The Stupidest Things People Have Done To Seem Cool
Reddit user Beneficial_Form8563 asked: 'What is the stupidest thing you have ever done to try to be cool?'
People fighting with their own insecurities will go to great lengths to overcome them.
Unfortunately, some of those tactics come at a cost, especially if the endeavor to attain a desired status is a vanity project rather than an improvement of a person's well-being.
Curious to hear from strangers online who pursued a superficial achievement, Redditor Beneficial_Form8563 asked:
"What is the stupidest thing you have ever done to try to be cool?"
These people were more concerned about keeping up with appearances.
Showing Off Your Seat
"Wore my pants backwards during the 90s when kriss kross was popular, so glad we didn't have social media back then."
– Rocjames77
Undesired Contrast
"Tanning booths."
"Had a lady friend that was into those. I only did it like 5 times. I was so dark, the grey hair on my chest were literally glowing."
– mrxexon
Hot Gangsta
"In junior high I wore a hoodie all year because I thought it would make me look gangsta. This included those balmy 90+ degree Texas days."
– Old_Army90
Causing A Spectacle
"In 1st grade, I was very jealous of people with glasses. I wore an old pair of my mom's sunglasses and said they were prescription. So I was, what, 6ish, wearing GIANT 1970s woman's sunglasses and couldn't see sh*t."
"My teacher saw right through it, of course (something I couldn't do). She didnt call me out, just humored me, to a point."
"I kept taking them off to read the chalkboard and she told me to put them back on. She called my mom and explained the situation. Mom picked me up from school and all I remember is denying it, and then my mom expressed her disappointment that I'd lie to her and to a teacher."
"So I told kids I switched to contacts (which were barely a thing then, especially for kids)."
– ahhh_ennui
These Redditors didn't think about consequences.
Amateur Acrobat
"When I was 8 my sister had her friends over, all teenagers, and trying to be cool I jumped on the trampoline in front of them and told them I’d do a backflip. I’d never done a backflip so I landed on my neck, bounced off the trampoline and broke my wrist."
– Artemis64z
Painful Experiment
"Tried to strike a Zippo lighter on my 'stubble'. I was about fifteen; it was fluffy hair. Ripped a zit out of my face. Looked like I’d been shot. Still have an odd clump of scar tissue in my cheek."
– goodassjournalist
The Chugger
"Went to a party and chugged 6 Mike's Hard Lemonades and then threw up for several hours. Nobody else at the party was even a little drunk."
– AdamBombKelley
These people missed the mark when they were seeking to be cool.
The Rebel
"Got pulled over for playing my car stereo too loud. Took the ticket, turned it back up. Took another ticket, turned it back up. Took a third ticket, turned it back up. Spent the night in jail."
– anon
Hair Don't
"had my mullet cut off but left a rat tail, then had it braided."
– TrailerParkPrepper
Wet Disguise
"Spilled my drink to hide that I pissed my pants. Was too cool to say I needed a bathroom."
"EDIT: Before one more of you tell me that was actually smart, it was not: The problem was that it was November, we were outside drinking and smoking to hide from our parents. So when I did the quick thinking how to hide my wet pants I forgot that pee is warm.. and it was a cold night. So my pants were kind of.. steamy lol. I was 22 and a bit drunk 🤷♀️"
– SnicketyLemon875
Targeting The Teacher
"Not stupid just mean and regret it. Some of the popular kids were being my friend, or just pretending to be I don't know. I stole one of the nice teachers candy bars out of her cupboard. I didn't get caught, so I saw her take out the empty box, and look around the room disappointed. Felt like garbage."
– HooterEnthusiast
I was always the class clown in elementary school, and I loved making my classmates laugh.
One time, I tried pretending like I was walking into a closed-door classroom while intentionally not looking where I was going.
To make it look like my face slammed into the door, I planned to kick the door before my face actually hit it to simulate impact.
I misjudged the distance and my mouth slammed into the door.
My adult teeth that had just grown in didn't fall out, but they did get knocked out of alignment and my gums gushed blood.
Well, at least I still got the laughs I was seeking...at a painful cost.
What was your dumbest move to appear cool?
There are many people who are seen as role models, but that doesn't mean those who inspire others can cause mischief.
And while some bad choices warrant reprimanding, there are other instances where yelling is not really necessary.
Curious to hear examples in which people were berated for inconsequential reasons, Redditor Ratzink asked:
"What is the stupidest thing you've ever been yelled at for?"
