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Woman Wants To Call Off Her Wedding Because Of Her Lack Of Bridesmaids, And Her Heartbroken Fiancee Turns To The Internet For Advice

Planning a wedding can be a nightmare for some people. It's amazing how quickly an event that is supposed to be about the couple can turn into a whole big production about literally everybody else. I know from experience, I actually cancelled my wedding and surprised people with a beach BBQ/wedding because planning it got to be so stressful. So when one heartbroken man asked Reddit what to do about his fiance's struggles with planning their wedding, I felt for the bride-to-be way down deep in my bones.


He explained that she had no female family members and no friends, so she had gotten fixated on the idea that she would have no bridesmaids. She's an elementary school teacher and writer who is pretty uncomfortable in social settings, so she didn't have a whole lot of chance for connecting with people. The groom has a large group of friends, but she's not so social. She was so upset that she was considering cancelling the wedding entirely! He was genuinely heartbroken that he couldn't help her feel better.

Reddit offered a few bits of advice for him. Some have been edited for clarity.

The Post That Started It All

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My fiancée and I are recently engaged and have been together since we were 18. She's not the bridezilla type but she has imagined a nice wedding.

She's not very social and has no sisters/female cousins, and as a result she has no bridesmaids. Zero. I on the other hand have a solid group of guys to be groomsmen and they're already talking bachelor party.

My fiancée won't have a bridal shower or bachelorette party, or anyone to go dress shopping with, etc. it's really bringing her down and she won't even talk about weddings. Once she said between sniffles "can't we just sign a paper at a courthouse?" But I know neither of us really want that.

I have suggested having my sisters and cousins as bridesmaids, but they don't really know her well and likely wouldn't want to. How can I help her?

- BrideWithNoFriends


Responses came pouring in pretty quickly. Lots of people struggled to understand that the bride had very literally not one single friend. Nope, not even his friends. The future groom tried to explain by telling reddit a story. Apparently, he and his future best man were talking and his best man told him "I wouldn't even have anything to write about her in my speech."

Some people were worried, other people felt that life-in-isolation reality very deeply.

A Cautionary Tale

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I was in your fiancé's shoes when I got married at 22.

I didn't go to college, opting instead to work, and my high school friends were all very religious, which I no longer was. I met my first husband when I moved to a new town for work. We hit it off quickly, so I didn't really feel a need to seek out friendship elsewhere. When he proposed, I panicked a bit. I had managed to make a few friends, but they were all dudes. I ended up making my little sister my MOH.

I spent the next 10 years or so feeling shitty about the fact that I had no real friends and I had no idea how to change that since I became a SAHM with little opportunity for interaction with people other than my husband and my kids. In all honesty, this contributed greatly to the demise of my first marriage.

The core problem here is that she really needs some friends. Having a wedding party is secondary. I know it's tough to find a way, to find time, but it absolutely can be done. Does she have any hobbies like crafting, hiking, gaming? Find a group at a community website (I used meetup.com) that meets IRL on a regular basis. She might feel awkward at the first get-together, but I guarantee that after a few, she'll begin to find herself looking forward to it. Friendships take some time, but it's worth the effort!

- EllieMental

Self Esteem Issues

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Based on what you've said about your fiancee, it sounds less like just introversion and more like self esteem issues. Why not have a long engagement (if you're going to be together for life, it doesn't really matter if you marry next year or in 3 years), and use that time to get her in therapy for self esteem and hopefully help her build up a social life? It'd be a good thing regardless of the marriage.

- RooftopBBQ

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

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You've been together for six years, and your friends don't know her well enough to say a few nice things about her? That's a little worrying.

I used to be painfully shy, but my husband is outgoing and really friendly. With his encouragement, I started coming out of my shell. So, here's some ways I've made friends.

  • If her main hobby is writing, I'm guessing she's also a reader. She should start going to book signings or writing workshops. This way she gets to meet people she already has something in common with, and gives her a change to practice being sociable. You can go with her for encouragement, and this way, you may end up meeting new 'couple' friends. Even if she doesn't end up talking to any of these people again, she'll have a chance to get out of her comfort zone by talking to strangers.
  • Work friends... she's an elementary school teacher. This means she is around other women at work everyday. I'm guessing she takes her lunch alone, in her classroom. She should try to reach out to her coworkers by joining some of them for lunch. If she's not comfortable with approaching an established group, maybe she could see about inviting just one other shy teacher to join her for lunch.
  • Your family. Your family will be her family in six months. First, you need to get your family off her back about her job. She is not a glorified babysitter. She's a college-educated teacher, helping to shape the minds of future generations. This is a position worthy of respect. And for them being so loud... maybe you have one or two quieter family members that you can invite over for dinner so they have a chance to get to know her.

