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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
For animal testing involving dogs, most laboratories use beagles as they are the most forgiving of the people inflicting pain on them.
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...
Somewhere right now a child is being abused or fearing it happening again. Child abuse is the saddest f**king thing to me
All whales eventually lose the energy to surface for oxygen, so they essentially begin to sink and drown
Animals are routinely horrifically abused and neglected, and nobody cares unless they're a cat or dog.
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.
That sex trafficking children is real, actively ongoing, and adults will be professionally doing it all across the world at any given point
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.
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).
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.
Many people go through the last years of their life sad and chronically lonely
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.
The biggest irony in that song was that Alanis Morissette set out to make a song all about irony, but struggled to come up with anything ironic to put in it. Thus, she made a song called 'Ironic' that wasn't and, because of that, was.
Load More Replies...My mum retied and after few weeks she died unexpectedly. My dad was meant to retire a month after she died so they never had that time together and enjoy retirement together :(
At least he didnt die at work. I'd rather have a short retirement than spend my last hours working for money I won't use
I just joked to a coworker, I hate when someone dies "doing what they love". I told him if I die at work I want to be remembered that I died, greatfully as I was doing something I hated lol
Load More Replies...My father died shortly after retirement. With a brand new extended cab pick up and Fifth Wheel in the driveway. A good friend of his told me that broke his heart because he really worked so hard and deserved time with his brand new toys
Our neighbor was a farmer, never took a day off or went on holiday his entire life, retired at 60 and left the farm to his son, died 3 months later from a heart attack. I still sometimes think about it :(
. . . and probably never got his first Social Security or Pension checks!
Not knowing the guy or anyone who miss him, the story is kinda funny... gotta laugh at those stories.
Something similar happened to my neighbours father. They went out for a meal to celebrate the father's retirement and he had a fatal heart attack at the table. My neighbour had to spend the last few moments with his father giving him cpr
My husband’s cousin died of COVID one day before she was to retire.
Sad, but still better than nothing. Many people die for reasons directly linked to bad work conditions and long before they could ever expect to enjoy retirement.
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.
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.
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)
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.
Stephen Hawking died a little over a year before the first photograph of a black hole
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.
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.
And why the f are we reading them? I don't know why i clicked! I'm sad now
Load More Replies...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.
What a terrible way to think of this amazing gift you have.
Load More Replies...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.
"Humans are easily the cruelest animals on the planet. No wonder they call it the descent of man." - George Carlin
Load More Replies...Ever notice how so many people here continually ask "Why?", "Who is that?", "What is that?" and so on. Honestly folks, Google literally puts the world at your fingertips...
"When man is not properly trained, he is the most savage animal of earthly creatures." - Plato (427 - 347 BC/BCE) Greek philosopher
Load More Replies...When the Europeans arrived, carrying germs which thrived in dense, semi-urban populations, the indigenous people of the Americas were effectively doomed. They had never experienced smallpox, measles or flu before, and the viruses tore through the continent, killing an estimated 90% of Native Americans
They were also given small pix laced blankets on reservations. On purpose.
Load More Replies...I learned this yesterday. Here in Czechia, during communist dictature in 1950's, pregnant women imprisoned for political reasons had no medical assistance during birth. Their newborns were also not given any medical care nor food. Many of the mothers were unable to produce milk due to starvation and most babies died in one year. Sometimes guards would take newborn from the mother and lock them in two separate cells, forcing the woman to listen to her child cry and die. The worst part is that it took 40 years for democracy to be restored so noone was punished for these crimes.
It took 40 years for democracy to be restored in the Czech Republic, and in US it took only 4 years to almost kill democracy, and the American "patriots" are not done yet trying.
Load More Replies...The 1943 Bengal Famine killed 3 million people. India was under British Colonialism at that time. Most of the food ration that should have gone to those affected, went to the British Army who already had a surplus amount of food. On being asked about it, Churchill has been quoted as blaming the famine on the fact Indians were “breeding like rabbits”, and asking how, if the shortages were so bad, Mahatma Gandhi was still alive. Now, most economists argue that the famine didn't happen due to less rain but because of policies passed by Britain under Churchill.
As sad as it is, one thing is true: people are breeding like rabbits, even faster, in India and elsewhere, and humans never go extinct like poor animals do. Pope Francis told folks in South America, that they don't need to reproduce like rabbits; again, these are countries where women do not have rights to decide how many children they want to have; abortion is, of course, illegal even in cases of rape and incest.
