The kindest things are done out of a desire to be kind, not out of a desire to be commended. Being nice for the right reasons can not only brighten someone else's life, but can also lead to good karma. Here are some of Reddit's best stories of anonymous kindness.
u/indeed_indeed_indeed asked: What's the nicest thing you've done for someone without them knowing you did it?
Freakin' a**holes.
Had a friend who got super drunk, partially naked, and extremely... loose-lipped during a party (she started talking about her (dead) daddy issues). It was humiliating enough for her in the moment, but I noticed one guy and his buddies trying to film her as well. So, I sidled up to them later and then flirted my way into "borrowing" his phone (subtlety isn't usually my M.O., but I didn't want to risk it). Deleted all six videos the sh*t stain had recorded on there and then f*cked off (with my passed-out friend and one other to help carry her both in tow) before he had the chance to realize what was up.
She woke up the next morning and had zero recollection of the preceding night. I did not mention it to her.
ETA: I definitely did not have the wherewithal to wipe his phone further, sadly, but this was years ago and I haven't seen her on the Internet yet, at least. Also - I know what to do next time this (does not) happen in front of me, because I am too f*cking old for this sh*t now. Hopefully.
Everyone appreciates gum.
GiphyWe had a German exchange student at my school with her and it was her first day and she was very clearly stressed and having a hard time. Halfway through class she was called down to the office to have a meeting with the other exchange kids, I'm guessing it was to get to know them better. But that meeting turned into an hour-long meeting where the next class would have started by the end of it.
So towards the end of class when everyone was lining up at the door for the Bell to ring I packed up all of her (exchange student's) stuff and put it neatly back in her backpack and threw some gum in there for her. I didn't know I had her next class but she came in chewing gum.
That's so heartwarming.
Several times a year I take my elderly neighbor to the cemetery to visit her husband's grave.
What she doesn't know is that before we visit there, I go to the cemetery in advance, place some flowers and trim the ornamental shrubs around the monument so it looks cared for and loved.
Self-defense is so important.
A friend of my wife is a single mom, her son is on the spectrum and overweight and was therefore a target for bullies. She signed him up for some self defense classes but could only afford 2 or 3. He really enjoyed the classes. I went into the dojo and prepaid a couple months worth. Never even told my wife. Her friend called my wife super excited thinking another friend paid. I just let it slide.
That's good karma.
GiphyI remember a poor kid that always used to go to my school - his uniform was from either the lost and found or donations, and he used to always wear hand-me-down footwear. The first year I met him, I found he didn't have recess or lunch for the first half of the year, because his parents were still trying to recover from paying for school.
The next year, I covered him with recess and lunch for two terms by leaving him something from the canteen on his table before school. I used to write in cursive, and nobody knew my print handwriting, so I also left him a note asking "want anything specific?" and left a little writing space for him. I also gave him a pencil case full of stuff because the teachers gave us a pencil and an eraser and nothing else.
This is so sweet.
I bought my cousin's wedding dress. She fell in love with one but couldn't afford it so settled for a cheaper one on a payment plan. I went back, had them order the nicer dress, paid it in full, and let her discover it when they said it arrived. She still doesn't know it was me. Our grandfather had bought the wedding dresses for every other of his granddaughters getting married but he passed away before she was engaged. It was my way of making sure he was part of her day.
A good deed.
When my brother had pneumonia and was hospitalised, I knew his wife wouldn't leave the house for shopping due to her anxiety and depression. So I ordered an online shop delivered to their door with 2 weeks worth of shopping, pack lunches, treats the lot. To this day they think her dad must have arranged it since she had been crying to him over the phone a few hours prior. He thinks he must have forgot he ordered it.
I'm sure he appreciated it.
GiphyWhen I was in Chicago, I saw a homeless guy sitting near a trash bin with a sign that said "no money, just food, I'm hungry". I was on my way to the store to buy some medicine and figured I'd get him something.
When I got back he was no longer there, so he never knew I bought him food.
What a d*ck.
I was at a college party (I tried to avoid them, but a friend insisted I start going) and noticed some guy put something in a cup belonging to a girl I knew from my philosophy in the matrix class (don't ask, it counted as a philosophy course and I needed a philosophy credit to graduate). She set the cup on a coffee table and wandered off somewhere, so I walked over and "accidentally" knocked her cup over. When she came back I apologized and offered to get her another one. Didn't have any classes together after that, the guy got expelled a month later after he got caught spiking another person's drink.
They truly care.
I used to be a probation and parole agent.
I had maaaany people on my caseload. If they were cool, not aholes, reporting and their house was in order and they were working and trying and whatnot, they got special treatment.
