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People Share The Extremely Embarrassing Things They Saw Other People Do

People Share The Extremely Embarrassing Things They Saw Other People Do

People Share The Extremely Embarrassing Things They Saw Other People Do

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A short horror story: You trip. You stumble, throwing your arms all over the place, looking like a crazy person--but you don't fall. You compose yourself, and quietly say, "I'm glad nobody saw that." An amused voice from just over your shoulder says: "I did."

Such is our bad luck when we think nobody is watching: somebody almost definitely is. And so Reddit user Hjaaal wanted to know:

What's the most embarrassing thing you saw someone doing because they thought nobody was watching?

Here are some of the most embarrassing/hilarious answers.

Puddle Aerobics

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I was in college and it was a very rainy day. I was late to class and happened to see a guy with a pretty heavy looking backpack, looking like he was going to jump off a diving board. He was rocking his arms, bending his knees enough to look like he was gonna sit down.

Instead of walking around it, he was trying to jump over a huge -ss puddle. I watched him prep himself for a good 20 seconds..which was probably way too long to be staring at someone.

He attempted said jump, slipped backwards due to his huge backpack, and got absolutely soaked. I feel bad saying I laughed quite hard.

Misunderstood

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I had discovered online porn (I mean really, who didn't) but was unaware of the browser history being able to be checked by anyone else using the family computer. My interest at the time was a website called 'myfriendshotmom.com' which I would frequently visit when trying to release teenage angst.

One night at dinner, my parents sat us kids down to talk to us about something very disturbing they found in the browser history and had very serious looks on their faces. Naturally, having grown up in a Christian home with 2 other brothers, I knew my porn obsession was found out. My parents began to talk to us about violence and their worry about the glorification of violence online etc. Naturally I was very confused as this was not the discussion I was expecting.

My mother, obviously the more jolted by what she found online blurted out, "I'm just very worried because someone in this family has been looking at a website called 'my friend shot mom' and it's made me very uncomfortable".

I didn't say a f-cking word to correct her. Crisis averted.

It Didn't Need To Happen...

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Ok so back when I was still living with mom she had one of her friends up for the week with her son. There wasn't enough room in the house for them to stay inside so they decided to camp out in the backyard. now I was working construction at the time and was up pretty early to get ready. the one morning while i was putting my lunch together i looked out the kitchen window to see my moms friend squating over a plastic bag taking a sh-t in it right there in the open. one of the most disgusting things ive ever seen. and then she proceeds to walk inside the with her bag of fresh sh-t to get rid of it and stops dead in her tracks when she realises that im up....to this day i dont understand why if her plan was to come inside to get rid of it why she didnt just walk inside and use the fully functional toilet and just cut out squating over a plastic bag in the middle of a field.

Grossgrossgross

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When I was in Military Base Traning(in Austria) we used to jogg every morning with our drill sergeant. We were stationed an an airport and so our route contained usually one airport round. This day, our sergeant was in a good mood and when we started to run, he asked us if we got cigarettes with us. Most of us did, so he said fine and started running, we behind him.

We just started running and were next to a slender part of a forest, when suddenly our drill sergeant made a turn to the left into the forest. The forest was probably 10 meters (30 feet) wide, and we went inside. He told us we wont be running today, and lets chill here in the bushes in the forest, hang out and have fun while smoking some cigarettes. We just had to pay attention to the side where we went in, that no other jogging groups would see us so we and our drill sergeant wont get in trouble. We also had to take care of the other side of the forest exit, as there was a small fence and a sidewalk where civilians sometimes passed.

So we were inbetween the trees, probably 20 young men with our drill sergeant. If somebody would pass from either side and look into the forest, he would have seen us. But we were quite remote there so we didnt expect anyone to pass.

Suddenly, two elder women(probably around 50-60) walked along the fence. The sergeant saw it and told us to shut up. We watched those women pass by. They didnt see us so we continued to chat.

After about 5 minutes, one of the two women again came along. She probably brought the other home or something and was heading back. Again, we shut up and watched her walking. When she was at our height, she stopped. She stopped and started looking back and forth, seemingly checking if someone was around. She looked to every side, except to the forest. Then, she pulled down her pants, got on her knees, and took a huge dump right next to us. We were probably 2-3 meters away and EXPLODED in (silent) laughter.

