We’ve all heard a tall tale in our days, most often among our once-peers on the middle school playground, but also well into adulthood. Most folks have developed a sense of skepticism for this very reason. The classic thing to do if someone has a story that really seems a bit far fetched is to just make them produce evidence.
Someone asked people online to share their best “pics or it didn’t happen” moment and the internet delivered. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorite posts and add your own stories to the comments below.
#21
I broke my step father's driver while hitting golf balls into the woods. The ball hit a tree about 50 yards away and came straight back at me. I ducked and the ball hit the shaft right above the club head. The next swing the head went flying off into the woods. The only good part was a buddy witnessed it.
27points
As our trust in photographs grows, progressively so grows our vulnerability to sophisticated faking. Deepfakes and advanced editing software sabotage the basic presumptions of "pics as proof," necessitating new ways of verifying authenticity and provenance. The comparative simplicity of photo manipulation entails that the slogan "pics or it didn't happen" can ring false unless supported by consideration of context, metadata, source authentication, and awareness of digital forgeries. Without these safeguards, our collective faith in images risks erosion, leaving us unsure whether a striking photo documents reality or a well-executed illusion.
#22
Eh. F**k it. This is DEFINITELY not going to be believed, and I can't provide evidence of the deed itself for obvious reasons but.... A few years ago I was at a good friend of mine's college graduation from Bard in upstate NY. They were also having a 40th reunion for alum. So we're sitting there and one of my friend's friends says "hey, isn't that Chevy Chase?" It was. (he never graduated from Bard, but went there and dropped out.) Well, we went over and got our picture taken with him. He was kinda pissed that we were interrupting a conversation he was having with his wife, but begrudgingly let us take the picture anyway. We all went back to our table and sat there for a while, when I had an idea. As soon as he was alone, I went back up to him and apologized for my friends interrupting him before and asked him if he wanted to smoke a joint I had rolled for after the party with us. He said "I'm not going to have to be in any more pictures with you am I? Why not." So the nine of us left, went to a little off shoot in the woods by the mansion on Bards campus and smoked a jaunsmack with Chevy Chase. It only made it around twice since there was nine of us, but still. He was... not really that nice of a guy. Pretty sarcastic, pretty snarky. He chilled out a lot more as we sat there, but you can tell years of people confusing him with his characters had worn on him. But we got him to tell us a few quick hollywood stories and he told us about a show that he was going to be on called 'Community.' I made some stupid/nervous/high remark about "You're Chevy Chase and I'm not" which got a light chortle out of him because everyone else just kept throwing Caddyshack references at him, and then we all went back to the party. As evidence, I've got the picture we took with him, but like I said, that's not evidence of the real interesting part so... yeah.
Report
25points
#23
In college, a couple of childhood friends and I went home for a random weekend in October to drink and catch up on college and whatnot. All of us were 21 except for one of my friends (who was still 20) so rather than trying to find a bar that would let us in, we grabbed some beer and headed to an old campground near our high school.
It was around 10 at night, and it was d**n near pitch black out. The only light we could see by was our cell phones, so we're shining them around, trying to see the path through the woods.
We finally get to the camp site, and start hunting around for lighter fluid (the high schoolers always leave a few bottles nearby). We're feeling around on the ground when my buddy says "Guys? I think I'm holding a gun". We shine our lights on him, and sure enough he's got a shotgun in his hands, holding it with his finger on the trigger like an idiot. And behind him, slumped over in a chair, is a dead-a*s body.
Long story short, we freaked out, ran away, got s*******d at another camp-site, drove drunk to the police station to report it, were held for 12 hours (not in custody, but the police have a way of letting you know you're not going anywhere, even if you're not under arrest). Eventually they determined it was s*****e, but it was terrifying. No one ever believes it until I show them the newspaper clippings, though I don't have any proof for you, dear Redditors.
TL;DR Hiking in the woods, dead body surprise.
