Your home can reveal a lot about you. The way you decorate it, the colors you choose, how neat or dirty it is, and the contents you keep hidden between the walls all tell a story...
That's why it can be so fascinating to set foot in another person's house. You're entering their private world. A place where they are their true and authentic selves, surrounded by the things they hold dear or just hoard. Often, you'll encounter the usual things. Photographs of family and friends, mementos from their travels, maybe some heirlooms, or art.
But sometimes you'll come across something so strange and unexpected, that stops you in your tracks and has you wondering, "What in the secret life of Satan is going on here?"
Someone once asked, "What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen at someone’s house that they thought was completely normal?" and the internet went wild. Thousands of responses came pouring in. From the funny, to the bizarre, to the downright creepy, people didn't hold back in spilling the tea about the private lives of others.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best answers for you to scroll through before your next houseguest arrives. Some might prompt you to do a Swedish death clean or at the very least, a quick declutter.
#1
Casually spitting directly into their carpeting.
Anon:
I went over to a college friend's house and watched him do that right in the middle of talking with his mother. I was completely shocked and decided right then and there that I wasn't going to sit down or touch anything until we left.
JabberJauw:
In a lot of countries this is normal. When I was in high school I was talking to a teacher after class and there was an exchange student with the teacher and I and he just spit on the ground like it was nothing. The teachers jaw just dropped and said are you gonna clean that up. The exchange student was oblivious to the fact that it wasn't normal in america to spit on the ground inside.
Anon:
I went over to a college friend's house and watched him do that right in the middle of talking with his mother. I was completely shocked and decided right then and there that I wasn't going to sit down or touch anything until we left.
JabberJauw:
In a lot of countries this is normal. When I was in high school I was talking to a teacher after class and there was an exchange student with the teacher and I and he just spit on the ground like it was nothing. The teachers jaw just dropped and said are you gonna clean that up. The exchange student was oblivious to the fact that it wasn't normal in america to spit on the ground inside.
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#2
My friend and her family have a doggy door, but no dog. What do they use it for? They allow raccoons to come in and they feed them frequently. They are all so nonchalant about it.
Thereal_me:
Raccoons have a parasite in their feces, this parasite settles in the human brain.
brassmonkeyyy:
My dog door has a cover that we put on at night so the cat doesn't use it. Well, I was on the computer a week or so ago which is adjacent to the dog door. It was about midnight and I hear a scratching coming from the door. I thought it was someone trying to break in so I grab a knife and go check outside. As I open the door a raccoon sprints away from the dog door and over the fence. Freaked me out, would've been disastrous if we didn't close it at night.
Thereal_me:
Raccoons have a parasite in their feces, this parasite settles in the human brain.
brassmonkeyyy:
My dog door has a cover that we put on at night so the cat doesn't use it. Well, I was on the computer a week or so ago which is adjacent to the dog door. It was about midnight and I hear a scratching coming from the door. I thought it was someone trying to break in so I grab a knife and go check outside. As I open the door a raccoon sprints away from the dog door and over the fence. Freaked me out, would've been disastrous if we didn't close it at night.
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#3
Jars filled with giant bloated tics "swimming" in rubbing alcohol.
They picked them out of the ears of their dog and thought it was totally normal to display them on the kitchen counter!
SecChf_RocIngersol:
This is actually a very encouraged practice (minus the weird displaying) in my family. If your dog gets sick after a tick bite, it helps the vet if you have the tick preserved for them to look at. Any time we pull a tick off our dog we keep it at least a few days to make sure it didn't get him sick.
Krebs__cycle:
I wasn't sure what my nightmare was going to be about tonight. Thanks for clearing that up for me...
They picked them out of the ears of their dog and thought it was totally normal to display them on the kitchen counter!
SecChf_RocIngersol:
This is actually a very encouraged practice (minus the weird displaying) in my family. If your dog gets sick after a tick bite, it helps the vet if you have the tick preserved for them to look at. Any time we pull a tick off our dog we keep it at least a few days to make sure it didn't get him sick.
Krebs__cycle:
I wasn't sure what my nightmare was going to be about tonight. Thanks for clearing that up for me...
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#4
A friend of mine told me that when she was younger, she went to someone's house where there were no partitions or walls - just a huge open space. The toilet was sitting right in the middle of the room.
Anon:
Was your friend playing The Sims?
metallink11:
If I don't put in any walls, I only have to decorate one room.
Anon:
Was your friend playing The Sims?
metallink11:
If I don't put in any walls, I only have to decorate one room.
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#5
I saw someone thawing a Thanksgiving turkey in a sink full (I mean full) of dirty dishes and skanky water.
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#6
In grade 6 (age 11 or 12) I went for a sleepover at my new friends house. He and his family had just immigrated to Western Canada from Manchester or Bolton England; they were what you might call 'working class'.
As soon as I get there his toothy mother comes into his room with a pen and a notepad and casually asks us what we will have from the liquor store.
We must have ordered about $50 worth of alcohol between us. That night we just got absolutely trashed on rum & cokes playing Super Nintendo in his basement like it was completely normal. I remember jumping on the trampoline at probably 2 or 3 in the morning while his father BBQ'd sausages for us to eat. His parents otherwise sat in their living room smoking and watching TV all night without a care in the world for the stumbling pre-teens downstairs. At regular intervals his mother would come down with snacks and treats.
skratakh:
Brit here, personally we were generally allowed alcohol in small amounts at family gatherings, BBQ's etc, maybe a few beers or an alcopop or glass of wine, nothing in great quantity. I personally don't drink very often though and the same for the rest of my family. I think once you demystify it you kinda lose the allure. I can't remember friends families being strict with alcohol either to be fair.
