It's pretty great when something out of the ordinary happens to you. You can tell your friends about it, reminisce many years later, or even get your two seconds of fame online. What's not great is that people sometimes don't believe that this thing actually happened to you.
Well, this is the Internet, so even the most jaded crazy-story-havers can share their experiences. That's why when a netizen asked, "What is something you've done/seen/heard so bizarre that no matter how many times you tell it, nobody believes you?", over four thousand people came to reply. Do you have a relatively implausible story to share? Let us know in the comments!
#1
I saw a BMW use it’s turn signal.
302points
#2
I had a 3rd grade teacher who was awful to me, but absolutely adored my older brother and younger sister. My parents loved this lady but she was always mean to me for whatever reason. One day when we were doing multiplication tables I got a few answers wrong and she said to me 'that's okay, people still need their groceries bagged.' She said this to an 8 year old. To this day my parents nor my siblings believe me.
203points
#3
When I was golfing one day a father and son was paired with another single and I. We go out and I learn that it is the son's birthday. Which is cool because it’s also my birthday and wifey gave me a day off from the baby so I figured I’d get a round in.
I asked him how old he was since we seem about the same age. Turns out we were born on the exact same day. Crazy right? Well turns out getting to know them a little more as the day goes on… they’re from New York. Well I was born in New York.
I ask for s**ts and giggles where. Long Island. ME TOO. Mercy hospital. Silence for a second or two. Are you F****n kidding? No.
Same day. Same year. Same hospital.
191points
Some of the entries and stories you'll read here are sardonic and humorous. But other people really shared some personal stories – some so crazy that their friends or loved ones refused to believe them. But if people don't believe you in real life, they're even less likely to believe you on the Internet, right?
Face-to-face interaction is different from communication online, and it impacts lying as well. Even in 2004, researchers studied the effect of technology on the ways we communicate and lie when socializing through different mediums. Interestingly, back then, they found that people lied most when talking on the phone and the least through email. Instant messaging and real-life conversations had similar rates of lying.
#4
I didn't think it was that weird, but I went to a museum in London where they had a piano in the cafe area. A guy goes over to the piano, flexes his knuckles, and proceeds to play about half an hour of the most insanely elaborate pieces you've ever heard. Just absolutely knocks it out of the park. He finishes, stands up, takes a bow, and everyone in the cafe bursts into spontaneous applause. People are cheering. It turns out that he's a Russian concert pianist in town for a performance that weekend, and we all just got a preview of his show.
Everyone I've told about this finds it entirely unbelievable because everyone clapped. I just get the same old response referencing the meme, which I don't really get, because I'm pretty sure most people would applaud a concert pianist. Ah well.
187points
#5
18or 19 years ago. Flat tire on way to mid term. No spare available. Professor was really understanding, let me make it up. Working poor, so I was just going from beater to beater for a bit.
Come finals, another flat tire. Had left early enough to get to campus that I wasn’t worried, called tow truck for assistance. 1 mile behind me, on highway, I start seeing smoke. Turns out the tow truck on its way to me caught fire mid trip.
Professor didn’t believe me, had to retake the course.
This is the story I share when people wonder why I always give people the benefit of the doubt.
158points
#6
Anything I do.
I'm incredibly clumsy/oafish. To the point where a former classmate of mine would tell me, "If it was anyone else. I would not believe them in the slightest, but I just know this actually happened, because it's you."
He's one of the few who believes my next level stupidity.
Edit:
For reference:
I once spend 2 minutes on the phone talking to myself. Because in the time span of less than a minute I had forgotten I tried finding my mobile, used the landline to call myself, found my phone, saw I had a missed call. Called back to the caller (it said 'mom' as I was at home) and spend a good 2 minutes frustrated, because my mom wouldn't pick up the phone and annoyed the landline started ringing. Instead of making the connection I picked up the landline and switched between putting my mobile and the land line to my ear, frustrated that neither my mom nor the other person was replying to me...
I learned I am in fact a very patient person, but also incredibly blunt. I'm still recovering.
I once spend 2 minutes on the phone talking to myself. Because in the time span of less than a minute I had forgotten I tried finding my mobile, used the landline to call myself, found my phone, saw I had a missed call. Called back to the caller (it said 'mom' as I was at home) and spend a good 2 minutes frustrated, because my mom wouldn't pick up the phone and annoyed the landline started ringing. Instead of making the connection I picked up the landline and switched between putting my mobile and the land line to my ear, frustrated that neither my mom nor the other person was replying to me...