It was around 10 at night, and it was d**n near pitch black out. The only light we could see by was our cell phones, so we're shining them around, trying to see the path through the woods.
We finally get to the camp site, and start hunting around for lighter fluid (the high schoolers always leave a few bottles nearby). We're feeling around on the ground when my buddy says "Guys? I think I'm holding a gun". We shine our lights on him, and sure enough he's got a shotgun in his hands, holding it with his finger on the trigger like an idiot. And behind him, slumped over in a chair, is a dead-a*s body.
Long story short, we freaked out, ran away, got s*******d at another camp-site, drove drunk to the police station to report it, were held for 12 hours (not in custody, but the police have a way of letting you know you're not going anywhere, even if you're not under arrest). Eventually they determined it was s*****e, but it was terrifying. No one ever believes it until I show them the newspaper clippings, though I don't have any proof for you, dear Redditors.
TL;DR Hiking in the woods, dead body surprise.
24points
#24
I was kidnapped, beaten, locked in a cellar and released for a fairly hefty ransom. People will walk up and ask "hey that thing i heard about never happened right?", I'll tell them it's true, and they won't believe me. Of course I have proof, papers from court and whatnot, but I don't exactly carry those around.
24points
At a social level, the pressure to produce constant photographic evidence can lead to a performative existence. Experiences are being segmented into shareable moments, a night out means choreographing the evening to feature posed photo opportunities, vacations are measured by the goodness of your feed, and personal achievements are validated by engagement metrics rather than inherent satisfaction. Performativity turns stressful and insecurity-causing, as individuals compare their unedited lives to other people's highlight reels and are pressured to curate an ever-more sophisticated online self.
#25
Let me paint you a little picture...
I was about 10, and my parents just bought me a brand new pair of roller blades. I was enthusiastic as a kid, so after a couple of days I was convinced I was a pro.
Anyway, to make the long story short, I grabbed the back of a truck who was moving really slow and it started accelerating fairly quickly. I was afraid to let go, so I held on. While at speed of about 35 mph, the part of the truck I was holding onto broke down and I smacked with my entire right side of the body on the road, bounced back in the air, did a couple of flips, smacked again and landed in the grass beside the road.
Resume? A minor concussion, second degree burns due to the fact of tremendous amount of friction between my skin and the asphalt, couple of more scratches and that pretty much it.
Proof? Two eye witnesses and a few scars on my shoulder, my forearm and my knee.
I was about 10, and my parents just bought me a brand new pair of roller blades. I was enthusiastic as a kid, so after a couple of days I was convinced I was a pro.
Anyway, to make the long story short, I grabbed the back of a truck who was moving really slow and it started accelerating fairly quickly. I was afraid to let go, so I held on. While at speed of about 35 mph, the part of the truck I was holding onto broke down and I smacked with my entire right side of the body on the road, bounced back in the air, did a couple of flips, smacked again and landed in the grass beside the road.
Resume? A minor concussion, second degree burns due to the fact of tremendous amount of friction between my skin and the asphalt, couple of more scratches and that pretty much it.
Proof? Two eye witnesses and a few scars on my shoulder, my forearm and my knee.
23points
#26
When I was a junior in high school, I started going to a career technical center (Basically a vocational school) for IT. The two kids who sat near me and I talked pretty often.
One day they made fun of my dad, who passed away when I was 11. Both of them refused to believe me that my dad had passed. I even pulled up his obituary online (Via Mlive) However since this was years later you couldn't see the entire obituary. They still refused to believe me. They told me "You probably just found someone with the same last name, and are making that up". My only thought was who is really willing to go that far? Every day I would walk in they would bring it up to me asking how my dad was doing that morning, was he late to work etc etc.
This went on for a few days until I found a copy of the funeral handout, with the dates, picture of my dad and I, and my name in it. I brought it into school the next day walked up to the two of them, and slammed it on their desk, and walked to my seat without saying a word. Both of them read through it and realized what it was. It was one of the greatest feelings ever when they both looked up to me with this completely mortified/apologetic look on their faces.
