel move the ones that didn’t even enjoy literature to begin with was truly inspiring. I think seeing a novel move people so drastically is what really pushed me into creative writing."
gothboob69
So... Moving
"Where the red fern grows."
Fun-Training-6241
"I had a sociopath for a 6th grade English teacher that made the class take turns reading this book aloud. So cruel. Everyone was choked up."
WhiskyNerdFAF
"It was actually the VERY ending that got to me, where he's talking about wishing how he could go back and visit his old stomping grounds and maybe find a 2 bit axe with a rusty lantern hanging off of it. I grew up in the woods and seeing evidence of your old past self still preserved is so... moving."
spazmatt527
I'm Tired Boss
"The Green Mile."
Short_Perspective72
"I'm tired, boss. Tired of bein' on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we's coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I'm tired of people being ugly to each other."
Johnny_Grubbonic
"Saw it in the movies. Everyone in the theater cried. Even when the credits started to roll and the lights went on, we all sat there for a couple minutes collecting ourselves. Hadn’t seen anything like that, before or since then."
DopeCharma
Bye Jenny
Academy Awards Film GIF by CBSGiphy"Forrest Gump. I wouldn’t say it is the 'saddest' however the ending where they visit Jenny’s grave, gets me every time."
Emeraldfox_5
"The part where Bubba dies got me even more."
RandomMemer_42069
Forrest Gump always sets the tears flowing.
A Hard Hit
ewan mcgregor popcorn GIFGiphy"Big Fish... Fantastic movie. I generally don't do emotional with movies but damn this one hit hard. Probably topped my childhood tears of Optimus Prime being killed off in the Transformers movie when I was a kid."
sirandtheirDLW
Family Fun?
"My Girl."
longtallsally15
"On Weekends my dad always looked into the tv magazine and chose a kids movie for us to watch. No warning for it, just 'lovely movie for the whole family.'"
"So me, overly empathic 7 year old watched it… and ended up crying for like 2 hours. My father ended up calling the magazine hotline to yell at them. Since then I spoil myself with endings. Unless I know it has a good ending I just can‘t watch movies."
kamalaophelia
Gut Wrenching
"Life is Beautiful."
mazlow01
"Gawd that movie is so hard to watch but is so amazing."
PirateJohn75
"I literally just saw a clip of this movie in a documentary of where he goofily goose steps around the corner in front of his son with a nazi behind him a couple of days ago and just burst into tears. That movie is gut wrenching."
ArmadilloNext9714
"Also my answer. As a Jew who lost ancestors in the Holocaust, that movie had a physical impact on me."
CommissarCiaphisCain
Bad History
"Bridge to Terabithia."
OkFineBanMe68
"I knew nothing about the movie or book when I went in so it was a huge surprise to me and honestly it tore me to pieces when it played out."
Malikhi
"I read that book in school. Didn’t like it. Movie came out and my mom was like hey that was a school book we should go see it. I said nah no thanks I was a kid when I read it I’ll pass."
"She says fine takes my younger brother (4years younger than me so maybe 10 at this time) and two of my cousins (10 and 8) and my aunt."
"My mom came home so upset and I was just hangin' on the couch. She started yelling at me asking why I didn’t warn them and how come I let them go see that stupid movie. I got grounded for it."
VolubleWanderer
Value
"Schindler’s List."
"Though 1100 Jews were saved, Schindler broke down and mourned over not saving more. Instead of patting himself on the back about what he achieved, he came to understand the value of human life and wished he had done more."
Breathtaking
Great Job Congrats GIF by Cappa Video ProductionsGiphy"The Whale recently. The reveal of the letter had me shattered."
bharatchipkar6
The Whale was a lot. But beautiful. See it.
Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comments.
Most people have suffered wide-ranging types of addiction, from the mundane to the ones that cause harm to themselves or to others.
Compulsive shopping and drinking gallons of coffee on a daily basis are common addictions, as are more extreme examples like being dependent on illegal substances or drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
It's a slippery slope that many individuals experience and are in too deep to even notice their vices have taken control over their precious lives.
It takes a major lifeline in the form of an intervention or hitting an absolute lowest point in life to come to terms with the issues, recalibrate their choices, and, hopefully, turn things around.
Those who've miraculously turned their lives around shared their stories when Redditor CreepyAssociation173 asked:
"Ex addicts of Reddit, what was your rock bottom that made you realize you had to stop?"
Former alcoholics who survived the worst wanted to share their harrowing accounts of a former life.
