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.
It was freezing and I was hungry, so I ran, even though I was cognizant of the patches of black ice everywhere on the street.
I decided to do a track and field jump over a pile of snow to get onto the sidewalk and off the street. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the huge patch of black ice waiting for me on the other side of the snowbank.
I must say, I leaped so elegantly like a gazelle over the snowy hurdle, but I was immediately humbled when I did not stick the landing.
I slipped and fell on my back and slammed the back of my head on the pile of snow instead of the pavement, thank goodness. It was probably one of my most recent idiotic escapes in life. But my story has a part two, which I'll continue with later.
Curious to hear of strangers' experiences online, Redditor TheArchitect_7 asked:
"What is the stupidest thing you've ever seen a person do in real life?"
No Assessment
Not taking some time to think or do some research resulted in these brain farts.
Save The Date
"It was me and I asked my dad when the Fourth of July was. I've never seen him look so disappointed before or since."
Why We Must Remain Calm
"In highschool my best friend called me all hysterical because he couldn't remember 911's phone number."
Smashed Spuds
"When we first got married, my husband (who'd never before cooked anything that hadn't come out of a packet) tried to make mashed potatoes by placing a raw, peeled potato on the kitchen counter and bashing it with a rolling pin."
Missed Target
"Somebody tried to throw something at me out of a rolled up car window, twice."
Completely Off Track
"My friend tried to flag down the train, like you do a cab."
"Edit: he was on a station."
Google Docs - create and edit documents online, for free.
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.People Share The 'Dirty Secrets' That Their Bosses Don't Want Customers To Know
There's a lot businesses hope their customers believe, and there are many business practices you wouldn't dare believe. These are some of the secrets Reddit ...Google Docs - create and edit documents online, for free.
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.Self-Harm
These people learned tough lessons in the most excruciating ways.
Finger-Licking Good
"Old coworker at a burger place dropped the fry scooper into the fryer. Instead of fishing it out with a basket or something, he tried reaching in 'really quickly" with his bare hand. lol dumba**."
The Daredevil
"My brother attempted to do a backflip on top of one of the cafeteria tables (despite never having done a backflip) the day after he got his cast off of his arm. (He broke his arm originally by flying off a swing.) Broke his arm again."
Ouch
"My cousin's son tried to prove that his BB-gun wasn't loaded by firing it at his own foot. Turns out it was loaded."
Getting A View-Freshener
"When I was in high school, I carried around a little Binaca-like breath spray. A kid saw it and said, 'Hey, lemme try that.' I gave it to him. He sprayed it toward his mouth a couple of times, but nothing came out. Then he aimed it at his eye and squirted it, apparently so he could "see" what was blocking the spray."
"He got a big shot of alcohol-based breath spray right in the eye."
"He dropped the breath spray, yelled 'ow' and grabbed his eye, but we couldn't immediately help him because we were all laughing too hard."
So Here's The Buzz
"When I was a kid, there was a bee hive in the forest behind our house. Several of us (myself included) had been stung that summer. One girl's dad decided to get rid of the problem after his daughter was stung and I don't know the reason he had for this, the hive was on a lower branch, so he walked up to it, grabbed it, and started shaking it. I stuck around long enough to see him do this, but once a black cloud of angry bees came out, I ran back home, while he was stung I think 40 times."
Why We Don't Drink And Drive
"Get drunk, get in a car accident, get immediately into another car and crash that one as well within a span of an hour."
"Disclaimer: No one was hurt."
– doul0s
Alternative To Oven Mitts
"My friend was baking something in the oven. When she went to go take it out she couldn't find her oven mitts. So you know what she used instead??? F'king plastic wrap You can probably imagine how well that went."
Too much confidence never got these people far.
It Cut So Deep
"A guy I used to be friends with was trying to be edgy and impress his emo 20yo girlfriend, so he suggested they do a bloodpact for their undying love. He had never cut himself so he didn't know how hard or how deep to go. Ended up almost losing his hand, called me crying from the hospital."
All Bark
"I was in a park in RI and saw a man take tree bark off a tree, smell it, put it in his mouth, then he started dancing around near these kids and then he proceeded to choke a little on the bark and someone gave him the heimlich to get the bark out. He was fine after, but needless to say it was a messy situation."
Going Nowhere Fast
"My brother thought that jumping down the stair case was a good idea to go 'quicker and faster.'"
"He only got a few bruises."
Putting Out Fires
"My sister's first husband is an idiot. He tried getting disability with the reasoning that he was too stupid to hold down a job. The state didn't buy it, but we all knew it was true. Anyways, he was a volunteer firefighter (they had very low standards) and responded to a call about a truck with a camper on fire down the street from my parent's house. He was first on scene and didn't want to wait for the engine to respond, so he grabbed the garden hose from the house where the truck was located and jumped under the truck and tried to put the fire out from below. The truck's owner had to grab him by the ankles and pull him out from under it before he burned alive. Of course this is also a guy who put snap together models together with superglue, and somehow glued his lips and teeth together."
