30 Funny Conversations That People Overheard At University And Decided They’re Too Good Not To Share
We respect people’s privacy, so we tend to minimize the amount of eavesdropping and gossiping we do. However, sometimes we can’t help it—the things that we accidentally overhear are soooo good that we just can’t wait to share them with all of our friends and, well, everyone online. If you keep your ears open, you might hear the most hilarious and bizarre things echoing down the halls of your college or university. Higher education provides enough gossip-worthy tea and beans for spilling to keep us all entertained for days on end.
That’s where the super popular ‘Overheard University’ Instagram page comes in. It’s a spin-off account that sprouted to complement the massively successful ‘Overheard LA’ account that Jesse Margolis founded back in 2015. Since then, the ‘Overheard’ project has grown massively. We’ve collected some of the funniest things that were overheard at universities everywhere for your enjoyment, Pandas, so have a scroll down and upvote your favorite ones.
In the mood for some more ‘Overheard’ greatness? We’ve got you covered. Check out Bored Panda’s articles about ‘Overheard New York’ here and here, our recent features of ‘Overheard LA’ here and here, as well as our list of the best posts from ‘Overheard London’ right over here.
Bored Panda was interested to find out more about working at a university, so I reached out to Lisa McLendon, the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the coordinator of the Bremner Editing Center at the University of Kansas.
"It’s fun to be surrounded by people who are experts in a wide variety of topics. I learn so much from my colleagues all over campus, plus we have many interesting guest speakers who come to campus for lectures and workshops," Lisa shared with Bored Panda.
More info: Instagram | OverheardLA.com
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I think the fact that he reminded her that it wasn't the best choice for a guy to watch her drink actually shows he's a lot more open and/or kind than most.
The fact that women have to worry about leaving their drinks unattended in 2021 is just depressing and aggravating.
"I love working with students at all levels, helping to prepare them as they begin their journey into the world. As with any job, there are challenges, such as often having more work than time, and the bureaucratic aspects of working in a large organization," Lisa from the University of Kansas explained to Bored Panda some of the pros and cons of her job.
I also wanted to get Lisa's opinion about what kind of dynamic and relationship between university professors and students leads to the best academic results. In short, I was curious about the most effective way of teaching students. Hands-on teaching, practical projects, and professors willing to explain each step lead to the best outcomes.
First you have to learn to put your brain in gear before opening your mouth. Come back when you've mastered that.
Ohhh, I don't know...things like making more money than women, being taken seriously, not being treated like a sexual object or piece of property, being able to safely walk down a street at night...you know, little things. /S
Load More Replies...The Dunning-Kruger effect. The dumber or more ignorant (one is inborn while other is lack of information) the more likely you are to be overconfident and to make incorrect decisions. Conversely, it takes a loong time to work through the valley of decreasing confidence as you learn more before you start trusting yourself again. Use teenagers learning to drive. You instantly think you know it all and cause havoc. It takes about 10 years to get enough miles behind the wheel where you can trust yourself behind the wheel to make the right call. Not coincidentally, that's the age insurance premiums start coming down too. Its also why the guy who watched 1 Joe Rogan video thinks his opinion on COVID is true while Fauci words his statements in a likelihood "We are pretty sure of x". Fauci et al know enough to understand how many other factors go into it so you include that doubt.
Load More Replies..."Research has found by now that simply passing down knowledge isn’t the best way for students to learn in most cases. Professors have the expertise but—as the old journalism maxim says— 'show, don’t tell' is usually a more effective way to teach," Lisa said.
"Having students do projects, whether they’re semester-long or small enough to do in a class period, helps them learn skills and present their knowledge in a more meaningful way. Showing students how to do each step and then having them do it for themselves helps them retain the skill and gain confidence."
As a Canadian adult trying to further my education I'm currently paying just under 700 dollar a high school course. For the university program I want I'm currently looking at 7-10 thousand a year for tuition. I've looked at the same programs in the states and they are on par or cheaper (if you are a resident of said state). Not really sure where this idea that we have cheap or free education comes from.
It depends on the province. My daughter goes to college and we live in Quebec, the cost per session is less than $250 (administration fees) plus books which can be bought used directly from other students on an app they have (so the school doesn't make a profit of them). High school is free if you are under 18, if you are over 18 and want to finish high school, it's less than $100.
Load More Replies...Nothing is truly free, we pay high income taxes. I pay 30 and my spouse pays 50 per cent.
I was able to start my dream job after i had my economic freedom and faced with the fact that you can be an illustrator and still earn money to make a living :)
Sounds like me. I always look at my computer to confirm the date and day. 😆
Me at work everyday. Half the time I'm good knowing what month we are in.
