Sometimes life can be painful. Other times it can be absurd. And still other times it can be patently ridiculous. Some situations are all three.
Sometimes things happen over which we have little or no control. And then there are the stories of the choices we've made––or the people we know and the choices they make––†hat cause a bad situation to shift into something else entirely.
After Redditor cromchable asked the online community, "What's your best 'but wait, it gets worse' story?" people chimed in with their experiences. Grab your popcorn.
"An acquaintance got married..."
An acquaintance got married in an extravagant $80,000 ceremony (that's $57,000 in freedom dollars) and broke up on their honeymoon.
But wait, it gets worse.
They split because the groom was cheating on the bride with a string of one night stands, meanwhile the bride was having an ongoing affair with... the best man.
But wait, it gets worse.
They pretended to stay married for 6 months after out of shame but it all came tumbling down when he made a huge facebook rant calling her a whore and tagging all their friends and family in it with the most dramatic s***storm of a comments section known to humanity.
But wait, it gets worse.
The bride and the best man decided they wanted to have a baby and she immediately ran off with him and got knocked up.
"Pulled over to check my trunk..."
Got rear ended by a truck. Pulled over to check my trunk on a hilly street. A car parked behind me rolled down hill and crushed me between it and my newly messed up trunk. Suffered some cracked ribs.
"My grandmother had gotten diagnosed with brain cancer..."
My grandmother died on Thanksgiving day in front of the whole family.
My grandmother had gotten diagnosed with brain cancer about six months prior and knowing that she was in hospice care, much of the family decided to come visit for one last Thanksgiving, even though she was unconscious in the next room. The entire day, the cooking was going on despite grandma's condition and teenage me spent many hours salivating over a whole roasted pig being barbecued outside in place of a turkey. I was pretty stoked. Just as the sizzling pig is being taken off the barbecue, the hospice nurse sticks her head outside and announces that it's time. My grandmother at this exact moment is passing away.
We all go inside, gather around the bed, and for 45 minutes or so, I watch as my grandmother gasps for air, twitches and dies. It was a little traumatic. For some reason after that, we decide we are going to still sit down and eat dinner. I'm watching the barbecue pig be chopped up and as I'm thinking I can probably still get myself to eat some of it, they douse it all in vinegar and chili flakes. Ruining it. So as I try to choke down this enormous disappointment, after watching my grandmother die, the morticians come and wheel her body out through the living roomAnd at that point, I was pretty much done.
"The only good thing that happened..."
I think probably the worst week of my life was getting my wisdom teeth out. I mean I'll take my parents divorce over doing that crap again.
I got my teeth out, and I woke up to being yanked outta my chair by the dentist to go to the recovery room. I immediately started crying cuz I didn't know what was going on. Once there, I had to ask them to go get my mom 3 times because I was calling in and out of sleep and I didn't understand what the nurse was saying.
I get home and my mouth doesn't hurt that bad but I'm still high af and can't swallow because my spit was all bloody and gross. So I literally just cried and drooled on my mom till I passed out again (I'm 21, not a great look).
I woke up and everything was fine for the first two days. But it became abundantly clear that I was allergic to whatever antibiotics they had me on. I threw up for six days, and the dentist wouldn't take me seriously until I started throwing up blood. I couldn't eat solid food, and I have a permanent aversion to chocolate ice cream now (fine going down, not great coming up).
When he finally asked me to come in so he could check me out there was a huge snowstorm and we were stranded for 2 days.
Then, I missed an exam because I couldn't do anything without vomiting, and had to get a doctor's note from the dentist which was a whole other ordeal.
The only good thing that happened was I lost like 10 pounds, which I immediately gained back because 4 weeks later COVID hit. Now I've got this crazy scars in the back of my mouth that I don't think healed properly, and I haven't been able to go back to the dentist because of COVID.
Note to anyone getting their teeth out - the actual process and recovery isn't that bad, just make sure you're not allergic to the medicine they give you.
"Well maybe that contributed to what happened next."
I work at an office. The building is owned by my boss who is too cheap to shell out for actual maintenance service and has employees do handy work around the clock.
One day, it started to snow. The snow was sticking to the sidewalk and showed no signs of letting up so of course me and my coworkers had to go out and clean it. So while my boss sat in his nice, cushy office, we start shoveling. One of my coworkers, let's call him X, is relatively new and having grown up in an apartment complex, has never shoveled before.
Well maybe that contributed to what happened next. He starts pushing the shovel in front of him at a crotch level. And eventually, the shovel head gets stuck on a raised brick and it pushes the handle end of the shovel into X's crotch.
There was no shovel handle because he had been given a broken shovel with a rusted end. Castration being imminent, X proceeds to tuck and roll, off the sidewalk and into oncoming traffic. Fortunately for X, somebody grabbed him and pulled him back to safety. Boss drove him to the emergency room and paid for the resulting tetanus shot and 14 stitches on the inner thigh.
