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People Share Dark Secrets They Need To Get Off Their Chest

People Share Dark Secrets They Need To Get Off Their Chest
Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

Harboring a secret is always stressful.

Be it not spoiling a surprise party, knowing your friend is going to propose to their partner or learning about someone's exciting career news before everyone else, keeping this privileged information to yourself is no easy task.

When you're tasked with keeping a rather serious secret, however, sometimes keeping it to yourself might feel impossible.

Particularly if the information you're withholding is incriminating to yourself, almost making your urge to speak with someone else all the more necessary.


Redditor WANACWaac was curious to hear the secrets people are desperate to get off their chests, leading them to ask:

"What’s a dark secret you want to get off of your chest?"

Accidentally Setting The House On Fire

"When I was seven I was home alone."

"I called 911 due to a house fire that consumed half the house and they found me outside."

"My mother, who was at work, I was a latchkey kid, was told by the fire department that it was an electrical fire."

"In truth, I had a lighter and was fascinated by fire."

"I was burning the little tassles at the end of the blanket on my bed, putting them out before it caught the whole blanket on fire."

" Until I wasn't able to and the whole bed caught fire."

"An electrical outlet shorted out from the heat, which caused the firemen to think that was the cause."

"I'm 40 now."

'My mother still doesn't know the truth and I still remember it all vividly, complete with the heat on my face as I tried in vain to put out the bed."- Dyerdon

Memory Issues

"I have terrible memory issues, and no matter what i do to keep things on track, meds, planners, reminders, alarms, etc., things still slip through the cracks."

"It makes me feel terrible bc I hate the disappointed or even frustrated look I get when I ask a question and should CLEARLY know the answer."

"It’s especially difficult when people end up thinking I don’t care, bc 'if you cared then you’d remember'."

"I care so much, I never want to ask what we planned for tomorrow, again, and when your birthday is, again, despite attending the party last year."

"It just gets really hard to juggle everything all the time."- Echo_was_slain

Revenge

"I gave my baby nephew a noisy toy because I was having a petty fight with my sister."- Wooden_Artist_2000

Imposter Syndrome

"I genuinely fear that I’m only nice and considerate due to habit and training."- CanIseeyourunderwear

Grieving Alone

​"I have had the same best friend since I was 16."

"We met in high school."

"When we turned 19 she met her husband."

"I quickly became closer to him than my best friend."

"We developed a deep brother sister type bond."


"My best friend has cognitive disabilities and anxiety so I would vent a lot to him because he was just easier to talk to."

"This past October he died of AML leukemia."

"I stepped up and helped my best friend through the transition.'

"I planned a memorial service, paid for the cremation, was reimbursed after life insurance processed, and was basically a rock."

"But internally I am completely gutted."

"I do not trust easily and he was one of the very few people I felt I could tell anything to."

"The loss is hard for me and I have no where to go with the pain because the one person I would talk to about it is him and he's dead."

"I don't want to say these things to my best friend because it drags up so much for her."

"She is hurting deeply and I'm trying to be strong for her."

"It's a difficult mix to deal with."- Heidi_the_unicorn

Not As Popular As He Thinks...

"A friend goes on and on about how many twitch followers he has and how he’s getting so big as a streamer, etc.'

"He doesn’t know that most of his followers/viewers are me.'

"He was so depressed that nobody was tuning in that I used a google worksuite account and a ton of aliases to spawn twitch accounts to follow/watch him."

"It’s gotten out of control though and he keeps trying to lord and over our friend group how many viewers/followers."

"Not sure how to proceed, because he was pretty depressed before I created all the followers and worry he’ll get depressed again if I slowly stop doing it." -Reddit

Don't Waste Your Time

"I worked on 'SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger', and know for a fact that the game cannot be 100% completed on the DS version (99% max)."

"Not my fault but I hate that it shipped like that and feel sorry for anyone who's seriously tried."- SoftShoeShuffle

Social Anxiety

"I have crippling social anxiety."

"I'm extremely lonely all the time and I struggle to make friends at the best of times."

"My two best friends more like brothers than friends whom I could tell anything to."

