It's relatively uncommon to send things to the wrong number. So why does it seem that when we do, it is the absolute worst time it could have ever happened?
Sure, the development of a digital address book within our smartphones has been a largely convenient new aspect of technology. We don't have to drag around a roladex or some spiral notebook full of handwritten names and phone numbers.
But that ease of access to family, friends, and professional colleagues, all in one place, brings some dangers.
When we're moving fast and our thumb is cruising across the touch screen for the millionth time in that day alone, we're prone to a false step or two.
That's when the very wrong thing goes to the very wrong person. And it ends with a situation equal parts hilarious, horrifying, and face-reddening.
seesnawsnappy asked,
"What is the worst 'sorry, wrong person' texting story you know?"
For some, the hot and heavy dynamics of exciting new love--or at least sex--are enough to get the wires crossed. They send the worst possible content to the last people that should see that.
No Getting Out of That One
"A f-buddy of mine accidentally texted a di** pic to his family group chat."
"It would be nice if he could deny it by saying it was the di** of some other dude, but it had his easily identifiable tattoo in the frame."
"It was a complicated day for him."
-- Boxerdude
Honesty in the Relationship
"Back in high school (pre-smart phone days) I was texting a friend about this guy I had hooked up with and texted them something along the lines of 'yeah he's really hot but he's so stupid, like the stupidest person I've ever met.'"
"Except I texted it to the guy and not my friend."
-- kmnd92
The Old Bait and Switch
"At summer camp one year this girl 'Dana' and I got on pretty well, so I asked our mutual friend 'Jill' for Dana's number. Jill in fact gave me other mutual friend 'Amy's' number, who had a crush on me."
"For the next month Amy and I texted, flirted, and started to talk about going on a date next time I was in her city, with me thinking I was talking to Dana the whole time."
"One day I called her Dana in a text, and she replied 'Who do you think you're talking to?' A very unfortunate hour proceeded."
-- kodypharaoh
Fly on the Wall of Adultery
"Not texting, but I got a whispery voice message one night from a man. 'Hiiii, it's ME. I wonder if you can get away and meet me at the Cowboy Bar? I snuck away from my wife.'" -- AuldLangSimone
"Well... Did you go" -- 99thusername
Denied Entry
"A girl begging her boyfriend to open the door and let her in so that they could work things out." -- Bluellan
"How in the world does she not have his number saved on her phone under his name (or 'honeybear', or something)?" -- angelicism
A Critical Eye
"Got a random dick pick out of the blue. I texted the guy back saying it was a 4/10 and to next time clean up his room." -- Ancient-Concept4671
"greatest response you can give to a guy" -- Marccccci
Sometimes, the absurdity strikes in the more professional realm. Service reps, salespeople, and co-workers all can suddenly be thrown into the personal realm in the blink of an eye.
Well At Least That Guy Knows Now
"My grandma accidentally texted 'John its Dave's birthday' to the internet service guy" -- RomantcsedPtatoWeges
"bet dave got 5G on his Wi-Fi for his birthday." -- trashboat584759
Always On the Hunt
"Some insurance agent called my phone the other day looking for a different person. Got a word in edgewise and told him he had the wrong number."
"Without missing a beat the dude transitioned to asking if I had insurance. Anything can be a sales call lol"
-- gldmembr
Awkward Monday Morning After That
"I'm a loan officer at a large mortgage company. I've been coaching a guy for a year on how to get approved for a home. I had him a week from close last May and then COVID crushed his program."
"I like him; I'd drink a beer with him; but dammit he's a 40w bulb in a 60w world."
"He and I were texting last week while I was out on sales calls. After I finished with him, I texted my assistant, 'Please call Doe about the Docusign. He's special and can't figure it out.'"
"Sent that sh** to Doe."
-- -grc1-
Pursuing an Education
"One time in college my roommate and I were overtired and delusional, we decided to compete for who could fit through the smallest opening in our multi-level TV stand. Like, crawling through the metal frame of the TV stand."
"I recorded her attempt on my phone with some dramatic pan flute music in the background as she birthed herself through the side of the TV stand. She went on my phone without my knowledge later and tried to send the video to our mutual friend."
