People Share The Most Obnoxious Nerd Meltdowns They've Ever Witnessed
[rebelmouse-image 18357079 is_animated_gif=The great thing about being a geek or a nerd is that it allows you to unabashedly like stuff. That's really all it is. Everyone is a nerd for something, and that's wonderful! With great nerd-power comes great nerdsponsibility, though. Thing is, when you're a passionate fan of something, you don't always handle it well when the fire of that passion is ... um ... "challenged"?
Sometimes, fans just freak out. Case in point; fans of Rick and Morty attacked McDonald's employees when the locations ran out of a limited-edition sauce that show characters talked about. One curious Reddit user asked:
As we have never shied away from being called a nerd, geek, or fan (not that we could deny it even if we tried) - we thought we knew about the legendary meltdowns. We've had seen some things.
We thought we knew; we had no idea. You probably don't either - but you're about to.
You're welcome.
Charizard, A Crook, And Grandma
[rebelmouse-image 18357080 is_animated_gif=When my older brother was 10 and I was like 5, he loved Pokemon. I mean LOVED it; got the cards, got the games, he even got plastic cases for the cards to protect them. Ten year old him went to a convention in town and spent the day talking to some older kids and adults who loved the game. On his way out, he realized that his favorite (and consequently highest valued card) was stolen by one of those adults. We found the guy but no one could prove it was ours card. Of course he hadn't signed it or altered it at all. He was so heart broken to have that card stolen.
My grandma, god bless her soul, went out of her way and re-bought this expensive-ass Charizard holographic thing, for a crazy amount of money online. She then bought a few booster packs, slipped the card into one of the boosters, sealed it with a lighter, then taped all four together so that the last one was the altered booster.
His birthday finally rolls around, and my brother is happy but every Pokémon gift kinda brings him down. He misses that card and is sad about the lack of justice or reprimand for the thief. He gets to the final gift, our grandma's gift. We pull out the video recorder and watch. He goes through the first three boosters, gets some good cards and his friends are laughing and looking at them, he's a little happier. When he gets to the final card in the final pack - and bah god the look on his face at that last card, I swear he was crying and jumping around. He ran straight to Grandma and hugged her so tight.
He thought she had just gotten lucky, but after she passed away we told him the full story. I'll never forget how incredible it was to see both the worst and best of humans over some little card.
Soup
[rebelmouse-image 18357081 is_animated_gif=13 years ago, while eating dinner at Dennys, I saw a teenager throw his soup at someone for making a "Next time on Dragonball Z" joke. He threw the soup while berating the person for daring to "make fun of" Dragonball Z.
They weren't at the same table and didn't know each other.
The Jar Jar Riots
[rebelmouse-image 18347980 is_animated_gif=I worked at Best Buy when Star Wars Episode 1 was released on DVD for the first time. I had worked the opening shift, and was asked to come in a little early to help set up all the displays.
People were camped outside for a few hours before the store opened. About 30 minutes before the store opened, I could see this seething, undulating mass of humanity crowded outside the doors, waiting for them to open so they could grab their copy. I swear it looked like a few of them were trying to Jedi Mind Trick me into opening the doors early.
I was making jokes with my fellow employees, when my manager came and asked me to stand by the doors so I could direct the incoming horde to the various displays (there were 2 or 3 of them I think). As I took my place near the doors, the store manager approached the front doors of the store to open them, and I saw the entire mass tense like they were about to run a gauntlet.
As soon as the doors opened, the human ocean outside burst its way in. I raised my hand to wave to them in greeting, but before I could get my arm halfway up to greeting position, I was slammed off of my feet as they ran past me. It was like I wasn't even there.
I picked myself up, with no injuries other than my pride, and saw these piranhas devour the first display they came to. Within minutes, the display was empty. Some customers who hadn't grabbed a copy (and didn't realize that we had more in stock), started pushing and shouting, and it looked like there might be a brawl erupting at any moment. I tried to tell everyone that we had more, but they were shouting over me. One kid (maybe 9 or 10 years old) was standing next to his mom and crying because he hadn't managed to get a copy. His mom was trying to console him, while moving him away from the riotous mass in front of them.
I went back to the crowd, finally it got quiet enough so I could explain that we had more in stock. The remaining crowd rushed to the other displays, and I pulled a copy aside for the boy and his mom and handed it to them so they wouldn't have to be near the group who were ready to fight each other.
All of this for f*cking Jar Jar Binks?
