As a race, humans are inherently skeptical.
We are loath to believe that there is any interaction with the afterlife or of spirits roaming the earth. But sometimes something happens that is so undeniable that we have no choice but to acknowledge the possibility.
u/RyanBlitzpatrick asked:
[Serious] What's your ghost story?
Here were some of the answers.
Well Dressed
I was around 10 years old and living in San Antonio. I got back to the apartment first after school. About 5 mins of being in the place alone I saw on the reflection of a mirror an older man in a tuxedo was in the kitchen. I flipped out and ran to my room and grabbed a bat. I waited 10ish minutes before coming out. I locked the door when I got home and never heard the door open for someone to leave. I didnt tell anyone about it Fast forward 6 years. I was watching Ghost Hunters with my family and my Mom asked if I remember the old man in the tux. Crazy stuff.
Energy
I'm Cambodian-American, born and raised in America, never been to Cambodia. This takes place in California.
My mom believes in good spirits and getting blessings for good luck and protection by putting out food offerings for them on our dining table. My mom does this for special days and after she's done with her prayers that's when anyone can eat the food. She usually does it in the morning and then by the afternoon that's when food is free for the taking.
So it's a typical afternoon, I was online on my laptop in my room and I got hungry. My room was connected to a small hallway and at the end of the hallway is the living room and the dining table. So I opened my door and stepped out into the hallway and I saw something on top of the table eating. It was hard to make out at first because I'm nearsighted and this thing was kinda transparent. I got closer and stopped halfway through the hallway and I realized.. there was a literal transparent brown monkey on the table. It was making motions as if it was eating some of the fruit offerings. It didn't notice me yet and in my disbelief I got even closer, but when I stopped in my tracks again right at the end of the hallway, it noticed me and got startled. I'm startled, the monkey's startled, and I'm just standing there and not believing my eyes. Very quickly, this transparent monkey just jumps off the table and ambles off hastily towards the exit where the outer door is locked.
That's it, I just stood there staring at the door where it fled and I'm just like... wow I really can't believe what I just saw. In American horror movies and scary stories, there's hardly anything about ghost monkeys. I don't consume that kind of content... and ghost monkey?? Who'd have thunk it.
Anyway later on I told my mom about what I saw and she didn't even blink. I might as well have told her that the sky is blue, I'm her daughter, etc. She really believes in spirits that much and didn't doubt my story at all. Also years later I told one of my coworkers (who is also Cambodian around my age, speaks fluently, and has also been to Cambodia) about my experience. He said that there's a lot of monkeys in Cambodia. I didn't know this at all and have never seen a monkey irl. My mom doesn't talk about monkeys and owns nothing related to monkeys. So that's my story. Neither me nor a ghost monkey expected to be spooked that day lol.
A World Within A Mirror
I stayed at my grandmother's house that my father spent a large amount of time in as a kid. My father drove us there in one go and was understandably tired after a 17-hour drive. We all started to lay down and my father checked in on us before going to bed himself. As he was talking he talking, he stop himself and told us to cover a large mirror "or you will have nightmares". Now, nightmares from a mirror of all things sounded like a little fun to me, but my brothers, who were also sleeping in the same room, ask me to cover it. I did. I asked my Dad about it before he left and he said ghosts use it as an entryway. A week later, I brought it up with my grandmother and she scoffed saying, "oh, this house ain't haunted". I agreed, but told her that the reason I brought it up was because my Dad told me to cover a mirror. My grandmother then changed her expression and said, "OH, the mirror?"
