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Teachers Reveal The Most Audacious Things Students Have Ever Said To Them

Teachers have to act as parents, therapists, and babysitters for kids who often have no respect for authority. It can get plenty out of hand - teachers need a raise, and more support. There's no future without teachers.

kkunurashima asked their fellow teachers of Reddit: What's something your students have said that required all of your strength to not hit them?

Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.


15. Participation trophy culture.

Refused to do his work, and looked me in the eye and said "you can't fail me."

Which unfortunately given our system policies, is absolutely true.

_reinforce2wei

Why couldn't you fail him?

dbino-6969

Because the school looks bad of a kid fails and it can effect funding, the actual school administration doesn't give a fuck about teachers or students, they just want a 100% pass rate. It's why USA spends something like 75% more of the average per student yet has pretty mediocre results. Education system needs a full rework unfortunately.

MasterRed92

14. Grandparenting ftw.

I'll answer for my mom, who is not a Redditor. One of her students, a 4th grader threatened to stab her about 20 years ago. She worked in a rough district and had no support from her superiors because it couldn't be corroborated.

I went to the sheriff's office and reported it, asked our sheriff how to go about handling it because my mom was afraid of the little shit and about retaliation from her boss/school system. I was only like 15 myself. Turns out the boy was his grandson, different last name.

My mom called me, told me the sheriff came by their house, apologized for his grandson's behavior and brought her and my dad a dinner and flowers. She never had issues again from the boy. His punishment was lovely too. His grandfather brought him over to mow my parent's yard all summer and take care of the clippings. The sheriff humanized my mom to him, talked about how she has a family and how stabbing somebody could hurt or kill them. He eventually apologized to my mom and learned to deal with frustraion.

And he turned out okay. He is an electrician and got married last summer.

Edit- Thanks for the silver! And I've had a few people ask for his name/info etc. I am going to respect his privacy and that of his family. But, if you want to honor him or his style of policing, look at donating to local Shop with a Cop programs or doing the kind of things he championed. Get involved, donate your time and talents to improving your community. Mentor a young person who is struggling. Think twice before raising a hand in violence. Or, look at becoming an officer yourself and working to make your community better.

Galaxine

13. Well then.

At the start of the school year a student walked up to me said (to my face): "I'm a special ed kid and I know all I have to do is show up and not get suspended. I won't be doing any work in your class and you're going to pass me because you have to. Don't bother me and I won't f*ck with you."

Dsgorman

"I'm a special ed kid and I know all I have to do is show up and not get suspended. I won't be doing any work in your class and you're going to pass me because you have to.

I had a kid pull that on me once. I laughed in his face and said, "No, I really don't."

From then on I just documented every time they refused an assignment (on the assignment) and gave them the zero. They changed their tune real fast when report card time came and they had like a 4 in my class.

runaround66

I just love the comments section in my online gradebook when a neglectful parent wants to come at me last minute. Oh, and my gradebook logs how many times the student and parent accounts view the gradebook. Zero times over the marking period and Little Billy's troubles are all my fault? Ha!

BisqueMentioner

12. Just shaddup.

I had a kid call me a bitch and say that I was "targeting" him for telling him not to make noises. This was during a lockdown drill, during which we were required to be silent. I spent the next 15 minutes locked in the room being forced to sit there silently while this kid and one of his friends loudly complained about how awful I was.

Embear10

After being a student in classes where peers have made teachers cry, walk out or straight up quit I have the utmost respect for you all. Having been tempted to enter the profession myself, I don't think I could keep my cool.

_helioalien

It's the students that recognize that their peers are assh*les and don't choose to join in that keep me going.

Embear10

11. And they say kids can't be sociopaths...

One thing that a lot of non-teachers don't realize is that there are plenty of kids who judge themselves based on how they've tormented teachers. Even adults still fondly remember that time they 'made that teacher cry.' Tv shows show the kids teaching that teacher a lesson for doing their job. So these kids get up in the morning planning for how they'll annoy you.

Most kids I taught were fine, but there was one who stood out, we'll call him J. He thought he was the best thing ever to happen to this planet, and he expected teachers to worship him. So to start with he learned my first name, and began shouting it across the playground. Then he'd only do it once id turned the corner. Irritating this was, but easily dealt with. Then the actual torment began. He would steal other students bus passes and slide them underneath my classroom door so I'd have to go and unlock it so they could get home. He tracked my timetable and began doing it when I was teaching in a different room, anything to cause me maximum disruption. He got another teacher to let himself into my classroom saying I'd asked him to get something, he then stole the smallest of my Russian dolls I had on display, and the keys off my keyboard, but only ones which spelled out my name. He set off the fire alarm because he knew I was doing speaking exams and it would disrupt me.

This doesn't include his in class behaviour. Here's where it got crazy.

One day I found him at break time with a glass and s box of matches, he was catching spiders to set fire to them to hear them scream.

