The Stupidest Things People Have Ever Done
Reddit user WoF_IceWing asked: 'What's the stupidest thing you've ever done?'
Everyone does stupid things, and it's not limited to when you're young either.
When I was 10, my best friend and I snuck out of her house in the middle of the night and hitchhiked to Tukery Hill for ice cream. I can't even count all the ways that could've gone wrong.
Eight years later, my friend and I drove his new car on the sheets of ice on our college campus, trying to see how fast we could go.
The tires skidded on the ice several times, and back then, we thought it was fun.
The stupidity spurred on by impulsivity doesn't ever truly go away.
Redditors can attest to that, as they are sharing what may be the stupidest things they've ever done.
It all started when Redditor WoF_IceWing asked:
"What's the stupidest thing you've ever done?"
Stranger Danger, Anyone?
"Maybe not the dumbest but I got into a random person's car without thinking. I was trying to catch the bus and the guy offered to give me a ride to the nearest bus stop. Got lucky that he was just trying to be a good Samaritan."
– yeetgodmcnecha**
"I did this once. It was a bright Sunday morning and pedestrian was walking briskly in the direction I was driving. Offered a lift. She got into the car and I realised what was happening when she asked me, "where do you want to go?""
""Umm, I can drop you off somewhere but we aren't going somewhere together.""
"Felt so stupid. But a pedestrian still got a lift to their place of business so I suppose it worked out!"
– NickyDeeM
"Oh god I did something like this. I stayed at the uni campus drinking with friends, and it got late. I live outside the city where public transport only works until certain hours and I missed the last bus. A dude in a car offered to take me closer to my town for the equivalent of 1 f**king dollar, and as soon as I got in the car, I noticed he f**king REEKED of tequila."
"He drove like a... a**hole the whole way, while picking up other people on a similar situation as mine. We were all scared as f**k. Then he dropped me at an intersection where I could walk to my house, and that was it. No idea if they all made it to their houses."
– kourier6
Cheater, Cheater
"Stayed with an ex after she cheated, just leave folks there's no fixing that sh*t."
"Edit: I'm legitimately depressed that so many of you related to this, hope things have gotten better!"
– Masonaut9
"Second this. He just went on to cheat with a different girl a few months later. When a person shows you who they are the first time, believe them."
– MeasurementFluid994
"Yep, same here, bud. Once a cheater, always a cheater. She was my first true love, and I was blinded by that. She told me and I still took a train and a bus in a blizzard 6 hours to see her. One of the most painful decisions I ever made. Then in my next serious relationship, it happened again, but she had the decency to break up with me because she wanted to keep f**king the guy she cheated on me with."
– Sambizzle17
Death Traps
"Drove my motorcycle down the road at 110 MPH while I was drunk because the girl on the back wanted me to go faster. I was much, MUCH younger than I am now, but it still makes me queasy when I think what could have happened that day. Very, very stupid."
– pliving1969
"I was once one of those girls on the back of the bike. Driving drunk through the Colorado mountains at night, drunk and going fast. That was 15 years ago now. One of the most stupid things I've ever done."
– karebear111
Inventors
"As a 10-year-old, tried to make a homemade grenade, added in airsoft bebes for shrapnel. Thing ended up blowing up in my hand, luckily I didn't have any major injuries"
– RED54115
"I was 8, wanted to make a flaming watering can(?), filled it up 50/50 gasoline water mix, went to garden to water some plants… well emergency response was very fast."
– -2fa
"I had a similar experience as a kid, filled up a bottle of gas from a lighter, stupid little me hand my hand at the opening as I was lighting it so burned my hand quite painfully. I just wanted to make a rocket."
– Pedropie420
"I made a bomb from tightly wrapped gunpowder and a waterproof fuse. I gave it to a friend who took it to high school. I have no idea why we thought that was a good idea. Fortunately, only my parents found out so there were no long-term repercussions."
– fsamuels3
Let's Climb
"Friends and I, super drunk (ya, that's a shock) decided to scale a greenhouse... in the middle of thunderstorm then took turns holding the lightning rod (kinda super low probability russian roulette). The most dangerous part wasn't the above though. It was the getting down from the 3 story high building while it was pouring rain and still slick."
