Ever have a brain fart over something that now seems so obvious that you can't help but facepalm?
It's okay, because we've all been there. No judgment!
You don't know what you don't know, as we were so deftly reminded once Redditor Guilhermedidi asked the online community, "What was your "ahhhh so THAT'S how it works" moment?"
"The first time..."
The first time I saw a lock-picking video on the internet, where they use one of those clear locks so you can see what's going on.
"It's supposed to wobble."
For years I wondered why that bit on the end of tape measures was always wobbly. Like why couldn't any manufacturers just use decent rivets? It pissed me off so I smacked mine with a hammer to stop it wobbling.
It's supposed to wobble.
It's to allow for the thickness of that end hook depending on whether you are measuring an inside or outside edge. I face-palmed so hard when I overheard that in the office years later.
"So many people..."
GiphyNot my "aha!" moment, but I recently explained in another Reddit thread how candles work. Basically, the flame melts the wax, which is then drawn up the wick through a form of capillary action. As the liquid wax gets closer and closer to the flame, it eventually gets hot enough that it vaporizes. Being a hydrocarbon, the wax itself is flammable, and so the wax vapor combusts.
So many people, when I explained that, had this moment where they suddenly realized how the wick doesn't just burn away to nothing, and where the magically disappearing wax goes. I thought it was common knowledge that the wax acts to fuel the flame, but apparently not.
"I always wondered..."
I always wondered why McDonald's McFlurries came with those thick, hollow spoons. Turns out the spoon clips into the mixing machine and acts as the mixing paddle to blend the ice cream and candy together.
"Was taking a product design class..."
Was taking a product design class with a bunch of engineering students. We had a group assignment to redesign that little staple remover thing (the thing that clamps down and you used to play with it as a kid like it was a mouth). Anyway, in my early twenties I realized that my proposed redesign was to remove the staple by first bending the staple corners up before pulling out the staple so it wouldn't destroy the paper.
I realized, in my mid twenties, that I had been using that thing entirely wrong for years and had been destroying paper by ripping the staple out from the front first instead of using the tool properly and starting from the back side. I felt good though because the other 4 people in my team also had been using it wrong for years.
"And it's been great..."
I'm gonna feel stupid I'm sure, but the first time I jumped into a pool and had let most of the air out of my lungs (at like age 17) and sunk to the bottom I had that moment. And it's been great understanding basic physics that I SHOULD have picked up on FOREVER ago, and it's super helpful when I'm in water now.
"When programming..."
When programming I copy code all the time without knowing 100% how it works. Everyone does it. It started with teachers code, slightly modified, for homeworks, then moved on to the real world where I do it for a living. StackOverflow is a goldmine for some stuff. Often it's just some code from another part of the same codebase I'm working on.
Every now and then it breaks or doesn't work out of the box, and I have to take a serious look at it "ahhhh so THAT'S how it works."
"My boss told me..."
My boss told me he couldn't match a competitors offer, as it would put me out of parity to my coworkers, so it wouldn't be "fair." He asked me to think about it for 24 hrs, and to consider all the benefits I would lose when leaving the company. The next day, I explained that this wasn't a problem my new company faced, so I would be leaving in 2 weeks. He quickly matched the other company's offer to the letter. All that b.s. about fairness and parity was b.s., and I was actually disappointed to learn, " ahh, Capitalism, so that's how that works."
"My mom told me..."
Cutting a bite of steak against the grain before eating it.
My mom told me years ago that if meat was too hard to cut (...using a butter knife) that I should cut the meat with the grain. I never understood why you got the horking big knife with the big wooden handle at restaurants when you ordered steak.
Then, someone told me to cut against the grain so that I would be chewing with the grain. Total game-changer.
"I think I already knew it..."
How most jobs are just a chain of simple steps. I had been working at my job for a few years. I slowly became the guy who knew everything and trained everyone. Eventually we had to do a redesign to handle more volume and higher out put. So I redesign our processes and work station layouts. This leads to me having to write up SOP's on everything I've updated. I'm in the middle of writing them up and it clicks. Even for the harder processes. It's just a longer amount of basic steps.
I think I already knew it I just never thought about it. Now whenever something new or challenging comes up. I'll just break it down into easier to manage steps. Made my work way easier thinking of it that way.
From the beginning of time, kids have always been adorable, heartwarming...and totally weird.
And what's the best way for a kid to show off their weirdness?
Show and tell, of course!
From glass eyes and famous knives to animals both dead and alive, these are certifiably the most bizarre things kids have brought to school.
1. All Eyes On Him
In fifth grade, we were studying human anatomy. When we got to the eyes, a kid brought in a bag full of cow’s eyes. His dad worked in a slaughterhouse. The teacher was horrified. He had brought them in, unannounced. The teacher had no plans for dissection and was just going to show us a filmstrip about eyes or something.
The teacher put them in the staff refrigerator for the day since we were living in the Arizona heat. Afterward, when the teacher returned the bag of eyes to my classmate, he took them home. On the walk home, he gave them out to any kid who wanted one. I’ll leave all that to your imagination.
2. He Was A Terrible Liar
I once had a kid in my class who was around the age of six and had a lot going on in his life. A part of it was that he was a compulsive liar with absolutely no sense of when a lie was so poorly constructed that everyone would know. Every single day, he would say he had something for Show and Tell. Most days, we “didn't have time” for his Show and Tell.
