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Interestingly, u/i-had-no-good-ideas came up with this question during a clash between two family worlds. "I was camping with my [folks] and another family that we're friends with and we were arguing about the rules of UNO and what was the right way to play and what was the wrong way," the Redditor told Bored Panda.

"It turned out that my family had been playing it wrong the whole time and that just blew my mind ... I had been oblivious to it this whole time."

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People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We had absolutely no censorship growing up. Everything was available to us to watch or listen to or play. My dad taught my sister and me how to sneak into R rates movies by buying a movie for one but going to another.

My parents made themselves available to explain most things, and had an open door policy. My sister and I were shy, though, and rarely asked stuff...except the time my sister asked my mom what 69 was and she answered. My sister learned not to ask.

When people said they couldn't watch or play something it was foreign to me.

My sister and I turned out low key. Didn't have our first relationships until I was 18 and she was 19. Pretty introverted about sexual matters for even longer. Never in trouble and were dedicated to school. In school we never drank or smoked. Both of my parents asked me and my sister of we needed birth control pills when we were 16. We said no followed by eww, Haha.

I think our curiosities were extinguished through my parents open policy, and we never felt the need to rebel.

jlynn00 , I G Report

Final score:

317points

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MagicalUnicorn 3 years ago

my mom was the same and me and my sister turned out to be pretty well behaved adults with no need to rebel

106points

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) At one point in my childhood, we had 36 cats who only came inside to eat and sleep at night. Any time a friend slept over, they were amazed and delighted when a half-dozen or more cats came in to sleep in my room. My dad even thought he was having a heart attack one time, because he woke up feeling intense pressure on his chest — it was actually two dozen cats. I found out later that my neighborhood considered us the weird house because of all the cats I thought were so awesome.

PowerSkunk92 , Bart Everson Report

Final score:

252points

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eeeeeeeee 3 years ago

This sounds like a lot of cat poo in other people's gardens, to be honest. And no local wildlife.

54points

tiari 3 years ago (edited)

Would have been worse for the wildlife if they lived as strays without being fed by his parents. We don't know the background, perhaps they collected the strays in the area.

24points

humdrum 3 years ago

Ah yes, 'garden', the piece of land where you decide what species are allowed to s**t in it.

6points

ellie angel urban 3 years ago

There's a ton of cats in my neighborhood that people feed and plenty of wildlife. The cats don't bother with the wildlife because they are well-fed with catfood. I haven't noticed much cat poo, because they tend to bury it. Though, I have had a problem with one cat going over to the neighbor's wood chip border along their home and pooing and burying it there..have to shoo them away and tell them to go in the forest bordering the back of the homes.

3points

Suzanne Haigh 3 years ago

I gather you do not like cats?

3points

Requiem 3 years ago

ive seen cats take down a deer and bear

3points

Lisa Hall 3 years ago

and no mice. =)

0points

Danny Ruiz 3 years ago

I guess as long as they're coming in to feed, it might not be so bad. Local wildlife...very true. I live on a desert hillside with a dry wash and there are a lot of different wildlife here. When a cat is loose in the desert, the wildlife population goes down. Sadly the rabbits and quail suffer the worst.

0points

Serial pacifist 3 years ago

Nothing weird, just the elite protection and sanitation crew hanging around.

9points

glowworm2 3 years ago

Bless the parents for taking care of all those cats--which I assume were probably strays. Also, the "heart attack" scenario with the dad was hilarious!

8points

Jam Jam 3 years ago

If I was a kid in your neighborhood I would have thought that was a witches house lol

4points

Kai Scadden 3 years ago

Cats like sleeping on people it's a fact

3points

Mary Henkle 3 years ago

my grandma was like that. We had at least a dozen cats running around. She got them all fixed and loved each and every one of them. She never meet a cat that didn't just love her.

2points

Meami 3 years ago

This made me laugh. I grew up on a farm. At one point we had between 30 and 35 cats (although they were barn cats). I thought it was awesome. My mom, who had married into farming and was not totally cool with a lot of it, did NOT think it was cool. (Yeah, they crapped in her flower beds.)

1point

Blair Andrews 3 years ago (edited)

I thought I was the only one!!! Hahaha! All of our kittens and cats looked the same. They kept reproducing before my overworked mom could get them to the vet to be fixed. I swear my dad thought he was seeing the same 6 cats over and over. Only my poor mom who was completely overwhelmed with a bunch of kids knew the truth.

1point

Huddo's sister 2 years ago

Not quite to that extent, but my best friends family were like that. I think up to 9 cats at one time (all with 'royal' names). Their house definitely had some foul smelling areas, but the cats were able to go into a cat run outside if they wanted, so not as bad as it could have been. Our council area only allowed up to 3 cats, and I did feel a bit anxious about the fact they were doing something illegal :)

0points

Teresa Spanics 3 years ago

AWW 😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

0points

Jim Lowe 3 years ago

36? Wow, we had 18 at one time and I thought that was a lot.

0points

Bitemabum 3 years ago

Water and bleach in a water pistol keeps them out the garden

0points

Bitemabum 3 years ago

Must have been stinking

0points

Philly Bob Squires 3 years ago

Cats... yes...

0points

TJay 3 years ago

That's awesome

0points

Mrs S 3 years ago

Any fixing of cats happening back then?

