Redditors Share Their "This Person Doesn't Understand How The Real World Works" Stories
Redditors Share Their "This Person Doesn't Understand How The Real World Works" Stories
[rebelmouse-image 18346664 is_animated_gif=Some people just have no idea how the real world works. Is it obliviousness? Sure. Entitlement? Definitely. Or maybe, certain folks just aren't gonna pan out, no matter what advantages they have in life. And it's usually the privileged few who are totally clueless.
celiman asked, What is your "This person has no idea how the real world works" moment?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
Apparently "North" is wherever you decide to face. That's not how it works.
[rebelmouse-image 18351962 is_animated_gif=My cousin and I were talking one day and I mentioned that I had a horrible sense of direction, whereas my brother could be dropped off in a cornfield and find his way home.
She replied that it was easy to find your direction, just remember "Never Eat Shredded Wheat" and you will know where North is.
I laughed and said that was for remembering the directions in order, not for finding which way was which. We argued for 20 minutes until I told her to show me how it works.
She stands up and points forward and says "Never Eat Shredded Wheat!" and points to the direction she was facing when she stood up. "That's North!"
So I told her to face me and then find North. She does it again... "Never Eat Shredded Wheat!" and points at me and says "that's North".
So ask her if North just changed? She says no. "But North was that way a minute ago?"
She looks confused and says "Why didn't that work?"
I told her it was because she was an idiot.
The key word here is "rent," ace.
[rebelmouse-image 18351983 is_animated_gif=Guy sold his Rent-a-Center TV and couldn't understand why they threatened to charge him for theft.
I say let the case go forward. The judge can lay a "that's not how this works" smack down.
[rebelmouse-image 18359218 is_animated_gif=My sister-in-law got into an argument with her brother/my husband and me, stopped speaking to us, blocked us on Facebook... and then threatened to sue us for visitation rights to our six-month-old.
Oh yeah this is going to go exactly as planned.
[rebelmouse-image 18359219 is_animated_gif=My brother wanted to be a "game designer". I asked how that was going and what he had been doing.
Mom had gone to Walmart to pick up some art supplies so he could get "Designing".
He did not really know what coding was in terms of game design and did not know graphic design. He thought he could simply just draw up some swords and guns and shields and someone would pay him to do this for a living. With zero experience.
He's almost 30.
Getting "discovered" doesn't happen by not doing anything.
[rebelmouse-image 18359220 is_animated_gif=My little brother who was (and I fear still kinda is) adamant that he would grow up to be an actor all through high school without trying to pursue any acting related things. Quit drama club freshman year and never looked back. Didn't work towards getting into an acting program in college. Spent more time on his video games than acting, but I guess he was just banking on being discovered and put into roles due to handsomeness. It's hard enough to make that dream work for people who are actually trying.
Oof, someone's in for a surprise.
[rebelmouse-image 18359221 is_animated_gif=I was in the Army with someone who wanted to know when the maids came to do laundry in Basic Training.
I've... actually done this. Never underestimate lazy.
[rebelmouse-image 18353554 is_animated_gif=They lived with a dark bedroom for 7 days waiting for the real estate manager of their rental property to come and change the light bulb.
Mortgages are 30 years, dear, not three.
[rebelmouse-image 18359222 is_animated_gif=Had a woman call into work (banking) and ask for her mortgage payoff. It was like 40 thousandish.... she said there was no way that was right because her payment book only had 3 more coupons in it and she thought it was done when the coupons were. She couldn't comprehend that she had a 30-year mortgage and that she didn't get a coupon book for all 30 years, she only got three years at a time and because she had an adjustable rate. I had to call backups to explain to her that she still owed 27 more years.
Edit to add: Location: rural PA
Probably a tiny home that needs work, 40k is possible in this area still.
Coupon books tell you when your payment is due and what amount - if you don't bank online or want to mail a payment in. Amish and old folks still don't use the internet here as a norm.??????????????
They keep the elbow grease next to the baby oil.
[rebelmouse-image 18359223 is_animated_gif=I worked on a group project with these two girls in high school. We had met up at a library over the weekend and when I pulled into the parking lot one of them said something about my car. I said "yeah, I love this car but someone keyed it in a parking lot all down the passenger side. Look how deep it is!"
