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25 Delusional And Completely Out-Of-Touch Things People Heard Others Say (New Answers)
Article created by: Austėja Akavickaitė
Nobody can be correct 100% of the time. We’ve all been misinformed at one point or another, whether it was believing a commonly spread myth (no, that gum you swallowed by accident did not sit in your stomach for seven years) or misunderstanding a situation until more information became available. It’s completely natural for our ideas to grow and develop over time, but confidently spreading objectively wrong ideas is another thing.Reddit user mouldygoldie reached out to Ask Reddit to hear about the most severe cases of "people being completely out of touch with reality”, and the answers did not disappoint. We’ve gone through and gathered some of the cringiest examples of delusional beliefs for your entertainment, but be warned: reading them may cause an uncontrollable urge to facepalm.
Keep reading to also find an exclusive interview between Bored Panda and Dr. Jim Taylor, a psychologist and author. And if you can handle even more ignorance after reading this list, check out our last publication on the same topic right here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
My brother told me “I’m avoiding Asian people if I see them on the street or anything. You know, for safety because of the coronavirus.” He’s Asian. OUR ENTIRE FAMILY IS ASIAN.
RELATED:
#2
I used to work at a software company in downtown Boston. One of the best perks of the job at the time was the flexibility in hours. Many folks had regular wfh days. Myself, I knew I could drop my kids off at school, get into the office by 9:30 and my boss had no issue with it whatsoever. Others with kids had similar arrive late or leave early schedules depending on their childcare.
After a few years a new CEO comes in, spends a month observing how the office works, then calls for a company wide meeting. During the meeting she tells everyone she believes having a full office 8-5 is the most productive environment, and at the start of the next month, all wfh was canceled, and she wanted everyone in the office during those set hours. No showing up late or leaving early.
A lively debate ensued, with discussions of there being very little warning, to pleas of flexibility, to concerns of making necessary childcare arrangements - especially given that in many cases (i.e. schools) we couldn't adjust those times. Plus, commuting into Boston sucks.
After listening to all of these arguments, she finally responds with a long speech of appreciating the sacrifices everyone has to make to better the company, everyone doing their part, blah blah blah. She ends it by saying, "I understand where you're all coming from! Years ago when my kids were little, my husband and I had to hire three nannies to cover all of the times we had to work!"
I remember we all looked around at each other, speechless. It was also the moment I realized I would have to start looking for another job. When the millionaire CEO thinks hiring 3 nannies is a relatable example to her middle class employees, it's pretty clear she's not going to change her mind.
#3
Work with a girl who is a flat earther and on top of that denied the existence of space. When the topic came up and I disagreed she asked if I had ever been there... obviously I haven't. I told her I have also never been to Japan and that does not mean it doesn't exist.
She complained to management about my intolerance of her beliefs.
#5
Donald Trump saying we could perhaps inject disinfectant
#6
An ex became really religious and I'd still talk to her sometimes. Somehow the topic of flat earth theories came up and she said she thinks it's actually possible that it could be true. I tried to explain that we have more than enough imagery and data indicating that the earth is round, and she said it could all be planted there by Satan.
You just can't come up with a response to that.
#7
My cousin was spoiled and sheltered her entire childhood through college. Then her parents stupidly cut the leash without any preparation and released her into society.
She quickly got in trouble for bouncing checks all over town. My mom picked her up and asked why the hell she was writing bad checks everywhere. Turns out my cousin was under the impression that as long as you had checks in your checkbook, you had money in your account. She didn’t understand that you deposit in a number and then can spend or withdraw up to that amount.
Please teach your kids basic finance.
Note: this was like 1996 before it turns into a “who writes a check anymore” discussion.
#8
I had a customer come into my office to rent a car. Said she had a reservation for a car, she didn’t. Told her our deposit structure and she SLAMS a $20 bill on the counter and exclaims that’s enough for a deposit. I politely tell her it doesn’t cover her minimum rate. She then proceeds to ask what rank in the military I am. Completely confused, I tell her I am the manager and that has nothing to do with our policy. Then she says she out-ranks me and I was disobeying a superior’s orders. I kicked her out and she threatened to deport me...a completely white Chicagoan male adult. I couldn’t even be mad at her lunacy.
#9
This was from a Regional manager of Starbucks, after they removed merit based raises that could go up to a 5% increase, changed to a flat 2% increase.
When she asked if people liked the new raise plan,
I said actually no, they feel unmotivated with no reason to perform any better than just normal.
Regional manager “your staff need to realise working isn’t about money”
#10
I met a lady who thought that High Fructose Corn Syrup was a conspiracy by the OIL INDUSTRY, to kill more people so that their bodies would be cycled through the earth in order to produce more oil.
Y'know. The oil Cycle. That process that takes billions of years??
Talk about a long con.