We later became best friends until all 3 of us graduated, were still really good friends and talk regularly even though Ive moved away for college.
One day they made fun of my dad, who passed away when I was 11. Both of them refused to believe me that my dad had passed. I even pulled up his obituary online (Via Mlive) However since this was years later you couldn't see the entire obituary. They still refused to believe me. They told me "You probably just found someone with the same last name, and are making that up". My only thought was who is really willing to go that far? Every day I would walk in they would bring it up to me asking how my dad was doing that morning, was he late to work etc etc.
This went on for a few days until I found a copy of the funeral handout, with the dates, picture of my dad and I, and my name in it. I brought it into school the next day walked up to the two of them, and slammed it on their desk, and walked to my seat without saying a word. Both of them read through it and realized what it was. It was one of the greatest feelings ever when they both looked up to me with this completely mortified/apologetic look on their faces.
We later became best friends until all 3 of us graduated, were still really good friends and talk regularly even though Ive moved away for college.
22points
#27
My friend and I got hammered with Jimmy Eat World before their show at my University. We got high with them on their bus later that evening. No pictures. No smart phones. Bummer.
21points
But the rise of "pics or it didn't happen" also sparks potential for critical thinking. Witnessing the meme's influence can challenge us to weigh our need to document against the need to experience. Choosing when to put down our phones and when to snap pictures allows us to reclaim control of our memories, saving moments for ourselves rather than merely for other people's validation. In addition, cultivating digital literacy, having knowledge about how photographs can be manipulated and what constitutes reliable evidence, prepares us to succeed in an environment in which seeing no longer automatically equals believing.
#28
I used to live in an old farmhouse on a dirt road in North Carolina and, as a former film and communications student at UNC, I had some nice video equipment. I also had a busy hummingbird feeder hanging just outside my kitchen window. One day I noticed a huge praying mantis on the feeder.
It seemed to be hunting hummingbirds, so I set up my camera on a tripod and ran tape all day. Later, when I reviewed what I had, I found that I had a nice scene with the mantis striking and nearly catching a hummingbird, but I had inadvertently gotten onto the same tape towards the beginning walking out to the outhouse in my underwear.
I was working as a carpenter then, and I told the guys about the mantis thing on Monday. One of them insisted that I was full of s**t. So I told him I would bring the tape in the next day. I didn’t want him to see me walking around outside in my underwear, so cued the tape up to just before the mantis strike. The guy takes the tape home and sees that it hasn’t been rewound.
The next morning he comes in and tells everyone, “All I saw was some hummingbirds and him walking around in his underwear.”.
It seemed to be hunting hummingbirds, so I set up my camera on a tripod and ran tape all day. Later, when I reviewed what I had, I found that I had a nice scene with the mantis striking and nearly catching a hummingbird, but I had inadvertently gotten onto the same tape towards the beginning walking out to the outhouse in my underwear.
I was working as a carpenter then, and I told the guys about the mantis thing on Monday. One of them insisted that I was full of s**t. So I told him I would bring the tape in the next day. I didn’t want him to see me walking around outside in my underwear, so cued the tape up to just before the mantis strike. The guy takes the tape home and sees that it hasn’t been rewound.
The next morning he comes in and tells everyone, “All I saw was some hummingbirds and him walking around in his underwear.”.
21points
#29
I don't have proof to post here, but I do have physical evidence. This actually just happened yesterday.
I'm a stage lighting tech, among other things, and yesterday I was installing a couple new light fixtures. For those who don't know, this involves clamping and cabling it onto aluminium trusses ~10 meters in the air. Well, the first one went up without an issue. As I was bolting on the second one, it slipped off of the truss. Now, understand that this is a 15kg ~$2,500 fixture, and there is no way in hades I was letting that thing fall. Unfortunately, I missed the catch with my hands. Fortunately, i had been holding the safety chain (actually just 3mm thick steel cable) in my mouth to keep the loop end from sliding out of the fixture. So, I end up catching the 15kg fixture with the chain with my teeth. I no longer have canines. My proof is both that, and the torn sheathing on the cable.