Needless to say, he was not allowed to shovel again.
"A valet parker took a guest's Corvette..."
I was a manager at a hotel in Oakland. A valet parker took a guest's corvette out for a joy ride. He lost control of the car in a residential area and crashed into a parked car in a driveway. The corvette and the parked car smashed through the home's garage door and caught on fire. The home partially burned down. The valet was caught by the police a block away fleeing on foot with a broken leg.
"I went on holiday with my parents to Ireland..."
I went on holiday with my parents to Ireland a few years back and one of the days of the trip was one of the worst days of my life. The trip as a whole was fantastic but this one day just sucked.
My parents had booked all the hotels through a travel agency and the night that we were in Cork, we were booked to stay in this spa resort because we got a good deal or something.
At first when we pull up it looked super fancy, you know like a typical resort. But then we find out then we're not actually staying in the main building and they bring us out to these little cottages. Okay fine. But then we get in and the entire place smells like sewer and there's a million stains everywhere. We're like whatever at first, we're not that picky and it's only a night.
The next morning I wake up to find out that my period has started so that's already a bad start to a day.
Then I find out that the shower doesn't work and we all have to take baths. My parents go first and then it's my turn and we run out of hot water. So I have to take a bath in puddle from what's left in cold water.
But wait...it gets worse
We then decide that we're gonna buy tickets for one of those hop on hop off tour buses. We buy the tickets and we get on the bus and it's good at first. We're seeing the sights, it's pretty, whatever. But then, the bus suddenly gets on the freaking highway and we're sitting on the open top as branches are wizzing by over our heads fast enough that it could decapitate you if we weren't ducking.
We find out from the other passengers that this tour bus wasn't a tour bus but instead a bus taking people back to their cruise ship 40 minutes away.
So we have to sit on the open top of a double decker bus on the highway with branches almost hitting us for 40 min all well I'm terrified that I'm gonna leak through my pants because I'm on my period.
We eventually get to the cruise ship and we find out there's a train station near by. So we go the train station to get a train back to cork but the last one just left. So we had to wait an hour or so until the next one came.
Don't really remember what happened after that. It's funny now to look back on but I was pissed when it was happening.
Moral of the story is to not let travel agents book your hotels and to double check the bus you're getting on.
I highly recommend Ireland though, beautiful place!
"I was staying the night..."
My partner's mother told me they didn't like me, and said I was abusive the first time we had ever met. This was after chewing my partner out for not telling her I was staying over.
This was about two weeks after I fled my house and was essentially homeless due to a violent encounter with my family. I was staying the night at my partner's house because it was my birthday, and they wanted to spend the whole day with me, but didnt have a drivers license (we lived around 3 hours apart by car). My partner's mother even decided to bring up my situation within the conversation, saying me not having a home was the only reason she didnt kick me out that moment.
"I'm no longer allowed to sit with that friend group."
I can confirm it gets worse multiple times.
Two crushes last year. Lets start off with number one, Johan, he was someone in my friend group. Major crush on him, and asked him out. He said he'd think about it. One week I had enough. I asked him. He said he wasn't ready. That was fine with me. It was upsetting, of course. He had a girlfriend, someone he had known for two weeks, two days after the rejection.
But wait, it gets worse.
I'm no longer allowed to sit with that friend group. He spoke about me behind my back, friend group made fun of me, if I sat with them they'd ignore me. I was never my own person to begin, but the entire school knew me as the kid who had a crush on the nerd.
But wait, it gets worse.
I mentioned two crushes, right? Second was a girl, Holly. She was the only person I felt actually cared, and she was a sweetheart. I liked her way more than Johan. She knew I had a crush, but she didn't know it was her. She persisted until I gave up and told her it was her. She said the same, wasn't ready, and it hurt much more. But like any sane person, I didn't argue.
But wait, it gets worse.
A week later. "FAITH I HAVE A GIRLFRIE- oh" It was bad that time. Cried for almost five hours straight, no fun when it happens twice.
Guys, gals, non binaries, anything. If you're going to reject somebody, be honest on why. It hurts.
"I had a coworker..."
I had a coworker that would go off on rages. If I saw him pick his phone up during break, I knew to lock myself in the pantry because of his anger issues. He'd get into huge fights with his pretend catfish girlfriend, and throw and slam things and yell at the top of his lungs.
One year, he got so much worse. He acted like a child and would throw tantrums.. Locking himself in the dishroom and calling our boss to make up lies about me, how I was being 'cruel' and 'mean' to him when I politely asked him to go get the milk because the milk he was supposed to throw out yesterday was soured and could not be served.
