Ever been caught in a compromising position and had to utter those famously embarrassing words, “This isn’t what it looks like”?
It’s never a pretty picture – whatever it actually is is usually even more humiliating that what it looks like.
People shared personal tales on AskReddit so uncomfortable that they will make you cringe and shiver with relief that it didn’t happen to YOU.
1. Run!
“I used to take my kids to different playgrounds as they were growing up. Often times I’d be out there with them, chasing them, being the random monster/dragon/antagonist while they run away and then eventually turn around and chase me back. Inevitably since the rest of the parents were on their iPhones or doing anything but interacting with their kids, I’d end up with a collection who wanted to join in the fun.
It was all going well until they said they wanted to play “Minecraft”
So as a group of kids suddenly scatter from where I am standing yelling “Ah! Run away from the Creeper! Ahhh!” I look up to see a line of parents suddenly jostled back into consciousness with absolutely no friggin context whatsoever.”
2. Consensual
“It was my third day at my new office job. When I washed my hands my pants touched the counter top which was covered with water. Naturally I now look like I pissed myself and had a giant 6 by 6 soaked area around my crotch. I couldn’t walk around with that so I thought to use the hand dryer.
However, the hand dryer was the type that you stick your hands in rather under. So I line up and basically mount this hand dryer. I look at myself in the mirror and as I start thinking “this wont look good if…” and of course the CIO walks in before I could finish the thought and react. He looks at me and in deadpan voice says: “Do I need to call HR?”
To which I responded: “No, its consensual.”
We had a good laugh about it and he never let me forget that moment!”
3. Butt naked
“I was 16 and my parents just left the house for a dinner out. I had to do laundry so I start right after they left the door to get it done as early as possible.
As I’m filling the machine I notice a stain on my shirt and so I put it with the rest of the clothes. I also look at my pants and decide to add them as well along with my socks and…fuck it my underwear as well.
So I’m butt naked and I start the machine. I rush to the stairs to get to my room and dress up and that’s when the front door (which is right where the stairs are) opens and I freeze.
My dad comes in and sees me naked. We both aren’t moving a few second and then he laughs, grabs his wallet on the table and says : “So THAT’S what you are doing while we aren’t here?”. He then closes the door while giggling.
I’m there still in shock and red as a beet. I rush to dress and call my parents on my mother’s cellphone to tell them it’s not what they think as they are just laughing their butts off.”
4. It was my job
“I used to work security/reception at my company, so I greeted everyone when they came in the door and made sure they were wearing their security badge. You could either wear your badge on a lanyard around your neck or on a retractable belt clip.
So I’ve been doing this job for like 2 years when I’m outside talking to some of the girls that work on the 2nd floor. One of them just flat out asks why I always check out women when they come in to visit.
Excuse me?
Turns out, there was a lot of talk about how I was “looking women up and down” when they came through the door. Well, I was looking everyone up and down. I would look at their chest first and if there was no badge there, my eyes would move to their belt. It was kind of my job and stuff.”
5. You scared her
“I will preface this by saying a couple of weeks prior to this, my wife had bought some frilly underwear on clearance sale, and a couple of bananas to eat on the way to work. I was chilling in the car at the store while she went in when I smelled nasty over-ripe bananas. I reached into the backseat and pulled out the bag that had been forgotten back there. I take the underwear out of the bag and tie the old banana up dog poo style. No big deal, right?
For whatever reason, my brain goes I wonder if these brand new underwear now reek of old squishy banana? and I put them to my nose and take a big whiff- right as a sweet old lady pulls into the parking spot in front of our car. She looks at me, panties pressed into my nose inhaling deeply, her eyes go wide with shock, and visibly shaking, she pulls back out of the spot and drives away. Literally leaves. Shopping trip cancelled.”
6. You scared him…
“My boyfriend and I had a fight and both went to bed grumpily (we were housemates and had separate bedrooms). In the middle of the night I heard a LOUD thump in the living room area of the house. I grabbed my baseball bat and went through the whole house with the bat and the lights on. Every closet, every cupboard, etc. Nothing was out of order and the doors were locked. I was still spooked and running high on adrenaline.
It was about 4:30 in the morning and I had to get up at 6 so I just gave up on going back to sleep before that. I debated what to do for the hour and a half and decided to go to IHOP since it’s open 24h where I live. As I was about to leave I realized that if I left my sleeping boyfriend in the house and the murderer WAS actually still there and killed him I would feel extremely guilty. So I went to wake him up just enough to warn him before I left for IHOP.
He woke up to me leaning over his bed, holding a bat, and whispering about murder. He almost cried.”
7. A lunatic is following us
“I was driving back home from a friend’s house at around 1AM. This car cut me off on the on ramp, and I honked at them. I then turned back up the music, and pretty much drove home on autopilot, but when I got off the freeway at my exit, I realized that the same car that cut me off was in front of me. After that, I got kind of curious, because it had been about 30 minutes since the incident, and we’d changed freeways twice already. I then got a little bit worried that they’d think I was following them home, but I didn’t think too much of it–until the car started going up the same side streets I did.