Apparently, that mirror came from her grandmother. She worked as a nurse and took in those who were going to die, but could not pay for care on their last days. So, she made her home into a hospice. Those who stayed in the room with the mirror, saw things. A lovely old lady saw and heard a young lady come into her room and played a harp. She was thankful for the lovely songs, but no person was known nor was a harp owned or heard elsewhere. A young boy found an older boy who played games with him and "really knew his games". Lastly, a terrible woman (refused to use the bathroom and shat in a cooking pot then hid it under her bed and well as argue/issued everyone daily) saw, and this is her words, "The devil" that spat fire at her. (The police were called and she tried to accuse the nurse of trying to kill her with the devil) I also got stories from my mother seeing the same young lady who played the harp (without her harp that time) and my grandfather seeing the "devil" guy. My grandfather described it as a red man with horns that was too tall for the room he was in so he, still standing up straight, bent his neck down to fit. It stared down at him and simply asked, slowly, "WHY. ARE. YOU. HERE?" I kept that mirror covered.
The Light Game
From the time I was about 12-17 years old I lived in what I believe was a haunted house. I've never had experiences like I had in that house since moving out. A few specific memories come to mind. Once I was hanging up laundry in my closet. I heard someone whisper my name in my ear, clear as day. I'd never sprinted out of a room so fast.
Another time my sister and I had friends over and we decided to use a tape recorded to ask questions to the ghosts like they do on those paranormal shows. We played the tape not expecting to hear anything and could hear a very soft voice say "I'm in the closet". We were sitting near a small closet in the basement.
My parents eventually decided to sell the house. We moved into a new place before selling this place. My sister stopped by the house after there had been a couple of showings to turn out the lights in the house. She went to turn off the lights in the basement which had multiple light switches. One was at the far end of the basement away from the stairs. She turned off the light and swears she heard heavy footfalls of someone running towards her. She ran out of the house without turning out the rest of the lights and locked the door. That was the last time either of us went back until we were in the neighborhood and the new owners offered to show us the renovations they made. Nothing happened then but they did ask us if we wanted to babysit their kids. We politely declined.
A Call Back
My Dad's story, not mine. Early 1980's he is working a summer job at Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming). One day he and his friend Mark hiked up to the top of one of the mountains. They set up their tent inside an "Indian Pit", a man-made hole dug out by Native Americans hundreds of years ago. The Indian Pit's were either used as hunting blinds, or spots where young braves came to for their vision quest.
Late in the night my Dad wakes up and has to use the bathroom (#1). He crawled out of the tent, out of the Pit, and went walking a respectable distance away from the tent. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder pull him backwards. My Dad calls out, "Hey Mark, what are you doing?". He turns around, turns on his flashlight, and there is nobody there. He shines the light at his feet, and discovers that his next couple steps would have taken him directly over a steep cliff. He did his business and hurried back to the tent.
The next morning the two friends are waking up and his buddy says to him, "I know this sounds crazy, but I woke up in the middle of the night and I swear to you, there was an Indian man standing outside our tent". Whatever really happened that night, my Dad is alive, he met my Mom in Yellowstone, and here I am writing this story to you today.
The Best Questions To Ask During A Job Interview | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Never Seen That Tech Before
This is my moms story, but she is completely sane and I believe it. My parents went to South Carolina for a wedding. They stayed at some old plantation bed and breakfast spot. She was sleeping when she woke up all of a sudden. She had her cellphone plugged into the wall and was on her nightstand. There was a notification on the phone so it was blinking. The female "ghost" was dressed in a full on old formal dress and she was fixated on the cellphone blinking light and was walking toward it. My mom said "it's ok, it's just a phone". The ghost turned and made eye contact with my mom, then disappeared.
Through The Fog
Years ago two friends and I were camping in fall in a small tent, staggered with two of our heads on one side and one on the other. It was a silent and still night with fog developing in the moist PNW woods.
What sounds like a muffled voice on a cell phone starts coming out from the center of the tent between all our heads. I heard someone keep asking "Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?" My friend asks "Are you hearing that?" At once we all sit up and start shuffling around in the tent looking for the phone. There is no phone in the tent.
I look to my friend on the other side of the tent and ask what they heard. "It sounded like someone saying 'Hello? Can you hear me?'" We all agree this is what we heard, and that the sound was coming from the other side of the tent.
The next morning we find all our cell phones sitting in the car still, and there's no cell reception at the campground. Still sends shivers up my spine.
