Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone in between! Welcome to the thread that has been long overdue — the one dedicated to exposing the big, the small, and the downright ridiculous things in life that are complete and utter nonsense. If you’ve ever felt like the world is somehow conspiring against you or that you’re constantly being fed lies, this post may interest you.
So, what kind of nonsense are we talking about here? Just the usual suspects: from those pesky things that make life more frustrating or sad to the grand-scale legalized scams perpetuated by governments and shady industries alike. Some refer to all those hidden fees here and there that make the most random things so expensive, while others are related to the absurd choices made by politicians who seem to be disconnected from reality. Whatever it is, we’re calling it all out, fellow Pandas!
Now, we know some of you might be thinking: “Can’t we just let people believe what they want?” And to that, we say, “Nope!” We live in a world where misinformation runs rampant, and there’s nothing wrong with people wanting to set the record straight. Plus, let’s be real — calling out frauds and all those annoying things that should not exist can be pretty cathartic.
We’ve laid out all the ridiculousness we could find in this thread, so get your nonsense-o-meter maxed out and ready — here are the best examples of things that make no sense, brought to you by the people of Reddit.
This post may include affiliate links.
North-Owl-7402 said:
"That pets’ lifespans are shorter than ours."
dont_disturb_the_cat replied:
"I feel exactly the opposite. It tears my heart out to see an old quiet pet at a shelter. They had a happy life and then one day the old lady fell and then there were a lot of people and now they're here in this shelter with all these other cats and dogs and will the old lady ever come to get me? I just want to go home.
I would so much rather make an old cat comfortable in his old age, and treat him the way that he deserves. And one day, I will be honored to be the warmth and smell and voice that soothes them as they breathe their last.
I would so much rather live with the loss of a pet than desert a pet at the end of my life."
"Uploading a resume and then having to manually enter all the info again."
"People demanding respect from you when they don’t show, or give, you any respect."
"Sign up to subscribe online, but cancel your subscription only by mail/phone/in-person."
Free trials r a joke too. Learned about a GREAT hack tho! Use visa gift cards for the "shipping and handling" type stuff
SuvenPan said:
"Youtube hiding the dislikes."
IWasTooSlowSteam replied:
"It's actually a massive problem because like: dislike ratio used to be a very good way to sort out bulls**t troll tutorial videos."
"Conversion therapy. It's an excuse for sick a-holes and sadists to torment children and feel powerful, and the only result is lifelong trauma that keeps on giving."
just looked it up. It's a 'tool' to make gays straight. Here are some of the 'cures': forms of brain [probably modern versions of lobotomy] surgery, surgical or hormonal castration, aversive treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, hypnosis, counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, psychoanalysis, and masturbatory reconditioning.
Notagenyus said:
"How little billionaires pay in taxes."
kanniget replied:
"What's more, bulls**t is the fact the system operates in a way that allows billionaires to get that rich.
You could be given $200m at age 20, spend $2m a year live to 80, and due to interest accumulation give over $100m to your children when you die.
But, Nah. Got $1m, but have to chase $100m. Have $100m got to chase $1b. Have $1b, have to chase $50b.
The sad fact is, to get this rich you either need to be extremely selfish to think this way OR have the ego of Musk to think you saving humanity through the power this kind of money gives you."
You can't seriously think Musk is trying anything else than to get richer.
gingerbeard_house said:
"Uber Eats charges a service fee and a delivery fee. I’m sorry, wasn’t the service... the delivery??"
XediDC replied:
"Note the prices are probably jacked up on each item above the store's actual menu price too."
Gubble_Buppie said:
"'You get what you deserve.' BS. You get what you get."
JonnySpanglish replied:
"A good teacher once told me: "bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people" and he wasn't wrong. Karma is a comforting idea, but it rarely plays out."
sharodnae said:
"'Money can’t buy happiness' and you think being dirt poor will? Beans and rice can only get me so far."
