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Person Invites People To Share The Saddest Facts They Know And Boy, Do They Deliver (40 Pics)
As much as we’d like to be cozy, comfortable, and content all the time, that’s really not how the world works. Life is full of sadness—it’s an inseparable part of the human condition and we need to learn to embrace the less-than-savory parts of life alongside the pleasant ones. You can’t have happiness without sadness and each gives the other meaning.
Redditor Graham_craker invited their fellow internet users to share some of the saddest facts that they know in a viral thread. And, we’ve got to say, these hit hard. Really, really hard. For instance, the recording of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird singing its mating call and not getting a response because it was the last of its kind, hit me in the feels so hard, I just want to curl under a warm blanket and eat ice cream all week long.
You might end up feeling blue just like us and Eeyore the Donkey. Remember to upvote the facts that made you appreciate life and how fragile it is even more as you scroll down. Just remember to grab a pack of tissues because you might end up tearing up. (PS—here’s a wholesome post to pick up your mood afterward.)
Of course, constantly living just with negative emotions and nothing else isn’t good for your mental health. Bored Panda spoke about depression, how to recognize it, and how it doesn’t always look like sadness with Emma Morton from the University of British Columbia. You’ll find her insights below, so be sure to read on, dear Pandas.
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#1
There's a recording of the last Kaua'i Oo bird singing before it went extinct. It was a mating call sung by a male bird. The song has breaks for the female bird to respond. There's no response because the male Kaua'i Oo is the last of its kind.
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#2
On 9/11 the search and rescue dogs were getting so sad from finding so many dead bodies that the search and rescue helpers hid themselves in rubble to make the dogs happy.
Bonus fact: dogs stay up thinking about their problems just like humans do.
#3
Laika, the first dog to be sent out to space, died alone up there. She had no idea what was happening and I still find it extremly cruel that she got sent to space "for science". Poor Laika :/
Morton from the University of British Columbia explained to Bored Panda that depression doesn’t always look like sadness, even though some people assume that it does.
“While teariness and low mood may be a warning sign of depression, people may seem more tired or mentally ‘scattered’ than usual, lose interest in their usual hobbies or activities, become withdrawn, or change their sleep and eating patterns,” the researcher went into detail about how we act when we’re depressed.
#4
The money in off shore bank accounts 5 years ago could end world poverty for 50 years. Forbes once had the headline: Poverty is a choice, just not by the ones in poverty.
#5
Elephants will mourn other elephants in their group dying and will hold funerals for them and will even recognize the bones of said elephant and cry out in sadness.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
I remember hearing about an elephant that befriended a dog and when the dog passed away the elephant mourned its death.
#6
Dodo birds were really friendly because they had no natural predators and we killed them all.
Morton warned that those of our friends and family members who are constantly talking about death, expressing hopelessness about the future, or increasingly use alcohol or other substances may be “particularly at risk of suicide.”
However, it’s not always easy to recognize depression, as some people can pretend that everything is all right, even though they’re not doing well at all. According to the professor, perfectionists are especially prone to doing this.
#7
Cats are the most euthanized pets in shelters even over pitbulls.
I worked at an animal shelter when I was a you g lad and every f**king time someone came to adopt a pet it was a dog! I even heard a family say “ we want a dog only cats don’t love you”
I socialized many of their cats and most of them were so sweet, and cuddly and made me just so sad inside everyday watching people adopt dogs and ignore the cats. This was a no kill shelter but still it was so heart wrenching I quit because of that.
Cats do love you back you just have to earn their trust and they show it differently than dogs. All animals show love in their own special way.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
The biggest issue with cats is they can breed more often than dogs and people just don't want to get their cat desexed. The number of cats needing homes is far greater than dogs needing homes.
#8
Read about a dolphin who had learned some basic communication and was in some sort of pen. Dolphins can suicide by going under water and refusing to go back up for air. This dolphin was miserable and told it's handler goodbye before going under and killing itself. The fact the dolphin was sentient enough to chose suicide breaks my heart.
RadiatorAnkleSpider 3 years ago
Karen, the name of the dolphin who played Flipper committed suicide- refusing to take a breath. After the show wrapped she was sent to an isolation pen in Miami.
#9
There has been a day when you and your childhood friend got out to play for the last time and none of you two was aware of it.
“People with perfectionism may invest a lot of energy in keeping up appearances, so this is not always easy for friends and family to detect. If someone you know experiences a lot of pressure or stress in their work, family life, or relationships, it’s important to listen for the signs of toxic perfectionistic thinking, and to show you care and express your concerns,” the researcher said.
