It always amazes to see what catches on culturally.
Do you remember your first Snuggie commercial?
It was a hilariously stupid idea.
5 years later everybody had one.
I think people walked a few runways in them.
That is just the tip of the iceburg.
Somethings that were meant to be silly have become way too real.
It's like gossip, it can all catch on fire and destroy society.
Redditor kk653 wanted to hear about the parts of life that have gotten to the opposite extreme of where they started. So they asked everyone out there:
"What started as a joke but people take it way too seriously today?"
Crocs. How did they become a thing?
Seriously?
happy tom cruise GIF by South Park Giphy"Scientology. Come on. He's a Sci-fi writer and now a bunch of people believe they have Mendichloreans or some sh*t in their blood making them do bad things. Wow."
Gillbreather
Stop Complaining
"Nyquil chicken."
"There was a guy who made a video on TikTok jokingly saying that he had a great recipe for cooking chicken in Nyquil. A few people made response videos, but everyone who saw it knew it was a joke."
"Then mainstream media picked it up, and blew it out of proportion. They made it sound like it was an actual trend for people to be cooking Nyquil. There are already plenty of problems on TikTok, we don't need to invent new ones to complain about."
TheAres1999
Morons
"That science can't explain why bumblebees can fly. It literally started as a joke among scientists. Now some anti-scientific morons use it as an argument against science. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummel-Paradoxon"
"Edit: English version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee#Misconception_about_flight"
Schlaueule
"I worked with a guy who literally used this as an argument for God against science. Which, regardless of your beliefs, is absolutely silly because I showed him multiple videos and articles telling how bees fly and he kept saying, 'Yes, but we can't explain it.'"
"*itch, they just did. Ten times! Listen!!"
kingferret53
The Test
"The Bechdel Test. Not that the issue it raises shouldn't be taken seriously, but people totally misunderstand that it was only supposed to highlight how absurd it is that so many movies fail to reach the very low bar it sets. I've seen filmmakers brag at Comic-Cons and the like now about how their movies pass the Bechdel Test and it's seen as a female character representation stamp of approval when it really just means it reached a satirically low bare minimum threshold originally created by a cartoonist."
VULCAN_WITCH
Fame
Donald Trump GIF by Election 2016Giphy"Celebrities becoming politicians."
ZaryssThesia
"After all this, I never want to be told I need experience for a job ever again."
ajlposh
Our political system isn't a joke, it's a travesty.
Currency
Shiba Inu Cryptocurrency GIF by Daryl AlexsyGiphy"Dogecoin."
Eparii
"I remember a Twitter post where someone asked the Dogecoin creator whether they thought about the environmental impact when creating this coin. He replied saying he took 2 hours to create the cryptocurrency and did not consider anything."
daaniscool
Types
"Those masculinity types, like Apha, Omega and Sigma male, etc. Some people take this too seriously."
Nihlus-N7
"People thought that's how wolves operate and just projected it onto humans. Turns out that wolves also don't do that."
idk_this_my_name
"I think the best part of that whole thing is the fact that the guy who first thought that's how wolf packs worked is the same one who found out it's not how they work."
DarthOptimist
Meow me not...
"Schrodinger's Cat was formulated as a thought experiment to illustrate how odd quantum mechanics is, not that the cat is actually both alive and dead."
uraniumraven
"Not just that, Schrodinger came up with it to demonstrate how absurd and ridiculous the idea was. It was just that his peers thought it actually demonstrated their ideas quite well and started using it as a layman's explanation."
AzyKool
"Schrodinger's cat lived long enough to become the villain."
macewystan
Science
flat earth sour brite crawlers GIF by TrolliGiphy"Flat Earth."
Pichuk
"I remember that it's a forum, i think it's called www.flatearth.org or something. The forum said that it was a debate training ground. The idea was, if you can defend such a ridiculous idea as saying that the earth is flat, then you can defend anything.
"Little did we know..."
nyenkaden
Brain power
"Brain only using 10% of its ability." - ksaunders8
"A better understanding of this would be that a traffic signal is only utilizing 1/3 of its capacity at any one time. If you observe over a time period/with diverse tasks you'll likely see 100% utilization." - Dry-Manufacturer-165
Bootstraps
"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps." Get on the floor and try it. It's impossible. That's the meaning. It was originally used as a sarcastic joke. But today it means the opposite because fanatical capitalists co-opted the phrase and changed the meaning to the opposite." - neonomen
Halloween Candy
"The idea that people are putting drugs or razor blades or other hazards in your kid's halloween candy."
"That is pure unadulterated media fear-mongering. They've been doing it for decades, and it's pure BS every time. I have to wonder if it's not some propaganda paid for by a candy company so people will buy candy to give out on Halloween instead of making it themselves. Sounds like something Nestle would do." - Generico300·
Music Choices
"Hating on Nickelback apparently." - honeydew_bunny
Birds work for the bourgeoise
"Birds aren’t real. I believe the guy who started it actually came out saying it was all intended as a joke and he’s surprised people actually take it seriously now." - jozzywolf121
Religious affiliations
"The church of the flying spaghetti?!" - WobblyBroth
Well that's a lot of jokes that didn't really land.
