People Share The Saddest Thing They've Ever Witnessed
[rebelmouse-image 18357231 is_animated_gif=Think of the saddest thing you've ever seen. Does it still choke you up? If so, you'll enjoy these stories of super upsetting events people have witnessed.
mythirdreddit asked, Reddit, what's the saddest thing you have ever witnessed?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
When the loneliness is palpable...
[rebelmouse-image 18357232 is_animated_gif=My math teacher's last class before retirement. Nobody showed up except me and some friends, we literally did nothing for 1 hour straight. The bell rings, he let out the saddest " goodbye" I ever heard in my life. I almost cried for real.
Even a grown man needs his mother. It never goes away.
[rebelmouse-image 18357233 is_animated_gif=A few months before my grandma died, I was in her bedroom with my dad, to say hi. She was sleeping, and my dad sat down on her bed, softly saying "mom? Mom?". He, a 55 years old man, sounded like a little kid and it broke my heart.
Imagine how helpless the bank employee must have felt, too...
[rebelmouse-image 18357234 is_animated_gif=An elderly woman crying at the bank because her son stole her life savings from her and went missing.
Had something similar happen to me in second grade. Kids are jerks.
[rebelmouse-image 18357235 is_animated_gif=My daughter was being bullied on the bus by some kids.
Her class had a project where they grew a small plant in her class that they would present to their mothers for Mother's Day.
She told me about it but asked me to keep it a secret from mom. I agreed.
Every day she would come home and tell me when the plant sprouted and she was so excited as it grew and grew. As Mother's Day rolled around she would ask me over and over again if I thought mom would love it. I always reassured her that yes her mom would absolutely love it because she has worked so hard to take care of it and help it grow...just like she had done with you.
Mother's Day rolls around and even I'm excited to see the plant. I happen to be home from work that day and she comes home looking extremely sad.
I asked her what was wrong and I could tell she was on the verge of tears.
She reached out her small hand and held out half of a broke styrofoam cup with some dirt in it. The cup had been crushed and half of the words "I love you mommy" were written on what was left of it.
The dam broke as she said "Happy Mother's Day momma" and she crumpled to the ground balling.
My daughter, so proud of her plant, decided to show the other kids on her way home the gift she was going to give her mom. A boy promptly snatched it out of her hand and threw it to the ground. Everyone laughed as he stomped on it and then grabbed the plant and threw it out the window.
My daughter said she didn't cry because she wanted them to think she didn't care about the plant and that it didn't affect her. She was always the last stop on the way home and she grabbed what she could of the cup and some dirt and tried to salvage anything left. To add insult to injury the bus driver yelled at her that she was going to clean it up in the morning.
I don't know if I mentioned this...but she was in the first grade at the time. She was 6 years old.
I killed me to write that remembering how upset I was about that. We bought a kit from the hardware store to build our own garden in the backyard since it seemed like she was interested in that sort of thing. It wasn't really the same though.
Watching your kids see just how awful people can be for the first time is crushing.
When you miss the final moments of someone's life due to flight delays.
[rebelmouse-image 18357236 is_animated_gif=About to take a flight to Florida. It was supposed to leave around 7 PM, but it kept getting delayed. Then it got delayed some more, then a bit more. Hours later, the flight eventually got canceled. Turned out, they never had a pilot, and they spent all that time trying to get another one, and instead of canceling the flight earlier so we can all get new flights, they kept delaying the decision until there was no other option.
On the line to get a new flight (around midnight at this point), suddenly we can all hear this woman getting louder, saying "what? He's gone? No!". Apparently, this woman was going to Florida to see her nephew who was terminally ill and didn't have long. He passed away before she could get there. If the flight was even an hour late, she would have made it in time.
Grief-stricken, the woman throws her drink. It goes behind the counter, but a couple feet away from any ticket agent. The head agent has the police called and has her arrested (or at least taken away)
Shock from trauma can be really confusing.
[rebelmouse-image 18357237 is_animated_gif=When I was 12 years old my brother, then 15, died of a sudden heart attack in front of me and my cousins. My aunt was a med in the military and she didn't stop giving him CPR until 2 EMT pulled her off. But what hurt me the most that night is how I couldn't cry. I knew what happened, and I knew how I should be feeling, but the tears never came. I didn't cry until I saw my dad break down at the viewing before his funeral.