Every so often, we kind of had to let him have a go at Show and Tell. He'd stand up, ready to do his Show and Tell, then wander over to my desk, browse for a minute, and pick up the most random things. It would be things like a post it note, a sharpener, and once it was the custom "well done" stamp that actually had my name on it.
Then, he would say some poorly constructed story about how he found it in Africa when he went there for tea yesterday with his auntie or some such thing. He'd get really upset if he realized nobody believed him, though even at that age, most of the kids had the tact or gullibility to just smile and nod.
3. The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges | Insomnia Cured Here | Flickrwww.flickr.comMy mom was a teacher. I didn’t live with her, but I would occasionally go help her move stuff around, hang stuff up, and clean her classrooms. Occasionally, I’d bring a friend or two while we were in high school. My six-year-old sister attended the school that our mother taught at. One day, my mom called and asked if I’d come by with the two friends that I usually brought.
We showed up about 20 mins later. Without explaining, my mother sent us to my sister's classroom. We knocked, walked in, and my sister yelled, “My Show and Tell is here! These are my brothers. They are funny.” I am so lucky to be friends with these two guys to this day. Without hesitation, they started an age-appropriate 3 Stooges routine.
One climbed on the other’s shoulders. They juggled school supplies. They pretended to trip each other. They made funny noises. I barely played a role. My sister's class was a continuous roar of laughter. Even the teacher was crying. She asked us to stop/leave because she didn’t want kids passing out from laughing. I’ll never forget my sister's little face, looking so proud.
4. Spreading A Fake Story
When I was in the fourth grade, since my grandpa lived so close, I called him to go to my house to pick up this beaded necklace that my dad told me he got from a monk in Vietnam for Show and Tell, unbeknownst to my parents that were at work. Months later, during a parent-teacher conference, the teacher mentioned my dad being in Vietnam and the item I brought in.
My mom was very confused and had to tell him that my dad was never in Vietnam. She had a laugh about it when she realized this was one of my dad's "stories." He knew I was gullible and would always tell me weird stories about him like getting shot with arrows while the "wound" scars he had were from getting moles removed. He got a kick out of it but never thought I'd share these stories with other people.
5. It Was Dad’s Idea
As an elementary school kid, we were supposed to bring toy animals from home and tell why we picked or liked that animal. Most kids brought stuffed animals or action figures, but this one crazy girl brought a real-life bearded dragon. She brought it in a plastic bag and just whipped it out and flopped it on the table when it was her turn. The teacher, who was female and usually very chill, freaked out and called her parents to come get the "beast."
A few minutes later, her Russian dad steps into the room and you could see in his face that he didn't understand what the problem was with the bearded dragon. The teacher freaked out again and talked to him how it could have gone on a rampage and could have bitten someone and how it's animal cruelty to transport a live animal in a regular one-time-use plastic bag.
The dad realized that she was super scared and overreacting, so he just said, "Excuse me madam," with a thick Russian accent, took the bag, and walked out. The whole time, his face didn't show any emotion at all, as if that type of stuff happens to him all day. The girl was the hero of the day and she somehow didn't get into any trouble because it actually was her dad's idea.
6. The Hair Off His Head
brown hair on blue textilePhoto by Corina Rainer on UnsplashThe weirdest thing someone brought to Show and Tell was a bag full of his own hair. To be fair, he didn’t actually try to show and tell it. He also brought in an action man. I noticed him and his best friend playing with the action man. They were putting something on its head. I went over to him and asked them what it was.
“It’s hair!” he said. “Hair?” I said, “Where did it come from?” The kid said, “It’s Stevie’s hair! He got it cut on the weekend!” The child had a hair cut, brought the clippings home, then put them in his school bag and brought them into school. That hair stayed in his school bag for a full week before his mother noticed.
7. They Were Surprised With A Lesson
I taught fifth grade in a school with really rich kids, while really low-income kids bussed in. One of the low-income kids brought a coconut for her Show and Tell to talk about Trinidad, where her dad was from. When she cracked it open, it was completely rotten inside and smelled awful. I was so worried about the kid being embarrassed.
Then, one of the rich kids, who was also of a pretty low intellect, looked at it with wide eyes and said, "It's like the earth: the core, the mantle and the crust!" which is something I think he had never really understood before. So, it actually turned out pretty well.
8. Talk About A Bad Hair Day
Once, one of the kids in my class brought a remote control helicopter to class and flew it around for Show and Tell. It was super cool until he accidentally got the blades wrapped around a girl’s hair. I think the nurse spent an hour getting it out.
9. Detention Over Darts
black and brown dart boardPhoto by Anastase Maragos on UnsplashI did a similar thing as Show and Tell in primary school. I think it was year seven. I brought darts to school and when I got to my first class, I showed the teacher. They immediately took them off me. I got sent to the head teacher’s office where I was given a sort of detention. Essentially, I couldn't go to the school event that was happening at the time and I was supposed to sit outside his office at both lunch and morning tea for a week or so. I just wanted to show everyone the darts.
10. Not Your Typical Toy
In the early 90s, one of my students brought a pink vibrator and called it something else, I can’t remember exactly what it was. He honestly thought it was some kind of toy. The rest of the class was young enough to not notice what it really was since this one was not detailed, just a simple one. I remember calling his mom that evening. It was pretty scary and insane.
She just laughed it off and came to school the next day to pick it up. The crazy part, that’s how we met and she is my wife for 15 years now. We even have 2 more kids.
