The mind is a fantastic yet strange and mysterious part of the body. It holds so many secrets, especially from our pasts. How many of us dream and relive flashes that seem like they could be memories? But we convince ourselves they're just our wild imagination. That is of course until we whisper about the murky thought one day for a laugh, only to discover it's an old reality from the past that actually is haunting us a bit. Our parents and loved ones know the tales we try to block out... just ask. It'll make for a fun quarantine Halloween.
Redditor u/justaguyulove wanted to hear about all the memories from childhood that needed some extra explaining when they asked everyone to divulge.... [SERIOUS] What was your creepy, unexplainable story as a child that was confirmed by your parents to have happened?In the Sky
One time my brother, his friend, and I saw lights in the sky that darted around like UFOs. We went to get my mom and she was totally nonchalant about it. "Yep, those are UFOs" she said, and went back in the house. Her response was so subdued that we figured she was humoring us and they weren't actually UFOs. Years later I asked her about it and she said she had to force herself to act calmly because she was terrified.
The Steps Unknown....
In the house I grew up in every night at around midnight these big loud footsteps would go stomping up and down the hallway a few times, I'd often think it was my dad getting up in the night so sometimes I would stick my head out in the hall to see him but there was no one there and I'd hear him snoring in his room. This isn't a particularly creepy story but it's just strange that everyone confirms they heard these footsteps and no one was ever that bothered by it, it's like it happened for as long as we could remember so we just accepted it.
Ghosts 'R Us....
I saw a couple ghosts when I was a kid and I never told anyone because I knew they wouldn't believe me. Years and years later when we were moving out we were telling stories about stuff we'd done growing up etc. Turned out everyone had seen things, almost the exact same things, but also never said anything cause they figured no one would believe it!
The Figures
spooky ghost GIFGiphyWhen my family went to the Georgian mountain region, we rented a cottage.
2 bedrooms, so my brother and I took one and our dad took the other with his gf. I woke up in the middle of the night to three figures in the room, all standing in various places, none of which were visible from the entrance of the room. I woke my brother up and we screamed for our dad, but when he came into the room, he refused to look at the figures and just told us to hide under the covers. Wasn't exactly confirmed, but his refusal to look where they were standing after begging him was telling. Crap still scares my brother and I.
"Wow that was fast"
Not necessarily creepy, but when I was around 11 or so, my mom and I were going about 40 miles outside of town for a typical orthodontist appointment.The trip typically took about 35 mins give or take a few for traffic, however this one time I kinda zoned out while being driven and upon arriving we remarked "Wow that was fast." We were earlier for my appointment than usual despite leaving at a consistent time for each appointment.
Upon looking at our vehicle's clock (and confirming with a watch my mom had on) it had mysteriously taken us only 10 mins to drive to drive the usual 35 minute distance. We have no recollection of anything happening during those 10 mins, and it never happened again, but it left us with a very weird feeling. We still wonder what we drove through to this day.
by the seaside....
In Mom's seaside hometown, there was an offshore decommissioned lighthouse.
Even though utilities to it had long been shut off and the lighthouse was locked, it would randomly light up - clearly visible in all directions.
No one could explain it. It happened so infrequently and at odd hours of the night that by the time officials examined the structure, there were no signs of activity.
To this day, as I've mentioned here once before, the lighthouse remains mysterious and a bit creepy.
Find the earring....
About 5 years ago my parents were sitting out on the back porch on a summer night. Out of the corner of her eye my mom saw a person-sized white translucent figure float by a tree. She asked my dad if he saw it too and he said yes. He is a tough guy but he was really freaked out and so was she so they both went inside. The next morning my mom was walking by the tree where they saw the figure and she noticed a very old looking earring sitting on top of the dirt.
She doesn't wear earrings and it wasn't the kind of earring I would wear. It looked like it belonged to an old lady and it was just dropped there. My mom brought it inside and put it in her jewelry box. The next day it was sitting in the middle of the basement floor. From then on I started hearing footsteps and whispering in my room at least once a week until I moved out.
Red Light Special
animation domination fox GIFGiphyI'm a parent of toddlers and kids now, and I have a creepy story from last year.
We were driving with my then three year old son in the car, and stopped at a red light next to a cemetery. Out of nowhere, my son looked over at the cemetery and said "There are people laying down there, and they can't get up."
