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68 Incredibly Funny Instances When Folks Failed So Embarrassingly, All They Could Do Was Laugh
Have you ever criticized a food item only to realize that the chef was right behind you? Or have you ever fallen down on your face when your crush was watching you? Both happened to me, and honestly, they were painfully embarrassing. Those moments made me wish I had the superpower to disappear in that moment.
What comforted me was that funnier things have happened to people all around, and yet they live with it. When Megan Kmita shared her embarrassing fail story, she asked people to spill their tea, too. Some of these tales are wildly hilarious, while others might give you second-hand embarrassment. Just scroll down to check them out!
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#1
As a full grown woman, I was at a park with my dog when a nice lady shouted “Does anyone want an ice cream?” I walked over, and she gave me weird look, and handed me one. As I walked away, I realized she was hosting a birthday party for her child. She was offering to all the children there for the party. Not for random adult strangers in the area (me.)
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#2
I went to the movie theater on a really bright sunny day and when I walked in, it was so dark in the theater I couldn’t see a thing…my eyes hadn’t adjusted so I walked down about five or six rows from the front and said excuse me to the guy sitting there, and he had to pick up his popcorn and his large soda take his feet the seat in front of him, stand up and let me through. I moved over and left one seat in between us. After my eyes had adjusted, and I was comfortably sitting there, he kept kind of giving me the side eye. I couldn’t figure out what his problem was until I looked around behind me at the rest of the theater. It was completely empty! I had made my way to the only person there, asked him to move all his stuff so that I could next to him I can’t even imagine what was going through his head! I am blushing and laughing hysterically as I tell you the story.
#3
I had a reduction surgery like 10 years ago. My boss at the time did a collection and got a big bunch of flowers sent to me at home while I recovered. We were texting about the operation, the flowers, general stuff and he said "let's see them"... so I sent him a post op photo in a bra. He meant the flowers.
The thing is, when these “fails” happen, they can haunt us constantly. Let’s try to understand what goes on in our brain when we are embarrassed. Research suggests that although no brain area has been identified as the center of embarrassment, the frontal lobes (particularly the orbitofrontal region) appear to link embarrassment to the regulation of appropriate social behavior.
Patients who sustain damage to this region may experience embarrassment. Yet behaviors that would embarrass most of us often seem to cause them no chagrin at all. For that reason, they may disclose more intimate information than others and tease strangers in ways most people would find overly familiar, the research adds.
#4
My hometown has an annual pie eating contest I’ve participated in since I was a child. A few years ago they were asking for judges who were veterans (I thought they meant people who had been in the contest many times). We did the whole thing, judged the contest, and in the end they lined us all up and the other judges started naming their infantry, where they served, for how long, etc… Of course I was last to go, my face is red and sweaty, and I say, “I’m.. umm.. a veteran of this competition.” People booed.
My heart flutters even thinking about it.
#5
I sent a negative pregnancy test to my bf at the time with a message like, "Nothing to worry about." The response was, "Didn't know I should be worried, glad all is well." When I double checked it turned out I sent it to the owner of the company I had interviewed with earlier that day.
#6
My best friend was searching her exes new girlfriend on Facebook and accidentally put the new GF’s name as her status!!!! then the new girlfriend LIKED IT we were all txting and calling her like mad, but she was in a lesson! She came out to hundreds of missed calls and txts.
Meanwhile, psychologists believe that embarrassment is a painful but important emotional state. It makes people feel bad about their social or personal mistakes as a form of internal or societal feedback, helping them learn not to repeat the error.
They stress that the accompanying physiological changes, including blushing, sweating, or stammering, may signal to others that a person recognizes their own error and is not cold-hearted or oblivious.
#7
I was doing laundry in the basement of my apartment building at like 2am because thats when its empty and I dont have to worry about waiting for machines. I had my headphones on and was kind of just off in my own world listening to music, and I like... moonwalked backwards to sit on the bench behind me without looking... and sat on a man's lap. I moonwalked onto a strangers lap... and now I see him all the time and have an internal panic attack every time.
