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15 People Share Stories About Some Of The Most Out-Of-Touch Individuals They Know
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
We're all born with a clean slate. Growing up, we soak up our surroundings, filling our brains with information, most of the time without even being aware of it. At one point we start looking at the world with a little helper on our shoulder, called "common sense." And while some "truths" don't stand the test of time and change when they are challenged, we're talking about more mundane things today.
One Reddit user was curious about the most "out of touch with reality" people that others have witnessed, and let's just say people were eager to share their bizarre experiences. Over 33.6k users shared stories of meeting people who surprised them with their sheer ignorance, wild beliefs that have no support, and lack of what seems to be basic know-how needed to just stay alive.
Bored Panda's selected the most captivating stories that left us wondering how these people managed to miss the learning opportunities throughout life, and while most of the answers seem ridiculous, maybe some will actually add to the pile of knowledge in your subconscious. And if you are intrigued by the delusion, you can check our last post on this topic right here.
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#1
I live in london as a welfare rep for American students. Knowing that American college costs a bundle, and the programme to come over costs a load too, these students tend to be the richest and whitest of suburbia.
One day the WiFi went down and I may as well have told them that there was no drinking water in the U.K.
About 40 students were knocking on my door telling me it wasn't acceptable and that they were calling their 'daddys' to sort it "My daddy is a lawyer, so if you think you're getting money for this accomodation when I haven't had WiFi you've got another think coming." (that sorta thing!)
I tried to calm them down, let them know it would be back on in an hour or two when one of them said the following line;
"You can't blame us for being upset, we grew up in 'THE FIRST WORLD'"...
I was flabbergasted, not only did she talk about being from 'the first world' (who does that) like that is something to be proud of. But her entire arguament was 'Everything in my life has always been easy and perfect... how dare you take away the most minor of utilities for 3 hours'
I despair
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#2
My brother's best friend married a pretty rich girl. He said the first time he saw her do laundry she was going through her pockets and throwing her loose change in the garbage. She had no idea that people kept their change. Genuinely thought everyone just threw it away.
#3
My father, by far. But the coin incident was the farthest from reality he's ever been.
My dad collects coins, because his extremely Hungarian immigrant grandfather convinced him that the Bank (capitalizing it because to him, all banks are just one huge world bank) is determined to steal all his money from him, so he has to have a backup plan. This in and of itself isn't too extreme; plenty of people choose self-sustenance due to a distrust in government and economics, but the real kicker happened when he tried to roll his coins.
He has to order his coin rolls online because he doesn't want to go to the bank and get coin rolls because then the bank will know how much money he's hiding from them. I'm not kidding. Anyway, he ordered a bag of coin rolls and waited about a month for them to come before he started getting curious where they were. He asked my mom to check the order tracking while he was at work one day, which led to this conversation:
Mom: [Dad's name], it says here that the package made it to [town we live in] two weeks ago, but got sent back. It says you gave no delivery address.
Dad: Yeah, why would I do that? I don't want them to know where I live, they might tell everyone.
#4
Got a good one. I went to school in At UBC for a year and lived in the dorms. One of the super rich Chinese kids that populated my school lived on the same floor as me. Her first day there she took a shower in the public bathroom and then just left all her clothes strewn about. She assumed the maid would come pick them up an wash them.
#5
About 3 years ago and I had a young woman, probably early 20s, come into the cafe I work at. She ordered herself and drink and a pastry of some sort. Her total around $6. She proceeded to hand me a 1 dollar bill and 6 quarters. I took the money and waited for her to procure more but she just stood there staring at me. I told her, "I'm sorry, it's $6.87," or whatever. She says, "I know I gave you 7." I said, "No, this is only $2.25." She took the money from my hand and counted each item in front of me like I was stupid, counting each item as $1. I pointed to the quarters ans told her, "Those are quarters, not dollars." Keep in mind this person was obviously not foreign or anything. She had no accent and seemed completely American. Anyway, her response was, "I know they're quarters, but they're dollars." She then proceeded to pick up one of the quarters and point to the word "dollar" inscribed on the bottom beneath George's head. At this point I was thinking, this is the single dumbest person I've ever seen or this is the worst con ever conceived, but she didn't give up. She demanded to speak to a manager. I got the manager and he told her the same thing. She started getting visibly upset, and holding back tears. She might have been embarressed. Best I can figure is that she somehow never learned about money and change somehow and used it so rarely that she assumed quarters were dollars because technically the word "dollar" was on the coin.