The next week as I was leaving the school he stood in front of my car so I couldn't leave, i opened the window to tell him to move and he put his arm through it and held on, again to stop me leaving. Deputy head removed him. But after that I found him inside the school, he'd trapped a bird and was throwing stones at it to kill it. School did nothing.

2 weeks later I was leaving school again, he runs up, opens the door and gets into my car. We had to call the police to remove him. His parents thought it was funny.

I don't know what happened to him but I'd say that was the closest.

Stinktiere

10. Punching the teacher won't end well.

Well, the time the student punched me was a challenge, that's for sure. I guess the other times I've really gotten upset with students, I haven't thought about hitting them, but I'd really love to be able to tell them about themselves, including all the profanity that needs to be leveled at them. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

Teachers are human. Kids can be cruel.

edgarpickle

I had a student send me to the hospital twice. I worked at a therapeutic day school and this kid was my size and in 7th grade. I was a 26-y/o 5'10, 175lb guy at this time two years ago. Since it was therapeutic, we had to restrain students when they became a threat to themselves or others. The first time he sent me to the hospital, he head-butted me in the back of the head in the middle of a restraint. Yellow liquid came out of my nose on numerous occasions between leaving the school and arriving at the hospital. I had to get a CAT scan of my head to make sure it wasn't Cerebrospinal fluid.

The second time, we removed him from the gym because he was playing too rough with other kids. We escorted him to a "cool-down" room and as soon as he set foot in the room, he turned around and clocked me in the face. Like 5 other staff instantly restrained him, so luckily I didn't have to deal with it again. My face swelled up so I decided to go get checked out just to be sure.

Admins didn't really do a whole lot, so I never really felt safe around the kid. Luckily I had two enormous paras that worked in my room to help me, but they didnt switch the kid to another classroom until ESY came around. I left that job at the end of ESY and started teaching in a public school.

reed12321

9. Broooooo...

After one of the school shootings a kid had the audacity to say "oh only 9 people died, so it wasn't even a real one."

Another year my wife had a miscarriage. I was visibly upset and discussed it with them. A week later after getting onto a kid about something he said "that's why your baby died". I have never felt a rage like that before.

crhuble

A kid in my school was in a different woodwork class to me. Halfway through a woodwork project, the teacher takes time off work because his wife miscarried. The class continued with the project with another teacher.

Original teacher came back and stated they would be starting a new project. The kid said "are we building your kid a coffin?"

Still no idea what happened to that kid after class.

daddyhax

8. Divorce sucks.

I had a 14-y/o student who was dealing with some tough issues with his dad. This kid would spend one weekend with his mom, the next with his dad. He always looked forward to the weekends with his mom, and would refuse to go home on Fridays when he'd have to go to his dad's house. He would come in to school after the weekends spent at his dad's house and tell me (and only me) about some of the horrors that went on over the weekend. The things he told me were bad enough that I had to call DCFS three times in the course of two months. I sat with a DCFS officer and outlined what he told me in excruciating detail. I checked in with his school counselor every day. I checked in with him every single morning. I was even requested to appear in court (by his mom) to testify on the kids behalf. I wasn't allowed to go as I was not subpoena'd, but I would have gone if I were allowed to. I literally bent over backwards to make sure this kid would still be alive to come to my class on the Mondays after spending the weekend at his dad's house.

The thing that he said that made me want to smack some sense into him; "You don't care about me."

reed12321

7. Carl, douche.

Middle school kid was throwing hard candy across my room. I mean he was hurling it with the intent of it hurting if it hit you. I calmly said, "Carl get out of my classroom." He said, "no." I repeated myself and he said, "make me". I sent for the assistant principal with the message that I had a situation. When the assistant principal arrived I simply told him to get Carl out of sight. He did. The kid continued to pop off and got sent home for a few days.

Same kid the next week. End of the day, maybe two minutes before the bell was to ring. Another student asked about Carl's cell phone which they are not supposed to have at school. He replied loud enough for the entire class to hear, " My phone is in my mother f*cking pocket." I reported it the following Monday. F*ck that kid.

OleBackseat

6. Nah, class is pointless.

College prof here. I can't tell you how many times I've had a student ask me if we were doing anything important in class.

nezumipi

"No, today I was just planning on wasting everyone's time for an hour or so."

LieutenantArturo

Oh that is something my kids ask like daily, must be something they think they can do when they get older. I don't teach college but I do teach seniors in high school. It's become a meme almost for them to come in and for me to say "Oh absolutely nothing! Just, you know, information in a class you need to graduate."

Bzerker01

5.

Same child, multiple incidences. Second grade.

