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We're all born with a clean slate. Growing up, we soak up our surroundings, filling our brains with information, most of the time without even being aware of it. At one point we start looking at the world with a little helper on our shoulder, called "common sense." And while some "truths" don't stand the test of time and change when they are challenged, we're talking about more mundane things today.
One Reddit user was curious about the most "out of touch with reality" people that others have witnessed, and let's just say people were eager to share their bizarre experiences. Over 33.6k users shared stories of meeting people who surprised them with their sheer ignorance, wild beliefs that have no support, and lack of what seems to be basic know-how needed to just stay alive.
Bored Panda's selected the most captivating stories that left us wondering how these people managed to miss the learning opportunities throughout life, and while most of the answers seem ridiculous, maybe some will actually add to the pile of knowledge in your subconscious. And if you are intrigued by the delusion, you can check our last post on this topic right here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
As a public defender I was defending a Chinese woman charged with prostitution at a massage parlor. I suspected she might be a victim of sex trafficking and spoke to the judge in her chambers about it (some counties have programs designed to help victims, instead of punish them). Not only did the judge not believe my client was a sex slave, she didn't think sex trafficking even existed and told me that everyone needs to be responsible for their own actions. I eventually convinced the DA to drop the charges but was astounded by how out of touch the judge was. It's one thing not to believe that my client was a victim, but it's incomprehensible that a judge would not be aware that sex trafficking is a thing.
Nancy T 3 years ago
I was in family court this year. I explained to the judge that my daughter had Ehlers Danlos syndrome and autonomic dystonia. The judge looked at me like I was a crazy liar and said "I do have a little medical knowledge and have never heard of this mumbo-jumbo" and "Did a real doctor actually diagnose her?!". Freaking God...we had spent the last two years trying to figure out what was ailing my daughter. Multiple specialists provided diagnoses. The obstinate ignorance of that judge shattered me. I have no faith in the justice system.
Hannu Luhtasela 3 years ago
My ex-gf had EDS too so I learned quite a much about it back then. Two things I noticed. One, people were like ”Never heard EDS, so it's unlikely to be anything serious like cancer”. Two, it was surprisingly hard to cross borders sometimes. The border officers had trouble believing the amount of strong drugs she had to travel with. She passed away at the age of 24 and maybe then people finally believed that the disease could be serious, even if they themselves had not heard of it.
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Ray McArdle 3 years ago
Ha ha. There are pleeenty like that. Some no smarter than a grocery clerk, not to insult grocery clerks.
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Shannon Donnelly 3 years ago
I consider myself pretty jaded and am rarely surprised by the oblivious ignorance and/or plain stupidity by people, but I'm amazed that not just a judge, who HAS to have heard horror stories of adults & children who have been sex trafficked, but that it's a FEMALE judge. I know this probably sounds sexist, but I've met too many men over the years in all walks of life who believe there's no such thing as rape, sexual assault, "yes really means no", etc. But the majority of women not only understand this, but have either experienced sexual assault or know someone who has. I hope this judge is moved to the part of the court system that deals with "white collar" crimes, like tax evasion. This woman shouldn't be near any case where violent crime has occurred. Better yet, stick her in traffic court
Djoarhet 3 years ago
This is just part of a much bigger issue. We put people in positions of power and expect those people to be fair and balanced people. But why would a judge or a senator or cop or a president have better judgement or balance? The judge that decides your faith is just as biased as anybody else. The whole foundation of modern society had some pretty big rotten spots.
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Earl Grey 3 years ago
Well, that was the lawyer’s opportunity to summon expert witnesses from the FBI, DHS and CDC to enlighten the Court.
Jackie Lulu 3 years ago (edited)
Problem is. that costs money. Who's going to pay. For the experts? I think it should be on the judge.
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Lupita Nyong'heaux 3 years ago
is there no recourse for people who come before judges like these? can you report them to the bar or some overseeing body? cuz this is dangerous af.
Nancy T 3 years ago
I've wondered that myself. I am so glad that public defender went to battle for that woman. And that judge needs an education.
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Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
This is terrifying. I've seen other examples of the same sort of ignorance that ruins people's lives and lets the perpetrator go free. Seriously, judges need to be educated every year. They cannot make decisions on a society they are ignorant of.
Jessica J. 3 years ago
I hope he filed a report with the state, and federal, bar. Heck, I'd report it to every organization I could think of...
Paul Richards 3 years ago
judges like this should not be judges anymore. stay current or gtfo!
ThatOneWriter 3 years ago
I really, really hope that judge is no longer on the bench. Human trafficking isn't something you can just "believe in" or "not believe in". It provably exists,
Carol Emory 3 years ago
I love how people involved in the legal and federal system all seem to think they know better than doctors. Reminds me of one of my Archaeology professors telling us how, at a cocktail party, a man who was a Doctor of Gynecology asked what my professor did for a living. My professor said he was an Archaeologist. The doctor responded with "Hey! I'm an amateur archaeologist!" To which my professor responded "Hey! Small world...I'm an amateur gynecologist...."
RELATED:
#2
Had a coworker ask me what denomination I am. I replied I don't believe in god. She was so dumbfounded that she didn't have a reply. 3 days later she came back and asked if I was worried about going to hell, or what jesus would think. Had to explain I didn't believe in those either. She had no idea atheism existed. She was told in church that atheists were just people who were mad at god, but she thought that still meant they were religious. She was 43 years old.
ShadySlytherin 3 years ago
Frankly, at that point it's willful ignorance or stupidity
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UKGrandad 3 years ago
There are a lot of these people around. They don't understand atheism because they cannot imagine a world without their particular god. Their idea of an atheist is someone who knows that there is a god but doesn't want to believe for whatever reason.
TheKitKatLizard 3 years ago
It's even worse with mormon and jehova missionaries over here. What do you mean these Europeans in a majority atheist country aren't immediately bowing down to our extremely america-centric religion in fear of the apocalypse?
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Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
One place I worked was loaded with “church ladies”, who were always proselytizing at work, trying to get people to convert and come to their evangelical church. Yeah, THAT kind of church lady. I remember being in my cubicle working, when three of them, who didn’t see me there, started talking about me. I had already said I was agnostic, and that just stuck in their craws. They made comments about me going to hell but that THEY KNEW THEY were going to heaven because of their excellent relationship to God and Jesus. These were not the nicest, kindest people who “lived by the Golden Rule” that I have ever encountered. Quite the opposite. They also didn’t know what agnosticism is, and thought I was an atheist, so add their ignorance to the list. When I had had enough of listening to them trash me, I popped up, smiled, and said I was going to visit HR and tell them about the religious discrimination I was experiencing in my now toxic workplace. You should’ve seen the look on their faces. They all got called in to HR, along with our department manager, for a good talking to about discriminating against someone on the basis of their religion—-or non-religion. Then there was a company wide announcement reinforcing that that kind of discrimination would NOT be tolerated. They never said another word to, or about, me.
Michael Largey 3 years ago (edited)
Ironically, in the Gospels, Jesus went out of his way to show that he couldn't stand people like your co-workers, people who used religion as a mask for bullying and condescension. In the end, those were precisely the people who turned him over to the Romans to be killed.
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Mitchell 3 years ago
I had a colleague who found out I am agnostic. Later when I talked about an event and “the difference between right and wrong” he was genuinely confounded. He asked me how I knew about morality if I wasn’t religious.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
ask him how he knows about morality if he is religious. After all, religion tells you to kill your own children. Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Load More Replies... Cuppa tea? 3 years ago
As the old story from Northern Ireland goes: some stranger was asked in pub whether he's Catholic or Protestant. He answered atheist. Further question was: right, but you're Catholic or Protestant atheist?
Alicia M 3 years ago
A woman once told me that she has no idea how I get through a single day without god. All I kept thinking was how bad is her life that she could not get through one day without god? It blew my mind someone is so dependent on an imaginary friend.
Mason Kronol 3 years ago
Lmao describing god as an imaginary friend! I will steal that phrase. Also lmao at autocorrect changing god to gif!
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Penny Fan 3 years ago
My mother still thinks I'm "just rebelling against God". I'm 53... and a Pagan
Michael Largey 3 years ago
Tell her that she's just rebelling against Zeus.
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ThatBiBookLover 3 years ago
I’m religious and quite sensible, if you’ll excuse me. Some of us aren’t batshit crazy ;)
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ohjojo (you/your's) 3 years ago
When I met my boyfriend's sister-in-law and she found out I was Jewish She was very concerned that I was going to hell. I was very concerned that she had a driver's license and was raising children.
Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
I had fellow students tell me (they were in pre-med--not me) that they were surprised the professors were allowed to tell them such lies in their science classes. Nothing outside the Bible had ever been taught to them. Don't know if they made it on to become doctors.
Ray McArdle 3 years ago
They shouldn't be allowed in medical school. God doesn't cure people. Doctors do.
Load More Replies... #3
Some years ago, I worked in a mailroom. The boss of my boss was talking about one of her family members, who had some kind of emergency, and had to come up with $30,000. She said to my boss and I...and I'll never forget this: "I don't understand the problem..I mean, who DOESN'T have $30,000 saved for an emergency?!?" .....B***h, I work in a mailroom.
