Curiosity tends to awaken an itch within you, and most of us have learned the hard way that scratching it does not always end well. The wrong drawer, the accidentally opened email, the conversation you were never meant to overhear from the other side of a door that was not quite closed. Some information arrives uninvited and then absolutely refuses to leave.
@chronicallyhumored asked the internet a simple question: what is a secret you accidentally discovered that you were not supposed to know? The thread that followed was nothing short of jaw-dropping, to say the least. These are the ones that stuck.
#21
That my 2 colleagues were having an affair. I drove home and my street passes my male colleagues place. As I drove past, I saw the female colleague drive out, they kiss at the gate and she left. They had both left the office to go to separate commitments.
17points
Other cultures have developed their own vocabulary for this personality type, and some of it is spectacular. German offers "Tratschtante," which translates literally to "gossip aunt" and calls to mind every prying relative you have ever tried to avoid at a family gathering. There is also "Neugieriger Naseweis," meaning "fresh nose," used for an overly curious person or a know-it-all child.
English contributes the "curtain twitcher," which describes someone who monitors their neighbors through the window with dedication. And in Korea they would say “Ojirapi neolda,” or “your apron is wide.” This is a polite way of saying that your personal space stretches too far into everyone else's business. Somehow, this is the harshest of them all.
#22
My best friend and I were the only two out gay guys at our High School. When I finally got the courage to come out to him, he told me I deserved to hear one of his secrets. He then told me he had been having an affair with the captain of the varsity baseball team, who had been dating the captain of the varsity cheerleading squad for several years.
16points
#23
That my grandfather was actually married 3 times, not 2. His second wife was married to men in other states. I have no idea how he discovered it but no one talks about it. Except me. I tell Everyone.
16points
#24
While doing a genealogy project, I discovered that my great grandmother had apparently been married and had an infant baby boy before she married my great grandfather. The first husband passed away and she quickly remarried, and her and the baby took the second husband's name. Our name.
My mom made me swear never to tell my father.
My mom made me swear never to tell my father.
16points
What the thread makes clear is that most of these discoveries were not the result of prying. They were accidents, wrong doors, overheard conversations, files that opened when they should not have. The information arrived uninvited and has been living rent-free ever since.
But then we got nosy. Us perpetually bored folks on the internet just had to know what was going on in everyone else’s business. Secrets have a way of finding the wrong person at the wrong moment and becoming that person's problem indefinitely. But we are here to help you carry that burden and also feel better about our own problems because of it.
#25
that the person my ex (a psychologist) was having in a affair with was her patient.
16points
#26
My quiet, unassuming, docile grandfather was court-martialled 4 times while serving in North Africa during WW2.
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15points
#27
My mom put two kids up for adoption before she had kids with my dad. She kept all of us. One of my half brothers located us through DNA. I’m so glad he’s in my life.
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15points
#28
That my grandmother, who was married 16 times, had a lesbian relationship when she was younger that was her only true love.
14points
#29
My mom sent me a cease and desist letter because I found out she disappeared when I was 13 months and not even her divorce lawyer could find her. For two years.
14points
#30
I found the ring. Its hidden deep in the center console. Its been there since December. We've been together for 14 yrs. He'd always said he didnt believe in marriage (like that). I haven't said a thing and its been the hardest secret to keep of my life.
14points
#31
I was helping my sister paint her dining room walls and as we were chatting, I accidentally found out she was pregnant with her second kid — she had just found out herself that morning. She didn’t mean to say it so then I kept the secret for her until she shared it with the rest of the family.
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14points
#32
My uncle was “born early!” At 6 months. In 1938. My grandmother was JUST 16. My grandfather was 20.
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14points
#33
That grandma stole her bestfriend’s man & that’s how my dad & his siblings were created.
Guys! I’m a 2nd generation homewrecker.
Guys! I’m a 2nd generation homewrecker.
13points
#34
My grandmother passed and I was helping my dad go through her paperwork. In one of her filing cabinets (lady kept meticulous records) there was an envelope with "Robert" written on it. Apparently my aunt had an abortion when she was 15 and his name would have been Robert if the child had been a boy. My grandmother kept the bill for it, along with the receipt for the fetus' cremation. No one in our family knew except her and my aunt. Caused a bit of a stir among the siblings.
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13points
#35
When I was 8yrs old I found documents and images that proved my 'parents' were not my biological parents!
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13points
#36
I was deployed a lot. Whether or not my kids share my mitochondrial DNA is a coin flip.
I’m not worried about it, they are good kids and my being aa jerk about it only hurts them. They are good kids we will not bring it up.
I’m not worried about it, they are good kids and my being aa jerk about it only hurts them. They are good kids we will not bring it up.
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12points
#37
When I was 27 my granny very graciously informed me that when my mother discovered she was pregnant with me, she went to her and said “I don’t think I want this baby.” Granny very matter of fact said “Well you know what to do about it.”
Honestly explained my entire life and the (lack of ) relationship I have with my mother.
Honestly explained my entire life and the (lack of ) relationship I have with my mother.
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12points
#38
Around 2000, I was working in the music biz and a HUGE band that we worked with suddenly broke up, cancelled all tours and created a big fake medical story to justify it. The promoters were scrambling & it was a mess. But the whole story was fake…it was b/c the frontman’s wife didn’t want him being a “rockstar” anymore. But they kept piling on the fake reasons. It took a few years… but he was suddenly “healed” of “permanent nerve damage” and the band reunited (and is still together).
12points
#39
At the beginning of my divorce I needed to print, sign and fax some papers but did not have a printer nor a fax machine so I asked a few neighbors. One neighbor invited me over to use hers and she told me about her first divorce.
A little later she asked me not to tell her (adult) daughter because she did not know that her mom had previously been married.
I barely knew them and I have been the keeper of that family secret since.
Sometimes I wonder if I should ask if she’s told her yet.
A little later she asked me not to tell her (adult) daughter because she did not know that her mom had previously been married.
I barely knew them and I have been the keeper of that family secret since.
Sometimes I wonder if I should ask if she’s told her yet.
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12points
#40
My oldest brother has a different father. I found out from a drunk uncle at a wedding.
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12points