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Selfless People Share The Best "Take One For The Team" Stories

Selfless People Share The Best "Take One For The Team" Stories

Selfless People Share The Best "Take One For The Team" Stories

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One of he most difficult actions in life is to take action. To be able to stand up and admit defeat or guilt takes hutzpah. But taking credit when you're innocent for the sake of others? That takes character you don't see very often. Maybe if that sort of valor or humanity was on display more often we wouldn't be as divided as we are currently.

Redditor DevinTryan wanted to know What's the biggest "take one for the team" moment you've seen? Now not every tale will be life saving or Nobel Prize worthy -and some people are still shady- but a lot of responses are worthy of a clap.

BREAK THE KNOB...

From one of my friends, I heard that there was a huge party in one of the dorm rooms at a boarding school. It was one of the last nights and the teachers were going around hoping to catch people doing stuff they weren't supposed to be doing.

Apparently, when a teacher tried their best to open a door, senior held it down and had everyone else escape through the backdoor. Needless to say, he got kicked out and nobody else did. What a legend.

SOME PEOPLE ARE SAINTS AMONG US...

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I thought it was noble how older Japanese people volunteered to help clean up the Fukushima reactor because they knew the horrors of radiation and that they wouldn't live as long as the younger generation who would have to worry about long term effects like cancer and leukemia. That takes a very deep understanding of the finite nature of your own life, and a strong sense of duty.

YOU STINK!!

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So in high school there was this group of friends who decided to bring stink bombs to mess around with. However, one of them dropped a bomb by accident right in the middle of Math class, prompting the classroom and hallway to smell like death. Obviously, the class got questioned about it immediately, so one dude from the group that brought the stink bombs, and who wasn't the one who dropped it, made up a story on the spot so his friends could avoid punishment.

He basically said that he had this really bad intestinal infection that made him pass really bad gas. He couldn't hold it anymore so he farted. Thing is the teacher and prefects were actually believing him to the point where they were gonna call an ambulance, but somewhere along the conversation he slipped up and got caught in the lie. He was still determined to take one for the team so he said he was the only one who brought the stink bombs. So he got punished for lying about the smell and for bringing stink bombs to school.

A MORAL WIN MEANS MORE! RIGHT?

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Got fired for reporting my employer to the authorities because he was knowingly poisoning the entire office with lead fumes. I had tried to work with him to solve the problem for 6 months. When he started ripping strips off of Jr employees for things out of their control I knew things had gone too far and I had no choice, knowing that despite the authorities promises that they would protect my job the reality was they would do stuff and I would lose my job.

FOLLOW MY LEAD...

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Where I work we get audited by auditors every few years just so they can see we're following compliance laws and policies set forth by the company. I just joined in to the company less than 7 months and all the staff were playing hide and seek when the auditor stepped into the room. They wanted to observe and shadow an employee and no one volunteered or had the balls to show up. I eventually said f--- it and elected myself just so we could wrap that it up and the auditor could leave. Passed with flying colors and company got a bonus. Was too early to ask for a raise sadly.

I AM SPARTACUS!

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This is mild but once someone pulled the fire alarm in school after hours had ended (we had supplementary classes)

The crazed middle aged demon of a teacher held an entire class of 25 (including some kids who weren't even in the class) back for over 2 and a half hours just because no one wanted to confess.

So then, my quiet, never-been-in-trouble classmate decided to get it over with and just said he did it and let the yelling commence.

There was no yelling, but teacher only allowed us to leave in groups according to their vision of who were the most well-behaved students in their eyes.

WAKE UP!!

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During my time in the Navy I volunteered for the graveyard shift 2x because no one else wanted to do it. We weren't allowed to sleep during the day either.

N.A.V.Y. Never Again Volunteer Yourself

Lesson learned.

BLESS YOU FRIEND...

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When I worked at the golden arches we had a customer... paint the stall in the men's room with... you know. I was heavily pregnant so I noped the heck out of that. I offered an incentive to whatever poor soul went in to clean it. Debates on who would do it lasted about 15 minutes and one of my more troublesome crew members decided he really wanted an hour break, paid, so he volunteered. He spent 2 hours doing the task, with repeated trips outside to puke. After he was done, I called my boss and explained, with photos, what happened and sent the guy home 4 hours early and paid his entire shift. I had to replace his uniform, just so he could drive home. We torched the old one.

TOO SAD...