Waking From A Coma
"I was a serious alcoholic for many years. 5 years ago I ended up in a coma. 2 weeks later I woke up and never looked back. I feel like a part of me died. I lost a lot of friends, family, money, etc. but I’m happy with the outcome."
"I have two brothers. Both of them have a fentanyl addiction. The youngest one (in his 20s) died 3 days ago. We both found him and tried to save him, saw things we will never forget. The other brother is now 2 days clean in detox and getting ready to start rehab after finishing. Hopefully he never looks back either."
– Quick-Potato-3638
Parents Come To The Rescue
"I didn't drink until college, but when I did I hit it like a freight train. By the time I was in my late 20s I was having withdrawal seizures. Had my first one Dec 26th 2016 and that kept up until 2020. I was hospitalized multiple times for them and had more that went 'unreported' (once at work) but I don't think anyone really noticed or cared enough to do anything substantial about it. Even myself. Every day I would vomit and feel sick, I had bruises everywhere from god knows what, but I never really cared enough to change. Between me and my husband we were going though 3 handles of cheap vodka a week. What broke me, us, it, whatever was my husband's body giving out Feb 2020 just as the world fell apart too. Our dog died Feb 15th and I think part of us did too, for husband anyways it was his liver and kidneys. They had finally had enough and called it quits. By the time he got to the ER Feb 23rd he was a Simpsons character. As he got treatment and I stayed by his side, still drinking insanely but now he was in the hospital so I was alone."
"In mid March he somehow got a transfer to Stanford and started the process for a liver and kidney transplant with about a 30% chance of survival. His family hated me at this point and I was forbidden to contact him and, I broke. There was no one, espctially now with Covid making it's debut to help or care about me. For two weeks I drank, sized, vomited, cut myself, fell downstairs... It was actually this *exact* time 3 years ago where I was all alone with no one but vodka and my cat and somehow I didn't die. Heh. Then the lockdown was offically called for California March 25th and my MIL decided to evict me the same day so my parents begrudgingly drove the 4hrs to get me, load up their car with as much of my crap (but mostly toilet paper) as possible and I lived in their basement for 3 years while I picked up the pieces of my little life. I couldn't quit cold turkey, I was still having seizures at this point, but I weened myself off slowly and now on Day 990! Comma Club here I come!"
– FroggiJoy87
Acknowledging Is The First Step
"Not an addict myself, unfortunately he only realized he really needed to stop right before it killed him. My fiance was a severe alcoholic, at his worst he drank half a gallon of vodka a day. He'd been trying to quit for a while, off and on, I kept trying to get him to stop. I'd go to doctor's appointments with him and he would always avoid saying he was an alcoholic because he didn't want it on his medical record. He hadn't been feeling well for a while, he had to quit drinking two or three days before because we were broke, and he asked me to take him to the hospital. We got into triage and the nurse was going through intake questions with him, and he said 'I am an alcoholic.' That shocked me, that's how I knew it was rock bottom, because he'd been so adamant that no medical professional know he's an alcoholic, but this time, he didn't even hesitate. His liver was failing, and a week later he died. I wish so badly that he could've gotten better and turned it around, I really think he could have if he survived, but I also think he knew it was the end."
– Swell_Inkwell
Becoming Jobless
"Getting fired. Having to tell my spouse who was unaware of my issue (I functioned very well). Then getting served divorce papers while I was entering treatment two weeks later. My home became the treatment center for 90 days and when I was finished I had nowhere to go since my spouse took possession of the house. So I was homeless, penniless, jobless. That pretty much incentivized me to continue on my path of recovery."
– Phasianidae
These habits wound up costing Redditors financial losses.
The First Addiction
"I've hit rock bottom a few times for different addictions. The first was my gambling addiction. It was so bad that I was stealing scratch tickets from my workplace, where we weren't even allowed to be playing lottery from in the first place. I got fired (understandably), and my boss could have easily pressed charges, but he didn't. He gave me a second chance for which I will forever be grateful."
– maymayiscraycray
Saving The Life Of A Pet
"Mine was only weed but I was spending around $600 a week. My rock bottom was spending my dog’s home euthanasia savings on drugs, she had a brain tumour so I had the money aside so she could go comfortably when the time was right. She was my closest family and meant the world to me, I’d have traded our places in a second if I could’ve, she was all the goodness in my life. I ended up quitting cold turkey, did some extra work and sold a bunch of my possessions to remake the money within a week, was just in time to because she needed that money a few days later."