Much of the ‘Overheard’ project’s success on Instagram can be explained by the hilarious content that it posts (who here doesn’t enjoy a hearty chuckle with their first or second cup of coffee?), as well as its engagement with its audience.
All of the ‘Overheard’ Instagram accounts invite people to share the things that they’ve heard with the project, with a chance of getting their conversations featured. “We’re all ears,” the tagline on the Instagram accounts isn’t just for show—it’s a promise.
Maybe it's me, but we don't know the full context. A. Professor student alone, B duering a lecture C in a creepy alley. It's a joke.
Load More Replies...Oh, beware of the perpetually offended who want to cancel her for useful advice packaged in a humorous way.
Exactly. Me a female, can appreciate these kind of jokes.
Load More Replies...How about "It should be like this conversation: short enough to cover everything and long enough to get your point across." There, sexist creepy s**t averted.
Still inappropriate no matter of the gender of the professor or the gender of the student
Load More Replies...BP, a lot of us think you really need to review your censorship/redaction policy. Do you really think there is anyone, of any age, anywhere in the world who doesn't know what the word was here? It just makes you seem a bit silly.
If you teach physics, you hear that joke more often than a weatherman is asked when he'll fix the weather.
OK, but most of don't actually teach physics. Some of us don't even understand much physics. So if you're knowledgeable about it, maybe you could help - e.g. explain things, instead of being impatient with us.Thank you.
Load More Replies...Hahahaha - as someone with two PhDs, I second that (wait - is THAT plagiarism?)
Prezacly! Or if you're in catering college, cite your sauce
Load More Replies...It's research if you use it and cite it. It's cheating if you write it word for word and pretend it is yours. Close though.
Currently, the ‘Overheard University’ account has just over 324k followers on Instagram. Meanwhile, ‘Overheard LA’ has a whopping 1.6 million fans, with ‘Overheard New York’ trailing only slightly behind, boasting 1.5 million.
‘Overheard London’ is a bit more reserved than the most popular accounts, hosting ‘only’ 400k fans while ‘Overheard LE LABO’ is still getting used to Instagram with a relatively modest (yet still impressive) follower count of 77.5k. These accounts are just the tip of the iceberg.
Previously, my colleague Liucija reached out to one of the ‘Overheard’ project’s representatives to learn more about it. “While our home will always be Instagram, we have begun to expand to other verticals such as text via the community app Clubhouse, where we host a biweekly comedy show and are exploring some really exciting product ventures,” the rep explained to Bored Panda.
Problem is far from solved when the problem is the lack of sick leave availability in the US.
Load More Replies...Wow, the Prof must've been really well-liked for students to do that. That's fantastic!
A soldier who feels sick can stay in bed and they still get paid. But not professors?
Disposability has been far more valued than education in the US. Sad but the teachers don't organize strikes. They just take the abuse of their contribution.
Load More Replies...No but seriously, is this true? Don't professors get paid in the US if they take a sick day?
those r students who like their professor and respect him/her. i would totally suggest this to my english teacher if i was still in high school
one of my favorite sayings is "The most soaring triumphs are in simply trying again" Which is mostly BS if you're frustrated to the max, but once in a while it does come true, and it's awesome
Like Bruce Lee said: "Defeat is a state of mind" you are only defeated when you give up
I sure wish BP would show the top TWO comments under each post by default. The top 1 just makes people upvote it if it sounds generally good, when sometimes it's wrong or the more interesting comment is not the top post.
Yes, something. Or don't allow downvotes, period. It's sort of vicious. I literally have "Such and Such comment just got it's first upvote!" like 20 times for a comment I'll make, because it's upvoted, then down, then up then down then up. Some make a competitive game out of it, and it's stupid. People should be able to say what they think and so be it. Like it, great. Don't, oh well. Unless it's vicious or bigoted or spam, let people talk.
Load More Replies...Well, weed has been fully legal for recreational use in Canada for years...so...not totally wrong.
So are maple leaves, as pictured on the Canadian flag.
Load More Replies...The ‘Overheard’ spokesperson told Bored Panda that the aim of the project is to connect people through something they have in common, like a shared location or experience. “Whether that is living in NYC (@overheardnewyork), dating on Bumble (@overheardbumble), or talking about celebrities (@overheardcelebs). It’s our goal to make people laugh and provide moments of joy and self-reflection,” they said.
Math/science makes things work and art makes life worth living. :) Let's respect each other.
Great science and great art usually contain plenty of the other. Yo Yo Ma and Edward Witten both changed the world by making strings vibrate. Bob Ross and James Hutton both saw the beauty of uplifted mountains and happy trees hanging on their side.
