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35 People Share Encounters With Someone That Made Them Think “Are You Really That Stupid?”
No matter how different and unique we might think we are, there is one experience that truly unites us as human beings: that awful sinking feeling we get when we remember doing something incredibly dumb in the past.
It can sometimes keep us awake at night. It can make us cringe when we’re shampooing our hair. And it can make us zone out when we’re supposed to be working but we’re remembering the time we made utter fools of ourselves in front of everyone a few years back. Your cheeks get flushed, you start sweating, and all you want to do is hide in a dark corner somewhere. Odds are, however, that whatever embarrassing thing you’ve done doesn’t even compare to what others have experienced.
We've turned to the wisdom of the crowd of the internet and collected some of the most intriguing stories of human stupidity, as shared by people on the r/AskReddit subreddit in this thread here. Scroll down to read about the silly, bizarre, and downright dumb things these folks have said and done, and, hopefully, you’ll realize that we’re all in the same boat: imperfect, full of blind spots, and prone to random weirdness.
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#1
Happened just this last Sunday actually as me and my wife were having thanksgiving early with her family. My wife’s cousins husband said that vaccines were bad, sandy hook didn’t really happen, and that we didn’t really land on the moon. He said this all in the same conversation. I thought he was just joking but he assured me he wasn’t. I’m usually a pretty passive person but I f*cking lost it, the rest of the family had to separate us for a bit. The most aggravating thing was it didn’t matter what I said he was just like “you need to do more research.” Like mothercucker you just told me you learned this from watching a few YouTube videos. Oh my god I need a drink just thinking about it again.
Sharing stories about other people's stupidity is actually a very popular and old topic on r/AskReddit. One that always gathers a crowd of eager readers! The topic also tends to go viral pretty quickly, no matter when it's broached: stupidity is always en vogue. And it says a little something about the cyclical nature of content on the internet; there's nothing new under the sun! Some redditors inspire others with their posts, meanwhile, some internet users come up with nearly identical posts independently of one another.
For instance, I got in touch with redditor u/neolioli who went viral with their question about stupid people and even got featured on Reddit's front page! They have probably the oldest popular question on this topic of stupid people doing stupid things on r/AskReddit, having started up the thread a whopping 4 years ago. Despite this, they remember making the thread as though it was just yesterday.
The redditor was more than happy to answer my questions about their thread all those years ago, as well as share their thoughts about dealing with major embarrassment and why it's important to be authentic. "Even before I had a Reddit account, I loved reading other people's stories on AskReddit. I think I just wanted to ask a question that was goofy enough to inspire people to joke and be silly but also encourage them to tell a story instead of leaving a short comment," they told Bored Panda. "I didn't expect it to get so much attention. When I got a message that it made it to Reddit's front page I was very surprised. But I loved how much interaction it got. People had some great stories to tell."
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#2
The following exchange is offered verbatim (or as near to it as I can remember):
HER: That suit would look great on you.
ME: (Checking the price) Too bad I don't have nine hundred dollars.
HER: Just use your credit card.
ME: I still wouldn't have nine hundred dollars.
HER: What are you talking about?
ME: I try to pay off my balance in full when I use my credit card. That's more than I can afford right now.
HER: (Irritated) That makes zero sense. Nobody pays for credit cards! They give them to you!
ME: Not the card; the balance. The bill.
HER: What "bill?"
ME: ... The credit card bill? The one you have to pay every month?
HER: No, you don't.
ME: Okay, well, I guess you can make minimum payments, but...
HER: (Interrupting) What are you talking about?! You are making zero sense. If you don't like the suit, just say so!
ME: I do like the suit, I just can't afford it. Using my credit card wouldn't magically make it so I wouldn't have to pay.
HER: You don't pay for credit cards. God, what is wrong with you?
ME: Wait. Do you mean that you've never paid your credit card bill?
HER: There's no such thing! Credit cards are so you don't have to pay.
It eventually came to light that the young woman had been given her credit card by her parents, who paid the balance for her whenever they received a bill. This revelation only occurred after I'd been accused of trying to make her feel guilty for buying sweatshop clothing, though I never did figure out where that connection occurred.
TL;DR: Credit cards are not the equivalent of free money.