Epilogue: I have been out of the mailroom for 8 years....I still don't have an extra $30,000 lying around.
BoredPandaSucks 3 years ago
A lot of people wouldn't even have an extra 30 dollars, never mind thousands
Spiky Mama 3 years ago
56% of Americans don't have $1000 in savings for an emergency. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/19/56percent-of-americans-cant-cover-a-1000-emergency-expense-with-savings.html
Stump Rumpersonne 3 years ago
I knew a person who always cried pauper when their bank account went below 5k. Bish, I had to walk to work bc I didn't have bus fare.
Mason Kronol 3 years ago
I had a friend and have a relative like that. If we went out to eat or drinks she would buy the next round. Spoiler alert: she never bought the next round. Now I know why you have so much cash.
Load More Replies... Littlemiss 3 years ago
I read yesterday a person asking anon on fb if they could use their kiwi saver (retirement money) to clear their debts. With the constant increase of the cost of basic living they were struggling to make ends meet and wanted to clear their credit card debit instead of living off the cards to survive. Mum's kept commenting that they needed to just budget better, stop using credit cards period, and give up any luxury they had - I'm guessing that was really glorious things like food, rent, power etc. Never fails to surprise me how mean people can be.
RafCo (he/him) 3 years ago
I could probably come up with $30K, but I'd be down one lung and one kidney.
Karri Berkowitz 3 years ago
Not proud of this but dang I don't have 3k saved for an emergency.
#4
I live in london as a welfare rep for American students. Knowing that American college costs a bundle, and the programme to come over costs a load too, these students tend to be the richest and whitest of suburbia.
One day the WiFi went down and I may as well have told them that there was no drinking water in the U.K.
About 40 students were knocking on my door telling me it wasn't acceptable and that they were calling their 'daddys' to sort it "My daddy is a lawyer, so if you think you're getting money for this accomodation when I haven't had WiFi you've got another think coming." (that sorta thing!)
I tried to calm them down, let them know it would be back on in an hour or two when one of them said the following line;
"You can't blame us for being upset, we grew up in 'THE FIRST WORLD'"...
I was flabbergasted, not only did she talk about being from 'the first world' (who does that) like that is something to be proud of. But her entire arguament was 'Everything in my life has always been easy and perfect... how dare you take away the most minor of utilities for 3 hours'
I despair
pug nose curly tail 3 years ago
As someone who lives in "the first world". I live a half of a mile outside of the city limits of a fairly populated town. I don't have access to the internet at all.
Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
I'd hate to tell her that my grandparents first got water inside their home in the late 70s. In Canada.
ForThePeople 3 years ago
I have heard worse stories, thankfully they did not try to do arson, as some spoiled kids have done before.
Michael Largey 3 years ago
I would have looked them straight in the eye and said "One word : Comcast".
Ethan F DeBarbieris 3 years ago
Ok, someone tell her about what it means to be First World. Then banish her to a third world country for a few years. That might straighten her out. Maybe even Iran.
Literallyaeasybakeoven 3 years ago
The disparity in the US is insane. I’m lucky and have been able to live comfortably, but in a very rough area. I thought I was rich because I could afford to get new shoes when mine wore out. Meanwhile people think no Wi-Fi is living in squalor. I guess it’s all in where and how you’re raised
GlitterQueen541 3 years ago
I also love how this girl somehow thinks LONDON is apparently lesser
#5
We were at a table, 6 of us, eating.
The conversation turned to jobs/employment. One of the guys, a rich kid that had most of his life handed to him, including his tech job at mommy's company, made the comment that he didn't understand why if someone couldn't find a job, they just didn't go back to school, get a degree, and try some more.
He couldn't understand two things.
One, *most* family's cannot support an unemployed adult student for the time it takes to get a degree.
Two, the jaw dropping one, was he thought that ALL colleges, EVERYWHERE, were FREE.
His 'logic' was that students go to college straight from high school and 'they don't have money' so how else could they afford school.
We live in the U.S. and this guy was *27 years old*!
And we had to tell him school costs money......
Pound Cake 3 years ago
Through my school system’s program I can take community college classes and even after all the county’s deductions I still have to pay! Unless you can bribe quite a few people, your college will not be free in the US
Lyyyy 3 years ago
To be fair, there are countries in the world where education works like he imagined.
--- 3 years ago
An awesome education system still can't help people graduate and get another job if they don't have the skills for those careers where workers are needed. For example, one could be good at restaurant, hotel and events work, but they end up jobless because of the pandemic, depite their wide range of abilities
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Billie Templeton 3 years ago
I also had a *privileged* friend during my college days. It took me 6 yrs, working my tail off, to complete a 2 year degree. He attended Baylor for 4 years on Daddy's money. Including tuition, rent, car payments, insurance, spending money...etc. This friend couldn't understand why it was taking me "so long" to finish my degree. Yeah... Privilege and blind spots go hand in hand. No longer friends, BTW
Holly Carter 3 years ago
What did this guy think people were referring to whenever student debt gets brought up?
Upstaged75 3 years ago
The only reason I was able to attend college full time straight out of high school was that my parents had saved for it my whole life. I attended a private college which was not cheap. The total for 4 years was $80,000. And that was in the 90's! I can't imagine how anyone affords a private college these days. I had to put myself through Grad School by working at the university I attended. It took longer but I basically got my Master's for free by being an employee.
--- 3 years ago
Genuine question, if you weren't rich, why did you go for private college instead of public?
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#6
My brother's best friend married a pretty rich girl. He said the first time he saw her do laundry she was going through her pockets and throwing her loose change in the garbage. She had no idea that people kept their change. Genuinely thought everyone just threw it away.
Arthur Waite 3 years ago
When I was a kid, in the 1950's, my Dad would toss the pennies from his change onto the street near bus-stops or schoolyards. He knew the pennies weren't worth bothering with, but finding them (a few at a time) would Make Someone's Day. Time passing, the economy getting worse, I'm doing the same with nickels (that's Canadian for 5 cent coins.)
Meeliasi 3 years ago
It's so important parents teach their children the value of money, ESPECIALLY if they're wealthy.
RafCo (he/him) 3 years ago
I had a friend that was dating a SUPER rich girl. His parents had a small farm, made a good enough living to send four kids to college, but definitely not rich. First time I met her she asked me where my family "summers". I had no idea what she was talking about. Then she went on about how "quaint" it was that I was an immigrant, because her family had lived in Rhode Island since blah blah blah. I was very happy when they broke up.
Rylosalex 3 years ago
"How "quaint" it was that I was an immigrant?" What kind of sentence is that?
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KING ILLEGAL FOREST 3 years ago
Money in pockets is the reason I made sure to do everyone's laundry all through high school.
Jo Slatermill 3 years ago
True story - last year I had some loose change heavy in my pocket and it bugged me so much I decided to throw it to the garbage. at first it felt like "I'm doing something wrong". but then I realized it's this dumb culture that worship money which made me feel this way. like throwing 10 cents to the garbage is "bad" but throwing unfinished food I just bought or 1/10 of the drink left in the cup is not the exact same thing. made me feel kinda liberated to be honest.
Honu 3 years ago
I wonder if you can throw it in the recycling. Our coins are made of metal. Still, I could probably just leave it in public somewhere and someone would take it. I can't see actually throwing it into the waste stream so it ends up at a landfill.
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Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 3 years ago
I regularly empty my change purse into a jar. Always pick up any loose change I see, even pennies. We use it as emergency money - gas, food, etc before payday. Penny jars got emptied 2 or 3 years ago. We had over $100 in pennies!
Dragons Exist 3 years ago
Unrelated to the story but I like how the picture has different controlsy coins
#7
I had to give my friend the sex talk... Junior year of high school.
Before that, he thought you took your wife to the hospital, they put you in a room, you peed on her and the baby would be conceived... Sweet Jesus.
TotallyNOTaFox 3 years ago
I'm so glad that i got my education in a country with proper sex-ed. Sex differences in 4th grade, detailed anatomy, pregnancy, STDs and protection methodes in 6th/7th grade and finally genetics and biochemical processes in 10th grade
Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
My childhood friend had her first child at 16 because her boyfriend convinced her she couldn't get pregnant the first time she had sex. Her mother would not let her attend sex education classes. I wish she'd talked to me--or anyone before her boyfriend.
Potato Chimps 3 years ago
I can only imagine the confusion that would have arisen had this guy made it all the way to marriage with no one updating him. "Well dear, my bladder is full. Want to head down to the Medical Center and start a family?"
Michael Largey 3 years ago
This is what is meant by "abstinence education". They abstain from telling you anything but "Don't!"
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
I had to give my own little sister the sex talk. Not sure why the program was phased out by the time I was a senior in high school, but bang up job when several of my little sisters friends ended up pregnant at ages 14 and 15. I had a sex education for multiple years till the last year of high school and then suddenly it was gone. It's no surprise to me how many people I knew ended up as young mothers.
Jessica J. 3 years ago
Another good reason there should be federal standards on education curriculums, and religion should play NO part.