I told her I couldn't fix it beyond some touch-up paint either because that would require sanding it down and all that. She looked me dead in the eye with a look like I was crazy and said "well why don't you go buy some elbow grease? I hear that fixes everything".
Dead serious. Girl had heard about "just give it some elbow grease" and got it into her head that this was a product you could buy to fix just about anything. She did not contribute much to our group project.
Apparently, student loans are free.
[rebelmouse-image 18358949 is_animated_gif=Fellow college student: I don't understand why other students keep looking for free food. If they really need more money, why don't they just get more student loans?
I had to explain to him that, at some point, they stop giving you student loans. Also that not everyone had parents who were willing/able to support their children, and that even if you did pull out more loans then that's more money you have to pay back after university comparative to your expected entry-level pay schedule in your field.
Someone, please, turn this couple into a TV show.
[rebelmouse-image 18359224 is_animated_gif=At our marriage prep retreat, there was a couple who was 20/21 years old. The girl was still in college, her fiance worked at a radio station. She said their plan was to get married right after she graduated and start having kids, and she would be a stay at home mom. One of the other couples asked if they had discussed how the finances would work with that, and she said she doesn't have any bills right now so it shouldn't be that hard.
Isn't college supposed to teach independence... meh, nah.
[rebelmouse-image 18359225 is_animated_gif=One time I made the mistake of trying to do laundry in my dorm's laundry room during parents weekend. I walked in to see rows of haggard looking mothers with massive bags of their children's clothes. Laundry is free at our school, and the machines are ridiculously simple to use.
Oh that kid is not gonna be happy when he realizes that's not how it works.
[rebelmouse-image 18345227 is_animated_gif=This kid at my school thought taxes weren't real and just a story.
Having your parents pay for everything isn't how the world works, but also... why not take the free trip?
[rebelmouse-image 18359226 is_animated_gif=Was good friends with this girl in college. I knew she was spoiled (free reign of daddy's credit card) but it was never a big deal. After college, she couldn't grasp why I couldn't spend the next 6-12 months backpacking through Europe with her, which she wanted to do because she didn't feel like getting a job yet. The idea that I had to get a job to support myself and start paying back student loans was completely foreign to her. Her answer to everything was "have your parents pay for it!". Sorry honey, that is not how the real world works.
Just gonna leave this one here because, wow, not how it works.
[rebelmouse-image 18350696 is_animated_gif=Met a guy at uni who thought Chinese people would be unaffected by the rise of superbugs because they were too smart to fall victim to it.
Both a pharmacy student and a Chinese person could not convince him otherwise.
Parents who do this aren't doing their kids any favors. And it makes driving more dangerous for everyone.
[rebelmouse-image 18359228 is_animated_gif=When I sold my first car, the guy who bought it from me got it for his son. Who was on his fifth car. He'd had his license for less than two years.
And they weren't a wealthy family - he had to keep buying cheaper and cheaper cars each time. I'd heard it through the grapevine that he had crashed my old car too.
You can actually rent a box of kittens for an hour at a time.
[rebelmouse-image 18359229 is_animated_gif=My dad asked if he could borrow my cat. I said no. He replied, "It's okay, I'll just rent one." I didn't point out that cat rentals aren't a thing. I still don't know why he needed a cat.
Lessons in divorce 101: leave me alone.
[rebelmouse-image 18359230 is_animated_gif=My ex-wife demanded to know where I was going on vacation and who I was going with. I had to explain to her for the 871st time what "divorced" meant.
I'll take "things entitled pricks do" for $1000 Alex.
[rebelmouse-image 18359231 is_animated_gif=Former barista here. A customer came through the drive-thru one afternoon, ordering a custom drink that cost about $5. While on the phone, he dug change out of the corners of his van and handed me what amounted to less than $3. I continued looking at him with my hand extended, half full of dirty coins, when he just shrugged and said, "That's all I got." I repeated the total and said he hadn't given me enough. "Can't you just spot me with your tips?" Um, EXCUSE ME? First, no, that's literally my grocery money, and second, our company had a strict policy against doing just that. But I simply apologized and said no, I couldn't do that. He blew up at me, saying I wasn't "being very neighborly." I again apologized and explained how I relied on my tip money to, you know, EAT. Instead, he screamed at me again, "You suck, you REALLY suck!" before driving away. Side note: it was a small town and most people there don't know how the real world works.
