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Spooked People Share The Weird Things They Saw, And No One Believes Them

We've all had a fleeting moment where a shadow passes through the corner of our eye.

But by the time we turn around to look, it's gone.  Vanished.  We tell ourselves we were just imagining things.

But Reddit user KaikesPokeCards wanted to know who else has shared that experience:

What do you SWEAR you saw, but don't have any proof of?

Here are some of the answers.

Puppy Love

When I was 10 we had a 14 year old German Shepard who was getting very sick. I was home alone momentarily as my mom went to the neighbors to pick up a book or something. Our German Shepard came over, convinced me to walk outside with him and started licking my hands, looked at me, and ran away jumping the fence and he never came back. He was so loyal and good that to this day noone believes me and thinks he was stolen because he would never leave.

I'm almost certain he did that because he didn't want us to see him die and he wanted to go to the massive forest area and do his thing. I miss you buddy. 04NeverForget

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Blind Sight Is 20/20

I've had glasses since the third grade. I was playing tackle football with friends after school (I wasn't wearing glasses), tackled one of my friends, really big collision, for a second I regained full eyesight...then I blinked and it was gone again. klitchell

Special Guest Star

Sometime in the early 2000s my wife and I went to an Eminem concert at the House of Blues on Sunset in LA (yes I know they are tearing it down and it sucks, I saw a lot of great shows there, including his royal purple badness). Anyway the entire show, maybe 90 minutes, there was a guy dancing on stage in a full mummy suit and he is doing really awkward and funny dances that you wouldn't expect from a background dancer at a rap concert but hey he's in a mummy suit so whatever. The show ends and Eminem screams into the mic "Do y'all wanna know who the mutha f***in mummy is?" and the crowd cheers and he screams "Dustin mutha f***in Hoffman!" He pulls a zipper in the back of the costume and out comes an extremely sweaty 60something year old Dustin Hoffman and the crowd goes into a stunned silence for a few seconds and then erupts in cheers. My wife and I just kinda looked at each other in disbelief and when I tell people they always say something like oh it must have just been someone found that looked like him but that guy was Dustin mutha f***in Hoffman and no I have no proof.  steelear

Unexpected ESP

Not my story, but my brothers.

He lost his wallet and was retracing his steps looking for it. A homeless man approached him at a coffee shop and said to him

"Don't worry. It's in the bathroom sink. Your wallet is in your bathroom sink"

Later that night he did indeed find his wallet at home in the bathroom sink.

A few days later, he saw the same homeless man and thanked him for his help. The guy became really irritated and told my brother he had never seen him before.

Could have been a lucky guess, but I think Magical Bum makes for a better story. mgncapri

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Let Go And Crow

When I was about 10 years old I saw my old dog catch a crow out of the air then just gently release it. Hof354

Have You Seen This Boy?

When I was about 10 they started putting missing children on milk cartons. Every morning for a while I was looking at this boy's face on the side of the milk while I would eat my cereal. Then one day a car went down my street while I was playing outside, and there was a boy in the back seat with his face up close to the window looking out. I'm 99% sure it was the boy from the milk carton. I told my parents but they didn't believe me. fafa_flunky

Cuddle-fish

I was at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. I walked up to the cuttlefish tank, and for some reason all 20 or so of the cuttlefish rushed over to me. It was a big tank, maybe 10 feet long. I walked the length of it, and they followed me. I walked back, and they followed. A few other people saw and tried it themselves.

But alas, the cuttlefish only had eyes for me.

My best guess as to the cause was that the guy who feeds them is my doppelganger.  Drumlin

Phenomenon

Ball lightning. It was right after a thunderstorm passed by. I could see floating orbs in the sky. There were a couple of cars parked by an open field and people were watching this happen, so I parked and got out to join them.

We all sorta just looked on in silence until they winked out one by one. There was at least ten of them and they seemed to fly together in patterns. Sometimes they were fast, other times they slowed down or reversed direction. They seemed small, but I could tell this wasn't because they were far up in the sky. If I were to guess, they'd be about the size of a basketball, maybe a little larger.

The whole ordeal only lasted thirty minutes. We then all got in our cars and left. I tried taking pictures but it was dark and the lights were too faint to make out. I should recorded a video instead. I noticed someone was recording them at the scene so I had kinda hoped I'd see it online at some point. But it's been two years now so I guess not. Vadavim


Frozen

A chameleon escaped from a bag when my friend was giving it to me and it leapt into a big pile of snow. I looked around for it for a while but couldn't find it so I gave up. Several weeks later the snow all melted and I was out there and found the lizard partially frozen to the ground. I peeled him off and put it in one of those little plastic tanks and sat it by the radiator in my house. Within an hour or two the lizard was hopping around the cage like nothing ever happened. It lived for several years after that, and was known to my friend and I as Jesus the resurrection lizard. enslavedbyvegetables

Shelving Be Gone

My bathroom had a towel holder thing, which was a fastened bar parallel to the wall. It had started coming out of one of the holders and one day I accidentally pulled too hard on it. It came flying off and landed in a clatter, but I couldn't find it.

