For most people, until it happens to someone they know or have some connection with, murder seems far away, relegated to local news broadcasts and true crime pop culture.
But it does occur, and it spans the spectrum from sensational and movie-like to unnervingly mundane.
Crowd-sourced forums on the internet remind how unique the capabilities of the internet are. A simple question on Reddit gives readers a vast trove of real-life examples of the most difficult topics to discuss.
For one Redditor, that topic was murder. They wanted to know, when it happens, what the motive was, how it happened, and the ramifications.
According to these responses, murder is often a fit of realistic emotional rage, and almost never does the person get away with it. It's the ultimate mortal act and it can never be taken back.
The details of these accounts illustrate that dynamic at play.
Mystik-Palace asked, "Redditors who know somebody who got murdered, what happened?"
Career Change
"Two children I babysat twice along with a friend (their usual babysitter) were abducted and murdered by their father. I stuck with dog walking after that." -- runwhiterabbit
Neighbor Danger
"My cousin was murdered by a teen male. They lived in the same condo complex and he broke into her place and stabbed her repeatedly."
"His motive was not entirely clear, he liked my cousin and she was apparently polite but not interested in him. He was sentenced to 25 years and comes up for parole every few years."
"Every parole hearing causes my aunt and uncle a lot of stress, but he gets denied every time."
-- koshimonkey
Euthanasia, or Foul Play?
"I was doing private care giving for a gentleman who had ALS. Went to his house for work one day and found he had passed away."
"Initially I thought the disease had gotten the best of him because of its rapid progression, but turns out he was killed via asphyxiation by his wife and her lover."
-- ArmaBlanka
The Forgotten Kind
"Her name was mouse, she was a homeless girl living in Santa Cruz who I would talk to at the local cafe. Our town is known for its spontaneous murder sprees, many murders occur along highway where the homeless live.
"Two summers ago, 9 homeless people were killed along highway 9 and it never aired on the news, typical. She was one of them."
-- mmancub
Waves Were Made
"When my cousin was six years old, her father shot her mother to death in the garage of their house. We lived in a tiny, tiny town of under a thousand people, so it was a huge deal." -- THATSWHATSHESAID1313
People Break Down The Best Purchases They've Ever Made | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Liquid Courage Confession
"Had a good friend of mine back in high school pass due to a 'drug overdose.' "
"Turns out the friends he was hanging out with gave him a more than lethal dose of heroin after they beat him unconscious for apparently talking to one of their girlfriends."
"Was only found out years later when that person got drunk and decided to let that little known fact slip. Currently serving a life sentence."
-- Cuppycakesterr
Crimes of Passion, a Common Theme
"A friend of ours was shot to death by the ex-boyfriend of his new girlfriend. He was still holding the flowers he had bought her."
"It was just so needless and stupid. And he terrorized him for a bit before killing him. I mean really dude you think you kill the good guy so she'll come running back to the psychopath?"
Mortally Possessive
"I didn't hear about it until after the fact, but apparently he'd been complaining to people that his mom was acting weird that week and had dropped his cat (?) off at the animal shelter without warning and stuff like that."
"She drove him up to the local mountain a few days later and shot him in the back while he was taking in the view, then shot herself. All just so her husband couldn't get full custody of their son."
"Domestic Dispute," the Real Life Loose Cannon
"I knew a woman my entire life who went to her sister's home to calm a domestic dispute and was shot by the brother in law. Extremely tragic." -- cathtray
"I've heard that domestic violence calls are the police's least favorite kind of call, because of how volatile the people involved are." -- OMEGA_AS_F*CK
Disproportionate Punishment
"My wife's cousin was killed by a dude who had stopped to ask him and his friend for directions. They got lippy and pissed off the dude. He drives away but comes back and shoots them both."
"He turns himself in and at first tells the cops it was self defense. But they were shot in the back, so it was clear that they had been trying to get away. He ended up pleading guilty."
-- RussBof6
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
Strangers online came through with the fantasy scenario when Redditor Ithaqua3406 asked:
"If you suddenly had 'f'k you' money what would be the first thing you did?"
Some Redditors felt philanthropic.
Family First
"Retire my immediate family."
– Ziggu12
"I'd pay off my parents' house and other debts and then send my brother a check for $0.81."
– She_Persists
This One's For You, Pops
"I'd retire my dad (46M) immediately. After my mom left when I was 13 (25M now) he stepped up to be in the role of both parents to us 3 kids and we struggle bussed pretty hard for a few years until i was able to start working to help out even though he said i never had to. I haven't seen my mom since I was 17. Both my younger sisters and I are eternally grateful for this man. He taught me everything I needed to know to grow up and be the man I'm now today. So, I'd return that favor. I'd buy him a house with a big a** garage and work space so he could work on his classic cars and trucks all he wants. I'm in that mindset now, I'm working to not only have a successful life right now but to take care of my own family and him."
