The universe hates us equally. (I hope.) Even the people who see the glass half-full have bad days. But sometimes it's easy to forget that. Our own problems seem the biggest. So what do you say we give ourselves a healthy reminder?
Those who have been around our website for long enough might remember that Bored Panda has a soft spot for life's unlucky moments. But not to kick someone while they're down, of course. Rather, to gain perspective and reassure ourselves that nobody has conspired against us and it's completely normal to lose it every once in a while.
Continue scrolling to check out who got the wrong end of the stick this time, and fire up our earlier publications to catch up with the series here, here, and here.
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His Face Says It All
My Dad Left His Window Down In His Truck While He Stepped Away For A Few Minutes And A Feral Cat Got In And Ate All Of His Tacos
As you can see (and know), mistakes happen and things don't work out as they should. But former clinical psychologist and researcher turned writer Alice Boyes, Ph.D., thinks we can learn to roll with the punches.
"Don't expect life to go smoothly," Boyes wrote in Psychology Today. "If we reserve a hotel room, we expect it will be available when we arrive. We expect clean water to come out of the tap. We expect that if we buy a product and it's faulty or not as described, we'll be able to return it. We expect the product we order will be the product that arrives and not some other random item."
"But the more you think of discomfort (of all kinds) as something to be expected periodically, the easier it can be to handle when it arises," she explained. "It's helpful to think of these experiences as universal rather than personalizing them."
Just Trying To Ride A Bike Near A Nesting Magpie
For A Month, I Thought I Lost My Wedding Ring On A Cross Country Road Trip. Finally, I Gave Up Ever Seeing It Again When We Realized It Was Under My Husband's Deodorant
I called gas stations, pawn shops, searched lost and found posts.
Just Bought Our Dream Home Less Than 2 Months Ago. Tonight I Watched It Burn To The Ground In A Massive Wildfire
"We often criticize ourselves that we should be able to handle blips, frustrations, disappointments, sadness, etc., better. You might think, 'Other people wouldn't be rocked by this. Other people would take this in stride.' Self-compassion skills should help a great deal if you're doing this type of criticism," Boyes said.
Also, try to understand what pushes your buttons. It can be really helpful to identify that not every piece of bad news or every inconvenience rattles you greatly, but just specific types.
Got Off The Train At The Wrong Station. Now I'm In The Middle Of Nowhere Without Food, It's Raining, It's Cold, I'm Hungry And Next Train Is In 7 Hours
Many many years ago, when I was studying in England, I went to Nottingham to visit a friend of mine for the weekend. When it was time to return to Coventry, I went to the bus station and they announced the departure for "Covent Green" in London. It was late, I was tired and I misheard. Guess who won a free trip to London! (which was twice the distance from Coventry :/)
Puppy Accidentally Ate A Bee. Everything Turned Out Fine
Here Is My Favorite Picture Of My Grandma. She Was Having A Hard Time With The Mixer
However, don't attempt to predict further bad news. "When unexpected issues come up, don't automatically [assume] they'll be difficult to address," Boyes said. "Don't expect a string of bad luck, e.g., 'bad luck comes in threes.'"
And as cliché as it sounds, problems can be opportunities. So when you end up in one, ask what you can learn from it. "Consider your strengths. Cars might be foreign to me, but in general, getting things done and not getting ripped off are strengths for me," Boyes said. "You can also consider your weaknesses. I'm not great at asking for help because I'm socially anxious. This was an opportunity to overcome that and ask my neighbor for help (although, to be honest, it was my spouse who asked)."
Yes, bad news sucks. But we still have to cope with it.
First Time Trying To Grow Carrots From Seeds. 6 Months Later
Learn From My Mistakes
yes both me and my uncle have done this and had the bruising 😣
Welp. There Goes Her New Bed
That Smile Though
Guess It's Toast For Breakfast Today
A Moose Broke Through A Window And Entered A School In Saskatoon Today
4 Days After Moving To Chicago
My Commute Is 45 Minutes. Just Pulled Up To The Office, Reached For My Bags And
This Flooded Parking Garage, Containing Roughly 150 Cars
Student Handed This In Today
I had to write a letter stating that my oldest son's project will not be in on due date because the day before his little brother assumed that it is an unfinished art project which he can finish on his brother's behalf....
