Top Stories

Power Hungry People Share Inconvenient Rules They'd Impose If They Were In Charge

Power Hungry People Share Inconvenient Rules They'd Impose If They Were In Charge

Power Corrupts

[rebelmouse-image 18358781 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

There's a saying: power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

But the idea of absolute power can be intriguing and perhaps a little enticing. Given the chance to be dictator for a day, would we do it? If we did it, what would we do?

Reddit user Deity_Of_Death asked "If you were a dictator, what kind of ridiculous dictator-like stuff would you do?"

People let their inner authoritarian out and came up with their own despotic to-do lists.

5 Step Plan

[rebelmouse-image 18358784 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

  1. People who drive slow in the left lane get their cars taken away and crushed in a compactor in front of their eyes.
  2. People who stand in the checkout line talking on their cell phone get thrown into solitary confinement for a week to learn the joy of peace and quiet.
  3. Vaccines are mandatory for everyone (except those with actual medical issues).
  4. American "chocolate" is hearby banned for all time. Only high-quality European chocolate may be consumed.
  5. And because I'm a benevolent dictator, free ice cream on Fridays. Good ice cream, not that stuff with 50-million ingredients.

The Darwin Purge

[rebelmouse-image 18358785 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Assuming I'm dictator of the world (as that's the only situation where this plan would work), I'd pass a law both banning and requiring the removal of all warning labels. Our species is due for a culling in the next 200 years. Why not get ahead of the game and let natural selection do the work? A side bonus of said law would be the living population would inherently be more intelligent, because the bozos who need a sign that says "WARNING HIGH VOLTAGE DO NOT TOUCH" in order to not touch something dangerous will weed themselves out of existence.

Selective Breeding

[rebelmouse-image 18358786 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

As a dictator, I'd have the science developed to switch off everybodies ability to reproduce. They'd have to apply for a license to have a kid.

As long as they're decent, educated, and have the means to raise a kid, they'll get their reproductive capability switched on until the mother becomes pregnant. Then it's off again.

Yes, of course all alternative family styles are eligible. I'm a dictator, not a monster.

Castro's Cuba

[rebelmouse-image 18358788 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Become obsessed with milk and dairy products, I'd import cows from Canada and breed them with local cows to create the perfect milk producing cow that can survive the heat.

Create an entire air conditioned facility the size of a football field to house my cows, ignore my peoples wants and needs to fuel my cow empire

Reverse Customer Service

[rebelmouse-image 18358789 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Immediately every person who has never worked retail or restaurant reports for six months of training so they can know how to treat someone in those positions.

Religious Exhibition

[rebelmouse-image 18358790 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Round up every multi-millionaire religious leader and put them on display in a public zoo.

Lactose Tolerance

[rebelmouse-image 18358791 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Install a hamster like water bottle filled with my choice of flavored milk.

Education Special

[rebelmouse-image 18358792 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Education would be much more important. No dropping out. No failing. There would be different tiers for different levels of intelligence. Teachers would be the highest paid state job there is with ridiculously high credentials required. Teacher to student ratio would be in a very desirable range.

Capital Punishment

[rebelmouse-image 18352473 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My nation would officially be renamed Badassistan, and the only official law would be "don't be a jerk".

Fortunately, as the Great and Unimaginably Head Badass of Badassistan, I am the sole arbiter of what does and does not constitute being a jerk.

  • Caught arguing about politics on the internet? That's a hanging.
  • Ghosted someone 'cuz you're too much of a wimp to break up with them? That's a hanging.
  • Refused to pet a sad looking puppy? You better believe that's a hanging.

Cattitude

[rebelmouse-image 18358793 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Ban all religions except my own. My friends and I have started a new religion where we worship cats as our Gods. When faced with a tough situation, I ask myself "Would a cat judge me for doing this?" If the answer is yes I just don't do it.

Well, the best thing about this religion is that you can be anywhere in the world and believe and follow the same ideals. You don't need any official ceremony to enter the religion.

The rules are:

  1. Don't be an a-hole.
  2. Love cats and accept in your heart that cats are superior to you. You will never be as cool, smart and badass as a cat.
  3. You must attempt to talk to and pet any and every cat you see.
  4. You must watch cute kitten videos and share them with all your friends as often as you can. The more, the better.

Right to Work

[rebelmouse-image 18358794 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Make it illegal to be unemployed, with the appropriate agency to help you get a job of course.

If you turn out to be poor for the job, you'll be reassigned.

With Salsa, Guacamole Extra

[rebelmouse-image 18358795 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Taco Tuesdays are now mandatory.

Fight It Out

[rebelmouse-image 18358796 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Every town center gets an MMA cage or wrestling ring. Two grown people wanna settle something with bare hands? Go on ahead.

Titles Are Everything

[rebelmouse-image 18358797 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Look up some of the wacky titles that dictators have given themselves. That's the first thing I'd do.

Idi Amin (president of Uganda 1971-1979) gave himself this title: His excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of all the beasts of the earth and fishes of the seas and conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.

Timeless

[rebelmouse-image 18358800 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I'd abolish time. You get caught with a timekeeping device, it's hard labor indefinitely, because we no longer recognize the concept of years.

Get caught with a watch? Jail.

Flava Flav? He's toast.