–Slwrolla
Let the indulging begin.
Simplified Order
"I'd order Dominos without optimising the order to fit one of the deals."
– Si1Fei1
"Changing it to pan? Dollar fifty more. Bastards."
– DrGPeds
Unobstructed View
"I'd buy the first 3 rows of a Ja Rule concert to keep them empty."
– Usr_115
"50 cent is that you lol."
– eks91
Tough Lesson
"I'd get dental implants so I wasn't in constant pain/ didn't look like I started every day with a hearty breakfast of crack."
"Edit: The feel compelled to say that I've never smoked crack or meth in my life. I did all my damage with cigarettes, sugar, and good old fashioned neglect. I didn't brush my teeth nearly enough, often going days or weeks between brushing. Yes, depression. I didn't feel like there was a point, and now I'm at a what I consider to be a catastrophic level of damage. I haven't actually felt any tooth pain in a very long time unless you count poking my tongue or cheek with a jagged bit once in a while. I had two initial quotes from dentists, one for $15,000 and another for $17,000. Both came with the caveat that they'd likely cost more because of an unknown number of extractions that'd require surgical removal. Dental tourism isn't really an option, I'd be looking at multiple procedures requiring recovery and return trips that I'd rather not make internationally, alone, and require being put under for surgery, I'd rather not go that route. I live paycheck to paycheck, and not well. I bring home about $2800 a month and finances not covered by my medical insurance (and even those tbh...) in the scales of thousands of dollars are a fanciful dream not even worth thinking about for me. Yes. America."
"If you read nothing else in the post:"
"Brush your f'king teeth."
– uglymiddleagedloser
A Tasty Luxury
"Get a permanent personal chef, so that I can eat delicious food all the time, and in a relatively healthy way."
– Alkazeel
"This here is overlooked. Having some great chef that would also double as grocery shopper doing great food 3 or 4 days a week? Under 10 grand a month."
– PhillieUbr
Who would need a job?
Not these Redditors.
Peace Out
"Quit my job. I'm at the point I may do it anyway honestly."
– e22ddie46
“'What’s the point in having f'k you money if you can’t say f'k you.' Bobby Axelrod"
– smitcal
Off The Grid
"Disappear."
– YoungHermit92
"pay for a helicopter to come pick you up from work, 2 guys in suits come out, ask you to come back 'for one last job', you say you were retired, and ask why can't John handle it, the suits just shake their heads and say 'it's worse than last time, and they already have John.'"
"you look back, wave your coworkers goodbye, and get on the chopper, never to be seen again."
– Dravarden
See Ya Later Alligator
"Quit my job. It's not that it's a bad job, I actually do like it, but I don't have time for it! I would rather live my life and go on adventures. So many things to see and experience in this world and life. :)"
– chocolate_orca
Alternative To Quitting
"Never quit. Purchase the company while still working in the trenches without revealing that you're the new CEO. Begin making all the decisions you can see should happen because you're there. Fire bad bosses and managers, get yourself 'voluntold' to go to other stores/offices for various excuses, listen to the fellow employees b*tch about corporate and quietly fix the problems they bring up."
– Bridgebrain
Worthy Replacement
"I’d buy the company I work for burn it down and collect the insurance money and build a public restroom in its place."
– Doublecutz
If I had money burning a hole in my pocket, I'd rent out Disneyland for the night so my LGBTQ+ friends and I can have the happiest place on earth to ourselves in a safe space without the judgment of conservative guests.
Oh, wait, I already experienced that when Disney hosted their official Pride Nite last month!
Then I'll pay for another night of that, please, but this time at Walt Disney World in Orlando because they didn't host such an event there for a certain reason.
There'll be lots of rainbow balloons, confetti, and queerness all over the entire resort to make our presence known in the Sunshine State.
Methinks that's the ideal "f'k you money" scenario.
"What was a brilliant idea but poorly executed?"
$10 A Month For $4 Thousand Worth Of Movie Tickets... How Could It Go Wrong?
"Moviepass, i.e. a monthly subscription service to see as many movies as you want for a flat fee."
"The core concept is actually solid."
"The big risk with unlimited subscriptions is induced demand, where people consume more of your product because their unit price drops."
"Movie theaters are mostly fixed costs, however, they don't really care about induced demand outside of opening weekend for big blockbusters (which you can make special rules about)."
"As long as a movie isn't sold out, you'd basically take any amount of money for the empty seats."