My wife asked my son what he was talking about and he pointed to the cemetery and said "All of the people laying down in the park are stuck."
My wife and I just looked at each other in silence completely freaked out. At this point in our son's life, there had been no deaths in the family and we had never discussed death with him.
I'm still creeped out when I think about it.
Bye Love
So I don't actually remember this but my mom told me about it. My grandfather died when I was a year old. Prior to his death, he loved to play with me and would make me laugh in this very specific way. The night he died, my mom heard me making noise. So she goes in assuming I'm crying but I'm not. I'm staring at the ceiling, laughing hysterically just like my grandfather used to make me laugh. She's still convinced he came to say goodbye to me.
The Menu is a No
Not Safe For Work No GIFGiphyKind of the opposite but I distinctly remember sitting in the front seat of a van with one of my mother's acquaintances whilst she went to collect something. The guy told me in detail about cutting up, cooking and eating humans (he said palms were a delicacy you could fry up like bacon). Only occurred to me as an adult that he was probably lying.
Sad Now.
When I was young, I apparently had a few odd interactions with animals. I would know a person had animals before we went in the house, they tended to come over to me before my parents, mostly just little things that were probably explainable by me a fairly observant little kid.
The one that sticks out to my parents though (telling it the way they do) is we went to a new car garage to have them work on our car. As we pull up, the owner has a big old black lab laying in the middle of the lobby.
The guy informs us the dog is comfortable with people, we can pet him if we want. I shake my head and say "He sad though." Dad looks at me asks why I think that. I reply "He lost his ball, he sad now." Dad said the owner went pale, stared at me for a minute, and then looked at dad said "He's had a favorite ball for ten years that just went down the sewage drain yesterday and I couldn't get it back out."
Back in Rhode Island....
My grandmother was a real estate agent in Rhode Island. I was staying with her one summer and she had to take me along to see a potential listing. It was a very strange house because it was circular. All the rooms went along the outside and connected to each other and there was a center part with a little garden and open to the sky.
She went up to the second story and I stayed downstairs because I wanted to walk around the loop one time. The problem started when I had walked a full loop and I didn't see the stairs. I thought I must be confused so I kept going to the next room and still couldn't find them. I started to panic so I began running around the house as fast as possible checking every room for stairs and there wasn't any. Finally, I sat down by the front door and started crying.
A little while later my grandmother ran into the entryway room looking just as panicked as I had been and asking where I was hiding and why I was hiding and and not answering her calling out to me. I never heard her calling out to me at all. Actually, the house seemed so still and quiet while I was sitting there that I was sure she had forgotten and left me there. We went home and didn't talk about it really.
Like 15 years later I brought it up to my mom and asked if she knew anything or was this a crazy childhood nightmare I'm remembering?
She told me she remembered it clearly because my grandmother had called her and was absolutely spooked because she couldn't explain what had happened and she thought she lost me or I had been taken by someone while she was distracted. She had apparently been looking for me for awhile.
I still don't understand what happened really because the house wasn't even large or confusing to navigate. I still get chills when I think about it.
Grammy Flo....
Old Lady Dancing GIF by MattielGiphyWhen I was 3 years old my grandmother died. She lived in our house with us and we were VERY close, she had told my mom many times that she would do her best to make her passing easy on me since I was so young.
The night that she died, my mom was laying in bed with her and heard her take her last breath. My mom laid there and cried for about 30 minutes before coming into my room to check on me. It was about 5am and there was no reason for me to be awake, but I was sitting in up in my crib playing and when my mom asked why I was awake I said:
"Grandma Flo just came in to give me a kiss goodbye!"
Burn it Down!
At my parent's house I used to hear my mom calling out to me when she didn't, and she confirmed she'd hear me call out to her when I didn't. That was a common occurrence.
Also, whenever I'd be alone for a little while if my mom was late from work or at the grocery store, I'd usually be in the main living room playing n64. I would often times hear loud banging sounds from upstairs as if a heavy piece of furniture tipped over.
I'd go check and nothing was out of place. Both my mother and grandmother have confirmed similar experiences when they're alone in he house.