"The realisation that I had put my addiction before the comfort of my beloved dying dog was my turning point."
– Chrysocyon_b
Not everyone who battles drug addiction manages to come out the other side alive. Fortunately, these Redditors did.
Waking Up In The Hospital
"Im making this post with no intention of deleting it like 90% of what I post in hopes it will make me more accountable."
"I OD’d recently on some presses/xanax (been addicted to fent for close to 3 years now and was using heroin before then)."
"Woke up in the hospital with no hearing and realized I have no friends, either dead or couldnt handle watching me tear myself apart from closer than an arms length. I’ve been running around the last 6 years lashing out at myself and hurting others in the process. It made me feel selfish and uncaring."
"I’ve been on a subuxone taper since and threw all the sh*t I had out the moment I got back. 14th time is the charm or some sh*t."
– burgerstm
A Friend's Response To Rambling
"I used to down amphetamine pills like crazy back in the day. The end of that train happened when I was sitting with a friend who knew me prior to these addictions, and he was looking at me like I had two heads as I rambled on and on and cried and burst out laughing and basically made a huge scene of myself in the middle of a restaurant. After that day, I called up my dad and told him I needed to come crash at his house for a couple of weeks as I detoxed. I didn’t realize just how fried my brain was because most of my life for a year was spent surrounded by other people just as off the chain as me."
– Upstairs_Cow
Addictions can take on many forms, and some might not even be able to identify them as an addiction.
But others have talked about social media addictions, phone addiction and even work addiction, where an employee took on more shifts to make more money but later realized they were missing out on life.
Anything that takes you away from living and slowly wears you down is not healthy.
As one Redditor noted, here's an encouraging note to leave on.
NightKatCares00 wrote:
"For everyone who is struggling-"
"Please, keep trying. Keep fighting. You can do it, I believe in you. It sucks and it's hard, but you CAN do it!"
"Don't give up, please. You are wonderful and deserve it. You can do this!"
Not everyone has the best memories of high school, so it stands to reason that they might not be the most excited about attending their high school reunions.
For those who actually do attend, they're able to confirm that the events are not all they're cracked up to be and are sometimes, quite frankly, a little bit strange or surreal.
Redditor Zdvj asked:
"People who attended their high school reunion, what was the biggest surprise?"
Stuck in the Past
"My 10-year reunion was held at a bar. It was all the same people at the bar as it was every weekend, but this time they were wearing nicer clothes."
- survivalguyledeuce
All Grown Up
"Back in high school, there was one girl who was extremely popular, extremely pretty, and seemed totally unapproachable from my vantage point."
"She was also really catty, embodying a lot of the 'Mean Girl' stereotypes."
"Talking with her at the reunion, it turned out that she was very insecure, and had a very tenuous home life for which she was compensating and now she is extremely kind, full of gratitude, and just really down to earth. I love seeing that sort of change in people!"
- Hetvenfour
Excruciating Detail
"The only high school reunion I attended was my 50th. I was surprised that people remembered things I'd done with amazing detail specificity."
- zoosuitbeatnick
Past Crushes
"At some point during our 10-year reunion, I asked the girl I had a crush on back in seventh or eighth grade if she knew that I had a crush on her. I just thought it was fun talking about that as adults."
"As it turns out, she texted me several times during the next few days, we met again, and now, almost six years later, we're engaged (for two years... but didn't marry yet) we have a house, a child, second child on the way and everything is great."
"Not what I expected back then!"
- juleztb
Forgetting Everyone
"That I couldn't remember anyone."
"Everyone remembered me because I was the freak in high school, and people kept coming up to me and being like, 'Scienceforbid, it's so great to see you.'"
"And I kept having to run to the wall where they'd plastered blown-up yearbook photos to figure out who the f**k anybody was."
- scienceforbid
The Aging Process
"How incredibly differently have people aged."
- Loud_Adagio2222
"I’ve never seen men age/gray so quickly as when they increase the size of their family."
- JMDeutsch
"I've noticed this at work. I'm the youngest guy in my department, and most of my coworkers are 50+. But guessing the actual ages of any of them, or even who is older than someone else is really difficult. Some of the guys look really old in their early 50s, while others are nearly 70 and relatively young."
"There are lots of factors, the job they've had, genetics, how well they take care of themselves, etc. But by far the biggest factor is kids. The guys without kids all look great for their age. While the guys with kids look like they've lived a rough life."
