Life is full of surprises and this is something we can all relate to. The wrong place and the wrong time! If you have ever been so unfortunate to be in this position, these stories will resonate with you.
u/Scrubbex asks:
"People who have almost been in the wrong place at the wrong time, what almost happened?"
When you dodge a robbery
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When I was 12, me, my mom, and my sister went to a dollar store late at night after a school play she had. Right when we went in, a car pulled up in the parking lot and my mom got paranoid and rushed us in and out to get candy and a soda. Right when we left, two men got out of the car and speed-walked into the store. The next morning we saw on the news that the store was robbed by them. I guess they waited for us to leave before they did it.
Holy Shift
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There had been a couple of armed robberies around my route home from work, which I usually walked. One of my coworkers, who lived in the same apartment building as me, was nervous about going home after dark, so I agreed to switch shifts with her so that she could get off in the afternoon and I'd take closing.
I found out the next day that she'd been mugged and shot after her shift. She didn't die, thank God, but the fact that I should have been the one walking that same route freaked me out for a while.
Thank god for helmets
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Almost forgot to wear my helmet before taking the scooter out for a ride in the country. I hit a deer that day. EMTs and Shock Trauma hospital doctors agreed that I'd be dead, had I not worn that helmet.
When you almost get stabbed
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I was doing orientation videos at the company I had just been hired at. I had gotten enough done for the day, but still had some time left, so I decided to do just a couple more. In the time that I was doing that, someone had bought a kitchen knife and asked the clerk to remove the zip ties (you know, the ones that you have to take a knife or scissors to). She thought it was a little strange, but complied. He then walked out the door, and started stabbing random folks in front of the store, talking about how "You took my people's land!" Anyhow, a regular there, real road warrior looking guy, always carried a bowie knife and, apparently, a permitted concealed handgun, he drops his groceries he's bagging in self-checkout, walks outside and pulls his gun and tells the guy to get on the ground. I walk out and find the door I'd usually exit through taped off and find out about the whole thing a few minutes later.
When you almost get jail time
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My friends wanted to hang out but I didn't like them anymore because they were druggies so I made an excuse.
By "hang out" they meant beat a jogger to death with hammers.
They all got life in prison.
I sometimes think if I would have been able to stop them.
Feel the burn
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When I was about 13, I came home from playing outside, entering the house into the kitchen through a side door. I walked through the kitchen and into the front of the house, and started up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, I heard a crazy loud metallic clanging, like pots and pans were falling... and falling and falling.
I came running downstairs to find that the pressure cooker top had popped off, shooting into the ceiling and the pressure release propelled the cooker into the living room, smashing into a wall and rolled to a stop in front of my dad on the couch. The whole time it was spewing boiling chicken grease, as my mom was making chicken soup.
Had I come in 10 seconds later, I would have probably been disfigured from grease burns and maybe been hit by the flying cooker itself.
Dodging the grim reaper
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In my sophomore year of high school my older cousin was getting married. I'd originally talked my mum into letting me stay home that weekend instead of travelling the 7hrs to the event. I was going to go with some friends to a basketball game for something to do on Friday night. But on Thursday my mum decided I couldn't miss the wedding and made me go with the family Friday after school. Friday night after we got to the hotel I got a phone call. My friends that I was going to ride with to the basketball game were in a bad car accident. 2 died. It took years of survivor's guilt to get over that because those 2 would have driven in a different car if I'd been there.
A drunk driving episode
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Going back home from the bakery with my aunt, for some reason she decided to cross the street, which was unnecessary cause my house was on that same sidewalk. As soon as we crossed the street, a car crashed at that very same place we were, breaking into a house. The driver was absolutely drunk. I was like 6 or 7 when it happened.
Running a red light
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In the car with my father-in-law, husband, and baby boy. FIL was driving us to lunch. We were the first car at a red light. The light turns green but he hesitated to go for about a second and a half, for absolutely no reason. A car ran the red light and would likely have killed my FIL and husband at the speed it was going, and since it was on a hill, we likely would have rolled too.
Highway patrol just getting off the interstate saw the entire thing and pulled the driver over immediately.
These plants are out for blood
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Typical cartoon scene of a flower pot flying off a balcony. It fell right where I was standing one minute earlier. I had since moved a couple of steps, but another guy was in that spot, it grazed his shoulder and would have been really dangerous if it hit him on the head.
We called the cops on the guy since we saw other vases on his balcony. Dude was very pissed but took them in.