Load More Replies...As an artist I am torn between dying of laughter and putting up my middle finger.
Arts grad here. Never been unemployed. Just got offered TWO full time jobs on the same day earlier this week (from two places where I have been working part time temporarily) both at very good salaries, and I didn't interview for either. Cliches and stereotypes are boring.
I knew this girl back around 2008 or so, she had an art history degree and job making about 35k a year -- about 43.6k a year in 2021 dollars. Not bad for someone in their mid-20s in Alabama (where cost of living is much lower than it would be in NYC or someplace like that).
Load More Replies...All the time I was in art school, people would ask me why I wanted a degree in fine art, I always replied with "I already know how to say: would you like fries with that?"
Probably Anatomy and Physiology, a field not noted for its humor.
Load More Replies...Why Starbucks coffee particularly? It seems like a good, free advert for them. "I have to have Starbucks coffee, my professor said so."
No need to feel stupid. I’m also no expert but I’ll try to explain: The so called pH value is used in chemistry (and any other related field) to specify if an aqueous solution is acidic or the contrary: basic/alkaline. I won’t go into details but „acidic“ or „basic“ describes how a solution behaves in a reaction with water. Low pH values mean acidic, high pH values mean basic. The higher the pH value the more basic is the solution and vice versa. Blood is mostly water, therefore an aqueous solution. So by saying that Starbucks coffee raises the blood pH value, it actually means the blood will be more basic than before. Hence the „joke“ that going to Starbucks makes you basic. Hope this clears things up.
Load More Replies...The entire project has reached such heights, that it’s partnered up with a host of well-known companies. “We are fortunate to work with great brands like Bumble, Le Labo, Netflix, etc. Currently, we see ourselves as social-first local media, and plan to expand into podcasts, local events, product, and more video content,” the spokesperson said.
I have run into a few very drunk professors at bars and it has always been the highlight of my night. One told me about a fight he got in with his transgender drug dealer. Fast forward to the following week when he awkwardly asked me to stay after class, tries super hard to spit the words out, and I cut him off and say, "Don't worry about it, I am sure I will tell this story but I will never use your name because I frankly don't remember it and have to check my schedule to find it when I email you." He actually wrote me a letter of recommendation for grad school, under no actual duress, I had a solid A in the class and a 4.0 GPA. I still cannot remember his name. Really liked his class though. Pretty embarrassing, but I never knew my professors' names, any of them. I am really really bad with names.
One time, I ran into a professor at a bar. He was drunk and he told my friend and I that the uni president was out of town for the weekend, in case we wanted to break into his house and steal stuff. He gave us the address. We thought about it, but we didn't have a car.
This is made up. I'm not a professor but I work at a uni and I love my students ♥
Please. This is the conversation All Might had with Aizawa. Try again.
I think these professors need to get other jobs that don't involve human interaction.
When I assigned reading: the textbook and two other books, my students asked how much of this do we have to read? And I said, just the parts on the tests. And they said, what parts are on the test and I said "surprise."
Do people just, like, not enjoy reading? Do they not curl up in a comfy place with a textbook and smell the paper and go "mmm, learning" and procrastinate for 3 months bc they really can't focus to save their lives, go into depression and finish an entire school year in a month because why not, they're homeschooled anyway?
Load More Replies...No, it's for drawing in the margins and writing notes to future students.
Load More Replies...Jesse, the founder of ‘Overheard,’ started the Instagram project on a whim 6 years ago after “listening to a stereotypically LA conversation at a health food store,” The New York Times writes. Since then, Jesse has expanded his approach from just digital entertainment.
And usually people take the job for the first thing without even considering the second thing.
Well, if you want to kill yourself every day, that's really an afterthought when tryin to get a job.
Load More Replies...Wow, BOTH reasons made me walk out on my last job. i had the epiphany: I don't need to kill myself for this underpaying job with a filthy work area (food) & a manager that just didn't care about anything but her bonus for spending as little as possible for the department, ICAN JUST QUIT! and I did.
The difference is, when we start college, we didn't know we were stupid. Now we graduate, we do. And that is one of the essences of learning.
"... a wretched fool and still no wiser than before." Time to reared that book again.
Load More Replies...That's on you. You get what you put into it. You're paying for higher education out of pocket, if that's not enough to motivate you I'm not sure higher education is worth pursuing.
The founder of ‘Overheard’ took the entire brand in a fresh new direction by publishing an honest-to-God physical, printed ‘newspaper’ called ‘The Overheard Post.’ It’s a lot of fun, for fans of satire featuring things like a ‘millennial weather report’ and tongue-in-cheek ‘obituaries’ for plastic straws and other things.