Students being disciplined at school is expected. However, there are exceptions.
No Phone Zone
"I was in 8th grade waiting to be picked up from school. I didn't see my mother after awhile, so I got my cell phone out (it was a nokia block phone) and was about to call her to see if she parked somewhere."
"This older woman came over and got in my face. She yelled at me to put my phone away or she would confiscate it, and if I had to make a call, I would have to cross the street and do it."
"A really congested street full of cars with no crosswalk nearby; I would have to leave the pickup zone by myself."
– SarahTheJuneBug
"It was WELL past 3 pm (school was out and I was not breaking any rules) and this hag got pissed by just seeing a block phone that barely did anything beyond calls. I just put my phone away and waited for her to leave."
"Thankfully, Mom showed up not long after that. She was angry when I told her what that lady said. She told me she was a b*tch and that I did nothing wrong, and added that if anyone actually ever confiscated my phone for trying to get in contact with her after school was over that she'd deal with it for me. I also asked a teacher about it the following day; she was just as baffled as I was and agreed I wasn't breaking any rules."
– SarahTheJuneBug
Bitter About The Funeral
"I told my Math teacher I was leaving class in 15 mins to go to a funeral, my friend had just died."
"She said no, and I was like 'thats fine, but I'm still going... its my friends funeral.'"
"And then her face went so red and she shouted in front of the class 'I watched my mother and father die right in front of me, what makes you so special.'"
"I was like woah. The whole class was like woah. The teacher must have been having a bad day but she screamed so loud, and her parents dying was not relevant to me going to a funeral. Was super weird."
– [deleted]
Playing With Food
"I once measured a Fruit by the Foot with a ruler when I was in third grade. Lunch lady accused me of playing with my food and I got in trouble. I genuinely really wanted to just measure it to see if it was actually three feet long."
– TheRealOcsiban
Looking For A Place To Sit
"In 5th grade, I got sent to the principal's office for the first time. I asked the secretary where I could sit and I immediately got scolded, telling me I'm wasting her time for even asking her that question. She even brought the principal over and told me to repeat my question just to further lecture me on how stupid of a question it was and how much it wasted her time. Yea."
– MrJerhomie
No Mismatched Socks!
"Allowing my kids to wear mismatched socks. My mother acted like it was a horrible sin to not match up socks for 4 young kids. What a crazy hill to die on in my opinion."
– Adventurous-Minimum3
Confessions Of A Dyslexic
"When I was younger, maybe early elementary, I had a problem reading which translated into dyslexia as I told more people about it. There was an assignment where we were timed on a reading and would be stopped after a designated time to assess our reading level. My problem arose after I couldnt even get past the first paragraph as I was having trouble continuing my sentences, reading words with too many b,d,m, or w’s, and having to pause to sound words out. My observer stopped my time early and questioned my mental ability to continue forward, calling me 'r****ded' or just simply stupid. I began to cry and asked to just start over and she continued to yell at me, telling me that I would never be able to be successful without being able to read more than a paragraph worth of words."
"Fast forward, I am in my junior year of college, writing 7-10 page papers out of pure enjoyment for writing."
– Ashore123
People got all in a tizzy with these work-related issues.
The Deal Breaker
"I was dating this girl. She had been looking for jobs for a while with no luck, and I was looking too. My friend offered to pass my resume to their boss for a job in my field after they got one that paid better. I ended up interviewing, then getting the job."
"The first thing that happened after I told the ex was her she yelling at me for getting the job. 'Why did I have to accept a job?' 'Why did you have to take the easy route by getting a job through a friend?' 'Why did you have to apply there?' 'You lied because you didn't want to work with friend.'"
"And no the relationship didn't last much longer after that."
– Responsible_Yak832
Mad Customer
"My absolute favorite: I was working at a bakery, helping out a dude who I could tell was about two seconds away from losing his entire sh*t."
"Nothing due to anything I or the bread were doing; he looked to just be having one of those days and was only barely keeping it contained. After handling the entire interaction like a ticking explosive, I finally ring him out, hand him his stuff, and offer the customer service standard, 'Have a nice day!'"
Which was apparently the thing that sent him over, as he spat out, 'I will NOT!"' spun on his heels, and stomped away like a petulant toddler."
