Top Stories

People Share The Weirdest Thing They've Seen Driving Down The Highway

Driving can be pretty boring, especially if you're stuck doing it for hours. Sometimes it can get a little too interesting for comfort though.


Reddit users shared their wildest driving tales when u/nuke_t0wn asked:

"What's the creepiest/strangest/scariest thing you've ever seen or experienced while driving on the highway?"

10.

Was driving to work on a Saturday morning down the interstate. I was in the middle lane and I glanced in my side mirror and noticed a car catching me quickly. I looked over as it passed me and in the back of this coupe was a lady banging on the window screaming for help. I sped up to them and she noticed me and started screaming again. I got behind them and followed them and could see him reaching back and hitting her. I called 911 and as I was he sped off. As I was talking to dispatch I caught up and he noticed me and realized I was following him. He moved over in front of me and came to a complete stop. At that point I didn't know if he had a gun or what so I went around him and exited. Once he went pass the overpass i got back on and followed him but he eventually lost me as I couldn't keep up. Fortunately I was on with 911 the entire time and they had cops ready to pull him over. Eventually they got him to pull over and when I passed them he was handcuffed on the ground and she was sitting there. Come to find out it was his ex and he abducted her and was taking her who knows where. I followed them for around 30 miles weaving in and out of traffic and going 100 mph at times to keep up. Definitely creepy thinking of what he was maybe preparing to do to her.

-sneakypete66

09.

The car two cars ahead not making his exit and hitting the concrete barrier head on, spinning into the car in front of us. Both were totaled, but it didn't even touch us. Made me never want to drive distracted ever, knowing that a single moment could do so much damage.

-Wellllby

08.

A meteor falling out of the sky. It was like 10:30 at night. In my peripheral vision I thought maybe it was a single fire work because it was bright. I looked up and saw a bright green ball shooting across the sky. I was overcome with fear for a split second and the thought flashed through my head I hope I don't die right now from a warhead or a huge meteor strike. It fell across the horizon for what seemed like forever before it appeared to burn up. Turns out it landed a STATE away. No one got hurt but it was definitely copper because it was glowing bright green. The three cars ahead of me had all pulled over just as I did which I didn't notice until I pulled back onto the road. It was seeing these other people witness what I just had that solidified what had happened for me. It w as seen falling from the sky in the surrounding three states. This was in the Midwest. It landed in Minnesota.

-EvKG

07.

One early morning (about 6am) I was driving with a friend on the highway in the twist and turns of a mountain valley. We were just having casual chat in the car, nobody was on the highway at that time of day and even less on this part of the highway.

I took a quick peek in the rear view mirror and saw a car coming not fast, but FAAAAAST. I tell my friend to watch out for the incoming car because I thought they were coming way too fast and wasn't changing lane to pass us over.
At the very last moment, my friend kind of swerved a little toward the right of the lane and the car behind us hard swerved toward the ditch. The car disappeared in the deep ditch and reappeared, jumping about 4-5ft in the air toward the highway, at about 100km/h with the momentum and back on the highway it was. Like it was nothing, the driver speed up and we lose him ahead of us, as he was going about 140km/h after the near-death accident.
We were absolutely shocked and couldn't saw a word for like 2-3 minutes. We assumed the driver feel asleep and at the last second saw he was gonna ram us and swerved toward the ditch. Shock probably made him speed up after the impact.
It was crazy surreal because there was nobody else for miles around even after that.

-JohnCenaFanboi

06.

One time I was maybe 13-14 years old coming home from a hockey tournament with my parents on the capital beltway in Washington, DC. In the opposite lane I saw a car swerve, flip, and go over a bridge into the water. I called 911 right after I saw it and the call taker said they had just received a call on it and were already dispatching.

I really wonder what happened to those people, it was a memory I somehow partially suppressed but I remember the car and what it looked like, and how frightening it was to see it go over the bridge.

- SkellOfTheSouth

05.

Grew up in New England. This was great for bugs, it's like the best place to live if you don't like giant poisonous freaky bugs.

That being said- we get a lot of moths. I'd heard stories from people of seeing huge ones but never myself.
2 months into getting my license, I was driving and heard something flying around in the back seat. I'm thinking "holy shit! There's a bird in here!"

Then I saw it.

A moth bigger than m hand. Landed on my dashboard. It's legs were like fingers.

I screamed and remembered I was on the freaking highway and couldn't loose control and kill my self or someone else.

Then it flew again, right into my face.

I screamed and tried opening the windows. My HAND CRANK windows on my POA car with this monster flying around touching me while going 60mph trying not to die.