"One moved half way across the world and the other ended up in jail for a horrendous crime."

"All I want is to have a solid group of friends I can rely on and they on me, but after multiple attempts I just feel that being alone is better than trying and failing."- Gunnerscc6

Family Secrets

"I worry that I may have ruined my aunt's life."

"A few years ago I found out that my grandma had an affair and that my grandpa was not my aunt's father."

"She was 28 or so when I learned this."

"I was wrestling with this knowledge when I overheard my mother on the phone with one of her siblings say that she wanted the secret to stay buried forever."

"Every single bone in my body told me that was wrong."

"My aunt deserved to know the truth."

"So I told her."

"Mere hours after I did, the entire family knew the secret was out and all of them turned on me."

"My mother was screaming at me and slapped a plate of food out of my hands."

"I tried to ignore her and go down to my room, but she cornered my and continued screaming at me."

"Everything in her posture said she was going to hit me, and she raised her hand to, but it never came."


"After that day my entire family hated me."

"As the days went on, they became better at hiding it, but I can tell that they still resent me."

"Fast forward a few months, and my aunt moved to another state with a man who didn't love her."

"She was throwing herself into every friend group and activity."

"She was doing everything she could to distance herself from who she used to be."

"She had always had a bit of 'mean girl' in her, but she became a horrible and rude person while living there."

"She began to say horrible things to everyone, but especially to my grandpa, who is the kindest, most compassionate person you will ever meet."

"My mother would tell me about all this and would periodically check in with her to see how f*cked up her life was and give me looks that said, 'look at what you have done'."


"Now she has had a baby with her boyfriend to 'save the relationship' and he has thrown her out."

"She and the baby came back home and everyone is being very supportive, but it's clear that she was not in any position to have a baby."

"I went over there and put together a crib for her so she could finally get some proper sleep and I could see how sad she was."

"It was like she realized that this was her life now."

"I always try to do the right thing and believe in honesty."

"I told her this secret knowing that my family would be very angry with me, but I convinced myself that it was for the greater good."

"I told myself it was the right thing to do."

"Now I'm not so sure."

"I think I may have single-handedly ruined her life."- Ba_the_Sheep

A Secret Love

"When I was a Senior in High School (2020-2021), one of our classmates got into a bad car accident and passed away."

"Nobody knew of the relationship that me and him had before the accident."

"In school he put off this straight farm boy personality, when in reality me and him were seeing each other and he was very gay."

"When I found out he passed away I completely broke."

"I didn’t leave my house for months and almost didn’t graduate."

"Nobody knows the relationship we had and it pains me to think that nobody will actually know his true side."- Expert_101

Living In Constant Pain

"I have severe migraines and I feel so much pain I am always having intrusive thoughts on how dying would make the pain stop."

"But I also have an amazingly beautiful and happy life so I wouldn't do anything that would prevent me from enjoying it."

"Just the fact that the pain can make me think these things terrifies me beyond words."- PieMNZN

Squandered Money?

"I inherited over 10 million bitcoins after my father died in a bitcoin mine collapse."

"I've used it to fill over 200 storage units with jars of mayonnaise."- CardiologistLower817

Mystery Vandal

"I intentionally damaged a stall door at my catholic school when I was in 1st grade."

"I wanted my friend to think the bathroom was haunted so I drew a scary ghost on the door."

The principal and and teachers investigated, but nobody suspected it was me because I was a well behaved student."-dimmudagone

"I shot rocks with a slingshot at a neighbors window, I was 8."- GlorifedToaster

Communication Issues

"I suck at talking to people. when i'm talking to a friend, its hard to make an effort to continue the friendship."

"They ended up leaving me and I became secretly jealous at the fact that that friend is able to make friends with others easily, only to remind myself that it's my fault for not enough putting effort."

"I also try to empty my mind because i have an explicable fear that people can read my mind even though I know ppl cant read my mind."- ExplanationHopeful29

As painful as it may be, some secrets must be kept for the sake of others.

Though no one should ever think they have to keep something about themselves hidden, as there is always someone who is willing to listen should you need to talk.

