No one enjoys a punishment; however, there is a big red line that shouldn't be crossed. Sometimes it can seem relatively minor but when you really look at what the punishment fully entails a more gruesome side begins to show. “Old school" discipline has been shown to be damaging on many levels often causing lifelong damage whether physical or mental.
Even the current correction system in America still uses tactics as punishment of inmates that rather than leading to rehabilitation causes lasting damage to inmates in turn leading to higher rates of ricidivism. Yet, some parents will use similar degradation to punish their children. Someday perhaps, as a society, we will begin to discipline without causing lasting harm.
One Redditor by the screen name rivno2 was curious about what others knew of punishments both in real life or imaginary. They asked:
“Which punishment (either real or imagined) sounds "light" or "not a big deal" at first, but is actually horrific to experience?"
Some of the responses were shocking.
“after one hour you just want to hold your hands in ice water...”
“Peeling salted sunflower seeds with your bare hands. Had the choice between that and getting spanked. Chose the peeling and I regretted that immensely."
“It doesn't sound bad at first but let me tell you, after one hour you just want to hold your hands in icewater. Your fingertips get sore, sometimes you prick your skin and the salt dries out your fingers and makes them really sensitive."
“Not to mention that the salt creeps up your nailbed and hurts like sh*t, especially if you rip your skin near your finger nails. I never chose that punishment again." Mr_Gaster
Writing lines...
“As a kid, when I did something wrong I'd have to write a sentence 100-500 times as punishment. I remember having to sit in the car at a family reunion at probably 7 years old writing ‘I am a bad girl.’ 500 times because I'd taken a granola bar without asking.”
“Writing I am a bad girl that many times, repeated for minor infractions and sentences like ‘I am a liar and no one likes liars.’ Or ‘I ruined the day for my family.’ Just sticks with you and becomes internalized. I'm 31 now, it's been a good 15 years since I've had to write these, but I still think them about myself.” CuteNCaffinated
“The crime? I'm allergic to the incense used in church...”
“School made us do that as a punishment, copying pages and pages of quotes from the bible about bad people. Or lines of 'I'm not worth educating' 'my actions and life will amount to nothing' Yeah wonder why bunch's of students are anti Christian and struggling with depression and a career 10-15 years later."
“Got to the point I refused. Not wasting paper or my sanity, so an alternative was to go pull thistles and prickles and goatheads (sharp pronged thorny things) out of the grounds barehanded."
“The crime? I'm allergic to the incense used in church and my coughing disrupts service every Friday and Sunday." Snofall-Bird
Wait...WTF?
“Having to play with chicken. My grandpa always told me, when the neighbors kid would missbehave (100 years+ since then) his parents would lock him into the chicken habitat and put some liquid and/or meat on his feet. The chickens would peck at his feet and he would have to flee constantly until he was too tired to. Then he would be released.” iwannaconsumepp
Outlaws
Outlaws GIF by Back to the Future Trilogy
Giphy
“Outlawry. To be declared an outlaw. Today, we think of an outlaw as just anybody who breaks the law regularly. Back in the day, though, it was a punishment.”
“If you were declared Outlaw, that meant that you were literally ‘outside of the law’ and could claim no protection from it. If someone didn't like you, they could freely beat you, rob you, torture you, or even kill you.”
“When the stories refer to Robin Hood as an ‘outlaw’ that's what they're talking about. It's not a romantic, heroic, swashbuckling thing, it's the state of having no claim to any legal protection at all. The king (or whoever he appoints) takes your land, anybody who wants it can take your stuff, and anybody who doesn't like you can just beat you to death without consequences.”
“They can also put a bounty on your head and have people hunting you to claim it. What do you think would happen if you lost all protection from the law, and anybody who brought your head to the courthouse could claim a year's salary as a reward?” Wadsworth_McStumpy
Kneeling on something painful...
“Kneeling on grains of uncooked rice.” Andrezj1097
“It used to be a common punishment in Italy for children to be made to kneel on uncooked chickpeas.” c19isdeadly
The US prison system does need reform...
“Time. People underestimate the impact of duration of a sentence. In the US, it's not uncommon to hear in the news that someone received a 1 year sentence for such and such crime and thinking ‘wow that's so short they'll be out in no time’.”