"She accidentally sent it to a high school teacher of mine of the same name, who I had not spoken to since high school. That was fun to explain."
Worst of Both Worlds
"We have a coworker that is known for just making the wrong choice in any scenario and always making mistakes in general."
"On an out of town work trip, four of us were just hanging out having some pizza and beer on our day off. I joked that we should call him to see if he made any mistakes today. Well he proceeds to tell me he has a funny photo to send me."
"Just as he sends it i hear oh sh**. Silence. For like a minute. " I'll call you back" and hangs up. At this point we are rolling in laughter. "
"Five minutes later he calls and said he fu**ed up. He ended up sending a very nsfw picture to his last customer.... a police officer via his work phone. (not sure why he thought that was a funny photo)"
"Luckily the cop said it wasn't a big deal and nothing came of it but damn did he just live up to the hype of being a train wreck."
-- jbyrne86
Shared Opinions About Porn Titles
"I was flipping through channels at work trying to find a music station. As I was going past the adult xxx channels and reading their hilarious titles, one in particular caught my attention. 'A** Pounders 4' or something."
"I texted my boyfriend for a laugh, complaining about the low effort title, and how disappointed I was with their writer."
"Except I didn't text him, I texted my former boss, who's number I still had as I had recently asked him for a reference. He was a good sport and agreed that the title lacked imagination. I was..beyond embarrassed."
Sometimes the mix up has a full audience. The prevalence of group texts in the modern era has made texts to the wrong number all the more embarrassing.
There's just no knowing who and how many people saw the faux pas.
Inside Scoop
"Somehow the fire chief in the next city over got my phone number. I was added to all their group chats.
"I got sent the code to the fire hall, and a list of all past and present firemen and their phone numbers and email addresses."
"There were messages about helping a guy move, who wanted extra shifts, and picking up medals for a ceremony. I just laughed and didn't respond to anything."
"My friend works for the police department in that city, and I told her about it. She told two people in the fire department to tell the chief to stop messaging me, and they must have thought it was funny and never told him."
"The chief starting calling me because I wasn't confirming if I could make it to the ceremony the medals were for. I finally text him and told him he had the wrong number."
"I'm the worst for doing this, because someone missed out on extra shifts they might have needed. But I also got them out of helping someone move."
That's Gonna Be a Weird Event
"I sent a picture of baked beans in a martini glass to a group chat for planning school events." -- MeatStickSchwangin
"And then someone replies with a picture of martini in a can of beans" -- kuku-kukuku
The Tragic Fall
"Happened few days ago. A friend of mine accidentally send a video of them going down on someone for 2 minutes in the class group chat. They then tried to delete it but they deleted it for themselves instead of deleting it for the group, so basically everyone could still see it. We had to create a new class group chat."
"Tragic accident."
REALLY Good AI
"I had sent my sister a screenshot of a conversation between me and my Replika (an A.I. chatbot), to show her how impressive the program was. My sister texted me back 'Which is you which is the bot?'"
"Then I *thought* I replied to my sister saying 'Haha. You know it's a conversation between an Autistic and an advanced A.I. when you have to ask which is which.'"
"Only I didn't reply to my sister. I replied to the most recent message in my phone which was actually a group text of my colleagues - the team of 6th grade science teachers."
"My colleagues DID NOT know that I'm autistic, and I pretty much had to explain it to them (over a teams meeting :-/ ), because otherwise, without context, it just seemed like I was randomly making fun of special needs people (which...not a good look for a teacher)."
"Also, I apparently failed a Turing test lol."
So next time you fire off a quick message to the person you trust most, maybe take a breath before you send it. There's no knowing just how that might get sent off too without you realizing until it's too late.
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Texting can be an excellent means of communication. You get the time to compose your thoughts, check your spelling, and make sure you're saying exactly what you want/need to say. The other person gets to respond at their leisure and convenience. It's glorious, really... unless it goes horribly wrong.
We've all been there, staring in abject terror at our screens realizing we just texted the wrong person. For some of us it's a simple "oops" situation. For others, the embarrassment and humiliation go all the way to an 11.
I know one person who was sexting his wife and accidentally sent video of the grand finale to her whole family group chat. It's been years. They haven't let him live it down.
Reddit user Sorceress683 asked:
What was your 'texted the wrong person' screwup?