WHY

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Every summer my friends and I go to a waterpark. As we are adults we often like to drink while we're at the waterpark. So one summer we were sitting in the bar area that the waterpark at set up enjoying overpriced beer, there was a woman sitting at a picnic table just below the balcony of the bar. She slides back so that her rear end is hanging over the bench and just pees right there on the AstroTurf while still chatting with her friends. She thought that no one had seen her and that she had gotten away with it, but we saw and thought it was absolutely disgusting.

When Will My Reflection Show...

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I used to work in an office right next to a FedEx facility. Our windows were reflective, and faced the FedEx truck parking lot.

Sometimes we'd see FedEx employees change into their uniforms behind the trucks, not realizing that the mirrored surface that was right next to them was actually an office with about ten people watching them.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

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When I was in 3rd grade I let out a ginormous loud fart I thought would be silent. I was mortified. Everyone in the class erupted with laughter and the teacher started asking "who did that?!". I was so afraid someone would point to me but before they could a kid, no, a HERO, named Alex raised his hand and said it was him. He was always a weird kid so people believed it and that was that. Idk if he was being nice or just likes taking credit for farts but I wish I could thank him.

Being A Kid Again

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I do freelance work at sports events. One time, between setup and the time the game started, I was standing at the top of a hill that leads up to the building. I looked around to make sure nobody was there, then I laid down and rolled down that shiz. It was super steep, and it was awesome. I got up, brushed myself off, and went back inside to work.

Found out the next week that my boss had seen me, and had told everybody on the crew. Joy.

Secret Gymnastics

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Whenever my shift is quiet, I take a couple minutes break and go practise doing handstands on the nice grass by our building. I'm awful and can hold it for about 2 seconds before I flip over and land hard on my arse.

Last week the security guy offhandedly mentioned there's a CCTV camera that points almost exactly at that location. He's been watching me handstand for about 2 weeks

Power Positions

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At parties I would often dedicate myself a look in the mirror with a smile for a confidence boost, but this one time there was another guy doing the exact same thing, rising his eyebrow and smooching at himself.

There was a silent agreement not to talk about it. I still wonder if he remembers.

Not The Pillow, The Wall

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When I was like 6 years old I saw my first make out scene in a movie and didn't quite understand what they were doing and why. I wanted to be an actress so bad when I was little so when the movie was over, I went to my room and reenacted the kissing scene with the wall lol. My grandpa walked by, I turned around in embarrassment because I heard someone walk by, and he just walked away with a weird look on his face. :( lol the cringe hurts

That's Not Ice Cream

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I once saw a girl holding an ice cream cone in one hand, and her phone in the other lick the screen of her phone. When we made eye contact and she realized I'd seen it happen, she looked like she was going to die.

Tanzen

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I'm the wierdo.

I usually take my iPod with me when I go to the shops, because it's the only "me" time I get. Unbeknown to me, I had a tendency to....bop my head along to the music....and more. I was simply enjoying my "me" time. This had garnered the attention of the staff. I became known as the dancing customer. I discovered that one when I couldn't find something I wanted, and asked one of the staff to help me. From an aisle over, I heard him ask an older colleague for the specific thing I'd requested and then say "Yeah, it's the dancing lady asking". That's how I found out I wasn't always just listening to the music.

I can't dance to save my life. I'm sure the CCTV logs are very interesting.

WHY?

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I was in a meeting in my client's boardroom. The boardroom was at ground level and the exterior glass was mirrored on the outside but see through from inside. In the middle of the meeting, some sketchy looking dude comes over and starts picking his teeth in the mirror. Then he looks left, looks right, sees he has privacy, so he whips out his junk and starts inspecting it in the mirror. My client just got up, walked over to the glass, and gave a little rap on the window in front of him. He put his junk away and moved on.

Finger Guns

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Ugh okay, so basically there was a lot of construction going on in our house and one fine morning, I forgot to lock the f-cking door before bathing. My back was towards the wall, but there was a glass vase by which I could see the scene behind. One of the workers accidentally got in and froze. During this time I had the option of-

a) pretending I did not see him

b) shrieking for good god.

I went with option 'a' because my mom would have pretty much fired the poor guy who accidentally saw her daughter's butt, but he literally just stood there for 30 frozen horrific seconds before running the f-ck away. If you think that was awkward imagine the guy working on our house, and my room for a week after this. He couldn't look at me, I would constantly have a smile-grimace hybrid on my face when I'd see him, and on the third last day when we crossed each other and he gave me finger guns before scampering away like he'd seen an octopus with the face of James Franco.

