This is How Your Street Ends Up With Those Annoying Potholes

It’s coming up on pothole-fixing season, friends. I suppose this is superior to pothole-making season (winter and early spring) but honestly, all of our lives and cars and pocketbooks would be better off if there were no potholes at all.

Maybe the key to preventing potholes is knowing how they get there in the first place (it’s worth a shot, right?) but even if it’s not, knowledge is never a bad thing.

Image Credit: iStock

So, without further ado, here’s what makes those annoying, broken spots in the road over the winter.

Potholes happen when water seeps into the rock, gravel, and soil that sits underneath the asphalt on the road and then freezes, which is why they’re most common in the winter and early spring.

Once frozen the water expands, pushing up against the pavement, weakening the asphalt until the pressure finally cracks it, allowing the water to seep toward the surface. Along the way it will freeze and then thaw several more times, leaving gaps and voids and more cracking.

Image Credit: iStock

This weakening is further exacerbated by the constant traffic putting pressure on the pavement from the top, which pushes asphalt back into the gaps created by a melting cycle in the ice.

The result is a hole, sometimes the size of a crater, always willing to make you spill your coffee on the way to the office in the morning.

Potholes cause damage to car tires by puncturing them or bending the rims, and can also knock your alignment out of whack fairly quickly. Make sure you’re paying attention, that you keep space between you and the car in front of you, and slowing down if you can’t avoid running through one.

Image Credit: iStock

So stay away when you can, y’all – fixing your car isn’t cheap.

Do you have any more tips for saving money on car maintenance? Share them with us in the comments!

The post This is How Your Street Ends Up With Those Annoying Potholes appeared first on UberFacts.

May 25, 2021

What Hobbies Are Considered Boring But Really Aren’t? Here’s What Folks Said.

One of my friends is borderline obsessed with plants and gardening.

And when he started getting really into it, I thought to myself, “how boring!”

But now that I’m a little bit older…I think he was on to something.

Because plants are awesome are gardening isn’t boring at all!

What hobbies are considered boring but really aren’t at all?

AskReddit users shared their thoughts.

1. A good one!

“Language learning.

It’s a really fun process although sometimes it can feel like a grind.”

2. Just like Mr. Miyagi.

“Bonsai.

I thought it would be a nice little jaunt since you only have to look after them like 3 times a year and major attention every few years as long as you water and fertilize regularly.

Lies. All lies.

Days planning and diagramming how I’m going to f**k up this tiny tree I’ve invested years in. Multiple books bought and read.

Then like 12 f**king hours wiring up this tree and painstakingly watching to see if the apex is gonna do what I want or if that Jin is going to f**king work out.

I grow orchids. I thought they were b*tchy. I had not yet experienced the wrath of a juniper in a place that does not hit freezing temps.”

3. Mapmaker.

“Making detailed and realistic maps.

I grew up poor so to entertain myself I used to draw very realistic maps and play imaginary scenarios based on the map.

Eventually my family got a computer and I started using google sketch up to make maps and flags.

Now as an adult with a good paying job, I play EU4, HoI4 and CK2.

But I still enjoy making maps whenever I have a pencil and a blank paper. Imagination has no limits.”

4. Sounds good to me.

“Finding cool rocks. No joke.

You get to walk about, seeing cool things, breathing fresh air, and you get a geology lesson.”

5. I’d like to try this.

“Painting.

You’re constantly adapting to what the paint is doing, thinking, using your intuition, and you’re a lot more active than you appear to be.”

6. Playlists for days.

“I don’t know if this qualifies as a “hobby”, but I love making Spotify playlists for super obscure themes, like “the summer of 1997” or “the feeling you get when you realize you are driving too fast and it’s raining” or “these would make a good soundtrack for a zombie movie”.

I’m currently working on a playlist of songs to play a stranded Victorian era time traveler to get them up to speed on 21st century American musical culture.”

7. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

“Woodworking with hand tools.

I’m addicted and have bought 5 hand planes and can’t stop.”

8. Knittin’.

“Actually, knitting.

If you can do it right it’s actually fun.

Note that you’ll probably rage quit if you get it wrong.”

9. A green thumb.

“Raising plants, particularly succulents, has been way more eventful and exciting than I expected it to be.

I always thought raising plants was like this thing where you water something every day and then six months later it grows an inch and that’s it.

But I have a decent collection of different plants now, and they all have their own needs, their own unique behaviors, they’re different ages and so some flower and some don’t yet, they express their needs in different ways, and they change and move around much faster than you might expect. I’ve got some that are eternal and unchanging of course, but many more that are different every day.

I’ve got one plant that is so fast it can practically dance, and if it needs more light I’ll find it twisted into a completely different position every day until I move it somewhere more sunny and it settles down.

