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When something in your gut speaks loud enough for you to take notice, you may need to stop and listen. Because in some instances, following that inner voice may save your life.
A Reddit question recently went viral: “What was your biggest ‘We need to leave... Now!’ moment?” Answers poured in with people’s firsthand accounts of what turned out to be close calls after deciding to bail at the last minute. Some missed mass shootings by a few moments, while others narrowly avoided an incoming hurricane.
Scroll through and have a bowl of popcorn with you because these stories are riveting. If you’ve had similar experiences, feel free to share them in the comments.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Grocery shopping with my grandma, she’s tired (normal for her) but she’s getting a bit slower and dragging her leg more than usual. At the checkout counter I saw her face was a little droopy and I said we are leaving now and going to ER. They gave her a bottle of water for the car ride which she ended up choking on and vomiting up all the water. Called ahead to ER so they were ready and they took care of her ASAP, she was having a stroke and they were able to help her quick enough so that she didn’t have any long lasting issues.
Mad Dragon 1 year ago (edited)
Use the acronym FAST to recognize signs of a stroke: Face (one side of the face droops), Arms (cannot raise both to the same height), Speech (words are suddenly slurred or hard to understand), Time (call emergency services right away if any of these symptoms are present).
Tyke 1 year ago (edited)
you absolutely should, but also women can often have more subtle symptoms (such as fatigue) first.
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Xenia Harley 1 year ago
I had a stroke 4 years ago, and people need to expand their symptoms to look for! I had a loss of balance (slight) and coordination at first! Only much later, speech was slightly slurring. I actually walked my 5 dogs with a friend through the woods (while having the stroke) and noticed I couldn't throw a stick to my dog! Thankfully, I have no real lasting impairment.
BookFanatic 1 year ago
And then there's my mom. Upon suspecting she had a stroke, she called her GP. Who told her to call 911. Mom takes a shower, does her hair, puts on make up...and then calls 911. She's lucky she made it.
Beth Wheeler 1 year ago
Good that you recognized it was a stroke, even today aot of people don't.
RELATED:
#2
A couple of friends and I were outside a house party talking. I noticed out of the corner of my eye something dart behind some bushes towards the end of the block - maybe four houses down? It was dark out so it was hard to tell. We stood there a bit long and I swore I saw something again move to a tree a little closer. This wasn’t the best neighborhood (heck my whole hometown isn’t the safest) and I knew a couple people at the party were involved in some stuff so I don’t know if that entered my mind or what, but I got immediate goosebumps. I said “let’s go- NOW”. A couple of my friends looked at me weird, but later one told me they knew by the look on my face something was up. I apparently look possessed. I had my keys so we ran to my car and got in. I didn’t even let anyone get their seatbelts on - I just hit the gas. Based on the news stories less than probably 5 minutes later a group of people shot up the house we were at - the others standing outside were severely injured or killed. Turns out a couple guys at the party were thought to have killed someone’s family member and it was a revenge thing. This was over 20 years ago and I still get nervous if I’m standing around outside - especially if it’s dark.
Nikki Gross 1 year ago
If you live or visit a f****d up part of town and you're driving, even if it's broad daylight keep your doors locked and don't roll down your windows more then 2 inches. If you're at a red light or stop sign, day or night and it looks like something is about to happen, hit the gas and go. Always listen to your passenger, especially if they live or know about certain areas. If you're standing outside, day or night keep your head on swivel and anybody yells "Down or Go!" kiss the pavement or grass, because stray bullets are a b***h and gangs don't care about bystanders and consider them collateral damage. Even if you're inside your house or apartment and you hear shooting close by, get down until it stops because, bullets can go through wall and windows and even you aren't the intended target you can still get hit by a stray bullet. I've replaced 3 car windshields and 2 windows on my house, so I actually do know what I'm talking about.
Schmebulock 1 year ago
But you didn't call the police. Even if you didn't have a cell phone at that time you probably could have gone somewhere safe to call the police asap.
2x4b523p 1 year ago (edited)
And tell them what? That he saw dark figure in the shadows and got goosebumps? Police don’t typically respond to someone’s instinct.
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#3
I've wrote about this before..I was in a mall in Indonesia & 2 tourists seemed to be having problems communicating with the cashier at a bookstore, so I helped translate.
The wanted to buy me drinks to thank me. Told them it’s not necessary & I have to get back to my mom soon. They told me to meet them for dinner. Told them I have to have dinner at home. They told me to sneak out & meet them after dinner. At this point, a bookstore staff noticed something was wrong and went up to question them.
My sister & I dashed off while they were distracted.
Continued wandering around the mall & realised they were following us. To see if we were just paranoid, we ducked into a lingerie store since we figured 2 men won’t usually need to go lingerie shopping together. They followed us in.
Ran so quickly back to the jewellery store our mom was at. The store had intimidating security guards & I guess that stopped those guys.
I was 11, my sister was 10.
ॐBoyGanesh 1 year ago
It’s rather pedantic to expect non-native English speakers to write perfectly in English. I’m not assuming this author isn’t a native English speaker, but to assume one is and to correct is a*****e behavior. It’s also really rich when it’s on a Lithuanian website such as Bored Panda.
Esmeralda Esmeralda 1 year ago
Excuse me, I’m an Indonesian and I live here all my life, but I read BoredPanda daily. I think my English is also not that bad, so please stop assuming things
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Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
That was really smart of them to think about ducking into a lingerie store as the chances should have been slim of two grown men following them in (to check if they were really being followed)
harshtart 10 months ago
I got that interested in the story. I didn't notice any wrong spelling....
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Geoffrey Scott 1 year ago
Similar issue here. We entered the mall in Chattanooga Tn in March in T's and shorts(yup tourists). Same 4 gentlemen followed us around, was outside each store we exited. Wife and I figured we'd be rolled, and worse for our daughters. Saw one of Chattanooga's finest standing near the end of the walkway. "Excuse me officer, do you see the 4 gentlemen standing behind my R shoulder?"..."yes"..."We think they would like to meet us in the parking lot when we leave" .."When will you leave?" ,,"now's good"... "go ahead". He walked up to the group and was talking to them, we got down to the bottom of the steps near the entrance, looked up, guy that seemed to be a leader was looking down at us. WHEW!"
Erla Zwingle 1 year ago
When everybody in the entire world speaks perfect English there will be no more pain or death or poverty or injustice or war in the world. Thank God there are people reading Bored Panda seeking to hasten that day.
WindySwede 1 year ago
Come on, this was about pedo, and the thing you got stuck on was spelling? And we knew what it said.
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#4
Posted this before, but was very late to the party
I was on a date with a girl hiking a trail system that I knew like the back of my hand, something felt weird but I shook it. We went in around sunset, we were going to swim in one of the deep pools in the creek. Maybe 2 miles into the trail I get the feeling again, and she's talking her head off, but i was just listening to everything around me. I told her to stop talking, and she looked at me very concerned, i just put my finger to my lips and listened. I heard something familiar but i couldn't place it. We never stopped walking. We came to the Arroyo just before the creek pool, and I heard it again, by this time I knew. I told her we were going to walk to the clearing where the Arroyo was at and turn around. She told me she heard something weird. As we came to the clearing we stood there like statues, dead silent. Her nails cut my arm from gripping it so hard. Then around 15 feet from us, the biggest mountain lion I've ever seen crossed the clearing with 2 of its young. She looked at us, and as our eyes met... my soul left my body. And I felt her grip tighten around my arm even tighter. She stopped and so did her babies. I'm guessing she sized us up...and then just kept going. The babies kept turning around looking at us, but ultimately they just slowly crossed the top of the hill and that was that. We turned around and told everyone we saw on the way in that there was 3 mountain lions on the trail, they all turned around and left.
That was the first time I was ever scared out in nature. I didn't have a handgun on me, I had been there a hundred times. She told me the sound she heard was a deep purring, and that was what I kept hearing also, I just hadn't put it together.
ThePlantigrade 1 year ago (edited)
I’m SO glad OP got out safe and warned other hikers, that could have ended badly! Quick tip for outdoorsy pandas that I was given during bear safety training (I work in environmental monitoring): bear spray works on any wildlife, including cougars, an is more effective than a gun, so make sure to have some on hand when on the trail!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Mountain lions are very unlikely to attack humans. There have been less than 30 fatalities from mountain lion attacks... since 1868. Since OP was with another person, it is really, REALLY unlikely the mountain lion would have attacked. Even heavy male mountain lions rarely weigh more than 160 lbs, so even if the mountain lion attacked OP, it's likely that OP and their date could have fought it off. Bear spray is a fantastic idea if one is hiking in an area with *any* wildlife, though, as it will drive off nearly all animals without necessitating killing them.
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Sara Frazer 1 year ago
And I'm the person who would keep walking and die from "pspspspspssing" mountain lions
detective miller's hat 1 year ago
same, this is definitely how I am eventually going to die
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WindySwede 1 year ago
Mother and cubs feels more scary that tre adults? If she feels threatened more easier?
Fellfromthemoon 1 year ago
I don't know about cougars, but boars. They usually simply avoid or ignore humans. However, when a sow comes with her piglets, you better avoid them. During an excursion (in August, when the piglets are adolescents) a sow growled at me about two-three hundred steps away. Luckily, she decided that I was not dangerous as I acknowledged their presence and moved away following the road. Earlier, we've seen wild boars even closer crossing the road in front of us (no piglets) and they didn't even look at our direction. Meeting wild boars is a great experience - if one lives to tell the story.
Load More Replies... Gry Hansen 1 year ago (edited)
Didn't have a hand gun? This was in the US? No other place in the world where someone would bring a handgun into a forest. A hunting rifle seems more appropriate.
Aranora 1 year ago
I'm not sure what they heard but I was under the impression that big cats can't purr
Tiny Dancer 1 year ago
Oh, I can assure you, they most definitely do! Check out this short video of a mountain lion at Big Cat Rescue purring and meowing up a storm. Sound up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXhfZRE08ko
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veirdbuttrue 1 year ago
Well you are in their territory. You are the interloper not the lion and her cubs.
Lyone Fein 1 year ago
Quick tip: don't go out walking in the woods during sunset hours. Especially stay away from watering holes at that time.
Bewarethere@gmail.com 1 year ago
A F*****G GUN!!! Please tell me u weren't going to kill the mother babies!!!!
#5
Driving to Disney with hubs and 2 little kids (4&5). Stopped at a gas station in Tifton, Ga at about 10pm. Wander in a little bleary eyed with the 2 kids looking for the bathroom. Clerk looks at me funny and points. While I'm in there I hear "She's got 2 babies with her man. Just let them pee and go". I grab both kids and walk straight back to the car with only a small head nod to the clerk. Hubs was done pumping gas and about to go in himself. I yelled for everyone to get in the car, I would explain later. As soon as we pulled out I called 911. The operator told me they were already on route and to vacate the scene, took my info and wished us a fun trip. Walked into a gas station robbery with two little kids, peed and left with no issues. Bad gas wasn't that bad of a guy and let us go.
