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People Share Which Lie Snowballed So Far It's Basically Their Life Now

You're in too deep now...

We always think that a tiny little lie couldn't hurt anyone. Seriously, who knew that fib could grow into something that is no longer under our control and instead it controls us. Sometimes we are in so deep that the truth would hurt someone we care about. That's when it's already too late. Next time you think about bending the truth, remember it could come back to bite you in unexpected ways. Truly, you are what you deceit.

Redditor u/Buhyac asks:

'What is a silly lie you once told, and you are in so deep that you have no other choice but to uphold it?'

Pian...Ohhh Man

That I could play the piano, I never thought it would come up and that I was safe with my lie. It did come up, more often than I thought it would. I had to make up an excuse to not play, and people started to think I was lying about know how to play. Eventually I took some lessons so that way if it came up again I could actually play something and not look like I'm completely full of sh*t. It paid off, and after I moved from that area I never told anyone I could play piano again.

buckut

I'm imagining you playing hot cross buns to prove you could play.

JeebusHeckingCripes

I legitimately cried laughing at this.

Clicint

This Speaks To Me

Not me, but my hairdresser told me this a few months ago and I couldn't stop laughing...

A few years ago, he and his girlfriend (at the time) went on vacation to a resort somewhere in Spain. On the first day of arriving, they got talking to another couple they met in the hotel and just for a joke he pretended to be American by putting on an accent (he's English). He said he wasn't even sure why he did it, he was just goofing around and he thought he'd never see these people again so it was just a throwaway thing.

However, they ended up being pretty good friends with this couple and saw quite a lot of them over the course of the vacation. I guess it would have been too embarrassing/weird to come clean and tell them the truth, so he just had to go with it and put on an American accent every time he saw them. For a week.

In addition to this, he was also going through some problems in his relationship (can't think why...) so basically spent the whole trip either arguing with his girlfriend or having to get in character and pretend to be American for no other reason than his own stupidity.

He said it was the worst vacation of his life and was more stressful than being home at work.

massivebumwizard

So would he argue with his girl in American accent if other couple was present?

vick7171

Presumably, yeah. Although I doubt they were arguing in front of the other couple.

massivebumwizard

Tis But A Scratch

There is a guy who I used to work with at a corporate chain steakhouse while I was going to college that had bit of a whopper. We stayed up all night partying and he didn't wake up in time for his opening shift the following day. When he finally got up he was 2 hours late and had a grip of missed calls. He was about a month away from graduating and had worked this same job all through college, so he was worried that he was going to get fired and wouldn't be able to use the job reference so his solution was to call in and tell the boss he had been in a car accident on his way to work. Now this temporarily solved the problem, but to really sell the story he ended up hiding his truck in a friend's garage and working his next 4 weeks of serving shifts with a fake full arm cast. Brandon, you're a f*cking legend.

FreeRangeAlien

Brandon sounds like a god.

Robert_PvP_Minecraft

Hell yes I am.

Brandon42364

Well That Spiraled Out Of Control Quickly

Here we go.

When I was in 6th grade my buddy and I attempted to skip school. We planned that the next day he would stay home "sick". I would use this landline phone I had in my room which had a "hold" feature to (what I thought would) tie up the line all day so that the school couldn't get ahold of my mom (who worked from home). This is obviously long before cell phones were a thing. I would go to buddy's house and we would play Genesis all day.

So, turns out that phones don't work like that. We're hanging out and suddenly I hear a car outside. I run downstairs and hide while buddy answers the door to my crying mother who asks if he's seen me. He lies and says no. When she goes I come up and decide that I'm in big trouble and need to cover it. I plan to say some "teenagers" from the nearby high school were picking on me and chased me around a neighborhood I didn't know well. I head home and run into my dad who was looking for me. I give him the story and he seem to buy it. He takes me home where my mom is on the phone to the police. She had my school picture out and is crying. She puts me on the phone and makes me tell my story to the cop. He sounds skeptical but he accepts the story.

