12 things NOT to say to police officers

When you see the red, white and blue lights, red and white lights, blue lights or whatever color lights in your rearview mirror, that means you've attracted the attention of the friendly local law enforcement. According an article by Andrew Herrig on the website Wealthy Nickel, here are 12 things NOT to say to an officer of the law.

Ironically, this is the Delhi Township Police Department. I live in Delhi Township, a part of Cincinnati, Ohio

Please understand that law enforcement is only trying to do their job. Please don't be an ignorant doorknob with a sense of entitlement

The best thing to do when pulled over is be honest, stay calm, be polite and, even better, put your hands up on the wheel so they see that you are not armed and that will make things smoother. It will put the officer's mind at ease

1. Admitting you know the reason you were pulled over

-There's nothing wrong with being honest with a police officer. It's standard for an officer to ask the person why they were pulled over. If you tell them Yes, this can be considered an admission of guilt and used in a court of law, a reference to the Miranda Rights. It will also make appealing tickets in court difficult

2. Wanting to argue about being stopped

-Arguing with police will not work out in your favor. It will make things harder for you later on. While drivers should be as honest as possible, don't say why you know the reason you were pulled over. In this case, say as little as possible. Use the old phrase "silence is the golden rule"

3. Asking why you were pulled over

-Despite drivers being allowed to know why they were pulled over, it's up to the officer in question to explain their actions. Starting off the conversation with an attitude will not set a good tone for what will happen next

4. Talking too much

-It's a nervous habit of some to talk too much when nervous. Sometimes, this can backfire; it will lead the officer to suspect you are under the influence of something or give them reason to search the car. Overall, it may lead to the officer becoming suspicious. Just control your nervous talking otherwise the officer could want to search your car when all they needed to do was a simple traffic stop

5. Making fun of the situation

-This is one of the worst things to do. Cracking jokes with the officer makes it look like the driver is not taking this seriously. The officer takes their job seriously and when the driver is cracking jokes, that's not good. It makes the driver look as though they think they are above the law, especially if they were pulled over for a traffic violation. Stay cool and calm and everything will go fine

6. Being rude to the officer

-Understand that police officers are doing their job to keep people safe on the road. If you committed a traffic violation, whether it be unknowingly or knowingly, the officer has a right to address it, as it's their job. Being rude to an officer is not the best way to start off the conversation. It's easier to make a complaint after the occurrence than to calm the storm down after talking rudely to an officer

7. Saying you pay their wages

-This screams "sense of entitlement" more than anything. NEVER say this to an officer. Officers already know their paychecks come from the public. Why highlight that? They're doing what they are paid to do-enforce the law on the road and elsewhere. Just be thankful that police are doing their job

8. Telling them you have connections

-When you are pulled over, the last thing you want to do is tell them you are connected to powerful people. This sounds obnoxious and will sound like the driver is trying to threaten or even look down on the man or woman officer. If it's a case of actually being connected to someone in a position of authority, it could also bring shame and embarrassment to the person they mention, ruin relationships and even ruin their reputation

9. Inviting them to search your vehicle

-This practically shouts from the heavens "I'm guilty" or "I have something to hide". Unless there is a probable reason to search the car, police must have consent from the driver to search a vehicle or perform a frisk. Drivers can say no and searches won't continue. But offering up an opportunity to search a vehicle immediately raises the officer's suspicion and takes away opportunities to appeal it later

10. Asking them why they are not out catching "real" criminals

-Some drivers seem to think that police have nothing better to do than catch people going a few miles over the speed limit or violating traffic laws. That they should be out catching "real" criminals, like murderers, rapists, thieves and more. There are police officers who work in different sections and work with different crimes, violations or infractions. Questioning these officers about that heightens tension and causes hostility

-For example, in major cities, there are police who work in the central business district, keeping an eye on traffic and other happenings. Or there are police who work major events, such as sporting events and concerts. They keep people safe from crimes

11. Bending the truth

-Lying, no matter the situation, will make things worse. The last thing you should do is lie to an officer. This is a crime. If the driver has to go to court, the fact the driver lied to an officer will come out and the judge will know. People don't have to volunteer information, but it's far better to remain honest and truthful than lie

12. Anything after arrest

-If a person is arrested and read their rights, they need to remain quiet. Because, after all, part of the Miranda Rights includes "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." The officers have the right to use that against you. Doing anything after arrest is going to come back to bite you. The only thing you can do is ask for a lawyer. So, during this time, silence is most definitely golden otherwise whatever you do is going to harm your defense in court

Americans Making Screwups Abroad

Leave it to a few Americans here and there to do something stupid/say something stupid overseas. While not all Americans are going to do a few cultural messups, there are people from the US who would do something stupid, simply because the doorbell of opportunity was a ringing or curiosity got the best of them or they simply didn't know. Rule of thumb: respect the laws and customs and they will respect you. Whatever you do, it will leave a good or bad impression. Respect the laws and customs and don't be stupid! And keep the stupid comments to yourself. Seeing the events listed below makes me ashamed to be an American tourist.

1. Wearing a kilt is not an invitation to take a peek

-I got stopped by an American tourist as I was on my way to a wedding in my kilt. That prick straight up lifted the back of my kilt to prove I was a true Scotsman.

My mate intercepted the perfect diving headbutt

2. Just an innocent koala...

-In Australia, [they] shook a koala out of a tree at a wildlife park.

