One of the great things about ZOOM is that it's given us the ability to visit with others more frequently.
And we get to mingle from the comfort and SAFETY of our own homes.
You take your life in your hands when visiting other people's places.
I've seen family brawls.
Marital destruction after years of bliss.
And once I accidentally became witness to the theft of a shoe collection.
Not to mention, no toilet is cleaner than your own.
Redditor Suspicious_Boss3635 wanted to hear about the worst of times when visiting other people's homes, so they asked:
"What was your worst/weirdest experience at somebody else’s house?"
In my home, I try to be the best host I can be.
Learn from me.
A nice shade of crimson
Say So Red Light GIF by Doja CatGiphy"Stayed at my friend's house one time and found out her family only uses red light bulb in their house because an astrologer told them to do so."
SuvenPan
From the other room...
"Went to a friend's house. We came in and somebody started yelling and swearing at him from another room. For no reason and impromptu. Scary , threatening and abusive sounding. It was his dad and the dad didn't realize I was there. The kid was cool about it, just kind of, maybe we should just go for a walk. It was how cool the kid was that unnerved me. Just his day to day."
jonas00345
How about a sweater?
"In college, I went to this girl's house during a free period with six or seven friends. We arrive, and she opens the door, says hello to her father, and immediately strips down to her bra and panties in the living room. We spent 45 minutes hanging out with her and her dad, and the whole time she's walking around in basically nothing."
"I asked her dad about it at a different time, and he nonchalantly says she's always done this and acted like it was a completely normal thing to do. Also, bonus points for her goth friend who sat there playing with a knife the whole time."
COLONEL_ROOSTER
Sit with me...
"As a 12 yr old we shifted to a small town from our cattle property so we kids could go to high school, I didn’t know anyone at school till the weird kid befriended me, invited me home after school one day. There’s me thinking great I’m making friends. When we got there her mom was obviously slightly drunk, no father around that I could see, just sitting in her room talking crap, when her mum calls us into her bedroom."
"So we went in and her mum is lying on a single bed and there’s a double in there that we both sort of lounged on, then her mum starts crying. The girl tells me her dad died about six months ago. I'm going 'so sorry to hear that,' her mum starts telling me how he was a bad alcoholic and they’d gone to bed one night, he was ‘spooning’ her when he died in his sleep with his arms wrapped around the mum, cause she was drunk too she didn’t wake up till quite late and his body had started rigor mortis."
"She realizes and starts screaming, daughter runs in, dad is dead and mum is stuck in his arms. They had to call police to help apparently, she couldn’t get out. Best bit though was I was sitting on the bed where he’d died 6 mths previous but they’d never changed the sheets or covers, they smelt musty, no wonder the girl acted weird, they both really needed therapy but this was nearly 50 yrs ago."
chookiekaki
HER!!
Jimmy Fallon Singing GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphy"At someone’s birthday party at her house. She divided us into groups and made us write songs about her."
Main-Not-For-Porn
Ok. I may actually try this at my next party.
"They"
Video Games Lol GIF by Robbie CobbGiphy"When I was a kid I went over to a friend's house. At some point they went to have dinner. 'They' meaning the whole family. I wasn't at any point asked to join them. So while they ate I sat in the living room and played on their Atari."
frank-sarno
We stopped to help
"A buddy and I were walking down the street and noticed a drunk guy bothering a woman outside a store and his b*lls were hanging out of his shorts. We stopped to help. And so does some guy in an army jacket. and after the cops come by to deal with the drunk guy, Army guy invites us over to have a beer. We were about 14 or so at the time. We said sure!"
"Get to his apartment and he gives us a beer each. And shows us his big knife. Tells us how to gouge out eyes. And how to shoot someone under the chin at the throat pointing up so if by chance they survive, they will be paralyzed. Then proceeds to demomstrate on me a choke move he was taught."
"Which freakin' hurt. My friend had the knife in hand just in case army guy didn't let go. After I was let go and able to breath we peaced out of there FAST. The longer we sat there. The more scared I was getting. Haven't thought about that for some time."
KraftDinr
Eat carrots instead...
"I remember when I was a kid, probably around 10 or so we went to friends of our family's for dinner. The husband and wife got into a very loud screaming match over whether to serve creamed corn or frozen corn. I'm talking in each other's faces and being shrilly loud."
"Ten year old me was fascinated by how such a mundane object could arise such passions, and of course I wanted see how it turned out but we were instead quickly ordered into the car and left. Still never understand how corn caused such a disagreement. I found out later they got divorced."
llcucf80
Pour it back...