0points

Livy Gallant 3 years ago

heaven.

0points

Ian Campbell 3 years ago

All cats should be locked up, never to roam the streets.

0points

Rainy Day Wolf 3 years ago (edited)

the daughter of one of my gramma's brothers used to have a couple dozen of cats... no husband nor kids, her house was really pretty... I don't remember her much except for her long hair but I think I decided at a very young age I wanted a life like that... I have 5 cats and 2 dogs now

0points

Night Owl 3 years ago (edited)

I have trouble sleeping at night with just one cat on my chest, I don't want to even imagine doing it with two dozen of them on

0points

Leodavinci 3 years ago

Even farmers don't have (let alone need) that many cats.

0points

ThePracticalSarcastic 3 years ago

my dad used to 'return' the neighbors' cat poo he found in the garden...right over the fence...I wonder about this sitch LOL

-1point

Researchers believe there is no single 'normal' in the modern American family anymore. According to a report prepared for the Council on Contemporary Families, most commonly (34 percent), children live with married, dual-career parents, however, no single family 'style' is in the majority.

"We have not replaced one ideal family type with another," Philip Cohen, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, said. "We have replaced one ideal family type with what we call a 'peacock's tail' in the report because it fans out."

Cohen took data from the U.S. Census and from national surveys on family life and reconstructed the family arrangements of Americans in 1960 and 2012.

He found that in 1960, the American family showed a 'peak conformity'. That year, the age at first marriage was the youngest, the marriage rate was at its highest, and the number of extended families living together in multigenerational households was the lowest.

Back then, 65 percent of children under age 15 lived in a family with married parents in which the father was the breadwinner. 18 percent had married parents who were both employed. And only one child in 350 lived with a mother who had never been married.

In 2012, however, no family type held a majority: the number of children with married parents and only a father working dropped to 22 percent, while children raised by dual-income married parents rose to 34 percent. 11 percent of kids lived with a never-married mother and 7 percent with a parent cohabiting with a romantic partner. About 3 percent of children lived with a single father.

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) My grandmother always thought the hand signal for 'I love you' was to stick your middle finger straight up like you're flipping someone the bird. Well, when she would send my dad and his sisters out of the house for the day, she'd innocently flip them the bird while yelling that she loved them. Now, out of tradition, my family always flips each other the bird to say goodbye. We always get strange looks at the airport.

Orisno , Rene Asmussen Report

Final score:

238points

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Serial pacifist 3 years ago

It is the same in a Mr. Bean movie when he goes to America. Lovingly flips everyone off.

51points

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) About this time every year when local strawberries come into season, my Grandfather would make homemade strawberry shortcake for dinner. Not those stupid sponge cakes but with real homemade shortcakes. He would serve it with cream and it was a big deal because we ate pretty healthy. It was our way of welcoming Summer. His mother in the early 1900s would make one huge shortcake that would feed her, grandpa, and his 6 brothers and sisters.

In the fall when the local apples come in we would make apple dumplings for dinner because that was my Grandma's family tradition to celebrate the harvest.

I thought it was normal to have dessert twice a year for dinner to celebrate the changing of the seasons.

lisasimpsonfan , Ruth Hartnup Report

Final score:

237points

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Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago

Yummy!!!

44points

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We all open our Christmas gifts one at a time, taking turns, while everyone else watches. I've never met another family that does this.

SuttonLane , Jennifer C. Report

Final score:

232points

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Mushroomlover 3 years ago

We do this. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid and continued it with my kids. It gives everyone a chance to see what everyone received. My entire extended family does this also and so do all of my friends.

201points

"The first and most harrowing thing I took away from the comments was that more families have poop knives than I thought," u/i-had-no-good-ideas said. "The second thing I took away was what a poop knife was. But the third takeaway was that I'm really glad that my family are who they are. I got a lot of comments that were largely concerning when you think about them too long and it just made me glad that the strangest thing my family do is play UNO wrong."

After going through the comments, u/i-had-no-good-ideas agrees with the before-mentioned study. "Everyone has a different view of what normal is," the Redditor said. "To some, normal could be wearing a tuxedo and top hat to bed or running around your backyard wearing nothing but a sombrero. So there is such thing as a normal family but the concept of normal is entirely subjective and there is no such thing as a wrong subjective view."

Philip Cohen believes people really sort of on their own figuring out how to make their family life work. In fact, the sociologist thinks it's the reason why we have a big parenting advice industry. Plus, the search for role models may also help to explain the intense interest in celebrity families and marriages.

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We have always had cats. We have several “cat songs”. Some are just songs that we have changed the words to include our cats names, but others completely made up on the fly. We can still remember and sing the cat songs of our pets that have long since passed.

We also have a certain way we speak to each others pets that is almost like another language. Made up words, strange accents, weird pronunciation of syllables... the whole shebang. Incomprehensible to others, but makes perfect sense to us.

BroffaloSoldier , Daniel Spiess Report

Final score:

210points

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Francis 3 years ago

this is kinda cute :)

52points

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) My dad’s side of the family always had this particular smell that I loved! But I never knew what that smell was... I only smelled it around them... It was such a nostalgic smell and I would be excited for family reunions so I could smell it.

Well, years later I discovered that smell was alcohol.