If your future wife wants to make friends, she needs to reach out. She cannot sit around and complain about feeling lonely, and being too old to make friends. That is a self-fulfilling prophecy that she needs to work on breaking.

- Trekbette

Ditch The Wedding Party

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Just throwing this out there: when my husband and I got married it was kind of a weird situation for me in that literally all my best friends were abroad and wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding, which was in my husband's small hometown. So basically all of his friends would be there but only one of mine (and a distant friend at that, although 2 of my sisters were also there). So I was in a weird bridesmaid situation. And what did my husband do? He recognized that immediately and said "I think we shouldn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Keep it simple, you know?" And holy shit was I thankful he said that. He could have had 10 groomsmen, and I could have rustled up 1 bridesmaid, but he chose to make it less hard/awkward/weird for me and as painless as possible because my best friends just couldn't make it.

Otherwise we had a completely standard wedding. Just no bridesmaids or groomsmen.

-Mrs_Morris

Social Anxiety

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Honestly your fiance probably needs therapy. she seems to have social anxiety and is super insecure. I thought I was "just shy" until i got older and understood better that what i was feeling was something that required help for. It's one thing to prefer staying in, or to be a little quiet, but when you've gone through high school and college and can't name a single friend you've made there's something deeper happening. It's not as if your fiance doesn't want friends. Something inside her is preventing her from building these relationships.

- Reddit

Involve Her Students

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I am similar to your fiance. Not very social, but have several very close friends. I hope to be a writer (working on that part) and was a teacher at some point. Due to my career choices, I've been forced to be social and break out of my bubble, which at some point will have to happen to her if she wants to live a semi healthy social life.

I would say you are focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of looking at the lack of bridesmaids, both of you are forgetting what she does have. 1. She has a class of students who probably love her 2. As a writer, she has the ability to be satisfied with the company of her own mind.

With these two assets, I recommend you throw her a surprise bachlorette party in her classroom. Okay it with the staff of course, but you can have a surprise party with all her students, and possibly get them to write notes to her beforehand of why she is a cool bride. She'll feel comfortable and loved. Also, while you are having your bachelor party, you can give her a surprise trip to the spa, where she could relax and be content with her mind (maybe it's just me, but I love brainstorming plots while I'm getting a massage). If you are willing to not have a wedding party, and just have your best friends be wedding guests, that might make her feel more comfortable, like she's not missing out on anything. Then you can have the traditional nice wedding without having to worry about a bridesmaids and groomsmen, but still be surrounded by people who love you guys.

BTW, I really liked one of the other suggestions that you go with her to pick the dress, pick out a handful you like, and let her go off and pick her favorite one, so it's still a surprise to you.

-WhenTheColours

A Private Affair

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My wife and I got married in December. The only people involved in the ceremony were us, the priest, and her sister who handed over the rings. It was a very nice, small wedding. We were both happy to not have the people there and we threw our own little party the night before with her sisters.

- TrishyMay

Suspicions Arise

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We had a small wedding with no attendants, and my husband and I actually walked down the aisle together. No one noticed or commented on it. I suspect that this is more about her being unsatisfied with her life, as opposed to being a wedding issue?

In the short term, focus on a smaller wedding with no attendants. In the longer term, really encourage her to go to therapy. That will help give her the tools she needs to do what it takes to get out there to make friends. It took some time in therapy for me, but I eventually got to the place where I have a strong network and I can make friends easily. I didn't realize just how depressed I was until it started to lift.

- CurseTheDarkness

The Story Continues - Suspicions Confirmed!

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Several comments pointed out how unhealthy it was that the bride-to-be had literally not one single friend and was saying things like she didn't "deserve" a wedding. The groom's family wasn't a fan of the bride, which brought up even more questions. The couple had been together for six years but the bride hadn't allowed herself to get to know any of the groom's friends or family. In the end, the main suggestions ended up being that the bride seek some counseling for her extreme social and self-esteem issues, that they don't push for the wedding to happen fast, and that she open up to at least his friends and family so that she could have some kind of social outlet other than just him.

Amazingly, he offered a sort of heartwarming update not that long after!