3. Complicated much?

-From my job at a youth hostel:

Explained that Euros are way too complicated and they refused to pay with anything but dollars. Another one complained that they couldn’t read street signs and there should be an English version... in a small town without a lot of tourists.

Another thing I have seen way too often [in Germany]: they do the Nazi greeting, which is illegal, and they often find it hilarious

4. Parents can be bad influences

-I'm an American, but I was visiting England and touring the Tower of London. There was a cannon behind a rope with a "Do not touch or climb" sign.

This American woman lifted the rope and told her kid (maybe seven years old) to go sit on the cannon so she could take a picture. The KID protested and said the sign said no... The woman said she didn't care, and ordered her kid to do it or she'd ground them.

5. Souvenir in progress...

-When I was in France, a couple American tourists tried to sneak out of the Paris Catacombs with a bone they had stolen.

6. Shocked speechless

-They did the Nazi greeting in the middle of Berlin (Germany), not far from the Jewish memorial.

7. No more questions!!

-I was in a tour group in Tajikistan and we were inside a local's house who had invited us in for tea. He was telling us about his family and how many children they have, etc. The only American in the group piped up and asked, "What contraception does your wife use? Does she use herbs or something?"

Everyone was just aghast and he politely avoided the question, then there was a long awkward silence. And so the[n] she asked AGAIN! At that point, another tour member interjected and said, "Okay, I think it’s time for us to leave. Thanks for having us."

8. No shoes please

-I live in New Zealand and we have our special kind of churches called maraes. You are not allowed to wear shoes in them.

One day I was in the marae and I saw this middle aged woman walk in with her shoes on. I walked over to her and politely asked her to leave her shoes at the door and, I kid you not, this is what she said: “What is this some kind of savage church?” The men immediately kicked her out.

9. #winniethepoohruined

-I was at Disneyland in Japan and there was an American tourist standing behind us during the fireworks and castle show. He lit up a cigarette in the middle of the crowd where children were, and then loudly complained that because Winnie the Pooh was singing in Japanese that was “f*cked up” and “ruined Pooh forever.” I also saw him punch a toddler's balloon because it was in his way.

10. Speak English here?

-Angrily shouting, "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?" very loudly at a cashier in a small store in Paris over and over again until they gave up and and stormed out. After they left, I approached to buy something and said "Bonjour" and they said "Hello" back to me. She spoke English

11. But other countries do it

-I’m a Greek-American (i.e., dual citizen) visiting Greece. An American woman in the Acropolis museum tried to touch the marbles when a staff member told her she couldn’t. She replied, “You know in Spain they let you touch the Roman statues!”

Good for Spain. This is Greece; we don’t have much anymore besides our history and a few nice islands. Unless the government sells those, too

12. This round is on someone else

-Not buy their round. In a pub in Ireland. When the pub round system had been explained to them. And they had happily taken drinks from everyone.

And when it was their round, and everyone had empty glasses, and it was mentioned that "Think it's your round..." they responded, "I think I'm good now, thanks." Mortified for bringing them with me! (And yes, I bought the round for everyone else on their behalf.)

13. Food is not always fast

-I used to work in a high-end restaurant. Five or six course meals are the standard, so people take their time to eat, chat and enjoy the evening for at least two to three hours. It is normal to have half an hour in between meals. If we would serve faster, the guest would complain about the food being served too fast.

Anyway, this table of mostly local people plus one American woman being very loud with a thick, I guess, New York accent was complaining after three minutes after every course where her food was. First, I explained the above. The rest of the table was also getting a bit awkward about her behavior. She kept complaining, though, saying how incredibly disappointed she was.

I kept explaining that the food we serve is freshly made, it takes time to prepare, and that the whole idea is to enjoy the evening in with the people you are [with]. She just would [not] get [the] concept and reacted with so much disbelief. Lady, you are abroad; if you want to stuff your face with food in under five minutes, go to a fast food chain... even better, stay at home.

14. When in Rome, hate on the local pizza

-I’m a Brit who was in Rome on a food tour. There was a pair of women from Chicago (I know because they told us 20 times) and one of them would interrupt the tour guide at every opportunity to tell him Chicago invented pizza and how the pizza here wasn’t as good because “real pizza is deep dish,” while the other woman agreed.

It was a four-hour tour and they mentioned it every 20 minutes at least. The pizzeria stop on the tour was unbearable.

15. How to scare a child like an American

-Screeching, "Oh ma gawd do that again!! Say something Scaaaattish!!" (Scottish) at 8-year-old me and a friend during a school trip to an art gallery. Really caught us off guard and my friend just managed to mumble, "What do you want me to say?" And they howled with laughter.

16. This isn't Starbucks

-In a crêperie in Paris, an American couple rudely complained to the staff, and then to the manager because the pancakes and coffee were too small! They'd ordered a crêpe and un café (an espresso).

We had trouble not laughing out loud when (after repeatedly trying to explain it politely) the manager finally lost his cool and practically yelled, "You are in Paris! In France! In France, THIS IS coffee! If you want what you call coffee, you need to find a Starbucks." He also wouldn't give them the discount they requested

17. English, please!

-I had dinner with an American in China. He asked for water in English, and the waiter didn’t understand. He spoke up and repeated himself in a patronizingly slow voice, and again the waiter, not being able to speak English, didn’t understand. I asked for the water in Chinese and the waiter left. The American then said, “It’s so infuriating here sometimes.”

