People Who Made A Lot Of Money From Something Totally Random Share Their Story
We all hope for it, yet deep down know never to expect it: the sudden lucky break that leaves us flush with cash.
We conjure images of a tech startup explosion without any grueling all-nighters. Or maybe the dream is a random viral Youtube video that rakes in cash off the ad money.
Others fantasize about more traditional methods of sudden wealth. They hope for a huge legal settlement, a long-lost relative's will, or a sleeping giant of an art piece.
But we don't really expect it to happen. The astronomical odds just aren't enough to orient your life around.
That said, it happens. Some Redditors were a few of the lucky ones. They told their stories in a recent thread.
Sebulista asked, "Redditors who made a lot of money by sheer randomness, what's your story?"
Before the Fall
"I briefly worked with a guy who was in his late 20s, ex military. When he got out, a friend of his he served with told him to buy Bitcoin. He bought several thousand worth when it was nothing and forgot about it."
"When it first started spiking and getting attention on the news, he started looking for the drive because he thought he had some. He did and he had a lot of it. Sold well before the peak."
"Dude made millions. He had an $800,000 house, multiple high end cars and came to work a manual labor job 'because he was bored.' Needless to say, he didn't stay long and all he did was show off his money and clock hours not actually working."
-- uoYredruM
Sudden Bequeathing
"My wife's aunt died. She had been institutionalized her whole life and neither of us had ever even met her. We kind of forgot about it for a few months until my wife's uncle emailed her and said she was going to be getting some money."
"We were like oh, OK, that's kinda weird, but not complaining."
"Then my wife got a phone call from the uncle one evening. I heard a lot of 'ums,' 'OKs,' and 'geeze, wows.' Turned out we were getting over $300,000."
"We were both grinding away making $15 an hour and barely making rent every month, and then boom. Outta nowhere."
"That ended up being the difference between having a house and not having a house, being able to start a family and not being able to start a family, and having a retirement fund vs just hoping not to get evicted every month."
-- RougeCannon
One and Done
"I won $5,000 playing bingo on a cruise. I have only been on one cruise, and it was the only time I have played bingo in my life. I have retired from both.." -- frivus
"Going out on top" -- xkygerx
"First time I went to Vegas after turning 21 I played a slot machine, won $3,000 on my first try. Haven't gambled since" -- phoebe-buffey
A Particular Clientele
"I was a male escort for about 7ish years. Not a sex worker, specifically an escort. I would go with people(Usually women, but sometimes men.) And would pretend to be their perfect boyfriend/partner in front of friends and family/co-workers."
"It started out very much as an accident but ended up making me a ton of money. I recently 'retired' and started focusing on going to school cause I can't do escorting my whole life, and nor did I want because I really dislike people and it was honestly a chore."
"Most of my clients were '1 percenters' which is the reason I made so much money. I did pay taxes on it before anyone asks."
Accidental Art Collectors
"My friend's father was gifted an oil pencil drawing in the late 70s. His family always assumed it was pretty much worthless and I always joked that it looked like my friend had drawn it as a child. This silly angry stick figure drawing ended up being an unsigned piece of art by Jean-Michel Basquiat."
"His family did some digging and eventually had it authenticated by the JMB estate before selling it at Christie's auction house for an amazing sum of money."
"I was absolutely blown away when I learned this. My friend and his family were far from wealthy so to realize they had this unknown treasure just sitting out in the living room for so many years was mind blowing."
-- Zuliman
Dead Drop
"I found 3600 dollars in a food takeout box in the middle of a giant field, I live in a rich area and lot of drug deals happen so it's possible I stole multiple thousands of dollars from a drug dealer on accident" -- Hingadowshow
"someone probably died or lost a limb because of that :X not your fault, just saying" -- OdinWolfe
"I feel like this is the plot to a semi-shitty action film." -- Dudelyllama
A Flash of Excitement
"I started an Amazon private label business on a whim in 2015. I made about 25% of the sale in profit after product, shipping, and advertising costs."
"Sales doubled every month for six months June $4k, July $8k August $18k, September $40k, October $84k November $175k, December $362k."
"I didn't know what to do. I quit my job in January to focus on growing the business, but my time was spent mostly trying to fend off competition copying my listing and posting fraudulent reviews and then lowering my price in the race to the bottom."
"It went well for a few years, but I never made as much as I made that first December."
"Lesson learned: arbitrage isn't a long term business"
Moral: Don't Be a Jerk
"The summer after my freshmen year in college I was walking my little 20lb dog on a street near my house. A neighbor lady was walking her two dogs who were a husky and some other similar sized dog."
"The husky attacked my dog and in the process I got some teeth marks on my wrist. Since the neighbors dog started it and the owner obviously couldn't control it I wanted them to pay the vet fees for my dog which was under 500."
