Integrity matters. It shapes how we act, how we respond to conflict, and how far we’re willing to go when someone crosses a line. And it doesn’t mean that we need to lash out. There are other, more subtle ways to send a message.
Reddit user TuttiFruttiBooty69 wanted to know what that kind of quiet payback actually looks like in real life, so they asked the internet to share their most satisfying secret revenge acts that turned out to be surprisingly effective.
From college fraternities to offices and everywhere in between, people can get cheeky in a lot of different environments, too.
#1
So when I was about thirteen or so, I was sleeping over at my friend’s house. It was myself, my friend, another friend of ours, and my friend’s little brother who was about nine at the time. Being hormonal thirteen year olds (AKA jerks) we were not too kind to my friend’s nine-year-old little brother. We didn’t kick him or anything, but just teased him all day, wouldn’t let him play Halo with us, etc.
So that night, we decide to sneak outside and play flashlight tag in the adjacent woods. My friend and his little brother shared a room, so there was no way we were gonna sneak out without him waking up— so we just decided to let him come along. Truth be told, we had a blast out there. Probably played until 2AM or so. Time comes to wrap it up and we all start walking back, but we can’t find my friend’s little brother. Can’t find him *anywhere*. So we immediately go into both “damage control” *AND* “panic mode” at the same time. We can’t scream his name to look for him for fear of waking up my friend’s parents. We were all horrified he’d been eaten by a bear or kidnapped or something. We hustled all over that woods for probably 30 minutes in a white-hot-panic trying to find this kid… to no avail. We decided to regroup around the tree where we had started the game and just kinda get our bearings for a minute.
We’re all huddled around there, huffing and puffing and pretty much trying not to cry out of both fear and frustration. Suddenly, my buddy goes, “hey guys… is it raining?” and we feel this stream of water spraying down upon us… then we hear my friend’s little brother cackling like a madman.
We shine the flashlights up in the tree, and this little jerk is peeing on ALL OF US. I had to hand it to him… he gave us the scare of our lives *and* peed on us.
We never teased him ever again.
So that night, we decide to sneak outside and play flashlight tag in the adjacent woods. My friend and his little brother shared a room, so there was no way we were gonna sneak out without him waking up— so we just decided to let him come along. Truth be told, we had a blast out there. Probably played until 2AM or so. Time comes to wrap it up and we all start walking back, but we can’t find my friend’s little brother. Can’t find him *anywhere*. So we immediately go into both “damage control” *AND* “panic mode” at the same time. We can’t scream his name to look for him for fear of waking up my friend’s parents. We were all horrified he’d been eaten by a bear or kidnapped or something. We hustled all over that woods for probably 30 minutes in a white-hot-panic trying to find this kid… to no avail. We decided to regroup around the tree where we had started the game and just kinda get our bearings for a minute.
We’re all huddled around there, huffing and puffing and pretty much trying not to cry out of both fear and frustration. Suddenly, my buddy goes, “hey guys… is it raining?” and we feel this stream of water spraying down upon us… then we hear my friend’s little brother cackling like a madman.
We shine the flashlights up in the tree, and this little jerk is peeing on ALL OF US. I had to hand it to him… he gave us the scare of our lives *and* peed on us.
We never teased him ever again.
72points
#2
Stopped explaining myself and just lived better, nothing pisses people off more than you being unbothered and thriving tbh 😌.
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71points
Reading stories like these, you might be envious of people’s ability to approach difficult situations in a calm and calculated way. The key is that, whatever conflict you’re having, the first step is not to respond but to ground yourself.
“People are emotionally flooded, they do not think clearly, listen well, or communicate effectively,” says Moshe Ratson, a psychotherapist in New York City.
“They defend, attack, withdraw, blame, or shut down. This is because their nervous system has taken over their rational mind. This is why the first step in any healthy conflict is not problem-solving but rather emotional regulation.”
You won’t develop a good plan of how to respond to someone who wronged you if you are consumed by anger, fear, shame, resentment, or panic.
#3
I remember reading about a woman who would bring her lunch and a can of Coke and put it in the work fridge. The can of Coke went missing...repeatedly.
So she took a very hot pepper, cut it in half, and rubbed it around the opening area.
The thief was discovered.
So she took a very hot pepper, cut it in half, and rubbed it around the opening area.
The thief was discovered.
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59points
#4
Small revenge from a child. I got bullied as a kid as did most. It was 1983 and my 8th grade class went to the beach. My bullies were hanging out, I was solo for safety. They went into the water. I crushed up a bag of potatoes chips and spread them all over my enemies blankets and towels as I casually walked past. It took less than five minutes for about 50 gulls to find the spot.