– mus_maximus
Defective Microscope
"Once I was in a lab and we had to adjust a light microscope. I’ve done it many times over the course of my degree so I know when something’s wrong. I ask the demonstrator to come over and tell her there’s something wrong and she screams at me in front of the whole class saying how I should know how to do this by now. She looks into the microscope, steps back and says 'there’s something wrong with this one. I’ll get you another one.'”
– glxssz
Just Following Orders
"I get yelled at for doing exactly what I’m told."
"Apparently my boss continues our conversations after I’m gone and changes his mind or he replays them in his mind differently or he’s a complete narcissist and does it on purpose."
– FastAndForgetful
Crazy Boss
"F'k my boss used to do that. There’s nothing worse when they’re lighting off at you about something and you’re just thinking to yourself, wtf are they even talking about. Feels like your taking crazy pills some days."
– SnooSongs9930
People need to be clear about who did what before accusations fly.
Who Hit Who?
"When I was 11, my mother started yelling at me for hitting my 5yo brother. That's understandable, if I had hit him. He had hit me. Literally walked up to me, slapped me in the face, and ran away laughing. Turns out he had run to our mom after fake crying and told her that I hit him. She thought I was lying about it until she realised he had started laughing."
– Hot_Interaction7245
Mistaken For A Menace
"On my local summer swim team when I was maybe 8 years old I had the same first name as some other kid who was a total menace. He’d splash water in girls’ faces and pull on their bathing suits thinking it was flirting, etc."
"One day at practice we’re all hanging out on the edge of the pool and I’m talking to my buddy, and there’s a girl on the other side of me. Suddenly her mom, let’s call her Karen, comes rushing over and says 'HEY! WHAT’S YOUR NAME?' I’m confused and look around me to see if she’s talking to someone else and she says 'YEA YOU!' So I say 'uuuuh… {my name}. Why?'”
"She then grabs my arm yanking me halfway out of the pool and starts yelling at me and I don’t really remember what all she said but it was some mix of 'YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER' (the girl who happened to be next to me) and 'WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS??' all while spitting as she yelled."
"And I was just a terrified, confused kid who’d been assaulted for no reason by this crazy lady and was trying to ask what she was talking about, who her daughter was, what I had apparently accidentally done, but she wouldn’t let me get a word in."
"Finally her daughter got her attention yelling 'Mom… MOM… MOM!!'”
“WHAT!?!”
“That’s the wrong boy…”
"She dropped me pretty quickly and looked super embarrassed but was probably still just red from yelling. She gave me a quick 'oh sorry' and just walked away."
"When I got picked up and my mom asked how practice was I just said 'fine… some crazy lady yelled at me but it was a mistake.' My mom looked confused, took me home, and that was it."
– DunderMifflinPaper
Embarrassingly, I was the idiot who yelled at someone for a stupid reason.
Years ago, I felt water sprinkles periodically hit my face while watching Jurassic Park in a packed movie theater.
I may have imagined it but I thought I heard giggling following every splash of water I felt. I was so convinced some kid had a water gun and was targeting me throughout the movie.
During the climactic T-Rex scene–where the tension is amplified without a score to accompany the encounter–I snapped and filled the silence with my wrath.
"Knock it off!" I yelled behind me, generally addressing the audience.
The kid sitting next to me leaned over and whispered in my ear, "It's the ceiling. It's leaking from the bad AC unit."
As soon as the credits started rolling I bee-lined it out of there before anyone could match the face to the temperamental, but very daft, moviegoer.
Some people's stupidity can just flabbergast you. Oftentimes it comes out in an unexpected moment. For instance, once I was curled up next to someone. It was a winter day in the wee hours of the morning, we were watching big fat snowflakes drift through the ice crystallized trees.
Because of this beautiful setting we got on the subject of how amazing nature is. They mentioned how powerful nature can be, bringing up the supervolcano at Yellowstone. This is where things went sideways, as they began to explain to me how if the volcano were to erupt it would result in a supernova in space.
Still not sure how they got there, honestly I just changed the subject because it seemed easier than a 5 am science lesson.
Redditor KarvedHeart wanted to hear the stupidest things others have heard.
They asked:
"What is the stupidest thing you have ever heard out of someone's mouth?"
*screams in geography*
“USA specific. I'm from New Mexico. In high school, I was talking with a group of people in my history class about where we were from. When I mentioned I was born and raised in NM, one of the girls (She was from Cali I believe) got really excited and asked if she could see my green card.”