"The guy ended up being a di** about it and my roommates dad was a lawyer so about a year and half later I ended up with about 20k."
-- Br1nkley
One of the Lucky Ones
"I quit a job at a startup that was a mess, and I just wanted to do something relaxing so I took some time of cleaning up an old algorithm I wrote 10 years ago. I told a friend of mine, who told some industry people about it. They contacted me and I got invited to talk about it at a conference and then large companies started getting in touch."
"So far I have signed one 7 figure deal to license it. Its not random but it feels very random. I'm making more in interest now then i ever have earned holding down a job."
"The world is not fair."
-- quelsolaar
Location, Location, Location
"Normal reddit reply of 'not me but' my friend's dad's friend. He decided to open an ice business. Hey, everyone need ice. He bought an old warehouse because it was cheap."
"Government decided to redo the on ramps to the bridge and needed to buy like 1/3rd of his parking lot, maybe say 20 parking spots worth. He didn't care, he had a staff of like 4, never used more than that."
"I never heard exact numbers but I did hear he got more for those spots, than he paid for the property."
-- somedude456
"I bought a waterproof camera..."
I bought a waterproof camera back in 2010 and thought it would be cool to try it out at the new water park that just opened. 1 years later the video blew up making me tons of money monthly. I still make some during the summer months but not much. Now I'm sitting at just over 100,000,000 views.
"I originally secured..."
In the 90s I fostered a dog for some friends who were leaving town and left the dog with me. This dog immediately made an impression upon me, and even though I really didn't want a pet at the time, he was such an amazing dog, he convinced me otherwise. He was super smart, half black lab, half pit bull. I called him "wisdom" because he was so smart.
Fast forward a few years I used him as a mascot for a recording studio I set up. I registered the domain name wisdom.com. My dog passed away several years later and I was heartbroken and depressed for many years. I maintained the domain name even though I didn't really have any projects associated with it. Over the years people made offers on the domain name but I always passed. The domain was a homage to my long lost best friend.
Then in 2000 with the dot-com boom, there was renewed interest in domains and IPOs. I had a few groups bugging me for the domain name and kept increasing their offers. Eventually the numbers got into the "life changing" areas of money, and I couldn't ignore them.
I originally secured the wisdom.com domain name for nothing. In the early days of the Internet, it didn't cost any money to register a domain name. You just had to fill out the right forms. I actually would never have to pay any domain renewal fees if it wasn't for a sysadmin that made changes to the domain and accepted new terms of service that forced me to have to pay renewal fees. Otherwise, the $475,000 I was ultimately offered in cash would have been pure profit. But instead my cost was a few hundred dollars over the year. Still a significant windfall that gave me the opportunity to take that money and create another cool community of wonderful people.
I continue to be in awe that my little dog, Wisdom, had the ability to bestow such an amazing gift upon me so many years later, and I'm determined to use that gift to help others. I took the money to create a special space that is a makerspace and club to help others.
"My neighbor..."
My neighbor died with no friends or family and left everything in her will to us. Everyone always asks if we were great neighbors to her? I'd say no, we were just neighbors and treated her as we would want to be treated and did neighborly duties for her. If it snowed we cleared her driveway without her asking, took care of her cats if she went to the beach, say Hello if we saw her.
She was a tough cookie and an alpha female, would be the best way to put it. She hated if I played basketball in the driveway and when we were cleaning out her garage after she died we found 3 of my old basketballs. But she was also the type of person if she wanted an apple pie she would bake an apple pie and take a slice and bring the rest over to us.
"When they got too old..."
My dad and uncle had distant cousins that lived in town. Retired teachers. We all thought they were poor as church mice. My mom had them for Easter--they didn't want to come to the other celebrations as they hated my grandmother.
When they got too old to live on their own, my mother got their house sold and had them set up in a retirement/convalescent home. We did all the moving ourselves. They loved us kids, so we were brought over to sit and chat with them every few months. My father and uncle never did a thing.
When they died, it turned out they'd invested well and were sitting on a bunch of valuable stocks. They left 25% to my uncle (who called to ask who they were), 25% to my father, and 50% to my mother! It was a great lesson in kindness. My mother was nice because they were "poor" family and ended up getting a huge chunk of cash for her efforts!
"Turned 18..."
Turned 18 and bought 2 $5 lottery tickets as a goof, won $10 and said f**k it let it ride and bought 2 more. Won $1000 and have stayed away from gambling since.
"My dad really loved the idea of it..."
It wasn't so much randomness, and my family isn't filthy rich, but we seriously just threw s*** at a wall to see what would stick.