I'm a stage lighting tech, among other things, and yesterday I was installing a couple new light fixtures. For those who don't know, this involves clamping and cabling it onto aluminium trusses ~10 meters in the air. Well, the first one went up without an issue. As I was bolting on the second one, it slipped off of the truss. Now, understand that this is a 15kg ~$2,500 fixture, and there is no way in hades I was letting that thing fall. Unfortunately, I missed the catch with my hands. Fortunately, i had been holding the safety chain (actually just 3mm thick steel cable) in my mouth to keep the loop end from sliding out of the fixture. So, I end up catching the 15kg fixture with the chain with my teeth. I no longer have canines. My proof is both that, and the torn sheathing on the cable.
20points
#30
I met Flava Flav at Target once. He was there buying a cartfull of toys for his son who was turning maybe 4-5 at the time.
Anyways I was behind him in line at the checkout while he was flashing his thick wad of cash and jingly jangling his watches and jewelry all over the place with a mouth full of grills. All the employees came and shook his hand when he finished paying in which my mom said "Oh look honey, they're being nice to that r******d man."
I about died and had to explain to her who he was. She didn't believe me until he got into his limo parked right in front of the no parking zone.
If you're wondering if he really acts like he does on tv, he really does.
Anyways I was behind him in line at the checkout while he was flashing his thick wad of cash and jingly jangling his watches and jewelry all over the place with a mouth full of grills. All the employees came and shook his hand when he finished paying in which my mom said "Oh look honey, they're being nice to that r******d man."
I about died and had to explain to her who he was. She didn't believe me until he got into his limo parked right in front of the no parking zone.
If you're wondering if he really acts like he does on tv, he really does.
19points
Finally, the development of the term "pics or it didn't happen" demonstrates our complex relationship with memory during the digital age. Photographs are both pillars of credibility and potential weapons of manipulation, impacting the ways that we record, distribute, and recall our lives. To engage thoughtfully with this new landscape, we must recognize the power of images to verify experience but also be sensitive to their limitations and our own as producers and consumers of visual narrative.
#31
I took an arrow to the knee. Back of the knee, really. The only proof I have is a tiny scar where I got hit with a real arrow with the arrow head replaced by a 3" long nail. The guy who owned the bow and arrow (neighbor's brother) removed the arrowhead so we could play with it and not get hurt. We showed him!
PROOF
Looks fake a s**t, but I don't give a s**t if you believe me. It's not a big scar because it was a long nail, not an actual arrowhead.
PROOF
Looks fake a s**t, but I don't give a s**t if you believe me. It's not a big scar because it was a long nail, not an actual arrowhead.
Report
19points
#32
When I was a child around 4th or 5th grade, a little over 12 years ago I created little comic book with my own characters I had made up. I made so many of them I had folders pack with them, I would create them anytime I had free time in class. I had a knack for creating them due to endless hours of comic book reading. One day in class we had a project to create a book, that we would have sent to a publishing company to have it put into a hardback copy (not for sale just the one copy). I thought it would be cool to have my comic put into a hardback book so I bundled every comic I had made and sent it in to get printed. Well months later the rest of the class got the shipment of books minus my copy. I never really thought to much of it. Years later I heard of a movie title that was so close to my comic that I had to see it. The name of my comic was Sharkman and Lavaboy, the name of the movie was The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. The movie was so close that I thought I was crazy or it was a dream. It seems stupid to even claim that movie, but I still tell all my friends that my story was stolen to make The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl movie. My family is the only proof I have, they all remember me drawing and writing out the comics as a child.
18points
#33
"You've never kissed anyone?"
"No."
"Ever? Like not even in spin the bottle?"
