In my family we have something of a mantra: "If you're going to be dumb, you gotta be tough." It's the kind of thing that you wish you didn't have to say, but kids (and teenagers and my brother) have a way of just bringing it out of you.
There have been shenanigans aplenty from all of us. Some of you who follow my work may know about my Indiana Jones facial scar. My brother once knocked himself unconscious because he was convinced he could emulate a scene from Moral Kombat. (Spoiler Alert: He could not.) Grandma burned down the kitchen cooking fish. My sister knocked herself out doing choreography in the shower. Let's just say we're a family full of "tough" people.
Reddit user m0na-l1sa asked:
What is the stupidest thing you have ever done?
Yeah ... there are a lot of "tough" folks in these comments. Kick back (cautiously, please) and enjoy the disasters.
Nailed It!
I once tested out a jammed nail gun on the palm of my hand. It was no longer jammed.
Happy Birthday
GiphyFinally gathered the courage to tell my high school girlfriend that we weren't working and that I wanted to break up...
...via a phone call...
...while forgetting that that particular day was her birthday...
Sophomore year was a ton of fun.
Calm Down, Tony Hawk
When I was 19 my friends and I used to go driving around in my Jeep Wrangler.
One day we decided to skateboard behind it while holding an extension cord. Think similarly to how people water ski behind a boat.
On our first attempt I decided to be the guinea pig since it was my idea.
Things started off fine so they sped up to like 15 or maybe 20 mph.
I decided it was too fast so I jumped off the board and started running while I dropped the cord on the ground.
By some freakish miracle the cord wrapped around my leg and started dragging me.
I was dragged for probably a good 100 feet before they were able to get the driver to stop.
My underwear got melted to my skin and I had to peel it off which was one of the most painful things that's ever happened to me.
I couldn't sleep on my back for a couple weeks.
Road Trip!
A week after getting my license, I decided to take a spontaneous road trip 300 miles to visit a pen pal in the next state over I had never met before.
The stupid part is I told no one I was going - namely my parents because I knew they'd freak - and when I was there, my car spun out while driving and I popped a couple tires.
Well, I got 1 replaced, and the other full of fix-a-flat.
Then my geniusself remembered I had to work the next day, so I decided 'let's see how fast my Civic can go. Maxed the speedometer at 125 for 2 minutes non-stop at one point. With fix-a-flat.
Oh and I totally got lost and didn't make it to work on time and meeting my pen pal wasn't even worth it. It was a time in my life where a lot of relationships I formed then faded into obscurity.
How I managed to make it home, let alone not getting pulled over, is still a mystery to me.
- ZiggoCiP
Revolver
Stole money from a meth head. Then told him about it. Easy way to get a revolver in your face if you're into that sort of thing. To clarify, I was not on meth. Wasn't under the influence at all. I don't know if that makes it better or worse.
- nagathenaga
Window Pun
I punched a window out of anger and severed my median nerve causing like 75% paralysis of my right hand and thumb.
I guess that's why they call it window pane.
Old Enough To Know Better
Microwaved my cordless phone to dry it off after dropping it in my toilet. I was in my early 20's.
- Tunafun
Comet
GiphyWhen I was little I ate Comet (the cleaning chemical) because I thought it was mozzarella cheese. I sprinkled it on my pizza and after the first bite quickly realized it wasn't cheese. For those that don't know. Comet is bleach that comes in a green bottle. To my young brain it looked exactly like the mozzarella cheese you would dazzle on a slice of pizza, that would also come in a green bottle. I think I grew up fine since then.
You didn't. Because all this time, you thought it was mozzarella cheese. It's Parmesan cheese in the green can.
OH SONOFA B-
Zucchini Bread
Got really high while home alone and decided to eat my girlfriend's zucchini bread. Basically my high brain only sent a single chew command followed by a instantly regretful swallow. I felt the gigantic chunk of once-chewed bread lodged in my throat immediately.
My first step was to try to take a drink of water to wash it down, and I could literally feel the cold stop halfway down my throat. Then panic set in and I grabbed a chair from the table and tried giving myself the Heimlich to no avail.
I stood up and for the first time in my life I could see the darkness coming in from the outside of my vision. I could feel myself starting to pass out and decided to go for broke and just shoved my entire hand down my throat and broke it up.
Took a huge gasp, saw stars, and had throat skin under finger nails. Throat hurt for a good couple weeks, but at least I'm alive.
No Panty Lines
There was a girl I asked to see a jazz concert with. I thought she just liked me like a friend. When I picked her up, she asked if I liked her dress, I said "yeah!" and she said "I'm not wearing panties under here." I didn't miss a beat and said "Oh, right, to avoid lines. Right." And we saw the concert and I dropped her off. Realized the next morning how stupid I was.
Always Account For Wind
When I was 11 the kids on the other side of the back fence were being aholes, throwing stuff at me and talking stuff. so I decided to grab my moms pepper spray and spray them. I didn't take the wind into account and it sprayed right back in my face.
Why A Potato?
In my freshman year of high school I rolled a potato with my phone number on it to my crush in the cafeteria.
Never got a call.
The Nasal Rinse
I was smoking and after showering still smelled it, so I tilted my head back under the sink to pour water into my nostrils... Practically drowned.
- A2029
In Writing
GiphyWe got a new, powerful and metal ceiling fan.
I tried to touch it as slightly as possible, just to feel it brush my fingertips.
Doctor said it did not need stitches, and it healed on its own. He just cleaned the wound and taped it.
