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35 Shocking Secrets That Crawled Out Of The Closet After Someone Died And Left Families Gasping
Some folks would say you don’t really know someone until you live with them, but sometimes you don’t really know someone until you bury them. Death has a strange way of pulling skeletons out of closets - just when you’re trying to come to terms with losing a loved one, life throws in a little surprise.
The internet recently lit up when a Redditor asked folks who lost someone close if they discovered any secrets after their death. And the answers are equal parts shocking, heartwarming, and straight out of a crime doc.
More info: Reddit
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#1
My grandpa was a massive racist for a long time, until very late in his life when he calmed down a bit. After his death we found out that he had been financially supporting underprivileged African-American kids secretly for at least a few years.
BrunoVI 4 months ago (edited)
Or did he? A lot of people I've known are very critical of black culture and care about it because they see black children as the victims of it. That criticism of black culture would be described as "racist" in many contexts. Hell, I bet some folks around here think it's racist when I explain that the reason a disproportionate number of people on death row are Black is because an even greater disproportionate number of murderers are Black. Who ends up dead because of this? Usually other Black people. So if he laments the number of kids left fatherless by Black killers or because their own fathers go to prison, will he be called a "massive racist" even if he sacrifices his own wealth so that the kids escape the resulting social and economic problems?
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David 4 months ago
Well I guess that funding was his way of apologizing for his past, and shows he was a good man who had to unlearn hate
Boris Long-Johnson 4 months ago
Or just trying to buy his way into heaven. Plenty of people try to repent towards the end of their life - how many truely do?
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Michael Largey 4 months ago
I believe anyone can change. But I remind myself that it won't always be for the good.
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Rob Davison 4 months ago
Being racist no matter what the color of your skin is is a LEARNED thing. No one is born that way you learn it from someone else or go there as a reaction to the way you personally have been treated. It's also something that one can outgrow or move on from once the influence that started that line of thinking is gone.
KatSaidWhat 4 months ago
Yeah, I learnt it from my mother at age 18 having lived with my father from age 5 until then.
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RELATED:
#2
My great Uncle Ray and Great Aunt Ann lived in a little house on the outer edge of town. Never had children or pets. Their house was always in some disarray; roof needed repaired or siding falling off. When uncle Ray's truck broke down, he didn't get it fixed, he just rode a bicycle around town. He always wore Levi's blue jeans and a white cotton tshirt. He would mow lawns for some extra money, and he was a car salesman back in the day.
Ray and Ann passed away 3 hours apart, in different facilities. Ann first; then Ray.
Since Ray was the last one living, they contacted his next of kin which was my mom. She got a call from a lawyer and was scared to call him back because she thought they were going to make her pay for the funerals. Lawyer says no, no, you just need to come in and talk to me.
Stacks and stacks of CDs and bonds, laundry basket filled with cash (covered in clothes), cash rolled up under kitchen sink, some here, some there.. Multiple bank accounts.. Ended up being close to $2mil.
The only bill my mom had to pay in Ray's name after he passed was his electric bill.. $37.
Papa 4 months ago
It's very possible that OP's relatives lived through the Great Depression, because that behavior was not unusual for that generation. I remember my great aunt and her husband (born in the 1920's) who didn't have air conditioning in their house, though they could easily afford it. At one point their adult children bought and installed window units in their house, but they would only run them when they had visitors.
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Robert T 4 months ago
Reminds me of my dad's best-friend's dad. He used to go to the library to read the paper. Turned out that he wasn't just being a tightwad, he was checking share prices. He left over £1 million when he died. He looked and lived as though he didn't have two ha'pennies to rub together!
Brian Droste 4 months ago
They didn't spend their money but hopefully the relatives benefited from it.
Little Bit 4 months ago
Although not quite in this scale, my brother in law lived in a house that was falling apart, he dressed in old raggedy clothes, ate the cheapest of the cheap foods and was always complaining that he couldn't afford this and he couldn't afford that. He never married, never had children and rarely socialised. You would have thought he was as poor as a church mouse. He died unexpectedly and when my hubby and and his sister cleared out the house they found thousands of pounds in cash stashed all over the house. They found he had savings accounts with hundreds of thousands of pounds in them, and they came across loads of valuable collectibles that fetched thousands at auction. It totalled more than half a million in the end.
Kimberly Lorton 4 months ago
Wow! What an interesting story! Save a little here and there, comes to millions when you have been gone and buried!
Cosmos in your eyes 4 months ago
This sounds like my parents. They have done well for themselves and are retired now but refuse to spend their wealth on themselves. It's sad, because what was all that penny pinching for? If for some reason I inherit any, I'll likely give most of it away because by the time comes I won't even need it.
#3
My great aunt was... my great uncle.
I'm cool with it though. Kudos to her for doing that in a time where it was really, really hard.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
Wow! Even if I count, that everybody was having a child at 18 years, old great aunt means the early 1950s. So, Wow!
Asri 4 months ago
I have family photos from the 1850's of a distant cousin who wore men's clothes. The backs are labelled ____ and her special friend ____. They were buried together. IDK how the family acted, but they were out and proud in 1850.
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Sinead Kenny 4 months ago
Kudos matey exams a lot fro someone who says kudos. I know I'll get lost in it all bit kudos. Wish I know you xx
When a loved one passes, they don’t just leave behind their belongings; they also leave behind their story, and sometimes, that story comes with bonus chapters you didn’t know about. A hidden sibling, a stash of love letters, mob connections, or a secret past life as a salsa champion. Okay, maybe not that last one, but hey, you never know, right?