OnaholeReviews replied:
"Money buys comfort. And it’s better to at least be comfortable if you’re feeling low. Money buys a better quality of life."
This is one of those incomplete sayings (like "the customer is always right"). People latch onto the bit that suits them best and ignore the rest of it. Money, beyond a certain level of income, doesn't buy happiness. But you have to have reached a minimum level of having your needs fully met (needs, not wants) before that happens.
LorianGunnersonSedna said:
"Crypto. It was a scam the entire time and SBF is finding out."
WhatJewLookinAt replied:
"This is why I never invested in it.
I’m like “wtf is dogecoin” and when my curiosity was too much, I looked up what crypto was and I’m like “yeah I’m going to watch this crash and burn while I keep my head down and move on with my business, thanks”!"
Nothing can generate money from empty space. If you read up what crypto really is you realise it's a bubble that has to bust because it only costs money without any income or generated value. It's empty, it has no value on its own whatsoever, it already costs money just to exist. People who don't understand why money is valuable in the first place confuse value with worth and think it's interchangeable. But it's not. Value comes from the thing itself. Worth is what others give it. For example the value of a picasso painting is negligible. The paints and materials are worthless, it has no actual use that could give it value, but it's worth is immeasurable because it's unique and can't be reproduced one on one. There won't be any more Picasso's. A bit coin not only has no value at all, it even has a negative value, because for it to merely exist it costs mones every moment just for being there. It also has no worth. Crypto mining is limitless, it's not unique and has no impact.
Akragon said:
"Flat earth."
Deep_Fried_Pagan replied:
"They literally can't even agree on what they believe - they disprove themselves with their own stupidity."
Local64bithero said:
"'Entry Level' jobs that require experience. By definition, entry-level means you don't have any experience. It's just an excuse to pay entry-level wages to people with experience. But do tell me how nobody wants to work anymore."
AFotogenicLeopard replied:
"For me, it was being told my experience was impressive and they liked me but they decided to go in another direction. That used to break me down because I didn't understand what else I needed to do."
Certain_Attorney8451 said:
"Women’s pants not having pockets."
holayosoyola replied:
"Or too small pockets which you even cannot put your phone in."
DBRookery said:
"Subscription-based software."
Chromattix replied:
"As a digital artist, this one gets me the most. I really enjoyed creating during the 2000s on pre-paid software I could use indefinitely for as long as I liked (years, because I couldn't afford the thousands of dollars it cost to upgrade every year) and now they want me to pay hundreds (or for one of them - over a thousand) dollars every year for the privilege of continuing to use them? I can't justify that, my digital art hardly made me any money when I did it. Not enough to cover the cost of a few grand in software payments every year anyway."
Use a free knockoff instead. Gimp works exactly like Photoshop and it's open source. (The only thing Gimp doesn't do is allow you to work in CMYK, but how many designers are doing print in 2023?)
"That a US president can pardon individuals that were convicted of breaking the law to get them elected."
argentinaconA said:
"NFT ART."
chickenxmas replied:
"AKA the emperor’s new clothes."
BarraDoner said:
"People who claim they ‘tell it like it is’ and ‘have no filter’; are just using catchphrases to justify insulting and belittling people. I’ve worked with people like this and it’s miraculous how often they develop a filter when there is a manager in the room… it’s also miraculous how the only victims of their honesty are consistently those who don’t fight back."
laserguy37 replied:
"It's a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought to speaking the truth - Daniel Craig in Glass Onion."
If all your so called truth is nasty, you're not speaking any objective truths, your spreading hurtful, subjective opinions. And that's called bullying. You speak the truth if asked for your opinion. If you excuse sprouting nasty opinions with 'speaking the truth', all you do is trying to hide your bullying.
ZubLor said:
"Getting a dog and then leaving it outside all alone all the time. We have a husky in the neighborhood who's in a wire kennel. Pretty big I guess by kennel measurements, about 15' x 10'. He has food, water, and a doghouse. Sometimes he has a tarp for shade. Sometimes he has toys. But he's so alone. No exercise. No stimulation. He breaks my heart. We call him Lonesome."