“She had never seen one before, but she was positive that people in this state are given a birth certificate along with a green card. Because of the Mexico part. I had to explain that we didn't get green cards, because NEW Mexico is a state and not part of Mexico.” spooky_panic
How did they get into uni in the first place!?
“'I thought snow was just the dust that blows off mountains and rain was when the snow melted' 23 year old in one of my uni classes." ChemicalHedgehog6
avalanche GIFGiphyThey only wanted to pay for half the bottle...
“I worked at a bagel shop and I had a customer come in with a complaint one day after buying some nestle chocolate milk from us. So here is how the story goes:"
“We had a guy come in and accuse us of selling and charging him for 2 bottles worth of chocolate milk inside of one bottle when he only wanted 'one serving'. I guess he thought it was a super large or something? (We only have one size, and it isn't that big) His reasoning for thinking that?"
“On the bottle of chocolate milk it says that a thoughtful serving is half the bottle, so he thought one bottle = 2 bottles of chocolate milk and he only wanted one. I had to explain to this guy that a thoughtful portion was just a recommendation by Nestle that he only drink half the bottle because it's healthier."
"And it's not that there are two chocolate milk bottles in the one bottle he bought. Then he told us we should be less confusing, and then I had to explain to him that we do not own nestle and do not have a chocolate milk factory in the back of the shop where we make and produce the chocolate milk."
"Then he said he no longer wanted it because he is "hearing now that it is not fresh" so he tried to get a refund on a half drunk chocolate milk and I had to explain to him that no, we can not do that. And then he left in a huff. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it really is true. People this stupid exist in our world as members of society." Timothy_McEvoy
“Left footed”
“‘How do left handed people drive?’ -my sister. As she then proceeded to try and drive ‘left footed’.” thats_up_top
Almost like teaching CRT is important...
“If the holocaust was real, why didnt the jews just get out? Edit: as in.....walk out of the camps they were held in.” Y_10HK29
“I've had way too many people ask/"ask" me this regarding slavery. ‘Why didn't they just up and leave, or up and murder the enslavers? There's 50 of them and 5 of the family that owned them!’”
“Idk man, perhaps because a nation whose laws, economy, and customs actively supported slavery somehow didn't also have many pathways for escaped people to just waltz away and live freely, or much in the way of legal loopholes that would allow them to murder people without repercussions.”
“Plus when enslavement is race-based, anyone who looks a particular way walking around freely would draw suspicion from literally everyone who saw them.” Much_Difference
But he became a real boy!
“On a tour bus in Italy. A tourist kept asking to see Pinocchio's grave. The tour guide explained he wasn't a real boy. The tourist again said, but where is he buried? He just wasn't understanding."
“Edit: We were in Florence and the guide was sharing stories about Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio's creator. She later shared other hilarious stories about things tourists asked about." AlkahestGem
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“Some dad’s breath...”
“At an old job we had balloons in the office leftover from a kids birthday party in the restaurant. A server comes in, and says 'Oh Balloons!' She then picked a balloon up OF THE GROUND, opened it, inhaled the air and said hello all excitedly.”
“She then goes 'Oh! Why didn't it work?' Her face when I explained to her that wasn't helium she had just breathed in, but some Dad's breath that'd been in the balloon for hours, was priceless.” SergeantSGT
Disgusted No Thank You GIF by Shark WeekGiphy“My bother in law plastered baby oil all over his body and sat out in the sun for 2hrs. I told him he was going to get skin cancer. His response ‘I don't believe in skin cancer’. This is the guy who refuses to have a microwave in his house because ‘they are bad for you’.” Cattangel63
To be fair his hair was fantastic and it was the 80s...
“It blew my mind when I found out that David Bowie's hair didn't always look like it did in Labyrinth. I was maybe 7 or so, and while I understood the concept of actors, I just thought as a rock star in the '80s that he looked like that all the time.” BangarangPita
David Bowie GIFGiphyAnd we have a winner...
“I worked at a hippy crystal store in the mall. These girls come up and are looking at our amethyst cathedrals. One reached out to touch it and her friend immediately held her back and pulled her away, yelling 'Don't touch that! It's Asthmathyst! Being around it gives you asthma'. She was genuinely upset…I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard that one." spooky_panic
“Water potatoes?”