My family was immensely poor for a while. Credit card debt, bankruptcy when I was born, etc... Well, YouTube came around in 2005. My dad really loved the idea of it and saw potential in the platform. He watched it for years, seeing what people liked. In 2009, my dad decided to do YouTube in his free time, as he likes to be busy and it gave some bonding time with myself. One video after another. One subscriber after another. One viewer after another. Somehow, he ended up getting monetized fairly quickly with YouTube. It was a pretty good amount at the time (a few grand monthly) that it gave my family the stepping stone to get out of poverty level.
We continued the channel for fun even after we got better financially. Even enough to get a slightly bigger house. The channel ended up being put down in 2016 due to unrelated things that caused long hiatuses. I kind of miss it to be honest.
"At first..."
At first I figured I had nothing to contribute to this thread. But when I started reading about people getting severance packages and winning $500 at the casino. Hell, I got a $55k severance package from my last job and won $18k in the lottery.
"I was able to salvage..."
I was in an apartment fire. My apartment wasn't damaged by fire but by thousands of gallons of water from the fire department and a little bit of smoke. My renters insurance payed out the max $30k. I got to salvage BLM it's if my stuff minus all the furniture.
I had to come up with a list over the weekend of all my processions and their value. I think I was at like maybe $10k on my list. My apartment manager and the insurance adjuster just said to make sh*t up basically. So in about a 10 minute time frame I edited my list and BSed it from $10k close to $25k. The adjuster gave very little push back during the inspection and maxed it out cause I would need a hotel temporary.
I was able to salvage most of most processions but it was a lot of trips to the laundromat, and spending the next few months just washing all my stuff. It really sucked as I was living in Airbnb's during the weekdays and staying with my parents 2 hours away on the weekends. And I had to find a new apartment while being effectively homeless. I'd say the hassle was worth at least $10k.
"While waiting for them..."
I went to the Netherlands (you know the country not the....ok I'll stop) for vacation when I was about 11 (?) and went on a biking trip with my uncle. When we finished the tour we were quite far away from where we stayed so my uncles dad came to pick us up by car and drove us back.
Along the road we obviously made some pitstops and there it was in all its glory: a gas station gamble machine.
While waiting for them to finish their duties I went ahead and pressed random buttons and out of nowhere €1 and €2 coins start falling out of it. It continued for about a minute before it stopped. I was perplexed cause I actually hadn't put anything inside so I didn't expect anything.
How much did I get you ask? €43 straight cash...which isn't a lot to be fair but as a 11 year old foreigner randomly receiving foreign money out of a gambling machine it made me feel like I was at the top of the world.
Had a bad@ss time at the fair when we got back.
"I used that..."
My father died when I was 17. Social security gave me a check for $10,000
I used that and my life savings to put a 20% down payment on a house in Central Valley of California in 2013.
My house has doubled in price and I pay 1/3 what renting would be.
"We were approached..."
Sold a company in 2008. I got out of the military and had some friends that were starting a small veteran owned defense contracting company. I owned about 18 or so percent of the company when sold.
We were approached by a very large company in 2007 about buying and by early 2008 I had enough money where I didnt have to work probably ever again. I got into real estate investing working for myself with some close friends shortly after that and have owned my own business ever since.
People say "Well I worked incredibly hard to get my business to where it is" and that was true but the other half was just pure luck that I managed to partner with some tremendously smart people. Who I knew has taken me MUCH farther than what i know. Now I work maybe 16 hours a week from my phone or laptop.
"When I was little..."
When I was little, my Dad worked for a national pest control company. They were making people work 70-80 work weeks at minimum wage without paying them overtime. He didn't work there too long as he got sick of being treated like trash. He quit and called the labor board or whoever it would have been. Apparently an investigation was started and about a year or so later, every single person who'd ever worked for them received a check for all of their unpaid overtime! Hearing the story as an adult, I was so damn proud of my Dad.
"Upon research..."
Bought a street sign from a local thrift store for $20 because I thought it looked cool. Upon research I discovered it was a prop from a popular tv show. Think it appeared in the opening credits. Sold it for $700.
"First one..."
I made about $7k on a car I paid $80 for.
This isn't a lot of money, but I was essentially given an older car when I was in college by my parents, all I did was pay a transfer fee. It was an early 90s vehicle in the 2010s so the vehicle had already seen better days.
On two separate occasions the car was parked and hit by someone. First guy left a note and the second I knew the person. We got estimates on the damage to send to the insurance companies.
First one was a broken tail light. Due to some paint damage, a barely noticeable dent, and the color of the vehicle being uncommon the estimate was $1k. We had the insurance company cut us a check for the money and fixed it ourselves. I just fixed the tail light with a junkyard one.
The second incident was someone hitting black ice and sliding in my car. The driver side doors were messed up. Same situation, estimate was around $6700. Insurer cut us a check and we fixed it with junkyard doors that were very close in color. Total cost was maybe $600 to us.
