Top Stories

Skeptics Reveal What They've Seen That They Still Can't Explain

Skeptics Reveal What They've Seen That They Still Can't Explain
Public Domain/Pixabay

Life can be freaky and we all see and experience things from time to time that we have no rational explanation for.

Today's burning question from Redditor Angellic_Reaper: "Skeptics of Reddit, what's something you have seen that you cannot explain?"

Buckle up, kids. Things are about to get weird.


"I was hiking in Yosemite..."

I was hiking in Yosemite and one night while stargazing I saw a light that slowly moved across the sky in a reasonably straight line. I thought it was a satellite as those are incredibly common when you get out into place that shows the night sky clearly. The light then stopped and started moving in every direction in these erratic jumps and bursts of speed. It did this for maybe 20 minutes before it started moving in its original direction. I have never seen anything like it before or since.

Shooting stars or satellites don't just stop and zip around in random directions like that. It couldn't have been a drone because it seemed to be too high and you couldn't hear anything, and besides, most drones can't move like that anyway. Everyone in our group saw it but we didn't really talk about it much, other than my buddy referring to it as the "drunk driving alien". I don't know what it was but I have seen nothing like it before or since.

Ceoltoir74

"It wasn't seen..."

It wasn't seen, but years ago I thought of my best friend's mother, who I hadn't seen or thought of in ages, and a few minutes later my friend called to tell me her mother had just died. Still freaks me out.

GoodGriefWhatsNext

"About a week after she died..."

My mom died of cancer and during the final months, she was living with us and we took care of her until her last breath in our house. Four events have happened that were not easy to explain.

First, in her last week, I was trying to help her relax so I played a playlist I keep on my phone called "bedtime". It has some very relaxing music. Her breathing was getting loud and it was difficult to be there with her. At one point I was crying because of watching her this way. Her brother, Leo, had passed away before her so I closed my eyes and thought "Leo. Please take her. It's so hard for her. She's ready." Ten seconds later she took her last breath. It wasn't until later the next day that we realized she passed away on the exact same day that Leo did, ten years later.

About a week after she died, I was sitting on the couch and I thought to myself, "mom, if you're ok give me a sign". My phone started playing that bedtime playlist all by itself.

A few months later, we were moving out of that house. We had loaded the last box and I was doing my final walkthrough of the house. In my head, I said "mom, we're going to a new house. I hope you're coming with us." And I sh!t you not, my phones started playing that playlist again.

Two weeks ago, we were in Cancun on vacation. It's been a couple years since she's passed away. We were having a romantic dinner on the beach and I knew my mom would have really enjoyed it where we were and I thought, "mom, if you're still with me give me a sign" and about 5 seconds later a huge shooting star shot across the sky. It was actually a meteor. Like it flamed out in the sky.

sean_but_not_seen

"I have no idea what I saw."

I was 14 and vacationing with my family on a beach in Eastern Europe. Our balcony had a view of the beach and I would sit out there every night. One night, there was a man and a woman(?) walking on the beach. She would walk a few paces and then he would catch up to her. Except for she wasn't really walking like a human, but more like a horse if that makes sense. She would raise her knee, extend her leg (toes pointed), and then gracefully plop her foot down on the ground. She was super thin and looked bald. She also looked like a human mannequin made out out of fabric and stitched up. He was watching her walk and almost studying her.

She would walk 5-10 steps and then robotically turn around and walk the other way. The only plausible explanation I can fathom is that she was some sort of robot/sex doll/etc., but her movements seemed too fluid to be a robot and too robotic to be a human. Since then, I've tried researching different illnesses (maybe she was sick?) and looked at photos of the newest robots and no dice. I have no idea what I saw.

PrincessofPersuasia

"I told her that I had just been at Ida's house..."

I'm a skeptic of basically everything, but my mom actually has a story about me as a kid she always tells that scares the hell out of people.

When I was 3 her aunt died, who she was very close to, Ida. A few months later her friends took her to a psychic as a birthday gag. The psychic told her not to worry about herself or me because a woman who was like a mother to her and who had died was watching over us both. It freaked her out, but she ignored it.

A few months later she was walking to bed past my bedroom door, which was open a little. She heard talking and she looked in. I was sitting at the end of my bed staring at the wall having a conversation in the dark. She turned the light on and shook me and asked me what I was doing and who I was talking to.

I told her that I had just been at Ida's house and we were eating cheesecake and playing Hi-ho Cherry-oh (both my mom's favorite).

