Waiters Share The Worst Valentine’s Day Disasters They’ve Ever Seen

Though many justifiably call Valentine’s Day nothing more than a holiday called into existence by jewelry and greeting card companies, chocolate and flower vendors and the service industry, most couples can’t help but celebrate it anyway.

And there’s no shame in that.

Why not spend a night with complete focus on a partner and all things love and romance?

But for a variety of reasons, the holiday can still end in pure chaos.

Redditor Hamsternoir banked on that unfortunate reality when they asked:

“Waiters what Valentine day disasters have you witnessed?”

Of course, marriage proposals are frequently a piece of these stories.

“I was eating in a fine dining establishment (Chili’s) several years ago. In the next booth was a really young guy who had a big bunch of roses on the seat next to him.”

“He kept looking at his watch, looking at the roses, and popping open a ring box for a peek at the ring.”

“He did this for a half hour or so, then began calling and texting someone (presumably his girlfriend) over and over.”

“As we were waiting for our check, he hands my wife the roses, mumbled something, and walked out.”

“Poor guy.” — AZScienceTeacher

It’s even worse when there’s a secret audience. 

“Not a waiter but I was a pastry chef at this big resort in cape cod. We got a special order from this guy who was coming in for his anniversary ( Valentine’s day). He wanted his desert to have ‘Will you marry me?’ written on it so he could pop the question when it came out.”

“He called ahead to the front and back kitchen, even came in himself that morning to make sure it was good to go. The whole crew was behind him. We had cooks all night coming in the ask if it had happened yet.”

“I wrote the inscription on the plate and dressed it to the nines with gold leaf and expensive chocolate. I’m taking a picture of the plate just before it’s set to go out and notice our head waiter come in with a weird look on his face.”

“He says plainly ‘They don’t need it’ “

“She broke up with him before the entrees hit the table.” — jeanlukepikard

In one case, the waitstaff became directly involved.

“There was a note in our reservations that it was an engagement, they wanted champagne, a specific seat, bunch of other stuff. The server comes up to the table with something like ‘so I read we’re celebrating an engagement, congratulations.’ ”

“Confusion from the woman; glaring from the guy. He hadn’t proposed yet. She ruined it.” — ChefHannibal

For one Redditor, the proposal remains a mystery. 

“Old man proposed to old woman. He tried to get off the chair to kneel, tripped and fell and I assume broke something since he couldnt get back up and we had to call an ambulance.”

“My manager had to drive her teeth to the hospital separately because she had taken them out to eat her soup (lord knows why) and left them on the table in the confusion.” — rancid_cu**_bucket

There are, however, other versions of love lost.

“They came in at lunch the day after, so it was pretty empty but it was still for a Valentine’s Day date. They were both pretty nice at the beginning, the guy asked for a picture and whatnot.”

“As the meal went on, the dude got progressively drunker and by the time I brought the check out, the woman was gone.”

“When the dude gave me his card, he said ‘I’ll give you a bit of advice. If you’re taking a girl out to break up with her, do it at a McDonald’s and not an expensive restaurant’.” — _StanleyYelnats

Breakups aren’t always such a spectacle, though.

“These two were on a date and the guy went to go use the bathroom, The girl just up and leaves after he went to the restroom. When the guy came back he sat around for awhile until asking his waitress where she went.”

“She replied with saying that she left. The guy then asked the waitress if she would go on a date with him. The waitress said no.” — OffensiveGender

For this waiter, the relationship in question was hers.

“I was working as a waitress in a Sushi restaurant and Valentine’s Day was an all-hands-on-deck shift.”

“This guy I had just started seeing wanted to go out, but I told him that working in food service, you never get Valentine’s Day off and we’d just have to celebrate the day after or the weekend after.”

“Nope. He got so upset that he went and asked a different girl out, came to the restaurant I worked at on V-Day and sat in MY SECTION.”

“He then proceeded to spend the entire evening making a fool out of himself and making his date uncomfortable as he tried to make me jealous.”

“Needless to say we didn’t go out again. Ever.” — venustas

And there were those juicy stories of infidelity.

“In college I waited tables and Valentine’s Day was always a good one in terms of tips.”

“I once saw a couple come in to eat, halfway through the dinner the mans wife shows up to surprise the couple. The wife took the wine bottle and poured the remnants on the husbands head, took off her ring and told the girlfriend she could have him.”

“He tipped me a $100” — kobra_kyle

This one doesn’t involve a waiter, but it’s just too wild to leave out.

“I was a delivery driver for a fruit bouquet company and I had two arrangements from the same guy.”

“Routes were made for me and the truck was loaded so there was no way I could mess this up. Delivered both arrangements to the appropriate address.”

“I headed back to the store to find the store owner and the guy who sent these in an argument. This idiot put the wrong name to the houses. And it was on the card with the arrangement. Along with the phone numbers.”

“So both women called each other and then called the guy. He tried to say it was my fault. Then the person who took the order. He ordered it ONLINE. All we did was import the order.”

“I hate valentine’s day because of that place but man was that great.” — misfits90

And finally, one waiter saw them all. 

“I had a section one V-day that had a marriage proposal, a 40th anniversary, and a break up all at the same time.”

“The break up was the worst. The guy brought his high class date a gift; a mini ceramic bear holding balloons. He presented it when I was at the table and she looked at it like it was a hot turd.”

“I just knew this was not going to end well. She left at the end of the meal and must have said something because he stayed at the table for another 40 minutes, head down and crying. I felt bad, he saw the celebrations going on at the other tables.” — Odd-Examination

So for those of you celebrating V-Day this year, consider a few lessons: propose in private, don’t use the day to save a relationship, and if you’re cheating, beware!

People Divulge Their Past Minor Social Missteps That Still Keep Them Up At Night

Social missteps are quite common. Often, we are supposed to follow a set of social rules but no one seems to talk about what they are openly.

We’re just kind of expected to pick up the cues.

For some of us, those social missteps have lasting effects.

Anxiety effects 40 million U.S. adults making it the most common mental health issue. Around 15 million adults struggle with social anxiety.

Since it really is so common to lay awake at night thinking about all the ways you’ve caused an awkward situation, we went to Reddit to see exactly what those social faux pas were.

Redditor anfla56 asked:

“When you’re lying in bed at night, do you ever randomly remember some relatively minor social missteps or poorly chosen words you did/said years earlier?”

“And then beat yourself up over it even though it really wasn’t a big deal?”

“If so, what happened?”

Hopefully this doesn’t bring up any bad memories for you.

Talking to a cute girl.

“In 7th grade, a cute girl asked me to sit next to her. I said my mom won’t let me sit next to girls. My mom said no such thing.” – Risklotrman

“If you said CUTE girls you’d have been a total baller. So close.” – AccidentallyInterest

“When I was in 8th grade one of the hottest girls in our class, who had never spoken to me before, stopped in the hallway near where I was rummaging around in my locker, walked up to me, and said ‘Hey…your cologne smells good’.”

“I replied with a forceful, ‘I…I’m not wearing cologne!’”

“She said, ‘Oh, ok.’ and walked away.”

“I was wearing cologne.” – VaultBoy9

Wrong inside joke.

“I accidentally mixed up an inside joke with the wrong friend group with disastrous results.”

“Friend group #1: The ‘joke’ was when someone calls and asks who’s all there we would add Darrell to the list of names. Darrell wasn’t a real person. The joke wasn’t really funny, and made no sense out of context, but I guess that’s why it was an inside joke.”

“Friend group #2: I was hanging out playing some drinking games with a bunch of people that I hadn’t hung out with in a while. It was a kind of get together to remember a friend that they had who had recently died in a car accident. I didn’t know him that well, but I was always down to party.”

“Anyway the phone rings, and the person who answered started listing off names. Sorting my cards for another round of Presidents and A**holes I offhandedly said, ‘Heh and Darrell!’”

“It was the typical record scratch moment where everyone stopped and looked at me. Darrell was the name of the friend who had just died.”

“This happened in 2002 and I still think about it all the time.” – Redditor

“Oh man, I have a mixed up inside joke scenario. It wasn’t me, it was my neighbor.”