53points
#5
My ex had to wear a tie to work every day but didn't know how to tie one. I tied each of them, and then he'd put one over his neck and adjust, and leave it tied in the closet. When I realized it was a really bad relationship that I needed to leave, I packed up all my stuff and my cat while he was out (but not at work or wearing a tie). On one final, petty impulse, I walked back into the closet and yanked out all the knots. Then I drove to my aunt's house and called my parents.
51points
There’s a study that shows our brains—and our morals—get pretty messy.
Researchers surveyed over 2,000 people across Poland and the United States to see how they judged acts of revenge. Turns out, it matters a lot how the avenger feels afterward. If they show satisfaction, observers see them as competent and capable. But if they show pleasure, suddenly they’re labeled immoral.
Weirdly, people judge themselves more harshly than others—imagining they took revenge, they see themselves as less moral than someone else doing the same thing.
And don’t worry if you find these stories entertaining. The study also highlights that we enjoy revenge stories even when we know revenge is “morally wrong,” because so much depends on social context. They can be strangely satisfying to read.
#6
I started working my wage.
All the lil extra cleaning and care I was doing stopped, and suddenly manager doesn't know why things are starting to become a problem.
All the lil extra cleaning and care I was doing stopped, and suddenly manager doesn't know why things are starting to become a problem.
46points
#7
Back in high school there was a boy (let's call him Bob) that was incredibly talented with computers but was bullied a lot by another kid for being a nerd. Well they had a a class together that took place every day in a computer lab and they all had assigned seats, with Bob and his bully on opposite sides of the room from each other.
Well Bob realized one day that the school's computers had very bad security so he was able to install software onto his bully's computer that allowed him to remotely control the bully's computer from his own computer across the room. Then when class was in session, whenever the teacher was passing by the bully's computer, Bob would pull up adult material on the bully's computer screen. The bully could never adequately explain to the teacher why it was magically popping up on his computer so he got constantly in trouble for having it open in school and from then on out was teased by the other students for it.
Well Bob realized one day that the school's computers had very bad security so he was able to install software onto his bully's computer that allowed him to remotely control the bully's computer from his own computer across the room. Then when class was in session, whenever the teacher was passing by the bully's computer, Bob would pull up adult material on the bully's computer screen. The bully could never adequately explain to the teacher why it was magically popping up on his computer so he got constantly in trouble for having it open in school and from then on out was teased by the other students for it.
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45points
#8
My old roommate was being disrespectful and entitled towards the end of him moving out. He wasn't packing, so I changed the wifi information and told him I forgot to pay it.
He left so fast.
He left so fast.
45points
#9
Was in a relationship with a woman that treated me horribly. Finally, after two years of making my life miserable, she started cheating on me with this guy who was a huge jerk. So I said fine. You two were made for each other. I'm out.
They proceeded to make each other miserable for at least 3 years afterwards. While my life only improved. It was awesome.
They proceeded to make each other miserable for at least 3 years afterwards. While my life only improved. It was awesome.
38points
#10
When I moved in first with my now ex she was in a shared flat. We lived in her room so to speak. The landlord / live in owner was a complete jerks to both of us and it almost came to blows before we left. We later heard he had been badmouthing us a lot to other people for things that weren't even to do with us.
He was rather tech-illiterate so in a bout of pettiness my ex and I pulled up outside the building and looked for his WiFi. The signal was fine and he hadn't changed the password since we left. I tested a few usual ip addresses, 192.168.0.1 turned out to be the router. It gave me the name and model but needed a login. On a hunch I googled the default passwords for it and managed to log in without issue. I then had to think of something sneaky and not obviously going to lead back to us. At this point it was still old ADSL lines which dial in to the ISP with a username and password stored on the router so I simply changed the login details from ending with .co.uk to ending with .com. at a glance it would look completely normal but it would never connect.
I later heard they were without internet for 3 months including over Christmas, and even the ISP engineers kept connecting to the router to see what was wrong but couldn't spot anything amiss.
The memory of that a decade ago still cheers me up sometimes.
He was rather tech-illiterate so in a bout of pettiness my ex and I pulled up outside the building and looked for his WiFi. The signal was fine and he hadn't changed the password since we left. I tested a few usual ip addresses, 192.168.0.1 turned out to be the router. It gave me the name and model but needed a login. On a hunch I googled the default passwords for it and managed to log in without issue. I then had to think of something sneaky and not obviously going to lead back to us. At this point it was still old ADSL lines which dial in to the ISP with a username and password stored on the router so I simply changed the login details from ending with .co.uk to ending with .com. at a glance it would look completely normal but it would never connect.