Angela Jester 3 years ago
I had to explain how periods work and how pregnancy happens to many of my friends.
#8
Went on a trip with an ex to Asia. She didn't like it because she couldn't understand why people didn't speak English. So she would just yell at them, I need a napkin! Bathroom, where?!
I pretty much told her to have some respect for people. Talk to them politely. She got all mad and fussy at me the whole trip.
CH1990 3 years ago
Going on a holiday is the best way to find out if a relationship is going to work or not haha
Fat Harry 3 years ago
We found out on holiday that between us, my partner and I make one passable French speaker! We teamed up on all conversations and discovered that when one of us didn't know a word or couldn't convey an idea, the other one could step in and do it. We nailed a discussion in a garden centre about a plant :D
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Pound Cake 3 years ago
People who don’t speak my language are still people who deserve respect? Whaaaaa?
Michael Largey 3 years ago
I really doubt that she shows much respect to people who do speak her language
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AJ Claymore 3 years ago
I'm currently working security at a truck gate for a major manufacturer. Everyone always complains about the drivers who can't speak English, but I find they're always the nicest people. The only ones that ever give me trouble are the native English speakers.
Upstaged75 3 years ago
How stupid do you have to be to not understand that there are other languages in the world?
Mason Kronol 3 years ago
Also yelling at blind and deaf people! As a bartender I met a lot of different people. I had a deaf customer who always sought me out because I enunciated and made eye contact. That made it easier when I worked with a HOH man. He was kind of shy and self conscious. And I went into a bodega once for enchilada sauce, the owner got her 16ish daughter to tell me how to make it myself. That little girl apologized to me for her poor English. I apologized to her for my poor Spanish. I still use the recipe, we still frequent that place and as a young as Duolingo can be I'm proud to be learning a new language. Korean is extremely hard though!
too indesicive to choose name 3 years ago
And they should all start screaming at her for not knowing their language
#9
My dad was in the US Marines for Desert Storm and Desert Shield and had to escort a fallen soldier home for his funeral. When he attended the wake, the family was understandably upset except for the father. After talking to him, he explained that he knew his son had been selected to be a secret agent and that the body in the coffin couldn't possibly be his son. Very sad.
Suck it Trebek 3 years ago
Sometimes you do things so you're mind won't shatter into a thousand pieces.
Dodomaster Lord of chickens 3 years ago
Well, I certainly hope he was. Thoughts and hopes for that father
Jaaawn 3 years ago (edited)
I certainly don't because that would mean some unknown poor person is being buried under the wrong circumstances and will lie forever in a grave that isn't even theirs.
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Michael Largey 3 years ago
If it was an open casket service, Dad is in denial, at best. If the casket was closed, Dad might (possibly) be right - but he's just blown his secret agent son's cover.
Memere 3 years ago
Agreed. The father was in complete denial, not 'out of touch'.
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Viper Dogfish 3 years ago
That's not mental illness. Just grief and denial most likely.
Load More Replies... Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
Note: escorting a fallen soldier is a privilege; you don't "have to'.
#10
Knew a guy who was really into rage against the machine, and getting pretty radicalized about government.
One day thought he was being tailed by the FBI, so he threw it in reverse and rammed the car.
Turns out it was the FBI. He was on a watch list, and now he's in prison.
VonBlade 3 years ago
I think you have to do more than listen to a band to get on an FBI watchlist.
UKGrandad 3 years ago
It was probably more to do with his radicalism about government than his choice of bands. You can be pretty certain that he shared his more extreme views on social media, which would have brought him to the attention of the authorities.
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Michael Vickery 3 years ago
Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
WoodenLion 3 years ago
just watched "run with the Devil" on netfl -- mcafee-similar situation, could be.
Load More Replies... Penny Fan 3 years ago
Hmmm, I'm being tailed by one of the most powerful and well-equipped internal secret services in the world. I know, I'll ram their undoubtedly high-powered and perfectly maintained vehicle with my beat up old banger. That will get them off my tail.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 years ago
I got on a list once because I was dating a Russian National. It wasn't the FBI though, it was the FSB. It was 2016 and apparently a Russian and an American attending an anti-Trump protest looked suspicious. She had to take a bus to Seattle the next week to be interrogated at the Russian Embassy. So somewhere in the basement of The Kremlin, there's a file with my name in it.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
well then he wasn't delusional, was he, if they really were tailing him?
Michael Largey 3 years ago
The FBI wanted to make sure that they knew where he was and what he was doing. Well, he's arranged things so that they definitely know where he is and what he's doing without spending a nickel on gas.
Svenne O'Lotta 3 years ago
He got radicalized "about government" by listening to RATM? And this led to him being put on a list? A list of people who like good music? And somehow backing your car into another car puts you in jail? The car with FBI agents following him for being a Tom Morello stan? What did they charge him with, excessive headbanging? Not singing along to Testify?
Thomas Ewing 3 years ago
The saying is: "Just because you're NOT paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
Load More Replies... RafCo (he/him) 3 years ago
To quote another panda. Of all the things that have never happened, this one never happened the most.
#11
Oooooh this question is perfect for me.
I grew up in the richest and whitest of suburbia. Everyone I knew had a doctor/lawyer/CEO for a dad it felt like. Where do I even start?
- I knew a girl who didn't want to go to school in the 8th grade... So her parents paid her. $400 a week just to *show up* to middle school. She's now addicted to pills and not going to college.
- One time I was at a friend's lake house and they asked if they could come to mine next weekend. When I told them I didn't have one they were actually floored. Everyone has one of those, right? Similar thing happened a few times with country clubs.
This one is the best:
- I went to France on a school trip (I know, I know) with another school from my area. I saw one of the girls from the other school who I had made friends with over the course of the trip crying. I went and asked her what was wrong and she said she found out her maid got deported back to Bolivia. I was like "that sucks was she really cool or something?"
Nope. She didn't even speak English. The girl was just pissed she'd have to clean for herself until they got a new one. Then come to find out that wasn't even their only maid... They were going from 2 maids to 1 for like a week or two and it was the worst thing that had ever happened to her.
Allison B 3 years ago (edited)
My dad's a doctor and honestly I'll admit to having been quite spoiled as a child but this is insane! I think the only "rich kid" moment I had was being confused when I visited a friend at their apartment since the setup reminded me of a hotel with the entry doors in a hallway. I had never seen that before and was confused if they were living in a long term hotel or something. I was like 20. Not my smartest moment. He's my best friend and im still teased about it 15 years later.😂🤦♀️
Ethan F DeBarbieris 3 years ago (edited)
At least you weren't as bad as some of the stories I have read.
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RafCo (he/him) 3 years ago
I will say us poor kids have moments like these too. I remember going over to a friend's house, and his mom made him a sandwich. She cut off the crust around the sandwich and threw it away. I nearly had a heart attack. Who TF would throw away food? He said he didn't like the crust. My brain could not comprehend this. Another example, my mother signed me up for this after-school hiking trip. The teacher put on our list to bring two pairs of shoes. I had never heard of anyone owning more than one pair of shoes. I thought, but I only have two feet, why would I have four shoes? I survived the trip with the shoes on my feet. When it was time to wade through a stream, I just went barefoot.
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
Back in the early 80s I was stationed with this tiny black girl who grew up in the bayous of Mississippi. Way back in the boonies. She told us the one night about how it was growing up, their perceptions, & what a culture shock it was joining the army. Her community new the Civil War happened & that they were now free. But they still believed that their people were put on the earth to work & that the white folks still lived in mansions & dressed all fancy. Reconstruction was still going on. The process of showing up at the recruiting station & then going to basic training was like a journey to another planet. When the bus pulled into the base & a white woman drill Sargent came up to her face screaming & cussing, she wanted to hit him. White women should never talk like that. As she told a group of us about her experiences all we could do was laugh. Her entire community had been very sheltered for over 100 years.
Anne Mitchell 3 years ago
And this story is from a country whose workers rely on tips rather than a lovable wage!!!!!!!
Florence O'Grady 3 years ago
I think some people were not taught properly by their parents and which ever educational system they went through growing up.
UKGrandad 3 years ago
That's a bit unfair. It is possible to be privileged but still be in touch with reality. Being wealthy or coming from wealth is not itself a problem, it's the blinkered attitude that everybody has what they have and blindness to the world around them that afflicts some, but by far from all of the wealthier people.
Load More Replies... #12
My father, by far. But the coin incident was the farthest from reality he's ever been.
My dad collects coins, because his extremely Hungarian immigrant grandfather convinced him that the Bank (capitalizing it because to him, all banks are just one huge world bank) is determined to steal all his money from him, so he has to have a backup plan. This in and of itself isn't too extreme; plenty of people choose self-sustenance due to a distrust in government and economics, but the real kicker happened when he tried to roll his coins.
He has to order his coin rolls online because he doesn't want to go to the bank and get coin rolls because then the bank will know how much money he's hiding from them. I'm not kidding. Anyway, he ordered a bag of coin rolls and waited about a month for them to come before he started getting curious where they were. He asked my mom to check the order tracking while he was at work one day, which led to this conversation:
Mom: [Dad's name], it says here that the package made it to [town we live in] two weeks ago, but got sent back. It says you gave no delivery address.