She then asks if I want to go back to school in the afternoon. I say I do (because it'll get me away from being grilled about it anymore at home). But at school I get grilled by my teacher and the principal. My friend informs me the entire school went on lockdown when I was "missing" because of potential abduction. I had to keep going with the "teenagers" story for years. I finally told my mom years later when I was an adult and she was pretty mad, but I was past getting in trouble for it.

Cripnite

Gotta love the parental statute of limitations.

3robern

You're grounded! Go to your room!

Mom I'm 35 and live 6 states over...

peon2

She Totally Owned It

I once got sort of unapproved access to a VIP area at a venue, and the person who got me in probably would have gotten in trouble if it was found out that they did (a fairly major musician was playing, this was the lounge area where their family and friends were watching the show, only about 20 people). When people asked why I was there, I said I was related to the owner of the venue (figured this was boring enough but would stop the questions). Instead, this really nice group of people all started complimenting me on the venue and talking to me more about it and my family.

They were really awesome people and we chatted the rest of the evening. They invited me to spend the upcoming holiday weekend at their beach house with the band. I did. No one ever found out I have no connection to the venue and don't even know who actually owns it.

katemonster22

Just Act Like You Belong

I was watching my buddy who was in an amateur MMA fight and brought a cannon rebel ti3 camera and was wearing sandals, a Pepsi t-shirt, and khaki shorts. I went to the bar to get a water and the bartender told me "staff get free drinks" and handed me two bottles of water for free, I figured i looked close enough to the staff there that i can sneak onto the main floor and take pictures from the stage and I did. No one questioned me and I got some horrible shots because I don't know how to properly use a camera.

Ifailmostofthetime

It's actually quite remarkable the amount of sh*t you can get away with if you just act like you belong.

CidCrisis

A Degree Of Lies She Didn't Expect

My boyfriend (now husband) told me he went to grad school but never graduated.

I found out around 10 years into us dating that it was a giant lie he had said to impress me. The only reason he came clean was his mother found out and told me.

my_Favorite_post

Did he get his degree or did he not attend?

TheHealadin

He claimed he attended and didn't finish. The truth was he had been accepted but never went.

He never really talked about it. It only came up when I mentioned him living off campus during graduate school and his mother was like "WTF are you talking about?"

my_Favorite_post

Double Trouble

I can't think of any really big ones, but there's one weird one.

In college, a group of people I didn't know well were talking about this guy they'd gone to high school with who looked exactly like me, to the point that they were convinced I was him fucking with them by pretending to be someone else. The only difference was that my doppelganger wore glasses, and I didn't. So in order to f*ck with them a little bit, I said that I'd worn glasses in high school, but didn't anymore. I'd never worn glasses.

One of the people there that I did know well remembered what I'd said, and didn't believe me so the next time she bumped into my best friend from high school, she asked whether I'd worn glasses. He backed me up, instantly. I figured he'd just figured something was up and decided to back me up.

A decade later, with the acquisition of good vision insurance, I had my eyes checked and actually did wind up getting glasses, with a very mild prescription. Upon seeing me with them for the first time, my best friend said, "Oh wow, I haven't seen you with glasses on since high school."

I've never been sure whether he backed me up and then somehow internalized that backup and then really believed that I wore glasses in high school, or whether he just always somehow believed that I'd worn glasses. I've chosen to use it to very subtly fuck with him by photoshopping glasses onto my face in old pictures that he's going to see.

I did it recently when his sister asked me for some photos to use for his upcoming wedding. It'll probably never actually pay off, but I privately think it's hilarious.

cdskip

A Tall Tail To Tell

Last year on the first day of a month-long rotation in medical school, I was telling a story and accidentally referred to my dog as my daughter.

Quickly did the mental evaluation of how embarrassing it would be to correct myself vs rolling with it and just decided to go with it and pretended I had a kid for the rest of the month. I didn't like purposely bring it up or anything, but if someone mentioned it (it was October, was asked about taking my kid trick or treating etc) I would just vaguely agree and not elaborate on anything.

rays0fsunshine

"How old is your daughter?" "3 but she's 18 in do....aughter years"

woobboomooboo

It's All Fun And Games Until...

When I was 10, another kid on my school bus asked me if I played World of Warcraft. I lied and said yes.

