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“I Feel Extremely Dumb”: 20 Hilarious Stories Of Moments When People Seriously Messed Up
Life is unpredictable. And you never know when a normal day is going to turn into the most embarrassing moment of your life. When this does happen, regret immediately sets in, and you likely want nothing more than to just turn back time for a couple of minutes. But as difficult as it may be, we have to accept our mistakes. And if you’re lucky, that embarrassing moment will someday become a hilarious story.
We’ve gathered a list of tales from the TIFU community on Reddit about some of the worst mistakes people have made. We’ll warn you right now that these stories might give you severe second-hand embarrassment, but they’re great reminders that nobody’s perfect. Enjoy making your way through this list, pandas, and be sure to upvote the mishaps that would have left you absolutely mortified!
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#1
My girlfriend and I just moved in together, and I had the brilliant idea to wake up early last weekend and make her breakfast in bed. Real wholesome stuff.
I made pancakes, scrambled eggs, coffee. Even warmed the plates like I saw in some Gordon Ramsay video. I was proud. I get everything onto a tray and start walking up the stairs.
What I didn’t realize is that our cat had left one of her little rubber mouse toys right on the third step. One of those tiny bastard ones that looks like lint until it's under your foot. I step on it. Instantly lose my footing. Tray launches. Food is airborne. I go down like a sack of wet laundry. Pancakes fly. Coffee explodes on the wall. I hit the bottom of the stairs in a twisted pile of regret and syrup.
My girlfriend runs out of the bedroom like she just heard a home invasion. She finds me groaning on the floor, holding my wrist, with a pancake stuck to my back like some kind of domestic shuriken. I tell her I think I broke something. We go to the ER. X-rays confirm: fractured wrist.
The nurse doesn’t even react when I explain what happened. Just writes it down and moves on like she’s heard this exact story before, which honestly makes it worse. Now my wrist is in a brace, my girlfriend has banned “surprises of any kind,” and the cat is still loose, presumably planning her next attack. 10/10 would not recommend. TL;DR: Tried to be sweet, stepped on a cat toy, flew down the stairs, broke my wrist, and now I’m banned from being thoughtful.
MystyMoonShadow 14 hours ago
Sorry but did lol 😆 hope you're ok and learned a lesson....hahaha
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#2
So my boss brought his dog to the office. Cute golden retriever named Max. Everyone was petting him, giving him treats, whatever. I stayed chill. I don’t trust dogs that trust everyone.
Then lunchtime hit. I was having a rough day. I sat in the break room alone, eating sad pasta and listening to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. Max walks in. Looks at me. Lays his head on my lap like he knows.
I start talking to him. Not baby talk like full-on “life’s hard bro, huh?” type beat. He sighs. For 20 minutes we just sit there in mutual emotional exhaustion. I think I cried a little. Anyway.
Now he follows me around the office. Growls at HR. Tries to get in my car when I leave. Today he brought me his leash. My boss is annoyed. His wife says Max sleeps near the door now and “seems distant.” I think I emotionally hijacked their family dog. Do I return him? Or is this joint custody now?
TL;DR: Had a sad moment in the break room, boss’s dog comforted me, and now he emotionally imprinted on me. Dog might be mine now.
#3
It all started innocently enough. I saw a lone crow in my yard and tossed it a cracker. Harmless, right? Wrong.
That single act of kindness seems to have spread through the crow grapevine, and now I have a full-blown murder of crows as my constant companions.
Every morning, I step outside, and they’re there—perched in nearby trees, cawing like they’re clocking into their day jobs. They follow me on walks, and yesterday one even dropped a shiny gum wrapper at my feet. I think they’re trying to pay me in crow currency, which is both endearing and slightly unnerving.
At this point, I’ve accepted my new role as their unofficial snack provider and accidental overlord. I’m genuinely curious to see where this goes. Maybe I’ll end up with a crow army or a collection of shiny gifts. Either way, it’s a wild ride, and I’m here for it.