"When I was 8 I slept over a friends house. For dinner they had pancakes. Everyone ate together. After I put the syrup on my pancakes I was scolded by the dad for using too much syrup. I then noticed everyone at the table only put a tablespoon on their pancakes. After I ate the pancakes, they took my plate and tried to pour the unused syrup back into the container."
jaiframsey
Sometimes it's just better to stay home.
Do you have any crazy experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
America the beautiful.
So much to see. So much to experience.
Just because we don't have exotic oceans and ancient history doesn't mean there isn't majesty to take in.
There are many vacations to put together.
And now we don't have to use a paper map to plan.
Our apps and GPS have it all planned out.
Redditor driedkitten wanted to compare notes about the greatest ways to see the USA, so they asked:
"Where is the most beautiful place in the United States?"
So far the cliffs of California is my favorite part of the US.
The Falls
niagara falls GIFGiphy"Subjective of course, but Crater Lake is certainly a sight to behold."
KaboodleMoon
"My home state of Oregon is full of beautiful places, South Umpqua falls, Illinois River, and Multnomah falls. Are some favorites."
jlp120145
Oh Hoh...
"A tie for Acadia, Hoh rainforest, and Rainier in the fall."
ParkLaineNext
"I was going to say Acadia. It's very underrated for some reason. My mom's friend by coincidence ended up being my English professor in college and we went on a trip to see family in ME. We stopped at Acadia for a day and she said it reminded her a lot of her visit to Greece."
NunChuckNorris007
"Hoh rainforest is absolutely devastatingly beautiful. Hiked the whole Hoh river trail when I was 17 and it's still near the top of the list for my favorite things I've ever done."
Hal9000_Red_Eye
In Awe
"Glacier national park. I was continuously in awe that the place was real life."
StrebLab
"The vistas of this road, on a motorcycle, were beyond breathtaking to experience. Would 100% do it again. Being on a bike allowed for stops at the waterfalls where there was no room for vehicles to pull over, and the views from the tunnels under the road were supernatural."
tastygrrrl
The Road Ahead
"There is a stretch of the Navajo reservation where there is no cell service, AM or FM radio reception. The road stretches before you for miles surrounded by red rocks touching blue sky. The buzzing undercurrent of modern connectivity fades away and your brain can be truly still."
tulleandtiaras42
"We did a little unscheduled off-roading in that area when we came to a road closed barrier. A Navajo couple pulled up alongside us while we pondered the dirt road heading roughly in the direction we wanted to go and assured us it was passable. Really lonely place... but wonderful."
KaleidoscopeWeird310
On a Clear Day
Mountain GIF by Sunshine VillageGiphy"Mount Rainier."
WWDB
"If I stand right at the doorjamb of my front door on a clear day, I have a beautiful view. I owned this house for 15 years before I figured that out. You can't see it from any other position in the doorway, or if you're outside."
Wise_Ad_4816
Mountains are hot. That is all.
See the Country
Happy Dance GIF by PLAYMOBILGiphy"Depends on what you’re looking for. The United States is a big place."
"For me - Hawaii is hard to beat."
Own-Willingness-3935
Beautiful scenery...
"Zion National Park is the most well-known place in Utah. But my entire state is an outdoorsman's paradise. LOTs of beautiful scenery in both the northern and southern parts of the state."
nekor18670
"Totally!!! And it’s very different. I personally prefer Southern Utah because the red rocks make me feel like I’m on Mars. But I grew up in the salt lake valley, so the mountains lost a lot of their majesty. But if I’m being honest, I miss them terribly."
Bye-sexual-band-n3rd
Smell the old growth
"I’m incredibly biased, but the most beautiful place is the California redwoods. Drive up 101, and then detour towards Petrolia. There is absolutely nothing like it. Roll down your windows and drive 35mph. Smell the old growth. Stop at the pull out. Take a small hike. It’s worth it."
Altril2010
"Yes, 100%. My brother lives in McKinleyville and I am going to see him the end of April. Can't wait. It's my happy place. They are like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls... you have to see them to believe them. Those redwoods are something else!"
strongy78
Utopia
"Yosemite! You drive thru the tunnel and come out the other side. Looks like heaven/Utopia."
Socalrdb
"Did a hike in Yosemite on January 1 last year. A spectacular way to start the year. I had seen photos of it, seen it in movies, watched countless videos on Youtube about it but -nothing- prepares you for the sight of El Cap as you turn that corner. I was very nearly moved to tears."
ThrustersToFull
Amazing
Episode 1 Boat GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"The Shenandoah Valley. Its an amazing place if you're an outdoorsman. Hiking, fishing, hunting, bird watching, camping."
homoco4396
All the wonders of the world. I may have to check all of these out.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.