Over A Sandwich
[rebelmouse-image 18357082 is_animated_gif=The Arby's near me ran a promotion in which it had limited quantities of a deer meat sandwich. Apparently it was only released in certain areas and within those areas, only certain stores got them. The sandwich was a big deal, I guess?
I watched two guys come in and try to order the sandwich. The woman at the counter politely told them that they had sold out hours earlier. One guy started yelling that they had been looking forward to this for weeks, how dare they run out, etc.
The other proceeded to take napkins, straws and containers of ketchup and throw them around the place like it was confetti.
Over a sandwich.
Jack Frost Confessional
[rebelmouse-image 18357083 is_animated_gif=It was 1997 and my parents took 6 year old me to see Jack Frost. I f*cking loved the sh*t out of that movie from the very beginning and thoroughly enjoyed watching the whole thing... until the ending. I had an absolute meltdown when the movie ended the way it did (spoiler alert: he melts away).
I made an complete scene in the movie theater and I don't think I've ever cried like that before or after that day.
The Two-Week Boyfriend
[rebelmouse-image 18357084 is_animated_gif=I had a boyfriend for about two weeks who was really into Magic The Gathering. He'd get angry while playing and flip tables on a weekly basis.
The second time it happened I was out.
Narut-Oh No!
[rebelmouse-image 18357085 is_animated_gif=Wife and I took our nieces to the Naruto movie premiere. The movie was good, but the audience was lots of mainly teenage girls who were screaming and cheering every time Naruto had a scene. Because it was the premiere, they had a documentary afterwards about the cast. Turns out Naruto is played by a middle aged Irish-American lady.
Ever heard a several hundred young teenage girls fantasies just evaporate all at the same time? It was epic. There were tears, there were shouts of anger.
My Little Mouth-Breather
[rebelmouse-image 18357086 is_animated_gif=I was in college to be a SpEd teacher and thus was very nice while working at my mall job. I was especially kind and patient with anyone who seemed to be having trouble out in public. Unfortunately, there was a guy who thought because I was nice, I must want to date him. He followed me a bit at work, but one day he followed me from the corner of the street into the mall, a full mile. My manager and I reported it to security. The guards banned him after my manager explained that he had been asked to not come back to our shop previously for harassing me. He would just follow me around and breathe. It would freak customers out because I'd be trying to help them and he'd be hovering and mouth-breathing right behind me.
Told you that to tell you this:
McDonald's had My Little Pony toys a few years back. The cops got called to the location down the block from my house because some Brony went in for a Rarity or a Pinkie Pie (I can't remember which one it was), they were all out. He straight had the most maximum fedora fit on the face of the planet. He tried to knock down the toy display to get the toy he wanted out of it, except it's bolted to the wall.
Found out later from one of the workers that it was the same guy I got banned from the mall. I was highly unsurprised.
Things Got A Little Heated
[rebelmouse-image 18357087 is_animated_gif=Worked at a paintball place about a year ago. This kid came in for his birthday party and had ALL the kit. Camos, battlepack, his own mask, the lot. He was definitely a _Call Of Duty _fanboy because after the first match I could tell he had never set foot in an actual paintball field before. His skills were all "video game" moves that don't actually translate to real life. His team lost four times in a row and he threw a massive temper tantrum and started rage shooting. He shot the other team, his own team, employees, etc. He was on a little paintball shooting spree.
I took his gun off him and told it was the end of his day playing paintball. The kid starts screaming like I've never heard - he was shouting that it's HIS birthday and it's HIS game and he can do what he wants. I turned around to take the rest of group back and leave my supervisor to calm him down and bring him back later. Then I was hit by something, and something HOT. Turns out the kid had bought a flareto use in game, lit it and threw it at me!
I grabbed him by the overalls and pulled him back to base camp. Banned for life.
Didn't get too big of a burn, but you bet I spoke to the kids parents.They were shocked and looked embarrassed, I presume he must have been one of these pent up anger kids.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
[rebelmouse-image 18357088 is_animated_gif=Used to work at Starbucks. The fits people throw over their Pumpkin Spice Lattes are just fucking maddening. Towards the end of the season they would drive around for hours trying to get "one last Pumpkin Spice Latte."
A woman screamed at me and started crying because she'd been ASSURED on some forum that our store still had the syrup but we'd run out. She was convinced we were hoarding it for ourselves. 40 year old woman sobbing like an infant because of f*cking syrup.
They're not even that tasty!