The truth is, grief is already complicated enough. You’re processing the loss, managing the logistics, and trying to hold it together when, surprise, a long-lost relative appears at the funeral, or someone casually drops a “oh, you didn’t know grandpa changed his birthday to avoid parties?”
#4
I grew up thinking my family was well off. I always had brand name clothes and nice holiday presents and my mom drove me to lots of out of town school events without being concerned about gas.
When she died, I learned she had left behind a great deal of credit card debt. We actually weren't doing that great financially, but she wanted so badly for me to fit in, so she gave me everything other kids had, even if she couldn't afford it. I found one of her last journals that said how badly she wanted for me to be accepted. I still wasn't, but I appreciate her effort. I wish I could thank her for trying.
Harry Gondalf 4 months ago
You CAN thank her. Try this: go to her grave or place where her ashes are scattered. Then talk to her. Thank her. Out loud. It may help her. I certainly will help YOU.
Peeka_Mimi 4 months ago
My mom and Nany were the same way. I learned we were never well off as an adult. I am the same way with my kids and grandkids. I'm poor as a church mouse but still make sure they have what they need. No credit cards though. I just do without.
Earonn - 4 months ago
And who paid for the debt? She took goods and services and didn't pay for them. Her motives might have been fine - although there are other ways of "fitting in" than having brand clothes - but I bet a lot of people here wouldn't be so kind if she had actually stolen the clothes.
#5
The day my mother died suddenly, I found out that both she and my dad had been married before. On top of this, the "cousin" that used to come visit us when I was a child was actually my half-sister! She had stopped coming around, but I always liked her and wished she would come back. Sad part is, even my father had lost track of his own daughter (long story involving the secret they were keeping from me, a marriage and subsequent move and then divorce of my half-sister) and he hadn't able to locate her for years. Happy ending - 18 years after my mom's death, my sister contacts me out of the blue, we meet up for a tearful reunion, and shortly afterwards, father and daughter are reunited at last! We all love each other dearly and love to get together (we each live in different states.).
#6
My great, great-grandmother met my great, great-grandfather on Ellis Island when immigrating to the U.S.. She was 16 and he was 17, or so everyone believed. When she died just after her alleged 97th birthday, my family discovered from immigration logs she was actually 100, and had lied about her age because it wouldn't have been acceptable in society to a) be single at 19 and b) marry a younger man.
Lady Eowyn 4 months ago
My dad found out after his mom died how old she really was. He figured she wouldn't lie on the immigration papers. So, instead of dying in her late 90s, she was just over 100.
Sally Moen 4 months ago
I have a relative that, after his wife died, moved to another state and remarried a much younger woman. Until the day of his funeral she had no idea he was actually a decade older than what he claimed. Funniest part is that she had his gravestone made with the incorrect birth year. Eventually he was buried back in the state where his first wife was buried, with that gravestone noting the correct year. He got away with this ruse because of our family genetics making us look younger than our age, I guess
Niamh_ie 4 months ago
On a more lighthearted version of this, my granny was always 21+x not even her children knew. My mum c*****d her secret when she went into hospital in her late 70s. We were able to throw her a surprise 80th as she didn't know we knew. She was an amazing lady and died still living at home with all her facilties aside from her hearing just shy of her 99th birthday.
Fellfromthemoon 4 months ago
I doubt the real reason was her being unmarried and dating a guy two years later. A sixteen-year old is underaged now, and, as an immingrant, has a better chance.
The pros say grief can show up in unexpected ways, such as fatigue, physical pain, changes in appetite, or feeling like you’re driving on the highway with no breaks. You might laugh at something one minute and cry at it the next, and it’s completely normal. Coping doesn’t mean “getting over it,” but finding ways to carry the loss without it crushing you.
So, give yourself permission to feel, because there’s no “right” way to grieve. From my experience, sadness, anger, and even relief can all be part of it. Try talking to someone you trust about your feelings, and keep a piece of the one you lost by cooking their favorite meal. But never forget to look after yourself. Because grief doesn’t come with an expiration date, take it at your own pace.
#7
My great grandfather lived with me since I was born, I pretty much knew everything about him but after he died I learned a few interesting stories. One was how back in the 50s, he used to be a raging alcoholic, and went out partying all the time, then one day he woke up and found my great grandma beaten almost to a pulp, he asked who did it, it turned out he did in a drunken fit. After that he quit drinking cold turkey, the only time he ever drank afterwards was my uncle's wedding in 1986 and his 75th birthday in 2005.
Felicia Baxter 4 months ago
what he did is horrible, but i'm glad he quit after realizing just how bad it was making him act
azubi 4 months ago
Women pay the price, men get the praise, like always. How is great-grandma? --- please, please don't get me wrong, I am full of respect for great-grandpa, being raised to be a raging alcoholic like we men are being brought up. Break the cycle. Well dine. But don't ignore great-grandma's suffering throughout that game.
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NapQueen 4 months ago (edited)
I found out a couple of weeks ago from my Uncle that my Grandad was a*****e towards his family. He would attack them, flip furniture over, hack furniture to pieces with an axe etc. My Dad never told me anything about it - was a lot to take in because I loved and idolised my Grandad, and I never thought he would be capable of doing so.
KatSaidWhat 4 months ago
I don't want to google that based purely on the word scatman...
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I only found out (age 11) that my father was an alcoholic because he put a bullet through the ceiling showing his sister his gun. He hasn't touched a drop since.