That money helped pay for some tuition/rent while in school.
"I still collect..."
I was 19 at the time and a few years after my grandfather died I got a massive envelope in the mail stuffed with about 50 pages of contracts and forms. Apparently my deadbeat dad forgot to disclose to me and my brother that we owned fractional ownership to mineral rights on some land in Tyler, TX. Apparently quite a few companies were prospecting the land for oil and were driving up the prices of the land leases. Well, one company finally leased the land from all the owners, and I received around 15,000 for my stake in the land contracts.
Being 19, in college, and living a bit of a party lifestyle, I blew most of it, which I still regret to this day, but I did end up buying a t ton of music equipment that helped me to where I am today as a musician. So that was cool.
Looking back now I wish I would have saved or invested it, but at least there is a silver lining in that story.
I still collect monthly royalties on the oil that is being harvested from that land, but it's maybe $100 a month, which is nice.
"I like to think..."
A dude sat next to me on a bench and we had small talk for like 15 minutes, then he got up to leave, shook my hand and walked off.
He'd planted $900 right in my hand. Was so random and smooth.
I like to think I was the chosen one because I have a dazzling personality. But my friend thinks its just because I look homeless and the dude took pity on me.
Either way, it was awesome.
"I only discovered..."
Made a couple of thousand dollars profit off of the random popularity of a lip balm on the internet. You may be familiar with the lip balm eos? The little egg-shape thing? Well, after they became so popular, a rival brand called revo came out. But revo stepped it up a notch and offered a much wider array of different flavors/scents (like lip smackers), released seasonally as limited editions. They were only sold at a few places like Walgreens.
I only discovered that they were selling for greater than purchase price by accident, when i was looking on ebay for a scent i had missed out on. At the time i was doing a good deal of traveling for work, so in my long drives i would hit up the Walgreens i ran across on my way. I was able to locate in more rural locations a good amount of older releases that had sold out in larger cities. My biggest sale was about $200 for $30 in lip balm. The majority were smaller sales for a lot less.
Overall I don't think it was a great exercise in making lots of money. After you factor in the time i spent in labor, the packaging & postage, the fees that went to ebay, etc, it was not much. But It was a very good return on something that was kind of a hobby.
"Plus..."
Started a new job a few years ago with a very nice base salary plus commission incentives if I met my goals. My boss, being the gangster that she is, rushed my hiring so I could start before the end of the fiscal year. The reason for this is because they were doing away with a pension plan at the end of the year but anyone hired prior to the end got grandfathered in. Very thoughtful of her!
My new boss knew something else though that I didn't. The previous rep screwed the company over pretty good going to a direct competitor with no notice, and if the position wasn't filled prior to the end of the fiscal year, they'd still have to pay out the Q4 commission even though he left in Q3.
My "official" start date was 13 days before the end of the fiscal year, but they couldn't get my computer/phone/company car etc so my boss told me to hang tight. So I spent a month fishing, hiking, enjoying time off while still being paid a salary for a job I hadn't even started. When my first paycheck came, my jaw hit the floor. Not only did they pay me my very generous base salary, which was much higher than any job I'd had prior, but they also gave me the Q4 commission check, plus the 10% from Q1-3 that they hold in case you don't make it to quota, plus all the additional comp for being over quota.
After tax, my first paycheck for doing exactly zero work was almost $25k, which is more in a single paycheck than I made in an entire year for the first 3 years of my first job out of college. I called my boss to ask if there had been some kind of mistake, and she said, "Nope. Welcome to [company name]. If you work hard and do well, we take care of our people."
Needless to say, the strategy worked. I'm still with the company and plan to retire from here. I happily work my ass off and am proud of the work I do and the service my company provides. Plus they do stuff like this all the time (usually on a much smaller scale) to make sure their employees are well taken care of.
"Not nearly as much..."
I had a side gig as a karaoke host at a bar shortly after graduating college and one Sunday evening a very drunk patron came in holding a LOT of hundred-dollar bills. He had bet on a bunch of football games, slapped down three bills on the table, and said they were mine as long as I just played music and there wasn't karaoke. Luckily for me, the machine was broken and the owner couldn't come to fix it until a few hours later. The drunk fella was already long gone by then.
Not nearly as much money as most of the stories on here, but I thought it was a nice random bonus.
"I was randomly born into..."
Inheritance. I was randomly born into the "right" family. Yay me. Now I'm supposed to carry myself like I earned it and complain about anyone who wants "government handouts." I'm supposed to be grateful that I've been spared from a cruel society that lets the poor die of causes that I am now safe from. Not even grateful, but entitled.
"I cried."
I didn't receive so much as money but a whole house.