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When I was pretty young, like between the ages of 5-12 or something, me and my best friend were basically inseparable. The two of us used to be pretty mischievous, and got into a lot of trouble, especially in school. We'd spend a lot more time at my house than at his, and whenever one of my parents would get mad about something that we did, he would try to take all the blame himself. He told me years later that his parents were physically abusive behind closed doors, and he assumed the same of every family. The reason he took the blame for everything was because he thought everyone's parents would beat them fairly regularly, but he knew that my parents would never touch him, because he wasn't their kid.

I'LL DO IT... I'M SPECIAL...

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Told my dad I was the one who dropped my brother, who was bleeding, instead of my sister because I was liked better and would've received a less severe punishment.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND...

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When I was around 10 my friend and I were front flipping onto a mattress in my basement. My dad had just put wood panel on the walls to complete our basement renovation. My friend did a front flip and his foot went through the wall. My friend's dad was a big scary man who always yelled at him. So I told my dad it was me.

My dad ended up suuuuper pissed, went down the street to consult another Dad on what to do about the whole thing. I sat in my room bawling my eyes because I was so afraid of what was going to happen to me.

My dad came back, gave me a hug, and told me he loved me. He explained that people make mistakes, and turned it into a life lesson. In a way, it created a really good memory of my dad.

Heck, maybe my friends a-hole dad would've responded the same way, and created a bond with him, and I made him miss out on that.....probably not though.

SOUND THE TRUMPET!!

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In high school I was the 1st Chair trumpet in band, along with one other experienced student, we had 2 new students one that transferred from a smaller school out of state and one who had been a suck up to the band teacher and got put in the advanced band class.

Our band teacher was an absolute witch, was to hard on every student and didn't properly lead the band, she was just there because we were a problem school and it looked good on her resume.

The student that had transferred from out of state was probably good at his old school but he didn't hold up to our standard, but he had 3 years of trumpet experience. But He made an effort every class to better him self, he would constantly ask for tips, help and practice sessions with me and the 2nd chair student.

But anytime he messed up during class practice the band teacher would slam her hands on the podium and scream at the trumpet section, she would ask who it was and even before he could answer the Kiss-butt would point him out. Me and 2nd chair student confronted the teacher about this problem and that the transfer student was doing so much to improve and that we felt the Kiss-ass should be sent back to beginning class as he had no prior experience with the trumpet and made no effort to improve himself.

She scoffed at us, brushed the problem off and didn't change a thing. So me and the 2nd chair knew what we had to do. Every time the Transfer student messed up we would immediately speak up and say that it was us. She never yelled at us like she did to the Transfer student but we didn't get off easy, but it was worth it.

She quit the next year, after I left Transfer student became first chair his Senior year and went on to join honor Band and then made it into college on his very impressive trumpet skills.

BRUNCH IS CUT THROAT!

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It was a get-together with a bunch of coworkers on Friday night and we all decide to go to a nightclub. The bouncer denies the group and tells me the reason after I take him to the side. He thinks two of the women do not fit the club's ideal "image." He would let us in if we ditched the two girls.

One of the girls comes up to me and asks why they couldn't get in and half-jokingly accuses me. I say, "...umm yeah it's because of me." And then she proceeds to tell the group it's my fault they couldn't get in. I keep my mouth shut.

NO BEANS FOR YOU!

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Very minor, but I found it funny.

I'm a nurse, and I was cleaning up a patient who had been incontinent of stool. Unfortunately, it was quite a significant amount and the smell in the room was very strong. The patient was super sweet, and I felt bad for how embarrassed they were.

As soon as I was done, the doctor and his group of residents came in. The younger ones couldn't hide the look on their faces as the smell hit them, and my poor patient looked absolutely mortified.

I piped up "I'm sorry guys, that was me, I've been farting all day. My god, the farting!." Everyone had a good laugh, the patient included.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS...

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At my school somebody graffitied the boys bathrooms pretty badly and my teacher narrowed it down to a few people.

I asked her what the punishment was and i then made it obvious i was taking one for the team out of impatience. She decided i didn't do it and told me i was free to go, so i left.

And I was the one who graffitied the bathroom.

ANYTHING FOR FIDO...

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My neighbor jumped in front of a bus because his dog got loose and ran onto the road where the bus was going to hit him. The dude is now paralyzed.

I GOT THIS ONE 'BUD'...