#8
I was in a work chat and a group photo came up with one of our colleague’s who is a bit of a creep and in denial about balding and I commented “Javi doesn’t look bald in this one ” then I get a separate message from someone saying, he’s in that group chat. This is before delete was possible. I then post into the other group chat and say “ffs I can’t believe I did that, who added him?” Then the same person messages me and says “he’s in that one too “ I could have vanished.
#9
I was in a private Facebook group to loose weight, every week we would post the number on the scale and a little message about how our week was going. So I did this, about a minute later I get a phone call from my Dad. He's like why did you post your weight on Facebook with a message thanking everyone for their support, despite gaining weight this week? I was mortified, I just made it as my status.
While we all experience embarrassing fails in life, some people are more affected by humiliation. Especially folks with social anxiety can be more sensitive to it. This emotion can also have a darker side: some people go to extreme lengths to avoid the possibility of embarrassment. In fact, they might take risks, or put others at risk, just to avoid a humiliating moment, which isn’t really a good thing.
#10
I was creeping on this guy’s Facebook page and I accidentally liked a photo from an extremely long time ago. I thought I was doomed until a day later he liked a photo of mine from a really long time ago. So we were equally creeping on each other… We are now married 15 years later lol.
#11
In high school (90’s) everyone had major crush on the captain of the hockey team—we were all too nervous to talk to him but went to all his games. Once we were all talking about all the things we would “do to him” (which was extra hilarious, because we were all virgins at the time) after about half an hour of this, the woman in front of us turned around and said do you mind stopping? That’s my son you are talking about.
DEDDDDDDDD.
#12
I meant to comment "adorable" under my friends beautiful children, and autocorrect made it "adoption", I didn't realise until hours later.
Licensed psychotherapist Lena Derhally told PsychCentral that if someone has a strong inner critic, the feelings of embarrassment and shame are quite pervasive and constant. Meanwhile, someone with a weaker inner critic can laugh and shrug things off much more easily.
Where the inner critic stems from is more complex, explains Derhally. She adds that it may be a combination of personality traits, such as being uptight, rigid, or perfectionist, and environmental factors.
#13
My Mom (new to Facebook and in her 70’s) commented on an acquaintance’s page of an obituary of her husband, LOL. She thought it meant Lots of Love.
#14
I was an awkward 7th grader who had a huge crush on this guy at school. I went to his house and sat outside in the bushes. I heard a tapping noise and looked up, he was sitting in his family’s RV that was also parked in the bushes looking down at me in confusion. I had never even said a word to him at school and here I was sitting outside his house- in the bushes. Then I heard him telling someone about it in our junior year in high school…
#15
Ugh.. so I was getting on the bathtub.. I love love love my evening bath. I had my phone in my hand getting ready to doomscroll. Adjusting the water temp as I got in.. just as I settle in …. There was a message on my phone that said “we have reviewed your live and you have been banned from going live”.. LIVE. WHO WAS LIVE??? I WAS LIVE??? Oh sweet baby JESUS I pray I wasn’t live. I called my bestie and had her look at my feed and she didn’t see anything but to this day I don’t know if they caught it before or I was actually LIVE getting in the bath.
It’s also important to talk about how the embarrassment that we feel after such “fails” can actually hamper our mental health. Experts at The Goodtherapy Blog explain that a single embarrassing event can undermine a person’s confidence and self-worth. Some people who experience public humiliation may mentally replay the event over and over, feeling a renewed sense of embarrassment each time.
#16
Not me, but my friend. She was stalking her ex's new gf's Facebook and clicked the "attending" button on her baby shower invitation page. She didn't know she'd done it until someone called her and asked her why she would attend the baby shower of a child that was conceived during her marriage. It had been DAYS since she had looked at it. She styled it out quite beautifully, by having a total meltdown on Facebook, then checking herself into the ER and and an international airport within 12 hours of one another.
#17
I’m a pro skater, I once heard there was a skateboard contest in my town without reading the details. As I registered, I noticed people seemed confused at my participation. I figured it was cuz I’m kinda old. I only realized when they did the roll call it was a gay, trans, bi sk8 contest. I’m a straight, married, pastor with 5 kids.
