The moments where we feel out of control in the situations we're in are probably the scariest. You don't understand what anyone is talking about, and it starts to make you question what the hell is going on. These are the moments where you feel you've truly lost your sanity.
u/_maggylene asked: [Serious] What was the last situation where some weird stuff went down and everyone acted like it was normal, and you weren't sure if you were crazy or everyone around you was crazy?
Polarman!
We have a local superhero in our town. Polarman.
Goes around dressed in full costume all the time and helps out people around town. Really nice guy. I think he's on disability or something so he can't work but he still wants to make the world a better place.
The best part is new people seeing him for the first time and everybody else just being like "oh that's just Polarman".
Seems like something you maybe want to pay attention to.
Out at a restaurant with my wife and her family.
My mother in law starts choking on her food. No one does anything. So I go to help. Did basic first aid years ago.
5 hits to centre of back. Nothing. She is now foaming at the mouth.
Go to try Heimlich maneuver, on third thrust this huge lump of lamb comes up and lands in her plate.
Her husband, son and other daughter look at me, say nothing and carry on eating their food.
I sit down look at my wife and feel like I am in alternative reality. Did that just happen? Was it really that inconsequential?
To this day only my wife acknowledges what happened and that I saved her mum's life in the middle of a busy restaurant.
I twitch when I think about it still years later.
That seems reasonable.
There was a gas leak in the building where my first morning college class was held. The class still met. There was still a strong gas smell, so I questioned the safety of the situation.
The teacher mocked me for being concerned and sarcastically said that he wouldn't take attendance if anyone wanted to leave. I was the only one who did. I had to text my husband to confirm that I was being reasonable.
Weird.
I was working in the the United Arab Emirates. One night, I walking on a busy boardwalk with a lot of people from all over the world. This south Asian guy was standing by a lamppost, not really doing anything, when an SUV pulled up and four Emirati Arabs got out, grabbed the guy and threw him into the back and then drove off.
They didn't yell, didn't show any police badges, the guy barely fought back. Nobody said or did anything, even though the street was crowded full of people.
That's a strange discovery.
There's a guy who rides a motorized bicycle through my neighborhood dressed like a circus ringmaster. It has been going on for 6 weeks now.
Not a motorcycle or a moped, a bicycle with pedals with a 2-stroke engine attached. Goes around 29 mph? It is loud. I can hear him coming for a few minutes, so at least 2 miles of sound carry.
Black tailcoat. Top hat. Puffy white shirt. Scarlet vest. Maroon and gold vertically striped slacks. One time I saw him check the time on a gold pocket watch. Another he puffed on a corn cob pipe.
Every morning at 7:15 he is headed north, every night at 9:45 south. 7 days a week.
I think, "where is he going dressed like that with such punctuality?" "Surely nowhere around here would allow him to dress like that, and he has no backpack, pannier, or other means of transporting a wardrobe change." "He must work 3rd shift, south of town from 10-7, that's 8 hours and an hour lunch." "But 7 days a week?"
I tried following him at night, because I assumed he was heading to work, and following him home would have been creepier than the already super creepy following to work. I had to do it in a car because like I said, he can book it on that motorized bike. I lost him in 2 turns. He runs stop signs, I don't.
The next night i was waiting in my car ready to go. I had 'The more you ignore me the closer I get' by Morrissey cued up. He was late. Super late. Rounding 10PM now. Then I see his flashy white headlight. He must have ran out of gas; he is pedalling, but I was so amped I tried anyways. He was moving at around 6 or 7 mph. I couldn't stay behind him, but I know my every route in, out, and through my neighborhood, I've lived here for 21 years and run 3x a week, so I'm like an atlas of this block. I lost him at around 5 turns. To be fair he saw me about 8 times, he may have gotten scared I was stalking him, probably because I was.
But last night, oh last night, I followed him the whole time. He was back to motor power, and ran every stop sign and red light on the way. I was catching up to him slowly at 30, so that's why I assume he is going 29. He can't lose me now. I have his scent. This is it. I will finally know. After 6 weeks closure.
Anyways he works at fucking Walmart.
That's what Pizza Hut is for.
A few years back I liked a girl and she invited me to her youth group. Everything was going fine, until the pastor said "Alter call" and then everyone walked up to the front and started rolling around.
I really wish I was making this up, there were even people holding down other people as they were shaking/rolling. Afterwards we all went to Pizza Hut and acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Um....sorry, what?