Maartje 1 year ago
I think the clerk was trying to tell OP to GTFO. She clearly was not catching on quickly enough.
HTakeover 1 year ago
Other way around - clerk was telling the robber (or one robber to another) to just wait it out, to let the mom & babies do their thing & go.
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FoxEcoLimaIndiaCharlieIndiAlfa 1 year ago
I'm guessing that the husband swiped his credit card at the gas pump?
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#6
Was 15/16 at a house party with my good friend, another girl.
There were some gatecrashers who turned up ( which weren’t unusual at London house parties) but these guys were older, and there was just a vibe. A girl I vaguely knew, was very drunk and being surrounded by them and I asked her if she was ok and she told me to “F**k off, I’m fine.”
I looked at my friend and said to her “I’m gonna call my mum and dad to come get me do you want a lift?” (My parents were always amazing and said to me that if I was at a party or out and for ANY reason didn’t want to be where I was I could call them and they would come and get me)
My parents turned up, coats on over pyjamas and took us both home. Apparently half an hour after we left, someone was stabbed, the girl we had asked earlier was sexually assaulted and lots of stuff was stolen and people beaten up and held up at knifepoint.
I had such a feel in the air that I’ve hardly felt before or since and KNEW we needed to not be there.
Maartje 1 year ago
I have that rule as well with my son and the kids of my friend- I will come and get you from wherever for any reason or no reason . It is a good rule, it keeps them safe.
Mabelbabel 1 year ago
Same. Mine are generally sensible, but at 18 and 19 the occasional impulsive or poor decisions are easily made. One of my daughter's friends (18 year old) has parents who locked her out of the house if she was late home, even by just a few minutes-curfew was 11pm. She ended up staying with us at times, I can't believe that they thought putting her in danger was a sensible plan.
Load More Replies... Nikki Gross 1 year ago
I'm the Auntie that all of my Nieces, Nephews and their friends would call if they needed help. Some of those kids parents, including my siblings can be d***s and then they all wonder why they call me for help. I was ALWAYS the mature one of my friends, plus I had the cool Mom that would help ANYONE out no questions asked. My Mom would always tell her biological and "surrogate" kids "That as long as I have a roof over my head, then ALL of you will have a roof over yours."
Louise Clarke 1 year ago
My mom has that rule too, and one where if I don't want to do something or it feels off, I can use her as an excuse.
Farnzy 1 year ago
Is the picture a boxed water party? The guy is holding up a carton of water lol
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Bored Panda chooses weird stock photos XD
Load More Replies... Schmebulock 1 year ago
Again, no one called the police to end the party and maybe prevent what happened!
María Hermida 1 year ago
You can't call the police to say you suspect something is going to happen. When the girls left they had a weird feeling because the gatecrashers were older and acted funny, but that's not a crime.
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Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Almost the same thing happened to me an my best friend. Invited to a party that was a joint 18/19/21st but only knew the 18 year old. It was at a hall on a recreation reserve that had a bit of a bad reputation but I figured it was just a birthday party, there would be nothing to worry about. My mum insisted we only stay until 10pm and my stepdad would pick us up then (we didn't drive). We were some of the first there at 7pm or so, because we wanted to make the most of the time we had. All was fine, I mostly talked to people I knew from school, didn't get a bad feeling about anyone. We were picked up at 10 and didn't think any more about it. At school on Monday we find out not long after we left, gate crashers came, a fight broke out, and at least one person was stabbed. Later a number of people from school had to testify as witnesses in court. We didn't have a bad feeling, but my parents did and I'm glad they trusted their gut and that we weren't the type of teens to rebel or sneak out
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
later. My best friend hadn't even told her parents that there was a party though, just that she was sleeping at mine, because they were very strict and didn't let her go out much at all. It was definitely a story she never told them (most of the time she caved and told at least her mum if she had done something she shouldn't).
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David Morgan 1 year ago
House party just means a party in a house. It doesn't automatically mean adults and alcohol.
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When I was about 16, I went to visit my grandmother at her place. The smell of natural gas was intense, even though Nana didn't seem to notice it much.
She was groggy - sort of half-asleep - not her usual responsive self. So I made her get out of the house at once and opened the windows and doors.
I called Dad and he reported it to the gas company, who sent inspectors right away. They shut off the gas (valve in the street) immediately and sent a repair crew to fix a leaking joint in the gas supply pipe.
The inspector said that if I hadn't acted then and there, the probability was great that there would soon have been an explosion.
Connie Hirsch 1 year ago
The sense of smell can greatly diminish with age and/or physical conditions (ex: Long Covid) so a bad smell may not be noticed!
Brian Droste 1 year ago
Even you can or over along period of time you will get use to the smell and you don't think there is anything wrong so you don't think there is anything wrong so you ignore it.
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#8
So I was waiting at the train station to pick up a friend of mine. I was early so I decided to stand in the sun right outside of the station.
A guy with a bicycle walked up to me asking in broken English if I knew how late the train would arrive. After I answered the question he stayed around and starting talking to me.
Now I know that's not weird at all but the things he asked and the way he acted and looked just gave me a creepy vibe. Eventually he asked if I would walk with him while he dropped his bicycle of. I didn't want to because the place to store bicycles at this station is very secluded and to be honest I didn't want to be alone with this guy. So I noped out and walked into the station.
He started yelling at me. Calling me names but at that moment the train came in and it got very busy. So he left.
A few months later I read this article in the local paper about a girl being [attacked] at the station. They had put a drawing of a guy next to the article as he was not yet caught. It was the same guy.
To this day I'm very happy I didn't go with him.
Roger9er 1 year ago
Stop censoring common words, BP. The people who read and write here are not 10 anymore.
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Isabel Galvez 1 year ago
Something like that happened to me. I called my husband and he met me at my stop. They weird guy saw him and run.
Schmebulock 1 year ago
But you didn't report it to anyone and that may have prevented the attack. Seems pretty s****y to me.
CatchTheWind 1 year ago
I hope you notified the police when you saw the report. Your information could have helped with the apprehension and/or prosecution.
#9
At a party when I was about 19. I was on the top floor with my friend and he mentioned to me that he and the guy in the corner had been in a pretty nasty fight about a year ago.
That guy is giving us some eyes and staring us down. My friend said not to worry, but I did not like the vibe this guy was giving. I saw the guy talk to his friend and send him out of the room.
I told my buddy, nope we are leaving now. Much to his protest, as there was a girl he liked at this party. I practically ran down the stairs, grabbed our other friend by the hood of his sweatshirt and ran to the car.
As we are backing out of this long country driveway, I see the guy, his buddy and 4 or 5 more of them run out of the house with baseball bats and they chased us down the driveway.
So damn glad we got out of there when we did.
Tobias Reaper 1 year ago
i was at a party one day as i was standing in the corner i noticed a dude i had a pretty nasty fight with about about a year ago. I asked my friend to go to my house to get something i a gift for the guy as i felt bad i had a number of autographed baseball bats from different MLB teams i thought they would make a great gift. As my friends got here with the bats i saw the dude and his friends leaving driving off we tried to run after them but they had gone i never knew why.
Definitely not a catnapper 1 year ago
Aww poor guy ill take the bats off you
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TruthoftheHeart 1 year ago
Imagine being such a sore loser and so butt hurt over a previous fight that you honestly think you need to take multiple people armed with dangerous weapons to go even the field....
#10
Was in Mexico City with family including two daughters. Grabbed a cab on the street around 10:00 pm to take us back to the hotel. I was somewhat familiar with the area since we had been there four or five days already. Cabbie totally passes the hotel district and starts heading away from the part of town we were in. Streets were getting more and more residential. I demanded that he pull over and we GTFO and walked back to the hotel, probably 3 or 4 miles.
He was probably just padding the fare, but I was not going to take a chance on being kidnapped so we flew.
KillerKiwi 1 year ago
Esp. with kids. I don’t take my chances when I’m with my girls.
Load More Replies... BookFanatic 1 year ago
One of the best travel tips I've learned is, as you're getting into the taxi, casually say something like "Oh, this hotel is the best...I always stay here" or "I've been here all week--I'm having so much fun!" even if it's your first night in town and you've never been there. It tips the cabbie off that you know the area and you'll probably know about how much the ride should cost. Cuts down on fare padding.
Andrea Casas 1 year ago
Mexican here. Avoid street cabs, especially after dark. Better to be safe and Uber back
#11
When I was a paramedic I was in a basement taking care of a shooting victim. The fire department had not arrived yet the cop, having cleared the basement, was not with me at the time and my partner was in the ambulance getting some equipment I needed. As I was kneeling down working on my patient with 100% Focus I felt a hard steel object placed on the back of my head. It was a shotgun. The shooter apparently was still in the basement and I was alone with him. He told me he shot this guy for a reason and gave me an opportunity to leave. I left.
Maartje 1 year ago
I just don't know what to say . That cop that cleared the basement- OP is lucky.
Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 year ago
ya, maybe that cop was in cahoots w/the shooter. I know this reply does not sound serious, bur it is, just a little hard to get the the message through with text.
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Trillian 1 year ago
Nobody who wipes their own butt should have nails like that
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Mimi M 1 year ago
HonoraryTurtle 68 points 4 years ago Whenever I see a story like this I wonder what happened after. Did you go and notify the officer or did you just peace out fully. Sounds odd but I honestly know people who would do either or and not think a second thought on it. It’s absolutely harrowing to even think of and it’s great you got out safely and unhurt but that is just an insane situation to be caught in. I wonder what would’ve happened if just the cop was alone. permalinkembedsaveparentreport [–]HenryRN 56 points 4 years ago I told the cop straight away. More came and they got the guy to give up.
OpheliaPoe 1 year ago
I wonder if it was a "he harms children" reason or a "he owes me money" reason. One I can see why the shooter would stick around to finish the job.
HTakeover 1 year ago
You walk away. First duty of a first responder is to yourself. Can't help anybody if you're a victim. There's a reason ALL first responders are taught the first thing to do when coming up on a scene is "Scene Size-up".
Load More Replies... #12
About a decade ago, I was driving my Miata with a friend to a track about 4 hours from home. We left after dinner the night before so we could wake up there and get an early start. About an hour from our destination, 11pm a crazy summer storm hit...heavy rain, high wind gusts, lots of debris. I told my buddy that early 90s windshield wipers couldn’t keep up, I couldn’t see s**t, and I just felt like I was white knuckling the steering wheel.
I decided to hit the exit, we’d get some late night food at a Waffle House and wait out the storm. We sat down and I had a TV in sight and I was casually watching. Almost immediately, a weather map came up and showed a tornado pass right over where we would’ve been a few minutes later had I not exited.
Anonymous Fox 1 year ago
For those who don't know, the Miata is a very light 2-seater sports car made by Mazda.
Robert T 1 year ago
Known as the MX5 in pretty much every country but the US. Not that light. The early models were 1002 kg. By comparison my 1959 Sprite weighs just 650 kg.
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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 1 year ago
My grandma said she was taken up in a tornado when she was young, but I didn't believe her.