“My neighbor is morbidly obese and my mom is Korean, and they joke with each other about it. My neighbor makes racist commits to my mom, she makes fun of my neighbor’s weight.”

“It’s just part of their friendship. They often did it in public too, but it was always obvious when they were standing next to each other that it was inside joke.”

“At one point my neighbor was out with her husband (they’re both white). She was at a check out counter when she blithely remarked about all the damn Koreans taking over the region.”

“The check out lady just stares at her. Then the husband leaned over and said ‘It’s not as funny when [Dragonmeme’s mom] isn’t standing next to you’.”

“Cue my horrified neighbor desperately trying to explain that she wasn’t a racist, that it’s an inside joke. ‘My friend is Korean!’ which of course just made her look worse.”

“My mom lost it when she heard the story.” – DragonMeme

A difficult time laughing.

“When I was in fifth grade, our teacher said a joke in front of the class and everyone laughed including myself. After the laughter died down, a girl looked up at me and said. ‘You have a really damn disgusting laugh, ew’.”

“I became so self conscious about laughter since that specific, day, and after years I have trouble actually laughing. My brain kinda made it a habit to just smile or slightly chuckle at something, even if it is really funny.” – precious3tears

“Omg This! When I was in 7th grade I had such a hard time in school. No self esteem at all. I was suicidal, no friends, etc…”

“The one friend I had was a very pretty girl (I’m a girl too) and she was so nice. Well we’re sitting in class and we’re laughing, like genuinely. I would always cover my mouth when I laughed but I didn’t that time because I was genuinely happily laughing.”

“The guy next to her turned to me and looked at me with such disgust I can’t forget it 10+ years later and he said. ‘You look like a man’.”

“I think of that to this day and it hurts like no other. I have never been comfortable with my smile, and always feel like I do look manly. It sucks.” – Hopefulwitch

Just blurted it out.

“Junior prom I blurted out during dinner to my date ‘I’m so bored’ and I have NO idea why it came out of my mouth. I’m pretty well-mannered and quiet. I forget how I tried to play it off, but I felt so bad.” – georgeangela

“I was sitting in a small group of friends in school, and my crush (literally the love of my life at that point) admitted she liked me. It was the happiest moment of my entire life. So naturally I said ‘Ew’. In front of everyone.”

“This was 2nd grade and I still think about it weekly.” – sweetcuppingcakes

Awkward situations because of religion.

“I went through a phase where I scolded people for reading harry potter because my parents told me it was evil. Lots of awkward situations because of that.” – Redditor

“The crazy thing is there is actually a lot of Christ mythology to the story. There’s a chosen one, prophecies of the death of the chosen one, and he dies in sacrifice of everyone else. Then comes back to life.”

“Nothing evil about it, just religious people being afraid of something they don’t understand. My mom remarried and became Pentecostal, it was a rough childhood to say the least.” – moonsnakejane

Being a jerk for no reason.

“For most of my education, I went to public school and like most kids, I was socially awkward. For High School, I received an academic scholarship to a private Catholic school.”

“It was a really big deal for my family. I didn’t know anyone at the new school. Between an odd combination of academics, sports and the tail end of puberty, I became very popular in this new school.”

“I wasn’t used to the attention and it definitely got to my teenage head. Nearly all of my social circles became around the new school and not with my old local friends.”

“I’m in my junior year, I head to a McDonalds for lunch with a few friends from the new school. Working the counter, I see a girl who I used to go to public school with that I used to have a crush on.”

“She just lit up when she saw me, she was so excited, and I … I was a sh*tty teenager and I just ignored her. I pretended I didn’t recognize her. She looked so deflated when I didn’t acknowledge her.”

“Note this was the 90’s. My family moved a few times after that. I settled down in a different part of the country after University. I never made it back to that town.”

“I’ve relived that a**hole moment for years now. Fast forward to one of those nights when I relive that moment, and I decide to look her up on Facebook to apologize.”

“I find out she died 10 years ago in an auto accident. Since I found out her fate, I feel even more awful about that moment.” – Redditor

“I’m one of the people who have been ignored by old friends many times (when younger for similar reasons I assume), and I will just say that I’m sure she had no hard feelings towards that moment.”

“If anything, it was a passing, small feeling of loneliness. Don’t beat yourself up over it, the fact you even looked her up to apologize—that gesture—is kind enough to cancel out the action (times 10).”

“All we can do in life is to move on and learn from our mistakes, especially those we make when we’re younger.” – indeciciveop

Didn’t hear the question.

“When I was 11, it was my first day at a new school and all the other students were also new. The Maths teacher started our first class by asking each of us about our education background (what school we came from, what they taught in our last year’s Maths class etc.), just trying to get a general idea of what kind of students he was dealing with.”

“Thing is, I was so nervous that I spaced out for a bit and got lost in my overthinking mind, so I didn’t hear the teacher’s questions to my classmates. When it got to my turn, the teacher just said ‘Now tell me about you’, assuming I understood what kind of information he was expecting.

“I just went straight into a monologue that started with ‘So I was born in the South Zone of the city, but my mom decided to move to our current neighborhood a few months after divorcing my dad…’.”

“And went on and on giving some very specific details about my short life. Everyone had a really confused look on their faces and as soon as I realized the teacher was also completely lost I stopped talking and went instantly red.”

“The teacher then said ‘that’s all really great, but I was only interested in what happened last year, not the last 10…’ and everyone started laughing.”

“Next day nobody remembered it anymore, but 12 years later it still comes to mind in pretty random moments.” – alexgvincent

A random hand shake.

“Freshman year of high school. It was one of those days before school starts and you meet your teacher and your parents are there.”

“My teacher was handing me a piece of paper and I didn’t see the paper so I shook his hand. He said ‘oh’ and my mom said ‘Ummm?’ and I panicked and said ‘I just wanted to be polite!’”

“So I still want to die when I think of that…..” – spaztasticnerd

“That’s actually a good recovery.” – AggressiveSpud

“Same happened to me at the AirPort. She held her hand out for my boarding pass, I shook it instead.” – bleachyanus

Couldn’t hold it.

“Bruh I can’t even begin to pinpoint one event.”

“I guess one thing is when I was 11, I asked my teacher if I could go to the bathroom three times during class and told me no. And well, sure enough, I couldn’t hold it any longer and there’s bullying for the next six months. Literally shakes me in bed about how I have never felt that low before.”

“SOMEHOW I managed to live through it though lol. We all got flaws. Mine is a bladder that urinates prematurely.” – RealisticYogurt6

Karaoke gone wrong.

“I was visiting Portland for a wedding that lined up with my birthday as well. We went out to celebrate and finished the night at a karaoke bar.”

“Realizing I’m too drunk to sing I pick ‘My Name Is’ by Eminem as my song to perform. There’s two versions of that song. One is the original release, the other tamed down (which you most commonly hear today).”

“The woman controlling the music put on the original, and off I went. One of the lines at the end is ‘running over lesbians in a spaceship while they screamin at me lets just be friends’.”

“I finish the song and I’m met by applause from my friends and one other table. The rest of the place is silent.”

“The DJ goes ‘nice job! Don’t know if it was the best choice for gay women’s night though’. And at that moment I wanted to leave my skin.” – johngannon8

This AskReddit post had over 96 thousand likes, so trust us when we say you’re not alone.

Take it from Redditor MayorScotch who commented:

“I think that is the key takeaway from these stories. No one remembers them but you.”

Let the memory fade knowing you’re the only one holding onto it.

Therapists Divulge Their Biggest ‘Holy Sh*t’ Moments With Their Patients

Going to therapy is the first big step you should take if you feel like your mental health needs assistance.

If you need it, do it. Don’t be ashamed.

That being said, there is a lot therapists have to deal with on a daily basis, not all of it good. Sometimes they can’t help but judge the people they’re trying to help.

It’s not explicitly said, and from the sounds of it they maintain their professionalism, but sometimes that’s what the internet is best used for—venting your frustrations about what awful people your clients are.

Reddit user, homowithoutsapiens, wanted to know what happens when the hour starts.

