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People Divulge The Things They Thought They Wanted But Really Regretted Afterwards

People Divulge The Things They Thought They Wanted But Really Regretted Afterwards
Kamil Pietrzak on Unsplash

Aesop's Fables cautions that you should be careful what you wish for because the reality might not match expectations.


The irony is evident in many examples, one of which includes being a lottery winner.

Sure, accumulating mass wealth sounds amazing, but there are plenty of those who have hit the jackpot and wound up becoming depressed due to the unfamiliarity of having to manage finances.

Curious to hear examples of the grass is greener on the other side, Redditor Penguin633 asked:

"What is something you thought you wanted, but really regretted afterwards?"

Sometimes, it's hard to imagine jobs being something other than what it actually is: miserable work.

Dream Job

"Working a job that involves skills from one of my hobbies. Now it feels more like work than the hobby."

– isaacthememeboi

When Passions Become Work

"Work doing something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life."

"Bullsh*t. It makes you hate the thing that you love because most people have to work for someone else who sets the rules and conditions and deadlines."

– Reloaded9mm

Nightmare Company

"The job I am currently in. The work is alright, but the company is sh*t."

– [deleted]

The Baker's Experience

"A business. Supposedly my dream job….but I haaaate it. * Edit* - Wow! I see I’m not alone. Yes, I own a bakery that I’ve run for 13 years. It’s successful, always paid its bills….but it’s definitely zapped the joy out of a hobby. Anyone that has worked with the public knows it’s taxing. I’ve lost the creative aspect and just feel like a slave to it honestly. Bakery hours can be rough, so maybe it’s the lack of sleep catching up to me, lol. I just know that I was already feeling burned out, but now with the insane increase to costs of supplies - and the unpredictability of finding certain things altogether, I’ve decided this will be my last year in business."

– acefrosting

Those who thought they could live on the wild side had another thing coming.

Adrenaline Junkies

"It's those Redbull GoPro youtube videos. You watch a motherf**ker jump off a balloon from the edge of space, or wing suit through a canyon with one of those strapped to his head, and it makes you want to get adventurous."

– lou_sassoles

For The Sake Of Footage

"I made that mistake too. Thrice."

"And even though I used it for some 'cool' activities; turns out reliving hours of your day in hopes to assemble a couple minutes of exciting footage is a real struggle."

"But if anyone wants to watch hours of me skiing groomers interrupted by the occasional lame jump: I'm your guy!"

– sketchcott

Get That Cardio

"A Dance Dance Revolution Real Dance Pad."

"First 2 paychecks I received when I was 16. Bought a $500 DDR (over 15 years ago) and used it about 20 hours that first week. Then about 20 hours for the next two years. Sold at garage sale for $25."

– CPWho80

Failed Fantasy

"This one time i was very horny and was thinking with the little brain and i got me a 700$ pussy/a** sex doll. its so much trouble to prep, clean and maintain that i ended up using it like 8 times before throwing it away."

– fxm87

Regretful Splurge

"Buying a new ski boat. Expensive, too big to keep in the garage and burned $80 in gas in an afternoon (when gas was still affordable). Mostly I pulled the kids and their friends on wake boards or kneeboards around and around in circles while the air temperature was close to 100 and came home dehydrated and with a headache. A happy day is when you buy a boat. A happier day is when you sell that b*tch."

– BreakingBad2014

On the flip side, some may choose to be more sedentary.

Magic Chair

"Massage chair. I enjoyed the demo in the shop, that's about it."

– General-Permission-5

Niche Interest

"Waterbed. Biggest waste of money. Spent 1k on the most uncomfortable bed ever. Practically broke my back and sold it for 100 after just a year of using it."

– TallAFTobs

It Comes With The Territory

"A backyard pool."

"I always wanted one until I had one. It was a huge pain in the @ss. Had to buy chemicals, had to test the water, had to clean it, found dead snakes in the skimmer baskets, had to get the pump replaced, etc."