"Even if someone sees ten movies in a month, you're still probably making money even if you only charged them two movie's worth, and that's before potential concession sales."
"That said, the theaters have to be on board, and Moviepass launched without first getting them to agree to such a system."
"Instead, Moviepass had to pay full price to the theaters for every single movie seen."
"Their prices were not fixed, and as a result the induced demand absolutely crushed them."- Notmiefault
Microsoft Clearly Didn't Read The Book Of Genesis...
"Microsoft Zune."- TheDadaMax
"Great product, poorly marketed."
"But it was (imo) vastly superior to the iPod."- EnigmaCA
technology rip GIF by gifnewsGiphySo, So, Sad...
"Recycling."
"I wish it was great everywhere."- Glitchykins8
Biking Without The Peddling
"The Segway."
"It was hailed as what the car was to the horse and buggy."
"Built by a famous inventor it never took off."
"One of the most hyped inventions of all time."- Swimming_Stop5723
Way Too Soon... (On So Many Levels)
"Selling tickets to dive in a sub to see the Titanic."- nullrecord
Titan Submarine GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphyNot The Right Prescription
"Google Glass."
"I remember when people were talking about how it was gonna be the next 'big thing' and it failed."- LouisTheFox
When You Can't Help But Miss Used Car Salesmen...
"Carvana."
"Loved the idea of putting more control of the car-buying experience back in the hands of the buyer but myself and my wife both had a harrowing experience buying through them and their 'hassle-free' return process was absolutely riddled with hassles."- Grand-wazoo
train help GIFIt Literally Had People Seeing Red...
"Nintendo's Virtual Boy."- TailsxCream4Eva
"Nintendo's Power Glove."- mezz7778
"RoB the Robot."- DiscussionLoose8390
One Of Many Failed Ideas In US Education
"I think No Child Left Behind was a good concept."
"But basing school funding on standardized tests just crushed anything good out of it— the rich schools with funding for equipment and higher-end teachers got more money, and the schools that needed financial help got probation and threats of funding withdrawal."
"As a former teacher, I loved the idea that a kid could move to another school mid-semester and be learning the same concept in each subject as the school they left, but instead any kid who wasn’t immediately grasping concepts was forced to fail upwards."
"Failing upwards hurts all of us."- bp_516
Ha!
"Fyre Festival."- Old_Army90
"I’ve always thought that it could have worked if it had been planned years in advance."
"I have to admit, the idea of a music festival on a Caribbean island still intrigues me."
"The problem is that the island location alone presents major logistical hurdles."
"By definition, everything on an island is harder to acquire, from food to land."
"Add to that the issues of promised catered meals and guaranteed luxury lodging and you have serious mountains to climb to pull off the festival."
"With enough lead time to construct the bungalows and hire enough food services to prepare the meals, it is feasible, but trying to pull it off in a few months time made it impossible."
"Sure, Woodstock ‘69 was planned in less than a year, but festival attendees weren’t promised lodging and food."
"They knew they’d be camping and would have to get their own provisions."
"Even then, there were logistical hurdles, such as the New York State Thruway succumbing to complete gridlock."
"Still, as far as festivals go, it was a relatively simple set-up."
"A better approach would have been for Fyre, the music booking app company behind the festival, to start small, such as on a beach somewhere with no inclusion of lodging or catering in the ticket packages."
"Concertgoers would know what to expect, and the festival would have been a lot more successful."
"If Fyre had done that for a few years, they would have built trust in their name brand, so when the time came for an actual festival on an island, Fyre Festival could have booked enough contractors to build lodging and hired enough vendors to make food for the whole weekend."
"Unfortunately, Billy McFarland’s hubris was enough that he wanted to skip ahead of the build up and go straight for the opulent."- Brunt-FCA-285
ja rule fyre festival GIFGiphyMore Like Great Leap Backwards...
"China's Great Leap Forward."
"The idea was to improve the country, but it ended with one of the worst man-made natural disasters in history."- Kartoffelkamm
While a good idea always requires imagination, we must also remember it's very easy for our imaginations to get the better of us.
Reality often has a way of bringing us back down to Earth and making us realize what looks good on paper doesn't always deliver.
(But seriously... who actually thought the Fyre Festival was going to work?)
Redditor FIeshEatingPineappIe wanted to hear about what everyone has found appetizing when eating on a budget, so they asked:
"What cheap meals helped you save money through tough times?"
Bonkers
Hungry Food GIF by TescoGiphy"I managed to grow a pile of tomatoes last season (I only had 2 plants but they went bonkers) so cooked the majority of them up into spaghetti sauce and froze it. I'm still eating through it."