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I took the blame for having weed at school. My friend who actually brought it was already in the care of child services and on the last line to go to juvi, the friend who was going to take the blame was in the same boat, then there was me, never so much as a detention. The school knew I was lying but couldn't prove it, had no choice but to expel me. The police didn't press charges because again, they knew it wasn't really me, I was the fall guy but nothing more. They felt bad for me I think, they could see I was a good person in with a crowd I had no business being with.

Looking back, I'm glad I did take the blame, not for my friends, they didn't deserve the fall I took for them, they just used me many many times over but because it got me away from those toxic friends and environment and I actually got to finish high school somewhere else with a much better outlook on life and actual true friends

WALK WITH ME...

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In 7th grade we had a sub for last period. Someone did something right before the bell and the sub said he was going to keep the class there until whoever did it spoke up. I knew who did it, also knew he would not speak up. So I said I did it after sitting there 10 minutes after the bell rang. I needed to catch the bus and so did other people. She told the whole class to go except me. She said she was dissappointed because she knows I didn't do it and ask why I took blame. So I told her we all need to catch the bus. A lot of the kids caught the bus, about 10 kids waited for me to get out and we all missed the bus. We had to walk home, 5 mile walk for me.

I'LL KEEP SWINGIN'!!

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I once took blame for a giant hole my older brother punched in a wall in our house on accident because I was already the black sheep and that kind of stuff was expected from me and my older brother was the perfect child.

TIME FOR SOME LONG OVERDUE PENANCE...

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When I was in 3rd grade the teacher had walked out of the room to make some copies of worksheets. Of course, everyone took this as an opportunity to start talking and soon the class started to get louder and louder. For some reason I started making this "cackoo cackoo" noise like a bird. When the teacher got back to the room she was pissed because she could hear us down the hall in the copy room. She began reprimanding the people she could pick out from the crowd with no outside activities for the rest of the week. She asked who was making that loud squawking sound. I guess nobody knew it was me, and I sure as hell was not going to throw myself under the bus. She finally says "everyone will lose outside privileges if someone doesn't come forward." Everyone started blaming this other kid who denied it was him, but for some reason he admitted to it when the teacher warned again that everyone would lose outside time. Poor dude had to spend the rest of the week with no recess but was a class hero. I never told anyone it was me.

The All-Time Biggest First Date Red Flags

Reddit user APT3993 asked: 'What’s the biggest red flag you have seen on a first date?'

When you're on a first date, one of three things will happen. Either you'll like the person and want to go out again, you like the person fine, but not romantically, and won't want to go out again, or the person will display a behavior that is so off-putting (or make you genuinely fearful), that you won't even want to see the person ever again.

My best friend and I are basically the same person, so when she met a guy who he had a lot in common with, she figured I'd like him too and set us up (I had previously told her I was okay with being set up).

Well, it turns out the guy actually hadn't read any of the books, watched any of the shows, or heard of any of the bands he talked about with my friend. I didn't understand why he would lie about all these things until I left the table.

When I came back, he was on the phone with someone and he was telling them he only told her he liked all those things because he liked my friend. When he found out she was in a relationship, he decided he'd let her set us up in the hopes that he could date me until my friend and her boyfriend broke up, and then he could swoop in.

I just walked out and when he finally texted me asking what was up, I told him I overheard him, then proceeded to block him. My friend was mortified to hear about the date, and I decided never to be set up again.

I'm not the only one who has gone on a date and discovered a huge red flag. Redditors have experienced this too, and are eager to share their stories.

It all started when Redditor APT3993 asked:

"What’s the biggest red flag you have seen on a first date?"

Dates Of Relationships Past

"They won't shut up about their ex."

– SiriusGD

"Had this happen to me on a 2nd date."

"Asked if she could use my computer, I said OK. Then she pulls up her ex's FB profile to browse through it, and she spent the next 10 minutes comparing me to him, saying he she thinks that I will turn out to be controlling and manipulative like him because we both grew up on a farm and we both like cars."

"Ummm, wut?"

– alwaysmyfault

"He angrily told me I would “love” his ex wife. Proceeded to cry while talking about her. They’d been divorced for 5 years. I genuinely hope he is doing better."

– TX_Mothman

"She constantly compared me to her ex, and sat on her phone for most of the night, then expected me to pay for her two bottles of wine, plus really expensive meal and desert."

"She asked me out btw, not the other way around."