Over the last five years I've helped out a really, really awesome friend of mine. Guy helped me to get a better job, a car recently, and balance my finances. I'm also close with his roommate who has slight autism I've started to help out the last year because he's been getting worse. Roommate is in his mid-fifties and we've been I serious talks about his retirement and care as he gets older. Otherwise sweet guy, helped me to learn how to drive and always thinks of others first.
Well, good friend mentioned he was buying a house and bringing his roommate with him to continue to care for him. Mentioned the place has four rooms and made an offer for me to move in. I gladly accepted and he helped me move out of the small bedroom I was renting at the time.
And I've helped these two through thick and thin, and they've done the same for me. A month after we move in to the new house my friend hits me with the news that it's mine. If something happens to him or his roommate I'm setup to the inherit the house. I asked him if he was sure and he adamant about it. Pointed out no one in his family or roommates had ever bothered to offer any help or assistance.
I cried. As someone whose been forced to move due to bad circumstances multiple times it was a big shock to me to be given a home like that. I always help these two because I care about them and they do the same in return without ever asking for me to pay them back.
"About a decade ago..."
About a decade ago, our local newspaper had an online contest for a minivan. All you had to do was answer one question correctly. But, they didn't set a limit on the number of entries, so I (and, apparently, this other person; you could see the votes for each answer), stuffed the box. Although I didn't win the minivan, I did win second prize, a $2,000 BestBuy gift card.
Last year, a charity that I'm a part of had a fundraiser outing at our local ballpark. They picked my ticket from the 50/50 raffle. I also remembered that if you were still there at the stadium when they drew it, they'd add some extra cash, so I received over $1,300.
"While there..."
Far from a rags to riches story, more of a life goes on story.
A few years ago between 2 credit cards I was 14k in debt, I was living on my own for the first time, kept buying sh!t I didn't really need, only paying minimums on my cards, and my salary was steadily decreasing at my bs call center job.
I started looking for another place to work since my pay was on par with just about anywhere else I had the skills to apply to, and suddenly my dad dies. We didn't really get along, he lived back East, divorced, broke, and I flew back to put him to rest with my sister.
While there we found a few bank statements she would handle, and my mom, maybe because he was her only husband, insisted on a casket and the army took care of his burial. In the months to come I received a 10k from one insurance company, and 5 from another, suddenly I had money, and I wisely cleared my debt. I found another mediocre job, and a few years later my sister finally sent me my part of his estate, maybe 14k. I used that money, along with my 401k to live off of while I went back to school, and got a job in tech. I started out pretty low since I'm in support, but since then I now make a respectable amount of money, and I'm proud of myself after 8 years I pay off my credit card every month and reap the rewards instead of getting sucked dry for interest.
To put out some numbers I made $10-12/hr at the call center, piece rate pay, at my current job I'm making 70k. If you want to know why the pay was decreasing it's because every 3-6 months the manager would change the pay scale, making it "better" for everyone, I was making $15-17/hr when I started.
People Break Down The Absolute Worst Parts About Having A Child
While starting a family and having children is a goal that many people have, some do not realize that it's not easy, fun, and loving one-hundred percent of the time. Rather, it's expensive, exhausting, and hard, though it might be worth it in the end.
With this in mind, people shared what they felt were the hardest hurdles of their parenting.
Redditor ApprehensiveShock655 asked:
"What's the worst part of having a child?"
Fear of Not Doing Enough
"The constant anxiety that you’re doing enough to shape them to make good choices, a good life, be a good person and for them to have the life they deserve."
- nakedreturnsthe1st
Like the Energizer Bunny
"It's incessant. It never stops. You never get a day off."
"Going from having two days per week to relax and do whatever to literally never having a moment free from responsibility."
- mrbuh
No Break In Sight
"I’ve always wanted kids and still do, but this is the only thing that has come close to giving me pause."
"Both my siblings have young kids and I cannot get over how CONSTANT it is."
"From the second the kids wake up to when they finally shut their eyes, it’s non-stop. Then they get maybe an hour or two to themselves, which is mostly spent tidying up, etc., before the nighttime stuff starts with the baby crying, the toddler coming into bed, nightmares, etc."
"It requires years of not getting a full night's rest. You can never just go out whenever you want. No sleeping in, even on weekends because someone has to be up with them at 6 AM."
"Raising human children is an insane task."
- GirlisNo1
Mom's Body After Baby and Dad Bods
"The weight gain is the worst! During the pregnancy, I gained 35 pounds. My belly has stretch marks. My boobs are all saggy."
"And it’s not even fair because my wife only gained like 15."
- Wise-Reaction-7526
The Meal Planning
"Coming up with three meals to eat per day EVERY DAY stresses me out so bad."