SuperSobbing
[rebelmouse-image 18357089 is_animated_gif=I was shopping for Batman comics at the shop and I heard a scream behind me. I turned and looked and is was as if someone pulled the string from this 40 year old man's body. He just collapsed and went fetal on the floor and started crying because DC killed Superman. He was doing what the kids call "ugly crying" He laid there for 30 minutes and other Superman fans helped him to a chair and got him some water.
Hermione Granger Is Beautiful
[rebelmouse-image 18357090 is_animated_gif=In the fifth grade there was this kid in my class who was obsessed with Hermione Granger. Not Emma Watson, but her character from Harry Potter. I'm talking 15-20 different pictures in his locker and like plastered on his folders, binders, etc. In short: it was too much.
One day a kid in our class said Hermione looked like a boy. Wrong move. He lost it. Instantly started crying. Bawling is a better description. Then after about 30 seconds of utter emotional meltdown he attacked the kid, clawing at his eyes, pulling hair, all the while screaming at the top of his lungs:
**"Hermione Granger is beautiful! Hermione Granger is beautiful!" **
One of the strangest experiences of my life.
Skyrim Screamer
[rebelmouse-image 18357091 is_animated_gif=I was at the Skyrim midnight launch. We only had one store in town that got shipments and they were almost all gone with pre-orders. Dude walked to the counter and asked for a copy, but had no preorder. "Sorry mate, none left. We had very limited copies that weren't preorders".
Dude just lost it. Started rambling about how f--ed up his life his and his one piece of hope was Elder Scrolls. He literally starts the waterworks as he starts knocking sh*t around the store as he's leaving. Yelling at people for taking his game from him. We could hear him screaming and I mean gut wrenching screaming, all the way down the road.
Guy was mentally unhinged.
Discrimination Against Furries
[rebelmouse-image 18357092 is_animated_gif=I used to be a manager at PetSmart years ago. One day I got called up to the front for "customer service" which usually meant I was about to get yelled at over expired coupons.
Nope.
It was a girl in full-on furry gear holding pamphlets asking me if she could walk around the store in her suit handing out pamphlets on furry culture. She also thought it would be fun for people to interact with a furry in a pet store. Of course, I politely told her no. She started to essentially beg me so I tried to offer the usual excuses "it's corporate policy," "it's a safety issue." Honestly, it IS a safety issue. She could have gotten attacked if she approached the wrong animal in the wrong way. A giant animal with no animal scent is terrifying for some dogs.
She would NOT relent. I started to become irritated at this point and told her she would have to leave. Her response was to start SCREAMING AND BARKING at me. BARKING. Apparently I was discriminating against furries - her words, not mine.
She did finally leave after a few minutes of that but it was quite a sight to behold.
The Mufasa Melt-Down
[rebelmouse-image 18357093 is_animated_gif=My sister was 4 and I was 5 when my mom took us to see The Lion King to cheer us up. My dad had just been in a horrible car wreck and was gonna be in the hospital for a few months. She didn't know about Mufasa and we both lost our sh*t in the theater and panicked, scream-asking if our dad was gonna die too. That freaked out the other kids around us...
Basically the whole theater dissolved into crying children in under a minute. It was the most traumatic thing I've ever experienced.
Rest In Pieces, Baloo
[rebelmouse-image 18357094 is_animated_gif=When the 2nd LOTR movie was in theaters, there was an incident when I tried to see it. As the film got close to the huge battle, the fire alarm went off. Everyone exits, and it turns out to be nothing. For some reason the theater either wouldn't or couldn't resume the movie where it was and decided to pass out vouchers instead. Probably an equipment issue. In the back of the crowd I heard some long-haired neckbeard yell about how he had to take off work to see this movie.
Neck beard then proceeded to beat the crap out of a Jungle Book 2 cardboard cutout. RIP Baloo the Bear.
iPhone The Cops
[rebelmouse-image 18357096 is_animated_gif=Customer wanted to get an iPhone fifteen minutes before closing, but says he needs to run home and get his cash. I tell him we are going to close at 5 if he is not here. His mom waits in the store. I figure if he's a few minutes late, it's fine but I made it clear he has 5 minutes. At 5:15 I tell his mother that we are already counting cash and that I cannot sell her son a phone anymore. The dude arrives fifteen minutes after that and I unlock the door to let his mother out.
The dude starts to go thug life on me while his mom is pleading not to do anything. He shoves the door open and pushes me and demands his phone. I immediately tell my employees not to get involved and just call the cops. He went crazy and started cursing everyone out (there's like 6 of us, mostly girls except for me and another dude.) his mom is screaming In Spanish begging him not to do anything and pleading with me as well.