"Honestly surprised we escaped with only some scrapes."
– DiscoInfernus
Quite An Expense
"I bought a house in an attempt to save a failing relationship. The relationship still failed and I ended up with a house (by myself) that I could barely afford payments on and could not afford maintenance."
"Ended up short-selling it. Glad it is over...that includes the house as well."
– freezingprocess
What A Surprise
"I put my hand on a stove once to see if it was hot. It was."
– canuckbuck2020
"My dad did that when he was little. He did it again with the other hand when he was a little older."
– Jungleman6
Curiosity Sounded The Alarm
"I pulled a fire alarm in a motel when I was 5 because I wanted to know what would happen. My parents panicked, whole fire department showed up, I got scolded by the fire chief."
– TheGamingMackV
"Curious about a red button. So I pushed it. It was the emergency stop for an escalator. People stumbled. No one hurt. My dad standing next to me saw people stumbling, looked at me, realized what happened, and said “Let’s go.”"
– King_Ralph1
Ouch!
"I broke my arm playing high school football. I then cut the cast with hedge clippers 2 weeks early to play a pickup football game with friends. I obviously broke it again, much worse. I now have a metal plate and 16 screws in my arm."
– aineperson578
Electrocution Avoided
"A piece of toast broke off inside my toaster and I dug it out with a metal fork. It wasn't until years later I realized how stupid that was."
– Wutchu_fitna_fuc_wit
"I did that. Tripped the circuit breaker for the whole house lol. Very lucky that breaker tripped instead of me, the plastic handle probably helped."
– Quarkly95
"This sounds fake I promise it’s true."
"When I was a kid I used to stick a butter knife in the toaster and poke at (what I think was) the coils because I thought it was cool how it sparked. Wasn’t until years later that I learned NOT to f**kin do that. I don’t know how I never got electrocuted."
– International_Net693
I Did It To Myself
"Gave myself a concussion.I pulled as hard as I could on a bungee cord that I was using to tie down some stuff on my truck,cord broke het my face with metal end and my fist... couldn't see straight for over a week."
– Scrapalicious
Luck Of The Groom
"I got drunk while rafting for my bachelor party and jumped off a cliff. Well, more of a really steep hill of dirt, but it was a good 75 feet tall."
"I survived unscathed, but the guys that tried to stop me apparently thought if my uncoordinated self could do it, anyone could."
"So, one of my guests broke a toe and one of my groomsmen cracked his back. He ended up standing in a back brace, but other than that he was fine."
– graveybrains
Yikes!
Like I said, we all do stupid things!
It feels like nowadays people will believe just about anything.
Literally. Anything.
And that is scary.
What's scarier is that these people with these beliefs... are in positions of power.
How do we neglect facts?
And how did this happen?
Redditor P-o-t-a-t-o-o wanted to hear what shocking things we've heard people say they think is truth.
So they asked:
"What is the stupidest thing a large amount of people believe in?"
I'm still stunned to meet Flat Earthers. I mean...
Careless...
Rich Get Richer Make America Great Again GIF by Creative CourageGiphy"That influencers, politicians and businesses are genuinely interested in you and your lives."
badblackguy
Doesn't Hurt
"We have blue blood and it turns red when exposed to oxygen."
gladiiisss
"I remember being literally taught this in elementary school. And the whole different areas of the tongue's taste buds are for specific flavors. I had a first grade teacher encourage us to pull out strands of our hair claiming it 'doesn't hurt.' So many lies. And I got in trouble for ever questioning them."
The_Geekachu
Obvious
"MLMs."
Specialist_Watch1081
"Lots of people who are actively in MLMs also believe MLM's are stupid. They just believe their MLM somehow is not an MLM because it's called something else like 'network marketing' or they are an 'independent distributor.'"
ReturnedAndReported
"I don't know how people can make it this far in life in modern society and still not be able to spot the obvious scams."
silenttd
The Fixer
"A college dropout with tax evasion case will fix the Philippine economy again. 31 million people actually believed this."