Dad: Yeah, why would I do that? I don't want them to know where I live, they might tell everyone.
RedBadgerCan'tSwim 3 years ago
I've never heard of a store shipping product without an address.
Historyharlot93 3 years ago
I think you can send it to “General Delivery” at the Post Office, at least you used to be able to. Why that would still be a thing in this day and age though, with the danger of anthrax or other chemicals being sent through the mail by terrorists..
Load More Replies... RafCo (he/him) 3 years ago
The mistrust of banks is something I am familiar with. When I was still living in Brazil, and before my father was arrested (he was a left-wing journalist, not a criminal), a lot of his friends had been survivors of the holocaust. My father was born in Brazil, but his family escaped Poland in the 1920s. Many of the Ashkenazi families did not trust the banks, because the Eastern and Central European banks had confiscated their money to fund the Nazis. So I remember among his friends, they would buy gold and stash it around their houses. Just in case the banks turned on them again, or the currency value crashed. On the Sephardic side, they didn't have this fear, and thought their European brethren were funny in this way. Of course, those families with gold made out much better, when our currency value did crash. All the money in the banks became worthless. Too bad my father had no gold, since as I mentioned before he was in prison. He's doing quite well now.
LoneTomato 3 years ago
Thank you for sharing this story! It's so important to remember the lasting impact of such horrible things. I can certainly see how carrying or hiding gold would bring an extra sense of security after that
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UKGrandad 3 years ago
What is 'extremely Hungarian' supposed to mean? Surely one is either Hungarian, part Hungarian, or not Hungarian at all.
Epona 3 years ago (edited)
I agree! They are not always the best quality (sometimes the open end of the roll, that lets you see what denomination of coin is inside is poorly made and the coins fall out of the roll) but if you are lucky and know which brand makes sturdier rolls, it’s cheaper than buying them at Staples or wherever. Especially if you buy a lot of packages of rolls (say you have a lot of coins to roll)! Dollar Tree would be one of the better dollar stores to buy them because their prices are (in my city anyway) ALWAYS $1.25, no matter what the item is! Yay Dollar Tree!
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Maria Mandjik 3 years ago
Old Europeans have a tendency to keep lots of cash in the home, when my mother died she had 13k in hundred bills.
#13
Got a good one. I went to school in At UBC for a year and lived in the dorms. One of the super rich Chinese kids that populated my school lived on the same floor as me. Her first day there she took a shower in the public bathroom and then just left all her clothes strewn about. She assumed the maid would come pick them up an wash them.
YetAnotherSarah 3 years ago
I looked it up. OP specifies "Chinese" because the students from China make up a very large and specific (exceptionally rich to the point of being culturally distinct) demographic at the University of British Columbia. OP's shorthand description doesn't translate well for those of us that had to even look up "UBC".
Earl Grey 3 years ago
Yes, there are a number of west coast universities that are favored by the Chinese as daycare centers for the offspring of their resident oligarchs. The existence of Lamborghini and Ferrari dealerships in these areas offer telltale signs.
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Mama Penguin 3 years ago
Am I just dense? OP describing her nationality I thought was just that and not meant as something malicious, especially the context is given that the university has a sizable number of students from China.
Vuun 3 years ago
It's possible to interpret "Chinese" as an ethnic term. That is, of course, by default malicious. /s
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 3 years ago
My sister shared a campus apartment with exchange students while at WSU. She said the Korean girls were polite and fun. Very tidy and very curious about US customs and cooking (they thought using avocados in a savory dish like guacamole was weird.) The Chinese girl, while nice, was a slob. She said the other roommates had to have a talk with her one night about the strong smell coming from her room. The girl explained that she never had to clean her room because her mother always did it for her at home. They made her go in and clean it. Turned out she had spoiled plates of food under her bed. She hadn't done any laundry in the two months she was there. And she had damp and mildewing towels all over the floor. She was a fast learner though and wasn't shy about asking for help if she didn't know how to do something. By the time she was ready to return home, she was looking out after herself. Bet her mom was in for a surprise!
Epona 3 years ago (edited)
I’m assuming that this girls parents paid for everything and also gave her a LOT of spending money and she just kept buying new clothes when they got dirty instead of washing them? I’m guessing that there was not a conversation with them on the phone or computer when checking in with their daughter in which she asked for more money for clothes. They just already were giving her all the money she wanted. Wow! I’m glad her roommates were able to respectfully teach her how to take responsibility for her laundry and dishes. Good on them! And good on her for being willing to learn!
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Kennedy Kargeaux 3 years ago
Omg! I wish I could have seen her face when she was told that she's responsible for EVERYTHING!
Ru Bee 3 years ago
Hell I'd pick em up, wash them and keep them..... Probably better than my clothes ;)
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 3 years ago
I hope no one told her anything to the contrary. After a while - empty wardrobe!
Celtic Pirate Queen 3 years ago
I had a friend like that at school, briefly. I was at hers one day and the way she spoke to their maid absolutely floored me. I told her straight up that she needed to apologize. WHY? She's just a maid. I terminated our friendship right then and there.
Epona 3 years ago
I’m fairly sure that the photo shown is just a stock photo, and is not the actual girl in the story. Occasionally BP will have the words “Not the actual photo” written underneath the photo. I guess they forgot this time. I would not be surprised if this girl did shower in her clothes though, before her roommates educated her on doing laundry.
Load More Replies... Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
My daughter first college roommate was 11 when she was adopted by an older white couple from America. She was in a Chinese orphanage. Her adoptive parents did not teach her much of anything. They were very religious & psychologically abusive. My daughter had to tutor the girl in math. We have Chinese relatives & when we told them this, their eyes got really wide & they expressed shock. There are Chinese that don't know math?
#14
About 3 years ago and I had a young woman, probably early 20s, come into the cafe I work at. She ordered herself and drink and a pastry of some sort. Her total around $6. She proceeded to hand me a 1 dollar bill and 6 quarters. I took the money and waited for her to procure more but she just stood there staring at me. I told her, "I'm sorry, it's $6.87," or whatever. She says, "I know I gave you 7." I said, "No, this is only $2.25." She took the money from my hand and counted each item in front of me like I was stupid, counting each item as $1. I pointed to the quarters ans told her, "Those are quarters, not dollars." Keep in mind this person was obviously not foreign or anything. She had no accent and seemed completely American. Anyway, her response was, "I know they're quarters, but they're dollars." She then proceeded to pick up one of the quarters and point to the word "dollar" inscribed on the bottom beneath George's head. At this point I was thinking, this is the single dumbest person I've ever seen or this is the worst con ever conceived, but she didn't give up. She demanded to speak to a manager. I got the manager and he told her the same thing. She started getting visibly upset, and holding back tears. She might have been embarressed. Best I can figure is that she somehow never learned about money and change somehow and used it so rarely that she assumed quarters were dollars because technically the word "dollar" was on the coin.
Cuppa tea? 3 years ago
Going with her idea, even 100$ bill has word dollar, so she will need 6 of those to cover the purchase.
Sunny Day 3 years ago
I don't find this one as hard to believe, considering the number of checkout workers who don't know how to make change unless the register tells them.
Robert Beveridge 3 years ago
...and the dozens of times I've had checkout workers refuse half dollars, SBAs, and $2 bills because "that's not real money".
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TotallyNOTaFox 3 years ago
Probably not a foreign accent to the region / country
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nuberiffic 3 years ago
You know this story happened in the US because of, "she had no accent".
Stephanie Did It 3 years ago
Our autistic friend (21m) was filling his borrowed car at the gas pump and had a complete meltdown when he checked his card balance and found the business had withdrawn funds from his account. He loudly accused the attendant of robbing him. Sometimes we just don't realize the perceptions of others when they process things differently.
#15
"You don't have to go to college and I'm not helping you with fafsa because Armageddon is coming soon and we'll all be in a heavenly paradise. You should spend your time going door to door in the field ministry until Armageddon comes instead." - my mom.
Weim Central 3 years ago
It's hard when you come to the realization that one or both of your parents are dumb as a stump.
Nathaniel Garrett 3 years ago
Ah, Christian nihilism. The dumbest philosophy you could ever possibly have.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 years ago
My mom's mom was one of these. Jehovah Witness. Only a few survivors that side. I mean that literally because that outlook is so messed up and hopeless that out of four cousins, one committed suicide, two disappeared and one is serving a sentence for drug crime.
Luna Crow 3 years ago
I hope for the two who disappeared that it was because they got out. I had to take that route to escape my fundamental religious relatives
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SlothyK8 3 years ago
My mother was just like this. I ended up having to pay my own way through college (back when you could do that with a full time job...I worked 40hrs, nights, and carried a full load in the daytime) because, even though we were dirt poor and I was eligible for financial aid, she wouldn't sign anything.