"I was never invited to play"
"But you look so handsome"
"Thanks, but social awkwardness really gets in the way of that"
"Okay, shut up you have to be lying.".
"No."
"Ever? Like not even in spin the bottle?"
"I was never invited to play"
"But you look so handsome"
"Thanks, but social awkwardness really gets in the way of that"
"Okay, shut up you have to be lying.".
Report
15points
#34
About 7 or 8 years ago, i remember being in Winter Park, Colorado on vacation. We stopped at the local McDonalds where i noticed this crazy contraption that was pretty much a vending machine that rented DVD's! it was so crazy that I didn't think people would believe me so took a picture of it. To this day it is known simply as RedBox.
EDIT- Grammar.
EDIT- Grammar.
Report
13points
#35
I'm a twin. My brother and I have different last names. We're either fraternal or the effects of chemo as a baby stunted his growth—it's not clear—but we look fairly dissimilar. Until we both produce drivers licenses that show that we have one another's last names as our respective middle names, few people believe that we're twins.
12points
#36
That I started my period in a shark tank. I don't exactly have proof, but I have a picture of me in the tank and a calender for my cycle.
I knew that I was going to get it around the time that I had scheduled the dive, but a mixture of being hung over and way too excited made me forget all about it.
It didn't have any effect on the sharks though, they didn't really give a f**k about us being in there.
I knew that I was going to get it around the time that I had scheduled the dive, but a mixture of being hung over and way too excited made me forget all about it.
It didn't have any effect on the sharks though, they didn't really give a f**k about us being in there.
11points
#37
I went up to Issac Brock, the singer of Modest Mouse, after a show with a fake sandwich I stole from Albertson's Deli where I bought the tickets to the show (customer service desk). He got pretty excited that I was bringing him a sandwich, and was pretty bummed when I told him it was fake and I just wanted him to sign it. He signed it for me anyway.
Report
11points
#39
I smoked blunts with Ghostface Killah and his crew a few years ago on his tour bus...no one ever believes me cause I'm a little Jewish white girl :p.
Report
8points
#40
I used to be very involved in the Flash animation community online (specifically stick figure animations).
Joined just about every forum there was. StickSuicide (now Explosm), icantcolourin, Anitude, StickSlaughter, Newgrounds, etc.
It so happened that there was a member on one of the countless forums I was a member of, called souljaboy. I became closer to him, had him on my IM service of preference, and we interchanged animations. He also sent me a rap video he was making at the time which stared his little brothers. I told him it kinda sucked, as did his animations.
As with all internet friends, you gradually lose contact. You both move on to the real world, leave your childhood hobbies behind, lose your virginity.
Fast forward a few years and I see some guy called "souljaboy" is famous... can't be a f*****g coincidence. The computer I had before is long gone so unfortunately I don't really have any evidence (other than my oldschool Flash animation community knowledge and a few accounts on websites that still haven't died).
**TL;DR: met souljaboy online a little less than a decade ago, from Flash animation related s**t. We became close e-buddies. I don't have any evidence.**.
Joined just about every forum there was. StickSuicide (now Explosm), icantcolourin, Anitude, StickSlaughter, Newgrounds, etc.
It so happened that there was a member on one of the countless forums I was a member of, called souljaboy. I became closer to him, had him on my IM service of preference, and we interchanged animations. He also sent me a rap video he was making at the time which stared his little brothers. I told him it kinda sucked, as did his animations.
As with all internet friends, you gradually lose contact. You both move on to the real world, leave your childhood hobbies behind, lose your virginity.
Fast forward a few years and I see some guy called "souljaboy" is famous... can't be a f*****g coincidence. The computer I had before is long gone so unfortunately I don't really have any evidence (other than my oldschool Flash animation community knowledge and a few accounts on websites that still haven't died).
**TL;DR: met souljaboy online a little less than a decade ago, from Flash animation related s**t. We became close e-buddies. I don't have any evidence.**.
Report
8points