I read through a ton of these comments, but not all (over 1000?!) and decided to look for my fiance's box of wedding planning stuff, because I had a suspicion. Inside the box was all these magazine clippings of a big church wedding, flower ideas and stuff. And then I saw pictures of the dresses. They were all big, poofy ornate things that don't seem akin to my fiancee's style at all. But...they're similar to the dresses my sisters wore at their weddings.
It all sort of clicked for me. My fiancee probably doesn't want a church wedding or any of these fancy trimmings, she's trying to win my family's favor. The hell. I really should've noticed this earlier and gotten more involved, I know.
My fiancee flew home on Thursday to spend a few days with her dad (Father's Day weekend and all). I couldn't go because of work, so I was alone until this morning. So, real late at night, I called up my buddy Ravi (26M). Ravi's my best man, we've known each other since we were kids, split up when we went off to college, and reconnected three years ago. We moved to SC so I could join the company he works for.
I just opened up to Ravi. It was really late but he listened to me anyway, about my worries about my fiancee. He said that it was very likely that she was trying to curry favor with my family, but she probably wasn't going to admit to it easily. He said he'd talk to her.
I told him that he barely knows her. He said not to worry, and that he'd be around tomorrow evening.
My fiancee came home happy (she always is after seeing her dad) this morning. I went off to work without asking about the wedding, and she set to work on her writing (she's off for the summer). I got home early and at like 5 PM Ravi came to my house with my other good friends: Carson, Andrew, and Tim (23-30M). I know all these guys from various places and we're all a solid group. Still, this was unexpected.
Ravi came up to my fiancee and said that the guys were taking her wedding dress shopping.
We were both freaked out as hell. I had no idea this was coming, and my fiancee looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She whispered to me "they won't like me", and I urged her to just go for it. Ravi reminded her that he has sisters, Carson's been divorced, and Andrew's had his fair share of girlfriends, so they know dresses. Plus, he has a lady friend that works at a small boutique, where they'd try first.
She still didn't want to go, and then he said something like "hey, you're marrying our best friend, don't you think we should get to know you and make sure you're not a ghost or something?" (He's not great with tact). But she chuckled a little at that and gave in.
They were gone for a while and came back an hour ago. They didn't find a dress, but they looked around the stores for a while and fiancee found a style she liked (not the poofy ball gown style). They also went out for ice cream and when they walked in the door, she was joking and laughing with them all. I hadn't seen her so happy in a long time. It was amazing.
Then we all sat down together and Ravi asked her to talk to me about what's on her mind.
I still don't know how they got her to open up. She whispered that she didn't really want the big church wedding, that she wanted to wait a little while and plan a small ceremony for just the people we really care about. I was all for it, I told her not to worry about bridesmaids or anything, it could just be us. She said no, she wants her dad, the guys, and my family to be there.
Andrew, a kickass guitar player, said he'd put together a band for us. He asked my fiancee what her favorite song is, he'd figure out an arrangement. This is the kind of question she usually dodges, but she blushed a little and actually told the truth. (Panama by Van Halen if anyone cares; girl knows how to rock out). This was the real sign that she's starting to trust them. I don't think anyone knows her favorite song except me and her dad (who bought her Van Halen CD's growing up)
I told her I'd call my family and tell them the church wedding's off. If they make a big stink about it, I don't fucking care. I have my bros and my beautiful future bride. That's all the family I need.

The groom's friends stepped up, swooped in, and took the bride out! Believe it or not, they got her to come out of her shell and have a good time dress shopping and hanging out! She finally admitted she had only wanted the big church wedding because she felt it was what the groom's family expected and she wanted them to like her.

Reddit loved the progress!

She Needs Help

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Your fiancee needs some serious self confidence. Who automatically thinks that a whole bunch of people won't like them based on nothing? Why would she think they wouldn't like her? Based on your last post and this one, she needs some help. I don't say this to be mean- both she and your friends sound lovely, and it's great that you have them. That sounds like the best possible outcome. I'm really happy it turned out that way.

-ga_to-ca

Pregnancy Hormones And Ravi

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Excuse my pregnancy hormones but I'm reading this and bawling. Damn hormones. My husband is freaking out because I'm like "Ravi...wah...wah!"

He's asking, "Who the h*ll is Ravi? And why did he make you cry?"

I'm sniffling, "He's awesome. I'm crying because he is awesome."

Now, I've got some explaining to do after my water facet stops leaking.

Those are some awesome friends you have there!

- MAC_Sable_Eyes

Excellent

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As a female that.... May be... Soon in your fiancés situation, I think you have excellent friends and you sound like an excellent guy yourself. Social and generalized anxiety are real issues for some people. I hide from meeting new people the same way as your fiancé. "They won't like me." Its hard to face a situation like this when that's how you feel. Excellent thread, thank you.