There was also the time I was downstairs on my laptop, everyone else was in bed, it was after midnight and I didn't realize just how dark everything had gotten without the lights on. I'm zoned out when I begin to hear what sounds like a murmuring from behind me. Like the low rumble you'd hear at a gathering when people are talking and you can't make out conversation.
The hairs on my neck immediately stood up and my body locked up from fear. Tears ran down my face from the physical reaction my body was having. I refused to acknowledge it and kept staring at my laptop screen in silence. It took forever for my body to go back to normal. Some time later I told my mother what happened and it freaked her out because she said she's heard the murmuring as well.
I've always hated that house.
Not so Purrrrfect....
I was in 7th grade when my parents bought their first computer, so not super young. We had a small ranch, so my dad built a corner desk in the basement in one of the finished off rooms since there was no room anywhere else. House was built by my dad in the mid 80s; no one had lived there before us.
When my mom would get home from work, we'd hear her set down her keys on the counter and walk across the kitchen floor in her heels. It was a frequent occurrence for my brother or I to be on the computer (happened to each of us quite a bit), and hear sounds of my mom putting her keys on the counter and walking across the kitchen floor, same as when she gets home from work. In going upstairs to check to see if my mom was home, she wouldn't be home.
We would tell my mom when it happened, and it happened enough where we tried to figure it out by checking the time we'd hear it. A few times, she said she'd been thinking about work at that time and happened to look at the clock.
We tried to figure it out and have no idea to this day why it would continuously happen. A few times my mom mentioned she'd be on the computer and hear someone upstairs, and no one would be home. My dad didn't allow pets in the house either, so it wasn't just a cat being a jerk.
You are my Sunshine.....
i love you sun GIF by Chippy the dogGiphyWhen I was little (probably about 5) my great grandmother passed away from cancer. We were very close. She watched me nearly everyday and would sing to me before my naps.
You are my Sunshine in particular. It was a few days after she died and I can instinctively remember waking up to someone stroking my hair and singing You are my Sunshine. At first, I thought it was my mom, but it was unlike her to do something like that. I turned and found no one there. I even remember getting up and checking my parents room to find they were both asleep. Both my parents kind of just nonchalantly dismiss it, but I swear it was her saying goodbye to me.
The Zoo Story....
Not so much creepy as unexplainable. I have a memory of standing in my grandmother's suburban backyard with my cousin (we were maybe 3-4 yrs old) watching a line of penguins in a neighboring yard climb up a pool slide and slide down into a pool, one by one. They would swim to the stairs, waddle out of the pool and around the pool back to the slide stairs and wait in line to go down the slide again. I never mentioned the memory and assumed, because it was so implausible, that I dreamt it up or remembered wrong.
A couple decades later, I visited my grandmother and this same cousin was also visiting. We were sitting at my grandma's kitchen table which looked out at her backyard. There was a lull in the conversation, and we were all looking out the window. It made me think of the whole penguin memory, so I brought it up. My cousin's eyes widened and she said she had the same memory, but, like me, thought it was a dream. My grandma chuckled and said, "Well, the neighbor that used to live there did work for the zoo..."
Not exactly a confirmation, but... did that really happen?! Even if he did work for the zoo...you can't just bring a dozen penguins home, can you?!?
Shift Work...
When I was a kid my mom used to work at a small grocery store and she went there before breakfast to get fresh bakery goods when she had the afternoon shift. Then she used to wake me up for school, and ask how I slept, and I used to tell her what dream I had that night (if any). One morning I told her I dreamed, that two guys broke in to the store and they left a red screwdriver on the floor. My mom was shocked, because there really was a break in that night, that is why she couldn't buy stuff for breakfast that morning, but couldn't talk with police or colleagues at the time to get more details.
I then went to school, my mom did the afternoon shift and on the evening, when she came home, she told me that the police really did found a screwdriver on the scene, which belonged to the burglar(s). This all happened in Europe, a small town around the early 90s, no CCTV and the burglar(s) never got caught, but this was still a very strange experience. My mom made me fill out a lottery ticket the next day, lol, but never won with it and never had such dreams since then.
"premonitions"
My mom said that I used to have "premonitions" when I was little, under the age of 10.
My great-aunt and great-uncle were like grandparents to me and used to come visit in the summer from Mexico (to the US).