TL;DR: Tossed a cracker to one crow; now there’s a whole squad treating me like their leader. My mornings involve cawing, shiny gifts, and embracing the chaos.
#4
This happened 2 hours ago and I am still hiding under my blanket.
I was in a massive all-hands meeting (about 40 people) for a project launch. Usually, I keep my mic hard-muted on my headset, but today I was eating lunch, so I was double-muted (software mute + headset mute). Or so I thought.
About 45 minutes in, the Project Manager was explaining a delay in the timeline. I, thinking I was safe in my cocoon of silence, let out a very loud, very deep sigh and muttered, "Oh my god, just get to the point, nobody cares." The audio didn't just pick it up. Because of the way Teams/Zoom prioritizes active speakers, my face popped up on the main screen for a split second.
The silence was deafening. The PM paused for a solid 5 seconds. Nobody said anything. He just... continued.
I slowly reached up and tapped my headset. It beeped. "Mute On." It had been off the whole time I have not checked my Slack messages. I am considering faking my own death and moving to a farm.
TL;DR: Thought I was double-muted during a major stakeholder meeting, accidentally sighed and told the PM to "get to the point" in front of 40 people. Now I am afraid to open Slack.
#5
So this happened yesterday and I’m still cringing so hard I might never step into that gym again.
I (22F) recently started going to this new gym, and there’s this insanely cute guy who works out around the same time as me. I’ve been trying to find the courage to talk to him for a couple of weeks.
Yesterday, I finally decided it was time. I saw him doing deadlifts and I thought, “okay, casual compliment, easy in.” So I walked by, smiled, and said, “Your lats are majestic.” Wtf? Majestic?? What was i thinking(???) Idk why I said that. I meant to say “You’re lifting a lot” or “Nice form” or literally anything else. He looked confused, said “uh… thanks?” and I panicked and decided to just walk away and die in the locker room.
While trying to speed-walk away in embarrassment, I tripped over a medicine ball someone left in the way, my face-planted into the floor, and I knocked the wind out of myself so hard I couldn’t breathe for like 20 seconds. A trainer saw it happen, thought I was having a heart attack, and started actual CPR protocol before I could wheeze out “I’m fine.” That same cute guy helped hold my legs up while I got oxygen. Pretty sure I died inside.
Anyway, now I’m the “CPR girl” at the gym. And yes, I still plan to go back (I cannot).
TL;DR: Tried to flirt with hot guy at the gym, said something incomprehensible, tripped, and ended up getting nearly resuscitated in front of him.
LinkTheHylian 12 hours ago
I've been waiting for her to come back. And yes, my lats are majestic.
#6
I'm from Eastern Europe, a country where there's no such tradition.
I'm currently in the US, and my friend was throwing a baby shower for her cousin. I didn't think to google what it was and assumed she'd already given birth. So, I thought it's some weird American tradition where you have to bathe a baby for the first time.
I thought it was really weird, but I didn't ask because I didn't want to be rude. I brought some baby shower gel as a gift, thinking I was doing everything right, but then I came home and saw she was pregnant.
I had a 404 error in my brain, and now her relatives are making fun of me. I really thought it was like you come and they bathe the baby for the first time, symbolizing the beginning of something or milestone, but I didn't understand why they would invite a bunch of people, including those you don't know.
TL;DR: I took the "baby shower" literally and now my friend's relatives are laughing at me. I feel extremely dumb
#7
Couple of years ago I think like 2 years ago i needed to bring something to Thanksgiving at my aunt's house I simply googled "easy impressive dish" and made this bacon wrapped jalapeno thing. Took me 20 min ish.
Everyone lost their minds. My uncle said it was the best thing he had ever eaten. People asked for the recipe I felt like a master chef.
Now I have to make them at every gathering. I don't really even like them anymore I've made hundreds of those things. But I can't stop now.