Struggling animals in pain - too much for me.
[rebelmouse-image 18357238 is_animated_gif=I saw a dirty, skinny kitten picking around in a pile of trash bags. He tried to eat a Cheeto and made a tiny depression in the dirt to poop but nothing came out. He was clearly starving.
I took him home with me that day six years ago because I started to cry thinking about leaving him there to die. Now he's a giant goofball who rules my house.
Edit: Apparently people like Melvin. Here's a ton of pictures of my special kitty. Oh, also, he's named Melvin after Melvindale, Michigan, which is where I found him.
I uh... yikes.
[rebelmouse-image 18357241 is_animated_gif=My coworker's good friend was pregnant when she found out her husband was killed in an car accident. She had the baby a few weeks later but her mental anguish was taking a toll on her. One night, she fell asleep while breastfeeding the baby and the poor baby got smothered to death.
My coworker came to work and was so distraught that she couldn't even talk to customers. She just sat in her office, crying, and I felt so horrible that I couldn't do anything to make it better for her or her friend. Here I am, worrying about stupid atuff, and seeing this kind of pain puts things back into perspective for you.
This is pretty sad. What terrible parents.
[rebelmouse-image 18357242 is_animated_gif=When I was a funeral director, I used to run the firm I worked for's mortuary at one stage in my career so I looked after the deceased who came into us primarily.
We had a 10-week old baby girl who died due to neglect come into us and we were waiting for her scummy disgusting parents to arrange the funeral, or at least give the local council authority to arrange the funeral if they couldn't afford it or didn't want to.
Sadly, it was a good 9/10 months she was with us and the family avoided all contact (calls to them were ignored or buttoned) and the poor angel just lays there in the funeral home mortuary in her tiny coffin. I had to see her and check her every morning and watched her getting more fragile and decompose every day.
Even the local bereavement office at the hospital got involved and tried to get social services to get some sort of court ruling so they could lay her at rest.
In the end, the family answered their phone and grudgingly let the council take care of the funeral. At the last minute, the dad tried to see her (the same child he and his Mrs let starve and waste away to death) but he couldn't as she was sadly unviewable (not to me sadly, I will have the images of her every day to remember) and the parents didn't even go to the funeral.
Every time I saw her little coffin, I died a bit inside. Not all funeral directors are emotionless, we very much feel it especially things like that.
Seeing her little coffin leave the home in the back of a limo with no family or flowers was just the saddest thing you can see.
The baby ducks got washed away :(
[rebelmouse-image 18357243 is_animated_gif=Probably not the saddest, but the most recent: I was driving and a female mallard duck was standing in the road, refusing to move. Cars were honking and having to drive around her, but she stayed. I parked and walked over to get her out of the road and saw that she was standing near a storm drain grate. I assume she was crossing the road with her ducklings and they all fell in. I looked into it thinking they might be just inside but the water was fast-moving like a river. It just made me so sad to think that she was a mother one minute and then wasn't the next, and she couldn't understand why. She just stayed where she last saw her babies and waited for them. I chased her from the road into the park but when I drive off I could still see her lurking nearby.
Hug your kids.
[rebelmouse-image 18357244 is_animated_gif=It happened to me yesterday. I'm a stay-at-home dad and I was dropping my son off at kindergarten. One of the other moms there has 4 kids, and her second one is in my sons class.
As we were about to leave, I saw the mom of 4 with her baby strapped to her, and her 2-year-old son was having a tantrum about walking home. I gave her the "we've all been there, stay strong" look that parents give each other.
So the mom says to the kid, "why don't you go home with him, he looks like he wants you!"
My initial reaction was "hey, don't drag me into your drama" but I understand her frustration. I bent down to be eye level with the kid and I said, "yeah, for sure. I've got some dryer vents I can use some small arms to help me clean."
The joke was obviously lost on the kid but the mom thought it was hilarious. Anyway, the kid opens his arm like he wants a hug, so whatever, I give him a hug.