Alcoholism apparently runs in my family.

thefishsnatcher , Kyle T. Report

Final score:

199points

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Devil's Advocate 3 years ago

Wow, that escalated

102points

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Growing up my parents would always give each other two cards for birthdays and anniversaries. One would be a comedy card and one is a love card. Thought that was how it just was.

Apparently my family is the only one that does that, but my girlfriend does enjoy the two cards very much.

Schmabadoop , Open Grid Report

Final score:

190points

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Caro Caro 3 years ago

That's sweet !

55points

#10

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) In my family, correcting each other's mistakes in everyday conversation is normal, a thing to be grateful to the corrector for. The idea is that it's more important for everyone to be enriched or learning than it is for anyone's pride to be preserved while they're also wrong.

It created in me a love of debate and a willingness to revise my opinions / stances, but it's very frustrating to me now to calculate someone's pride into the equation, lest I be labeled rude or arrogant.

theRuathan , Alex Green Report

Final score:

180points

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Naima Ivansdóttir 3 years ago

i second this.

42points

#11

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Our family had solstice parties. I didn't think it was weird until someone called me a witch.

felcher_650 , shirley binn Report

Final score:

177points

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MagicalUnicorn 3 years ago

in most of European countries solstice is a big think, especially midsummer (you cannot avoid that one in Baltics and Nordic countries), that's a lot of fun!

85points

#12

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) In my family, we finished the chicken to the bone — no meat, no gristle, nothing left. And if you didn't finish it, someone would finish it for you. Well, flash-forward to college when I'm eating chicken in the cafeteria with my housemates. One of them didn't clean their chicken wing, so I casually reached over and took it to finish it off, without interrupting the conversation. After a minute, I realized everyone was staring at me. 'What?' I asked, someone else's chicken bone hanging out of my mouth.

KnicholasG , stu_spivack Report

Final score:

174points

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Lou 3 years ago

And that's how the fried chicken pandemic started.

78points

#13

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Saying 'I love you'. I'm very greatful to have grown up in a very loving and caring household. My parents and I say 'I love you' or 'love you' to almost everyone. But once I got to middle school (my first REAL group of friends) I realized that many kids did not grow up in a household to told each other that. Many times I saw my friends be uncomfortable when I told them that I loved them. Now I'm much more cautious when I say that. (Only say it to close friends now)

[deleted] , Stanley Morales Report

Final score:

173points

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Jo Johannsen 3 years ago

Probably selective memory, but I can't recall ever being told that by my mother as I was growing up.

50points

#14

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We always had a single hardboiled egg on our plate whenever we had spaghetti.

puckmonky , ChefIfeoma Report

Final score:

159points

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Sarcastic Cow 3 years ago

Actually...this sounds tasty. Added protein to your food

31points

#15

We'd go for a walk after every dinner. Rain or shine. Found out years later our neighbors thought we were weird.

designgoddess Report

Final score:

154points

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Andy Acceber 3 years ago

I hope you thought them equally weird for staying inside.

92points

#16

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Yelling to communicate.

Everyone in my household just yelled and screamed at each other for little or no reason. Not even when they were mad at each other, but even when we were just working around the house or something, people would start yelling at each other like they hated them then after we were all done we just went back to business as usual as if nothing ever happened.

I didn't find out this wasn't exactly normal when I had my first girlfriend. I started yelling and bellowing at her about something, I have no idea what it was even about, and she started crying and said she was afraid I was going to hurt her. I thought this was the craziest thing i'd ever heard. I wasn't going to hit her, I was just yelling. We eventually sort of sat down and talked about it and she made me realize that the primary means of communication i'd been taught and had to use my entire life up to that point wasn't how people were supposed to talk to each other. I also learned that most women tend to cry if you yell at them.

I had done it throughout all my formative years so it's a bit hard to suppress. Sometimes I still find myself raising my voice to people, even my wife, and she'll just put her hand on my shoulder and its sort of our signal to remind me i'm getting carried away.

Weird thing is, i'm not even really angry or anything like that, it just happens automatically. But she knows I don't mean anything by it and helps me to keep it in check. It's not that bad these days, it has gotten better and better over the years being around more sane people that aren't from my family.

SFPhlebotomy , Paul Cross Report

Final score:

144points

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Caro Caro 3 years ago

The consequences of bad parenting.

62points

#17

Working at renaissance faires. My parents have been doing it for decades, so I grew up doing it and thought nothing of it. I always thought it was normal that my family would dress up to interact with other people, also dressed up, wielding swords and the like. You can imagine my surprise when, in elementary school, no one had a goddamn clue what I was taking about when I spoke of my normal weekend activities Blew my eight-year-old mind

ji-MOTH-y Report

Final score:

142points

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Auntriarch 3 years ago

I would have loved that

55points

#18

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We had a diarrhea spoon, so we could test its consistency and find out how dehydrated we were — 'Need about 5 ounces there, Hon.'

dudeitsmeee , Deidre Woollard Report

Final score:

140points

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I I 3 years ago

WTAF????? you scooped s**t up , with a spoon??????? and you think thats normal ? hands up , who else had a s**t spoon ,,,,,,,,,,

132points

#19

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) People are often horrified by my parent's methods of discipline. When I was little we'd have to kneel on rice if we were too loud on the stairs, or get knuckle punched on the top of our heads if we did something wrong. Also, I now realize how strange it is for your parents to walk around naked. We also couldn't go to their bedroom after they went to bed. My sister broke her arm one morning falling out of the top bunk and my mom made her wait for hours until she would take her to the doctor. I won't go into the paint-stick rule. I didn't realize how messed up this was until I met my girlfriend and told her about it.