Walked To Work In A Thunderstorm, But My Boss Forgot To Tell Me We All Have Today Off
It's Always A Pleasure To Realize That Your Coworkers Don't Know How To Close A Box Properly. Right When You're Ready To Go Home
Now you kick it on the ground and leave the mess for the one that didn't close it properly.
How Does This Happen?
Just Got Stung By A Wasp And I Have A Job Interview Later Today… Can’t Even Talk Right
6 College Bros And One Brain Cell Between All Of Us
Doordashed Food And In The 5 Minutes It Took Me To Get To The Door, The Neighbor's Cat Ate Through The Box And Stole Some Chicken
Family Vacation To The Grand Canyon. What A View
Are You Kidding Me?
He Picked A Bad Day To Block The Fire Hydrant
I Heard Gunshots Outside Right Before Heading To Work, I Waited About 10 Minutes Before I Went Out To My Car And Found This. Glad I Wasn’t In The Car
My Grandma’s Lunch At Her New Senior Living Residence That’s $3k A Month. Wtf Is This?
Residents can’t go to the dining room to eat because they don’t have enough staff so it’s deliveries only.
I Wore A Mesh Hat On A 30 Mile Hike. Feeling Like Aang Today
So I Had A Sneezing Fit While Driving Yesterday
Well
So Finally After A Year I Was Able To Get A Ps5. My Dog Was Excited Too
I Got Stuck Behind A Draw Bridge Today. And So Did An Ambulance
Both Things Happened To Me Today
This Kid Dropping Pizza
Just Took This Little Guy A Bath 20 Minutes Ago
First Halloween In My New Neighborhood And Didn’t Get A Single Trick Or Treater
the trick or treaters loss cuz they didn't get candy. nice decors btw
Toddler Learned How To Use The Microwave
Apparently Someone Has Been Munching My Donuts And It Was Supposed To Be For My Kids After Work
Owner Used The Wrong Shampoo (It's Hair Dye)
Why would you shampoo so close to the dog's eyes? Why wouldn't you stop the moment you see it's blue dye? That dog is perfectly coloured all over: I suggest this was intentional.
Thanks To Windows, I Never Saw My Card Again
My Back Veranda After The Neighbour Next Door, With Which I Share A Septic System, Flushed Paper Towels Down Their Toilet
Someone Parked Underground With Their Sunroof Open And A Pipe Burst Above Them
Yesterday I Asked A Homeless Man With A Sign "Hungry, Anything Helps" If He Wanted A Freshly Baked, Warm Bagel. Today At The Same Intersection Something Caught My Eye
At the time he was super thankful and nice, and I felt great about it as I drove off.
Most corner-dwelling sign holders are not homeless or desperate. Some of the ones in my city work in teams of two to six people, standing at all points of egress from a freeway or a business. They can make between $2000-$4000 a day from begging.
Woke Up Last Night To A Huge Crashing Sound Only To Find My Only Car Outside Completely Totaled By A Pos Driver. Nobody Else On The Road, 1 Am
Technically they are liable, but you will likely have to sue to get them to pay out. Its likely such a moron does not have insurance.
Some Non-Municipal Company Started Digging Up My And My Neighbor's Lawn With No Disclosure To Put Some Internet Service In, Broke All The Sprinkler Systems
Here in Ohio, US, you call 811 (or www.call811.com) a week or 2 before digging, they will send people out to mark all of underground stuff. Many companies won’t dig unless your yard is marked or that you can prove that they were out & didn’t find anything. And it’s free.