I would miss them terribly then they would go. One year when they were leaving, I cried and cried.
My mom said "Don't worry! They'll be back next year."
I remember sobbing and throwing a small child fit.
Apparently I said to my mom "No you don't understand! Tío (great-uncle) is NEVER coming back!"
And she kept trying to reassure me they'd be back next year.
I kept repeating "He's never coming back!" (I didn't say anything about my great-aunt)
Sure enough, he passed away and never came back within a few weeks or months.
My mom said it was really creepy and I also predicted my great-aunt passing as well.
The Last Call...
kate mckinnon omg GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphyMy Granny died when I was little. I don't even remember her.
My Aunt and Mom always told me this story. I was at my house when I was little, I think about 4. The phone rang and I answered it. They got on to me for answering the phone. I told them it was my Granny calling to see if I was ok. I told her yes and hung up. She had recently passed away. They said they were a little creeped out by it, but insisted it really happened.
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Small acts of kindness that only a few know about can change the world.
You never know.
One smile can change one person's day.
And that person could carry it on.
So doing it ourselves may be the only answer.Redditor sashayingthru wanted to discuss the ways we know the world is still good, so they asked:
"What small act of kindness were you once shown that you will never forget?"
As someone who has waited on many tables, just tip properly.
You'll go to Heaven.
Strangers
Robin Williams Dancing GIF by 20th Century Fox Home EntertainmentGiphy"I once walked to a store to buy bags for my vacuum cleaner and I forgot to take my wallet. The shop owner gave me the bags, shook my hand, and told me to bring him to money tomorrow. He put his trust in a total stranger to do the right thing and I did."
Independent-Bike8810
In the Rain
"A man in a full business suit with a briefcase handed me an umbrella in a torrential rain storm and wouldn't take no for an answer. I still had to walk through Times Square to get to the train and I'm sure he got soaked going wherever he was going. A couple of weeks later, I gave the umbrella to a lost girl in my neighborhood when it started to rain and she didn't have one. Felt like the universe wanted it to happen."
"I'll never forget that man though."
im_not_bovvered
Leggo my Lego
"When I was maybe 4 or 5 years old, I made friends with another kid in an airport, and he was playing with a couple glued glued-together Lego cars. Me and that kid played for like an hour with those things and when it was time to go our separate ways and board the plane, the kid insisted I keep one of the cars, and while I insisted he should keep them, he said it was proof that we were friends, and to this day roughly 20 years later, I still have that car packed up with my childhood mementos box."
"That friend of mine was a good kid. Hope he’s doin' well."
givebooks
Don't Cry Tammy
"My husband and I were sitting on our porch holding hands and crying, just feeling overwhelmed because we were waiting to find out whether or not my tumor was cancerous. Our neighbor saw it when he was coming home. About half an hour later he came over with some freshly baked cookies. He didn't even say anything, just smiled, handed them to us, and then went back home."
"Just thinking about that moment has me crying again. From his kindness, not the fear. Tammy the Ti**y Tumor turned out benign!"
Reflection_Secure
Coasting...
Fail Will Ferrell GIF by Paramount PicturesGiphy"I literally coasted into a gas station out of gas on my motorcycle, then realized I didn't have my wallet. Some lady saw me patting all my pockets and I was upset and offered to fill up my tank. I only let her put $5 in, which on a bike is a lot. But it meant so much to me."
Twours1944
Give people gas as often as possible..
Pay it forward.
Generosity
happy silent film GIF by Charlie ChaplinGiphy"My realtor took less commission so that I could get my dream home. It was a rare find in a great neighborhood."
SheLight2
Egged Away
"Years ago my car got egged real badly overnight while parked on the driveway of our duplex. We had to go somewhere the next morning so took the wife’s car. Came back hours later and my car was shining like new on the driveway. The neighbor whose name I didn’t even know at that point had washed it for me while we were away."
Ceristimo
Are those still a thing?
"I was in maybe 4th grade and my parents just had my younger sister, so newborn focused. I went to my school lunch, opened my paper bag (are those still a thing?), and unwrapped the foil holding my sandwich. There was nothing inside. It was actually just 2 slices of dry white slice bread and I was sad."