#8
My grandmother died rather quickly. She got sick with pneumonia between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and she passed away just before Valentines Day. It was very tough on my grandfather especially as they'd been married for over 40 years and both of them had lead exciting lives together. It was several years before my grandfather packed her clothes and belongings away, and naturally he asked for his kids (my mom and uncles) to help since it was tough. When they checked her coat for anything that may need to be packed separately, they found dozens of horse racing betting slips. In fact, it was hundreds of dollars worth of bets, all them relatively recent to her death. Her purse also contained as many, if not more betting slips. What was even more interesting was that she was REALLY good at it. As in, she was going to the track and coming back hundreds of dollars richer.
My grandfather said he knew she liked to go to the horse races, and knew she occasionally gambled, but had no idea that she was as good at it as she was. We all laughed about it because frankly, it was just one facet of a very amazing and accomplished woman.
#9
When my grandpa died I found out that he had 11 kids from a previous marriage. None of his grandkids knew, but I guess everyone else kept it hush hush until the funeral. Glad I have a place to crash in in France now.
Grief will teach you a lot, that’s true, but so will juicy secrets like discovering your childhood friend kept every single poem you ever mailed her tucked away in a shoebox or learning your auntie used to own brothels before marrying your uncle.
These discoveries can bring up a mix of emotions, from curiosity to sadness, even laughter. Sometimes, they make you feel closer to the person, but other times, they leave you with a hundred new questions and no one left to answer them.
#10
My grandfather. He saved pennies. All the pennies.
We found over $2000 in his basement crawlspace. In pennies.
Fortunately, he also was very meticulous about rolling them, though in his old age, he didn't roll them as often. There was maybe $300 or $400 of unrolled pennies, but the rest were thankfully rolled.
Bored Sailor 4 months ago
Hope they unrolled them. Some of those pennies could be worth thousands on their own.
SerumSeven 4 months ago
Good point. My grandfather had a few rolls of pennies. Turned out they were all steel.
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bElLa sTairZz 4 months ago
my granddad showed me something like this once, a jar full of hundreds of austalian 1c coins, worth more in the copper their made from than currency though
Tom Brincefield 4 months ago
Banks here in the US give out paper sleeves people can use to collect set amounts of coins together. 50 pennies in a roll.
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My father died when I was 12. The night before he died I was staying the night with my cousins. I wanted to go home really bad because they were older than me and were all watching scary movies and I didn't want to, but didn't want to go to bed super early either. I called home and begged to come home but he wouldn't let me. I yelled "I HATE YOU!" and hung up the phone. Yeah so those were my last words to dad. I spent almost 15 years thinking he had died angry with me. One day a few years ago I was talking to my mother and mentioned how heavy that weighed on me. She shocked me by busting out laughing her a*s off. She said after he hung up the phone he c*****d up because he definitely didn't want me home. They were about to have s*x. So yeah he didn't die angry with me, he was just boning my mom.
Gia SDP 4 months ago
I thought it was supposed to be c-r-a-c-k-e-d up, and you know BP censors c-r-a-c-k.
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Kira Okah 4 months ago
By the OP: heart attack, having been hiding his heart problems for years.
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#12
My best friend since kindergarten Cheryl was k****d by a drunk driver along with her father. Since the 7th grade, I wrote her a poem every month and mailed it to her (They weren't Maya Angelou quality, but it's the thought that counts right?). I pretty much thought she would just throw them around after reading them a few times but I discovered she had a shoebox under her bed with all 37 poems from 7th grade when I started writing them to 9th grade when she was k****d.
Michelle C 4 months ago
That is sweet of her! I pray that brings OP comfort, knowing what a true friend Cheryl was!
Laura Gillette 4 months ago
Mailed it to who? Who was keeping them in the shoebox? I'm confused
Tobias Reaper 4 months ago
i am confused here it says her friend was unalived by a drunk driver so how would she have saved poems in a box under her bed
Niamh_ie 4 months ago
She was in 9th grade when she passed. The op wrote the poems from 7th-9th grade so 37 poems that were under her friends bed.
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So, why do people keep secrets? Well, here’s the thing: most of us have a few untold stories tucked away, don’t try to deny it. Psychologists say people often keep secrets for three main reasons - protection, privacy, and control over how they’re perceived or remembered.
Maybe they didn’t want to hurt anyone, or maybe they thought it wasn’t anyone’s business. Or maybe they just enjoyed a little mystery. After all, “enigmatic” sounds better on the family grapevine than “forgot to mention I once borrowed money from the mob.”
#13
After my dad passed I found out he had run a flamethrower for three months digging the Japanese out of the caves in the Philippines.
My dad didn't talk about the war much. He never mentioned this part. Found out from mom he had terrible nightmares all his life about it.
shg stewart 4 months ago
That was one of the most horrible jobs in the Pacific theatre, just FYI.
Craig Reynolds 4 months ago
My father was in both world wars, and he refused to discuss anything other than to say he was in demolition. That's all you could get. If you pressed, he got scary angry. The type of anger that made his veins pulse in his forehead.
#14
When my grandpa died he had changed his will to include myself and my siblings, putting the money in a college fund to be split equally. My grandpa never helped my mom go to college because he didn't think it was a woman's place to get higher education. My mom still remained in contact with him even though it upset her and before he died he said how much he was proud of her for everything she had done. His college fund he left for my siblings and I included an equal portion for my sister.
Bored Sailor 4 months ago
So as he aged he also grew as it should be. It is hard for older generations to openly admit they have learned and changed perspective.
