Our minds work in very random ways sometimes: things like buying that one particular snack you know your partner has always loved, and has just asked for, slip your mind immediately after leaving the door.
But, the thought of that one person who, multiple decades ago, gave you a heartwarming compliment—something you’d expect your mind to forget—keeps coming back to you on random occasions. Thanks, brain.
Well, people on Reddit were asked to exercise their memories recently for that exact reason. A Reddit user by the nickname u/coggonflorence asked the lovely community of the r/AskReddit subreddit what stranger will they never forget?
Over 15,000 comments later, and with over 53,000 upvotes, the post went viral. Loads of people shared some of the most heartwarming and sometimes pretty hilarious life stories of complete strangers that they still remember today, whether it’s because of who they were or because of something they did.
Bored Panda has compiled a list of some of the best entries from the post for you to read and enjoy. And while you’re at it, why not leave a comment and vote on the stories you liked the most!
#21
I was waiting for my appointment with an optometrist when an old haitian man walked in with a grocery bags. Thai receptionist knew him so he walked up to me and proceeded to ask me riddles. When I finally got the answer to one he reached into his bag and gave me a snickers then left. To this day I'm really curious as to what would motivate a man to become a wholesome riddler.
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151points
#22
One day I was trying to park at the store and a lady was crossing in front of me in the lot. I was waiting patiently and she shot me a dirty look and yelled something like "What's your problem asshole?". I proceeded to return the profanities with some "eff you's" and other goodies. I went into the store steaming and proceeded to do my shopping. When I came out I had all but forgotten about the lady but as I drove away, there she was. Something came over me and I pulled up to her and said something like, " I'm sorry for yelling and cursing at you, I don't even know you. Who knows, we could have a lot in common or even be friends". Her face transformed in front of me. It went from twisted up angry, to soft and friendly. She apologized immediately and in the most genuine way, told me to have a good day. This is the day I really learned positivity and love is really powerful and the type of energy I want in my life. I know I sound like a lil softie but that was a big experience for me and I'm grateful for her.
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147points
#23
When I was younger, I went grocery shopping with my dad. As we were walking, an old man stopped us and handed both me and my sister a shiny one dollar coin. He told us that he wanted us to have them and to have a Merry Christmas. I never saw him again, but I think of that kind old man from time to time.
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145points
#24
Few years ago, I was stopping at a red light and there was an old man selling candy. He approached my car and I was ready to tell him I didn't want anything, but he motioned me to roll my window down, gave me a lollipop and some gum, and said “to the beautiful young lady, never forget you’re a star” and walked away before I could say anything. Needless to say he brightened my day.
Now, whenever I’m sad, I think about that man telling me I’m a star. Never fails to cheer me up.
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145points
#25
back when I was like.... maybe 6 or 7 years old me and my big bro (maybe 10 or 11) were out playing and saw this cat that was being thrown around by some other kids. We took that poor cat away form the kids and with the help of two other girls we went around asking people if they wanted the cat (it was a stray in pretty bad condition) we were running out of people to ask until we found a woman who took the cat. The woman said that her cat had recently died and that she was still mourning its death, but she would take the cat so that it too could have a loving family
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140points
#26
I was the closing cashier at a grocery store when a very tired looking lady came through. I'll never forget what she got because she got a steak and some seafood and a frozen bag of Arby's fries. I was just trying to make light conversation and said something along the lines of "looks like a good time." And she just in a hollow voice told me that it was the first thing she was going to eat in days because her son had just passed away and this is a meal he would have liked. I talked to the lady and found out more about her son, he was around my age and had died of cancer. She went on her way but would come back to my register when I was working. When I left, I told her it was my last day and she asked me for a hug. Never saw her again but I think of her when I see Arby's fries and hope that she is doing okay.
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137points
#27
In college, I was dating a girl. I really loved her, but I realized that we were incompatible and we had to break up.
So I downed a handle of vodka by myself in my dorm. I was drunk as fuck, but still feeling s!@#$%, so I decided to head to the bars and drink some more. I actually don't remember if I made it there or not, but I remember getting off the bus from having come from the bars and was too wasted to continue the relatively short walk to my dorm.
I decided to just lay down where I was at, which was quite literally the gutter next to the railing. Luckily it was an empty gutter, but a gutter nonetheless.
This complete bro dude comes by and sees me laying in the gutter and helps me up. He helps me walk back to my dorm and on the struggle there he asks me what's wrong. I explained the situation. I don't remember much of anything from the conversation, but I do remember him saying something to the effect of "bro, your problems aren't gonna be solved at the bottom of a bottle".
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120points
#28
This girl at my middle school, long story short I tripped and fell my knee was hurting really bad (I found out later I dislocated it) so all I could do was sit there on the ground as tons of other kids including some of my friends just walked right by. This complete stranger saw me got one of the teachers who then called the nurse and I'm just sitting here with a complete stranger talking to me asking if I was ok.
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106points
#29
I was doing tech support and my customer was so happy with my service she offered to marry me to her daughter. I politely declined.
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105points
#30
I was at a pool bar at a resort in Jamaica. A British lady next to me asked me the most random question, which turned into a nearly three hour conversation. The question: What is a redneck? It was a lot more difficult to explain than I thought it would be. I didnt realize that was an unknown concept to a lot of Brits.
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98points