Maneuver

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I'm a canoe guide, and being the guide I'm usually in the back of the canoe, steering. On this particular day, because it was training and I was with a bunch of my coworkers, I was in the front.

When I'm in the back, I'll periodically check to see if any plumber's crack is showing by basically feeling my lower back/top of my -ss crack with my finger, then readjust my underwear if needed. I'm in the back of the boat, so no one sees that.

However, on this day I did it in the front, giving the guy in the back of the boat a full showing of me fingering my -ss crack. He promptly said "I think that's a back-of-boat maneuver."

My Parcel

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I once purchased adult toys online. I came home to find the parcel containing these items OPEN sitting on my bed with a note from my mum saying "sorry, thought it was my parcel". The shame was unbearable and I still cringe when I think about it. I tried to deflect by texting her to ask if she had any wrapping paper I could use for 'the joke present I bought for my friend's 21st'. Eurghhhh

That's Me Nose

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Oh, it was me. I was waiting for an online interview for an internship program and while the interviewer was away I remembered I still had my septum piercing on, so obviously i pushed it inside my nose before anyone noticed. As I was adjusting the hidden piercing, the interviewer got online and saw me basically picking on my nose like an -sshole. We had an awful 5 seconds of silence before she decided to proceed with the interview like nothing happened. I got the internship and now have to avoid her around the company because she always seems to remember and look at me funny.

A Delight

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I have a lovely elderly neighbor across the way who tends her garden almost daily. She is sweet as can be, and doesn't bother a fly. Our houses are pretty far apart, I'm not a good judge of distances but it's far enough that she feels concealed.

When I sit on my front porch, I can see her clear as day wherever she is in her yard, but she can't see me because of the arrangment of plants between us, and my slightly higher elevation.

She always, ALWAYS, adjusts herself, like overtly. She has a routine every time she stands up and moves, from kneeling on a planting cushion.

She stands up, pulls off her garden gloves, does a little wiggle shake, jams her entire hand down the back of her pants and evacuates a wedge, pulls her bra strap down where it rode up in the back, scoops each tit back into place, and moves down to a new spot to garden.

She repeats this maybe 25 times before she calls it a day. I sit outside and smoke a bowl and watch her and it delights the hell out of me (in a she's a cute, funny old lady way, not a sexual way, just to be clear.)

person holding photo of three girls near chainlink fence
Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Life is all about learning new things, including learning new things about the people in your life. Sometimes, the things you learn are shocking, disgusting, or even scary.

I was the new kid in town when I was in fifth grade and my first friend was this quiet (and cute) boy in my class. He and I remained friends through middle school, and even though we drifted apart in high school, our interactions when we ran into each other in the halls or the cafeteria were really nice.

All throughout school and even beyond, he remained quiet, polite, and reserved. Just a few years ago, I read a news article written about him. He had apparently fatally wounded his father after an argument.

I had to reread the article several times to make sure it was really about my old friend. I think about it a lot, and still can't believe it!

I'm not the only one that has a shocking story like that. A lot of Redditors learned shocking or scary things about people from their childhood, and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor ValuableHovercraft90 asked:

"What's the scariest thing you have found out about someone from your childhood (old friends, teachers, etc)?"

So Creepy

"That the boy who lived across the street and moved when I was 6 is still obsessed with me and my sister 30+ years later and posts ramblings on Facebook with our names and that he's going to be with us. Pretty terrifying honestly."

– mrscrawfish

The Worst List

"A neighbour died when he was 30. Police searched a trailer he owned and found weapons, bombs and a list of people he wanted to kill. My uncle was on that list."

– Flashy_Somewhere_648

"I'm glad this ended the way it did."

– CreepyCandidate4449

Terrifying

"One of my best friends (and locker partner) from high school was kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq. After a nightmare of 6+ months, all went silent. We buried an empty casket in his memory 10 years later."

– francois_du_nord

"This is horrifying. How incredibly sad for family to never get any closure. Very sad to read this. :("

– fizzycherryseltzer

"About 15 years ago my dad received a very good offer for work in Iraq, as a construction specialist. He was considering going, since at the same time the financial crisis started in Europe, but then one of his friends, a civil engineer, was kidnapped. Never returned back either."

– 19lgkrn70

"Same thing for my dad old coworker told him how great the money was. Dude got sniped working on a radio tower or something. My dad luckily was like, "I got a wife and family that would kill me for doing something so dangerous.""

