Weird kids are always both weird and unsettling, somehow.
School is a weird and unsettling time already so anybody who contributes to that environment is already stressful.
But when that person takes it to the next level and forces the space around themselves to be strange and unsettling, we know we have a problem.
u/MasteroftheBearDogg asked:
What made the weird kid in your school the weird kid?
Here were some of the answers.
Fancy Man
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He wore a full suit and tie every day, and i'm pretty sure he had Asperger's. People still liked him though. One Friday before Easter he showed up still in suit and tie, but with bunny ears on and an easter basket full of plastic eggs with black licorice. I miss that dude
Arms Back, Head Down
At lunch time, he would do the Naruto run from his classroom to the cafeteria.
Weirdo was first in line for lunch every day.
I was in a big school, so we had 5 or 6 Naruto runners. We also had a kid who ran with is body leaning forward and his arms kind of tucked in. He was known as Gary the Velociraptor.
Even MY Teenage Hormones Ain't There Yet
She was a bit too sexual for the rest of us in our age group. She brought little plastic dinosaurs to school once (for a project i think) and started making them hump each other while she was moaning. She would also do an entire full body stretching routine in full workout gear to prepare for scrabble practice. Oh and she kept running (really fast) when there wasn't really any need to run. She was nice and all, just made us go WTF a lot.
Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy
Back in high school we had this one kid who everyone referred to as 'Bounce Boy'.
He earned this nickname by spending both morning break and lunch hopping along the outside perimeter of the yard for as long as he could between classes.
Every single break, rain or shine - you could rely on bounce boy being out doing his rounds.
After a while me and a few friends stopped him and asked if we could join in.
He seemed a bit awkward and said "It's more of a one player game".
And with that - off he went back on his bounce round.
We asked him a few more times and eventually he gave in. He was quite the recognizable figure at that point so others started to join.
In the end we got about 20 people hopping round with him. He didn't like the attention at first but after a bit he realized we're all just being friendly and warmed up to us a bit.
I'll never forget you bounce boy.
Bounce on, brother.
From Weird To Fascist Jerk In Under Two Seconds
This kid in grade school would wrap his arms around himself and pretend to be kissing the most popular girl in class, making sure to look at her every so often and then close his eyes again. The guy was super into video games and he'd always strike poses.
His career goal was to make prop weapons, which would be fine if he didn't pretend to slash at the air whenever he said that. He also wore a kilt to school a few times and without fail, he'd always manage to flash us his underwear. The next thing I'm about to say is probably the thing that cemented his status as the weird kid.
He Wasn't Weird, The 90s Was Weird
Matt was a friend of mine in elementary school. He was considered weird because he had a fascination with video games and graphic design and just general nerd shit. I remember he built a custom skeleton and texture for a character to play as in Unreal Tournament. It had inverted knees, ran really low to the ground, and a fully animated tail. It was the coolest thing.
Well back in the 90s in our school that shit was bullseye bully material. I never bullied him, but to my everlasting shame I never ONCE stood up for him as a friend or even a decent human being. He doesn't do anything with computers anymore. He has taken over his grandpas farm. Noble but he had SO much passion and talent and I was party to killing that passion.
Billonaires Don't Need Wood
Picking his nose in class until it bled and then refusing to use a tissue to hide it / wipe it up. As well as eating pencils and other things made of wood. Also he did not have a TV at home. I'm not going to say his name, but part of his last name was "slut". That didn't help.
Later found out that the eating wood thing is an actual real condition where people have some sort of vitamin or other deficiency that's made better by eating wood, somehow (and yeah, save the jokes that could come from that). It's called Pica Syndrome I think.
He's like a billionaire engineer now though. Not sure if he still picks his nose, eats wood, or doesn't own a TV, but when you're a billionaire I doubt it matters. So there's that.
Why Were You In There, Friend?
One day we walked into class, sat down and everything, and then a few minutes later the weird kid came out of the teachers cupboard and ran out of the class. The weird kid wasn't in my class, he was in the class that previously left the classroom.
Never Was Strawberry Milk So Maligned
Would walk around drinking 2 litre bottles of strawberry milk. 40°C weather. In 4°C weather. All of it. He would also regularly shove his head in his bag and nap. He would also yell at people a lot, kind of like a crazy old man. He was pretty nice tho, kind of fun to hang around
Only Got 20 Pizzas In My Pocket
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He went to a pizza party with the other football players at one of their houses and when we went home, the host told him he was free to take pizza home if he liked. So he grabbed two slices (one in each hand) and put them in his pants pockets. No bag, no foil, no plastic wrap. Just put them in his pockets like you put your keys. And then walked home like he didn't just commit a crime against humanity. We called him Pockets after that.
Back In The USSR
He was obsessed with the USSR, would fake a strong Russian accent, wear a Ushanka, read books about communism and made an Instagram page dedicated to slavs. First I thought this was weird but as I got deeper into the meme community, I thought it was pretty epic.
Also got into a lot of fights and shanked someone with a compass (been suspended probably 5+ times).