Then he clings to me, for like 5 minutes. I've said maybe 5 words to this kid in my life, and he's holding on to me like he's afraid of falling down.
His mom says, "I think he misses his dad." I'm like, "Aww is he away?" And she says, "No, he's just not a hugger. Neither am I!"
So this poor kid would go willingly into the arms of a stranger because his parents don't hug him enough. That was sad as hell.
Ignoring your kids and telling them to shut up is abuse.
[rebelmouse-image 18357245 is_animated_gif=Was in a restaurant, a small boy was trying to ask his mum a question. She just kept ignoring him, and when she finally turned to him she told him to "shut up, play on your tablet". His face after that was the saddest thing, kinda broke my heart tbf.
Gambling is an ugly addiction. It's sad to watch, especially at a casino.
[rebelmouse-image 18357246 is_animated_gif=I was hanging out with a friend of mine while he was working at a gas station store.
Someone came in, bought a bunch of scratch tickets, went to a nearby counter to scratch them, cashed out the winners, used winnings to buy more, and he kept doing it until all the money was gone.
My friend said that sort of thing is pretty normal. I don't think I could work at a gas station.
Accidents happen and poor grandma has to live with this. Horrible.
[rebelmouse-image 18357247 is_animated_gif=I work in a hospital so I see lots of sad stuff but nothing compared to what I saw just a few months ago.
A little boy who was being babysat by his grandmother ran out into the street and was hit by a car and killed while he and Grandma were in the front yard. His grandmother was unable to do anything to stop him or intervene in any way because she was in her 70s and had to use a walker.
I remember being in the ICU waiting room after the news was broken to his parents and grandmother and his parents were screaming and cussing at Grandma, saying how could she let this happen, they never wanted to see her again, they hated her, she would never see her any of her grandchildren again, and hoped that she would burn in hell. It got so bad that security had to come in and intervene before it got too far.
The look on that old lady's face while her daughter and son-in-law were screaming at her is something I will never, ever forget.
This thread is getting to be too much.
[rebelmouse-image 18357248 is_animated_gif=Was sitting at a bus stop and a dog came running around the corner of a busy intersection, saw me and started running across the road towards me. It got hit. I bawled and still do when I think about it.
imagine having no one to call when you're literally on the ground dying...
[rebelmouse-image 18357249 is_animated_gif=Saw a guy I worked with have a heart attack. He was holding his arm and gasping for air. I sat him down and coached him to breathe while someone else called 911. He was hyperventilating and crying. He told me he was scared. I barely knew him. Someone asked him if there was anyone we should call, he said no. This man...absolutely scared of dying...had no one to call at a time he was knocking on death's door. I was so sad for him. The ambulance came and he was okay. But that one moment where he was so alone and scared was really, really sad.
Acceptance of death doesn't come right away...
[rebelmouse-image 18357250 is_animated_gif=My grandfather died after a long fight with ALS. In the end, he could pretty much only move his eyes under his eyelids, and sometimes not even that.
After he passed I sat with my mom and grandma for a long time. Every ten minutes my grandma checked his nose with a mirror, hoping to find him still breathing, hoping it wasn't true.
Easily the saddest thing I've ever seen.
Throwing a party and having no one show up is devastating.
[rebelmouse-image 18357251 is_animated_gif=Several years ago I was at a bar/club that had a small lounge upstairs. My friends and I were on our way upstairs to the lounge when a bouncer told us the room was reserved for a private event. We thought he was joking because there was only one guy in the entire lounge and it was rest of the place was packed. We didn't think much of it and went back downstairs. After leaving the bar my friends and I went to Tim Horton's for coffee and ran into the guy who was in the lounge. We asked him how his party went. He told us that it was his college graduation party / going away party and nobody came. You could see the pain behind his eyes. I hope he made better friends since then.
I'd say the woman's reaction was warranted.
[rebelmouse-image 18357252 is_animated_gif=A woman kicking her deceased husband's coffin, spitting on it, and saying, "I hope you're burning in hell, you son of a bitch."
He had committed suicide and left her with five kids to raise alone.