#3
I knew a couple in my hometown. They were both out drinking and he decided to drive them home. Both drunk. He gets pulled over and they impound the car and take him to jail for a DUI and the officers decide to drive the girl home. She gets home..... gets in her car.... and drives to the police station to pick her boyfriend up. The officers notice its the same girl they just drove home and they arrested her for drinking and driving.
I was very interested to get u/neolioli's take on how we can learn to live with all the dumb and silly mistakes we've all made in life. According to the redditor, that's actually the key: realizing that these are shared experiences that bind us.
"One thing you always have to keep in the back of your head is that we are all going through the same thing. I think that is why the thread connected with people, because it is a reminder that we are not alone in our most awkward and embarrassing moments. Everything is temporary, and things can always get better. Our worst flubs are only small specs in the grand scheme of our lives, and they don't define us. Sure they may suck in the moment, but one day they'll be just another funny story to tell," they shared with Bored Panda their wholesome way of looking at things.
In u/neolioli's opinion, it's definitely best not to hide our embarrassment when we mess up in front of the people whom we look up to. It's far from easy but worth it. "It's a hard thing to do, but owning your embarrassing moments can create a lot of levity. And moreover, I think people always appreciate someone who is honest and can admit their own faults or failures. Authenticity and not taking yourself too seriously can go a long way."
British environmental psychologist and well-being consultant Lee Chambers explained to me some time ago that it’s vital that we find a way to deal with embarrassment, whatever its source.
"While embarrassment can be a challenging feeling that is fleeting or overwhelming, being able to find a response that assists rather than a reaction that is unhealthy is a skill to build," he told Bored Panda. According to Lee, humor can help fight our overwhelming sense of embarrassment during difficult moments.
#4
Former co worker of mine and I were walking through a department store during the holidays. There's an area dedicated to ugly sweaters and one had the Star of David all over it. My co-worker points to it and says "oh, isn't that sweater for that Jewish holiday? What's it called? Holocaust?"
I wish her the best.
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
You wonder sometimes how people found their way out of the birth canal!!!!!!!!!
#5
Someone once asked me and my twin sister if we don't mistake ourselves for the other one. I like to think she was joking but I don't think she was.
#6
In my communications class in high school, it came to my teachers attention that a few people in the class (which had about 15 students) didn’t have a basic grasp of world geography, so he pulled up an interactive world map on his computer and connected it to the projector. “Okay, so this is where we are. This is?” Class responds with “North America” “Okay, and down here?” (Cursor is hovering over South America) Two girls expressed confusion over what it was, so he told them it was South America. Next, he moved the cursor over Africa.
And both of these girls, in unison, with full confidence blurted out “East America!” Later in the “lesson” one of the girls said that she thought North Korea was in the center of the US, and that’s why we have so many problems with them. My main concern was that I was in the same school district as them for all 12 years, and I wondered how the same system that worked for me had completely failed to work for them.
"If it's something that isn't particularly serious, laughter can be a great response that instantly makes you feel better," he said.
"If the feelings are intense, try taking a few slow, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, calming your nervous system and physiological response. In a similar way to laughter, smiling can be effective in shifting your state to the positive. There are times when playing down or even ignoring the feelings can be helpful in the moment, taking the edge off, but it is important that you accept them and express them if it's something significant,” the expert detailed to Bored Panda.
#7
Biological mom of our former foster son, talking to his court-appointed lawyer (guardian ad litem): He doesn't need to go to the doctor. All babies get ear infections.
She had 0 idea that he could suffer from hearing loss if she ignored them enough times, not to mention how miserable he felt.
#8
I work at an animal shelter and a woman asked me if we had any dogs that didn't poop. I told her no, all dogs poop. So she asked about cats.
#9
Explaining to coworker that africa is a huge continent with dozens of countries. And no, you can't drive there from America.
"Because the feelings of embarrassment are generated from a past event, anything that brings you into the present moment can bring relief. Try to avoid saying sorry, as it will keep taking you back to the moment. You can even keep your biggest embarrassing moments top of mind, having reflected and realized that in hindsight, they weren't as big an issue as you felt at the time," the psychologist explained.