I was having dinner with my parents, my sister and her husband. Somehow the topic of abuse came up and my parents said how they never resorted to physical abuse in their marriage and my BIL turned to my sister and said, "I mean I've only hit you a couple of times but only when it was serious."
My sisters face turned red, she defended why it happened then laughed it off. Meanwhile I'm absolutely shocked and disgusted by this and my parents joined them and laughed along as well and says "it happens." I was more shocked that my parents didn't react properly and to this day I'll never understand it.
RIP Fyre Fest.
Had a guy who used to work where I do we'll call him Jeff. He was a level above me on the org chart, but still below the CEO. They started to work on a project and announced to the staff, the board and shareholders - but things didn't make sense. A few other employees saw what I was seeing and started to ask questions about how money was going to be handled how other resources were going to be allocated and what the long term plans where - we were all sidelined and told we were being negative. Jeff treated me and my other co-workers as if he was a genius and we were all his minions even though we were in different departments.
Long story short - launch day for this new project came and the numbers weren't there, but Jeff was still blaming the rest of the organization. Things fell apart fast and we lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of customers. Jeff runs his own company now and just announced a new project to his shareholders...
When the Fyre festival documentaries came out I texted a friend of mine who worked at that company at the time all of this was going down. I told him to watch them both and tell me who Billy McFarland reminds him of. 20 minutes later I get a text "OMG...It's Jeff."
The whole time Jeff was doing his thing everyone acted like Jeff was a genius. He could raise money, motivate a crowd, and believed he could talk his way into and out of anything. It was amazing how similar he is to Billy McFarland, the only difference is Jeff hasn't been caught doing anything illegal yet.
That's horrifying.
Public speaking class, mid 1990s.
Assignment says "persuasive speech" and the first three people give "quit smoking" speeches. The fourth guy realizes that is his planned topic too.
He decides to change his topic on the spot to "why you should have sympathy for rapists" and details several rapes from the first person perspective.
He is confessing to being a serial rapist in front of a fairly large class. His point is that women should understand that he is just a horny guy with feelings and not fight him. They should feel sympathy for rapists .
It was incredibly horrifying. However, being the 1990's everybody is stunned, and nobody says anything. (He was arrested for rape, months later).
Good point.
It's almost 10am, the storm Karen is on the way, I've heard nothing from my boss on whether she'll make us go or not (I asked at 5:31am), and my co-worker wrote me to ask if I'm at the office because she's "getting ready to leave to go to the office". They're acting as if nothing's going on, as if it's going to just magically disappear. It hasn't started raining yet, it's actually quite sunny, that's true, but the rain is forecasted to begin at around 11am and by the time I'd be clocking out, the streets through which I'd have to pass to get back home would be flooded. Also, I'd be stuck on the highway under blinding rain.
I forgot I could post an update right here: I ended up not going to work, it's almost 4pm and my boss never answered me. My co-worker did go to work, and my boss would live in her office if she could so she's definitely there as well. I think the heavy rain will be hitting my area by nightfall, but I still don't regret my decision. I'm expendable to the company, but not to my family, my loved ones and myself. It's hard working with two people who put their jobs before their own well-being and health which makes you look lazy when you take care of yourself as I am, but their opinion of me and even my job is not worth my life.
There are few things more annoying than when you are seeking advice and someone responds with a boring platitude that helps no one. Believe it or not, if you choose to provide advice, it needs to be specific to the situation and shouldn't be dressed up in trite phrasing. Does saying, "Keep your head up" actually contribute anything if that's all you have to say when someone comes to you in search of a listening ear?
But this goes deeper than just advice, to be fair. Some of us are sick of greedy corporations that stress the importance of being a "family" while refusing to pay proper wages. Still more of us are tired of people using certain language when other language can suffice.
After Redditor BensReddits asked the online community, "What is a phrase you absolutely hate hearing?" people shared their stories.
"At any sort of conference..."
At any sort of conference/gathering/presentation:
"How're you all doing today?!? C'mon, I know you can answer louder than that! HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TODAY?!"
Instant resentment every time.
I second that resentment.
I attended a conference once where the main speaker did this several times in the span of thirty minutes as he announced different initiatives.
Such a headache.
"At my work..."
At my work upper management has started using the word "activate" a lot. As in, "We are working on plans to activate underutilized spaces." And, "Let's activate a few other teams on this." It just sounds silly to me and like they are trying too hard to avoid using simple, perfectly adequate language.
