We've all had those situations where things seemed like a great idea - until we actually do them and then realize it's a total disaster. (For a lot of us, that idea was a relationship, don't even lie.)
Seemingly bright ideas gone wrong are pretty much the premise for some of the most popular clip shows, and every sitcom episode ever.
Reddit user MercyMeOhMy asked:
What was your "it seemed like a good idea at the time" story?
Yeah ... half of these stories would be perfect in an episode of your favorite TV shows; but you know what they say - you can't write this stuff. Real life is far more ridiculous than anything fiction writers can come up with.
Bustin' Through
GiphyIn high school, my friend discovered that he was particularly agile at running toward a wall and kicking off of it into a backflip. He would do this all day, every day, before school, at lunch, etc.
One day we were inside a classroom and the teacher had stepped out for a moment. Of course he took this opportunity to try his little trick. He didn't, however, take into account the fact that drywall might not support his weight as well as the brick and concrete walls he'd tried before.
His leg ended up busting straight through the wall to the other side, into a classroom full of students taking an exam. So I wasn't actually in the class taking the exam, but to this day, I still imagine how strange and hilarious it would be to be sitting in that class then suddenly see a leg burst through the wall. Makes me smile just thinking about it.
Roommates
Being roommates with someone I had a huge crush on. It didn't end well.
That person turned out to be an abusive manipulator who had complete disregard for my feelings, well being, and possessions. I thought they were my best friend, and I eventually figured out the hard way they were not. It wasn't just me - this individual pretty much used people as playthings and disposed of them when they weren't getting any more entertainment or validation from them. They were super toxic. It took me a long time to heal from what I went through. In the end though, I'm grateful for the lessons I learned.
Sled Dog
Playing "Sled Dog" with my newly rescued husky and a long board on the hilly streets near my house in college. Snapped my right forearm in half and had to walk a mile back home to get a ride to the hospital. The dog was fine. I let go of her leash and when I cracked my arm she freaked out and chaperoned me back to the house. She could tell I was in a lot of pain.
Fun With Fire 1
So back in the day my brothers and I were shooting a bow and arrow behind our house.
We had a proper backstop and a nice target on a bale of hay. After about an hour we were getting bored and one of my brothers had a stroke of genius.
So there we are wiring rags to arrows and soaking them in gas and shooting stuff. Didn't take long and half the yard was on fire. We'd shot pretty much every flammable thing we could burn in the yard.
Since we were running short on stuff to shoot my brother decided to launch one in a 45° arc over the woods behind the house. We all watched soar laughing and giggling.
When it hit the apex was when it dawned on us that this was in fact a really stupid fucking idea.
All 6 of us sprinted off into the woods in the direction it'd been shot. Wasn't hard to find it'd lite an entire little meadow on fire. So we ran around stomping out fires for an hour. When we finally got the fire put out we were sitting by the crick and my oldest brother looks at us all and says,"Dad never hears a word about this."
Fun With Fire 2
A kid I knew growing up was hanging out with his friends at his dad's hunting camp (they were around 17/18 at the time) and they were playing around with fire like this.
Ended up setting fire to the woods surrounding the camp, burning it and many acres surrounding it to the ground.
His dad was, less than pleased. He took money from the kid's college fund to pay the fines from the fire department and pay to rebuild the hunting camp lodge and there was practically nothing left after that.
Last I heard he had to live at home for a handful of years after highschool to save money for post-secondary while his friends all went off and got degrees and stuff.
Severely impacted his life, all from a bit of "fun" with fire.
Holding Mom At Gunpoint
When I was 15 (so in the late 90's) my best friend and I just got new bb pistols. They we're the Walther CP99. Looked identical to the real Walther CP9 with a removable magazine and no orange tip. We were playing with them in the back seat of his moms car. They weren't loaded, we were just excited and wanted to take them out of the box. She knew we had them out and didn't think anything of it. Before going back to his house she went thru the drive thru at Burger King. You know where this is going. She's ordering food with 2 large 15-year-olds holding guns and pointing them at everything.
Fast forward 30 minutes, we are pulling into there driveway and his dad comes running out of the house yelling historically. One of his friends just called and said he heard on the police scanner that they were looking for his vehicle with 2 white males holding a female hostage at gunpoint. Few minutes later several police cars pull in the driveway, jump out with guns out making everyone get on the ground. It took some explaining on his dads part about us being a bunch of dumb asses. 15 year old me couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about but 34 year old me looks back and realises that might be the dumbest thing I have ever done.
- DCxMiLK
Wheee! Thud.
In fifth grade I invented a game, where you get the swing as high and fast as you can, then at the bottom you run off it really fast.
Miss-timed it, landed on my head on asphalt, got a serious concussion.
Here's a carefully-drawn and highly realistic depiction of what happened.