– Stuspawton

I Know What I Want

"The guy who tried to change my order with the waitress because he didn’t think the drink I’d asked for was sufficiently feminine."

"I ordered beer. I don’t remember exactly what he thought I should have, maybe white wine? It was a long time ago."

"The waitress was looking at me like ‘You heard that sh*t too right?’ and I told her actually I wouldn’t have anything, thanks, and I left."

– MaggieLuisa

"He changed it FROM A BEER TO SOMETHING ELSE!!?! That’s amazing to me. Like it’s bad enough if you ordered an IPA and he said, “I dunno, sweetie, your delicate female taste buds probably can’t handle the hoppiness. Hey, honey, why don’t we get the lady a Coors.”"

– AdaptiveVariance

The Position Of Boyfriend

"We met for drinks after work (since we both work in the same industry) and she showed up with a list of interview questions. She literally had a checklist on her phone for me to fill out. I thought she was joking at first, but the questions were extremely personal, like how many sexual partners you've had, the oldest, the youngest; How much money you made the previous year; If you owned a house, a car, a boat, a plane; Did you have a criminal history; Where do you parents live; Are they alive; Who did you vote for in the last election; All kinds of stuff like that."

"I even proposed that we could just use that as a conversation starter and we could work through them like that as a fun way to get to know each other. I was really trying. She tells me that she's not answering any of them because I'm trying to date her, not the other way around!"

"I laughed out loud thinking she was kidding, then realized she was absolutely serious. I wished her all the best in the dating world, chugged my beer, overtipped the waitress, and left."

– OkFrostina

"Yeah, I would really push that to the limit without getting law enforcement involved. Start with all the times I have ended up in rehabilitation, my abductions by UFO, the wild, kinky sex partners I have had, the millions I have lost before living under a bridge, etc."

– passporttohell

Scary As Hell

"Had a guy who insisted on buying the most expensive pizza at the restaurant despite my protests then kissed my head when he walked past me to use the restroom. After dinner we walked along the waterfront, he kissed me and then immediately tried to choke me "to be sexy". First date, last date."

– Twours1944

"What the sh*t?? Who taught this idiot that choking in public on the first date all without consent is a great get-to-know-you move??"

– villainsimper

Stranger Danger

"This was literally the day of a first date. But I had matched with an older man when I was still on dating apps. We planned to go on a hike on a very beautiful day by the water. On the day of the date, he wanted me to leave my car at his place, while he drove us through the backwoods so we can beat traffic. I said I’ll be happy to drive myself, and he laughed and canceled. His reasoning was he’s been stood up so many times and he didn’t want to waste his time and me not show up. I said “okay!I apologize for the inconvenience. I hope you find what you are looking for. “and blocked him."

"The red flag was when he genuinely got upset that I didn’t want to ride in a car with a stranger through the backwoods for our first date."

– Jesusdoescrack

"You should have said “you fear being stood up, I fear being murdered.”"

– The_She_Ghost

Truly Gross

"He pointed to another woman at the bar and said she was his ex. But she happened to be my lesbian roommate."

"Yes, I told him I knew he was full of it cuz she was my roommate, and I pointed out her girlfriend who was there with her. I don’t remember what he said exactly but he had no choice but to admit he was lying. I wish I had asked why he said it. I assume to make me jealous? Like that’s a good way to start a relationship? Obviously, that was the only date."

– Grapegoop

​Those Who Came Before

"He told me he had been divorced 5 times. I'm taking the advice of 5 women I don't know."

– 13liz

"The way you phrased this killed me 😂"

– CumulativeHazard

Got Her Feeling Emotions

"Does bursting into tears after I told them I didn't like a TV show count?"

– JumboDakotaSmoke

"I'm curious as to what TV show it was?"

– ladydamnation

"Grey's Anatomy."

– JumboDakotaSmoke

"bursts into tears"

– akennelley

Um...What?!

"He took me to his house (he lived with his mom) just so HE could eat dinner with his mom while I sat in the living room. I listened to them eat and talk about my looks like I couldn't hear them. Apparently, I was pretty but "needed to be taken down a peg or two." I said my period had started so I had to go home. A future abuser and his enabler mommy."

– BigMcLargeHuge77

Ew...Just Ew

"We went to a movie. He spent the first half with his hand inside one of his socks, then pulling it out and smelling it, putting it back in, repeat, repeat."