“The numbers just seem so abstracted we forget just how vast even a single year is. Even for minor offenses, something like 30 days can be quite large. Imagine the impact on a person for having their life interrupted for an entire month, that will cost most people their jobs.”
“Sentence durations are pretty arbitrary and many of them are just the way they are because historically that is the duration that was expected, any changes are relatively minor. The truth is that modern sentences in the US are among the longest in the world and disproportionately large.” pm-me-gps-coords
Window Cleaners Share The Best Things They've Ever Seen | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Stehbunker...
“Standing on concrete. Nazis called them ‘stehbunker’, Stalin called them ‘kishka’, but it's all the same idea, a cell so small you are forced to stand because there isn't enough room to sit.”
“Standing barefoot on concrete, for days, is beyond brutal. It won't kill you, but it will (slowly and very painfully) cripple you, while keeping you awake for days straight.” MyNameIsRay
Star Trek...
Screaming Internally Star Trek GIF
Giphy
“Since you said imaginary, there was a punishment shown on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, that Black Mirror copied a couple times, and science fiction has used as a concept, likely before DS9. The concept is time dilation - the idea that time takes place at a different rate in the real world than it does in some other.”
“So for the punishment, the character Miles O'Brien was strapped in a chair for an hour and sedated, and he 'dreamed' he served a 10 year prison sentence. Or maybe it was longer, but in his mind, he was trapped in this cell for years and years.”
“In the dream, he may have been deprived of food, he was definitely deprived of social interaction, but at the end of it, he woke up, and only an hour had passed. (Actually, the best Next Generation episode, The Inner Light, played with time dilation as well. Same with the best Voyager episode, Blink of an Eye.)” experpernectu
Arms up...
“Being forced to keep your arms up all the time.” Adventurous_Pipe7479
“My dad did this to us with books. We had to hold them straight out in front of us and if our arms drooped, he'd add another books. I didn't realize how messed up this was until I started telling people about it. I'd beg him to spank us instead.” Lacebatty
Goat licking?
“Goat licking. In medieval times you would get your feet strapped between two wooden boards and theyd be sprinkled in salt (or similar) so animals (mainly goats) would lick them. Seems like it'd tickle at first but they won't stop licking. Apparently they'd lick flesh off until they hit bones.” BreadedPotatoMan
Bread and water...
“Bread and water rations, it was there to cause weaponized constipation. 30 days of constant abdominal pain, specifically tailored to humiliate is a lot worse than ‘oh bland food boo hoo’.” noobie9000
School punishments...
“My dad told me about a punishment that was given in schools when he was growing up (born in 1954) which was you had to go to the side of the aisle of desks and squat down (into like the Asian/Russian squat stance) and hold it for the rest of class. He said it never sounded bad but after a while your muscles and knees would lock up and at the end of class in order to get out of the position you had to fall onto your side or back to the floor to let your legs relax enough to allow you to move and use them.”
“He told me when I was super young but its always stuck with me cause I was so surprised that something that seemingly small would cause so much pain and loss of control. You essentially got insane Charlie horses when you dropped out of the position.” whothefuckknowsdude
Tickling...
“Tickling. No joke, the Nazis used this as a form of torture in some cases. It doesn't leave a mark, so it's also used in environments like mental facilities where patients may be restrained and staff go on a power trip.”
“Extreme cases can result in incontinence, vomiting and a loss of consciousness due to the inability to breathe. It's also easier for the torturer to do it for a long time without it wearing away at their conscience because the victim is involuntarily laughing, so it's easy to pretend that it's not that bad.” Usidore_
“Wall sits (air chair) are very painful when done wrong.”
“Wall sits (air chair) are very painful when done wrong. Lining your heel with your knee is the wrong way to wall sit but this was how I was forced to do it. Arms out in front like chair arms so you can't support yourself. 90 degree angles and no sliding.” WeirdoIdiotSavant
"Standing at parade rest...”
“Standing at parade rest without being able to talk for 5 hours. In basic training, someone got caught stealing food from the DFAC no more than 20min after we had been yelled at for people doing that.”