- _ghostly

The Importance of Friends

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That's great! Glad things are working out with the wedding :) Hopefully your fiancee will use this experience to realize that people do want her around and want to get to know her and care about her. And hopefully this will show her how important friends are for support, etc.

-Goldt33f

The Same Fear

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This was an awesome update, I even teared up a little. I'm really happy your fiancée was able to communicate with your friends (who by the way rock!) the first post made me feel sad about her because I also have the same fear when I get married, knowing that she was able to open up like that gave me a really big smile.

Hopefully you'll be able to update us once you guys tie the knot, would love to hear about it!

-asassg

Mom

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I had actually been worried about how this would turn out. I had almost suggested if her mom would do it in your original post but held off because there wasn't mention of her. Then I read that mom abandoned her when she was little and my heart just broke.

I'm glad it turned out well :)

- Plantbitch

Golden

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This is such a wonderful resolution to your issue. I wish all things around here ended up so well. Not only are your friends golden, but you are too for caring enough about your fiancé to really dig for the truth and work toward her happiness!

Here are a few happy tears for your future...they're on my iPhone screen, but you can have them in spirit!

-TickyTackyTapeworm

"Wings And Games"

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I'm a bride with no close female friends. My brother will stand next to me on my wedding day. My fiance will have his three cousin next him. I have no energy to find or even care about a last hen party, bridal tea parties, or any of that. I want wings, games, and maybe some comedy with my brother, for my last hen party

- JefferSanchez

Barefoot And Perfect

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Wow! This story makes me happy. You seem like a great guy and you have wonderful friends and a wonderful fiancee. I bet your family will be just fine with it. I was a tad worried about something similar, as my husband's brother had a big church wedding, as did my brother and all of my cousins. But then I realized that my (has been now for 18 years) husband's other sibs had totally gone against the grain. We had a tiny wedding in a little tiny church in the country, with just friends and immediate family. It was very casual. A couple friends brought their dogs, who were wearing bow ties, and they ended up walking down the aisle with us and wandering around the small chapel during the wedding. We were all laughing and crying at the sane time. One of my young nephews was goofing around, but it didn't detract from the ceremony at all. My husband asked his 5 year old nephew if he'd like to come up and be with us and could he possibly hold my ring? Of course he did. We did have a small reception/dance after the wedding, but we (our friends and sibs and the two of us) chose the music and DJ'D it casually. My husband wanted some James Brown and Maceo Parker, and I required The Time Warp from the RHPS. No stress, no hassles. I was barefoot. The best man got crazy drunk and it was all good. Our families were both 100% supportive of our plans. I did go wedding dress shopping with my mom, but I paid for it and found the perfect dress (for me) on a clearance rack. Score! No downpayment plan or going over budget. I just got really lucky. No fittings or tailoring. It fit perfectly. I paid for it the day I found it and picked it up the morning of the wedding after it was pressed. Though no shoes, I did want a veil and my mom insisted she buy that. We found a fantastic, perfect veil on clearance. Exactly what I wanted. Boom. We didn't spend $25,000 on a big wedding. We knew we'd either elope or do it small with just tight friends and family. It was one of the best weddings amongst all of our friends and family, we all agreed. My bridesmaid's little girl sat on my lap and ate both my wedding cake piece and hers (cheesecake, btw!) During our first dance (The Beatles Oh, Darling), the same little 4 year old wandered up to us with her teddy bear. We just picked her up.

I personally think your story deserves to be made into a movie. Though I'm not a big rom-com fan, with the right actors and director, this could truly be a great movie. Maybe your fiance could write the screenplay? What an excellent story. We would appreciate yet another update after the wedding. "Panama" may be your first dance song!
If your fiance (not sure what she writes) isn't interested in writing a screenplay, could you actually let me know? I'd love to write one based on your story, but I'd need to interview both of you and your friends, at the very least. Congrats, OP!

- NateNMaxsRobot

Van Halen

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You're in SC.. South Carolina. You should get some tickets to music midtown (Atlanta,GA) Van Halen is one of the head liners. She'd probably really like that. Maybe plan it as a group thing and see if your friends would go and just hang out and listen to some good music! It seems like shes super happy about your friends taking the step and tbh if I were her, I would be ecstatic.

Good job, Fiance of the year.

- ShiverMeTimbers

H/T: Reddit

Infamous Internet Rumors That Ended Up Being True

Reddit user strakerak asked: 'What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?'

boy playing at laptop inside room
Photo by Ludovic Toinel on Unsplash

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

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.

Woman holding multiple shopping bags
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

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 Giphy

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 Giphy

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 Giphy

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 Giphy

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 Giphy

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.