I learned I am in fact a very patient person, but also incredibly blunt. I'm still recovering.
145points
David M. Markowitz revisited this study recently in 2021. With many more ways of digital communication at people's disposal nowadays, it's certainly interesting to see if the patterns have changed. Interestingly, the researchers found that people still lied the most through "synchronous media" – the phone and video chat.
When people interacted face-to-face, it was considerably high, too. Communication using the slower and non-recorded media had the lowest rates of the participants lying. Such forms of communication include texting, email, and social media.
All in all, the tendencies remained similar. People still say they lie more when having a real-life conversation and that they lie the least when their communication is recorded (e.g., email, text messaging.)
#7
I once got myself handcuffed to my motorbike by an angry hawk.....it's unbelievable how strong the grip on raptors is until they have their talons sunk into your hand meats and there's no one around for miles so you just have to stand there like the dumba*s you are, wailing into the wind until the pissed off upside down bird takes pity on you and lets you go.
138points
#8
When I was around 8 I was sleeping on the couch and I awoke to two men breaking into our duplex house, all I could see was the shape of their bodies and one of them holding a small flashlight. I was so terrified I couldn’t move or speak, I honestly don’t think they seen me or knew I was on the couch. After they left I ran into the room of my foster parents and woke them up, they didn’t even get up, just told me to go back to bed because they didn’t believe me…well they woke up to a bunch of stuff gone and then they blamed me because I didn’t get them when the men were in the house so they called my case worker and gave me back to state, had to move to a new home after that where it was in my file that I was know to “steal” (never have) so every home I lived in after that had everything locked up.
132points
#9
When I was maybe 6 or 7 years old I went to work with my dad one summer day. There was an older man in the lobby area of the office waiting for an appointment. He started talking to me and asked what my favorite candy was. I told him it was this white nougat candy that had these little jelly bits in it. I don’t even know what is was called and it’s not a very common candy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the exact candy I described. It seemed like magic. I took the candy but was afraid to eat it and a bit ashamed I accepted candy from a stranger. I gave it to my dad and was going to tell him what happened but he opened and ate the candy. I never told him but watched him closely that day in case it was poisoned or magic. He’s still alive so I guess the candy was fine.
125points
But there are a few things to keep in mind when talking about this research. We have to consider the type of interactions that happen in different media. Email, for example, is most often reserved for work correspondence. Naturally, people have more incentive to be truthful and transparent here.
#10
When I was a 8 or 9 I was working my paper route when a wolf ran out of someone’s house and started coming towards me when the owner screamed at it and it turned around. I’d never seen a wolf in real life before but I also had never seen a dog that size that also looks like a wolf. I hauled a*s home and told my parents which were like “suuuuuure”. A couple weeks later it was in the news that those neighbors had been illegally keeping a couple half wolf bred dogs.
120points
#11
I once saw a shirtless, black man in cargo shorts riding upon a horse when crossing the highway somewhere along the Texas-Oklahoma border. He also had a bluetooth speaker blasting Tupac songs when he rode across the highway. This was in August 2018. I think about it sometimes.
118points
#12
I was in a waffle house in High Point North Carolina once at like 2:30 am with my friend, slightly buzzed our selves but not drunk by any means....this was like 1998.
A man walks in. Very drunk. He was probably in his early 40s.
He doesn't say a word. He just walks over to the jukebox, puts in some coins and plays "flowers on the wall" by the Statler brothers.
As the song started he stood on top of a table and sang every single line, quite well actually.....
When the song ended he dismounted the table and walked off into the night.
The only reason I know this absolutely happened is because my friend remembers it too.
It was honestly a spellbinding experience.
115points
We're generally less likely to believe people nowadays, especially on social media. At least, that's what most of us think, right? Markowitz also writes that the common misconception that people lie on the Internet like there's no tomorrow is simply not true. There is no sufficient data to support that claim, he says.
#13
Some time ago as a young cashier, a mentally ill woman threw a candy bar at me, called me a werewolf, then sprinted out of the store.