“As a punishment, we stood at parade rest from 5pm to 10pm without being able to talk and with at least one DS watching us at all times. I don't know how to describe it, but your brain can only come up with so much to do for 5 hrs while not moving.” EnegmaticMango
“...it can lead to frostbite injuries similar to 2nd and 3rd degree burns.”
“Closing your hand around a chunk of salt water ice, and holding it there. Dubbed the ‘salt and ice challenge’, where people hold onto it for as long as they can stand, it can lead to frostbite injuries similar to 2nd and 3rd degree burns.”
“It also essentially fuses to your skin, so if you try to open your hand it will rip off skin (you need to use warm water to detach it). I did this about 20 years ago, before it was a thing on social media. It sucks. Edit: With the attention this is getting, I feel obligated to say...definitely do NOT try this!” Rebuttlah
Hot rock painting...
“Painting rocks. A couple of guys in my AIT unit got in trouble, the sadistic drill sergeant tried being creative with an ‘approved’ punishment which was painting rocks.”
“As dumb as a punishment it is, the sadistic side was that this training unit was in southern Arizona during peak summer temperatures. The rocks were literally hot enough to fry an egg on and both privates' hands ended up being covered with 2nd degree burns.”
“The drill sergeant faced pretty heavy administrative action. I don't recall exactly what, but it probably one of he most severe I had ever heard a drill sergeant receive.” wonder-maker
“Once he troubled my aunt so much that she punished him...”
“My cousin, 10yo, quite agile never sits still. Once he troubled my aunt so much that she punished him. His punishment was to sit still on the bed and do nothing. No tv, no playing either on phone or with his toys, not even speaking, no one was allowed to come to his room so that he even can't watch others.”
“He asked her to read his textbook as he thought studying would lessen her anger but she denied even studying! He had to sit completely still. Initially that punishment seemed quite simple to me but what impact it had on a small child was huge. This punishment tortures you by boring you which a small child can't take. At last he broke down crying after which he was pardoned.” kvmedico
Sadly many of these are all too common. Remember to be kind even when it's time to discipline
Curious to hear from those who lived to tell their distressing stories, Redditor mind_guardian asked:
"For survivors of attempted kidnapping. How did you escape?"
The following Redditor had very close calls.
Spontaneous Escape Plan
"Guy at a club and his mix of friends was insistent about coming back to a party, I politely declined. Didn't think much of it. They got increasingly aggressive about it, to a physical extent, and I left. Walking back home, I realized they were following me in their car."
"Dashed down the road through the mid-path of a packed apartment complex and just started yelling like crazy."
"No one actually responded or poked their head out or maybe they just didn't hear me. But it sparked the escape reflex of the creeps and I hid in a bush until my heart slowed down. Jumped the fence of someone's property -risky in its own right- wandered through a field, avoiding the main roads, and circled back to a side-street to home. Lucky I knew the area better than they did."
– Dangercakes13
Offering A Ride Home
"I don't know sure what this was, but i was riding my bike home alone, cutting through a deserted middle school and high school parking lots during the summer time. A man in a station wagon pulled up and offered me a ride home. I never stopped pedaling, just said no I'm fine."
"He pressed several times saying he could fit my bike in his car, it was no big deal. I kept saying no. He gave up and left. Don't know if it was just a genuinely helpful guy (this was the late 70s or early 80s so it wasn't yet completely extinct practice that strangers might offer each other rides) or a potential kidnapper."
– DiligentAdvantage475
Up In The Treehouse
"My mum was always paranoid someone would kidnap us kids from the yard. We used to play outside while she worked from home, we were 10, 8 and 6 at this time. She paid our neighbours teenage daughter to sit in the yard and watch us. Mostly she just ignored us and read a magazine with her headphones on and Walkman playing, but she was nice to us. I remember thinking this was stupid and mum was right there anyway so why did I 'basically a teenage' need to be babysat lol."
"One day we were all up in our tree house being jerks to our babysitter and unplugging her headset cord while she was trying to nap. A man and woman came into the yard via the side gate. They started talking to my youngest sibling trying to get her to climb down. The babysitter screamed for help but no one came. She ended up throwing the ladder from the treehouse over our back fence into her own yard and made us all climb into her yard with her dog who was going insane at the fence."