– tristanjones

End Of The Friendship

"One of my dad's good friends, and my "uncle", just stopped coming around one day. I was told he was always busy with work, away, etc."

"Turns out, he killed 3 people in a drug deal gone bad and got life in prison."

"What's scary, is that we were over at his house for a weekend BBQ with a bunch of people earlier in the day of the night he did it, and it happened at his house."

– pnwking509

School Friends

"Don't know if it was scary, but I grew up with a kid whose birthday was the day before mine so we almost always shared birthdays in elementary school. We were friends, even spent the night at his house growing up. Later on in our teens, he started getting into some really dark stuff. I recognize that now as his being a sociopath, but like most everybody else at the time, figured it was just him going through some kind of emo phase. Over the years, we lost touch but I would occasionally run into him around town and our meetings were cordial, if not friendly."

"Last year, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man back in 1993, roughly 3 years after we got out of High School. Apparently he, his sister and another man lured this guy out to the boonies and killed him to steal money he had gotten in an insurance settlement."

"The only reason they were caught is the other guy got religion, felt remorse and went on the local TV station and aired a confession before turning himself in (He got 25 to life)."

– 530_Oldschoolgeek

"A girl I went to school with did the same thing. She was the nicest girl, got good grades & was kind of a dork. Mixed with the wrong people after graduation. She and two others lured an old man into an abandoned building, stabbed him and robbed him. He later died from his wounds."

– HereF0rTheSnacks

The Worst Afternoon

"I had a friend in grade school who was being raised by her single dad. She had a unique name and pretty face. She never talked about her mom, and she was super outgoing, so all us kids just made friends with her quickly. It was weird her dad never brought her to our birthday parties, even though she was always invited, but we didn’t think much of it. A couple times, she was allowed to ride the bus home with me after school, and we played and had fun until her dad came to pick her up. Later in the school year, she invited me to ride the bus to her house, and my mom agreed. I was 10. It was the scariest afternoon of my young life. I cannot articulate the extreme tension in her home. We weren’t allowed to make any noise, and we mostly stayed outside, me desperate for my mom to arrive."

"Her dad screamed at us for opening the door, and I was too nervous to go into the house to use the restroom. I knew she was embarrassed that there were no snacks or comforting interactions, like at my house. I didn’t really tell anyone how uncomfortable the experience was. After that day, I didn’t hang out with her a lot. We were in different classes, drifted apart, and decades later, when my own daughter asked to go to a friend’s house, I thought about that girl."

"As an adult, I figured out her dad probably worked a night shift and tried to sleep during the day…or he was an alcoholic who was really angry. Maybe both? I looked her up on social media, and thanks to her unique name and face, I recognized her immediately. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted woman with a beautiful family. She even had pictures of her kids with her dad and tributes to him as the greatest father and grandpa. Her whole page made me wonder what the hell I experienced that afternoon in the 4th grade?"

– OlderAndTired

School Is Supposed To Be Safe!

"In our school, we had something called "de halte." In English, it means "the halt" literally translated. Basically time out. BIf you had a meltdown in class or you were just a little sh*thead, you were sent there for 15 minutes or so to cool off.

The de hatle teacher got fired and jailed for breaking 4 different wrists of 4 different students by bending them the wrong way..."

– Ok_Win7358

*Skin Crawling*

​"There was this classmate a grade below me but all grades shared the same drama class. She was weird and kind of "off." I tried to befriend her at one point and was rebuffed. It later came out that she was actually an almost 30-year-old woman who would show up in a new area claiming to be a 15-year-old runaway. Kind of freaked me out."

jackfaire

It turns out it was a good thing that the friendship didn't work out!

Group of people dining out at a restaurant
Dan Gold on Unsplash

When we think of the term "red flags," we're quick to think of red flags that might appear in a problematic or abusive relationship.

But red flags can appear in any place in our life, especially the workplace or places that consumers frequent, like big box stores and restaurants.

When it comes to restaurant red flags, these are important to note, as they could have a negative impact on a consumer's health.

Redditor FlintTheDad asked:

"What's an immediate red flag at a restaurant?"

Fair Enough

"When you see the owner breaking apart frozen chicken on the curb outback."

- Mourning-Poo

High Humidity

"High humidity inside."

- Presitigious_Gold_585

"Yes! The small that causes is unmistakable."