They asked:

“Therapists of reddit, what was your biggest “I know I’m not supposed to judge you but holy sh*t” moment?”

Trying To Inform Them Of The Proper Way To Cope

“I work with youth and adolescents who have anxiety, trauma, and/or depression. Some of the kids I worked with had some pretty severe attachment issues. Regardless of this, I never thought I’d have to seriously explain:”

“You can’t just buy a straitjacket for your kid.”

“Feeding your kid ultra Spicy Ramen each night instead of the meal everyone else is eating isn’t specifically defined as abuse, but you have to understand the emotional abuse that this causes.”

“Your kid isn’t trying to kill you because they stand in your doorway at night crying. Thats likely because they’re scared of their traumatic nightmares, but feel like you will just yell at them if they wake you up.” ~ Shozo_Nishi

That’s The Opposite OF Social Distancing.

“Here’s my most recent one: As the pandemic worsened here in the US and more lock downs are on their way, one of my most extroverted clients and I brainstormed ways to meet her social needs while remaining safe.”

“The following week she canceled her session and told me that she’s positive for COVID after attending an orgy, which definitely wasn’t one of our ideas. I let out the deepest most defeated sigh after I hung up the phone.” ~ gyakutai

You Are Allowed To Move On

“Not a judgment – you kind of train your brain not to judge, because you are seeking to understand and help. When you do those things, you can’t simultaneously judge. We could all use a little more of that in real life, I suppose.”

“I’ll share this though. I do feel concerned about this recent phenomenon of young people I worked with self-diagnosing, sharing, and identifying very closely with mental illness; as if the pendulum quickly swung from ‘never, ever share your feelings’ to ‘OMG, you’re depressed? All of us are too!’”

“Life’s challenges can be tough and they don’t need a scientific-sounding label to be valid and real. You are not your diagnosis. We can find validation and support in healthier ways.” ~ Reddit

Take. Care. Of. Your. Child.

“Clinical psychologist working primarily in forensics here. This means my clients are usually involves in legal proceedings (family court, juvenile court, criminal court, etc…)”

“My job is usually to evaluate or provide treatment. I’m not there to judge, that’s the judges job, but of course I have my thoughts.”

“I am usually impressed by the justifications people make for sh-tty behavior. The one that irks me the most is when parents manipulate their child against the other parent.”

“I’ve had to do therapy for a 5yo who said she doesn’t want to see a parent because they haven’t paid child support. Excuse me? What 5yo knows, understand, or needs to be worried about child support.” ~ FriktionalTales

Aware Of Your Own Shortcomings

“Once had a patient whose wife shook their baby to death. He wanted help reconnecting with his wife.”

“At the time I was a young father of a newborn myself, and he triggered a lot of fear in me for my own child, a deep loathing of his spouse, and pity (the ‘how pathetic’ kind) for the patient.”

“I tried for 3 sessions, met his spouse and everything before handing the case over to my supervisor (who knew about my initial reactions, and tried to help me through it).”

“Unfortunately, it ended up being more about my feelings than his, and I was new to the profession at the time. These things are expected to crop up from time to time, but I was still taken aback by my own reactions.” ~ PrimeGuard

A Serious Lack Of Support At Home

“I work in mental health and have worked in acute and crisis settings for the majority of my career. The most notable event I experienced was when a young person had presented with significant ongoing suicidal ideation who was dealing with a lot of sh*t.”

“I spent a lot of time with them mostly deescalation and working out what the plan should be moving forward.”

“One of their parents came in a little while later and I had the opportunity to speak to them about where their child was and what had been going on, with their consent of course.”

“Midway through me trying to explain some of the psychological constructs and ways the parent could help they said to me, ‘is this going to take much longer I have a show to go and watch’.”

“All I can say is, I never judge my patients, I have never walked their path or viewed the world through their eyes. But the people around them who perpetuate the suffering of the people I work with through ignorance, malice and selfishness, I judge them.” ~ Tedkin

Seriously. Why Dunk On Your Child Getting The Help They Need?

“Therapist here,”

“To piggy back on what others have said, it is highly unlikely for me to have moments where I judge my clients. It happens sometimes, but I’m able to shut down those thoughts quickly in my head and return to being present for the people I see.”

“People are so incredibly complex that my judgment wouldn’t have any meaning anyway and it doesn’t have a place in our work together.”

“I will admit though, something that does get me feeling a little salty is when I have a client’s parent that attempts to sabotage the therapeutic relationship I have with their child, or pulling them out of therapy entirely when some of the things we talk about challenges some potentially unhealthy family dynamics. I don’t feel anger toward the parents, mostly I feel bad for the kid.” ~ dirtyberti

I’m Here To Help, But You All Suck

“Lots of people discussing pedophilia as an example of the toughest stuff to not judge despite our training. I haven’t yet treated a pedophile thankfully. At least not an identified one.”

“I did run a men’s anger management group though, and some of those men had done some terrible things to women. Most of them I found ways to like and admire for their positive aspects, but there were two guys in that group I just could never find ‘unconditional positive regard’ for.”

“One guy basically never spoke in group. He would give one word answers and occasionally just discuss how unfair the ‘system’ was to him. I worked really hard to open him up and find things to connect over but he never opened up to me or the group.”

“He left the group after he strangled his girlfriend and went to jail. She survived thankfully.”

“The other left group early routinely, showed up late, participated minimally and similarly never wanted to open up honestly. He left early one group after we had discussed him staying to the end and threatened me when I told him he wasn’t going to get credit for attendance (something the court required).”

“Oddly, I eventually moved into the apartment below him (completely without knowledge) and listened to him scream at his girlfriend and break sh*t while I called the cops.”

“I judge these men. They’re sh-tty. Maybe they’re redeemable, but redemption requires self-exploration and they both refused to do so.”

“It’s worth noting how differently I felt about them than so many others in the group; men I found ways to help and admire and respect even in spite of their awful behavior in the past.” ~ MyFianceMadeMeJoin

People Are Too Down On Themselves

“Okay, real therapist here. I got one.”

“Some of my clients are SHOCKINGLY BAD at giving themselves credit, holy sh*t!!

“Like they might get a nearly straight A GPA in a brutal major while battling depression, or overcome years of phobia and get behind the wheel again, or write a literal novel, or raise a kid as a single parent with low income, or build new relationships after being burned, or cope with OCD well enough to hold down a job.”

“And they’ll talk about themselves as if everyone on earth is better than them, as if their accomplishments are worthless. And I know it’s because of depression or anxiety or another condition, but I’m often stunned by how differently I see them compared to how they see themselves.” ~ Reddit

Don’t be afraid to share with your doctor.

That’s what they are there for.

Get the help you need.

People Divulge Their Weirdly Interesting Family Facts

Families are full of all kinds of secrets and surprising moments, and it’s important that we keep them in the family.

But sometimes, in the anonymity of a Reddit thread, some of the truth comes out.

Redditor QueenMoogle asked:

“What are some weird or interesting facts about your families?”

There was talk of family trees.

“I placed my newborn for adoption (open adoption, chose the family myself). A few years later my sister got pregnant and placed her newborn with the same family.”

“So the children are growing up as siblings and are cousins by blood. (This was over 20 years ago.)” – ihateknickknacks

“Not that unheard of but my husband likes to tell people about when he first met my family. He went with me to visit one side (my Mother’s family) for Thanksgiving and met many of my Uncles, Aunts, and cousins.”

“The next day, we were going to have Thanksgiving on my other side (my Father’s family). When we walked in the door that next day, he stopped and his eyes got really wide, and he loudly whispered, “These are the same people,’ and I went, ‘Yeah, I know… surprise!’”

“My mother’s brother married my father’s sister and my mother’s other sister married my father’s first cousin.”

“And then if that isn’t confusing enough, my Grandmother and Grandfather were first cousins when they got married. (legal as he was adopted as a teenager).”

“My Grandmother said she did this so she never had to change her last name and she was the only girl short enough for him. My Grandfather was only 5 ft 2 inches and my Grandmother was 5 ft. Both came from Canada. Out of their 8 children, including two sons, the tallest is one of my aunts at 5 ft. 4 in. Luckily my mother (5 ft) married my dad who was 6ft 2 inch so we at least have some height in our family.” – Tbjkbe

“We recently found out that I have at least 5 half-siblings because my parents decided it would be nice (and financially beneficial) for my dad to make some donations around the time I was born.” – BananaMantis

Some had some tough family history to accept. 