A used car dealership? In upstate New York? Baller.
[rebelmouse-image 18359232 is_animated_gif=A friend of mine saw a guy getting arrested in college- the kid was struggling and cussing out the cops like crazy- "do you know who my father is?!" A cop humored him and asked. "He owns the number one used car dealership in upstate New York!"
We were in Massachusetts. They were unimpressed by his legacy and took him in.
EDIT- I do not know any used car dealers in upstate New York and this was 1995
Things That Make People Immediately Say 'No' To Eating At A Restaurant
Reddit user TREE__FR0G asked: 'What’s an immediate ‘no’ that makes you not want to eat at a restaurant?'
Hungry customers could think of plenty of reasons to try out a new restaurant.
It could be good word of mouth found on Yelp reviews, a personal recommendation, or just plain curiosity in the spirit of adventure.
And while diners can be influenced and easily persuaded to walk into an eatery they haven't tried before, customers are not without the certain criteria they're entitled to.
Curious to hear from strangers who may have reservations about making a reservation, Redditor TREE__FR0G asked:
"What’s an immediate ‘no’ that makes you not want to eat at a restaurant?"
The smell from inside a restaurant should draw potential customers in, not repulse them.
Unpleasant Odor
"The smell. General cleanliness but most importantly, is the bathroom clean?"
– ibetyouranerd
"Years ago I walked into a local restaurant and the smell killed my appetite. It reeked of cigarette smoke and mold. The restaurant was sold and the new owner abolished smoking and throughly cleaned the place. He said the hood in the kitchen had so much grease and crud it that it looked it had never been cleaned. Now, the place is spotless and is a great place to eat at."
– phred_666
An Establishment's Short Lifespan
"Yeah there was a new restaurant that opened about 10 years ago, the smell the moment you walked into the door was raw sewage, they said it’s a plumbing issue, we lost our appetite and left. That place closed in a month."
– Omegaprimus
Exterminators Have Good Scents
"Exterminators know a certain smell that’s an immediate no-go. Roaches in abundance give off a sweet type of smell and I will literally turn right around and leave."
– otterplus
Dirty tables are an instant customer-deterrent.
Sour Rags
"Ugh, yeah and when they wipe down your table (with some dirty old snot rag that's probably never been cleaned, it even rinsed out) and the smell fills your nose after the murky brown drops pool on the table where you are now expected to eat."
"That's after the waiter smears around the jelly from the previous customer and pushes all the table crumbs onto your lap."
"Pro tip: you are supposed to cup your hand as you wipe so the crumbs accumulate in the palm of your hand. You start on one straight edge and wipe from one corner along the edge to the other. Then you turn your cupped hand, ready to begin the next pass and so you kind of catch the crumbs."
"No one likes someone else's crumbs brushed onto their lap!!"
– Th3_Last_FartBender
Unsanitary Cleaning Supplies
"Sticky tables. Tells me they reuse their dirty wash rags and don’t change out the sanitizer water they use in the buckets and nothing is clean or sanitized in there. Oh and spots on cups and utensils."
– Known-Pop-8355
For some, ambiance is everything.
Conversation Drowner
"Loud sh**ty music."
– porpoisebay
"A small band or single person on a keyboard crammed onto a makeshift 'stage area' with a poorly balanced slightly sh**ty sound system so that you can neither hear nor enjoy hanging out with the person you’re a foot and a half away from."
– PillsburyDohMeeple
No Audio Control
"You ever been in a car where the musics too loud and you can’t hear what the person next to you is saying? Imagine that but you can’t turn it down."
– Northern_boah
Off-Key Performer
"We went to a family style seafood restaurant about a month ago on vacation. It had been a large fish-camp style eatery for years, at least since the 80s, with lots of tables with holes in them for the oyster and clam shells from roasts. Big with retirees and young families."
"The restaurant is shaped like a large rectangle. They had taken the middle of the back wall and turned it into a stage- where, that night, a man was playing a guitar and singing, 4 octaves off and the speakers cranked to 11. It was 6 pm. We asked how much longer he would be playing. 2 hours."