Hutch25 replied:
"Why own an animal to leave it in solitary."
wrongbutt_longbutt replied:
"My parents used to have a neighbor up the street with a dog on a chain in the front yard. It never got any interaction or stimulation, so it would just aggressively bark and growl at anyone who walked past. It eventually dug up the stake that held its chain and escaped. We were all elated that it didn't have to suffer in that yard anymore. A month later the house had a new dog chained up outside. I can't imagine the thought process on why they got another dog."
"Allowing private companies to dig natural resources out of the earth and sell them back to us."
MoneyMitch2k said:
"'Resort fee' and all the other bs fees hotels hit you with."
vonkeswick replied:
"Wife and I just stayed a night at a resort. It was super fun, then saw the bill with a surprise "amenity fee." We paid to use the amenities at your resort! Why is that cost not part of what we already paid for."
Key-Walrus-2343 said:
"Having to clean the Airbnb top to bottom whilst paying a $300 cleaning fee."
Toastbuns replied:
"Some hosts have lost their damn minds with this. Mop the floors, run the laundry, mow the lawn, and raise the neighbor's children. If there's a "cleaning fee" I'm not doing any of that."
GingerBanger85 said:
"That you would still have to pay a deductible if an uninsured motorist crashes into you."
eddyathome replied:
"Having to pay extra on your car insurance because of uninsured and underinsured motorists. They are the irresponsible ones and I am paying for it? WTF?"
That's literally how insurance works, though. A bunch of people pay into the pool of funds from which payouts are made. I've never caused an accident or been issued a single moving violation in 42 years of driving, but I still have to pay for car insurance. OTOH, I use TF out of my health insurance because of chronic medical conditions, but I pay the same amount as someone who's perfectly healthy.
"Pay parking at the hospital, especially when it’s not in the middle of the city and impossible to use the parking lot for other things in the area."
iceburglettuce said:
"Service fees for online purchases."
Carne-Adovada replied:
"Ticketmaster charging a convenience fee to send me a PDF of my tickets or charging me a postage fee to get them in the mail, but at least it's my choice which one to pay."
Enemy_Bread said:
"The blister packs around scissors that require scissors to open."
Potatokoke replied:
"When I was out studying I had a pair of scissors with just a permanent little zip-tie stuck around one of the loops because I only had one pair of scissors."
"Scientology."
Top_Juice7860 said:
"Depression, I'm fed up and tired of having it."
Victor_Korchnoi replied:
"And then my depression meds have caused me to gain weight, which isn’t exactly helping."
DaBigCheese666 said:
"Military recruitment is high schools.
You have predatory MLM-style presentations given to CHILDREN. Getting them all hyped up for what they could become just to destroy their bodies and mental health all because you could never convince a 25-year-old that "you'll be making 26k a year before taxes" is a good bargain. The entire approach is completely manipulative and predatory."
PrivilegeCheckmate replied:
"I had a buddy who saw Top Gun at 19 and joined the Navy because the recruiter promised him he could get him on an aircraft carrier after basic. Well, after basic he was indeed 2 weeks later swabbing the deck of an aircraft carrier, cleaning up some poor dude who walked into a helicopter rotor."
As a veteran, I seethe every time I see a military recruitment ad using video game imagery. It's not a f****n game, kids.
"People who abuse service animal laws as a free pass to take their non-certified pets anywhere they go. Someone just posted a Yorkie pooping through a shopping cart in Publix."
Even humans poop and pee where they shouldn't on occasion,we can't police everything, there will always be exceptions, justified through uncontrollable stomach sickness or bad behaviour, it will always happen somewhat. Doesnt mean its not a good service animal automatically, could justmean it got uncontrollably sick that day.
"Private interest capturing so much control over our government."
Everyone in power should be paid less and have less control over us. A guy with no connection or feeling for you shouldn’t be able to control so much of your life.