"This sounds like such a small thing, but it really wears on you over time. You can’t just make something for yourself or something you and your spouse feel like eating: You have to constantly be thinking about if the kid is hungry and what they might be willing to eat."
- Ravenclaw79
Keeping Them Safe
"When people ask me this I say, 'do you know those video games where you have to escort a character to a destination without them being attacked?' That's parenting. Those missions are a pain in the a**."
- Infiniski_Gaming
Seriously, Keep Them Safe
"Having to deal with their total lack of self-preservation. They are creative and come up with all kinds of ways to try and kill themselves. Keeping ahead of the game is exhausting."
- Quizzical_Chimp
Constant Contact
"They’re just always there. On you, behind you, in front of you, just a little speed bump impeding every task."
- Tangboy500000
Letting Them Live Their Life Their Way
"Having a kid is like having a little piece of your heart running around in the world. When they're sick or get disappointed or just feel sad, it's worse than having it happen to you."
"Yet at the same time, you need to let your kids work through those things to learn to handle them. If you give into the worry and try to shield them from everything, you risk creating harmful co-dependence."
"So it's a constant struggle. But worth it!"
- um_chili
What Is "Sleep" Again?
"I'm only nine years in, but so far, it's been the sleep deprivation. Hands down."
- tessiegamgee
And What Are These "Sick Days" You Speak Of?
"Having to take care of a sick child when you are also sick. For me that has been the most challenging part so far."
- MrsLouisaMercury
Another Full-Time Job
"It's like taking a second job that lasts 18+ years with a 24/7 schedule with no holidays or sick days."
"…And no second paycheck. It's actually like YOU are paying your second salary instead of getting one."
- mouse_rat
Personal Freedom
"The loss of freedom. I can't just... go somewhere. Even with older kids, there's so much planning and thinking and getting ready."
"I miss being able to just decide to go somewhere, and go there."
- poetris
The Time Flies
"The best advice I got was from an ancient hospital security guard in an elevator. 'The days are long, the years are short, cherish them while you can.'"
- WayOfTheHouseHusband
So Unexpected
"The phrase I hate is, 'You don't know it, but one day you pick your kid up for the last time.'"
- 3_pac
There are all kinds of troubles that come from being a parent, many of which people don't necessarily think about until they already have a baby in the house.
But reassuringly, many people in the subReddit pointed out that no matter how hard some of these hurdles are to get over, it's still worth it in the end, and it goes by far too fast.
Married People Explain How They Tactfully Initiate Sex With Their Partner
Positive emotions are high among people in the blossoming phase of relationships.
Everything seems more romanticized for people in love due to the amorous joy in their hearts–which also influences their desire to frequently get it on under the sheets–or any other daring location in the heat of the moment.
But for those who've declared "'til death do us part," devoted couples may find that they are not always on the same wavelength sexually compared to when they first met.
Curious to hear how people keep their passion alive, Redditor Rude_Phone6841 asked:
"Married people, how do you initiate sex with your partner?"
When verbally articulating isn't enough...
Let The Book Dictate When
"There is a book called 'How to Subtly Tell Your Partner You Want More Sex.' If you sleep on the right side of the bed, you can casually open it up and your spouse will see the giant printed title on the front. Sometimes, I’ll just get the book out and leave it on his side of the bed. Once he was messing with me and acting like he was oblivious to my not-so-subtle hints, so I threw the book at him. The book is effective and hilarious."
"ETA: Sadly, we haven’t found the book since we moved. Fortunately, we’ve started communicating with our words instead. Words are just as effective."
– Flaky_Finding_3902
Save The Date
"I send her an outlook calendar event and if she accepts, IT'S ON."
– Dawn_Piano
The Signal
"You know when I’m down to my socks it’s time for business."
– SEA___BEAR
These couples find that verbal cues are best.
Now's The Time
"Honestly when we have the time one of us usually bluntly says 'let's go have sex right f'king now before we can't' and we go do it. Lol"
– brie1305
Option A Or B
"I have a 2 month old and a 2 year old. Some of the best sex we had was because I said 'after 2 year old goes down and if 2month decides to sleep do you want to meet in the basement' well she decided to sleep and damn that was good."
– Ahkmedjubar
End Of Day Reward
"We just ask each other tbh. We’ll bring it up earlier in the day so we build up the anticipation with each other throughout the day, flirt with each other, gas each other up. All that. Then when it’s finally time at the end of the day, we usually fall asleep cause we’re so tired."
"But the cycle continues the next day!"
– supermariobruhh
People continued offering their wisdom.
Afternoon Hanky Panky
"The trick is to initiate sex during the day. We are both too tired at the end. Plus hanging out all day after is somehow more rewarding."
"Same goes for dates. Have sex at the beginning the date, then go enjoy your time together without any pressure."