#6
"You don't have to go to college and I'm not helping you with fafsa because Armageddon is coming soon and we'll all be in a heavenly paradise. You should spend your time going door to door in the field ministry until Armageddon comes instead." - my mom.
#7
I had a friend who was going to Greece with her family and asked me to come. I told her "sorry, I'd like to but that's too expensive." She responded with "just ask your parents to pay, I'm sure they will." I could not for the life of me convince her that no, my parents would not pay to send me to Greece. She literally could not wrap her mind around the fact that some people's parents would not pay for them to go on vacation.
#8
My grandmother told me women especially moms can't be alcoholics. It's just not possible. Only men are alcoholics because no matter what women don't have it in them and don't have time to be alcoholics. And that everyone always know who is an alcoholic and who isn't. If someone is an alcoholic they always show it in some way you can't act happy and be an alcoholic! My moms an alcoholic and obviously grandma is in denial and struggling to accept it despite the fact that her own sister died from health issues caused by drinking. But yeah women can't be alcoholics.
#9
I work at a recording studio. The amount of people who think they're going to be the next big thing is scary.
#10
I have a co-worker who once got visibly upset because I said he was about the same age as my parents.
He's 51. My parents are 53.
I'd like to point out that I didn't just say this out of the blue. He asked how old my parents were, and I knew his age, so I made the comparison. He also said things like "I work out you know, I'm stronger than guys half my age". Very much a man child in denial.
#11
I've met a few people who are really brilliant in one field, yet lack even the most basic level of sense in certain areas outside of it. Sort of like the thing about Einstein not being able to tie his shoes (if that's true).
My favorite was a university professor: absolutely brilliant knowledge of middle eastern politics, particularly around the Israel-Palestine conflict. He could remember insanely precise historical details going back thousands of years, and seemed to understand the subtlest of nuances on both sides of the conflict. His lectures were amazing. Or they would have been, if he had turned off his cell phone. He simply couldn't figure out how to silence his phone, or even turn it on and off. He had let his TA do it for him a couple of times, but then he'd leave with it still off and couldn't figure out how to turn it back on until he came back the next day, so after going through that twice he decided he would just leave it on. And it appeared that every telemarketer on earth had his number, because it would ring at least 5 times an hour at full volume, and he'd just talk over the top of it like it wasn't happening. He also never answered his email, because he apparently didn't realize that he had one or might need to use it.
One day he'd forgotten to bring his little water jug, and sent his TA to the vending machine in the middle of a lecture to bring him a bottle of water. She brought it back and handed it to him, and he turned red in the face trying to get it open, before handing it back to her and declaring that something was wrong with it. She opened it quickly and easily: he'd been turning the cap the wrong way.
I should specify here that this was not a super old guy who you'd expect to have issues with technology and life in general: he was in his mid or late 40's.
#12
I used to work in a pizza place and my boss (the owner) was one of the strangest guys I've ever met.
He used to tell me that the world was run by "reptilian aliens" and that the moon was their base. He knew this because NASA once hit something off the moon and it "sounded like a bell" and thus must be hollow and full of lizard people.
Left that job after 3 weeks.
#13
A guy I know once told me that dinosaurs were a hoax. And dinosaur bones were floating in space when God formed the Earth, that's why they're trapped in the ground.
#14
My friend during high shool had all the videogame consoles from the current generation as soon as they were released. Along with a bunch of games. My parents could afford new consoles only 2 years after release (in Brazil, games are EXPENSIVE). My friend would argue why my father didn't work more to make more money, because whenever his father wanted more money, he'd make extra hours. His father was a director of a big car tires company.
#15
Ok. so I was 15, and working at McDonalds. I was at the back window where you take peoples money. A customer came, and blew past the back speaker where you order. That was pretty typical, so I figured it was just a normal mistake. When they get to my window it is the very old lady. She smiles at me, holds a grocery bag up, with frozen chicken and a two liter of soda. She holds out a 20$ bill and asks "how much for the chicken and soda?" 15 year old me didn't have the coping skills for this. I stared at her for what felt like forever. Finally I said "Uh, I think you're confused".. She drove off, with her car half way over the curb.
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