Walking Through The House
I used to sell HVAC in Michigan, during college. There was this really awesome old dude that called for new high efficiency furnace in his historic home in Depot Town (near Ann Arbor).
As I'm putting together the quote, we get to talking about the home and it's history. He tells me that it was part of the underground railroad and had a tunnel that led down to the train station (only about 500 yards away).
I'll be honest, I was more focused on the sale than all the details he was laying out about the house. But one thing that made my ears perk up was the 'people that lived with him'. He tells me about a few, but the one that stuck out was he said that there was a lady that was so fascinated with electricity that she would turn random lights on at random times.
As I printing out the quote and going over the details and payment options with him, the light behind me turns on. Then the one across the room. Then the one in the kitchen. Then the one in the hallway. I just kinda got quiet and sunk a little in the seat. Then the old dude raised his voice and said something like 'okay, that's enough for today, sweetheart. We can do it again tomorrow.'
To this day, I don't know if the old dude was just having some fun with me or it was real.
Side note: I closed the sale and the install team said there wasn't anything too wonky or out of the norm with his electricity.
Blink Blink
When I was in 5th grade once I forgot to put my school uniform in the laundry basket, so the next day I need it for school it was dirty. I went to have breakfast in my pajamas while I was thinking how to tell my mom I didn't have my uniform clean.
When I came back to my room there was a woman I have never see before, (in her 40s, brown dress, dark hair) ironing my uniform.
I blinked and she was gone. I would have assume I hallucinated the whole thing, but my uniform was there, clean, dried and ironed and ready for me to use.
And it couldn't have been ironed by anyone else because my parents had breakfast with me and my sister was a baby
Glow
This one time when I was little I was laying in bed with my right ear buried in my pillow. I am suddenly jolted awake by this roar that sounded like it was going directly into my right ear. I woke up startled and confused and began scanning my room for anything as my mind was almost full panic mode. When I looked to my right I saw this little boy standing next to me; he was glowing blue but that wasn't the first thing I noticed about him actually. He looked sad and I remember feeling bad for him. After a minute I tried to lean closer to him and even muttered out a faint "hey" but as I did he disappeared. A few days later I told this story to my mother who then informed me that the people who owned the house before us had a son who did when he was five in a car accident. However, it wasn't near the house. I should also note now that our house was renovated since we moved in and a second floor was added. My current theory is that the boy finally found his way back home and realized that his old home was gone. He came to me because I was the new boy of the house.
People Born Before 1990 Share Skills They Have That No One Uses Anymore
"Reddit user motivetodayy asked: 'People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?'"
Ahh... life before the 90's.
The talents and skills lost.
There were ticket takers at the cinema.
When buying concert tickets, there was a human you stood in line to meet at 10AM on a Saturday morning.
You had to purchase tokens, not Metrocards in NYC to ride transit.
So much change.
Who can keep up?
Who will remember?
Redditor wanted to hear about life in the recent past, so they asked:
"People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?"
I had no skills in the '80s.
I was too young.
So tell me about history.
R We There Yet?
"I can re-fold a map correctly."
JungleZac
"I came here to say Reading a Map but yes, also how to refold it! I routinely amazed coworkers by remembering how to get to lunch spots without GPS after just one visit."
raulduke1971
"Yes. Yes. YES!! And how hard could it be?... if anyone bothered to notice or think or remember how it opened in the first place."
Far-Experience5137
I Remember
"Remembering phone numbers."
GreatMillionDog
"I remember the numbers for every house I lived in growing up, the phone numbers of the houses of my best friends from 7th grade and before, my grandma, and my first cell phone number. I've been married nearly five years and have no idea what my wife's phone number is."
AllModsEatSh*t
Tick Tock
"Being on time because you can't call and reschedule."
Sindertone
"I feel like you just always had an idea that plans could fall through, and were a little more excited when they didn't fall through."