Not to mention by gaining an interest in plants, I’ve started paying attention to the plants around me in my neighborhood as I walk my dog, and I’ve started cataloging all the different flowers and weeds and shrubs I find. I’ve even found a few wild-growing succulents that I’ve taken samples of and am now cultivating at home, one of which even bloomed and gave me seeds which I’m going to try to grow!

It’s been so much fun and very educational.”

10. Aerial combat.

“Bird watching.

Sometimes you see aerial combat taking place with these birds, especially crows against hawks.”

11. Highly recommended.

“Geocaching.

I started this when my then GF and I were dirt poor in college and now we have logged about 1700 caches in about a dozen different countries.

Even just doing it near our home is awesome, because you get to see things you’d never see otherwise.

Highly recommend.”

12. Explore the night sky.

“Astronomy.

I got my first look through a telescope at 13 yo. My school had its own little observatory, and a few of us (mostly those specialising in physics or maths for A-level) were in the Astronomy Club. What hooked me wasn’t the stars, it was the planets.

Even with quite a lot of light pollution there was, for me, something magical about being able to look at the moon as if you were hovering just a short distance above its surface. And the planets all have their own charms. Jupiter is perhaps the most interesting, both in terms of the planet itself and in terms of its moons: I love checking that the moons are where they’re meant to be – I think of them as a sort of clock.

I know that I’m doing nothing more significant than checking the observations that others have made before me, and verifying what others have already calculated, but I feel that in some small way I’m helping to continue the validation of the great work of others. And like many others, I have my little patches of lunar geography that I watch pretty regularly, just in case anything has changed.

I suppose it’s not exciting, but it’s interesting to see our neighbor as the light and shadows change.”

What “boring” hobbies do you think are actually pretty awesome!

Talk to us in the comments.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post What Hobbies Are Considered Boring But Really Aren’t? Here’s What Folks Said. appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

Young People Look for Love and Adventure by Teaching English Abroad

It’s easy to feel lost after you get out of college.

Too many people ask what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.

And who’s ready to think about 401ks and health insurance in their 20s?

When they’re not ready to face “real life” yet, a lot of young people turn to teaching English abroad.

It’s a great way to have some real life experiences, make a little money, and figure out what you want to do with yourself.

And a lot of young people enter this next phase looking for something more.

Direction, meaning, love–here are 13 people who taught English with a purpose.

1. Some people might go because they got broken up with

And some might get broken up with because they decided to go.

Image credit: Whisper

2. Some are just looking to be fulfilled

I can’t imagine criticizing. What a useful, selfless way to be fulfilled.

Image credit: Whisper

3. Lots of people seem to be looking for love

I really hope they find it. At the very least, opening themselves up to new experiences invites love in.

Image credit: Whisper

4. Just stay open to possibility

What a beautiful love story. They will have so many adventures together!

Image credit: Whisper

5. Sometimes you might get lucky

You really never know what might happen.

Image credit: Whisper

6. They already found love

And then they found a family! It honestly feels like a Hallmark movie.

Image credit: Whisper

7. Some aren’t looking for love, just space

And what better way to find yourself than to run away on an adventure?

Image credit: Whisper

8. Others aren’t looking for love, but they find it

Found families can be the best families.

Image credit: Whisper

9. Then there are those who just want acceptance

And they have no idea what to expect. They might be the bravest of all.

Image credit: Whisper

10. It’s a great way to escape

You’re young and untethered and have the world at your fingertips. Tbh, I’m a little jealous.

Image credit: Whisper

11. Sometimes what you’re escaping is the all-seeing eye

It’s honestly no one’s business but yours. Good for you!

Image credit: Whisper

12. For others, it’s all about the adventure

I just really love the enthusiasm here.

Image credit: Whisper

13. Don’t forget that it can be mutually beneficial

You learn just as much as your students do, if you’re doing it right.

Image credit: Whisper

These are all such great reasons to take a job teaching English abroad.

I hope they all found what they were looking for!

What about you? Would you consider teaching abroad, and where would you most want to go? Tell us in the comments.

The post Young People Look for Love and Adventure by Teaching English Abroad appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

People Talk About About Folks Who Have No Idea How the Real World Works

When I was younger, I honestly believed that all adults had their acts together and were totally well-adjusted human beings.

I’m talking about all teachers, coaches, parents, and even the random folks I’d see at the grocery store.

But then as I got older I realized that many, many, many people out there are just kind of…well, clueless.

Boy, was that an eye-opener!

AskReddit users shared stories about folks who have no idea how the real world works.

Let’s take a look.

1. Not a good start.

“Guy got hired through a community college work program. Came to work late, was reprimanded by the boss.