- TemperatureTop246

Sticky Furniture

"All of the furniture and menus are weirdly sticky..."

- Silver_Sunshine360

"I know what *some* of that is. Some furniture and cleaning solutions aren't compatible. The cleaning spray reacts with the finish on the table tops, and softens, it, which makes it feel a bit sticky, and dulls it super fast... but it's the sanitizer cleaner they use for *everything*, and they don't want to have to deal with a separate cleaner for certain surfaces."

"I used to sell commercial office furniture, and we'd run into this issue sometimes. The worst was when a company asked us to source some tables they found from a local craftsman (since we were already an approved vendor in their system, they often had us buy and deliver stuff for them). Beautiful, hand-made stuff."

"So we bought them and arranged for the delivery and placement. When we got to the site and saw where they wanted them, I cringed... I knew the tables were finished in shellac, and they were having us put them in their lounge area, where I knew they often had events with drinks."

"Shellac dissolves in alcohol. Spilling a drink on it can ruin the finish. Before we left, I left a note on the tables about being careful and emailed the client some care tips. The NEXT DAY they sent us pictures of the ruined finish, asking, 'What is wrong with our tables?!'"

- NecroJoe

Sounds Fishy

"A seafood restaurant should NOT smell fishy."

- turtyurt

"And conversely, a seafood MARKET that does not smell fishy is indeed fishy."

- FourMeterRabbit

A Specific Smell

"That *smell.*"

"You know the one. floors feel a little slippery/slimy underfoot and it smells like they've been mopping the place with the same dirty mop and bucket water for weeks."

"This isn't something you're likely to see in a nice place but I've encountered it in more fast-casual dining places than I care to remember."

- y2knole

"THAT smell. It always reminds me of yeast rolls. I guess it's bacteria in the mop water that has been setting in that bucket for three days."

- SpeelingChamp

Restroom Cleanliness

"Dirty restrooms."

- carboncanyondesign

"This is a dead giveaway. If they can't keep part of the restaurant that the public DOES see clean, you can imagine how the non-public facing parts look."

- OkaySureBye

"Health inspector here. The key is to look for build-up that looks like it's been there more than a day. Most places don't have bathroom attendants and it's unrealistic to expect public bathrooms to be spotless every minute of the day."

- Vives_solo_una_vez

The Right Audience

"Whenever I have friends come to visit me in Osaka and they're dying to try some authentic ramen. My goto line is:"

"'Look for the most run-down looking, back ally shack you can, the more run-down looking; the better. Guaranteed It'll be the best ramen you'll ever have!'"

"And to anyone who happens to read this, no, Ichiran is NOT the best reman joint. It's nice don't get me wrong but please ask around, research ramen in the area you're visiting, I guarantee you there's SO much better out there!"

- kevo998

"I look for people of that ethnicity eating there. Mexican restaurant with only white people? It might be good. Mexican restaurant with Mexicans wearing high-vis shirts? S**t's going be fire. Bonus points if there’s a grocery store attached."

"The same thing goes for Asian restaurants sans the high-vis shirts."

- PsychoticMessiah

Too Many Variables

"A huge menu."

- dnb_4eva

"A huge VARIED menu."

"Places like Chinese, Mexican, and Indian restaurants generally have large menus, but most items use the same base ingredients."

"It's the places that try to incorporate lots of wildly different dishes that you want to avoid."

- MagnusPI

Unexpected Restaurant Guests

"A raccoon falling through the ceiling tiles. 1:00 AM, drunk as h**l, looking for something to eat, and I found a dive that was still open. I ordered my food, and while waiting for my order, a raccoon fell from the ceiling."

"The waitress ran to the back screaming. The cook came out armed with a cleaver and chased it into the kitchen. The look on his face was like it had happened before. Other people eating there were in shock and got up and left."

"Mystery meat: the new special. Get me the f**k out of there."

- alwaystired707

That Wait Time

"I immediately look to see if there is anyone actually eating. If there are a half dozen tables with no food on them, and people looking anxiously to the kitchen, I'm out."

- scotttr3b

Cleaning Response Time

"Multiple dirty tables that haven’t been cleared. If the restaurant isn’t crowded, staff should have time to clean them. If it is crowded, staff should be trying to turn tables over quickly."

"Dirty tables mean they are either severely understaffed or the staff just doesn’t care. Either way, you will be waiting a long time."