"This is why there used to be more bars in restaurants, so you can wait for the rest of your party and have a drink or two, and I guess if they don't show your order there and enjoy a meal anyway or go to plan B. People also used to just meet at someone's and go from there, more so than they seem to now."
thatissomeBS
Classics
Vintage Read GIF by US National ArchivesGiphy"Using the Dewey decimal at the library."
FunStorm6487
"Still a relevant skill. If you search for a book, you're given a call number and you need to track it down."
heck-ward
Dewey who?
I have never fully understood any of it.
That's me though.
Developments
Looking Good Red Room GIF by BounceGiphy"I can develop and process photographic film and enlarge prints in a dark room."
Glade_Runner
"I took a class in high school that did this. Was fun!"
sjk8990
The Master
"Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking sh*t or an ad."
Gankstajam
"I was a 'videotaping from TV' master! My anticipation of the end of commercial breaks was amazing, especially since you had to start the recording just a moment prior to having a cue that the show was coming back.
Of course, I was always screwed by those random late-night News commercials and the random extra-long pauses"
Maliluma
Hold On
"Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small I drop them."
Regular_Sample_5197
"Before cordless phones got really cheap, I walked around the house with a super long phone cord. My parents got sick of tripping over it, so they saved up and got me a cordless phone for Christmas."
"That phone lasted for so many years. They got it when I was a freshman in high school and it was still going strong when I graduated from college. I don’t know when or if it stopped working, but my parents switched to a phone with more features."
ZoraksGirlfriend
Glitches
"I outright destroyed Super Mario Brothers in almost no time flat very recently on Nintendo Switch after not having played it for probably 30 years. I did it totally from memory on just the second run-through. I even hit the multiple 1-up glitch on World 3-1. My kids thought I was a god (for just a few minutes)."
all4whatnot
"I grew up playing on the Super Nintendo. My son is old enough to play. The look on his face when I bomb through a level is priceless. Mama’s still got it, kid. He’s smart though. Kicks my a** in Mortal Kombat."
exWiFi69
SCORE!!
Sport Lol GIF by TikTok FranceGiphy"I can keep score in bowling."
sodangshedongerI
"took bowling as phy Ed in college. In the final exam we were given 10 lines of scoring and we had to score each line and add it up. 8 out of 10 was an A."
Qnofputrescence1213
Bowling is an art.
And keeping score is a gift... that I have never unwrapped.
All of us, if we really give ourselves time to think about it, know some pretty interesting things.
But while some things we know could be reasonable conversation starters, some of us know some things that are just plain weird.
Redditor Ok_Guidance_1916 asked:
"What is the weirdest fact you know?"
Bees: Unexpectedly Playful
"Bees like to play. Scientists put bees in a box thing under stress-free conditions with a few wooden round balls scattered about to see what would happen."
"There are videos of this experiment, and the bees just climb all over these wooden spheres, rolling them around happily. It's the cutest thing."
"The videos are very easy to find, but here is one of my favorites. One bee in particular from this very experiment came back and played with a ball FORTY times in one day. It had the best time of its life."
- WideFox116
"Every single thing I learn about bees makes me like them more."
- PepperoniJedi
Frogs: With Eyes Bigger Than Their Stomachs
"Frogs swallow using their eyes."
"If you've ever seen a frog eat something, they close their eyes as they swallow. They're using their eyes and eye muscles to push food down their little throats."
- LtColShinySides
Space: Much Bigger than the Candy Bar
"If you looked at one star per second, it would take you over 3,000 years to look at all the stars in the Milky Way galaxy."
- meresymptom
"And there are 20 times the number of galaxies in the universe as there are stars in our Milky Way."
- KonaBrad
Roald Dahl: Famous Last Swears
"Roald Dahl's last words were, 'Ow, f**k!'"
""The best part of this one is the context. He had prepared some lovely and touching last words, which he did indeed successfully say to his family at the appropriate time: 'You know, I'm not frightened. It's just that I will miss you all so much.'"
"Then, when he had apparently fallen unconscious, the nurse injected him with morphine to ease his passing. The still-alive Dahl stirred and uttered his actual last words: 'Ow, f**k!'"