There are many things that can be annoying and inconvenient in China, but simply expecting people to understand your language is unreasonable as f*ck

18. Be a creeper after parking a boat

-In the Netherlands, you have this place called Giethoorn, which is this nice typical Dutch village with lots of waterways and canals. You can rent a boat and just go on your way around all the waterways and the village.

Tourists often forget that this is an actual village where normal people live and that it’s not just one big theme park. So they often park their boat in someone's backyard and walk around their garden, peek inside the houses through the window and stuff. People get used to it, but it’s still rude haha

19. Do not touch the animals

-South African here. Americans tend to have this habit where they will climb out of their vehicle in the middle of a game reserve, get attacked by a wild animal because they wanted to get closer or try to pet it, and then cry about it.

I thought people that come from the country that has grizzly bears and mountain lions would be a bit more cautious around wild animals.

Also, the shock they experience when they realize there are cities here and not everyone is living in mud huts

20. Turn on the lights!

-Iceland. We get a lot of tourism when there isn't a pandemic, and about half are American. It's mostly just ignorance and the refusal to accept that things work differently here. Also, while most people here speak English to some degree, there are a few tourists that are furious about it not being the default language in businesses that aren't even connected to tourism. God forbid we speak our own language at work.

Oh and Northern Lights. There's a ton of people who seem to think we can just flick a switch and have the Northern Lights appear

21. Slow and loud doesn't mean understanding

-Talk to me in slow, shouting English as if I don't understand. He was in western Canada, where everybody speaks English, and I'd already even said something in English to him

22. Revising history

-I have seen a very drunk American tourist in his 20s explaining to a Viet bartender in Viet Nam how his American grandfather freed Viet Nam of communists

23. Leave home unarmed

-A friend of mine is a customs agent in Ireland and he said Americans have turned up with firearms at Dublin Airport.

When they are stopped and it's flagged - you cannot walk around with handguns or be a possession of handguns - they bleat about the 2nd amendment, etc.

It has to be explained they are no longer in the USA and they cannot have access to their firearms.

I asked him how often this happens. He replied, often enough that there is a safe in Dublin Airport for Americans who bring their guns.

Wild.

24. Never heard of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

-I'm French. I was chatting with an American woman who was visiting (friend of a friend of a family member). At one point, we start talking about the differences between our countries. She said, "The USA is the only country in the world with true freedom."

I thought she was joking, but she was not. I told her, "What do you mean? We are also free in France." She looked at me with a condescending smirk and said, "Really?" like to make me admit something. I just nodded and left

25. Golden Arches dining down under

-While working at Maccas [McDonald's], I overheard an American tourist tell his family that they were going to eat some good food, not foreign garbage, while they were waiting in line to order

26. This isn't camel country?

-I live in Israel, my two favorites:

"Where are the camels and the dunes, isn't this a desert country???" The tourist said it in Tel-Aviv...

An old American man stripped naked in a beach (not a nudist beach... we don't have those here). Very disrespectful and also illegal here...

27. How far away is it?

-The best one I've heard was the American tourist complaining that they built Edinburgh castle so far from the train station

28.  Know the audience you're speaking to

-Indian here. My office was hosting two American and one British ladies and I had to take them sightseeing. We were a British colony up until 1947 and have tonnes of British buildings as our historical heritage (that period was awful but the buildings are nice).

Well, for some reason the American ladies thought it would be a good idea to talk to me about how the British were awful to us during the colonization period in front of the nice British lady. I was uncomfortable talking about that, and the British lady seemed uncomfortable, but the American ladies kept [making] what they thought were funny comments about how the British lady's country was awful to my country despite my million efforts to change the subject.

It IS a dark part of our history, but bringing that up and keeping at it was rude and in bad taste.

Thankfully, the British lady did not get offended or I would've had to face the consequences of offending a guest.

29. Chivalry is most definitely dead

-India. Subway has seats designed for ladies. American guy in his twenties totally refused to move and let the ladies who were standing sit. He was requested by everyone for like five minutes

30. Insensitivity on an epic scale...

-Asking for an Irish Car Bomb in a pub in Ireland....

It's an abomination of a drink to begin with, but calling it that is going to get you refused service at best. Worst case scenario depends on whereabouts in Ireland you ask for it.

31. We're not in Camelot anymore...

-My friend described a trip to an English tourist spot, one of many places said to be Arthur’s Camelot. It required a climb up the picturesque hill to a quiet, tree-filled spot. Nothing of the castle to be seen, of course, but everybody gazed out over the surrounding land, contemplating the magic of the ancient myth.

Finally arrives the chubby, puffing American who glances about with irritation, then loudly says in that familiar accent: “Where’s the god***n castle?”

Weird Stories from Librarians

Librarians have seen it all. They encounter weird situations, strange items left in book drops. Here is some iron clad proof that librarians have seen it all.

1. Giving new meaning to the phrase "hot read"

-We waive a lot of fees during finals. We wake people up who are sleeping (I've definitely had a student thank me and immediately run off to a final). We have students get drunk in study rooms. Once we had a student who was cold light a trashcan fire in a study room to stay warm. Mostly though, it's exhausted tears and thousand mile stares as they turn in headphones and shuffle off to class. Finals are brutal. Edit: for those curious about the trashcan fire, it was a very small fire. The student was careful to take out the bag and it looks like they were just feeding bits of paper into it. Our best guess is that they were just trying to make enough fire to heat up the metal can and use it as an ambient heat source...but still. Who thinks that's a good idea?