On break guy was complaining to the rest of us “He can’t tell me what to do!” He seemed nice so we gently explained to him that while he was clocked in and being paid, the boss could indeed tell him what to do.

Guy thought it thru, agreed with us, but was amazed at the concept. He didn’t make it.”

2. Clueless.

“I have a coworker in her 40s whose parents help support her still. She bought a new car recently and told me it was some things on her old car (a 2017) were getting old – “like the tires.”

I mentioned i needed to get a new battery for my car, and she was like “i thought only really old cars need their batteries replaced?!””

3. My brother…

“My brother is 26 years old and has had one job (he worked there for like two months). Our cousin helped him get hired.

It was the easiest job in the world; a team of people drilled wells (agriculture) and my brother would come at night and watch the equipment. He had a new RV to sleep in. They let him watch TV, bring his dog, smoke, drink, eat whatever he wanted. The only thing he really had to do was be there. He wanted to go to dinner with his girlfriend and asked for the day off.

His boss told him no because he was the only person they had to stay there at night. He told his boss to f**k off and quit on the spot. To this day, he doesn’t work, pay bills, or do anything with his life.

He smokes weed and plays old video games (like random racing games on PS2). Sad waste of a life.”

4. Explain it to me.

“I worked with a girl in her 20s who had her first ever official paycheck.

She was beaming with excitement as she opened the envelope, smile drops and she says, “Wait…what are these lines?”

She had no idea what taxes were. We’re taxed to work, to simply live somewhere, to buy things, to sell things, to flush things.

Welcome to poverty, young girl in a low-paying career.”

5. Bad interview.

“Sat in on an interview with a guy who was 18 or 19. He was applying for a job because his parents were going to kick him out if he was unemployed.

That’s fine, he’s applying for entry level. When the hiring manager asked him how many hours he’d be available to work in a week he said he’d be comfortable working not more than 72 because he only wanted to work 3 days a week.

When she clarified that 72 hours is literally 3 full days he replied that he knew but in that tone that tells you internally he thought she was an idiot for asking. No big surprise but we did not hire him.

Ran into him a few years later, he worked up to be the assistant manager at the car dealship I bought my most recent vehicle from.

He remembered me and when I asked how he got the job he said he started dating a guy a while after not getting the job I’d seen him interview for that set him straight pretty quick so at least he got over it.”

6. Not how it works.

“Work at a vet and a woman, late 20s owned her first puppy and we had an argument over the bill because she was sure her dog was covered under Canada’s health care system.

I said it was impressive that her dog paid his taxes.”

7. Good luck!

“One of my friends fantasized about having ten kids while also being an actress.

When I asked her about her kids, she said she’d just get a nanny to take care of them and that she didn’t need to worry because they’d still love her.

I hope she grew out of that.”

8. Can you do that?

“In class years ago, we were learning about something that had to do with creating tunnels through the mountains and how dangerous and laborious it was at the time.

I don’t recall what we were learning about, but what I DO remember is this one girl raised her hand and said “Why didn’t they just move the mountains”. The entire class stared at her in silence until she realized what she said and burst into tears.

This was in 12th grade.”

9. Let me explain…

“I used to have a couple coworkers that called out regularly who complained about not having enough money.

We get paid by the hour. If you don’t work, you won’t get paid.”

10. No snacks?!?!

“My family was visiting Arlington National Cemetery and this Karen lady on our bus asked the bus driver if “there was a place to buy snacks and drinks inside the cemetery”.

Driver is like “uh no…it’s a cemetery”.

Then she got all pouty.”

11. Yikes.

“I had a friend that thought they could finish their four year degree in two years by just taking double the amount of classes per semester because “they are smart enough to”.

They are now in year five.”

12. It’s not fair!

“I’m a senior in highschool.

One of my 19 year olds classmates was complaining about one of our teachers because she gave a syllabus. “How am I supposed to remember to look at it?” He said. “she needs to remind us, it isnt fair.”

Curious to see how last he’s going to last in college…”

Have you had any experiences like this?

If so, please share them with us in the comments.

We’d really appreciate it!

The post People Talk About About Folks Who Have No Idea How the Real World Works appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

A Zookeeper Asks if They’re Wrong for Refusing to Do a Pregnant Coworker’s Dirty Work?

Most people try to do their best to support pregnant women in the world. They’re uncomfortable, they’re usually tired, because growing a human is hard work, and we feel a certain reverence, I think, because without pregnant women, none of us would exist.

There are some jobs that pregnant women aren’t supposed to do – like change the cat litter or pick up heavy things – and I imagine people mostly pick up the slack there, too.

In this case, though, it’s not something

she’s not supposed to do because she’s pregnant, it’s just something she’d rather not do.

