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There are times when everyone laughs. There are times when most people are laughing, and there are times when only a few seem to be in on the joke.
Then, there are times when no one is laughing but you – because you really, really shouldn’t be cracking up.
These 14 people admit the moments those latter types came up in public, and you can judge for yourself just how inappropriate the laughter might have been.
14. What does he expect!
About 2 and a half years ago I was walking down the Main Street in my city and let me tell you, it was about half past boiling degrees. Anyway, as I’m just walking along (and struggling might I add) this guy who would have to have been around 6.9ft lumbers past me in an old Victorian Top hat!
I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a light chuckle (I held back as I didn’t want to be rude). To my surprise, he must have heard me and he turns to me and gives me a big cheeky wink before tipping his hat and running away. I still think about that big fella from time to time.
13. I bet grandma would have loved that sound.
I was very close to my great-grandma growing up. I was at her house often as she babysat me when I was younger. I was 12 when she died. It was the first death of someone I knew and loved. I was devastated.
Fast forward to the funeral. It was only my second funeral and this one I didn’t know how to act because I was grieving. My younger sister and I were tagging around with our uncle, who was 14 and close enough to our age that we were very close growing up. He was trying to keep up distracted and cheered up. So we were a bit squirrelly and our moms kept telling us to calm down.
There was a family member at the funeral going around taking pictures of family. He asked my sister and I to get a picture in front of the casket. I was weirded out but ok. He tells us to look at her with our palms together like we’re praying. I was struck by the absurdity of this and thought, oh I should pretend I’m crying. So I quick duck my face into my head and pretend to sob. I then I realized I was pretending to cry in front of my dead great-grandmother for a picture and for some reason, I thought this was just hilarious and started giggling uncontrollably.
My sister quickly starts giggling. We both succumb to what I’m sure was grief and uncomfortableness combined and we are literally on the floor laughing in front of our great-grandmother’s casket. I have a bad habit of peeing if I laugh too hard and sure enough, I’m trying hard not to wet my tights and laughing and crying. I see my mom and grandma come marching up to us and everyone staring daggers at us.
We got a good talking to about respect and are told to stay in the side room for family until we can compose ourselves. I was so ashamed and it was one of my most embarrassing memories for decades. I’ve finally come to terms with it and can appreciate that my great-grandma would have probably loved that we were laughing at her funeral.
12. Some things never change.
My mother and grandmother met an old acquaintance of hers at the cemetery were my grandpa is buried. There was a new grave of a 14 year-old who had recently passed of Fibrosis (affects the lungs). Said acquaintance goes “How sad, I heard that he died of Phimosis” (not being able to pull back the foreskin).
My mother, aware of the difference and having a record of bursting out laughing in horrible situations, can’t hold herself back, tears in the eyes and almost maniacally laughing. My grandma is very ashamed and infuriated at her daughter for laughing at her acquaintance of many years at the grave of a recently deceased 14 year-old.
Later grandma basically shouted at her for this behavior like she would have 40 years ago.
11. It is a very expressive language.
During my graduation ceremony, I was in the front row. We all got up to sing the school’s anthem. The song was also gestured(?) in sign language.
For some reason I found the person’s gestures really silly and I was barely containing myself from erupting into laughter.
10. I think that happened on Seinfeld once.
The ending of a boy in the striped pajamas. They were showing it at the blood donation place I went to, and at the end of the movie The son of the German running the concentration camp wanders into the camp, and gets sent to the gas chamber.
The irony of it made me giggle, and the dirty looks from all of the old ladies who had also just given blood, and watched the movie made me loss it. I was crying from laughter, and that’s the story of why I am no longer allowed to give blood.
9. Teenagers, right?
I went to a pro-life rally once and they had someone on stage doing sign language while they had someone giving a speech.
Everything was fine until the man said “at the moment of conception” and the person signing held up one hand in front of her in a fist, then with the other hand started wiggling her index finger, moved it across her, and inserted it into her fist, like a sperm swimming to an egg, and my teenager mind absolutely lost it.
8. We all have our crosses to bear.
My wife and I walked around the grocery store one day and when we turned around an isle a 7′ girl all of the sudden was in front of us. We managed to not laugh or stare, barely.
Then a black guy that was approx 15 seconds behind us noticed and loudly yelled “damn you’re tall as hell girl” in a voice only a 40+ black man can make.
We burst and quickly got into another isle. Poor girl. She seemed shy and bothered by being in public. Just because of people like me and my wife.
7. It just comes out of nowhere.
When the polish president died in a plane crash in 2012 (I think) there was a nationwide minute of silence.
For some reason I couldn’t stop laughing, it was like an attack of just laughter because of nothing.
Anyways my family got pissed and took me away to a room where I sat alone in the darkness and laughed for few minutes till my whole core started to hurt
6. Well that’s awkward.
I was brought into a full team meeting (six of us) at a previous job and was told one of my coworkers was fired and I chuckled a bit and smiled. Our team always played jokes/pranks on each other like that.
Turns out she was actually fired for signing her bosses name on time cards. I felt pretty terrible that they were serious. It was a dumb mistake for her to make, but she was a great coworker so I felt bad for even momentarily chuckling at the fact that she had been fired.
5. I’m sure the priest has seen it all.
My younger sister and I were altar serving on Ash Wednesday. We were probably about 13 and 11 years old.
The priest is making the cross on each parishioner’s forehead with ashes and saying “remember, man, that thou art but dust and to dust thou shalt return.”
My 13 year old brain decided to interpret that as “thou art butt dust” and I snorted.
That set my sister off and we were both sitting there laughing our asses off and trying to stifle it as much as possible.
4. So many yikes.
One time at a McDonald’s some kid had a hold of a milkshake and was enjoying the fuck out of it, arms a’flailing and screaming his little head off. Just enjoying life. I thought this was hilarious and tried -and fail- to stifle laughter as this little kid shared his joy over his frosted beverage to the world.
As me and my friends left the restaurant, they informed me the child was very obviously special needs. I laughed at a handicapped kid in public in front of everybody and had no idea how I looked or what I was doing. In hindsight I was surprised I didn’t get punched in the back of the head of it. I felt horrible over it.
3. Everyone loves to see that.
I was working at a McDonald’s cleaning in front next door I saw a guy walking and some guy comes on his bike behind and lays him out with one punch.
2. Sometimes it’s too much to take.
I work in a warehouse and we were in a meeting with all warehouse staff and our Director, Foreman and Supervisor.
The Director stood up and gave the usual flowery B.S. speech I assume most do. He then got to the phrase that I laughed out loud at:
“You are the backbone of this company, and your opinion matters!”
Note: We are the backbone, but they couldn’t give two craps about our opinions, I couldn’t believe he would lie to us so blatantly.
1. “It was fine.”
I was talking to my colleague and I causally asked him how his weekend went.
I was expecting him to say the usual boring stuff like walked the dog etc- instead out of nowhere he says “it was fine, went to my mates funeral” at that moment I burst out laughing in his face uncontrollably, I don’t understand why it made me laugh so much but it was the last thing I expected him to say. I’m a terrible person.
I’m just so glad none of these are my stories.
If you’ve got one that would qualify, though, please share it with us in the comments