I've never been to Ida's house and I was 3 and didn't know what those things were. And we lived across the street from a giant cemetery. And that's where Ida was buried.

tweak0

"I didn't think anything of it..."

Giphy

Me and my girlfriend stayed at a very old Hotel in Boston recently. I was going to take a picture of the staircase as we were staying on the top floor and it looked like a cool shot. Instead I realized it was on Video and immediately stopped it after 1 second.

I didn't think anything of it, but I went to play it the other day and there is a voice that says "Are you taking a picture of me ?" No one else was in the staircase; it's neither of our voices and it absolutely freaked us out.

CountFarussi

"I went for my after work run one night..."

I went for my after work run one night around 11pm back in 2010 in my neighborhood. I was 18 and just about out of high school. I was headed home and I felt this weird buzzing electricity in my body. Ya know, that feeling when the hair on your body just stands up and you get cold chills? This weird feeling of fear draped over me and I for some reason thought I needed to stop to shake it out. Thought maybe I was just starting to feel tired or just...something. As I stood there getting my bearings straight and removing my headphones I was caught off guard by some sort of movement in front of me. I turned my eyes and I watched as a green orb, about 20 to 25ft away came up out of the ground. Almost like it had been in the Earth and just moved up out of the ground effortlessly.

It whirled around for about 5 to 6 seconds like it was getting a view of the area. I immediately became petrified. I'd never encountered anything otherworldly or supernatural-like in my life. I watched this thing shoot off like some sort of rocket, but faster. Like lightning. Idk how to describe how fast it went, but it shot into some trees a ways off. It was still out there, but was pulsating light in these trees. I ran home as fast as I humanly could. Walked in the door and parent's said "you are so flushed. It looks like you've seen a ghost or something?!" I immediately burst into tears from all the fear that was bottled up.

I'll never forget that.

Solid308

"I was out on my boat with my dad..."

I was out on my boat with my dad, coming back from an island for lunch. There's this lighthouse really far away on a huge rock that sticks out and would ruin ships, and they were getting ready to do construction on it, and to replace the current bulb with a solar powered LED one to save money. Nobody was out there at this point in time. We were close enough to it that we could see the features of the rock and lighthouse but also relatively far away. I look to the left of it and there's this dark black square. I start thinking, 'I'm so tired.' And then ask me dad if he can see that black square. He said yes. I was super confused and freaked, it was a bright sunny day, and the square was half the size of this already huge lighthouse. I thought to myself it was surely some scaffolding tarp that had been caught in the wind, but the thing didn't flap and stood perfectly still. It got thinner and thinner and then poof. Vanished. I still have no idea what it was.

euanmac369

"As he was doing it, I saw something walk out of a corridor..."

There was the time when I was young.

My parents took me into the underground city in Edinburgh for a tour. The tour guide was giving the "don't get lost or we'll never find you" spiel.

As he was doing it, I saw something walk out of a corridor behind him. I'm gonna save text here because I could go all melodramatic and wax lyrical about it for ages - it was basically what we'd now call a grim reaper - skeletal head and hands, carrying an hourglass in the hand I could see, with what looked like smoke or shadows around it for clothes.

No one else even twitched. When I was clear that no one else was seeing this thing in the corridor, I freaked out to the point my parents had to take us off the tour.

The thing that still makes my skin crawl about that - I didn't have my love of sci fi, fantasy or actual science when I was that young. I didn't really get that until I read the hobbit a year later. So I didn't know what a grim reaper was. I didn't know the anatomy of a human hand's bones or the association of the hourglass with death. Yet I saw all those things and some of my drawings from that age have details I wouldn't have known at that age (like the fact the carpus at the base of the hand being seven bones in a cluster, not a single knob of bone).

Been over 20 years and I've still not quite figured out how I knew things like that for those drawings. If I didn't know better, I'd think I'd been the victim of a practical joke, but I freaked out enough that there's no way my parents would have kept it going.

axw3555

"My friends and I camped out..."

My friends and I camped out in this abandoned island off the coast of my country once. The history is that British soldiers used to be based on this island during the age of imperialism and no one ever lived there again because they say either the souls of those British soldiers dwelled or the place is inhabited by "djinn" (Arabic for genies; sort of the Islamic ghost).

Anyway, we camped there when my friend went to go pee. He came running back freaking out saying he saw something. Keep in mind, we were the only people on the whole island as it is uninhabited. Later on, I needed to pee myself, so I went to a different secluded part and saw this shape... it was the silhouette of a very big cat. Feeling scared, I finished off and went back to my group and asked if there are any animals known to live there - everyone was adamant that nothing could survive on this island, and our region as a whole doesn't have that much wildlife.

