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Having a PhD or being a well-known expert in your field doesn’t make you immune to embarrassment. Even the best of us get into awkward situations that make us blush, no matter if we’re rocket scientists by day or brain surgeons by night—we’re all human, after all.

That’s what Twitter user Herne_TheHunter, aka Dean, wanted to show the world by sharing their facepalm-worthy story. Their embarrassing situation inspired other intelligent people to share their own awkward and cringy situations that you’re bound to relate to just like us, dear Pandas. Scroll down, upvote your fave tweets, and share your most embarrassing experiences in the comments.

Bored Panda spoke to Dean about their embarrassing sock incident and went into detail about how best to react to awkward situations. "Did I mention it was a Boba Fett sock? It was a Boba Fett sock…” Read on for the full interview!

Image credits: Herne_TheHunter

Dean is a 39-year-old doctor with two degrees, is a member of a Royal College, and had a sock up their shirt sleeve all morning. This is so relatable that the thread went viral on Twitter, getting over 113k likes and 7.3k retweets and comments.

“I certainly didn’t expect such a big reaction. Most of my tweets get a handful of likes and I’m frankly grateful for that much of a response. I’m not really sure why this one seemed to resonate with people. I’d guess it was because it gave everyone an opportunity to share their own silly oversights/mistakes,” Dean told us.

“Social media can often involve trying to look cool, or woke, or knowledgeable so maybe it was refreshing to be able to present the other side of things for a change?” they wondered about why the thread became so popular.

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“I’m mainly working from home at the moment as most of my job is as a psychotherapist and we’ve been able to switch to remote working during the COVID-19 situation. As such, it was a little unusual for me to have to actually put full work clothes on and pop into the hospital for a bit,” Dean said.

“Clearly, I was out of practice at getting dressed as when I reached for my coffee later on that morning, I felt a strange, furry sensation around my elbow. I had to undo a couple of shirt buttons to retrieve what turned out to be a stray sock (having double-checked all Teams calls had ended). I didn’t actually mention it to anybody at work directly: we’re socially distanced at the moment so I would have had to actively seek them out, which might have felt a bit weird."

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have lost my phone while it has been in my hand. Looked all over for it. Realized I was holding it

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Dean and everyone else’s stories illustrate that even the mightiest and most accomplished adults who have 200+ IQ and play 5D chess can make blunders. Making mistakes is a part of life, however, it’s also important to know how to react to embarrassing situations.

According to Dean, embarrassment can be tricky to handle. “I immediately thought of a couple of situations that still make me squirm from my past. If it’s something inconsequential, like a sock up your sleeve, then it might be a useful opportunity to remember you’re human and to puncture any pomposity that might have snuck up on you. For more serious or significant situations, I think the best advice I can give would be to talk about it when you feel safe and ready to do so.”

Dean added that he wants to use the opportunity while he has the internet’s attention to do some good in the world and point people towards his friend’s social enterprise that employs survivors of domestic abuse to make flowers out of recycled paper.

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Jace
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, toxic work/life ratio in many western cultures, combined with the hate of sleep (this is how people, employers, and the media treat the need for sleep) is an invisible pandemic.

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Danger Noodle
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't worry I tired to pour milk on my pizza base instead of tomato puree

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Raine Soo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whilst unpacking groceries last year, I accidentally put the bananas in the freezer. I spent all night looking for them, and thought that I had left them behind in the supermarket. I found them before bedtime, and let's just say that they did not survive their sojourn in the icebox.

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Cat Nip Gal
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Eh, it's ok, my mom makes a cup of tea but always forgets it is in the microwave...

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Doggo Georgia
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah. A while ago, my mom had my dad and me make her famous "(chocolate chip usually) pan pancakes". We followed the recipe exactly, every single thing, but when they came out of the oven, they tasted a bit different. It was only several days later that my dad opened the microwave to heat up a veggie burger, that we realized that we HAD microwaved/melted the butter, just we had never taken it out.