Bah. TAs are a thing of the past. When we get desperate, we stop reading them and give grades based on how you usually do on normal assignments.
Load More Replies...It's funny, but also please don't do this to yourself students, many of them have anxiety
This is what we spend thousands of dollars a year for? I feel ripped off.
If you know the answer, say it. If you don't, be quiet. But if you mutter it, you can't complain if someone else repeats it and gets the credit.
Or they may have just said it anyway - we can't always assume that they heard someone else mumbling.
Load More Replies...Its not the first to discover, its who makes the loudest noise doing it. Just ask Christopher Columbus, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs.
I can relate I got a maintenance job once by bulls***ing and have never done anything close to the job but for all they knew I was Handy F***ing Manny
I hope Manny was good with this and why did your employers care about your sex life?? 😬😜 I couldn’t help myself
Load More Replies...I never got the thing about reading other sources when I thought that the ideas should come from my own head. (I'm probably on the spectum tho).
Jesse told The New York Times that he and his team do their best to inspect and vet the stories they receive from internet users. “We aren’t journalists—we basically do our best. I think half of the overheard stuff is legit overheard strangers. I think a lot of it is like a group of five friends drinking and talking. And someone spontaneously says something funny and the friends send it in,” he said.
Wait, so we’re NOT supposed to list out our dating experiences on a resume!?
Now look up the connection between your social skills (a bit different that ones involved in dating, of course, but there's an overlap) and salary. Also huge percent of jobs is found via recommendations. Finally, dating may give you additional boost of competing motivation if you're seeing someone who is serious about their career goals. :3
Doesnt take that much of your time as a female engineering student ;)
"Dating"? Lol, this one is clearly a fake. There is no dating until university is over.
I was trying to think up 2 more crimes against god you could do on a couch. Only came up with one. Blasphemy for what you screamed after picking up that hot nurse at the frat party.
How does one commit Greed from a couch? Ponziing a sovereign wealth fund from a pullout?
Taking up entire couch like some sort of couch goblin, and not letting anyone onto it?
Load More Replies...Forgot the Seven Deadly Sins, I think it’s the Eight Deadly Sins and Fortnite is one of them
“We’re curating user-generated content, but we’re also directing it toward millennial themes in a different way. The reason the accounts are successful is because we’re not just posting some dumb quote—we’re focusing on these themes of dating and digital life and food and fitness and Instagram culture and all that stuff. So we definitely do our best.”
And as seen above your professor is going to grade it while drunk at 0300
I remember taking a break at 8 pm, going to a concert then partying with friends, getting totally wasted, lying on the floor of the friends' bathroom for a while, going home at 6 am as the sun rose, sitting back at my computer and actually writing the conclusion of my master thesis. It worked wonders.
maybe the individual is doing as solo thesis like I did in college 🤣
I heard about a cult that worships the number zero. Is nothing sacred?
Load More Replies...I played my Xbox 360 way too much in college to cope with my anxiety and depression.
I often say I don't have the luxury of being depressed because I can't afford to not go to work and I won't let my friends/family down. I'm what "they" call high-functioning.
Maybe studying is less horrible than making a fool of yourself, wasting your time, and feeling lonely, bored, disappointed and rejected?
I would say at the beginning of the semester: "write down your phone number and the ACTUAL PHYSICAL PLACE YOU LIVE." And then I would explain: "A few years ago we had a student who got the flu and he lived off campus and no one knew where. He didn't go to class and no one could get a hold of him. Finally, evidently, his landlady went into his apartment. He had pneumonia, he was horribly sick. He had collapsed on the floor and been there for three days. Yes, he lived. So I explained to my students that I need a physical address so that if you don't show up for a few days I can send someone from the university to check on you. And not one student ever objected and I never had, thankgawd, to use the info.
A girl having you suffocate to date her? Either task overload, a really dedicated guy that will create a good couple, or a murder conspiracy to make him choke and die. Take your pick
I want to hear what you have to say about eating mushrooms.
Load More Replies...My boss: "If you have the time to say that you don't have the time to do something, you're lying."
not quite true. what if the thing you were going to do takes more time than just saying something?
Load More Replies...When you spend more time worrying about your finances than studying for your education.
Yeah but if the uber driver didn't even know either of you it's really doesn't count
"He and I", not "me and him". "Him was talking"? No. "Me was talking"? Neither. So, "me and him" can't be talking. Learn English.
Every chemist knows how to make crystal meth. One of the questions on my organic chemistry final was to write three ways to make crystal meth from a certain starter compound.