Load More Replies...The saddest fact I know: The 'No Child Left Behind' act started a trend of providing funding to schools based on how well the students perform on standardized testing, in an effort to incentivize education. In reality, poor schools perform poorly, and therefore become poorer schools after funding cuts. Even worse, significantly low-testing individuals in decent schools can be forcibly transferred to another school in the middle of the year so that they don't count on either the sending or receiving school's annual roster for grading/funding purposes. The underperforming individual now has their year interrupted, loses contact with friends from their last school, and typically has to travel further to get to their new school...all of which contributes to them learning even less. The 'no child left behind' act has actually driven schools to deliberately and selectively leave children behind in order to get more funding.
What are you saying, Troux that poor children are not smart as other children?
Load More Replies...I have never been more relieved to finish reading a post,I feel so depressed and helpless. :,(
here is something to think about, "somewhere in the world, a child is r@p3d and killed, people dying alone, people living in poverty, people committing su!d!e, animals dying for testing so, who are we as humans to be making our dreams come true when we could easily make someone else who is going through stuff, dreams come true. cuz we as humans don't deserve to live if no matter what, bad things will always happen"
I could not read all those stories. They did impart information that I wasn't aware of, but to know that some animals kill themselves because of what we humans do to them was just horrendous. I simply had to stop reading them. Too awful!
Why is no one saying #21, please say she somehow survived, and if she died and you read this, I know you don’t know who I am, but my best wishes to you. 🙏🙏🙏 be strong, man. My best.
I just found out someone I've been secretly in love with for ten years .... loves me back. And then I found out I have incurable cancer.
I'm so sorry, that must have been such a crushing blow... I'm wishing you all the best for your remaining time. I know you probably are already, but make as many happy memories as possible & get all you can out of each & every day. Stay strong, friend. ♡
Load More Replies...What messed you up, Maris madness?? That you learned something about reality?
Load More Replies...There's a possibility that when you die, everyone you love will already be gone.
After reading the first two entries, I admit my heart can't take going any further. I'm f****en crying, literally
What else can you do, Raena Calis? Did you asked yourself that question?
Load More Replies...Why the hell did I read this? Curse you, Bored Panda, for your recent click-baity titles and poor examples making me think this wouldn't REALLY be a downer!!!
Why the hell did you read this, Daniel Marsh? I don't know, but what I know for sure it was not to learn about all that suffering in the world, and, based on that, knowledge, to try find ways how to help all those who suffer of no fault of their own. It's always about you, isn't it?
Load More Replies...Jesus Christ is this just disaster porn? Everyone here makes up enough anxiety for them selves and this gives them an excuse not to go to work as they are too sad about things
I have never met anyone who skipped work b/c they felt sad unless it was b/c they had to attend a family funeral.
Load More Replies...The animals in pet food commercials are starved for hours prior to taping. To make the product seem 'wonderful' as the animal attacks the meal with enthusiasm.
The only animals I've seen that haven't attacked a meal with enthusiasm were sick or overfed. Pets on normal, healthy diets can be enthusiastic about food. Also - "starved for hours"? Most pets wait almost an entire day between mealtimes (breakfast & dinner) & for some pets it's better to feed them once a day because of their metabolism. Are you implying not feeding a pet for a few hours is "starving" it? Are you implying a pet should be constantly snacking throughout the day, lest they be unfed for a few hours?
Load More Replies...And why the f are we reading them? I don't know why i clicked! I'm sad now
Load More Replies...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.
What a terrible way to think of this amazing gift you have.
Load More Replies...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.
"Humans are easily the cruelest animals on the planet. No wonder they call it the descent of man." - George Carlin
Load More Replies...Ever notice how so many people here continually ask "Why?", "Who is that?", "What is that?" and so on. Honestly folks, Google literally puts the world at your fingertips...
"When man is not properly trained, he is the most savage animal of earthly creatures." - Plato (427 - 347 BC/BCE) Greek philosopher
Load More Replies...When the Europeans arrived, carrying germs which thrived in dense, semi-urban populations, the indigenous people of the Americas were effectively doomed. They had never experienced smallpox, measles or flu before, and the viruses tore through the continent, killing an estimated 90% of Native Americans
They were also given small pix laced blankets on reservations. On purpose.
Load More Replies...I learned this yesterday. Here in Czechia, during communist dictature in 1950's, pregnant women imprisoned for political reasons had no medical assistance during birth. Their newborns were also not given any medical care nor food. Many of the mothers were unable to produce milk due to starvation and most babies died in one year. Sometimes guards would take newborn from the mother and lock them in two separate cells, forcing the woman to listen to her child cry and die. The worst part is that it took 40 years for democracy to be restored so noone was punished for these crimes.
