Stranger than fiction.
That's the theme behind today's burning question from Redditor ReadyPlayer85, who asked the online community: What is the strangest thing you've witnessed that you can't explain to this day?
"I was in a small airport..."
GiphyI was in a small airport in Madagascar and I swear to God I saw 500 people get off a plane that should seat no more than 70.
"I was lying in bed..."
I was lying in bed with my girlfriend watching TV. We're the only ones in the house and the shower turned on, like a steady stream not just dripping water. I got out of bed, terrified, walked into the bathroom and turned it off. Had to turn the knob 90 degrees to shut it off.
Never happened before and hasn't happened again and it was a tight handle, not really loose as if its own weight could turn it. Damn ghost plumbers.
"I was walking home..."
I was walking home from the movie theatre with a friend/neighbor of mine. It was about 8:00PM, and the walk took us down some major roads and through the suburbs. 45 minute walk through residential and commercial areas.
We. Saw. Absolutely. NOBODY.
The whole walk, we saw no cars, no people, nothing... well, not quite nothing... we did see the creepiest sh!t ever.
An ambulance, parked outside a house, lights on, doors open, no paramedics to be seen. Just sitting there in silence. The whole thing was like a god damn zombie apocalypse, it was insane! To this day I have no idea what was going on.
"Out and about..."
Out and about on Saturday night, decided to stop at a bar with a friend of mine.
I walk in and go to the bathroom, I come out and he says" lets get the f--- out of here".
I begin to ask why, and noticed there was no one in this bar.
A parking lot full of cars, music blaring, tables with drinks on them. No people.
"I was very young..."
I was very young and woke up in the middle of the night. There was a strange rectangular green light dancing around a dresser. It was only about 6 inches high and 2 inches wide. I was terrified. Something said my name - I heard it very clearly and I hid under the blankets unable up move. A few minutes later my mom in the next room started screaming there there is a ghost in her room. We all calmed down after a while and we never did explain it
Today I don't believe in ghosts or anything like that. But I do believe that something happened that night and I'm not ruling out anything supernatural.
"Me, my brother, and a friend..."
Me, my brother, and a friend were camping once when I was maybe 11 or 12 way out on our 100 acre farm in small town Kentucky. I woke up around 1:30 or so in the morning and could faintly hear a piano being played that sounded like it was coming out of the woods about 100 yards for our campsite. There is not a house or building or anything anywhere near that spot on our farm. So naturally I think I'm just hearing things and decide to try to go back to sleep. Then my brother, who was apparently also awake, sits up and asks me if I hear a piano. We made a dash for the house and never camped out there again.
"When I was younger..."
When I was younger (elementary school) some days I would come home from school and see the shadow of a man in the window of my house. Sometimes I would just notice him in passing, other times I would only see him when I got close and jump back. Every time I tried to see him again he would be gone. Now I don't come home at the same time, so I haven't seen him in about a year. But if I'm home at around 3pm, my dog will usually start barking at that window for no reason. I don't know why I could only see it when I came home at 3pm from outside the house, but it's what happened.
More info: There's nothing in the window tall enough to make the shadow I saw and no one was home most of the time when it happened.
"I was around..."
I was around 6 or 7 when this happened. I was playing in the basement at the time. I had turned around to get another toy and this weird creature popped out from behind one of the red poles that was down there. The pole was thin so it couldn't have been a human as you'd be able see parts of their body from behind it. This thing I was looking at was pretty much just a torso and a head. It was all black and it's eyes were wide open and staring at me. You could see the white around it's soulless black pupils. I didn't look at it for too long as I had sprinted back upstairs a second later.
It scared the sh!t out of me, and to this day I have absolutely no idea what that creature was. Basements terrified me for years after. I could only go into one if I was accompanied by someone, to which I would promptly hold onto them or be in extremely close proximity until we returned upstairs. The fear got better around age 13 so I was only traumatized for 6-7 years.
"My friend lived..."
My friend lived in the middle of nowhere. Her house was surrounded by fields without people or homes for miles. One night we were sitting in her barn and we heard footsteps running towards us. We looked outside the barn doors to see a massive blue light glowing in the dark and moving steadily towards us. We hear the footsteps and see the light, but can't see anybody causing it. We freak out and take off running to the other barn and locked ourselves in. For the next half hour we could hear something circling the barn. Eventually it faded away and we ran to the house. I assume it was a person obscured by the darkness and holding a massive flashlight but I don't know why they came after us or what they were planning to do.
"When kiddo was small..."
When kiddo was small, I was awoken one night to what I thought was my kid saying "Mommy". I got up, turned on the hall light so I could check her without blinding her and saw a small girl child push herself away from the bed. I remember thinking it was my kid. Same haircut, same hair color (those were the only distinguishable features I could see in the dim light). Turned on her light, asking why she was out of bed and stopped short cuz she was still asleep and nobody was in the room....
"I've seen a lot..."
I've seen a lot of strange things, but one in particular sticks in my mind. Driving late at night after a school event. I'm taking a few friends home that didn't have cars or rides home.
We're winding through a narrow side street that cuts from one end of a neighborhood to the next one over. It runs uphill. To my left is a large hill, to my right is side streets that lead downhill to more houses.
A teenager comes screaming out of one of the side streets as if the hounds of hell are chasing after him. He runs in front of my car. I slam on my breaks just as he enters the light of my headlights. He looks at me completely terrified, leaning on the hood of my car.
My friends all finally realize why we're stopped and start asking who this guy is. We all start to open the doors to ask him if he's okay. He takes off running towards the hill before we can get out.
He disappeared before he could pass through the other headlight. We freak out, go searching the hill to see if he went up that way. But it's almost straight up and super high. There's no way we missed him. We were looking right at him!
Never could figure that one out. I'd seen other strange things in that same area over the years.
"I am going to preface this..."
I am going to preface this by saying I don't believe in anything remotely paranormal. I awoke one morning this January to find some very strange foot prints in my front yard. There were 4 individual boot prints in the snow, in the middle of my yard. They were completely isolated with none leading to them or away, it had not snowed overnight and wasn't particularly windy such that some tracks may be covered.
I have been wracking my brain as to an explanation but am drawing complete blanks. The only remotely plausible theory is that a very devoted prankster had strung a rope/slackline across my front yard, shimmied halfway across to make a few boot prints, then climbed back and removed the rope. I am 99.9% sure this was not the case of course.... Any ideas?
"I'm fairly certain..."
I'm fairly certain my family has a banshee. Several of my relatives have stated they've witnessed it and I've personally heard it when two of my relatives died.
"For about 6 years..."
For about 6 years, middle school through high school, I would get phone calls when I was in class from an unknown or blocked number. If I answered the call, there was fast breathing and then they would hang up. If I didn't answer the calls, the ensuing voicemail was someone playing elaborate piano pieces (quite badly). It happened maybe once every two months, I just ignored them and eventually it stopped happening. But every time I get a missed call from a number I don't recognize, I think for a split second that the voicemail might be someone playing piano.
"I was walking around..."
I was walking around Bush Gardens one day and I'm just having fun and goofing around, until out of the corner of my eye, I see this middle aged man curled up on the ground. For no reason whatsoever, he starts laughing really loud and intensively. I honestly thought he might pass out, but just as weirdly as he started, he stopped. He then stood up, and started sprinting, and I still wonder to this day where he might have gone after that.
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.