So many exotic locales in the world to see... and plenty of places NOT to see.
When one travels, we have to be astute.
Do the research.
No harm in skipping where we don't need to be.
Redditor Just_Pizzy wanted everyone to share about the places to avoid when traveling, so they asked:
"What city is extremely overrated in your opinion?"
In my travels I've been very satisfied.
But tell me where to avoid.
Ouch
will smith miami GIF by RomyGiphy"Miami. A city of narcissists and attention wh*res."
_kevx_91
"I swear Miami Beach is the poser capital of the world!"
Cetophile
Value
"Scottsdale, AZ would be a close 2nd."
TWOCHOPPAS
"I’m visiting here right now, and am seriously wondering why I’m here. If I want high end, there are a million ritzy suburbs that do it better. Scottsdale is a ton of neighborhoods that all want to claim the Scottsdale name to increase the real estate values."
"But only 5% of it is actually high end Scottsdale. The whole Phoenix metro area seems like one long expanse of concrete and chain stores. The only reason I can see that Pheonix has so many urban hikes is that the rest of the city is completely unwalkable. What am I missing?"
Seachica
What is This?
"Nothing personal, but Dubai. And I'm not a city designer, but I don't think you call it a 'downtown' when there's a 12-lane highway cutting through a bunch of skyscraper walls and that's it."
GreatNameLOL69
"This city is so stupid. Instead of creating the palm island, they could have dug into the land, it still would have looked amazing, except much easier to build."
"They started from scratch with unlimited money, they could have made an awesome city with Arabic style and culture, something different. Instead they took the worse cities (from the US) as an example, and built something stupid."
Arvi89
But it has Luck...
"Dublin is a complete tourist trap. I am Irish and I see people coming to Ireland expecting the full Irish experience in Dublin, when really all the good stuff is outside the capital spread out all across the country. They head up to Temple Bar for the Irish pub experience and pay 3-4 times more for drinks than anywhere else in the country."
"The city itself is a product of British occupation, same style of city you will find up and down England with Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture along with generic modern design. Look, there are historic places and nice places to eat but nothing out of the ordinary."
"If you want to see the real Ireland go to the countryside, the unique landscapes of the ring of Kerry, the Clare Burren and cliffs of Moher, the Connemara and donegal mountainous areas along with tonnes off historical locations all across the country. If you want an Irish city experience go to Galway instead."
Historical_Line7109
Not the Happy Place
mickey mouse vintage GIFGiphy"I don't know if anyone but children and retirees actually like this city, but lawd I hate Orlando."
notafanofwasps
"My best friend moved from Seattle to Orlando for financial reasons. His parents live in Orlando and had to move in with them. A year later they said f**k this and moved back. Drove cross country both times."
SubduedChaos
Orlando isn't that bad. I've had fun.
Bad Queen
Muriels Wedding GIF by Sundance NowGiphy"Gold Coast, Queensland. It tries to be Australia's Miami, but really, it's a tacky over-developed sh**hole."
otherpeoplesknees
"It is really bad, I loved every place I went to in Australia but the Gold coast was terrible. Reminded me of the cities in Spain where PPL only go to to get drunk at the beach (Ballermann in Palma, Benidrom, Lloret….)"
trbo91
“trendy”
"Not a fan of the 'trendy' cities like Charlotte or Nashville. A lot of younger people my age are moving there and they act like going to a mediocre brewery and spending $30 on a craft beer and tiny cut of brisket is some type of unique southern cultural experience."
"Not to mention the cities are now barely affordable for the people actually from there and every other block is full of those cookie-cutter gentrified apartments that just look bland as hell. Both cities have some cool parts to them but to me they just aren’t as special as people make them seem."
yinzerthrowaway412
Sounds with Problems
"The worst city I’ve ever been to is Oklahoma City, which is rated appropriately. No complaints on the current rating."
Shut--Up--Bird
"I have traveled to Oklahoma City a good number of times over the past six years, usually for a couple of weeks at any given time."
"Some areas of the city are okay, and I was pleasantly shocked upon the sight of a functioning streetcar service downtown. That being said, parts of OKC and its suburbs are so miserable that I almost convinced myself that Grand Theft Auto had become real life."
wheresaldopa
Off Tune
"Nashville. It’s a bunch of honky tonks and bachelorettes. It’s just a big party town now. I might be salty because I live here and remember old Nashville that was quiet and civilized, where locals could enjoy going downtown and we still had Opryland instead of a giant mall."
iwishiwereonabeach
Bad Falls
hanna barbera animation GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy"Niagara Falls. Even if it’s poorly rated, that rating is still too high."
vanityfear
"It’s pretty cool to see once though. The area is just meh."