Huddo's sister 4 months ago
My uncle was quite upset that my grandad changed his views about money after he retired. When my mum and uncle were kids, my grandad was very miserly with money. He didn't have a car for a lot of that time, in order to save money, so they had to take public transport everywhere or get lifts from others. He put a lot of his money in stocks and savings accounts. After he retired, my grandad realised 'you can't take it with you' and started to buy things for his and my grandma's comfort, that they went without before. They got a car and a caravan, then sold my parents their house for cheaper than if they went through an agent, and bought a smaller place for themselves. He paid for a lot of things for my siblings and I, like driving lessons, camping gear, and computers. He also gave money to my uncle and mum, but I think my uncle also resented more effectively went to my mum because he didn't have kids himself.
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Kimberly Lorton 4 months ago
Your mother or your sister? Is t she a sibling and already included?
#15
Found out my grandfather was gay 2 years after he died. His wife (my grandmother) was in total denial that he had been cheating on her with other men for all 50 years they were married. She finally admitted that it was AIDS he died of, not a random illness.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
I'm thinking about that great-aunt, who was in fact born great-uncle, in another post,. around the same period of time. What a supporting family can do ....
Losing a loved one is never easy, and secrets can make it feel like you’re getting to know them all over again. But let’s not get too dramatic here - not all posthumous revelations are heavy. Sometimes they can lighten grief instead of deepening it. And learning your parent was occupied with play time with your other parent the night before they passed away can do just that.
Yes, even those “scandalous” little stories can add some color to a loved one’s memory because they remind us that the people we love weren’t perfect, they were human. They had messy, fascinating lives that show one thing: even from the other side, they still know how to keep life interesting.
#16
My grandfather used mob "loan" money to start his business. Found this out when a retired mobster showed up at his funeral reception.
Edit: I know he at least laundered and/or hid money; besides that, I don't know. His brother also had a very successful real estate business. Their parents (my great grandparents) had a small farm; they did not come from any money.
It was the Italian mob in the Bay Area.
Leolynn Cauthron 4 months ago
My maternal great grandfather played cards with outlaws like members of the Jesse James Gang and Sam Bass. He may even have met Belle Starr. On the OK/AR state border often in Fort Smith which was still a Wild West sort of town in those days.
TheFeralRaccoon 4 months ago
Jesse James stayed in my great great grandparents barn in southern Missouri and left them a gold coin for letting him stay there.
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Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I grew up friends with an Italian family and there was always this very faint hint of, "I can make one phone call."
Leg less In Minneapolis 4 months ago
Grew up out east. I found out in my thirties that my Aunts, my mom’s SIL family was mobbed up. They did a favor for my parents and they told not come back there would be price to pay. I found out what the favor was.
R Dennis 4 months ago
At my dad's funeral, the first two people to show up were a couple of gangsters. Legit, old school guys straight out of the 80s: slicked back hair, pencil mustaches, gold frame glasses, silk scarves camel hair coats. They were talking about their old run-ins between the local families and how my dad finessed some crazy situations... he wasn't a mobster, but he definitely associated with a lot of them and I grew up around them.
#17
A couple years ago, my great uncle passed away. When he died, in addition to a mansion in Chicago, he left $15 million for his children to split up. ($3 million each) As it turns out, he used to be only two steps below kingpin of a large Chicago mob. He took some money and left for good after getting shot and realizing that he didn't want his children to grow up without a father. Also, his wife had owned 2 whorehouses before selling them and marrying him.
#18
A family friend, almost an uncle and next door neighbor. We saw this family everyday, their kids and us were inseparable. He worked as a salesman and traveled quite frequently. He died unexpectedly one day of a heart attack. At his funeral, his other family shows up. He had another wife and kids in another part of the country the whole time. Nobody knew.
NoRestfortheQWERTY 4 months ago (edited)
You hear about situations like this one fairly often. I don't know how people do it. It sounds exhausting. Not to mention expensive.
Sue User 4 months ago
Can you imagine being able to support two families on one salary ?
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Lee Banks 4 months ago
My ex's mother had a boyfriend of 25 years that lived across the street from us . She lived with him half the year, and Russia the other. He stayed half the year (owned a business), but would go back to Turkey half the year. They were very much in love, and he was like a grandpa to me. When he died in the states I asked about funeral plans, and was simply told that we would not be attending. No explanation. A week or so later I found his obituary. "Survived by his beloved wife and daughters." She was his mistress for twenty five years! Only they knew about his other family.
Kim Steffen 4 months ago
Same happened to my friend when his father died. He had a 2nd family across the country. At the funeral, one of his other sons showed up. He could have been my friend's twin. Not a good day.
Joshua David 4 months ago
A good friend in highschool was very shocked when a summons appeared that she was servedb(for him) regarding child support for her baby sister.
#19
Two stories:
When my nan (great grandma on my mom's side) passed, I inherited a lot of Japanese items from her. I wondered how she got them, as far as I knew she stayed in Canada her whole life on the farm and hairdressing after her husband passed (my great-grandfather passed away when my grandma was 16).
She apparently met a young Japanese woman that was going to the same hairdressing school as her back in the 1950s. Her family owned land in Japan, including private hospitals in Tokyo and was rather wealthy. When she returned home, they still kept in touch and paid for my nan to visit. She still had Yen from the 50s, and my Japanese friends thought it was so cool as they never saw notes that old. I also have a really beautiful doll that I inherited.
I wish I talked to her more about it when I was younger. But it was amazing to learn all this stuff, even after their passing.