Aggravating-Ice6053
"Can confirm. Im a Filipino living in the Philippines. It's absolute hell in here. BBM supporters call it the "golden era" but I swear, we struggle to buy food right now, considering that you're middle class. Imagine the poor people living here. What's worse is we fought for this back in 1986 to make sure the reign of the Marcoses never happen again."
"Hundreds and Thousands of lives lost all for nothing. That's what stupidity and bribery does."
"I'm really glad that other people are aware of this issue, and not just us Filipinos. Gives us a sense of hope that hopefully one day we can bounce back from this. Honestly a lot of Filipinos have already migrated to other countries, so that should give you an idea what kind of situation the Philippines is in right now."
Mimble_Amagi
Seconds Off
Time Mma GIF by UFCGiphy'''I'll be there in 5 minutes.'"
Blonde_girl713
"'I'm on my way right now.""
Fine_Cheek_4106
Being on time... just say you're gonna be late if that's the issue.
Not a Knockout
Knock Out Chloroform GIF by Bailingguo NewsGiphy"That a little bit of chloroform on a rag over someone's nose and mouth for a few seconds renders them unconscious. Totally not from first hand experience."
rone007
Not so far fetched...
"Scientology."
1smartchickey1_1
"I’ll never forget watching the South Park episode about Scientology and thinking 'haha yeah this cannot be real, this stuff is way too far fetched.' And then I googled it and googled the instruments they use for Scientology and who some well known names are that were who were part of Scientology and I was completely shocked."
Conz_
Representation
"That millionaire politicians will represent the working class."
TheBatjedi
"I absolutely hate the concept of 'he is not in it for money, he already has enough' when talking about rich politicians. Please show me a single multi-billionaire who is not constantly trying to get richer. No one suddenly flips a switch from from exploitative capitalist to public servant. Every single rich politician is only interested in getting more wealth/money and to think otherwise is naive."
Al_Tilly_the_Bum
Be Nice
"That screaming at whichever hapless employee had to answer your call will magically get a supervisor on the line."
"It might work in a few places, but the person you want to talk to is probably too busy to deal with you (or they don’t care), and the person you’re cursing out is being paid to handle calls so their boss don’t have to do that on top of their actual job, too."
"At least that’s been the case at most of the places where I’ve worked. (Note: I have never worked in a call center, so no, there wasn’t a supervisor standing by.)"
"Incidentally, when I was a partial owner of a small business, anyone who was abusive to an employee was banned, full stop. I refused to tolerate that nonsense."
"Edit: holy cow, this blew up. Remember to be nice to the people who did show up for work and are trying to help you…their hands may be tied."
littlelostangeles
Smile...
John Candy Reaction GIF by LaffGiphy"That 'mental illnesses aren't real.'"
guitarist4hire
"A few years back, I remember talking to a coworker one day about a really bad depression episode I was having and my boss overheard, he scoffed and was like 'Depression? Just think happy thoughts and be happy.'"
Bacon-Manning
How are we so gullible?
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.
When we're little, we're inclined to believe things that seem ridiculous when we get older. Most of us believed in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy at some point. Many of us believed unicorns existed, or that there were monsters hiding under our beds.
When we were 10, my best friend and I convinced our younger brother that we were spies that went to a special spy school in the middle of the night to train. When I was 12, I managed to convince my soccer camp rival that I was pregnant with a carrot. I'm still not sure how that worked!
The point is, when we're children, we tend to believe a lot of silly, or even stupid things. However, some of us carry some of those stupid beliefs into adulthood.
Reddit users shared some of the stupidest things that they or someone they know still believe thanks to Redditor OnionChan_.
He asked:
"What are the stupidest things that some people believe?"
Live Dangerously Or Not At All
"Had a former co-worker who believed it was safer to cross in the middle of oncoming traffic than at a stop light because they were forced to see you that way. We'd be walking and she'd just cross, horns blaring and swerving around her while we waited for the light to change."
"She also believed our manager was on her side though, and she was the lowest paid in the group - even below the minimum the school allowed. It was amazing she was still alive."
