The universe has a way of keeping everything in balance. After a bad streak, something good often follows. Even the heaviest rain ends, and eventually the sun comes out. Sooner or later, the way people treat others often comes back to them.
Across several Reddit threads, users shared the best examples of instant karma they’ve ever witnessed. Some were incredibly satisfying, while others were unexpectedly funny. We gathered the most memorable stories here.
#1
This is a positive karma story. It was a few days before Christmas and I was looking for a parking spot at my nearby mall. Total nightmare.
I was on one of the main lanes that went past a mall entrance. That lane was stop and go traffic. There was a guy trying to walk across the lane. I was surprised and mad for him when four cars in front of me refused to stop for 20 seconds and let him cross the lane.
I stopped and motioned for him to cross. He gave me a smile and pointed to his car. He was parked in that first row of spots right by the entrance! I got a primo parking spot on one of the worst shopping days of the year, just because I had some common decency for my fellow man.
I was on one of the main lanes that went past a mall entrance. That lane was stop and go traffic. There was a guy trying to walk across the lane. I was surprised and mad for him when four cars in front of me refused to stop for 20 seconds and let him cross the lane.
I stopped and motioned for him to cross. He gave me a smile and pointed to his car. He was parked in that first row of spots right by the entrance! I got a primo parking spot on one of the worst shopping days of the year, just because I had some common decency for my fellow man.
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133points
#2
My daughter was on hospice due to a degenerative terminal illness. We wanted to donate her organs to try and save other kids after her passing, but they said the organs and tissue were so far gone and couldn’t take them. So I called a researcher who had dedicated her career to researching and caring for kids with my daughter’s condition. I asked if she would be able to use anything from my daughter’s body to support her research and maybe save other kids that way…
She asked about our situation and told me that the current doctors were giving up too soon—there was more we could do. She said she’d be willing to take over our care from across the country (before telehealth was a thing). Her expertise and willingness to help us doubled my daughter’s life.
I am forever grateful. And for those curious, we did donate whatever she wanted for her research when my daughter passed away and then got our daughter’s body back to bury.
She asked about our situation and told me that the current doctors were giving up too soon—there was more we could do. She said she’d be willing to take over our care from across the country (before telehealth was a thing). Her expertise and willingness to help us doubled my daughter’s life.
I am forever grateful. And for those curious, we did donate whatever she wanted for her research when my daughter passed away and then got our daughter’s body back to bury.
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120points
#3
This story is the quickest I ever saw karma work.
A woman I knew was married for 20 years. One Friday her husband came home from work and told her he wants a divorce. He proceeded to pack a bag and told his wife he would be back next week for the remainder of his belongings and divorce papers. He then said, don't think you are going to get any of my money, better start looking for a job and I'm going to sell the house.
She was in shock and had no idea there was a problem with their marriage.
The next day, she gets a phone call from a hospital. Her husband suffered a massive stroke and was in the ICU. When she arrived at his room a young woman was there. When she saw the wife walk in, she got up, walked over to her and handed her his car keys. She looked at the wife and said, his car is parked outside the emergency department, I put his belongings in the car, I'm leaving, I didn't sign up for this. It was then the nurse walked in and told the wife, her husband had a stroke [while] with the girlfriend.
The wife had her husband transferred to a long term care facility. She made sure he had what he needed and nothing more. She then started enjoying life with his money and doing whatever she wanted.
A woman I knew was married for 20 years. One Friday her husband came home from work and told her he wants a divorce. He proceeded to pack a bag and told his wife he would be back next week for the remainder of his belongings and divorce papers. He then said, don't think you are going to get any of my money, better start looking for a job and I'm going to sell the house.
She was in shock and had no idea there was a problem with their marriage.
The next day, she gets a phone call from a hospital. Her husband suffered a massive stroke and was in the ICU. When she arrived at his room a young woman was there. When she saw the wife walk in, she got up, walked over to her and handed her his car keys. She looked at the wife and said, his car is parked outside the emergency department, I put his belongings in the car, I'm leaving, I didn't sign up for this. It was then the nurse walked in and told the wife, her husband had a stroke [while] with the girlfriend.
The wife had her husband transferred to a long term care facility. She made sure he had what he needed and nothing more. She then started enjoying life with his money and doing whatever she wanted.