PrincessMaddie , Vie Studio Report

Final score:

131points

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Caro Caro 3 years ago

WHAT? Kneel on rice? Wait for hours with a broken arm? WTF. Child abuse is horrible.

198points

#20

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We're not super demonstrative or affectionate, so relationships were interesting early on. Wake up call for me was when my girlfriend got really upset with me because I didn't call her to find out how her doctor's appointment went. I was confused because I figured she'd let me know if anything was wrong and if I hadn't heard anything I'd assume everything was fine. It never registered that perhaps actual human people like to feel cared about sometimes and that - as her boyfriend - it would be appropriate for me to show a little more concern for her. My family is still like this, although I like to think I've grown in that respect - it's something I had to learn how to do though.

diamondjo , Tan Danh Report

Final score:

130points

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Not Proud British 3 years ago

Meh, each to their own. My family were over involved (still are) in every aspect of each other's lives. Sending cards if you got a new job, or gifts if you were a little under the weather. It became a bit suffocating as you were expected to reciprocate and I couldn't keep up with it. My husband's family were a refreshing change, only milestone birthdays got a card. They weren't in and out of each other's lives, but kept a respectable distance. There if you need them, but would leave you alone to live your life. I much prefer that!

44points

#21

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) My dad used to whip out his bare ass at everyone. He once put it on the dinner table while I was eating, and my mom spanked it. That's when I realized something was off.

RagingFileShut , Beatrice Murch Report

Final score:

127points

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Serial pacifist 3 years ago

Extremely off.

112points

#22

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) When I was little, my family and I LOVED the first Spongebob Movie. In the movie, they make these silly calls that sound like “LULULULU!” by pursing their lips and wiggling their tongues back and forth. One night, as my dad was tucking me in, he said “Goodnight, I love you! LULULULU!” And I repeated it back.

We still do this, and I’m 23. I think it’s his way of hanging on to his idea of me as a kid.

I draw the line at phone calls, though. I’ve gotten some weird looks from my boyfriend.

CanadianIron28 , Nickelodeon Report

Final score:

125points

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Andy Acceber 3 years ago

Eh, teach your boyfriend that families are weird. It's okay to be silly. If he judges you for it, find another boyfriend.

74points

#23

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Whenever we got fast food, we would put all of our fries together in a big mound to share — sort of like communal fries. Once I was at a friend's house and they bought us fast food, so I put my fries on a plate and pushed it to the middle of the table. Lots of strange looks.

mndaver24 , stu_spivack Report

Final score:

122points

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Dill 3 years ago

That's okay if deliberately bought as an extra for 'the table' but I'm not sharing my OWN chips!! Hands off those!

51points

#24

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) My friends suck the snot and boogers out of their kids' noses with their mouth instead of having them blow into tissues. Then they go spit it out in the trash afterwards. I gagged the first time I witnessed it.

spooky_squid75 , Nathan Dumlao Report

Final score:

119points

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Carries 3 years ago

Please, how can I unread this?

327points

#25

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We always ate pineapple slices on our hamburgers- every time- all of us

It was like putting ketchup on for most people, when I ate burgers at other people’s houses I would be like, where’s the pineapple in the same way people would ask for lettuce or mayo

Brownale78 , bluewaikiki Report

Final score:

119points

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Andy Acceber 3 years ago

That is delicious, but I don't think I'd call it a "must have." I bet the other families were pretty confused when you'd ask for the pineapple.

28points

#26

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Let me tell ya bout the Wallbangies.

Thought everyone knew about them like the Easter bunny or tooth fairy. They are a tiny race of native American people. In the mornings you went around collecting belly button lint, and you would put what you find under your pillow when you made your bed. That night while you slept they would come and collect the lint, and eventually one day they would bring you a sweater they knitted from the lint.

I was 20 years old when I learned these itty bitty Indians aren't universally known..

waresl22 , Robert Sheie Report

Final score:

117points

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Andy Acceber 3 years ago

*facepalm* Indigenous people are not elves, and they certainly are not interested in your belly button lint.

67points

#27

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) When we had dinner, if you took a bite that was too hot (temperature wise), the rest of the family would blow in your mouth until it cooled off. To this day my brothers and I wonder why our parents let us do this.

ernielover125 Report

Final score:

112points

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BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago

This is how Covid spreads people

24points

#28

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We always have our house in the 50- to 60-degree range, even during the Wisconsin winter. Everyone would always comment on how cold it was in our house, but it felt fine to me! Meanwhile, other people's houses — which are normally in the 70-degree range — are way too hot for me.

roseeeyore626 , Vlada Karpovich Report

Final score:

110points

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Stephen Branley 3 years ago

I have no idea what these temperatures are.

81points

#29

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Our family had a communal underwear drawer until I was in high school. Apparently not common?

inflatedPastry , osseous Report

Final score:

108points

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Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago

Good god

104points

#30

Growing up, my teachers and friends would tell me I had a 'sing-song' voice and sometimes would make fun of it, but that's how my entire family talks to one another. We have our own little familial variation on the local accent, words adopted from where most of us used to live, words made up as jokes over time, phrases that ended up sticking in our communal lexicon because of longstanding jokes or situations. It was enough that when I was in kindergarten the school insisted that I be put into speech therapy.