My dad passed away suddenly in 2013. Afterwords, I learned from my mom that the two of them practically moved in together a week after meeting. Married for almost 25 years, and the happiest couple I knew. I miss him everyday.
#20
After my husband's grandmother passed away in Jan, they found a photo from the 1940s of a handsome man in uniform amongst her things: the back read something along the lines of "With my deepest love and devotion, Terry". But it wasnt her husband (who she was married to during the war) and no one had ever heard her mention him before. He must've meant something to her, to hold on to that photo for 70 plus years.
Huddo's sister 4 months ago
There is a photo in my family history collection (previously my grandad's) of a man in uniform addressed to my great grandmother from 'Bessie' on the back. I have always wondered who he was, but haven't been able to ask anyone about it yet. All my grandparents have died as well as my great uncles and their wives.
Robert Trebor 4 months ago (edited)
There's a picture of my great grandfather in old age with a pretty but similarly old lady, who I thought was my great grandmother. My aunt confirmed him but was outrage that he was holding this stranger. No idea who she was.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
Possibly her really crush, to whom she couldn't be married not being considered "appropiate" in those times (not the same social status, rumors about his family, rumors about him ... and so on). Terry most likely died in the war.
Papa 4 months ago
Or maybe she couldn't marry Terry because she was already married? Please note that OP said "But it wasn't her husband (who she was married to during the war) . . . ."
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KnightOwl86 4 months ago
My great gran was a single mum to 3 kids all born during ww2, they never knew their father or even had a name. My grandad and his younger sister both died never knowing the truth. A few years ago one of my cousins was on bed rest for 6 months due to a high risk pregnancy and decided to spend her time solving the mystery. She took multiple online dna tests and worked with genetic genealogists to discover the truth. Then a week before she gave birth she found out, our great grandfather was a Canadian soldier who was stationed in the UK. He had another child, a son born to an English woman and went back to Canada after the war where he married and had another 6 kids, 5 boys and 1 girl. My grandad had a lot of issues due to never knowing his dad and always said he wished he'd had a brother, i wish he'd lived long enough to learn the truth (his dad, another sister and 6 brothers!)
#21
My father, in the late 50's, helped rob a bank in New York. He drove the get away car.
He did the full 5 years he was sentenced to because every time he got asked about the guys he worked with he said nothing.
#22
My grandfather was a great guy, who was also kind of crotchety.
He died on December 30th. For as long as I knew him, his birthday was December 31st. We all wished he lived one day longer to see his next birthday, or at least die on his birthday like Shakespeare (because that's poetic).
When we were cleaning out his stuff we found his birth certificate. Low and behold he was born on December 30th. He hated parties so much that he always lied about when his birthday was, so that he only had to celebrate one. My mom even thought his birthday was December 31st. He lied to his own children.
But at least he died on his birthday like Shakespeare.
edit: fixed a word.. because December 30th doesn't k**l.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I obscure my birthday because it falls on a national holiday. I was maybe six years old and already tired of being the reason for 'today's party', being slapped on the back in false drunken congratulations, etc. Being born before NYE has to be much worse.
Jenna Kay 4 months ago
I'll do you one better, or worse ... my husband was born on Christmas day to a mom who wanted a girl, so they never celebrated his birthday. My daughter was born on Halloween, made for fun when she was little b/c we lived in the "Bible belt" and people said that day was Satan's birthday (yes, I know, crazy). My son's birthday is Thanksgiving Day every few years, so everyone is always traveling over his birthday. It's not so bad now that everyone is grown up, but my poor family never had real just cake and balloons parties.
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Lupita Nyong'heaux 4 months ago
can somebody explain this to me, cuz i'm confused. thx in advance! He hated parties so much that he always lied about when his birthday was, so that he only had to celebrate one.
Cailyn B 4 months ago
I think that he said his birthday was on the 31st, because that is also New Year’s Eve. Then, he can celebrate everything at once instead of celebrating something on the 30th and the 31st (for New Year’s Eve). Hope that helps! It’s how I interpreted it anyways
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Rogue Trooper 3 months ago
Another one here whose birthday is 31st December. I haven't celebrated it 'properly' since I was a child.
B Jean the Jelly Bean 4 months ago
My ex-husband was born in Christmas day.... Seemed unfair, so this grandpa "gave" his own birthday to my ex....January 15. 😥💞
KatSaidWhat 4 months ago (edited)
I was really hoping that King Charles would declare coronation day a bank holiday so I could have my birthday off every year. ETA, I have it off 3 out of 7 years, so that's not bad.
Al Padilla 4 months ago
OK, as a dumb 'merkin, I can't fathom how the Brits calculate coronation day. 3 out of 7 years? Lots of kings in a hurry? Prime number intervals?
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Al Padilla 4 months ago
Unless, after your downfall, you can see, from ground level, the cause. Then, perhaps, it's "low and behold."
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Joe Reaves 4 months ago
It's not but a lot of people do seem to try to hang on for specific milestones before dying.
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#23
My Grandfather died when I was a toddler, he had been married 3 times and had 3 sets of 3 children. Approx 25 years after his death another child comes forward, she was put up for adoption. My mother nor the other 8 of her (half)siblings knew anything about her before she found them.
Also my Grandmother (the aforementioned grandfathers wife) had a secret child herself as a teen. Apparently it was a secret teen pregnancy and she was sent away to have the baby and for it to be put up for adoption. They were in contact though, there are pictures of them together, right up until my G'ma died. Apparently my G'ma thought the family would never understand.