He also said I am an idiot, and asked if I needed that in writing.
Curious to hear examples from those who've witnessed extremely unusual behavior at these facilities had plenty to share when Redditor N3SSDOGGDOGG asked:
"People who have spent time in a Psych Ward what is the craziest thing you’ve witnessed?"
One thing is certain. There is never a dull moment.
Consequences Of Enabling Drug Addiction
"In our tiny community some kids are smelly because typically the parents are addicts who either didn't pay their water bill, don't own a washer/dryer or are too brain dead to care. The nearest laundromat is now 30 miles away because the local one got broken into and robbed too many times by. Our school is awesome, there are staff members who do laundry for these kids and make sure they get showers. It's discreet so they're not ridiculed. I hate how our society enables addiction and even celebrates drug use, but I don't know how we can fix it at this point. It's gotten completely out of hand."
– Marisleysis33
Taking You To A Live Commercial
"My brother-in-law had a stint in a psych ward a little over a year ago, and on a particularly manic day they were in the middle of the community room and started singing."
“I have a structured settlement and I need cash now”
"This was then met by about 40-50 psych patients shouting back."
“CALL J.G. WENTWORTH!!! 877-CASH-NOW!!!”
"After getting a few verses in the orderlies stepped in and kindly requested they stop, which was kinda a shame since it sounded like they were all having a good time."
– MikeMars1225
Select Highlights
"I've worked in one for about 2 years now. The staff are just as crazy."
"Here's some highlights"
"Patient got into the ceiling, couldn't get them down for a while."
"Patient milked themself into their coffee. Did you know some anti-psychotics make you lactate?"
"The entire adolescent unit escaping because maintenence forgot to lock the gate. Don't worry. They all came back eventually."
"And myself getting a concussion from a patient trying to escape, they weren't successful, but at least I didn't work for 6 weeks."
– NeverlandEnding
Character Performance
"The funniest thing I ever saw (spent total of about three years in in my teens and early 20's): a kid in seclusion who was having a genuinely good time making staff's life a living nightmare while he was in there, took apart the plastic mattress, tore the foam inside into small pieces, donned the empty mattress and started yelling 'I'M GUMBY, DAMMIT!' while tossing the pieces of foam around like confetti. Even most of the staff were laughing about it."
– t_portch
Physical violence seemed to be a common occurrence.
He Had A Violent Streak
"Not a patient but an employee. Had a 16 year old kid come in who was about 6'2 220 pounds. Built like a linebacker. I found out since he was technically a child he somehow ended up at an autism school for children with very little security. He ended up inflicting a TBI on one of the teachers and got sent to us. The kid had a violent streak the likes I hadn't seen before, he knew he was stronger than most and liked to fight unprovoked and it always took 4 to 6 people to restrain him. I never seen a patient spend more time than him in the 'safety room' an incredibly small padded room with nothing in it. His parents wouldnt authorize his move somewhere else and they wouldn't take him home either. We were not equipt for someone with his level of violence. So there he sat... For one and a half years..."
"It wasn't like a single incident that was crazy, it was the entire situation."
– DisagreeableFool
David And Wendy
"I was in an adolescent inpatient facility for 30 days. One kid named David who was very tall for his age, I think he was only 13. He insisted on watching Friday the 13th movies on movie nights and everyone was afraid to disagree with him because of his violent nature and frequent homicidal fantasies. He hated taking his meds, and probably 2 or 3 times a week he'd brawl with the psych nurses over it. No joke, it took 5 to 6 large grown men to overcome this kid. He was scary."
– better-off-ted
A Mother's Experience
"My mother worked in an asylum in Ireland when she was about 15. This was in the early 60s. She loved working there, despite the fact that some of the patients would physically try and kill her. One patient always stuck out to her, every day he would tell my mum he was going to kill her when she finished work. She knew he loved music, so would tell him she was out dancing that night, and could he wait until the next day, which he agreed to. The next day he would forget what he had said, and would threaten her again, and she'd say the say thing again. This went on for a couple of years that she worked there."
– tiredandstupid82
Turns out some patients weren't seeing a change of scenery any time soon.
Fighting To Stay
"I work inpatient and we had someone who was in for 2 1/2 years. They would try to take him out but he would start fighting immediately and eventually said he preferred it."
– Deathdad
Simon
I was a social worker at an institution that had a hall for what we called 'lifers,' it was essentially for people who had no hopes of ever being released due to their conditions. Anyway, my hall had 14 beds and it was full. There was this one guy who was huge. He was 6’7 and about 350. His name was Simon. He suffered from drug-induced schizophrenia and had bipolar disorder. He talked to himself all day, but never talked to others. All the other men in the ward were scared of him."
"It was my day to do first shift. I got there early to start on some paperwork I needed to finish. When I got my keys in the door, I heard Simon hit the door with his fists. I looked through the tiny window on the door and he and the hall was covered in blood. I panicked and called security for backup because I thought he had killed somebody."
"Turns out, Simon was in the throes of an extreme manic episode and had managed to walk the literal soles of his feet off. Other medication he was on thinned his blood and led to him bleeding all over the place."
"We checked the camera footage and he had walked and talked all night. The orderly (who was fired that day) had slept through his whole shift and never heard Simon walking back and forth."
– CamillaCream02
Some of these examples sound like they could patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, without Nurse Ratched tormenting them.
But props to the real humans who are compassionate and look after those who can't function alone in society.