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Laura Gastelum
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I put sliced ham with the cleaning supplies. We didn't find it until about 4 months later

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Bob Belcher
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was making coffee in the morning once. My routine is to put the milk in my coffee first and then brew coffee over it. This way it's ready to go once it's done brewing. I put my mug back in the fridge with the milk one morning and proceeded to start my routine all over again not realizing what I had just done. I have an MBA in finance and work as a state auditor.

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Thomas Turnbull
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve done similar things, I could not find my credit card once and I found it under a pack of ham slices in the fridge (eventually)

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AzKhaleesi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have on more than one occasion tried to put milk in the pantry....

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Lynne Stankard
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's nothing......I've put my slippers in the fridge as I went to bed,,,wondering where my slippers were!! It was OK - I found them the next morning as I opened the fridge to get the milk!

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Isabel Care
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friend lost her keys in her tiny studio flat. Asked me to dowse for them. Didn't need to. Told her to look in the fridge. First thing she always did on getting home was to make a cup of tea.

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Jeannie Carle
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I usually get my coffee actually in my mouth after having forgotten it was in the microwave 3 times. Left my favorite cup in Mom's --- she reminded me when I was 1500 miles toward my home. Siiiigh,

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MH3
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Looked around for my car keys only to discover they were in my hand.

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Anna Repp
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This week I poured myself tea and then tried to put the kettle in the fridge.

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Celtic Pirate Queen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've done that with my keys. Came home, pulled chicken out to thaw and then remembered something in the trunk of the car. Took me a full hour to figure out my keys were in the freezer.

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Steve Cruz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes I forget what I'm looking for, but I always think there will be a clue in the refrgerator.

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CincyReds
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have done stuff like this befroe. Put my keys in the freezer before. Have no idea why

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Johanne Trudeau
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hahaha!!! Convert to coffee they say there's more caffeine in coffee than in tea...

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Jerome Kiley
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't feel bad, I have a PhD and spend half my life searching for things that I had a few moments ago! :-)

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Carole Hamilton
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my dad once went to work with my mums bra hanging on the back of his jacket

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ebony1k124 touch
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think we have all done something like that. I lose my keys in my purse more than I care to admit.

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Jo PP
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once poured milk in the kettle instead of water and boiled it...

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Kim Bush
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh I can top them all unfortunately lol.... One morning my husband asked me why my .380 was in the freezer. I have no memory of even touching my pistol that night.

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Solrac
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That mistake does not sound so weird to me, but taking 20 mins to find the cup does.

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Carolyn McCully
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I usually manage to put the kettle in the fridge then proceed to search the house before I realise...

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Flare
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This happens to me, except it's my phone that I placed on the kitchen table

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mph seti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's wise to invest in a daylight balanced LED lightbulb for your bedroom/closet (wherever you keep your clothes and get dressed). Then, you'll be unlikely to mix up dark blues and blacks.

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Dee Hunter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aaah, the famous gift mouse. My cat once brought me half a mouse. She kindly left it out on the (dark) balcony. Came home after work, kicked shoes/socks off, went to the balcony for a smoke ...

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have done something similar. I was having a breast lump removed as an outpatient and I arrived in plenty of time, got to the right department and 'checked in' at reception. The receptionist said they had no record of an appointment for me. I knew I was there on the right date/time etc and luckily had the original letter with me to prove it. I showed her the letter, she read it and pointed out I was at the WRONG HOSPITAL. They were very good though, they phoned through and asked them to give me a later appointment so I could travel the 20 miles and be seen that day. What an idiot I am lol!

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Both as stupid as each other, why wouldn't you notice a complete stranger coming in and working for you??

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Kate Yeti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Coworker of mine once did that with every changing room mirror in our store. 409 instead of Windex. It was a nightmare.

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#30

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GirlFriday
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do you spend 90 minutes on make up? I am a fully formed adult female and when not in quarantine I wear make up daily. I don't know how to make a make-up routine last 90 minutes. Even if I move at a sloth's pace, it would still only 15 minutes.

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