Some people compare living life to riding a rollercoaster - one moment you're at the highest top, the next, you're falling and then climbing back up again. And it keeps happening.
The thing that drives this life rollercoaster is experiences of various kinds. Today, let's shine a light on the ones that are less appealing, let's say the dropping down part of the rollercoaster ride. To be more specific, let's talk about embarrassing experiences we've all had or witnessed others having.
More info: Reddit
#1
The very first time my girlfriend ever came to my house we decided to watch Lord of the Rings. She had never seen it before and was excited to watch it. Anyway, she was laying down on my bed with legs pointed towards the ceiling and tushy up against the wall. Kind of like an "L" shape. So during one of the tense scenes (idk which) I do the whole grab her sides and go "RAGHH!" thing.
She then proceeded to let the loudest and longest fart I'd ever heard anyone release. And because her tushy was against the wall it reverberated and made it seem even louder.
I just burst out laughing for like 5 minutes straight. And she is so embarrassed she starts crying. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. We're still together and have a 2 year old now.
She then proceeded to let the loudest and longest fart I'd ever heard anyone release. And because her tushy was against the wall it reverberated and made it seem even louder.
I just burst out laughing for like 5 minutes straight. And she is so embarrassed she starts crying. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. We're still together and have a 2 year old now.
43points
#2
I once saw a girl holding an ice cream cone in one hand, and her phone in the other lick the screen of her phone. When we made eye contact and she realized I'd seen it happen, she looked like she was going to go in the ground.
Report
38points
#3
Ugh okay, so basically there was a lot of construction going on in our house and one fine morning, I forgot to lock the door before bathing. My back was towards the wall, but there was a glass vase by which I could see the scene behind. One of the workers accidentally got in and froze. During this time I had the option of-
a) pretending I did not see him
b) shrieking for good god.
I went with option 'a' because my mom would have pretty much fired the poor guy who accidentally saw her daughter's tushy, but he literally just stood there for 30 frozen horrific seconds before running away. If you think that was awkward imagine the guy working on our house, and my room for a week after this. He couldn't look at me, I would constantly have a smile-grimace hybrid on my face when I'd see him, and on the third last day when we crossed each other and he gave me *finger guns* before scampering away like he'd seen an octopus with the face of James Franco.
a) pretending I did not see him
b) shrieking for good god.
I went with option 'a' because my mom would have pretty much fired the poor guy who accidentally saw her daughter's tushy, but he literally just stood there for 30 frozen horrific seconds before running away. If you think that was awkward imagine the guy working on our house, and my room for a week after this. He couldn't look at me, I would constantly have a smile-grimace hybrid on my face when I'd see him, and on the third last day when we crossed each other and he gave me *finger guns* before scampering away like he'd seen an octopus with the face of James Franco.
Report
32points
A typical person experiences a lot of various emotions. Basically, we as humans are very emotional. In the 1970s, psychologist Paul Eckman identified six basic emotions that are universally experienced: happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger. You know, just as the emotions’ characters in the 2015 movie Inside Out.
But the truth is that we experience more emotions than just these\, which is what the sequel of Inside Out points out too. Here, this article by Jonice Webb, Ph.D., says that we have 35 of the most commonly felt emotions.
#4
Oh god, it was me. I wore a new dress at work with a really full skirt. I was in the bathroom all alone, and grabbed the sides of my skirt to swish it back and forth, and twirled, and swished, and twirled. Imagine a frumpy middle aged woman going full-on Disney Princess.
In walked the Deputy Superintendent. Instant mortification. I avoid her like the plague now.
In walked the Deputy Superintendent. Instant mortification. I avoid her like the plague now.
Report
31points
#5
One day I decide to take a walk to this park near my house. I take my book, a couple of smokes, good way to spend a summer's evening, right? So I go and find my favourite tree and climb up to a comfy position high up in the branches.
Some guy is walking in the park and well clearly, nature called. Without noticing me sat above him in the tree, he pulls down his pants and does a massive stinking number 2, pulls up his pants without wiping and walks off as if its all cool. So I'm sat there, having seen everything, and now I have to climb down from a tree with a massive man's number 2 right where I was going to climb down.
Still a traumatic memory to this day.
Some guy is walking in the park and well clearly, nature called. Without noticing me sat above him in the tree, he pulls down his pants and does a massive stinking number 2, pulls up his pants without wiping and walks off as if its all cool. So I'm sat there, having seen everything, and now I have to climb down from a tree with a massive man's number 2 right where I was going to climb down.
Still a traumatic memory to this day.
29points
#6
I use Duolingo to practice my Spanish while waiting for the bus each morning. When I'm alone, I like to say each question and answer aloud to practice my pronunciation as well. One day as I waited for the bus a group of people gathered behind me without me noticing. I had headphones on and practiced each sentence out loud as I worked through my days Spanish activities. When the bus finally came and I pulled off my headphones, I realized there were 6 or 7 strangers behind me, all had been awkwardly listening to me speak Spanish to myself for 5 minutes. I felt so embarrassed.