Kathleen Olsson-Nelson 3 years ago
Jehovah's Witnesses. Almost word for word, my parents and family. NOT me. Left that cult when I was 14, never looked back. Thankful to have escaped.
brandiej14 3 years ago
Ah the JWs strike again. Had a new JW try and tell me they don't believe that anymore, tell my estranged father that lol
#16
I had a friend who was going to Greece with her family and asked me to come. I told her "sorry, I'd like to but that's too expensive." She responded with "just ask your parents to pay, I'm sure they will." I could not for the life of me convince her that no, my parents would not pay to send me to Greece. She literally could not wrap her mind around the fact that some people's parents would not pay for them to go on vacation.
Hex Gurls 3 years ago
i go to a wealthy school on a scholarship, a buttload of rich kids who all have like doctors for parents, and they always ask me to just ask my parents to buy me the expensive stuff i can’t afford. i can’t??? because it’s expensive???? and they don’t understand that
Ethan F DeBarbieris 3 years ago
Because they grow up in a little bubble then are suprised/maybe angered when someone bursts it.
Load More Replies... Agnes Jekyll 3 years ago
A "friend" wanted me to follow to her new private school her parents were sending her because she was a bad student with her so she wouldn't be alone (and most likely so she could continue to cheat off of me). It was 30,000 a year--this is 20 years ago. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't follow her. Never been relieved to see the back of someone's head.
Praecordia 3 years ago
Lol my ex said to ask my parents for money when I needed some for a medical bill. I laughed in his face and said, no my parents don’t have money. I send them money I don’t ask them for it. He looked so surprised.
RandomEpiBioPerson 3 years ago
My mother did almost this exact thing to me. She was going on a trip to Greece and said I should go and my response was "I can't afford to right now. I need to work." and her response was "It's not that expensive. You can afford to just do this one thing." She has this mentality after me being the youngest of four kids and not getting to do many things growing up because they couldn't afford it, but she suddenly thought I could afford this sort of thing. -_-
Mary Linda Gail Gibson 3 years ago
This is an example of just who are going to be taking care of you guys as you grow older, and damn this sounds like how they start. They will have access to changing laws, rules, money, how you live or don't live and completely without compassion. I think our education system has failed us here and the universities and allies are drawing lines.
Collin Lyle 3 years ago
I have a friend like that. He thinks my parents are as wealthy as his parents. His parents had a full time maid. I was my mom's full time maid, lol.
K. Anderson 3 years ago
My mom could have afforded to but never bought us lots of stuff growing up including excessive shoes & clothes. She saved it for college or travel. She would have made it work but I would have had to figure some of the money out too. Once my flight was cancelled to go to Miami for a free 4 day cruise to Bahamas. My cousin got the 2 tickets for free from a person she knew who worked for cruise line. If I took the next flight to Florida it would be too late & the boat would left. We figured it out (not sure how as this was in 2000 when the internet was not the resource of info it now is) that my cousin should get on the ship & I would catch a flight to Nassau Bahamas where the boat was docked for first 2 days & I would only miss one night. I caught a cab to the ship when I landed. the one way ticket purchased the day before the flight was over $500. I didn’t even have to ask my mom paid for it. It was opportunity she didn’t want me to miss & knew I was excited to see clear, blue water
Holly Benedict 3 years ago
Friends who care, share. If they wanna take expensive vacations they could, idk, take a slightly less expensive vacation and help their friend pay the way too? Instead of "oh you're poor? Well I guess there is nothing else we can do to change this situation in anyway."
#17
My grandmother told me women especially moms can't be alcoholics. It's just not possible. Only men are alcoholics because no matter what women don't have it in them and don't have time to be alcoholics. And that everyone always know who is an alcoholic and who isn't. If someone is an alcoholic they always show it in some way you can't act happy and be an alcoholic! My moms an alcoholic and obviously grandma is in denial and struggling to accept it despite the fact that her own sister died from health issues caused by drinking. But yeah women can't be alcoholics.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
I dated a girl who was an alcoholic and it was a nightmare. Fine when sober but when drunk most unreasonable and aggressive and frankly stupid.
Pheebs 3 years ago
Had a stepmom who was one. If she was sober or drank beer, extremely pleasant person who would bend over backwards for people. When she drank hard liquor, which was unfortunately what she generally had, she was not nice. She generally eft me alone even in that state, but she would belittle my dad a pick fights with him, her kids, other people if they were in public.
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Lynne Hammar 3 years ago
LOL "women don't have time!" No, they're too busy supporting their deadbeat alcoholic male relatives
Maria Mandjik 3 years ago
My late mother used to tell tales about her neighbours and family, she would tell me who would drink in secret because women were not suppose to drink.
Mary Jeffries 3 years ago
My grandma thought it odd that so many more people talk about childhood abuse now like they were making it up or something. I think it was too much for her worldview to handle and she just told herself that many people couldn’t have been abused.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
My mother was one...my aunt was one. Grandma liked a good Hot toddy now and then. Yep..women can be alcoholics and moms. They usually are good at one or the other..not both.
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
We had an 87 year old woman admitted straight to the floor from home. She called the doctor to tell him about her stomach feeling bad so he had her come straight to our floor. As soon as she came in, I decided to add one more order on my own. A liver panel. The doctor comes in & sees that I added an order. He was pissed. Uh, doc, just go see your patient. That's nice that I should not orders as a nurse, now go see your patient. He checks on her & comes back to the desk. Didn't saw a word & I handed him the print out of her liver test. She drank a fifth a day & her family always thought she was a teetotaler. The family was in shock. The lady died the next day.
#18
I work at a recording studio. The amount of people who think they're going to be the next big thing is scary.
Llama_flower93 3 years ago
You'd think with the amount of social media we have and seeing person after person sing extremely well, that people would realize it takes more than a good set of pipes to make it big or even make a living off of it for that matter.
censorshipsucks 3 years ago
my observation is you have to be young and attractive otherwise you don't really stand a chance. I can't explain ed sheeran under this theory though.
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Lauren S 3 years ago
I work in a correctional facility for adolescents and the dream to become a famous rapper is not uncommon. I never took the approach of shutting down their unrealistic dream. Trying to argue head on with a delinquent teenager doesn’t get you anywhere. What I would tell them is goals like this are tricky because a certain amount of luck is involved that they can’t control. So I required them to come up with realistic back up plans. I think they benefit from someone supporting them but also showing the realistic side of the world, if that makes sense.
Daffydillz' Cold Contagious 3 years ago
It makes perfect sense. I worked as a counselor in a lockdown treatment facility for girls 13-18 years old and we had a few that dreamed of becoming rappers also. We treated them the same way. Just trying to get them to have a backup plan in case they didn't make the right connections, had difficulty being heard, and needed to support themselves while trying to make it happen. Sadly for them it's been 9 years and I haven't heard any of them on the radio yet. There was one that actually sounded pretty good, could rhyme, and wrote decent lyrics but I haven't heard anything from her either.
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Rylosalex 3 years ago
I'm laughing at the story and I feel sorry for the poor guy
Load More Replies... nuberiffic 3 years ago
It's amazing how many people refuse to believe that luck / nepotism isn't the biggest factor in getting a career in music. Sure, Taylor swift can sing well, but she didn't get to where she is on her own.
Richard Graham 3 years ago
I knew a middle-aged man who told me he would soon be incredibly wealthy because he wrote a song and sent it to Taylor Swift to record. My first question "Did you copyright the song?". He said "What's that?". (PS He never got rich.)
nuberiffic 3 years ago
The act of writing the song grants you copyright in Australia
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 3 years ago
I always remember an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent where Jeff Goldblum was telling a musician the probability that he'd hit it big. Kid tried to say it would come naturally because he was talented and what did a cop know about it anyway. Jeff Goldblum then proceeds to play the piano with a really fantastic Blues type melody. After he was done, the crowd applauded...he goes to the kid and says "And I'm a cop....."
AJ Claymore 3 years ago
I worked in a jail. The number of prisoners who thought they'd be the next big rap star from the "street cred" they got from being in jail over a blunt or a shoplifting charge was hilarious.
#19
I have a co-worker who once got visibly upset because I said he was about the same age as my parents.
He's 51. My parents are 53.
I'd like to point out that I didn't just say this out of the blue. He asked how old my parents were, and I knew his age, so I made the comparison. He also said things like "I work out you know, I'm stronger than guys half my age". Very much a man child in denial.
Penny Lost 3 years ago
I was once stranded at the airport, & this older guy started talking to me. It took me a bit to realize that he was trying to hit on me. At some point, he asked me to guess his age. I don't like playing games like that & I told him so. He kept insisting. Finally (after 15 minutes or so of him going, 'Just guess it, come on! Come on! Guess!!'), I gave up & said, "63." Y'all... He looked like I slapped him in the face. Said, "I work out, and swim, and play tennis! I look amazing, I know it!" I asked him how old he was. He said, "62!" Then he turned around & left in the most outraged fashion. Sigh.
juice 3 years ago
from Reddit: "EDIT: There's a much longer backstory with this guy, but TLDR I used to catch rides with him after work and had to stop after a few weeks because he was sexually harassing me to the point I wanted to jump out of the car. Calling him a man child was based on a lot more than his "I work out" comment. He really thought he was entitled to my romantic interest, a female coworker half his age."