Load More Replies...Can confirm. Bachelor's of Chemistry here. I've been asked that on more than one occasion.
College is almost always the worst part of your life. It is not true for you, I am so sorry for all the other horrible tragedies that happened to you.
Step 1 : let them choose. Step 2 : blam them for making the choice you allowed them to do.
That's what you get when you ask your students to read 15 books in 3 days.
As a grad student in the doctoral level we had to read 25 books for one class and turn in a critique for each book. It was a "Foreign Affairs". What we did, there were six students, was we divied up the books, we each read five and wrote critiques and discussed them. I discovered that all these books had been checked out over the years and I was the ONLY one who actually read them, BECAUSE MOST OF THEM STILL HAD UNCUT PAGES. Man that really pissed me off. I was also the only student in the class who "discovered" this.
Load More Replies...Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle...
Load More Replies...Depression, overwork, loneliness, boredom, debt, constant humiliations...
Make them stop by asking if they are looking to make it a threesome.
This is where toxic relationships come from. (Voice of experience, learn from other's mistakes.)
Wow I filled out forms the other day that had actual cc and bccs on it, in different colours. I didn't think about it at the time, but that's pretty rare these days
My university had two kinds of calculus classes: Math 1A/B for science (biology, chemistry, physics, etc) majors, and Math 16A/B for others (sociology, business, etc). The average grade was much higher in Math 16A than in Math 1A. . . .
As a psych major I only had to take "Math for the Behavioral Sciences", which was a joke. I solely went on test days and got an A. There were many athletes in that class and they always seemed so lost. Statistics, on the other hand... grumble.
Load More Replies...My history professor says things like "if you're going to overthrow the government, don't tell more than one person at a time." College is weird.
I overheard the guy sitting in front of me in biochemistry say, “C’s get degrees” and that mantra has stuck with me. I got a C+ in that class.
It's one of those things that once you hear it, you immediately recognize the truth. I KILLED myself because I had the "must have a perfect GPA" thing going on. Funny thing is, I graduated with 4.0, but I forgot most of it as quickly as if I'd just settled for Cs.
Load More Replies...I’m that kind of person who always gets A’s and cries if get a B+ and my dad has told me: “You know what they call somebody what the lowest grade in Med school? A doctor.”
The further you get away from your qualifications the less important the grade becomes. Employers rarely ask once you've started working and have jobs to write about - experience quickly overtakes them in importance. Work for good grades, absolutely, but if you only get average ones it won't be the reason you make or break it in your chosen field.
Load More Replies...My grades were underwater (below C level). I hung around with a brainy bunch all three of them have quit or been fired at jobs they were educated for. Me the dummy. Kept my job 30 years. I think you must have an understanding base for your chosen profession. But a good work ethic really helps!
Joke telling is still fun and cool. Not everything has to be framed as “reality” for it to be funny or have an impact. Pretending these were overheard just takes away from the humor of them even being jokes!
Actually, I've heard similar in real life, especially from professor friend. (The one about possibility of not hating. She said, and I quote, "I might like them by the end of he semester, and then they'll go away.")
Load More Replies...Good point, you should just continue to live in abject ignorance.
Load More Replies...My history professor says things like "if you're going to overthrow the government, don't tell more than one person at a time." College is weird.
I overheard the guy sitting in front of me in biochemistry say, “C’s get degrees” and that mantra has stuck with me. I got a C+ in that class.
It's one of those things that once you hear it, you immediately recognize the truth. I KILLED myself because I had the "must have a perfect GPA" thing going on. Funny thing is, I graduated with 4.0, but I forgot most of it as quickly as if I'd just settled for Cs.
Load More Replies...I’m that kind of person who always gets A’s and cries if get a B+ and my dad has told me: “You know what they call somebody what the lowest grade in Med school? A doctor.”
The further you get away from your qualifications the less important the grade becomes. Employers rarely ask once you've started working and have jobs to write about - experience quickly overtakes them in importance. Work for good grades, absolutely, but if you only get average ones it won't be the reason you make or break it in your chosen field.
Load More Replies...My grades were underwater (below C level). I hung around with a brainy bunch all three of them have quit or been fired at jobs they were educated for. Me the dummy. Kept my job 30 years. I think you must have an understanding base for your chosen profession. But a good work ethic really helps!
Joke telling is still fun and cool. Not everything has to be framed as “reality” for it to be funny or have an impact. Pretending these were overheard just takes away from the humor of them even being jokes!
Actually, I've heard similar in real life, especially from professor friend. (The one about possibility of not hating. She said, and I quote, "I might like them by the end of he semester, and then they'll go away.")
Load More Replies...Good point, you should just continue to live in abject ignorance.
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