Mind you, this was a small bathroom, maybe fifteen feet by six feet in area and the counter and cabinets are seamlessly fastened to the wall. I checked in the bath, behind the toilet, under the towers -- nowhere.

To this day, I have no idea what the f**k happened to it. [deleted]

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Protector

Before my sister was born, my parents found a kitten. They decided to keep it, because they could find no owner. Named her Princess.

Anyway, my sister is 4 years older than I am. We both grew up with this cat. She'd sometimes follow us and watch over us. My parents used to make jokes about how she thought of us as her kittens.

Now, my sister wasn't very nice to me. It took a lot of people a lot of time to realise she wasn't just nasty; it was full on abuse and bullying. My sister is a narcissist, but that's not what you need to know. When I was too young to understand what was happening, I used to talk to Princess. She was like my version of a diary; I'd sit with this creature that was older than I was and tell her all my problems.

One day at a store, my mum told us she'd buy us each a lolly. My sister wanted a different one to me, and grabbed my arm and clawed her nails down it so hard it drew blood. Hurt a lot and I was really upset. When we got home I went and cried to Princess about how scared I'd felt. After a while I calmed down and went and played with my toys. Princess ambled out of the room. A few minutes later I heard a shriek and she ambled back in. Turns out she'd walked up and scratched my sisters hand, then hissed at her before coming back to sit with me, and watch over me playing with my toys.

My parents assume that my sister provoked her, but I know. She walked out of the room right after I'd been talking to her, and walked in right after the shriek. I can't prove it, but I think Princess saw how scared I was and showed me that she'd protect me. I've never told anybody about my white and grey guardian apart from my currant cat.

I haven't thought about Princess in a while. She lived to be between 19 and 21, depending on how old she was when my parents got her (she lived with them for 19 years; was around two when they found her). I loved that cat. Funnily enough, my new cat was originally my sisters. She got him, then left him with my parents, and he slowly became mine. He likes to sit with me more than he likes her. bolter_to_the_face

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Animal Crossing

I was out for a walk late one night. This was in rural Illinois, so there was nobody else out. I noticed from a distance that there where these squirrels just standing in the middle of the road. Thought to myself that this is strange. When I got closer I noticed there where three squirrels standing around a cat that was lying down. I thought for a minute the cat was dead, but when I got closer and walked passed them, the squirrels and cat followed me with their eyes, none of them moving a muscle. It was a look like, "Move it along nothing to see here." Still to this day I think of how bizarre that was. wdnsho

Squirrel Shaming

My dog spent the first couple of years of its life on the street. I'm sure he's eaten his fair share or squirrels. And he constantly barks at them/stalks them when he sees them in the yard or on walks.

One night I was working in my garage and my dog was in the backyard and I heard this ruckus, like he was fighting or chasing something, but then it turned into this "chit chit chit chit chit" sound so I walked out of the garage to see what was up.

My dog was hunched down really low, like he gets when he gets disciplined at for being bad, he had his head hung low and his tail between his legs, and there was a squirrel standing in front of him yelling at him. I swear to god, it was wagging its finger at him and everything. "Chit chit chit" reading him the riot act. When it saw me walking out of the garage, I swear it crossed its arms and scowled at me too like it new I was responsible for the dog's behavior. karmavorous

Honest Abe

I once saw a man in an Abraham Lincoln costume complete with top hat running for what seemed like his life along the street. I slowed down and when he turned to look at me he was missing an eye. I drove off and of course no one believes me. InvisibleDogLeash

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Seeing Things

As a child I touched some weird pest plant in our garden, I think it stung me. Then I saw everything in inverted colors for short time. And then back to normal. I was in such a shock, I couldn't explain it to my mom. I just went to her crying. Novacryy

Blue Valentine

When I was about 6, my entire family was helping to build my grandparents a new house. I was helping my dad move some really long 2x4s from the lumber pile when a mouse ran out from under the board I had moved (out in the middle of the woods, mice were no big deal to any of us.) I did a double take though because THE MOUSE WAS FREAKING BLUE. I don't mean the sun reflected off its fur and it had a blue sheen to it, I mean a brilliant, royal blue. He was running fast but I got my dad to notice it too and he agreed that the mouse really was royal freaking blue. We've told multiple people, my mom included, and no one believes us. But we know what we saw.  Totally_Not_Anna