2. Finding a cat in the book drop and adopting it

-Dewey the Library Cat was a famous resident cat who was found in a book drop as a kitten. A contest was held to pick a name, and "Dewey Readmore Books" was added to the staff

3. Something smells fishy

-Had someone put a whole salmon in it one year when we were closed for Christmas. Thing festered and rotted for 2 days [and] it did not smell nice

4. Nuclear fallout book drop

-I've found the strangest thing to be the book drop. When I switched branches to staff a newly built library, the book drop was built to be bomb-proof. It was a 24-hour book drop and at night we had a procedure to close off the unit from the rest of the room and then close the fire door to the small room that enclosed the unit. This was not a large city, but rather out in suburbia in a quiet town

5. Taking rap viral

-There was a 30-something year old guy who used the Macs and sound booths in the library to record his raps. He went by the name "Prince Rao", and his raps were so, so terrible. He tried to get some of the employees with video/audio knowledge to remix some of them for him (they didn't)

6. Returning books with a little something extra

-I'm not a librarian but I once returned by birth control pills to the library through the drop box. I was in university and had decided to get s---faced at 11am before a lecture and dropped off some books on my way to class. I had my b/c in my backpack and it must have gotten sandwiched between 2 books. Anyway, after my lecture it was pill time and when I reached into my bag they weren't there. I was still kinda drunk and started panicking. I told a friend who was in class with me (who found my drunken-ness to be quite amusing), [and she] told me I should retrace my steps. I went back to the library and asked someone if anyone had found a pack of birth control pills. She laughed at me and said "Yeah, we've been expecting you." Thankfully the pack of pills had a sticker on it with the prescription as well as my name and address. So all I had to do was show them some ID and they gave me my pills back

7. Bringing back memories with "Dancing Queen"

-I made an account just so I could respond to this. I work in an academic library, but we have one computer that is open for visitor use. We have this one older gentleman that comes in multiple times a week. During at least one of his weekly visits, he will sit at the computer watching slideshows of old black and white yearbook photos while listening to an instrumental version of ABBA's "Dancing Queen". Even though he has on headphones, he plays the music so loudly that I can hear it perfectly at my desk. Often times it's just the two of us in the computer area, and he listens for hours which means I listen for hours. I don't really have the heart to ask him to turn it down because he looks so happy.

8. Checking Google Street View

-Oh yeah, I have another guy who was once caught in a photo on Google Maps Street View. Now [after] everywhere he's been the day before, he comes in [uses] Google Maps Street View...to see if he's been photographed again

9. "Pong" all day

-I used to do some volunteer work at my local library, and there was this one dude that would come in every day and just play Pong on the computer. Nothing else. If he was told to go away, usually when someone else needed the computer, he would just go "sure thing" with a smile, then go sit on a chair somewhere else. The moment the computer was free again, he would go back to playing Pong.

10. Flash mob anyone?

-I was working in my college's library at like midnight during finals week. The library was packed. When some weird kids started a flash mob type thing in the middle of this area that was just rows and rows of tables. Nobody was happy with this and [everyone] started yelling at them. Then this guy went over [and] ripped the power cord out of the boombox and screamed at them to gtfo then proceeded to just yell at nothing before another dude came over and calmed him down. The student I was working with was a freshman and I think I watched his faith in college die

11. Celebrating finals with mimosas

-Someone was giving out mimosas in my school's library last semester during finals week. Don't think they ever got caught. I would have gone to get one if I could find a spot in the library, but it was completely packed

12. Putting MS Paint to good use

-Not a librarian...[I'm] an IT guy who works at a library - we have a guy who comes in and all he does is use [Microsoft Paint] to make road signs - like interstate signs, etc. He was apparently upset recently because we didn't offer large format printing for the road signs he was making. Also, he "improves" upon some signs and...[thinks] he will sell them back to people that will want to use them

13. Finals Week turning the library into the battlefields at Normandy

-I remember walking to the library about an hour after my bio exam during my first semester of college. I took up all of the time allowed for my exam, and it was tough, but I was finally done. I just wanted to return a book and get a cup of coffee quick before heading home for the holidays. Once I got there, I was overcome with how trashed the library looked. I went to Pitt, a big public university. There had to be hundreds if not more students living full time in the library for the past week. I remember looking around and trying to take it all in, it looked like a battlefield. On the third floor, in one of the comfy chairs, I saw a who I am almost certain was from [my] bio class. He was sleeping hard, surrounded by his laptop, a few books, pop cans and junk food wrappers. I chose not to wake him up, because he looked really peaceful at that moment. But I can't imagine the scene that must have happened when he woke up

14. Special delivery-Animal Crackers

-I'll never forget the time I was unloading the drive-thru book drop and heard this little girl. She was asking her mother about the drop, seemingly very curious and interested in it. She decides to experiment by dropping an animal cracker. Then another. And another. I'm chuckling at this point, finding it very amusing how excited she's getting watching the crackers disappear down the chute. About 20 crackers later (this girl was going ham, mind you), her mom decides it's time to drop the books in and puts them all in at once. Crrrruuunch. The crackers at the bottom practically explode from the impact, causing the little girl to squeal with glee at the sound. I now realized that I would...have to clean up this mess, a real FML moment. It turned out that some of these crackers were in her mouth and were wet and soggy, making them smush into the books

The Joys of Working at Michael's

For those not familiar with this store name, Michael's is an arts and crafts store where you can ALMOST anything artsy craftsy. For the people who work there, they always have major issues with some of those who shop there. Here are 15 examples of the crap they deal with on a daily basis

BTW, the comments on these photos were most likely written by Michaels employees all over the place, wherever there are Michaels stores

When kids find the glitter and glue

"Unicorn spit and acrylic paint poured out." It gets worse. "Just found a bunch of slime and glitter dumped a few aisles down."

