
In a time when we are constantly looking for something to watch, but rarely have time to sit down and enjoy something, picking a good film can be tricky. No one likes to watch a whole movie to get to the ending and have it be so disappointing that you wished you didn't watch in the first place.
Ask Reddit gave us a list of the movies that have the worst endings, and sometimes the worst beginnings and middles too. If you're wondering what to watch next, this list should help narrow down what to avoid all together.
Redditor Asap_lucky69 asked:
"What is the worst ending you have seen in a movie?"
Spoilers ahead, so readers beware.
Passengers was overall pretty creepy.
"That Jennifer Lawrence/Chris Pratt movie where actually she doesn't mind marrying her stalker who took her utopia life away and living just the two of them forever and ever."
The comments got into a little debate over Jennifer Lawrence reaction to the criticism of the film.
"Passengers is the movie I believe you're talking about."
"Although I will add that it annoyed me how after the internet called it out as a creepy relationship. Lawrence said she agreed and if she had noticed it while reading the script she'd have swapped the characters around. No. That's just as creepy."
"The better ending would have been one of the planned ones, where Pratt's character dies in the finale. Then it cuts to like 6 months later and shows Lawrence's character deciding to open someone else's pod up. Showing that humans crave social interaction."
"Lawrence said she agreed and if she had noticed it while reading the script she'd have swapped the characters around."
"That's not what she said, or what others were saying. The criticism, which she agreed with, is that it would've been more palatable if Pratt waking her up were a twist revealed more than halfway through the film instead of showing him doing it early on."
"That would've made it so that there wasn't any underlying issue known to the audience as the two characters' relationship progresses. We would've found out about what Pratt's character did the instant Lawrence's character does, and we would have to reconcile with it just as she had to. One of the main themes of the film is forgiveness, but it's harder for the audience to forgive Pratt's character when they're watching him go into that relationship knowing the truth, rather than being surprised by it."
Wonder Woman wasn't such a wonderful ending.
"WW84"
"Yeah, like, ok, the entire world gets wishes granted and nobody ever mentions it again WTF."
"Especially Bruce Wayne who would've wished his goddamned parents back to life."
"Not only does the entire world get wishes granted, but they are all willing to take their wishes back to stop the apocalypse. No way."
"Man I hope nobody wished their dead spouse/ kids back to life then had to undo that willingly. That's the sort of trauma that f*cks you beyond repair."
"Also, it's weird that nobody wished for the apocalypse, considering how nut jobs like the Joker are running around in this universe. Are they really saying not one nihilistic a**hole would wish for a meteor to crash into the planet just for funsies?"
The Forgotten was an ending we wish we forgot.
"The end of 'The Forgotten,' with Julianne Moore was straight trash."
"I was in the edge of my seat the entire time, then it ended with, 'It was aliens.' F*ck was that disappointing."
"I enjoyed that movie for its peculiar jump scares. It's also the first instance I can remember of the 'surprise T-bone crash' which a million movies have done since, but it was effective in this movie. But, whack conclusion, especially how everything was nearly undone, and she was the only one who could remember the film's events."
"Aliens with advanced, seemingly incomprehensible technology - who decided to just re-wallpaper that kids room and call it a day."
"Everything about that was ridiculous. Alien space magic deletes memory! Close up of protagonist looking confused. But wait! Her uterus hurts! It can only mean one thing! And then an alien gets yeeted... which, honestly, was pretty funny."
"Rest of the movie was decent."
Signs didn't really make sense in the end.
"'Signs' -- Maybe next time you decide to invade an entire planet, make sure it's not mostly made of instant death sauce."
"They could have made the ending great if in the last scene they zoomed out from the field as the automatic sprinklers turn on and you heard aliens screaming."
- jdiben1
People Share The Scariest Thing They've Ever Experienced While Home Alone | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
"It makes a lot more sense if you consider the creatures to be demons rather than aliens and that the little girl was turning all the water into holy water (remember they said an angel was seen at her birth)."
"Not saying that it makes the movie better, just that it makes the movie make more sense."
"I thought that was the entire point of the movie. We never technically see a flying saucer, the aliens don't really seem all that intelligent, and the movie is about a priest who has lost his faith. They even make a point that the way to defeat the 'aliens' is found in one of the holy cities of the middle east."