Last year I said I might bring something different and my aunt said "nonono everyone looks forward to your jalapenos" my uncle looked at me like I had threatened to cancel the holiday. I'm about to make like 40 of them for Christmas I just realized what I have gotten my self into. I will forever be the holiday gathering jalapeno guy.
TL:DR made jalapeno poppers once from a random online recipe. This is who I am now. I am the jalapeno guy.
#8
It all started when my cat Schrödinger got sick a few days back.
This morning, when I was looking forward to a lazy day after two super busy ones, he started pooping blood again. So back go the vet we went. He’s fine, he just once again ate something he shouldn’t. It is that cat’s goal in life to find things on the floor he shouldn’t eat just so that he can eat them. Menace.
But while we were there, the vet enquired about his size, saying he was very large for his age. I explained that he was a Maine Coon, and that they get really big, and that his dad Hades had a really broad heavy bone structure and that Schrödinger had inherited it.
She just gave me a look and told me to watch his weight. And I just stood there for a second and then said “Well, you know, weight gain does run in my family.” The silence was deafening. Even Schrödinger looked up from his current position in the sink. Me: (sigh) “It’s OK. I heard it too. I’ll just see myself out.”
TL;DR: My cat got sick so I took him to the vet, where I accidentally implied he was my genetic relative.
#9
I was in Target with my 4-year-old daughter. I swung by the Starbucks for coffee. She asked for a lemonade and a snack. I saw they had lemonade refreshers- some with strawberries and some with acai. She got super excited, so I thought I’d get her a large strawberry lemonade refresher. She loved it and chugged the whole thing before I finished my coffee.
Well about 20-30 minutes later she is sprinting up and down the aisles, not listening to me and being generally difficult. She is a strong-willed child and what 4-year-old doesn’t have tons of energy… so I didn’t think much beyond it. I was getting frustrated though. My wife showed up a few minutes later and immediately noticed the wild child squeezing every stuffie she could fit into her tiny arms. She also noticed immediately the 2 drinks in the cart. She quizzed me on what I got her. Her face pretty much summed it up.
She knew right away that we had a child hopped up on caffeine. Apparently, Starbucks refreshers have about 45-55 mg of caffeine in them. I had no idea. Through my ignorance she got her first boost. Well, suffice it to say, one tantrum later, we were headed home.
TLDR; Starbucks puts caffeine in Lemonade and I gave it to a small child.
Charlie Tuna 13 hours ago
My daughter worked for Starbucks and would come home wired everyday but she said she didn't drink coffee. Turns out she drank lots of the Refreshers and didn't think they had caffeine. We had to go to the Starbucks website and show her. :-)
#10
So, this happened yesterday when I was taking my daughter to the hospital for a kidney checkup.
I’ve been an amputee for over a decade, so you’d think I’d have the whole security thing down by now. But apparently, my brain just decided to take a vacation.
I walk up to security, toss my keys and phone into the bin on the conveyor, tell my daughter to go first, and then confidently stride through like I own the place. BEEP. The security guard looks up. “Step back and try again.”Weird, but okay. I step back, walk through again. BEEP. Now, I’m standing there, confused as hell, while the guard eyes me suspiciously.
“You got anything in your pocket?” I slap my thighs, trying to be helpful. “Nope!” He frowns. “Any metal implants?” “Nope!” I say, like a dummy.
Me and the guard just stare at each other. My daughter stares at me. The lady in line behind us stares at me. Then it finally hits me. Oh. Right. I don’t have a right leg.
I start laughing like an idiot and lift my pant leg, showing off my prosthetic. The security guy shakes his head like he’s seen it all, and my daughter just looked like “Yep, that’s my dad”.
Long story short, I get the usual wand scan and pat-down while my kid shakes her head in disappointment. Meanwhile, the lady behind me in line is absolutely losing it. So yeah.
TL;DR: TIFU by forgetting that I have a metal leg and unintentionally making a hospital security guard’s day a little more difficult.