11. A Very Popular Accident
When I was in the sixth grade, I took a belly dancing bralette into class for Show and Tell that my brother sent me from his deployment. We were studying the Middle East and I had something from there, so I thought it would be cool to bring in. I remember my teacher gulping, eyes bulging, asking, “Just…that? That’s all they wear?” Then, I said, “Yeah, I guess so.” A few weeks later, I realized I'd made a hilarious mistake.
Turns out, he sent me his girlfriend’s present and his girlfriend got my camel book. At least I was very, very popular with the sixth-grade boys for a little while.
12. A Horrifying Misunderstanding
white and black skull figurine on black surfacePhoto by Mathew MacQuarrie on UnsplashI had a student bring in “her grandfather's skull” for Show and Tell. The class was absolutely horrified. It turned out that the student’s grandfather was a doctor and it was the skull that he kept in his office as a model. He was still very much alive.
13. Just A Kid And His Combine
I went to school in a tiny town in eastern Colorado. A kid in my class drove his dad's combine to school for Show and Tell. At the time, we were in the fourth grade. I still find it absolutely crazy that nobody really cared that he drove it and that there was this humongous piece of farm equipment sitting on the front lawn all day.
14. Not The Right Form Of Transportation
When I was in the third grade, this dumb kid in my class decided to bring a live bat to class. The only problem was that he put the bat in a plastic bag in his book bag. Obviously, the bat didn't survive the trip because it couldn't breathe. I still remember the kid removing the ex-bat from the plastic bag almost 26 years later.
15. Post Surgery Show
blue and green peacock featherPhoto by Milad Fakurian on UnsplashWhen my son was in preschool, he brought me in for a Show and Tell a couple of months after I had brain surgery. I had a shaved head, gnarly scar, and a crazy eye. He made sure I showed everyone my crazy eye up close. It was funny to me and made me happy. He had a hard time seeing me like that in the beginning.
16. Danger To Some, Collectibles to Others
One Show and Tell, I brought two knives. My dad is from a region in France where they make famous knives, Laguiole, and I owned two of them. One was made of horn and one was bright orange. At the time, it didn't cross my mind that it could be a problem, but they called my parents who weren’t mad at me for bringing them.
17. An Innocent Interest
I'm a preschool teacher in a state that allows the use of weed. One of my students brought in a plastic tube the local dispensary uses for pre-rolled joints. He said he found it in his parents' room and he brought it because he liked the popping sound it made when he opened it.
18. A Strange Thing To Keep
File:Replacement surgery - Total hip replacement -- Smart-Servier ...commons.wikimedia.orgWhen I was in the fifth grade, my friend brought a metal hip replacement piece from a human body for Show and Tell. It was from a human body that her father had cremated and kept. It was for a "What would you like to be when you grow up?" sort of Show and Tell. She wanted to be a mortician like her dad. And do you want to know the worst part?
She allowed for this piece to be passed around the class before telling everyone, including the teacher, what it was. Obviously, chaos ensued afterward.
19. A Poor Description
When I was in second grade, I brought this multitool thing that I got from a nearby aquarium. It had things like binoculars, a compass, a mirror and I think one or two extra gadgets. It was cool because each part of it folded back nicely! The binoculars were ingenious. Anyway, the only word second grade me knew how to describe the multitool was as a “pocket knife.” My teacher had a panic attack and wouldn’t let me show it.
20. Exposing Bad Habits
My wife is a teacher in a major US city. One of her fourth-grade students brought in a packet of his mom's illicit substances to show the class during drug awareness week. He got some visits from the principals and school counselor, maybe even the men in blue.
21. Case Of Mistaken Identity
white rabbit on green grassPhoto by Satyabratasm on UnsplashThe teacher whose classroom across the hall from me had a student who brought what he thought was a lucky rabbit's foot to show to the class. He had excitedly announced he had enough for everyone in the class. The rabbit's foot was a tampon.
22. A Different Type Of Rock Collection
At my school, some kid brought in his collection of “laundry rocks” which were crumpled up pieces of paper that he put in his pockets. When his mom did the laundry, they would turn hard like rocks. He said he did it by accident once, liked it, and started deliberately putting crumpled paper in his pockets to make more.
23. Different Animals For Different Years
A student of mine once brought in a taxidermied bear from the shoulders up that his dad had hunted with a bow. The best part was that his parents didn’t know he brought it. He snuck it to school in a huge black garbage bag. A couple years later, he brought homing pigeons that he and his dad are raising and training and did a whole presentation with a headset mic and everything for the school.
The whole family is full of the nicest and coolest people I’ve ever met. It was easily one of my top three favorite families of all time.
24. Show Us Your Hands
Walnuts on marketplace | 🇩🇪Professional Photographer 🔴Twi… | Flickrwww.flickr.comA teacher once made me the subject of a Show and Tell. My parents, for reasons understood only by them, thought it'd be a great idea to get raw, still-in-the-husk black walnuts by the bushel. Taking the husks off resulted in all of us getting our hands dyed a nice, deep walnut brown color. I guess it never occurred to anyone to wear gloves until it was too late.
The teacher said, "Ocelot, show the class your hands and tell them all why they look that way!" It was so humiliating to walk around with what looked like dirty hands and black fingernails for a week.
25. A Secret Not To Share
Once, I caught some live salamanders in our basement to bring to Show and Tell. I put them back when I got home. My dad had helped me do it. When mom found out later, she went ballistic because she didn't want people to know that we had salamanders in our basement. It was an old farmhouse with a really damp cellar. It's actually really funny looking back at it now.