Lenny_III

Total Lethargy

"PCP. It’s definitely not an experience you want unless you’re looking for that 'I’m f'king dying' feeling."

– Bjorn_Suicide

When it comes to trying new tasting experiences, embrace yourselves for the worst...or something even worse.

Getting A Taste

"When I was a kid, I was insistent on having a ketchup and mustard sandwich. I begged my mom to make it for me. My rationale was if a hamburger was delicious on a bun with ketchup and mustard, surely a sandwich minus the meat would be great. My Mom finally made the sandwich. I immediately regretted it."

– sarahels

Scrumptious Joy

"That 2 lb novelty Reese Cup. I regretted how good it was."

– UnusualPost

I've experienced regret whenever I would jump on a new fashion trend.

Many years ago, overalls were a thing. I begged my mom to get me a pair, but she insisted I keep saving my allowance and get them myself so that I could learn to appreciate them more.

When I finally got a pair, the fad was fleeting and I was literally the only dork wearing GAP overalls by the time the next school semester started.

I realized I only bought them because everyone else was wearing them. And while they looked "cool" and current in them, they just never were a good aesthetic fit for me.

Lesson learned.

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People Describe The All-Time Worst Dates They've Ever Been On

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What's the worst date you've ever been on?'

Closeup of two coffee-filled mugs held by a dating couple.
Jonathan J. Castellon/Unsplash

Finally going out on a date with the person you've been chatting with online is a very exciting yet nerve-wracking first step.

But when you finally meet the person with whom you've developed romantic chemistry online, one of two things can happen–Fireworks or bombs.

In other words, being face-to-face with a prospective love interest for the first time can either confirm your hopes or suspicions about the person whom you know very little about online.

Curious to hear nightmare stories about dating life, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What's the worst date you've ever been on?"

People and their obsession with their electronic devices is getting out of hand.

Mr. Invisible

"Sat for 15 minutes to hear him talk about himself, work and his future plans, and then as he asked me 'what about you?" his hand went to reach his phone and he starts scrolling. I can't stress this enough, his hand reaches his phone at the same time those words left his mouth. It felt to me like he already decided whatever I am going to say was going to be boring so might as well multitask as I talk."

– dracarysthemdown

Self-Incriminating Date

"Went on a date with a chick that took my phone and put a picture of her on my Snapchat, I got 20 messages almost instantly from chicks that knew her and told me to stay away. She was 2 months pregnant, didn’t tell me till my friends did. That was a wild date for sure. She was very upset."

– ThatBrenon131

The Salesperson

"Tinder date. She pulled out her Ipad and started introducing me various insurance plans she is selling."

– IndigoldWeM

"Oooooh god that's almost as bad as trying to recruit a first date into your MLM line..."

– OP

"I had a date that tried to sell me whole life insurance. She told me before the date to meet her at her office. It was downtown so I thought nothing of it. Then she walks me to her desk and tells me to sign some papers."

– Pissedtuna

Sometimes, dates turn out to be disastrous through no fault of participants.

Things Went Downhill

"I thought I would be a little more adventurous and suggest that we go skiing for a first date. At the time, I lived in the south where the closest ski mountain was 2.5 hours away and it was opening day. It became clear that we probably didn’t click on the drive up, but I figured we’d still have a fun day of skiing. On the first run, maybe 100 yards in, she falls hard and tears her acl, lcl, and mcl. It was a very long and awkward car ride back, and I ended up staying with her for several days after to help care for her since she lived alone and was new to the area. She was a very nice woman, but that was just a lot for a first date."

– houston_g

People were forced to make a run for it.

The Great Escape

"So many bad dates over the years. One of the worst was this guy I met on a dating site. We agreed to go to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Turned out his profile picture really was of himself but it was just a 'few' years old. BS! In person, he straight up looked like Santa Claus on vacation complete with the Hawaiian shirt. I was a little unhappy about that but it wasn’t the end of the world. I thought well maybe he is jolly and fun. That turned out to be a big NO."