#11
So, I'm Vietnamese, but I've been in the US since I was six. Just got back to Nam, feeling all nostalgic and stuff.
Decided to grab a milk coffee from a street vendor. Looked innocent enough, big plastic cup, tasted pretty good. Big mistake. I drank the whole thing. Every last drop.
Now, I've smoked the devil's lettuce, I've even hit thuốc lào (Vietnamese pipe tobacco) – thought I was tough. But this coffee? This was on another level.
My heart started doing a goddamn drum solo. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I swear I was seeing sounds and hearing colors. It felt like I'd mainlined pure anxiety.
Ended up in the hospital, looking like a total dummy. Pretty sure the doctors just laughed at the Americanized kid who couldn't handle his coffee. They hooked me up to an IV and told me to chill the out. Seriously, Vietnamese coffee ain't coffee; it's a goddamn recreational substance. Never again. My heart's still trying to escape my chest. Vietnamese coffee is messed up.
TL;DR: chugged street coffee, hospitalized by caffeine overdose.
#12
So it's 11 PM, dark outside, and I head out to pick up some late dinner. After 15 steps out of my apartment I see a girl dressed in all black reaching into my neighbor's window with all the lights off.
Additionally, I noticed they took off the window screen and had it laying on the ground. I asked them "are you good?", to which they only replied with a weird arm gesture without saying anything at all.
Spidey senses were tingling at this point and I just kept walking to my car. Something important to mention is that in my general area, there is a good share of addicts and homeless people - though she definitely didn't look homeless so I assumed the former.
At this point alarm sirens were going off in my head, especially since she was so close to my own apartment. I called 911 and reported a possible break-in, described the details, and went on my way to pick up dinner.
15 minutes later when I get back, 2 policemen are at the door. I ask them what happened, and one of them says, laughingly, "she was a daughter trying to sneak out." I can't put into words the embarrassment that came crashing over me. The lights were out and she didn't say anything to not wake anyone up. She probably just wanted a night with her boyfriend or whatever and I completely ruined it.
TL;DR - Neighbor's daughter was trying to sneak out at night and at the moment it looked like a break-in to me, so I called 911. Regret ensues
#13
So this morning I was in a rush and half-asleep when I got a sweet “good morning” text from my girlfriend. I wanted to respond with something flirty and cute, so I typed, “Good morning, babe 😘 can’t wait to see you later. I’ve been thinking about you all night 😏❤️.”
I hit send and threw my phone down, proud of my smoothness. Five minutes later, I got a reply… from my boss. Turns out I had opened my boss’s text from earlier in the day and replied in that thread instead. She responded, “I… don’t think this message was meant for me.”
Cue immediate panic. I apologized profusely, trying to explain the mix-up, but I’ve been dying of secondhand embarrassment all day. Worst part? We had a Zoom meeting that afternoon and she couldn’t stop smirking.
TL;DR: I tried to send a flirty text to my girlfriend but accidentally sent it to my boss. Now I have to live with that forever.
#14
I booked an international flight with one change in a major city. I decided a few days later that I wanted to spend the night in that city before carrying on. I called the airline but they said my basic fare couldn't be changed. Oh well, I thought, I really want that extra night to visit family, and if it can't be changed then so be it.
So I skipped the second segment of my flight and found another flight the next day. This was one week ago. Supposed to go home tomorrow but couldn't check in. Turns out that if you no show you forfeit ALL REMAINING FLIGHTS on the booking.
I need to get back. Just spent £5k booking new homeward flights. Anyone commenting, I would love to know if you knew about this. Did you learn it the hard way? TL;DR, I didn't know about the no show rule and it cost me £5k ETA: The £5k was a panic buy and was for two people anyway. Luckily that was a flexible fare, so I have now changed for something closer to £2k. Lesson learned though!
#15
I ordered some groceries for delivery and went on a quick run before people get crazy. I ended up getting back just as the delivery person was there who happened to be a pretty cute girl.