“My great grandfather got in a fight with his sister when he was 12, said ‘F**k this,’ asked for work on a boat as a cabin boy, got on a ship, and left England.”

“He never went back. We have no idea if that side of the family even knows he survived, but I kind of want to go to the English town and tell my distantly extended family, ‘So you know that little kid in your family history who just sort of disappeared? Well, he lived! Surprise!’”

“Another great grandfather stole a cannon from China (which my grandfather blew up accidentally with my dad nearby), then left his future descendants a letter, telling us, ‘If you still have this last name and go to this part of China, don’t mention your name. They might still be pretty p**sed off that I stole their cannon.’”

“A few generations back, a dude got kicked out of Norway for getting his maid and his sister pregnant. When he got to the US, he then befriended another guy from Scandinavia and stole his wife.”

“It’s funny because part of the family laughs about this, and part refuses to admit it ever happened even though we have proof it did.” – Vonozar

“My great grandmothers maiden name was Messerschmidt. rumor has it that a relative designed the Messerschmidt planes in Germany during the first world war. There’s no way to prove it though.”

“And on the other side of the family, My great-great grandfather’s name was James Potter.” – shroomie19

“My great uncle was in the car with JFK when he was assassinated.” – Sterling_-_Archer

“My grandfather was the first Black aerospace engineer in the United States.” – cycloneju51

“My great grandparents both worked for Thomas Edison, which is how they met. That great-grandmother is super bada**, too… she came to the States when she was 15 and didn’t speak English, just as the German Depression was getting bad.”

“She had to teach herself English and raise enough money to bring her starving family over from Germany to join her here. She lost all her savings in the US stock market crash and had to start all over, but she did it!”

“Okay, I talked to my mom and I was mistaken. Only my great-grandmother worked for him originally, and she met my great-grandfather while in NYC with Edison and his second wife.”

“She went out with a friend who was also German, who brought her out with a group of German friends, which is where she met my great-grandfather. After they were married, he too went to work for Edison, and that’s where I got the story mixed up. I’m sorry for the error!”

“Also, a commenter asked how they thought of him, since Edison was known as kind of a jerk. I copied my reply from another comment here:”

“So I asked my mom, and she said that her grandmother never felt he liked her very much. She was maid to him and his second wife toward the end of his life.”

“When she brought him meals or came in to tidy up, he wouldn’t speak to her and wouldn’t even make eye contact.”

“He was able to be up and walking around the grounds and conversing with others though, and he always wondered if it was because of her station, or because she was German.” – joey1115

Others were incredibly impressed by their family histories. 

“We only die in March. Dogs, grandparents, uncles, we all die in March.” – AnarchyBea

“I had an ancestor who lied about his age to join up with the Union Army in the American Civil War in 1861. He fought in most of its bloodiest battles: Antietam, Shiloh, and Gettysburg to name a few.”

“He survived all of those to come home to the family farm at the end of the war, where he promptly died of a fever he had picked up in camp.” – captainthomas

“My grandad was poisoning my nan’s tea with rat poison for ages. She was documenting it and told the police, they did a huge bust on him and arrested him in front of all their kids (inc. my mum).”

“In court, he admitted to it, he agreed to all the charges, he did the deed. Eventually, the judge, flummoxed, asked ‘… But why?’”

“And his answer was, ‘Because we agreed to it.’”

“Apparently, they had made an agreement to use rat poison to home-treat her deep vein thrombosis (this brand was basically a blood thinner so the rats couldn’t clot when they got injured, and they both distrust doctors). This woman is crazy and I fully believe my grandad’s side.”

“The case got thrown out of court.” – Howlingz

While some secrets are hard for us to accept, especially when they relate to our families, many of the truths in our families are what helped form our families into what they are, from the family tree itself to important involvement in history.

Former Flat Earthers Explain Why They Finally Came Around

Despite hard evidence the earth is NOT flat, many naysayers, known as “flat earthers” insist our planet is not at all spherical, whatsoever.

And if they could, they would go to the ends of the earth to prove it. But none ever have, because, well, they’ll wind up right where they started in their quest to prove their ridiculous point.

But among those who proclaim our planet is as flat as a stale slice of flatbread, some have come to their senses.

So how did these people manage to undo what they were so convinced of was not possible?

Strangers online revealed how they saw the light or made flat earthers accept reality when Redditor jbarms asked:

“Former Flat Earthers. What made you come round?”

Explaining Basic Concepts

“I talked to a flat-earther about my job working for a company that tracks ship locations, routes, and speeds by satellite. We also had ways of monitoring carbon emissions based on fuel consumption and known weather conditions.”

“None of this would work at all if the earth was flat. Not a jot of it.”

“I could only explain the most basic concepts, but it was enough for him to understand and realise that I was right and that he’d been convinced by someone who had no practical experience of the spherical nature of the Earth.”

“I think that’s what really did it – my experience was really tangible. This happens then this happens then we measure this etc etc… no theory, just practice.”

“A bit like showing a child a rock dropping to the ground in order to explain gravity, rather than giving them the whole theoretical shebang. Y’know?” – Administrative-Task9

A Competing Theory

“The mobius strip earthers had more compelling arguments.” – jnhummel

A Timely Realization

“Quote I got from somewhere…”

“for 5 years I believed the Earth was flat, then I turned 6” – -QED-

It Was Worth A Try

“I convinced a flat earther, temporarily, by asking him if it was possible for a sphere to be so large that you could not tell it was a sphere my simply being on the surface of it.”

“It took him a while, I used an analogy of a extremely long line that was so slightly curved you could not tell so by looking at a small section of it.”

“Eventually he said yes to the sphere and I told him that was how big the earth is. A few days later he reverted, most of these people aren’t mentally stable, they believe in a lot of conspiracies.”

“Corny edit, but as connoisseur of flat earth content my personal favorite is Professor Dave on YouTube. He is a underappreciated dude who just had a Science channel on YouTube and got brigaded by flat earthers for an unrelated video.”

“He made like 6 video responses in total just owning these guys but they eventually gave up. Check it out.” – McClain3000

A Foolproof Method

“What I like to do is use telescopes. This telescope is strong enough to see distant stars and galaxies, yes? Okay, look out this direction across the ocean. Can you see Europe?” – HavanosArcova

Possible Profitability If True

“Look, it’s really easy:”

“If the Earth is flat, there would be an edge(s). And there would be a f’king Disney park at the edge, and we could bungie jump off the side and paraglide into the void etc etc.”

“Someone would be making an absolute sh*t ton of money off of it – if it existed.”

“Guess what? Nobody is doing that – adn in this world where absolutely everything is exploited for profit – if no one is making money off of it – it does.not.exist. No edge. Not flat. Get a clue.” – Gedwyn19

Approach With Kindness

“I watched a documentary about flat earthers called ‘Truth behind the curve’ and my analysis from watching that these flat earthers are a group of people who found a community to be a part of.”

“It’s a shame their community is based on a lie, but I saw a bunch of people who were to be part of A community.”

“Most of the people were social awkward and whatnot, and so an opportunity to be an influential figure within the community so they double down on their flawed logic.”

“The more against you are of them, the harder they rep their flatness.” – imthatguydavid

“I was debating a flat earther in Mexico, and I asked him about how GPS worked if there were no satellites. He said that they had devices in the ground to route you.”

“I told him the Mexican government is barely able to put decent water pipes in the ground; would he really think they had the tech to put routing devices in the ground?”

“He chuckled with a thousand mile gaze.” – mzaouar

The Authority On All Things Space

“A serious answer here.”

“The thing that made me stop was just the question ‘why would nasa lie to you.’”

