Top Stories

Women Share Their Most Cringeworthy 'Nice Guy' Stories

Women Share Their Most Cringeworthy 'Nice Guy' Stories
Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

There's a huge difference between a nice guy and a "nice guy."

Actual nice guys treat women with respect simply because they're human beings and all humans should be treated with respect unless they prove themselves to be terrible people.

The "Nice Guy" is a whole other monster. "Nice guy" always has an ulterior motive.

"Nice guy" isn't nice to women because they're human, he's nice because he wants something in return—and he often flips out in scary ways when he doesn't get it.


Redditor PM_ME-INSECURITIES asked:

"What's your worst 'Nice Guy' story?"

We only selected a few, but this list could go on for days. It seems most women have at least one awful "nice guy" story - and that's indicative of a HUGE problem ... but that rant is for another article. For now just kick your feet up and enjoy the cringe.

Tables Turned

When I was in college, there was this guy that hung around my friend group. No one actually knew which one of us brought him in, so maybe he just decided to crash, who knows. But he was creepy. He hit on ALL the girls in the group aggressively and whine DAILY about how we should just give him a chance to show us "how a lady should be treated". We usually just rolled our eyes, although a few of the guys took him aside on separate occasions and told him to knock it off.

He also went way over the top in a lot of ways. He'd bring the girls flowers or memorize their favorite candy/soda/snacks and present them as a "token of his great affection" (yep, he called it that). He had a bad habit of insisting, like legit would not take no for an answer, on walking the women wherever we needed to go. Myself and my best friend at the time both told him his behavior was creepy.

There were three women in the "core" group, and five others who were close enough that they'd show up at LAN parties or whatever we were doing. He asked every single one of us out at least 50 times. Every single time we said no, he'd go off on this awful tirade about how women didn't want nice guys, and how we should just be open to the possibility of him being "the love of our lives". It did not matter how many times we told him we were not interested, not attracted, or IN RELATIONSHIPS.

Sophomore year, a new girl joined the group. For whatever reason, she liked our Nice Guy. A lot. Weird. But he wasn't in to her at all. A few of us started using his own BS rhetoric against him when he began whining about her not leaving him alone. It was pretty gross.

- z0mbiegrl

Mom Encouraged Him

Anyhow, nothing ever happened and I got a boyfriend until I was 23 at which time we broke up.

This is when Mr nice guy swooped in showing up at my house with flowers and gifts unannounced. I never gave him my address....he asked MY MOM. Then he would notice I posted I had a cold on Facebook and would show up with cold medicine and soup. Which would be nice if I had ANY interest in him but I didn't. He would look where I checked into on FB and COINCIDENTALLY just be there. I felt bad being like "dude STOP" because my mom invited him to every family function and I didn't want to make things weird.

It hit the pinnacle when he got a job where I worked just to be closer to me and he told everyone we were dating. Spoiler alert- we were definitely NOT. I flipped out on him and told him he was creepy and that after all these years he never took the hint after me never answering his calls/texts or taking him up on his relentless attempts to take me out to dinner. I quit my job and moved, blocked him on everything and had a firm conversation with my mom about keeping him away from me. She was upset and made excuses for him but ultimately obliged.

Years later I'm now married with a baby and he still relentlessly pursues me if he sees me in public.

- nextxoxexit

Threatening Murder

He wanted to impress upon me what a good guy he was, and he was also too scared to ask me out like a normal person. He killed two birds with one stone by having his "split personality" tell me it really wanted to kill me, but Nice Guy was bravely holding it back because he liked me so much. Obviously I fell head over heels immediately. Not.

- standpool

Insurance Nightmare

I have a client who hits on me. He knows I am married because he mentions it. He also lashes out verbally if I say things he doesn't like, which is truly scary. He is 55+, never moved out of his parent's house, and spends his mom's money for everything. She is in her 80's and works two jobs to pay for his toys. One day, she came in with him to see if there was anything we could do to get his bills lower since she is struggling, and he started lashing out at her. "Shut the F*ck up. SHE ISN'T TALKING TO YOU!" and "YOU'RE STUPID!! SHUT UP!" I felt honestly worried for his mom.