- 787la57la47al

Inappropriate Smells

"Once went into a restaurant that boasted the biggest Cinnamon Rolls in the city/state... Only for there to be a pervasive smell of absolutely raw stagnate sewage throughout the dining room. Needless to say, did not return."

- nekroves

Construction Said It Best

"A green flag for a restaurant is when you see a lot of construction workers going there for lunch. You'll know it's cheap and good, hearty food."

"In my old city, there was this tiny little family-owned Chinese restaurant with delicious and cheap lunch specials. Every construction worker downtown sat at the counter at the front for lunch."

"Meanwhile, the waiters would be in this little back room watching TV and the chef must have been at least 70 years old. The food was genuinely so delicious and filling. Probably not good for your cholesterol but so tasty!"

- okaymoose

Atmosphere Matters

"Not a red flag about the food but if a place has their music up so loud I can’t hear the person I’m with, then I won’t eat there."

- Adro87

"Conversely, if it's TOO quiet; as in, not only is the sound system way too low, but if the customers are also weirdly quiet (barely having conversations, just sort of sitting there) and the atmosphere seems almost stifling."

"A couple of years ago we walked into a gastropub in Scotland just like this - very low music, the room was half full (and this was at peak lunch time), and everyone who was there were just sitting, looking sullen, barely speaking, waiting for their food. Just really... odd... vibes."

"After five minutes of sitting at the bar trying to get the attention of staff (who were all standing around looking at their phones), we left and went to a definitely *not fancy* cafe down the block that was the absolutely opposite: people just seemed happy to be there, staff were attentive, and the vibe was really welcoming."

- Good_Difference_2837

The Ultimate Red Flag

"Gordon Ramsey walking in with a camera crew."

- Tint-kicker

"One of the local restaurants we like was recently closed for a bit due to filming for 'Kitchen Nightmares.'"

"My husband still likes to get their food, but I'm waiting until the episode airs!"

- Lington

No restaurant is going to be perfect 100 percent of the time. They're going to have a slow night or poor response time or get some orders wrong from time to time.

But there are far more problematic behaviors and characteristics to find in a restaurant that are perfectly good reasons to never go back there again, no matter how good they may have been in the past.

Apple on a stack of textbooks
Element5 Digital/Unsplash

Teachers are not only educators, they're also inspiring leaders.

The most memorable teachers are those who genuinely encourage young students to do their best so they can be empowered to pursue their dreams.

However, we tend to revere them to such a degree, we forget that they're people too with real emotions.

Curious to hear from strangers who witnessed a vulnerable moment from someone they were inspired by at an early age, Redditor throwthrowwthrowwww asked:

"Students who've witnessed their teacher cry during class, what happened?"

There's no bigger heartbreak than people who are struggling with illnesses or know of someone facing medical challenges.

Ailing Teacher

"One of our music instructors 7th-12th grade. She had a long ongoing battle with stage three/four cancer. She always did her best to try to have fun during our classes, like it was an escape for her because she loved music so much. Over 85% of the entire high school joined choir because of her. Her chemo and radiation treatments left her exhausted some days, though, and she would occasionally break down. In 2012, when her condition worsened, she would have to take more days off because the cancer had become so debilitating."

"We continued to practice our songs while she was gone, and I swear we would sometimes spend an hour on one small section of a song, ripping every note apart, and repeating the same words over and over until we couldn't mess it up. One of the final days in class with her, I remember we were rehearsing for our upcoming state competition, and we sounded damn good. Mid-song, she stopped conducting, closed her eyes, folded her hands, and listened as we continued singing for her. The energy and sound was so profound throughout the room, I can't find the words to describe it."

"After the song finished, we stood in a long, complete silence before she opened her eyes with tears streaming down her face. She wasn't able to go to our state competition with us, but we ended up placing that year. It wasn't first like we were hoping, but it was the highest the school had ever placed. She later passed away that same year. She was one of the strongest women I had ever met in my life."

– Top-Box2372

Losing A Student

"My high school Spanish teacher also taught some homebound students with medical issues."

"One day the vice principal came into our class and told Ms J that one of her homebound students had passed away from his cancer. She couldn't hold back the tears."

– que_he_hecho

Wise Toddler

"I’m a teacher, I cried in front of my toddlers when I got a call from the hospital telling me it was time to make the call as to whether to pull my dads life support. One of my toddlers came up to me while I was crying, put her hand on my cheek and said 'it’s ok to feel sad, it’s ok to cry,' then gave me a hug. I love my job."