#10
The United States government:
Fed radioactive oatmeal to mentally challenged children to see what would happen.
Allow black men with syphilis to believe they were being treated while actually letting them die from it to see what happened when it was left untreated.
Plus:
There are people that do not vaccinate their children because of internet memes.
There are people that truly believe the world is flat.
#11
On december 5 1942 in Auschwitz-Birkenau, after the round-call of the morning, which was atrocious since you would need to stand still for hours until the count matches, the SS took the entirety of the women camp moved them in front of a ditch within the camp and asked the 6000 present alive women to get naked.
Then, the SS armed with whips, pistols and canes got over the ditch, made two parallels lines to create some sort of corridor. Then they screamed the women prisonners to jump over the ditch and run through the corridor of SS soldiers.
During the run, the SS with the whips and cane struck/whipped/pulled away all the women they deemed "unfit for labor" due to sickness and physicall exhaustion. Out of the 6000 women that day, around 1500 made it to the end of the corridor without being pulled away : They were the lucky ones and the camp commandant made a speech sort of like "You were chosen to live".
The 4500 women pulled away by the SS or who couldn't jump far enough to pass the ditch were pushed into trucks and send to the gas chamber. They apparently screamed like banshees full knowing they were sent to their death.
Very few women survived from 1942 to 1945 in auschwitz, but the detail of this day is present in the few books/testimonies from survivors because of how horrible it was.
#12
One of my neighbors has a nine year old daughter who has a very rare genetic condition. She's not expected to live much beyond her mid - late teens. The girl doesn't know and believes she's a perfectly normal child. It's heartbreaking to hear her saying that she wants to be a hairdresser when she grows up. She ain't never gonna grow up
However, not everyone will be up to sharing what’s going on in their inner world of emotions straight away, so it’s important to be patient and polite but persistent. “People might not open up the first time you ask, so continuing to check in regularly and establishing yourself as a safe person to talk to is important. These can be challenging and stressful conversations to have, so it’s important for loved ones to get support in asking these questions and look after their own mental health.”
#13
Hachikou was a Japanese Akita dog who each day would wait at the train station for his owner to return from his commute. One day his owner had an aneurysm at work and passed away. Hachikou would spend the next ten years waiting at the station.
We don’t deserve dogs, they are too good.
HooowlAtTheMoon 3 years ago
I watched the hachikou movie in class, literally everybody was crying, all the girls were in groups sobbing and the boys were like "cAn i gO tO tHe bAtHrOoM rEaL qUiCk i hAvE sOmEtHiNg iN mY eYe"
#14
For animal testing involving dogs, most laboratories use beagles as they are the most forgiving of the people inflicting pain on them.
#15
There is a genetic disorder that makes it impossible for some people to sleep. So far only 20 people are known to have it, and none have lived past 30...
#16
Somewhere right now a child is being abused or fearing it happening again. Child abuse is the saddest f**king thing to me
#17
All whales eventually lose the energy to surface for oxygen, so they essentially begin to sink and drown
Jayne Kyra 3 years ago (edited)
They become a source of food for the other animals after they die.
#18
The first and only time most men receive flowers is at their funeral.
#19
Swans can die of a broken heart when their mates die.
#20
Animals are routinely horrifically abused and neglected, and nobody cares unless they're a cat or dog.
#22
Whales that sing in the wrong key get lost and are alone in the ocean.
#23
One day, sometime far far far in the future, someone is going to speak your name for the very last time and then you’ll be completely forgotten about.
#24
You never get to see your child's entire life.. Or you do..
#25
That sex trafficking children is real, actively ongoing, and adults will be professionally doing it all across the world at any given point
#26
There is a remote island in the south Pacific that had a lighthouse built on it in the 1700s. The keeper kept a cat to keep him company. Everyday the cat would bring the keeper a dead bird. The keeper had never seen birds of this type before, so he kept the tiny carcasses to show scientists who'd be on exploration ships. The scientists determined that they were flightless songbirds - the only known species of flightless songbird ever discovered, then and now. One day the cat just stopped bringing the birds to the keeper. One cat caused the extinction of an entire unique species. No one ever saw a living specimen and no one ever heard their song.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
And this is just one of the many reasons cats should not be allowed to roam. Cats and foxes are responsible for the extinction of many animal species. Whilst I don't like the idea of culling cats and foxes, it is necessary to protect thousands of vulnerable animals. Especially in Australia where a lot of our animals are small and many without defences.