SparklyRoniPony
Go to Wendy's
"Vegas."
Calm-Associate-214
"I used to go there every summer for tech conferences. I always use the analogy that Vegas is a lot like KFC. It’s gross, greasy, and messy, and you wonder what possessed you to go there in the first place. 6 months later, for some inexplicable reason, you get the urge to go again. You remember what it was like the last time, but somehow you’re still drawn to it."
Ikarian
So many places in the world... NOT to go!
What destinations should we strike from our bucket list? Let us know in the comments below.
People Break Down Which Famous Places Are Totally Not Worth Visiting
Lots of people have so-called bucket lists—things they want to do or see before death.
Included on many of them are famed destinations like the Eiffel Tower, Times Square, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon or the Great Wall of China.
But are all of these places worth the time or money to get there? Are some of them underwhelming in person?
Redditor tade757 asked:
"What famous place is not worth visiting?"
Sherlock Holmes Home
"Sherlock Holme's house on Baker street in London."
"Of course I love Sherlock Holmes, so as a tousist I took the tour. Not far into walking around the house it dawned upon me... this is a fake set of a fictional character."
"What am I doing here????"
- RemotelyRemembered
Plymouth Rock
"Plymouth rock Massachusetts."
"Despite all the rage it's still just a rock in a cage"
- BodybuilderOk3836
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
"Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales Nothing there except an Edinburgh Wollen Mills shop. Which is just silly as Edinburgh is nearly 300 miles away."
- Dreddguy
"Meh. I went there to take a photo by the train station sign. I got a photo by the train station sign. The whole experience was exactly what I expected and I was completely whelmed."
- HawkinsT
Hollywood
"Hollywood, it's seedy and disappointing. It's full of entire industries (*cough scientology *cough) that take advantage of starry-eyed twits."
- Judas_Feast
"I think what I really liked about Hollywood was how sh*tty it was. And the Chinese Theater and walk of fame are so much smaller than I expected. The fact that everything looked so much bigger and more glamorous on TV really made the whole thing perfect to me."
- Spite-Funny
Run Away!
"Camelot. It is a silly place."
- 4LostSoulsinaBowl
"It’s only a model"
- Admirable_Tie_3497
"They do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impeccable, though."
- punania
Lands End
"Lands End, UK. Heralded as the 4th most disappointing attraction in the UK. It's not even disappointing enough to win an award"
"Edit: I mean the landmark in Cornwall, not a clothing store. Deary me."
- YellowBernard
"Lizard Point (the most southerly part of England and not that far away) is a much better trip - it doesn't try and pimp itself up with tat and tourist attractions, it lets the scenery do the talking and gives you space to take it in. Plus you might see a chough, which is a cute and super rare lil crow with a red beak and legs."
- slogginmagoggin
Platform 9 3/4
"Platfotm 9¾ in King's Cross station, London. Stupid metal statue on a straight wall, a horrible queue to taking a photo with you on it, and another hundred-meter long queue to the small and very expensive Harry Potter shop. I was there middle of the day in off-season, don't want to even think about it on high season."
- HorsesWearHooves
"My husband and I took a train from Edinburg into Kings Cross for a Christmas trip one year. We thought, hey since we’re here we should find Platform 9 3/4. We walked the platforms in the station thinking it was actually on a platform. Ended up in a utility elevator with our luggage and a bunch of station workers who thought we were the funniest American tourists they ever met. They ended up pointing us to the very sad wall in the main lobby with the statue and a line 2 hours deep."
- blackpearl882
NYE in Times Square
"Times Square on New Years Eve."
"Just forget it. It has *never* been worth it."
- roman_fyseek
"I remember a radio host I heard as a kid said the following:
"'The amazing thing about Time Square on New Years Eve isn't that you get tens of thousands of people there every year, it's that you get a whole different set of tens of thousands of people there each year. Nobody wants to do it twice, because it's cold and boring and crowded and filthy.'"
- Sawses
Centralia, PA
"Maybe less famous than the question meant, but about fifteen years ago my friends and I took a road trip to Centralia, Pennsylvania (the abandoned town with a decades-long mine fire burning under it that the Silent Hill movie was loosely based on). We thought there would be tons of abandoned buildings to look at, creepy places to see, adventure to be had- we were so excited, and we were like six or seven hours away so it sounded like a fun trip."
"We got there, and there was just... nothing. All of the buildings are gone, the creepiest thing we found was a very-well-taken-care-of cemetery, and the only really "abandoned" thing to see was the stretch of interstate that had been routed around (which had a little bit of fun graffiti on it back then, but in years since it's become just a giant paint stain). We ended up driving to Gettysburg instead and going on some ghost tours, so it was still a fun trip, but there was like... nothing to see in Centralia, at all."