- havron
Manatees and Hippos: Surprisingly Round
"Manatees aren't fat. They're round."
"Many mammals develop a layer of fat or blubber to preserve body heat. Manatees are tropical mammals and do not need a lot of body fat."
- MrHyde_Is_Awake
"Hippopotamus also only have around 2% body fat, which is lower than professional bodybuilders normally get for competition."
- iCameToLearnSomeCode
"...Which is why they are a lot faster than they seem, and can easily split you in half in one bite."
- MadxCarnage
"Yeah, don’t mess with professional bodybuilders."
- JesusIsMyZoloft
The Space-Time Continuum
"Rosa Parks could have seen Shrek in theaters."
- narwhalsonacid
Kidneys: Collect All Five!
"When you get a kidney transplant they leave the old ones in unless there’s a reason to remove them (cancer etc)
I currently have five. Two original, two failed transplants, one functioning transplant."
- toomuchisjustenough
"On this episode of 'Hoarders'...'"
"(Seriously, I hope you're doing well now.)"
- OhWhatsHisName
KFC: Committed to Their Recipe
"KFC follows 11 people on Twitter: the five former Spice Girls and six guys named Herb."
- jliol
"Please let this be true."
"EDIT: I just looked it up. It's true. That's golden."
- disastertwink
"...fried perfection with our amazing blend of 11 herbs and spices. Get two pieces with a side and a biscuit for just five dollars!"
- Dason37
Get that Natural Platypus Glow
"Platypus glow when you hit them with UV light."
- bregorthebard
"That seems a bit extreme, couldn't you just shine the UV light on them instead?"
- IBeAPirate01
The Shock of the S.S. Daniel J. Morrell
"In recent times, more people have become aware of the story of the S.S. Daniel J. Morrell, a 600-foot-long Great Lakes ship that broke in half, and people on the front section thought they saw another ship coming to rescue them, but it was in fact the rear section approaching them under power."
"What people seldom learn is that, when the wreck pieces were discovered, the lifeboats of the rear section weren't deployed in the apparently three hours that it continued to steam along before sinking, thus leading analysts to conclude that the staff in the rear section had no idea the ship had even broken apart until it sank."
- CorsairVI
Jellyfish: The Biological Fountain of Youth
"In the animal kingdom, there is a type of jellyfish called the Immortal Jellyfish (scientifically known as Turritopsis Dohrnii)."
"What makes it fascinating is its ability to revert back to its earliest form after reaching adulthood. When facing environmental stress or old age, it can transform its cells, essentially returning to a polyp stage and then growing into a new adult jellyfish."
"This process can theoretically repeat indefinitely, hence the name 'Immortal Jellyfish.' While it's not truly immortal in the sense of living forever, it has an exceptional regenerative capability that allows it to bypass the typical life cycle limitations of other organisms."
- side-hustler
"It’s worth noting that it IS biologically immortal; it just can’t ever achieve that because they are food for other animals."
"Also, they’re able to age backward through transdifferentiation, in which adult cells revert back into stem cells so that they can become juvenile cells."
"If we can understand how they do that, it would likely help cure a bunch of different cancers."
- Zane_628
Forest Mice: Just Wanna Have Fun
"If you place hamster wheels in the forest, mice will run on them for fun."
- Eniptsu
"That's actually pretty wholesome and a fun fact."
- taddymason_76
A Rowing Metaphor: Looking to the Past
"In most languages, people think of the future as 'in front' of them and the past as 'behind' them. So we think of ourselves as 'moving forward' in time. It's such an ingrained metaphor that we don't even think about it."
"But there are a couple of outliers: languages where the past is 'in front' and the future is 'behind.'"
"In at least one of these languages, someone explained that the past is in front because you can see it. You know what was in your past, but the future is a mystery you can't see, just like you can't see what's behind you."
- picked-papaya
"Like rowing a boat, we enter the future backwards. All we see are scenes of the past, and one cannot see the views of tomorrow."