"Then he spent the second half trying to hold my hand. With his sock hand."

– Deleted User

Bad From The Start

"She asked if I could order for her because she was uncomfortable talking to the brown waitress.

"Added: Same girl would not stop talking about Kardashian gossip even though I told her I know nothing about them and didn’t care to know."

– CanaDoug420

Stop, Theif!

"He showed up drunk with a bouquet of flowers he admitted he stole from his mother's flower shop."

– LookAcrossTheWater

​Cringe-Worthy

"Went to a charity coffee shop for a date. It was “free” coffee where they just ask for donations which went toward their org’s efforts to feed and house people. They explained this to him and asked if he wanted to make a donation for our drinks."

"He said no."

– Shredded_Wheaties

Oh, yikes! I would be so embarrassed!

In fact, I'm kind of losing faith in dating as a concept.

people sitting inside plane
Hanson Lu on Unsplash

Commercial aviation began in the late 1920s, spurred on by early aeronautical companies and several record breaking solo flights.

Since then, there are few places on Earth that can't be seen or accessed by plane. Only icing limits humans from low altitude flights over certain areas like the polar regions, while a lack of landing locations keeps some areas accessible to only the smallest pontoon planes.

From January through December 2022, United States airlines carried 853 million passengers. Globally, air travel reached a high of over 4.7 billion passengers before the pandemic limited flights.

Since then, global air travel has rebounded to over 3.7 billion passengers.

With almost 100 years and over a trillion passengers, the people who crew these flights are bound to have seen everything happen that possibly could at airports and on a flight.

Keep reading...Show less
A skeptical man
Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash

We've all heard our fair share of conspiracy theories, from thoughts about the White House to aliens and beyond.

But some conspiracy theories have become truly strange and nuanced, and it's hard to stop listening to the person explaining their beliefs, because as weird as some of these theories sound, they could almost by some stretch of the imagination make sense.

Intrigued, Redditor Accomplished-Leg-991 asked:

"What's the weirdest or craziest theory you have heard of?"

Seems Plausible.

"Traffic barrels are left up for so long because the Department of Transportation bought too many and has no place to store them."

- dailysunshineKO

The Grass Is Always Greener

"The truck driver that delivered my flooring gave me this gem: The push for green lawns in the US is by Big Pharma."

"The cliff notes version is that to get green grass, you need pesticides, pesticides cause cancer, and cancer is good business for drug companies. It was like a 20-minute long rant to get to that conclusion and it was an adventure."

- StillBald

"I need to drink with him for one night. That cannot possibly be the only banger he's got."

- karenalphas

The Ice Wall

"Recently TikTok kept giving bizarre suggestions where people trying to prove Ice Wall in Antarctica that Earth is bigger and something is hiding behind ice wall in Antarctica… What the h**l."

- XenophanesJunior

"It's a weird subset of flat earthers, who believe in an 'infinite plane' that lies beyond the ice wall (guarded by NASA, of all people), and the reason? The infinite plane has endless amounts of gold mines and gems they can mine for infinite money."

- bag2d

Tinkering with the Algorithm

"That Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen, and they made the movie 'Frozen' so that when people googled 'Walt Disney Frozen,' the movie would come up first."

- LizardPossum

"They updated this theory, but now it is with Taylor Swift. It basically says that she went to that Kansas City Chiefs vs NY Jets game so that when people search 'Taylor Swift Jets,' it will only show news about the game, and not about her going everywhere with her private jets."

- abirll

"It's so wild now these rely on people being completely unable to go to page two of a Google search."

- LizardPossum

The All-Important Celebrity Weddings

"I had a coworker that fully believes the government controls the weather so celebrities can have nice weddings."

- pinballgizard

"Out of all the reasons to control the weather, celebrity weddings are a top priority for the government."

- Suspicious-Craft4980

The Truth of Social Security Numbers

"Your social security number indicates which bank you were sold to at birth."

- compuwiza1

"Ah, sovereign citizens..."

- CaptainMikul

Dinosaur Bones, Huh?

"Dinosaur bones were placed on earth by Satan to trick people into 'abandoning' God."

- River_7890

"There's a big American Church whose members believe that dinosaur bones exist because God made the Earth with leftovers from a previous planet."

"Mental gymnastics to justify their belief that the Earth is only 10'000 years old and C14 dates dinosaur bones as being millions of years old..."