Thieves are getting smarter and more creative...

Store manager: "Slap one of those bad boys on there and that'll do it."

Thief: "Well...at least it's a creative way of getting the lock off, I guess. People like this are why the friggin' Cricut stuff is locked in a cabinet at my store!"

Not the right coupon...

Guys...just Google "Michaels coupon" and current date and follow the links to the Michaels site. There's a whole page dedicated to coupons! Pro tip from a Michaels shopper

When toys go wild...

"The battle hath commenced...and I just want to add we had been checking this aisle [maybe] 10 minutes before. It had been a group effort. I'm torn between thinking this is so cute and feeling sorry for whoever has to put it away"

Why customers test spray paint on the floor is anyone's guess

Despite the image having a censor on it, you can imagine what this Michaels employee is saying. I agree; To be honest, the employee is right; That would so SO annoying to clean up

When the holidays invade your local Michaels....

Sure, it's a nice treat for both employees and customers to hear when browsing through the aisles. But imagine working there for eight hours a day and hearing the same set of holiday songs all day, for two months. Hard pass

When customers mistake ANYTHING for a garbage can

"Today is the day I commit arson", said a Michaels employee. This employee can not be blamed; If you drop your ice cream everywhere, don't do a ditch and run. Who raised these morons? Someone has to clean this up at the end of the day

When customers decide this is okay

"I remember literally 30 minutes after I finished setting it, ONE customer managed to [expletive] it all up. I was raging." one Michaels employee noted. Is it really that impossible to return things to where you found them? Willing to bet that person doesn't do this at home...

When the closing crew gets creative...

"What I found in my store at 5 o'clock this morning, closing crew is wild or lazy asf." Lazy seems to fit. There's so many unexpected things to spell with the bubble letters. I'd go for TAXES just to terrify people

When the customers themselves get creative...

"I love the people who shop here." I'm trying to keep this mildly safe for work, so let's talk about our favorite nut. Mine is the classic peanut, which I'm SURE this display is referencing.

-If my sister saw this, she'd bust out laughing. And of course, like most people, her mind would go dirty

When the store stocks slime...

...be prepared for a massive cleanup!

"Truly some of the most cursed clearance items. I thought one of the bags had ripped, but no, when I inspected the empty one, it was perfect. Cap was left off, meaning someone made the choice to pour it all out"

When labelling goes wrong

Ah yes, the famed shades of "red". I love typos like this. They make no sense whatsoever, but they're entertaining. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go search what Ultramarine Pink looks like

When graduation season hits...

"Can't wait til the graduation cap decoration season ends. Recovery and go backs are madness." I certainly wouldn't classify graduation season as a nightmare season for employees, but after seeing this photo, I now understand

Spray paint finally snaps!!

"Throwback to when a can of green spray was dropped and exploded on a female customer". The thing that is hilarious are the feet-shaped spaces where her feet were.

FYI, you need a Michaels store employee to unlock this cabinet for you; I know. I had to ask one about two weeks ago at the Western Hills location to unlock it to get a can of dark purple spray paint for a milk crate in my room I use to store photo albums

Monkey in the store no one knows about?

"Found this on a sweep. No sign of the missing part.

How Hard It Is To Be A Woman...

Some men think it's easy being a lady, woman, chick, however they refer to the opposite sex. It's not always easy. Men have it so much easier. Women feel like they have to work extra hard or get a lot of crap for things. Here are some things that women share about being of this gender

BTW, if you see "My take" below any of these, I can definitely relate to the stories these ladies share. I've been there with a lot of these, I've done that with a lot of these.

15. Put it down to hormones

-"Getting angry and/or annoyed at something and having it automatically be PMS or hormones"

-My take: I agree! Anytime me or my sister is in a bad mood, my mom will say out loud "Is it that time of the month?" It's embarrassing when your mother asks about your monthly cycles because you're in a bad mood, God forbid we should be allowed to be angry after a bad day

14. When you're young

-"I was 11 and standing in line at a very crowded restaurant when some nasty a-- 50+ year old man started rubbing my butt. I tried to move, but it was so crowded that I couldn't go very far and he'd get right behind me and start doing it again. Nothing in my 11 years of life had prepared me for that moment and I was too shocked/paralyzed/scared to do or say anything. I never told anyone because I thought I had done something wrong. Yeah, it starts when we're really young

-My take: I had this happen. When I was 12, me, my sister, aunt and biological father were going to one of these little crappy concerts in Bellevue, KY by a local band (not that good at all, in fact so bad I can't even remember the name). While waiting outside a small convenient store, some old man came up and started rubbing his hand on my lower back, working its way down. I tried to move away, but he kept up. My dad thankfully came out and shooed him away. Asking him what he thought he was doing. The guy walked away and my dad asked me if I was okay. I told him yes I was. At least that was one decent thing my dad did. He may have verbally abused me and my sister, but he didn't like anyone doing that kind of stuff to us.

13. Because of my being a woman

-"In some cultures, women are the ones who have to serve tea and food to guests coming to visit their home. Doesn't matter if I'm busy studying in my locked room and my brothers are playing video games. I've been told I have to do it 'because I'm a woman'. I f---ing can't stand some of my middle eastern culture and traditions".