"Literally, my table mates all chipped in various components and made me the most amazing ham and cheese sandwich I’ve ever had. I’ve been chasing that dragon of ham sandwich since but I’m sure it was the response and not the ingredients that I loved."
I_Am_The_Grapevine
Thanks guys...
"19 years old, first apartment, first winter, first winter utility bill. I smiled and told my coworker I'd just pay it, skip lunch, and eat cheap Mac and cheese for dinner. It'll be ok. All that month co-workers accidentally got extra chips from the vending machine. A wife packed an extra sandwich. A box of my favorite crackers would be on my desk when I came in. It was still hard but I didn't starve. Thanks, you guys."
alady12
Just Tears
Big Brother Omg GIF by Global TVGiphy"I was on the subway, sitting there crying because I had just ended a relationship. I wasn't making any noise, just tears, but the guy sitting next to me gave me some tissues. I'll never forget that."
screamingcupcakes
Some of the best people ride the subway.
Everyone has tissues.
Reddit user Ninac4116 asked:
"Who are some exposed frauds that still have a following despite being debunked?"
Playing With Fyre
"That dude that went to prison for fraud for Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland. He is out now and wants to try again."
~ Can_Not_Double_Dutch
"Grifters gonna grift. His sleaziness was already well documented with that credit card/access card BS before the Fyre."
~ mcburloak
"The justice system certainly failed on this one. A long running pattern of documented fraud even before he committed the massive Fyre Festival wire fraud in the amount of millions of dollars and guy is out within a few years."
"What a f*cking joke. There are thousands of people serving more time for drug offenses and stealing 1/100th as much."
~ perfektstranger
* Billy McFarland is an American con artist and convicted felon who co-founded the ill-fated Fyre Festival as well as several other fraudulent businesses.
The New MLM
"All of those YouTube 'financial freedom' classes/courses/programs."
~ TiaMaeLove
"I consider those to be Gen-Z pyramid schemes."
"'Learn how to get passive income by teaching people how to get passive income by teaching people how to get passive income!'."
"'Something, something grind mindset...'."
~ Kurt0690
Totally Not A Cult
"Keith Raniere who started NXIVM too."
"There's still a bunch of women that hang out outside of the prison he's in singing his praises every day."
"It's weird man."
~ HotGarbage
* Keith Raniere is an American cult leader who was convicted of a pattern of racketeering activity, including human trafficking, sex offenses and fraud."
GiphyAlso Totally Not A Cult
"Warren Jeffs and Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS)."
"Dude is literally in prison and still has a significant amount of devout followers."
~ alienwitchkitty
"To be fair, the FLDS is very isolated from the outside world (think no internet). It's possible that they genuinely don't understand the severity and overwhelming evidence of his crimes."
"Though you'd still think that watching your prophet marry children as his brides would set off some red flags."
~ lo_profundo
* Warren Jeffs is an American polygamous cult religious leader who was convicted of several sex crimes and two assisted sex crimes involving children.
"I’m a long time postal worker and I once did an intake at the plant of a pallet of letters from Warren Jeffs. They have to provide us a sample for this kind of mass mailing for billing purposes so I read the letter."
"He was sending it to every church of every denomination within our province (Canada). I imagine other plants got similar pallets."
"The letter was a demand that they give all properties and tithing money over to Warren Jeffs and the board of the FLDS. He wanted every priest/pastor to tell their congregation that they were wrong and would now be following Heavenly Father’s wishes to completely turn over everything to the FLDS and every member was to write letters and make calls demanding Warren’s immediate release."
"This mailing cost was in the thousands of dollars and I suspect every church in Canada received one, potentially tens of thousands in cost. That’s all money from his followers, terrible waste."
"For months afterwards we saw so many of these letters come back through the plant labeled return to sender. I would be completely shocked if they got even one positive reply. Massive waste."
~ janesfilms
Absolutely, Totally Not A Cult
"L Ron Hubbard. My uncle is Scientology level OT8."
"I'll never understand why he buys into it (literally and figuratively)."
~ thatoneguy889
"L. Ron pulled a ‘hold my beer’ before it was even a thing with saying the Ringling brothers (circus guys) were about to be upstaged by the biggest scam in history, then proceeded to write the Scientology books."
"Even knowing Hubbard was a failed sci-fi author, and that he had a history of failed scam attempts, people still believed the Scientology books were educational/historic documents and a guide to a wonderful life/afterlife. Mind blowing."