The next morning, we went to inspect the rest of the island. It's not big... about a mile in diameter. We couldn't find any evidence of anything living there amongst the ruins. Still freaks me out to this day.

hercoffee

"An old house I rented..."

Not seen, but heard. An old house I rented was the home to a former whiskey-maker and county-wide notorious a-hole. One night, about 3-4am, I heard what sounded like an old-time radio show. Like a trio or duo of women singing old gospel style music, then an announcer speaking with them, all in that old times midwestern meter. I searched the house but could find nothing. I bailed and slept at a friends. A few nights later, several friends were over for a party, and by around 3am, it had died down, we were just vegging in the living room. One of my friends just asked "Does anyone else hear that old radio?" He described hearing practically the same thing I heard previously. I didn't stay at this house long.

scotch-0

"I came across a deer..."

Giphy

A while ago I took a road trip to the southwest US. I was in northern Arizona, near the border of new Mexico on some back roads outside a reservation looking for a place to park and camp for the night. The sun had just went down and it was getting dark quickly. There was still a band of light across the horizon from the setting sun.

I came across a deer that appeared to be hit by a large vehicle, a semi or box truck or something like that. There was flesh and bits of fur in the road and a blood stain spiraling across the road that lead to a fresh deer carcass on the shoulder. It looked gruesome. Naturally I slow down and rubberneck. The deer was still alive and looked into the headlights. As I pass it, I swear it sits up straight like someone getting out of bed and starts to stand on it's back legs.

I punch the gas and didn't slow down until I got to Flagstaff. F**k that.

PM_ME_YOUR_BEE_SYRUP

"My dad and I were in Montana..."

My dad and I were in Montana deer hunting on our friend's private property, and we came across what we believe were Sasquatch tracks in a large patch of snow. My father has been hunting his entire life- he's seen pretty much every animal and their tracks. I'll never forget the wide-eyed look on his face when he said, "That's not from a bear."

The tracks looked almost identical to a human's, but they were massive and at least 3 feet apart. I remember the toes were long and the soles wide. I don't think it could have been a person, since we were several miles into private property and our friend was out of town. I'm not sure what those tracks belonged to, but the fact that my dad was stunned and couldn't identify them leads me to believe that they were something very, very unique.

DraconicKoala

"I once had a dream where my grandmother..."

I once had a dream where my grandmother (still living) told me she was in heaven. It's unusual for me to remember any details of my dreams, but this one stuck with me. While having breakfast the next morning, my father called to tell me she had died during the night.

I don't believe in ghosts or anything like that, and I'm agnostic at best about the notion of an afterlife. I've had other people who were close to me die since, and nothing like that has ever happened again. The dream could have been triggered by simple unspoken realities; she was 93 and in the hospital, although she was not at death's door, so it wasn't like I was expecting it.

The one thing I come back to is the thought that Grandma and I were always very close. I was her first grandchild, and I think I was her favorite. So if there was any way she could reassure me from beyond the grave, she would. The logical side of me says it's all just happenstance. But the whole experience left me with a small flame of hope that I don't expect will ever get blown out.

Iggleyank

"Was home totally alone..."

Was home totally alone, doors and windows all locked and double checked. I had our two dogs in my room with me watching a movie and snuggling round 2 am or so when I very distinctly heard my mums voice yelling for me from downstairs using my nickname no one else uses. My family was in Louisiana and I was in Texas at the time and so I just assumed I was overtired and my brain was short circuiting. Pretty quickly after that I heard it a second time and that time both dogs got up with hackles raised, got in front of me on the bed and started growling like the devil himself was at the door.

Of course I totally flipped out because they won't stop and won't even look at me as I'm calling them and petting their heads trying to get them to chill out. Heard something thud pretty heavily on the landing outside my bedroom. Both dogs loose their minds and vault off the to bed and starting barking and snarling at the door; I flew across the room locked the door and then booked it back to my bed .

Just about peed my pants and the dogs didn't chill out until the sun came up. They spent the entire night growling and sitting over me facing my bedroom door. They've never done it again and in the morning everything was still locked up and I couldn't find anything that might have fallen. Still gives me goosebumps to this day.

cauldronbubblesover

"So about a year ago..."

So about a year ago, I had a dream. I was playing a board game with my dad, which was fairly normal, as both of us love board games. I had never seen this game before. In the dream, my dad moved a piece (I won't elaborate on the actual game because that's kinda boring for most people) and he said "that piece is more powerful, so I'll take it out first." A couple months later, he got a new game. It was identical to the one in the dream. No differences whatsoever. The first time we played it, this event happened, word for word. Ever since then, I've had stuff like this happen every once in a while. I'll have a dream, or just be daydreaming, and then sometime from a day to half a year later, that exact same thing happens.

