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“Candyland Invented During The Polio Epidemic”: 30 Wholesome Things That Are Actually Disturbing
You know how bears look fluffy and huggable but you know better than to actually try to hug one? (If not friend, why friend-shaped, right?) Similarly, some things or stories seem wholesome at first, but at their core, they are actually not that fluffy—scary, even.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed such deceitful phenomena, sharing stories about things that are widely considered wholesome, yet to many people’s surprise, have rather disturbing backstories. The thread featured everything from the Drifters’ song “Save the Last Dance for Me” to the beloved mascot Chucky E. Cheese, whose origin story is apparently not all flowers and butterflies. So, if your curiosity has been awakened and you feel brave enough to shatter the wholesome exterior that some things bear, scroll down to find netizens’ stories in the list below and feel free to add more in the comments if you’re familiar with something that looks wholesome, but isn’t.
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#1
Pugs and other similar dog breeds suffer all their lifes because of selective breeding, leading to the deformation of their faces, legs, bodies and skin, plus cardiac and respiratory issues.
I really hope they get extinct some day, I can't bear watching such an aberration of nature due to human vanity, no thing must suffer their entire life only to look "cute" or "adorable" or "luxury".
StrangeOne 9 months ago
This is what they're supposed to look like. I say they were much cuter natural. Henry_Bern...297f98.jpg 
RELATED:
#2
The creator of Monopoly actually intended it as a warning about the dangers of capitalism, not a celebration of it.
#3
Amish people are supposedly these honest farmers eschewing modern ways. Amish run gigantic puppy mills for big profit. They stack cages floor to ceiling, treating the mom and dad dogs with abject cruelty, never a kind word or a touch - the dogs rescued from Amish pupoy mills are the most traumatized and a**sed dogs I have ever fostered ( we fostered over 220 dogs) One sad fearful dog would not let me touch him for 3 weeks (!) Another had to be euthanized because of chronic untreated ear infection for YEARS caused end stage ear growths, which plugged his ears snd made him deaf and in constant pain. F the Amish, cruel greedy animal a**sers.
Peter Bear 9 months ago
They also still utilize severe corporal punishment, i.e. child abuse, and see women as property. So... yeah.
#4
In the animated film, "All Dogs go to Heaven", The little girl who plays Anne-Marie was m*rdered by her father prior to the film being released.
Burt Reynolds struggled hard to finish recording his scene where Charlie says goodbye to the little girl one last time before going to heaven.
It's a tear inducing scene without knowing the backstory, but you can absolutely hear the pain in Burt Reynolds' voice. It's generally considered a very loving and touching moment, but knowing what happened, makes it really hard to listen to that without getting emotional.
Her Father was a vi*lent and ab*sive alcoholic, who m*rdered both her, and her mom, and then committed s***ide. She was 10 years old.
Edit: Oh man, I just realized more people commented about this here. I also didn't realize she voiced Ducky from "The Land Before Time" too.
#6
I always prided myself on my ability to stay calm in an emergency and problem solve about the next, best action to take, especially because I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety my whole life. Like, this was an area I knew I could count on myself and other people could count on me too. Friends, family and colleagues have often commented on it.
Then a few years back when I found a really good therapist to help me deal with PTSD from growing up in an a**sive, alcoholic household, she explained that “being good in a crisis” is a type of trauma response. I’m always in hyperarousal, on the lookout for danger. I’ve dealt with scary, unpredictable, dangerous situations since I was a kid. Of course I know what to do.
I’m still proud of this ability, it just makes me sad to think how I came to have it.
Peter Bear 9 months ago
"The frost killed the orchard, but applewood makes a sweet fire." It's all about perspective, learning to find the good in the bad things that happen.
#7
Sherman Kelly wrote the lyrics to Dancing in the Moonlight while recovering from a violent a*****t carried out on him and his girlfriend by a youth g**g. He envisioned an alternative reality where people just dance and be happy all the time. It was his way of dealing with the trauma.