If my secret police find so much as one gnomon or pendulum, you better believe you and your whole family are getting shipped off to the Pit of Misery.

In the Red

[rebelmouse-image 18358801 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I'd have a massive fleet of stupidly expensive cars and the highways get a 'red lane'.

You are not, under any circumstance, allowed to drive on the 'red lane', EVER! The red lane is for me and people who I grant acces to it. There will be no speed limit in that lane, so I can go anywhere I please as fast as I please on the highway.

Fines for using the red lane without my permission can be very very expensive and I'll be the judge in court for when you used it.

Lord of the Flies

[rebelmouse-image 18358802 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I would give every teacher the ability to pick one student each year to send to "The Island". The Island is isolated and inescapable. It may or may not be filled with dangerous creatures. There is plenty to eat and drink, but now the kiddos will only be able to annoy each other. Obviously the threat of being sent to The Island will motivate students and their parents and make public schools a better place to work. How about that for Teacher Appreciation Day?

Sorry Ted

[rebelmouse-image 18358803 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Probably for every good action (like education or health care reform) one ridiculous action (anyone named Ted can no longer buy or consume ice cream) and enforce it with an iron fist. Need to keep people on their toes.

The Names the Thing

[rebelmouse-image 18358804 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Give my country a ridiculously over the top positive sounding name like all the crappy dictatorships do.

"The Lawful Democratic People's Prosperous Republic of Letsgetblitzedopia"

It's the political equivalent of strolling and whistling to look like you're chill and not doing anything wrong.

Detailed Plans

[rebelmouse-image 18358805 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

  1. Rename all the days of the week and the names of the months after myself and my family.
  2. Make it illegal to wear yellow clothes on the first Meday of each month (except for Metober).
  3. Move the country to a timezone with a +27 minute offset from nearest neighbor and move the day when Daylight savings comes into effect around from year to year (just to screw with the people who maintain the time zone database).
  4. Switch which side of the street people are driving on based on astrological advice (without changing stuff like which side the doors of buses open etc).
  5. Spelling Reform (everything gets spelled the way I misspell it.)
  6. Rename major cities and geographical features after me.
  7. Have worship of me integrate into or replace the local religions.
  8. Crush dissidents under my iron heel (and my tanks)
  9. Surround myself with a cadre of beautiful amazon bodyguards.
  10. Hold elections where 110% of the votes go to me.
  11. Implement national health care and invest into educating many doctors and medical practitioners.
  12. invest into education to achieve close to 100% literacy.
  13. Make sure that a book written by me becomes everyone's new bible.
  14. Trick the CIA into assassinating people in neighboring countries that I don't like.
  15. Implement a great internet filter that automatically replaces certain words and phrases as well as pictures so that my subject who decided to search for porn online come away with the mistaken impression that everyone outside the country has really weird fetishes.
  16. Rewrite history books and maps so that Belgium does not exist.
  17. Introduce version of popular sports that have substantially different rules than everywhere else.

People Describe The Creepiest Things They Ever Witnessed As A Kid

"Reddit user -2sweetcaramel- asked: 'What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?'"

Four mistreated baby dolls are hung by barb wire
Photo by J Lopez

For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.

Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.

The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.

Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:

"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"

Serious Danger

"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."

"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."

oofboof2020

Waiting for Food

"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."

"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."

nowhereboy1964

Captain Hobo to the Rescue

"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."

"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"

"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."

FartAttack911

Survival

tsunami GIF Giphy

"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."

faithfulpoo

These Tsunami stories are just tragic.

On the Sand

Scared The Launch GIF by CTV Giphy

"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."

oyloff

Be Clever

"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."

OstneyPiz

Bad Jokes

"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."

Alegan239

YOU

Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN Giphy

"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"

PrettyLola2004

Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.

No one should talk to others in the dark though.

Woman stressed at work
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.

But some jobs are much harder than they look.

Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:

"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"

Customer Service

"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."

- gwarrior5

"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"

- Conscious_Camel4830

"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."

"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."

- First-Combination-12

High Stakes

"A pharmacist."

"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."

- VaeSapiens

"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."

"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."

- Worth_University_884

Teaching Woes

"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"

"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"

"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."

- bq87

Creativity Is "Easy"

"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."

- rubberduckyis

"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."

"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."

- whitepepper

Care Fatigue Is Real

"Care work."

"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."

- MangoMatiLemonMelon

Physical Labor Generally Wins

"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."

- anachronistika

Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild

"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."

"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."

"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."

"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."

- Yak-Mak-5000

Professional Cooking

"Being a chef."

- Canadian_bro7

"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."

- ChuckDeBongo

Team Leading, Oof

"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."

- Counterboudd

Not a Pet Sitter At All

"Veterinary Technician."

"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"

- forthegoddessathena

Harder Than It Looks!

"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"

"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."

"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."

"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."

- Joebroni1414

Twiddling Thumbs and Listening

"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"

"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"

"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."

"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."

- mylovelanguageiswine

Constant Updates

​"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."

"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."

"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."

- GlizzyMcGuire_

Performing Is Not Easy

"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."

- ThrowRA1r3a5

All About Perception

"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."

"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."

"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"

- DrHugh

It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.

This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen Giphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPost Giphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIF Giphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...