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Did you know that you can say practically anything you want online? Unfortunately, some people do exactly that. Fortunately for us, they are pretty bad liars, so when we see through their obviously farcical stories, the results can be hilarious and cringeworthy. That’s exactly the type of cringe post that Totally True Story on Instagram collects.

Some people may be trying to boost their egos by fishing for likes and compliments online. Others may be trying to get ahead or even scam readers by weaving elaborate tales.

Common sense is a useful sense to hone, especially when you spend time online. These funny little fabrications tend to be about as harmless as it gets. Your common sense can also help you see through dangerous scams, fake news campaigns, and other trickery that runs rampant in the Wild West of the Web.

To play the devil’s advocate, it could also be (however unlikely) that some of these stories are, in fact, true. Are there any where you think the internet got it wrong? Let us know in the comments below each pic!

#1

Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

gamerinprogress , lickypickystickyme: Report

Nacho Man Sandy Ravage
Community Member
2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This has done the rounds so many times with the airline changed each time

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    #2

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Violet1854
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Could happen. Our classes had smartboards and Wifi, and sometimes when we were tired, the teachers would stop teaching for the rest of the period and let us play a song or see a funny video on the screen though not the dancing part. Might happen if your teacher is crazy enough

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    #3

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory , queenbradbury Report

    bread lord
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    this one's just funny, pretty sure it's not begging for attention or anything

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    Do you think these stories are nonsense or do you think they might be true? This post is a great opportunity to hone your common sense and "BS radar" to see whether you can see through sketchy online stories. But do you think that being online makes people lie more or less?

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    On the one hand, anonymity and distance may provide cover for people to feel like they can get away with more. On the other, the potential for your message to be seen by hundreds or even millions means you're much more likely to be held accountable. It turns out that that's exactly what the experts say - it depends.

    #4

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    pupsmuggler , wailtothethief Report

    Amelia Schroeder
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How f*****g ripped must op be. Each of her individual muscles must be bigger than my head (if she was real ofc)

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    #5

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Yeet_girl360
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Honestly, believable. My sister worked at a fast food place, and this guy rolled up with a condom on his head and wouldn't accept his food till he was called daddy. Ya'll they were 16- 20 years, he had to have been 60. They banned his card so he couldn't order again.

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    #6

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

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    Much like with real-world relationships, our willingness to lie depends greatly on our environment and our relationship with the people we're talking to. "We find that communication in the inside world tends to be more honest online, and this is in part because those messages are recorded and come from people that we will have future interactions with. We don’t want a reputation as a liar, and it’s easier in some ways to get caught in a lie online (just ask any politician caught in a scandal in the last decade)," Jeff Hancock, a professor of communication, told Stanford magazine.

    So why is it that we sometimes feel like it's easier to tell fibs on the internet? Well, for one, there's the fake news we can sometimes be bombarded with, which will shake our trust in the information we see online. But how about when we read something from individuals instead of news sources?

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    #8

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    handwrittenhello , castielsteenwolf Report

    IYAAYAS64
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently I’m going to Hell because that would be bloody hilarious

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    #10

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Phoenix the Frog
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one could be true, I did a little digging and his dad is a dentist

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    Hancock explained when people might be more likely to lie online: "Communication from the outside world, however, is from sources that we’re unlikely to engage with again, and so there are little to no reputation costs for people to lie online. These lies include sock puppets [false identities], follower factories, purchased likes, propaganda bots and fake news. So, the degree to which we can trust messages online is really the degree to which you know the source."

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    #11

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Piper
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is a conflict here and she would not be able to represent the wife without the husband agreeing.

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    #12

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    younger-than-the-soul , a-fragile-sort-of-anarchy: Report

    General Anaesthesia
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What happened to the days when you started by trading a thumb tack for an elastic band and kept trading all the way up to a house with a swimming pool?

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    #13

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Dodo
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Plausible. Teacher has had time to hone his icebreaker.

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    #14

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory , heatherleigh02 Report

    Loveyiii
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would like to thank you for not referring to the baby boomer as "Karen". That is my given name and cringe every time I see a video or read a story naming the jerk of the story "Karen". Kudos for tipping the teen, I am sure it made their day and in turn ruining it for the bully boomer.

