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People Divulge Their Weirdest Paranormal Experiences

People Divulge Their Weirdest Paranormal Experiences
Finmiki/Pixabay

Some pretty strange stuff happens sometimes, especially when we're alone at night. Whether it's a series of sounds somewhere in the house, a shadow that you can only see out of the corner of your eye, or some lights in the night sky, there are a lot of things we experience that can't quite be explained.


Reddit user u/GiannisXo asked:

"People of Reddit, what is your weirdest paranormal experience?"

20.

I think it was Summer of '97. A little after 9 pm, I heard a very distinct "humming?" noises coming outside.

I looked out my bedroom window. Just past the houses to the west in an open field, I see a dark, unlit object about 150-200(?) feet in the air.

I stare in awe at it for a few minutes, then commercials were over and the show I was watching resumed.

About 10-15 minutes later I hear helicopter noises, coming in fast, and very low. I see 3 military helicopters fly overhead.

-wildbill883

19.

About a month ago, I picked up my brother from the bars. He was pretty much done for the night (Blacked out). Well on our 30 minute drive back home, he looks in the back seats and says "Anthony who is in the back seat", to which I reply no one, it is just you and me. 10 minutes pass by and again he asks, and again I said no one is in the back (as I had previously checked).


With my drunk brother still with me, I met up with a friend at a bar in the town we live in. At this point my brother was really tired, so I drove him back home, with my friend sitting in the back. I get home, and my father had just parked in our drive way. All three of us in my car hop out and my dad says hello to us. Keep in mind 3 of us hopped out of my car, My brother, my friend and I.

The next night my father comes home from work, and he asks me who was in the back seat. I looked at him confused and said "no one, there was three of us only, and my friend got out to greet you". He replies with, "I know, but there was someone else that stayed in the car and didn't get out". I was in shock and confused when he brought this up. I don't know what to make of any of this, but it def creeped me out as my father and brother did not interact the following day due to work schedules. My brother doesn't remember any of it, and my dad brought it up days later, asking me if there was no one in the back. He said the 4th person was wearing a tan jacket.

My friend was wearing all black that night. My dad believes it was his brother, who passed away almost 10 years ago. It's really odd that two people saw something and I didn't, neither did my friend.

-BrotherAnthony

18.

Once upon a time, maybe 15-16 years ago I had a friend, with a trampoline and a big Boxer-dog. We would play, jump on the trampoline, and her dog would run back and forth under it because the two of us whooping and laughing got the dog all excited, as dogs do. Of course, the dog would pant as she ran around under the trampoline, it was a very distinct sound. Couldn't miss it.

Cut to one day when I go over to play, and it turns out the dog got hit by a car and killed, the family buried Molly in their back yard. They had another puppy, a ridiculously tiny dust-bunny of a thing, and it was inside when we started playing on the trampoline. Soon after, we heard a distinct sound, like a dog panting right under our feet. We both stopped, looked at each other, and decided to keep playing, until it happened again. We stopped, and looked down through the semi-transparent trampoline mesh to see there was nothing there. We both heard it, both times.

We both recognized it for what it was. That's basically what started me believing ghosts aren't always just stories, and it wouldn't be my first encounter either.

-aurorallis

17.

Still the apartment in which my mom and I lived couple of years ago. Missing and reappearing items were really creepy. The bathroom light turning itself on several times one night was worse. The handprint on the glass door to the attic (located in the bathroom roof) was the worst. Funfact: my mom told me around one week ago that the landlords mother has died in that apartment and NOONE lived there longer than half a year - including us.

-Joubachi

16.

I don't remember this, but my mom told me the story.

We moved into a new house when I was 4. And one of the first nights I had a dream about a nice old woman who was talking to me the way old women talk to little kids. "How old are you? Do you like pre-school?"
The same night, my mom had a dream about the same old woman. But instead of being nice she was screaming at her to get out of her house.

-Smoochy

15.

So... I know this is long but I'll try to be clear.

One day, my 3 year old cousin and I decided to go up to the attic at my mom's house to get something. On our way up, my cousin asks "Are we going to see the little boy?", to which I reply "What??". I honestly thought I had misheard her and dismissed it.

Well, a month later we do the same and, again, on our way she asks "Are we going to play with the little boy?". This time I knew I hadn't misheard and asked what little boy was she talking about: "The boy that is in the attic". Of course, my very "brave" teenage me noped out of there as fast as possible and casually mentioned both cases to my mom and aunts.

Since the house we lived on used to be my grandmas house, and since we knew she had had a miscarriage there years ago, we started addressing the "little boy in the attic" as my uncle. It kinda turned into a joke and no one gave it much thought.

Two weeks go by and my aunt decides to go to a party with some of her friends. In this group is a woman that she has never met before, a friend of her friend. This woman then asks my aunt if she's okay, with a worried look on her face. She says she is feeling fine. But the woman keeps going and says that she is only asking cause my aunt's father is behind her. Note that her father, aka my grandfather, had pasted away 8 years before that.