Also to add to the confusion my Grandfather and Grandmother were actually never married - he did marry the other 2 women he had 3 children with. G'ma just took his name and lived like a wife/divorcee.
SlothyK8 4 months ago
In the aftermath of an aneurysm in 1996, my grandfather told me in lurid detail that he'd been involved with a side piece. I was shocked. He passed away not long after, and my grandmother six months later. Afterward, we found out that he had four other children from various relationships AND that my grandmother divorced him in 1967. They lived together until the end. Just...stunning.
Rob Davison 4 months ago
Up into the 1960's it was very common for a teen age girl who was pregnent to "go out of state to live with a relative" for a length of time when she was actually at a home for unwed mothers waiting to give birth and put the child up for adoption .
Niamh_ie 4 months ago
Unfortunately a lot more recently than that. The last magdalene laundry only closed in 1996. The magdalene laundries and mother and babies home were horrific and impacted so many people. If you haven't watched philomena I would recommend it but however plan a comedy afterwards as it's hard going.
Load More Replies... Kimberly Lorton 4 months ago
My paternal grandmother? Her parents met, married and came to the USA. APPARENTLY she met another man, and the actual husband, and she drifted apart, but never divorced! She married the other man, has a few kids, and pulled my grandma out of school to take care of them so she, could work! My grandma was smart. But she was also kind of meek. As soon as she met my grandfather. They married and she ended up having 7 children with him. My last aunt, just died last year, and me and my sisters found paperwork that told us, she worked for the FBI or CIA, wasn’t sure which now, but her husband was in the FBI! We saw his acceptance letter! So she was CIA. She was a “‘secretary”. But went to all these embassy parties and balls, and spoke fluent Spanish. She was well liked and appreciated. We never knew for sure exactly what she did, but we think the two of them were spies in the Latin American countries! Talk about shocked!
#24
A couple of years after my grandfather died, I found out that he worked for NASA/ICBM program during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Apparently he was taken away during the crisis in an unmarked car right when it first started. He wasn't allowed to talk about where he went and who he was with.
Also, when he was being looked at for this job, the FBI or CIA like stalked him for over half a year to make sure he wasn't a bad seed. But one day, his neighbors across the street called the cops on said FBI or CIA agents because they have been parked outside her house for like a month. My father said that the altercations between the cops and agents was pretty funny and awkward.
Major Harris 4 months ago
when i went into the navy back in 86, i initially went into navy intelligence and had to get a top secret clearance, (which i got). i went to boot camp in august and graduated early october and then went to where the naval intelligence school was in virginia. it was during this time when the f.b.i. started to do my back ground check. when i flew home for christmas leave, my friends, family and previous work were laughing and telling me that the f.b.i. were just by a couple of weeks ago asking about me.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the US's nuclear defense system, which used intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), had absolutely no connection with each other - any more thank the national park system was linked with nuclear submarines.
J P 4 months ago
Huh? Atlas and Titan ICBMs were used for Mercury and Gemini spaceflights by NASA. How is this unconnected?
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#25
I wasn't particularly close with my grandfather, I was young when he died, but as he was well... dying, he had to have a breathing tube put in. After he died, the doctors presented my grandmother with his false teeth.
Apparently, when he was 21, as a birthday present, his father had taken him to the dentist to have all his teeth pulled and have false ones put in. No one knew, including his wife and all his kids. Apparently this was common practice.
Nils Skirnir 4 months ago
In the US, prior to WW2, folks lost lots of teeth prior to age 20-30. During WW2 a high percentage (23-30?) of draftees/enlistees were rejected because they didn’t have 3 pairs of teeth that met each other. The terrible dental health of middle class USians was one reason for flouridation
Just me... 4 months ago
And we will go right back to that if RFK has his way.
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Petra Peitsch 4 months ago (edited)
Like never came up as a conversation topic, and grandma met him after his 21st. birthday.
Load More Replies... Joshua David 4 months ago
My grandparents both had dentures but neither had ever seen one another without them. So odd.
Con O Cuinn 4 months ago
Yeah, my granny had this done. She used to creep me out of I saw her at night because her whole face looked smaller without them in. Really scared me as a kid
Jackie Lulu 4 months ago
I knew a young couple a few decades ago that were saving up to get false teeth. They were so tired of going to the dentist for their crummy teeth that they just wanted to be done with it.
Lene 4 months ago
That is one awful common practice! 😳 Imagine having (hopefully) healthy and fine teeth but then, when you turn 21, you get them all pulled out. 😬 But well, back in the day it may have been the most convenient thing to do?
Lene 4 months ago
Googled it. It seems to have been a thing in the 1800s and early 1900s in Great Britain, the USA, and Canada. This is just wild to me (I'm in Denmark). Wow. It was a major TIL for me. 😊
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AshHills 3 months ago
I just recently received Dentures this last Spring. EVERYONE (even the Dentists Office) told me to not take them out and to not let my BF see me without them. Y'all, I cannot stand how they feel in my mouth while I'm sleeping and I take them out. My nana had the same mindset --- as she said, 'Your Grandfather never saw me without my teeth'. She's now passed. Good for you Nana and other, I'm NOT sleeping with these things in my mouth.
Toffee Keenor-Leach 3 months ago
I once worked with a woman whose mother had every one of her perfectly healthy teeth removed as a 21st birthday present! The idea was that she would never have to pay dentist bills if they subsequently became a problem.
#26
So this will likely get buried, but I'm bored in class so what the hell.