95points
#4
I was working at a gas station and this lady fills up a fountain drink and bee lines to the door without paying. I asked her if she was gonna pay and she flipped me off and told me [get lost] and proceeded to leave without paying. As I lookout the window all I see is her trip over the curb and fall to the ground , and the drink landed on her and drenched her. I’m extremely petty so I went outside, hit her with a Nelson Munoz “ha-ha” and told her that’s what she gets! It was hilarious.
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82points
#5
I was working as a writer-producer on a TV show. We had a special coffee truck at the set as a treat for the cast and crew. I waited until the crew had gotten drinks, then went up and ordered a drink for myself. While I was waiting, a guy came up that I knew to be a fairly well-known journeyman actor, but we'd never met. He put in an order for a drink. Almost immediately he started fussing about how long it was taking. The barista put a drink in the pick-up window and called my name. Before I could even react, the guy grabbed my drink and took off.
Twenty minutes later I was sitting in a casting session and the casting director brought in that guy. To audition for a role in the episode that we were in pre-production on. That I wrote and was executive producing.
I said, "Hey, how was my coffee?".
Twenty minutes later I was sitting in a casting session and the casting director brought in that guy. To audition for a role in the episode that we were in pre-production on. That I wrote and was executive producing.
I said, "Hey, how was my coffee?".
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75points
#6
I was sitting at a red light and this guy pulls up next to me and apparently since I own a mustang it means I wanted to race him. He's revving his engine at the light with his girlfriend or whatever she was acting like he was hot stuff and as he's showing off I see a cop pull up behind him so I nod in agreement and when the light turns green he peels off and almost immediately gets pulled over. As I drive by I look and both give me a glare as I laugh.
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70points
#7
I used to ride my bicycle to and from work about 1.5miles each way. One day during peak end of the day traffic leaving the parking lot I was in front of a bunch of cars waiting to turn left and a senior person where I worked zipped past all the cars behind me on his motorcycle. He stopped next to me, flipped up his helmet visor, said "Nice bike loser," then revved the engine and yeeted out into traffic.
Almost immediately I heard the screeching of tires as he slammed the brakes and got t-boned by someone pulling out from the opposite side of traffic. He and his motorcycle went flying, it landed on top of his leg just in a smashed pile of metal and fiberglass...as I came calmly pedaling up to him on my bicycle. Fortunately for him I was an EMT and we worked at a hospital so I checked him out and he was fine other than a wrecked motorcycle and broken leg. A minute or two later the ambulance pulled up and took over and as they loaded him onto the stretcher I pointed to the pile of what used to be his motorcycle and said, "Nice bike loser," and pedaled on home.
Almost immediately I heard the screeching of tires as he slammed the brakes and got t-boned by someone pulling out from the opposite side of traffic. He and his motorcycle went flying, it landed on top of his leg just in a smashed pile of metal and fiberglass...as I came calmly pedaling up to him on my bicycle. Fortunately for him I was an EMT and we worked at a hospital so I checked him out and he was fine other than a wrecked motorcycle and broken leg. A minute or two later the ambulance pulled up and took over and as they loaded him onto the stretcher I pointed to the pile of what used to be his motorcycle and said, "Nice bike loser," and pedaled on home.
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66points
#8
I saw a drunk guy throw a rock at a cop car. The window must have been bulletproof, because the rock bounced back at the guy and hit him in the family jewels. The cop took a sip of his coffee, got out and cuffed the guy.
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65points
#9
Recently saw a video of a man screaming the n-word out the window of his massive truck, flipped the bird too, at a black woman and IMMEDIATELY crashed into a light pole. I'm pretty sure I've seen it about a dozen times and I upvote it every time.
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64points
#10
Child support arrears hearing. Ex was in contempt, deferred. Ex often lied under oath but hard to prove. Ex lied to Judge X who as a result gave him some leeway.
Ex laughed about lying to the judge it in the hall. Judge’s Clerk overheard the hallway snark about the lie and reported to the Judge. Judge had bailiff bring him back in, revoked community recognizance (suspension of jail for contempt) and ordered him to jail.