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    #15

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    rogha , youtube-feels Report

    MissMePhoenix
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can actually believe this...after some of the things my son has gotten into trouble for saying at school....

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    However, it all comes back to the motivations guiding the person behind the screen. Use your common sense - if it's too good to be true, it probably is. It is then quite likely that someone's trying to pull a fast one over you or, at the very least, boost their own ego.

    Hancock explains: "It’s easy to forget, but (most) people lie for a reason, and simply because a person is using a phone or a computer or a tablet to communicate doesn’t make them more or less likely to lie. Instead, it’s all about goals and motivations."

    #16

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Freeasabird
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had a teacher that said, the war of independence was won by the British, on account they were fighting themselves (forgone conclusion) and they were only American after the fight was finished. The joke roll continued until the end of the lesson 😂

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    #17

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    yeouchers Report

    Sad Quokka
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the funniest scene my mind has ever created

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    #18

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    bread lord
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I DON'T CARE IF THESE ARE FAKE THEY'RE CUTE!!

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    #19

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Xenon
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one is at least plausible.

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    #20

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    The Original Bruno
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Everybody clapped" = I don't believe it. "I was the only person who laughed at it" = been there, done that. I had a bad habit of making jokes at random strangers because the situation cracked me up, but I learned the hard way that often, once the second someone isn't sure that you're joking, their ability to process a joke is 100% irretrievably gone.

    kansasmagic
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would do something like this. What makes it believable is that nobody else joined in.

    boone williams
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    True story: Whoopi Goldberg took her stage name because of her extreme flatulence. (Her friends called her "the human whoopee cushion")

    zovjraar me
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i can actually see myself doing this

    ObsidianAce_
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My partner for a science assignment on atoms and elements made a Michael Jackson joke (helium) and did this same thing- I had to explain it to the teacher because she didn’t get it and he was laughing too hard

    Chilli
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    that is pretty good, ngl.

    No Clue
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's hilarious though, I can't believe nobody else laughed! Maybe because it's been so long since I was an eighth-grader. 😆

    Mary Bricklin
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can believe this one. 8 graders are stupid and silly enough to do this.

    Henry Shane
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yup can totes see some teach putting this on and thinking its funny.

    Ann Coffman
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And then everyone clapped. Again.

    Genny McD
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's funny whether it's true or not!

    DrBronxx
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes. 5 minutes. Riiiight. Also, you were the only one laughing because it's not really that funny.

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    #21

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Cat Chat
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But the money saved there goes to ER bills. We were on a hike with Mom and blind step-Dad. There was a tree branch sticking out that slanted up close to a 90°angle. Mom was under the higher side. Not needing to duck for herself, she was so distracted by the scenery she didn't think to move over or have him duck. Whack, dead center into the branch. It does give us a good laugh now, though (wasn't seriously hurt, thank goodness).

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    #22

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    #24

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    jackcutieye , actionables Report

    SadieCat17
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I feel like this is only unrealistic to introverts lmao. This is relatively normal extrovert behavior, at least to me. I would totally flirt with someone by asking them to teach me how to make pancakes.

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    #25

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    autumn-sweet-fae , suspnd Report

    Xenon
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, cops provide free taxi service.

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    #27

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Emma S
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Unfortunately, I can believe these ones. There are some abusive, delusional, control freak mother's out there that will do and say terrible things to their own children. I sadly know from personal experience.

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    #28

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    starsailor (they/he)
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    it's a train car full of gays, i believe it :D

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    #29

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    kansasmagic
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's okay, though, because Anonymous is obviously a serial killer and uses the dog to lure unsuspecting young men into her suburban home of death. True story.

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    #30

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    his-forever-girl , narutowiener Report

    Xenon
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A soldier got charged for it for getting a severe sunburn. Urban legend amongst soldiers I imagine.

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    #31

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    bread lord
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    this happened I was the security guard 💯💯 edit: omg this comment blew up I'm crying laughing at the replies

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    #32

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Yeet_girl360
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Speaking of being allergic to things... Just two weeks ago I found out I'm allergic to ants(just like my mom). I looked like a fricking balloon. It took two days for the swelling to go down and I was still left with the itchy bug bite. Yuck. It is literally the only thing I know that I'm allergic to.