I later heard they were without internet for 3 months including over Christmas, and even the ISP engineers kept connecting to the router to see what was wrong but couldn't spot anything amiss.
The memory of that a decade ago still cheers me up sometimes.
37points
#11
When I was a kid some bullies showed up at the playground I was playing at, trying to get me to leave. I pretended to leave then played quietly out of sight on the other side of a structure. I noticed a few minutes later they’d taken off their shoes, and weren’t playing anywhere near them. So I secretly took and buried one of the ringleader’s shoes in the sand and left. They didn’t even notice then, but I’m sure she noticed when she eventually got ready to leave.
I’m still oddly proud of that little bit of revenge. Yes, I could’ve buried both, but mysteriously missing only one shoe from a pair felt like it’d be much more frustrating. If she ever realized it was me, she never confronted me about it.
I’m still oddly proud of that little bit of revenge. Yes, I could’ve buried both, but mysteriously missing only one shoe from a pair felt like it’d be much more frustrating. If she ever realized it was me, she never confronted me about it.
36points
#12
Left a glowing Glassdoor review with a VASTLY inflated salary & PTO for my position, so anyone being interviewed would think they're being low balled and would decline their offer. Got fired a year ago, and they haven't been able to replace me yet. 🤣.
31points
#13
I stopped giving them access to me. No drama, no explanation. That one always hits.
31points
#14
I have a relative who dumped her guy because he was a beginning musician and there’s no money in music.
His name was Gene Autry.
His name was Gene Autry.
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30points
#15
Maybe not 100% harmless... but I was living in a duplex and got new neighbors. They were these kids living off their parents' money while they tried to become DJs. They were awful, they'd be blasting the worst house music I've ever heard from about 8pm to 3am, every single night. I had to wake up for work around 5am, so I asked them nicely to please stop at 10 on my work nights. Friday and Saturday, go for it, go as late as you want, but not the nights I need to sleep. They wouldn't listen, if anything it got louder.
Well, I had access to the furnace/breaker room. I disconnected their thermostat from the furnace for their side of the house. That entire winter, the only heat they had was whatever wafted over from my side. If I knew I was going to have a big day at work the next day, I'd turn off their power for the night. The landlord was a slumlord, so he wasn't going to do anything about it. Eventually they just stopped staying at the house. I assume they went to stay with friends.
Well, I had access to the furnace/breaker room. I disconnected their thermostat from the furnace for their side of the house. That entire winter, the only heat they had was whatever wafted over from my side. If I knew I was going to have a big day at work the next day, I'd turn off their power for the night. The landlord was a slumlord, so he wasn't going to do anything about it. Eventually they just stopped staying at the house. I assume they went to stay with friends.
30points
#16
Mint and strawberry seeds on his perfect lawn. I added MaresTail just outside his back fence so it could get established in the wild before it naturally moved into his garden flowerbeds. Enjoy getting rid of all that you jerk. Mares Tail is still hounding him years later.
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26points
#17
This isn’t particularly great but I enjoyed it. Had a coworker who disliked me for no reason, would argue with me over asinine things just for the sake of it.
When I got him for secret Santa I, knowing he was colourblind, bought him a Rubik’s cube.
When I got him for secret Santa I, knowing he was colourblind, bought him a Rubik’s cube.
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25points
#18
If a restaurant's photos don't match the food,like if the toppings are scarce, the price is high, and the attitude is bad,I'll add my own toppings, take a photo, and upload it with a glowing review praising how generous the portions are. This review quickly attracts more customers, who then leave even more negative reviews.
23points
#19
I had an instructor in the Navy who had just started a deployment onboard a destroyer and had gone to put his clothes in the washer, but had forgotten his detergent. So, he put his clothes in the wash and started it and walked back to grab the detergent. Coming back to the machine very shortly after, he had found that somebody had grabbed his soaking wet clothes and threw them on the deck and put their clothes in the machine. Seeing this, he grabbed their clothes out and threw them all over the side of the ship.
The deployment had just started, and this random sailor would now be without some of his clothes for months because he wanted to be an jerk.
The deployment had just started, and this random sailor would now be without some of his clothes for months because he wanted to be an jerk.
22points
#20
Moving things around on her desk after she left for the day. Nothing big, just maybe moving her cup to from one side to the other or taking a paper from her in bin and putting it on the desk. Drove her crazy and she deserved it for harassing everyone in the office and running to the boss to tell her everything.
22points