"We left."
"Old on top, new on bottom. https://ibb.co/LnXXd3r"
– GetYerThumOutMeArse
These observations are very telling.
Desperate Cry For Help
"A sign complaining about how short-staffed they are because 'no one wants to work.'"
"I'm out."
– TheVoicesOfBrian
"I stopped patronizing a small local tavern for this reason. I liked going for a few cold ones and lunch on the weekends. Owner was a royal douche. Food quality went downhill. And then he'd complain online about no help. I'm like dude, I wouldn't work for you either."
– mistlet0ad
Disgruntled Staff
"If most or all of the employees are visibly unhappy. I don't want to do business with a place that doesn't respect their employees or our community."
– deathByAlgebra
Absent Pricing
"Prices not on menu... and refusing to answer when asked what they are."
"This happened to me a couple of months ago."
– cheesewiz_man
“'Market price' equals 'you pay what we tell you to pay. Cause I don’t see anyone else selling fish at this restaurant.'”
– bigno53
I have a sensitive sense of smell, so all it takes for me to nope my way out of patronizing an establishment is a foul odor.
The source could come from mold or reused mop water or who knows what.
I don't care how good the food is. If businesses can't keep a properly clean restaurant, who's to say they don't have a sanitized kitchen as well.
Any couple who comes to a mutual understanding that there is no future and/or chemistry in their relationship should consider themselves lucky.
After all, when one half of a couple surprises the other with their desire to break up, it's never a pretty scene
Largely owing to the fact that the one being dumped often wants a reason "why."
While some people use that age-old, eternally unsatisfying excuse "it's not you, it's me", others can be a little more specific.
Lack of chemistry, not enough in common, wanting different things, lives going in different directions.
In some cases, the reason people decide to end their relationships might be a little more specific, and incredibly strange to boot.
"What's the weirdest reason you've broken up with someone?"
Shiver Me Timbers!
"In the early 2010ish era I was in college and went out for Halloween."
"And met a guy dressed as a pirate that looked like Johnny Depp dressed as a pirate, it was the era of those movies."
"We started dating and I realized he looked like a pirate 24/7/365 and I couldn’t handle it."- toreadorable
Bird Watching Isn't For Everyone...
"We saw an owl while driving in a road and I thought it was so cool to see it fly over us and land in a nearby tree."
"She thought I was crazy."
"I mean…it’s an owl."
"How can it not be cool?"- SlytherinWario
No One Likes A Cheater
"She thought she got the answer to the crossword, when it was actually me."- IsolatedPSup
Compromise Is Key
"Never wanted to get tacos."- Mcshiggs
Loud And Clear
"He talked so fast that I often couldn’t understand him."
"When I would ask him to please talk slower, he would talk LOUDER."
"But just as fast."- SouthSideSurvivor
Season 2 Fairfax GIF by Amazon Prime VideoGiphyAt Least Pancakes Are Round...
"We had an argument about the way the world works.'
"I thought it worked as a globe he thought it worked as a pancake."- Minix22·
Not Cool
"She threw garbage out my truck window while driving down the road."
"First date-last date."- paintman01
Pee-Ew!
"His feet smelled."
"I mean so bad."
"They were so bad one night I thought he sh*t the bed."
"Wasn't going to go the long haul with that."- hunnyjo
Disgusted Full House GIF by absurdnoiseGiphyElle Ne Comprend Pas...
"She would speak French to herself in the mirror at home, and then she would do it at restaurants thinking it made her sound sexy, I guess?"
'I don’t know."
'Here’s the thing."
"She knew not one word of French."
"She had no desire to learn a single word of French."
"She just spoke gibberish that sounded VAGUELY like French."
"She was a full grown woman in her late 20s."
"College degree and a job."
"She started doing it around the second month into our relationship."
"That sh*t embarrassed the hell out of me."
"I know a few words and even offered to teach her - foreign student taught me how to say, 'I love a lobster' and other weird sh*t that we both thought was hilarious while getting baked."
'She said she didn’t want to learn."
'She just wanted to act like she was speaking French."- LookMaNoPride
french yes GIFGiphyDog Gone It...
"Her dog was teaching my dog to howl at sirens."- Wake95
Some Might Find This an "Eeeeexcellent" trait...