- UltimaGabe
Checkpoint Charlie
"Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. It used to be the border between the US and Soviet sectors, but all that's left of it is a shack and a sign, and the only thing you can do is pay to get your photo taken with someone in uniform. There's a frickin' McDonald's next to it."
- Nihiliste
"I was looking for this, god it was disappointing. I seem to recall there was a really badly dressed soldier who you could take pictures with for 5 euros."
"Quite enjoyed the DDR museum though."
- Renfieldslament
So, did these stories change anything on your must-see list?
Or did someplace you went not make the list that should have?
Let us know in the comments.
People Explain Which Things Other Countries Don't Understand About America
Thanks to a lot of bad press and well, a really rough couple of decades, America's image has tarnished a bit.
So we need to get some clean up going.
There are things other countries just don't understand about us.
We can guide them.
Redditor Civil_Improvement692wanted to explain a few important facts for people.
"What is one thing other countries don't understand about America?"
I will admit I have seen very little of America. So this list will be help me out as well.
Transport Issues
Travel GIF by Grish MajethiyaGiphy"They're gonna be really, really disappointed in the train service."
tpatmaho
"Well, the last one makes no sense. European rail systems are government run and are much better than the semi private US passenger rail system."
EmperorPenguinNJ
Distance
"The US is huge. On r/askanamerican, foreigners will tell us how they're planning a 2 week trip, starting in NY, driving to Miami, then driving to the Grand Canyon, then driving back to NY, and we're all like 'What?!'"
MoonieNine
"I was on a call with a vendor doing some work for my department. One of the guys was in Minnesota (I'm in Wisconsin) and the rest of their team was in Ireland. The guy in Minnesota mentioned that he could come to our office since it was only about a 4 hour drive. The guys in Ireland started laughing saying that it they drove for 4 hours in any direction, they would be in the ocean!"
PhantomsRule
Law & Order
"Most people from other countries (and plenty of Americans) don't understand the system for making and enforcing laws in the US. Specifically, they don't seem to understand that laws vary by state and that there are restrictions on which laws can be made at the federal level. Also, I've seen way too many people who don't realize that the US President does not have the power to pass laws on his own."
upvoter222
423!
"Not to mention our 423 national parks. I hear a lot of us Americans say that we’re over populated as a country. I was a flight attendant for twelve years and when you’re 36,000 feet above it all, a lot of it is sparse. I live in Japan now and reside in Tokyo where there’s a huge population — but outside prefectures are empty because the younger generation are moving to where the work is. I think people need to keep that in mind no matter where they reside."
MSotallyTober
Peace
Relaxing Space And Time GIF by MyaGiphy"As someone who’s done 5 road trips across the US, it’s much more peaceful than the media lets on. Sure some areas are really bad, but do your research and you can avoid them. It’s not the war zone most of Reddit would have you believe."
c0smictwist
Wow... there is more than I even knew about. I'm intrigued.
Oh NYC
Is Awesome New York GIF by FriendsGiphy"There’s a LOT more to New York than NYC. New York State has more land than the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg combined, for perspective. Come on by sometime, we’ve got GREAT parks and good wine!"
IronbloodPrime
Hi!
"How friendly most of us are. Don't believe the news. Seriously, most of us love meeting new people. Especially those from other countries and cultures. In the US. we love to tell you the best restaurant or park or best way to get from point A to point B. Don't be afraid to say 'hi.'"
Spodson
"This was so evident in Florida, the first time our family visited America (from England) and everybody was so friendly. Love the people. That was back in 2002, I can't mesh the image I have of the lovely people from that trip to the image I have now from the media."
alice_op
From HK
"One college roommate I had was from Hong Kong, and was just about to graduate. But before he left, he and some friends (also from HK) were going to fly into LA, rent a car, and take a day trip to the Grand Canyon and back. The next day they were going to drive up to Seattle and stop and see the sights along the way, also on one day. We had to show them several maps with comparable scales to places he knew to set them straight."
ReverendLoki
Info Wars
"If they get their information from the news and social media they think all Americans are extremists, one side full of hate for the other. That is completely untrue. There are a few on the far ends making most of the noise. Most Americans are middle of the road, hard working citizens. We pay our bills, respect the law and get along with each other."
AdminW*ore
Ordinary
Bored Paul Rudd GIFGiphy"How utterly normal most people’s lives are here. The news has led non us people to believe that it is a lot more like the Wild West than it really is (I am from Texas)."
Frosty_Accident_6165
See! America can be a big ole blast!