You can tell this wasn't the first time he got like this. Finally, when the dude heard us on the phone with the cops he walked to his car - but not before threatening to key all of our cars. Nothing happened. I saw the dude at Chili's a week later with his boys.
He recognized me, we locked eyes. He didn't do sh*t.
Entitled Brats Get Nothing
[rebelmouse-image 18357097 is_animated_gif=When Pokémon Sun/Moon came out, I was in a store trying to pick between the two. The store only had one copy of each game on the shelves, and as I'm holding the two versions, looking at them both trying to decide which version to get, when this big kid runs up. He tries to shove me out the way and when he sees that there aren't any on the shelves, he literally just screams in the middle of the shop.
No words. No tears. Just screaming
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
Then he saw I was holding the games. He tried to pull them out of my hands, but I pulled back and wouldn't let go. This little liar screams for his mom saying that I took them from him and won't give them back. His mum comes over and starts having a go at me, saying I'm stealing from a child, how dare I take them off him, he deserves the game, I don't, blah blah blah.
The employee who was on the shop floor explained to her that I was here before both of them and already had the games in hand before the child showed up. The woman then demanded that she get one of the games, and the employee explained that is was up to me whether I was going to buy either or both. The kid is still trying to yank them out of my hands through the entire exchange.
I walked out the shop 5 minutes later with both copies of the game and flashing big cheesy grin to mother and child. I returned one for a full refund the next day.
Hard To Hear Day's Night
[rebelmouse-image 18357098 is_animated_gif=Not me but my dad (in the 60s). He won a radio contest to go see A Hard Day's Night at the local movie theater (all shows were sold out). He was really psyched to see it because he was a big Beatles fan. The screaming girls were SO loud every time the Beatles faces appeared that he couldn't hear any dialogue.
He left in the middle of the show.
H/T: Reddit
People Who Have Witnessed Someone Die In Front Of Them Share Their Experiences
Reddit user T_A_C_T_B asked: 'People that have seen people die, what happened?'
Content Warning: death, accidents, illness.
Death is typically the worst thing that we experience while watching a film or reading a book, but some of us have had the terrible experience of witnessing someone else's death in real life.
Redditor T_A_C_T_B asked:
"People that have seen people die (not in a video but actually in front of you), what happened?"
Chest Compressions
"Clinically died, but resuscitated."
"I worked in an ER for a month, he rolled in with an AV block so bad, he had an asystole."
"I've seen him gasping for air, then his eyes going out of focus and looking up, and then stopped breathing."
"Chest compressions and dobutamine got him back up. He got an emergency pacemaker implant."
- sybch
Blood Clots
"This is my cousin's story."
"He was five at the time. His mom (my first cousin) was putting him to bed and then she collapsed. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she was just barely breathing."
"He ran downstairs to get help. They called 911, but it was too late. She had a blood clot in her leg that traveled to her lungs. Her lungs started filling with blood. She was gone just like that."
"My mom (her aunt) was on the phone the whole time. I can never get the sound of my mom crying out of my head. It’s the worst sound a kid could ever hear. I was 13 when this happened."
"After that, any time someone had an ache, I was afraid it was a blood clot. Because that’s how my cousin's death started."
"I always have a feeling one of my parents would get into some accident. My dad is a farmer and I heard way too many stories about farming accidents. I experienced way too many people's funerals for my age at the time and death just felt like it was right there. Like it could happen to my friends and family so soon."
"That day changed my life forever. You couldn’t pay me to relive that night."
- Dogs4life2009
The Phone Calls
"I heard my grandma coughing and went to check on her. She was stuck in bed I’m not sure how long. Covered in vomit. I tried to help her to the bathroom and I saw the life leave her face. She dropped."
"I did CPR. I got my dad. I called 911. I showed the ambulance which one was my house."
"I saw them shock her. I heard them call time of death. An hour later, my uncle yelled in my face for not calling him first. I was 11."
- drunkandlonely223
The Transition
"I'm an RN, and it happens all the time. Usually they're unconscious already and they just go from looking asleep to not breathing."
- AdmlBaconStrapes
Lung Cancer
"I held my Dad's hand as he passed from lung cancer. My mother held his other hand, and he took his oxygen mask off, knowing what that meant."