Old Wives' Tales People Still Believe For Some Reason

"Reddit user the_spring_goddess asked: 'What is an old wives tale that people still believe?'"

Close up of an owl tilting their head to side, looking bewildered
Photo by Josh Mills

The old wives' tales.

They are the stories of legend.

I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.

Where did they originate?

WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!

You don't hear about them as much anymore.

It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.

But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.

Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:

"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"

"Wait an hour to swim after eating."

What a crock!

So many summer hours wasted.

I want revenge for that one.

Say Nothing

Giphy

"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."

LonelyMail5115

"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."

I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA

Say Something

"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."

Severe_Airport1426

"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."

crappycurtains

"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."

AlbinoShavedGorilla

Body Temps

"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."

chriseo22

"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."

"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."

apocalypticradish

Arms Down

"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."

Fatmouse84

10 Years Actually

Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine Giphy

"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."

REDDIT

"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."

Gecko-911

I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.

This tale is haunting.

High/Low

Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace Giphy

"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."

LeastFormal9366

"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."

IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI

The Cursed

"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."

"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."

SmoreOfBabylon

Stay In

"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."

"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."

worldbound0514

Dreams and Facts

"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."

"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."

mattshonestreddit

"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."

Darthdemented

Cracked

Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office Giphy

"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."

Choice-Grapefruit-44

"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."

MacyTmcterry

I love my knuckles.

Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.

lottery tickets
Erik Mclean on Unsplash

A lot of workers daydream about some day winning the lottery and being able to say goodbye to their job.

Far too many workers are unhappy with their job duties, workplace dynamics or company culture.

But with a taste for luxuries like housing and food, they keep plugging away, year after year.

However not everyone feels that way about their job.

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Aerial view of a church in a small town
Sander Weeteling/Unsplash

There's something comforting about living in a small town.

It's characterized by close communities where neighbors know each other by name and there is an abundance of kindness extended to others.

Gift-giving is a commonality, as is the sharing of recipes, and people going out of their way to help each other in a time of need.

The pace of living in small towns is also a striking contradiction to city life, where crowds of people go about their busy lives without much interaction.

Curious to hear more examples of what small town living is like, Redditor official_biz asked:

"What's the most 'small town' thing you've witnessed?"

These are positive examples of a tight-knit community.

Live Updates

"We have a village Facebook page. Every time the ice cream man drives into the village, the entire page goes ballistic. People send live updates of where the van is and which direction he's heading. The ice cream man has started accepting DMs so he knows which streets to go down."

– PyrrhuraMolinae

Brush With The Law

"I’m from a town of less than 2,000 people. When I worked at the grocery store there people would often drop off stuff for my family members because they didn’t want to drive all the way down to our house. I no longer live there but recently got a call from my daughter. She had been stopped for speeding and handed over her license and insurance which happens to be in my mother’s name. The officer goes 'Hey, you’re Donnie’s granddaughter! I ain’t gonna write you a ticket but I’m telling Donnie when I see him tomorrow cause we’re going fishing.' She replied 'I think I’d rather have the ticket.'”

- Reddit

Roadside Catchup

"The traffic on the 'main street' of my town is so sparse, two drivers going opposite directions can stop and talk to each other for a few minutes without causing any problem."

– anon

When things go wrong, people take notice without incident.

Bank Robbery

"A guy robbed a bank and everyone knew immediately who he was and the teller got mad at him."

– AlexRyang

"A local bank was robbed and one of the tellers told the police to bring her a yearbook from about ten years earlier and she would be able to point the robber out. He had been in the grade before hers in school."

– Strict_Condition_632

Wise Woman

"When I worked at the bank in town there was an older lady that had worked there through 5 mergers."

"She knew everyone, there was a young guy yelling at me one day. She walked out of the back and he immediately quieted. She went off about telling his grandmother that he was treating young women like sh*t. She also said that if he didn’t straighten up not one girl in town would ever marry him she would make sure of it."