26. Practice For The Future
When I was about eight or nine, I brought a pill case containing mouse organs preserved in olive oil to Show and Tell. Monday was the heart, Tuesday the liver…you get the idea. My cat had caught the mouse, I confiscated it, and then our exchange student and I dissected it on the back porch. I swear neither of us are psychopaths!
We were both aspiring doctors/surgeons, so we thought it was super cool. My teacher did not agree, and my parents definitely got a call home. The happy end of the story is that our exchange student is now a cardiothoracic surgeon, so the mouse’s sacrifice was not in vain.
27. Scaring The Substitute
a knife on a tree stumpPhoto by Dominik Sostmann on UnsplashWhen I was in the fourth grade, I once got in trouble for bringing two bayonets and a pistol to Show and Tell. One bayonet was from WWI and the pistol and other bayonet were from WWII. I had okay’d them with the teacher beforehand and my parents knew about it, but alas, there was a substitute teacher that day. What 4th-grade boy wouldn't think those would be awesome Show and Tell items?
This was the same substitute teacher that requested a parent-teacher conference about how I was "influencing his peers by talking about Satanism." My Dad politely told her that I was reading The Lord of the Rings at the time. Those weren't spells, they were elven script. He's not drawing violent images, he's drawing Helm's Deep..." If you were familiar with English Literature, you would encourage him to read TLotR instead of the garbage you have on the preferred reading list."
28. They’re Back To Life
My husband and young daughter found a pretty big wasp nest one fall. We brought it in, and I put it in a big ice cream pail, into the freezer. After Christmas with school back in, my daughter took the wasp nest for Show and Tell. Everyone really thought it was cool, including the teacher, and it got placed on a counter by the window. About a month later, I got a call from the teacher telling me the wasp nest had started buzzing, and could I come and get it. So I did.
29. A Souvenir From Dad
My mother is a teacher and back in the 80s, a kid brought a baseball bat to Show and Tell. When my mother asked why, he explained that at the weekend, his parents had a huge party that spilled onto the street and the officers turned up. When his dad got told by the officers to turn down the music and pack up the party, his dad grabbed the baseball bat and said to the cop, "If you don't leave, I'll ram this so far up your butt you'll be a copsicle" My mother shut down Show and Tell after that.
30. Simply Not School Appropriate
gorillaz | mobu27 | Flickrwww.flickr.comWhere I was schooled, we didn’t do Show and Tell, except for on one occasion at age 10. I brought in the 2001 Gorrilaz album and I honestly thought it was the best thing ever. My school was a Catholic school and they obviously confiscated it. It could possibly have been the “worst” thing that they saw.
31. Keeping An Eye Out
When I was in the first grade, one of my classmates brought her dad's glass eye and a photo of him holding it with his eye socket all empty. First grade me didn't really fully understand the concept, so I went home and told my parents that my friend's dad could pop out his eyeball and I fully believed it was real.
32. Third Time’s A Charm
I brought my life-size Speedy Gonzales stuffed animal on three separate occasions to class in the second grade. It was so old and beat up that the foam pearls were spilling on the floor every time, and I had "sewn" it shut with staples to no avail. The third time my teacher asked why on earth I needed to bring it over and over again and I tried to lie and say I'd never brought it in before.
No one cared when the kid brought his boa constrictor that desecrated on the floor numerous times. I felt cheated.
33. Great Pieces Of History
grey metal fence at the other side of the roadPhoto by Claudio Schwarz on UnsplashThis was a great Show and Tell item gone wrong. A girl in my class brought a piece of the Berlin Wall that her grandmother gave her since she was of German descent. A kid dropped it while passing it around and she went home that day with several smaller pieces of the Berlin Wall.
34. Unconventional To Say The Least
I am a teacher, but avoid Show and Tell like the plague because I don't want to see booger collections or whatever. I do remember in fourth grade, we had a bring your pet day. Everyone mostly brought normal pets, but one girl brought in her pet skunk. It had had its scent glands removed and was like a puppy or a kitten and really quite cute. Sadly, my mom refused to even entertain the idea of our own skunk.
35. An Incident Waiting To Happen
When I was in Kindergarten, my mom used to call my aunt or uncle to come over and babysit me every once in a while. This was the 70s, so they were the really "cool" aunt and uncle since they were significantly younger than my mom. They were always more than willing to play with me on the swing set or in the sandbox.
They would smoke and it smelled really funny. One day, while we were playing and they were smoking their smelly cigarettes, I noticed a barrette on it with really pretty fluffy white feathers. I wanted it so bad. My aunt gave it to me and put it in my hair. I LOVED IT! It was like no other barrette I had ever seen.
I brought it with me to school the next day for Show and Tell. The teacher asked if she could see it, so I showed it to her. When my mom came to pick me up from school the teacher wanted to talk to her for a minute. She told me to play outside and wait for her, so I did. When we got in the car, my mom asked me, "Do you know what a roach clip is?" I was like, "I don’t know?" She said, "Where did you get that barrette from?"
I said, "Auntie V gave it to me." She just said, "I knew it...ok, Auntie V and Uncle M will not be babysitting you anymore." I was absolutely devastated.
36. When Toys Are Scarce
white strings on blue surfacePhoto by Josefin on UnsplashWhen I was in kindergarten, my mom would occasionally let me play with tampons by putting them in water and watching them expand. Clearly, there was no TV or Internet in my house. I called the tampons ‘water flowers’ and snuck one into my backpack for show and tell. My teachers were in hysterics when they called my mom about it.