BirFromHH 3 years ago
I remember when "Pirates of the Carribean" came out. My daughter an her friends were raving about Johnny Depp, how cute he is, ... Well they we're crushing. Then I mentiined that he ist as old as I am. Needed Wikipedia to make them believe me. My daughter never told me again of any of her crushes. Because I crushed this😁
Pizzagirl 91 3 years ago
My stepdaughter, when she was 5 (she's 6 now) used to see the artists we had on on Spotify, and say she wanted to marry this or that guy when she grew up. Now, we were listening to a lot of 70's music back then, and I often told her that I think he'd be to old for her taste when she grew up, so she asked me to show her what he looks like now... Well, she soon started saying "I guess I'll find a different pretty man when I grow up" and I said "if you want to, you can do that. But you should only marry if you really want to be with that person forever."
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Claire Elise 3 years ago
Mom's boyfriend: "You said I was your grandfather's age. Your grandfather is 75. I'm 73. I'm NOT same age as your grandfather." He wanted me to apologize to him for my "mistake".
Isabel Care 3 years ago
My friend's husband got upset when I referred to his beloved spouse as "middle aged". I said "She's 50, how much past 100 do you expect her to live?"
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
I had a young woman who was flirting with me. Told me she was into older guys. I was wondering what pathology created that desire. She told me she was 26 & a gy like me was what she liked. I asked how old did she she think I was. Maybe 34. When I told her to add 25 years now she looks at me like some perv. Hey, I was not hitting on you, you were hitting on. You really need to pay attention to who you want to go home with.
#20
I've met a few people who are really brilliant in one field, yet lack even the most basic level of sense in certain areas outside of it. Sort of like the thing about Einstein not being able to tie his shoes (if that's true).
My favorite was a university professor: absolutely brilliant knowledge of middle eastern politics, particularly around the Israel-Palestine conflict. He could remember insanely precise historical details going back thousands of years, and seemed to understand the subtlest of nuances on both sides of the conflict. His lectures were amazing. Or they would have been, if he had turned off his cell phone. He simply couldn't figure out how to silence his phone, or even turn it on and off. He had let his TA do it for him a couple of times, but then he'd leave with it still off and couldn't figure out how to turn it back on until he came back the next day, so after going through that twice he decided he would just leave it on. And it appeared that every telemarketer on earth had his number, because it would ring at least 5 times an hour at full volume, and he'd just talk over the top of it like it wasn't happening. He also never answered his email, because he apparently didn't realize that he had one or might need to use it.
One day he'd forgotten to bring his little water jug, and sent his TA to the vending machine in the middle of a lecture to bring him a bottle of water. She brought it back and handed it to him, and he turned red in the face trying to get it open, before handing it back to her and declaring that something was wrong with it. She opened it quickly and easily: he'd been turning the cap the wrong way.
I should specify here that this was not a super old guy who you'd expect to have issues with technology and life in general: he was in his mid or late 40's.
Lynne Hammar 3 years ago (edited)
Oh, I worked in academe for years as a secretary. All of the secretaries shared stories about the faculty's cluelessness. One of the funniest was when a visiting professor asked for some Wite Out, then proceeded to white out the expiration date on her driver's license, put it into the typewriter, and type in a new date.
TotallyNOTaFox 3 years ago
That reminds me of my teacher in business college - he needed around 2.000 files transfered from a USB to his laptop. Thinking it would take quite some time he asked me to do that. Well, it were three clicks. He was used to copy every single file by it's own. (He worked with PCs every day)
BravePanda 3 years ago
I am Twice Exceptional, which is the term for neurodivergence of being both high IQ with another brain difference like learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, etc. I am well educated, successful, own my own company AND... I struggle to figure out how to drive up to the gas pump. I know what side the door is on, but 10% of the time I can't figure out which why to approach the pump. I have a learning difference that makes left, and my other left errors, a daily occurrence. But I could find the house I visited for a night 25 years ago and haven't visited since. Neuroscience is wild.
Mabelbabel 3 years ago
I worked with a neurosciences professor-she started out as a medical doctor, got into neurology, then went into academia to do her PhD and research. She was extremely intelligent, she obviously used computers all day, a lot of her work was modelling neurorecptors and pathways in the brain. But for some reason, she couldn't use PowerPoint. She had a complete blind spot to it, she couldn't create a presentation, and she couldn't present one that had been made by someone else. When she was teaching, she insisted on using an overhead projector, and when she was presenting research at conferences, she always brought along one of her trainees or junior researchers-they either presented it for her, or she presented whilst they moved the talk on. It was a very odd blind spot to have, given she'd no problem with anything else.
Dolly_of TheCowboy 3 years ago
We have a shockingly high number of senior managers within our hospital system that seem unable to work PP or Zoom or Teams screen share so have to drag their already overworked EAs to every meeting they have using those so the EA can "do the clicks". I am unsure if there is some kind of surgical procedure being done on them when they get these positions as it is across age and race/cultural groups so it is not just an unfamiliarity with the technology thing. Hilarious until you get roped into having to assist them when they do a grand rounds and they struggle to work out even how to swipe access a door and need it done for them O.o
Load More Replies... Jon H 3 years ago
My friends sister was very academic. I once convinced her that the lady that ran the corner store had a wooden leg but a real foot. My friends sister is now a physiotherapist. I also once, on holiday, overheard a teacher telling a pupil not to go near the seals because they may be sitting on their eggs.
Tim Crowhurst 3 years ago
I have a friend who is a university administrator. Based on the sheer number of stories about professors doing the must utterly bone-headed things, and the frequency with which he has new ones (roughly every few weeks) this is the norm in academia, not the exception.
Max Fox 3 years ago
Unfortunately, university administrators are themselves some of the most clueless people out there. That is less of a problem than the fact that they are clueless about academia and academics. So I don't know how many of these stories are the result of the administrators demanding that professors do something that is impossible, like "break down how many minutes you spent with each part of your research project", or, "write the monetary benefit, to the nearest dollar, of attending the national conference in your field".
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Earl Grey 3 years ago
Yup, 20+ years in higher ed. So many eccentrics and outright loonies.
Load More Replies... censorshipsucks 3 years ago
having worked in higher ed I can confirm this. Most professors are incompetent at life.
Aballi 3 years ago
Ha! This reminds me of my dad. He could tell you exactly what happened in Poland in 1972 and explain how to count photons, but he cannot for the life of him figure out phones or computers. It's taken him 10 years with a laptop to become slightly adequate at sending emails, but he does not know how to capitalize letters, copy and paste, or add an attachment. I sent him screenshot of an app, and he could not wrap his head around the fact that the screenshot was not the actual, usable app. He asked me recently for the "code to the computer system". He wanted the wifi password.
#21
I used to work in a pizza place and my boss (the owner) was one of the strangest guys I've ever met.
He used to tell me that the world was run by "reptilian aliens" and that the moon was their base. He knew this because NASA once hit something off the moon and it "sounded like a bell" and thus must be hollow and full of lizard people.
Left that job after 3 weeks.
UKGrandad 3 years ago
I can sort of understand his confusion with the bell. NASA have placed seismographs on the moon to detect moonquakes which picked up the vibrations from an old, large meteor strike. The explanation was that the impact sent shockwaves through the moon which continue to reverberate, albeit very weakly now, in the same way that a bell reverberates long after being struck. How he got from that to a hollow moon inhabited by lizard people is anybody's guess, but it's probably safe to assume that the internet was involved.
Virgil Blue 3 years ago
If I understood correctly the ringing like a bell was because the moon is fully solid with no liquid center like the earth to dampen the waves so they can echo around the interior for long periods.
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Royal Stray 3 years ago
Why is one of the biggest conspiracies out there just the plot of the V comics?
UKGrandad 3 years ago
What!!! Are you saying that V wasn't a documentary? I have heard it seriously suggested that shows and movies such as V, Independence Day, X-Files and suchlike are secretly funded by governments, and are intended to get us used to the idea of alien visitations and are used as a gauge of public opinion so the aliens that really rule us know when to reveal themselves.
Load More Replies... BoredPandaSucks 3 years ago
yeah look up the microphone that recorded the screaming souls being tortured in hell when it was dropped down a miles deep hole in Russia. It has been debunked but that doesn't stop people from believing it. Hollow moon lizard people is not so crazy by comparison.
UKGrandad 3 years ago
I'll leave that to his proctologist if you don't mind.
Load More Replies...
Jan Bowyer 3 years ago
Isn't this just some Qanon silliness. Lord, the world is full of gullible crazies!
ckcl 3 years ago
NASA does hit things off the moon, but it's just laser beams. The Apollo astronauts left mirrors in the moon's surface and the lasers are used to accurately measure the distance from the earth to the moon. That's how they discovered the moon is moving slowly away from us.
MarieL 2 years ago
Uhm, no. NASA performed seismic testing on the moon, and discovered that it "rang like a bell," which infers that the moon is a hollow object.
Load More Replies... Fish Fingers 3 years ago
Pretty sure that it was established that 'lizards run the world ' actually meant 'Jews run the world'. Please don't downvote, look it up.