Ugandan Mud Wasps
So I was in Uganda with my family, and we see a large (about 5ft tall), curled up leaf hanging about 8ft off the ground. We're told that these leaves curl up and fall out the trees, and they're pretty heavy, so it can be dangerous to have it fall on you. My dad and I think 'wont it be helpful of us to get this thing down'.
So, we're there whacking it with sticks, trying to get it down, to no avail, when my dad says "Hey, climb up on that wall there, son, and jump! Grab it and then pull it down!"
Well, that sounds like a swell idea, dad! So I do just that... I don't manage to get it all the way down, but as soon as I hit the ground, I get this burning sensation in my elbow. Turns out there's a hive of Ugandan Mud Wasps living in this specific leaf, and they do not take kindly to young men trying to tug their home down.
So I'm just sprinting back to the office where the rest of my family is sheltered from the sun, and I practically have two elbows on one arm at this point while, as my dad described it later 'an army of large, black blots' give chase. I make it back inside and my arm is numb, except for the searing pain in my elbow. Thankfully, there was no further reaction, the pain lasted only around 3 hours and the swelling was down by the end of the day. That being said, it was the worst pain I've ever felt... Even worse than the time I broke my arm into three pieces while arm wrestling...
- sgste
The Bender
Going on a 4 day bender with no sleep. Ended up getting the crap kicked out of me and required 7 stitches in the back of my head. I also ended up spending 2 months wages, losing my brand new £1000 phone and pissing off numerous ex girlfriends by declaring my love for them. Oh and I was hungover for about a week.
Haven't had a drink for 3 months now because of my stupidity!
Hitchhiker
On a rainy day, I saw a hitchhiker near the university asking for a ride.
He "looked the part" of a student. Although I never pick up hitchhikers, I felt sorry for him standing in the rain and gave him a lift - it felt like the right thing to do at the time.
He told me where he was headed, so I went out of my way to drive him there. The guy just kept staring at me and said very little. When we arrived at his destination, he wouldn't get out of my car, no matter what.
Finally, when a police officer came along, I told him to hop out or I'd call the cop over for help. That ended it. (But if the officer hadn't come by, I have no idea what might have happened.)
"You Can't See Me, I'm Hiding"
Many years ago, I became absolutely smitten with a young woman. She was friendly, intelligent, funny, and almost painfully attractive, with a list of interests and hobbies that seemed like they were a near-perfect match to my own. Within hours of our first conversation, I had decided that the two of us belonged together... and as a result of that decision, I launched myself into a series of increasingly stupid attempts at seduction.
There are any number of idiotic misadventures that I could describe here, but perhaps the most ridiculous of them happened on the evening before Valentine's Day. I had purchased my would-be paramour a small potted plant – something which I'd been told she'd appreciate more than flowers or chocolate – and I was intent on leaving it somewhere for her to discover (rather than handing it to her in person). While any sane person would have just placed the gift on her welcome mat, I opted for a much less wise approach, convincing the girl's flatmate to give me access to their kitchen. My hope was that I could position the present in such a way that it would remain unnoticed until the next morning, at which point it would seem to magically appear in the morning light.
Now, lest you think that I was a complete moron, I should mention that the young woman in question was supposed to be out of the house while I was making my clandestine delivery. Unfortunately for me, she had changed her schedule at the last minute, arriving back at home almost immediately after I had been let in. Her roommate and I exchanged hurried whispers as we discussed a place for me to hide, but since there were only a few seconds to spare, I had to settle for ducking down behind the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room.
Had this been a scene in a romantic comedy, a slapstick series of mad dashes and near-misses would have ensued. Sadly, real life doesn't work like that, and I was found almost immediately: The girl walked into the living room, asked her roommate who she had been talking to, then made a move to approach the kitchen (which I assumed based on what I could hear). Knowing that I was about to be caught, I huddled as far back into a corner as I could, then held the potted plant up in front of my face.
"Uh... hi, Max," I heard the young woman say.
"You can't see me," I replied. "I'm hiding."
The good news is that my efforts – despite having thoroughly failed – were more or less appreciated. I semi-sheepishly presented the girl with her gift, wished her a happy Valentine's Day, then explained why I had been sneaking around in her apartment. She graciously accepted, but (quite reasonably) asked why I had tried such a convoluted way of giving her a present.
All I could say was that it seemed like a good idea at the time.
3DS
My 3ds had trouble reading the cartridges, so I put water in the game slot.
I no longer have a 3ds.
Eastern European Yoga Psychopath
GiphyDecided to get high and go to a yoga class because i thought i would get a better mind muscle connection. Turns out the class i decided to go to was being taught by a eastern European yoga psychopath and had me bending my body in ways i have never done before. Never again.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.