Have you ever heard of a certain job that people call a career and thought... "PEOPLE PAY YOU FOR THAT?!?!"
All hard, honest work is good work.
And then there is just trash work.
And I don't mean garbage collection, that is honest work.
I don't know how some people live with themselves.
Redditor MrTuxedo1 wanted to discuss the careers they don't believe people should chase. They asked:
"What job do you have no respect for?"
Ticket scalpers. How do you the audacity to say that's a job?
Actual burglars have more empathy.
Disrespectful
"There are debt collectors who call relatives of the deceased to pay off their debts when they are not legally obligated to."
Top_Gun_2021
Shady. Shady.
"Australian Real Estate Agents. Laws don't seem to apply to them. Just as dodgy in sales and rentals alike. Never seen anything like it overseas."
snave_
"I'm in the US, it can vary state by state but my state is pretty strict on realtor laws. Some states require attorney review and there are definitely penalties for being reported for shady sh*t. It does require consumer reporting though."
ilostmytaco
Etransfer
"Where I live, tax info was leaked and now scammers are targeting low income individuals/families (people earning under 30,000 per year) with etransfer scams. I got one the other day that was an etransfer warning that 240$ 'a family member sent me' was about to expire."
SnowyInuk
"That’s disgusting. The scammers know what they’re doing, they know the harm they cause people and yet they don’t care."
surelysandwitch
Should be illegal...
"MLM managers. Not the low level idiots that get suckered into it, they suck too for trying to bring new people into that sh*tshow, but the people who create them know exactly what they are doing and are pretty much the only ones who profit off of it. Should be illegal. Pyramid schemes are illegal. None of them ever get the just desserts except occasionally by vigilantes I assume."
Wereno
I hate debt collectors. Yeah, you calling me one hundred times a week is going to miraculously make money appear.
Animals
"Paparazzi."
VictorBlimpmuscle
"I met Jack Gleeson (King Joffrey from Game of Thrones) at a bus stop in Dublin. Really nice guy but he said he quit acting due to people being nasty online and constant hounding from paparrazi. He's happier now but it sucks that he was pushed away from a career he was quite good at."
goobi94
Scumbags
"The pastors at mega churches whom ask their followers for money for private jets. Absolute scum to abuse others faith for your own greed."
ichancho
"Brian Tamaki is a greedy freaking pig, he takes advantage of so many people who are already struggling. Every time he’s in the local news (which btw is often) I get more and more pissed off at him and his wife. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tamaki "
surelysandwitch
it’s a thing???
“'Dating Expert.' Sadly it’s a thing. It’s basically a self appointed title that requires no training or qualifications. What’s worse, is that I have a female friend who uses one. It’s very much a blind leading the blind situation."
Mean_Manufacturer_61
"Most of the self proclaimed “dating coaches” I know are women in their late 30s or early 40s who have never been married or had a longer relationship."
ipozgaj
EVIL
"Poachers. Especially big game poachers who purposefully hunt nearly extinct animals from species they know they are on the brink."
"I know there are poachers that come from rural villages who are trying to just put food on the table, which has my sympathy but poachers who come from money and hunt down animals minding their business in most shelters or restricted areas just to put a head on their wall as a trophy are absolutely heinous."
GetterdoneObiwan
I See It All
"Psychic Mediums. Specifically those who prey on the grieving."
JamesDeadite
"I've always found it interesting how many magicians go after people like this. I think it's because they know what it takes to trick people for the art. The slight of hand and mentalism. And they abhor people who use these tactics for such sh*tty purposes."
34HoldOn
I want so bad to believe in psychics and mediums. What say we on that topic?
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
The nose is constantly being attacked by odors of the world.
Going through one day without having to hold my breath during a certain point, is a miracle.
Of course, I'm a New Yorker, so I maybe exaggerating for people in the countryside.
What's funnier is odors that are pleasant, that shouldn't be.
Have you ever looked and something and thought... "yuck."
But then you smelled it and it was like... "oh lovely,"
Redditor HappQueue wanted to know what aromas are arousing to the senses that may come as a surprise to many. They asked:
"What smells good but shouldn't?"