"That's the twist of the movie. You go in expecting a film about aliens, but it turns out their were not aliens, but rather demons, and all the signs of alien invasion were that of a demon invasion misinterpreted."
- Nambot
"That's plausible but still stupid. The explanation I like is that the trip to Earth is an alien frat house hazing ritual. That's why they show up naked to the acid planet. Also they're drunk the whole time, which is why they can't open doors."
- Porrick
"I love this theory to death and that's exactly what I'm going to imagine is happening the next time I watch Signs. You have just improved that movie so much for me, thanks!"
The movie musical My Fair Lady.
"My Fair Lady. She just goes back to the man who disrespected her like she has Stockholm syndrome."
"That p*ssed me off too! The original play it's based on apparently ends differently (I think she does plan to marry the other guy) and I was mad they changed it. It was completely out of character for her, the moving ending with her staring sentimentally at the back of his head. Ugh."
"That's a great movie though. Rex Harrison's ability to get cast in multiple musicals with 0 ability to sing is astounding."
"And the 1938 movie Pygmalion, based on the play, also has her come back to Higgins in the end. The playwright, George Bernard Shaw, was disgusted with that. (I've never seen My Fair Lady, but Pygmalion would be my answer to the original question. That ending sucks.)"
- Temmere
"I've heard that the author (book) never wanted them to end up together. Henry Higgins was meant to be a gay man."
"Throughout that movie he is referred to as a 'confirmed bachelor,' which is old-time-y speak for gay."
Batman vs Superman missed some opportunities.
"Batman vs Superman"
"'Hey Boss, what do we do if Superman tries save his mom.'"
"Lex: 'Oh torch her as soon as you suspect something'"
"'What if a different caped jackass shows up?'"
"Lex: 'What like just some guy? I want you to fight him, one by one. Don't use your guns. Hold your guns but just run at him face first. And of course if your mothers have the same name just take the night off, we all have our limits.'"
"Is it cheating to pick a movie that also has a bad start and middle?"
"They missed an opportunity for Aquaman to talk about 'Thomas' in Justice League and have Batman lose his sh*t."
"'WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?'"
"'Calm down, it's my dad's name. And my mom's your ex.'"
"Superman could just burn Batman with his laser eyes at a safe distance. Superman has super powers. Batman has a toolbelt. The entire premise is crap."
The new Predator ended up being ableist.
"The new Predator movie (2018)."
"Turns out the aliens were really after our autistic kids. Also the last 10 minutes was them so desperately building for a sequel. completely unnecessary and so insanely cringe"
"Let me rephrase that: The Predators in this movie didn't hunt for sport but to unironically weaponize autism."
"They're speaking the actual truth. Predator is after Earth's autistic kids because apparently autism is the next step in the evolutionary chain and they want to exploit it."
"Because the kid's autism powers were so great he managed to learn their whole language in a single day and now they want to splice his genes or something."
"And it pulls the trick of managing to think it's smartly trying to show autism in a positive light while actually reinforcing the same damaging trope as most movies with autistic characters. That it's OK they're weird, because they get to be super smart. Which, spoiler alert, is not how autism is for most people."
War of the Worlds.
"Spielberg's War of the Worlds. The reunion in Boston which apparently none of the Martians bothered to attack, with the teenage son somehow having survived when no soldiers had and walked to his grandma's house and realized he really loved his Dad after all. Did I mention it was a Spielberg movie."
"I will give the movie credit for sticking to the book's original ending, though."
"Some people felt it was anticlimactic, but I felt it was brave, when they could so easily have copped out and gone for a big "Tom Cruise action hero" type ending instead."
Happiest Season did not come to happy ending.
"Did anyone here watch Happiest Season? Kristen Stewart's character spends the entire film being harassed by her girlfriend's (who by the way seems to have 0 redeeming qualities herself) toxic family. Oh and she meets a hot, wonderful lesbian that validates her feelings and she should have ended up with."
"And then after she dumps the girlfriend for being awful the girlfriend (who by the way has previously assured people she'll be better and did not) and her family have a cathartic shouting match and are magically better people. So the girlfriend does a dramatic run-after-her moment and she goes back for some reason??? And hangs out with the toxic family? Run girl! Run!"