#8
Scottish folds. Those cute cats with the folded ears. They have those ears beacause of osteochondrodysplasia. It causes joint, cartilage, and skeletal deformities. There is no treatment only pain management. Those poor cats are in constant pain :(.
Aidan Pite 9 months ago
Some breeds can be redeemed through better breeding practices. This is not one of them.
#10
A bride having her father "give her away" comes from property transfers.
Only men were full people. They owned their wives and children. Girls and women were property, and had little choice in the matter.
This was a transfer of ownership from the father to the husband.
Glen Ellyn 9 months ago
I get a bit annoyed when the officiant announces, "I now pronounce you man and wife." It should be "husband and wife."
#11
The snake that’s k*lled in Friday the Thirteenth was a real snake. To make matters worse it wasn’t some wild snake they found in the woods. It was somebody’s pet snake that had to watch his snake get k*lled. He apparently had no idea and had to be held back from punching the director.
#12
Candyland was invented during the polio epidemic by retired school teacher eleanor abbott who herself was recovering from polio. she invented the game to keep children entertained during their hospital stays who themselves were affected.
#13
I met a writer named Thomas Disch when I was in college. He wrote “The Brave Little Toaster.” He told us Disney hired him to write a movie about lions.
He wanted to do King Lear with lions bc the plot mirrored how lion prides operate: old lazy but powerful male, dangerous daughters. But Disney said they wanted a young hero. So he changed it to Hamlet with lions: uncle k*lls father, kid runs away, ghost of dad visits and calls for revenge, etc. but with a happy ending. (Timon & Pumbaa are Rosencrantz & Guildenstern).
Wrote [a treatment] turned it in. They said thanks but no thanks and fired him. Movie comes out: they took his idea and didn’t pay him. He said Disney was notorious for doing this to creators.
I read years later that he took his own life. Never think of the Lion King without thinking about him. They made so much money off his idea and he got nothing.
Edit: Apologies for using the word “script” in my original post. There’s a 9-page treatment online that I had never seen until it was linked here.
Disch’s story that he told our class was his perspective, and I tried to relay it the best I could remember. I’m not diving deep into big authorship questions, just passing on the story how I remember it as he told it to us (it was 25 years ago). All movies are collaborations. I don’t think this defined his life or that his s*****e was an outcome of Disney’s poor treatment of him. He told my creative writing class that story to teach us about the perils of writing creatively for corporate clients. He wasn’t super angry about it, just annoyed. He was a great writer and was still struggling financially.
The larger point is that he felt exploited, and it sucks when big corporations don’t share their profits with those who contribute.
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 9 months ago
The Lion King is very, very, very similar to the original Kimba: The White Lion animated series from the 60s.
#14
When I was 10 or so, my sisters and I were doing a common counting rhyme to pick something (maybe who went first in a game):
Eeenie meenie miney moe
Catch a tiger by the toe
If he hollers, let him go
Eeenie meenie miney moe.
My dad walked by and quietly commented "when I was your age, that word wasn't 'tiger', but we didn't know better back then.".
#15
Ghyslain Raza (The Star Wars Kid) had his video posted onto KaZa without his permission by his schoolmates to prank him and as a result, he was bullied at school, people made fun of him online, gave him d**th threats, told him to k*ll himself all for pretending to be a Star Wars character which is totally normal things kids do. He also had to go to a mental hospital and his parents sued the kids who uploaded the video.
Luckily, he returned to school to finish his senior year, went to McGill University in Montreal, got a law degree and became president of his city’s heritage society.
Aidan Pite 9 months ago
I can not express enough how glad I am that this story did not end with an obituary.
#16
Canonically,Chuck E Cheese is an orphan who never knew when his birthday was so he celebrates other people’s birthdays to fill the terrible painful void of his abandonment.
#17
The kids book Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be) was written in the wake of the stillbirth of the author and his wife’s 2 babies.
Tessa 9 months ago
I already cried when reading this book to my kids. I don’t know, it somehow makes me nostalgic in advance knowing time will pass by so fast and they grow up so quickly. Now this makes it even more sad 😔, but it is beautiful the author and his wife were able to convert their sadness into a sweet book.