It eventually went out the window and I was fine. Took some serious self control.

-BowlingBong

04.

About 15 years ago I was driving on a less traveled road that goes around the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Central Washington. I started up a long, steep hill when I saw I was coming up quickly on some slow moving vehicle in my lane. It took my brain a while to process what it was: a small covered wagon (dog house sized) being pulled by at least a dozen Border Collies. The driver was a haggard looking man with a long scraggly beard. Three of my friends were with me, so there were witnesses. Otherwise, I'm not sure anyone would've believed it.

-PonyJetpack

03.

I drive a commercial vehicle, and typically semis and I get along well. I don't drive an enormous truck but I know how hard it is for those guys so I usually give them a lot of space, help them change lanes by moving into the left to kind of block traffic so they can get over, etc.

The other day I'm driving and I'm passing a semi who's in the right lane. He's tailgating the pickup in front of him so bad that if he'd been any closer he'd have been riding shotgun.

-As I pass him I can see he's dicking off on his phone, incredibly illegal for commercial drivers. As I'm passing him he starts to drift into my lane, so I give him a little honk, nothing obnoxious, just to let him know "hey, you're about to hit me". He jerks back into his lane, then immediately starts coming *back* into my lane, intentionally either trying to scare me or push me off the road. I drive a 8 tonne truck hauling hazmat, it's a pickup with a box on the back so my truck basically takes up the entire lane, there's very little space between him and I to begin with. I eventually get past him, and get over into the right lane. He passes me, probably going about 80, which is fast for a semi. He gets in front of me, cutting me off within about a foot, and slows down. Ok, cool, you're an ahole, you got me back. Eventually the two lane turns into three, he f---s off up the road as I slow down to just try to get away from him.

Eventually I catch up to him. I'm in the far right lane, and here he comes barreling up the middle lane. As he's passing me he whips his trailer into my lane, intentionally trying to hit me again. I jam on brakes and just let him go.

All that because I honked at him when he came into my lane and almost hit me.

Edit: here's a tip for driving with semis. If they're trying to merge over in front of you and you're going to let them, flash your lights to signal to them they can clear your vehicle. It's incredibly difficult for them to judge if their trailer will clear your front end with mirrors alone, especially in heavy traffic. Usually they'll flash their hazards/brake lights to say thanks. It's fun.

-durnJurta

02.

I live in a rural part of the UK. I was temping just after Uni at a remote castle in the middle of fucking nowhere. It was around 2am driving home across a moor and I go over a hill and I come across a heard of ponies just chilling in the road, almost had a heart attack. Successfully emergency stopped.

Another time I was driving home again at night, its pissing down with rain so driving slow on another rural road. The road ahead seems to be...moving? I slow down to a stop and realize my route ahead is covered with...frogs?! f*cksake! so with my head beams on I stop, get out and thought the best things to do was to chuck all these frogs over the hedge. Someone came in the other direction and stopped and watched me hurtle several hundred frogs over a hedge...so on this occasion I probably scared them.

I've also come across a naked rambler, his junk just swinging in the breeze. I swear a lot in my car!

-AlmousCurious

01.

In rural east Texas I was driving through some VERY thick fog on a backroad. Like so thick I could only go about 25mph since I could barely see the road in front of me. An important part of this story is that I was driving an old pickup truck (without a lift).

After creeping forward down the road for a good while and being scared out of my mind, I got the feeling that I could see the outline of something up ahead, and I should slow down more and try to move to the side of the road. As I got closer, I could tell that the outline I saw was a dead hog (common for east Texas), but it was one of the biggest hogs I've seen. Easily 400 pounds (less common) AND THEN IT STARTED TO MOVE. It lurched to the side of the road a few times like it was being dragged by something. I thought "wow that's a strong person. Should I help them move it so no one gets in a wreck??" But before I stopped my truck completely and got out, the thing that was moving this 400+ pound hog stood up.


And I found myself eye level with the largest dog I've ever seen in my life. This dog stood looking me directly in the eyes while I sat in the driver seat of an old Chevy truck. I've honestly never seen anything this big before and wasn't sure if this was a farm dog or a werwolf. Not only was it shockingly tall, it had the mass and strength to drag a behemoth by itself. It had shaggy white fur so it reminded me of a Pyrenees, but it was easily one and a half times the height. It took us probably 15 seconds of shock (on both parts?) of staring before I said F*CK THIS SH*T and rocketed out of there.

After I got home (going 50 now) I thought about, "damn not only was that a monster, it was smart enough to move the hog off the road before eating it?"

I'm convinced to this day it was some east Texas Old God.

-User Account Deleted

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.