"We ended up locked in her house and she called the police. My mum didn't hear any of the commotion from inside the house and she won't speak about it even now that we are all adults. Never complained about my babysitter after that though."
– Dark_Valefor
The Creepy Customer
"I don’t remember how old I was, just that I was small enough to fit into the kids seat on a grocery cart. This was the early 90s and my mom had taken me grocery shopping with her. I was sitting in the grocery cart while my mom was focused on picking out produce only a few feet away when an older woman swooped in between us and started pushing the cart away quickly. I recall her smiling at me and trying to make me feel comfortable while also making the 'shh' gesture with her hand."
"I did not feel comfortable and started making enough noise to alert my mom. She ran over and loudly yelled at this stranger that this child was hers. The most chilling part that I still remember was that she didn’t flee the scene and instead made a comment about how cute I was and calmly walked away. Before she disappeared down an aisle she took one last look at me and winked."
– gnophy
People who were actually abducted talked about how they got out of their situation.
The Elderly Hero
"It was the 90s in SE Asia. I wasn’t old enough to go to school yet so my grandma took care of me while my parents were at work. My grandma had a little convenience store and one day 2 men approached her. One was in his 30s and the other was an old short man with white hair. They were carrying those hand weave basket pig cage."
"They asked my grandma if I was for sale. She told them to bugger off. While my grandma was distracted, they snatched me and I was carried away. I was kicking and screaming until they knocked me out. One of the neighbors saw me and alerted my grandma. My grandma rode her bicycle down the main street looking for me. She argued and threatened them to get me back."
"If it wasn’t for my grandma and her stubborn fierceness, I wouldn’t be here. She passed away in 2016. Love you and miss you grandma."
– Sir_Blinklot
Dumb Cabbie
"My wife told me that when she was just a teenager, she got in a cab and the cab driver just abducted her. He didn't take her to her destination, instead he took her to a hotel room. She was really scared but she kind of started playing along a little and pretended that she was interested and into it. Then he lay down on the bed, and she said something like 'Oh, I'm hungry. Can we order a pizza first?' and the cab driver said okay."
"So she picked up the phone, while she was dialing he wasn't paying attention so she disconnected the cable. Then she said, you know, I think the phone is broken. Let me go to the front desk to tell them, and I'll order the pizza while I'm there. So he says, okay sure."
"She went to the front desk and told them what was happening, they called the cops, the cops came and hauled him away."
– humanefly
Fighting For Life
"Was drugged at a small town bar, went to the bartender and asked what drink she had given me. She recited what I had ordered. I told her I asked because I'm not feeling well suddenly and it was like the world was spinning on its head. I sat at my seat because she said she hadn't seen anyone near my table/drink. Cool, whatever."
"It's getting worse and I feeling the worst I've ever felt in my life. I don't really remember what happened but a guy had led me outside and we were getting in a car. I remember hearing 'bracele' and seeing handcuff clink on my tiny a** wrist. My first response was scream, kick, anything. I already felt like vomiting and pooping so in my panic of scream and writhing around (drawing a LOT of attention from a closed car apparently) I stopped for a second and hear 'finally you b*tch' before I vomited all of the back seat, myself, and I threw myself forward to cover him as well."
"At this point I had no control between vomiting and screaming as loud I as could to vomit more, my drugged self was like 'it can't get worse for me' and I literally pulled my pants down and shat as my body saw fit. Guy never left the parking lot because of the commotion I raised."
"I remember hearing people banging on the windows and the guy freaking out, so I started screaming 'help' the best I could. The guy was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping and drugging me with meth and fet that they found on his person. Blessed be the big man 'mike' who carried my vomit poop cover self to the gym (next to the bar) where they let me shower and change."
– totallyoriginalacct
The Ultimate Betrayal
"My best friend tricked me into hanging out with her after I moved to another coast to be closer to her. Once I got there she introduced me to her 'friend' then slipped out of the house. When i asked about it he laughed and said 'you really thought she was your friend? She owes me money and you’re her payment. I’ve known about you for months. None of this was coincidental' then proceeded to pull up pics of me and conversations between them two."