XenoMurph 1 year ago
Was it just her or did she have her little dog with her?
Load More Replies... Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 year ago
waffle house? I've never been, but nice on getting out on time!
Sophia Athene 1 year ago (edited)
Never go to a Waffle House to escape a tornado. In Georgia, we rate how bad a tornado is depending on the state of the Waffle House.
#13
Sknyliv airshow catasrophe
I was 5ish at a time, so it's my dad's story more than mine. You can google the details, but long story short, my dad saw the plane jolt in the air, and he realized that something went wrong and started running and yelling at everyone else to run. I was sitting on his shoulders, so he just took off with me.
The plane crashed into the crowd killing 77 people, 35 or so children among them. Not us.
#14
About two months ago I’d stayed up past my usual bed time and as soon as I got in bed I smelled something odd and was hearing some inconsistent banging and clattering from downstairs. I don’t live in a great neighborhood so none of this was unusual but I got out of bed to check anyway and saw flames licking up the side of the building. Yelled at my wife to get out of bed and threw on some clothes and we high-tailed it out. Our building has a shared wall with the next and that one had an apartment on the ground floor fully engulfed by the time we made it outside, ended up condemning the whole building. I was the first one to call 911. Have been jerking myself awake in the night pretty consistently since then.
Tiffany Sauter 1 year ago
We had a house fire when I was 12 and 40 years later, I still will jump up out of a dead sleep if I smell toast being made.
Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 year ago
wow, it must have been traumatic, I am sorry.
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Alexia 1 year ago
Back in 2015, on Halloween night, I had planned to go to a rock concert in a club. The whole day I felt something was off - just couldn't tell exactly what it was. Everything seemed fine, I had even checked the posts about the concert on social media, and yet... After leaving the office, I called one of my friends and told her I didn't feel ok and I wouldn't come to the club. She said "if you're not coming, I am not coming either". So only the boys in our group went. During the concert, some fireworks set the club's ceiling on fire. The fire engulfed the room in less than a minute, while panicked people jammed to the only exit door. Several were trapped inside and were killed by smoke or by fire. Our friends managed to get out with minor burns (and a terrible trauma). But 32 people died that night, and another 33 in the weeks that followed. 9 years later, I still check exit doors, evacuation plans and fire extinguishers whenever I go to an event :(
Kangaroo 1 year ago
Weird memory - one night I woke up around 3-4am and felt my way in the pitch black down the hall to the bathroom. Did my business and went back to my room, but realized I could smell burning. Flicked my bedroom light on and smoke was POUrING out of my mattress. It looked like someone dropped a hot coal on it and it was slowly burning down and through my mattress. I screamed and ran for water. Woke my roommate up. Neither one of us could figure out how it happened. She was a hippy type so she sage smudged the house and threw salt everywhere. Neither of us went back to sleep. Still have no idea how it happened (no outlets nearby, no lights on, no electronics, no history of sleepwalking)
Meagan Glaser 1 year ago
I woke up in the middle of the night in college once, couldn't figure out why. Finally noticed a very faint electronic beep- just one every few minutes, a sort of "electric cricket" chirpy sound. Didn't seem loud or frequent enough to wake up for. But I got up and thought I maybe smelled something off, just a sort of warm mustiness. Couldn't find the beep, turned on the light in the living room. There was a clear layer of smoky air. I freaked out, woke up my roommates and started opening windows. We looked around finally found our ceramic kettle on the stovetop, on a burner that was turned on and was on Low. The kettle had practically melted, and the glaze on it was browned and blackened. We had literally just grabbed the extinguisher when it started putting out little flickers of flame, not big but the handle of the kettle caught quickly and flamed enough to catch a kitchen towel hanging from the wooden cabinet above the stove.
Meagan Glaser 1 year ago
Got the fire out within seconds but I'd never seen in person how quickly a fire can spread. No damage beyond the stovetop (and kettle of course). And as a bonus, we found out the smoke alarms in our apartment *did not work*. That was the chirp noise I'd heard, it was a dysfunctional alarm trying to go off. Did I mention I'd been having a dream of being trapped in a house fire, and that's why I HAD to get up and check because i was still shaken by the dream? I dream of fire fairly often and always have to get up and check now.
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#15
My friend and I, both females, met up our first time back home from college. It was a surprisingly nice day outside in the middle of winter so we decided to get lunch and eat outside. We found a park that had no one there and were sitting at a picnic table catching up when I see a scruffy looking guy in a large work van with no rear windows pull into the parking lot. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to him at first but I noticed he was moving around the outside of the van for a bit and he kept looking our way. He finally walked down the sidewalk toward us and passed by our picnic table and walked around the backside of the restroom building to look down the hill on the other side of it. Very obviously casing out the place. He walked back to his van and me and my friend were discussing what we were going to do while I watched him open up the back of the van and start digging around it. He made a call on his cell phone and a few minutes later another male pulled up in a different car. He got out and started talking to the first guy, who not very discreetly pointed our direction. They immediately started walking toward us and my friend and I scooped what was left of lunch and fast walked out of the place while keeping an eye on them. One of the times in my life I could literally feel the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. It could have been nothing, but even now I feel pretty certain that they had something planned and I am glad we left.
detective miller's hat 1 year ago
The sheer number of men who are predators like this is really terrifying.
Lexekon 1 year ago
Possibly a dangerous situation, but also likely maintenance workers checking plumbing, or sprinklers. Your presence might have obstructed possible work or testing of something, and they were waiting for you to leave.
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
True, but it's nearly, nearly always best to trust your gut feeling. Better to flee when there is no danger than stick around when there is.
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Lyoness 1 year ago
I'm amazed they waited until guy #2 showed up. The moment you feel unsafe, RUN, don't walk. Better to look rude or silly than be attacked or worse.
Meagan Glaser 1 year ago
Women are highly pressured to avoid being "rude" and put aside their own comfort. It's hard to overcome a social norm, especially when you can't ever prove you were right to trust your gut and leave.
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Grand Forks, ND April 17th 1997.
I had spent the morning in the shadow of a 12' wall of sandbags that I was helping to build up to a River Level of 49'
Around 2pm I went back to my apartment to eat before heading into work, and I turned on the Radio to try and catch the flood forecast. They announced that the river was currently at 48' 6" and rising at a rate of half an inch per hour. For weeks the NWS kept repeating the crest would be 49 feet in early May. Now they had changed the forecast! They were now saying the crest would be 49' 6" in the first week of May.
I immediately began packing, and loaded up everything I would need for several weeks before going into work. I worked at a convenience store and I made sure to fill my gas tank before I began my shift. Before my shift was over the evacuation announcements had begun, and we were swamped with lines of cars fueling up to leave the city. 36 hours later on Saturday morning I was among the massive line of cars in the largest pre-Katrina flood evacuation in the U.S.. I didn't get back to my apartment for months.
The "We" in my "We need to leave now" moment was the entire city.
Kayci Styles 1 year ago
My sisters had a basement apartment that year in college and lost everything.
Disgruntled Pelican 1 year ago
You can still see the line on the buildings downtown where the water reached. Absolutely horrible.
Robin Roper 1 year ago
When a big storm is forecasted, fill your vehicles with fuel and get some cash. I just got back from western NC where some small towns were wiped out from Helene. The town I was in was spared but there was no internet anywhere; cash only at stores.
Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 year ago
good thing you packed, but just me, would have kept pandie (my stuffie) on me at all times...
#17
I work as an engineer in a data center cooling plant. We’re responsible for basically everything in the building- mechanical, electrical, hvac, plumbing.
So the engineer I’m relieving tells me there’s an odd sound coming from the Con Ed vaults- this is where these huge transformers are that step down from 26,000 volts or so to a voltage the building can actually use- we are not allowed in those vaults, they’re locked and only Con Ed has they key.
So he leaves, and I take a walk by the vaults- I had never actually heard electricity arcing through the air before, but I knew I was hearing it then.
I called Con Ed’s emergency line and told them to get out there ASAP- a crew of two guys show up, they seem calm and disinterested in the elevator on the way up- “it’s probably just a contact chattering” they said.
We get off the elevator and start heading down the hall- the sound was WAY louder now, we weren’t even near the vaults and there was no mistaking it. Both guys stopped dead in their tracks and kind of hunkered down. I saw the color drain from them.
Wasted no time getting back in that elevator. If you’ve never seen video of a large transformer explosion, go check YouTube. These transformers are not like the ones you see up on utility poles, they’re as big as a couple of trucks stacked on top of each other. Anyone on the floor when one of them cooked off would be gone, and we have 8 of them.
Robert T 1 year ago
Transformers are filled with oil for cooling. When it gets hot it is very flammable. Bit of annoying commentary, but video of some transformer explosions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-yYGoCPRHgg
General Anaesthesia 1 year ago
From the post on Reddit (link 'blind30' just above the vote arrows below the post): "Q: So what happened after? Did the Con Ed guys go in? A: Eventually, yes- but not before cutting the power off before it got to the building. They called it in right away, cut the power, then a bunch more Con Ed guys showed up to check out the damage. Apparently there’s a connector at the top of these transformers called a Hammerhead- the insulation had burned right off one of them, and it just got worse from there. Everyone from the utility was glad we caught it when we did."
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Beak Hookage 1 year ago
A regular sized transformer on a powerline pole at the end of my street exploded once. Even from the distance I was at the noise was so loud I thought someone had crashed their car. It left a big black burn mark on the pole and it took a very long time to restore the power to our street. (And I know now that the moment in Half-Life: Opposing Force where the transformer explodes violently was in fact not just video game logic. Yikes).
Mimi M 1 year ago
[–]LordPizzaParty 38 points 4 years ago So what happened after? Did the Con Ed guys go in? permalinkembedsaveparentreport [–]blind30 80 points 4 years ago Eventually, yes- but not before cutting the power off before it got to the building. They called it in right away, cut the power, then a bunch more Con Ed guys showed up to check out the damage. Apparently there’s a connector at the top of these transformers called a Hammerhead- the insulation had burned right off one of them, and it just got worse from there. Everyone from the utility was glad we caught it when we did.
UKGrandad 1 year ago (edited)
I know you all hate pedants but sometimes we do provide a service in pointing out when words are being used wrongly, so this is not for the benefit of the OP (who won't see this) but for readers here who may want to avoid making the same mistake. OP said of the engineers. "they seem calm and disinterested"; 'disinterested' does not mean 'uninterested', it's a word with the specific meaning of 'fair' or 'unbiased'.
Robert T 1 year ago
Except that both definitions are given in the dictionary. It can mean either not having a vested interest in, or uninterested. The dictionary also points out that pedants disagree on the second meaning. As far as I am concerned, they can be used interchangeably and would argue that disinterested is the better word.
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Liz Mary 1 year ago
In Portugal it's common to have these little houses with transformers to feed the neighbourhood. The one opposit my house exploded twice. Once my brother was standing right in front of it. He was not injured as the little building did not explode with it. Will not forget the sound of electricity just before it happened.