#18
I travelled hours for a job interview and when I turned up I had forgotten my passport (which they had said multiple times was a non-negotiable) so the interview was over as soon as I sat down. On my way out, already embarrassed, I closed the door behind me to realise I’d just locked myself into their cleaning cupboard while they watched. Didn’t wanna come out anyway at that point tbh.
They also point out that the “spotlight effect,” or overestimating how much others noticed one’s error, may increase embarrassment or keep it from fading.
“Significant or repeated instances of embarrassment may be a contributing factor in the development of health concerns such as anxiety or depression. Chronic negative thought patterns and a lowered sense of self-worth could also potentially lead to concerns such as disordered eating, social isolation, or in some cases, acts of self-harm,” they note.
#19
My boss wrote me that she wanted to give me a raise. She wrote how lucky they were to have me. And the email was so incredibly sweet. She ended it with "I know you've been through a lot. I hope you know you're a big part of the family. You're like a daughter to me." A small family run clinic, with me as the only outsider. I was crying because of the sweet email and a tear fell down on my screen. When I tried to wipe it away, I accidentally knocked the phone out of my hand. When I picked it up, the frontglass were completely shattered. Had to answer, so I went to my computer and when I opened up my mail, I saw it was already responded to. Figured that it must've sent some letters or a symbol of sorts, when I tried to remove the single tear. I opened sent emails and to my horror, I saw a GIF had been sent. An indecent GIF. I was absolutely mortified.
#20
3 colleagues and I went for drinks after work. As we are standing there, I see this creepy guy looking at us. I say "look there's this ugly creepy guy looking over here." One of my colleagues says, "That's my fiancé ". He comes over, and I want to sink through the floor.
#21
About 15 years ago in college I fell asleep in class. The sound of my own fart woke me up. I still think about it sometimes.
Mental health professionals from BetterHelp offer these helpful tips to deal with embarrassment if you experience a humiliating moment:
- Understand that the moment is in the past.
- Know that you don't need to apologize for feeling embarrassed.
- Talk to someone about your feelings.
- Learn to find humor in the situation.
- Understand that fear can be normal.
- Understand that perfection usually isn’t possible.
#22
I was looking at IG stories while I was super tired one night. My friend’s wife had about 20. I finished them and wanted to comment on the one with the two of them and their 2 children. I accidentally went back too far and commented on the one before it which was a picture of her in a bathing suit. I commented “those two are special. Can’t wait to see them again”. It was just her face and her chest.
#23
I had a first date after a random hook up where we had planned to cook dinner together. We had decided to try to make pasta but I had just moved to a new apartment and did not have an edge to hook the pasta machine to. I was so nervous I kept messing up. The date kinda petered out and my date left. I lived on the 2nd and 3rd story of an old Victorian with balconies. I realized we had not taken the squash out of the oven and in a desperate attempt to rekindle the date I yelled down to my date, “We forgot the squash!” To which he replied “Throw it down!” I was so thrilled that he wanted to somehow reverse Romeo the night in a kooky fashion that I enthusiastically threw down the squash. He ran and then turned around in utter disbelief. To which I realized he had actually replied, “Throw it out.”
#24
A few years ago I was stalking this guy I dated BRIEFLY like 15 years prior, and accidentally tagged myself as his girlfriend in his FB profile photo. My phone would not let me untag and I had to wait until I got home to my computer to do it. By the time I got to it I was blocked.
If there’s one thing I have learned from all this, it’s that we are all human. No matter what we do, we are going to experience such humiliating moments at some point in our lives. And laughing over them, rather than dreading that they happened, might actually help. Don’t you agree?
#25
When i was 24 years old i decided to txt my ex, Dave to tell him “you’re the only guy who makes me laugh and makes me excited”. I’d had a few drinks at the time so seemed a good idea. Imagine my horror the next morning when i found out id accidentally texted my 70 year old driving instructor also called Dave. My mate in work nearly peed herself from laughing that day.
