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Bosses Reveal The Worst Thing They've Ever Seen On A Resume

Bosses Reveal The Worst Thing They've Ever Seen On A Resume
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A resume or a CV are extremely important for the hiring process. It brings to light where you've been and where you hope to keep going. You get a sense of the person's skill set and what they would bring to the company.

But then resumes can go horribly, horribly wrong. Some things should never be told, let alone bragged about.


u/DogsDinner45 asked:

Bosses of reddit, what is the worst thing you have ever seen on a CV?

Here were some of those answers.

50. All Eyes On Us

Giphy

The background of the resume consisted of a glamour shot of the applicant wearing a very low cut blouse.

Terpsichorus

49. A Rose By Any Other Name

One of my coworkers, a copy writer, received a 10,000 word My Little Pony fan fiction as a writing sample.

luna-petunia

i can somewhat relate. i've gotten good results from writing video game reviews, but at times i feel that they're not taken seriously when i use them as writing samples for writing jobs outside of the gaming industry. Even if i do good job and don't come off as jokey in the reviews, i'm still reviewing video games.

Alejandro4891

48. The Glamour. 

So in China its really common for people to have glamour shots. We of course had one from this lady, her resume was "I'm a tall sociable lady, who gives good massages". Of course we hired her to be an engineer...

ooo-ooo-oooyea

47. Nothing At All

Very bare CV. Added a hobby section which was their only thing on the 2nd page and all it said was:

"I used to like making models but I don't do it much over the last 3 years"

ac13332

46.  Just Add it. 

When I applied for my current job I went to my dad as he has previously been a boss at the same company but a different department. He told me I should put my world of warcraft raid guild officer experience on my CV. He didn't quite get it but he said that all that organizing and coordination is going to get me far.

I reluctantly added it and hey, I got the job. Was an interesting thing to talk about during the interview.

Zorach98

45. Yikes On Bikes

People who claim 'attention to detail' as one of their greatest strengths yet have spelling mistakes all over their cv.

Being_grateful

44. Insert Disappointment Here

I had one where the covering letter began with...

Dear [Insert Name Here]

I am applying for the position of [Insert Position Here].

If you can't even fill in a template covering letter correctly then I'm afraid your application is going straight in the round filing cabinet.

radiorentals

43. Basic Basic Skills Lacking

It was a horribly formatted, and by that I mean not at all, extremely non specific resume. It included "basic knife skills". I understand that that might be a good thing to have on a resume for food service but I work in IT.

awfulmcnofilter


I mean, IT can be super frustrating sometimes. Those knife skills might come in handy when dealing with someone who has no knowledge of tech.

DTownForever

42. Hmmm... No.

I didn't see the CV but I was called as a reference on a person who I had fired for rifling through my desk after hours. After I fired her she called my house and threatened to burn it down

... then she lists me as a reference on her next job. She didn't get it.

olafthebent

41. Misguided Equestrian

One time, a woman submitted her CV with a history that went all the way back to a science fair prize she won in 5th grade. No joke. Then some spelling bee she won in 8th grade, and on and on and on.

And every single one of her equestrian competitions.

And pictures (they were actual photographs, not links, this was in the late 90s) of her cheerleading squad.

The whole packet she sent in was about 20 pages long. I'd have tossed it but it was hilarious so I read the entire thing and it made its way all around the office.

It was a marketing job so I have no idea what she thought her 5th grade science project had to do with it. Needless to say she didn't get an interview, but I'm sure it would have been a fun one.

DTownForever

40. It's Good This was Caught

Not a boss but a colleague at a place I used to work at asked me to look over her cv.

Skimmed over name and address, read over the rest of the cv and was about to say yeah looks good to me.

Then her email address caught my eye : Anyholesagoal


After a few minutes of staring at the email address in disbelief, I turned and asked if that was her only email address she had to use?

"Yeah why what's wrong" was the reply

By then the whole team had looked at it and was losing it over the email address.

We did manage to convince her to create a new email address that was her first name.surname instead!

Scribb74

39. Now You've Prevented Yourself From Being Hired

Giphy

Not on a CV, but I recall a guy who had done a 3rd party psychological profile of some sort.

For some reason he chose to attach it. There was nothing about it that looked particularily impressive or relevant. But it mentioned something about problems controlling anger, and great difficulty working in teams with other people.

He was applying for a position as a sales manager.

Why he chose to attach the report beats me completely, but I am glad he did!

SubtleDancer

38. The Queen's Dialect

Had an applicant claim to be bilingual based on speaking both American English and Received Pronunciation (RP) English.

The job didn't require him to be bilingual, he just wanted to put that out there.

rhombism

37. Non-Uniform Looks

Anyone on JSA in the UK might remember the work programs etc, being handed out like candy in an attempt to get people into any damn job, didn't matter if they could do the work or not. I was put on one, where it was decided that my CV needed touching up by an "professional".

It was returned to me with no less than 3 different fonts and font sizes, half done address, uneven spacing and other issues that I can't remember. Currently 3 people that run CV workshops are using it as an example of a bad CV.

midnightrosexs

36. Guess We Know What He's Convicted Of

Giphy

We had a section on the application...

"Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If yes, please describe the nature of the incident."

Now we hired basically anybody. (Gas station)

But one response that gave me pause was a guy who angerly scribbled out the entire section with a black pen. This same man had once followed me to my home, threatened my customers and employees, and tried to steal regularly. He was not given an interview.

LivedAFullLifeSoFar

35. This Ain't A Prank, This Is Real Life

Someone applied for a position at my work and cc'd me on the Resume, essentially so I could give them a reference. The Resume had such joys as:

  • [insert job here]
    • [insert experience here]
    • [insert experience here]
    • [insert experience here]

The bits they had actually filled out were all in lowercase and full of spelling errors. They also managed to spell their own name wrong. My boss came to me and asked if I was pranking her, I assured her that no this was a real application but I couldn't in good conscience recommend the person.

zerbey

34. Not A Human Thesaurus

My boyfriend got a crazy CV in where it looked like this guy just basically used a thesaurus every third word to describe very mundane jobs like being a lot loader at Home Depot. It was INSANE and absolutely hilarious. I BEGGED him to interview the guy so I could hear what he was like in person but he wouldn't do it. Well a couple weeks later he told me the guy showed up in person to follow up on his application and the guy was not at ALL like he was on the CV. I was kind of disappointed to hear that.

alwayssleepy1945

33. Yo Mama

It was the most hilarious thing I've seen but not on the CV. An applicant emailed their CV, with their name appearing as 'Your Mum' in our inbox. The CV wasn't bad but given that we all did nothing but laugh about it that day, there was no way anyone could have handled interviewing them.

silver_quinn

32. Skidmarks. 

Stains. Get your it together people. Red_Hooker_Hunter

I hope they weren't poo stains. Toilet paper is much cheaper. Groo32

31. In the Name. 

Nicknames. mrshardface

Ya, like if your employer asks for your address and there is a section for street name. They mean the name of the street that you live on... Not like your "street name" so don't put down "lil Thug" or whatever your crew calls you. FuriousLafond

30. The General.

Giphy

That his father was an influential General in the Pakistan army. If you think that helps you get a job in Canada you're not going to fit in. rimshot99

That's probably how dude got everything in life. Lool. What a rude awakening when he realized no one cares about his daddy. yves_san_lorenzo

29. All Hail. 

"Future King of Scotland" It was an interview for an accountant. SkillzMans

28. The Mission. 

Applicant included their religion and where they went on a church "mission." Not what they did or how the experience might be applicable to the job... just that it happened (like 20 years ago). They were obviously expecting to gain favor for their religious affiliation. It actually had the opposite affect. anticipate_me

27. Bless U 2. 

We had a guy applying for a job in our shipping department. He stated he was fired from his last job for writing "God Bless America" on a crate going to Abu Dhabi. boxergirlop

26. Ahoy! 

Received a CV with nothing on it other than basic personal info and a picture of the guy's new boat. It was a nice boat thought. Tank1an

A guy with a boat is a guy who can't afford not to come into work. boxofsquirrels

25. Crayola. 

About 25 years ago, I was on the hiring committee for a marketing job... we literally got a resume in crayon.

Not creative crayon drawings to illustrate a playful grasp of marketing essentials. The applicant wrote out a standard resume in crayon. eilonwyhasemu

24. Statuses....

Giphy

I had a girl write "Marital Status: Single" as her first qualification. ReflectedPower

I guess she felt she had to write that so that no one will have to worry about her taking maternity leave? someguy7734206

23. So Furry. 

Hobby section that listed furry cosplay. That was a bit too much info. Melikolo

22. It's Me! 

At my previous job (at a restaurant) a girl walked in to apply. First of all, she walked in with shopping bags as if she just went on a shopping spree. Then, when my manager asked her "do you have a CV?" She said the legendary words I will never forget:

"I AM the CV. I know it all by heart, so anything you want to know, you can ask me."

She said this like it was a brilliant idea nobody thought about before.

Like, no crap... of course you know YOUR CV by heart. It's a summary of YOUR life...

As this was going on, me and my colleague were placing bets how long she would last if they hired her. I said first week, he said after first week. Unfortunately we'll never know as she didn't get hired. ISureDoLikePickles

21. Tony Stark? Is that you?

Worst thing I've seen recently was a hobbies section that only included the line 'I am very interested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe"

Ok. Doranael

20. 

I work with consultants so I have probably reviewed over 2000+ resumes in the last 5 years.

The worst - the absolute worst - was this guy I actually felt really bad for but who had NO business putting the personal news he did on his resume.

He had a 1 year gap on his resume that he marked as a sabbatical. Ok fine, but you're a consultant so no one really cares. But it went into the reasons for the sabbatical which were - I am paraphrasing - "To deal with the grief occasioned by the death of my wife and partner of 30+ years. I also took the time to pursue legal action against the surgeon for the sequence of errors that led to her untimely death."