Anyway, he would purposely let his insurance lapse so he would have an excuse to come in and sign a form so he could talk to me. He was very blatant about it as well. He always threw his mom under the bus for not "paying his bills" but then would talk about how he bought this or that and then would say "I know I should've paid that insurance, but I couldn't pass up a chance to come say hi to you."

One day, he called to use his mom's credit card to pay his bill. I didn't answer the phone right away because I had another client with me. He keeps calling over and over and over again. Finally, after the client left, I picked up the phone and he started yelling at me. I asked him why he was so upset and he said "I COULDN'T GET YOU ON THE PHONE TO PAY MY BILL SO I USED THE MONEY TO BUY BASEBALL CARDS!!! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! NOW I CANNOT PAY MY INSURANCE! THIS! IS! YOUR! FAULT!!" then slammed the phone down on me.

Just this past month, his vehicle broke down, so he had to go buy another one. His mom went with him. He had insufficient credit, so his mom had to buy it under her name. I told them I could not add the vehicle to the policy since the vehicle was not titled to him. We would have to cancel the policy and she would need to put it on her insurance plan, which was with a different agency.

Finally! I was free!

Until he came in last week to sign the cancellation form, a document that is time-stamped. When he arrived and I didn't have the form already printed out, he went off on me right there. 'YOU SHOULD'VE HAD THIS FORM READY!" and claimed I was being incompetent. I told him it was a time-stamped form and that the document is not generated until the client is sitting in front of me and ready to cancel because it has to be signed that moment. He signed the form and stomped off. I felt relief that I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore until he came back in the door and said "Btw, let me know when you break it off with your husband! I might have to come back and get insurance from you again."

I let me husband know everything, just in case.

TL;DR: Client of mine blames women for everything, hits on me, and tries to catch me in my office alone.

- Booner999

Reflexes

I was friends with a coworker. We had hung out a few times socially after work and got along well but it never really occurred to me to wonder if he was interested in me. At that point in my life I did not get a lot of male attention, and honestly was pretty cringey myself, but that's for a different thread.

Anyway we were walking side by side and I guess he went to put his arm around me. It surprised me (like that 'someone is tapping you on the opposite shoulder' trick) and I turned abruptly. He took it as incredibly rude, gave me an angry lecture about leading people on and how disgusting you make someone feel when you literally flinch from their touch, and called me a b*tch. Uh... sorry for my reflexes?

About a week later another friend came to me at work to let me know that guy was telling everyone I was a whore who was sleeping my way through the department. Nice!

The dumbest part was that I probably would have gone on a date with him if he'd asked--I just had no idea he was thinking along those lines. Bullet dodged!

- tysondr

Happens To Men, Too

I worked with a gay guy for a 5 month period. I was only at the job temporarily and he was nice and wasn't weird at first. I am sure he was interested because he kept commenting on my body, like if I would scratch my arm he would mention that I was 'showing my arm and flexing.'

I made it known I wasn't gay at all and he didn't take my declines nicely.

I eventually moved back home as the temp job was over with. I had to make up a lie about getting rid of my phone and deleting my social media to focus on my life. Blocked him on social media but this was before you could just easily block someone's number. He would text me randomly even though I told him I 'got rid' of my phone. Really gave me chills even having to remember something from years ago.

- XLDOC

"A Man Not A Whale" 

"Nice Guy" who worked down in HR. (Was completely incompetent too but that's another story.)

Anyway, he'd come up with excuses to come see all the single women in the building. He'd stand too close to you. Sometimes he'd stand in your doorway and just stare for a while without saying anything. Always very creepy when you'd look up and there'd he'd be.

He liked to ask incredibly personal and invasive questions. He'd complain to anyone who listened about how women just didn't want a "nice guy" like him. He faked being into several different religions trying to pick up a "good girl" because he didn't want a smoker or drinker (despite being both those things himself) and wanted a virgin who wasn't a "fatty" because he was a "man not a whale" (he was tubby himself).

He also believed that if he met up with a group that had women in it, those women were dating him. And he'd get very mad if said women paid more attention to another man in the group than him, sometimes just get up and leave.

One Friday a group of workers were going out for drinks after work. He invited himself along, so one of the women in the group said, "See you there!" He decided this meant they were dating. Then when she didn't pay attention to him much during the night and talked more to her new, male coworker - he just got mad and left without a word.

