Food Thief Learns His Lesson After Roommate’s Revenge Hits His Mom Instead: “Burst Into Tears”

If you’ve ever had a roommate who constantly steals your food, you know how maddening it can be. Whether it’s your favorite snack or even just a single egg (in this economy!), it’s enough to make anyone snap.

So how do you deal with it? Lock up your shelf? Buy a mini fridge? This Redditor had a more creative approach. After finding out their roommate’s mom was a big fan of horses—and knowing their food would likely be raided again—they decided to leave a “special” surprise in the fridge right before her visit.

Let’s just say it ended with her in tears.

Read the full story below.

The person had enough of their roommate constantly raiding the fridge

Man looking into fridge at night, thinking of horse meat as revenge on roommate for stealing food.

Image credits: Aynur Latfullin / Pexels (not the actual photo)

So a plan was set in motion that would teach him a lasting lesson

Text about a roommate stealing food, mentioning revenge involving horse meat.

Text about a roommate using horse meat as revenge for food stealing.

Text about legal horse meat acquisition and storage for roommate revenge.

A surprised woman in a casual setting, reacting to roommate's food stealing incident involving horse meat.

Image credits: Antoni Shkraba Studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Text about horse meat being stolen, mentioning a plan to confront the food thief in front of their mom.

Text reveals roommate's food-stealing and horse meat revenge incident.

Image credits: C*nts_and_more

Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The worst things a roommate can do according to people who’ve lived through it

Let’s be real, most people don’t exactly choose to have roommates unless they have to. It’s usually a matter of saving money on rent, not a dream living arrangement. But while splitting the bills can be great, sharing your space with someone else can seriously cost you in nerves and peace of mind. Some roommates, unfortunately, are the stuff of nightmares.

Just how bad can it really get? According to a survey by RENTCafé, which polled over 1,500 adults in the U.S., the answer is: pretty bad. The survey looked into what makes someone a terrible roommate and how to avoid ending up with one. And if you’ve never had to think about just how chaotic roommate life can be (lucky you), this is your wake-up call.

You might guess that the worst offense would be something like not cleaning, being rude, or even stealing food, like what OP had to deal with. But ironically, the number one roommate sin turned out to be not paying rent, with 20.4% of respondents giving this offense an “F.” No surprise there—if the whole point of having a roommate is to save money, someone who doesn’t chip in defeats the purpose entirely.

What did surprise the RENTCafé team were the second and third worst offenses. Just behind rent-dodging were mean or insulting behavior (20.3%), followed by disinterest in being friends (20%).

“You’d think other issues would rank higher,” Amalia Otet, a spokesperson for RENTCafé, told NBC News. For example, not paying shared bills was rated the worst by 19.6% of people, while being unclean earned an “F” from 12.1%.

So, if you do have the luxury of choosing a roommate, how can you find someone who actually pays rent, cleans up after themselves, and maybe even gets along with you?

Rooming with friends sounds like a safe bet, after all, you already trust them. But living together can reveal sides of people you’ve never seen before. Plenty of friendships have fallen apart under the same roof, and for women, this seems to happen even more often.

According to the survey, 35.4% of women who gave their last roommate an A-grade said the person was already living in the home when they moved in. Another 35.2% found their ideal roommate through an online service or social media. So for women, their best roommates often weren’t their best friends. For men, however, it was the opposite, they most commonly gave top ratings to roommates they already knew.

If friends aren’t an option, don’t worry, there are apps and websites that help you find people who fit your preferences. You can set filters, read bios, and of course, meet up beforehand to do the all-important vibe check. Still, even with all that, a little bit of luck never hurts.

You can also take cues from the survey data to figure out if you’re compatible. For example, introverts and extroverts living together tend to clash more than roommates with similar social needs.

Even your career field can be a weird compatibility factor. RENTCafé found that women were more likely to argue with roommates working in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, tech, and journalism. Meanwhile, men tended to clash with roommates in construction, marketing, advertising, and law.

So if you’re on the hunt for a roommate right now, we’re wishing you patience, luck, and good vibes. May you find someone who pays the rent, doesn’t steal your food, and maybe even makes the apartment feel like home.

Some readers thought it was wrong to involve the mom in the revenge

Text exchange about a roommate stealing food, mentioning horse meat and an executed revenge plan.

Text exchange about roommate stealing food and horse meat revenge.

Comments discussing horse meat in a conversation about unusual foods.

Text exchange about horse meat experiences and texture details.

Screenshot of online comments discussing a roommate situation involving food theft and guilt.

Text exchange about roommate who mistakenly used horse meat, thinking it was beef, for a meal.

Reddit comments discussing perspectives on horse meat.

Text conversation about roommate's food choices, discussing horse meat vs beef.

Comment discussing revenge over roommate stealing food, implying it’s extreme.

Reddit conversation about roommate revenge involving stealing food and horse meat.

Text conversation about roommate stealing food, humorous perspective on borrowing food.

Comments discussing a roommate stealing food and suggesting non-violent solutions.

Reddit comment exchange about food revenge with user expressing delight over a mischievous plan.

But many were simply amazed at how brilliantly the person pulled it off

Comment on roommate and food revenge involving horse meat.

Comment expressing amusement at petty revenge involving horse meat and a roommate stealing food.

Text discussing vegetarian views on hypocrisy in food choices, mentioning pigs, cows, and horse meat.

Comment about horse meat incident, with wordplay on "nightmare.

Reddit comment about extreme revenge over a roommate stealing food, with reference to humor.

Comment discussing roommate stealing food and the meaning of 'borrowing'.

Comment referencing horse meat revenge with humor.

Reddit comment about expensive meat and college life, referencing roommate struggles.

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