OP (original poster) is a young man being trained as a zookeeper, along with another young lady who is pregnant.

I [22M] and this coworker just recently got hired as first-time zookeepers in the past couple months.

She seemed nice enough when I met her, and we didn’t talk a whole lot as our work didn’t overlap – she’s being trained on small mammals, whereas I’m a “swing keeper” (basically a junior keeper who fills in as an assistant as needed).

The otter dens were her duty, but she asked OP to clean them every day for the foreseeable future because the smell was making her sick.

OP said the smell makes everyone sick and that no, he didn’t want to do it – that said, he did give it a go.

But a couple weeks ago, she told me that she needs help cleaning the otter dens and wants me to do it every day for the foreseeable future instead of her…which, from my limited experience in that enclosure, was NOT news I was thrilled to hear.

I ask her why I’d need to do that every day, that’s part of her job…she told me that she’s pregnant and that the smell in there is making her sick.

I said “they’re otters, that smells makes everyone feel sick…” but she insisted.

I said no, why should I have to spend half an hour in there every single day on top of everything else I already have to do…but she got mad and I reluctantly gave it a go that day. It was a miserable 30 minutes.

He didn’t want to do it again, and when he told her as much, she got angry and called him insensitive.

The next day she insisted again, but I put my foot down.

I told her I hate the otter smell too, and I had other things to do besides do her job for her.

I said I’d even be willing to help with the cleaning for any other small mammals, but not the otters.

But she insisted I help with the otters and said I was being insensitive to her needs.

When they went to their supervisor with the argument he sided with her, saying it was a reasonable accommodation request based on her condition.

In the end we got in a bit of a fight and our supervisor got involved and basically took her side and asked me if I could spare some time each day to clean the otter dens, and that this was part of giving “reasonable accommodation” for her pregnancy…which I just didn’t think was fair.

And now the coworker won’t speak to me.

Is OP the a$$hole? Let’s find out what Reddit thinks!

He’s lucky this person isn’t his boss.

Image Credit: Reddit

And yeah, having never been pregnant, he really can’t judge how she’s feeling.

Image Credit: Reddit

They really want him to consider having some compassion, but also, this is the job he’s signed up for.

Image Credit: Reddit

We did have a few grudging ESH (everyone sucks here).

Image Credit: Reddit

OP is young. Everyone seems sure that he’ll learn what having a job with other people is like soon enough.

Image Credit: Reddit

I think they were pretty fair with this kid, because it’s really more of a maturity thing as opposed to him just being rude.

What do you think? Would you have cut him some slack? Tell us in the comments!

The post A Zookeeper Asks if They’re Wrong for Refusing to Do a Pregnant Coworker’s Dirty Work? appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

Person Got Satisfying Revenge on a Racist Karen and Got Her Business Closed Down

Racism is one of the topics at the forefront of the minds of many these days, and rightfully so. Everyone needs to have a plan for what they’re going to do if and when they find themself staring it in the face.

This person had to enact that plan after a racist “Karen” called the cops on her young cousin, and I have to say, I think she knocked it out of the park.

The cousin had always dreamed of starting a salon and managed to do just that, with family helping out in all kinds of roles and everyone taking ownership of the fledgling business.

My cousin (23,F) recently opened up her own salon. From a young age, she taught herself how to thread/wax eyebrows and developed an interest in makeup and hair. Everyone in our extended family would go to her before events and on a monthly basis for their threading, waxing, hair and makeup needs. In 2020, she had a full-time job (non-salon related) but decided to renovate the basement of her home to create a small salon space.

She now spends her free time taking clients in her at-home salon and there’s nothing but great reviews! Her sister helped with the renovations and now helps her with marketing the business (social media, community pages) and I help with the finances (budgeting, price-setting). We all support her and are really proud of her! The salon is our baby.

Covid took a toll on the business, like it has on most things, but they were managing to keep forging ahead with precautions.

We’re now in the middle of a pandemic and this greatly affected her salon business. As a result, she implemented safety measures and our small team made sure to keep up with covid regulations in our city. This included having one customer inside at a time, doing temperature checks, making masks/face shields and gloves mandatory, wiping down the salon after each client…etc. Also, when our city was in lockdown, the salon was closed as it is not an essential service.

Once their city went into lockdown the salon was forced to close temporarily, making sure clients knew through Facebook, etc.

There was a comment on an old post offering a deal, from when the salon was allowed to be open with precautions, that she couldn’t believe her salon had to be closed and this one didn’t – but no one saw it right away.

Our city is once again in lockdown since the end of December to the end of January. The salon has been closed since the lockdown began. The salon’s social media pages had been updated to let the current clientele know that the salon is closed.