12. Sucks so badly

-"Buying a car. The times I tried to buy a new truck/car were terrible. A couple of salesmen totally ignored me, one didn't let me drive the car I wanted, another told me I didn't really need a truck, I was lied to about price and equipment, a car mechanic told me it was normal for the odometer to not be functioning in a new car...Buying a car sucks so much I haven't owned one in 5 years. Also, finding a bra that looks nice, is comfortable and doesn't cost a fortune."

-My take: Oh, yes. This is "heaven", rofl!! I hate being a woman trying to buy a car. Guys look at you like you're stupid. Great example. I had to recently buy a new car (not because I wanted to) because I had gotten into a wreck in February. My previous car was not equipped with anti-lock brakes or traction control so I had to keep turning the wheel to the left and right to keep it straight. I hit a patch of snow, spun out, hit the concrete K-rail separating the northbound and southbound lanes of the highway and not two seconds later, a car hit me, rendering my car completely undriveable. The driver who hit me, drove off and left the scene of an accident.

-Fast forward, I was looking at a Kio Rio at CarMax in Forest Park. They're supposed to be a good place. YEAH RIGHT! Because my stepdad is not your average guy who likes to take control of the situation, he is the kind to avoid conflict. He was off looking at cars he clearly can't afford, so it was up to me, my mom and sister to try and get a car. The guy we spoke to was a Hispanic gentleman who talked down to us like we were stupid because we were women. We told him were already pre-financed through Fifth Third, but he wanted us to finance through them, which would have been a mistake. Since my credit is so-so, I needed a co-signer on my car. My sister offered and if they ran her credit, they would have run it multiple times, ruining hers. They simply wouldn't accept that we wanted to finance through another institution; they wanted our money to go directly to them. The manager also came out with two of his lackeys (salesmen) and tried to talk us into financing with them because they offer better interest rates. My mother had to basically go insane on them and say that we'll take our business elsewhere. And then CarMax did the worst thing ever-they sent my mom a survey! This may not sound like a bad thing, but if you know my mom, this is like giving her a million dollars and telling her there's no tax on it-she's overjoyed! Luckily, my mom found a more suitable car at Performance Toyota in Fairfield-a 2018 Ford Fiesta SE. So far, the only thing I can't figure out is why my MP3 won't play in the USB port. I hope it nothing to do with Apple CarPlay. I really hope this program is not the reason why my MP3 won't work. It's a relatively new MP3; only had it for a couple of years.

11. Unbelievable

-"Gender bias in the medical system - having an illness is not believed. A friend of mine had tuberculosis for years and doctors told her she was probably just an emotional new mum."

10. The future's children

-"Not being able to make decisions about my body because of potential future children. I have Endo (endometriosis) and even with an IUD (a godsend, btw), I'm still miserable and in pain all the time. I asked my doc about options and when I mentioned a hysterectomy, I was immediately shut down because I haven't had any children. I want kids, but I prefer not being in immense pain every day."

9. Self-imposed curfews

-"Self-imposed curfews and location restrictions, for example, not going to certain parts of town alone, or going to a gas station after dark. One of my male friends laughed when I asked our group for someone to accompany me to the gas station after dark because he didn't understand. Also, sneezing while on your period. That s--- sucks."

-My take: sneezing on your period does suck. Just having periods suck even more. That's the one upside to menopause. NO MORE MONTHLIES, rofl!!

8. Vulnerability at its highest level

-"My sister will call me when she walks home from work (she finishes late). Every time she calls I realize how vulnerable she is at the moment. It's terrifying and I don't stop worrying until she confirms she's home and safe."

7. Going somewhere alone can be a scary thing

-"This weekend I was talking with a girl friend who's saying it took her 20m to find a parking lot. And I was like why don't you just park in 'x' there's always free parking there, and she says she's scared of going there alone, it's quite illuminated but a little far off from the bars/cafe but honestly I've never even considered not leaving my car there or associated woman could be afraid of parking there, realizing this kinda made sad that people have to go through this."

6. Who knew knees could be provocative?

-"This might be a personal pet peeve, but school uniforms through the years. Middle school had skirts which were a nuisance because we were still at the age where we wanted to hang upside down on the monkey bars, but we could get in trouble if they could see your shorts underneath. The high school had these pencil skirt things which were TERRIBLE. They had a slit in the back that went right up and if you moved wrong you'd just about flash everyone. They had to be past the knee - not on the knee, not above the knee - PAST the knee (note, these skirts move up as you walk). I'd be fine with this, if their enforcement was fair. The boys always have shorts above the knee (but HOW am I meant to get an education with such distracting things like knees in the classroom?) but nobody ever bat an eye.

-I got stopped multiple times by this one deputy principal who disliked me. First time, my skirt was on the knee. Alright, fine. Let down the hem. Second time, my skirt was rolled at the top. I get they don't want us pulling up our skirts all the way (sometimes people pulled up their skirts to the point where you could see their underwear, which obviously isn't appropriate for school) but those skirts were designed terribly. If I didn't roll my skirt, it wouldn't fit me around the waist and would as a consequence fall down all day - which if you ask me is more of a distraction than my oh so provocative knees."