  1. While ignoring his screams in an attempt to get attention, he pulled his pants down and started humping me half naked.
  2. Punched me in the face at lunch when I went to bend down and help another kid open his pb and j.
  3. (Not the child but his mother and why this makes so much sense) slashed my tires after her son was suspending for punching me in the face.

foundinthewild1

That reminds me when my mom was a substitute teacher in the 80s, she was giving a student trouble for disrupting the class. The student got right in her face and said "my mama said she's gonna slash your fucking tires bitch". The student was so close to her she was spraying my moms face with spit as she spoke. She kicked the kid out of the class only to have the principal show up five minutes later and tell her "you're just a substitute you're not gonna kick any students out of class, become an actual teacher here then you can kick them out". That was the final nail in the coffin for her teaching career, she moved across the country a little while later to start a new profession.

swashchuckle

4. This is why you need the weed.

I'm an art teacher. A good student of mine was wondering about my recycling habit, and asked me how much I make from recycling/what I used it for. I told her that I use it to supplement art supplies, and immediately this jackass from the back of the room pipes up "hah that's totally weed money."

This kid bleeds "look at me I'm a stoner kid I'm so edgy!!" so I'm used to it and he has been disciplined multiple times in my class for comments like this, but this particular one? I could get fired for an accusation like that. F*ck that assh*le.

emblebeeslovehoney

3. Kids are mean.

Six words, said to a quiet kid who'd just returned after a couple weeks out of school.

"No wonder your mom committed suicide."

AZScienceTeacher

Someone said that to me after my dad passed that way. I barely even remembered it because the whole time was a blur. The kid apologized for it a couple years later and that's the only reason why I even know it happened. The kid probably blacked it out.

ExternallyScreaming

2. Middle schoolers are the worst. THE. WORST.

First year teaching at 22 and I taught sixth grade. Two instances come to mind:

One kid told me outright he didnt respect me simply because I was younger than the other sixth grade teachers.

After a year of trying to corral my sixth graders, I took them outside for class for a day after two STAAR tests and we started a novel study on a book I was really excited to share with them (Among the Hidden). They complained the ENTIRE time about how hot it was in the shade, how the book we were reading was boring and that they wanted to go back inside. I took them back in because I couldn't take it anymore and told them honestly how upset I was with their constant complaining the entire year and that I was just trying to do something for them that they had been asking all year to do, when one kid just said in front of the entire class that since I hated them so much and clearly hated my job that I should quit. Because it would make everyone happier. I told him to leave the room and go somewhere, anywhere (I just couldn't look at his face anymore) and then silently started crying at my desk.

Sixth grade was a year in hell.

redassaggiegirl17

Never teach middle school young. That sh*ts like a Battle Royale.

HeyItzMe_

It really was! All of the other teachers were 30 yo minimum, all of them married and most with kids. One of them was married for as long as I've been alive! So they saw fresh meat and pounced. 😂

Luckily for me, the fifth grade class coming up the year after didnt have enough kids, so I was cut from sixth and given to fourth. It has honestly been such a blessing and I would cry if I had to leave fourth grade because I love it so much!! ❤

redassaggiegirl17

1. You are entitled to nothing.

I had a student in a class I TA'd who emailed me wanting to know where his grade on a weekly assignment was. I did not respond to him because the assignment in question was not even due yet, and also because he said something in the email that came off as a little dehumanizing, and I wasn't about to reinforce that behavior with any informative response. Hardly twelve hours later, he goes over my head to the professor. He then proved himself over and over to be the most entitled and rude person in the class.

I feel it might have been an age thing. Not only was he older than me (which is easy, most students at my school are), but he was older than the professor, who he was also rude to.

tanktopped

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.

Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.

These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.

From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.

Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:

"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"

"Tale As Old As Time..."

"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","

"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."

"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."

"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."

"Lol!"

"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom

"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."

"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."

"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."

"I think he was a germaphobe."

"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."

"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."

"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.

"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."

"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."

"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000

Money Burn GIF by nog Giphy

Who Wore It Better?

"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."

"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."

"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."

"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'

"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"

"No."- mertsey627

Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...

"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."

"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."

"It was very low key."

"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."

"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."

"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."

"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa

south park wedding GIF Giphy

See You In Court!

"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."

'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."

"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."

"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."

"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."

"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin

It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!

"I work in a public library."

"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."

"A popular book that just came out."

"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."

"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten

A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!

"My own."

"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"

"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."

"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"

"Unacceptable!"

"This shall not stand!"

"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."

"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."

"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."

"I got over it."- DeathGrover

homer simpson episode 23 GIF Giphy

Holy Matrimony!

"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."

"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."

"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."

"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."

"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."

"It's just a party."

"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree

When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...

"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore

In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...

"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."

"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."

"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."

"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."

"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."

"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."

"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."

"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."

"We don’t offer wrapping services."

"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."

'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso Giphy

Happiest Place On Earth!

"I used to work for Disney."

"That in itself should tell you everything."

"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."

"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."

"Suddenly got worse huh?"

"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."

"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."

"I'm not kidding."

"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."

"My wife worked booking."

"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."

"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."

"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."

"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."

"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."

"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong

Disney World GIF Giphy

The horror!

Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!

It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...

Said absolutely no one.