Now comes the Karen. Karen sees a community post from OCTOBER detailing a discount that the salon was having on a certain package we offer. She comments on the post saying that she can’t believe the salon is open in the middle of a lockdown when her salon has to be closed. This is important for later. Karen fails to notice that this post was made in October, when salons were allowed to operate as long as they followed safety regulations.

Karen doesn’t bother checking more recent posts indicating that the salon was closed. My cousin doesn’t see her reply at this time.

Then, the police showed up, wanting to see the cousin.

She wasn’t home and so she missed them (twice) but they left a card and asked her to call them back.

The next day, two police officers show up at my cousin’s door while she’s at a doctor’s appointment. The officers ask for my cousin and my aunt lets them know that she’s not home right now. My aunt does not speak English very well and lets the officers know that she would call my cousin and ask her to come home. Maybe the officers didn’t believe her but they insisted on coming inside the home.

My aunt had already called my cousin as she was worried. My cousin asked what it was about, but my aunt didn’t know. My cousin then asked if they had a warrant for anything. When she found out they didn’t, she told her mom not to let them come inside and that she would be there in about 20 minutes. My cousin began driving home when my aunt called her to let her know that they simply left. Hearing this my cousin was less worried and decided to go grocery shopping as planned before heading home.

Turns out, the officers came back half an hour later and once again demanded to see my cousin. My aunt called my cousin again and asked her to come home but in the 20 minutes she took to come home, the officers were gone. They had left a card and asked her to call back.

When she did they informed her the business had been reported for operating during quarantine. She explained she hasn’t been seeing clients and has been following all of the rules, suggested that if they were getting their information from Facebook they should double check the dates on the posts, and figured that was the end of it.

My cousin managed to get a hold of the officers and was told that someone had reported her business. They claimed that she was operating during the lockdown and they had proof. My cousin knew this wasn’t true as the salon had been closed for quite a while.

By now, my cousin had seen the comment from earlier and mentioned that she knew exactly what their so called proof was but the post in question was from October. My cousin was very upset as this post was not even close to being actual evidence of her operating now, in January. She was also very upset that they insisted on coming inside the house with no cause or warrant when they could clearly see that my aunt does not understand the language very well.

At the end of the conversation, the police officer apologized to my cousin and we thought it was the end of it.

Then, the Karen who made the comment called, pretending to be a customer.

You must be wondering how we know that Karen was the one who called the cops. Well, she told us! The next day, my cousin received a message she realized was from the woman who commented on the post. Karen decided to pretend like she’s a customer.

Karen: Can I book an appointment?

My cousin: Hey love, we are currently closed due to the lockdown. Once the lockdown is over, we will be more than happy to book you in.

Karen: Oh my gf was there yesterday, my apologies

My cousin: You must have gotten the date wrong. The salon is not taking clients until the lockdown is over. Thank you.

Karen: Np but I didn’t get the date wrong lol I also know the police came due to you being open. Take care

My cousin: I’m not going to sit here and entertain your boring life. Maybe for a change you can find another hobby rather than spreading lies and wasting people’s time, including the police’s time. Or even better, find an actual job. Have a good night.

Karen: I own my own spa that’s closed as should yours be. My mom is the one who called the cops. You are not entertaining me at all. Go back to your own country instead of fucking with ours.

My cousin decided to block her at this point. My cousin was happy this was all over. Her sister and I were still outraged at the racist comment and how someone could make up lies about a small business that led to the cops terrifying my aunt. When my cousin told me about Karen, the fact that she had her own spa really stood out. I did some digging.

It turns out she made a mistake, though, because not everyone is willing to let comments like that go – as they shouldn’t.

urns out Karen runs her own spa out of her house. Doing some more snooping, I found reviews from her clients on her business page that were posted on days that the city was under lockdown. The reviews could be from clients who received services before the lockdown and only now had a chance to write a review. To be sure, I found Karen’s Instagram page.

I decided to use her own trick against her! I created a new account with a generic name and followed her page so she couldn’t see that I was related to my cousin. I then messaged her to ask about the prices for her services.

Me: Hey, I love your pics! I was wondering how much you charge.

Karen: Hey girl, thank you so much! What service are you after?

Me: I’m really interested in the BB glow facial.

Karen: That’s awesome. My biggest seller for sure. Normally it’s 125 but it’s on B.O.G.O (buy one, get one) so you pay for one session and get 2!

Me: That’s such a great deal compared to others! When is your next available date?

Karen: Where are you located? I can’t have people come to me in lockdown but I travel to my clients.

Head’s up, going to people’s houses was still not allowed during their lockdown rules, so she totally told on herself.