"Oh I know that movie was just HORRENDOUSLY bad. What was baffling was the fact that it was directed by a lesbian. Like... why would you agree to this?"
"Ugggh this movie. I liked it, generally. Tbh movies about stress in relationships almost always stress ME out, so I avoid them. I stuck it through this one, just knowing Aubrey was going to get the girl and it was going to be so cute and I'd probably cry happy tears. Instead I ended up sitting on the edge of my boyfriend's bed repeatedly exclaiming "f*cking WHAT?!""
"Mission Impossible 2. Every character turned out to be another character wearing a mask. The movie came out in 2000 and the masks were so detailed that you could make out with your arch-enemy and think it was your boyfriend."
- han7nah
"The worst mask scene in that movie is when Tom Cruise puts a mask of himself on some thug and tapes his mouth shut and they kill him. Why, in the ever loving f*ck, would anyone carry a mask of THEMSELVES with them."
"The plot was a rip off of the movie Notorious. I saw MI2 first and then was on an old movie kick and saw Notorious and suddenly realized how much similarity there was."
"I think they ripped the idea from a Scooby Doo episode. Both of it has people wearing masks and doing crime as a main plot point."
Thank goodness this Redditor asked this question. There are definitely some movies to avoid after reading this list.
What we're still wondering, is how did these get from the writing room, to the filming set, to the editing floor without someone saying, "Hey, maybe this isn't that good!"
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
CW: Domestic violence.
Sometimes family are the ones to avoid most.
That whole blood and water thing is true.
Evil is everywhere.
Even in our blood, our DNA.
It can be daunting to learn that someone you share something so intimate with can be darkness incarnate.
But really, that's probably a statistical truth for all of us.
So how do we cope?
Redditor onlyusemefeets wanted to hear about the worst of everyone's family, so they asked:
"When did you find out that someone in your family is evil?"
The Reddit community rose to the occasion to shed some light on their family skeletons.
Money Issues
"When they ripped apart 3 generations of my family almost immediately after my dad died for a measly $37,000. He's a millionaire. That kinda money is pocket change to him."
Good Lord
"When my 11 year old cousin got cancer."
"Her mom and boyfriend were shooting up her pain medicine. My cousin was in so much pain, she told her Doctors. Thats when the doctors stopped giving her mom a prescription and the nurses dispensed her pain meds at the hospital. Unfortunately they could not keep track of medication while at home so they reported it."
"CPS removed her. She died shortly after in foster care. Parents were never charged."
dead-parrots
Death
"When my dad died of covid my Aunt tried to say she was entitled to some stuff of his since it belonged in the family. She even called a lawyer on us and it was big deal and my mom didn't need to deal with that trying to raise 3 kids on her own so f**k her. She still bothers us about stuff and all it is like plates and some pictures and some other things."
"Sunken Cost Fallacy"
"My brother's addiction has led to him spinning some ridiculous stories. I'm not sure if he is very convincing or if my father chooses to believe him because of some 'sunken cost fallacy,' or he genuinely refuses to give up. But my brother has told lies and stories about me and my siblings to the point that he's the only child who talks to my father anymore. He convinced my father that I forced him to do drugs."
"But I knew my brother was evil when scared away my sister with physical violence. Last month, he went missing for a weeks only to turn up after flipping his car high on pills. My father doesn't know it yet, but my mother is planning on leaving him because my father chooses my brother over her. No one can convince my father that he's enabling. No one can convince my brother to stop. Hard drugs really destroy entire families."
sleepypanda59
A New Family
"When he purposely excluded his 4 year old son (from a previous relationship) from his wedding to his new spouse, deleted all photos of his son from his social media, and legally signed away all parental rights. He has since had 2 more kids with said new spouse."
FeminaCanadiana
How can parents act that way?
Failure...
"I don't know about evil, but my dad got remarried and has a kid and stepson with his new spouse. All of that would be fine if he didn't pretend that none of us (offspring from first marriage) exist so he can pretend this family is the first family and we never happened."
"Once this realization hit me, I stopped contacting him, and once I stopped putting in the effort, everything else dissipated. We haven't spoken at all. He does not care in the least. I honestly believe that he wishes we never even existed. He is a failure as a father and as a man."