"So we ordered dinner and he started talking about ex wife #1. She was a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #2 was also a b*tch and crazy. Ex wife #3 was a psycho crazy b*tch from hell. He told me ex #3 hit him in the face with a frying pan. He seemed to enjoy my horrified reaction. That was, until I asked what he did he do to her to make her smack him upside the head with said frying pan. Personally, I thought it was an awful date and I couldn’t wait to go home. He ordered dessert. :/"

"mentioned getting home soon and he said We can discuss that later as he was paying for my meal and we were going to enjoy our time together. I waited for a few minutes and politely excused myself to the ladies room. He stood up and watched me go in and was watching me when I came back to the table. It was as if he knew I wanted to bolt out the door. I got my chance when he finally went to the men’s room. I handed the waitress money for my food plus tip and told her I was on a very bad date. I left the restaurant just before he came back from the men’s room. He saw me through the front windows and started screaming like a lunatic. I don’t know what he was saying but I ran to my car!"

– SassyDiva13

Tasks First, Eat Later

"Went out with a guy from POF who lived an hour away from me. (I live in the sticks so this is normal.) I texted him to let him know I was on my way and this dipsh*t proceeded to text me every few minutes to ask me if I was still coming. So much so that I finally had to call him and tell him to stop because I can't text and drive at the same time. In hindsight, I should have turned around and went home right then."

"Finally I get to the place we were meeting. It was a store parking lot. Since we were meeting there and going somewhere else right away, I texted him and said I was there, where are you and he replies insisting I come into the store. He absolutely would NOT come outside to meet me. So I had to spend the first hour of this date following him around an auto parts store while he pawed through every display and bin, not talking to me very much at all."

"Finally he was ready to leave the store and I thought we were going to eat, as we had originally planned. I was starving but he said no, I gotta go return my work uniforms to my old job first. Uhh, okay I guess."

"So we drove in his car to this factory where he parks and says hop out so I can lock my car up. It was cold and rainy so of course he expected me to stand out in it? After like 15 minutes I was like f'k this and I went in the lobby of this place to get out of the rain. For some reason it took this guy 45 more minutes to return his uniforms so I was glad I went into the building to get warm. But apparently this was a huge no-no to him because when he came back out from wherever he went to return this stuff he glared at me like I just dropped trou and took a sh*t in his lap and asked me why I didn't just wait outside. In the cold rain. For almost an hour."

"At last he decided it was time to go to the restaurant. I sat there trying to keep a poker face while he talked to the waitress like he was addressing a toddler, messily stuffed his face and chewed with his mouth open wide and kept glancing around every 30 seconds like he was scared someone was going to see him out with a woman in public."

"Plus he kept asking me invasive and crude sex questions the whole time too. Lovely."

"I quickly inhaled a salad and managed to pay for it at the front without him seeing me, I told him I needed to go to the little girl's room and bounced. Luckily this restaurant was across the highway from the store where I had left my car so I crossed it real quick and blocked him everywhere before I even got the car warmed up."

"I'll betcha a million bucks and a house salad that a**hole was married."

– produkt921

It's unfortunate that people on dating apps aren't always forthright about themselves.

Older Woman

"I wouldn’t say it was the worst but it was the most interesting. Met a lady on a dating app. A Beautiful woman who claimed to be 38 which is my age. I suspected through the pictures she might be in her early 40s. Her profile said she had 3 kids. We talked and she seemed cool. We then met for dinner a week into talking. I could tell she was older but looked younger than she should because of Botox. Within 15 minutes she said she had to tell me the truth because she really likes me. She does not have 3 kids but 6! She is not 38 but 48!"

– bobismymother

The Date That Wasn't A Date But Actually Was A Date

"I didn't even know it was a date."

"Girl I worked with was talking up a breakfast place in a nearby town, and I was like 'that sounds great, let's go this weekend!'"