Ex immediately bailed himself out of bail (even before booked) with cash he had in hand — of an amount he testified under oath to the judge he couldn’t pay in arrears for ~6 months. That fact got back to the judge that same day.
Judge X was against incredibly pissed and took permanent control over the case and ex received zero benefit of the doubt thereafter. Maybe not instant karma but deeply satisfying.
Ex laughed about lying to the judge it in the hall. Judge’s Clerk overheard the hallway snark about the lie and reported to the Judge. Judge had bailiff bring him back in, revoked community recognizance (suspension of jail for contempt) and ordered him to jail.
Ex immediately bailed himself out of bail (even before booked) with cash he had in hand — of an amount he testified under oath to the judge he couldn’t pay in arrears for ~6 months. That fact got back to the judge that same day.
Judge X was against incredibly pissed and took permanent control over the case and ex received zero benefit of the doubt thereafter. Maybe not instant karma but deeply satisfying.
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62points
#11
As I was stopping at a set of traffic lights a guy in the car next to me stuck his head out of the window to catcall me. Then he crashed into the car that had stopped in front of him.
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60points
#12
Wholesome one:
I was at Petco Park watching the Padres play the Diamondbacks, in the lower deck along the third base line. My son spent a lot of time running up to where the ball girl was, tossing foul balls to waiting kids. This one kid in a Diamondbacks jersey got a ball and gave it to my kid. During warmups in the bottom of the next inning, the player whose jersey the kid was wearing tossed him a ball directly.
I was at Petco Park watching the Padres play the Diamondbacks, in the lower deck along the third base line. My son spent a lot of time running up to where the ball girl was, tossing foul balls to waiting kids. This one kid in a Diamondbacks jersey got a ball and gave it to my kid. During warmups in the bottom of the next inning, the player whose jersey the kid was wearing tossed him a ball directly.
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54points
#13
My mom trying to force me back outside to weed the flower beds when I came in because there were hornets. She called me a wimp, walked outside and got stung between her eyes within twenty seconds. Hahahahahaha...told ya!
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53points
#14
My husband told me of a time his sister reaped instant karma. I was not in the family yet at the time of the story.
He, his (now ex) wife, 3 kids, sister, her husband and their 4 kids and his parents were at a theme park. They were going to one of the outdoor shows. Everyone got seated and his sister says “I’m going to use the bathroom”.
She comes back with a churro. Just for her. Nothing for her kids or anyone else. She sits down and goes to take a bite when a seagull flies over and drops directly overhead. It landed on her and the churro.
He said they all laughed so hard at her. She was not amused.
He, his (now ex) wife, 3 kids, sister, her husband and their 4 kids and his parents were at a theme park. They were going to one of the outdoor shows. Everyone got seated and his sister says “I’m going to use the bathroom”.
She comes back with a churro. Just for her. Nothing for her kids or anyone else. She sits down and goes to take a bite when a seagull flies over and drops directly overhead. It landed on her and the churro.
He said they all laughed so hard at her. She was not amused.
47points
#15
I was at a casino. My husband and I normally don’t play seriously - usually go and eat brunch and put aside $50-100 to spend on slots and drink free. We usually sit next/near to each other so we can hang out.
I was about to sit down next to him at a slot where he was, and this guy literally SLIDES under me. I almost sit on his lap. I was like “wth okay”. I go around the carousel and play the one around. Hit the few hundred dollar smaller “jackpot” (think it was like $350 on $10?).
You could tell he was one of those who watched the machines and was waiting for one of them to hit.
This guy was MAD.
I was about to sit down next to him at a slot where he was, and this guy literally SLIDES under me. I almost sit on his lap. I was like “wth okay”. I go around the carousel and play the one around. Hit the few hundred dollar smaller “jackpot” (think it was like $350 on $10?).
You could tell he was one of those who watched the machines and was waiting for one of them to hit.
This guy was MAD.
43points
#16
I was in college and working this [trashy] sandwich shop to make money while I applied for temporary jobs/internships.
There was this miserable server who had clearly been there too long and had “seniority” which ironically came with so much arrogance and disdain for anyone else in the restaurant. He was so negative and patronizing to everyone and would just start petty arguments or make snide remarks to make people feel small.
One day I was telling one of the other sandwich workers that I had been in the middle of this months long internship application in Thailand and was crossing my fingers that I got it.