"Equally if not more of a scam than Joseph Smith reading the gold tablets from a hat, that only he could see and decipher because that is what God wanted. The level of gullibility of mankind throughout history is impressive in all the worst ways."
~ _calmer_than_you_r_
* Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American pulp science fiction author and the founder of Scientology.
GiphySleight Of Hand
"Uri Geller."
"He still to this day claims he has mystical powers and won't admit he's just doing magic tricks, despite being exposed by James Randi."
~ agent_x_75228
"The crazy part to me is that he is actually quite talented as a magician."
"He could make a good living just doing magic tricks and billing himself as such."
"He didn't even have to lie to be successful."
~ starmartyr
"His exposure on The Tonight Show with Carson is so fun to watch."
"You almost feel bad for him. Almost."
~ BulljiveBots
* Uri Geller is an Israeli-British television personality and self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other illusions to simulate the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy.
"Dr Phil and Dr Oz."
~ 335i_lyfe
"Oprah has pushed so many terrible people and I feel like it really should be discussed more.
"My mom's been in a cult for years because of her pushing Gwen Shamblin and the Weigh Down diet on her show."
~ _angesaurus
"She propelled so many charlatans and their mumbo jumbo into the mainstream."
~ Dangerpuffins
* Phillip "Dr. Phil" McGraw is an unlicensed clinical psychologist and TV personality who appeared as a relationship and life strategy expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show whose methods have been called "exploitative" and "appallingly cruel."
* Dr. Mehmet Oz is a television presenter and physician who appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and his own program which drew criticism from the medical community for false medical claims and pseudoscience including faith healing and various paranormal beliefs.
GiphyBody By...
"The Liver King guy, Brian Johnson, not sure if he still claims to be natural though."
~ RegularEmbarrassed36
"Dudes got a physique that is pretty much impossible to achieve natural."
"Like it's still hard work even if you're not natty. But don't give other kids the idea it's achievable."
~ herroebauss
"It's not just him giving kids the idea, he's quite literally RIPPING THEM OFF, selling all these products, selling his lifestyle, taking their money pretending that he's helping them."
~ battleduck84
"He admitted he was using steroids, went clean for a bit, and unless there's been developments in the last few months he's back on steroids and claiming he's not."
~ blames_irrationally
* Brian "Liver King" Johnson is an American fitness social media influencer.
Who Profits From The "Prosperity Gospel"?
"Joel Osteen"
~ Blue_Period_89
"The guy just sells toxic positivity, begs for more money, and claims it under the Christian God. I'm a Christian and I can say with full confidence that what he teaches is NOT what Jesus is about."
~ cutiegirl88
"Pretty much all of the mega church leaders are frauds."
~ usedmotoroil
"I'd say 100% of them. It is anti-Christian. Any excess should be given back to the communities they are in."
"That's why they don't get taxed. But now it's just a grift."
"They don't give a f*ck about anything other than the size of their bank accounts."
~ theshane0314
"Absolutely 100% they are frauds and lying weasels."
"Osteen or Copeland or any of the others who unabashedly pound the pulpit, so to speak, on the 'prosperity gospel'—they have incorporated their sin as their strength in the eyes of their followers and those imbeciles eat it up."
~ Thunderhorse74
* Joel Osteen is an American televangelist, businessman based in Houston, Texas and one of the more prominent figures associated with "prosperity theology" and a focus of its critics.
GiphyFilipino Fraudsters
"Bongbong Marcos and his family."
"Their family literally stole billions from the Filipino people yet they are still out of prison. Their family matriarch, Imelda, was even sentenced to prison for graft, but no one dared to arrest her."
"Bongbong is now even president of the Philippines and has a huge cult following because of how they tried to distort history."
~ holyguacamole-
* Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is the second child and only son of former president, kleptocrat and dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
The Power Of Motorola Compels You!
"Faith healer and psychic Peter Popoff. The divine voices he heard were actually his wife using a radio."
"He’s still selling his 'Miracle Water'."
~ SnooChipmunks126
"Popoff was exposed in an investigation on a news show.
"He 'retired to a quiet life of contemplation' when it aired which everyone knew was horsesh*t."