Raindrops_On-Roses
Oh Brother
"When my husband's brother (1 of 5 siblings) said he couldn't make it to our house to plan their mother's funeral because he had to work. Meanwhile we found out he wasn't working because we caught him on ring doorbell entering the moms house to rifle through it while the rest of us were planning the funeral at my house."
Legitimate_Energy257
The End
"When my ex said 'you've been a godsend, I want a divorce.' I had taken time off from work to take care of her parents. She told me this right before her dad died, and she inherited. She found a boyfriend while I was with her parents. She got the house by declaring I had abandoned it. I was with her parents."
rollercoaster_5
Evil
"When my dad tried to throw my 6 month old sister when he was drunk. That man is a monster in disguise"
iinattanii
So many people really need to be screened for their abilities to raise kids.
Friends, especially great friends share a lot in life.
We share secrets, memories, joy, sorrow and in some cases... sex.
Is this a good idea or an unmitigated disaster?
The jury is still out.
It works for some and is a disaster for others.
Plus it can muddle the history of the relationship.
So what do people do?
Let's find out...
Redditor thunderchild10 wanted to discuss everyone's thoughts on the friends with benefits scenario, so they asked:
"What's your opinion of friends with benefits?"
I've never done FWB.
I feel robbed.
After a while...
"Fun, and fine for a while, but less fulfilling than a relationship. Also, you both need to be good at compartmentalization, otherwise one of you will likely end up catching feelings."
Akiram
Be Clear
"My FWB caught feelings even though we were always clearly communicated as FWB. We were both in a big but really close friends group. I got a gf (she had recently had a bf as well) and she got mad. I ended up losing all my friends. It’s been 4 years, and she actually successfully managed to get 20+ ppl to forget I exist."
"Wouldn’t recommend."
sadbudda
The Rule of Three
"I had 3 throughout college. Two ended in us dating and then breaking up. The only one that worked and lasted two years was me and an ex from high school. We never hung out but were cool after our breakup. Didn’t speak for like three years and then when we were in college we saw each other at the bar, hooked up that night, then like two days later she asked if I wanted to meet up and I said sure."
"Then it just continues for two years. We rarely spoke outside of the bedroom other than like ‘pick me up from the bar’. Overall it was cool but I think it’s very rare. You have to find two people who just don’t have any desire for each other other than when horny, which a lot of times is not the case in one side"
InternationalMouse56
Confusion
"I honestly don't understand it at all. Having any sexual relation with a person whom I don't love and who doesn't love me seems pointless and even scary to me. I guess I am over-sensitive or something, because the thought of being so close to somebody without actually having a connection, an exclusivity, without knowing if this will ever happen again, is genuinely horrific to me."
"I don't care what others do in the bed and with whom, but this kind of relationship is just not for me."
ZidanSufuzki
For Life
"If they can provide Medical, Dental, Unemployment, and Retirement benefits then they’re a friend for life."
Stupify_Me
Benefits are benefits. I'm in.
Forever
"It didn't work out. We couldn't keep it just friends once we started the benefits. We will celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary in 2 weeks."
dirtysecretsofmine
Hey Buddy
"Very messy. You gotta either be f"k buddies only, dating, or friends only. Trying to keep feelings out of FWB is too difficult."
MarthaTheTRex
"That's a great point. I agree that it's tough to keep feelings out of the equation. I think it's best to just be honest and open with your friend so that you both know the boundaries of the situation and can stick to them. That way, both parties can be sure that they're getting what they need out of the relationship."
Professional-Help114
Taking Chances
"Seems iffy to me if you want the friendship to lay long term. Doesn't someone usually catch feelings, so after the FWB finds a partner they want to keep, it leaves the other party out. Especially if the new bf/gf doesn't want you to be friends with someone you've had sex with."
"Yes? No? I'm not into casual sex for myself, so am I off base?"
lifehappenedwhatnow
Developments
"A lot of people are saying 'someone always inevitably develops feelings' and that it ends badly, but that's not been my experience. I'm still friends with a few of my FWB's that I'm no longer sleeping with over the last couple of years and I'm genuinely happy for them that they've found relationships that make them happy. And I know of quite a few others similar to me."
playswithf1re
In Sync...