#18
We were sitting on the sand at the beach, talking and having drinks. I looked up at the sky behind my friends and saw this huge, dark, ominous cloud mass moving towards us.
I got up and said “guys, we have to leave NOW. Huge thunderstorm coming right at us. We have about 5 minutes!”
We managed to reach the car but had to sit in it for a good hour while the wind and rain ravaged everything around us - trees were left bare, benches were upturned, trash cans were dragged for half a mile. The beach club tents were blown away and some people were seriously injured when stuff fell on them. It was all over the news that evening.
My friends still talk about how I “saved” them that day - most people didn’t move from where they were sitting, even though we tried to warn them.
Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 year ago
what idiots if the other people did not move from where they were sitting even though the clouds were right there, and you warned them!
Zaach 1 year ago
I was snorkeling off Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef when I started to feel isolated; I looked around and there was no one out in the water. When I looked at the shore, people were running towards the trimaran we arrived on so I swam as fast as I could to shore and ran onto the boat then cyclone Muni blew in (about 1985 for timing). I mentioned the boat was a trimaran b/c that was probably what kept it afloat in the 15 foot swells - it was a very rough ride back to Australia
WalterWhiteSavannah 1 year ago
I wasn't really in any danger but I remember one spring I'd ridden a few hours out to this bird sanctuary and was sitting on the bench smoking a little green and this wall of black just started coming up the valley. Being stoned I just sat in awe at how cool it looked and how fast it was moving. I musta watched it for a half hour till it turned almost black all around me and the coldest heaviest rain I've seen just came rushing down. That was a cold, dark, wet, miserable ride home with zero visibility and lightning everywhere. Thankfully it was marshland with no trees, but I guess if my luck was bad I could've been hit by lightning which would probly really suck at the very least.
#19
Whilst driving on the highway, I stumbled upon some pretty big rocks in the middle of the road (luckily I had my high-beams on), and I had to come to a full-stop in the middle of the highway. There wasn't an embankment anywhere near me and this wasn't a rocky area so I was initially puzzled as to where the rocks had come from... then I noticed a guy in my rear-view mirror coming out of the bushes... It was at this exact moment where I was like 'we need to leave, now!'. I threw my car into reverse and gunned it... nearly drove over the guy in the road behind me; did a j-turn and drove in the opposite direction on travel on the highway until I found an offramp. This was about 11pm at night on a segment of the highway which is notorious for hi-jackers. Turns out that the hi-jackers place massive rocks in the road at night and when you drive head-long into the rocks and get out of your car to inspect the damage, they then pop out of the bushes and rob you at gun-point, and drive off with your car if it is still driveable. Luckely I wasn't a victim that night. God only knows what they would have done to my gf. Good old S**thole Africa.
Sapna Sarfare 1 year ago
Something similar happened in India but not with boulders.. cars.. they corner you at night on highways and try to rob you. one chap reversed and broke the car doors while fleeing. of course, they wont complain
detective miller's hat 1 year ago
South Africa? My cousin has told me stories similar to this.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
A few of them drag one into the road. It's a well-known ploy in South Africa. There's even an urban legend related to this kind of thing: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/carjack-and-jilted/
Load More Replies... #20
Woodstock 99. Felt the energy of the grossly over packed crowd, the building rage, and looked my friends and said we need to go. They stayed, I left. Shortly after fired and riots started and my friends lost everything they had with them. Tents, clothes, food, everything.
When you have 300k people shoulder to shoulder in 104degree humidity and charge $4 for a bottle if water and have half as many bathrooms as needed, you're gonna have a bad time.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
I got a good chuckle out of that XD If you're gonna be a pedant, you better pedant ALL OVER the place!
Load More Replies... detective miller's hat 1 year ago
My friends and I noped out of there super early Sunday morning. We left everything that wouldn't fit in pockets or handbags.
Kate 1 year ago
Heat index. Visit Florida anytime in June , July, August, September and sometimes in October & you'll understand.
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#21
I've told this story before but it's been awhile, and may just get buried, but here goes.
I was out in the country late at night taking some long exposure photographs of the Hale-Bopp comet as it approached the sun (which was marvelous by the way). I had driven out of town and just picked a dark, empty farmers field to setup. Nice and dark.
I'm out there for a couple hours when I get this massive feeling of "I need to leave now." I pack up my camera, tripod and lawn chair, throw it all in my car, get in and start the car. When the lights of the car come on I see the wolf that was sitting 20 feet from where I was positioned, just sitting there staring at me! I've never gotten bigger chills in my life.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Wolves generally do not attack humans. It's only if they're starving and desperate (or rabid) that they'd even consider attacking humans. I can understand that, to someone who is not familiar with wolves (or has never seen one IRL before), seeing one suddenly in the dark would be terrifying. Wolves are BIG. But you're definitely in more danger of getting attacked by your average dog than your average wolf. And I totally am NOT a shill for Big Wolf.
Kelly Hartle 1 year ago
Mine isn't so much scary as gross. My husband worked at the Indianapolis Zoo when he was young, where the administrator was a jerk. He and another zookeeper were standing near the administrator was making puffing noises at Boris, the male Siberian tiger. Suddenly my husband grabbed the other keeper and pulled him away just as Boris got tired of the puffing, turned around, and sprayed the administrator with gallons of scent.
#22
My father's story:
1999, 3 adult males entered our family store in July wearing heavy trench coats. They spread out through the store and my father caught a glimpse of a gun under their coats. He called the police and while waiting for a call back, my mother grabbed the children and ran out the back door. Once we got a call back, an employee answered the phone and asked who called the police. The men ran out of the store, went down 2 doors, robbed the laundry mat, and killed the clerk.
Dave Morris 1 year ago
Hello Police? There's men with guns in our shop. Police "your call is important to us. We'll call you back" OK...
Susie Elle 1 year ago
Money, whatever they could find, idk be creative, Tobias
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In China, on a school trip. Wandering around night-market stalls of fried bugs and bull testicles, in a group of 10 or so high-school age kids. A 50-60ish y.o. Chinese man engages us in conversation, claiming to be the curator of a local art gallery. Do we want to check out some paintings? Sure, we were bored and had lost our appetite pretty quickly anyhow. Well we get to the 'gallery' which was a semi-rundown 5x5m building. The Chinese man talks to us from the doorway, inviting us in to see the paintings which are downstairs. The building is in the middle of a large paved courtyard, right next to a popular tourist destination. It's safe, right? Peering through the doorway, no artwork or obvious function to the building is visible. An entrance lamp is broken with its glass scattered over the doorway, and inside shoddy steps lead to a dank unlit basement. One of us interrupts Chinese man's sweetalking (come down, see painting) to grill him on the broken glass. "Don't worry, many paintings. Beautiful" "No, tell me why there's broken glass". At this point we're all exchanging glances, when I get the urge to break our collective stupor by yelling "CHEEEESE ITTTT!" As a group we turn tail into a sprint, covering a hundred yards or so before we slow down to laugh and crack jokes about kidnapping and organ black markets. Glad it was the best memory from my trip and not the last one.
john doe 1 year ago
You know Cheese it, it's the cops! Like bender from Futurama it just means everyone run in different directions and just get away.
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Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My high school in Australia did a China trip once every two years, alternating with New Caledonia. I think something like 10-15 days. Both trips struggled to get people who wanted to go (or could afford it) when I was in the later years of high school and I think the Chinese teacher left and wasn't replaced, so stopped happening.
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About three months ago there was a shootout at my office park. My next door neighbor was robbed and beaten, but his partner arrived during the robbery, waited for the robbers to exit, and then opened fire on their cars with an AK47 in the parking lot. (turns out my neighbors weren't Amazon resellers, they were d**g dealers).
While the robbery was going down I felt sick to my stomach and just knew I had to GTFO.
I left, and was about to walk by their place when I had a bad feeling and went back inside to pee. While I was peeing my heart was racing, and I didn't know why. I ended up dribbling all over my leg, I was practically hyperventilating. Then the shots rang out - two bursts. I hit the floor and hid in the bathroom. When I finally came out there were people all over the parking lot and the air stunk of gun smoke, but everyone was OK. I ran all the way home, two miles.
Watching the security tapes later, you see me walk in front of the shooter twice, as he sits in his car waiting to ambush the robbers. If I don't go back to pee I'm right in the middle of it all. I also could have left as soon as I got the feeling, and would have been clear. But since I didnt get out fast enough, going back to pee probably saved me.
I'm still shaken up, and I'm still having nightmares. Talking about it here helps.
Trust your gut!
Edit: here is an article about it with a video. At the bottom there's a video where you can see the shooting. I am not on this video, I am back inside at this time. I didn't know they caught the bastards until I just looked for the article so that is a nice thing. But I'm crying from watching it. I'm still really scared and it's been several months now.
Thank you all for the kind comments. It really means a lot to me. I feel ridiculous describing this as trauma when others have been through real trauma during wars, but it's very real to me and I hate it.
I should add, one positive outcome: my brother-in-law has been checking in on me regularly since the incident. He just sends me a text to see how I'm doing. It's really touching. I already liked him a whole lot but even more now.
Hellcaste's Wife 1 year ago
This is classic PTSD. "To meet DSM-5-TR criteria for diagnosis of PTSD, patients must have been exposed directly or indirectly to a traumatic event and have symptoms from each of the following categories for a period ≥ 1 month" https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/anxiety-and-stressor-related-disorders/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd#Diagnosis_v11688303
Brian Droste 1 year ago
I read the first 24 stories and none of those got to me, but this one really got to me.
#25
I got home at 3am after a night with the boys. I notice an out of place workers van before turning into my main street but didn’t think much of it. I decided to walk my dog because we usually do it nightly off leash. As im walking down the cross street I see another random car in the middle of the street under a street light. No head lights on but car is on. I didn’t think much of it until I made a right to loop the block and go back home. As soon I turned I see that initial white van and I see that other car start to move and drive right behind me, still with no headlights on. And that was the moment I knew I needed to get out of there. I kinda blacked out and was in survival mode. I picked up my dog and ran as fast as I could down the street. I never looked back. I was scared they were following me home but by the time realized what just happened I was almost home. I never walk my dog late at night now.
detective miller's hat 1 year ago
I'd love to know what it's like to walk outside at night and NOT be in a constant state of fear.
#26
Showed up to a party, some people were outside fighting, my gf at the time and I decided to leave. Not long after that some guys that were a part of the first fight came back with more and a shooting occured.
Mad Dragon 1 year ago (edited)
Always a good idea to leave when a fight starts; it hardly ever ends well.
BookFanatic 1 year ago
Yep. Bestie and I took a friend's kiddo to a fireworks display for Independence Day a few years ago. A brawl broke out in front of us. Cops showed up and got swarmed. We grabbed our stuff and the kiddo and noped the heck out. Kiddo was 10 and could not WAIT to tell grandma and grandpa about his adventure.
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Multa Nocte 1 year ago
When tempers are flaring and testosterone levels are high, it's generally best to leave.
Sophia Athene 1 year ago
According to Texas, it's not enough until the good guy with a gun shows up to start shooting too.