I didn't really realize it was weird until I was about 13 and my friends and I were watching Star Trek TNG and one of them pointed at the TV and said 'Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra. That's what you sound like!'

Final score:

105points

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Spring Fisk 3 years ago

Your family sounds really cool actually. It would be fascinating to listen in.

34points

#31

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) My parents put certain foods (hot dogs, toast, etc) on paper towels instead of plates. Obviously things like pasta or rice would go on plates, but anything that didn't ~require~ a plate went on a paper towel. I grew up thinking this was normal. Until I served a sausage in a bun to a boyfriend on a paper towel and he looked at me like I had three heads.

Turns out my parents just really hate to wash dishes, so they destroy the planet by wasting paper and buying plastic cups instead. Real dishware only comes out on special occasions.

Did I mention they have a dishwasher but hate to use it?

CrispyCracklin , Laura Stoinski Report

Final score:

103points

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Robert T 3 years ago

I do this with some snacks, but not a meal. Saves washing up.

41points

#32

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) My good friend's family used to put on a full Christmas pageant every year — I'm talking costumes, scripts, roles assigned at Thanksgiving, and always a live baby Jesus played by an infant in the family. They've even rented locations to fit everyone! She only found out that it was unusual in college, when we were discussing our plans for Winter Break and she casually mentioned 'the pageant.' Everyone paused and asked what that meant, and she said, 'You know, the family Christmas pageant.' We had to explain that no one else does that, and it was hilarious! She was an angel that year.

okfine321 , john Report

Final score:

98points

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Andy Acceber 3 years ago

I'm more concerned that there's a new baby in this family every year. That's a lot of pressure!

81points

snake_pod , Eco Bear Biohazard Cleaning Report

#33

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Hoarding. But right after I left my family's home I became incredibly irate of any clutter. My home is now always organized and I constantly rid of stuff I don't use. But my housemate has a crap ton of ancient shit he doesn't use and it drives me nuts.

Final score:

98points

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Adrian 3 years ago

The house I grew up in had 5 equal sized bedrooms. Every 3 months made us all move rooms (a sort off musical rooms) - furniture and all. Believe me we kept clutter to an absolute minimum.

36points

#34

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) We never had birthday parties. Birthdays were observed, but there were never parties. I got toys, some good food, but no one was invited ever.

My father told me it was a family tradition. Many years later, when I realized that absolutely everyone I knew did in fact have birthday parties, I looked into the matter more closely and found that an ancestor had apparently died after his birthday party, and since then all parties were forbidden in the family.

RuinEleint , Kimberly Vardeman Report

Final score:

94points

POST

Fish Boden 3 years ago

That's f*cked.

36points

#35

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Instead of trick-or-treating on Halloween, my parents made us go around to different doors in our basement and answer Bible questions to receive candy.

MinuteMythology , Stock Catalog Report

Final score:

74points

POST

Caro Caro 3 years ago

That's not Halloween, that's indoctrination.

196points

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

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#36

My mom makes gravy with every meal. It's a staple in my family. If we want to make something quick to eat, we put gravy over rice, potatoes, veggies, bread, anything we find. It all goes great with gravy! It must be a "my mom" thing because I've gone to dinner with her at friends houses and am used to her turning to me and whispering incredulously "are they not serving gravy with this meal?"

Blameking27 Report

Final score:

43points

POST

Joyce Melton 3 years ago

Taters. In my family, we had fried taters with almost every meal, unless we had baked or mashed potatoes at dinner.

7points

#37

My mother baked cakes as a home business for years and had a dedicated room with a second oven in there. We called it “the cake room”. I was probably in my twenties before I was fully aware that other people don’t have cake rooms and that was pretty much just us.

NutsAndOrBerries Report

Final score:

39points

POST

Jill Tremblay 3 years ago

My husband's Aunt did the thing and her house always smelled wonderful !!!!

2points

#38

Apparently dipping buttered toast in hot chocolate is weird, my family always did it and would eat it for breakfast and stuff but when I told my friends about it they said they have never heard of anyone doing that.

Spoonbender90 Report

Final score:

37points

POST

Léandre Merceron 3 years ago

Man, in France buttered toasts (salted butter!) dipped in hot chocolate is like traditional morning breakfast for kids. I'm 30 and I still do it once in a while, mostly in Sunday mornings. The house smells like grilled baguette and it's like paradise.

13points

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

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“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#39

My dad used to walk around the house naked in the mornings. I'd just be in the kitchen eating my Fruity Pebbles and minding my own business, and then his Cap'n Crunch Berries would be in my face. I found out it was weird years later, when I saw it on Malcolm in the Middle. And also, when no one else I've ever known has done this.

amithrownawayforgood Report

Final score:

36points

POST

tiari 3 years ago

I don't think its weird. But perhaps it's a cultural thing.

6points

#40

This is pretty common for lots of military families in the us, but it weirded me out that a lot of my nonmilitary friends had known people for a long time. They would say stuff about their best friend from kindergarten, and it would just be completely alien to me. I moved around every few years, so I always felt like I had a sorta backdoor. Made a fool of myself? It’s ok, you leave in 4 months.