And then OP told on her, because tit for tat.

aren was not operating from her home location due to lockdown restrictions but was traveling to her clients’ homes which is still against regulations! I then made up a lie about my home not having adequate space and asked for her address so we could meet up at my friend’s place somewhere between her and I’s locations. She foolishly told me her address.

During this time, I also tried joining other community groups that she was a part of. In one particular group, people in the community were promoting their small businesses. She had recently made a post about discounts on her services for the month of January! I immediately went online and submitted a report about her business still operating including screenshots, her address, full name…etc.

The police checked it out and fined her, and since it turned out to be a second (or perhaps third) offense the penalties were stiff, and her business was shut down.

She was angry, made threats, etc, but I mean…meddlesome racists get what they get, don’t you think?

A few days passed by and I had forgotten to check up on it as I was busy with life again. I saw the incident report number on a sticky note I had on my desk and decided to check in. Apparently, this was not Karen’s first offence! Karen had already been fined $750 for having a client in her home during the first lockdown in my city. After being fined, she decided to change her business model and go to the client’s home instead. Now, she was fined $10,000!

I was still following her on Instagram so I decided to check it out. She had gone on a rant about how she was going to do very bad things to the person who reported her. She also mentioned that she was no longer allowed to run her business! I’m not sure what type of ban the regional police put on her but I immediately deleted the account and exited the groups I had joined earlier. At the end of the day, Karen got was she deserved and I fulfilled my dream of pretending to be Sherlock Holmes.

Naturally, reddit had A LOT to say about this story. And all of it was supportive.

Image Credit: Reddit

Because Racist Karens are gonna do what they do…

Image Credit: Reddit

And some people really gave it to the cops.

Image Credit: Reddit

And hey, some business tips!

Image Credit: Reddit

Did this person go too far? Should they have been a bit more understanding in the times of Covid, one small business owner to another?

Drop your thoughts on the matter down in the comments!

The post Person Got Satisfying Revenge on a Racist Karen and Got Her Business Closed Down appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

Family Members Kept Complaining About What She Cooked, So This Teenager Went On Strike. Was She an A-Hole?

The past year has seen a lot of us pick up new responsibilities around the house, most of which none of us asked for or wanted. You might not realize this goes for teenaged kids, too, who are certainly old enough to pitch in, but who are also still just children at the end of the day.

This 17yo girl is the oldest of 5, which probably means she’s had a good amount of responsibilities for years, but as her parents continued to work during the pandemic and she and her 4 siblings were home, the job of fixing dinner every night has fallen to her.

I’m (17f) the oldest of five. Ever since Covid my parents have left me in charge at home, and have me cooking dinner most nights (6/7 to be exact).

My siblings and I are going to school virtually so we’re in the house together all day. Although they’re going out to friends more now.

She’s learned the hard way that kids are ungrateful d%cks when it comes to food you’ve prepared, but it also sounds like her parents are annoying about not liking what she’s fixed, too.

There were always complaints about the food I was cooking (don’t want pasta, no rice, why more chicken, used up too many groceries for one dish). B

ut lately it has been bugging me more. I made pizza one night. I did a regular pizza because I was tired of complaints about the choices I was making.

But even that wasn’t good enough.

Things came to a head the night EVERYONE complained about good ol’ pizza.

My siblings all wanted more cheese and said it was shitty (siblings are 15m, 14m, 12f, 10f).

My dad wanted pineapple and ham on his pizza. My mom said pizza wasn’t what she wanted to come home to on a Wednesday afternoon.

The next night she fixed her own food, cleaned up the mess, and was then berated by her sibs and parents for leaving them in the lurch.

I said nothing. I didn’t even show I was frustrated. But the next day I didn’t make them anything. I made myself some spicy chicken noodles. Had it all cleaned up and everything before anyone got home and then everyone was home and they were hungry and complaining and then my parents exploded because they said I was being petty and rude and they threatened to ground me because I didn’t do all my chores.

I told them they should have thought about that before shitting all over everything and I was doing more than enough and why ground me when I never leave the house anyway, I’m basically a live in nanny at this point and I get treated worse than they would treat a paid nanny.

They called her petty and unthinking and even mean, but…was she?

They said it was a wrong move to let them go without food. Especially my siblings.

I guess I can see why that would be an AH move but honestly they should be more appreciative too.

AITA?

Reddit is about to weigh in, but personally, I’m ready to give this chick a high five.

Some good points here, as no one she’s cooking for is a baby.

Image Credit: Reddit

There are some expectations that need to change.

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The parents have an imbalance of expectations, and that should absolutely change.

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It’s time she stood up for herself.

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100. In this day and age of microwaves, freezers, and DoorDash, her actions weren’t forcing anyone to go hungry.