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#27
Met this cute girl at a party. Spent the whole night dancing a flirting. Offered to drive her home and she agreed. We were making out in the car in front of her house when another car pulls up with their headlights beaming at us. I ask if that’s a neighbor and if we’re blocking their driveway? She replies “no, that’s my husband”.
Husband’s car door opens and I noped the f**k out of there. Dropped her straight back at the party and never saw her again.
Her excuse was that they were separated and he shouldn’t have a problem with it. I sure wasn’t sticking around to find out
Haywood Jablome 1 year ago
"We were married for 5 years, dating for 7, and we got separated 3 days ago. Why isn't that psycho over it by now?"
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
Many years ago a taxi driver told me that when he first started he had been warned about something similar. Basically he was told that if a woman started coming onto him while he was driving her home to ignore it, remain polite, and drop her off, no matter how much he was tempted. The more experienced driver said that it can be the woman wanting to make a partner jealous, and it isn't going to end well for the patsy. I don't know how common it is but obviously enough for the older guy to give it as a general warning rather than an anecdote of a single time.
#28
When I was 15, a friend and I went for a lot of walks around town (small town, around 5-6k people). We were going to the cyber cafe in town to meet a few friends and we often took different streets to get places, just to keep it interesting.
We were about to go to Main Street off one of the side streets and a man on a bicycle approached us. He got off his bike, and asked us a couple small talk questions. Something didn’t seem right about him, he was probably mid 40s. We both kept inching away but didn’t want to come off as too rude, so we answered about the weather or traffic. Then he paused and we said we had to go, and he said (and I’ll never forget it) “you look so young, I don’t want to get in trouble, but I need to touch someone. I just need to touch you. You should come with me.” And he started rambling.
I just felt terror, couldn’t even speak. I grabbed my friends hand and turned. We sprinted the rest of the way to the cafe and as soon as we were inside we asked to use the phone. I called my mom to pick us up while my friend told the worker what happened and what the guy looked like. A month later I got my first cell phone.
Kylie Anderson 1 year ago
The Gift of Fear - Gavin De Becker; borrow it, read it… it might save your life
Trillian 1 year ago
Great book. Always listen to your gut. At worst you are a bit rude. If you don't listen you might end up dead.
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Corvus 1 year ago
"Coming off as too rude" should never stop you from leaving a dangerous situation.
Courtney Christelle 1 year ago
Never be afraid of being rude if you feel like you’re in danger. Get yourself out of there.
María Hermida 1 year ago
If a person or situation feels creepy, don't worry about being rude. You don't owe anything to anybody.
Brittany Adams 1 year ago
You don't have anything better to do PattyK than sit there and correct people's spelling and grammar? The point of sharing these stories is not phrasing everything correctly. That is not important here. The OP's are sharing scary times in their lives and frightening things that have happened to them to help heal and recover. Keep your rude comments to yourself.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
It should be "Another correct use of the phrase 'friend and I' ".
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#29
I was in college when I had my first solo apartment. This guy across the hall would come over, or invite me over, and we'd hang out a few times. However, I would not call him a friend.
One night he asks me to loan him some money. In addition to not wanting to loan him money, I don't really have any, so he proceeds to ask for a ride to see his girlfriend because she has some money for him. I agree.
We arrive at her apartment and a small party is going on. When we walked into the party everyone immediately shuts up and stares at us. He runs off to find his "girlfriend," who I find out is his ex-girlfriend. It is awkward because I'm kind of this guy's friend by association, and I'm getting lots of angry stares. He gets into an argument with her and we are basically thrown out of this place.
He then asks if I can take him to another part of town. He owes another guy some money and needs to go talk to him. We proceed to an unfamiliar part of town, and he instructs me to park in a fairly isolated spot. He explains that he doesn't want the other guy to see my car...BECAUSE HE MIGHT TAKE IT. He owes this guy money for gambling or d***s or something else bad, and he is way behind on his payments. I left him and spent the rest of my time in that apartment avoiding him.
Tobias Reaper 1 year ago
You say you wouldn't call him a friend but you hang out in each others apartments and drive him to a couple of different places and even go into the party with him. You don't do that if you don't consider someone a friend.
Tiny Dancer 1 year ago
Had some trouble getting to my first therapy appointment (at 60, it's never too late, kids!) a few months ago. Saw my neighbour in my lobby while I waited for an Uber I couldn't afford. We got to talking. Turns out, it was his day off and he'd be delighted to help out. Saved my sanity in many ways that day. I thanked him profusely, gave him and his wife a little "green therapy" I had in gratitude, and life went on. Still my next-door neighbour. Still not my friend.
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#30
Visiting Kowloon in Hong Kong, I ended up walking all day until my feet were killing me. It got dark outside and I was tired, so I decided to drop by a decent looking bar for a drink and a moment to rest my feet.
It was all empty except a group of serious looking local men in suits. They kept leering at me the whole time, the most awkward beer I ever had. None of them said a word, but I got the message: "You're not supposed to be here, gwailo.".
SheamusFanFrom1987 1 year ago
If they are calling you "gwailo" in a serious tone, leave! Gwailo literally translates to "ghost person" in Cantonese and is mostly used light-heartedly. In this instance, the tone definitely spells contempt for foreigners.
ImAcoywolf?? (EverestWolf) 1 year ago
Laura, I’m sorry somebody’s life isn’t interesting enough for you, we’ll try to have more interesting trauma next time!
LittleWombat 1 year ago
Laura is garbage... she leaves mean comments on everything.
Load More Replies... SheamusFanFrom1987 1 year ago (edited)
Ghost person in Cantonese. Literally aimed at foreigners being, well, for lack of better phrasing, very faired-skin. It is normally used playfully or light-heartedly but if the tone that implies it is serious or hard, RUN!!!
Load More Replies...In those moments when instinct prompts a swift exit, we experience an adrenaline rush akin to what firefighters face during emergencies. Our internal alarms urge us to take immediate action, much like the acute decision-making required in high-pressure situations.
For more on how quick thinking plays a pivotal role in various scenarios, check out these entertaining yet insightful job-related jokes.
#31
I posted this in a similar one of these threads a couple of months ago, but I’ll paste it over here.
I used to drive for Lyft. April 2018, I picked up a young couple from a bar at about 1:30 am. They were fairly chill and I figured it would be my last ride of the night. The dude asked me to stop at a corner store on the way to their destination so that he could get cigarettes. I didn’t see any harm in waiting so I stopped, and had a nice chat with the young woman while he was in the store. He ended up being about 5 minutes since everyone was trying to get their pre-2 am beer.
When he came out, he asked me to take him to a location that was in the opposite direction of their destination, but was only about a mile away. He said he wanted to meet some friends real quick and grab some beer. Since I figured it would be my last ride of the night, I said ‘f**k it, why not’ and drive him over there.
Now, I know the town we live in fairly well, but the direction that we were coming from was not a way I was used to going when I would go to this location. So when I turned onto the destination street, I missed the turn into the complex parking lot. I just came to a complete stop since the roads were empty and asked them if they just wanted me to park on the street or pull into the complex. This is when the two of them started arguing, as he suddenly wanted to go in and hang out for a few minutes while she didn’t want to go in at all; she just wanted him to do his thing and get out of there so they could go home.
And then something hit my car.
The sound is unmistakable to me, so I immediately started to look around to figure out what it was. But there were no other cars on the road, so that couldn’t have been it. Then I moved to the next thing on my mental checklist: if something didn’t hit me, then what did I hit? But that didn’t make any sense either as I’d been in park and couldn’t have hit anything. It’s at this point that the young lady’s attitude completely changed. She just kinda looked around, and then said ‘Can we just get out of here? It hurts and I want to go home.’
This was odd to me as she’d been sitting in my car for about 10 minutes at this point and hadn’t said a word about any kind of pain. She followed this up with ‘It hurts and I can’t move,’ put her had to her back, and pulled it out covered in blood.
What. The. F**k.
So the guy starts freaking out, thinking that something in my trunk had exploded, but it was empty. As he reached over to tend to her I noticed something white sticking out of the seat. This hadn’t been there at the beginning of the night, so I asked him what it was. He pulled on it; it was a piece of the filler fuzz from my seat. It came out of the hole that had been made in the seat.
Because she’d been shot.
As soon he grabbed that fuzz we both had the same realization. He slammed shut his door and I drove them straight to the hospital, which was only a couple of miles away. That realization, and the follow up realization of ‘oh, someone could still shoot you while you’re sitting here’ was one of the most terrifying things I’d ever experienced.
#32
In college, there was a big rock/cliff at the top of a hill that everybody used to climb. It had lights pointing at it to light it up at night.
Some friends and I decided to climb up to the top at night. It was a nice evening but there was a chance of rain. So we get to the top and I see lightning in the distance. I count the time between lightning and thunder... 15 seconds.
I tell my friends: Hey that storm is coming our way, and I'm guessing we have 15-20 min before it gets here. It took some convincing for them to agree that even though I was being a negative-nancy we would head back down. Getting down took about 15 minutes.
Just before we got to the cars, lightning hit the rock and blew out all the lights.
#33
(Sorry for format, on mobile- probably worth the read though)
I’m (19F) on a Greek island last May with my cousin (22F) as a part of a trip. We liked to go on aimless walks out of the towns we stayed in to see what was around.
On our way back from one of these walks we were on a long narrow road that dropped off on each side to beaches.
A small green car passes by us in the same direction we’re walking and stops 50-100 yards in front of us, just sitting on the road. We say maybe they’re just taking in the view. We continue to walk and when we finally get to the car, the passenger (our side) window is down and the man is staring at us through the mirror. As soon as we pass the car pulls forward past us again.
Immediately after the green car drives past us again, large truck drives past (again in the same direction) and pulls along side the green car. They both stop for a moment and are clearly talking to each other. The green car speeds off, the black truck drives forward a bit more and then stops on the same side of the road again.
Keep in mind we’re on a narrow road, we can’t turn around because town is the other way, behind us is just beaches. And a couple houses.
The black truck is stopped on our side of the road, as we get closer, the driver opens the front and back door to the cab, but does nothing else. Just stands there outside of the truck mostly looking back towards us.
We decide that this is way too sketchy, both cars were clearly keeping an eye on us and watching and communicating.
When we get closer to the truck we Nope off of the road and drop into the beach. We get as far away from the road as the beach will allow us, and start speed walking, the man from the truck crosses the road and watches us with BINOCULARS from the side of the beach.
We ran until we caught up with another couple and followed them back into town. I saw the same green car drive back past us multiple times as we ran parallel to the road down the beach.
We made it back to our hotel/apartment thing safely and locked and tied up our doors to the balcony and hall.
in a nutshell: potentially almost experienced Taken on a gap year trip in Greece
EDIT: Despite this incident, I would absolutely still recommend going to Greece. It is a beautiful place with many wonderful islands to explore, and some very sweet and giving locals. I have solo travelled a bit and the world is actually not as scary as some make it out to be. The person who just broke the world record for youngest person to visit every country is a 21 year old woman, and she would tell you the same thing. Anything can happen anywhere. Do your research, learn self defense, and always be aware of your surroundings, but always be open to new places!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
I think, if I've learned anything from the news over the years, it's "never go on aimless walks in other countries when you're a tourist" - you won't necessarily be murdered everywhere, but it just seems like a bad idea.