"We can even reflect back on our blunders from the past, and with the emotion dampened, take some of the lessons and observations forward for next time we feel like we've messed up. By doing this, you will feel more courage even when the fear of embarrassment strikes, and sharing these stories will elicit others to share, quickly realizing we are not alone, and that nobody is perfect," Lee told Bored Panda.
#10
My family and I were watching a program on TLC about cavemen. There were actors dressed up like Cavemen, doing cavemen things, as the narrator explained the scientific theory around what they thought their lives were like.
My Sister was just in awe watching this. Mouth slightly open, eyes open wide. During a commercial break she asked the room, "How did they get the cameras back there?"
We will never let her forget that she said that.
#11
Blowing balloons up with my own air (no gas etc) with my wife prior to a party.
Wife: “No no no. Don’t blow the balloons that fall to the floor, blow up the floating balloons”
Me >Look of disbelief< “What? You need to use helium for that?”
Wife: “No, you’re just not bothering, that’s what it is”
#12
My grandpa's cleaning lady was making fun of me for believing that the ozone layer exists. She laughed out loud at me and said, " Then how do the rockets take off from Earth without crashing into it?" And continue to laugh and make fun of me for it for a good 10 minutes straight. I was so baffled that I just let her go on.
A while back, I also spoke to the community running r/IAmVerySmart, an online group that pokes fun at anyone and everyone boasting about how superior their intellect is… only to have things backfire on them in the most dramatic and ironic way possible.
One community member told Bored Panda that they don’t feel as bad making fun of internet users who are being pretentious, as compared to anyone else. In short, they believe that arrogance deserves to be called out.
The redditor told Bored Panda that some people are “super insecure” about their intelligence and think that being smart is the absolute most important thing in life. They’re willing to sacrifice friends, family, emotional connections, and, well, pretty much anything, to get the respect they think they deserve.
"It’s okay that they don’t have friends, or talents, or accomplishments, as long as they just keep telling people they’re super smart. And of course, some humans are just smug [jerks],” they said.
#13
A few years ago I was traveling in Kenya and a few of us shelled out for a safari. Our guide was great and at one point said all the names for the animals in Swahili- simba is lion, for example.
An American then asked “did you always call them that, or did you decide to change it after The Lion King came out?” I really wanted to apologize to the tour guide in that moment who had to respond with respect to that guy.
#14
I was explaining to my mother in law that the reason why my hubby and I were having fertility issues was that I don't ovulate properly aka don't release an egg. She thought about it for a moment and asked with all seriousness why we couldn't just use one of my husband's eggs. I just looked at my husband trying not to laugh and stated that only women have eggs and men have sperm.
That is pretty basic biology.
#15
This middle-aged woman I work with at a fast food place was drinking a glass of superrrrr sweet tea when these words came out of her mouth:
"My doctor said that I may have diabetes. I don't understand how, I never eat sugar"
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
Sugar or honey does not cause diabetes - you don't know how many people - back in the olden days thought this and it's a real problem trying to convince them otherwise!
#16
When I worked at a call centre and someone said "Q for cucumber" to me.
#17
I love one of my really good friends so much, she is so kind, but she's very...conservative(?) She doesn't know I'm gay, I'm single and I can't pin point how she would feel about me if I told her. The other day she made a joke about a gay bar and I said "Yes girl let's go" and she said "No, I'm really scared if I go I will turn into a lesbian, isn't that what happens?" Essentially gay people have just simply been around gay people and they turn gay. And I'm like...oh honey, you've known me for 4 years now nearly. And I felt bad, but "that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard" did slip out of my mouth.
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
There are so many people that think this. It's appalling and you can't tell them gay people are born to this it is not catching or a decision!
#18
I own a diner and we do a healthy to go business. So one day I’m taking an order and the lady asked for the soups of the day. The conversation went like this. Customer: what’s the soup of the day. Me: Beef Barley and Chicken noodle. Customer: Does the beef barley have meat in it. Me: yea it’s beef barley. Customer: Oh forget it. I can’t eat pork. I’ll have a BLT instead. Me: (quietly weep for society)
Jo Choto 3 years ago
My friend's daughter was happy to tell me that she could invite me to her birthday dinner at the steakhouse where she worked, because it was vegan. I told her I would usually just order vegetable sides and it was no problem. She told me no, I could have the steak as well. I said no, the steak is meat. No it's not. Yes, it is. What meat is it then? Steak is meat from cows, like beef. She was absolutely stunned. She was in her mid 20s.