"A great plan when both participants are on the same page. Whether that is 'stay FWB' or 'hey we caught feelings, let's give a relationship a try'. A mess when only one participant catches feelings."
Gwywnnydd
Don't get hurt...
"Terrible idea, someone always inevitably develops feelings and gets hurt."
"It can work sure, but in general, unless you're both 100% sure (which, how can you ever really be?) beforehand that you won't develop feelings for each other, I generally have seen it not work."
"In my personal experience, someone always had to break it off just as feelings were starting to arise. So yeah, be careful I guess."
PodcastingPodcastGuy
What have we learned?
Communication is key.
Do you have any WTF FWB experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Former Disney Park Actors Describe The Weirdest Experiences They Ever Had While In Character
An undeniable part of the magic that guests experience at many of the Disney parks around the world is the interactions with characters.
Those who post photos of their Disney vacations will almost always include a photo with Mickey and/or Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie, and their human friends like Snow White, Belle, Moana, or villains like Gaston.
It's not that difficult to suspend your disbelief during an encounter with a Disney character.
But spoiler alert, the beloved icons you're putting your arms around and giving hugs are with total strangers who are paid to make you feel special.
Redditors got a chance to discover what it's like for those costumed Disney cast members giving hugs and signing autographs to kids of all ages that they've never met before.
Redditor nvoltage1017 asked:
"Former actors at Disney parks, what’s the weirdest thing that happened to you while you were in character?"
Fluffy Disney characters are appealing to a niche interest in the kink community.
Sexy Furry
"I was one of the performers for Nick Wilde from Zootopia a few years ago, And if you’re not aware; a large number of people in the furry community find him highly attractive."
"You can just imagine the number of people in that community who flirted with me and/or Judy and whispered some pretty sexual things to us. I think I also had a guy grab Nick’s tie like in that flirty way, we had to get him escorted out of the park."
"The moral of the story is: don’t be inappropriate with the characters, we are real people underneath, and there are legitimate consequences for that kind of behaviour."
– ExtremePikachu75
Just Plain Goofy
"I was playing Goofy inside a restaurant and I got swarmed Aliens-style by a hoard of <10 kids. Unfortunately while I was playing around with them the inner hood below the mask slipped over my eyes and I was completely blinded. We had assistants around whom we could signal for help by flapping our arms, but the kids had made it a game of attaching themselves Tarzan-like to both my arms and to raise them I would have had to lift 3-4 kids per arm (dangerous even if I'd been strong enough to do that)."
"I found myself blind and completely rooted to the spot, unable to ask for help and with nobody realizing that I was in trouble. I spent like a solid 10-15 minutes in that sort of limbo reflecting on the life decisions that had taken me there until the assistant came over and whispered 'set is over dude' and I finally managed to signal something was wrong."
– Judge_T
Things get out of control.
Why They Do It
"I was a 'mouse height' performer at Disney World around 2013. Can unfortunately confirm groping happened from time to time and it was incredibly uncomfortable. We were trained to move away if we could and signal to the character attendants to escort the guest away if it happened. One time some guy thought it appropriate to pick me up completely off the ground in a bear hug. The head pushed back and, because the inside is connected to us with head gear and a chin strap, my neck bent back with it and it hurt like hell."
"Not a weird story, but one of my most memorable guest experiences was meeting a little blind boy as Mickey in Epcot. I gently guided his hands to the soft ears, then the nose, and bow tie and he was laughing and his smile lit up the whole room. I still get emotional thinking about it! Interactions like that made it all worth it to me at the time."
– raybirdie
Tinkerbell's Drama
"I dated a girl that played one of the fairies for the Tinkerbell place. Beyond the pretty much daily occurrence of old dads hitting on her (she was 19 at the time) the weirdest thing to happen to her was a woman with a 4yr old little girl was all excited to get a picture with Tinkerbell, who was busy, so my ex volunteered to do pictures and entertain the little girl while they waited."
