40 Times People Learned The Hard Way Not To Let Others Borrow Their Stuff Again

Although some of the faux pas in this list are outright inexcusable, some of you, Pandas, might have returned a borrowed item damaged or ruined at least once in your lives, too. When it comes to borrowing from friends, we don't feel as guilty if we never return their items, for some reason.

What's the science behind that, you ask? Behavioral experts explain that it's precisely that close relationship that makes us think "It won't be that bad." As communication professor Emily Langan told The Atlantic, we justify it thinking "I'm doing something that's right on the border of unacceptable, but I'm doing that under the safety umbrella of a relationship, where if I did it to a co-worker who I wasn't friends with, they would call me [out on it] right away."

Langan says that we tolerate lots of things in friendships out of fear of losing a friend. In relationships with family members, we might not be as careful. That's why we find it easier to ask family members to lend us things like clothes, computer accessories, or even ask them to share food.

It's harder to walk away from a relationship with a family member than with a friend. If you've ever tried to borrow something from your sibling, you know that asking for the same thing from your friend is much easier. The risk in 'stealing' something from a friend has a much lesser downside than 'stealing' from a family member, Langan pointed out.

When we borrow something, we often treat it more carefully than if it were our own possession. In a 2014 study, researchers found that we "sacralize" such items. It might not be significant to us personally, but we deem that item important because it belongs to our friend. The stronger our relationship to that friend, the more likely we are to take good care of their possessions.

How can we make sure that we're not overstepping any boundaries when borrowing from a friend? Etiquette blogger Lee Cordon has some borrowing etiquette tips.

First rule: only borrow from close friends. If you don't have a person's phone number or email, don't ask them to lend you things. Just because you're Facebook friends doesn't mean they want to share their possessions with you.

Ask for something well in advance. If you hit up a friend about borrowing their high heels the night before an event, you'll clearly be putting them out. They'll have to scramble looking for the shoes, perhaps even clean them, and rush to get them to you in time. Cordon advises giving at least a few weeks' notice.

Always pick up the thing you're borrowing yourself. Don't make the lender drop off the item at your house, workplace, or somewhere else. You're the one who needs it, so you should be the one putting in the extra effort to get it. Asking the lender to deliver the item is equal to asking them for another favor on top of the first one.