“I will try replying to all of yall but will go to a study hall so ill reply later.” – The_Holy_Fork

Impossible Secret

“This a solid point, there’s no way 70,000 scientist could keep it a secret.” – needsmoreusername

“That’s the biggest reason for me to not believe so many conspiracy theories, especially major ones like a Flat Earth… We know how often things leak about everything, and suddenly a collection of 10s of thousands of people are all gonna keep this one big secret?” – JerHat

“Flat earth is absolutely sh*t tier. It not only fails on the level you described, but also: why? Why pretend the shape of the earth is different than it is? When does someone convene a high level meeting to circulate that idea?” – heseme

Some Deep Digging

“I spent about a year infiltrating the flat Earth community on Instagram. I garnered a decent following with an account dedicated to flat earth travel photos (an intentionally absurd premise). In that time I learned a quite a bit about the community including how to discern the trolls from the real deal.”

“The majority of legit flat earthers are extremely distrustful of anything the government says or does. These same people are 9/11 truthers, Holocaust deniers, and anti-vaxxers and they connect these conspiracies together.”

“Many of them have also attached flat Earth theory to religion, magic, or mysticism. Before my infiltration I’d always considered conspiracies fun. Like they were the fan fiction of real life. Now they mostly make me sad.”

“For all the phony accounts like mine, there are still plenty of people out there willing to drop a couple of hundred dollars on a flat Earth convention.” – Zelph_Onandagus

The Trip Confirmed It

“Had to travel to Japan, gave up on my beliefs in order to make a shorter trip.” – uvzla792

Based on some of the comments above, it is entirely possible to change the minds of people who have pretty much been rejected from society and found acceptance from a community with whom they shared the same flawed logic.

It may have taken some hard convincing, but eventually, they flat-out came ’round.

People Share The Facts That Were Hidden From Them As Children

Breaking:

It has come to our attention that in most places it is NOT, in fact, illegal to have your vehicle’s interior cabin light on at night.

It’s just really distracting and annoying.

Some day some parents decided it was just easier to say it was illegal and it kind of stuck since then. Parents have just been out here telling kids half-truths like it’s literal law.

Reddit user jagenton25 asked: 

“What’s a fact that was hidden from you as a child?”

I know I just said half-truths, but some of these are outright lies—and outright brilliant.

Official Policies

“It is actually not the official policy of Wonderland (large amusement park near where I grew up) that you are only allowed to visit once per year.”

“I’m not mad, I actually think it was hilarious that my parents convinced us of this.”

– pm-a-surprise

“My parents let us believe that you were only allowed to go to Chuck E Cheese on your birthday (or your sister’s birthday, I guess).”

– kaleidoverse

“As a parent who had to pay for Wonderland…. this is amazing.”

– QueenA68

The Trade-In Program

“There isn’t a trade-in program to bring in old legos to get new ones. Some f*cker just stole all my legos from our parked car and my parents told me this so I would not be sad.”

“I hope he experienced the small parts choking hazard himself, the c*nt.”

– Buroda

“I know they’re expensive, but there has to be a special place in hell for someone who steals Legos.”

“You have to know you’re stealing from a child. What a piece of sh*t…”

– JADW27

Special Tailored

“Birthday Suits are not real suits.”

“Growing up in a household where the attire was a cross between business attire and church clothes, I always assumed the term Birthday Suit was a special tailored suit that was given to you on your birthday.”

– brokenturle

“Yeah. I made this mistake, except I made it when I was older and working.”

“I was so excited about going out for my 21st birthday with my brand new outfit. I told everyone I was going to wear my birthday suit.”

“A coworker had to pull me aside and tell me what it was. He was almost in tears from laughing so hard at me.”

“I still say it though because it’s funny and a great memory.”

– WeHaveGuns

That’s Illegal – Or Is It?

“That playing around with the interior lights while in a moving vehicle is actually legal… It’s just annoying.”

– Atomic_Chad

“I thought this was illegal until even after college.”

“Thanks, Mom and Dad. So many times it would have been helpful to turn the inside light on while I’ve been in the car in the dark!”

– Kartash

“My whole life is a lie!!!”

– ABotchedVasectomy

“My parents were the same. They would freak out if I turned it on.”

“I found out after turning 16 that it was because the windshield of our van became a f*cking mirror when a light was turned on inside while it dark outside.”

“Couldn’t see a f*cking thing.”

– gslwbfianf

Steve

“I grew up thinking I had a 6th sibling—a stillborn brother named Steve.”

“My older brothers told me about ‘Steve’ when I was about five, and I didn’t believe them, so I went to verify this information with my mother.”

“My mother has run a tutoring business out of our house for as long as I’ve been alive. She’s usually exceptionally busy; I think she had about eight students when I went to ask her.”

“My mom had five young kids. We were poor. She was always hustling and exceptionally busy.”

“She didn’t have time to deal with our crap while she was tutoring, and we mostly just asked her if we could get food and she would usually respond yes.”

“So I ask her whether I had a sixth sibling named Steve. She doesn’t even look up.”

“She just says something like “Yeah, yeah, now go play somewhere else.”

“I, of course, take this as unequivocal proof that Steve existed and that he was dead. It came from my mother’s own mouth, after all.”

“I believe this for the next decade. I only think about poor stillborn Steve once in a while on his supposed birthday, and I don’t bring it up again for eleven years.”

“I was at a debate tournament with my brother, hanging out with all my closest friends, when we start talking about dead family members.”

“Somebody’s grandmother is dead. Somebody lost their brother. I mention I have a dead brother, too. His name was Steve.”

“And then this uncomfortable exchange happens in front of everyone.”

“‘Who’s Steve?’ my brother asks.”

“‘Our stillborn brother, remember?’”

“‘Huh?’”

“‘You told me about him when I was five?’”

“A slow grin spreads across my brother’s face. I know this grin. Everyone in my family calls it his Chinese Devil Grin because it means trouble.”

“‘Wait,’ he says. ‘You’ve believed that for eleven years!? We made that up’.”

“‘But mom confirmed it!’”

“‘Nope. Totally made up. I can’t believe you actually thought that for eleven years!’”

“I’m not going to explain what happened afterward, but people called me ‘Steve’ for weeks. Also, I double-checked with my mother. There was no Steve.”

“So the fact that I DIDN’T have a brother named Steve was hidden from me as a child, I guess.”

– Thomhobbes

That One Tomato Plant

“My parents were gardeners.”

“We were pretty poor, so we did subsistence gardening and ate out of that garden most of the summer, and fished for protein.”

“BUT they also grew this herb, which looked a lot like tomato plants.”

“That’s what I thought it was—except it never grew tomatoes and was kept in a separate garden.”

“I did finally catch on, but it took a while.”

“Young mary jane plants look a lot like young tomato plants. My folks were hippies who had a very decent crop, which I now understand in retrospect.” 

– calcaneus

“We had a huge garden, but my father always kept one tomato plant growing in a lighted box in the basement closet.”

– Rosyshortcake

“The funny thing is it kind of smells like tomato plants, too. Oh, and they also have nearly identical nutritional requirements.”

– Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce

I Ain’t Afraid Of No Magic

“My dad had a 45rpm of the Ghostbusters theme song. He would play it for my brothers and I, and then say that he was magic and he would make the words disappear.”

“He would pick the record up, shake it around, say some magic words, and put it back on the record player.”

“Lo and behold, when the song started playing again, there were no vocals.”

“It blew our minds! Our dad really knew a magic trick!”

“Then I forgot about it for 15 years.”

“My dad decides he wants to get rid of most of his record collection, and asks me if I wanted any before he gave them away.”

“So, I’m sorting through the stack of 45s and there it is; The Ghostbusters theme! I excitedly hold it up, and remember the magic trick.”

“Then I flip it over and see that the B-Side was the instrumental version.”

“Of course I burst into laughter at the realization that I fell for such a simple trick. But I still had to confront Dad.”

“So, I bust into the kitchen all serious and toss him the disc.”

“I said accusingly: ‘what’s this!?’”

“‘Uh….The Ghostbusters theme song?’”

“‘Yeah, and what’s the B-Side?’”

“‘The instrumental version?’”

“‘Magic words my ass!’”

“The memory suddenly clicked and he started laughing hysterically. I guess it was something we had all forgotten.”