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I’m with this girl, 100%. Probably, because of her age, she could have tried sitting down with her parents first and listing her very reasonable grievances, but she held out longer than I would have.

What do you think? Tell us in the comments!

The post Family Members Kept Complaining About What She Cooked, So This Teenager Went On Strike. Was She an A-Hole? appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

Should You Let Someone Else’s Phobia Dictate How You Live in Your Own House?

Relationships can be hard to navigate for everyone, but when it comes to family, well – complicated sometimes doesn’t seem to cover it. We want to be gracious and loving, but sometimes people ask us to do that at the expense of our own comfort, so…what then?

This woman and her boyfriend are super into snakes and other reptiles, and they own one snake that OP refers to as their “baby.”

The problem? OP’s sister is deathly afraid of snakes. Thus far, they have mitigated this by either going to the sister’s house to visit or having a family member who loves snakes taking their “baby” for the day.

My (22M) sister (17F) is afraid of snakes, she hates them, can’t be near them. my bf (21M) is the opposite, he loves them, and we actually have one (2F).

Because of this we normally go see her or if she comes to our place my bf’s sister will take our girl for the day.

Things went wonky, though, when the sister came over for a pool party with some other family members. The snake was out of the house, but she took issue with the boyfriend’s tattoo of a snake.

So, we have a pool, and it’s been really hot where we live so we invited my sister and my parent round.

Like normal my bf’s sister came and took our snake. when they arrived everything was fine until we got into the pool.

My bf has a tattoo of a snake, it’s a blacked-out silhouette that wraps around both of his arms and his back.

She demanded he put on a shirt. DEMANDED.

When my sister saw it she freaked out and told me to tell him to cover it. (she knew about his tattoo, she just expected him to cover it, which he can’t do without putting on a long sleeve t-shirt) I told her no.

She then went over to him and asked him to leave because he knows about her fear.

OP said that if she was bothered she should leave, because this was her boyfriend’s house and he shouldn’t be made uncomfortable in his own skin.

This annoyed me and I told her that if she has an issue with it she should leave, this is his house, not hers.

She got upset and just sat inside the whole time. when they left my mom told me that I was rude to my sister and we knew about her fear and that we ruined her day.

Now I’m starting to think that I could have handled the situation better.

So AITA?

Was she wrong? Should they be more considerate of a bad phobia?

Reddit has some thoughts!

One of them is that the sister’s phobia isn’t their issue, it’s hers.

Image Credit: Reddit

The sister would also be happier if she was able to get some help, yeah?

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And yeah, she could do some mitigating of her own issues instead of expecting other people to accommodate her.

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The sister definitely needs to take some responsibility.

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She doesn’t have to be rational about the snakes, but she does have to be rational about her reactions to humans.

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This girl was way out of line, I think.

What’s your opinion? Drop it on us in the comments!

The post Should You Let Someone Else’s Phobia Dictate How You Live in Your Own House? appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

Are Females Wrong for Not Quitting Their Careers to Stay Home With Their Kids if They Can Afford To?

Whether or not to stay home with children is an easy decision sometimes. It could be that one of the parents wants to stay home, to manage the household and the children, while the other party works for a paycheck outside the home.

It could be that both parents have always worked, and they can’t really afford to drop to one paycheck, or they don’t make enough to cover daycare, etc – it’s a financial decision, and no one really questions those, either.

Moms tend to get judged, though, when they have the option to stay home with their kids but choose to continue their careers or studies instead – and that’s exactly the scenario that has this mother second guessing her choices.

Quick backstory: the pregnancy was a surprise and one they didn’t find out about until quite a ways into it, for very legitimate reasons.

Long backstory short: I’ve been with my partner for 5 years, this was an unplanned pregnancy and I only found out I was pregnant a month ago(I’m now 7 months pregnant ), I was on birth control and actually had 2 pregnancy tests come back negative(one was too early in the pregnancy and the other was because of the hook effect).

As an added bonus my partner and I never expected to be able to have kids naturally as he had cancer a couple of years ago and during treatment he collected and stored sperm that he was told were very poor quality plus I have a big family history or cervical cancer and was supposed to have surgery to remove 2 precancerous lesions a week ago and prep for that surgery was how I found out I was pregnant.

They are coming around to being ok with the thought of becoming parents, and as her partner makes good money, she’s even agreed to quitting her part-time job to help care for him when he arrives.

Now. Obviously it’s way to late for an abortion and my partner grew up in the foster/adoption system and got treated like shit so that’s not an option either. We’ve agreed to raise the baby together but over the last couple of days he’s repeatedly brought up how I should quit my job and study so I can focus on the baby when he arrives.