A Cry In The Dark

When I was about 10 or 11 we were having a get together at gma's house for the holidays. All of us cousins played all day, and when night fell we played hide and seek. While the adults smoked and drank up by the house, we stayed on the back of the property just having a good time. I was hiding in between a bush and the property fence when I heard the strangest sound. It was almost a scream, both happy and miserable at the same time. I jumped up and kinda shouted. All my cousins heard it, and we all saw it, too. It was an animal on two legs, and it ran off with really jerky motions. Being the oldest by about three years, I calmed down the crying little ones and explained as best I could that it was just someone trying to scare us. I've had nightmares about that sound; in my mind it seems a grotesque mimicry of our joyous screams and laughter as we played. None of my cousins today will admit to even remembering the incident, although the adults remembered the commotion it caused. texasshorthorn

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Across The Universe

When I was 5 I woke up from my sleep and saw a man sitting on the stairs watching me. I wasn't scared though. There was something tranquil about it. I just watched him and he watched me for what seemed like 10 minutes. Then all of a sudden he was gone. A few days later I found out my dad was killed in Europe. I live in Canada and my parents were seperated. There's pictures of me with him when I was just born but he left shortly after that. To this day, that is the only memory that I have of my dad. A ghost watching over me. I don't believe in ghosts but I know what I saw. I've never told anyone before except my mom. hotdogwehaveaweiner

Offensive Cover-Ups

My friend and I were watching basketball in the early days that Charles Barkley was a panelist. He was apologizing for calling a team "midgets" and saying that he now knew it was offensive. But as they were going to commercial, we both heard him say over a hot mic "Besides, they shouldn't hate me, they should hate God."

My friend and I were amazed, and convinced he would be fired. But not only did we never hear about it again, the clip doesn't even exist online anywhere. It's as though we had a double delusion. phdcandidate

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Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo

My mom, dad and I were driving through rural Alabama late one night headed to see family for Christmas over 10 years ago. We were in a Ford Explorer. Mom was driving and Dad and I were sleeping. I woke up for a moment in the backseat just in time to see what looked like a buffalo dead in the road and then the Explorer went up and over as the dead buffalo and it scraped the undercarriage of the car. I asked my mom in my sleepy daze "was that a buffalo?" To which she replied "I don't know...I closed my eyes." 1234sc27

Cold Cut Welding

One time when I was really young, maybe like 10 years old, I came home after school and was making myself a salami sandwich. I pulled the bag of salami out and took out two slices. I smacked the two slices together, and suddenly they became one. I tried my hardest to separate them, but there was no seam or anything that I could split them up with. I even showed it to my mom but not a single person believed me when I told them. I had fused two pieces of salami together. bike_rack

Monkey Business

A monkey jumping from car to car on a busy street. I could probably draw a sketch of it even though this happened about 5 years ago. Definitely one of the most odd things I saw. Unfortunately everyone thinks I am telling a bad joke when I explain what I saw, or they just nod it off and continue not giving a fuck. NotSoOldSchool

Pudding Up

I'm in line at a cafeteria. The guy in front of me is holding a pudding cup. Someone walking by stumbles and falls into pudding cup guy, knocking his pudding cup out of his hand. While everyone is looking at stumbling guy, the pudding cup goes a good two feet straight up in the air. Pudding cup guy is totally focused and at the last second turns and catches the pudding cup behind his back. He looks at me, smiles and that was that. No one else saw it. shardcommondale

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Dances With Wolves

In 1994, on a farm in the southern Midwest US, five year old me had this huge yellow lab, sweetest dog in the world, who one day suddenly lost her shit barking and ran outside. Being 5, I followed her and watched her run out into the cow pasture (where the cows were suspiciously nowhere in sight) and went toe to toe with a fucking grey wolf.

That area at that time was definitely not wolf country. Coyote sure, but there is no way it was a coyote. Thing towered over my lab, and I'd seen plenty enough coyotes before to know that this thing was not that. My lab barked her damn head off right in his face, and after about a minute he tilted his head and then just turned around and disappeared into the woods. Found all the cows at the opposite end of the pasture circled around the two calves we had. They were never that terrified of coyotes, and they had no fear of domestic dogs (my lab literally climbed over them when they laid down and would tug on their tails - cows gave no fucks).

I will go to my damn grave saying it was a wolf I saw, but nobody believes me of course. I've spent years researching wolves and wolf hybrids but every picture I've seen of both the animal and the paw prints he left behind says it was very very very much more wolf than coyote or dog or even a mix. WolfGirl94

Crow Court

I saw a bunch of crows, around 20+, gather around in a circle. I was like wtf and took a closer look to see 3 other crows in the middle of the circle, all on their backs. And some crows from the circle would hop in and try to peck at the 3 crows, while they cawed and tried to defend themselves with their feet. I know crows are smart and all but didn't expect this level of social behavior. It went on for a while before a kid ran in and scattered them all. poopellar

Undrowned

In the 1990s, I was such an exercise freak. At least 4 hours a day walking and hillclimbing. I was getting cut off from current events, tv news etc.