– ChuckZombie

So now that you’ve had some time to recover from the shock of that whole interior light thing, and you’ve read through what Reddit has to say, it’s your turn at the mic.

What truths did your family hide from you as a kid?

People Describe The Most Unappetizing Food They’ve Ever Eaten

Food is an integral part of our lives, serving both to sustain our bodies and to delight our senses.

Not all food is created equal, though.

Sometimes our senses are tormented rather than delighted.

Redditor phillygirllovesbagel asked:

“What’s the worst food you’ve ever tried?”

Knock-off Chain Restaurants Are Bad News

“I was visiting Fort Huachuca, AZ for work (not in the military).”

“They have a knock-off Panda Express there. Identical menu with different names. Like those bootleg KFCs in China that are identical to KFC but it’s ‘Kevin’s Funky Chicken’ or something.”

“Anyhow, I’m hungry, bootleg Panda seems like a good deal. I order up the usual. Chinese food, like pizza, gets pretty wide latitude. Even if it’s lousy, it’s not that bad.”

“This was straight-up inedible. I don’t even have the words to describe it. Just gristle and batter all fried together.”

“Ended up just tossing the whole thing out and going to Burger King.” -Deadlifts_n_Riffs

Home Cooking Can Be Dangerous Too

“my own chicken, honey, lemon concoction which was less ‘Italian summer’ and more like fisherman’s friend lozenge.” -Candy_Lawn

“Reminds me of the time I tried to make up my own orange-juice-based reduction/sauce thing for chicken and pasta. I don’t know what made me think I had any idea how to make that work. It did not work.” -super_aardvark

The Chili That Wasn’t

“There was a week where my mom was out so my dad had to cook for my brother and I. His first day he made chili. By chili I mean that he browned some beef, threw it in a pot with water and added one single packet of chili seasoning to the water and served it to us.”

“We had frozen pizza the rest of the week.” DrGingeyy

“I’m impressed he browned the beef first, that’s a common overlooked thing with first-time cooks.” –satooshi-nakamooshi

“Ah, watery ground beef soup–a college dorm classic.”

“That it was followed with frozen pizza only makes me more certain this exact sequence has played out on thousands of college campuses across the globe.” -drewhead118

“We have a chili cook-off at work every year before Christmas. There is usually 10 or so entries and 6 are really good, two are okay and two are absolute war crimes. Beef, water, chili packet, chopped and uncooked onions and green peppers and a can of beans.”

“It’s like badly flavored chili soup. I don’t know who makes them, but I feel horrible for their family.” -SafewordisJohnCandy

It Is Technically A Loaf Of Meat

“My ex MIL’s meatloaf. She literally just pressed ground beef into a square baking pan and threw it in the oven. Zero spices. Zero anything but hot ground beef.”

“She also made ‘baked spaghetti’ which was cooked spaghetti noodles with plain tomato sauce in a pan and baked.”

“Her cooking made me realize why I had to twist my ex’s arm to try REAL meatloaf and baked ziti the way it’s supposed to be made.” -SugarHooves

World’s Worst Burger?

“In the Dominican Republic, there is a mountain in Puerto Plata called Isabel de Torres. On that mountain there is a restaurant. That restaurant sells the worst goddamn burgers you will ever eat in your life.” -JoshPoshTheGreat

“Ok this is so f*cking oddly specific, I need more details.” -ThirdFloorNorth

“I actually came to say this. Amazingly, I’ve had these burgers twice. The second time we didn’t plan well and assumed the first time was a fluke. Fool me once…” -Semi-Pro_Biotic

“It’s incredible that 2 people both find the same obscure restaurant’s burgers so memorably bad but you guys GOTTA elaborate on the actual burger.” -JeromesDream

“Funny enough, I’m in Puerto Plata right now. I was going to take the cable car to the top of the mountain so I could take pics, give the play by play. However, the attraction doesn’t reopen until I leave. I wanted to go full metal Reddit, but whatever.”

“From memory, the beef in the Caribbean comes from a different species in the Bos genus than what is common in the US. The flavor is different, closer to farmed venison.”

“Side effect or intentional, it’s about 95-99% lean. Take that meat, ground coarse, make a very thin patty, cook it so that it doesn’t stick to the griddle, basically steams in it’s own moisture.”

“Throw that on a Latin roll, leafy lettuce, cheap tomato, gas station condiments. The sliced onion is the shining star.”

“Onions here are very good, sweet but tasty. The ultimate injustice then is when you bite, the texture is pasty and rubbery at the same time. Hope that helps.” -Semi-Pro_Biotic

“Jellied Salad” Says All You Need To Know

“Jellied salad.”

“Lots of my family still thinks aspics are a necessity for family dinners so there’ll usually be a variety of jellied salads. Tomato salad, shredded cabbage salad, usually some kind of weird olive and hard boiled egg combo for some reason.”

“All sitting on their plates, perfectly rectangular, wiggling away…” -LycheeEyeballs

“My mother constantly posts pictures on facebook for sole reason of grossing people out. The spagettio’s one that looked like a bunt cake got me.” -WinksAtLemons

“I didn’t know that people actually ate that stuff. I really thought they were a joke until this year.” -crackhappy

“My family has an orange one with veggies (canned corn or similar) and marshmallows.” -TheRealKestrel

Don’t Eat Rancid Meat

“On New Year’s day a few years ago, my dad bought ribs to make for dinner. Upon taking my first bite, I spit it out immediately.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever spit food out like that other than this one time. It turned out they were totally rancid, and to this day I still can’t eat ribs. Thankfully, none of us actually got sick.” -that-nerd

“I smoke ribs often. I’ve been going to my butcher for 10 years and never had an issue.”

“Over the 4th of July, I bought 3 racks of baby backs to smoke for the family up at the cabin. I thawed them out in the fridge.”

“Opened up the vacuum pack and it was the absolute worst smell in the history of smells. Pure f’king sulfur smell.

“Almost 5 months later, I can still smell it in my nose. I don’t know what the hell happened or even if they were edible but at that point, there was no cooking them. In the trash they went.”

“I had to air my cabin out for a solid 7-8 hours.” -DC4MVP

At Least She Tried

“My mom made this thing when i was younger called cheeseburger pie. no clue what box she got it from but my god did 9-year-old me not enjoy it.”

“I just thought it was a deconstructed cheeseburger, but no, there were like five other things in there and nothing made sense together.”

“She also made meatloaf a few weeks later and it was drier than the damn Sahara desert. never again.” -spacepharmacy

“My mom is a very good cook, but once she decided to make a recipe from the back of the Bisquick box, it was called impossible cheeseburger pie. The idea was that the bicuit mix was supposed to rise to the top and create something like a shepherd’s pie but with a dumpling topping instead of mashed potatoes.”

“After we all tried to choke some down, mom apologized, threw it in the trash, and we had waffles or something for dinner. Impossible cheeseburger pie became a running joke in our family. I wonder if that’s what you had.” -strum_and_dang

The Worst Flan

“I was in France and stopped by a place in Paris. I had been traveling for several months and missed Mexican food.”

“When the owner found out I was Mexican she insisted I try the flan she just made as a first attempt. The food was pretty alright, not like home but it hit the spot. She brought out the flan and stood there expectantly waiting for my response.”

“It was absolutely the worst flan I had ever had in my life. Like it just tasted bad. Like eggs that were off.”

“I couldn’t hide my reaction and she became visibly upset. I ate a little more to be polite but just couldn’t anymore.”

“I told her I’m just very picky and suggested a few things as I had worked in a bakery that had made some in the past (aside from family recipes). I gave her my contact info and a few weeks later got an email thanking me.”

“A group of Mexican musicians came through and told her while it wasn’t traditional it was very tasty and had a good texture and that any time I was back to please stop by for a meal on the house.”

“Unfortunately the next time I was back the place had closed down.” -Malignantrumor99

Let It Ripen First

“Unripe persimmon. It tastes ok but the tannins in the fruit, if not properly soft and ripe, make your mouth immediately feel fuzzy, like your tongue is shot with novocaine.”

“A completely unexpected mouth feel where your immediate reaction is ‘Get this out of my mouth NOW!’ Now i know!” -1_art_please

One can only hope to never experience any of the dreadful foods in this list.