- mrsrosieparker

"I'm absolutely not shocked. The person who told me jumps through so many mental hoops to try to disprove science. She thinks that the government is secretly working for Satan to convert people, too."

"Oh and of course Disney. She's crazy overall. Not just with religious stuff. I could tell so many stories of her crossing lines and saying off-the-wall things. I try to not associate with her as much as possible."

- River_7890

The Worst Kind of Waiting Room

"The USS Philadelphia Experiment and the US army soldier who claimed he was in an interdimensional waiting room as a greeter for eternity until he was suddenly transported back onto the ship."

"People claimed it was a cloaking device gone wrong and left men's bodies trapped within the steel of the boat upon reentry."

"I never looked into it but read about it in a book that had a statement like, 'Nothing in this book is true but it's exactly the way things are,' or something similar. Always thought it was the wildest conspiracy theory ever when I was a stoned teenager reading it."

- Hereforthecake

Phantom Time Conspiracy Theory

"There’s a whole podcast with hundreds of episodes dedicated to this subject. Worth a listen. One of the wildest ones is that Charlemagne’s grandson moved the calendar forward ~300 years and thus the Dark Ages never happened."

- seandowling73

Gives the Shortcut a Whole New Meaning

"Met a dude at the gym who believed that the CIA had built tunnels throughout the Earth's core, connecting all the major cities. Was some kind of global takeover scheme."

- Latham74

Infathomly Large Trees

"Mountains are all the stumps of ancient fossilized enormous trees."

"I'm absolutely obsessed with this theory. It's connected to flat earth, but flat earth isn't a requirement for this theory nor do most flat earthers believe it."

- inkstainedgoblin

Under Control

"We're all infected by parasites that feed on our stress hormones released by negative emotions like guilt, sadness, anger, fear, and so on. They control our minds and, thereby, us to an extent. The only way to combat them is by being aware and questioning if your thoughts and actions are truly your own thoughts and actions."

- 42clickslater

Enough Said

"The one about JFK Jr. coming back to help Trump win the 2020 election is still tops in my book."

- pinkyknee

Big Pharma Chickens

"That owning chickens is the gateway drug to believing conspiracy theories."

- sarcasawm

"As someone who has owned chickens, the only thing they're a gateway drug to is getting more farm animals."

- CelticArche

"That’s what Big Goat wants you to believe."

- MissRockNerd

"Big Farm-A."

- cannedcream

As wild as some of these conspiracy theories were, there's no denying that they're fascinating, some for the simple fact that they're almost plausible.

They at least get you thinking in a new way, and perhaps that isn't such a bad thing every now and then.

Two guys hi-fiving each other
Tyler Nix/Unsplash

A good friend is not always the one with whom you share laughs and fun experiences.

The friendships you want to keep include those who won't abandon you in a time of need or someone who supports you in a variety of complicated situations where not even a family member can be relied upon.

Unfortunately, many of us have experienced a time when a person's true colors revealed to us that the so-called "friend" we've always trusted wasn't one at all.

Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor Aesthetik_1 asked:

"What made you instantly realize This 'friend' is not a real friend?"

These Redditors didn't realized at the time that they were being used.

Recurring Favor

"When he only called me when he needed something. It didn't hit me until much later."

– Queasy-Location-9303

"I have one of those 'friends'. She always gushes about how we're friends but she never initiates contact unless she wants me to do something for her."

– StiffAssedBrit

The Errand Girl

"Several years back, I had a friend who introduced me to this new boy she was seeing. Maybe a year later, their relationship blew up in a fury of bs (whole other story), but by the time they split, I was equally friends with both of them. He and I were both photographers at the time, so the friendship was instantaneous."

"One day we started talking about her, neither positively nor in poor taste, just kind of in general."

"He then asked me 'when she texts to hang out, what does she usually want to do?'"

"I paused. I thought. Holy sh*t, she'd either be asking for a favour or for help with some kind of errand. I was her f'king errand girl."

"She texted me a month or two later, just a 'hey'. I never responded. She never texted again."

"I'm still friends with her ex, though. That dude is genuine as heck."

– ChamomileBrownies

Testing The Friendship

"When you decide to let them be the one to reach out. And you never hear from them again."

– plzdontgetmad

"Yup. Made plans with a friend three times, she cancelled each time. I finally told her to let me know when she was free, we haven’t hung out since."

"She was a good friend for the season, but not a lifetime."