This [jerk] overhears, interjects, and has the audacity to tell me something like, “keep dreaming. You’ll never get it, you can’t even make a proper sandwich fast enough.”
Not even an hour later I got an email that I had been selected and would be heading to Thailand for a 4 month internship in a month’s time.
I immediately went to my boss, told him the news, gave my resignation, and walked out to tell the server, “I got the job. I hope you learn how to be happy with where you’re at.” I have never seen a look of such pure shock and remorse on someone’s face, but it felt so good.
There was this miserable server who had clearly been there too long and had “seniority” which ironically came with so much arrogance and disdain for anyone else in the restaurant. He was so negative and patronizing to everyone and would just start petty arguments or make snide remarks to make people feel small.
One day I was telling one of the other sandwich workers that I had been in the middle of this months long internship application in Thailand and was crossing my fingers that I got it.
This [jerk] overhears, interjects, and has the audacity to tell me something like, “keep dreaming. You’ll never get it, you can’t even make a proper sandwich fast enough.”
Not even an hour later I got an email that I had been selected and would be heading to Thailand for a 4 month internship in a month’s time.
I immediately went to my boss, told him the news, gave my resignation, and walked out to tell the server, “I got the job. I hope you learn how to be happy with where you’re at.” I have never seen a look of such pure shock and remorse on someone’s face, but it felt so good.
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42points
#17
When I was young, my brother made a bunch of fish sticks for himself leaving me and my friend hungry. We asked if we could have some and he completely refused, laughing in our faces. So, we are sitting on a couch watching tv as he comes walking in holding a giant plate of fish sticks and ketchup. As he walks through the door he begins to say, “MmmMmmmm these look good.” But instead of finishing the word good, he trips and drops the plate. Fish sticks and ketchup go everywhere. To this day it may be the hardest I’ve ever laughed.
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37points
#18
This single girl in my friend group was always after guys that showed interest in other single girls in the same group. I guess she saw them as rivals, and it boosted her confidence to 'steal' a guy from them.
She tried it again at a festival. She was flirting shamelessly with a guy that was clearly into her friend, kept touching him, trying to catch his eye and dancing close to him. She ignored his dismissive signals, until he loudly said: 'Oh my God, you attention [seeker]. Can't you find a guy who is actually interested in you?'
Her face sank and she didn't say much for the rest of the day.
She tried it again at a festival. She was flirting shamelessly with a guy that was clearly into her friend, kept touching him, trying to catch his eye and dancing close to him. She ignored his dismissive signals, until he loudly said: 'Oh my God, you attention [seeker]. Can't you find a guy who is actually interested in you?'
Her face sank and she didn't say much for the rest of the day.
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36points
#19
There was a railway crossing that was in very badly in need of repairs - so bad that you had to slow down to about 10km when you crossing it so you didn't damage your car. City couldn't do anything about it because railways are federal jurisdiction.
My husband and I were a couple of blocks away when this guy in a muscle car passed the car behind us and my car at the same time (on a double yellow line as well)
As the guy goes tearing off we look at each other and say 'he's not from around here and doesn't know about the crossing'
Sure enough when we caught up his car was wrapped around a lamp post skid marks showing he must have hit it at speed.
Did we wait to give the police a statement - you betcha. .
My husband and I were a couple of blocks away when this guy in a muscle car passed the car behind us and my car at the same time (on a double yellow line as well)
As the guy goes tearing off we look at each other and say 'he's not from around here and doesn't know about the crossing'
Sure enough when we caught up his car was wrapped around a lamp post skid marks showing he must have hit it at speed.
Did we wait to give the police a statement - you betcha. .
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33points
#20
Belligerent dude was screaming and yelling at a family guy just trying to put his boat in at a boat ramp with his wife and kids. Belligerent guy eventually punches the family guy in the face and knocks him off the dock into the water.
Almost the instant the guy hit the water the two "fishermen" at the end of the dock slammed belligerent guy facedown into the dock and handcuffed him. Turns out they were undercover FL DNR.
Almost the instant the guy hit the water the two "fishermen" at the end of the dock slammed belligerent guy facedown into the dock and handcuffed him. Turns out they were undercover FL DNR.
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33points