"Chronic pain."
This should be higher. Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders have disabled me for the past 24 years...since I was 34yo. There's no reason for the pain to exist; it's like multiple echoes of a sound that hasn't existed in decades. It's meaningless. And I'm so tired and so depressed from it.
"Qualified immunity.
Police have a license to kill anyone they damn well please so long as they can make it seem like it was in the line of action. If not murder then kidnaps, battery, assault, etc., etc. It's absurd how often they arrest people without there being any probable cause of any crime having been committed and they don't even get a slap on the wrist."
"Everything and anything having to do with engagements or weddings. Many modern rings are so incredibly gaudy, proposals are set up to get pics for social media, and the wedding industry preys on the idea that women will get to be the fairy princess they’ve always dreamed of… but for a price."
Rusty_is_a_good_boy said:
"Credit scores. I hope this is just a USA thing because it’s just stupid.
A number from 1 to 850 represents how “creditworthy” you are. Never mind I g that two people could have the exact same credit history but different credit scores. Oh and this system that governs basically everything financial in your life has only been around since the 80s.
My favorite is how I have great credit finally but I could have BETTER credit if I was deeper in debt! That’s right, I can qualify to get deeper in debt if I go deeper in debt first! A super legit system, no BS here."
I wad taught to pay for things fully, all at once. Now I have bad credit because I paid my freaking bills. I wanted to get a washing machine at lowes on a monthly payment, because im on disability now, but my bad credit said no!
jseney93 said:
"The fact that USB connectors take at least 3 attempts to get in correctly."
Proof-Positive-9558 replied:
"Either way, it takes 5 secs. You look at both ends waste lots of brain cells and then finally."
WildChildMom said:
"Medical care costs in the US."
stopXstoreytime replied:
"In addition to having health insurance tied to your job. Do unemployed people just magically never get sick or injured?"
swoodlbetter said:
"Cancer."
Makuntisichi replied:
"This is a good one. Although modern medicine has gone leaps and bounds in combating it; now survivability is distinctly possible for many who get it, thankfully (my own ma is one).
Here's hoping for better treatments and even a cure in the next few decades!"
there will never be a cure to cancer. Cancer is multiple diseases that has many factors, including genetics, immune system response, immune system strength, previous cancers, etc.
Deathbringer2048 said:
"College board charging 12$ for sending scores via email to colleges and then adding an extra 31$ to send it asap."
TaterTotQueen630 replied:
"I'm piggybacking off of your comment to add that my college charges $50 for a replacement diploma. Mine was damaged in a basement flood. I paid my university thousands and thousands of dollars for tuition and they have the audacity to charge so much for a duplicate sheet of paper."
"Private landlords hoarding housing."
As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed and demand a rent even for its natural produce. LVT rules.
LilacAndElderberries said:
"For the majority - having to grind out a job their whole lives so they can live on their savings for the few years they have left in their old age."
adamaj74 replied:
"You mean, so they can spend their savings on medical expenses for the few years they have left."
Yep, prime example right here. Honestly though, I thought I'd die in harness.
"All the bs fees from the airlines. Now when you look at flight cost it’s not even close to the final price. Baggage fees. Choose your seat fee. Board early fee. 2” more legroom fee. Etc."
born_in_cognito said:
"The diamond industry."
earic23 replied:
"It’s based on a lie that Diamonds are actually rare, but they’ve controlled the market to such a degree that they are in fact rare to the public. Not much different that a million other corporations that control the market for their benefit. Car manufacturers for example."
It's not that diamonds are rare, it's that NICE diamonds are rare, and this is usually only in relation to cut stones. The bigger the stone, the higher the likelihood it has inclusions, uneven color, etc. People who complain about diamonds not being rare generally don't understand a thing about them.
Babylonbricky99 said:
"Getting yelled at work. People at my work think it's acceptable to scream at other people for not doing things exactly as they expect you to do them. They scream at the new guys and the young guys, they scream at the afternoon shift for not reading their minds about how to do things their way. They just flat-out abuse whoever they want and nothing is ever done about it. And if you complain, you're a bitch and a rat and they'll threaten you with physical violence.