Nobody knew what happened to make him leave. Until the rumor mill started up because he told everyone that his female coworker had "cucked" him that night.

- swtadpole

Stalking You For Your Own Good

In college, I played a lot of online video games. I posted on forums related to these games often. One guy, we'll call him Bob, decided to show me how careless I'd been with my personal information. This lead to a phone call, on a number I never provided, during which he told me what dorm I lived in, at what campus, as well as information from public records regarding my family. On this call he told me how easy it would be for him to get there. This was quite frightening, and when I put him on blast publicly for it, he stated he was "trying to show me how careless I'd been" and prove a point so I would be more careful and how he was just trying to protect me.

Years later, I went to a group meet-up with a bunch of people from this forum with a guest I knew already, and he called me, on the same number (should've changed it) to ask me to wait for him outside, because he knew what I looked like. My guest and I met up with everyone and pretty quickly left.

- DisMaCat

Mom, Vomit and Frank Sinatra

A waiter at a restaurant left his number on my bill and asked me on a date. I was single and agreed because we had mutual friends who vouched for him and he seemed nice.

Night of the date, he shows up to my house absurdly overdressed (there was a vest involved) with a single rose that he presented to me. He took me to a basketball game, and the second I sat down the stranger to my left just says "Oh, you must be L! We've heard so much about you." Turns out the two people sitting to my left were not strangers but in fact HIS MOTHER AND FATHER.

We then go to dinner, he turns white as a ghost and excuses himself to the restroom for maybe 30 minutes. At this point I start to worry and get the check. He then comes back looking incredibly unwell and I say, clearly you're ill, don't worry about taking me home -- I'll grab a cab. He wasn't having it and insisted on taking me home because he had another "surprise" planned for me.

There's a road that has famous views where I live, and he took the road to one of the lookout points, parked the car, and turned on Cheek to Cheek by Frank Sinatra. He got out and asked me to dance with him, and I said we should just look at the view. Then he proceeded to vomit absolutely everywhere. I shrieked and jumped back into the car to avoid him vomiting all over me. He takes me home and then calls me an hour later to tell me it was the best night of his life.

I tried to tell him I wasn't interested but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He claimed I would never find anyone who treated women like queens the way he did, said I would never find anyone more chivalrous, and dropped off a letter at my home in the middle of the night that contained the most horrible things anyone has ever said to me. He also had a major affinity for three-piece suits and porkpie hats. Fun times.

- gabygygax

Dumping The Boyfriend For You

A guy tried to take my phone and use it to text my then-boyfriend that we were over. When confronted, nice guy said my boyfriend didn't treat me right, or else we wouldn't be doing long distance this was during college, and he was 1.5 hours away by train.

When I obviously got mad, he called me a b*tch, a whore, and an idiot for not realizing what I had in front of me. Cue 3 days of emo/angsty facebook statuses with me tagged in them. I block him. He cries about why we aren't friends anymore, I ask him to give me some time and we can try again. 1.5 days later, dick pic. When I didn't respond to that, he sent me a long, handwritten letter about how perfect my body and how he would treat me like a princess, especially in bed.

- Unit1999

Weekly Updates And International Roaming Charges

I was dating a guy who had 3 roommates: 2 normal people who I was friends with and Dave.

The 2 normal roommates were old friends of mine and were dating. I worked M-F and Jay, my boyfriend, worked T-Sat. Our usual arrangement was I would drive out after work Friday and drive home Sunday night. This allowed me to spend Saturdays with my friend. I'd typically arrive a little before Jay got off work and I'd have the house pretty much to myself since my friend and her boyfriend also worked.Dave worked night shift, so he was usually asleep.

Soon I noticed that when I got there, Dave not only was awake but he'd come out and greet me in the driveway. He wouldn't ask if he could carry my stuff, he'd just grab it out of my trunk but he would never take it to Jay's room. Then he'd follow me to wherever I went to sit and tell me everything that Jay did that week. This went on for a month until he comes out and tells me that Jay doesn't deserve me and he's going to hurt me and I really belong with a nicer guy. Someone more like him.