"The woman was a b*tch about that idea, rudely saying she was here to see Tinkerbell and not 'off-brand' fairies. So just shrugging it off, my ex moved on. A bit later, she hears a commotion and Tinkerbell is obviously upset, and security shows up. Apparently, this woman was Tinkerbell's bio mom and had taken her granddaughter to Disney, just to violate the restraining order against her."
"Disney Jail is a real place."
– EarlSandwich0045
Trapped In Sick
"I used to work at a different amusement park that featured similar costumed characters. The worst thing I ever heard was the time one of the characters was overcome by heat in 95 degree weather, and vomited inside the suit, splattering the inside of the suit's head with their half-digested lunch."
"They had to walk a long distance back to the dressing rooms breathing the super-heated vomit air the entire way."
– SpaceLaserPilot
Things get violent
That's Just Nuts
"Never was an actor, but when I was a kid at Disney World in the 70s, I watched Chip get into a fist fight with a young 20 something guy. The guys girlfriend wanted him to do a picture with Chip & Dale, but he didn't want to. Chip grabbed him in a head lock and his girlfriend snapped the photo. When Chip let go, the guy came up swinging. Dale had to jump in and break them up, as Chip started swinging back. For a kid of 12, it was awesome!"
– EddyBuddard
Shifts To Avoid
"My ex wife was in the character department at Disney World years ago. She was always getting injured by guests. From macho men wanting to see how strong of a grip Mickey had, to grabbing hold of Donald's bill and yanking really hard. Pulling noses, beaks, ears, etc., can really hurt people."
"Another person was dressed as Daisy duck and got tackled by a guest and knocked out cold. When she recovered, she pressed charges."
"The worst nights for the characters were high school senior nights and the religious group nights. Bunch of unruly teens with little to no supervision. No one wanted to work those shifts. Ever."
– artistandattorney
Some situations were a bit on the laughable side.
Meltdown
"I was part of the Disney college program and I have my own stories but not as a character. My mom on the other hand, she was a character actor back in the day (60’s or 70’s). They were testing a new headpiece for the seven dwarf costumes in Disneyland and my mom wore one of them out on a march with Snow White. As a Dwarf, your head is inside their hat, their face on their stomach, etc. Being Anaheim, it was really hot that summer day and as they were going around following Snow White a little kid saw my mom “Doc” he ran up to give him/her a hug. As he was hugging Doc, the plastic that made up the face started melting inwards and the child started screaming 'I killed Doc! I killed Doc!' In hysterics. Character handlers rushed my mom/Doc off through one of the secret passages by Pirates and got her out of the costume before the plastic could melt onto her."
"Always thought it was a fun story and curious how much it screwed up that kid."
– The_Woman_S
The Gas Leak
"Not a cast member but either Mickey or Minnie cut a very audible fart while posing with my wife and me. It must've been awful inside that dutch oven of a costume."
– Jeffclaterbaugh
Never Assume
"I knew a friend(a guy) who wore Minnie Mouse costume. He told me almost all guys would put their hands around his waist. He wouldn’t dare to talk or else they will hear his manly voice and that might pisses them off."
"Edit: this blows up quickly. I feel I need to let people know that it’s not okay to grope the Disney characters. My friend had introduced me to the people who play them and they are just normal people. All I can tell you is that they will make a disgusting face under the mask and talk sh*t about you later after work."
– reloadfreak
Disney cast members must've been relieved to some extent when the parks reopened with pandemic measures.
Not only did the Disney park institute mask mandates, but any character also interactions–if there were any at all–were at a safe distance from guests, preventing physical contact.
With normal character interactive procedures now back in place at most Disney parks, always remember to be on your best behavior.
People Break Down Which Practices The United States Needs To Adopt From Other Countries
We can all agree that there is something to appreciate about every country in the world, but there are arguably some countries that appear to have their ducks more consistently and happily in a row than others.
While it would be easy to let pride get in the way and continue to do things the same way, the more productive thing would be to learn from the countries who have figured out a better way to do certain things, whether it's healthcare, food banks, or other services.
Reflecting on the United States, Redditor Blinds**thead asked:
"What is one thing the USA should adopt from some other country?"
Introductions to Alcohol
"Swedish drinking laws. If I remember correctly, you can purchase alcohol below 5% at age 18, and be served liquor in bars (so the bartender can control the amount being served)."