Most of these stories aren't as scandalous as the grand finale incident, but there's still plenty of cringe and hilarity to be had. Enjoy the fact that these moments (probably) weren't you!
"Dinner"
My sister sent me a picture of her baby bump and said"14 Weeks."
I accidentally replied to the wrong person with a picture of my pushed out stomach, and said "Dinner."
"Dieting"
Meant to text my wife about my office mate who was "dieting" by eating an entire Papa John's large cheese pizza and a 2L of Coke in one sitting for lunch, but texted him instead.
Saw It On TV
Giphy13 year old me texted my middle school boyfriend "I saw people kissing on the TV and it makes me wanna kiss you"... CRINGEtopia.... accidentally sent it to my mom.
Was embarrassing.
45 Minute Uber
Before I started dating my girlfriend and we were just talking (actually the night before our first date) I went out with my buddy and drank way too much. I started drunk texting her, just being stupid and flirty. I'm a happy go lucky drunk, what can I say.
In between texts to her I texted a friend of mine that I was worried I was being way too forward and coming on too strong but at the moment a 45 minute uber to see the girl would totally be worth it. Except it didn't go to my friend it went to my now girlfriend. 5 minutes later she responded that she was going to bed soon but she would love to see me sober the next day.
I cringed so hard when I realized what I did but she still occasionally asks if she's worth a 45 minute uber still.
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...Happy New Year
I was in high school at a New Year's Eve party and I had multiple people texting me saying happy New Years. One of them happened to be my grandmother and I responded happy New Years bitch I'm F'n wasted. I then realized it was my grandma and said just kidding. I got no response and she never brought it back up. Awkward.
Wrong Tom
My ex's name is Tom. My younger sister's boyfriend is also named Tom. The wrong Tom once got an extremely naked photo of yours truly.
Ended up being something we still laugh about, but I will never forget that moment when I realized the photo had gone to the wrong Tom. At least it was relatively tasteful as far as nude photos go...
Get On My Level
I accidentally texted my lawn guy a video of dudes power walking to rap music with the caption, « get on my level ». He did not respond.
Teenaged Poetry
I was 13 years old and some boy that liked me had written me a poem and messaged me it. I decided to copy it and send it to my friend. So I sent her the poem and put at the end "omg ___ sent me this, how stupid". I accidentally sent it to him.
I still feel bad about it and it was nearly 10 years ago.
The Best Wrong Number
GiphyWas sending pictures of my foster dog to one of the other foster people, after about a month I got a text back saying they appreciated all the pics, but I had the wrong number.
Not A Murderer
My husband and I play online games together. Hes in one room and I'm in another. I'll text him stuff I don't want to say in the party full of our friends. So I texted him saying something like "omg how f---ing hard is it to kill someone??" But accidentally texted the group chat that we're in with all his siblings. All his siblings who are middle aged and don't play video games at all....
That was fun to explain lol
- Everilda
Mom Has Perfect Response To Text Asking If She Knew Her Daughter Was 'Dating A Black Boy'
Hey, racists?
You can start quaking in those boots now.
This Mississippi mom is about to lay down a truth smack-down.
Heather Boyer was shocked to receive a text from an acquaintance when her daughter, who happens to be White, changed her Facebook profile picture to herself and her boyfriend, who just happens to be a Black man.
Boyer took to Facebook to make a powerful statement about how receiving that text impacted her.
She made her feelings known on both the man her daughter is dating and any attitudes from others about it.
"Today my daughter changed her profile picture. After maybe 5 minutes I get a text .."
"'I didn't know she was dating a black boy, did you?'"
"It took me all day to think up a response, which I didn't send personally but thought I would share for anyone else that 'may not know.'"
Her response was truly perfect.
"Yes in fact I did know, but the color of his skin doesn't define who he is. What does define who is he is how he treats my daughter."