#26
I once saw a post with a load of hunky lifeguards and it said "excuse me, i forgot how to swim". I wrote underneath it "this is my fantasy lol" but for some ungodly reason, the comment didnt attach to that post and went to a post underneath which was a photo of my friend's very poorly baby in an incubator. I had no idea until she messaged asking if I had been on the wine. I still get a flush of panic.
#27
how about i tagged myself by accident in a family photo w his parents brother and his new WIFE.
Anyway, dear pandas, that's it from our end. Which one of these was relatable? Which ones made you laugh the loudest? And which ones gave you second-hand embarrassment? Give them an upvote or share your thoughts in the comments! Also, if this list made you crack up, then you should definitely check out these funny fails people shared online just to cope!
#28
At an event when I was in high school, I was talking about some guy and it was one of those moments where it got quiet and I was like "he's behind me isn't he?" and he WAS, but then a few hours later I was retelling the story to someone about how that guy was behind me when I was talking about him and as I was telling that story HE WAS RIGHT THERE AGAIN.
#29
A guy I was crushing on once said to me “be a good girl” and I said “okay” not realizing until after he was talking to my dog. Neither of us ever addressed it.
#30
I sent a joke text with a picture of a really gaudy fuchsia pink satin bed spread with ruffles, matching canopy and pillows, etc with the caption "I want you to take my virginity on this" to who I thought was the guy I was seeing at the time. My dad replied "what the hell? ".
#31
The guy who i really wanted to be my man, got married and his wife friended me. When I asked her why, she said since I watched all her stories we might as well be friends.
#32
texted my sister "I'm being held hostage" along with pic of me nursing my baby that fell asleep nursing... except she didn't get the picture so she called the police and they showed up with like 3 cars.
#33
One time I was having a yard sale and an old man was looking at this tiny box I was selling and we were chit chatting. I was trying to say he could put his “do dads” in the box but instead I said he could put his “go nads” in the box mortifying.
#34
I sent “I think I’m falling in love with him again” to him instead of my friend. He immediately replied “you know you sent that to me right?” - but I had already buried myself under the couch cushions and vanished.
#35
On my first day of my period, my cup was full and I was just taking it out. My diva cup slipped out of my hand and flew under the divider into the next stall, and this woman SCREAMEDD like she’d seen a ghost. I heard her scrambling to get out, and I just sat there in complete silence, listening to her wash her hands and leave. I waited another 10 minutes because there was no way I was walking out of there as the menstrual cup bandit. I never used a diva cup again...
#36
I got a massive tattoo when I was 17-18. It took a good few sessions to do. The tattooist was 38 and had a crush on me which was gross because I was 17 when I first started going to him. I accidentally text HIM insteadn of my friend after a session saying, "I can't wait until it's finished so I never have to see him again. He gives me the creeps, I only go because he doesn't charge me every time." Guy was actually a good sport and finished it for me, did a great job still but the awful innuendos and gross flirting stopped. And yes, he charged me full price each session after the text.
#37
I sent a pic to my mother in law of my husband napping in bed with the kids, two weeks later my father in law told my husband that they saw an adult toy on the nightstand in the photo
Literally ended me.
#38
I once firmly and confidently slapped my brother in law right on the behind. I thought he was my husband. They look nothing alike and were not even remotely dressed the same.
#39
two days into my new leadership job, our director heard me outside his office and said, "hey, H, you got a sec?" wanting to be seen as an enthusiastic team player, i loudly and quickly replied, "i have lots of secs!!!" i work in a public library, it's very quiet in admin, and every director and manager heard me.
#40
Saw that a couple from high school was getting divorced so I went back to their 2010 wedding photos and I shared it… the dude messaged me and was like what the hell is wrong with you.
#41
Okay so I do hair, so I used to cut 3 year old twins hair and when I went to go trim the girls hair I had never seen her wear these glasses before. So when she took them off, she went cross eyed... And I go, “are YOU being silly with me!!!” And I made a funny face back lolllll- I thought a 3 year old was making funny faces at me. So the mom completely ignores me and moves on. I later go in the back room to tell the story. One of the girls in the back happened to cut the dads hair and said “OMG/ they’re premie babies Lisa they’re almost blind without their glasses!”