"We went, I had a great time, the pancakes were amazing, and I had fun hanging out with a work friend outside of work. I thought she had a good time too, she was laughing and fully engaged with the conversation just like normal."

"Like three weeks later, I was talking to another coworker when it all came out that she'd been telling people we went on a terrible date, how I didn't even make a move or flirt or do anything that guys she goes on dates with normally do, and how I even talked about a date with another girl at one point."

"I was flabbergasted, my fat a** genuinely thought we were just a couple of friends getting pancakes."

– SadlyReturndRS

If you're no longer in the dating pool because you found your person, congrats.

There's no doubt you have kissed some frogs along the way to finding true love.

Because if it weren't for all those "horrible dates," you might not be able to appreciate what you've got when the right person comes along.

Hercules statue

Simone Pellegrini on Unsplash

A bad@ss is defined as:

"a tough, uncompromising, or intimidating person."

The term is attributed to North America, dating back to 1809. But use remained fairly minimal throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

The term really took off at the beginning of the 21st century and continued a swift upward trajectory until the present.

Even though the widespread use of the term is relatively recent, the attitude and attributes of a bad@ss goes back to the beginning of human existence.

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airport check-in

Phil Mosley on Unsplash

The United States Department of Homeland Security was created November 25, 2002 in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Some existing agencies were transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly created cabinet post.

Among the agencies moved to Homeland Security were Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Secret Service and the United States Coast Guard.

Some agencies were created to address new security measures then placed under Homeland Security. Among the new agencies created post 9/11 was the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

TSA was created on November 19, 2001, to "improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a dedicated federal administrative law enforcement agency." TSA handles security for transportation systems within and connecting to the United States.

For most people, their interaction with TSA is at the airport. Those interactions aren't always pleasant for travelers.

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When I was a little girl, I adored the American Girl books. These were books about girls in different historical periods of time in America. They weren't just books, however. There was a lot of American Girl merchandise, including dolls.

I adored the doll I had of Felicity Merriman, my favorite American Girl. A few years ago, I started reading the American Girl books to my cousin. She had her own favorite character, Samantha, and I decided it would be nice to get her a Samantha doll for her birthday. I went to order one only to find out they had archived the dolls of the four original American Girls, including Felicity and Samantha.

Eventually, new versions of the dolls were re-released, but they looked completely different from the characters from the books, which the original dolls captured. These dolls are just one thing that existed in my childhood that no longer exists.

I'm not the only one who has experienced these. Redditors have identified plenty of things from their childhood that no longer exist and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor lil-gatorwrangler asked:

"What is something from your childhood that no longer exists now?"

Breakfast Gifts

"Cool spoons from cereal boxes!!! i miss the color changing and straw ones."

– pompomcinnamon

"Nothing like only buying a box of cereal because of the cool lil gift inside. 🥹"

– lil-gatorwrangler

"This reminds me I haven't seen my Taz spoon in a while. It makes Taz noises when you dip it in milk."

– TransformerTanooki

Family Phones

"Yelling “SOMEBODY GET THE PHONE.”

– Jfonzy

"Adjacent: “Get off the internet! I have to make a phone call!”"

cold_dry_hands

"The ring tone was......the phone."

– DEADFLY6

Slime!

"Nickelodeon game shows. I miss Legends of the Hidden Temple and Guts."

– ShawshankException

"Every time I have to take a headrest out and put it back in my car seat, I pretend I am completing a mission from LotHT."

– ReineDePlatine

Ah, The Book Fairs

"Do you remember filling out book orders when it was time for your school's book fair? :'("

– sn0wballa

"Omg yes!!! And just say dreaming about all the books I could have, if I could afford it lol."

– FlannelPajamas123

"Oh my god the happiest days of my school year."

– clover219

​Cell Phone Plans

"I remember when cell phones were newish and scheduling your calls to after 7 on weekdays and anytime on weekends because nights and weekends were free and didn't count toward your monthly allotment of minutes. You also only had a limited amount of texts per month included in your plan."

