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Having a PhD or being a well-known expert in your field doesn’t make you immune to embarrassment. Even the best of us get into awkward situations that make us blush, no matter if we’re rocket scientists by day or brain surgeons by night—we’re all human, after all.

That’s what Twitter user Herne_TheHunter, aka Dean, wanted to show the world by sharing their facepalm-worthy story. Their embarrassing situation inspired other intelligent people to share their own awkward and cringy situations that you’re bound to relate to just like us, dear Pandas. Scroll down, upvote your fave tweets, and share your most embarrassing experiences in the comments.

Bored Panda spoke to Dean about their embarrassing sock incident and went into detail about how best to react to awkward situations. "Did I mention it was a Boba Fett sock? It was a Boba Fett sock…” Read on for the full interview!

Image credits: Herne_TheHunter

Dean is a 39-year-old doctor with two degrees, is a member of a Royal College, and had a sock up their shirt sleeve all morning. This is so relatable that the thread went viral on Twitter, getting over 113k likes and 7.3k retweets and comments.

“I certainly didn’t expect such a big reaction. Most of my tweets get a handful of likes and I’m frankly grateful for that much of a response. I’m not really sure why this one seemed to resonate with people. I’d guess it was because it gave everyone an opportunity to share their own silly oversights/mistakes,” Dean told us.

“Social media can often involve trying to look cool, or woke, or knowledgeable so maybe it was refreshing to be able to present the other side of things for a change?” they wondered about why the thread became so popular.

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“I’m mainly working from home at the moment as most of my job is as a psychotherapist and we’ve been able to switch to remote working during the COVID-19 situation. As such, it was a little unusual for me to have to actually put full work clothes on and pop into the hospital for a bit,” Dean said.

“Clearly, I was out of practice at getting dressed as when I reached for my coffee later on that morning, I felt a strange, furry sensation around my elbow. I had to undo a couple of shirt buttons to retrieve what turned out to be a stray sock (having double-checked all Teams calls had ended). I didn’t actually mention it to anybody at work directly: we’re socially distanced at the moment so I would have had to actively seek them out, which might have felt a bit weird."

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have lost my phone while it has been in my hand. Looked all over for it. Realized I was holding it

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Jeannie Carle
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have done that!~ LOL Also searched for my phone while talking on it.

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AzKhaleesi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a teen my grandfather who was normally a VERY even tempered man got super frustrated at why he couldn't figure out some math on his calculator after I had asked him how much a contestant would have to pay in taxes on something (we were watching a game show). He started getting super upset and even yelling, I then burst out laughing so hard I couldn't speak which stopped him and I had to be the one to tell him it was the television remote. And no .... he did not have dementia or anything he had all his faculties. Hence the laughing.

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Spikey Bunny
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes we just get frazzled. I almost answered a hot iron once... luckily I stopped just before it hit my face.

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Cecilia Cheung
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom (a legal secretary) has done that more than once, and vice versa 🙄

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Seanette Blaylock
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've done things like that. Yes, remote control apps do exist, but I don't have any installed. I've also done things like try to use my car remote to unlock my front door or my mailbox.

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Isabel Care
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When digital tv first appeared I set up the video, dvd, tv, digi box etc for my mum and a few of her friends. I labelled the plugs and all the remotes so they had a chance to find the right ones. Blokes I know refused the labels and threw a lot of remotes at the walls coz they "didn't work"

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MH3
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I tried to change the TV channel with my cordless phone handset. I even gave the handset a push toward the TV when I realized it felt heavy in my hand. Unfortunately my husband saw what I was doing and he loves to tell this story to dinner guests.

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backatya
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once I had called tech support because I wasn't getting any channels. I then realized my son turned off the cable box and not the TV the night before...

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MsKestrela
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There's a app that turns your phone into a universal remote...

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Steve Cruz
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But have you ever picked up the remote, left the house, wanted to make a call and realized you didn't have your phone? Me neither.

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Thomas Turnbull
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I spent 10 minutes looking for the remote and it was in my hand. I once through by car keys in the trash along with some rubbish I had picked up it took me half an hour to discover where they had gon to and I was late for work. I had spare car keys but did not want to lose the lost ones as they had house keys as well.

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Johanne Trudeau
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband answered the remote one evening instead of the phone... So yeah, I can understand

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Mike Rodrick
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was walking through the house looking for my phone while it was in my hand.

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Carole Hamilton
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

so many times I am looking frantically for my phone, which I know I had moments ago, only to realise I am talking to someone on it. Also turning circles round and round trying to find the phone to answer it, only to realize it's in my back pocket.

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Caroline Overill
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've done the other way round and gone to make a call on the remote

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Suzanne Clark
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My husband tries to turn on the TV using the remote control for the fireplace. Sometimes I don't tell him, it's better than watching what's on TV anyway.

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Demongrrrrl
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My boss once thought his sleek new phone was his cordless mouse. Started cursing loudly before realizing his mistake. Then he we t

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Esca Sav
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I went to run on my treadmill and couldn't figure out how to plug in my headphones into my phone... Took me a solid five minutes to realized it was not my phone, it was my T-84 calculator...

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Dean and everyone else’s stories illustrate that even the mightiest and most accomplished adults who have 200+ IQ and play 5D chess can make blunders. Making mistakes is a part of life, however, it’s also important to know how to react to embarrassing situations.

According to Dean, embarrassment can be tricky to handle. “I immediately thought of a couple of situations that still make me squirm from my past. If it’s something inconsequential, like a sock up your sleeve, then it might be a useful opportunity to remember you’re human and to puncture any pomposity that might have snuck up on you. For more serious or significant situations, I think the best advice I can give would be to talk about it when you feel safe and ready to do so.”

Dean added that he wants to use the opportunity while he has the internet’s attention to do some good in the world and point people towards his friend’s social enterprise that employs survivors of domestic abuse to make flowers out of recycled paper.

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mph seti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's wise to invest in a daylight balanced LED lightbulb for your bedroom/closet (wherever you keep your clothes and get dressed). Then, you'll be unlikely to mix up dark blues and blacks.

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Dee Hunter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aaah, the famous gift mouse. My cat once brought me half a mouse. She kindly left it out on the (dark) balcony. Came home after work, kicked shoes/socks off, went to the balcony for a smoke ...

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have done something similar. I was having a breast lump removed as an outpatient and I arrived in plenty of time, got to the right department and 'checked in' at reception. The receptionist said they had no record of an appointment for me. I knew I was there on the right date/time etc and luckily had the original letter with me to prove it. I showed her the letter, she read it and pointed out I was at the WRONG HOSPITAL. They were very good though, they phoned through and asked them to give me a later appointment so I could travel the 20 miles and be seen that day. What an idiot I am lol!

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Both as stupid as each other, why wouldn't you notice a complete stranger coming in and working for you??

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Kate Yeti
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Coworker of mine once did that with every changing room mirror in our store. 409 instead of Windex. It was a nightmare.

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#30

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GirlFriday
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do you spend 90 minutes on make up? I am a fully formed adult female and when not in quarantine I wear make up daily. I don't know how to make a make-up routine last 90 minutes. Even if I move at a sloth's pace, it would still only 15 minutes.

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