Leedle Leedle Leedle Lee
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He didn't have any sort of physical or mental handicap, speech was perfectly normal...he played sports and was the smartest kid in class. But for some reason, it seemed like he did not know how to control his lanky limbs.
He ran in the weirdest way i've ever seen anyone run and it looked like his elbows were higher up his arm than normal so he just looked like a stiff inflatable tube man with ball joints.
The Lengths We Go To, Fam
He would always just sit silently in the back of class with the most emotionless face you've ever seen but the weirdest incident was the time where he puked on the table before class and because he was apparently extremely embarrassed and didn't want anyone to find out so he just opened his backpack and wiped all the puke into it with his arm and just left.
The Chicken Protector
There was a rotating cast of weird kids, but this one just loved chickens. He had a chicken magazine. In 6th grade. My friend told him he shot a chicken in a c.o.d. game and the kid straight up tackled him.
Ah Yes, Silly Me
He made a pencil crossbow that shot straws and shot the teacher. Twice. One time he got a straw, blew in it once and declared himself high, then performed a dramatic death. He also once in a while wore all blue, declared he was a blueberry, and lay down and refused to move or do work because "blueberries aren't alive silly".
Combo Platter
Walked around with a black marker on him at all times. He would run up behind people and draw a line on the front of their neck to "cut their throat". This person also claimed he was a demon/angel combo from a different dimension and started a club for others like him.
War Face GIF
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Apparently, their sense of humor has no bounds. Curious to hear from drill sergeants online, Redditor darkstalker1000 asked:
"Drill instructors, what is the funniest thing you have seen a Private do?"
The following examples were utterly humiliating, but valuable lessons were learned.
Longheld Punishment
"Had 2 guys get in a fight in our bay during basic. The drill sergeant made them hold hands and pretending to be on a date all week. Only time they could let go of each other's hands was rack time. They ended up becoming pretty good friends."
Confusing Paycheck
"Ex British Army officer here."
"A corporal went on a nine week mortar course and was accommodated (obviously) while he was away. It turned out he knew one of the DS teaching the course and was invited, regularly, to dine and drink in the Sergeant's Mess."
"The month after coming back from the course, he brought his payslip to me with a puzzled look on his face and, embarrassed, explained he didn't understand what it meant and could I help him?"
"It emerged that the Sergeant's Mess had a chitty system - you didn't pay for your drinks at the time, but signed for them and the total bill was deducted from your pay."
"This legend had managed to drink more than his monthly salary both months he'd been away and his payslip was a negative balance."
"I'm sorry Smith, I'm afraid you owe the Army £235 ($327.50) this month."
Asking For An Advance
"Former European Anti-Air Trainee here."
"Recruit spent his first check on alcohol and sex workers, asked his commander for next months check in advance the next day. Instead of having a good excuse prepared to actually succeed in that proposal he blankly told him in front of 80 other recruits why he'd need it."
Eye-Level Reprimand
"I saw a guy post about how he was like 6'3 and his DS was like 5'2, so whenever he messed up the DS would go up to him face to chest and yell 'Elevator!' and the guy would bend down to eye level with the DS and say 'Ding!' and the DS would proceed to look him in the eye while he chewed him out."
Some experiences were downright hilarious.
The Stain
"Not an RDC, but in boot camp I was over the laundry crew. One recruit sh*t himself because he thought he couldn't leave his rack after taps. It was funny at the moment before I realized I had to wash it."
– ScootaFL
Ambush Training
"This was the funniest f'king thing I ever read from u/odomotto"
"Recruit fired all his blank ammo during 'ambush training.' He crawled in ditch opposite where the aggressors were, and started throwing rocks at them. DI came running in middle of the road blowing his whistle and screaming 'what the f'k are you doing?' Recruit screamed back, 'throwing hand grenades drill sergeant!' Without missing a beat, the DI screamed 'out f'king standing.' And walked away."
"My sides hurt and I was wheezing laughing so hard at this when I first heard it!"
These punishments made no sense. And that's why they're memorable.
The Replacement
"When I was in basic, a kid we called 'Albino' shot off a blank round accidentally in the field. The sergeants were pissed and took his weapon away and replaced it with a broomstick for the remainder of the week in the field."
"Man I remember some dude didn't put the sheet on his bunk the right way and had to wear the sheet as a cloak and go to all the other barracks dancing around sing about how he was the 'Catch Edge Fairy' or something. It was pretty silly, he owned it though. He was doing twirls the whole time. This was Navy bootcamp."
– Konebred
Despite how they are depicted on film, drill instructors are people who care.
Like, Beals – a drill sergeant at Fort Knox, Kentucky – who said:
"We provide more than just physical, mental and emotional guidance for them. You are a father, a preacher, a financial advisor, a counselor-you provide so many different services to the Soldier that the regular public doesn't see on day to day basis."
"They see what they see in movies and what they hear about by word of mouth. But you are fulfilling so many roles other than just being a trainer and teaching an individual how to be a Soldier in the Army."
And occasionally, they are having a laugh at the crazy things their trainees do.