“All of these stories are great. Mine isn't super crazy, but it always makes me laugh. My wife called me while I was at the store probably two years ago and told me to get a few things. She starts listing things off and says ‘can you get me some water potatoes’ I had to stop and reboot my brain because that was a sentence I had never heard before.”
“I thought she was messing with me but nope! Deadly serious. After a back and fourth of her trying to explain to me what in the hell it was she was asking for, I find out she wanted water chestnuts. So now they're just called water potatoes in my house.” King_Metzy
No that's definitely not it...
“When I was in high school, I took Latin, which ended up being about half language class and half Roman history class. One day, our teacher asked us if anyone knew what the Feast of the Lupercal was.”
“This kid's hand shot up and he said ‘Oooh! Oooh! Isn't that when the Jews eat their foreskins?’ Class was effectively canceled due to laughter. After about 10 minutes, our teacher got up, went into the next classroom, brought back that teacher and told the kid to repeat what he had said.”
“He did, and the other teacher just stood there, mouth open and shaking his head. 20 years later, my best friend and I still get a laugh out of this.” LastLingonberry3221
It can't unhinge like a snakes jaw for goodness sake!
“That I am technically not a twin because I was born 2 min earlier then my brother instead of exactly at the same time.” Kaporalisvarner
“one of the girls dead serious asked me what it was like living in igloos...”
“When I was in highschool (I'm from Toronto, Canada) I went to Chicago and went on a boat tour highlighting the architecture of the buildings around the city. While on there I began talking to a group of grade 12 students on a field trip from a high school just outside of Chicago.”
“I mentioned I was visiting from Canada and one of the girls dead serious asked me what it was like living in igloos and did we actually get around by dog sledding. It took a lot of people to convince her that Canadians don't all just live in igloos. She even topped it off by asking if our bathrooms were the same. Me and my mom could not get over it.” AcanthocephalaLost40
“I was at an all night coffee shop near a college campus. A jock was trying to impress his study partner with a 20 minute oratory that Watchmen -- the Zack Snyder adaptation of the graphic novel -- was ‘about love.’ His speech caused me physical pain from 2 tables over.”
“His study partner kept having giggle fits because she was watching me wince the whole time. Dude was trying so, so earnestly to impress her with his mind; I don't know how he didn't know he was getting laid that night, and it wasn't because of his brains. I wanted so desperately to walk over, hand him the condom from my wallet, and tell him not to breed.” Relevant-Slide2759
Wait mmmm, that's not how it works...
”My first time in the USA (I'm from South Africa), I met a girl and told her that I love being here but am sad that I'm missing my summer for her winter (it was December). She could not understand how it was a different season in the Southern Hemisphere. Could not comprehend Christmas in Summer.”
“Eventually I managed to convince her of this truth. A few days later, she brought me a gift and said Happy Birthday to me (my birthday is July 16, she said HBD on December 16). She figured that since the seasons are switched the months must be switched too…” ziggyfro
Getting pulled over walking...
“A cop stopped me one day, as I was walking home from the corner store. He pulled up in front of me as I was about to cross the neighborhood street and snarls at me... What are you doing over here!? I said well I live here.. what are you doing here?"
“He says 'WELL WE GOT A CALL THAT THERE WAS SOMEONE RIDING A BIKE DOWN THIS STREET!' I couldn't help but let out a small giggle as I started to ask ok but why are You here tho?? First sir I didn't even know that was a thing."
“Like can people not ride bikes down the street anymore or are you only with people riding a bike down this particular one. ... In a low Harald and Kumar voice I added 'Is this your street, sir?' Haha so why did you stop and start questioning me then.. you realize I'm walking ?" SeirraD223
“Karen conspiracy theorist...”
“My mom thought america made covid to economically reset the world and she thought my brother was on vacation in North Korea. My mom is mostly smart but sometimes she just becomes some Karen conspiracy theorist for some reason." jurredbeste21
Not exactly, try again...
“A friend of my brother saw a picture of mount rushmore and said ‘hey guys, look at the beatles’. I mean, sure, i also think that john, paul, ringo and george should have been presidents, buuuut.” torpedolina
Well if these weren't enough to make your brain hit and want to fund education we don't know what will.
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Some people just seem to enjoy nit-picking. Whether it stems from their own insecurities or they are truly offended, it can be frustrating being on the receiving end of such complaints.