"When he started to make some noises and take breaths after he passed, my mother thought he was 'coming back,' and it was heartbreaking. I just had to tell her that this is what happens. He was ready, it was just that we weren't ready to lose him."
"It was (and I know how terrible this sounds) a relief when it was over. He was very clear beforehand he didn't want to be on any machines, it was fully his choice to take off the mask himself, and it was his right to have that choice."
"I miss him every day; he was my Superman, and I'm grateful that I had the chance to thank him for being the best dad in the world."
"If you've lost somebody close or are struggling with grief, I'll save you the platitudes but I'd like to share one thing I found helpful to remember: we don't ever get over losing someone we love so much, but we do learn to adapt and adjust day by day."
"Grief counseling is more helpful than you'd think. My Superman dad arranged for my mother and me to have grief counseling before he died because he knew we were struggling to accept we would lose him, and he was fine and accepted what was happening. It really helped."
- SabrinaSpellman3
Surrounded by Family
"Me, my mom, and my sisters watched my dad die. It was the 'died peacefully surrounded by family' that you often see in obituaries."
"He was bedridden the last few years of his life due to an inoperable tumor. He would get bed sores, and one eventually got infected, and when we got to the hospital, they told us there was really nothing they could do."
"They waited until we were all there before they took him off life support. We all said our goodbyes while he was still somewhat with it, and while he was a little incoherent, his last real words were how much he loved us."
"After that, it was just us waiting. He was propped up in bed with his head down and it seemed no different than just watching someone sleep. It probably took about 17 to 18 hours. We all didn’t stay the whole time, but we were all there holding hands when he passed. We weren’t even 100% sure he was gone but a nurse came in and confirmed."
"No struggle, no pain, just peaceful."
"I will say, though… the worst part (other than the obvious) was the staff asked if we wanted to step outside for a few minutes so they could finish up and get him straightened out (he was hunched over in bed). When we got back into the room, he was positioned to be lying down but his mouth was wide open, looking like Van Gogh’s 'Scream' painting. That hit a lot harder and was more painful than actually watching him take his last breaths."
- McMc10001
Pedestrian Trouble
"Dude got his skull crushed by a f**king street car five feet away from me. I will never get the sound of it out of my mind for as long as I am alive. Drunk and on drugs, the dude tripped while trying to run across the street in front of it."
"F**k me, just typing this is giving me PTSD."
- himlersgasstation
Metastatic Breast Cancer
"I was with my mom when she passed as a result of metastatic breast cancer. She had been in and out of consciousness for a week but hadn't regained consciousness in two days. It was a brutal fight but a fairly peaceful death if that makes sense."
- WoodlesMoodles
Witnessing Grief
"I saw a poor guy in really bad shape at the part of the hospital where chemo patients sit. Saw a guy just flop over and a woman with him just started wailing. It was terrible."
"That was, for whatever reason, the day I quit Facebook. Just thought life was too fragile to mess around with social media."
"As I type this on Reddit..."
- Worf_in_a_Party_Hat
Heart Attack
"I work at a hotel as a housekeeper. About a week ago I accidentally entered the wrong room and the man in said room was having a heart attack. I'd forgotten my phone, so I sprinted like mad to inform the manager."
"He was initially still alive, but he died the following morning."
- Fr3nchT0astCrunch
Swimming Accidents
"Teens swimming. All of a sudden they panic, (I was on the other side of a body of water) I ran over, and their friend was underwater. I got him out and did CPR, but he didn’t make it. I dream of the kid sometimes."
"It’s not like the movies when the lungs expel water. Algae and whatever else went in my mouth, and they don’t wake up. At least that was my experience."
- Chiefzakk
Moving Boxes
"I was helping someone move apartments, and he had a heart attack right in front of me. Paramedics said it was a cardiac arrest from alcohol withdrawals. He didn't even make a sound. He just fell over and that was it."
- GotTechOnDeck
Breathing Transition
"I watched my mum take her last breath two weeks ago. After a night of really heavy breathing (heart failure), it went into shallow breathing, her face twitched a little, and went into her sleep."
- Bailey0423
A Familiar Phrase
"I’ve been working trauma and high-risk healthcare for nearly a quarter century and have seen more people die than I ever would have imagined."
"Reddit constantly downvotes this response, thinking it’s a Marvel reference."
"People really do often say, 'I don’t feel so good,' as their last words. Seasoned healthcare providers know that phrase is serious."
- Any_Move
We've all experienced something, with some situations being worse than others. But it's hard to imagine going through something worse than witnessing the final moments of someone's life, knowing there's nothing you can do to prolong their time.