One day I'm on my way home, around 3pm.I'm crossing the street in front of our local grocery store and there's this guy on the other side of the street. His hair is a mess, standing on end. His clothes are all over the place, not ripped, but disarranged. Like he walked out of a bomb blast but he cleaner. He's looking around, silently, clearly confused. Homeless people were really uncommon in my area then and tended to be couchsurfers rather than streetsleepers. He looked too well to be a street sleeper plus he didn't seem to have a clue where he was but he turned left and wander off the my left before I crossed the road.

That night, local news comes on. That afternoon a school teacher a couple of towns away had drowned. They flashed his picture up. It was the dude I saw. I'd swear to it. vrosej10

A Royal Coincidence

While I was playing poker with a few friends, I was dealing and somehow managed to deal a royal flush on the board, giving every person a royal flush. This was well into our game and the cards were definitely well shuffled, and don't forget I'd also placed the burn cards down. The odds of this are so astronomical that, apart from the friends I was playing with, no one would believe it happened and would assume I'm just a liar. Dotman_95

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Unprecedented Coordination

I was at the airport and saw a businessman with a carry on wheely bag get off the escalator.

He turned the corner, broke into a sprint carrying the bag by it's small strap handle on top.
He swung the bag forward and let go of the strap handle. While it was in mid-air he grabbed the currently unextended extending handle, pressed the button and on the back swing extended the handle and landed it on its wheels and continued sprinting, all without breaking stride. WildxYak

UFO

I was out, stargazing by myself. I remember a thunderstorm was off in the distance, and it was a moonless night so there was quite a show.

I noticed a satellite hauling across the sky...then it turned 90 degrees. Not gradually, like turned on a f*****g dime. Did it 3 more times before dashing completely across the horizon in about 6 seconds.

I have no logical explanation of what I saw. I had been sober and drug free for about 7 years when I saw this, and to my knowledge nothing man made had that kind of maneuverability or sudden. Heat of speed. k0uch

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Mandrill Shenanigans

Late to the party, but I'll post my story. When I was about 7 or 8, I was at my grandmother's house in WV to spend the night, along with my brother and sister. It was Friday night and we were watching old school TGIF. There was a knock on the door and I jumped up to answer it (my grandma was in her bedroom and didn't hear it. I wasn't supposed to answer the door by myself, but I really liked to do it).

I opened the door and no one was there. I stepped out and looked to the left and right. To the right, beside the door, my grandma kept a small table. Sitting on that table was a Mandrill. One of those primates like Rafiki from the Lion King. I don't remember it moving, I just saw it sitting there staring at me.

I freaked out and slammed the door. My grandma came running out and I told her there was a monkey outside. She ran out my brother and sister ran to the door to see the monkey. I'll never forget when I ran out and that table was empty. My grandma told me I shouldn't tell tall tales and not to open the door when she wasn't around.

That's been over 20 years ago and my brother and sister still make fun of my for "seeing a monkey." I've done google searches about Mandrills escaped from the zoo in rural West Virginia, but no such luck. It is still so clear in my mind I am sure it was there, though. Brenvol

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

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

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

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

– -WigglyLine-

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

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

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

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

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

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

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

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

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

– Frozenthickness

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

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

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

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

OldMastodon5363

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

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

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

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

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

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

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

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

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

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

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

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

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

– Known-Committee8679

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

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

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

– KampferMann

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

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

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

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

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

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

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

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

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

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

Nuclear Fail Safe

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

- egorf

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

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

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

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

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

- oddidealstronghold

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

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

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

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

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

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

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

- horroscoblue

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

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

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

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

- SlefeMcDichael

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

- PMmecrossstitch

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

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

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

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

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

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

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

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

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

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

- JustDave62

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

- RRautamaa

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

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

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

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

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

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

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

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

- hefewiseman1

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

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

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

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

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

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

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

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

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

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

- thechaosjester776

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

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

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bleeding Out

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

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

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

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

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

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

– Crotch-Monster

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

Like Father, Like Son

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

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

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

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

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

– omgtater

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

Unplanned House Guests

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

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

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

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

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

– foxfood9116

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

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

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

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Tale As Old As Time..."

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

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

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

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

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

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

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

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

"I think he was a germaphobe."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

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

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

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

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

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

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

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

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

"It was very low key."

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

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

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

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

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

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I work in a public library."

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

"A popular book that just came out."

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

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

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

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

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

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

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

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

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

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

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

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

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

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

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

"It's just a party."

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

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

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

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

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

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

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

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

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

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

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

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

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

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

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

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

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

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

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

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

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

"I'm not kidding."

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

"My wife worked booking."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

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

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

Said absolutely no one.