Food’s primary purpose may be to sustain our bodies, but there’s no reason eating it should have to be a chore.

People Share The Most Useless Advice They Ever Received

As we come up to new milestones, we may find ourselves face-to-face with a life experience we don’t know how to navigate.

While this reasonably will lead us to ask those around us for advice, that doesn’t necessarily mean the advice we will receive will actually be useful.

Redditor PsychedelicAirFusion asked:

“What’s the worst advice you have ever received?”

Some Redditors discussed mental health.

“‘Don’t be depressed, you have nothing to be depressed about.’”

“I hate any advice, especially concerning mental health, that invalidates or considers anyone’s personal situation as a reason why they can’t have x condition.”

“Yes, I had a good home life and a good childhood. But that doesn’t make my brain produce more dopamine or serotonin. I can’t just ‘get over it’ or stop feeling sad.”

“I was encouraged by my mom to stop taking my medication because it would have ‘long-term effects’ on me. She may not be wrong, but I think perpetual sadness and depression are worse.”

“I took control of my own mental health once I realized it wasn’t shameful to do so. It was way later than it needed to be. I’m doing better but there are still things I need to work on.” – dawrina

“‘Don’t go on meds, just exercise’ for depression.”

“Meds ended up practically saving my life.” – Introvertedpanda3

“My mom told me not to ‘bother’ one of my boyfriends by talking about my mental health issues. She said he doesn’t need to hear about it and it’ll just overwhelm him and make him more likely to break up with me.”

“I ignored that advice, and my current boyfriend and I frequently talk about our mental health issues and it makes us stronger.” – mrwilliamschue

There was a mention of addiction.

“When I realized I was an alcoholic at 21, I opened up to a friend and they said, ‘We’re supposed to be young and wild and free! There’s nothing wrong with that!’”

“I lost 3 more years of my life to drinking and a suicide attempt before I got sober at 24 – I’ll have 3 years in February! (No thanks to her)” – OrganizationQuiet470

Some received terrible relationship advice. 

“To break up with the girl I was dating because I felt unsure about it.”

“From there she became my girlfriend, I moved in with her, we moved to a bigger house, got married, and took a dog and now we plan for children.”

“Meanwhile, most of those friends only had short-lived relationships with long single periods for years. I think they are the ones doing something wrong.” – Lvcivs2311

“‘You weren’t physically abused so just get over it, it wasn’t that bad.’”

“Bro, I was mentally, verbally, and financially abused for two years straight by someone who was supposed to love me.”

“He pointed out insecurities I didn’t even realize I had, putting my self-esteem so low that for literally the first time in my life, I started to have very intense suicidal thoughts. And now I have an extremely hard time trusting anyone that comes into my life in a romantic sense because I’m convinced that the same thing is going to happen again.”

“I would love to just get over it. I would love to be the person I was before I met my ex. I would love to just have my self-esteem back and love to not to be as anxious as I am.”

“But I’m not. It took me almost a year, and getting back with him briefly to realize it WAS that bad. Maybe he didn’t beat the s**t out of me, but he made me believe that I was someone that wasn’t worthy of love. It was absolutely that bad and it’s going to take a long time before I completely heal from the trauma he caused.” – Pear_Jam2

“Only make friends with people who are of a higher ‘status’ than you are so you can use them to better your situation.”

“This came from my paternal unit (PU) when I was about 15 (in response to a new friendship of mine with the daughter of a cemetery worker*) and I knew it was pure bulls**t the second he said it. Lost all remaining shreds of respect for him in that moment.”

“*his job mattered to the PU, which is the only reason I mention it.” – maggie081670

Others received questionable advice for their futures.

“April 2008 – ‘You should really look into buying a house instead of renting.’ I started the process of getting preapproved and looking, but for some reason decided to wait.” – ioncloud9

“When my wife and I were looking for houses, my manager at the time called to ask how the house hunting was going.”

“At this time, I was rumored to be up for a promotion that would be a rather sizable boost in salary, about $1,200 a month. There was absolutely no guarantee when this promotion could hypothetically take place.”

“He said, ‘Here’s the thing, I could be a finance guy doing this s**t for a living, but I couldn’t stop smoking weed long enough to finish college — don’t buy something that suits you now, because you’re always going to wish you would have gone bigger.’”

“He continued, ‘Buy something that you can grow into. You’re going to be making a lot more money soon, so buy something you almost don’t even feel comfortable buying.’”

“I bought a house well within our means, got promoted a few months later, now have a huge disposable income. Glad I didn’t think his advice was sound.” – Forwardbase_Kodai

“I was told by a guidance counselor as an incoming freshman (who didn’t know me from anyone else, by the way) that taking more than one honors course plus being in Band was too much.”

“My mom was persuaded. I had to fight both of them to ignore the advice. I ended up taking every honors and AP course possible throughout high school, finishing with a perfect 4.0 GPA, then doing the same in college.”

“Don’t take advice on what you should or shouldn’t do from someone who doesn’t know you. Always take into account your personal strengths and weaknesses when considering any advice in life.” – Kooky_Finding8516

While the people expressing these pieces of advice might have been earnest, these definitely weren’t the shiniest gems of advice we’ve ever seen.

The glowing takeaway here seems to be to understand yourself, what you need, what you want and what you’re capable of.

If you remain honest about that, you’ll make a better decision than any of this advice could lead you to.

Workers Divulge The Most Unethical Request Their Boss Ever Made

Most large corporations are built on a ‘leadership’ model that borrows heavily from the military idea of Chain of Command.

The top gives orders, which are followed with increasing levels of detail the further down the chain one goes.

The trouble is that the orders aren’t always proper – or even, in some cases, legal.

Non-disclosure agreements and general embarrassment often keep people from telling these stories but Redditor SethmAR15 decided to use the anonymity of Reddit to ask:

“What’s the most unethical thing a boss has ever asked you to do?”

Someone needed a break.

“Many, many years ago I was working as a part-time mechanic for a guy selling ‘restored cars’.”

“He called me in for an emergency brake repair on a TR-4.”

“One of the rear wheel cylinders had failed and he needed it fixed ASAP.”

“He had a buyer lined up with cash.”

“Instead of having me hone and rebuild the cylinder properly (I had the tools and the kit to do so) he wanted me to cut the pipe to the rear brakes and just crimp it over onto itself, enough to stop the leak.”

“He was in a hurry and wanted it fixed before the customer saw anything.”

“I fixed it properly anyway, so that no one would die, and then rolled my toolbox out of there that very night.” ~ limeycars

The benefit of the doubt.

“Also at Dollar Tree, most of my cashiers were teenagers or dipshits that never showed up for work so this older Korean woman kept getting called in to work the register.”

“She was pretty much getting 40+ hours every week and open season for benefits was getting ready to start.”

“My district manager called me and told me I had to convince her to not get any benefits or else.”

“I told him that else better be him doing that shit himself because I’m not about to do his dirty work.” ~Sol-Blackguy

An executive decision.

“Not me but my dad’s story.”

“1980’s.”

“My dad worked at a small mid-western bank as an executive.”

“One day a fellow executive comes in with several loan applications and says he needs them all approved.”

“My dad looks over them quickly and immediately realizes none of the applicants qualified.”

“If they approved them the loans would go into default within three months and these people would lose their farms.”

“My dad said it wasn’t possible.”

“The other exec says ‘well if you just fudge the numbers it is.’ My father tells him that’s impossible because other exec never walked into his office and they never had this conversation.”

“The other exec nods and takes the papers back.”

“Six months later the FBI raids the bank.”

“My father was the only exec who didn’t go to prison for fraud.” ~ BlackStarCorona

We’re trying to contact you about your car’s extended warranty.

“Similar but different.”

“As a teen, I worked at a car dealership in the service department.”

“At the time, there was a major recall for transmission repairs.”

“They would do fake warranty repair orders on cars that did not need it and came in for other reasons, and bill the manufacturer accordingly.”

“They had to order replacement parts to continue the fraud, and would tell me to take them to a storage room above the parts department.”