#42
I was at my friend's family's big BBQ having a good time () was standing in a hallway with my husband talking to everyone in the living room I snuck out to pee came back to where my husband was and slapped his behind and grabbed it...only to realize my husband had moved and it was my friends uncle I gave a real good slap and grab too..I was horrified but we all had a good laugh about it all night.
#43
I was at the movie theatre with my best friend and we both had to use the restroom. I knew she was in the stall beside me because of the shoes she was wearing. To play a joke I reached under the stall to grab her foot and a random woman wearing the SAME SHOES screamed. I cried and left the theatre.
#44
I was at a bus stop, this cute guy was studying and he said he went to GCU …so trying to be cool I lied and said yea me too. But then he started asking me specific questions that I obviously didn’t know. So when he clocked it, the vibe got super awkward so I left all frazzled and started walking. But all I did was just walk to the next bus stop so when the bus came he was already on it and I had to just disassociate the whole ride home.
#45
My family went out to a giant Fun Center type of place with an arcade, pizza, bowling, ropes course, etc. It was super crowded and we were struggling to find a table. We spotted a family about to leave and asked if we could snag their table while they were packing up. We sort of rushed them out of their spot, so they didn't bother bussing the table which included a half of a pizza. No biggie. While we were sitting there trying to figure out what to do next, and all incredibly hungry, we shamefully decided to finish off their pizza. It looked untouched and the line for food was a mile long...why waste good food? After finishing the pizza, we split up: some to the arcade, some to the food line, etc. My sister stayed at the table to save it and hold my baby. It had been a good fifteen minutes since the previous family left. Well... You guessed it: the dad came back with a pizza box hoping to pack up his leftovers. My sister just shrugged and said "yup...sorry." I vanish every time I think about this and thank God I wasn't the one sitting there. I would have passed away, for sure. @noyesjodi.
#46
I once picked up a purse in a store, tried it on and walked around with it while I contemplated buying it. It belonged to another customer.
#47
I was trying to post an updated photo to my LinkedIn and accidentally selected of a photo of me standing in front of the mirror in my bra and underwear to see if my workouts were making a difference.
#48
In college, my fiancé and I were long-distance for a few months. She wanted me to send her a text detailing how I’d kiss her. (You see where this is going…) I type out this loooong “spicey” text, and hit *SEND.
A few hours later, I think to myself “man she hasn’t responded. Was it that bad?” So I check my phone and realize I sent it to my DAD! (The days before delete existed). He had a good laugh.
#49
When my husband and I got married- my girlfriends and I got him this terribly awful but perfect crocodile thong for his bachelor party as a gag gift- it perfectly hugged a guys “shape” if you know what I mean. So it was about 2-3 days after my husband opened his gift and we had the picture of the model guy wearing it pulled up on my phone laughing together.
While we were on our way to the Verizon phone store to get my phone transferred over to his name…I forgot to close off that tab. So minutes later the guy grabs my phone to help upload something in my settings- THE THONG PIC PULLS UP. He goes “oops- here you go.” And gives it back and all I see is this ALLIGATOR ding a ling pic and im mortified. My husband was undone!!!! We tried to explain the story but it was 100% awkward.
#50
Hubby got me a kindle to read all my smutty minotaur books and *ahem* alone time novellas on. I had no idea it uploaded what I read to my goodreads. All our church friends saw everything I read.
#51
I was showing my husband the fb profile pic of a weird guy I worked with in the past. He never did anything to me but just gave creepy vibes. My husband is not tech savvy so I was holding the phone and showing him, refused to let him hold the phone. He kept telling me he's not an idiot and to just let him have a good look and hold the phone, I told him don't tap anything don't touch the screen. He handed me the phone back, he had somehow tagged my sister in this guys profile pic and shared his pic on my profile. I tried so quickly to rectify things but the guy had already noticed. Wanted to vanish.