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    #34

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    seventh-fantasy , interstellarsentience Report

    Arunika R.
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This could be true too. I've read a lot of fanfiction and some of them are my emotional support stories I go back to every once in a while

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    #35

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    UselessKnowledgeFont
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I need to look this up. Was it all of the Caribbean or "just" Puerto Rico? Also given PR's government corruption and who was president of USA, I don't doubt that quite a bit is still not fixed

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    #36

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    UncleRussian
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The most unbelievable part about this story is the beginning. You see, I work in a car parts, repair and service store and I know for a fact that not all batteries are the same. If I had to guess a tractor battery is pretty big and beefy and it would certainly not fit into most cars, but what's even worse is that it probably doesn't even have the right voltage! All car batteries are different, you put one in that is too low or too high in voltage, that'll f**k up your car

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    #37

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Ty Stratton-Quirk
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Hello, and welcome to Standing Up school...I have failed all of you as an educator."

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    #38

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    mew-loves-you , radioirwin Report

    Ben
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah Nerf darts don't leave bruises. That is the whole point of Nerf.

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    #42

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    #43

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    screaminteen , vanehwasreal Report

    Adam Zad
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You could miss an exit in Alaska and still stay in the same state for three days. If they cut Alaska in half, Texas would be the THIRD-biggest state.

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    #44

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    SadieCat17
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Um a 13 year old acting like a decent human being? Fake news. (Meant to add /s, know some lovely children myself)

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    #46

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Mary Bricklin
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is actually kind of cute. I want it to be real

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    #47

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    blogginsshirebound , inabasket Report

    B.Nelson
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is possible. My sister had conversations with people when she was asleep. She once stated that she got me a pink flamingo umbrella for Christmas.

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    #49

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Arunika R.
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's the power of a wholesome social community

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    #50

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    David Martin
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And then the old lady was attacked by members of a rising third gang and went into the hospital in a coma, and the two heads of the existing rival gangs put their differences aside to team up "For Grandma!" and took down the new gang. Then they realized they were actually the same all along, and the gang wars stopped, and the old lady woke up. And the credits start to roll over a freeze frame of the former gang leaders hugging it out because this sounds suspiciously like the first half of a movie from the 80s

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    #51

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    bangaarang , mamayuuma: Report

    digitalin
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I know that that's a joke and all, but fun fact: a lot of people in the US do prefer Coke made in Mexico because the formula is different -- it's made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup or something. It comes in glass bottles and says "Hecho en Mexico" and sometimes it's hard to find.

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    #54

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Nizumi
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Give him a break - he's only college humor, not post-graduate humor.

    #55

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Where's_My_Adderall
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    as a Slytherin, I call bull. it would be a backhanded compliment, or something snarky.

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    #56

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Samyan Elrod
    Community Member
    2 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Come on guys, pls leave some customary witty comments on this one. I feel so alone.

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    #57

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Arunika R.
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What kind of school you all went to? My art teacher simply gave a premade painting for us to recreate

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    #58

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Stardust she/her
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is “fine” censored? Lovely censoring algorithm you have bp

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    #60

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    digitalin
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This totally could have happened. I had labor contractions for 48 hours and during that first day my doula made me walk around the block and get coffee. My water hadn't broken yet, though. It's not always like the movies. And sometimes they don't let you eat at the hospital, so stopping for pancakes makes sense.

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    #62

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Max Fox
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Most colleges have a minimum number of credits that a student has to take in all core subjects for a student to be accepted. In the past, requirements were lower, and many students started college without finishing high school. My father did that, but that was in the 1950s.

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    #63

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    HelluvaHedgehogAlien
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Twist: the class prefects were trying to fish out who had their phones

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    #64

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Mimi777
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I remember an a*****e teacher in middle school who would make b****y and rude comments to the girls. Boldly tell them they could lose a few pounds or that they looked like a clown with so much makeup on.

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    #66

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    #67

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Xenon
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have no idea what mcr is or why this is supposed to be funny.

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    #68

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

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    #70

    Fake-Internet-Stories-Screenshots

    totallytruestory Report

    Debby Keir
    Community Member
    2 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was *so* proud, but my senility means I can't remember what she said either.