I told him this conversation was over. He'd drop it....for a week. The next time I saw him he'd tell me all the "shady" things Jay had done that week. One time he told me he'd heard Jay on a "very intimate" phone call on a Monday when I was at work. Which I knew about because I was the person on the other end of the line. Dave's behavior at this point had everyone in the house so pissed off that they all ignored him.

This guy would not stop. At one point I was on a 2 week vacation with my parents in Canada. My phone rings and my friend's (Jay's roommate) name came up on my cell phone's caller ID. This worried me because she knew I was out of the country and would only call if it was an emergency. Thinking something bad had happened, I answered - international roaming be damned.

It was Dave.

He "borrowed" my friend's phone to call me and tell me that a female had come to the house and she and Jay were all dressed up when they left. I told Dave that was Carrie, Jay's cousin. They were dressed up because they were going to their grandfather's funeral. And then proceeded to tear him a new as$hole over the phone for his behavior.

About a month later Jay and the normal roommates found a new place. Dave was not invited to join them.

- angrygnomes58

A List Of Complaints

I was working as a nurse assistant in a nursing home. There was a MUCH older man that worked in the kitchen, like 30+ years older than me. He would always tell me how beautiful I looked and give me long hugs. It felt creepy but I honestly thought he was just trying to be nice in an older fatherly type way. I didn't want to make things awkward since he worked the same shift as me so I put up with it.

One day, he asked what my favorite coffee was. I told him nonchalantly thinking it was just a conversation starter. Later during my shift HE BROUGHT me that coffee. He walked to a coffee shop during his break and bought it for me. At this point I started realizing he's being too friendly and my instincts were right.

I kept refusing as he insistently shoved it at me. When I was refusing, he pretended he didn't understand what I was saying because of a language barrier. He's from China but has lived in the states since he was a kid!! I felt so uncomfortable and was tired of trying to explain myself and have him dismiss me so I just took the coffee.

Shortly after that, he brought a box of chocolate to work for me. Once again I kept refusing but he insisted it was for me, he didn't like chocolate and wouldn't eat it. After that I mentioned that I was married with a toddler. He had a disgusted face - not at me being married but having a child and asked me why I had a child so young. I was 25 when this happened, and had a 2 1/2 year old at the time.

Later on I was visiting with some residents in the activity room and he came in to talk to me. He started talking about how good my body was, how he couldn't tell I had a child.

He then grabbed my butt.

I tried to turn away and he let go, but then he continued talking about how tight my butt is and how perfect my boobs were, after looking straight at my chest he then swung his arm behind me and grabbed my butt again, bringing me into him. I felt so violated. I spent months thinking this was just some innocent overly nice fatherly type guy, but he was just grooming me. I told my supervisor who immediately told the director of the facility. Within 20 minutes he was fired and I never saw him again.

The next day the director called me into her office and said she had several complaints against this employee and as soon as she heard my story and saw how he was escalating she knew she had to fire him immediately. I was so scared after that, every shift I walked out to my car late at night I thought he'd be out there.

Other complaints:

1. Him bragging to other women employees about him hiring sex workers and treating them to Olive Garden before a night with them

2. Him viciously attacking another female employee, calling her "fat" "stupid" etc, in front of their boss and other peers.

Those are just the complaints I heard from my friends after this happened, who knows what else he did.

- ler330

Germaphobic Vampire

I knew this kid in high school who was a massive anime fan - like the bad kind that gives everyone else who likes anime a bad name. Also he claimed he was a germaphobe. I was the only girl in our class group and a pretty shy anime fan myself, so I became target number one. According to him: "if he doesn't make me his wife people will think he's gay." (I wish I was kidding).

Teachers and students told him to back off, but he always started back up. Eventually I aggressively told him to "back the f*ck off." Of course he started calling me names and claimed I was being an "ice queen". He then asked why I wasn't interested in him - as if his behavior wasn't enough. I said:

"You claim to be afraid of germs, yet you smell like you haven't bathed in a month and you won't stop touching me!"

Then he started claiming he was a vampire.

- CheshireGrin92

Explaining Your Role In Life

Had a guy once tell me that I was "not doing my duty as a woman" by not having sex and getting pregnant to give a man his babies, He claimed that was my "role" in life.