As soon as I get there his toothy mother comes into his room with a pen and a notepad and casually asks us what we will have from the liquor store.
We must have ordered about $50 worth of alcohol between us. That night we just got absolutely trashed on rum & cokes playing Super Nintendo in his basement like it was completely normal. I remember jumping on the trampoline at probably 2 or 3 in the morning while his father BBQ'd sausages for us to eat. His parents otherwise sat in their living room smoking and watching TV all night without a care in the world for the stumbling pre-teens downstairs. At regular intervals his mother would come down with snacks and treats.
skratakh:
Brit here, personally we were generally allowed alcohol in small amounts at family gatherings, BBQ's etc, maybe a few beers or an alcopop or glass of wine, nothing in great quantity. I personally don't drink very often though and the same for the rest of my family. I think once you demystify it you kinda lose the allure. I can't remember friends families being strict with alcohol either to be fair.
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#7
People who keep their Christmas decorations (including the tree) up all year round, or much longer than the Christmas season (like starting in October and not taking them down until several weeks after the New Year).
We also had neighbors who replaced all their floors (even upstairs) with tile because their dogs peed everywhere and they were tired of replacing the carpeting every other year. Why they couldn't housetrain the dogs or get rid of them, I have no idea.
lordandrosss:
One year my cousins mom left the tree up till new years. And my cousin started to complain. So the mother left it up all year and just changed the ornaments for whatever holiday was next. Hearts for valentines, eggs for easter, etc.
We also had neighbors who replaced all their floors (even upstairs) with tile because their dogs peed everywhere and they were tired of replacing the carpeting every other year. Why they couldn't housetrain the dogs or get rid of them, I have no idea.
lordandrosss:
One year my cousins mom left the tree up till new years. And my cousin started to complain. So the mother left it up all year and just changed the ornaments for whatever holiday was next. Hearts for valentines, eggs for easter, etc.
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#8
Watched my friends mother pour the babies potty into the kitchen sink over the dishes that were in there before asking me if I'd like a drink. 'No way!' Was my only possible response.
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#9
Couple of things:
At one house, a microwave on top of a toilet. You couldn't enter the kitchen due to the amount of hoarding, so if they were hungry they would plug the microwave in, place it on the toilet and microwave some food.
At another house - lots and lots of empty boxes. Stacked in every corner of the house, in case they ever had to return items. I can somewhat understand that mentality but when you've used that item for years, return policies don't apply anymore.
At one house, a microwave on top of a toilet. You couldn't enter the kitchen due to the amount of hoarding, so if they were hungry they would plug the microwave in, place it on the toilet and microwave some food.
At another house - lots and lots of empty boxes. Stacked in every corner of the house, in case they ever had to return items. I can somewhat understand that mentality but when you've used that item for years, return policies don't apply anymore.
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#10
My grandmother reuses her floss. Flosses, rinses it off, hangs it up to dry, repeats for 2 weeks. Seeing her hanging floss scarred me as a child.
Anon:
I do that. Not for two weeks, but a few days.
Anon:
I do that. Not for two weeks, but a few days.
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#11
Giant standing stuffed bear in the bathroom. Pretty funny, but the first time I saw it I screamed.
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#12
I couple I knew moved into a place where a real pack rat (hoarder) had been living. They got the place cheap but they had to clean up on their own. They were pretty big stoners so they only cleaned up as much as was completely necessary. In the backyard there was a huge pallet of boxes marked "Wendy's Bacon." I was a little incredulous so I opened one of the boxes with a stick and it actually was full of these sweaty pouches of ancient grey bacon. There must have been two hundred pounds of rotten bacon. I'm still so curious about where the bacon came from, was it a bacon heist?
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#13
I visited Family and they showed me arround, apparently my Niece does her makeup sitting on the floor with a mirror hanging low on the wall... she wipes the mascara brush clean on the carpet, there are black streaks everywhere on the carpet arround the area she sits when doing this. Blew my mind.
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#14
Several stuffed pillows shaped and colored like life-sized naked women in the family room. This was in a house I only visited when I was in 1st and 2nd grade, and the pillows were visible through windows to the street.
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#15
At my friends house they all use the toilet with the door wide open, even while taking a shower. I always close & lock the door when I'm using their bathroom because I'm not at all used to that. and she has 3 brothers so I definitely don't want them seeing me on the toilet.
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#16
Went over to this kid's house down the street from me when I was young. We ended up watching the cartoon, "The Proud Family" on Disney Channel.
His mom comes in and tells us she doesn't want us watching it because there were too many black people in it. He was just like, "Oh yeah I forgot." o_o.
ShiraCheshire:
My grandparents were like that. I went over there a lot because free babysitting, and I'm surprised I didn't turn out horribly racist from it.
His mom comes in and tells us she doesn't want us watching it because there were too many black people in it. He was just like, "Oh yeah I forgot." o_o.
ShiraCheshire:
My grandparents were like that. I went over there a lot because free babysitting, and I'm surprised I didn't turn out horribly racist from it.
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#17
Just a pile of trash in the corner of the kitchen. It's like there was an imaginary trash can that everyone in their family pretended was there. I felt bad throwing anything away.
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#18
They had found a pet kitten that they kept in a cage. It was a raccoon.
derajydac:
They kept their pet kitten in a raccoon. What a World.
derajydac:
They kept their pet kitten in a raccoon. What a World.
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#19
At one point, butter that was stored outside of the refrigerator.
I've since learned that this is perfectly OK, but growing up in a family that strictly kept the butter in the fridge had me believing there was no other way. Now I know.
I've since learned that this is perfectly OK, but growing up in a family that strictly kept the butter in the fridge had me believing there was no other way. Now I know.
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#20
They had a room that was off limits to touch. It was made up like a living room but you weren't allowed in there.
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