We had to tell him to go pick up the shipment constantly, and when it came to lunch rush, he threw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen and threatened to put me, my coworkers and the children we were feeding in the hospital. He also shared a story about being accused of being a pedophile, and how he proved it wasn't him with sketchy explanations and vague details.
My boss at the time said she hied him to stay in the kitchen so he wouldn't be around the children.
Well, I report the threat to my boss, and between her and my coworker's friend who happened to be one of the bosses, decided that I was the one to be fired.
People are stupid.
"My dental experiences."
My dental experiences. Not as bad as most stories here but not a fun time.
Start of high school. My teeth have always been crooked. Between both my parents' insurance they have 100% dental coverage, so, braces, let's go!
But wait, my mouth is too small to fit the normal human amount of teeth. Before any work can be done, 4 molars must be removed from my mouth. Surgery is done all in one go so I get knocked out and am unable to eat solid food for weeks, but also can't use a straw because the suction could reopen the holes. Fine, shortly after, recovery complete, braces let's go!
But wait, even after removing 4 teeth the rest are still too close together for braces to work properly. I have to get rubber bands inserted between my teeth to forcibly spread them apart over a period of weeks so there's enough room for the braces to do their job. This is extremely painful, imagine someone constantly pulling on your teeth with pliers for weeks to move them. Fine, that's done, braces let's go!
But wait, for similar lack of space reasons, braces take longer to work than usual and need constant adjustment. I have to wear them for FOUR YEARS aka ALL OF HIGH SCHOOL. Fine, I get them off before grad, and I'll be free of dental stuff for university, except for having to wear a mouth guard overnight for the rest of my life to make sure my teeth don't shift back again.
BUT WAIT, I start experiencing dental pain. Side effects from braces? Nope. Impacted wisdom teeth have completely dissolved the roots of my molars and are pressing directly on the nerves. Molars are already dead well beyond saving, so if they're not pulled immediately, they could shatter at any moment and leave the nerves exposed. Four more teeth pulled, wisdom teeth get to stay, in the hope they'll eventually straighten out with more space available.
They never did so on my lower jaw I have only one molar on each side I can use for chewing, and overall 8 fewer teeth than the average human.
"The NICU sent us a letter..."
Our baby died 6 weeks ago.....but wait, it gets worse! The NICU sent us a letter congratulating us on the birth of our new baby when they literally had her in their morgue.
"She calls a meeting with him..."
Friend of mine was to be the groom. The night before the wedding, his fiancé found out that he had been cheating on her for a long time. She calls a meeting with him, their parents, his sister and her brother. She confronts him about it at this meeting, and he admits it. She decides she will not marry him the next day, or ever.
But wait it gets worse. During that meeting they all have to decide what to do about the next day and what the story should be about why the wedding is off. Many friends and family have traveled a long way to be there, the vendors are all paid, and they don't want to just send everyone home. And while the bride and her family are obviously furious, they're not vengeful people and they feel that they would be as embarrassed by the truth as the groom and his family would be. So they all mutually agree that they don't want to tell everyone the truth.
Incredibly, they decide to go through with the whole wedding... except it's a sham. Only the eight of them know it. The next day they have the ceremony, they say the vows in front of everyone, they kiss... but it's all a lie to the rest of their friends and family. They don't actually sign whatever marriage certificates and other things you have to do offstage in order to legally get married. They then go through with the reception too, pretending to have a great time. The parents even do their toasts. Nobody else has any idea.
I'm not sure how they expected to keep this a secret afterwards. Probably they didn't, they just felt it was their best option in the short term of that day. I found out about a month later and it just blew my mind how they were able to pretend like that all night.
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People Divulge The Songs They Sang In Childhood They Didn't Know Were Inappropriate
Reddit user Ok_Way_2341 asked: 'As a child, what’s a song you sang loud and proud, only to find as an adult it’s super inappropriate for a child to be singing?'
Back before we became self-conscious adults many of us sang our hearts out. But we weren't all singing the greatest hits of Barnie or Disney.
Probably more than a few of us belted out what we heard on the car radio, home stereo or streaming music services our parents or older siblings listened to.
Which led more than a few of us to expand our vocabulary beyond our years.
Reddit user Ok_Way_2341 asked:
"As a child, what’s a song you sang loud and proud, only to find as an adult it’s super inappropriate for a child to be singing?"
His Purple Majesty 👑
"'Gett Off' by Prince. My mother heard me sing '21 positions in a one night stand' and took the disc off me."
"It unfortunately belonged to my older sister."
"Got punished twice in one week."
"I still love that song."
- Cherrianje
Giphy"I was very very very old before I realized what 'Little Red Corvette' was about. Like mid-century old."
- Street_Roof_7915
"She had a pocket full of horses..."