5. Some stupid broad

-"Being treated like I'm some stupid broad without two brain cells to rub together, or that my problems aren't real because I'm "being overly dramatic" or I'm in a rage over menstruation. For example at work, I'm dealing with having my hours cut and days taken out of my schedule. I was angry and upset about it for the first twenty minutes because it means I lose around 3 1/3 days of pay, which is a lot. The few guys around me told me to 'put on my big girl panties and get over it'. My boss, actually, for a whole day, kept coming up to me randomly and telling me to suck it up because my period couldn't last too much longer so I should feel better soon. Like go f--- yourself."

4. Their idea of competence

-"I'd say the hardest part is to be a full-fledged expert in some areas in order to even prove yourself to be competent at the basic level, and still have people overlook me because I don't fit their idea of competence in whatever trade. I've been becoming a jack of all trades. One of my specialties is small engine mechanics and I'm regularly helping people who break down on scooters and mopeds. My fiance is not a mechanic but he's okay at it and can do basic troubleshooting. People will regularly turn to him even after we've stated I'm the one with more knowledge. It's so frustrating. Then there was the time somebody attempted not to pay me because they didn't want to pay a girl to do a man's job. I had to threaten to disassemble the vehicle and let him put it back together to prove he's a man if I didn't get paid."

3. Or even younger

-"Guys often don't know how early being s-xualized starts for us. There have to be a lot of pedophiles around. Most of the women I know have been hit on by adult men as early as 11, 12, 13 or even younger. And then they ask why women feel unsafe..."

2. What happens if you ignore it?

-"Getting catcalled, but 2. specifically what happens if you ignore it or even try to just fake a smile and wave while hurrying away. How it turns from unwanted "positive" commentary on your body to insults and threats. It's humiliating at best and terrifying at worst. And 3. When you try to talk about it and men are like "nah, I'd never do that, so therefore it doesn't happen and you should be nicer to these randos who are 'complimenting' you in the street."

1. What am I, invisible?

-"I'm not sure if this one is just specific to me or if other women share this problem. I'm a bartender and manager at a craft brewery. Very frequently, male customers, that I'm literally standing right in front of waiting to serve, will look right past me and order from the first male bartender they can. Now I'm rather short, 5'0' to be exact. Are they just not seeing me, or do they honestly think my male coworker can somehow pour them a far more superior beer?

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Creatively

We've all wanted to get revenge on someone who may have wronged us. In this case, it's the service industry. You are basically the servant of the public, whether it be behind the front desk at a hotel, food service, etc. Here are a few examples of how people got a little sweet payback.

1.) A customer at a liquor store and wants to pay with a big denomination bill, despite having the right amount. She certainly got her exact change-ZeroPenguinParty

-Just happened. Its towards the end of the business day for my bottle shop. I'm running low on certain items of change in the register, so I am asking for people to pay with exact amounts, or by card. Enter Karen. Karen comes in, and purchases a $7 bottle of wine. If she was to pay with a $10 note, that's ok. But she decided she wanted to pay with a $50 note. I asked her if she had anything smaller, and she claimed she didn't...yet I could see the edge of a $10 note in her purse. I could have given her 2 $20 notes, or a $20 and a $10 and 2 $5 notes as part of her change, but I decided not to. I decided to get some petty revenge on her. For while I may have been VERY short on notes...I had plenty of coins...especially $1 coins, as a customer had paid a $20 sale with $1 coins just 30 minutes ago. So I told Karen that I would have to give a few coins in her change...then proceeded to count out $43 in $1 coins. Her face was getting redder and redder, until eventually, at about the $25 mark, she said "Wait, I might have a $10 note", and then proceeded to get the $10 note out to pay with.

2.) 2 year decaf binge-guacamollie19998

-Hey Mister Verizon Man,

You sold my dad refurbished iPhones and told him they were new. They were Hanukkah presents for my brothers and I. My dad was so mad that you sold him used phones— you lied to him. And he returned them. He returned them and he swore off iPhones, and I didn’t get a smartphone until I was eighteen. Mister Verizon Man, I was (nearly) the only one in my class who didn’t have an iPhone because of you. And you made my dad very angry on our favorite holiday. Mister Verizon Man, you didn’t know me, but I knew you. And when you walked into Dunkin Donuts, you ordered an extra-large hot coffee from me. Black. Mister Verizon Man, you ordered that coffee from me every morning I worked for two years. And every morning, after you ordered, I or my friends behind the counter would pour you decaf coffee. Every morning for two years, you thought you were sipping that sweet, caffeinated Dunkin coffee. But you were enjoying some lowly decaf. I hope my subtle revenge has made you a sleepy guy behind the counter lying to customers, selling refurbished phones in place of new. Maybe you pocket the difference in money, I don’t know. But anyways, Mister Verizon Man, screw you.

3.) Steps to looking like a jackass in a card store. 1. enter a store screaming. 2. pick up wrong card intended for lesbian couple. 3. give to happy couple-Marx0r

-Here I am, working a Saturday evening shift at a card and gift store. (Think Hallmark, but not that brand name.) As anyone that's worked one can tell you, a good 50% of the customers are clearly enroute to the event they're buying the card for, and a good 50% of those people think that their lack of planning is your problem. So I'm in the middle of assisting a customer when I see a Very Expensive Car pull up and park in the fire lane outside the store. A man in a Very Expensive Suit gets out of the car and walks in. Upon entering, he heads to the back without breaking stride and shouts "WEDDING CARDS?" I don't think he even saw me, he just figured that since he's the most important person in the world, there must be someone at his beck and call. I'm mid-sentence with my customer, so I finish it before addressing him. Before I can, he actually used a little effort to find the clearly-labelled cards himself, which he politely informed me of with a "GOT IT!" About 4 seconds later, he arrives at the counter, having obviously picked out the first card he saw. Maintaining volume, he respectfully requests to borrow a pen to fill out the card while he's in the process of reaching over the counter to grab one from my pen cup. While he's filling it out, as I ring up my next customer around the space he's taking up on my counter, I look down and notice that he's adressed the card to at least one male name. I also notice that he's picked out the one wedding card we sell that is unambiguously for a lesbian couple. I saw no reason to trouble him with that information.