YIKES! Bud, I feel bad for you, but you DON'T need that on your resume!!! your_highness

19. Oh Life. 

Education: "School of Hard Knocks" easyier

Or "University of Life" 6beesknees

18. One Percenter.

Giphy

I had a guy who wrote that he was in the 1% of spelling and math geniuses in the world. For a delivery driver job. bravesgeek

17. Big Oil. 

Listed under Miscellaneous....

"My father is the CFO of [oil company]"

....okay? frivolousknickers

16. The Star.

Had someone rank their skills by giving themselves a star rating.

If you give yourself 5 stars in C you better be Brian Kernighan or the ghost of Dennis Ritchie cause to me that sounds like you think you know it inside and out. GabrielForth

15. Life Goals.

There are tons of terrible resumes I have seen. My favorite was in this girl's "Achievements" section:

"First in my family to graduate high school without getting pregnant." Xannin

14. Where to Begin. 

From a variety of places I've worked as a hiring manager:

One woman listed this under her Accomplishments: "I was doing great until i got pregnant and i had no idea what was slowing me down until i took a test. I told my manager and she fired me."

One person listed their previous job duties as: "I did everything that needed to be done."

Another person wrote in all caps: "I AM ATTENTION TO DETAIL" and "I WANT TO BE A VETERINARY IT'S WHAT IM GOING TO SCHOOL FOR."

The worst one I remember seeing listed only the following as their work history: "Babysitting, two months. Ice cream shop, three months. Babysitting, four months." That was literally it. No further details of where she'd actually worked (Really, "ice cream shop"? No name?) or when she worked, no educational info (I assumed she was just out of high school, but who knew?) just a name and phone number. We did not call her. TheCervus

13. A Good Chuckle. 

I'm not a boss, but I read a CV over my bosses shoulder once. It was handed in by a young girl who couldn't have been older then sixteen and the introduction paragraph was basically her going on about how 'she wouldn't be gaining a job, the job would be gaining her,' and 'she expected to move quickly up the company's ranks because anything less would be a waste of her skill and talent.' She sounded so obnoxious and stuck up that I was never happier when my boss chucked the whole five-page monstrosity in the bin. KindlyOffer

12. Higher?

Giphy

When I was interning for a bank my boss tasked me with the responsibility of reading resumes and picking people to interview. Keep in mind this is a job that will pay at least six figures. I printed out a huge stack of every resume that was sent to us for this job. A lot of people had great experience some people were reaches and then one was just terrible. It was a picture of a guy at a Phillies game with the text underneath "higher me." He applied online without any contact info which is confusing since in order to login in the portal you use an email. I showed my boss and we both wanted to bring him in just to see but we couldn't. IamLeven

11. Spell Check. 

Not the worst thing ever, but I've seen a lot of them with "CURRICULUM VITAE" or "RESUME" blasted in 72pt font across the top of their resume, much larger than their name or, well, anything else on the page.

I recycle most of them. I know what I'm looking at. SharkyTendencies

10. Hello Kitty. 

Had a man apply for a factory labor position where he would be required to lift automobile wheels all day... entire CV was in Hello Kitty pink font. Delaneybuffett

9. Why not Longer?

7 pages, joke inserted in the cv. emoji, code mixed with text.

Called him into interview. We liked him. I hired him. He was a jerk and he was fired in less than 6 months. themir81

8. Insert here. 

HR sent me a resume they wanted me to look at. It was one of those Word template deals but he didn't fill in all the prompts so there would be spots where it would say <insert experience> or whatever.

Bonus was that it was from a guy I had worked with a couple of years before in a state 800 miles away. The guy was a total office power tripping asshat. No interview was offered.

His boss may have found out. Also an a**hat. whatIreallythink4

7. At Least you Know. 

Clinically diagnosed as a psychopath. Reddit

I hope you know that if they're diagnosed with ASPD it means they are probably getting help and getting better. Most 'psychopaths' aren't violent serial killers and treating them all like that is only harmful for everyone and it's the best way for them to end up that way. They didn't chose to have a Personality Disorder and I really don't think it's fair to label them all as a bad person without giving them a chance. feixelius

6. Smile for the Camera.

Giphy

I had a high school kid who was definitely the nerdy type include his senior photo for me, braced face and all. Jlacosse6082

5. Abs Please. 

Applicant for an administration position at a bank mentioned sports in his interests/hobbies section and added 1.5 page of his photos from swimming pool / competitions with some of them with no t-shirt on to show his abs. That was weird. Lurry-Hurry

4. Dwight?

One guy's resume included a "martial arts" section. It was not Dwight Shrute. PhrohdohsBabe

Could be worse, at least he didn't include a "Marital Arts" section. Daydream_Behemoth

3. The Mascot. 

My brother put on his resume that he was his college mascot for lawyer job resumes like `10 years after graduating. Took him 2 years to find a job. ooo-ooo-oooyea

2. Empty.

A blank one with just basic personal info at the top.

One girl had her past employment descriptions copied off Monster.com and she also had that same description in her LinkedIn profile too. insomniaceve

1. Be Honest.

Giphy

Not a boss but - I put "Critic Reviews" on my resume and it included Superman, Harry Potter, and John Cena. I was hired. Galalave

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.