- ddyourpleasure
The Earliest Book and Late to Rise
"I'll give two:"
"The Tale of Genji, usually considered the be the world's first novel (not to be confused with Don Quixote, the first modern novel) is over 1000 years old."
"China is all under one time-zone officially; Beijing Time, to be specific, which means that all the way in the west of the country, the sun rises around 10 AM."
- TricellCEO
The Kale Doesn't Fall Far From the Broccoli
"Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, and Brussel Sprouts are all the same plant cultivated for different characteristics."
- thewilyone
"That's cool and strange, yet they taste so different."
- CelifrogTwo
It's always fascinating to learn new things, but it's especially cool when they are unexpected things.
From tumbling bees to elongated time zones, there's always a new piece of information to pick up.
Choosing baby names is one of those tasks that's a weirdly hot-button subject for some people who believe their opinion should always be taken into consideration, even when it comes to someone else's family.
But sometimes, listening to a third party's opinion would not be the worst thing.
Redditor Corollo_Bro_91 asked:
"What is the dumbest name you've ever heard someone give their child?"
A Lesson in Roman Numerals
"KVIIITLYN. As in, 'Kaitlyn.'"
- today0012
"That’s the most asi-IX (asinine) name I’ve ever heard."
- UnderwhelmingAF
"This joke will never be IVgotX (forgotten)."
- SillyFlyGuy
"I hVIII (hate) you both for making me laugh this hard."
- Ok_Professional8024
When They Couldn't Pick One Condiment
"Dijonaise."
- BamboozleMeToHeck
"That'll go great on my ham sandwich."
- SimpleVegetable5715
Didn't See That Coming
"I knew a Christian family once who named their first two kids Blessed and Saved, then the rest had normal names."
"The third kid (George) was born after Blessed started school, so I bet they had a change of heart on the naming thing as soon as Blessed started getting relentlessly bullied."
- Hot_Frosting_559
"Now they're like, 'These are my kids, Blessed, Saved, and George,' lol (laughing out loud)."
- darthmoo
Star Wars Fans
"I knew a kid named Chewbacca back in grade school. It was not a nickname. It was actually Chewbacca."
- esqualatch12
"Of course that wasn't his nickname. His nickname would be Chewie."
- Olorin_in_the_West
Committed to Italian Food
"I work as a pizza driver, and I have a regular named LaSonya."
"It's pronounced 'Lasagna.'"
- tiffanyistaken
The Best Player at Game Night
"'Trivia' for a girl. Nice girl. Terrible name."
- Euphoric-Blueberry97
Sounds Fishy
"Jessa Duggar named her first kid Spurgeon (sic)."
"I put the 'sic' to clarify I wasn't spelling it wrong."
"It's supposed to be Spurgeon, but to be honest, my brain keeps going to the fish (Sturgeon) but spelled wrong."
- the_lusankya
These Kids Were Only Available in Sets
"I rode the bus in high school with boy/girl twins named Clark and Candy Barr."
"On the same bus were four sisters: Mary Ann, Mary Catherine, Mary Patricia, and Mary Louise."
- wheelie423
Unique Spellings
"I met a girl named Jules but it was spelled 'Jhewelez.'"
"And before anyone gets on my a** about the name potentially being another language, it wasn’t. She was white American and it was pronounced like Jules or Jewels."
- hopefullyimnotsick
"'Jhewelez' reads like Jack Black saying 'jewels' in a way only he can."
- Big_Rig_Jig
"More like Jim Carry in 'Pet Detective.'"
- futurespacecadet
Chronically Mispronounced
"A student’s mom showed up mad that her child’s name was repeatedly mispronounced. Who knew 'Talore' was pronounced 'Taylor'?"
- GeeWhiskers
"This reminds me of the girl I went to school with whose name was Airwrecka (like... Erika)."
- TexanAmericanMexican
It's a Bop; It's a Vibe
"Beezow-Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop."