#18
The reason cats and dogs like squeaky toys is not because the noise is funny, it's because the sound is similar to the death screams of their prey.
#19
The song “Save the Last Dance for Me” by the Drifters was written by a man who was crippled by polio and in a wheelchair watching his new wife dancing with other men at his wedding to her because he couldn’t.
ETA: Did not expect this to start such a discussion! As was mentioned below, in the song he’s saying that he’s the one taking her home, not them. I don’t think he’s angry, he’s just saying that no matter who she dances with, she’s his wife and will be taking her home at the end of the night.
Auntriarch 9 months ago
My dad didn't like dancing, my mother loves to dance. He got his mum to teach him one easy dance so that he could have the last dance of the evening with my mother. It must have worked, they've been an item for 70 years
#20
The Wizard of Oz could have its own behind the scenes movie with the amount of s**t that went down.
StrangeOne 9 months ago
On the VHS I have, after the movie is done there's a documentary of what went down.
#21
Valentine’s Day. St. Valentine was k*lled for being the priest to marry people so men could get out of war. For this he was beheaded.
#22
The data, which is used for calculating the chances of naval rescue missions, comes from human experiments in concentration camps. They threw inmates in water tanks of different temperature and measured how long it took until they froze to death or drowned.
#23
"Resusci Annie" - the rubbery anatomical model we learned CPR on. The face is modeled after the death mask of an unidentified and unclaimed woman who drowned in the Seine River in the late 1800's. Toymaker Åsmund S. Lærdal chose to use the woman's face on the mannequin as he thought male trainees might be reluctant to kiss a man's face. The face was sculpted by the Norwegian-Danish sculptor Emma Mattheisen.
Boop the Snoot. Pound the Paw. 9 months ago
To add a little pop culture twist, in Michael JAckson's song Smooth Criminal there's a lyric which says something like "Anne are you ok? Are you ok? Are you OK, Anne?" The chorus refrain, "Annie, are you OK?", was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Trainees learn to say "Annie, are you OK?" while practicing resuscitation on the dummy.[10] The original mix of the song includes the sound of Jackson's fast-thumping heart and heavy breathing,
#24
Alfred Nobel, the creator of the Nobel Prize, was the inventor of dynamite, and amassed his wealth by developing, manufacturing and selling explosives — the “weapons of mass destruction” of his day. A French newspaper mistakenly published an obituary for his death when another arms manufacturer died, calling him “The Merchant of Death”. Seeing what his legacy was, and how he and his family name were going to be remembered, he changed his will to found the Nobel Prize.
AisForRebel 9 months ago
False, only part of the story. He invented dynamite because at the time nitroglycerin was used and was so unstable that it k****d a shocking amount of people (including his younger brother) that were using it during mining operations. So he invented a stable explosive to reduce the amounts of accidents in mining and construction operations.
#25
Voice actor for classic Disney Peter Pan died alone of a d**g overd*se in an abandoned warehouse after years of being unable to get work in Hollywood later in life.
SBocker78 9 months ago
Bobby Driscoll. No one knew who he was and his remains where only identified much later by fingerprints when his mother was searching for him. His body was already buried in the potter's field on New York's Hart Island and was unable to be located because the records were lost.
#26
Hello Kitty was made as part of a national movement to cute-ify Japan to distract from the abominable war crimes they committed in the second world war.
Peter Bear 9 months ago
As opposed to the ones we committed, which were worse? This is your daily reminder that the US remains the only country to use nuclear weapons in wartime. Against civilian population centers. Twice.
#27
The little girl who played Matilda, in the movie Matilda, mom died before the movie was released of cancer. I believe the director showed her a rough cut before she passed but jeez that made me sad to learn as an adult
David Jeffery 9 months ago
That first sentence might be the worst thing I've ever read. Sentence construction wise
#28
Best Friends Animal Society was founded by Scientology members who formed their own cult spin-off, The Process Church. They associated with Charles Manson and David Berkowitz, with the author of Helter Skelter postulating that Manson was heavily influenced by Process.