- heatherbyism
"Trojan and some of them used…"
- Ferraenz
"I guess I should've closed my eyes, When you drove me to the place where your horses run free, 'Cause I felt a little ill when I saw all the pictures, Of the jockeys that were there before me."
- heatherbyism
"That line was so confusing to me as a kid."
"Toy plastic horses, maybe?"
- absentbusiness
GiphyMaybe not on that car ride.
"In the car, riding shotgun with my dad driving… 'I’ll make love to you, like you want me tooooo' - Boyz II Men."
- ADrunkenBotanist
"That’s in that weird intersection of 90s R&B that was tender and not necessarily nasty, but still definitely about sex.
"And sometimes, the songs were nasty, but if they were smooth, you could get away with it. 'Freek’n You' by Jodeci and 'Too Close' by Next come to mind."
- bearded_dragon_34
Who was it?
"'It Wasn't Me' by Shaggy"
- AnimeTattooChick1836
"My classmate told me when she was younger she thought it went 'we were both butt-naked, banging on the bathroom door'."
"Seems a little strange that she didn't question the fact that they were naked, but yeah."
- No_Location854
"Oh no, I still thought it was floor."
"But for some reason my innocent little brain legit imagined just two naked people on their knees banging their fists on the actual floor."
"Ahhh simpler times."
- mikehawksux
GiphyMmmm... candy.
"The particular song that mentions 'I'll take you to the candy shop and let you lick my lollipop' left me completely unaware of its underlying meaning back then, as I blissfully enjoyed its melody."
- dimarikl
"That song is 'Candy Shop' by 50 Cent."
- Zcoombs4
We blame Austin Powers.
"'I Touch Myself' by Divinyls"
“I don’t want anybody else. When I think about you I touch myself.”
- Sorry_Rhubarb_7068
"I still remember the day my early 20’s self figured it out, that holy crap! moment."
- MyOldGurpsNameKira
"I figured it out when I was 14."
"To be fair, that’s a major hobby of pretty well all 14-year-old kids."
- dagbrown
Giphy"I forget what year that song came out, but I think I was around 15 when it did. (so about 1990, I guess?) I remember getting what it was about, but thinking I had to be wrong because it'd be 'illegal' for someone to release a song like that, so it must be about something else and I'm just too dumb to understand what it's really about."
"I had this weird idea as a kid that I was only one of the people on the planet who knew what sex was, so I assumed almost everything sexual related was an accident (as in, they didn't mean to make it sound like it's about sex) and it was actually about something else and I was too dumb to understand the true meaning."
"I actually made up a number once of people who knew what sex was and that number was 7. I thought myself + 6 other people on the entire planet knew what sex was."
"I honest to God thought this, by the way. I never stopped and wondered where all these kids came from if only 7 people knew what sex was."
- temalyen
Mini Monster
"My 11 year-old, completely innocent niece: 'let's have some fun, this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick' [from 'Love Game' by Lady Gaga]."
"Me: 'Let's play a different song'."
- 314159265358979326
"Skyrockets in flight" wasn't about NASA?
"Apparently 'Afternoon Delight' [by Starland Vocal Band] wasn’t about getting out of school."
"I did not know that."
- HuellMissMe
Giphy"My mum told me it meant having cake in the afternoon, which made perfect sense to me because that IS delightful."
- HelpfulName
"My aunt told us 'Afternoon Delight' was about going to get ice cream. 🙃"
- Truecrimeauthor
"I thought it was about a picnic!"
- MoonLoony
"I thought it was about a picnic too!"
"In 3rd grade we were each allowed to bring in our favorite record and play it for the class."
"That’s the one I brought."
- _ThisIsOurLifeNow_
GiphyIgnorance is bliss.
"My friend's daughter used to loudly sing Katy Perry 'Peacock'."
"Literally Everyone: 'Ummm...'."
"Friend: 'It's a song about a bird, and you will not say otherwise'."
- domestic_omnom
Got milk?
"'My Humps' - Black Eyed Peas"
"Apparently they were not just talking about milk and Cocoa Puffs."
- happygolucky226
"No, that's that 'Milkshake' song [by Kelis]."
"She makes really good milkshakes, right?"
- CatOfGrey
Giphy"My cousin (4 at the time) loved singing the 'Milkshake' song."
"Then she and her sister were gently told not to sing it so they moved onto 'My Humps'!"
"I couldn’t bear hearing about lovely lady lumps, so I tried to find another song more appropriate."
"They settled on another Peas one 'Shut Up!'."
"Slightly more tolerable I guess, but there was no telling the girls to shut up because they’d just start repeating it back in song at you."
- 3rdslip
GiphyBut Uncle Luke was so subtle...
"'Me So Horny' by 2 Live Crew."
"My Dad once said 'It’s your mom’s favorite song'."
"Thanks Dad."