28points
This list includes the aforementioned 6, but the other 29 are a good addition, too. For example, passion, which drives people to create and invent, or guilt, which compels one to repair their wrongdoing. We would also suggest adding yet another emotion to this already not-so-short list – shame. After all, it’s an emotion all of us have experienced at some point in our lives.
Yet, despite being common, shame is a rather difficult emotion to process. In fact, it might be one of the most challenging, as it impacts people’s self-perception by eroding self-worth and damaging the ability to connect with others.
#7
I have a lovely elderly neighbor across the way who tends her garden almost daily. She is sweet as can be, and doesn't bother a fly. Our houses are pretty far apart, I'm not a good judge of distances but it's far enough that she feels concealed.
When I sit on my front porch, I can see her clear as day wherever she is in her yard, but she can't see me because of the arrangment of plants between us, and my slightly higher elevation.
She always, ALWAYS, adjusts herself, like overtly. She has a routine every time she stands up and moves, from kneeling on a planting cushion.
She stands up, pulls off her garden gloves, does a little wiggle shake, jams her entire hand down the back of her pants and evacuates a wedge, pulls her bra strap down where it rode up in the back, scoops each breast back into place, and moves down to a new spot to garden.
She repeats this maybe 25 times before she calls it a day. I sit outside and smoke a bowl and watch her and it delights the hell out of me (in a she's a cute, funny old lady way, not an indecent way, just to be clear.).
When I sit on my front porch, I can see her clear as day wherever she is in her yard, but she can't see me because of the arrangment of plants between us, and my slightly higher elevation.
She always, ALWAYS, adjusts herself, like overtly. She has a routine every time she stands up and moves, from kneeling on a planting cushion.
She stands up, pulls off her garden gloves, does a little wiggle shake, jams her entire hand down the back of her pants and evacuates a wedge, pulls her bra strap down where it rode up in the back, scoops each breast back into place, and moves down to a new spot to garden.
She repeats this maybe 25 times before she calls it a day. I sit outside and smoke a bowl and watch her and it delights the hell out of me (in a she's a cute, funny old lady way, not an indecent way, just to be clear.).
Report
27points
#8
When I was a child, maybe 7 or 8 years old, time spent in the bathroom was an opportunity to read books or just have a moment of quiet contemplation. One time during one of my extended toilet sessions, I got the bright idea to use the toilet paper to make a Ninja Turtles-style mask for myself. No sooner had l torn the eye holes and wrapped it around my head, the door opens and my dad walks in. We make awkward eye contact for what felt like minutes, and then without a word being spoken, he slowly backed out and closed the door. I don't know why it was so embarrassing to me, but I still remember the whole scene quite clearly and that was 20+ years ago.
Edit: Gee whiz lookit all them updoots. Thanks for the gold too. Who knew a moment from my childhood would get me fake internet points in the future. The door wasn't locked because my parents owned an old Victorian which didn't have locks on any of the interior doors. Gotta keep your head on a swivel.
Edit: Gee whiz lookit all them updoots. Thanks for the gold too. Who knew a moment from my childhood would get me fake internet points in the future. The door wasn't locked because my parents owned an old Victorian which didn't have locks on any of the interior doors. Gotta keep your head on a swivel.
25points
#9
I used to deliver newspapers. One Sunday I got the papers extremely early, and delivered to a Sunday only customer at around 3 a.m. When it's this early, I always lift my paper up and smile so customers don't think I'm there to rob them.
As I apporached this house, I noticed movement inside. Cue the smile and raised newspaper as I witnessed a shirtless, middle aged man with a large potbelly rubbing his belly. Vigorously. I approach, smile and paper in hand. He notices me and runs out of the room. I'm thinking "No dude. Don't. Do your thing. I'm just a paperboy. Don't let me dictate how you live your life."
He canceled the next week.
As I apporached this house, I noticed movement inside. Cue the smile and raised newspaper as I witnessed a shirtless, middle aged man with a large potbelly rubbing his belly. Vigorously. I approach, smile and paper in hand. He notices me and runs out of the room. I'm thinking "No dude. Don't. Do your thing. I'm just a paperboy. Don't let me dictate how you live your life."
He canceled the next week.
Report
24points
It can stem from a variety of places. From poor choices and harmful behaviors of your own to others causing it with harsh words or actions. Certain life conditions can also plant seeds of that in one’s mind, even if there is nothing to be ashamed about – a person's mind tends to dramatize.
What’s also interesting about the shame emotion is that it has “a kid” called embarrassment. You might think – isn’t that the same emotion, just a different name? Well, it kind of is, but at the same time, it isn’t. At the base, both leave us feeling similarly – confused, distressed, and uncomfortable to describe it in a basic way.
#10
At parties I would often dedicate myself a look in the mirror with a smile for a confidence boost, but this one time there was another guy doing the exact same thing, rising his eyebrow and smooching at himself.
There was a silent agreement not to talk about it. I still wonder if he remembers.
There was a silent agreement not to talk about it. I still wonder if he remembers.