In theory this would be fine, my partner makes enough money to support us and my part time job pays absolute shit so I had initially agreed to drop my job but not my study.

That said, OP is in the middle of defending her Master’s thesis, and had plans to continue directly into a PhD program when she finished.

She had many very good reasons for not wanting to quit for a couple of years and then pick it back up.

I’m in the middle of writing my masters thesis is Bioscience and if I put it down for a couple of years the likelihood is that my contacts would no longer be available for research work.

Not to mention that I was planning on starting my PhD straight after I finish as it will be a direct extension of my masters study and I already have conditional funding for my research that I will lose if I put the project on hold.

It’s really important to her to finish.

Which is really all she should have had to say, don’t you think?

My study is really important to me and I feel like by giving up my job I’m losing a bit of my independence so I don’t want to lose this too. We’ve now had several huge fights because my partner says I’ll be neglecting the baby in favor of my research which I have no intention of doing. Hes chalking up my resistance to “baby hormones” and I want to check that I’m not TA here?

I think so, but let’s see what Reddit has to say!

The top comment honestly says it all, and as a mom, I wish I could shout it from the rooftops.

Image Credit: Reddit

Plenty of people think her partner needs to shape up, honestly.

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A few folks wondered if they shouldn’t reconsider the adoption option.

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She needs to keep her eyes wide open going forward.

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This whole situation smacks of the patriarchy and we don’t like it.

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No one would argue that parenthood doesn’t require sacrifice, but it doesn’t require sacrifice from just one party, but every party.

What are your thoughts here? Share them with us in the comments!

The post Are Females Wrong for Not Quitting Their Careers to Stay Home With Their Kids if They Can Afford To? appeared first on UberFacts.

May 24, 2021

People Talk About Outdated Advice That Is No Longer Applicable Today

It’s interesting how quickly things become outdated.

It seems like we’re moving at warp speed and, to be honest, it can be a little difficult to keep up. Especially when it comes to trying to give people advice.

So what advice is now outdated and doesn’t apply to folks anymore?

Here’s what folks on AskReddit had to say.

1. Are you on the phone?

“If you want to use the internet, make sure no one is using the landline.”

2. Not these days.

“Show up at the office with a resume and don’t leave until you get an interview..”

3. Uh uh.

“To pay for college, just work part time at a restaurant waiting tables!

When my dad was in college in the 1970s, he paid for his tuition, expenses, car, and spending money for the entire year with a summer job at the meat packing plant that my grandpa got him.”

4. Can’t wait around for it.

“When people say “Just be patient and love will find a way” was said in a time when people were outside a lot more.

Nowadays someone can go to work and go home and sit at their computer every day for years without ever being even close to finding someone.

I think nowadays you have to go out of your way to find someone. Or at the very least go out of your bubble and be social.”

5. Might be the problem.

“If the baby won’t stop crying check to make sure the diaper pin is not sticking him.”

6. Now it’s history!

“You need to learn to write in cursive or nobody will take you seriously and you won’t get good grades on your assignments in college.

By 2010 when I went to college, virtually all of my assignments, including most tests, were digital, and even the few handwritten exams allowed regular print.”

7. Interesting.

“My Grandma: “Don’t drink water after eating fruit or you’ll get sick”

Apparently this comes from a time when people drank from wells. The sugar from the fruit would allow bacteria from the water to ferment in the stomach.

Not a problem with modern water supplies.”

8. Gramps was wrong.

“Grandpas are always like “I pestered her and followed her around for months and months even though she told me to go away until she finally went out with me, and we’ve been married 50 years this month”

Yeah, don’t do that.”

9. Ouch.

“I remember my teachers telling me “don’t study these new trendy subjects at university like media, video editing, tech etc. You should focus on traditional subjects like literature, History, and so on”.

15 years after graduating with my BA and MA in English lit, I now work minimum wage in a shop.”

10. It’s me again!

“If you want to show a company how interested you are in a position, keep checking back.

Don’t let them forget you.”

11. Times have changed.

“After I graduated with a degree in computer science, my 75 year old aunt told me to get a job at a factory sweeping the floor and work my way up to management.

I just said okay instead of explaining to her that it hasn’t worked that way since 1970.”

12. Bad behavior.

“Given to young girls: ‘that boy is being mean to you because he has a crush on you.’

Nope.

That boy is just being a d**khead and that behavior is not a good thing.”

13. You better eat all of it!

“Finish your plate.

I just teach my kids to stop eating when they feel enough.

No need to stuff their faces with more food just because of whatever.”

Now we want to hear from you.

In the comments, tell us what advice you think is outdated these days?

Thanks in advance!

The post People Talk About Outdated Advice That Is No Longer Applicable Today appeared first on UberFacts.