Part of my weekly checks involved checking what their supervision fees and court fees looked like. I didn't care about court fines, so I would usually have them sign paperwork that I just wouldn't explain to have them restructured. I did the same with supervision fees. The supervision fees were 50 dollars a month. For some of these people they didn't report every month, so every time they reported, like every 3 months, that's 150 that they were behind. Some of these people that's actually a lot of money. So I just would restructure it without them knowing.
I had one girl that was busting her a** working the program. Then she was like "oh my god, and Agent Citadel, I haven't paid my supervision fees in like a year, court fines either. I'm probably behind 600 dollars. You're going to lock me up over that one of these days."
I was an absolute hard a** on people, but I do have a lot of respect for someone that's busting their a** and trying their best. So I explained to her that I've been periodically wiping her arrearage away. My logic was I wanted her focusing on paying her drug rehab fees and not worrying about the other small stuff.
She cried and cried in the office. "Agent Citadel they always say you only care about the money but you actually care about us." All that through huge boo hoos.
That's beyond kind.
GiphyA co-worker's mother died. Her mom was in a different country, and she couldn't go over there because she'd never make it back to the states, and she didn't have much money to send over there. I talked to my other co-workers and raised about $600 for her mom, not including what I put in. I even grouped all of us together, and we gave her the money as a group, because I didn't want her to know it was me that originally decided to do this.
She cried and gave us all a hug. Was beyond blessed to have the money to send and give her mother a proper burial. To this day she has no idea that I organized this.
Support the arts.
I gave $50 to an artist on youtube when her girlfriend needed surgery and they couldn't afford it. It may have been a scam but I don't really care. Hopefully that money went to good use, and if her girlfriend really was in dire need of that surgery, I saved a life.
Awww.
I made up a Christmas stocking for someone to give them a sense of childhood (Santa giving you stockings full of stuff) since they never had that. I got a relative to get up early to set it by the fireplace without him knowing. They assumed it was from their relative who's never given them anything for Christmas (supposedly) and I never had the heart to tell them it was me.
Kind of them.
GiphyA lady dropped her wallet whilst talking on her phone and holding her son's hand. I grabbed it and followed it up, but I didn't want to disturb the lady's call, so I just handed it to the son.
As I was about to walk off to my bus stop, I notice the kid started raising the wallet in front of her mom's face after she finished her call, and started mumbling to her about someone returning it after dropping it.
A true hero.
I once folded a stranger's clothes for them when I needed to use the dryer.
We all love our pets.
And be it a dog, cat, parrot, or turtle, we all like to think our pet is cuter and smarter than everyone else's.
Most of the time, that is purely owing to our unending love for them.
But every now and again, we might witness our pet do something truly extraordinary, leading us to believe that our pet truly is the smartest animal on earth.
Redditor CoreyMatthews was curious to hear about the times people were truly blown away by the intelligence of their pets, leading them to ask:
"Pet owners of Reddit, what are some examples of your pet doing something that made your realize how intelligent they are?"
Talk About Coordination!
"I watched both my cats sit in the hallway and roll a ball back and forth between them gently and on purpose."
"They both know how to open doors."- TurbulentStep4399
The Real Truth About Cats And Dogs
"I had a cat that learned to turn on my radio so I would think the alarm was going off and get up to feed him."
"He and my dog would also team up on me in various ways."
"The most memorable was when I had gotten a little water pistol to squirt the cat when he got on the kitchen counter."
"I always kept the water pistol in the very back corner of the kitchen counter."
"I got home one day, and the water pistol was chewed to pieces on the floor."
"It was too far back on the counter for the dog to have reached it by herself (and it’s not the sort of thing she would normally have liked to chew on), so the only explanation is that the cat climbed onto the counter, pushed the water pistol across the counter until it fell on the floor, and then convinced the dog to chew it up."- TheBat3
More Than Most People Can Say About Their Children!
"My 6 month old kitten will alternate bringing his mylar ball to me or my husband to throw--taking turns."
"He plays fetch better than my dog did."
"He puts his toys away at bedtime."
"I have a small basket that we keep his toys in."
"At bedtime, I'll tell him, 'Let's pick up your toys' and he will get any toys that hasn't been eaten by the couch and drop them in his basket."
"No hard balls/toys as he can't pick those up with his mouth."
"I pick up those."- Danivelle
cat playing GIFGiphyThe Female Of The Species...
"I had two Shelties and one large dog bed."
"The female Sheltie did not want to share the bed with her brother, so whenever he was lying on it she would go to the door and start barking like crazy at … nothing."
"He would leap up barking and race to the door to guard the house alongside her and as soon as he got out of the dog bed, she would run back and curl up in the middle of it."
"He never caught on."- NoNefariousness104
Always On The Lookout
"My dog greeted me at the garage door when I got home."