- Geriatric_Sloth
"When I was a kid, my little brother came into the room singing [from 'We Want Some P***y' by 2 Live Crew] 'Just nibble on my d*ck like a rat does cheese'."
"My mom in outrage said, 'what did you say!'"
"He calmly looked at her and spoke confidently, 'All I said was just nibble on my d*ck like a rat does cheese'."
"He was like 4 or 5 years old, that tape [Is What We Are by 2 Live Crew] was confiscated immediately."
- Tweedbreak
Uncle Luke of 2 Live Crew
GiphyAnd now for something completely different...
"In about 3rd or 4th grade I came home from playing at a friends house…said friend had been singing some weird song that got stuck in my head."
"So I stroll in and take my seat at the dinner table and start singing as loud as I can: 'Sit on my face and tell me that you love me! I’ll sit on your face and tell you that I love you too!!'…my parents damn near choked."
"They couldn’t stop laughing and then told me never ever to sing that again. Luckily they were huge Monty Python fans…nothing I knew about at the time."
- roygbiv_87
*WARNING: NSFW*
Ah, to be young and innocent again.
Did you learn anything new about what a song really means?
Or did you sing something as a child that didn't make the list?
Share your story in the comments.
TRIGGER WARNING:This article contains sensitive content about death and injury.
Sometimes, on a completely uneventful day, while someone is doing something they've always done, something goes terribly wrong. An accident occurs.
Sometimes, the person is lucky enough to make it. Other times, they are not.
These are total freak accidents -- harmful incidents that occur under unusual and unlikely circumstances.
I don't have any experience with this myself, but Redditors do. They are now sharing the stories of how people they knew died in freak accidents.
It all started when Redditor RawAsparagus asked:
"People who knew someone who died in a freak accident, what happened?"
A Nasty Death
"I used to work for a septic company. A guy who drove one of the big septic trucks that sucked out underground septic tanks at people's houses had to get on his hands and knees and reach into the tank because the lid had fallen in. He lost his balance and fell head first in. His shoulders got wedged in the opening and he drowned upside down in human waste. I don't think I've ever heard of a worse way to go. The homeowner found him after about an hour."
– Claytrain1989
Neck Injuries Are No Joke
"A family friend bumped his head, walked about 15 feet across his back yard, sat at his picnic table and died."
"Autopsy showed no head trauma, but he broke his neck when he hit his head. They figured the walk across the yard caused something to shift enough to do fatal damage to his spinal cord."
– Blundell1992
"My sister came so close to dying in a somewhat similar way. She was in a car accident and was pulled out of the wreckage by some friends. She was guided to some grass by the side of the road to sit and wait for the ambulance. She apparently kept saying her neck was really sore & was asking people to help her “pop” it. Thankfully, her friends were smart enough to encourage her to leave it alone. She gets to the hospital & some yahoo either doesn’t read the x-ray or reads it wrong & agrees that her neck is just sprained or something & wants to send her home. Somehow, someway, they ended up transferring her to another hospital before that happened who discovered her badly broken neck which required surgery to fix and left her with permanent nerve damage. I have NO IDEA how she didn’t end up paralyzed or dead. She has the stupidest luck where the most random bad things will happen to her but she turns out fine in the end lol"
– Aggravating-Jaguar96
Poor Guy
"A guy I knew was setting up a rope swing over a lake for his kids and their friends, which he had done many times before. He always would take a practice swing himself before he would let the kids go. His hands slipped off the rope and he fell before he was over the lake. He hit his head on a rock and died in front of the kids."
– highvolt132
Why I'm Scared Of Animals
"Former co-worker of mine was gored by a bison while on a trail run. Ironically, he often posted on message boards for the park to be aware of wild animals while there, and in one post he said there are too many people with headphones on, or trying to get too close to the bison to take selfies. He was normally very careful apparently."
– doctor-rumack
Before Life Even Started
"Lovely girl I went to HS with got a scholarship to a prestigious university, being one of the very few students from my sh*tty school to make it to college or uni. Two weeks into term her room mate found her laying in her bed dead. The heating boiler was faulty and she'd died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her sleep. We'd even thrown a party for her to celebrate her achievement. This was in 1996 and I'm tearing up a bit thinking about this. RIP Sonia."
– Johhnymaddog316
Adrenaline
"A friend of a friend showed up at his girlfriend's apartment with a head wound. He didn't know how it happened. He also didn't know how he drove over there."
"She took him to the ER where he ended up passing away."
"He had his keys, wallet and phone on him."
"The only thing we could think of is he might have tripped, fell and hit his head in the wrong spot."
– cbpantskiller
"It was probably muscle memory that got him there."
"How awful."