"He had posture & hands like Mr. Burns from 'The Simpsons'."- Natural-Ad2924
Moving Too Fast...
"She added me to her family's group chat after a week of dating."
"I was about 16 at that time and felt much pressure."- SirLaw___
Im Watching You GIFGiphyIf a relationship has no future, there's no point in staying in it.
And sometimes, you don't even need to dig for an excuse as to why things need to come to an end.
Or, as the French would say: "Escargots, Brie, Formidable"...
(Sacré Bleu!)
A lot has been written about birth order among siblings and how it affects personality.
Not that everyone agrees on the effects.
Some say the oldest is the family rebel, while others say they're the ultimate conformist and rule follower.
Others assign those roles to the middle child.
But pretty much everyone agrees the youngest child is spoiled.
So does that mean an only child takes all those dynamics to form their personality?
The folks of Reddit sure has some thoughts on the matter.
Reddit user imlovegina asked:
"What is a dead giveaway that someone is an only child?"
Trust
"I told my boyfriend to close his eyes and open his mouth (I was surprising him with candy) and he just did it with no suspicion at all."
"People with siblings can’t trust like that."
- cowsofoblivion
Limited Pop Culture
"I’m an only child. One huge difference I see time and time again with those who have siblings—they had much more exposure to a longer timespan of media/music/games growing up. My idea of nostalgia consists of my specific timeline of media growing up, but those with siblings were able to watch tv shows their older brother watched, or knows about that game their little sister played."
- DopeYeti
"Yeah, the media you get is what your parents get for you. So PS2 was my only console since I requested one for my birthday and that's really it. Bigger families might have older siblings have older consoles, media, movies etc."
- Top_Lengthy
No "I'm Going to the Bathroom"
"I heard once only children are less likely to announce where they are going when they leave a room. Right away I realised I do that, but my partner who grew up with 2 sisters tells me where he’s about to go when he moves, even if it’s to the bathroom."
- NucularOrchid
"Now that im in my 30s I’ve trained myself to say where I’m going when I leave a room but it STILL feels so awkward when I do it."
"I also distinctly remember being confused in my first few relationships when people told me they were going to the restroom (okay?) and irritated when I would get up to go and they’d ask me where I’m going (like, we’re in a 1 b/r apartment and I’m not walking out the door, there are only so many options.)"
Anger is Fleeting
"My bf is an only child and it was his confusion at how I can be mad at my sister (who is also my roommate) one minute and turn around and get ice cream or go see a movie together."
He grew up with a bunch of cousins around his age, but it was the quick turnaround of 'I’m so mad at you' to 'I wanna hang out, let’s do something.'"
- sister-christian69
"Hypothesis: I think we don’t have practice of dealing with conflict. I had an argument with someone a few years back and I fully expected it to be awkward between us when we saw each other the next day, but she (not an only child) started chatting with me like everything was fine. I was taken aback and thought this would have lasted for much longer."
- RaspberryTurtle987
My Food is Mine
"My husband HATES sharing food! He is also very good at keeping himself entertained and busy- this was very evident during Covid when I was soooo bored and lost because all my previous hobbies and pastimes were outside the home and/or social activities, however, he just kept going and picked up so many new little hobbies that were independent"
- badjmsbe
"I have a brother and I hate sharing food as well. Some people say that having siblings can teach you to share things but, if anything, having a brother made me extra selfish."
- reforged-demon-blade
"I don’t hate sharing food…but I order food for me + me later fully expecting what I ordered to be there and my gf usually takes some. Drives me insane lol, and she knows if f**ks with my ADHD bc I will stare at the fridge thinking wait, when did I eat that?! Her after wondering what Im looking for: Sorry babe, I ate it."
- huhteeee
Siblings ≠ Friends
"Thinking friendship is like having siblings. It's not. I would never smash a toy on my friend's head and expect them to speak to me after."
- Useful_Jello2910
"I wouldn’t have teamed up with my best friends against their parents or refused to listen to their parents… but me and my sister? Like a two-man army in us vs. our parents battle"
- aw-f*ck
"Yep. Whenever my siblings and I would unionize, we were unstoppable."