– Cheekygirl97

Students witnessed the following teachers get emotional.

Thoughtful Sixth-Graders

"The class surprised him on teacher appreciation day. Someone brought pop, snacks etc. He was surprised. 6th grade teacher."

– Stephlynn1234

Appreciation Day

"Had a philosophy course in uni during covid. So the class was held on zoom. It wasn't teacher appreciation day, but it was the second to last lecture of the term and we all really enjoyed this prof (and because of him most of the class became friends). So we organized an appreciation thing for him."

"We all started class without our cameras on, which was unusual and made him question (he got sad actually). So one girl said 'before we start, we just really wanted to do something for YOU because you've done so much for us. I hope this is okay.' He gave us a confused look, and before he could say anything in response we all turned our cameras on and held up signs saying 'thank you professor [name]' and our green screen backgrounds were of his face lol. He laughed so hard but started crying. Told us how he wished we could do this in person and that he genuinely cared about all of us."

"He had a lot of health issues, the most prominent one being MS. Whenever he didn't start class on time we all got worried, and there were a few times where he cancelled altogether because he fell or something. He also had a cat, and we asked to see him just enough times that his cat learned what time our class was at and would climb up to see us and stay the whole class. It was cute. During the breaks he would email a link to play chess since he lived far from his family and couldn't visit and wanted the company. We organized a Christmas movie day with him over the Christmas break and he loved it. He retired after the following year because of his health, and I still wonder what he's doing now and if he's doing okay. I've been in uni for 5 years now and he is the only prof I've actually spoken to consistently and genuinely liked."

– Burnt_Your_Toast

Sad Literature

"5th grade teacher reading Where the Red Fern Grows out loud to the class. He shed some tears. He did every year."

– SnoBunny1982

"Our teacher read that book to us in 5th grade also. But when it got to that part, she elected me to read it and she left the room. Luckily I had read it before and knew what was coming, but it was still rough."

– MIBariSax81

The Private Life Of An English Teacher

"I forgot his name, but he was one of my favored teachers in high school. He taught English."

"During class, he was called out to talk to some members of the school administration and a few proctors. It took several minutes. But he returned, taught as much of the class as he could, and then just walked over to his desk and started crying. Whimpering. He then left."

"He just found out his wife, who had also been a teacher, was having an affair with one of the female students. We didn't find out that specific fact until later on though."

– Typical_Samaritan

Some students, however, can force a teacher to realize they're in the wrong profession.

Bad Attitude

"Student that had behavior issues and a hard time maintaining emotional regulation threw his recorder (the instrument) at the music teacher and it snapped in half. He then threw his desk in her direction and walked out. This was 3rd grade, and all she had asked him to do was listen to the song we were learning. She quit the next week after almost 30 years of teaching."

– Last_Tuesdays_Beans

Bullying The Substitute

"Ms. Hanlon... Substitute teacher, I still think about her and hope she's doing well. She was posted as the teacher when the usual teachers were off sick. Absolutely zero respect was given to her and the class knew if we had Ms. Hanlon it was just an extended lunch, we could just mess around and act like animals for the whole lesson."

"She had physical conditions like a dent in her forehead and a gravvely voice which prevented her from being able to raise her voice to tell us to be quiet. So the kids would all do Hunchback of Notre Dame impressions, spitballs through straws and do the 'coughing game' where they would just cough through whatever she was trying to say."

"Even as a kid I felt kinda awful after we'd essentially broken her and she'd just come in not even say hello and pull open a book for the hour and sometimes cry into it. I weirdly still think about her randomly once or twice a month, I hope she moved on to way better things. School children really have no filter at all."

– PNCL

Absolutely Zero Respect

"Substitute teacher in Jr High must be among the world's worse jobs. 8th grade we had a sub that demanded and got no respect. Kids would throw stuff at her etc. She left the classroom crying then the vice principal, who was not to be messed with, came in and took over."

– woolash

Major Mockery

"I had a substitute teacher named Mr. Crane who looked exactly like Ichabod Crane from the old cartoon. Some kids in the class bullied him relentlessly for this and he just kind of broke down one day. Poor guy."

– backflip10019

In seventh grade, I witnessed a classmate talk back to our homeroom teacher and saying very inappropriate, bullish things to her in front of the whole class.

But that didn't make her cry.

What made her tear up was when another student defended her and yelled at the bullying student for being out of line.