– BoringMcWindbag
"Or adrenaline. There was a woman who got attacked by a bear on her isolated mountain ranch. After fighting off the bear (with the help of her dogs), she got in her car and drove several miles down precarious mountain roads to the nearest fire station with her face ripped clean off and, IIRC, one eyeball dangling out of its socket. She said she was almost totally blind and going into shock, but a combination of muscle memory and adrenaline somehow got her down the mountain safely."
"She did an AMA on reddit once. Cool lady. She wrote a memoir, too."
"EDIT TO ADD: Her name was Allena Hansen. I read her memoir and I quite liked it. She's a funny woman who has lived a very interesting life, even aside from the bear attack."
– eldestdaughtersunion
Frozen
"I was snowboarding in 1997 in Switzerland with a good friend. He was skiing. I had caught en edge and landed on the back of my head while also twisting my knee badly. I was being looked over by the mountain rescue and first aid. I told my friend he could keep skiing, i would head back to our villa."
"I ended up going to sleep at around 6pm as I had a hot shower and some tylenol 3s after dinner. I woke up to see my friend hadn't returned and thought it was odd but maybe he hooked up with a lady at some bar."
"Friend never came back from skiing. He was found deep in a crevasse the next afternoon and frozen to death."
– rayrayrayray
A Legitimate Fear
"A friend slipped and fell in the tub. Cracked his head. His roommate found him a half hour later. Died on the way to the hospital."
– HypeMachine231
"I've always been afraid of falling and dying in a bathroom."
– Morlanticator
"I tore my shoulder labrum falling in the shower. It seems like such an elderly person sort of way to get hurt, but I’m not old. Non-slip tub mats are like five bucks, people. It’s a good investment."
– the_cadaver_synod
Always Use A Spotter
"The TV station I worked at previously had a gym in it, and during the midnight shift, the security guard, during his break, decided to lift some weights alone in the gym. He lifted the bar, which was apparently too heavy, and it came crashing down and cut off his circulation. No one discovered him until about six hours later when someone came in to use the shower in the gym."
– phisigtheduck
Pinned
"My uncle was mowing grass on an embankment next to a small body of water. The mower unexpectedly slipped down the embankment and overturned on top of him, pinning him under the water. He drowned in a few feet of water that he otherwise could have stood up in."
– apatheticnihilist
"When my mom was working in hospitals, they had a patient whose tractor rolled over him and he fell into a ditch with water. He was so lucky because he was on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and when he rolled over, a car passed by. The woman driving rushed to his aid and held his head out of the water. This was before cellphones so she had to wait holding him until another car drove by and then rushed to the nearest house to use the phone. Guy made a full recovery thanks to that woman being there at the exact right time."
– BlackChimaera
A Horrible Accident
"An old buddy I had known since elementary school died while driving when a chunk of loose gravel was kicked up through his windshield by a passing truck on the freeway. His best friend had been riding in the passenger side and had to steer the car to safety. It was nobody’s fault, just a complete freak accident. I’ve always felt terrible for the friend who had to watch it happen."
"I think about my friend who died a lot. He was a really cool guy. I still remember playing basketball with him during recess when we were kids. It’s strange to think that he never could have known how his life would end or see it coming in any way. That kid I used to play basketball thought he still had an entire life ahead of him."
– an_edgy_lemon
See A Bump, Go To A Hospital
"A mom went ice skating. Little slip, fell, all everyone saw was her bump her head lightly."
"Family finished skating. On the ride home, she started speaking gibberish. Dad dropped kids at the grandparents, took mom to the ER."
"Brain swelling, coma, dead a week later."
– Expert-Diamond6467
Honestly, I've always been scared of dying from a head injury that doesn't seem serious at the time. Always, always, always get checked out!
Dating experiences can be incredibly fun and even formative, but it can also be full of tough and painful lessons.
With each relationship, we're bound to learn things that we don't like or aren't looking for in our next partner.
Redditor Valuable-Ad440 asked:
"What do you think the biggest mistake is that people make in relationships?"
Not Apologizing
"Not being able to apologize. If someone tells you they're upset with you, you don't need to argue back."
- TheGame1126
Being Defensive
"Not being able to hear your partner expressing their own needs or constructive critiques without getting defensive."
"You should be able to hear your partner out with concern and curiosity, and THEN address your own feelings that happened as a result of their words. If you can’t have a difficult conversation without being overwhelmed by your own insecurities, you’re not ready to be in a relationship."
- greengiant1101
Too Many Compromises
"Compromising when they started the relationship, and then regret sets in and destroys the relationship."
- Damseldoll
(Not) Winning Arguments
"Trying to 'win' arguments. The goal should be to solve disagreements as a team, not come out as the victor."
- DoublePelix
Not Dating Their Best Friend
"Your partner not being your friend, too."
- Wonderful-Note9289
"Back when we were dating, my wife once told me that I was her boyfriend, but also her friend. I found that odd. Then she pointed out that her ex never had had the potential to be her friend. They just didn't match."