“It so happened on my last day there, an auditor was on site for routine audit stuff.”

“In the break room I told him what I knew and left.”

“Fast forward 3 months and the dealership was closed.”

“I probably wouldn’t have said anything if my boss hadn’t been such a dick when I asked for time off to attend my grandfather’s funeral.”

“He thought I was lying and I had to bring in the obit (pre-internet) to keep my job.” ~ RunMelba

Dollar Tree doesn’t play around!

“My old boss at dollar tree would make me drive her to the bank in my car every night.”

“And she would have me park like 10 feet back from the ATM while she walked up to it.”

“She told me that if someone ever tried to run up on her while she was depositing the money I had to run them over.”

“She said if they were too close to her to just hit her as well.”

“She was incredibly adamant that I absolutely HAD to do this and very serious.” ~ durkinbrowns

Expiration dates are suggestions, right?

“Back in a butcher shop portion of a grocery store I worked at.”

“The supervisor asked me to change the date on some burger that wasn’t selling.”

“The day she asked me to do this was the sell-by-date.”

“I even asked her if that was safe/legal.”

“She just tapped her name tag that said supervisor on it and said that was the only thing I needed to worry about.”

“I put new tags on all of the packages while she was there but I didn’t put them on the shelves.”

“After she left for the night I found the store manager and showed him.”

“I showed him the old tags, which were just under the new tags so it was easy to pull them back and prove it. He had me toss the burger down the trash chute and my supervisor was gone from the store by the end of the week.” ~ Nerdfatha

There are always more workers.

“Keep people at work when there was a chemical leak from the car painting shop next door, and people were getting sick.”

“The boss wasn’t on-site (almost never was), I tried calling him and got no answer, and I was the most senior worker on-site so I sent everyone home.”

“When I was almost home (1h+ commute) he called me back.”

“He had gotten my voicemail where I explained the situation and he was not happy.”

“Apparently we should have waited it out or I should have arranged for everyone to work from home (not possible).”

“The guy was a dickhead but this one still makes me angry when I think about it.” ~ipakookapi

Seeing is believing?

“Branch Manager (Banking) asked me to pose in a picture, showing a lot of cleavage, to use on his construction loan website for his builders.”

“He wanted them to ‘see’ who they would be working with in a daily basis so he could get more business.” ~ Hchel25

This sounds like an episode of the Sopranos.

“I had a boss ask to me take a bunch of stock from the warehouse to his personal storage unit, and not to ask any questions …” ~ TJDigital_

What’s a little illegal dumping between coworkers?

“Loaded unknown chemicals into the nose of tractor trailers for out of state transport.”

“I’m sure it was all illegally dumped. Just out of HS I had no idea the scope of what was happening.”

“Nothing was labeled, containers, trailers and manifests all claimed empty containers.” ~ Reddit

It can be very easy to just do what you’re told, to just follow the orders.

Remember though that actions have consequences and to be wary of anyone trying to slide those consequences off their shoulders—and on to yours.

People Divulge Which High School Rumor Turned Out To Be True

The high school rumor mill always seemed to be in full swing.

A few hundred teenagers crammed into one or two buildings was apparently ideal conditions for all sorts of steamy stories and imagined thrills to surface every week or so.

By and large, these stories were false. Or at the very least, wildly embellished.

But every once in awhile, one of them turned out to be true. And that was enough to make us believe all the other tales that flew around the hallways.

Redditor Le_Bayou_Cochon apparently wanted to separate fact from fiction.

He asked:

“What high school conspiracy turned out to be true at your school?”

Of course, sexual rumors were a common go-to. 

“There were rumors about a music teacher and a student, but they were both pretty dramatic people and did very little to dismiss the talk. So half the school wanted to believe it for the salacious thrill and half just waved it off as attention seeking and sh**-talking.”

“Teacher got canned without explanation. Most of us just figured it was budget-related. A math teacher filled in on his music/theater roles.”

“Years later I randomly caught up with the student and she said the rumors were true, she freaked out and tried to end things to shake off the reputation, and eventually the teacher showed up trashed and naked on her family’s front lawn, in the rain, yelling out for her.”

“Like a really fu**ed-up version of John Cusack from Say Anything but with less boombox and more drenched wang.” — Dangercakes13

This rumor spanned more than one school. 

“That our IT teacher slept with his students. He was attractive, young, friendly etc, then suddenly a rumour went around the school that he was sleeping with a 6th former (aged 17/18).”

“He was suspended for a while but then ‘decided to leave’ after he was ‘cleared’ of wrongdoing.”

“He got a new job at my cousins high school across town…he did it again there. Got caught with another 17 year old and was fired shortly after.” — Hot_potatoos

In a couple cases, the ending was rather unexpected. 

“Two of the teachers ‘hooking up’ on a Europe class trip. Gone for a week, came back and the rumours started.”

“Two weeks later a rumour started he got divorced.”

“Last week of school they were spotted at a restaurant together.”

“Looked em up a couple years after graduating. They’re married.” — Gone_cognito

“That one of the cheerleaders was dating one of the teachers (in his 40s). A year after graduation, they got married and had a baby. Still together 11 years later.” — Trailmix

Unfortunately, some other rumors were gruesome. 

“There was a girl freshman year who went missing. She ended up being found dead in the river. There were rumors that she was seen on a bridge with her boyfriend the day she went missing. Nothing was ever found and they assumed it was suicide/ an accident.”

“Fast forward 25 years and the boyfriend murdered his best friend of several decades, set a fire to cover it up, and went on the run. Couple days later he killed a woman at a rest stop in the bathroom to steal her car.”

“They reopened the case about the high school girlfriend. That rumor was correct all along. He will be in prison the rest of his life.” — pomegranatepants99

And some were alarming. 

“Lead in the water.”

“Our high school tap water was dark brown and we weren’t allowed to bring our own waterbottles or get filtered water from the cafeteria without paying $3. We sent hundreds of emails asking the school board to look into it, but they said it was fine.”

“In my senior year, a student did a science fair project on the illegal amount of lead in the tap water, forcing the school to investigate and fix all the taps.” — xJaneyDoe

This example was intriguing—and terrible.

“I attended a newly opened high school that apparently used to be a school for troubled kids. Someone told me there were padded rooms somewhere in the school so I skipped lunch with a friend one day to walk the halls and find them!”

“They did exist, but by next year they were renovated into offices and storage rooms. I thought that was pretty interesting and seriously wondered what went on there before it was turned into a ‘normal’ high school.” — E-macularius

One school was filled with surprises.

Two to be exact.

“That there were tunnels under the school that led to a hidden pool.”

“Confirmed by my father who was a maintenance man for the school district. The tunnels were just utility tunnels, the pool is below the gym floor and was abandoned due to financial reasons.” — pondcypress

In one case, someone tried to hide the past.

“My old math teacher was a WWF wrestler, i recognized him from my childhood days channel surfing and couldn’t find anything about him on google, but i was so sure it was him I just asked.”

“I was right lmao” — TheTastySpoonicorn

This one sounds straight out of a movie.

“My history teacher/tennis coach made moonshine and hosted cock fights in his barn. I ended up becoming friends with his son and it was all true.” — m011yRadar

As does this one. 

“That my high school history teacher was putting whiskey in the 2-liter bottle of Pepsi he carried around everyday.”

“He was caught trying to buy liquor for some senior girls and it resulted in a car chase we all watched. The police had to pull out the spike strips to catch him.” — Tylerurby

And finally, some quick thinking, heroic teachers.

“Due to budget cuts or something all of our metal and woodwork shop machines were to be taken away and replaced with worse versions. The shop teachers and drama teachers that were in the building at the time didn’t like this idea, so they hid all the machines in a false wall somewhere in the building.”

“The people came to pick them up and they told them that people had already come to pick them up and that they were late. They did some looking around and couldn’t find the machines and gave up. A few years and 1 principle later they brought the machines back out from behind the walls.”

“And that’s how the smallest high school of our district with only around 450 students became the best school in the district to learn metal and woodwork.” — imfamuspants

If these are true, there’s no knowing which of the rumors you wrote off in high school may have actually been true too.