I'll take your "activate" and give you...
..."utilize." WHY?
What is wrong with the word "use"?
"I was born in Australia..."
"Your English is so good!"
Thank you, I was born in Australia and English is literally my first language. My standard response these days is, "Oh thank you, yours too!"
This one is especially annoying...
...if you're not alabaster white.
I repeat:
Also annoying if you're not alabaster white.
"Someone saying to a teenager..."
Someone saying to a teenager, "These are the best years of your life!" I am in my mid-40s now and most people my age remember high school as horrible and awkward. The more appropriate thing to say is, "Hang in there kid! I promise life gets better. Just get through adolescence the best you can."
High school sucked.
My life vastly improved in my 20s. Let's not convince teenagers that they have nothing to look forward to after high school's over and done with.
"That's nothing..."
"That's nothing... " when I tell them something only for them to turn it onto a competition and say something worse that happened to them.
Ah, yes.
The chronic one-upper.
Loathe them.
"I've heard it from people..."
"When you have your own children you'll understand."
I've heard it from people who don't understand that I want nothing more than my own family but being pregnant will kill me, and when I bring up adoption as a valid way of having children they'll buckle down on that phrase as to say adopted kids are not the same. It's disheartening to hear as a formal foster child and has reinforced my beliefs that no one really saw me as enough. Why would you say that to someone? All kids are the same and those without kids shouldn't be dismissed.
"I lost my daughter..."
"God has a plan" or "It happened for a reason."
I lost my daughter when I was 36 weeks in because of a sudden placental abruption followed by a uterine rupture, lost 2.2 litres of blood. I can't carry again without risking the child or myself. And I had to listen to a variety of phrases that made me want to hit those people. Those two were the worst. Followed by "You can try again" or "Did you get the child baptized?" (got this one only once though).
"Who on earth..."
"When are you going to have kids?"
Who on earth are you to not only insist I should stop and redirect my whole life for kids, but then put me on the spot and make up a timetable to change my whole life? Not everyone wants kids.
Now that you've learned a thing or two...
...you could say that all of the responses here are an exceptional opportunity to improve your social skills.
Have some of your own stories to share? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!
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Image by freestocks-photos from Pixabay |
Dating is difficult––and truth be told, I don't know how anyone can do it right now, what with a pandemic going on and all. Just the thought stresses me out. Dating is especially hard for people who defy expectations in a heteronormative society. Take bisexuals, for example.
Bisexuals have been open about their struggles maintaining relationships with both men and women, even having to lie about their sexuality if they want to date certain people.
"I feel like if I end up in a straight relationship, I'll look like I was just experimenting all these years, but if I end up in a gay relationship people will say I was never actually bisexual," one man told the BBC in 2019. "Then if I don't have a monogamous relationship people will say I'm just greedy."
Indeed, the pressure to be either gay or straight can be a lot to navigate. After Redditor Trevor-on-Reddit asked the online community, "Bisexual people who have dated both genders, what are some notable differences you've learned about dating both men and women?" bisexuals spoke candidly about their experiences. Take note: You might learn something new.
People Share Their Funniest 'This Person Clearly Doesn't Know How The World Works' Experiences
We all know someone who really cannot figure out even the most basic thing without copious amounts of help. But when you meet someone who is completely and totally past all help, how do you even begin to try to help them get along?
Most of the time, they will just be flustered, or they won't listen. And you have to just stand Idly by and watch them fail.
u/FryingPanZ asked:
What is your "This person has no idea how the real world works" moment?
Here were some of those stories.
The Boot, Not The Camp
When I was in boot camp, some kid put his letter addressed to 'mom' with no address attatched.
I was gonna say that its not that stupid for a very young kid to do that, but then I realized you said boot camp and not summer camp.
Don't Steal Dangerous Chemicals
A student working part time at my laboratory at a University came into my office and asked "so what all can I eat in the refrigerator, I didn't know I was supposed to bring my own lunch". I looked at him, stunned and replied "nothing, that food is what people brought for their own lunch, but you can use my grub hub to order". He DID NOT UNDERSTAND. It took 4 tries to get him to realize he can't just eat someone else's lunch.
Same student: I walked into the lab room and told him I made a full pot of coffee in the office and he could help himself. Him: "a pot of coffee? What's that?" He never used a coffee maker other than a Kuerig before and didn't even know it was a thing.