The most frivolous one I experienced was being sassed at work for a dress I had on. It was summertime and very warm inside the old, big retail store that most not be named. All of the young bright young 19 and early 20 something-year-old ladies were in mini skirts or mini dresses that barely covered their bums. No shame-they rocked it and were more comfortable in the heat.
However, I usually dressed conservative but this day I wore a dress that had cap sleeves but still went at least my knees. For those that don't know cap sleeves are short covering just the tops of your arms at the shoulder. This was great to stay a little cooler but still feel “professional". NOPE. I was quickly told by my supervisor I needed to “cover yourself" and “go find something to cover up with".
I was not quite as slight as the younger women who didn't comment on with their near sleeveless mini dresses. Apparently simply existing in a curvy body can be seen as overtly sexual *eye roll*. After the second time, this particular supervisor approached I pointed out that most of the women in their section were wearing much less they just got quiet and left without any acknowledgment. I wasn't sad when the store closed a year later.
Redditor merry_cat wanted to hear from others and asked:
“What is the stupidest complaint someone ever made about you?"
They tried the blame game...
“I was working on a product with a small team of 6 people. Once it was done, 3 complained to my boss that I don't communicate or listen to anyone and because of that, we had to rush through it last minute. We have a WhatsApp group with everyone on it."
“I am the only one who's messaged the team about the project in the past 3 weeks, every 3 days, only getting a response 2 days before it was due that we should 'get moving'. It was so ridiculous that our head didn't believe me until I showed him. Got transferred to another, (and much better) team. So all's well that ends well." RedEagle915
Ableism
“I can't use my left leg so I'm in a wheelchair. Yeah, I can hop (rather fast actually) but its not recommended. Some lady called me lazy because I could stand on one leg to grab something but had to use a wheelchair to get around. Like, lady. Thats none of your business.“ LaptopArmageddon
“I just had nothing in common with those people!"
“I got put on public speaking training because people from my job had a discussion where they thought I had issues with public speaking. The trainer asked within 5 mins why tf I was there because I 100% DO NOT have issues with public speaking (like literally, I have done performances and presentations in front of hundreds of people multiple times). I just had nothing in common with those people!“ sevasaurus1
Some people just like to complain...
“Worked sales... Guy said I was awesome but tried to sell him stuff and he didn't like that. Boss brought me into the office to discuss my survey... Boss was reprimanding me and I stopped him halfway through. Said something along the likes of what do you actually want me to do differently? Got an uh nothing ok you can go.” bhaail
Golden Girls Want GIF by TV LandGiphyRestaurant work...
“I had a woman accuse me of being racist because I couldn't accommodate her, her husband, and their child as walk-in guests at the upscale restaurant I was working at on valentine's day at 7:30pm. The best I could offer was seats at the bar and she took offense to that as they had a child with them." frequentstreaker
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Mansplaining...
“I was accused of mansplaining. My job was to train people and review everything in a step by step format. The person who complained was notorious for being difficult and fellow coworkers came to my aid and said she was just ridiculous.” RedStradis
Weird thing for an accountant to be mad over...
“I was once called in by my boss for a ‘talk’. Apparently, the accountant was offended when I used too many coins to pay for lunch. My boss asked me if I hated her and if I did it intentionally to offend her. I didn't. It's just that I had enough coins that time to pay in exact change. I don't think it was even too much coins to be honest. Just proper exact change.” BreadedGlass
rich gold GIF by OffsetGiphy“One time I had someone complain to my boss I was, and I quote, "mocking them using my normal voice." I asked him, what the hell am I supposed to do if I can't talk in my normal voice? He laughed, I was confused.”
In your normal voice?
“One time I had someone complain to my boss I was, and I quote, ‘mocking them using my normal voice.’ I asked him, what the hell am I supposed to do if I can't talk in my normal voice? He laughed, I was confused.” Puzzleheaded_Self613
It was just different...
“I am from New England and I lived in the southern US for a while. I had a customer complain to my manager about my accent. They said they didn't like my accent and said it was completely unprofessional.” MaingoGrey
Young students are notorious for their rowdiness and horseplaying, but not all students are like that.
I was not the most serious in my class, but I certainly wasn't the most mischievous either.
On one rare occasion, I was roughhousing with a friend in between classes during middle school, and a teacher happened to walk by and accused us of fighting. The guy was so infuriated, there was no sense in explaining we were just messing around and not out to kill each other.
We were immediately sent to the principal's office. Once we convinced her that everything was okay, we were reprimanded for wasting her time. As a student, sometimes, you just can't win.