For some odd reason I love the things burning. Anything, food, pots, pans. You name it. Weird.
Blow
"Matches/candles on a birthday cake. I remember lighting matches as a kid purely to blow them out and inhale that sweet match-y smell."
semispooked
"guilty good"
"I work at a Chemical plant. We make a highly acidic product that is dark blue, viscus, highly corrosive, and smells exactly like Fruit Loops. It is incredibly disturbing."
Turin082
"Organic chemistry has many 'guilty good' smells. Thiophosgene (sulfur derivative of a chemical weapon used extensively in WW1) apparently smells like meat. Phosgene is used to make polycarbonate, thiophosgene is used to make some sulfur-containing molecules which eventually end up in therapeutic drugs."
HammerTh_1701
I can't huff it...
"Paint, specifically house paint. I love the smell. But anytime I hear that anyone is painting a room or their house, I volunteer. I just love sitting on the floor in a room that's been freshly painted, closing my eyes and just inhaling that slightly chemically, slightly creamy aroma."
Neowza
A Hint of French...
"A fish and chips shop burnt down as couple blocks from work a few years ago. The whole neighborhood smelled amazing for days. Just the slight hint of French fries. Nothing overpowering. It was so awesome. Until I found out someone was trapped in the fire and died."
stevey_frac
Drag
"Race fuel. Instantly puts me in a good mood as it reminds me of going to the drag races with my dad when I was young."
garfnodie
Fuel and matches get me too. And they sort of go together. Interesting.
Just like the Movie...
"The water from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Mmm, bromine."
Stalkerslovemy
"This is one of my favorite scents of all time, and Disney is very aware that people enjoy it. Evidently it’s a lot harder to recreate than just adding bromine to water."
cash4panties
"black widow".
"There's a chicken wing restaurant near my house that has a challenge sauce called "black widow." The owner claims it to be around 500,000 scovilles. A few years back some buddies and I decided to try them, the sauce was a dark molasses color and smelled almost like a BBQ sauce, no hint of the danger that lurked at all. We each grabbed one wing and it went terribly. I don't know how something so spicy could smell so innocent."
Final-Chapter
Endless Weekend
"Hotel/rented rooms whenever you go on vacation. There's this particular smell that just says 'you are on vacation,' especially on a beach/swimming trips/out-of-the-town vacays."
Yummy_Llama
"Bath and Body Works has a plug-in scent called Endless Weekend that replicates that scent (to my humble nose)."
Exxcentrica
"oh no..."
"Someone you are attracted to's body odors. Anyone else who is slightly unhygienic smells repulsive."
Mini_gunslinger
"I remember back in high school a girl leaned over, sniffed me, told me that I smelled really good, and asked me what cologne I was wearing. I asked if she was joking, and she's like, no, you smell really good. When I told her I had just gotten done with gym class, she gets a small 'oh no...' look on her face and turns away. I think we both had a revelation that day."
user deleted
That Smell
"The smell inflatable things give off. I have no idea how to describe it, but it’s… nostalgic? to me."
crestfxllen
I do love the smell of plastics and inflatables. Ahh....
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
At one point in time, we've misplaced things that we've considered priceless possessions.
It's hard to imagine how to go on without the lost object–whatever it may be–but over time, it becomes a distant memory and we move on.
That is until we magically find ourselves presented with this opportunity proposed by Redditor mikehotel288, who asked:
"You find yourself in a room with everything you’ve ever lost in your life. What do you look for first?"
There are necessities people cannot do without.
No More Dry Lips Ever Again
"Gonna be a lot of chapstick in that room."
– camefromxbox
There are things that bring us comfort and are irreplaceable.
Safety Blanket
"My baby blanket. It became tattered over the years—to the point where I couldn’t reasonably wash it anymore—so I had to throw it away a little while back."
"I have heavily regretted that decision. I was really attached to it (hence it being in tatters), but I really wish that I kept what was left of it instead of throwing it away. Just knowing that I’d still have it would be a huge comfort to me."