Work is a thing people do to make a living. It doesn't matter and it definitely doesn't give you the right to threaten or abuse other people. Nothing gives you the right to threaten or abuse people in any workplace scenario."
EmilyDontAsk replied:
"You need to find a new place to work. then when you do quit, state that it's their horrible behavior that drove you away."
BatteriVoltas77 said:
"Having to pay for multiple streaming services to get the shows I used to be able to see for free or on one platform."
WrenchesRUs replied:
"The perfect time for tv was when we first got digital cable with the pwr. record your favorite shows, watch them later, and fast forward to the commercials. Also, the first while of Netflix, when it was the only streaming platform, and all the good s**t was on it. no one shows on one platform, another I want to watch on another, and there are YouTubers I want to watch ALL their videos but some of them are behind a youtube membership paywall, and that's not even youtube premium itself!
I don't watch much tv anymore, more like one or two shows on my cable box on demand, besides that I watch free Youtube content, and my wife uses Netflix and free tubi. it gets the job done."
My TV died 2 years ago.... Haven't replaced it.... Only regret it during football season and then not much.... My teams not local
BaitcastervTenkara said:
"Seemingly putting the correct email password in and it spits back out that it’s incorrect and u use two-step verification and change the pass/precedes to tell you can’t use recently used password."
crisboi21 replied:
"This exact situation has happened to me so many times. Nice to know that others share the same issue."
ThatHairyGingerGuy replied:
"It's probably cos you forgot it once, changed it slightly, then forgot you'd changed it."
Websites: Don't write your password down where others can access it. Meanwhile, browsers: We're going to store your password in a database in the cloud where it can be hacked.
littlebluefoxy said:
"People who wait to the last minute then make it other people's problem. You knew you had to do this ALL YEAR and you're going to bitch at me because you submitted it TODAY and WRONG? Get bent, sir."
AsWeirdAsCanBe replied:
"I used to work as a Podiatrist in the NHS, sometimes we would get patients ringing us up at the time of their appointment saying that had just set off from home and are on their way. We would tell them to not continue the journey because they will be too late for their appointment and we have many other patients to see who has arrived on time. They would still arrive 30 minutes late for their appointments and get furious with us for not seeing them, then saying that we should have told them not to come (we did!). One woman stomped her foot in the waiting room and said she had never been treated so badly in all her life!"
I always arrive at least 10 minutes early, yet I still always have to wait well beyond my appointment time. YOU knew you had to do this all year too; why weren't you prepared?
"Closing costs on a home. I need another 20k for paperwork."
That's just a tax. The amount doesn't represent any kind of work or fee.
neverwasneverwas said:
"Holding a door open for someone and they breeze by you to get in front of you in the line."
DaBigadeeBoola replied:
"This happened to me at a restaurant. A**hole couple could've to say least told the hostess we were there first."
NonconformingChad replied:
"I always figured if you hold the door and wait you’re offering your spot. You could hold the door from the inside if you want your position."
All_Lightning879 said:
"Cancel Culture."
Mikkens7 replied:
"I feel like most of the people who cancel people aren't even passionate about it and they're just thirsty for blood, or they really could just be that weak lol."
"Zodiac Signs."
Oh boy, where shall I get started. How about a story of my friend, who is not an astrologer. So, he had a crush on a girl, and the girl had a crush on him. She did not want to be his girlfriend because he 'had the wrong sign.' So many things wrong with this. So you can't fall in love with someone who was born in the wrong month? So you can't love a person who was born when some stars were on the other side of the sun. One word. Bùllshít.
"Homeopathy."
I have a friend who's parents believe in this bs. They literally TAPED HER MOUTH SHUT when she was having a nasal cold. It is a pseudoscience just like astrology, and is a scam like scientology.