"After a lot of initial crying and begging I told him I needed to go to her house to get my stuff and my phone. He told me he would get me all new stuff and I didn’t need it. Why would I go back to her. I immediately told him that he was right. I didn’t wanna go back to her. That he really saved me from her cause what kind of friend would sell me to someone. I told him that he was gonna take care of me and I knew that. I just needed my phone to let my parents know I was okay and wouldn’t see them for a bit or they’d get worried and file a report."
"After much convincing he agreed to let me go to her house around the corner to grab my stuff and come back. I took off running once I got around the corner. Had to take 2 busses and 2 trains to get home. I haven’t had a close friend since."
– [deleted]
These Redditors recalled making a run for it before anything bad could happen.
Declining An Invitation
"When I was 8 years old (f) I had just moved to a new house that was directly across the street from the school I would be starting in just a month or two. I would sometimes go to the school and play by myself for a bit. One time I was headed back home when I was approached and surrounded by a group of boys in their early teens. They told me to come hang out at their house. I shook my head and tried to run home but was blocked. The second oldest pulls out a $20 and tells me that I can have it once we get to their house. I think for a moment and decline again but am blocked again from leaving. My heart is racing and I keep looking longingly at my house."
"The boy with the money holds it out to me and says to take it and he'll give me another $20 at the house, it's in his wallet, he forgot it. The oldest chimes in telling me I would be able to buy a LOT of candy with that money. I hesitate, and start to reach my hand out to take the money and then see my chance to run between two of the boys and escape. They yelled and tried to grab me but I made it home."
"I saw some of them on occasion but I always stayed far away and they seemed to have forgotten about me. I later learned that the house they were trying to take me to belonged to a drug addicted mother who was rarely home and her son's just did whatever they wanted."
– CMaya2006
Teacher "Dad"
"I was 12 and some guy was walking towards me after school. He said, 'Hey there kiddo, You remember me, don't you!? Mom told me to take you home!' I thought, 'B*tch, that's the oldest trick in the book!' My parents told me if this ever happened, one thing I could do was run to the nearest adult and yell 'Mom, Mom' or 'Dad, Dad' So that's what I did."
"A teacher was walking into the school and I said, 'Oh Dad, there you are!' The guy got TF outta there. I explained to the teacher why I did what I did. We didn't get his plate number sadly enough."
– SMG4-Is-My-God
"It Only Takes A Second"
"When I was very little my dad took my sister and I on a river camping trip for a few days. We got to the little rural town at the end of the river where a buddy left our truck and trailer at the boat launch for us. My sister was old enough to sort of help dad with loading the boat (hold rope so it doesn’t float away while we back up etc) but I was too little to really do much so I started wandering around looking for stuff. I found a dead bumblebee and I really loved bumblebees so I decided to bury it in a little grave to pay respects. I found a patch of flowers near the edge of the boat launch, by the woods. I’m crouched down, completely absorbed by my trying to make a little cross for a headstone out of two twigs and a bit of grass, when suddenly I hear my dad’s deep, booming voice scream."
“HEY!!!”
"He was a good ten yards away from me but it was so loud I could feel it in my chest and I jump and spun around towards him. He is already halfway to me, running. His face looks scary. He looks so mad, so focused, and he’s looking over my shoulder instead of at me. I run over to him, no idea what’s happening but scared that I’d at least get in trouble if I didn’t go over to him right away. He picks me up and puts both me and my sister into the truck to finish loading by himself."
"Apparently a man tried to take me. I never even knew he was there. Dad caught sight of him just as he began lunging towards me and scared him off. I wouldn’t have known until I was already gone if he hadn’t been so aware."
"Watch your kids, it only takes a second."
– CopsaLau
A Convenient Tool
"I was about 7 at the time, and at that time i thought it was cool to carry a pocket knife, well, one day i was riding my bike, and a man knocked me over covering my mouth, i grabbed my knife and stabbed him in the side and ran inside crying."
– Toaster_Ruler
Listen To Your Gut
"I was 19 walking to work in the early hours of the morning in winter. I knew someone was following me for a little while and I was just praying I was making it up. Suddenly all the sh*t I have even been taught about self defence came forward. He grabbed me and pulled me."