Susie Elle 1 year ago
I go on aimless walks all the time when abroad. Sometimes you're just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Load More Replies... TruthoftheHeart 1 year ago
Why do creepy a******s have to ruin things for people especially us women, we just want to be able to explore the wonders of the world without having to be worried about being kidnapped or something
BookFanatic 1 year ago
Open is good. Caution is also good. I was on a cruise with a good friend and one of the ports was Jamaica. An older couple we'd become friendly with overheard our excited chatter and said they'd come with us. Stuck to us like glue the whole time. If we wanted to go in two different directions, wife would go with one and hubby with the other. Turns out the last time they'd been, they'd been mugged and "roughed up." Lovely couple and so, so kind to us two inexperienced travelers.
KillerKiwi 1 year ago
Take a pic of the license plates. Also, can’t hurt to call a non-emergency line (if they have that there) and let the cops know, especially after they watched you with BINOCULARS
#34
I was waiting for an Uber on the outskirts of Atlanta with a couple friends around 10pm. We were just shooting the s**t after leaving a nearby restaurant and talking about what bar to go to. A disheveled older man walked up a few feet behind one of my friends and struck a weird pose for 2-3 minutes while looking in our direction, and there was no one else around. Then he walked off without saying a word. He came back a few minutes later and sat down on the sidewalk about 5 feet away from us. At this point I'm just wondering if he wants something from us, because there was absolutely no other reason to plop down that close to us on an empty sidewalk. Then a small sedan pulls in a nearby parking lot, parking behind some bushes in the spot closest to us and consequently furthest from any of the shops in that lot. I only noticed because I happened to be facing that direction, but then saw 6 guys pile out of the sedan and immediately cross the street directly towards us. I realized there were not any shops or restaurants still open nearby. It suddenly occurred to me that the strange dude might have been sizing us up when he was watching us earlier, and he came back to "mark" us. We were all dressed nice with smartphones out and watches visible, basically the fanciest stuff we had for a night out. Right as I started to speak up that we should head back towards other people, our uber pulled up to the curb. As we drove away, I watched those 6 guys talking in a circle where we had just been standing, and then they crossed the street again and got back in their car. I'll never have a definitive answer, but I'm pretty sure we were 10 seconds away from some unfortunate shenanigans.
#35
My friends and I stopped at a 7-11 around midnight in a sketchy neighborhood - we'd taken a wrong turn and were trying to find our way back to the highway. Two police officers were getting coffee and donuts.
A group of local youths came in, kind of roughly messing with each other. The police officers looked at them, looked at us, looked at each other and power-walked out of the store.
My friends and I decided not to complete our snack food purchases and made to leave - and then one of the youths yelled to his friends that we'd called him a racial epithet, when we hadn't even spoken to them. I'm glad my car started on the first try, and glad no one was coming the other way as I ran a couple stop signs.
David Morgan 1 year ago
You have to remember that Police are just people, wearing specific clothes. If it's a group of people versus two, the two almost always lose. Police know that as well as any soldier. On the other hand, they should have scooped OP up as they were leaving - hopefully to call for support.
Natalia 1 year ago
Aren't they armed? What about the "protect" in protect and serve?
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Carrie B 1 year ago
This is a bit too on the nose with the coffee and doughnuts. I'm not buying it.
ImAcoywolf?? (EverestWolf) 1 year ago
Eh if I were a cop I would get coffee and donuts too
Load More Replies... #36
We were playing hoops in a bad neighbourhood. At some point one of the guys we were playing with got real nasty "whithey boys leave now. We ain't f*****g with you you need to leave." Real aggressive etc.
I had noticed a black BMW circling around the playground but nothing much else.
All his friends started insulting us and pushing us etc.
Which was weird we were playing with them every week end. I had given free tutoring classes to one of their brothers.
We left. Pissed. That was a damn good playground. And it felt special to play with the thugs, us being whithey nerdy boys.
Well 15 mins after we left the black BMW shot at them. Multiple casualties etc.
Edit: my timeline is a bit mixed up. Since I had started giving tutoring classes etc it was 15 years ago or so, not 20 years ago. I am old but not that old. Sorry but I wont correct my other comments mentioning the timeline.
Maartje 1 year ago
So the local kids knew what was about to go down and chased the white kids off to protect them.
Haywood Jablome 1 year ago (edited)
Of course. If the neighborhood black kids get shot, the community can deny it and settle the matter in-house, so to speak. But if white kids from down the street get shot, that's gonna be on the news
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#37
It was early 2019 and I was with my girlfriend at the time walking through the woods near my house as we often did. We were having an intense argument over something stupid when I noticed something through the trees off the trail to where we were walking. It was a man wearing a dark top and blue jeans. People came in this woods all the time but what was weird is this man wasn't on any trails he was in the middle of the overgrowth. I told her to shut up (I know bad idea especially in an argument) and she just got madder at me. I told her again and told her to look in the direction I was looking.
At first she didn't see what I was talking about so I told her to look for blue since the mans jeans stood out the most, then she saw him. A man walking through the overgrowth following us. I didn't know who this guy was but he looked older, still I wasn't taking any chances especially with my girlfriend there so I told her 'let's go we have to leave' and we walked faster. The trouble was we were in the middle of nowhere and far from any exits and to be honest my girlfriend at the time wasn't exactly physically fit so walking fast was hard for her.
We walked as fast as she could and I kept looking behind us and that old man was still following us in the overgrowth obviously trying to remain hidden. We ended up leaving the woods and never going back there together. I've been back there many times since alone and have had a few strange encounters with another person that looks kinda like the old man but I can't say for sure it's the same guy as he is always watching from afar. He never does anything besides follow from a distance but I've seen him a total of three times, spooky.
Willie D'Kay 1 year ago
I'm gonna guess OP is a white guy because that's what all the white guys do in horror movies.
Load More Replies... David Morgan 1 year ago
OP, you are an idiot. Stop going to places where you are potentially in danger. Just because something did not happen on one occasion doesn't mean it won't in future, especially if you don't take any extra precautions.
CatchTheWind 1 year ago
How about helping to keep potential future victims safe by asking the police to check it out?
#38
I was 15 at the time. I took about 10 of my little cousins with me to the park. 3 of my older cousins (but still younger than me or the same age) came with me to help. As I approached the park there was a man and two other kids there. He came up to me and started talking to me. I tried to give him the hint that I didn’t wanna talk but he kept going. I asked him “oh did you bring your kids with you” he nodded and kept talking. Then asked me weird questions like “are you married “ “are those your kids” “how old are you”. I lied about my name and age and tried to walk away. Then he said “I like you wanna sit with me and talk” I said I had something important to tell my family first and I’d join him after. I smiled and went up to one of my older cousins and said “pretend everything is okay but we need to leave now”. She nodded and I watched as the two kids left without the man. So we started walking home again and I made sure he didn’t follow or watch where we went. I later found out that he had picked up one of my little cousins and put him down again and one of my cousins saw but she froze and didn’t say anything to me. Luckily one of us saw him walk into a house and so we called the police.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
Dear Patty: "younger than me" is actually grammatically/linguistically correct. Signed, a person with an actual English degree. (Me. It's me. I have a degree in English. And yet somehow I don't feel the urge to correct the grammar/language/punctuation of EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET, the way you do. How weird, amirite?)
Load More Replies... #39
There's a few for me but a significant one...
I was ten years old and my aunt had a small 100 acre farm that was also used as a livery yard for horses.
I had a pony called Toffee. We often had kids come in our fields from the neighboring park. They would antagonize the livestock and horses, set dogs on the sheep, set fire to hay and just generally cause stress and damage.
We were told to stay away and ignore them and tell an adult if we saw them. The police often did nothing as the kids would escape onto the park and the council refused for us to close off the public foot paths through the fields, it was a true misery.
I went to catch my pony from the field and saw he was sweaty and wide eyed. I don't think he understood for a moment that he was safe with me from this frightened look he gave me. I realised suddenly there were six people in the copse of our field. I was suddenly frightened and tried to encourage Toffee to come with me quickly.
Initially the boys ran, I believe when they saw how small I was and that I was no threat the group made way back towards me, the field was fice acres and this all occured in one of the corners. Three of them dropped their trousers and flashed at me. Keep in mind, I was a ten year old little girl who did not understand but had an idea what was implied.
In a panic I went to grab my pony but he was scared of them and backed away. One of the boys shouted "if you touch that horse I'm going to rape you."
Toffee in that moment charged briefly toward them, I don't know if it was fight not flight kicking in or he sensed my terror but it was enough to scatter the boys. I started to turn and bolt as fast as my legs could carry me toward the gate. One of the boys chased after me. I obviously screamed for my life and felt his hand briefly run over my hair before he fell over. I sprang the gate and ran down the drive to the barn where my aunt and mom were.
I always wonder about if I had not run in that moment or Toffee not charged at them if I'd be alive. The field was far away from safety, my parents would leave me for hours alone at the farm. There was a forest and stream as well so my small body could easily have been hidden...
If any are curious, I still have Toffee about thirteen years later. He's 27 and a very old grumpy pony. I'll keep him till he departs the world, he has given so much joy for the little he gave and he might have saved me had he not taken off when he did.
Edit:
pictures of Toffee
Answering some questions:
-100 acres is small for a farm. Do you really think a herd of cows, sheep, hens, horses etc would not take up a lot of space? Think about how much is used for barns, stables the old house etc Consider how much is used to feed the human population, I think that farm barely sustained a few butchers in our area. Most english small farms are over 100 acres and go up to thousands.
-the kids were most likely chasing or throwing things at the horses. I dont know why they do this.
detective miller's hat 1 year ago
If anyone did that around where I live (upstate NY), they would get shot. Kids or no. You don't fůck with the livestock.
KillerKiwi 1 year ago (edited)
Yeah them fückers wouldn’t stand a chance. And especially if the cops don’t intervene, we take things into our own hands. FAFO
Load More Replies... Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
I hope all those miserable b*st*rds eventually wound up in prison - or on the wrong end of bad drùg deals.
Layla Holston 1 year ago
If this happened in the UP (upper peninsula of mi) they would get shot too. There are a lot of guns and people drink a lot here too.
Savannah greenleaf 1 year ago
They allow chickens on residential city property in my area. Limit of 6 hens though.
#40
I was hiking with 2 friends and we were crossing through some big farms. One of the fenced of areas had a herd of cows in it. They had like 20 calves and 150 cows.
As we were walking through, they slowly ganged up on us from behind and litterally encircled us, facing inwards while standing next to each other. I think they surrounded us by like 300 degrees before we realised what was happening and f*****g ran like hell the last 50m to the edge of the fenced area. I think the opening between the two ends of the open circle was like 20m and they were like 20m away from us.