The rescue was originally a grift to keep their church going. They eventually moved to rescue full time after realizing how incredibly lucrative (and like their church, tax-free) it could be.
With $200,000,000 in assets, $314,000,000 in 2024 revenue, and 2 private jets, you can see just how well their grift has paid off.
#29
Milo and Otis is a cute, wholesome film about a cat and a dog on a crazy adventure, Homeward Bound style. But many, many animals were k*lled in making the movie. There’s one scene where a cat falls down a waterfall in a box, and apparently that had to shoot that scene multiple times because the cats kept dying.
#30
For a while, neopets was owned and operated by Scientologists. They wanted to add religion to it while they had it.
Huddo's sister 9 months ago
I loved Neopets. My email (the one I've had since a kid) has the name of one of my neopets in it.
#31
The song “Marry You” by Bruno Mars is NOT romantic. It’s about something fun to do while drunk.
“It’s a beautiful night, we’re looking for something dumb to do
Hey, baby, I think I wanna marry you
Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares, baby? I think I wanna marry you
Well, I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go
No one will know, oh, come on girl”
Who cares if we’re trashed? Got a pocket full of cash we can blow Shots of Patrón and it’s on, girl
If we wake up and you wanna break up, that’s cool
No, I won’t blame you, it was fun, girl”
I laugh every time people use this in proposals or as wedding songs.
#32
Henry Ford promoted square dancing in public schools, starting in the 1920s. Sound wholesome? He did it because he hated Jews and thought they invented jazz. He wanted to get America back to "traditional" (white and Christian) music and dancing.
#33
Nintendo started as a card company in the late 1800s. It probably would have gone defunct, were it not for the Yakuza.
#34
Canadas food guide was created by ab*sing and starving native children in residential schools.
#35
Everyone thinks the ugly duckling is a story about how it's okay to be ugly. But it's actually a story of about how you can be pretty too one day.
#36
Bananas. You thought c*caine was a blood-soaked cartel and war driven commodity? The banana trade makes c*caine look like a farmer's market.
Also chocolate, coffee, tea, spices and most tropical fruits. And meat. And seafood. Basically everything we eat, wear, and use.
#37
Went to a community event last night and, 32 years later, Macarena still fills the dance floor. A bunch of teens learned the dance for the very first time.
The lyrics are, of course, in Spanish... and about the titular Macarena having a thr**some with her boyfriend's friends while he's swearing off swearing his military oath.
Also interesting is that the band played traditional music primarily and this was their first pop release, in their 50s. They went back to traditional music after.
#38
Mormonism’s got a closet of nearly all skeletons and no garments.
#39
Love languages were made by a man who wanted his wife to clean for him and him to have s*x with her, so he said his love language was physical affection but hers was acts of service.
#40
The guy who started the black and blue/white and gold dress debate from 2015 was charged with trying to strangle his wife.
Aidan Pite 9 months ago
Suddenly the DV PSA ad that came out around that time is way more relevant. It had a bruised woman wearing a clearly white/gold version of the dress with the caption 'Why is it so hard to see black&blue?'
#41
The song "My Sharona" by The Knack was about the lead singer perving over a teenage girl...... it's still a very catchy song on the surface, but it's still about wanting an underage girl.
Ace 9 months ago (edited)
There were hundreds of songs from the 1950s through to the 80s about adult-teenage relationships, real or desired. Look up the lyrics to "I saw her standing there" or "Sweet sixteen" for more examples. others were about waiting for a girls to turn 16, as it was the age at which a girl was considered to became a woman, the age of sexual consent, the age at which they could get married. It was not considered unusual or 'wrong' for a young adult to lust after a 16 year old.
#42
The guy that lost 300 lbs by eating subway didnt lose weight by eating subway.
He lost weight by walking daily to a particular subway that wasnt even the nearest one, just so he could see an underaged girl that worked at subway.