"He then had me follow him to my daughters room, then my sons room, then the front door."
"My mother in law had picked up the kids."
"He was telling me that 'this one and this one are gone and went that way'."
"Let’s go get them!'”- YourFriendInSpokane
Asking Permission Never Goes Unnoticed
"I had a blue heeled mix that was crazy smart."
"Two of many examples:"
"He was occasionally allowed to eat table scraps off of a plate but was never allowed to beg."
"He had to wait until the plate was put on the floor."
"One day I was caught up working on my laptop and had put the scraps from my dinner on the couch on a plate next to me."
"An hour or so went by and I saw him pick up the plate off the couch and put it on the floor so he was allowed to eat it."
"He slept in my room and was getting up in years."
"One night after I was settled in bed he let me know he needed to go outside, thinking an older bladder, I got up to take him out."
"Instead he went to the kitchen and turned to look at me."
"Curious I followed him."
"Same thing , he went to the family room and waited for me."
"When I turned on the light, he went to an end table near the TV where one of my teenagers had left an uneaten piece of fried chicken."
"He stood and stared and it and then turned to me and I swear he asked if he could have it."
"I laughed and took the meat off the bones and put it in the floor for him, after which we both went back to bed."
"How he knew that chicken had been left there is beyond me!"
"I could share dozens of stories like this."
"He was as smart as most humans I know."
"I will miss him forever."- JCKligmann
dog human eating GIFGiphyPeeing With Purpose
"My mom's cat had a urinary infection."
"So he peed a tiny bit in the bathroom sink and waited by it for my mom to see it."- HyliaSerket
Everyone Wants A Little Attention Every Now And Then...
"A small thing, but my cat will paw at my hand when he wants to be petted."
"The first couple times it happened, I didn't think anything of it, until I realized one day that he basically had me trained/conditioned to pet him whenever he nudged or pawed at my hand."- Square-Raspberry560
And You Thought All They Could Do Was Change Colors
"My chameleon will look me square with both eyes and make a chomping movement with his mouth when he’s hungry."
"He’ll also pat at the glass if he wants to come out."
"He’ll hold a grudge, calculate ways to go or get what he wants."
"One of my Boas will only look at me when hungry."
"She had a go at caudal luring whilst doing it the other day."
"Like 'look, dude, I know you bring the food'."
"I’m hungry, look I’m even trying to lure you to give me some food'."
"It worked."- Ugglug
GiphyA Kind Gesture Is Never Forgotten
"My brother’s cat, Coconut."
"We live 2,600 miles apart."
"The first time I met her, I gave her a little pink fuzzy kitty toy."
"2-3 years later was the next time I was able to visit her again for the 2nd time ever."
"She immediately disappeared & came back with this filthy, dusty, brown toy that had obviously been hidden away somewhere."
"We dusted it off & it was the toy I had gifted her years before."
"She remembered me."
"My brother said he had never seen the toy again until that day."
"She’s also very precious with her toys & will leave them outside his bedroom door as bribes."- emilyyancey
Innate Obedience
"When she was a baby I said, 'Go get your toy!' in the same pitch I always do."
"Never trained her with that phrase."
"She went a grabbed her toy and came back."
"I tested her again the next day and the next day."
"She went to her toy pile and brought back a toy each time."
"She picked up the phrase by herself."
"She's also the first dog I've had that looks at planes in the sky when they fly overhead and recognizes dogs on TV even on mute."- Spare-Bread8416
Get The Tissue Ready...
"I have two cats and a dog."
"A little backstory about my dog:"
" I don't know anything about dog training."
"I wasn't even thinking about adopting a dog but it seems like it was one of those things that 'meant to be'."
"My sister found him on the street at a winter night."
"We thought he was lost and there is an owner looking for him."
"Because where I live we have so many strays and you wouldn't see many 'specific breeds', they are just strays and specific breeds have an owner 99% of the time."
"So we took him home and start to search for the owner but it was obvious that poor dog went through some sh*t."
"And we learned about his story from an animal society; that he had a few owners but all of them left him to the streets because he was barking a lot (we haven't heard him barking even once during that time), he was peeing everywhere (he did it once and that was probably because he was nervous of being in a new environment and that was it), he wasn't listening at all (we had 3 cats at that time and I said no one time when he tried to run at them and that was it, never did it again)."
"And we learned that he has been in the shelter twice with big wounds."
"And I said I'm not going to let him go through more, he stays with us."
"He learned how to let me know he needs to go out all by himself."
"He learned to pee on the pads all by himself on the days that I can't take him for a walk."
"He learned to give me my slippers when I come home all by himself because I wear slippers when I get home."
" He learned how to clean his face by watching cats doing it."