"Since then, I realized how important this is."
- Lvcivs2311
Lack of Communication or Acceptance
"So many people jump straight to 'lack of communication,' but more often than not the problem is refusing to accept what your partner is communicating."
"Communication skills can always be better, but a lack of understanding or willingness to compromise around the difference in each other's needs leads to resentment really quickly. Once you resent each other, it's game over, there's no real way to come back from that."
- alk6489
Taking Others for Granted
"Taking the other person’s love, time, empathy, or patience for granted."
- thebuffyb0t
"Or holding onto a relationship that isn't making you happy out of some hope that the other person will stop taking those things for granted."
"Both are non-starters."
- sophistre
Different Values
"I would rephrase this as 'people are their values and what they value.'"
"If you want a big family and they want to be child-free, you’re not compatible."
"If you are a homebody and they have wanderlust, one of you is going to be miserable."
"If they are fixated on their career and external signs of success and you are more interested in experiences and togetherness, you’re both going to resent each other."
"If you have significantly different political outlooks, it’s going to poison how you see each other over time."
"The first person to say yes to you may not be the right person for you long term. You need to talk about your values and life goals, and if they don’t align, don’t sit there hoping the other person will compromise who they are for you, or expect yourself to compromise who you are for them."
"Respect each other enough to recognize you aren’t the right life partner and move on."
- Fraerie
Getting Married First
"Waiting until you’re too far in to discuss marriage and kids. That’s an issue that needs to be hammered in before you completely shut yourself off from anyone else."
- DefinitelyNotADave
"Tons of people have those tough discussions way too late. Kids, in-law interactions and responsibilities, finances, living situations, household chores, medical issues, and future plans ALL should be discussed before getting married."
"If you don't have an answer for that now, you're going to have to find an answer soon enough. All of these things WILL be faced throughout your lifetime together. It's better to find out if you're completely incompatible before signing that paper. Or at least you've got a plan of how to face things together."
- buyongmafanle
Helping Around At Home
"My girl has been on vacation for about two weeks and f**k, I hate cooking, man!"
"I should help her prep some of the food. It's just more time-consuming than anything else. But yeah, when she gets back, I'll start helping her more. I eat a s**t ton, so yeah."
- Deads4dayz
"Start now, impress her with your effort when she gets back, and tell her you realized how much time she was putting in. Can't go wrong."
- orionicly
"Learn some knife skills on youtube, it can cut your prep time by 50% easily. I've seen people spend ten minutes on a single onion, smh (shaking my head)."
- DaoNight23
"And clean as you cook! Something is simmering on the stove and you can step away for five minutes? Don’t kill time on the couch, clean your workstation! Then when it’s time to serve, you have only a minimal amount of cleanup left to do."
- Youareaharrywizard
"CAYG or Clean As You Go is taught in professional kitchens everywhere for a reason, it’s a proven strategy to keep things clean."
"That and 'if you have time to lean, you have time to clean,' but that one is less popular."
- its_justme
Getting Too Comfortable
"I think it's a combination of getting so comfortable with somebody that you take things for granted, stop doing the little things, and stop communicating."
- Rathemon
"Been feeling this recently. My girlfriend and I moved in together nearly two years ago, and our relationship improved so much when we did, but it has led to me taking things for granted."
"I'm traveling at the moment, and I haven't seen her in nearly a month, and I'm really missing just existing together. Even something as simple as sleeping next to each other, I miss it like crazy, but it's not something I think of as much when we're both at home."
- V0lkhari
Committing 100/100
"Thinking that it's one person's work. A successful relationship needs commitment and work from both parties."
- Mapache_villa
"I find that as the woman, I’m usually carrying the emotional load and it’s f**king exhausting. Talking about feelings, initiating tough conversations, etc. I won’t do it anymore."
- pattimay_ho_nnaise
Having Children to Love
"Believing that having a child will fix their problems."
"Great job, now the THREE of you are in a sucky situation and now are forever tied through a choice you both made instead of just working it out OR separating, both options that would've been a lot less messy and complicated, not to mention that the kid is now stuck between something that's not their responsibility to fix and now they're suffering through it."
"'Compromising' on big life decisions, it never ends well."
- ThanosWifeAkima-4848
Knowing When to Say Goodbye
"Not leaving or ending a relationship when it needs to be ended. Sometimes the best thing to do is to walk away."
- toosickto
That About Sums It Up
"Not 'dating' their partner after getting married and having kids."
"Not communicating."
"Not being on the same page when it comes to finances, household responsibilities, and boundaries with external family."
"Simply not prioritizing their partner."
- vtfb79
These responses came from people who clearly regretted decisions they'd made in relationships or been on the receiving end, neither of which likely felt very pleasant.