#27
There's more people in slavery now than in the 17-1800's. Pretty sad
#28
785 million people do not have access to safe water. (Access includes having having water within a 30 minute round trip for collecting it and carrying it home).
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
And this is one reason why I don't agree with people having millions and millions of dollars when millions of people don't even have the basics to survive let alone lavish luxuries.
#29
Life can be heartbreakingly unfair. A friend‘s sister suddenly passed away because of a heart attack last summer at age 40, leaving behind a bright, young, then orphaned son. My friend and his wife immediately took him in, gave him a home, and cared so much for him. They were very careful, loving, and considerate. They found a preschool for him, went to therapy with him and participated in it in order to support him getting through the trauma of losing your only parent. In December my friend passed away because of a heart attack.
#30
Many people go through the last years of their life sad and chronically lonely
#31
A guy in my area had just retired on a Friday. The following Wednesday he was out fishing and a thunderstorm came up. He pulled his boat out of the lake and while standing next to his car on the boat ramp lightning took him out. 5 blessed days of retirement.
#32
I'm madly in love with my wife of 35 years. We are each others best friends and we are together 24/7. We do massages on each other every morning and snuggle/spoon together all night. We haven't spent a night apart in 3 decades. We are older now and I know one of us is going to die alone.
#33
The Ukranian Famine (Holodomor) killed at least 3.5mil people back in 1932-1933. Stalin's insane plans to optimize state crops while starving out the farmers themselves is some of the most horrific sh*t I've ever heard of. Death by starvation has got to be one of the worst possible ways to go.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
The English did the same thing to the Irish during the Great Famine. The enforced poverty killed just as many people as the potato blight itself.
#34
Rwanda genocide School children massacred with machetes It could have been prevented And this is why I hate the expression “everything happens for a reason)
#35
You can do everything in your power and work as hard as you possibly can, sometimes [stuff] just doesn't work out. You very well won't ever accomplish your dream, despite all your efforts.
Mohammad Ammar 3 years ago
I hate this kind of mentality.You may not acomplish your "dream" but you're still likely to end up in a really good place. Like if u get straight As and don't get into an ivy League uni you still have much greater options than the rest of your peers. And if u don't go uni at all, you may still be more knowledgeable than those around you , wherever that may be. Hard work always pays off. The degree to which is does depends on luck and a whole load of factors but it still leaves you better off than where you were before.
#36
Stephen Hawking died a little over a year before the first photograph of a black hole
#37
Researchers accidentally killed the oldest animal in 2006
#38
There is a plastic bag at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
RadiatorAnkleSpider 3 years ago
I’m calling foul, at least on the photo provided. The floor of the Marina trench doesn’t have vegetation like that. It’s mostly bare.
#39
A majority of people, when asked, would rather die at home than at the hospital. A majority of people, when recorded, die at the hospital rather than at home.
#40
It hit me like a brick. Was thinking about my dad who died at 73. Thinking about my age (44) I realized my life was likely more than halfway over.
What do you think ?
Vicky Z 3 years ago
And why the f are we reading them? I don't know why i clicked! I'm sad now
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No one 3 years ago
Here's my conclusion-Humans are a vile and horrible species, we don't deserve animals and the Earth is a sad, lonely, depressing place.
Ben Smith 3 years ago
What a terrible way to think of this amazing gift you have.
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Revy The Gunslinger 3 years ago
These are sad but I don't often read these or the TIL ones, after finding that some of them can be false or based on inaccurate information. And I don't want to research every single one. It would be nice if sources could be included.
Christina Uhlir 3 years ago
"Humans are easily the cruelest animals on the planet. No wonder they call it the descent of man." - George Carlin
Load More Replies... Vicky Z 3 years ago
And why the f are we reading them? I don't know why i clicked! I'm sad now
Load More Replies... No one 3 years ago
Here's my conclusion-Humans are a vile and horrible species, we don't deserve animals and the Earth is a sad, lonely, depressing place.
Ben Smith 3 years ago
What a terrible way to think of this amazing gift you have.
Load More Replies... Revy The Gunslinger 3 years ago
These are sad but I don't often read these or the TIL ones, after finding that some of them can be false or based on inaccurate information. And I don't want to research every single one. It would be nice if sources could be included.
Christina Uhlir 3 years ago
"Humans are easily the cruelest animals on the planet. No wonder they call it the descent of man." - George Carlin
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