My mom was in good spirits, she even teased my teachers by saying I’d bring some condoms or pads the next week
37. He Can’t Be Tamed
We looked after a small Joey after we hit and injured his mother while driving when I was in grade four or five. It wasn’t the worst animal to bring to Show and Tell...until he thought it would be a great idea to go for a skip around the school. At the end of the day, he was a wild animal. My mum fed the little fella and whatnot until he got large enough. Then, he went to a small zoo just outside of Brisbane to live.
38. The Living Artefact
When my cousin was a little kid, he brought my 100-year-old great-grandmother in for Show and Tell. She still had her mind intact so it ended up being a hit because she told them stories of how she lived before electricity was in every home.
39. An Innocent Piece Of Jewelry
shallow focus photography of woman sitting on stairPhoto by Tamara Bellis on UnsplashI had a student bring in a jelly "bracelet." He was so excited to show it to all of the other first graders. What made it so special was that it vibrated when you pushed a little button. Upon further inspection, I saw that it was a ring, not a bracelet. And it definitely wasn't for a wrist.
40. Just To Be Sure
I was in the fourth grade when the Cedar Fire happened in San Diego County. There were two or three inches of ashfall on our driveway, so I picked some up and put it in a baggy. Two years later, we moved to Florida and we did an "introduce yourself with one thing" presentation at the beginning of the school year. I brought my bag of ashes. The teacher made me verify, several times, that I had not brought in a baggy of cremains.
41. Some Love More Than Others
On the first day of class, everyone brought something they loved. One sweet girl brought a teddy bear her boyfriend bought her for their anniversary and was talking about how good and caring of a boyfriend he was. The boyfriend, on the other hand, brought an iPhone that he bought himself. Everyone was kind of uncomfortable and I was trying not to laugh.
42. Not The Best Choice
orange and white light bulbPhoto by Tamas Pap on UnsplashIn fifth grade, we had to Show and Tell a recipe we had made, with or without parental help, explain the recipe, how it’s made, etc., and bring some in class. Someone homemade sushi about three days in advance, and brought them to school on a super hot day, with the Show and Tell in the afternoon. I didn’t eat sushi for ten years after that because I thought this is what it was supposed to taste like. It’s a miracle people didn’t get sick.
43. Sharing The Wealth
My wife is a kindergarten teacher. One year, a kid in her class brought in his parent’s drug money. The problem was, he didn't wait until Show and Tell time to show everyone. The kids were having a little free playtime in the classroom. My wife was getting things together for a lesson. One of the kids came up to show her the money the other kid gave him.
It was $50 in fives and tens. Then she looked around and half the class had handfuls of money. She gathered it all and called the mother. The mother told her it was the rent money, and they kept it safe under a couch cushion. My wife said she counted almost $2,000 in fives, tens, twentys, and fifties. Yeah sure, rent money.
44. Not So Popular With The Kids
When I was in grade 6, I brought in a photo of my grandfather shaking hands with Winston Churchill. My grandfather was in low-level politics and met him. I didn't think it was that cool but my dad promised me it would be worth bringing in. Nobody in my class cared at all. But my teacher called in other teachers to show them and they all asked me a million questions. I have no idea where the photo went.
45. Take Your Dad To School Day
man playing cardsPhoto by Fengyou Wan on UnsplashWhen I was in the 1st grade, I forgot to pick something out for Show and Tell. So, in the morning, I panicked. Just so I had something to bring, I asked my dad if he would be my Show and Tell. He was so excited and happy, he called out of work and went to the basement to grab some stuff. 10 minutes later, he came running up with a weird-looking briefcase and told me to get ready for school.
He was so excited. He drove me to school, went inside with me, and asked when Show and Tell was. After finding out it wasn't until before lunch, he got a little disappointed, but he went to go get coffee. The time came around for Show and Tell and he came in right as it was my turn. I tell everyone that this is my dad. He raised me.
Then, my dad told me to take a seat because he wanted to show everyone something. I had no clue what to expect—but he still shocked me. He opened the briefcase and, to my surprise, he brought magic stuff. He put on a show for the whole class and finished up with some cool yo-yo tricks and gave my teacher a bouquet of roses. She ended up blushing and everyone teased her for liking my dad. The whole class was in awe and my classmates wanted him to be at their birthdays. It was great.
46. And It Was Never Seen Again
When I was in Kindergarten, I brought in all my Power Rangers toys. They were the transforming ones where the head would flip around to show them normal, then in their ranger helmet. Some kid asked to have a play with the black ranger. Then, he threw it over the back fence and I never saw it again. I was so devastated.
47. A Tragic Turn Of Events
I tried to bring my goldfish. Unfortunately, I didn't tell anyone I wanted to bring him and tried to take him out of the tank with my hands. My parents caught me before he croaked. My sister, whose fish shared the tank with him, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.
48. A Strange Food From A Strange Kid
broccoli vegetablePhoto by Reinaldo Kevin on UnsplashWhen I was in kindergarten, I brought cheesy broccoli to Show and Tell because it was my favorite thing that my mom made to eat and I wanted to share it with everyone. I was really excited to bring it and helped her prepare it the morning of. I thought everyone would think it was cool. I brought something everyone could eat instead of my favorite toy.
The rest of the class was not as excited as me and no one, except the teacher and I think maybe one other kid, ate any of it. I was a bit disappointed that nobody liked it, but at the same time was happy because it meant there was more for me. Looking back, it was a really weird thing to bring, but I was also a really strange kid.