#52
When Instagram first started, I thought it was a photo editing app and edited some photos of me in a bra and underwear tryna be cute. I guess when I hit finish on the edits. It was actually posting them. My sister from New York got a message from her male coworker, asking why I was posting lingerie online.
#53
Was stalking and tagged my grandma in his Facebook profile pic. 6 years later and it still says ‘with (grandma)’.
#54
I was on vacation one time… Sitting in a luxurious bubble bath. I meant to send a pic of my toes to my family group chat sticking out of the tub with the pretty view but accidentally sent the un cropped version… with my bush.
#55
I had two contractors in my studio to start renovations. I had my phone facing them while I was talking, so I want this blah blah. It went on for ages before I realised it was a pic of some man pushing his tiddie fat together like a cleavage. I said oh OH, Its not me by the way, its a man, I dont know him. Then carried on describing the work I needed. There was already a language barrier so this whole thing didn't help. Hahahahha.
#56
When I first got Facebook - I “searched” for a lad I had a crush on in school. Turns out I didn’t SEARCH his name was my first ever Facebook status for weeks.
#57
A guy in work was well known for being a bit greedy with communal food, so when he took the last cake after already having 2 or 3, I emailed my friend with 'I wanted that cake ' except I didn't email her, I emailed him because his name was in my head when typing.... He instantly read it and turned round to look at me so I just laughed and he laughed too as if it was all a private joke, but to this day I still think about it, a good 15 years on.
#58
A long time ago, my husband ordered a pizza. The delivery guy came, and my husband gave him his credit card, then the delivery guy handed him the receipt and a pen to sign. My husband gave him back the receipt, and the delivery guy put out his hand again and my husband shook it. The delivery guy was like “no, my pen”.
#59
One time I texted an emotional paragraph about my divorce to the pest control guy on accident.
#60
I went on a date one time with two completely different boots
The whole date I didn’t notice.. I had been checking which ones to wear when he showed up and forgot to pick one PAIR.
#61
My coworked posted a pic of a tattoo, i tought It was one of those "top 10 worst tattoos", i commented "lmao that's so ugly"...It was hers.
#62
I work in a library. A girl tried to hand me 6 dvds over the counter and my computer screen. They all fell into my face as she was awkwardly holding them with one hand. I mumbled something along the lines of ‘maybe it’s better to use both hands next time’ with a wink and she promptly answered me ‘i only have one’.
#63
I was in a very crowded pizza place waiting in line to order and there were two lines, one to order and the other for pickup. A man walks in and goes to the pickup line and all I saw was the back of him but I was so certain it was my brother so naturally I went up to him and pushed him from behind. Like I basically decked him from behind. I thought it would be a funny way of surprising him but then he turned around and it was not my brother, it was a stranger. I had to apologize and explain to him that I thought he was my brother. Thankfully he was nice. Mind you this was in front of the entire pizza place and everybody saw it.
#64
Just today I Accidentally attached a Cardi B music video in the bottom of an email to a client somehow it got pasted after I had sent the link to my friend.
#65
I was breastfeeding my newborn and I used to record videos of him nursing and I accidentally one to my story and then fell asleep.
#66
I had been seeing a guy for several weeks and although we hadn’t said we were exclusive, he made comments that led me to believe that we were. I later found out that he had been seeing someone else, got her pregnant, and had a quick wedding. I saw him approximately a year later at a bar and felt indignant, walking up to him and wanting him to know that I was fully aware of what he had done, smugly saying, “how is your wife and baby?” His response? “Stillborn.” It’s been over 20 years and I have yet to recover.
#67
I was creeping on my ex’s wife’s instagram when they were on their honeymoon and accidentally saw a story 2 minutes after she posted it she immediately made her profile private.
#68
While at work I was skype chatting with a female colleague and messaged "my chest has ESP, they can tell when it's going to rain" - a misquote from Mean Girls. Except that I actually sent it to the company director, a man I barely knew. I was absolutely horrified, apologised profusely and assumed I'd be in trouble. As it turned out he just asked me for weather reports every time we spoke after that.
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