WaluigisFacialHair
Basics
"Ramen. PB&J sandwiches. Spam rice and eggs. Stewed/roasted chicken leg quarters with root vegetables. Learning how to bake sucked at first but it's really cost-effective money-wise cooking from scratch. Lately, I've been roasting/braising a full pork shoulder (I stock up when it's on sale)."
"Shred and freeze what I can't eat quickly. works really well with rice and beans (roll it up in a tortilla you got yourself a burrito. Put in ramen with an egg. Or with some stir-fried veggies with soy sauce and rice. Or as a gravy with pasta. It's really versatile."
aznkidjoey
Write this Down
"Lentil soup. A bag of dried lentils costs like a buck at a cheap grocery store and will cook you like three very filling meals worth of lentil soup. Unlike most dried legumes, they cook for 30-40 minutes of boiling. And pretty much any savory vegetable or cheese will go well with it."
"There are many ways to spice it. My favorite simple, ultra-cheap way is like 1 cup of dried lentils boiled until cooked and water is sufficiently absorbed, 1 tsp each curry, garlic, and onion powder, a finely cut carrot, a tsp of vinegar or a dash of lemon, and a Tbsp of parmesan cheese. That's like a 50-cent meal that's very high in protein, fiber, and vitamins."
"The carbs are also slow burning, low glycemic-load, complex carbs. If you wanna get fancier use fresh garlic and onion and add some herbs and feta cheese. The hot sauce works amazing with it too. Never hurts to add a can of diced tomatoes either. If you do that though you don't really need the vinegar/lemon."
Yak-F**ker-5000
Under $10
"Spaghetti. My mother would be able to feed all of us for under $10. Pasta, cheaper grade prepackaged beef and a jar of sauce. On really tight days, she’d just cook straight pasta and mix in some garlic and that powdered Parmesan cheese."
"So when I grew up and was trying to save money, I did the same. Pasta sauce freezes very well. I would make a huge pot of sauce and freeze it in bags and then I’d just have to cook single portions of pasta which cost next to nothing."
I_like_Birds56
All. The. Time
rabbit eating GIFGiphy"Oatmeal all day every day."
Klappersten
"I recently discovered savory oats and it was life-changing. I'm not a fan of sweet breakfasts but wanted to eat more oats. It's comfort food for me now."
BeagleGal39
Oatmeal is not just cheap but nutritious.
And it's surprisingly filling.
And a bit of Grog
middle ages fun GIF by Kajetan ObarskiGiphy"Bread, apples, and cheese. You feel like you're in a medieval movie or something and you can supplement with a bowl of hearty soup or stew."
Early_Yesterday_6819
Stretch it Out
"Rice with seared cabbage and a fried egg. I slice it pretty thin and throw it in a ripping hot pan with a touch of oil. It should get slightly charred but still be crunchy."
DruidicBoogaloo
"Love seared cabbage. A sprinkle of sugar improves the flavor and takes away some of the cabbagey smell. Whatever you're eating, I promise seared cabbage tastes good either in it or beside it. Great way to stretch a meal."
notreallylucy
"Half an onion and a slice of chopped bacon with half or a quarter head of cabbage all fried up in a wok or a CI pan is an amazing meal or side and cost practically pennies."
edthach
All for a Dollar
"In college, I ate peanut butter on toast for breakfast and .99$ bean burrito from a taco stand next door to my apartment for dinner."
Scuta44
"I used to get those El Monterey burritos in college. I still vividly remember the day they went from a 10-pack for $2.50 to an 8-pack for $3.50. I was literally starving at the time and it made my f**king heart sink. Those same packs of burritos are almost $6 now and the burritos are markedly smaller."
Spez_Guzzles_
All Day, Everyday
"Pancakes. Veeeery cheap and soul food on top of that, which should not be neglected when going through hard times. Just some ground Hazelnuts and sugar as filling, delicious. Noodles with vegetables. Fry the vegetables in a pan, season them, and mix it with noodles. Simple, healthy, and also very cheap."
DukeManbert
"Pancakes for dinner was our go-to when stretching another day to payday. Also, chips and salsa. We used to keep a pound of ground beef in the freezer for end-of-the-month nachos. Fried spaghetti noodles can be a quick meal too. Pre-cooked noodles fried in butter and lemon juice."
JohnYCanuckEsq
Portion Control
3d character GIF by FabricioLimaGiphy"Rice stretches out anything. I've made many a sad a**hole meal out of a small portion of food atop a bowl of rice."
ArghNooo
"You can actually make some really cheap meals with some veggies and rice that are delicious AF. It's a bit of an upfront cost for the right spices but it'll save you a boatload in the end."
tinyhorsesinmytea
I put rice in everything.
And it is a life saver for finances and diet.