"A couple years later he’s back grifting."
~ Renaissance_Slacker
* Peter George Popoff is a German-born American televangelist, charlatan, debunked clairvoyant and faith healer.
GiphyNo, Vaccines Don't Cause Autism
"Andrew Wakefield, who was trying to get his own vaccine approved, so he tried to make it look like another vaccine was a problem."
"He did research without getting proper consent, falsified results, and so on."
"He's become the darling of the vaccines-cause-autism crowd, even though his behavior was so egregious that he lost his medical license."
~ DrHugh
"Oh it's so much worse. Wakefield's alternative vaccine (cofounded by a quack who didn't have a medical license, believed he could cure autism with his bone marrow, and had his name spelled wrong on the patent) was a cash-grab, to capitalise further on the greater scheme."
"He was paid to discredit the MMR vaccine by a lawyer who recognised the amount of money there was in suing the manufacturer on behalf of concerned parents, in collaboration with a then-small group of parents who believed it made their children autistic (called "JABS") who have since rocketed in popularity as a direct result of the whole debacle."
"Wakefield lost his license primarily because he did not receive informed consent for procedures. Not only did the handouts he gave to the parents not even mention all the procedures performed, but they did not mention risks. The handouts literally do not contain the word 'risk'."
"He also lied. A lot. Like, the results of his study were shaky at best, and half of them were just completely made up."
"Oh, and giving colonoscopies to children ended up being a horrible idea, because one of them got a perforated bowel. He f*cked up that kid's life forever. It's... disgusting."
"Autism isn't actually that bad. And it's kinda disgusting that it was being treated as something worth risking actual death to avoid.
"Also, the head of Andrew Wakefield's hospital at the time of his departure (when he got fired because his colleagues got sick of his sh*t) went on to describe him as, quote, 'a Wanker and a Fraud'."
~ Otherversian-Elite
How Is He—either one—Still A Thing?
"Logan Paul. This really annoys me. The dude has been called out for multiple crypto scams and yet I still see his sh*tty energy drink all over grocery stores and gas stations.
"I really hope he goes down for real."
~ Zelgon
"It's crazy that he even still has a following after everything he's said and done."
"People were actually cheering and rooting for him in his recent scammer vs scammer joke of a boxing match."
~ labwongames
"The world isn't running out of unattended 5-10 year olds with iPads anytime soon. That's why he still has a following."
"Or am I thinking of Jake Paul? Eh, two sh*ts, same a**hole."
~ The-Mighty-Caz
"When I taught middle school several of my students were huge fans of Logan or Jake Paul. They’d come to school in their merch and listen to their sh*tty music while they did class work."
~ SadandBougie
* Logan Paul—once called "the face of douchebag entitlement" and Jake Paul—known for prank videos—are brothers and American YouTubers who started out posting sketches on Vine.
Giphy"Multi-Level Marketing (MLMs). The vast majority of people who sign up for them make very little and a significant number lose money."
"And yet, they're everywhere."
~ LadyMageCOH
"99% of MLM sellers lose money. It’s only those at the very top that actually make anything at all."
"It’s such a scam and a fraud!"
~ greens_beans_queen
"That's why they used to be called pyramid schemes. They came up with the term MLM to make it sound better."
~ Bijorak
45
"Donald Trump/MAGA… the guy has over 50 felony charges and civil cases for fraud and rape and still has followers?"
"It’s cuckoo bananas."
"He is a con artist… and it’s so glaringly obvious!"
~ Acceptable-Bullfrog1
"I try not to be Trump this Trump that, but this is what immediately came to mind."
"He’s not good at business. He’s not good at being president. He’s oblivious to rules he doesn’t want to observe. They think he’s Christian and like, when have you seen him going to church even to fake it?
Everything he does is as obvious as his fake tan that makes him look like Magda (MAGAda? 😃) from Something About Mary.
"His MAGA minions claim they’re these shrewd people that show up on the car lot and get exactly what they want for less than it’s worth when really they’re the type to show up on the lot and leave with a Hummer they don’t need and can’t afford."
~ Orgasmic_interlude
GiphyIn the words of Carl Sagan:
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle."
"We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth."
"The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken."
"Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
~ Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
What proven frauds, scammers and grifters would you add to the list?