Now I have a hard time remembering that people want friends to stick around. Or that I can’t just leave if I’m embarrassed or angry.

heyitsmethepebble Report

Final score:

36points

POST

HoneyBun Arts 3 years ago

Right?? I have little to no contact with anyone from any past states I’ve lived in. Also when people call their house home. We always call it ‘the house’. Never home.

13points

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#41

My parents hated using the microwave. They wouldn’t put pizza, pasta, bread, meat, or anything meant to be baked and crisp in the microwave. It was strictly for steaming vegetables and frozen dinners.

We didn’t eat a lot of foods that kids would eat from the microwave like frozen nuggets, pizza rolls, hot dogs, hot pockets, etc because my mom didn’t want to turn on the oven for “kid food.” When I saw someone microwave a plate of pizza rolls or chicken nuggets my mind was blown, to me it was as weird as boiling them.

This did lead to me teaching my first boyfriend to make quesadillas in a pan. He came from a microwave family and I showed him the light. Also seasoning, you gotta season a quesadilla.

Bear_faced Report

Final score:

36points

POST

Francis 3 years ago (edited)

we had a microwave.. to reheat cold foods but not for cooking? who the f puts pizza in a microwave? don't you have a real oven?!

45points

#42

Growing up we would always eat dinner super late. Like 8 or 9 o clock at night. Sometimes even as late as 10. Thought this was normal for the longest time until at some point in middle school I had a discussion with one of my friends about it. He said his family ate around 5 or 6 most times, 7 at the latest. Thought this was odd. It wasn't until my freshman year of high school when I finally realized my mom was an alcoholic, and we were eating super super late every night so my mom could get fucked up before we ate as the food would ruin her drunkeness.

AudiTech226 Report

Final score:

35points

POST

Random Panda 3 years ago (edited)

Eating dinner around 8 or 9 is not super late? It's very normal in families where both parents work and it's pretty much the norm in my country. Most people finish work at 6, then have to travel home and will not be able to start making dinner before 7 at the earliest. In my family we ate early when dinner was already made the day before - my parents would cook huge meals 2 or 3 times a week to save time. OP's mom sucks, there is no argument, but in general having dinner at 8 is not late in my book.

25points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

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#43

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Open birthday cards together and procede to pass them round in a circle so everyone can read them.

MustardDonkey , Jaysin Trevino Report

Final score:

35points

POST

Francis 3 years ago

we do the same.. and most of my friends and their families also do it

18points

#44

I grew up on cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. I've never met anyone else who ever ate them or even considered it as a sandwich.

salesmunn Report

Final score:

34points

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I am avoiding my homework 3 years ago

I have they are delicious

19points

#45

My mother was the type of religious person that found random things to be satanic. I thought that deviled eggs were called angel eggs until I was 15 whenever I said angel eggs at a family gathering. Most of my family looked at me like I was crazy and my mom kinda laughed at it like it was funny.

KinkyyPinky Report

Final score:

32points

POST

MizAdeleM 3 years ago

Sounds like the plot of "Carrie".

12points

#46

Apparently peanut butter and syrup on my pancakes. Everyone looks at me like I'm a freak

Sir_Tachanka Report

Final score:

32points

POST

Jo Johannsen 3 years ago

Not in the least freaky, in fact the best way ever. 👍

13points

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#47

Using "ancient medicine" (drugs) I always knew it was odd that my 50+ yo aunts like getting high so much

CherryPokyJuice Report

Final score:

32points

POST

I I 3 years ago

nothing wrong with ancient medicine

23points

#48

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Everyone in my family always has baby words. When I was in 1st, I got in trouble for saying “can I go potty” instead of “can I go to the bathroom” since my mom always says potty, and I don’t know what else to call boo boos. I don’t say it to seem cute. I just don’t know what else to say.

[deleted] , Nate Vack Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Samantha Lomb 3 years ago

Potty is pretty normal for kids to say, at least in the US

17points

#49

Corn on the cob. We would take them and roll them on a full stick of butter.

First time I did that at a dinner party at a friend's house it was quite embarrassing.

Final score:

31points

POST

I I 3 years ago

DAMN RIGHT got to butter up that corn

41points

#50

People Are Sharing Their Weird Family Things That They Only Realized Were Not Normal Later In Life (35 Answers) Didn't know this was weird until college, but my family would often drink milk with dinner. Like we'd go through about 3-4 gallons of milk a week. I thought that was normal (what else do you do with milk) and apparently everyone thought that was too much milk.

ceedubs2 , Guy Montag Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Chris Hardtke 3 years ago (edited)

I go through almost 2 gallons a week by myself. Have milk with almost every meal I eat at home. Milk is great. Food is too spicy? Milk cuts through that. Too salty? Milk cuts through that. Too sweet? Milk cuts through that.

33points

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

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#51

We open our presents on Christmas Eve never on Christmas Morning.

SandRins Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Dill 3 years ago

Some cultures do.

30points

#52

Rice with lasagna. In catering class I mentioned about it being a good side with lasagna (which it still is to this day) and everyone including the teacher was like ‘this guy is insane’.