–cartertucker

The Old Food Options

"Wendy's salad bar."

– SirBlack_

"Wendy’s 4 for $4. Rip 🥲"

– lil-gatorwrangler

Toy Stores

"KB toys."

– AcademicSavings634

"It always felt so cramped and jam packed full of stuff that every time you went you felt like an explorer."

– MrMojoFomo

"I worked at KB Toys throughout college. Can confirm that cramming stuff in there was a corporate policy, maybe for exactly this reason."

"Had to be careful going exploring though— more than once I found a dirty diaper someone had hidden behind a bunch of Barbies. I feel like everyone should work retail for at least a little while, so they can get a taste for what monsters people really are."

– Engelbettie

"Toys-R-Us. I miss that place. I remember my dad taking me and I’d just wonder through the aisles amazed at all the toys. I got one of my childhood favorite Barbie dream houses there."

– FrostQueen05

A Thousand Words

"Photo Albums. My mother has been cataloging some of the old photos she never got around to putting in albums recently. It is a different experience than looking through someone's phone at curated pictures. You would get the pictures back and 90% of them would go in the album. No editing, no my hair looks like crap. You would find photos of yourself years later that you never knew existed. When your grandparents die and you start looking through albums for their memorial and can reminisce. It is so nice."

– HighFiveYourFace

Christmas Was Never The Same

"I recall hearing about a concept mentioned in movies known as a 'Christmas bonus.'"

– mockhouse

"I actually worked at a place where I got to see the idea of a Christmas bonus die."

"They had, for years, given out a Christmas bonus the 2nd week of December that was a cash bonus equivalent to about 1 week's pay. It wasn't huge but it was just that little extra for people already living paycheck to paycheck to have something to buy the wife and kids some Christmas presents."

"Then one year some dude in management came up with this really awesome idea: Instead of giving each employee a couple hundred dollars in cash we should totally give them a frozen turkey."

"It will be great! everyone needs a frozen turkey for Christmas dinner and we can order a whole semi truck trailer full of of them for a great bulk discount so they only cost like $20 each... employees win and we save money!"

"So that is what the company did."

"Only they did't tell anyone that was what was going to happen until the truck backed into the loading dock and happy managers started handing out frozen chunks of discount birds to people who had been budgeting their entire Christmas shopping on getting the cash instead."

"Christmas morning the owner of the company woke up to find hundreds of rotting turkeys on their front lawn."

"We never got a Christmas bonus again at that company - cash or cold turkey."

– varthalon

MY Personal Info

"Privacy. Mostly in the sense that we didn’t have big Meta mining our data/location/listening."

– ilike2makemoney

Weekend Mornings

"Saturday morning cartoons. Nothing beat the joy of waking up early in Saturday morning to watch five hours of your favorite cartoons, most of which were only on at that time on that day."

– nijaxi4567

"I know what you mean. There are cartoons on Saturday morning but with cable and YouTube and streaming and because those run 24-7, it isn’t an event."

"Few things beat running downstairs, pouring yourself a huge bowl of sugary cereal, and flipping on a full hour of Ninja Turtles, Garfield, Ghostbusters, and topping it off with Saved By the Bell all while your parents slept in."

– vmikey

Movie Night

"Blockbuster movie rental."

– lordharliquin

"Oh. My favorite thing we used to do is we would go to the video store and blindfold one of us and pick out a movie and just watch something random. It was so fun fun!"

– darforce

"I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS!! Those are some of the best memories from my childhood! So much better than Netflix!"

– betaflc

No Streaming

"Yelling "IT'S OOOOOOOON" as your siblings hurtled themselves back into the living room and across the couch after the ad break. That 'will I make it' few minutes of just not knowing if you had time to both pee and ALSO get kitchen snacks, were andrenaline-inducing."

– wildgoats2345

That was me and my brother as we watched Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sometimes, I really miss those days!