"Had his name changed to it because he thought it was funny to hear the cops say it."
"I know it’s not a birth name, but I think it belongs here."
- Dragonfire400
"Imagine changing it for that reason because you know you're going to have multiple opportunities for cops to say your name."
- OpeScuseMe74
Interesting Origins
"Wayne Train."
"If you're out there Wayne, I think of you often."
- royonquadra
"I knew a Wayne Deer … 'Santa’s in his sleigh with eight tiny Wayne Deer.'"
- sanibelle98
"Another classic! Is it cruel parenting or just being oblivious to schoolyard teasing?"
- royonquadra
"Wayne train is an oldish meme in Germany. It comes from the term 'Wen interessiert's?' ('Who cares?')."
"'Wen' sounds like Wayne, so Wayne became a meme guy who always cares, but you could also just reply, 'Wayne' when somebody says something irrelevant."
"That then evolved into, 'All aboard the Wayne Train on its way to Mt. Whateverest!'"
- riceandvegetables
Oh, the Irony
"I knew two kids named Wizdom and Knowledge."
- AlanBill
A Complete Sentence
"My mom used to work in a daycare. One of the kids' was named Surprise Joyous Knight."
"Yes, this is true, Mrs. Knight named her kid Surprise Joyous."
- Adventurous_Image793
"'O Holy' was already taken."
- CaptnsDaughter
"My sister works as an obstetrician in Switzerland. Before moving abroad, she did an internship here in Italy, where we were both born."
"A couple was undecided whether to name their son 'Domenico' or 'Antonio.'"
"In the end, they decided to call him 'Domenicantonio.'"
- harlenemachiavelli
"Could you imagine in elementary school, having to write that on all of your papers? Poor kid, lol (laughing out loud)."
- Glum-Temperature-111
"You'd learn your ABCs pretty fast!"
- admiralrico411
Coming up with baby names is one of those things that parents are incredibly excited to do as they prepare to become parents, and sometimes their decision is met with a lot of resistance.
In these cases, there was a pretty clear reason why.
People Confess Dreaming Of Doing Something All Their Life Then Hating It Once They Did It
They say "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
You know, the notion that we shouldn't fear things we haven't tried and that getting out of our comfort zone could lead to a wealth of wonderful discoveries.
Most times, fear isn't preventing us from trying the things we've been wanting to try–whether it's a new career or a hobby. We just haven't gotten there yet.
But take note, it's not always what it seems once we get there.
Curious to hear from strangers, Redditor buzzkill007 asked:
"Have you ever dreamed of doing something your whole life only to find out, once you did it, that you hated it? What was it?"
The stress level in medical professions is not for everyone.
Helping Saving Lives
"Being an EMT"
"I had planned on it being my lifelong career since middle school. I loved the medical field and wanted to save lives but knew I wouldn’t have the stamina to get through medical school."
"I got into training as soon as I graduated high school and I was top of my class in the educational sense, but as soon as I started doing ride-alongs everything just kind of fell apart on me."
"I didn’t fit in well with the firefighters, which sounds stupid but I think I really needed that brotherhood if I was going to survive in that field. The real problem, however, was my empathy. I knew quickly that I would not be able to see people on their worst days everyday. I could deal with broken bones and blood, but I hadn’t prepared myself for the screams."
"I work for a museum now lol."
– Livingroxets
The Young Widower
"I met quite a few paramedics whilst doing work in the vaccination centres last year. One of them had recently quit, and I asked why. She told me she had been on a call out with a young couple and a baby. The mum had a headache, and the baby was crying in bed so the dad went to soothe the baby whilst the mum laid down on the sofa. When the dad came back to the mum, she had passed away. I wasn't told what she died of but the girl telling the story was getting upset over it. She hated the idea of this child no longer having a mother, and the dad having lost his partner with absolutely no warning, and so young. So it wasn't even a gruesome one, just an upsetting one that made her give it up."