– Uearie
Sentimental Heirloom
"The pendant my dad had made for me with my grandmother’s engagement diamond. It was 2 carats. It disappeared from a Las Vegas hotel room 20 years ago. It was hidden deep in a suitcase where it would not have been easy to find. It was just GONE. Cops didn’t do anything. Didn’t even come to take my statement. Cleaning lady said she thought she saw an elderly man enter my room. The guy I was with was not sympathetic in the least. Entire situation was f**ked. I’m still so upset about it."
– MaritimeDisaster
Lone Shark
"My plastic shark toy I lost when I was 10. Ain't no f'king way it just VANISHED."
– Guilty_As_Charged__
Not everything lost is tangible.
Tick Tock
"The time I wasted."
– shinyfennec
It Holds Value
"My private key with 6 BTC in it."
– Significant_Mirror19
"I didn't lose one, but I'll check my room for yours just in case."
– Smodphan
Finding Purpose
"The reason I walked into the room."
– Lloyd_lyle
Lost Opportunity
"That one girl i spoke to on omegle lol"
– h-amishh
If only we get to reunite with those we've lost.
The Loved Family Member
"My grandpa."
– Splatty_boi_420
Grieving Parent
"My daughter. She’ll be in my brother’s arms. So I’ll find both things I care to look for."
– SeeTheFence
Missing Mom
"My mom. She died of cancer in 2017. She never got to meet my daughter. I miss the hell out of her and wish she was still part of my family’s life."
– X-Arkturis-X
The Animals That Come Into Our Lives
"My pets that have passed: especially my horse, Blue. It's been 4 years, but it feels like just yesterday."
– Baciandrio
While many of these scenarios are unlikely, the thread gave people an opportunity to reflect on the things that made a strong impression on their lives.
Sometimes, the memories of the things we've lost–whether they are random objects or sources of love–is all we have.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
What's worse than returning home from a night out or a workday and discovering your home was broken into? Being home when the break-in happens.
Home invasions are a common trope portrayed in horror films like The Strangers and Funny Games, and they're absolutely terrifying because they are based on real-life incidents.
Redditor silentagent47 asked strangers to consider this horrifying hypothetical.
"You have 5 minutes to prepare before a guy breaks into your house with the intention to kill you. You can not exit your house. What is your strategy to survive?"
The hunter becomes the hunted, inspired by TV and movies.
Duplicating A Scene
"There was an episode of Burn Notice where Michael puts aerosol cans in the microwave with kitchen utensils and hits popcorn button. I really want to know if this works or not."
– JohnSterlingSanchez
Epic Burglar Trap
"Speed-watch Home Alone."
– pluribusduim
It's about the choice of weapon.
Jump Scare
"I get the vacuum cleaner ready in a certain room, I turn it on as hes about to enter to create a distraction, then I jump out when he's inspecting the noise and bonk the f'ker on the head with the piece of 2 inch steel tube I keep as a weapon."
– BustedBastard
Beware of Dog
"Unleash the Hounds"
– myassonreddit
Make A Weapon
"Duct tape a bunch of knives to the end of one of those tall lamps to make a spear of blinding and then proceed to go sicko mode."
– DubTheeBustocles
Preparing For A Thwack
"Turn shower on, for some reason I have a shovel behind my wardrobe?? So grab that. Wait for him to check shower, whack with shovel. Boom."
– hypersp00p
It's Just A Game
"Corner camp with a shotgun."
– Arrow3619
A Warm Welcome
"Hairspray and a lighter to his face."
– WorkingClassSheep
The effectiveness of these tactics are questionable, but points for creativity are warranted.
Stand Still
"Put a lamp shade on my head and stand in the corner of the room."
– Cannabis_Sir
Make It Erotic
"I turn on all the lights, take off all my clothes, rub butter all over myself, and start a fake conversation on the phone. As soon as he breaks in I say into the phone: 'I’ve gotta go, my next appointment is finally here…”
– FrankieTheAlchemist
Forget The Stairs
"Go to the LIVING ROOM."
– on-oath-never-again
Removing The Element Of Fun
"Draw an X on my forehead and grab a beer."
– Candycoatedmuffin3
And that's why I would opt for living in a commune or apartment complex.
People who own houses are just asking for forced entry.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.