#43
The song 'pumped up kicks' is catchy and was used in things like commercials and children's parties years ago. It's also pretty clearly about committing a school sh**ting.
Mother of Giants 9 months ago
Per the Wikipedia page on this song: "The lyrics to "Pumped Up Kicks" are written from the perspective of a troubled and delusional youth with homicidal thoughts." source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped_Up_Kicks
#44
This is often mentioned in threads like "what lively catchy song has dark lyrics?", but "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees, the immortal disco anthem, is about how life in New York in the 1970s ***sucked*** and people often felt lost with no purpose ("life goin' nowhere, somebody help me"), and the only thing they had to fall back on was dancing at the club ("feel the city breakin' and everybody's shakin' and we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive...").
Aidan Pite 9 months ago
Suddenly I feel less bad that my go-to rhythm-keeping song to mentally hum if I ever have to do CPR is Another One Bites the Dust.
#45
A.A. Milne based the stories on his son, Christopher Robin, but the real Christopher grew to resent the fame it brought him. Bullied and feeling exploited, he distanced himself from both his father and the beloved books. A tale of innocence, built on a child’s unhappiness.
Peter Bear 9 months ago
Or an ungrateful child who chose to hate the very thing that entertained him as a child and paid to keep him fed and housed. There's more than one way to look at this, you know.
#46
"Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, the chorus of which was used by commercials and movie trailers in the 90s, is actually about being a d**g addict.
QueerPanda (they/them)️ 9 months ago
“The sky was gold, it was rose I was takin' sips of it through my nose And I wish I could get back there, someplace back there Smilin' in the pictures you would take Doin' crystal m**h will lift you up until you break it won’t stop” It’s pretty clearly about m**h
#47
I know Bob’s Burgers isn’t SUPER wholesome but it’s generally agreed that it’s pretty wholesome and tear-jerker-y for an adult cartoon, and it started out being pitched as a burger restaurant run by a cannibal family 😂.
#48
Kellogg 100%.
#49
Free school lunches in America started because the military complained that during world war II that many 18-year-old Men were too skinny to serve in the military. Free school lunches were added afterwards to make 18-year-old men strong enough to be drafted into the next war.
Hidalgo 9 months ago
The free school lunch program started in the Great Depression, before WW2. It is true though that recruits during WW2 were rejected because of low weight and other nutritional issues. Something on the order of 30-40%. Today only 30% are fit enough to be accepted, most for overweight or intellectual issues.
#50
Yogi Tea is owned by a cult (allegedly).
#51
Both shoe brands Puma and Adidas are German. They were started by the brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler. They owned Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory (1924) and then separated to create two companies Puma and Adidas in ‘48.” The name Adidas comes from Adolf’s nickname “Adi”.
Side note, when the company Nike was trying to launch in 1964, Adolf Dassler did everything in his power to prevent Nike from becoming successful. Now there is a very long standing and very significant hatred of Adidas by Nike.
#52
Alexander Graham Bell was a eugenecist against disabled and Deaf people, which motivated his work for the telephone. He wrote an entire manifesto about preventing a “Deaf race”.
What do you think ?
Little Bit 9 months ago
Jimmy Saville. In front of the cameras, makings kids' dreams come true and raising money for charity. Behind the scenes, a sick serial abuser. Many of his victims spoke up but but weren't believed. It wasn't just a few victims, it was hundreds.
Nils Skirnir 9 months ago
Half of these are bs. Some could have come from QAnon they’re so stupid
Dori 9 months ago
Which ones? I'd like to know which are fake so I don't repeat them as true.
Load More Replies... Little Bit 9 months ago
Jimmy Saville. In front of the cameras, makings kids' dreams come true and raising money for charity. Behind the scenes, a sick serial abuser. Many of his victims spoke up but but weren't believed. It wasn't just a few victims, it was hundreds.
Nils Skirnir 9 months ago
Half of these are bs. Some could have come from QAnon they’re so stupid
Dori 9 months ago
Which ones? I'd like to know which are fake so I don't repeat them as true.
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