– drneeley
Kids In The Equation
"This literally happened today with my wife and me. We have two toddlers so we’re extra exhausted. Earlier today we had the sexy initiation of 'hey, we both showered today, want to have sex after the babies are asleep?' 'Sure.'"
"Then when the kids were asleep, and my wife and I were getting settled into bed, she asked if I still wanted to. I said if she wants to I’m down, but I’m pretty tired and would be fine without it. She said she was also tired and could do without it. So we kissed each other good night and she went to sleep. I’m just winding down on Reddit for a few minutes before I also fall asleep."
"I know this is boring. I didn’t write this to tell an exciting story. Just to share what married life is like for me and probably the large majority of married couples, especially parents of young kids."
– MolotovCollective
Shadow Puppet Technique
"Use my phones torch to shine a shadow of my member up against the bedroom wall."
"Kinda like a bat signal of sorts."
– SchoonerOclock
Mood Lighting
"Turn off the lights and switch on the red lamp beside the bed."
– SuvenPan
Reliable Visual
"Walk by him while taking my top off. He follows me wherever I go and it's been 30 years and counting."
– LisaBooHigh
Every couple is different, and usually establishing a strong communication bond makes everything else in the relationship–including sexy time–falls in line effortlessly.
I knew a couple who made a game out of foreplay and agreed that whoever got home first from getting off work at the same time got to choose the sexual position that night.
They may no longer be together, but I remember them recalling how that technique was fun for them at the beginning stage and it took the pressure off of establishing when they were going to have sex.
Don't take get too anxious about it. It's just sex, and it's fun.
There are a number of things people partake in spite of the known possible ramifications they have on their health and safety.
Up to and including smoking, bungee-jumping, recreational drug use, or simply bike riding without a helmet.
Indeed, even though they know that doing any or all of these things could possibly lead to their death, they do it anyway.
Sadly, even though many people go out of their way to avoid doing these things for that very reason, that still doesn't mean they keep themselves completely out of danger.
Sadly, there are a surprisingly large number of things that lead to an even more surprising number of deaths each year.
Frighteningly, these are things that the majority of the world's population does on an almost daily basis.
"What causes death more than people realize?"
When In Doubt, Call Your Doctor!
"Untreated infections."
"Your body will become septic, in which it essentially kills itself trying to kill off whatever infection one has."- cacarrizales
"Infections that are left untreated."- raptor-99
Tread Carefully. Seriously.
"Tripping."
"On average around 17k people a year in the US die from injuries incurred after tripping and falling."- EdithWhartonsFarts
When In Doubt, Don't Drive.
"Driving while sleepy."- latchkey_adult
The Handrail Is There For A Reason.
"Stairs."
"20 million severe injuries each year and at least 200,000 death from consequences of the fall."
"Both my grandparents died because of a fall."- OnTheGoodSideofLife
They Happen To The Best Of Us
"Fall accidents."
"Especially among the elderly, a fall can create a cascade of events that results in death, even if it seems minor at first."-AdmiralBofa
Never Rush Chewing
"Mozzarella sticks."
"Statistically the most choked on food."- SpecSanders
Never Skip A Check-Up
"High Blood Pressure."
"It sneaks up on you and you don't know about it or don't care but it's the underlying cause of so many deaths."- Fear51
Never Underestimate The Importance Of Self Care
"Stress."
"Your body can only handle so much of it and it’s labeled the 'silent killer' for that reason."
"With your high blood pressure and the 5 hours of sleep a night because of the stress, It will creep up on you sooner than you think."- DroppedDonut
Don't Forget To Floss!
"Untreated dental problems."
"A cavity left untreated can lead to heart attacks and strokes."- Lastalmark
Flu Season
"Influenza."
"Just regular old flu."
"Many people ignore it thinking it'll go away on its own."
"Globally the number per year is usually between 300k and 500k."
"In the US it can be anywhere from 12k to 50k per year."- PhreedomPhighter
Don't Feel Ashamed If You Need A Break
"Shoveling snow."
"I have two family friends pass from heart attacks associated to shoveling the snow."- JD054
There Are People Who Will Help You
"Alcoholism causing liver failure and it's on the rise in the USA."- Interesting_Drop8236
"Peruse your County ME’s records."
"The amount of people who die from alcohol is astounding."- hockenduke
Sometimes, It's Just Best To Mind Your Own Business
"Street fights."
"You watch some Hollywood blockbusters and some MMA fights and you think you can do it too."
"I've seen stories of a guy minding his own business and gets rocked on the side of his head. It disconnected his spine and he was dead before he hit the ground."
"There was another story maybe a year ago of a scuffle where a guy was stabbed in the neck and bled out to the point of being unable to stand within 10 seconds."
"Stop f*cking around, it's not worth your life."- Choiceofart
We never know when our number is up or how we'll end our days.