– ilurvekittens

Intoxicated Local

"Town drunk was paralyzed and used a motorized wheelchair to get around. I was driving home one Saturday night and said town drunk was passed out in his wheelchair doing circles almost directly in the town square. Had to call his brother who came and picked him up on a rollback truck. Strapped him down and drove off into the cold dark night."

– DoodooExplosion

Grazing Over To The Bar

"In my former small town, there was an older guy who'd lost his license after getting a few DUIs. Every day, he would ride his John Deere lawnmower to the corner bar around 3PM and sit around watching TV and sipping his beer well into the night. Then he'd head the couple miles back home on his mower. He even had a little canvass shell he put on when it rained or got too cold."

– brown_pleated_slacks

It's not surprising how small town people behave differently than those who are from metropolitan areas.

Welcoming Committee

"I lived in a small town. When I moved there, people would ask, 'Whose house did you buy?'"

–MoonieNine

"Move to a small town. 30 years later, you are still the new guy."

– impiousdrifter

"I lived in a small town for most of my childhood but I wasn't "from there" because my grandparents weren't from there."

– raisinghellwithtrees

"Worked with an older guy, relative of the owner of the business, he was 73. I asked him if he was a local, he said 'no his parents moved here when he was two.'"

– realneil

A Busy Day

"Lived in a town of about 5,000: A woman walked into the DMV on a Friday, saw that there were 3 people ahead of her and left to come back another time when they weren't so busy."

– KenmoreToast

Who Let The Dogs Out?

"My dogs got out while i was working. the police called my niece's elementary school (she was a 5th grader) to get her to round them up and take them back home."

– mediocrelpn

"There was a small kennel behind the police station for runaways. They called us saying they had our dog, and moments later our dog showed up home. He broke out of jail."

– Worried_Place_917

While life in a small town sounds appealing, I don't know if I can ever live in one.

I'm so used to life in big cities, I think it would be quite unnerving to adjust in a neighborhood where everyone literally knows your business.

I would be paranoid.

And I'm sure the same could be said of life in the big city.

Would you consider making the switch to life in a different setting?

Two women laughing
Photo by Dave George on Unsplash

Every now and then, a friend of ours might say something, or we might overhear a complete stranger say something that makes us stop in our tracks.

More often than not, what we can't believe we just heard is something so ridiculous, we can't help but put the person who said it in their place.

Other times, however, what we just heard might have stunned us silent because of how shockingly clever it was.

Resulting in our not wanting to scold or yell at someone, but rather give them a handshake.

Redditor SubmergingOriginal was curious to hear the sharpest and wittiest things they've ever heard, from friends and strangers alike, leading them to ask:

"Enough with the dumbest; what is the wittiest thing you've ever heard someone say?"

Don't Give Me So Much Credit...

'I was on a team at work that was on a project working insane overtime."

"One night after an 80-90 hour week, we were all sitting around the table trying to finish up so we could go home."

"Around 11, my buddy's wife called, dubious about the hours he'd been keeping."

"We heard her through the line - 'are you cheating on me?'"

"Exasperated, he looked at our boss, then replied 'honey, if I was cheating on you, I would have been home by now'."- lionbatcher

Eternal Optimism...

"Asked a blind guy if he'd been blind his whole life."

"He said 'Not yet'."- Feeling_Mode_6465

Free time Isn't The Only Thing He Has On His Hands...

"My brother got a vasectomy and when the doctor was releasing him and giving him instructions (with the nurse listening in), one of the orders was to 'come back and have a follow-up appointment after you’ve ejaculated 30 times'.”

"Without missing a beat my brother asked 'what time do you open tomorrow?'”

"The nurse couldn’t keep it together after hearing that."- UtahUtopia

Awkward Season 8 GIF by The Office Giphy

Double Whammy!

"My pal uses the phrase 'he doesn’t look strong enough to carry information' and it cracks me up every time."

"Calling someone stupid and weak in one fell swoop."- JennyW93

Can't Hide Your DNA...

'Whenever I jokingly insult my mum, she says 'that must be where you get it from'."

"She cracked the code."

"I can never offend her without offending myself."- JennyW93

Self-Sufficient!

"My brother was a line cook at a New Orleans restaurant."