That was pretty insane tbh, I will never forget it. I learned to differentiate between the behaviour of 1 creature opposed to a herd. It blew my mind how they all worked together in silence. I have never experienced fear physically like in that moment.
When we hopped the fence they followed us to the edge. There was one black bull in particular who didn't seem to like we got away. I always assumed he was the leader.
Savannah greenleaf 1 year ago
We should worry about sharks in landlocked states?
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Papa 1 year ago
I've been around cattle my whole life. If they were standing in a circle looking at OP and friends it's because they were just curious. If the cattle had felt threatened they would not have behaved that way. They most likely would have run in the opposite direction, but in the unlikely event one or more were going to attack they would have done so immediately.
Cat servant 1 year ago
I was 9 and visiting my great grandma when I was taught not to go into a field that has cows with calves and never enter a field with a bull. The nonsense that herbivores are not dangerous should never be taught to children. The reason most cattle in the USA do not have horns is because the horn buds were killed while them were calves. They may not be able to gore you but they will trample you. Horses will too if they are not tamed or just decide they do not like you. Large pigs will eat you. Farm animals are not safe if you are not trained to be around them or while they are in herds or sounds. While I grew up in town I did learn not to go out into the ranch land because it was not safe.
Papa 1 year ago
Most of what you said is correct, but the reason most cattle in the US don't have horns is because of genetics, as a result of many years of selective breeding. While it's true that the ones born with horns often have them removed, most never had horns to begin with.
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Biytemii 1 year ago
Omg I had this almost exavt thing happen to me. Me and my friends (alot of years ago) made a treehouse behind a fence where the farmer would let his cows roam a certain time of day so we would get out before that. We'll one day they came early and the bull stood at the bottom of the tree house till all of his cows had passed which took like an hour and a half stuck in this tree. He finally went on his way once they all passed and we jumped down and ran for the gate. I don't remember using that tree house as much after that....
detective miller's hat 1 year ago
Growing up feral in rural Ireland, my cousins and I often cut through people's fields on our frequent wandering adventures. The dogs usually walked side by side with us, so when they all SPRINTED past us across this one fields, we were like ...oh shït. Turned around to see a bull heading right for us. I have never run so fast in my life, nor successfully jumped so high (over a barbed wire fence). We made sure to check who inhabited the fields after that.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 year ago
You shouldn't put spaces before or after an ellipsis. That's not grammatically correct punctuation.
Load More Replies... #41
My friends and I all pre teen boys were walking around the neighborhood. A white van with a mountainscape mural with wolves howling at moon kept slowly following us. Eventually we caught on after a few blocks and started to get anxious. We didn't run, but slowly walked up to a random door (very family centric neighborhood) and then started loudly knocking. The van pealed off never to be seen again.
#42
Girls camp, my last year. Me and a small group of girls wanted to climb to the top of this big hill that has a beautiful lookout above the trees and clear view of the sky. It was a new moon and zero light pollution. We grabbed our flashlights and got on the trail. About 3/4 of the way up, the two girls leading us stopped dead in their tracks at the same time. One whispered to the other "Do you feel that?" I was right behind them and heard what they said. I looked up and around. I didn't see anything but something in the air made the hair on my neck stand on end. It was just too... quiet. I started to feel very vulnerable and scared. One of the girls in front turned and said "We need to go back. Don't run." One girl asked why not run and they said so you don't trip. Valid reason but I don't believe it was the real reason she said it.
Savannah greenleaf 1 year ago
It is not best to run from a wild animal that thinks you are prey.
Pandamonium Pandas Pandie 1 year ago
people r always like, these animals can just sense this kind of stuff, not like us. Well they should read these, we obviously have some super powers.
#43
The owner of a Mexican restaurant threw two young farm workers at the bar out to the parking lot, they were drunk as monkeys and proceeded to try to fight but mostly just leaned on each other, all in front of the picture window while the place is full of people. Then one runs to his trucks and burns rubber outta there. I said "time to go honey" she says "What?" "Those a******s aren't done and I'm not going to be here when the shooting starts" We left, it did, not long after.
Edit: if you want eat authentic, go where the farmworkers eat. My SO speaks Spanish, these guys had been escalating the b******t for a while, their blood was way up. I threw three twenties on the table and got on outta there.
Tiny Dancer 1 year ago
My favourite part of this post is the picture of the VERY British pub in place of a Mexican restaurant. They're just so hard to find, I'm sure.
PandaGoPanda 1 year ago
That's not British. Judging by the beer sign being in French and the street sign being French, as well as the style of furniture and that they're drinking at tables on the street I'd hazard a guess it's in France.
Load More Replies... #44
Once, while I was in High School, word got around about a party to be had at an old abandoned barn in the middle of nowhere. With little else to do, my best friend and I drove out there it see what was what. We got there, and the place is *crawling* with kids in various states of inebriation. Cars parked all over the place. We saw this was a bad scene, and noped out of there. On the way back to the city, we passed a bunch of cop cars hauling a*s in the other direction. We missed getting swept up in the raid by about three minutes. Was a minor scandal next Monday, as several student athletes were caught, and lost their eligibility.
#45
My friend invited me to a "seminar". Everyone were dressed in white shirt and black pant with black shoes. I was odd one out in here. For some weird reason, they were praising founder as if he was some kind of god. When I went in to the auditorium, they were showing how these 17 year olds were earning Rs. 200,000 in a month (which is heckuva lot in India, translated to about $3500) with their own bikes, cars and s**t like that. Then it dawned upon me that this is eerily similar to one of the biggest scam in that used similar business model about 7 years ago at the time. I really wanted to move out ASAP. My brainwashed friend was sitting a few row behind me (all of those involved in this marketing were required to do so for weird reason). It was cringey at best and exploitative at worst. Never cought up with him ever since.
That friend of mine wasn't really bad person or anything. He didn't even force me to buy the product or anything. May be due to the fact that I studied in different city. The product seemed really good from outside but the method of selling really looked like one for MLM. There was another person in that group who was from my school (didn't know him in any way) who forced one of my family friend (went to same school) to buy that product. He then resorted to swearing and abused her online for not buying the product. I'm not sure if it is a full fledged MLM because the participants weren't forced to buy product in bulk. Probably because all of them were students. I don't recall the name of the company, so Idk how is that company still doing.
Sapna Sarfare 1 year ago
MLM schemes were a big hit in India.. now its kind of down since people are more informed.. Know someone who tried to convince my mom regarding some investment scheme lilke MLM. Mom noped out since we didnt have that kind of money, we kind of were sure this would not suit us and thirdly dad would not be convinced too. the said woman then said 'i dont know about you, but we are going to be millionaires'. did not happen.. lol
Freya the Wanderer 1 year ago
Several years ago I went to what was called a group interview. For about a half hour the "interviewees" sat in a room and watched a B.S. video in which people talked about how desperate they were till they heard about the company, and all of a sudden they were eating high off the hog. The video rambled on and on and on about how great the company was and how people who signed up went from struggling to thriving. I soon figured out this was baloney, and on the pretense of visiting the restroom I snuck out of there.
#46
I was at a club and a guy pulled up and parked next to us as we were getting out to head in. The guy then proceeded to reach in the back of his SUV and pull out a shotgun. He looked over at us and told us "It's finna go down." We got back in our vehicle and noped out.
#47
New years eve in Moscow. I (dark haired brown man) was drinking with my SO (blonde white woman) in a bar getting friendly with some locals who tried their best to speak English. So friendly that one of them gave us a matryoshka doll that he was going to give to his mother later that night.
They seemed a little too friendly, and maybe they just were, but at one point I went to order more drinks and the bartender (who had been watching and serving us) gave me a stern look and said, “you should leave... now”.
I found this a little strange and unexpected so naturally tried to question what he meant, but his face was drop dead serious. He looked at the friendly group, then at my GF, then to me and repeated his words.
I didn’t really want to take any chances in Russia and wanted to see another bar anyway, so I grabbed my girl, the doll and promptly left.
Pedro 1 year ago (edited)
If anything, because if a bartender tells you that you should leave now, then you GTF outta there really fast. Because I'm sure he knew the guys and knew what they were really all about. But the answer to your question is either a beating, robbery or gang-räpe. Also, it was a blond woman with a "dark haired brown man" in a coutry that is extremely racist. I hope that answers your question.
Load More Replies... #48
When me (11) and my mom were feeding some cows we had bought with some other people.
There was supposed to be 8 but when we walked into the field they were being held at, there was only seven.
Suddenly a massive black heifer emerged from some bushes ca 50 meters away from us and just started BOLTING towards us, swinging its head wildly.
I literally said to my mom “I think we need to leave now.” But the bewildered bovine would easily have sprinted us down and trampled us to death, so my mom stepped towards it, spreading her arms out wide and screaming bloody Murder. It sounded like somebody had kicked a bull in the nuts, and it luckily was intimidating enough to make the cow stop and lumber away.
David Morgan 1 year ago
Patty, you need to stop. First, you are often wrong so your 'corrections' and assertions look ridiculous. Second, if you keep antagonising people you are going to get banned. If you are just trolling people, then grow up.
Tyke 1 year ago
Apatheist, OP is on reddit, not BP. PattyK is not targeting the audience in the right place. It's becoming clear that PattyK is ruining the experience of this article for many other people. She should go to the original posts, and comment there.
Load More Replies... #49
I left my hometown for a few years after enlisting and when I came home to visit, an old friend text me and invited me to a party and I thought it would be cool to catch up. The party was fine until some random guys show up that were way older than anyone else there, idk who invited them but they got into a fight with another friend of mine, and my friend is a pretty big guy so he won that fight, and the girl who owned the house kicked everyone out that was involved. I decided to leave and saw my friend standing in the front yard. He said the guys went to their car and peeled off so I told him he should leave and I would give him a ride home but he said he already had someone coming to pick him up. Turns out these guys were gang members and they came back with guns, popped the trunk and shot and killed my friend right there in the front yard because he had beat them up. They ended up getting arrested and charged with murder though.
Just a boring person 1 year ago
That's sad, but it's the friend's fault for not accepting the offer from OP.
#50
This literally happened yesterday. So I was at work at a retail store and this guy with two massive buff guys came in to the store to interrogate me about my cousin ( who is on many d***s and probably owes them money) so they started to to tell me to stop lying to them about me not knowing about my cousin, for more backstory in 5" 2 female and I'm not muscular at all. So I went to find my manager for help but she wasn't in the store because she was on her lunch break so I had to hide in the work bathrooms out the back until my manager found me. It was quiet terrifying and I don't even talk to my cousin because he is a terrible human being.
#51
I was in a tiny room inside of a big room where there was a lot of servers. And you know, servers rooms need to have air conditioners so I was always so cold. One day, I started to feel the air warming, I didn't care so I kept doing my things. The air became warmer and warmer and I said "something's happened": for unknown reasons, the air conditioners had stopped. I ran to the door because I thought servers were going to burn instantly, but when I touched the k**b... It was burning, I almost couldn't open it. The servers were making a horrible sound, the heat was unbearable, I was sweating a lot. Before I went out of the servers room, I turned on the air conditioners and I ran away to tell people of the enterprise what happened.