Someone Drilled A Hole In My Gas Tank. They Got Away With Roughly $12 Worth Of Fuel
I Was Stung Twice, Once On My Forehead And Once On The Top Of My Ear
My Dad’s Phone. Left It To Charge Overnight, Woke Up And Saw This
My City Decided It Didn’t Want These Trees Anymore
That's No Fun
My McDonald's Burger Had A Bug Baked Into The Bun
Dropped And Broke My Favorite Plate I've Used For 32 Years. You Served Me Well, Bros
This Is How My Morning Started. Wtf
Dropped Two Pies On The Floor As They Were Coming Out Of The Oven
Gift From Mother Nature
You Know What Doesn’t Mix? Sleepwalking And Wanting A Bath… FML
Asked My Friend To Spray Sunscreen On My Back... Not The Most Even Coat
Left My Truck Parked Next To A Lamp Post Before A Storm
There Wasn't A Ramp Or Anything. Believe It Or Not, The Driver Only Had Minor Injuries
A Train Car Carrying Corn Had A Leak
Wonder How Long That Was In There? Had To Forfeit That Last Sip
Do You Guys Know Toner Dust From A Printer? It Feels Like Liquid If You Put Enough Of It In A Zip Bag. Well I Would Recommend To Use Something Else
That's what happens when you fk around with toner. Slow day at work, ha?
After My Waitress Sat Down My Ice Water And Walked Away, My Glass Split Cleanly In Half
Let me explain, having seen this countless times as a server: A few glasses break over time because s**t happens in a fast-paced environment. Eventually running low, servers request more glasses. Manager denies request in anger; assumes that breakage should be extremely rare just like at home; assumes that servers are intentionally breaking glasses for fun (even though it takes 5 minutes of delicate cleanup every time it happens). Eventually the threshold is reached where there is no more backup glass inventory; you have to start using glasses fresh out of the scalding-hot dishwasher. Cold beverage in hot glass = another broken glass = even less inventory = even faster breakage rate. This of course leads to slower refills and occasionally broken glass at the table, lowering your tip. No, the neglectful manager's salary is not impacted in case you were worried.
What I Asked For vs. What I Got
Left Work To Go Home And Car Sounded Like It Lost A Muffler. Got Home And Found My Catalytic Converter Stolen While I Was Parked. I’ve Only Had This Car For 6 Months
This past summer there was a bunch of catalytic converters stolen. I guess they're easy to remove and contain some rare metals people can get fast cash for. People are terrible.
I Was Upstairs. Heard A Bang And It Appears My Radiator Had Fallen Asleep. How's Your Evening Going
My Basement Got A Little Wet
An apartment building? Otherwise thats a lot of washers and dryers for one family.
Never Thought It’ll Happen To Me. 6 Hours Flight, Touched Me 3 Times
I Parked My Jeep Incorrectly
If You’re Ever Tempted To Machine Wash A Down Pillow… Maybe Don’t
Went Hiking For My Partner's Birthday. There Were Bugs
Tried To Save A Few Trees And Bought A Silicone "Cotton Swab". Guess Who's In Urgent Care Because The Other End Is Stuck In His Ear?
As my doctor used to say, "Never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear." Even q-tips have warnings on them that they shouldn't go in your ear.
My Mother In Law Started The Dishwasher For Us When We Were Away. She Used Dish Soap
Oh I did this as a kid. Whole kitchen was flooded with bubbles. Dad started to get mad, but I said I did use dish soap. Then he had to explain dish soap for hand washing and for the dish washer are different ( tricky bastards) and we had to clean it up. Lesson learned
Parents Spilt Paint In Their Car
Try To Guess Which Pink Number I Need For My Niece's Birthday
Maybe get two zeroes and stick them together with a little melted wax?
My Daughter Left Her Magnifying Glass In The Cup Holder Of Her Booster Seat While We Were Parked In The Sun
Shoe Decided To Fall Apart Before My Wedding
This Tiny Gap, Where My Wedding Ring Now Lives
One Of My Kids Brought Poison Ivy Into The House, Now My Hands Look Like This. Every Bump Is A Blister
Someone Breaks Into My Car Last Night. I Have Nothing To Steal Except A USB Cable. Someone Stole My USB Cable. Yeah
Said it before: A thief doesn't care if they have to cause $150 worth of damage for a $1 item. Never leave anything in your car. Even an empty shopping bag may contain a tablet or laptop. And a thief will want to know.