- KitchenSwillForPigs
Not Expecting Snack Theft
"From personal experience, food habits. Like buying snacks to store at home and fully expecting them to not have been touched when you’re gone, or eating slower at the dinner table because you’re not fighting over the good food."
"As a teen, on the rare occasion my dad would steal a snack I got for myself I’d freak out, whereas my friends with siblings just resigned themselves to the fate of snacks inevitably disappearing. My mom eats super fast at meals, and she attributes it largely to growing up with siblings."
- HornedTwiddle
"I think this is why I get so peeved when my 14 year old eats all of something I specifically bought because I wanted it. I’ll share with him, but he’s a garbage disposal and will pound an entire bag/box/pack of something in no time, and I get so annoyed. My husband thinks I’m ridiculous but I never had to share or worry about someone else eating my things growing up haha"
- pizzainertia
Doesn't Automatically Shield Face
"No tales of sibling violence"
- ButterEmails54
"Doesn't flinch when someone makes a fist quickly"
- islandsimian
"Yesssss my boyfriend doesn't understand (not that he makes fist at me!!! Just that I flinch a lot.). Also don't throw things at me expecting me to catch it - my instinct is to shield my face."
- Bacon_Bitz
"Oh my god yes. Youngest child here, I also have twelve older cousins, and the amount of things I got thrown at me when I was too little to catch them."
- Dependent_Shower_584
Good At Self Entertaining
"Pretty good at keeping ourselves entertained or doing things alone/being independent."
- stefeezy
"And I find that most of us need alone time. I can be pretty sociable but it can get overwhelming quick. I need alone time every day or my stress levels rise to a point where I can't handle it. Even in a relationship, if we spend all day home, I must be able to do my thing while he does his thing. This has caused me issues in the past, as if I didn't care to be around my partner."
- thinksotoo
"Yup, this is one of the main ones. We are not lonely either, we enjoy our solitude (at least I do)"
- AlwaysSunnyDragRace
Better With Adults
"I can't tell for adults, but when it's one of my kids' friends, the kid who ends up trying to hang out with the adults and gets overwhelmed by being in a group of kids has been an only child 100% of the time in my experience."
- ifnotmewh0
"Yes! I teach middle school, and I can usually spot the only kids by seeing which students gravitate towards chatting with me rather than their peers during downtime. They seem more comfortable and confident just hanging out with the older person in the room."
- catsandcabsav
"I was one of these kids. I knew the adults didn't want me around. I had to choose between two uncomfortable situations, and I could handle being in the way more than the chaos with the other kids."
- needhelpweverything
Less Lonely
"From my own experience, not being as prone to loneliness. The only time I really feel lonely is when I'm around people I'd rather not be with."
- DeathSpiral321
"You can very quickly detect when you don’t fit in or are a third wheel too. Kind of sucks but it means you don’t waste your time with people either."
- Grimvold
"Exactly. My GF and I are only children. We both need a few nights a week on our own which is why we don’t live together. Even when we’re together we can sit quietly doing our own thing for considerable periods of time until we have something important to discuss."
- bjb13
Make Their Own Decisions
"I am an only child… I’ve noticed I tend to make a lot of life choices on my own and don’t seek out a lot of advice or ask for help when I could definitely use it. In fact, I’ve been pretty deep in tough situations when I finally have the realization that there are people and resources I can utilize. It’s not so much I’m worried about asking for help, more like it doesn’t even register in my brain that there is help outside of myself."
- Jaded_Syrup2454
"The inherent guilt of troubling people and asking for help."
- Lycan_Trophy
"I feel called out lol. Only child and this is such a common complaint I receive from my friends and partners, them saying I should ask for help for often. My logic is, well I have to learn it alone anyway. Their logic is, you don't have to right now."
"It's not something I can just turn off ... but I'm working on it. Some times. When I feel safe being vulnerable lol"
- MoodyBootyBoots
Choose Relationships Carefully
"They are very deliberate in their chosen relationships, e.g. friendships, partners, and are usually extremely independent, at least in my experience."
- ffffffffck
"As an only child I have to agree with the deliberation in my relationships."