All we can do is practice gratitude in our own lives and hug our loved ones a little tighter today.
We can all agree that we need a healthy dose of fun in our lives, and one sure way of keeping the fun around is to have a hobby we revisit regularly.
But while we can all agree about the importance of having a hobby, we certainly will not all agree about the financial investment involved in many of our options.
Redditor IAmTheQ asked:
"What are your expensive hobbies?"
Traveling
"I love to travel, which can be expensive. That's why I don't travel that often because I have to save up between trips. But I love traveling to new places and learning about the culture and history. If I was independently wealthy, I'd be traveling constantly."
- _Hir0sh1ma
"I hope you become independently wealthy."
- IAmTheQ
Fixing Cars
"Fixing cars."
"Simply, I don't get to enjoy it."
- NotYourAverageFox
Oil Painting
"Oil painting. I pay for a studio and sometimes paint is $30 for a small tube. Same with brushes. I can spend a cool $200 on like a couple of tubes of paint and a few paintbrushes once a month easily."
- Eatmysmalla**666
Astrophotography
"Astrophotography."
- Hopeful_Ad_9610
"That sounds out of this world."
- IAmTheQ
"It is indeed astronomically expensive."
- Hopeful_Ad_9610
Going to Concerts
"Going to concerts."
- ReeG
"Live music is the best way to spend money, I love concerts and shows."
- I_DRINK_ANARCHY
Raising Horses
"Horses."
- ExperienceSwimming57
"So much money!"
- Apprehensive-Air8917
"Came here to say that. And sometimes it isn't even my horse (I say as I look at a horse in our facility who bowed a tendon and the owner didn't properly start the medical process properly, and I said 'screw it,' and as of today [when I found out about the poor baby], I am now attempting to give this horse a proper shot at healing)."
- Hestias-Servant
Collecting Vinyl
"Vinyl records."
"I had to stop. It was causing major issues in my marriage. I unfollowed all the record-buying subreddits and started a savings account. I still look, but don't buy. It helps that the prices are stupid now."
- Subhumanoid
"I think you meant to say your marriage was causing major issues in your vinyl collecting."
- -Z-3-R-O-
Mountain Biking
"Mountain biking."
- hugeshanus
"Don’t tell non-mountain bikers how much a good dropper seat post costs, much less the complete bikes."
- Visdelupe
Growing Plants
"I grow plants. At first, sure, it was a simple hobby, and cheap. Just a seed and some dirt."
"Then you start doing hydro, experimental techniques, CO2 enrichment, high powered LED lights, and PPFD meters. Then comes the sub-400 wavelength light and light over 700 nm, various sprays, PPM, and pH meters."
"AH, you went cheap before, now you gotta get blue (an expensive brand). Oh, you got some o2 decencies in your water, need an O2 meter. The list goes on and on."
- Bojangles315
Making Cheese
"Cheese making. Why buy a reasonably-sized hunk of fancy cheese at the store when you can spend hundreds of dollars on milk, a couple grand on supplies and equipment, and months of your time on a slightly larger, but not as good tiny wheel of your own?"
- thegreatfartrocket
Playing Guitar
"Guitar lessons, guitars, and other guitar-related equipment."
- PatienceAndFortitude
"Teach a man to fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man to play guitar and he never eats again."
- TheLurkingMenace
Painting in Miniature
"Miniature painting."
"My pile of shame is currently in a massive military surplus duffle bag under my bed."
"I am around 5 feet 10 inches, and can lay down flat in the bag."
"It weighs so much I can't lift it."
- Blankly-Staring
Pinball Machine Restoration
"Pinball machines. I have over 100 of them."
"I accidentally fell into the hobby when I bought a pinball machine and was told it just needed to be 'reset' to work. That was a lie and I realized very few people knew how to repair/restore these things."
"Once I learned how I started saving old pinball machines from being destroyed and started a collection. Now the hobby is a lot more popular than it used to be. It's fun to learn and share what I know about the games and the industry. And they're tons of fun to play."
"I created a youtube channel where I post videos of my pinball restorations. Over 500 videos to date."
- PinballHelp
Building with LEGO
"LEGO. Plastic crack."
- havefunSVO
"I’ve had $200 worth of sets sitting in my cart on Lego.com just waiting for me to get high or drunk enough to pull the trigger."
"Amazon is like $600… and that doesn’t include wishlists."