Metalhead278 said:
"Taxes that aren’t included with the price. Like it's not that hard to add 23 cents to my 5.99 cheeseburgers."
Sliiime_ replied:
Something similar in Germany exists, it's called pfand. Basically, whenever you buy a can or plastic bottle you pay a deposit of 25 cents you get back when returning the bottle (to minimize littering and to recycle the bottles). But at least that is always 25 cents or 15 cents for hard plastic/8 cents for glass."
Xzenor replied:
"That's different but I see the resemblance. We have that too. It's not a tax but it does indeed go on top of the price of the drink...
Good thinking! Never would've linked the 2."
"Tip jars on the counters."
Depends with this one. As someone who works in the restaurant industry in the US and relies on tips to make a living, I'm all for tipping. That said, in the past few years I've started to notice tip jars on the counter at businesses where they never were before. Places where people make a proper hourly wage or salary.
reiycr said:
"Having to pay a surcharge if buying something with a card instead of cash."
everything_in_sync replied:
"Most card processors charge around 3% per transaction. As a business owner, it really adds up. The businesses that openly say "surcharge" are being transparent with you while most companies just add more to the initial cost.
Edit: If you email us and say you'd rather pay cash, we will give you a discount."
They want us to go cashless to reduce costs and overheads in accounting and managing cash balances and banking BUT using a card costs US more in fees and charges every year. Dont fall for it, use cash at every opportunity. I bank once a week or fortnight at most and pay cash 95% of all my transactions. It is also still the best budgeting tool.
"The thought that cows contribute more to global warming than mono-crop agriculture."
The majority of mono crop agriculture is to feed cattle and other livestock. Add the methane and pollution produced, staggering water usage, and deforestation to provide the space for mono and pasture and you have an environmental disaster. This is not new, or controversial or not understood. This has been known for decades. BP, please stop putting any old c**p on your site
"Bottled Water."
Again, this one might be location dependent. Not everywhere has potable water readily available from the tap. And if you are a tourist, your gut flora may not be equipped to handle the different bacteria present in the water the locals use to brush their teeth. Yeah, bottled water in NYC makes no sense, but it's not a universal nonsense.
ayebrade69 said:
"NFL overtime rules."
thorpie88 replied:
"Dunno Aussie rules not having overtime means we once had to have a grand final replayed the next week after a draw."
"The amount of air in a bag of chips."
Nope. Time and time again - the “air” in your crisps is to stop them getting smooshed and stop them going bad (it’s not air it’s an inert gas like nitrogen usually).
Having to pay for healthcare. I live in ONLY developed country in the world that does not have universal healthcare.
I just read about Henry Ruggs taking a plea deal in the DUI crash that killed a young lady and her dog. He is pleading to a misdemeanor manslaughter charge with a mandatory 3 year prison sentence. His top speed in his corvette was 156 mph. The chip in his car showed him dropping from 156 to 127 seconds before slamming into that young lady's car and killing her. His BAL was twice the legal limit for NV 0.16%. How is this justifiable for his actions or for that poor girl's family. I'm sure there is a large payoff for all parties involved that no one is talking about.
Having to buy a battery for a power tool because it's not included. And normally, the battery costs more than the tool. I bought a yard edger for $89, but the battery was $109!
Having to pay for healthcare. I live in ONLY developed country in the world that does not have universal healthcare.
I just read about Henry Ruggs taking a plea deal in the DUI crash that killed a young lady and her dog. He is pleading to a misdemeanor manslaughter charge with a mandatory 3 year prison sentence. His top speed in his corvette was 156 mph. The chip in his car showed him dropping from 156 to 127 seconds before slamming into that young lady's car and killing her. His BAL was twice the legal limit for NV 0.16%. How is this justifiable for his actions or for that poor girl's family. I'm sure there is a large payoff for all parties involved that no one is talking about.
Having to buy a battery for a power tool because it's not included. And normally, the battery costs more than the tool. I bought a yard edger for $89, but the battery was $109!