Professionals Share Their Most Frustrating Stories Dealing With The Public
Public-facing jobs are never easy, but sometimes they're not too bad. Having the same frustrating interactions, like listening to the same bad joke over and over again, certainly doesn't make the job any easier.
Those little jokes we make while in line or on the phone may seem to help ease tension, but they're often only mildly funny. They're even less funny if it's the 3rd time in the last hour someone has made the same joke.
Reddit user HaiKarateAquaVelva asked:
"Non-cashiers of Reddit: What's the 'It didn't scan, so it must be free hur hur hur' of your profession?"
Hold Please
Receptionist here.
I previously answered calls with, "Company Name, how may I help you?" and 50% of the time (or so it felt like) the response I'd get was, "Well, I don't know how YOU can help me".
I switched it up to "how may I assist/direct you" but I still get the ol' "Well, I don't know..."
It's not cute. Just tell me why the eff you're calling so we can both move on with our days!
-wookie_cookie
GiphyI'm obligated to ask those visiting my work place if they have any weapons to declare.
"Just these guns!" flex
-TokenFroKid
Stocking Up
Stocked shelves at a grocery store for a few months in college and some guy was angry because he had been in line for a few minutes and no one was there to ring him up.
He found me and asked what was going on and I kindly told him I'd go grab a cashier to check him out and he goes, "No it's fine, I can just leave with my stuff.
I mean, I don't have to pay if no ones gonna wait on me," or something like that. I laughed sarcastically with a deadpan face and told a cashier there were customers waiting.
They didn't pay me enough to stop him if he tried.
-persona_non_gratae
Office Space
I work in an office, and the boss often leaves me in charge if he's away. I have one co-worker who, every time I'm covering, will arrive in the morning and say "Hi boss! Since you're in charge— can we all go home now? Hurr hurr"
That, and "are you working hard? Or hardly working?"
-baabaaredsheep
Ableism
I work in the Deaf community and people always see the name of the charity I work for and say "Pardon?" then laugh like they're the funniest person in the world.
Little bit of my soul dies every frickin' time
-The-Shaffy
Buttons
At Starbucks, we have categories and buttons for all the drinks.
When we get a new drink, there is a new button but no one tells us where the button is. It is either in with normal lattes or frappuccinos or it's under the seasonal category on the opposite side of the screen.
So when a customer orders a new or special drink, we go on a wild goose chase for the button that seems to not exist. The customers will say "Oh you can't find it? How about you make it and just let me take it."
My boss just tells us to ring them up for a basic drink and make the special one until the button is added.
The button is never added
-PortalOutVoyd
IT
I work in IT. Any time something breaks on the computer it's
"Hehe, oh no, guess I have to go home!"
Every. Single. Time.
-Sunnyhunnibun
I'm in the IT field. The number of times I've been told that I don't know what I'm doing because the customer/family member/coworker "knows" more than I do because I didn't fix the issue in a) 30 seconds or less, b) need to research a bit for the specifics, or c) start digging into the root cause of the issue completely outside of their application/browser/window...
Standard answer now: I'm sorry that I could not help you. Take care and good luck, bye.
In my head: Why the f'k did you ask me for help if you already know the solution?
- numindast
Down Time
"Are you analyzing me now" - Psychologist.
The true answer is almost always, I am too apathetic about you to care that much. At least when it isn't a patient.
-dingkeberry85
Just Sign
I used to make deliveries for a medical supply company. The deliveries were to doctor's offices, veterinarians, clinics, small hospitals, etc. I would get this, at least once a day, when I needed a signature for delivery: "You want me to sign my life away?" I hated that. Not even remotely funny, but they said it like it was supposed to be.
Additionally, there was one lady, in one office (that got deliveries every day, it seemed) who would say to me "You come bearing gifts!" I also hated going there for that reason.
-MrClever23
Ring, Ring
I work in a call center.
I have to ask "was there anything else I could help you with" at the end of the call.
-"Yes bring me a coffee with that"
-"make the sun shine again"
-"got the winning lottery numbers?"
-"yeah. What's your number you have a sexy voice"
I just ignore them now and wish them a good day.
-orangepun-king
Dad Jokes
When I worked at a ski shop setting up snowboard rentals I'd ask how they wanted their stance, regular or goofy, so I could set the bindings up.
At least 3 times a week, for the 6 months a year we did rentals, for the 4 years I worked there, I heard from dads "well he rides regular, but he's pretty goofy hahaha."
By the end of my time there I never even bothered with a fake chuckle anymore, I just didn't have it in me.
-martorano10
GiphyI do non emergency patient transport. So, take people in and out for hospital appointments, hospital transfers and discharges.
So many times, if I rock up with the stretcher/wheelchair, and it’s empty, someone has to say “you can push me/I’ll have a lie down”.
Either that, or “you seem to have lost your patient.”
-FuriousBarbanian
As a server, when you ask a table if you can get them anything else, they answer, "a winning lottery ticket" or "how about a million dollars" at least 50% of the time.
-nordelamanz
Dealing with customers is never easy... that's why all retail jobs deserve a raise and maybe a vacation on a deserted island.
Do you have a crazy customer story? Please drop it in the comment section below for everyone to enjoy?
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