My aunt gets very weirded out and manages to say "okay... but he is dead". This woman then says that she knows, but he is asking her to tell ME that the "little boy in the attic" is not my uncle, but my cousin, the brother of my 3 year old cousin that wasn't born cause my aunt had a miscarriage at five months. She told her that the little boy was protecting my cousin and that he always follows her. And that my grandpa wanted us to know.

I don't really know what to make of it. But this did happen and I guess we just kinda repress it and try to pretend we don't remember.

-ClausAlf

14.

I was visiting family in another country. We were driving one night between two coastal cities, it's late, probably 1am and the road is dark with some light posts every now and then. We were talking about mundane things when a huge dog with a fanny pack ran in front of the car, I didn't have time to slow down so we hit it. Instead of a whimper or any animal sound we heard "hijuep*ta" which means son of a b*tch in spanish. The dog got up on two legs and ran into the foliage. My cousin and I screamed and I floored it until we arrived to a toll.

That was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced and to this day my cousin and I re-tell the story at family gatherings.

-notnewfoundsoccer

13.

Was sitting watching television with my husband one evening. The only light was from the screen. A small child, just short enough that the top of its head was right underneath the screen, runs in front of us and into the kitchen. It was too dark in the room to discern any details. For just a split second I accepted it because our kids were about that size at the time. Then, I remembered they were spending the night with my mom. My heart started racing and just as I opened my mouth to ask my husband if he'd seen it, too, he says, "Wait... did you see that?"

Instant goosebumps.

Never came up with an explanation for that one. We were the only ones in the house & had no pets back then.

-oh_sleep

12. 

I got a few less paranormal but still paranormal experiences.

When I was in bed and barely awake, I blinked quickly because of the gunk at the side of the eyes. In between those quick blinks I saw a woman clearly holding a tray and all white. I was confused but I didn’t think much of it.

When I was very young I apparently was talking about a white lady protecting me, which might be a connection to above. My parents said I would sometimes just look up or into the hallway and follow something unseen to them.

When my grandmother’s cat died, she and her husband swore they could still hear it meowing and once it felt like some cat stroked against her leg.

Anyway, my family’s got a few more paranormal experiences. This is just a few.

-HeyDie07

11.

I used to work events at a historic home. It was well known that the place was thought to be haunted and everyone had their own stories. I never believed any of it until one night I was the last one in the house because I was locking up after a particularly late wedding (probably around 1am). I went up to the top floor and the second I crossed the threshold I felt the air change, it got almost...dense? and knocked the breathe out of me. I booked it out as fast as I possible could.

Another coworker said one night when she went up to do the same thing around the same time she clearly heard footsteps and assumed it was another coworker coming up to join her, but when she turned around no one was there and the other coworker had actually been far across the property at the time. Another person said they were walking down the corridor when the door they were about to go through slammed shut in front of them and locked. The facilities guy was absolutely positive the original owners of the home (from the 1800s) were doing the haunting so he started playing classical music at night if he had to be there late to 'appease them' and claimed they started leaving him alone after that.

Nothing too crazy ever happened to anyone but man did it make you not want to be the last person in there at night.

-mimbulusmimbeltonia

10. 

I was riding a bus from class to my car at around 2:30PM and thought I was the only person on the bus as we pulled onto a bridge. Out of nowhere a woman, dressed in nice but disheveled clothes, got my attention and asked what time it was. I told her it was 2:30 and then went back to looking out the window. I glanced back at where she was before the bus had reached the other side of the bridge, and before we'd made any stops, only to realize that I was the only person besides the driver on the bus.

-GodMonster

9.

In 1998 I was walking home from a late night library study session and there were 4 very large, shiny, deep gold things in the sky. They were twirling downward like those seedpod things on trees that sort of helicopter themselves, except these were bigger than cars and were doing it very slowly.

I had stopped and was staring up at them before I even realized it. Then I noticed that about 20 people were standing on the other side of the road, they had come out of a bar. There was only the bar, several houses, and a bridge but that was basically it. These days I would never let my daughter walk home like that, but whatever. I thought it was safe.

I hollered something along the lines of, "What is that?" and one of the people said she thought it was spaceships but I knew that wasn't right, and I went home and told people who thought I was probably crazy. A few years later when I was older and understood the Internet more I looked for any kind of news story or anything, and nothing was available.

I wish for the life of me I had talked more to the people watching the same thing outside the bar (which Google tells me is now gone) but I was more afraid of them than whatever was in the sky.

It was...bizarre. In the intervening 20+ years I haven't gone crazy or ever seen anything like it again. lol

-tbitim

8.

Lived in a "haunted house" for a little bit. That's what the landlord told us anyways but we were all skeptical.