What Could Go Wrong Having A Barbecue On Your Balcony During Quarantine
Portable Battery Fell And Broke My Ceramic Lakers Basketball Piggy Bank That I've Been Using Since I Was 10
Heard A Crack And Went Outside To See What Made The Noise
My Cat Decided To Piss On My New Switch, Instead Of Literally Anywhere Else
I Spilled This Whole Bottle In My Pocket And Now I Smell Like A Deer's Flashlight
Matty Matheson's Daughter Wanted To Help Make Her Own Birthday Cake
It Was Windy Today
Pro Tip: Don't Store PC Stuff Near Paint When Moving Into A New House
Accidentally Dropped Tuna Can In My Sink
Last Weekend, I Was The Idiot. Didn't Notice Until 1 Hour Down The Road
Parked My Bike Outside A Friend's House For Less Than An Hour, Came Back Out To Find Someone Keyed My Tank Just In Time For My Halloween Ride
Bought My Sister An Ice Cream Cake, Her Name Is Dori
Checked Into The Last Room Available Late Last Night In The Middle Of Nowhere
Chair under the door k**b. Not as secure but could buy you a little time.
The Store I Work At Lost Power For 20 Minutes And We Had To Throw Out 1000$+ Of Meat And Cheese Because It Was 3 Degrees Above What We Can Keep
20 minutes? Those are some oddly strict rules. If it really was only 20 minutes, I hope by "throw out" you mean "give to staff and friends."
Oh, Okay
Gotta Love Ads In My Fortune Cookie
I Need This For School. I Don't Have The Money For A New One
It’s Me. I’m The Idiot. Left My Sunroof Open When It Called For Rain
It's your sunroof. It shouldn't have called for rain when it was open.
Can I Get An F In The Chat? Never Buy A Desk From Wayfair
I’ve Had This Car For Four Days
How Is Everyone Else's Day Going?
Got My Toddler New Shoes Over The Weekend. He Just Threw One Of Them Into The Fireplace
Because I Wasn't Already Running Late For Work
I’ve Been Promising My Son A Milkshake For Days. Finally Swung Through To Pick Up One For Him. The Scene When We Got Home
The First Set I Haven't Enjoyed Building (World Map) Just Got Even Harder
empty the vaccum bag ( or put a clean one on) and vaccum them up. Then you can empty the bag and sort them again
McDonald's Left A Label In My Burger
Was Invited On My First Date Since The Pandemic. As Soon As We Began Discussing Date Details, Facebook Services Crashed And Now I’m Reading A Book Alone In A Bar
Facebook goes down? THAT'S your bad day??... enjoy your drink in peace! lol
Today I was hopping down the stairs on my right leg because I've hurt my knee on my left leg and I misstepped and sprained my ankle and both legs are stuffed and every step is painful. I also have a multi hour cadets thing that i have to be standing for on the weekend .
I had pretty bad week this year in February. I had covid and heating in my house stopped working. I couldn't fix it, no one else could go to my house, it was -20 °C outside. I had little portable heater, but it wasn't enough.
Hope things are better for you. Currently waiting for insurance adjuster because... well... my heater went out and my portable unit set fire to the electrical socket. Fortunately it's not -20°C! I applaud your stamina, friend. That's a rough temp to endure without heat.
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Today I was hopping down the stairs on my right leg because I've hurt my knee on my left leg and I misstepped and sprained my ankle and both legs are stuffed and every step is painful. I also have a multi hour cadets thing that i have to be standing for on the weekend .
I had pretty bad week this year in February. I had covid and heating in my house stopped working. I couldn't fix it, no one else could go to my house, it was -20 °C outside. I had little portable heater, but it wasn't enough.
Hope things are better for you. Currently waiting for insurance adjuster because... well... my heater went out and my portable unit set fire to the electrical socket. Fortunately it's not -20°C! I applaud your stamina, friend. That's a rough temp to endure without heat.
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