There was further outrage expressed when I went on to explain that not only was I single, not 'sexing it up', not a mother, and not PLANNING on being a mother - but also that I'm a daycare educator that cares for other people's children. I told him I love my job and don't plan on having kids so that I can continue caring for these kids I love. He was livid. Like, screaming at me in anger. Fairly sure the words slut and whore were used several times.

I also dared to mention I live with a guy who I'm not, nor have I ever had any interest in - and was told that if he (the angry guy) was my roommate; he would not allow me to work in that industry and I would be having his baby. According to him, there's "no way" my roommate doesn't want to have sex with me. He told me "every guy wants to f*ck every girl he knows, it's biology."

I told him that if my roommate had really been spending the last 10 years of our friendship with me just to sleep with me - he's pretty f*cking patient. That just made angry dude more angry.

- CopperTodd17

No Such Thing As A Free Ride

I used to get public transport home from university each day. I made friends with a guy who shared most of my classes and it turned out he lived quite near me. One lecture finished late and he offered to drive me home so I didn't have to get public transport alone at night. I thanked him profusely, as I really didn't feel safe alone at night. All went well.

Couple days later I was leaving uni and he offered again, I told him he didn't need to, but he waved it off and said he was happy to. Over the next semester he made a habit of offering to drop me home whenever we ended the day with a class together. When I tried to offer to pay for petrol or pay for his lunch as a thank you, he would just reiterate that he really didn't mind and he was happy to do it.

One day when he's driving me home he seems to be in a really bad mood. Gripping the steering wheel really tightly and only replying with single monosyllabic words. When we get to my house i ask if he's ok. He doesn't reply so i go to get out of the car, then he angrily says "are you EVER going to invite me inside!?" I must have said something like "huh, what?" Coz he then yells "I've been giving you free rides for MONTHS and you've never invited me in afterwards! Are we EVER going to have sex??"

I was so surprised and shocked I think i just got out of the car and walked away. This guy, who i thought was my friend, who i had offered to pay for the rides, thought he was entitled to sex because he had voluntarily been offering me rides.

To reiterate: i offered to pay him for the rides, i never asked for a ride (he always offered and even insisted), and he had never asked me out on an actual date (i had no idea he thought of me that way).

I felt so betrayed. Made it worse when he then told our mutual uni friends that id been stringing him along and using him for free rides.

Lil-Maece

The "Concealed Nice Guy"

Through four years of high school I had a solid group of friends. A concealed nice guy was one of them. We shared similar likes, similar classes, had back-and-fourth banter and inside jokes. I was never attracted to him for a single minute, and he never flirted, asked me out, or declared himself until the last week of senior year when he confessed he "always loved me." Being young and stupid and wanting to salvage a friendship, I dismissed his feelings gently and with humor, giving him the "let's be friends" speech.

He refused to let it go and kept demanding the relationship continue to the next level because "it was time" and we had so much in common. He joked we were like a couple already. I had to ghost him after that because it was so uncomfortable.

Months later, I gave him another chance and began talking to him again - and the love declarations started again. I had to drop him again. Every conversation ended with declarations and obsessed confessions.

He started making a pattern out of this. To reintroduce himself the next time he would create fake profiles as other guys, flirt or solicit sex and gauge my reaction. Then would come his big reveal like "It was me the whole time!" sort of thing. I told him we could not be in contact anymore, then silence for months.

Later, in college, we did start being friends again because I figured he would have been over it by this point. Bad idea, I know this now, I was stupid. He started posting publicly on my Facebook wall. His first public post was: "Will you marry me?"

It was my sophomore year of college when he began posting publicly about how much in love he was, our imminent future marriage, our three children (I would have them early), the fact that he would go to graduate school and I would raise them (huh?)

Detailed plans of our future life together were posted to my Facebook. He even changed his relationship status. Multiple rejections later and he said he was becoming an alcoholic because of me and that he would kill himself if I didn't save him (right). Ultimately, I severed that whole connection completely because of how emotionally draining it was.

- severnmason

The Rollerblade Escape

My fiance was invited to a class reunion by a "nice guy." He made it seem like a large event only for her to find out they are the only ones. This freaks her out immediately, but it gets worse. Nice guy proceeds to tell her that he has a female persona as well since he has two souls living within him. She quickly decided she had enough and wanted to leave. He offered to walk her home, she declined. Obviously. So "nice guy" follows her until she can get enough speed on her rollerblades to get away from him.