102points
#14
I saw a horse kick a tree, fart on a dog afterwards and then run away. It gets me everytime i think about it.
101points
#15
I caught a hummingbird with my bare hands as it was flying by. I didn’t even think about it. It just happened. I took a look at it after realizing what I’d just done, then let it go. I’m glad I didn’t hurt it with my knee jerk reaction, but it was pretty cool. It seemed very confused, but not scared.
98points
However, a study in 2016 explored the stereotype that "everyone lies on the internet." They found that people lie on social media in order to present themselves better. "They wanted to be cooler. They wanted to be more beautiful. They wanted to be sexier," one of the authors, Professor Michelle Drouin, told CBC.
"They wanted to give an appearance of a life that was better than the life that they were leading." However, many people also lie just because that's the standard – "everyone on the internet lies."
#16
A woman disappeared in a single bathroom at a cafe I worked at. I’m not saying I believe in paranormal, I’m just saying what the f**k happened to that lady.
We were completely dead, outside was a snowstorm, not a single soul in the cafe besides my co-worker and I. I had a broken foot and was sitting on a stool at the register. One woman walks in, says she has to use the bathroom before she orders. We both watch her go into the bathroom. The only exit from the building requires that she walk directly in front of me to leave, so I would definitely see her if she left. I didn’t move from my spot the entire time, as I had a broken foot. No other customers came in during this whole thing. We start to wonder what’s taking her so long after a half hour or so, the bathroom is still shut and locked and the light still on. After 45 minutes, my co-worker knocks to check on her, no answer. After an hour, we decide to unlock the door ourselves because we are thinking the worst happened. When we opened the door, she just wasn’t there. There is no feasible way she could have left the building without me seeing her. The vent in the bathroom was far too small for any human to fit in. So where did she go? And it’s not just me hallucinating, my co-worker witnessed it all too. Still creeps me out to think about.
Edit: adding that I have not told this story on any podcasts, and the story is my own, not a copy. the bathroom did not have a drop ceiling. There was no back door that she could have gone through. The cafe was so small you couldn’t possibly miss a person walking through it to leave. Even if they did, the only door she could have gone out of had a loud bell that sounded any time the door opened. Even if this woman crawled on the floor past the counter, I would have seen her, I could see the floor from my spot. The bathroom door was very close and very visible from where I was sitting, there’s no way she opened it without me noticing. There wasn’t even any music playing in the cafe, no tv’s, nothing. I do not believe in ghosts, or any of that s**t, but this one will forever freak me out because I just don’t know how she managed to leave. Even the door was still locked when we finally went to open it. We had to manually unlock the door from our side.
97points
#17
I ate so many carrots at my grandma's house I turned bright orange. No one believes me.
89points
#18
I was in elementary school and a circus was in the city. And they thought it would be cool to bring the elephant to our schoolyard - it was awesome, even though we were only allowed to watch it from inside the classroom as it walked around with its tamer.
My parents told me I was talkin sh*t and they will be very angry if I dont stop to talk about it. There was an elephant at our school and I couldnt tell them made me sad.
88points
#19
My hometown has a very unique looking bar. The signage and style are very iconic to the bar. The bar is also definitely not a chain as my family knows the owner well and he's run the place for the past 35 odd years. Imagine our surprise when on a trip in Thailand to find the exact same bar down to the unique way they spell the name of the place and all the signage. My family tells the guy back home about the place and he cannot believe an exact replica of his original concept bar exists.
87points
#20
I was walking to Target with my sister on my birthday, December 7, and told her about how bummed out I was that every year for the last three years, some random old guy (never the same one) would start a rant about how “kids these days don’t know about Pearl Harbor and have no respect…” Some would put a fun twist on it, like, “Do you know what day it is?!”
She was laughing. There was no way, and I just shrugged it off. These guys would be old guys on the way to Veteran centers, but clearly not that old. I’d be riding the bus, and usually, coming home from college classes, so maybe, I made an easy target for them in a convenient, captive audience on public transport. I have an extra bonus of being part Japanese, but my sister is blonde. So, fun times.
Later, we were in line at the store, and a bored old guy leans over and asks, “Do you kids know what day it is?”
My sister burst out laughing to his astonishment, and I quietly answered, “It’s Pearl Harbor Day, sir…”.
85points