#19
World History class in high school. This girl really asked how we won the American revolution when the Germans had airplanes.
I had to remember to breathe.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 3 years ago
As a History teacher, I can empathize... I was asked once if Napoleon had won so many battles because he had invented gunpowder..
#20
I don't even know how to begin, here we go:
I was a camp counselor for many years and periodically during the winter we would meet up for drinks/dinner to catch up. So I'm out to dinner with two girls I used to be on staff with and it's raining pretty hard outside (relevant info). And one of the girls who is staring outside, looks back at us, and says "isn't it amazing that it's raining around the world right now... I mean like, it's raining in Rome right now." Or something along those lines. It's important to note, that we were nowhere f*cking near Rome. And no way she somehow checked the weather in Rome before she came to meet us. My other friend probed her for more info in order to try to grasp what was happening and it became apparent.
She literally thought that when it rained in one place, it rained around the globe simultaneously. It's mind-boggling. Local weather stations?: Nope never heard of it. Different climates?: Hell naw.
I lost contact with the weather-goddess a few years ago but I still see my other friend a couple times a year. No matter what the weather is, we reference this quote.
#21
During a color war trivia game at summer camp, we were asked to name places the Olympics has been held. Someone mentioned Athens and the girl next to me started to lose her mind laughing. I asked her why and she responded "Isn't Athens that place from Harry Potter?"
10/10
troufaki13 3 years ago
I wish! I live in Athens and being in Harry Potter universe would be awesome (apart from the war with You-know-who of course!)
#22
A coworker was trying to convince me that Nova Scotia was in Eastern Europe, I kindly pulled up a map on the internet. He quickly got embarrassed and confessed he isn't good with geology.
#23
Phone Customer: Can I pay with cash over the phone?
Me:...
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
Sure just give me all your banking info so I can scam you later! And they wonder why people get scammed all the time!
#24
In Wales, we get the option to use an ATM machine in either Welsh or English. Myself, a Welsh friend and an English friend were at an ATM.
My English friend asked my Welsh friend why he always used the ATM in Welsh. His response was "Less people can understand Welsh, so less people can read my pin number".
#25
Girl at uni didn't know chips were made from potatoes. When asked if the huge potatoes on the bags didn't give it away she said she thought it's only for design and she never reads the ingredients list, she doesn't have time for that.
Centu Rionick 3 years ago (edited)
My partner is very picky about food and especially raw stuff, since we've been together her 'courage' to eat anything out of her comfort zone has like multiplied by 10 (yay)! We have a dish in Holland which is actually literally raw fish, like as raw as you can get.Very healthy and awesome. As she doesn't eat anything raw (can't even get her to eat sushi for example, which be honest, is devine) she somehow is still convinced that it is treated in some way, smoked, preserved or whatever, which it's definitely not, IT'S RAW. I don't have the guts to tell her as I love to see the twinkle in her eyes of pure deliciousness when she eats it.
#26
I asked a friend what her favourite country was.. She replied Europe.. I said that's a continent and then she said London..
September Meadows 3 years ago
Most people seem to be geographically challenged. Most don't know the cardinal directions. The majority can't tell what time it is by where the sun or stars are. It's always been baffling to me how people function without being able to do these mundane things and just how do they see the world???
#27
A surprising amount of people in my life have thought that ham came from its own animal and had nothing to do with pigs. At least 2 of those people had this conversation while eating a ham sandwich after claiming not to eat pork.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
I had a friend like that. I told her it came from hamsters. She believed me for about 5 years
#28
my ex in highschool and her friends. we were all standing around bullsh*tting and one of her friends brought up how north is up, like into the sky. She was 16. I said uh,no that's not how that works. Her, my ex, and their friend all argued with me for over 20 minutes how I was wrong and how south was down, into the ground and north was up into the sky.
I ended up just leaving mid conversation, I couldn't handle it.
Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
Oh dear god. Still, lots of amusement to be had by telling them to meet you on the south corner.
#29
When I worked at a chemical facility, we had a genius production supervisor who figured out that you could increase the RPMs of the mixer without overheating the batch if you just remove the mixing blade, so it's just a shaft rotating inside a drum of viscous liquid. Then he blamed the guy running the QA testing (me) when the batch failed badly.
8Yorkies-and-63cats 3 years ago
People who work at such sensitive areas, and who display this level of *saying it politely* "carelessness", really scare me.
#30
Okay, so there was this mother that I once met, I'll call her Karen. So Karen is your typical MLM mom, she's in like 3 of them, including an Essential Oil one. One day, her son gets sick. Instead of getting cold medicine or whatever, she feeds him Essential Oils. Of course, he gets sicker, so the school he goes to treats him right. After hearing about this, his mom said, and I quote, "Don't give him that! The big pharma chemicals will make him immune to the Essential Oils!"
#31
I had a customer yell at me that their donuts were supposed to be buy-one-get-one-free instead of half price. I had to explain how 1/2 + 1/2 was 1. Never understood it and just sneered ‘whatever’ at me and had me cancel their order
#32
Me while watching a semi-friend do 10 seperate ATM transactions- "Why are you taking out $200.00 from the ATM in $20.00 increments? you are just adding up the $2.50 fee?"
Semi-Friend - "It all adds up in the long run"
Me - "No sh*t, it adds up to you wasting money"
Semi-Friend- "No, trust me, it adds up."
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
This is the way my hubby thinks about money - I tell him sometimes you have to spend a little more money to save some - I purchased a huge bottle of dish detergent- got hell for it. Took him home and figured out per liter cost and that we would not have to purchase it as much!
#33
My friend thought due to time zone differences between the US and the UK you could place a bet in the UK on an NFL game that had happened in the US and cheat the system because it hadn’t happened yet in the UK.
#35
Employee looking in box where we kept the nametags. "Which one is my nametag?"
What do you think ?
athornedrose 3 years ago
an older man i work with refuses to get the covid vaccine because even if he gets it, its "not a big deal, i'll just be sick". weeks ago he asked his secretary when the flu shot vouchers for employees will be out. he has to be sure to get his flu shot cause "at my age, the flu could kill me!" i'm furious whenever i think about it.
Lee 3 years ago
I am from Alaska and I moved to Washington state. A girl I worked with asked me how I got my car down here and I told her I drove. She did not believe me that the main part of Alaska is not an island, then had the absolute audacity to get mad at me when I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of Alaska connected to Canada rather than being next to Hawaii. She accused me of making her look stupid. She got even more angry when someone else at the table told her "no, you made yourself look stupid."
Shadow 3 years ago
So as a kid I'd only ever saw either the Untied States with Alaska as an island off by itself in the bottom corner or maps of Canada with the USA unmarked so until I was ~10 I had no idea where Alaska was and was really frustrated until I saw a map of North America and finally had my question answered.
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April Stephens 3 years ago
Yes, it's best to give these folks the benefit of the doubt.
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athornedrose 3 years ago
an older man i work with refuses to get the covid vaccine because even if he gets it, its "not a big deal, i'll just be sick". weeks ago he asked his secretary when the flu shot vouchers for employees will be out. he has to be sure to get his flu shot cause "at my age, the flu could kill me!" i'm furious whenever i think about it.
Lee 3 years ago
I am from Alaska and I moved to Washington state. A girl I worked with asked me how I got my car down here and I told her I drove. She did not believe me that the main part of Alaska is not an island, then had the absolute audacity to get mad at me when I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of Alaska connected to Canada rather than being next to Hawaii. She accused me of making her look stupid. She got even more angry when someone else at the table told her "no, you made yourself look stupid."
Shadow 3 years ago
So as a kid I'd only ever saw either the Untied States with Alaska as an island off by itself in the bottom corner or maps of Canada with the USA unmarked so until I was ~10 I had no idea where Alaska was and was really frustrated until I saw a map of North America and finally had my question answered.
Load More Replies... April Stephens 3 years ago
Yes, it's best to give these folks the benefit of the doubt.
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