My best friend passed away last year. After she died, I found out she was a lesbian, and she had been in a relatively serious relationship with a girl from her home town. Most people in her home town knew, but I - one of her closest friends at college - had no idea she was gay or in a long term relationship.
I don't really care about people's sexual orientations. But I was really hurt that she hadn't told me about her girlfriend or her sexual orientation. I shared everything with her - literally EVERYTHING. I wish she could have felt comfortable enough to tell me about someone who, clearly, was so important in her life. It was especially rough since everyone from her home town - even those she hadn't been as close with - knew about all of it. I ended up feeling a lot of doubt and question about how close we actually were.
Anyway, that's my experience. I know it's probably not as entertaining as other answers, but there ya have it.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
I wonder, if OP didn't make occasional remarks over the years, that she didn't found harsh about gay/lesbian people, but what the friend found discouraging enough for herself to come out for her friend.
Joshua David 4 months ago
Her statement "I don't really care about...." blew it wide open for and I definitely agree with your analysis of it all 💯
Load More Replies... Kimberly Lorton 4 months ago
That is always sad, to find out a really good friend didn’t tell you one of the most important parts of her life, and about the most important person in her life. Sometimes, it can slip out unawares, by people that know. So maybe she was not hiding it, but she just didn’t want you to be upset or have it slip out while you two were in college.
#27
In India, January 2013, both of my grandparents died just hours apart. At the time, my mother and I were told that my grandfather died of a brain hemorrhage and my grandmother died in her sleep. My aunt and uncle flew from England (where they reside) to India when they heard my grandfather was in a coma from the hemorrhage.
This year, my mother began talking to a man in India who was one of my grandfather's best friends. This man was with my aunt and uncle during the time of their death.
According to this man, my aunt and uncle woke up and found my grandmother dead in her bed and just left her there. They didn't do anything about her dead body for hours - they just left it in her bed. While my grandmother's corpse was still in her bed, my aunt and uncle went to the hospital to see my grandfather. The doctor said my grandfather would come out of the coma soon and would be fine. But my aunt and uncle decided to pull the plug on him anyways.
They went back to the house, and one of the housemaids showed my aunt that my grandmother's dead body was foaming at the mouth. My aunt took her scarf, wiped away the foam and kept the scarf there to prevent anyone from seeing the foaming.
So basically my aunt and uncle k****d my grandparents.
Gia SDP 4 months ago
I don't understand, was the grandmother still alive when the scarf was used?
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
Nope, they poisened the grandma, while grandpa was in hospital. Some poisons are causing that mouth-foaming effect, even after hours the death itself.
Load More Replies... David W 4 months ago
OP says "found my grandmother dead in her bed", yet decides that aunt and uncle ki**ed her?
Joe Reaves 4 months ago (edited)
Foaming suggests breathing, so they didn't find her dead, they found her unconscious and left her to die. Whether that was deliberate or they didn't know she wasn't dead we can't know but given they decided to end life support even though doctors said the grandfather would recover the OOP has clearly come to their own conclusion on what was more likely.
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#28
We found letters from my opa to his girlfriend. Except they were dated around the time my oma, who he was still married to, was dying of lung cancer in the hospice. My opa was kinda a d**k at times.
#29
I found out my beloved great grandfather was, um... "friendly" with his daughters... It changed the way I looked at my entire family.
KnightOwl86 4 months ago (edited)
Friendly? You mean abu*ive. I hate when people use weird euphemisms just say what you mean to say. There's nothing 'friendly' about se*rally abu*ing kids.
Harry Gondalf 4 months ago
Me too. My grandpa (father's side) hit on both my mother (newlywed to my father) and on my cousin, his granddaughter.
#30
My grandfather passed a few years ago. My mother and I have been working on our ancestry and we found out that my grandfather ran booze in Far Rockaway Beach with every big name booze runner in New York during prohibition. We always knew my grandfather had a past drinking problem and couldn't ever touch the stuff again but he never spoke about how or why he developed the problem.
#31
I found out my father was gay. It explained a lot about his depression and a*******n issues.
Caffeinated Ape 4 months ago
Yeah, those situations tend to suck for everyone involved.
Load More Replies... Al Padilla 4 months ago
Nine-letter word Starts with a Ends with n Applicable to issues. This is pretty silly
#32
That my mom had a brother. My uncle was the black sheep of the family, ran away after high school, in and out of prison his whole life, you get the idea.
#33
Not a shocking one but my aunt died when she was 18, she'd been smoking since she was 11/12 and my Grandma only found out when she went to collect her stuff from the hospital. We used to come up with the dumbest excuses to get away and smoke I don't know how she never realised.
Serena Myers 4 months ago
She probably did, but chose not to say anything. My Dad would keep his ciggies in a cupboard in the garage and take a couple with him when he went for his Sunday pint. Mum must have known, but she never said anything. This was 50 years or so ago, when you could still smoke in a pub or restaraunt.
#34
I learned my great uncle had never been married, died virgin, and was gay.
AcraN 4 months ago (edited)
On its own, no. But while impossible to know in this case, until relatively recently, many people chose, effectively forced, to avoid relationships due to society’s extreme hostility toward homosexuality. Thankfully, this is no longer true in many countries… but sadly, it still is in some.
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Don't listen to me 4 months ago
And how did they know he was a virgin? Might have had secret male relationships.