"I've never used the term "friend" lightly like many people seem to. I see people all the time call others friends when they don't know much about the person and are just friendLY with them. I don't consider someone a friend until we've grown closer and I feel I can genuinely trust them and we can go to each other for help"
- Skeletor118
Quiet Roommates
"They’re very quiet roommates in my experience. Sometimes don’t even know when they’re home. I hypothesize that they’re just used to quiet spaces and might feel uncomfortable when their surroundings get loud or chaotic. People with siblings are used to other people clanging around and making noise."
- IcyConsideration4714
"Yeah I'm an only child of a single mom and spend enormous amounts of time home alone as a child. Can confirm, I'm extremely quiet."
- Yak-F*cker-5000
Unique Parent Relationships
"Really unique relationships with parents. They usually have a very rigid idea and perception their parents. For example, I have to call my mom every day or else she’ll worry, or my dad is always right about _____. I guess when you have siblings there’s more diversity in how you perceive your parents and their actions. But with only children they seem to lack that holistic perspective."
- ninaw11
"My ex was was exactly like the first example! She'd call her mom every morning and would talk a lot every day. It was pretty wholesome to me."
- RaimiKu
"This specifically. I live in a different continent than my parents and we talk every single day. They still ask for my opinion on every decision we take as a family and that has been my family dynamics as long as I can remember."
What trends have you noticed among the only-children you know?
We've all heard of love at first sight.
Hate at first sight is less common, but it does happen (though it's not always described that way).
Sometimes, two people don't mesh well. They could never get along, even if they were the last two people on Earth, and its usually because one of them said or did something during their first interaction that rubbed the other person the complete wrong way.
Redditors know this all to well and are ready to share their stories.
It all started when Redditor dirty_maria asked:
"Have you ever listened to someone talk for less than a minute and immediately felt like you wouldn't get along with them? What did they say?"
Too Young, Too Dumb
"I heard a 20 year old girl at my job trying to talk down to another guy because he's in his 40s with no kids."
""You're 40 with no kids! What do you know about the world?" in the most hateful tone. I've never spoken to her before and never will."
– tiamat-45
"I really wish that having kids made people smarter!"
– Witty_Commentator
Not Funny
"I'm Asian and upon meeting me, for some reason a lot of people like to open up with a racist Asian joke and tell me that their Asian friend thinks the joke is hilarious. I have never ended up getting along with those people."
– prolixity
I'll Choose My Own Food, Thanks
"“I already decided what to order, and sorry not sorry if you’re offended, but we’re gonna eat what I’m ordering. You’ll thank me for it.”"
"This was a person I was meeting for the first time"
– FlagshipHuman
"That basically ruins my opinion of the person AND the food."
– Cjhwahaha
Don't Tell Me What I Love
"A friend introduced me to a stranger at a party and said we should get along great since we were both into music. The stranger was in a band and I used to work as a sound/lighting tech. He asked why I quit music and I told him I got sick of working every single weekend and making garbage pay. I enjoy shows far more as an attendant than a worker."
"He responds: "oh, you don't love music. Which is ok, it's just that if you really loved music you would have stuck it out. For me I couldn't live without music, it's just different.""
"It took about 15 seconds of conversation to realize the dude was f**king insufferable"
– skazai
From Bad To Worse
"I was on a date once and she just started negging* me from the get go. I mistakenly picked her up and had to just listen to her talk about herself, any time I’d get a word in she’d neg."
"About lost it when I was feeling a good cheese slice at the niche New York style pizza place we went to. She said I had bad taste in pizza and actually needed to start going to XYZ."
"Started talking about the beer I chose and then joked to the waitress about me. Then asked me if I wanted to move in as her roommate was moving soon and she was joking but not joking."
– UncoolSlicedBread
Liar, Liar
"She was in a writers group. The comment was made that Finnegans Wake by James Joyce is a classically difficult book to get through."
"She opened with, actually she found it very easy in fact, a friend of hers was a lecturer in (nearby famous university) and he often came to her for insights into Joyce's work."
"I suspected immediately a narcissist, pathological liar. I was right. She earned the nickname amongst the group of "11", as in, if you said you'd been to Tenerife, she would say she had been to Elevenarife."
– jrf_1973
Some People Should Not Be Teachers
"My old French teacher in I think 8th grade. It took her not even 5 minutes for us to hate her. "I dont like any of you, I'm not your friend but a teacher to annoying brats. You'll do as I say when I say it and complainers get a 6 (Equivalent to an F) for this class." Her husband was a pretty cool guy though."