Report
23points
#11
I once purchased adult toys online. I came home to find the parcel containing these items OPEN sitting on my bed with a note from my mum saying "sorry, thought it was my parcel". The shame was unbearable and I still cringe when I think about it. I tried to deflect by texting her to ask if she had any wrapping paper I could use for 'the joke present I bought for my friend's 21st'. Eurghhhh.
22points
#12
A former co-worker had bad acne all over his face and neck. While I was sitting in my forklift waiting for pallets to come up the line, I watched him pop a pimple on his neck and eat it. Horrifying.
Report
21points
Yet, what’s different about them is that embarrassment tends to be fleeting, the feeling that can be brushed off, while shame is the lasting one. For example, of that fleeting feeling, imagine a situation where you do something cringey and realize someone saw it – you would feel embarrassment, wouldn’t you?
If you don’t really want to imagine that or comb through your memories for instances like that, you can just take a look at today’s list. We filled it with stories of people witnessing someone else doing something embarrassing without thinking they had viewers.
#13
I'm a canoe guide, and being the guide I'm usually in the back of the canoe, steering. On this particular day, because it was training and I was with a bunch of my coworkers, I was in the front.
When I'm in the back, I'll periodically check to see if any plumber's backside is showing by basically feeling my lower back/top of my tushy with my finger, then readjust my underwear if needed. I'm in the back of the boat, so no one sees that.
However, on this day I did it in the front, giving the guy in the back of the boat a full showing of me fingering my tushy. He promptly said "I think that's a back-of-boat maneuver.".
When I'm in the back, I'll periodically check to see if any plumber's backside is showing by basically feeling my lower back/top of my tushy with my finger, then readjust my underwear if needed. I'm in the back of the boat, so no one sees that.
However, on this day I did it in the front, giving the guy in the back of the boat a full showing of me fingering my tushy. He promptly said "I think that's a back-of-boat maneuver.".
Report
20points
#14
Not my story, but my mum's. My sister had requested a cake from a specific shop that we'd never been to before, and mum went in to order it. The kitchen was visible from the front of the shop, and one of the workers was icing a cake. He licked the spatula and continued icing. Mum saw everything. She still ordered a cake from that shop, and we ate it.
Report
20points
#15
I was on family vacation to Hawaii when I was 9. For some reason, I didn't think anyone in the busy resort would notice me trying to stick my thing into one of the hot tubs water jets.......
18points
Kind of a mortifying situation to find yourself in, when you really think about it, isn’t it? And yet, we've all probably experienced it – it’s like a humiliation ritual of the human experience.
Do you want to share your story like that? Our comment section is always open!
#16
I came back upstairs after leaving for work because I forgot my phone. My dogs thought I was gone for the day and didn't hear me come back up. Walk into living room and my youngest dog is laying on his back and my older dog is standing right in front of young dogs sniffing him. Not normal dog sniffing, deep, pronounced sniffing as if he was a sommelier trying to determine a wines country of origin. I laughed and both dogs looked at me in utter fear and embarrassment. Eyes were huge. You could see the shame in their eyes and one went to the couch and the other went to the bedroom. Neither looked me in the eye when I got home that afternoon.
Report
17points
#17
It was when I was around 12 so I guess ya can't judge another 12 year old *too* much, but we were at day camp and I look over and one of the kids in our group is in the corner just playing with his thing without a care in the world.
17points
#18
I was in a meeting in my client’s boardroom. The boardroom was at ground level and the exterior glass was mirrored on the outside but see through from inside. In the middle of the meeting, some sketchy looking dude comes over and starts picking his teeth in the mirror. Then he looks left, looks right, sees he has privacy, so he whips out his thing and starts inspecting it in the mirror. He then started trying to pop pimples or something. My client just got up, walked over to the glass, and gave a little rap on the window in front of him. He put his thing away and moved on.
Edit: added “exterior” to clarify this was an exterior window with a probably homeless dude on the outside of the glass, oblivious to the inside of the glass.
Edit: added “exterior” to clarify this was an exterior window with a probably homeless dude on the outside of the glass, oblivious to the inside of the glass.
Report
16points
#19
One night I was sleeping next to my then-boyfriend and woke up because he moved. I noticed how he scratched his tushy with the hand he had been hugging me and proceeded to smell his fingers, then putting his arm around me again, his hand very close to my face. It had this...tushy smell, you know what I'm talkin about. Ugh.
Edit: I can't believe how many upvotes this got! I sometimes post random comments and they barely get any upvotes. I wrote this one in a hurry today before leaving with my NOW husband and my three kids, came back to find it exploded...whew!
Edit: I can't believe how many upvotes this got! I sometimes post random comments and they barely get any upvotes. I wrote this one in a hurry today before leaving with my NOW husband and my three kids, came back to find it exploded...whew!
16points
#20
Every summer my friends and I go to a waterpark. As we are adults we often like to drink while we're at the waterpark. So one summer we were sitting in the bar area that the waterpark at set up enjoying overpriced beer, there was a woman sitting at a picnic table just below the balcony of the bar. She slides back so that her rear end is hanging over the bench and just urinates right there on the AstroTurf while still chatting with her friends. She thought that no one had seen her and that she had gotten away with it, but we saw and thought it was absolutely disgusting.
Report
15points