– Isgortio
The Guilt Complex
"My brother was an EMT because he wanted to help people. Started to blame himself for the people he couldn’t save, we almost lost him. Thank God he had some pretty stellar friends who went looking for him at 2am. EMTs are a different breed man, I don’t know how they do it."
– Lonely-Ninja
The Thing About Empathy
"The empathy thing is very interesting. My medical friends and family would always tell me I'd be great in the medical field because I'm so caring. That is precisely why I would be awful in the medical field. I hate seeing people suffering."
– Tim3-Rainbow
At first, these seemed desirable until they learned it was anything but.
Weightlessness
"I couldn't wait to 'pull g's' in an airplane. Then I did. It sucked."
– papafrog
"I cannot stress enough how fast pulling Gs gets old. The first couple turns are fun but then it’s like, 'I don’t feel good.' Fun times getting picked up from training sites by helicopter pilots on flight training and you’re just looking out the side of the Blackhawk at nothing but ground and you’re like are helicopters supposed to turn like this?"
– anon
Career As An Animator
"All my life I wanted to make cartoons."
"I fought with tooth and nail to reach the top."
"Then I interned for an old studio in Burbank specializing in cartoons about a certain yellow family."
"Then, after college, I became a mechanic and never looked back."
– DreyfusBlue
Formerly Aspiring Craftsman
"Blacksmithing. I watched a ton of blacksmithing content on youtube, got SUPER intrigued and wanted to build my own setup in the backyard. My Father talked me into trying a class before jumping in headfirst, and I am glad I did. My Father and I were the only two in the class that day so we got all the attention from the instructor which was awesome, he really helped us both perfect our techniques and corrected any mistakes quickly so we didn't form any bad habits, it was the best instructor I have ever had for anything, guy was an amazing teacher. He even offered to let us stay for a couple more hours to make another piece, which we took him up on. After all that, an amazing class, 3 metal pieces that I worked on and created by myself by hand, I walked away... dissatisfied. I think metal as a medium just felt very hard to work with, everything is super hot and dangerous, and I just didn't see myself wanting to ever do it again. I really recommend taking a class to try something out rather than spending time and money to build your own setup for something you may hate. I spent 75$ to save thousands."
– Roadronner
It Takes A Different Breed To Lead
"Being the boss of people. Boss is a title, but being an effective leader of people is an emotionally draining, often thankless roller coaster."
– DingbatDarrel
People who tried their hand at becoming lawyers found it to be extremely unpleasant.
Fighting For The Environment
"'I want to be an environmental lawyer when I grow up! I'm going to help save the world!' F'king kill me dude, I don't even have the energy to save myself anymore."
–Superseriouslyguys
"Interned at an environmental nonprofit over the summer while I was in law school."
"It was the worst parts of legal work and the worst parts of nonprofit work all mashed together."
"Edit: Ok this is getting a lot more eyeballs than I expected so I feel the need to clarify that it actually was not as bad as other non-legal nonprofits I'd later work at in terms of toxicity but it was intensely difficult work with very long hours and a lot of pressure - all of which made me realize I prob wasn't cut out for law much less environmental law."
– krylonultraflat
My Name Is Not Sharon
"I remember a girl in law school who had a similar experience, like they just had her getting coffee and cleaning out the office fridge all summer. Then at the end of the internship one of the directors of the program was like 'oh Sharon, you were our best intern this summer!' Susan. Her name was Susan."
– Superseriouslyguys
The Alternative
"Fellow lawyer here."
"Dip out and get yourself a cushy government job, easy 9-5 work hours, never take work home, plus you get a pension after it's all said and done."
"And then start living life outside of work. Focus on yourself."
– Pitiful-Reaction9534
Life is about taking chances.
You never know what you're capable of until you try different experiences.
And even if you don't succeed or found that whatever it is you tried wasn't for you, it's all a learning experience about how you deal in stressful or unfamiliar situations and overcome them.
The key is in finding your strengths, which you'll never find unless you put yourself out there and do the work. If it's not for you, something else will present itself.
At least that's what I'd like to think.