Gishgashgosh Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago

“I’ll have a side if carbs with my carbs, please”

39points

#53

When my sisters and I were little rice, butter and sugar mixed together was a meal at my grandmother's. She never fed us well.

project_saturn Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago

#drunkenbabysitters

15points

#54

"Your older siblings didn't go there so why should you?" Im not sure whether this will fit into your category of weird thing but this was our family thing. If my older siblings didn't wear a certain thing or didn't buy or basically didn't do a certain thing, it was out of the question for the younger one to even think about doing it.

Yuneame Report

Final score:

30points

POST

Fish Boden 3 years ago

That's sad.

8points

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#55

Putting ice in milk. It's not weird you should all try it

level 1 [deleted] Report

Final score:

28points

POST

tuzdayschild 3 years ago

Makes it frosty cold and keeps cereal from getting soggy before you can eat it all.

6points

#56

My family including extended because I vividly remember my great grandmother did it the most; fed me coffee as a baby (2 years old minimum), I just thought everyone drank coffee as a baby. Then I moved to the states and saw kids drink a coke and go berserk. I never understood what “caffeine” did to kids since I already had a good tolerance to say the least.

Final score:

28points

POST

BasedWang 3 years ago

When i was a shooooorrrrty I used to ask for "chocolate milk, milk and coffee" My Papa didn't know that my parents never gave me actual coffee or maybe like a few drops. When my parents found out, they had to come clean to me... but then just started letting me have coffee with them

3points

#57

My weird thing is almost never being without socks on. Except when showering, my feet are always covered. On rare occasions I'll sleep without socks on but it's uncommon. I've always been this way, very averse to taking my socks off but never really sure why.

ralthiel Report

Final score:

28points

POST

Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)

That's nothing, I know someone that wears shoes to bed. They aren't sneakers or slippers, they are more like soft soled ballet flats. The person doesn't like the feeling of the blankets rubbing her feet.

9points

#58

My dad puts ice cream in a cup and pours milk in it and eats it like that. Most people eat it out of a bowl but that seems so weird to me. I can’t eat ice cream without any milk in it

Final score:

23points

POST

Bunzilla 3 years ago

I do this in cups to make homemade milkshakes without having to use the blender. Just mush up that ice cream and you're set.

8points

#59

A friend of mine's family eats corn on the cob for dessert.

DrBublinski Report

Final score:

22points

POST

Aahzmandus Pervect 3 years ago

Sure, in some parts of the world, corn on the cobb is not consumed as a part of the meal and I always eat it as a snack or after lunch.

12points

#60

Until my junior year of high school, I wasn't allowed to use YouTube. My mom thought it was a porn site. That changed after I started getting homework that involved YouTube.

I was never allowed to have a GTA game growing up, but Mortal Kombat and Saint's Row franchises were fine. I did however lose all my games once for shooting a chicken in RE4....

DrDragon13 Report

Final score:

22points

POST

Kai Scadden 3 years ago

Ok the chicken thing is hilarious

4points

already_reddit-tho Report

#61

When I was a kid, my parents made me walk a mile or two or do yard work for punishment. Whenever I tell my friends, they are all baffled.

Final score:

21points

POST

RMA 3 years ago

My parents had us write ‘essays’. For example, 150 words on why I should not hit my brother. They were hilarious to read years later. Sometimes the word count was just too high to deal with beyond ‘because violence is bad’ and there would be rambling side stories.

12points

#62

Dunking folded slices toast in a hot mug of tea instead of the more traditional biscuits.

John_Miles Report

Final score:

21points

POST

Claire Fraser 3 years ago

Yes but plain fresh white bread.. heaven!

5points

#63

My dad's meat loaf recipe. He had a plastic bundt cake pan. He would mix mix the meat, bread crumbs, seasonings and such in it, and top it with some spaghetti sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Once everything was mixed and topped, he would microwave it for 25 minutes and dinner was served.

theberge55 Report

Final score:

14points

POST

K Witmer 3 years ago

You had me until the microwave. Meatloaf is like one big meatball to me so eating it w tomato sauce is fine

16points

#64

we call parmasian cheese (like, that goes on pizza?) “stinky cheese.”

i literally called my dad at 2am during my first week living on my own, because i needed stinky cheese for my pizza but my fiancé had no clue what i was talking about.

Final score:

11points

POST

tiari 3 years ago (edited)

Parmesan cheese does not go onto Pizza. And mozzarella doesn't particularly smell. So what is he talking about?

20points

#65

I feel like sticking hamburger buns in the freezer and just bread in general is something only my family does.

Final score:

11points

POST

Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago

I know many people that do this.

32points

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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What do you think ?

POST

K Witmer 3 years ago

Every year since my daughter was born her and I get up early and we have a birthday princess tea party for her bday. We use her first tea set and I bake a mini cake that looks like a Barbie dress that I stick a small Barbie in. We drink hot chocolate out of the little cups and she opens her presents. I decorate the dining room table the chairs and the wall behind it too. She just turned 19 and it's still something she loves. It's a mini surprise party. When she was little she thought all moms did this.

22points

Auntriarch 3 years ago

That's absolutely lovely!

11points

Lovin' Life 3 years ago

I wouldn't even know where to begin with my family weirdness. But it takes all kinds to make the world go round. I grew up happy and healthy and that's all that matter.