"Seems like a smarter way to introduce kids to alcohol rather than opening the floodgates at 21."
- underhandfranky
Taxes to Approve
"Automated taxes."
"I've never done them but they seem complicated and stress my parents out, so I just know I'll f**k mine up and end up in stupid jail, lol (laughing out loud)."
"Just send me something to sign, please!"
- teenage-nightmare
Societal Improvement
"A prison system that focuses on rehabilitation instead of punishment. Many countries have been successful with this saving literally billions of dollars and cutting down on crime."
- LtRecore
Universal School Lunches
"Universal school lunches. It is embarrassing that we do not have folks cooking lunches for students from scratch and that it is not provided for free to all students."
"Do you want to bring your own lunch? Great, but you can also have the free hot lunch that looks homemade, not pizza squares, canned veggies, a slice of fruit, and 3 oz of milk."
"Kids shouldn't be going into debt for lunch. We're probably wealthy enough that our food waste alone would be sufficient, if captured magically, to feed every kid in the United States three proper meals per day."
"Also walkable cities and above-ground monorail systems."
- radiantpenguin991
Relieving Homelessness
"Finland has recently ended homelessness by just allowing people to live in small apartments without any preconditions, and four out of five of them make their way back to a stable life."
"It's also cheaper than allowing people to be homeless."
- littleMAHER1
Period.
"Universal healthcare."
- fastal_12147
Foster Care Assistance
"It would be nice to also eliminate the fees foster parents pay for general registration, classes, and social services related to fostering or adoption."
"And also eliminate trying to recoup costs by billing parents whose children have been placed in foster care."
- hawtpahtadah
Longer Paid Family Leave
"I was SUPER blessed to get 12 weeks fully pay. But that’s not enough time. Putting the emotional aspect aside, I’ve returned to work functioning on four to five hours of sleep a night, and my productivity and cognitive abilities are greatly handicapped."
"My three-month-old son can’t even hold his head up or sit, let alone talk to tell me if anything’s wrong, and he’s placed in the care of someone else from 7:15 am to 5:15 pm. Doesn’t seem healthy for mother or child."
- tealpineapple456
Bathroom Upgrades
"The fact that our toilets don't have bidets and that at public restrooms the gap between the doors is massive, are both disgusting. Our whole bathroom situation is messed up."
- darksix
Having a Siesta
"According to Dr. Andrew Huberman, whether you eat lunch or not, everyone requires a rest midday."
- Justhere_2468
Tax Included in the Price
"Man, I had such a hard time with this when I visited America. Maths in my head is not my forte and I’m so used to looking at prices and expecting that to just be the price."
"I don’t get why you wouldn’t just add in the tax to the price. No one wants to do math unnecessarily. I mean, we don’t even tip in Australia so I don’t even need to work that out."
- Cookie_Wife
Raising Multilingual Children
"Teaching a foreign language to young students in public schools (ie 5yrs, k-5) when the propensity to learn the language quickly is maximum."
- zenjen22
Clean Public Restrooms
"The clean restrooms in Japan were amazing. I never had to clean a toilet seat to put my young kids on it. In the states? Near every time. People here just don’t care about the ‘we’ when it comes to restrooms."
- NoodlesAreAmazing
Separate Work and Healthcare
"Decent healthcare that isn't tied to your job. Other countries all over the world have figured out different ways to do this, so why can't we? (I know, corporations own politicians.)"
"I'm not an expert, but I'm guessing it would destabilize a bunch of industries in the near term. But I wonder if long-term, it would create so much new innovation since people would be unafraid to lose their health benefits to leave their stable but s**tty corporate jobs to start new ventures."
- michiman
Designated Drivers on the Go
"In Japan, there is a service that you can call 24 hours per day that will come with two drivers and one car. One driver drives you and your car home, and the other follows in their car to pick up the driver that took you home with your car. No DUI, etc."
"It's actually really affordable there. No need to get an uber home that night and then an uber back the next day when you are hungover only to find out you have a million parking tickets or your car got towed."
- Visual_Sport_950
Though there are positives to every country, it would be so cool to see each country be more open-minded about adopting the positives of other countries.
If a country is doing something better than another, the best thing for the citizens would be to take some notes, rather than let their pride do the talking.