"I wish I could afford to invest in the actual company, haha!"
- GlasseyeMV
Skiing
"Skiing. If you ignore the cost of equipment, the cost of season passes, and travel, it's not too bad."
- Eron-The-Relentless
It's so important for us to have an activity that is just ours that brings us incredible joy. But at a certain point, we might need to ask ourselves, "At what cost?"
It takes one revelation about a person you know to suddenly have a completely different view of them.
A hidden talent, for example, can make you more impressed about a friend you had no clue could carry a tune.
Or someone who did an uncredited good deed can change your mind about them after you assumed they were the type of person who could care less about helping others.
But what happens if there's a sinister secret about a person you thought you knew coming to light?
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Electrical-Lemon187 asked:
"What’s the most disturbing secret you’ve discovered about someone close to you?"
You think you know your family.
Last Words
"The 24 hours before my dad died (stage 4 lung cancer) he was in the ER and then the ICU and we were unable to be with him because of hospital Covid rules. My mother, sister and myself had been texting and calling him all day and got no response. My mother even called the hospital and spoke with one of his ICU nurses who said he was awake and communicating fine. He passed very quickly at 3:30am the next morning. We were allowed to be at his bedside but by then he was no longer conscious so we said our goodbyes and he was gone. Later that morning while my mom slept I was calling cremation services to schedule his body for pick up at the hospital and going through his bag of belongings the hospital had returned to us. His phone was in there and I wanted to read all our texts and take some comfort in my last words to him."
"I opened his phone and all our texts had not been read, not mine or my mom and sister’s. I thought this was so odd but figured he must have been suffering so much he couldn’t find the strength. I began to scroll through his apps and noticed a chat app I’d vaguely heard of. I can’t recall the name but it essentially works like WhatsApp."
"I opened the app and saw a single contact with a female name. I started reading and realized my dad has been chatting with this girl hourly for the last 24 hours and as far back as I could scroll. He was calling her princess and telling her he loved her and she was saying she was scared for him and wanted to know what was going on, why was he in the ER, etc. I scrolled back enough to know that this was someone he was having at the very least, an emotional affair with."
"My grief was completely hijacked by hurt and anger and a week later I tracked the girl down and spoke to her (via dms) and found out she was 19 years old. She was 17 when they met. He was her high school bus driver and she told me they had been dating for almost 2 years."
"My dad was 66 years old when he died and dating someone younger than his grandchildren, someone he chose to spend his last moments with and say his last goodbyes to. I hope it made him happy but it sure is a sh**ty secret to live the rest of my life with. A secret that will forever overshadow my entire relationship with my dad with no chance to ever speak to him about it. It’s the one secret I wish I’d never found out."
– Fuzzy_Central
Ancestry
"I don't know how disturbing this is; it turned out pretty fantastic for one. But not for another."
"I was adopted, and told a silly, magical story about my birth parents that most certainly did not seem true even when I was a child."
"At 57, I learned I was the result of a college affair between a very seriously Jewish young man and a very Baptist young woman. She was rushed off to a home for wayward girls to give birth. He followed her there (many states away), begging her to keep me and live a life together. But their families both said absolutely not. Jewish people were not viewed as 'white' in the mid-60s, and her family most certainly did not want her marrying a non-white. Plus, she was a very committed Christian and did not want to convert to Judaism."
"So off I went, into another family. I recently discovered three lovely half-siblings and we are all pro or semi-pro musicians and get along well. I never got to meet my mother; she died a year before I searched. My father is out of the picture and wants to be left alone. And I'm fine with that; I'm grateful for the love he gave me. It was enough."
"Endings to our searching are not always happy."
– cybersaint2k
The Shrine
"Found a scrapbook of my mom and a guy I didn’t recognize from her immediately post-college days. Turns out he was a long term boyfriend of hers who killed himself when she broke up with him. My grandfather found his body. I learned at age 20, by finding the book/shrine to him."
– olivep224
You think you know your friends.
Crazy Best Friend
"She was my best friend of 7 years, we had literally been through it all together. I moved out of state with my now husband, but she convinced us both to move back to be closer with her, after about a year. We had no real ties to the state we had tried out, so we said screw it, let’s go back, she’s basically family. We were all so happy to be reunited; she was over almost every night for dinner, we all laughed and talked and had a blast. Best year of my life."
"Then slowly, she started trying to turn my husband and I against each other. Anytime we had an argument (like any couple does) she would text each of us about how right we were; trying to foster animosity between the two of us."