He was fired a month later for stealing chloroform.
No Ma'am, Like, REAL Bears
At a national park, the park ranger says "stay on the trails, there are bears in the area."
One lady says "isn't that dangerous? Why aren't they in their cages?"
"Ma'am, we're not a zoo."
These people are lucky to make it out of bed every day.
Sleeping On The Job
I lived with some Japanese exchange students during the final summer of college. They were really nice girls, but one of them (Mari) (~19 years old) obviously had no idea how anything worked. She spoke the best English and I was tutoring some of the other girls, while they helped me with my Japanese.
But Mari would constantly call me to come to get her because she thought we had free buses (all the buses). After all, we were students. That wasn't the issue. I could deal with that. It was a whole new culture. She was learning.
But what happened that made me realize Mari could not be left on her own was when she ended up in Eloy, Arizona. Which was ~400 miles and five hours from where we were. She had been talking to some guy on campus, he said he was visiting family in Arizona, and she said "I want to go."
He just took her with him, and she went without even telling us. She had just assumed the guy would take her back, but he said he couldn't because he was staying in Arizona. So I had to arrange a ticket, get her on the bus via the phone, and then pick her up two hours away because she missed her second bus by napping.
How...? What...? Huh...?
Had a friend who was in some uncredited scam online college for her master's degree in medical billing or something. She was on a loan program that was sending her about $5k every 3 months directly to her via check in the mail.
This was her only source of income. She kept calling it a grant that didn't need to be paid back. She was flat broke as a joke for 2 months but then the check would come in and she would be living the good life for a few weeks before being poor again.
We tried to do an intervention and show her the insane interest rate that would be back dated as soon as her "school" was done but she didn't want anyone to bust her free money dreams.
She just kept talking about all the money she would eventually be making billing insurance companies...turns out she wasn't even logging in to the online college or even attempting to get this degree.
She thought the money was free, the degree was automatic and the job was guaranteed. Some people are beyond help.
Such Brilliant. So Money. Wow
My boss told me about a friend of his, who told him af a "life hack". She would get her bills in the mail, NOT pay them, and then wait a couple of months to pay. Then she would cry so the debt collectors would feel bad and waive the fees for not paying on time. That was her "brilliant life hack"
Himbo Rights Activist
The other day, my 18yo brother-in-law got married to his highschool sweetheart in a parking garage so that they can live off campus at college together.
Girlfriend's, now wife, mother is an ordained minister. His parents, my in-laws, were very upset and he couldn't understand why because "it's just a fake marriage for school". Oh no, sweet boy. You are MARRIED. I just laughed and laughed. I love him dearly. He is a dumb*ss.
And yet somehow they are there to add these stories to our dull, dull days.
Daddy's Boy
A dude (18 yo) in boot camp got a letter from home and I can see he is agitated. Being 22 and concerned for his well-being, I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. (I'm thinking a Dear John letter or the Mom and Dad divorcing letter.)
He dead *ss told me that his younger brother got a Mercedes for his birthday and that he was pissed bc he "only got a BMW". Can't remember what I said, but I knew boot camp was gonna knock down. (It did.)
Who Pays Your Bills?
When my roommate, who never once paid for rent or groceries or anything, turned down the only job offer they have ever gotten, in front of me, TWICE.
They were so desperate they called him twice, offering good pay, during covid, and he had the gaul to say no in front of me. His excuse was "nah I'm sure there's something better. $20 an hour is garbage in this city" -_-
Just Read ONE Parenting Book
I worked for a clueless couple who had no idea how to raise a kid. He wore the same outfit everyday for a month until I gently suggested that he needs new clothes. His parents asked me "Where can we get baby clothes?" This was slightly hilarious given that they lived above a Target and next to a baby boutique.
I had to have the same conversation once the child was old enough for solid foods. I was asked "Where can we get baby food?" I had to explain that most grocery stores carry a baby aisle, or that she can mash up her own fruits at home for the baby. This family decided that sour cream would be a great first food for their baby!
I'll mention that this was a wealthy family who went on vacation at least 2-3 times a month. By far the weirdest thing they did was try and drop off Grandma at daycare along with the baby.
Stories like this make you feel like the most well-equipped, with it person alive, right?
We're all well aware of the weird, horrible, predatory things men do when attracted to women. But what about when women are the culprits?
Though it seems that, statistically, men are problematic at a WAY higher rate than women, there are certainly times where the person bringing the creepy vibes is, indeed, the woman.