I spent the entire rest of the year, before and after school on the bus, talking about a game I never played in my life.

One day, I was invited over when he made me login. I entered some account and claimed I forgot my password, spending the next 30 minutes trying to debug by resetting a password to an account that doesn't exist HAHA... oh my god. What was I doing?

binderjeet

What's In A Name?

I'm not sure if this counts, but the girl at the front desk of my gym has been calling me Justin for like 6 years. My name isn't Justin.

thebearjew512

Guy on the bus to work started calling me Mike one morning and I should have told him that wasn't my name but I secretly liked it. 18 months later I still haven't told him. I even had to warn my daughter who started getting the same bus as me in the morning what had happened. She found it hilarious. I'm in too deep now. Mike is now my name for 40 minutes every morning Monday to Friday.

teksti-tv666

You're a phony!!!

mikethewind

A big fat PHONY!!

sirhecsivart

Practice Makes Perfect

Used to get my nails done when I lived in China with a friend. We told elaborate lies about her "rich husband" and my "useless boyfriend" to the ladies who did our nails as a way to practice vocabulary in Mandarin... I was leaving in like a few months so it was easy but she had to find pictures of babies and weddings and dresses to use. I just had to remember that my bf was a doctor and probably cheating on me and she had to choose baby names.

amcb93

That's better than my friend who implied that we were together to our nail tech. I facepalmed when she did that.

Iamranran

What A...Richard

There was a guy in high school. We had classes together starting in 9th grade, but he went to my school since kindergarten but we didn't have a class together until we were teenagers. For some reason, I thought his name was Richard. First day of class he comes up and sits in front of me and I just smile and say "Hey Richard." and that's that.

Every time we worked on a project together. Every time I passed him in the halls. For years, I'd called him Richard. We had a project together in a class and it was a week of hanging out together at the library and EACH OTHERS HOUSES. I called him Richard in front of his MOM! I introduced him to MY PARENTS AS RICHARD!

He always responded to Richard, always got MY name right. Never tried to correct me. I wrote our names on the project and handed it in. I got asked by the teacher the next day. "Who is Richard? Wasn't your partner Charlie?"

For nearly 10 years I'd been calling this boy named Charlie, Richard. And no one ever corrected me, not even his mom. I asked him after class why he never corrected me and he just said it was weird and he didn't know how to handle it. And as time passed he figured it was too late now. What a D*ck.

CoffeeMommee

What a Richard.

Redditaccount_02


A Tough Pill To Swallow

When I was dating my husband, his mom wanted us to stay the night. I really, really didn't want to. Told her I needed to go home due to not feeling well and thinking I had a fever. She offers me Tylenol and I said I couldn't have it because I was allergic- not sure why I said it.

Anyways, my husband overheard it and I later didn't want to tell him I had lied to his mom. We're married now. I recently had to go to the ER due to breaking a bone and was in so much pain I couldn't talk. He told the nurse I was allergic to Tylenol. He then went to my surgery and doctors appointments with me after that and I had to continue to say I am allergic to Tylenol.

My "Tylenol allergy" is now all over my medical records.

TheTherapistsWife

April Fooled

Long ago, Discovery Channel had a special on prehistoric pigs. It aired on April 1st, and being a 12 year old who was "smart" and "knew how to think critically," (i.e. didn't think to look into the special and find out if it was the real deal as I thought i knew everything), i assumed it was a joke show put on by the channel.

A few months later, they re-aired the special. My dad happened to be watching it and, nerd that he is, called me in excitedly to show me this prehistoric pig programming. I scoffed and said, "Dad, it's fake. It was made for April Fool's and now they're showing it again."

"OH," he said, and laughed and laughed.

Here's the thing - I was wrong. The show was about a real animal that really existed. I discovered this a few years later on the internet.

But by now my dad had started using these fake giant pigs as a conversation starter! Not only that, but he's flipped the story a bit - now he's the one who saw the show on April 1! And, 23 years later, the man STILL BRINGS UP THIS F*CKING SHOW. Because he thinks the idea of what he calls "dinosaur pigs" is HILARIOUS.

I thought of telling him, but it's too deep now. I go to my grave with this one.