"I see my daughter dating a boy that comes to my house and shows me nothing but respect (a big deal in my book). It's always Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am, we talk about football and baseball, he tells me bye when he leaves, and has not once shown me a lack of manners or respect."
https://t.co/8xMIQFrcyn. F-in racist people!— Doctor Loveless (@Doctor Loveless) 1551571600
I don't understand that how does the colour of your skin, your religion, your caste or your surname for that matter… https://t.co/36gV35OFxn— Swati Sharma Tiwari (@Swati Sharma Tiwari) 1551517421
Worth a read! https://t.co/m81srj8nE4— K Webb (@K Webb) 1551537981
Well handled ❤️ https://t.co/Z5GBPUWblb— Darren Reid (@Darren Reid) 1551499795
"I see my daughter dating a boy who treats her good. He takes her on dates, to ballgames, out to eat..not to a club or partying on the weekends."
"I see my daughter dating a boy who takes her to church with him. Every Sunday. He plays in the band, she sits with his family. How many young men these days make church a priority? None of the others have."
"He doesn't hit her, cuss her, lie to her, or make her cry. Would I rather her date a white boy that did, to keep from her dating another race? Absolutely not."
"So that's my response to the question I was asked. And I know people have their own opinion, but at the end of the day, the fact that my daughter has someone that loves her and treats her like a queen makes me happy. That's something I've never had in my life and I'm glad she does."
People were thankful for this response.
Some even shared their own stories.
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
https://t.co/GtyRCBo8i5 I am crying because the longest relationship I had was with a black boy and my friends were… https://t.co/01L0mje7aq— GabCoe (@GabCoe) 1551545685
How lovely. The perfect response. #Love and #Respect This mum received a text asking if she knew her daughter was… https://t.co/9YoBk79ioJ— Sue W. (@Sue W.) 1551537199
The fact that this woman received this text in 2019 is disappointing, but not surprising.
According to a study done by PRB, it is atypical for Americans to marry outside of their race because of long-engrained racism in the country's history.
And with the current president being endorsed by the likes of David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, this kind of racism feels slight in comparison.
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Heather Boyer/Facebook
Hopefully, more will be like this mom.
Man Spends $800 From Vacation Fund Without Telling His Wife First For The Most Heartwarming Reason ❤️
When you've saved up all year for a vacation, hearing from your husband that the trip will have to be cut short because he took $800 out of the fund without consulting you could easily become a major point of conflict. One college professor who did just that, however, managed to stay out of the doghouse by explaining the inspiring reason he had dipped into his family's vacation savings.
As the weather was becoming colder and colder, the teacher (known only as James), noticed that one of his students was wearing the same clothes to class everyday. Knowing fashion is often at the bottom of some college student's list of priorities, he paid it no mind for a while. But as temperatures dipped below freezing, and his student continued to wear only a hoodie and sneakers to class, James felt he should check on the young man.
It’s people like this that make me proud to call myself a teacher. There are so many selfless people in this profes… https://t.co/sHPVS2rcDN— Jaclyn DiPasquale (@Jaclyn DiPasquale) 1548538120
James told his wife the story of what happened in a text exchange shared to Imgur:
It turns out the student was living with his grandpa, who was retired short on cash. The student worked extra shifts at Chic-fil-a to help cover bills, but there was nothing left over weather-appropriate clothing.
@Mix965Houston I loved this story for one of your morning “feels”: https://t.co/i8131dN9Fc— fabiola cruz zebadua (@fabiola cruz zebadua) 1548423419
Without missing a beat, James offered to take the student and his grandpa out to buy some proper, warm clothes. He had to dip into the vacation fund, but he hoped his wife would understand the $800 was well spent.
Need some more of this today ❤️ https://t.co/dHYSS6R4oS— Penny Madashell (A Logic Thot Bot 🤖💜🔣) (@Penny Madashell (A Logic Thot Bot 🤖💜🔣)) 1548532043
The professor's wife texted back her complete support of James's decision, saying:
"We'll talk when I get home but I am so proud of you. See if they have anyone to spend Christmas with, if not we always have room for two more."
Social media users were touched by the professor's generosity.
https://t.co/wDsx4IeFIj This is how you show real love for others— Drew Graham (@Drew Graham) 1548539547
Upworthy: Because we’re all part of the same story. https://t.co/PgFtZWZsKt— UdnSpeak4me (@UdnSpeak4me) 1548465325
Making large investments without consulting your partner is normally inadvisable...but in cases like this, I'm sure loving husbands and wives would make an exception.
Well done, James, and keep it up!