Once one of my roommates borrowed my LOTR replica of the One Ring (because of course). When he came home, he set it on the top of my bookshelf (I saw him do this) and then came into the living room with me. We're sitting on the couch talking and hear something drop under the couch... It was the ring. Have no idea how that happened.

By that time we were so immune to sh!t happening that it was like... "Hey, Christine!" go back to talking.

-passivelyaggressive1

7.

I once lived in a haunted loft apt. Lots of odd things happened there, but my sister vehemently refused to even listen to the stories...at first. She would actually snarl when she called us liars.

Then one day she was visiting and while she was in the bathroom she began shouting: "I'll be out in a minute! Get away from the damned door!"

My roomate and I looked over and the doorknob was twisting back and forth by itself while my sister was getting angrier and angrier. When she burst out of the bathroom and saw how far away we were from the door she turned totally white.

Was absolutely hilarious.

That place turned several non-believers into believers. I wish I could have taken that ghost with me when I moved.

-nannylinn62

6.

Went running with my dog and saw a white outline of a young woman running alongside me out of the corner of my eye. When I looked over, nothing. About 5 mins later I got a call that my great grandmother had passed, she was in hospice. Still think about that a lot.

I think it runs in the family. My mom will straight up say "I need to call X, I feel weird" and sure as sh!t, there's a disease/illness going on. My great grandmother used to talk to dead people and my family thought she was crazy until they figured out the house she used to live in was owned by the couple she "talked" to years earlier. Found this out a year or so ago, been about 5 years since she passed away.

-Unforgotabble

5.

When my son was a baby we had a sound monitor next to his crib and my wife was downstairs and heard a voice on the other end of the monitor saying "what are you doing cutie? Huh? What are you doing?" She said it sounded playful like how people talk to babies or pets. She ran up to his room thinking someone was in the house and he was just laying there awake looking around.

When he got a little older and could walk and talk some, he was laying on the living room floor playing with blocks. Something down the hall caught his attention and he got up and stared down the hall. I asked him what was wrong because he kept looking at me all concerned and then looking back down the hall. He ran over, climbed in my lap, and pointed to the hallway and said "monkey" I think maybe he was seeing some kind of shadowy apparition and monkey was the only word he knew to describe what he saw.

That house always creeped us out, even before he was born. We always had that weird feeling like someone was watching us, and one time I got slapped on my foot while laying in bed.

-BoonieBlair

4.

About 4 months after my old cat died (RIP Neesa ;-; ) we got a little kitten. The night we got her, I was laying in my bed, trying to get to sleep after all of the days exitement. I felt pawsteps on my back, and there she was. Clear as day. She curled up on my pillow like she would always do before she went to sleep. I was so happy she was back, so I didn't make a big deal of it in hopes she would stay. I fell asleep with her by my side. When I woke up, she was gone, and one of her old toys was on the foot of the bed. I still cry when I think about it.

-Ivylizardxx

3.

It was probably my brain, accessing information way faster than it could communicate to my body, but one day as I was walking from parking my car to work, I heard this voice as I was getting closer to the intersection. It kept screaming at me, "check this out! look up here, no really this is cool, check this out!!! LOOK UP HERE".

I didn't feel like anyone else was hearing this, I was alone, and it felt like it was for me, and the voice wasn't my own. I hit the walk button, and finally decided to stop ignoring the voice. I look at the top of the building as the light turns green to cross the street, three floors up where the voice seemed to be coming from, and I see.... a flag. A stupid flag on a building. Woo. A flag.

Just as I'm about to step into the intersection this giant white truck barrels through the intersection and takes a right, exactly in the spot I would be in if I hadn't looked up to see what the whole hullabaloo was about.*shrug*

I'm just glad I waited to cross the street.

-gnapster

2.

Once I was house & dog sitting for my then gf's sister and her bf, they always told me about how weird stuff would always happen like washer and dryer door would randomly fly open, the front door would open if it was closed or close if it was already open, just weird stuff like that. Didn't ever really think much of it because I've never personally experienced anything like that ever.


Well the first night I was there I was laying in bed with the dog when all of a sudden the dog got up and started barking like crazy in the direction of their closet(which was open and was the length of the entire wall), I looked in that direction didn't see anything so I just turned around to try and calm the dog down and as soon as I put my head back onto the pillow every single one of the hangers started to move in order just as if someone took their hand and dragged it along the entire length of the closet from left to right. No windows were open and the bedroom door was closed, that's the first time anything like that happened and I couldn't come up with some reason that was even remotely possible as to why it would be happening.

-bloodin1234

1.

I have an ongoing one for 5 plus years. I work graveyard shift in a largeish senior "community". Different levels ie seniors Apts, retirement, assisted living and long term care. Its actually a very nice setup as far as all the horror stories you hear about senior care. At night the doors (all handicapped accessible, push button and door opens) are locked and armed to the call bell system. Every month or 2 one of the doors randomly opens itself and sets off the alarm. Every damn time someone somewhere in the facility has passed away.

-hickorydickoryshaft


Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.