Al Padilla 4 months ago
At least with priests, absolutely no guarantee of virginity - if you count little boys. Time for a story: A young monk joins the monastery, and is assigned to copying manuscripts. Day in and day out, he copies diligently, until one day he gets a disturbing thought, and runs to see the Abbott. "Abbott, Abbott! I've just had a terrible thought. Day and night in the scriptorium I make copies of copies of copies. If ever I make a mistake, it will be perpetuated forever!" "Go pray, my son," anwered the Abbott. The next morning, all the monks heard weeping and wailing, coming from the crypt, where the bodies of former abbotts, and the original manuscripts were stored. They all trundle down the stairs to find the Abbott wailing in anguish. "Abbott, Abbott, what's the matter?" asked one of the monks. "The word was celebrate," wailed the Abbott.
Load More Replies... #35
I work at a TV station. I had a co-worker — a producer and reporter — who absolutely loved Oprah and everything Oprah-related. After she passed, I found out she was actually working part-time at Harpo on the weekends the whole time, but told almost nobody here because she didn't want anyone to think she didn't care as much for us.
Petra Peitsch 4 months ago
That's a very USA-specific post. It makes no sense to me, although, I understand every single word of it.
Jude Corrigan 4 months ago
OP worked at a TV station with a woman. This woman loved Oprah Winfrey and everything related to her. After this female colleagues death it came out that she worked weekends at Harpo, which is Oprah Winfrey's company.
Load More Replies... Jude Corrigan 4 months ago
OP worked at a TV station with a woman who loved Oprah Winfrey, and everything to do with her. This female colleague died and it was revealed that she had spent her weekends working at Harpo, Oprah Winfrey's company.
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Cee Cee 4 months ago
Production company owned by Oprah Winfrey. Harpo = Oprah. I'm not American either.
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4 months ago
Harpo was the dry cleaners Oprah used. That’s bs but at least makes the story a bit interesting
What do you think ?
Gareth Williams 4 months ago
When my grandfather died, I found a box of old WW2 photos of him, and a stack of medals. He never once talked about the war, he just held it inside. I can't help but wonder about the acts of bravery he carried out to earn so many Iron Crosses.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
One of my relatives was a city cop who was found to have almost a million dollars in a foreign bank account that he had no explanation for.
Leg less In Minneapolis 4 months ago
When my Dad died at 85, my brother and I had to clean out his apartment. At this point we NC the abu$ive c@ck $u@ker so we were laughing and making jokes. Until my brother came out of bedroom looking green and holding something out to me. I looked in the shoe box and died laughing. It was the old man’s peni$ pump. Really wanted a shower after that.
Ivy la Sangrienta 4 months ago
So my grandmother divorced my grandfather in their late 50's when she discovered he'd been cheating on her with a coworker. She died aged 65, and we just found out this summer (2025) that he'd never actually cheated, and my grandmother had believed a malicious rumour that her gossipy "friend" told her. One of my aunts has been angry at my grandfather because of this since 1990, and now she's even madder.
Jenna Kay 4 months ago
My SO's aunt had become a hoarder. Her husband took his own soul during the Vietnam War - he had been a psychiatrist helping soldiers and was denied some leave time to get his own mental health in check. Aunt B never recovered from his loss and you could tell exactly when the hoarding started.
Gracie Mae 4 months ago
had an uncle that had a BIL that was around so much he was like another uncle to me. we lived in a northern state on the coast, but later moved further south, also on the coast. Not sure if that had any bearing on what I found out just a few yrs ago--that they'd been running guns between the 2 locations for yrs! my uncle has been gone for 20+ yrs, so I can't ask him about it, and I lost touch with the other 'uncle.' Would love to know some of those stories though
Ffion Jones 4 months ago
My Nan died earlier this year, found out she was a prostitute in a former life lol
Gareth Williams 4 months ago
When my grandfather died, I found a box of old WW2 photos of him, and a stack of medals. He never once talked about the war, he just held it inside. I can't help but wonder about the acts of bravery he carried out to earn so many Iron Crosses.
Michael Largey 4 months ago
One of my relatives was a city cop who was found to have almost a million dollars in a foreign bank account that he had no explanation for.
Leg less In Minneapolis 4 months ago
When my Dad died at 85, my brother and I had to clean out his apartment. At this point we NC the abu$ive c@ck $u@ker so we were laughing and making jokes. Until my brother came out of bedroom looking green and holding something out to me. I looked in the shoe box and died laughing. It was the old man’s peni$ pump. Really wanted a shower after that.
Ivy la Sangrienta 4 months ago
So my grandmother divorced my grandfather in their late 50's when she discovered he'd been cheating on her with a coworker. She died aged 65, and we just found out this summer (2025) that he'd never actually cheated, and my grandmother had believed a malicious rumour that her gossipy "friend" told her. One of my aunts has been angry at my grandfather because of this since 1990, and now she's even madder.
Jenna Kay 4 months ago
My SO's aunt had become a hoarder. Her husband took his own soul during the Vietnam War - he had been a psychiatrist helping soldiers and was denied some leave time to get his own mental health in check. Aunt B never recovered from his loss and you could tell exactly when the hoarding started.
Gracie Mae 4 months ago
had an uncle that had a BIL that was around so much he was like another uncle to me. we lived in a northern state on the coast, but later moved further south, also on the coast. Not sure if that had any bearing on what I found out just a few yrs ago--that they'd been running guns between the 2 locations for yrs! my uncle has been gone for 20+ yrs, so I can't ask him about it, and I lost touch with the other 'uncle.' Would love to know some of those stories though
Ffion Jones 4 months ago
My Nan died earlier this year, found out she was a prostitute in a former life lol
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