"It's a couple of decades worth of differences like increased financial stress and worse sleep that causes the fathers to age more quickly."
- MazerRakam
Job Choices
"Real estate agents. So many real estate agents."
- Hectordoink
"And 'entrepreneurs' and life coaches. Really, they seemed to be there to market their services."
- TrenchardsRedemption
Uninvited
"The reunion itself."
"My wife was down in the state south of us for training and got into an accident. I went down and got things sorted with her so she was good and went back to what she was doing and I drove back north. It was a Friday and I was driving through my hometown and figured I would take my mother out to a restaurant we used to both really like going to."
"As we were eating, an old friend from high school walked through, waved, and headed into the back. Then another, and another, and another. Just as I was about to get up and go see what was going on an old girlfriend and later good friend walked in, saw me, and came up to talk for a bit. Then she asked if we should head back there, which confused me."
"Turns out I made it to the 10th year reunion for my class without knowing that I was at the 10th year reunion for my class. I finished my dinner with my mom, let her take my car home (I would catch a ride), and had a good night at the reunion I didn't know to expect."
- ACorania
Survival Stories
"A guy had cancer and attended. He looked to be 80 years old but was in his late 20s. Cancer really took a toll on him. Sad."
- Tuesday2017
Career Choices
"The biggest surprise anytime I catch up with people I grew up with is finding out their career. Most of us have pretty unremarkable jobs but some that stood out:"
"The guy who got arrested for underaged drinking three times is now a cop."
"The girl who couldn’t form a coherent sentence is now a teacher."
"The super genius is living in poverty because he decided to move to Costa Rica to save the rainforest."
"The bad kid joined the Army and now runs a small business and is doing very well for himself."
"The weirdo became a DJ and does shows at nightclubs."
"The nerdy D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) kid now owns and operates an outdoor shooting range and is one of the largest ammunition suppliers in the area."
- PM_Me_UrRight
The Late Classmates
"It was disturbing that 17 classmates had died by our 10th reunion."
- Back2Bach
"We had a lot of kids die with in the first 5 years after graduation. Can't remember the exact number, but it was in the neighborhood of like 20."
"Don't remember all of them, it was a weird mix of stuff. Three died in the same car crash, five to ten were OD-related deaths. At least one murder."
"We were a class of 650."
"Still, felt weird that there were that many deaths. We went to a pretty decent school in a nice area."
- Main-Yogurtcloset-82
Feeling Excluded
"The last I ever heard of my high school reunion was in an alumni newsletter. I was listed as 'missing' with a request for anyone who knew how to contact me to contact the alumni organization."
"The newsletter was sent to my house."
"I’m trying not to take it personally…"
- Someoneoverthere42
Surprising Turnout
"At the ten-year, one guy who had been a kind of a nerd and on the bowling team was now part of a 'wacky morning DJ' crew on one of the more popular radio stations in New York City, and came in with big hair and dressed like a rock star."
- brock_lee
Alternate Endings
"The only real 'surprise' was just how wrong we were about how people would turn out."
"The ivy-league bound people you were sure would be CEOs one day, ended up dropping out of college, having normal middle-class lives, jobs, and marriages, and just being happy as 'average.'"
"The people you were sure would end up like Wooderson from School Daze, turned out to get Master's degrees and even PhDs in one case, and now work in either government or aerospace."
"The guy who fought to get into West Point, ended up doing his required four years and then leaving the armed services."
"One guy ended up becoming a semi-successful author, and nobody saw that coming."
"The girl who got pregnant at 16, who you were sure was destined for a life of struggle, ended up landing a great career and retiring early. And her kids turned out to be great people who any parent would be proud of."
"The people you were sure would never lose contact with their friend group, vanished as if they never existed."
"The people who had to ask yourself, 'I don't recall that name at all, did they graduate in my class?' are now friends with 75% of the class on Facebook and active!"
"The athletes (boys and girls) are now anything but athletes, overweight, and frumpy."
"The frumpy dumpy ones now are rock climbers and hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail."
"IT JUST GOES TO SHOW: Who you are on graduation day is absolutely not who you will become in three, five, ten, or thirty years. The future is yet unwritten, and the only thing stopping you from change is yourself."
- whomp1970
Many of these Redditors shared in the woes so many of us experienced during those rough high school years, but because they also toughed it out and went to at least one reunion, we're able to see all that we are, and are not, missing out on by potentially not attending.
Sometimes it's surreal to bring people back from the past.