– VictoryaChase
Those Cows Are Talented
"Probably late to the party but I thought that cows rolled up those hay bales until I was like 16."
– Whakefieldd
"As someone who spent the last three days throwing hay bales, I wish cows contributed."
– The_Brain_Fuc*ler
It's Like Rain On Your Wedding Day
"Up until 6th grade I thought ironic meant something was made entirely out of iron. I was only corrected on my misunderstanding when my teacher asked me to explain my logic after I commented on how the hole puncher was the only ironic object in the room. I still remember the look of bewilderment on her face as I said it lol."
– NorthEasternDunes
And Also, It's Made Of Cheese
"I knew a woman who believed that there are high-end resorts on the moon that rich people are vacationing at. She was shocked and confused when I told her that I didn't also believe this."
– grannybubbles
Where Do Babies Come From?
"When I was little, I thought children came from your kidneys."
– Myst3rySteve
"You're kidding me."
– HertogJanVanBrabant
Someone Needs To Look At A Map
"Heard some guy say "Florida doesn't exist, the government made it up". He wasn't joking"
– BigBounceZac
"That's nonsense. Wyoming is the only fictional state."
– themattboard
"Technically the government made up every single state. Like how every word is made up."
– HyperSpaceSurfer
One Of The Biggest Conspiracy Theories
"Flat earth"
– New-Highway868
"if the earth was flat, cats would have knocked everything off the edge by now."
– stormquiver
"I just want to know what is the purpose of the conspiracy? Like if the earth really was flat what would be the purpose of hiding that?"
– afellowchucker
Nothing To Do But Laugh
"We use only 33% of a traffic light. Imagine how fast traffic would flow if we used 100% instead!"
– dracosdracos
"I got into this argument with someone once. I ended it with "Let me remove 90% of your brain and let's see how well you function.""
– Stoomba
Milk Is Milk Is Milk
"I saw a video of a vegan, drinking strawberry milk the nesquick brand. They said “it’s vegan because it’s strawberry milk. Not like cow milk. You know what I mean?” I get how they can have misunderstood due to almond milk, soy milk etc. but still, I found it very stupid and I feel like it’s very common knowledge that it’s strawberry flavored, like chocolate milk."
– _Plutooo_
"Really difficult to milk all those tiny little nipples on the outside of the strawberries. Takes a lot of work"
– Jothomp79
No Words
"NSFW"
"Up until I think our sophomore year of Highschool, one of my best friends at the time thought that for guys, your pee is stored in your balls. This friend was a dude by the way."
– rainylikesstuff
You Can Also See The Sun...
"That from the east coast, California is farther to get to than the moon. Because you can see the moon"
– Illustrious_Charge88
Where Is The Proof?
"here in the philippines there's an old belief where If you eat conjoined fruits while being pregnant the baby that your delivering will be conjoined twins."
– PotatoKevin409
This One Is Kind Of Sad
"I thought Alaska was an island and not a part of the North American continent so there’s that"
– Hour-Egg-3011
Maybe In The Animated World
"That if you look at a screen for too long your eyes go square"
– FluffyJo22
WHAT?!?!
"Santa isn’t real"
– cry_me_river
I WISH This Was True!
"For the longest time, I thought fascism was like racism but for faces--discriminating based on beauty standards, basically. Ah, to be teenager me calling random people fascists again..."
– MaelstromNyxus
Um...Huh?
"My primary school teacher for trying to teach me that Noah's Ark carried fucking dinosaurs.
T-Rex and Steggasauras and all."
– sroche24
That Sounds Painful!
"i had a partner who genuinely believed they put acrylic nails into your finger, like they do in the practice nail videos. they thought they legitimately pushed them under your cuticles."
– peach_png
Can't Reason With What's Not There!
"Ghosts. My MIL told me that she’d rather have a robber in her house in the middle of the night than a ghost. She said she can reason with a robber but not with a ghost."
– sad-butsocial
Double, Double Toil and Trouble
"That crystals have magical powers"
– Outlier25
That made me laugh out loud, and not because of its ridiculousness. I admit, for a long time, I believed that too!