"My mom was in town, staying at a fancy hotel, and he stopped by after work, still wearing his kitchen whites."

"He was reading a newspaper in the lobby waiting for her to come down when the shocked lobby manager sputtered at him, 'MAY I HELP YOU!?!?'

"He answered, 'thanks, but I know how to read',” and went back to his paper."- jobrody

Morph Current Affairs GIF by Aardman Animations Giphy

A Miracle!

"My brother-in-law’s comment."

"The entire family went out for my mother’s 80th birthday and after the meal we all went to a local park, largely occupied by the elderly, to rest."

"My mother needed crutches at this point, and they were resting against her bench."

"My 10-year-old niece, who looked like every starving waif image from Dickens, grabbed the crutches and started hobbling round the park."

"All the OAPs were following her progress with looks of pity until my brother ran up behind her, and kicked away the crutches."

"There was an audible gasp from round the park and then my niece picked the crutches back up and started chasing my brother, clearly intending to hit him."

"In the confused silence my brother-in-law’s voice rang out 'Praise be! She can walk again!'"

"We still think this was the highlight of the birthday celebrations."- DdraigGwyn

Still Legal, Whichever Way You Cut It...

"I picked up my pleasantly tipsy boyfriend from a nightclub."

"We were stopped by the Police for a random breath test."

"They asked me my age, and I said, 33."

"My bf blurted out '33? You told me you were 22'."

"Police just laughed and let me go."- Aggravating-Corgi379

Music Video Police GIF by Andrew W. K. Giphy

A Bit Too On The Nose?

"Business law class in college years ago, talking about the issues that black Americans had before the Civil Rights."

"Amendment, trying to travel through the south with the discrimination so rampant, trying to find restaurants to serve them and decent lodgings."

"My instructor was posing a hypothetical: 'So you pull up out front of this place, you're exhausted from driving for hours, and you see the sign out front says 'Ku Klux Klan Motel'."

"'What would you expect to find there?'"

"Without missing a beat, from the back of the room came this gem: "'Extra sheets in every room?'"- NedsAtomicDB

Not Yet, Anyway...

"I was working with my friend and his dad."

"My friend (26) heard an ice cream truck near where we were working."

"He asked his dad if he could have a couple dollars."

"His dad asked, 'what for?'"

"My friend told his dad that there was an ice cream truck in the neighborhood, and that they were playing music."

"My friends dad told him "'They don't charge anything to listen to the music'."- tatersalad1234567890

Words Escape You In The Literal "Heat" Of The Moment...

"A friend of mine is a teacher and her husband is known for his wit."

"She told this story to him:"

"One day at school a kid took the hall pass and returned reeking like smoke."

"She asked the kid if he’d been smoking and he denied it over and over."

"She was about to send him to the office when she noticed smoke coming from somewhere."

"She told the kid and he realized that he didn’t put his cig out completely and it was burning in his pants pocket."

"The kid noticed and frantically tried to put it out and someone finally poured water on it."

"Her husband sat listening to this with a weird look on his face."

"She asked him what was wrong."

“'What’s wrong???'"

"'This was probably the only chance you’ll have in your life to say literally, ‘liar,liar, pants on fire’ and you missed your chance'."- Luder714

On Fire No GIF by PEEKASSO Giphy

Amazing What You Might Say A Few Drinks In...

"When I went to a renaissance faire once, I went to a beer tent and ordered a Newcastle Brown Ale (seemed the most fitting for the surroundings)."

"The beer wench, without skipping a beat, said, 'Everyone wants a Newcastle - no one wants to remodel!'"- jayhof52

Read The Room People!

"My dad wiped out when skiing down a mountain and lost a ski."

"After a few minutes of hunting for it, he gives up, slings the one remaining ski over a shoulder and starts walking down the mountain in his ski boots."

"About half-way down, another skier stops and goes 'Gee! Did you lose a ski?'"

"My dad instantly replied 'No, I was out for a walk and found one!'"- PeterJoAl

There's a reason your mother always told you to "use your words".

As clever remarks can have a much more lasting effect on people than a push or shove.