Just me, myself, and I 3 years ago
Sounds like too many people watched that mini-series "V" in the 80s. Weren't they lizards?
Abigail Strong 3 years ago
before I even scrolled down to read my brain went "oh no not really"
#22
A guy I know once told me that dinosaurs were a hoax. And dinosaur bones were floating in space when God formed the Earth, that's why they're trapped in the ground.
Cat Palmer 3 years ago
Sometimes I almost admire the imagination needed to come up with these 'theories'.
Michael Largey 3 years ago
OK, so who created these floating dinosaurs before the new Boy (God) came around later to pull off the creation?
Stacey Ball 3 years ago
My friend told me that God put dinosaur bones in the ground so that people could have fun digging them up!
Bill Evs 3 years ago
A girl I work with said something similar to me, that she didn't believe dinosaurs existed and it was all a "conspiracy". I simply asked her incredulously "why" and she just stared blankly for a moment before repeating "I don't believe it".
Saint Thomas 3 years ago
I have to admit that space faring dinosaurs is an appealing concept !
CP 3 years ago
There is a Rick and Morty episode with space faring dinosaurs.
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Hobby Hopper 3 years ago
When I was much younger and still a Christian (no longer), and I started to have a lot of serious questions, I looked for ways to reconcile my religious beliefs with science and academia. Some of it sounded logical, at least to a naive young person that genuinely *wanted* to believe the bible, but many of the claims were completely ridiculous, and this idea that dinosaur bones were a hoax or a test of faith was one of the worst.
KING ILLEGAL FOREST 3 years ago
Wrong! The Devil planted the dinosaur bones in the ground to trick us, everyone knows that!
Kim Shannon 3 years ago
My ex pastor, who was in his late 20's at the time, told our congregation that "dinosaurs are not true."
Ines Albrecht 3 years ago
I shouldn't have read this while drinking. Now I have to clean the sofa. That's so hilarious!
#23
My friend during high shool had all the videogame consoles from the current generation as soon as they were released. Along with a bunch of games. My parents could afford new consoles only 2 years after release (in Brazil, games are EXPENSIVE). My friend would argue why my father didn't work more to make more money, because whenever his father wanted more money, he'd make extra hours. His father was a director of a big car tires company.
Michael Largey 3 years ago
More likely the father made his employees work extra hours so that the father would make a bigger profit.
Happy Panda 3 years ago
Relatable. My parents could only buy me and the siblings the consoles YEARS after their release date, because the price would have dropped by then. Not a big deal though, still got a good childhood even though parents were kinda absent most of the time (We were poor and they were away most of the time due to work in another district) I guess that's why all of us are gamers now LOL
Asphalt Bubblegum 3 years ago
Sounds like your friend was smoking whatever they were smuggling in the shippped tires.
Geoffrey Scott 3 years ago
I was thinking in S America...the way to fast cash? Other fillers :)
#24
Ok. so I was 15, and working at McDonalds. I was at the back window where you take peoples money. A customer came, and blew past the back speaker where you order. That was pretty typical, so I figured it was just a normal mistake.
When they get to my window it is the very old lady. She smiles at me, holds a grocery bag up, with frozen chicken and a two liter of soda. She holds out a 20$ bill and asks "how much for the chicken and soda?"
15 year old me didn't have the coping skills for this. I stared at her for what felt like forever. Finally I said "Uh, I think you're confused".. She drove off, with her car half way over the curb.
April Caron 3 years ago
Working at a fast food chicken restaurant in high school… we would get customers who would order at the speaker, drive up to the window, pay for their food, and then drive off before we handed them their food. It happened ALL THE TIME! Very occasionally, they would sheepishly return, explaining how tired or scatter-brained they were. But 90% of the time… they never came back for their food. And we’re talking whole, rather expensive (back then) $25-$50 chicken dinners for the whole family.
Luna Crow 3 years ago
What happened to the left behind food? Please tell me it got donated to the hungry and not thrown away..
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 3 years ago
My father was bed ridden during his last few months with Alzheimer's. It had started snowing outside and he could see the build up of snow on the window. He called to my sister and he told her they needed more mayonnaise. She said "What?" He pointed to the window and said "We need more mayonnaise." My sister said "And why do we need more mayo?" He said "With more mayo, we can spread it out so it can turn into gasoline. Then well have enough fuel for the cars." She said "Ok...I'll get right on that." He said "Ok. Thanks!"
JEL 3 years ago
Oh my heart is breaking. Wonder what he really meant. Alzheimers sure are scary and so heartbreaking.
Load More Replies... 
Con O Cuinn 3 years ago
Everybody's saying poor old lady, must have dementia, etc, etc. But everyone's glossing over the important question. Where did she get the chicken?
Pink kitty 3 years ago
I love this story especially the last paragraph. I've got tears of laughter
What do you think ?
Full of Giggles 3 years ago (edited)
I have the misfortune of knowing American politician, Wendy Rogers. The woman is absolutely bat s**t crazy and stupid. She makes Trump look like an actual stable genius. Anyways. A few years back, a group of pro-lifers burnt down the Planned Parenthood in a severely impoverished community. A year later, the number of government assistance recipients almost doubled from the previous year. Wendy couldn’t put two and two together. I had to explain that many families in the community relied on PP for free condoms and birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Without those services women were having babies they couldn’t afford to feed and thus, needed government assistance. Wendy said that wasn’t an excuse because condoms are only 25 cents at the gas station and everyone has 25 cents. I then had to explain that most of these people can’t afford a $1 loaf of bread so there’s no way they have 25 cents to spare. Her reply? “Surely preventing pregnancy is more important than feeding their kids.”
Full of Giggles 3 years ago (edited)
I ran out of room. I highly recommend googling Wendy. She frequently pops up on Reddit because of the stupid s**t she says.
Load More Replies...
Shannon Epps 3 years ago
When my daughter was about 13 years old I had a friend who had a 9-month-old baby. My daughter asked if she could hold the baby and my friend asked if she was on her period. Of course I was confused and asked her why that would matter. She looked at me like I was the crazy one and proceeded to tell me the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!! She said," Don't you know that if your daughter is on her period and has cramps she can give them to my son?" Of course I had a lot of questions! I asked her how she thought my daughter possibly having cramps would affect her son. She explained that the hormones my daughter would be giving off would cause him to have cramps too. I asked her where would he be getting cramps on his body because he doesn't have the same parts as her. She then fumbled around trying to explain that the same place my daughter would get cramps her son would get cramps. I then open my laptop and some of my nursing school books and gave her a full health lesson! I had to explain to her what a uterus was or babies come out how babies are made the difference between the two genders. And after 45 minutes of that she still said that she doesn't quite believe it and that she seen it happen before. We weren't friends after that. It's one thing to have never learned something it's another thing to dig your heels in on stupid and die on that hill of crazy!
Stump Rumpersonne 3 years ago
I've removed every dumb mf'er and vaguely bigoted person from my life and I've been incredibly happy since. Sometimes it's not about bringing good into your life, it's about removing the bad.
Load More Replies... Lara Verne 3 years ago
My cousin once dated girl from very rich family. She was like child. Never been in public transport before, so she was all excited about it. Until she found out that public transport does not stop in front of her house.
Irma 2 years ago
I had this friend who did not know how to open a bottle of wine cause he had people do it for him. When my toilet broke he also said 'why dont you go to the one upstairs' i dont have a second bathroom heck i dont even have an upstairs
Load More Replies...
Wonderful 3 years ago
A police woman was getting tattooed one day at my shop, and this was right after that tsunami in Thailand. She just couldn't understand why so many ppl died cause, "They live on a island don't they know how to swim?"
Seabeast 3 years ago (edited)
A very large percentage of the dead were women, precisely because they'd never learned to swim. Well, that and wearing yards and yards of fabric. Christina Fonfe started up a swim school for women after the tsunami that carries on to this day. __ http://www.icanswimcanyou.com/news_list.asp?lang=en
Load More Replies... 30_Helens_Agree 3 years ago
One of my best friends, god love her, doesn’t have to work because her husband takes care of everything and she has an easy life. She’s a doll but a little clueless. When me and another friend were talking about how sick we are of working full time, especially during the warm months, she said “why don’t you guys just take summers off?” We had to explain that most people have to work year round and our bosses won’t simply let us take 3-4 months off and come back to work after.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
I had a friend who was somewhat older than I am, and she was a teacher. She could never understand that other people didn't have the summer off. I was a police officer; I told her that crime doesn't stop in the summer.
Load More Replies...
TheFloydist 3 years ago
I had a heated discussion with one of my friends because he kept blaming his behavior on a variety of allergies, some days it was an artificial food coloring, other days it was that he was allergic to paper. Then he mentioned that he was going to a chiropractor that was a member of our church to treat his allergies. I tried explaining that the immune system and the skeletal system just don't interact in any way that make treating allergies with chiropractic techniques plausible. I'm not much of an expert in either so I didn't do a very good job and we had to end the discussion agreeing to disagree.