49. One Girl’s Junk Is Another Girl’s Fun
There was a girl in my brother's year whose dad owned a junk/salvage place. The girl once brought in an old thermometer. It seemed like it was cool, whatever. She then goes, "And then this is the most fun part," and proceeds to smash the thermometer on the desk and play with the mercury. I don’t know how that situation got resolved, but I do know that by the time I got to first grade, we no longer had Show and Tell.
50. Relaying A Deeper Meaning
In grade six, we had a girl off a farm bring in, “The Most Powerful Weapon in the World.” We were so excited to see what it was because it fit in a shoebox. It turns out the “Weapon” was a cow tongue from a beast her father had hunted recently. She went on to say something to the effect of that, "The words that come from your mouth and tongue are so powerful they can be a weapon for good or a weapon for destruction. And that's why a tongue is the most powerful weapon in the world." I have never forgotten that show and tell.
51. Released The Beast
a person holding a spider in their handsPhoto by Philipp Lansing on UnsplashWhen I was in the fifth grade and going to school in Arizona, this girl in our class brought in a glass jar with a tarantula and a black widow. I have no clue how she caught both in one day, or why. Within an hour, the tarantula was upside down in the jar, not moving. On the same day, there was a fire drill and yes, someone knocked it off the girl’s desk, breaking the jar and releasing the black widow.
We never found the black widow, but the teacher made sure to stomp on the dead tarantula just in case. The same thing happened with our glass fire ant farm in the second grade, now that I think about it. I don’t know why people kept bringing these kinds of insects into school, or why our teachers let them.
Every high school had the popular girl, the favorite jock, the weird kid, and the smart kid. Whether or not they were the weirdest or the smartest, the population always seems to come to an agreement about who should carry the title.
But sometimes what the smartest kid in school winds up doing with their life isn't what everyone might have expected.
Or, they might excel beyond even their peers' wildest dreams.
Redditor After_Crab_1921 asked:
"What happened to the smartest kid in your class?"
That Darn Mind-Gut Connection
"He got sick with a rare stomach disease and isn't doing too well."
- VoxMendax
"So, ironically, the smartest kid in our class was me (the bar was low) and my sisters and I all have a rare stomach thing."
"I presented first, got the shish-kabob treatment, and had a very sucky five years. Then it stopped, right around the time my older sisters started dealing with it."
"It will rear its head every few years for a month or just a weekend but overall I’m completely unaffected now (either that or my ability to adjust to a baseline is way op) but my sisters both deal with it daily."
"Their symptoms are less than I went through but have stuck around longer, I figure I speedran it on hard mode."
- Mimovich
"The stomach is closely tied to the brain. (Believe it or not)."
"Kids who underperform or overperform are often under extreme stress at home, and as a result are more likely to develop diseases related to the gut."
"It's a weird thing that has actual scientific studies going into it."
- Character_Tower_3893
Going Above and Beyond
"I believe he works for NASA."
"He deleted his Facebook a while ago (like the smartest kid in our class would do), but that’s what he was doing last I checked."
- gingeritis90
Double the Smarts
"There were two. They were twins."
"They're both geneticists now with PHDs, and they work at the same university."
- iARTthere4iam
It's Not Rocket... Oh, Wait.
"The smartest guy from my high school became an actual rocket scientist."
- TheKaptinKirk
Invented Themselves
"The smartest kid in my school was really popular and was one of my closest friends."
"But when he graduated he left everyone and everything behind, including his family. He even changed his name."
"I found out this little bit of information because a friend went to an academic conference and showed me a group photo and he was in it."
"I exclaimed, 'That’s my friend Pascal!' He kept his first name but his last name was an anagram of his original name."
- whittlingcanbefatal
"I knew a guy who did this! He was one of my best friends' older brothers. He got a degree in German and moved to South Korea for a little while."
"Next thing we knew, he had moved back to his native state but to a small town and had taken on a whole new persona. Different name and all. Apparently, he spoke with a German accent in his new life."
"We met a guy who only knew him as the new version. That conversation was wild."
- Zebulon_V
Too Tragic to Imagine
"He got a full ride to Harvard."
"He did an internship his first summer at Intel and was killed by a drunk driver a few weeks after arriving in California."
"I f**king couldn’t believe it when it happened 25 years ago. I still can’t really."
- bg-j38
Successful Careers
"There are two. I remember one of them crying when they got an A- on a test in seventh grade."
"One of them (the one who cried) is an executive in a Fortune 500 company. Nothing special but making a lot of money."
"The other one is a brain surgeon."
- iamacannibal
Important Medical Research
"She worked at John’s Hopkins doing research with Psilocybin for treating mental health conditions."
- ActorMonkey
Making Big Moves
"He moved to Poland and became a Molecular Biologist."
- AJCleary
Happy Ending for the Gamer
"He went to MIT, works for Apple, and has a very expensive home in California. He also has a wife and four kids and seems to be very happy."
"I remember he was programming games in high school and was valedictorian."
"A big nerd who became a wealthy big nerd."
- BullHorn100
A Unique Trajectory
"My best friend (at the time; we drifted apart and speak only rarely now). He got a Ph.D. at Harvard, studied science in Antarctica, and now teaches at an Ivy League university."
- TriTri14
Eternally Confident
"He's a superstar pediatric neurosurgeon."
"He's also the most confident person I’ve ever met. (Guess you’d have to be, to cut open a little kid’s skull and operate on their brain.)"