Eventually, I realized that my 16-year old neighbor who just learned how to drive cut me off, and she and her friends were probably now petrified that some lunatic was following them home. I guess she’d called her parents in the meantime because she pulled into her driveway and the house lights were all lit up, and her dad (a huge guy) was standing outside with a baseball bat. I then pulled into my own garage and apologized for scaring them and it was all chill after that.
Everything was all good afterwards—we all laughed it off.”
8. Not what it sounds like
“My boyfriend and I were jumping on the trampoline together years ago, just bouncing around like a couple of kids, laughing our butts off. It was fun! He accidentally butt dialed his parents, who speaker phoned our laughing, creaking springs, and gasping to a car load of people. They were all mortified. We were able to set it straight later, but OOF.
Sorry mom and dad.”
9. Nerd alert!
“This is one of my moms absolute favorite stories to tell:
My partner and I were in a kind of long distance relationship at this point (high schoolers living 40mins apart) and they would occasionally drive up after school to come see me
On this particular day my mom came home from work and was concerned with the lack of sound.
I hear her calling my name as she comes closer, she eventually gets to my closed bedroom door not wanting to see what I’m sure every parent would expect by this point
She swings it open and finds my partner and I…
…putting together our brand new Millennium Falcon (full size for action figures) that we had just purchased from Toys R us
My dog kept stepping on the pieces and messing things up in his dopiness so we closed the door
After that she never worried about us being alone.
Honestly think this might be the moment where my mom decided she wanted to adopt my partner.
Sometimes, I’m not sure who she loves more.
Btw – My partner and I got married this year and we still have that Millennium Falcon.”
10. I swear it’s toothpaste
“I, a male, am in a dive bar in college that had black lights above the bar for whatever reason. I’m buying a girl a drink and when I go to pull my wallet out, see that the black light has highlighted a significant outline of white liquid around the webbing of my hand between my thumb and index finger.
Right when I’m laughing about “what that probably looks like”, she informs me it’s all around my mouth too. Apparently the peroxide in baking soda toothpaste leaves an otherwise invisible trace that comes out under blacklight.”
11. A big net
“I had a pile of stuff in the trunk of my car, including a golf club. The club got tangled in the elastic netting that came with the car and with the way everything was jumbled up, it looked like an enormous butterfly net.
So after a Scouts meeting, I’m standing outside with my son when he looks in the back of the car and shouts:
“Why do you have a big net in the boot of your car? Is it for catching children?”
The other adults stared. Erm…”
12. A biblical reference
“Hanging out at home with hubby. It’s important to note that hubby is only the 2nd person I have dated. The first was a man named David who was incredibly abusive. My husband knows the story, it’s ugly. David’s name is not one we speak pleasantly around here.
Anyway, I asked my husband to “throw me a plum”. He thought he’d be funny and literally throw it. It was the last one and still in the produce bag. He spun the bag around a few spins like he was picking up momentum to really pelt me. Bag split, plum shot off at a random angle and smashed on the ceiling! We were laughing hysterically. Until!!! It came into my head that this small projectile in a sheath was somewhat like the slingshot they show David using to slay Goliath. So I blurt “Nice shot, David!”
Hubs didn’t catch the biblical slingshot reference and thought I accidentally called him my ex’s name. I eventually convinced him it was a biblical reference, but that being the only time in my whole life I’ve ever made one (lifelong atheist who finds the mere thought of religion depressing) it did not seem like a likely story.
Sorry, Sunshine! It really, honestly WAS just a biblical reference.”
13. Upskirt
“When I was in high school I was hanging out with my gay male friend at his house after school. He had one of those sugar gliders for a pet. They are really fast. We were holding her and she randomly jumps out of my friend’s hands, falls on the floor, runs toward me, and crawls up my leg under my skirt.
Without thinking my friend sticks his hands up my skirt to grab her. I wasn’t offended, I wanted the squirrel off my butt. At that exact second his mom walks in the room while my friend has his hand up my skirt. Though my friend was gay, he was not out of the closet out the time.
Pretty awkward.”
14. Betrayed
“My little brother had to be around 10 at the time. I was in the process of making chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen while my family was in the dining room.(kitchen and dinning room were connected) Anyway, while I was baking my little sister (7) at the time went to feed the dog. My brother being the chocolate fiend he is, thought my little sister brought chocolate chips to the dining table. He got so exited and knocked the dog food cup out of her hand, and it went everywhere on the floor. Without a second to spare he flew to the ground shoveling it in his face. Nope. Not chocolate.
To this day, the look of pure betrayal and horror in his face makes me laugh.”
15. I didn’t do it
“When I was a kid (7? 8?), I was walking home from school and the button on my jeans straight up just popped open. Not sure how that happened. I was trying to fix it, when this older lady walked by. She said something to me, but I was so focused on fixing my pants that I didn’t hear what she said. I responded with the generic “yeah” thing.
Then I realized she wasn’t look at me, she was looking at the wall behind me. I glanced back, and realized that someone (a dog?) had peed on the wall. I just ran away, taking a long way around to get home, because she very possibly asked me if I had peed on the wall, and I told her yes.”