" I still don't know how to train a dog other than a few basic stuff."
"He just learns."
"That's been a really long comment."
"So I'm going to leave that how I know my cats are clever for another time."
"Thank you for reading my sweet dogs story."
"I'm glad to have him and I don't know who was lucky about all those; me or him."- LittleBitOff2Day
dog pies GIFGiphyNever underestimate your pets.
As sometimes you have no idea of the things they might see or notice.
Making it all the more important to give them the love and attention they deserve.
Aging is a reminder that the end is near.
But life is constantly finding ways to expedite the aging process.
So many variables contribute to our looks... it's almost shocking.
Redditor sabletoothtiger_ wanted to hear about the things that can cause us to age rapidly, so they asked:
"What instantly ages someone?"
Weight.
My flipping and flopping with my weight has aged me.
It never gets easier to lose too.
Lack of Sleep
Wide Awake Insomnia GIF by MOODMANGiphy"Lack of sleep."
Yasmin947
"Can confirm. I have an aunt who looks older than my grandmother because she regularly gets 3 hours of sleep a night while my grandmother will fall asleep anywhere."
SCG414
Farewells
"Grief, nothing ages you like Grief."
TheGreatGrappaApe
"My brother died 2 years ago, I aged so much since and now look older than some friends of mine who are 15 years older than me. On top of not sleeping well due to autoimmune issues, I notice new grey hairs every day. Grief, lack of sleep, stress. I have the trio and it's just awful. Losing a sibling is a nightmare, especially at a young age. My deepest sympathies."
ScissorsOfJealousy
Flare-Ups
"Back pain. You can't move like a young person if your back hurts."
AdWonderful5920
"I went from being active and spry to barely able to move and in constant pain. It changed so much about my personality as being active and sporty was a huge part of who I was. I also gained some weight."
"I’m way better now and not in constant pain, but there is always a risk of flare-ups now so while I can exercise and be active, it’s always in the back of my mind and I can’t do it with the carefree attitude I once did."
"I also believe it makes me susceptible to other aches and pains as the nerves all connect so sometimes a flare-up sends pains to other extremities such as my hips or shoulders. If there was one thing I could go back and change in my life, it would be to prevent the back injury."
nononanana
Seemingly Healthy...
"F**king cancer. Have watched my brother-in-law age 30 years in a month."
imapassenger1
"I have been a witness to this many times. '30 years in a month' is an accurate measurement."
WimpyZombie
"This hits close to home. My (seemingly healthy) uncle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two weeks ago. Within the last two weeks, his body has completely broken down. So sorry for everyone here who has had to see loved ones go through this."
JosjeAB
"My mom had breast cancer (in her 50’s) like 7 years ago. All her hair turned gray and she looked frail and old for a couple of years through treatment. After the cancer was gone, her hair all grew back brown again and she looked like she did before. It was really weird."
a-ohhh
From the Top
American Horror Story Fx GIF by AHSGiphy"Hair loss. Not me personally but I used to work with a guy who I swore was like 35, and he was 19. Poor kid."
Kaiserhawk
"When I have an interview, I let my baldness show a little bit. I look older, and I'm taken more seriously by recruiters that way."
lord_machin
Keep It
Nft Child GIF by Pudgy PenguinsGiphy"Buccal fat removal."
arieljoc
"Surprised this wasn't higher up. People with baby cheeks don't realize how well they will serve them thirty years down the line when their buddies who teased them for it look like Skeletor."
Burly_Bara_Bottoms
Deep Breaths
"Stress."
gablamegla
"When I was younger and first entered the real world I remember working with a white-haired woman that had an always tired look about her. She had a picture of her daughter on her desk, young, blonde, that looked so incredibly much like her I mentioned it once. Turned out that wasn’t her daughter, but was her prior to her going through the FBI academy."
F_is_for_Ducking
Work of the Devil
"Troubleshooting printer problems. I swear these devilish machines only exist to trigger me to smithereens."
Philitt
"A couple years ago I decided to officially give up on having a personal printer and only use the one at the library because when it f**ks up, it's someone else's problem. I still have my old printer and I've considered dropping it off my roof for fun."
Painting_GatoI
"Had the opportunity to throw one out of a third-story window. The absolute joy I felt watching that a**hole machine soar through the air and smash to smithereens was the best kind of natural high. It's been 15 years, and I still get goosebumps thinking about it."
Natural_Garbage7674
Bad Relations
My Big Fat Fabulous Life Kiss GIF by TLCGiphy"Having a spouse that contributes nothing to your relationship and allows your family to slip further and further into debt without caring that you're all only a couple of bills away from bankruptcy."
Xmenenslaver
Life is just an endless well of aging.
No cream is coming to save us.