– AugurX75
So remember the icy slip I talked about earlier? There is more to the story.
One of my dear friends who was immediately concerned about my fall rushed over to check on me to see if I was conscious because I was not verbally responding. Honestly, I was too shocked to speak.
Anyway, my caring buddy must've executed the same maneuver to get over the snowbank because he also jumped and landed on his back, right next to me.
We were both lying as still as possible for a good minute to assess the situation before we heard our other friend who was with us shouting from a few yards away, "are you guys, alright?"
We were alright, thanks to the snow that acted as our emergency pillows. It was not our wisest moment, but I love my friend for literally going the distance to make sure I was alive.
And by the way, that diner food was fantastic!
Even if you are not tipsy, being around relatives can bring out lively conversations where one involuntarily utters or does something they might regret later.
One thing is certain –when it comes to weddings, reunions, or a holiday feast, there is never is never a dull moment.
When Redditor KingNicodemus asked – "What's the stupidest thing you've done at a family gathering?" – strangers on the internet had plenty to say.
There were some doozies – including someone who made a NSFW joke in front of their grandparent, while another missed their intended target while hurling a water bottle at a wedding.
Are any of the following scenarios familiar?
Great Grandma's Got A Sense Of Humor
"Got drunk in front of my great grandmother and started to sh*t talk my entire family in a baby voice to my baby niece; while the entire family thought I was out of line my great grandmother thought it was hilarious and that I had valid points."
The Favorite
"got drunk and told one of my grandmas she was my favorite....in front of my other grandma."
Game Names
"It was thanksgiving last year. I was playing quiplash with my family. I entered my name and the next thing was my aunt asking 'Who is Rock Hard? '"
– RGSF150
Ice Breaker
"In my defense I have epilepsy and was having a 'partial' (aura/mini) seizure which caused this."
"I go into the kitchen and a few cousins are standing there with my aunt. I say 'sandwich' (I think?) but my brain was literally just reset about 20 seconds ago and I'm operating at an ultra-dumb level. I remember this primarily because there was aftermath to recollect. I took mayo out of the fridge and just throw a spoonful (I think?) at the fridge. I then take out cheese and throw it on the mayo, followed by turkey at the ground and bread somewhere. I look at it and just walked away."
"...my family did not know I had epilepsy at that point in time. That was the ice-breaker."
Airborne Water Bottle
"I wanted to throw an empty bottle of water at my cousin and I hit my sister instead."
"It was a wedding."
"My sister was the bride."
How Grandpa Died
"Not me but at Thanksgiving last year my dad once brought out photos of the car crash that killed my grandpa and passed them around to my mom and her family (it was her dad that died) and he talked for like an hour about how bad his death must have been. It was painful to watch as he had only died recently."
Strip Club Pizza
"I inadvertently went to a strip club with my parents when I was 22 years old. My Mom had been ordering pizza from the new 'bar' down the street and was raving about it one night, so we decided to go check out the new restaurant and try their pizza just me and my parents, instead of having it delivered."
"As soon as we pulled into the parking lot my spidey senses went off, as I knew this place was known for having some seedy people hanging around, and it's always been some sort of strip club, but I thought, 'no way, my dad would know if it was a strip club, he's gotten pizza from here several times now!' I couldn't have been more wrong. That voice in my head was telling me to turn around and run as soon as we parked and two men were standing at the door sharing a pretty raunchy story with all sorts of lovely details as we walked up."
"We walked in the door and as soon my family entered, it went silent….every waitress and bartender stopped and looked at us, the strippers even stopped and stared at us! I turned to my dad and before I could say anything, my Mom says 'IT'S A STRIP CLUB??' My Dad, being the stubborn man he is, says 'I don't care, I want pizza.' Never in my life have I heard of a strip club even selling pizza, let alone offering delivery!"
"We sit down, I strategically place myself so my back is to the strippers, and and we place our order. 45 long, painful minutes waiting for our pizza and having small talk while two very overweight, out of shape homely girls take off their tops (thankfully that's all they took off) danced a few feet behind us, my Mom finally asks where our pizza is and the waitress comes back and tells us she forgot to put in the order. That was the last straw for my Mom, who quickly paid the tab and we left….hungry and scarred for the rest of our lives. We still laugh about the day we went to a strip club together for pizza. They shut down a few weeks later, so I never did get to try the 'amazing pizza' my parents raved about!"
How Dad Was Doing
"I asked my brother-in-law how his dad was doing (had significant health problems) forgetting that he had died 6 or 8 months prior."