It took 40 years for democracy to be restored in the Czech Republic, and in US it took only 4 years to almost kill democracy, and the American "patriots" are not done yet trying.
Load More Replies...The 1943 Bengal Famine killed 3 million people. India was under British Colonialism at that time. Most of the food ration that should have gone to those affected, went to the British Army who already had a surplus amount of food. On being asked about it, Churchill has been quoted as blaming the famine on the fact Indians were “breeding like rabbits”, and asking how, if the shortages were so bad, Mahatma Gandhi was still alive. Now, most economists argue that the famine didn't happen due to less rain but because of policies passed by Britain under Churchill.
As sad as it is, one thing is true: people are breeding like rabbits, even faster, in India and elsewhere, and humans never go extinct like poor animals do. Pope Francis told folks in South America, that they don't need to reproduce like rabbits; again, these are countries where women do not have rights to decide how many children they want to have; abortion is, of course, illegal even in cases of rape and incest.
Load More Replies...The saddest fact I know: The 'No Child Left Behind' act started a trend of providing funding to schools based on how well the students perform on standardized testing, in an effort to incentivize education. In reality, poor schools perform poorly, and therefore become poorer schools after funding cuts. Even worse, significantly low-testing individuals in decent schools can be forcibly transferred to another school in the middle of the year so that they don't count on either the sending or receiving school's annual roster for grading/funding purposes. The underperforming individual now has their year interrupted, loses contact with friends from their last school, and typically has to travel further to get to their new school...all of which contributes to them learning even less. The 'no child left behind' act has actually driven schools to deliberately and selectively leave children behind in order to get more funding.
What are you saying, Troux that poor children are not smart as other children?
Load More Replies...I have never been more relieved to finish reading a post,I feel so depressed and helpless. :,(
here is something to think about, "somewhere in the world, a child is r@p3d and killed, people dying alone, people living in poverty, people committing su!d!e, animals dying for testing so, who are we as humans to be making our dreams come true when we could easily make someone else who is going through stuff, dreams come true. cuz we as humans don't deserve to live if no matter what, bad things will always happen"
I could not read all those stories. They did impart information that I wasn't aware of, but to know that some animals kill themselves because of what we humans do to them was just horrendous. I simply had to stop reading them. Too awful!
Why is no one saying #21, please say she somehow survived, and if she died and you read this, I know you don’t know who I am, but my best wishes to you. 🙏🙏🙏 be strong, man. My best.
I just found out someone I've been secretly in love with for ten years .... loves me back. And then I found out I have incurable cancer.
I'm so sorry, that must have been such a crushing blow... I'm wishing you all the best for your remaining time. I know you probably are already, but make as many happy memories as possible & get all you can out of each & every day. Stay strong, friend. ♡
Load More Replies...What messed you up, Maris madness?? That you learned something about reality?
Load More Replies...There's a possibility that when you die, everyone you love will already be gone.
After reading the first two entries, I admit my heart can't take going any further. I'm f****en crying, literally
What else can you do, Raena Calis? Did you asked yourself that question?
Load More Replies...Why the hell did I read this? Curse you, Bored Panda, for your recent click-baity titles and poor examples making me think this wouldn't REALLY be a downer!!!
Why the hell did you read this, Daniel Marsh? I don't know, but what I know for sure it was not to learn about all that suffering in the world, and, based on that, knowledge, to try find ways how to help all those who suffer of no fault of their own. It's always about you, isn't it?
Load More Replies...Jesus Christ is this just disaster porn? Everyone here makes up enough anxiety for them selves and this gives them an excuse not to go to work as they are too sad about things
I have never met anyone who skipped work b/c they felt sad unless it was b/c they had to attend a family funeral.
Load More Replies...The animals in pet food commercials are starved for hours prior to taping. To make the product seem 'wonderful' as the animal attacks the meal with enthusiasm.
The only animals I've seen that haven't attacked a meal with enthusiasm were sick or overfed. Pets on normal, healthy diets can be enthusiastic about food. Also - "starved for hours"? Most pets wait almost an entire day between mealtimes (breakfast & dinner) & for some pets it's better to feed them once a day because of their metabolism. Are you implying not feeding a pet for a few hours is "starving" it? Are you implying a pet should be constantly snacking throughout the day, lest they be unfed for a few hours?
Load More Replies...