- Rainpickle
"I saw some interview during a documentary when a surgeon said something to the effect of, 'Yeah, I come off arrogant at times, but do you want a surgeon who’s not extremely confident in their abilities?'"
- followedbyferrets
"The gift is self-awareness here. I’d trust him with my life."
- Hormone_Monster69
"Yep. There's an infinite difference between narcissism and actual confidence."
- adamjfish
Going Down Different Paths
"I had such a big crush on her and told her."
"We dated, and then she moved across the country to study and is now a Doctor."
"I'm so proud of her even though our lives changed paths."
- No-Plantain8212
An Honest and Kind Life
"He dropped out of college to marry and support the much younger woman he got pregnant (he was 23 and she was 18, but he clearly loved her)."
"Now (30 years later), he owns a boardgame store with a large back room for mini painting classes and games, and he plays dad to half the neurodivergent kids in town."
"He's still married to the same woman, too."
"It's not a high-flying life, but he makes a difference to so many people."
- Yinnesha
Best Friends Forever
"He just accepted a full professorship at a big university in the States. He's a particle physicist."
"He's also my bestie."
- wscuraiii
While the nerds and the smart kids often get a bad rap during middle school and high school, it's wonderful to see how being true to their minds and their passions could truly pay off in the end.
Physical wounds heal but it's certain things people say with the intention of hurting your feelings that cut so deep.
Whether it's an insult or an unforgivable slur hurled by someone who can either be an acquaintance or a stranger, denigrating comments can have longlasting effects.
Even a family member or a significant other who knows you deeply can exploit your vulnerabilities or insecurities in the heat of the moment.
Strangers opened up about the words that scarred them for life when an anonymous Redditor asked:
"What's the most hurtful thing someone has ever said to you?"
Kids can be so cruel.
Insulting Mom Fighting Cancer
"When I was younger, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. My siblings and I shaved our heads to support her. This kid told me that 'he hopes my mom dies' and that I looked like I was in the holocaust. She has been cancer free for 13 years, but f'k that kid."
– oprah-simpfrey
But adults, especially a parent, who should know better can be worse.
Ungrateful Mother
"When I was young, my mom said holidays are better without me."
– somewhereoutthere217
"When I was young my mom saying she had to love me but she didn’t like me."
"It was her careful specificity, and I’m adopted."
"F***ed me up for life."
– Wecanbuildittogether
Rude Introduction
"Yep. My biological mother introduced me to one of her coworkers as someone who 'didn't like her daughter, either.' I mean, I knew it. But saying it in front of other people at her job? Damn."
– RustySilver42
Unfit Father
"My friend i grew up with, his family ended up close with mine, testified in court that my dad never loved me ever and it was made apparent to everyone around. His parents, and a few other parents, testified to all the sh*t talk he put out to everyone when I wasn’t close enough to hear it. It was testified by several that my dad blamed me for my mom’s death and despised my existence. My mom died from breast cancer. His mom made sure to take a second before she died to make sure I was told I was a waste of air on this earth. I was informed while I was carrying her coffin. She also blamed me for her husband’s death. He also died of cancer. I was 6 for both deaths (mom and grandfather)."
"Parents are horrible."
"I’m only slightly damaged by these people /s…."
"I’m pretty sure I’m the worst human ever to other people and it’s damaged me so hard I always feel like a liar and like I’m playing victim but it’s just all stuck so I just kinda suck lol"
– destitutehopium
Admitting Infidelity
" I cheated on you, and the only reason I'm telling you is because I'm pregnant. "
– StegoExo
Not every childhood memory is a good one.
Worst Teacher Ever
"Took my math book up to the teachers desk with a question. I wasn’t grasping it. He slams my book on his desk and asked me if I was stupid or what."
"Small town school about 30 years ago. If I ever run into that pr*ck I have a few things to show and tell him."
– WiscoDJ920
Projection Much?
"You'll never be loved or cherished because you look like me. You will never belong anywhere, no one cares about you enough to actually be there for you. You will be a burden to everyone else."
"- From Dad to 11 year old me after we argued about how he missed my birthday(again)"
"But looking back, I laugh because.... it seemed like he was projecting his own insecurities onto me. Lol😂"
– Ok-Philosopher5166
Worst Summer Camp Memory Ever
"You are nice but damn, I have rarely seen someone as ugly as you".
"For context, teenagers summer camp, I was 17. This guy was supposed to be someone I was getting along with quite well (the whole group but we were a few being always together)."
"I was seated chatting with the whole groupe and he came to say that randomly."
"I wasn't even interacting with him. Like, he said my name so he could have my attention."
"Its like he NEEDED to say it in front of everyone and he didn't feel like he was saying something wrong."
"What was weird is that, he wasn't even laughing. Its not like someone or some people were trying to make fun of me."
"It was so harsh that people were speechless. No one laughed. At all. I think they were as much confused as I was."
"I appreciate no one jumped on that after those 'wtf' 20 seconds, they all went like nothing happened."
"I am 35 and still remember this. Knowing how teenagers can be cruel, I hate this had a huge impact on me but I remember people really tried to not make it a big deal. The group didn't fall into that sh*t and they were between 15-17 years old."
"I think someone even said to the guy 'are you being serious right now??.'"
"But I am not sure. I was really trying to swallow the humiliation."
"Edit : I posted yesterday my night here just because I felt like to and was not waiting for any answers at all. I woke up and saw your comments and was again confused why so many people gave attention to my post."
"Thanks for your support. I feel fine today and I know I am cute and most of all nice, funny, loyal and people want to be around me."