EDIT: Holy s---, this got some upvotes. FWIW, the people linking various dinopig wikis in the comments, I honestly have no fucking clue which one it is. Probably the entelodonts, but I can't say. As for which documentary it is, folks linking YouTube vids, that I'm also fuzzy on. This is a doc I saw before Discovery lost its damn mind, sometime between 1996 and 2000 - I was definitely in middle or very early high school, because of the house I remember seeing it in. So, ages 12-14. My memory says it was called "when pigs ruled the earth/world" and that it aired around the time those walking with dinosaurs documentaries exploded. Anything produced in the aughts is right out.

SappyGemstone

lies

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.

old wives tales

People Who Wouldn't Quit Their Job If They Won The Lottery Explain What They Do

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.

So what are these compelling careers?

Keep reading... Show less
work

People Break Down The Biggest Bombshells Their Therapist Ever Dropped On Them

Therapist talking during session
Photo by Mark Williams on Unsplash

Some people stand firmly stand behind their beliefs that everyone would benefit from therapy and that therapy is life-changing.

It's because of the totally life-changing truth bombs their therapist had dropped during their sessions.

Curious, Redditor anonymiss0018 asked:

"What is a little bombshell your therapist dropped in one of your sessions that completely changed your outlook?"

Communication Issues

"'If you don’t have these problems with any other person in your life, why do you think you’re the problematic person in this one?'"

- maggiebear

"I love this. I have a 'friend' who I always seem to run into misunderstandings with. Every time we had a conversation, it somehow turned into a debate even if it was me talking about my day. The conversations were never easy."

"I always evaluate myself first and take into consideration his critiques. He was very good at convincing me that I was contradicting myself or wasn't good at communicating my thoughts."

"I NEVER had this issue with ANYONE else in my life. I kept trying to figure out where the miscommunication was coming from. In the end, I just minimized contact and now I don't run into this issue."

- chobani_yo

"I read this quote somewhere once (and probably have it a bit wrong): 'It's a waste of time arguing with someone who is determined to misunderstand you.'"

- Reddit

Emotional Regulation

"'You can’t control your emotions, but you can control what you do with them.'"

"At the time, I was a young adult who had learned zero healthy emotional regulation skills (only suppression and shaming) growing up, so this blew my mind."

- lil_mermaid

Tough Relationships

"'It sounds to me like you are trying to convince yourself to stay with your girlfriend. I'm not so sure it should be so difficult.'"

"At the time he said this, I remember it was like he said, 'The earth is flat.' I thought he was crazy when he suggested relationships don't need to be difficult. But eventually, I started to realize I was trying to change myself to stay with this person rather than just being who I am."

"It took me three more months to finally break up with her but from that day on, I vowed to never again abandon myself just to be with someone I had convinced myself was better than me."

- metric88

High-Stress Situation

"I was at a high-stress time, and I asked her how people live like this."

"She replied, 'Oftentimes they have cardiac events.' She said it as an urging to care for myself as much as possible."

- KittenGr8r

The End of Alcohol

"I was struggling with my alcoholism, and we were discussing how I had been cutting back."

"She asked what I would consider success, with regard to my drinking."

"I said I wanted to get to a point where it wasn't interfering with my daily life. I wanted to just be able to have a glass of wine at holiday dinners or family gatherings."

"She simply asked me why. Why was it important for me to drink at those times?"

"It was as if she'd turned on a light. Alcohol had always been a key ingredient in every family function, for my entire life. When I smell bourbon, I think of my uncle. When I smell vermouth, I think of my dad. Alcohol ran through almost every happy childhood memory."

"But, even more than that, I was very afraid of the explanation I'd have to give when family and friends asked why I wasn't having a drink. I had tried to quit before but failed. What if I admitted my problem, only to fall off the wagon?"

"When she asked why I didn't want to completely quit, it was the first time I saw that last part of the big picture. I'd be willing to drink myself to death in order to avoid being scrutinized, or judged for possible future failures."

"That was the day I quit. I've been sober since May 6th, 2017. 2,407 days."