Irma 2 years ago (edited)
I do get what you are saying but its not the immune system per se. That is more like an intolerance. Its hystamine going crazy for no reason? I dont fully understand it either. I just know i have a ton of allergies and am prone to creating new ones for some reason, getring more every year and i can tell you, no one ever has suggested me to go to a chiropractor
Load More Replies...
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Girl I knew in uni refused to believe I got an academic scholarship b/c I claimed to be a farm kid. She didn't believe I eally lived out in the sticks, on a farm. So we all took a road trip to see my family. We get out of the car, she realizes the only thing besides farms is trees and hills to the horizon, and she said in utter shock, "Holy sh*t, you really are a dumb farmer!" She went on to get a PhD at an Ivy League university, and I always wonder if she ever just walked under a bus b/c the bus was beneath her notice...
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
She must think her food "grows" in the supermarket.
Load More Replies...
DrBronxx 3 years ago
A story that comes to mind is the YouTube channel Good Good. They're a golf channel, mostly made up of guys in their early-mid 20s. A very successful group of young men. Anyway, I enjoyed their YouTube videos (instructional videos, games, lots of different stuff, all golf-related), so I decided to check our their podcast. Turns out the podcast is not limited to golf, and they'll talk about anything. In a recent episode, the topic of engagement rings came up, and they were discussing how much you should spend on a ring. "The equivalent of three months' salary" seemed to be the consensus, although one of the guys was absolutely flabbergasted at that. No way was he paying three months' salary on a ring. No way. Uh-uh. So, the others asked him how much he would pay, if three months' salary was too much. In the end, he settled on $20,000. Not a penny more. His complete lack of touch with what is considered a lot of money made me switch the podcast off.
Nitka Tsar 3 years ago
Three months salary is always too much, no matter how much you earn. I‘m a woman, by the way.
Load More Replies...
LB 3 years ago
I was working two jobs - as a receptionist and a hostess - and really struggling. My well-paid boss at the receptionist job, who knew full well what I made, couldn’t understand that I wasn’t working my second job just to have a little extra “fun” money. After she brought it up a few times, I told her that was I was working two jobs because it I had to in order to pay my bills. She was offended and thought I was ungrateful that she had hired me. She was then furious when I quit to go back to school in hopes of getting out of poverty.
Nanda 3 years ago
My middle school best friend once told me that my parents couldn't afford vacations and better toys because if they knew that having kids was expensive why didn't they only had one, then they would be able to afford expensive toys. And I was like, you know I'm the youngest right?
Full of Giggles 3 years ago (edited)
I have the misfortune of knowing American politician, Wendy Rogers. The woman is absolutely bat s**t crazy and stupid. She makes Trump look like an actual stable genius. Anyways. A few years back, a group of pro-lifers burnt down the Planned Parenthood in a severely impoverished community. A year later, the number of government assistance recipients almost doubled from the previous year. Wendy couldn’t put two and two together. I had to explain that many families in the community relied on PP for free condoms and birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Without those services women were having babies they couldn’t afford to feed and thus, needed government assistance. Wendy said that wasn’t an excuse because condoms are only 25 cents at the gas station and everyone has 25 cents. I then had to explain that most of these people can’t afford a $1 loaf of bread so there’s no way they have 25 cents to spare. Her reply? “Surely preventing pregnancy is more important than feeding their kids.”
Full of Giggles 3 years ago (edited)
I ran out of room. I highly recommend googling Wendy. She frequently pops up on Reddit because of the stupid s**t she says.
Load More Replies... Shannon Epps 3 years ago
When my daughter was about 13 years old I had a friend who had a 9-month-old baby. My daughter asked if she could hold the baby and my friend asked if she was on her period. Of course I was confused and asked her why that would matter. She looked at me like I was the crazy one and proceeded to tell me the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!! She said," Don't you know that if your daughter is on her period and has cramps she can give them to my son?" Of course I had a lot of questions! I asked her how she thought my daughter possibly having cramps would affect her son. She explained that the hormones my daughter would be giving off would cause him to have cramps too. I asked her where would he be getting cramps on his body because he doesn't have the same parts as her. She then fumbled around trying to explain that the same place my daughter would get cramps her son would get cramps. I then open my laptop and some of my nursing school books and gave her a full health lesson! I had to explain to her what a uterus was or babies come out how babies are made the difference between the two genders. And after 45 minutes of that she still said that she doesn't quite believe it and that she seen it happen before. We weren't friends after that. It's one thing to have never learned something it's another thing to dig your heels in on stupid and die on that hill of crazy!
Stump Rumpersonne 3 years ago
I've removed every dumb mf'er and vaguely bigoted person from my life and I've been incredibly happy since. Sometimes it's not about bringing good into your life, it's about removing the bad.
Load More Replies... Lara Verne 3 years ago
My cousin once dated girl from very rich family. She was like child. Never been in public transport before, so she was all excited about it. Until she found out that public transport does not stop in front of her house.
Irma 2 years ago
I had this friend who did not know how to open a bottle of wine cause he had people do it for him. When my toilet broke he also said 'why dont you go to the one upstairs' i dont have a second bathroom heck i dont even have an upstairs
Load More Replies... Wonderful 3 years ago
A police woman was getting tattooed one day at my shop, and this was right after that tsunami in Thailand. She just couldn't understand why so many ppl died cause, "They live on a island don't they know how to swim?"
Seabeast 3 years ago (edited)
A very large percentage of the dead were women, precisely because they'd never learned to swim. Well, that and wearing yards and yards of fabric. Christina Fonfe started up a swim school for women after the tsunami that carries on to this day. __ http://www.icanswimcanyou.com/news_list.asp?lang=en
Load More Replies... 30_Helens_Agree 3 years ago
One of my best friends, god love her, doesn’t have to work because her husband takes care of everything and she has an easy life. She’s a doll but a little clueless. When me and another friend were talking about how sick we are of working full time, especially during the warm months, she said “why don’t you guys just take summers off?” We had to explain that most people have to work year round and our bosses won’t simply let us take 3-4 months off and come back to work after.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
I had a friend who was somewhat older than I am, and she was a teacher. She could never understand that other people didn't have the summer off. I was a police officer; I told her that crime doesn't stop in the summer.
Load More Replies... TheFloydist 3 years ago
I had a heated discussion with one of my friends because he kept blaming his behavior on a variety of allergies, some days it was an artificial food coloring, other days it was that he was allergic to paper. Then he mentioned that he was going to a chiropractor that was a member of our church to treat his allergies. I tried explaining that the immune system and the skeletal system just don't interact in any way that make treating allergies with chiropractic techniques plausible. I'm not much of an expert in either so I didn't do a very good job and we had to end the discussion agreeing to disagree.
Irma 2 years ago (edited)
I do get what you are saying but its not the immune system per se. That is more like an intolerance. Its hystamine going crazy for no reason? I dont fully understand it either. I just know i have a ton of allergies and am prone to creating new ones for some reason, getring more every year and i can tell you, no one ever has suggested me to go to a chiropractor
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Girl I knew in uni refused to believe I got an academic scholarship b/c I claimed to be a farm kid. She didn't believe I eally lived out in the sticks, on a farm. So we all took a road trip to see my family. We get out of the car, she realizes the only thing besides farms is trees and hills to the horizon, and she said in utter shock, "Holy sh*t, you really are a dumb farmer!" She went on to get a PhD at an Ivy League university, and I always wonder if she ever just walked under a bus b/c the bus was beneath her notice...
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
She must think her food "grows" in the supermarket.
Load More Replies... DrBronxx 3 years ago
A story that comes to mind is the YouTube channel Good Good. They're a golf channel, mostly made up of guys in their early-mid 20s. A very successful group of young men. Anyway, I enjoyed their YouTube videos (instructional videos, games, lots of different stuff, all golf-related), so I decided to check our their podcast. Turns out the podcast is not limited to golf, and they'll talk about anything. In a recent episode, the topic of engagement rings came up, and they were discussing how much you should spend on a ring. "The equivalent of three months' salary" seemed to be the consensus, although one of the guys was absolutely flabbergasted at that. No way was he paying three months' salary on a ring. No way. Uh-uh. So, the others asked him how much he would pay, if three months' salary was too much. In the end, he settled on $20,000. Not a penny more. His complete lack of touch with what is considered a lot of money made me switch the podcast off.
Nitka Tsar 3 years ago
Three months salary is always too much, no matter how much you earn. I‘m a woman, by the way.
Load More Replies... LB 3 years ago
I was working two jobs - as a receptionist and a hostess - and really struggling. My well-paid boss at the receptionist job, who knew full well what I made, couldn’t understand that I wasn’t working my second job just to have a little extra “fun” money. After she brought it up a few times, I told her that was I was working two jobs because it I had to in order to pay my bills. She was offended and thought I was ungrateful that she had hired me. She was then furious when I quit to go back to school in hopes of getting out of poverty.
Nanda 3 years ago
My middle school best friend once told me that my parents couldn't afford vacations and better toys because if they knew that having kids was expensive why didn't they only had one, then they would be able to afford expensive toys. And I was like, you know I'm the youngest right?
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