#11
I will never forget the man who angrily told me, a wheelchair user with no feet and no prosthetics, to go down the stairs if I didn’t want to wait for the elevator (I had been talking to my friend, and mentioned we were going to be a little late because of the huge line).
#12
My 'friend' stole my card information and bought loads of expensive stuff. I asked her if it was her before reporting it, knowing that a) she was going through a tough time and I wanted to give her a chance to make it right and b) that I could be in trouble for conspiracy to fraud if I reported it and they believed I'd got stuff delivered to my friend to claim fraud for the money back. She said no, I thought someone else had done it so I reported it.
When she got arrested she said she didn't think 'they'd take the fraud thing so far'. She thought you could just call up banks to get the money back and they wouldn't investigate.
#13
Parents of a 35 years old woman, who was hospitalized after suffering severe anoxic brain damage 20 years ago. She had been in the same ward since, barely conscious.
They refused to get her transferred to a more suitable facility for 20 years, saying that there's no reason to do so: those facilities are for "lost causes", and their daughter is going to make a full recovery, finish school, get married and be totally fine.
Working in hospitals got me quite a collection of these stories, but this one I thought was one of the saddest ones.
#14
My MIL told me that Pepsi has aborted fetuses in it and that drinking it will make you gay. As I was drinking a Pepsi.
Other highlights from her: she doesn’t trust doctors and says they’re all paid off by the government to hide some ominous truth from everyone else.
She believes covid-19 is a hoax and also believes it comes from 5g- how she believes both of them simultaneously is beyond me.
She thinks anxiety and depression are myths and that church is the only answer.
She thinks the only reason people don’t like Donald Trump is because he’s against abortion and if it weren’t for that 100% of the populace would adore him.
I could go on.
#15
Had a friend who insisted she was in a relationship with a C-list celebrity whom she met once during a comic convention.
All the celebrity’s Instagram and twitter posts were for her and everything had a meaning behind it.
When the celebrity got married, she said that it was just for the media so she and celebrity could live a quiet life.
When he didn’t do anything for her birthday, she had a breakdown. She went to therapy not long after.
#16
My SIL legit believes she’s a strong, independent businesswoman who owns three major businesses. She does three MLM gigs.
#17
I knew a girl who cheated on her boyfriend. When he found out, he broke up with her. She said "you can't break up with me, it has to be mutual."
#18
The pastor of a small town church *insisted* that members set up the parish hall and provide food and beverages for 125 people after every Sunday service, even though the average attendance was only around 20 people.
Week after week, month after month, much food would be disposed of and large urns of coffee dumped down the sink - and all because the pastor was in denial about the reality of weekly attendance.
#19
I was a stable hand of a very upper tier barn in a wealthy part of the country. The staff have to sign non-disclosure agreements to protect clients.
On one particularly scorching July day, I overheard a client venting to another about how she was "incredibly stressed" and "going to have a mental breakdown" because her first choice catering company was all booked up for the weekend of her last minute yacht party.
I'm paycheck to paycheck and had probably a total of 3 days off since christmas. I would love for a yacht party to be my basis for a mental breakdown. Needless to say, the staff had a healthy chuckle on that one.
#20
In college I had a roommate from the most sheltered part of Long Island. We met an exchange student from Switzerland and I swear to god she said this in complete seriousness: "Oh wow I didn't know people actually lived in Switzerland, I thought there were just banks there!"
#21
I knew someone who unironically tried to convine that not only is Pokemon demonic, but they exist in real life and there are reported cases of then attacking and harming people
#22
A friend posted on his story that he’s tired of seeing everyone posting bad haircuts on social media. Saying that since he has “financial stability”(Forex pyramid scheme.) that if they don’t have $30 for a haircut, they need to “re-evaluate their lives.” He had no clue these people were posting at home haircuts during a global pandemic...
#23
I went to a private international school in London as a teenager, most kids there had parents working good jobs but in-between them were some filthy rich kids with parents in the oil industry or something similar.
In 8th grade we were talking about our easter break and my friend from Belgium was talking about how his family had decided last minute to go there over the break, but had decided to drive there because there were no flights available.
Then this Russian billionaire classmate of mine asked him "why don´t you take a private jet?". She was so clueless when we started laughing.
#24
I'm fairly convinced that my current shift supervisor thinks anyone who works an overtime shift is doing it out of loyalty to the company, and not because of the 1.5x pay rate.
#25
My boss's wife 28, she grew up in a wealthy family and married to a man who was 3rd generation owning the company he was in, they were a regional power, etc.
She was talking to a staff that in general - made 36K a year, mumbling about a staffer who was on his Honeymoon.
"Tennessee?! HA! Tennessee?!" She looked around the room for everyone to join in. "My GOD! How did she agree to that? We did Hawaii and that was *least* I told him was acceptable."
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