Countless emotions arise when going on a first date.
Making this all the more difficult is that a first date is one of the few things that absolutely must be done solo, so bringing friends as backup simply isn't an option.
Leaving one to wish there was a handbook for navigating a first date successfully.
Of course, while there is no official guide, everyone has rules and beliefs about what to do and what to avoid on a first date.
From how to effortlessly bring out your best qualities, to a foolproof escape plan if your date is anything but the one you've dreamed your whole life of meeting.
"What's an unspoken rule on a first date?"
EyeContact, And Not With Your Screen...
"Your phone is not part of the date."- Wonderful-Note9289
"Don't be on your phone the whole time."
"And don't talk about your ex."- HoW-LoNg-DoCtOR-YES
Think Very Carefully Before That Second Round
"Don’t drink too much."- drivethruhell
"Had a date like this."
"Within the first 90 minutes they had taken like three shots, and were on their third drink."
"I understand wanting to calm your nerves, but damn."
"The whole 'you need to play catch up LOL' isn't as cute as you think it is."
"We did not go on any other dates."- mothershipq
Drink GIFGiphyThere Is no Scent More Intoxicating Than Your Own...
"Have a shower beforehand."- Porriz
"And take it easy with the perfume/cologne."
Your date shouldn't smell you before they see you."- imnotlouise
No One Likes A Moocher...
"Don't order any extras plates to eat at home with your mom when the other is paying."- lil_wavey999
Always Be On The Same Page...
"Both should know it is a date."- mosquitohater2023
"I met a woman at an out of town festival through a friend of mine that she was hooking up with."
"She ended up taking too many shrooms and I spent an hour with her helping her to feel calmer."
"She is a traveling nurse and was going to be in my city in a few weeks so we exchange numbers and when she gets in town she asked if I want to get some sushi."
"Happy to make a new friend, we meet up, talk a lot about my friend that she’s hooking up with telling funny stories about him."
"Eventually it comes up that I’m leaving the next day for a 3 week trip to Europe with my girlfriend and she screams, 'I thought this was a f*cking date!'"
"Reeeeaaallly awkward."- redmoskeeto
Dating Wtf GIF by MaxGiphyBe Open And Transparent...
"Not a rule but never make the other person carry the conversation."
"You're both here to make an effort and give each other the respect."
"If you both want different things then let it be said after."
"No need to hurt someone's self-respect for your ego."- Arkjump
"Be there with honest intentions and nothing else."- S-Vagus
Or At Least Be Willing To Share
"Don’t order 3 full meals."- WinkMartindale
"AND expecting him to pay for all of it."
"I mean sure if you want to take some home for your mom, you pay for that yourself."- Widowhawk·
GiphyBe Prepared For A Lack Of Shared Interests...
"Leave the coin collection at home, wow her with that on the second date."- IronLion11·
Choose Your Activities Carefully
"Don't go to the movies or a fancy dinner on your first date if you don't already know this person."
"The movies is a place where you sit in silence for 2 hours staring straight ahead."
"That does not give you any opportunity to get to know the other person."
"A sit down dinner can be perfectly fine, but if you know within the first 10 minutes that you have no desire to spend any more time in this person's presence, you're stuck through the rest of the meal."
"First dates should always be intentionally short with an option to extend."
"Coffee, froyo, drinks, things that can turn into an hour of talking or 'would you like to grab a bite to eat?'"- baltinerdist
Get Your Emotions Under Control
"Don't excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and then accidentally think about your ex while in there, have to fight back tears, and then come back to the table after way too long, with puffy red eyes."
"Whoops." - Reddit
Sad That 70S Show GIF by LaffGiphyJust Be Open And Honest... To an Extent...
"Don't: Unload on your date about your trauma."
"Gotta keep that sh*t under wraps until at least date 5."
"Do: Be yourself, unless your whole personality teeters on your traumatic history--in that case, self-deprecating humor will suffice until you can successfully abandon all hope and sit in your car for an hour to cry afterward."-Deep-Essay-4829
A Conversation Is A Two-Way Street
"Usually when asked a question I’d answer it and then hit her with a 'what about you?'"
"To ensure that I wasn’t dominating the convo."
"Let the other person speak."- bumboclawt
... NOPE...
"Bring an egg, uncooked, in your pocket."
"Casually let it fall out at the end of the date."
"This establishes you as a breadwinner, who else has the money to just carry eggs around in their pockets?"
"When your date, inevitably, wants to know more about the egg just shrug it off."
"You're not here to brag, your egg does that for you."- wearywarrior
Broken Heart Love GIF by Share It AgainGiphyIf there is one rule absolutely everyone should follow when going on a first date, it's not being beholden to rules, spoken or unspoken.
After all, the best romances are often the ones which happen organically.
Love cannot be forced.