"With me, she started talking about how she had a plan b for 'us', that if my husband and I couldn’t make it work, I could move in with her and we’d live happy lives together."
"With my husband, she started talking about her infertility issues and how she wanted to have a kid just like him, she just needed a sperm donor."
"This all happened at around the same time, and my husband and I compared texts and figured it out."
"She wanted to take his sperm, and have a baby with me. When confronted about it she refused to admit anything and started lashing out at both of us. It got to the point where she would show up unannounced, banging on the door, demanding a place in our home. It was so terrifying and panic inducing that we ended up having to move and change our phone numbers."
"I guess it’s so disturbing because I had never had a friend like her, only to find out that she, well she cared about me, but in such an unhealthy and scary way. But yeah, that’s my story."
"Husband and I are great now btw."
– lillylenore
His Fraudulent Degrees
"A work colleague appeared on the front page of a national newspaper for a life of fraudulent qualifications. He claimed medical and law degrees, was a brigadier in the army (reserves) and was the CEO for a major heath fund. He actually was a Brigadier in the army reserves but that and the heath fund role were largely built on the fraudulent qualifications and a progression of jobs also based on this claims. In reality, the only qualification he actually held was as a mortuary assistant. Not even his wife knew. The fraudulent degrees had been gained when he was in the army reserves recruiting and he had access to submitted position applications. He came undone when he applied for a government job and some flags were raised by the recruitment people. He tried to withdraw the application but didn’t realise that an application for a government role has the same weight as a statutory declaration and cannot be withdrawn. It all went south very quickly and he ended up doing jail time."
– crosstherubicon
You never truly know everything about people–even those who are closest to you.
They say ignorance is bliss, and that applies to many of examples provided by Redditors.
But if you were in their shoes, and depending on the circumstances, would you rather know the deepest and darkest secrets about those you care about?
When going on a first date, we are often on the lookout for "red flags", the key indicators that whoever is sitting across from us couldn't possibly be the love of our life.
More often than not, these red flags, be it something they said or did, are often a firm deal breaker in finding a partner.
Sometimes, however, there might be enough to make you overlook the glaring red flag you just had waved in your face.
And much to your surprise, you might find yourself falling head over heels in love with them, in spite of their one, obvious flaw.
"What's your biggest red flag in a partner?"
The Wisest Admit When They've Made A Mistake...
"Inability to recognize or admit when they've made a mistake."- UniversityEastern542
My Way Or The Highway...
"Using ultimatums to get their way instead of compromising."- Whed1956
And That Concerns Me, Why?...
"No respect for your interests or your time."- ElNakedo·
Bored Over It GIFGiphyIt's Can Be Easy To See Clearly Through The "Gaslight"...
"Manipulation on any level."- xfalinex
"Manipulating, gaslighting, 'winning'."- umbrex
Is It Really So Difficult To Say "I'm Sorry"?...
"Inability to apologize."- theregoesthevillage
Sorry Taylor Swift GIFGiphyHonesty is ALWAYS The Best Policy...
"My biggest red flag in a partner would be their inability to communicate effectively and be honest with me."
"Trust is key."- Proper_Ad5123
What You See Is What You Get
"Wanting to change my style and look."
"First girlfriend wanted me to wear button up shirts, colored my hair brown, and even wanted me to wear brown colored contact lenses."
"Coincidentally these were all features of her cousin who she later married."
"A good partner helps you grow and become the best version of you."
"They don't try to mould you into their own vision."- AdmiralClover
"Someone who wants to change you."- helloiamnat
Alicia Silverstone Makeover GIF by filmeditorGiphyWritten In The Stars
"Blames their sh*tty behaviour on their star sign."
"Yeah, I ain't buying the 'it's because I'm a Scorpio" bullsh*t."- A_Direwolf
...Or Maybe A Scratched Cornea?
"An eyepatch. It's a sign of dangerous living, possibly pirate or rustler but certainly an outlaw."- beathelas
Temper Temper...
"Can't control their anger and/or hits and breaks stuff when angry."- LilleSmurfine
There Is Nothing More Important In Life...
"Your significant other restricting you from hanging out with your friends."- AagamAaghnya
There Is So Much More To Life...
"If their political views are their whole personality."- V1p3rzach
brooklyn nine nine politics GIFGiphyIt's fair enough to have deal breakers when it comes to finding a partner.
Always remember though, first impressions can be misleading.
And love has a way of helping you overlook the imperfections of others.