However, with a little bit of care and good judgment, we can at least likely avoid falling victim to all of the above.
When Americans visit a foreign country, they tend to notice immediate cultural differences from the minute they step off the plane.
Unique bathroom designs, how you might have to be more specific when ordering coffee in Australia, how many businesses in Spain tend to shut down for a few hours to take a siesta.
Needless to say, this goes both ways, as when people from all over the world visit the United States, they tend to be surprised and amazed by a number of things.
Ranging from the amusing, such as portion sizes and ineffective tea brewing (at least for the Brits) to the truly baffling (HEALTHCARE).
"Non-American people, what’s a thing that you don’t understand about America?"
You Mean, People DON'T File Their Own Taxes Elsewhere?!?!
"Does every worker have to file their own taxes or am I just confused?"- ThePencil67
"Why they make you calculate your own taxes, if they know what you owe."- redder2023
Flagrant Commercialism...
"So, why do you buy politicians' merchandise? "
"Shirts, caps, banners, stickers, etc."
"They're public servants, not rockstars."
"Also, usually the more boring they are, the better."- akashyy
Conor Mckenna Influencer GIF by FoilArmsandHogGiphyWork/Life Balance
"Scottish person here but the work/always available for work culture."
"Minimal vacation time, minimal maternity/paternity leave and the fact you can pretty much just be let go."
"It makes me sad to think about it!"
"But I do love that you guys cram so much into your time off - you guys love a road trip!"- Frosty_Dragonfly_682
Definitely Something To Consider...
"What is up with Homeowner Associations?"
"Why would you pay to let a nosy neighbor dictate what you can and can not do on your own property?"
"I understand living in an apartment block and paying maintenance fees etc, but in a suburban home?"- Skoodledoo
There Are Some Good Observations
"The amount of National Parks!"
"My dream came true in 2017 to make an RV trip southwest off USA."
"Yosemite blew my mind away."- Independent-Ad9787
national parks GIF by Visit The USAGiphyHAHAHA
"How you can say the word 'mirror' without the use of any vowels."
"Mrrrrrr."- Otto1968
I Ordered A Small!
"Why everything is just SO damn supersized."
"My first time in America I went to get ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts, I ordered a large and my friend is like, 'are you sure you want large'?"
"Yeah no biggie, in the UK a large is not overwhelming I feel so I was expecting the same kinda thing."
"Oh my god it was like a god damn bucket of coffee."
"I think maybe a small would have been equivalent to a UK large, lesson swiftly learnt."
Some People Are Lucky To Just Have One Roommate...
"How you have to share a room with some complete rando when you go to college."- ChoppingOnionsForYou
Roommates Move In GIF by James Madison UniversityGiphySome People Just Can't Stop Talking
"The culture of just talking to people, strangers you don't know and just up and start a conversation with them or join a conversation."
"I'm British, and we go through great lengths to not talk to people, let alone open up and pour our hearts out to a random person."- MrGlayden
In Other Words: Severs Deserve to Be Paid More!
"The tipping culture is so foreign to me, I would be so scared to make a mistake or not tipping enough if I ever go to America because it's not something which is common here in Denmark."- Cupsuu
The Commercials, Maybe?
"I’m American but I’ve worked with a lot of people who aren’t."
"The one thing they always wonder is why Americans are so obsessed with the NFL."
"They think it’s a boring sport."
"They explained 'you wait for 30 seconds, they hike the ball, you get about 5-10 seconds of action, then you wait another 30 seconds, another 5-10 seconds of action, then commercial break'."- yougotthesilver12
Kansas City Chiefs Football GIF by Fighting Illini AthleticsGiphySchool Is No Place To Have Fun!
"My mom is from Moscow during the Soviet Era, and she is confused why there is no teacher-student hierarchy."
'She thinks it's weird when teachers participate in school plays or speak to students informally."
"She also DOES NOT GET pajama day."
"To her, it's just the weirdest thing in the world."
"In Russia, there is an important distinction between 'clothes for home' and 'clothes for outside'."
"They have a concept of 'home clothes', like your cozy or ugly clothes, that you are supposed to change into after school or work."
"At bedtime, you change out of your 'home clothes' into pajamas."
"As a result, pajamas, for both adults and children, are considered extra-extra private in Russia."
"My mom perceives pajama day as something extreme like wearing only undergarments to school."
"That's how private pajamas are considered to be in Russia!"- racheltolmach2022
A Debate Which Will Likely Never End
"MM/DD/YYYY"- SuvenPan
animation domination calendar GIF by gifnewsGiphyLiving in America comes with a number of advantages and a number of detriments.
Speaking personally though, had I known I wouldn't have to file my own taxes in Australia, I would have expatriated long ago...