"There was a moment when I turned to look at him and he laughed and it was at this point I pissed my pants. I was walking as close to the road as I physically could without being on it and I pushed my head down and then threw it back as quickly as I could."
"He fell and I ran in the middle of the road with my armsout screaming. Flagged down to cars. It was a very scary moment in my life and taught me a harsh lesson. Listen to your gut, even if you've done something 100 times if you don't feel safe you're not safe."
– Ok_Talk_90
These and hundreds of other examples on this Reddit thread reflect the sad reality of the horrors of the crime that still happen to this day.
Hopefully, what the survivors did to flee from their traumatizing situations can be a useful reminder to always stay vigilant, whether it is for yourself or your children.
And when all else fails, always scream and fight for your life before the situation can get any worse.
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Interesting points were brought up when Redditor onegrayhair asked:
"What culinary hill are you willing to die on?"
People shared cooking tips and how some foods should be prepared a certain way.
Poor Construction
"Nachos should be built wide not tall."
– DBroncos515
"I hate when the chips at the bottom don’t have all the cheese and toppings, but the chips on top have too much. Balance is key to a great plate of nachos!"
– yo_kashlee
Jaws Have Limitations
"We need to make burgers wider not taller."
– John_Lives
"If I have to disassemble a burger to eat it, it’s missing the point, isn’t it?"
– JediTigger
Just Let It Stew
"Homemade chili is almost always better the next day."
– burritokiller1971
"And most soups and stews."
– wjglenn
Add Some Zap
"Worcestershire sauce can work magic."
– dberis
Resourcefulness
"Being poor isn’t a culinary crime. It takes talent to make cheap food taste as good as my mom did."
– urbancowgirl42
People had plenty to say about rating recipes.
Unfair Critique
"When you're baking from an online recipe, don't change three or four ingredients "to make it healthy" and then leave a one star review about how bad it is."
– cliff99
Inaccurate Reviews
"Don't leave a 5-star review on someone's recipe while saying 'This was a great recipe... after I made these 10 changes!' At that point, you're not rating that person's recipe, you are rating YOUR OWN recipe. That person's recipe must not have been so good if you had to make so many changes."
"Also, don't leave a 5-star review on someone's recipe while saying 'This recipe looks great, I can't wait to try it!' Why skew the ratings when you haven't even tried it yet?"
– randomentity1
Snobbery Is Tasteless
"Being snobby about food to the point where you're hindering someone else's enjoyment is not a positive personality trait."
– swordcowboy
Taste Buds Don't Lie
"If it tastes good it tastes good."
– Danielwols
Some questioned others' capabilities in the kitchen while others straight up forbade them from doing something that is unfavorable.
The Complaint
"People who hate cooking with stainless steel don’t know how to cook with stainless steel."
– 3Me20
There's A Dress Code
"DON’T WEAR YOUR APRON INTO THE BATHROOM."
– andre3kthegiant
"I've called people out for doing this. It's disgusting. This isn't a hill to die on, this should be common sense. People be dumb."
– Aldayne
Cross-Contamination–Bad
"I had to call a girl out again for putting a container of raw meat on a cold station."
"She complained that I 'always call her out on that.'"
"Yeah no sh*t, you're the only one tryna catch state health code write ups.'
"e/ she saw the post and I made her cry, oops."
– ChefBoredAreWe
Don't Interrupt The Cook
"Get out of the kitchen if I'm cooking. Out out out I don't want your help."
– Justice171
Not All Salads Are Good For You
"I live in the Midwest, I love the Midwest but just because you call something a salad does not mean it is healthy and an acceptable side dish to your main course. Snicker-marshmallow-mayo-whatever is not salad."
– ArachnesChallenge
I don't consider myself a cook, but I do pat myself on the back for some of the dishes I do know how to make well.
One of those is Japanese curry. And while I can't keep from serving and eating what takes at least an hour-and-a-half to make, I do find that my leftover tastes infinitely better the next day.
I make a HUGE batch of curry sauce so I can continue enjoying it for the next few days. There's something about leaving it in the fridge and heating up portions at a time that really activate the spices.
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