I said, “hey I’ve just gotta run in and grab my Id” so I run in and leave the door slightly open. I asked her if there was anything else but she didn’t seem to under stand me so I asked where she was from and she says Venezuela and I’m like “ok cool, have a good day” and she says “bye, you too”.
She goes to leave and turns the corner. Just as she turns the corner my cat, who ran out when the door was open, comes running around a different corner. I tell my cat: 'Girl, get yo butt over here' to which the delivery girl yells back around the corner “No, I said bye!”
TL;DR: Told my cat to come to me and the delivery girl thought I was talking to her.
#16
Not today, but a few years ago.
My family and I went to Disney World and did the 3-day, 3-park thing. We've never been and this was a first large trip for a park.
We started off at Animal Kingdom and like always, Florida was hitting 90 degrees with brutal humidity. It was still 50 degrees back at home so we were all instantly melting out there.
About 20 minutes in to walking the park, we saw a cart sitting in the middle of the walkway with a big tub of ice water but no worker in sight. I asked my dad how we get them and he either joking or seriously said, They're free with the admission, just grab one".
I took that at face value and ran up and grabbed a bottle for each of us. While I was doing that, another family came up and asked how much they were. I obviously didn't know so I just repeated what my dad said "They're free!". They started grabbing bottles too. Then a third family saw all of us helping ourselves and grabbed bottles too. One by one, people trickled in and grabbed a bottle for themselves.
30 bottles later and more people walking up, the cart attendant finally shows up and starts asking for money to the new family that joined the hydration heist. We were still standing nearby enjoying our ice cold stolen water and quickly walked off pretending it never happened.
TL;DR Family and I went to Disney World and accidentally started a water bottle looting spree because my father told me they were "Free with admission" and I passed this info on to other innocent families.
#17
so this happened like 2 days ago and I’m still dying inside.
For context, I (m24) just started a new job last month. things have been going well, everyone’s cool, and my manager (f30s) is super friendly. Maybe a little too friendly? She laughs at my jokes, compliments my outfits, brings me snacks sometimes?? Idk I started thinking maybe she was lowkey into me.
So on Monday she comes by my desk and goes “you always smell so nice, what cologne is that?” And I kinda panic-flirted and said “well I’m glad you noticed, it’s called ‘desperation." Immediately I realized what I said. She just blinked and went “…ok then” and walked away.
Later I got a Slack from her that just said “please be mindful of professional boundaries” and I swear I ascended out of my body I’ve spent the past 48 hours rethinking every single interaction we’ve had. I might actually die of cringe
TL;DR: thought my boss was flirting, tried to flirt back with a dumb cologne joke, now I’m probably on an HR watchlist
d b 12 hours ago
As a woman, I would not be comfortable of a male boss complimented me on my clothing or perfume, and would wonder exactly what OP is wondering---is this person implying attraction? Awkward when there is an imbalance of power. Not sure why the boss sent a professional boundaries message when she is low-key violating those boundaries herself...best to keep the compliments to appreciating the work being done.
#18
Had a rough week and really needed a mental break, so I called in sick on a Friday to get a long weekend. I didn’t plan anything wild just wanted to relax, clear my head, and catch a matinee movie without distractions.
So, I threw on a hoodie and sunglasses, feeling like a low-key celebrity trying to avoid recognition, grabbed some popcorn, and settled into the theater for the 2PM show. As the trailers ended and the lights dimmed, I noticed someone sit two seats over. It was my boss. With his wife. Also apparently sick. We exchanged one awkward glance, didn’t say a word, and sat through the whole movie in silence. Monday at work? Super awkward. We just pretended nothing happened.
TL;DR: Called in sick, went to a movie, ran into my boss doing the exact same thing, and now Mondays are weird.
#19
My family and i moved into a new house in a predominantly white neighborhood in the southern US.