"But your biggest weakness being exposed in front of a group when you are a 17 I think is something you never forget."
– kha-ci
People can be so mean.
But the most troubling thing is the lack of humanity displayed on the internet–where anonymous individuals can freely attack others they don't even know for conflicting ideas or for no reason other than to take pleasure in belittling others.
Is being kind to others really that hard?
As Jane Austen so famously taught us in her immortal classic Pride and Prejudice, first impressions can be deceiving.
For while the dashing Fitzwilliam Darcy first appeared arrogant, rude, and snobbish to Elizabeth Bennett, she would soon learn that he was, in fact, the true love of her life.
However, even if we shouldn't jump to conclusions based solely on a first impression, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious about certain things we notice.
A "red flag," as it were.
There are many people who deeply regret entering into what proved to be an ill-advised romantic relationship, or hiring an employee who proved anything but up to the task, feeling that they missed the obvious sign back when they first met them that this was an association bound to end in disaster.
"What's the biggest red flag you ignored?"
Bad Luck, Or Bad Habits?
"She had astronomically bad luck."
"She had been falsely accused of plagiarism and kicked out of college."
"She had a DUI on her record even though she wasn’t that drunk but the breathalyzer was miscalibrated and they mixed up her blood sample with a different DUI arrest."
"She got fired from her job for stealing when she didn’t actually steal but got set up."
"Everything just went wrong for her."
"Or maybe, just maybe, she was a huge a**hole who couldn’t own up to her own sh*t."- AmatuerCultist
Dubious Track Record
'She told me every guy she dated broke up with her."
"I eventually found out why."- draiman
Can't They Weren't Honest
"'I'm not in a good place to be in a relationship'."
"Yeah, I probably should have listened to that one."- spockgiirl
Drew Barrymore Oops GIF by NETFLIXGiphyThem Against The World
"Everything was always someone else's fault."
"All of his ex's were crazy/wrong."
"His family was problematic."
"Everybody was against him."
"Egad, did I find out about him the hard way."- ricwash
"She rage-quit every relationship she had ever had."
"I was her last friend, so I thought she would hang on to me."
"Nope."- Logical-Pop-458
The Words "I'm Sorry" Can Go A Long Way...
"He never apologized for anything."
"Even stuff that was 100% his fault."
"But my dumba** would have to apologize for everything, even stuff out of my control."- imlovegina
Sorry Taylor Swift GIFGiphyBefore, After, Or During One Wonders...
"He got arrested on our first date."- Sapphyrre
What Were They Trying To Hide?...
"When the person I was seeing would never introduce me to their friends or family."- graces-taylor12
Never Trust A Manipulator
"My gf at the time used the words, while talking about manipulating someone, 'I just always know what to say to make someone feel how I want…' hesitates then looks over to me and says '…but I don’t do that to you because…I care about you too much…'"
"This was pretty late in the relationship’s life, so I think she just barely cared to hide it anymore."
"I was heavily mentally checked out, and accepted this excuse without a second word."
"I did 100% notice it deep inside myself, and I still remember the pang of self hatred."- Terapyn
Manipulate 90 Day Fiance GIF by TLCGiphyWinning Isn't Everything... Or Is It?
"She was such a sore loser."
"Like toss the cards if she was losing at cards or smash and smear all the letters around if she was losing at Scrabble."
"It escalated from there as she would literally corner me in a room and tear into me for something I said."
"I left once as she went to the bathroom, mid-tirade."
"In her pajamas and slippers, she ran down two floors of her apartment's parking garage to stop me."
"Oh, and neither of her own kids would talk to her."
"Her parents and sister didn't speak with her, either."
"But they got the religion and she didn't."
"I just thought I could make it work, everyone has sore points and triggers."
"But I was so relieved when she left."- milescowperthwaite
Read The Room!
"My ex-boyfriend used to tell me how much he wanted to f*ck other people (my sister, my friends, his friends, etc) while we were being intimate."- lightasapetal
Over It Rose GIF by HULUGiphy"Do You Like Scary Movies?"
"First date she told me her favorite movie ever was 'The Exorcist'.”
"Whatever, I love scary movies."
"Soon after, we actually watched a scary movie, she came back from the bathroom wearing a scream mask and holding a kitchen knife because she thought it was funny.'
'I did not, but I was just like ok she’s 'quirky'.”- genekreamer
Patterns...
"The ex-wife had left her two previous partners for someone she had an affair with."
"I didn't think it would happen to me."
"It took 10 years, but it did."- MartyFreeze
"She cheated with me before she broke up with her ex and we got together."
"Imagine my surprised Pikachu face when she was f*cking a bunch of guys behind my back."- Greylings
Surprised Meme GIFGiphyThe Age Old Blame Game...
"Blaming me for things that I had no effect on."
"She got a bad grade on a quiz because I helped her study."
"Blamed me for her dropping her laptop because I was in another room doing my own thing and couldn't hear what she was saying so she had to get up off the couch which led to the dropping of the laptop."
"Blamed me for her not being prepared for a presentation at work because I had a work event instead of 'being there for her' which always meant just sitting there on the couch next to her while she put it together."
"Blamed me for her backing into a pole in a parking lot because I didn't pick her up from work, but I decided we'd meet at a restaurant."
"So many more, nothing was ever her fault."- turkeysandwich1982
It's never wise or fair to prejudge someone.
But if anything about someone causes suspicion, there's absolutely nothing wrong in doing a little investigating.
Possibly saving you a bucket load of trouble down the road.