The Paris pipe bomb
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My family vacationed in Paris for a week in the mid 90s. I was about 10 years old. My mom and stepfather were planning to go to the Arc de Triomphe on a certain day, but I wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower. When I was told we would see the Eiffel Tower another day, I threw a fit. Don't know why it was so important to see the Eiffel Tower that day and not two days later. It became a whole argument between me, my stepfather, and my mom. My mom caved (to probably just shut me up) and we went to the Eiffel tower that day, and my stepfather was pissed the rest of the day for my mom caving. We got back to the hotel and saw that a pipe bomb had gone off near the Arc de Triomphe and a bunch of people got hurt. The last we spoke to any other (step) family was before the fight and my stepfather told them we were going to the Arc de Triomphe that day and they were frantically calling the hotel to try and get a hold of us. So my brattiness might of saved us from a pipe bombing.
Dodging a bullet
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In high school my friend was supposed to go to a party with his best friend. He decided he was to tired and wanted to stay home and sleep. The next morning his mom wakes him up to tell him his best friend was shot and died.
Food truck death?
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Yesterday the metal awning on the food truck I was approaching collapsed to the wind and slammed into the sidewalk.
I almost got sandwiched while trying to get a sandwich.
Sometimes it's best to avoid the duck boats
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Was in Branson last week on vacation with my wife, had a thought about riding a Duck boat on Thursday. Decided to play mini golf instead. The boat capsized killing 17 people, 9 from one family.
When your appetite saves your life
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One day i was visiting my moms work for the day at around 8am or so, I forgot why, but since I didn't eat breakfast I was starving so I asked my mom if she could take her lunch break and we could go somewhere to eat, we eventually did and when we got back there were police cars around the building and we weren't allowed into it.
After it was aver we heard that some crazy lady threatened someone with a knife and gun right next to my mom's office and we would've been right in the middle of that if I wasn't hungry at that exact moment.
Not the right fit...
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We were looking at homes in the area and I found this home within our budget, so our real estate agent took us out there to look. We had to wait for my husband to get off work, so it was pretty late in the evening before we could go in. Well, we found out that the home was a total dump and, my husband and I, who are not handy at all, wouldn't be able to handle that with it being a starter home. We decided to go back to the original home we were looking at to tour it again.
Shortly after we left, there was a shooting right in front of that home and a 22 year old died.
Dodging gang violence
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I just got off a bus stop near my home. My mom worked up the block wher my stop was. I called her and she said that she was gonna pick me up. As I waited outside the stop by a 7/11, I noticed a few guys outside the 7/11 who seemed off. 5 minutes later much more showed up. I assumed gang members so I kept my distance. My mom picked me up and we left for home. As soon as I got in, I saw another group of guys walking up to the 7/11. We pulled away. Next morning we turn on our local news and saw there was a gang related shooting at that 7/11.
When drivers use both lanes
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I grew up in a town with lots of hills. At the bottom of the hills, you could only see the top of the next hill. At the top, you could see a few miles into the distance.
I was driving home from school one day. At the top of one hill, I saw some jackweed cresting the next hill. He was trying pass another car, on a double yellow, on a hill. If I had been one hill down the road, we would have both been dead. I still hate driving on that road.
The hospital saves lives in many ways
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When I was 2 years old back in 2001, I lived in California, but my mom and I were visiting my grandparents in New York. My dad was back in California because he was on call as an ENT. My mom and I said goodbye to my grandparents and went to Newark International Airport on September 11th, holding tickets for American Airlines Flight 93, which was of course one of the planes involved in the attacks. We only cancelled our flight and scheduled a later one because my dad was operating on a patient and wouldn't have been able to pick us up in time in San Francisco. If my dad hadn't been called to the hospital, we would've boarded Flight 93 and crashed in Somerset, Pennsylvania.
When a different wrong place helps you not be in the original wrong place
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I was supposed to go study abroad in Istanbul while I was in college. I was going abroad in the spring semester of my junior year, but I broke my back in an accident during the summer before hand. I was on pain meds and barely able to move, so I had to withdraw from the program. During the period I would have been flying into Istanbul for my program, there were several bombings in the airport. At the time, I took morbid comfort in the fact that my junior year of college would have sucked either way.
Don't leave tour kids in the car!
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When I was about 3 or 4 years old I was with my mom and my older brother (5 or 6) and we were on our way home and she decided to stop at the grocery store. I was asleep in the car and she had my brother just stay with me with the doors locked as she ran into get some milk. For some reason while she was walking into the store she decided to go back to the car and bring us in with her. Well 5 minutes later we paid for the milk and walked outside to see our car was on fire! Turns out there was a new heated seat feature on the car my parents just bought two weeks prior and it malfunctioned. I vividly remember getting driven home by a nice police officer and then my mom was on the phone with her parents for hours crying about what could of been.
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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.