Curious to hear about the rambunctious tendencies from former students, Redditor The_Marcindale asked:
"What's the stupidest thing you got in trouble for at school?"
Schools thought these were examples of bad behavior
The Serial Texter
"Got Saturday detention for texting on my phone after school hours. There were no policies that said it was not allowed on school grounds or when I am allowed to use my phone. My high school was dumb."
Coughing = Bad
"Coughing/Sneezing because it was disruptive behaviour. Happened to several students at the start of the year, which prompted even more disruptive behaviour - this time on purpose."
Make No Mistake
"For correcting a teacher. How do you make a mistake when you have the text book open up in front of you."
They were guilty until proven not guilty.
Explosives And Alcohol In The Locker
"I bought an Rc car into school to take over to a friends house, somehow my locker was searched and the dean (horrid woman) tried to claim I had explosives because of the fuel. It didn't go anywhere, since the fuel was with an RC car ffs."
"Another time she searched my locker and claimed an empty Diet Coke bottle smelled of alcohol. Yeah she didn't like me, idk why."
Two John Smiths
"My name is John Smith. There was a kid in my school whose name was David John Smith but he went by John. He tended to get into trouble and the people in the office would look in their records for John Smith and I'd get called in."
"It would always get sorted out but the tone was always sort of 'okay, well, I guess we'll let you off this time.'"
The Liability
"It was lunchtime, so everyone's rushing out to the cafeteria. It was very crowded. As I was moving along the crowd, I saw a kid running my way. So as not to get in trouble, I side-stepped. Then, out of nowhere, the Principal scolded me, telling me how I could've caused an accident because of what I did. But the kid that was running through the crowd got away scot-free."
The Ableist Teacher
"My grade 9 English teacher had it out for me cause I'm deaf. Always finding ways to belittle or put me on the spot without explicitly outing herself as an ableist even though I've always been a good student. A kid passed me a note during silent reading so I rejected it & she started yelling at me for passing notes. The kid even confessed I didn't do anything, it was all him. She still sent me into the hall which led to a series of mediation meetings later on. On that day though, when I got back to my seat he left another note on my chair saying "sorry :(" lol"
Sometimes, you can't help the way you look.
Dance Fail
"My high school didn't allow ripped jeans at all. I was in my dance class (we weren't dancing that day) when I was bending down to sit on the floor and my jeans ripped at my knee. I got sent to the administrator's office for it."
Vertically Challenged
"Being tall. I used to get bullied despite being taller than all the girls in my grade, because girls often fight with words, not fists. One girl was bullying me and it was getting really bad, so I went to a teacher to explain what was going on. She told me a girl that tiny couldn't bully me and I was probably misreading the situation. She then gave me some pointers on how to be less intimidating and basically instructed me to make myself smaller. She did not talk to the other girl. When things got worse, I was getting nasty prank calls at home and at school girls would insult my clothes.
I remember buying a sweater that was a popular brand amoungst the girls at school, to show everyone that I knew what was cool. Well, the brand didn't design clothes for very tall girls, so the sweater was a bit cropped on me compared to others. So of course, I got ripped apart for that. When I told the girl I was going to tell the teacher, she decided she would beat me to it. She told the teacher I purposely bought a sweater like hers to make fun of it. So the teacher told me to remove the sweater and not to wear it again because it was hurtful. I was so upset because I really liked that sweater. Unfortunately it died in my closet after that. Everytime I saw it I was reminded and I felt horrible.
Sexualizing Hugs
"In middle school they made a ban on boys hugging girls because it was erotic."
"So I'm in the middle of hugging my sister and surprise I got in trouble for it BTW I was hugging her because I was comforting her because she was being bullied and the school did nothing about it."
Giving Hair Defense
"Catholic school tried to give me detention for long hair, my mom did not give a single sh*t, came into the school office and told them off. They never said anything about it again. She's the best."
There was one thing I did in eighth grade where I deserved the punishment.
I attended an open-campus school where we were located one block down from the mall. The setup could not be any better.
One day I ditched classes with some friends and we went to the arcade at the mall. It was the best day of my life up until that point.
Unfortunately, we returned to the campus, but not before fifth period was out. We got caught because we were just sitting ducks in the empty hallways. So it was off to detention after school.
It just meant I was able to spend more time with my buddies that day, so whatevs.