Finally, nothing happened, because I turned on the air conditioners, but if I hadn't done it, I would have died, because if servers set on fire, those things that put out fires (I don't know the name, I'm not English) would have left me without oxygen (they are automatic).
We still don't know what happened with the air conditioners.
(Sorry if I misspelled something, I'm not English).
David Morgan 1 year ago
I think OP is talking about a Halon gas system - Halon is sprayed to douse fires by absorbing the oxygen from the air, instead of using water)which is obviously a bad combination with electronics).
#52
Went to friends house that I had slept over at a couple times already. He left the room and noticed something under his pillow. Lifted it to find a handgun ( we were 12). I stupidly even pick it up to see if it was plastic, confirming that it is metal and reasonably heavy. I grab my s**t and tell him I need to leave, but he stops and tells me it's a BB gun he spray painted black. I stayed, but these days I question the truth of that situation.
KillerKiwi 1 year ago
But why was it under his pillow, and more importantly where were his parents
What do you think ?
Rose the Cook 1 year ago
Some Pandas seem to forget that not everyone contributing uses English as their first language.
Sophia Athene 1 year ago
But they can learn. I don't advocate Patty's level. When I correct lose vs loose, it doesn't mean I'm calling you an idiot and want to correct it all and don't understand not everyone speaks English, yada, yada... Why not learn to use it properly so you don't look like it you don't care to the wrong people? I wouldn't hire an assistant who doesn't know the difference because language is too important in my arena. It could be just as important in another situation, like a job interview.
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athornedrose 1 year ago
when i was 8 on a family vacation with all the relatives, a college guy tried to force me into his room. i developed breasts early and had creepy guys hit on me all the time, but we were at the motel pool and it was so crowded i was having a hard time getting attention without angering this spring breaker. i knew if i said no or screamed he would hurt me, so i said "let me get my cousin to cover for me". my cousin, who swears he didn't know what was happening he just felt something was wrong, looked at this guy whose hand was on my wrist as i told him "hey, he's just gonna show me something upstairs" with huge eyes like GET HELP. screamed "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU" and splashed the guy all over with water. the guy had clothes on not swim trunks so he dropped my arm and i slid out of there real fast and behind my cousin into the pool. all my uncles came running. guy said with my chest i looked 16. that's still a minor, jerkwad. :P
Cee Cee 1 year ago
Always best to trust your instincts. Research amongst emergency workers showed that those who were attacked absolutely knew it was going to happen.
Agat 1 year ago
For me the worst thing is how we're taught to behave (collectively, as a society). We're taught to never be rude, respect your elders etc. So many times you hear victims or would-be victims say that they didn't want to be rude so they answered questions or stopped when asked to, or something. This terrifies me because I'm the same, I cannot overcome this learned "politeness" and it sucks poo. Even if I feel like something's not right, I'll answer some older guy or sth. Hell, a couple of weeks ago I was attacked verbally by a vicious, aggressive older lady and I wasn't able to break the polite way of addressing her (something like ma'am but in my native language). How f*****g absurd are we that we teach children that being polite is more important than anything?
Load More Replies... Nimitz 1 year ago
My sister went to bible school in Thailand. Her and a bunch of other girls went out at night without permission. They stopped off at some place for soup. They ate, but a bunch of guys and the owner kept hitting on them and made them feel uncomfortable. They kept trying to get them to stay. The girls dropped money and left before finishing their meal and booked it back to the college. By the time they got there they could barely walk because the soup was heavily laced with THC. The girls spent the night being high AF, but they got away, and learned their lesson. They honestly thought because they were Christians that God would protect them from such situations...
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
'Learnt their lesson" is a horrible way of phrasing that. What lesson did they learn?
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Mari 1 year ago
Last summer I was walking with my son and saw a girl and man in front of me. I felt bad vibes. So I kept walking behind them and after a few minutes I saw the girl getting nervous, she was walking faster but he kept walking next to her. I saw the girl making a gesture that he has to leave her alone, but he kept stalking her. So I said to my son we had to follow them, I made a lot of noise with my heels so the man noticed us. He stalked the girl for 5 more minutes but he was the whole time looking at us if we were still there. Finally he gave up, and went into another direction.. We walked 5 more minutes behind the girl until she went into a street with a lot of trafic and people.
MellonCollie 1 year ago
I also have a few: 1. I was about 17-18 years old and on holidays in Sicily with my parents. On this particular day, my parents wanted to go and see the salt pans in the area. They're interesting to see, to be honest. But also located in a remote, rural area. We drive up to the salt pans, rural Sicily, middle of summer, scorching hot, not exactly a thing many tourists go and visit in August so there were very few tourists around. We drive through little country roads and arrive at the salt pans we had planned to visit, only to find there were already some folks there. To be precise: 3 shiny, dark, expensive vehicles were parked right there. We get out of the car, a handful of well-dressed elder men standing a little bit further down the road stare us down. My parents pretend not to notice. I stop dead in my tracks. This is not the time nor the place for us to visit these salt pans, someone already booked them for the day and there is some kind of business meeting going on...
MellonCollie 1 year ago
...I try to remain as calm as possible while convincing my parents my gut is telling me we Need To Leave Now. My parents tried to reassure teenage me everything was fine, but I was having none of it, and after what seemed like forever, they did in fact give in to me request to leave. We did in fact even go up to the salt pans, and also got closer to these men, but the tension was tangible - in fact, I have NEVER felt such an unspoken warning ever after. That was incredibly creepy.
Load More Replies... Not-a-Clue (she/her) 1 year ago
I think I'm extremely lucky to be from the UK where guns are rare and we don't have much in the way of dangerous wildlife, although of course we have our fair share of nutcases. I'm so clueless about what's going on, and generally trusting of people, I'm surprised something seriously bad hasn't happened to me. Yet at least.
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
That's because the vast majority of people are trying to just get on with their lives the vast majority of the time. These kinds of occurrences are very rare.
Load More Replies... Rose the Cook 1 year ago
Some Pandas seem to forget that not everyone contributing uses English as their first language.
Sophia Athene 1 year ago
But they can learn. I don't advocate Patty's level. When I correct lose vs loose, it doesn't mean I'm calling you an idiot and want to correct it all and don't understand not everyone speaks English, yada, yada... Why not learn to use it properly so you don't look like it you don't care to the wrong people? I wouldn't hire an assistant who doesn't know the difference because language is too important in my arena. It could be just as important in another situation, like a job interview.
Load More Replies... athornedrose 1 year ago
when i was 8 on a family vacation with all the relatives, a college guy tried to force me into his room. i developed breasts early and had creepy guys hit on me all the time, but we were at the motel pool and it was so crowded i was having a hard time getting attention without angering this spring breaker. i knew if i said no or screamed he would hurt me, so i said "let me get my cousin to cover for me". my cousin, who swears he didn't know what was happening he just felt something was wrong, looked at this guy whose hand was on my wrist as i told him "hey, he's just gonna show me something upstairs" with huge eyes like GET HELP. screamed "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU" and splashed the guy all over with water. the guy had clothes on not swim trunks so he dropped my arm and i slid out of there real fast and behind my cousin into the pool. all my uncles came running. guy said with my chest i looked 16. that's still a minor, jerkwad. :P
Cee Cee 1 year ago
Always best to trust your instincts. Research amongst emergency workers showed that those who were attacked absolutely knew it was going to happen.
Agat 1 year ago
For me the worst thing is how we're taught to behave (collectively, as a society). We're taught to never be rude, respect your elders etc. So many times you hear victims or would-be victims say that they didn't want to be rude so they answered questions or stopped when asked to, or something. This terrifies me because I'm the same, I cannot overcome this learned "politeness" and it sucks poo. Even if I feel like something's not right, I'll answer some older guy or sth. Hell, a couple of weeks ago I was attacked verbally by a vicious, aggressive older lady and I wasn't able to break the polite way of addressing her (something like ma'am but in my native language). How f*****g absurd are we that we teach children that being polite is more important than anything?
Load More Replies... Nimitz 1 year ago
My sister went to bible school in Thailand. Her and a bunch of other girls went out at night without permission. They stopped off at some place for soup. They ate, but a bunch of guys and the owner kept hitting on them and made them feel uncomfortable. They kept trying to get them to stay. The girls dropped money and left before finishing their meal and booked it back to the college. By the time they got there they could barely walk because the soup was heavily laced with THC. The girls spent the night being high AF, but they got away, and learned their lesson. They honestly thought because they were Christians that God would protect them from such situations...
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
'Learnt their lesson" is a horrible way of phrasing that. What lesson did they learn?
Load More Replies... Mari 1 year ago
Last summer I was walking with my son and saw a girl and man in front of me. I felt bad vibes. So I kept walking behind them and after a few minutes I saw the girl getting nervous, she was walking faster but he kept walking next to her. I saw the girl making a gesture that he has to leave her alone, but he kept stalking her. So I said to my son we had to follow them, I made a lot of noise with my heels so the man noticed us. He stalked the girl for 5 more minutes but he was the whole time looking at us if we were still there. Finally he gave up, and went into another direction.. We walked 5 more minutes behind the girl until she went into a street with a lot of trafic and people.
MellonCollie 1 year ago
I also have a few: 1. I was about 17-18 years old and on holidays in Sicily with my parents. On this particular day, my parents wanted to go and see the salt pans in the area. They're interesting to see, to be honest. But also located in a remote, rural area. We drive up to the salt pans, rural Sicily, middle of summer, scorching hot, not exactly a thing many tourists go and visit in August so there were very few tourists around. We drive through little country roads and arrive at the salt pans we had planned to visit, only to find there were already some folks there. To be precise: 3 shiny, dark, expensive vehicles were parked right there. We get out of the car, a handful of well-dressed elder men standing a little bit further down the road stare us down. My parents pretend not to notice. I stop dead in my tracks. This is not the time nor the place for us to visit these salt pans, someone already booked them for the day and there is some kind of business meeting going on...
MellonCollie 1 year ago
...I try to remain as calm as possible while convincing my parents my gut is telling me we Need To Leave Now. My parents tried to reassure teenage me everything was fine, but I was having none of it, and after what seemed like forever, they did in fact give in to me request to leave. We did in fact even go up to the salt pans, and also got closer to these men, but the tension was tangible - in fact, I have NEVER felt such an unspoken warning ever after. That was incredibly creepy.
Load More Replies... Not-a-Clue (she/her) 1 year ago
I think I'm extremely lucky to be from the UK where guns are rare and we don't have much in the way of dangerous wildlife, although of course we have our fair share of nutcases. I'm so clueless about what's going on, and generally trusting of people, I'm surprised something seriously bad hasn't happened to me. Yet at least.
Roxy222uk 1 year ago
That's because the vast majority of people are trying to just get on with their lives the vast majority of the time. These kinds of occurrences are very rare.
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