I have also been in the car with my parents going home, when we see some kind of plane (maybe 30 feet long) just hovering 10 meters above the ground. It wasn't moving at all. This wasn't a hallucination - my mom saw it too.

TannenF

"This wasn't necessarily visible..."

This wasn't necessarily visible, but I still cannot explain this for the life of me

So I had a friend who lived in another town, about 1.5 hours from where I live, so we didn't talk often. At the time of this story (around 2011), we hadn't seen eachother in a good 8 months, or even conversed all that much since those 8 months. I decide it would be fun to hang out again, so I give him a call. Instead of him answering the phone, I get the message 'this person is already in a call' (paraphrased). I wait a minute and call again. Turns out on the exact moment I called him, he called me. I still don't have an explenation for this, except for chance of course.

issche

"I saw a UFO..."

I saw a UFO outside my window when I was in high school. I was perplexed, and stared until it was out of sight.

I told people about it, but eventually I kind of just forgot about it.

Several years later I came across this documentary, and the UFO i had seen in high school was featured in the film. A guy from my hometown caught it all on camera, and many people from the area reported seeing it that evening. I saw it all over again, and still can't really believe what I saw...even though there is evidence. What the f*ck was it?

SayNoMoreMonAmour

"When I was 4 years old..."

When I was 4 years old, I was asleep and my grandma came in to check on me before she went to bed. There was blood all over my blanket, sheets, and the wall. She woke me up and looked me over from head to toe but found no trace of a bloody nose or any cuts anywhere on my body.

paprikagc

"Was working as a floor nurse..."

Was working as a floor nurse on a busy med surg unit. One patient was going to have an open hysterectomy (1983 or so). Stated she had an identical twin sister living in Germany. Patient did not want to notify sister about surgery until it was over so she would not worry. On the afternoon of the surgery, about the time the patient returned from PACU, the twin sister called the patient 's home saying she had been having severe abdominal pains all day and a feeling that something was wrong with her sister. Patient in Tennessee. Sister in Germany.

Nopain59

People Describe The Creepiest Things They Ever Witnessed As A Kid

"Reddit user -2sweetcaramel- asked: 'What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?'"

Four mistreated baby dolls are hung by barb wire
Photo by J Lopez

For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.

Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.

The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.

Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:

"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"

Serious Danger

"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."

"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."

oofboof2020

Waiting for Food

"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."

"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."

nowhereboy1964

Captain Hobo to the Rescue

"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."

"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"

"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."

FartAttack911

Survival

tsunami GIF Giphy

"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."

faithfulpoo

These Tsunami stories are just tragic.

On the Sand

Scared The Launch GIF by CTV Giphy

"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."

oyloff

Be Clever

"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."

OstneyPiz

Bad Jokes

"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."

Alegan239

YOU

Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN Giphy

"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"

PrettyLola2004

Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.

No one should talk to others in the dark though.

Woman stressed at work
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.

But some jobs are much harder than they look.

Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:

"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"

Customer Service

"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."

- gwarrior5

"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"

- Conscious_Camel4830

"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."

"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."

- First-Combination-12

High Stakes

"A pharmacist."

"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."

- VaeSapiens

"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."

"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."

- Worth_University_884

Teaching Woes

"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"

"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"

"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."

- bq87

Creativity Is "Easy"

"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."

- rubberduckyis

"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."

"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."

- whitepepper

Care Fatigue Is Real

"Care work."

"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."

- MangoMatiLemonMelon

Physical Labor Generally Wins

"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."

- anachronistika

Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild

"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."

"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."

"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."

"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."

- Yak-Mak-5000

Professional Cooking

"Being a chef."

- Canadian_bro7

"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."

- ChuckDeBongo

Team Leading, Oof

"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."

- Counterboudd

Not a Pet Sitter At All

"Veterinary Technician."

"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"

- forthegoddessathena

Harder Than It Looks!

"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"

"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."

"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."

"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."

- Joebroni1414

Twiddling Thumbs and Listening

"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"

"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"

"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."

"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."

- mylovelanguageiswine

Constant Updates

​"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."

"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."

"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."

- GlizzyMcGuire_

Performing Is Not Easy

"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."

- ThrowRA1r3a5

All About Perception

"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."

"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."

"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"

- DrHugh

It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.

This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen Giphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPost Giphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIF Giphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...