- sophies_wish

Acceptance vs. Enjoyment

"'Accepting something doesn’t mean you have to like it.'"

"That took away a lot of my inner conflicts about situations because I could accept a situation without expending energy internally fighting against the injustice of it."

- alibelloc

Emotionally Immature Parents

"You are not responsible for your parents' emotional wellbeing. They are independent adults who have been on this earth for many more years than you."

- SmokedPears

Not So Lazy

"'Why do you think you're lazy?' Then she listed off all the things she knows I'm doing for my family, my job, and my life."

"It kind of blew my mind when I struggled to come up with an example."

"She also described family dysfunction as water. Some families are messed up in a way that everyone can see the huge waves across the surface. Others are better at hiding it, but there's still a riptide that you can't see unless you're also in the water."

"It made me realize that trying to keep the surface from ever rippling doesn't erase what is happening underneath."

- flybyknight665

The Harm in People-Pleasing

"'Why do you make people more comfortable when you are uncomfortable?' when talking about people pleasing and fawning."

- ERsandwich

Agree to Disagree

"'Stop trying to get everyone to agree. When you need everyone to agree, the least agreeable person has all the power.'"

This really changed my outlook on planning family events."

- freef

Grieve and Start Anew

"For context, I had a major TBI (traumatic brain injury), seizures, strokes, and all around not a fun brain time when I was 28."

"They said, 'You have to grieve the loss of yourself.'"

"Most people wanted me to go back to how I was. The f**ked up truth is that part of my brain is dead. The person everyone (including myself) knew died. I needed to grieve the loss of myself."

- squeaktoy_la

Multifaceted Identity

"They told me that my job and career is just a way to make money; it's not my life or identity. That took a lot of pressure off me."

- unfairpegasus

Breaking the Cycle

"They validated me."

"'You always talk about not wanting to do to your daughters what your mom did to you. You worry about it so much in every interaction you have ever had with them."

"But your children are 19 and 21 now. They are happy and healthy and they trust you because you’ve never abused them in any way. So I just want to validate for you that you really have broken that cycle of violence."

"You did that. And you should be proud of it. I’m proud of you for it.'"

- puppsmcgee74

The Grieving Process

"I was constantly bringing up how I felt like a completely different person after my mom died... like there was a marked difference between before and after her death."

"But once, she was asking about my hobbies, I got really into describing all the things I loved to do or at least used to do before I got into a deep depression."

"She was like, 'Wow, you seem very passionate.'"

"And I just sat there like, 'Well, I mean, I can't change what I like to do, they're still fun to do.'"

"And it's like she knew when to take a step back, because it was like, wow, I may be super depressed about my mom passing, but I'm still me. I'm still my passions and those don't go away."

"I don't know, maybe it only makes sense to be, but it really started getting me back on track."

- Hannibal680

Sharing the Load

"I've never really had friends. I've had colleagues and classmates and housemates and people who have hung out with me, but I never really felt close to any of them."

"And I did that thing you see on here sometimes; I stopped reaching out to see if I would be reached out to, and I wasn't, which I took as confirmation that they didn't really want me around, or at the very least, that they wouldn't mind my absence."

"I was talking to my therapist about people I'd been close to in college, and she told me to pick one and talk about him. So I did. After I shared some basic stuff like his name and his major etc., and a couple of anecdotes, she asked me what else I knew about him."

"And I couldn't answer. It wasn't really a broadly applicable bombshell, but she said, 'What else?' and I started crying because I realized that for as simple as the question was, my inability to answer spoke volumes."

"I've never had good friends because I've never been a good friend. I'm withdrawn and reserved and I always made others do the work to drag me out, without ever extending my own friendship in a meaningful way in return. If I wanted to have meaningful relationships with other people, I would have to build them."

"I'm still working on this, but I'm trying to make more offers and extend more friendliness to others in my daily life."

- Backupusername

The discoveries in this thread were incredibly touching and profound; it's no wonder these were lasting concepts for these Redditors.

It's important to keep ourselves open to inspiration and insights from others, as we have no idea how their experiences could help us, or how we could help them.

therapy

People Describe The Most 'Small Town' Thing They've Ever Witnessed

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?

living