Some men of Reddit gathered to share the most bizarre and uncomfortable things a woman has ever said.
AidenTheGamer14 asked, "Men of Reddit, what is the creepiest thing a girl has ever said or done to you?"
For some, it was the stalkers.
The cryptic behavior and frightening detective work of ex-lovers can be unparalleled.
Some Light Sleuthing
"Found out my address from the phone book, this was the 90s, sat outside my house for multiple nights, all night just watching my house, I live in the middle of the woods miles outside of town."
"We only had one date and agreed to leave it at that. I found out sometime later what she had been doing."
-- crooky50-dc
Plot Twist
"Girl I was dating asked if I had changed the locks since breaking up with my ex months prior. I'm like 'No, but she wasn't a crazy person so I never worried about it.' She says if I don't change the locks she ain't comfortable sleeping over, so I change the locks."
"This ex sends me an angry text the next day 'So you changed your locks huh? Real nice a**hole.' So she had been coming over this whole time and doing who knows what."
-- Joey42601
She Stopped at Nothing
"She kept writing me letters at every address I lived at during that five-year period. If she didn't have the address she'd send them care of my parents. The most memorable is the one where she told me she was married and 'he's a great guy but he's not you.' "
"Once not long after I'd moved to a new address I came home and found a box of cookies she'd FedExed to me. Eventually I moved to a new state. I knew from her return addresses that she lived and worked there, and was worried we'd run into each other but realized that was pretty unlikely."
"Then after less than a year, she found me through a blog I was keeping and left a message on my voicemail demanding we meet. I posted a message to her on my blog telling her to stop harrassing me or I'd call the police (up to that point I'd been ignoring her, hoping she'd take the hint). That night she called, I repeated my threat to bring the authorities in, and I haven't heard from her since."
-- JedLeland
Others dealt with the creepiness on the internet. With so many avenues of communication all around us, uncomfortable comments can come from all directions.
Phony Warnings
"Someone I considered a friend started to grow feelings for me, but when she found out I had a girlfriend and I didn't feel the same for her she found out who my girlfriend was somehow. She then DM'd her and tried to tell her that I was cheating on her with her."
"Luckily I was with her when she got that DM so I could explain the situation and then we blocked her. Next day she DM'd her again from an alt account."
Worst Kind of Pen Pal
"I started a new job, and I shared a small office with a woman my age (and a couple other people). She was kinda cute but also weird and super naïve (she grew up in a very rural area). She'd flirt with me a lot, but I wasn't interested."
"So she started sending me emails."
"They were super long, detailing her whole day. And she sent them to me every day. I never responded. Then one day she sent me this long email confessing her love. I replied with the (very obvious) reasons why it wouldn't work and asked her to stop sending me emails every day. She didn't."
"They kept coming. This went on for months. I asked her in person and online to stop, but I still got these email memoirs every day. Eventually I had another female office mate who was her friend have a talk with her. Finally the emails stopped."
-- RPShep
That's A Lot of Passwords
"I've had a girl create about 50 different Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram accounts all to try to get me to friend her. I've never met this woman in person and yet every few weeks I'll get a handful of friend requests from her"
-- keldog361
Terminal Catfish
"Met this girl online and talked to her a bit. I did started to like her."
"Later found out that the pic she showed me of herself was actually a pic of her friend who had passed away due to cancer."
-- Immortal1h1
Poor Host
In my early 20's I was at a party and the hosting woman full-on tried to reach down my pants to grab my business."
"Strange, yes, what made it creepy is that we were right in front of her mother, who was cheering her on."
-- BauranGaruda
Breaking Out the Scroll
"After 6 months from our breakup, my ex called me because she wanted to see me. It seemed strange to me but I accepted. When we met she was friendly and all..."
"Then at a certain point she pulls a sheet in which there was written a list of all men she fu**ed after our relationship and she read it all to me, with accurate description of every sexual intercourse. Well it was an awkward moment."
-- Omoi_
Getaway Vehicle
"I was going to head home after a night out and a I was getting into my taxi a girl jumped in after me. I asked what they were doing and she said 'I'm coming home with you.' "
"Nope. Taxi driver helped me and she got out the car eventually when I shot down her advances."
-- Stuf404
Again, it's important to read this thread and remember that this is a bias sample, solely focused on the incidents where a woman did act creepy.
But, yes, it happens out there.
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