16points

Leah L 3 years ago

We would eat an entire baguette while we shopped. Always paid for it of course but always bought two one for home one for store. I remember I watched family feud as an adult and question was top 5 foods you eat while grocery shopping. I kept yelling bread at the screen. It did not make the top 5. Only then it dawned on me maybe people don’t do that

15points

Nikki Sevven 3 years ago

OMG, I thought my family was the only family that did this! How could anyone resist a fresh baguette still warm from the oven?!

4points

RandomBeing 3 years ago

what were the top five?

2points

Regeena Button 3 months ago

The best shopping snack is deli pickles from the barrel

0points

denzoren 3 years ago

Some of these are really strange but some are adorable. Some are gouge your eyes out horrible. lol

6points

~hUmMuS vIbEs~ 3 years ago

It wasn't until I was older that I realised that most kids had their first sleepover when they were like in their tweens or teens. We had friends that I'd known since I was really young, and everyone in our family was really close with everyone in their family. As a result of this, I had sleepovers from the age of 4 or 5. I was shocked when one of my friends said they had never slept over at someone's house until 14yo, because I assumed everyone was like me.

4points

April Pendley 3 years ago

My husband’s family has a thing where you cannot do laundry between Christmas and New Years. It’s considered bad luck. They are very strict about it. The mere suggestion of washing anything during that time sends my hubs into a panic.

3points

Amy Mehlrose 3 years ago

My family celebrates "1/2 birthdays". Halfway through the year from a person's REAL birthday, we speak, call or text a "happy 1/2 birthday".

2points

Sarah Runyon 3 years ago

I lived with my grandmother and 1/2 a grandfather ( lost his lower half in accident) across the yard from my mom, brother and gay gypsy uncle. The only weird thing we did was never putting our hats on the bed. The law would cone after you if you did. I believed that for years.

2points

Eva Muller 3 years ago

We celebrated thanks-Mortens-giving (a combination of thanks giving and Mortens aften). We had duck instead of turkey and always right between the holidays. So we both celebrated something American (father American) and something danish (mother danish).

1point

M M 3 years ago

I see that the poop knife story left a permanent impression. :-) Not only on me. :-D

1point

Courage the Cowardly Dog 3 years ago

Today I watched a documentary where a tribe in Peru makes alcohol by chewing yuca and spitting it into a large pot to ferment. They then gather and drink it later. That was the weirdest isht I have ever seen.

1point

AzKhaleesi 3 years ago

I saw that docu and yes omg ewwww

1point

BipolarBear 1 year ago

I feel strange after reading these. My family did a lot of these things (definitely not the naked parents or gross 💩spoon thing🤮), but some of the more quirky ones. My sister and I had a weird way of communicating with just "hmms", my mom and I always made up songs about our cats- lots of theme songs. The Beatles "I wanna hold your hand" became I wanna hold your paw as a general kitty song. Also the "kitty-licky gang" which I upgraded to "the meowfia"... lots of silly memories.

0points

Tobias the Tiger 3 years ago

When I was younger, my family would have ice cream for dinner on Memorial Day. For some reason, it was also often avocado ice cream (which I found amazing when I was younger, but tried it again a few years back and nearly threw up).

0points

Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 3 years ago

I guess my mom, brother, and i are closer to each other than we are to my dad and brother. We have these common jokes between us and we are comfortable playing with each other. My mom still has a healthy relationship with my dad and brother, but they just dont spend a lot of time with us.

0points

Alex Boyd 3 years ago

These threads are always a mix of A) quirky-cute family traditions, B) the occasional genuinely weird thing, and C) straight-up child abuse. I'm glad the person who compiled this for BP left out most of category C, but I really could have done with none of it.

0points

Mrs S 3 years ago

And yet here you are

1point

BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago

I'm gonna need some unsee juice for a couple if these

0points

Rickster 3 years ago

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POST

K Witmer 3 years ago

22points

Auntriarch 3 years ago

That's absolutely lovely!

11points

Lovin' Life 3 years ago

I wouldn't even know where to begin with my family weirdness. But it takes all kinds to make the world go round. I grew up happy and healthy and that's all that matter.

16points

Leah L 3 years ago

15points

Nikki Sevven 3 years ago

OMG, I thought my family was the only family that did this! How could anyone resist a fresh baguette still warm from the oven?!

4points

RandomBeing 3 years ago

what were the top five?

2points

Regeena Button 3 months ago

The best shopping snack is deli pickles from the barrel

0points

denzoren 3 years ago

Some of these are really strange but some are adorable. Some are gouge your eyes out horrible. lol

6points

~hUmMuS vIbEs~ 3 years ago

4points

April Pendley 3 years ago

3points

Amy Mehlrose 3 years ago

My family celebrates "1/2 birthdays". Halfway through the year from a person's REAL birthday, we speak, call or text a "happy 1/2 birthday".

2points

Sarah Runyon 3 years ago

2points

Eva Muller 3 years ago

1point

M M 3 years ago

I see that the poop knife story left a permanent impression. :-) Not only on me. :-D

1point

Courage the Cowardly Dog 3 years ago

1point

AzKhaleesi 3 years ago

I saw that docu and yes omg ewwww

1point

BipolarBear 1 year ago

0points

Tobias the Tiger 3 years ago

0points

Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 3 years ago

0points

Alex Boyd 3 years ago

0points

Mrs S 3 years ago

And yet here you are

1point