– FanStrong3311
Nepotism Makes The World Go Round
"Foremans nephew/ owners son (exchangeable for anyone who uses family ties to get a promotion)"
"I'm in the union so you have to technically work your way up as a laborer no matter what because raises come fron hours worked along with courses completed."
"Anyways i was a lead on a large college campus for the State and we have this lil chubby 19 year old laborer with a bad attitude start at the site one day so i get him what he needs tool wise and tell him that material needs to be cleaned on the 9th floor using buggies. He immediately launches into this " yeah well my dad is the foreman of this job and youre just a lead so ill just go to him so i dont have to do (xyz) job""
"After staring at him until he started to get noticably uncomfortable i asked him if this was his first day doing this? He replied "yeah why?""
"I told him he can go on and get the f**k home until hes ready to be a team player. Ive worked with his dad for many years and knowing his work ethics and moral compass for leadership he would understand my decision. His son calls him down on the radio with a smirk on his face thinking that i just made the worst career move of my life."
"When his dad arrives he asks what happened, i explain curtly exactly as it happened and he immediately turns to his boy and said " well ....why the f**k are you still standing here? He told you to go home, if you dont want to listen you can't be on the team. Dad isnt going to save you""
"Last i heard he gave up his dreams of being a foreman and works for Tesla now"
– GazeOG
Woe Is She
"After Hurricane Sandy I spent a lot of weekends cleaning out houses. It is difficult and backbreaking work, but also terribly sad. Because we just bring snow shovels into houses and throw everything away. What used to be someone's home, their whole life is now stinking moldy garbage."
"I was talking to a woman at a Christmas party about how difficult Hurricane Sandy was and she said. "I don't feel like I have had enough recognition for how I suffered! I called the mayor, I called the governor, and no one cares about my suffering." So I thought I would talk to her about it."
""Was your home flooded" -No"
""Did you have a generator" -Yes, two"
""Was it really difficult to get gas for them?" -No, my husband is a first responder so we were able to jump the lines"
""It must have been hard though, to have lost power." -So hard that after 2 days I went and stayed with family at a hotel."'
"So this woman lost nothing, didn't have to wait in the hours long line for fuel and spent most of the time in a hotel. And was pissed because the governor didn't acknowledge personally her suffering."
– RoyGBiv1488
Place Items Gently On The Conveyer Belt
"I can tell almost immediately by the way a customer walks up to the register whether or not they're going to be an a**hole."
– tubular1845
"Yep. I'm a cashier too. They don't even have to speak. When they toss their items on the counter, that tells me everything I need to know. It takes everything I have some days not to toss their money right back at them. The customers that face all the barcodes up make up for those AH's."
– Relative-Read-2937
The Company Man
"I don’t like Company Men, or people who defend the company and higher ups to no end. For example, in a meeting one time an experienced Company Man starting ripping into someone who works in another department in front of everyone over a trivial thing that has no effect on Company Man."
"After the meeting I expressed an opinion that the person was being rude, condescending, an unprofessional to a couple of coworkers that were in the room. They started defending said behavior. Instantly turned me off."
"Turns out corporate agreed with me and that person has since "retired.""
– jcm8002204
Keeps Your Eyes On Your Own Table
""I believe that I have a much more developed palate than most people", said in a very condescending, loud voice at a restaurant."
"From the guy who was at the next table when I said that oysters aren't my cup of tea."
– Nearby-Ear-883
""You seem to also have a much more developed ability to stick your nose where it doesn't belong""
– thedoobalooba
Will You Carry On My Bloodline?
"I knew a lady who, upon meeting her, told me that she was related to two people who signed the Declaration of Independence, which meant she had an important bloodline that she couldn't let die out."
"I knew she was an idiot at that point, but she then went on to say that because her autistic brother died, she had to be the one to carry on the bloodline and give them her last name, and said she'd use a surrogate if her major birth defects wouldn't let her conceive, staring hard at me with a weird smile on her face."
"Yes, she lore dumped her life and wanted me to carry her hypothetical heir in the two minutes after we met."
– Ravenamore
Yikes! I can't even believe this happened!