– NoMrBond3

People were shocked to discover the moment they realized they didn't really know who their "friend" was anymore.

The Chaperon

"I had been giving rides to a girl I thought was my friend. To and from school in high school. She wasn’t really suppose to ride with other teens but due to her mothers work hours we could easily pull this off. I thought we were close."

"One day while on the way home my brakes went out. We were about 2 blocks from her gated neighborhood. I managed to roll in safely and parked at her house to call a tow truck."

"She flipped. Told me I couldn’t stay. She knew my brakes were not working as she had also been terrified when we couldn’t stop. She said she wanted to go to a movie that weekend with other friends and her mom would ground her if she saw me at the house. I offered to lie and say I only stopped there as my car malfunctioned on my way home. I had to pass her neighborhood on my way home anyways."

"She refused. Started to scream at me. She didn’t care what happened I had to go. Started to call the guard at the front gate to tell them I had broken in and was threatening her."

"I left her and that friendship that moment. I managed to roll my car slowly to a mechanic not too far away but never forgot the shi* feeling of knowing I could have been seriously hurt and she wouldn’t have cared. She wanted to see a movie. She had the nerve to sheepishly call and ask me a couple days later if I could give her a ride to school. Told her I was too busy and no longer had time… after all I wanted to help her obey her mom's rules. She rode the bus til she graduated."

– Duffarum

Unwilling Companion

"I had this friend in school. Each year there was a funfair in our city, all students received vouchers for a drink and something to eat. This friend complained the whole day that she had no one to accompany her to the funfair. So, stupid me offered to go with her."

"Once we arrived we met another friend of hers. And another, and another... until we were a group of 5 or 6 people. I didn't know anyone and was basically just walking behind them. This friend took me aside and said, 'My friends think you are annoying, and we would like you to leave.'"

"It was a pleasure to see that she failed her exams a year later."

– Auldale

There's the spirit of competition, but when it's taken seriously, we're no longer game for these friendships.

I Can Do It Better

"Constantly 'one ups' me. A real friend is happy for you."

– Complex-Half8338

"That one time I got a fake bag but she doesn’t know and then 2 weeks later messaged me that she also bought a luxury bag… Then when I got a bf, she also went to get a bf within 3 months which is TOTALLY fine but she constantly messages me for us to go on a double date. Anyways, sadly they didn’t last long :( I mentioned that I wanted to go to Cuba, she went ahead and bought herself a ticket to Cuba but I didn’t end up going lol"

– Hot-Coffee-8465

Never Steal The Spotlight

"When they loved the idea of me shining, but behind their shadow, I could never do or achieve anything above them, and when I did, they would get jealous."

– Jasssin23

"Yes! I recently ghosted a friend because of this kind of behavior. She was trying to compete about EVERYTHING. Like she bragged about how her mom’s car accident was more traumatic than my elderly MIL’s - which is not even an appropriate thing to compare. She would also try to 'outshine' celebrations of my milestones and was mean to several of my friends for no apparent reason. She was a loose cannon at best."

– thefifthtrilogy

All About Me

"ALL she talks about it herself and her problems. Granted she has a a lot but never asks about me or my life until she realizes she just bypassed my attempt to want to talk about something in my life bothering me and continued to talk about herself."

– PokemomOnTheGo

People can just be so rude.

"When I got really sick. Very few came to help."

– Tofflus1

"Same here. I got cancer and everyone I knew was over the top supportive for the first six months and then all but three of my friends just vanished. I saw one of them at a Halloween party while I was going through chemo and she told me that my bald head made people uncomfortable. I was dressed as Captain Picard, it was awesome and she ruined it."

– CatGoNoTail

Not Missing High School

"At lunch, she was sitting with her boyfriend, I was sitting with our friend circle. She came up to me, guilted me into sitting with her and her boyfriend, and then proceeded to ignore me for the rest of lunch."

"She didn't care about me, she just didn't want me talking to the friend circle that she had abandoned for her boyfriend. When I pointed this out to her, she called me a jealous b*tch."

"Ah, high school. How I don't miss thee."

– Symnestra

These examples actually served as a good reminder for me to take a moment and assess my friendships.

Not so much about how I've been treated but more about checking myself to see if I'm respecting the people I call my friends.

We've all been guilty of casually mentioning future plans to get together. I embarrassingly wait for people to initiate something, which is terrible.

Show up for your friends. Make them feel important like the individuals they are.