A while after we moved in, the vacant house next door finally got filled by a family! Now, we all have ADHD and just time blindness in general, so 2 months have gone by since they moved in and we just thought to bring over flowers and a fruit tray to welcome them.
We all went over to say hi, and noticed the father (the only one to come to the door) was laughing uncomfortably the whole time. A few hours later, I realized today is Juneteenth. The new neighbors are a black family. We are painfully white. There's no way they think we chose this day at random to bring them a fruit platter and flowers.
TL;DR: My white family likely alienated our black neighbors by choosing Juneteenth to welcome them to the neighborhood.
Serena Myers 14 hours ago
Not something I'd heard of before, apparently Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on 19th June to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. First celebrated in Texas, on that date in 1865 enslaved people were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. Apologies for my ignorance.
#20
So I have a cat. His name is Charlie. He’s playful, energetic, chaotic, and honestly acts like a chaotic tiger with commitment issues.
He flops on my bed every night, belly up, paws in the air, looking all cuddly like he wants affection. I fall for it. I rub his belly. Then he bites me like I just insulted his ancestors. Every. Time. So I started jokingly suplexing him onto the bed or the couch during our play sessions.
And I mean gently—I fully support his back, land him on soft surfaces, and only do it when he’s clearly in play mode (like chasing lasers, attacking pillows, or initiating cat jiu-jitsu on me). It became kind of our thing. Weird bonding, but it works.
Now here’s where I messed up. We have a second cat named Momo. He’s the total opposite of Charlie—introverted, stoic, basically a loaf with legs. You could pick him up, flip him upside down, and he’d just blink like a sad philosopher. He never reacts to anything.
One day, Charlie and Momo were napping together on the couch. Everything was calm. I, being the fool I am, decided it would be funny to suplex Charlie mid-snuggle. He lands like a champ (as usual), but then— Momo. Freaking. Snaps. This quiet little background character suddenly growls menacingly (for the first time in his LIFE), jumps up, and starts beating the hell out of Charlie after he just watched his blood brother get folded.
He chased Charlie down to the basement while I stood there wheezing and wondering what dark spirit I had awakened.
TLDR; TIFU by suplexing my cat and accidentally triggering a silent-cat revenge arc that might’ve been building for years.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 10 minutes ago
There have been times when I've scolded one of my cats for doing something they know they're not supposed to do, or times when two of them get into a little spat with each other and there's a lot of growling and yowling. Without fail, whenever another cat is getting "punished" in some way or another, my eldest cat, 9-year-old Kohl, runs over to check on the poor downtrodden cat and to "defend" them XD It's hilarious because she HATES all the other cats and would be perfectly happy if they all left her alone for the rest of her life. But the second one is beating up on another of them or I say "NO, do NOT eat that thing" to one, she's Super Defender Cat running to the rescue of the oppressed XD
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What do you think ?
Sue User 6 hours ago
My choice is : replay and night and cringe for next 30 years.
Load More Replies...
UnclePanda 9 hours ago (edited)
I was changing a tire in freezing rain in a restaurant parking lot when a dad and his screaming 3 year old boy walked by. "See Timmy? That guy is having a much worse day than you are." I like to think I earned some get-out-of-Purgatory-early-hours for not saying anything in that moment.
Fred 4 hours ago
I bet you were not levering off the tyre: that can be done only in a workshop with the appropriate machine. Changing a wheel is rather easier.
Load More Replies... Sue User 6 hours ago
My choice is : replay and night and cringe for next 30 years.
Load More Replies... UnclePanda 9 hours ago (edited)
I was changing a tire in freezing rain in a restaurant parking lot when a dad and his screaming 3 year old boy walked by. "See Timmy? That guy is having a much worse day than you are." I like to think I earned some get-out-of-Purgatory-early-hours for not saying anything in that moment.
Fred 4 hours ago
I bet you were not levering off the tyre: that can be done only in a workshop with the appropriate machine. Changing a wheel is rather easier.
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