- CosmicThief

Bedroom Door

I let my friend stay over after the bar, he was drunk and lived pretty far away. He told me he loved me and after being rejected slept on the floor in front of my bedroom door.

- Escapefate91

Getting Over A Breakup

We were close, close friends for around five years so I genuinely trusted this dude with all of my being. Just got out of an engagement/ four year relationship so he took it upon himself to assume life had thrown him an opportunity. As far as he was concerned this was his chance to "fix" me.

He literally did things like: throw away entire packs of cigarettes so I wouldn't smoke since I had just started stress smoking. He would pour out my beer when I wasn't looking. He made constant snarky comments about me smoking on weekends. He insisted all of it was for my own good. For sure they were vices but I wasn't abusing any of them.

He insisted that the thing I needed after my relationship ended wasn't cigarettes, weed or alcohol: oh no, it was HIM. After he became aggressive sexually I cut him off.

It sucked, we were always really close.

- natureterp

Chronic Nice Guy Syndrome

I had a guy get fired from my work for kissing the hands of female customers. He would actually say "thank you for your patronage, my lady." The first time someone called about it my manager thought it was a prank but it happened like 6 more times and they fired him over it.

The same guy gave me a ride home once and when he unlocked his car, I opened the passenger door and he like angrily walked over and slammed it shut. He then smiled at me very hard and said "ladies should NEVER have to open their own doors." And then opened it for me and gestured for me to sit inside.

Another girl asked him for a ride once and he said sure, but then she ended up not needing it and canceled. She offered to give him some money anyway, as a friendly gesture, and he told her "wow, so I put away my plans for the day to be nice to a girl and this is all I get? No. How about you buy me lunch for the next week." And actually made her do it.

- lamest-liz

Always trust your gut... and never trust someone who calls you m'lady.

Do you have "nice guy' horror stories? Share them in the comment section below!

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

People Describe The Creepiest Things They Ever Witnessed As A Kid

"Reddit user -2sweetcaramel- asked: 'What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?'"

Four mistreated baby dolls are hung by barb wire
Photo by J Lopez

For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.

Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.

The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.

Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:

"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"

Serious Danger

"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."

"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."

oofboof2020

Waiting for Food

"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."

"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."

nowhereboy1964

Captain Hobo to the Rescue

"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."

"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"

"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."

FartAttack911

Survival

tsunami GIF Giphy

"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."

faithfulpoo

These Tsunami stories are just tragic.

On the Sand

Scared The Launch GIF by CTV Giphy

"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."

oyloff

Be Clever

"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."

OstneyPiz

Bad Jokes

"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."

Alegan239

YOU

Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN Giphy

"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"

PrettyLola2004

Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.

No one should talk to others in the dark though.

Woman stressed at work
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.

But some jobs are much harder than they look.

Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:

"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"

Customer Service

"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."

- gwarrior5

"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"

- Conscious_Camel4830

"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."

"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."

- First-Combination-12

High Stakes

"A pharmacist."

"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."

- VaeSapiens

"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."

"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."

- Worth_University_884

Teaching Woes

"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"

"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"

"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."

- bq87

Creativity Is "Easy"

"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."

- rubberduckyis

"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."

"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."

- whitepepper

Care Fatigue Is Real

"Care work."

"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."

- MangoMatiLemonMelon

Physical Labor Generally Wins

"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."

- anachronistika

Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild

"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."

"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."

"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."

"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."

- Yak-Mak-5000

Professional Cooking

"Being a chef."

- Canadian_bro7

"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."

- ChuckDeBongo

Team Leading, Oof

"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."

- Counterboudd

Not a Pet Sitter At All

"Veterinary Technician."

"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"

- forthegoddessathena

Harder Than It Looks!

"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"

"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."

"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."

"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."

- Joebroni1414

Twiddling Thumbs and Listening

"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"

"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"

"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."

"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."

- mylovelanguageiswine

Constant Updates

​"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."

"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."

"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."

- GlizzyMcGuire_

Performing Is Not Easy

"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."

- ThrowRA1r3a5

All About Perception

"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."

"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."

"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"

- DrHugh

It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.

This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen Giphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPost Giphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIF Giphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...