4.) Drinks are worth the price-dearghewls

-I'm a bartender and the area I work in is upper class and petty as hell. As I tell people all the time “I don’t go out here, I just work here.” One random night not too long ago I’m making drinks at the well for servers to take to their customers at their tables while the other bartenders handle our bar top guests. It’s the middle of our rush and one of my servers comes up with a drink 1/4 full and sets it down saying the customer hates it and was demanding a different drink. Specifically, they wanted a vodka mojito. I was too busy to put up a fight and the poor girl looked run down already from the night, so I went ahead and made it, even though it was obvious the woman was just looking for free shit.

The server runs the drink to the table and it happens to be the table closest to my well so I can see and hear everything. She sets it down and hurries off to another table waving her down and I watch as this woman SLAMS the drink until there is nothing but mint and ice left in the glass, with maaaybe half an ounce of liquid in the bottom, then turns around and grabs the server again. “Uhm, I specifically asked for this with VODKA.” “Yes, ma’am, it is.” “I know what vodka tastes like, this is clearly rum. Tell your bartender to make it right this time, I’m not paying for this.” The server tried to say something but was rudely cut off and told to get it remade again, so she picks up the glass and walks over to me.

“I’m so sorry OP,” she starts, and I immediately tell her it’s okay, I saw the whole thing. “Girl, don’t worry. I got you.” So I remade the woman’s drink. One virgin mojito coming up. Nuthin but mint, lime, simple, and soda water. I cannot explain the satisfaction we both felt when that drink hit the table and we watched the woman sip it and go “Now THAT is vodka.” You get what you pay for.

5.) Penny for your thoughts?-throwaway105597

-So I used to work at a now closed-down retail shop in the UK that sold cd’s, DVD’s, vinyl, that sort of thing. We had a lot of regular customers that used to irk us, but in particular was this one guy who used to come in, buy roughly £20-£40 worth of things, and then pay for his entire transaction in coins, mainly pennies, 5ps, 10ps and 20ps. Not even pounds. Each time we’d have to stand there and count each coin individually (otherwise the tills would be wrong at the end of the day), holding up the queue, while he stood there with a smug look on his face making jokes about how long it took us to process the transaction.

Now, I’m not the greatest at maths (I have dyscalculia) so numbers aren’t my strong point. I used to hide when this guy came in so I wouldn’t have to serve him because I knew I’d take longer than everyone else to count up his money and put it in the till and then I’d hold up the queue. This time, there was no one else on shop floor, and the penny guy comes in. So I had to serve him. To my surprise, this time he actually gave me some notes to pay with, and secretly I was thrilled, because it meant I could now take revenge. I processed the transaction and with a smug look on my face, start counting out £12 worth of change in pennies, 5ps, 10ps and 20ps.

He questions what I’m doing and I say, sorry sir, we have too many coins in the till and we’ve been told to get rid of them (a lie obviously). He stands there for a good 10 mins while I count out his change, lose count, have to start over again all the while smiling and putting on my best fake sweet customer service voice. The entire time he’s standing there getting red faced and impatient, tapping on the counter, sighing loudly under his breath until I finished and gave him all of his change. He remained a regular customer, but never paid in pennies ever again!

6.) Closing at 10 means exactly that!-arsenicandoldspice

-Last night I was at work at my Family Owned Beverage Shop. It's not my favorite job I've ever had because the customers are incredibly entitled. The end of the night was approaching, beautiful, sacred closing time. We had gotten a decent rush about 20 minutes before we closed (at 10pm) so we were a little cranky about how behind we were on finishing our tasks for the night. At 9:55, we're finally getting somewhere with our cleaning when the phone rings. Sounds like a youngish boy, I'd say 15y/o at most. He asked what time we closed, and I responded with my usual, "We close at 10 every night, but we'll be open at 11 again tomorrow morning!" That's not working for him. "My friends and I really want some of your drinks but we can't be there by 10, can we come like five minutes after and still get drinks?" I tell him no, the doors get locked promptly at 10. "Oh, well we really want the drinks, what can you do?" I say "You can be here by 10, because I personally will be locking the doors." We hang up. I know he's going to try to come in anyway.

Sure enough, at 10:06, my coworkers and I hear a bunch of banging and rattling on the closed doors. Yep, like three or four high school aged kids. Sorry, we're closed. The chairs are up, the menu is turned off, someone is mopping, THE DOORS ARE LOCKED. Any time they catch one of our eyes (which we all do our best to avoid) they give us what they think are puppy dog eyes, and we laugh and shake our heads at them. No dice. They keep assaulting the doors. It's getting annoying, so I look up at them brightly with a big smile and start walking toward the doors. They start getting excited, thinking they've finally worn us down. I hold eye contact until I swerve to the right to turn off all the lights. I could hear their collective "awwwww!!!" of disappointment through the door. It felt amazing. They left. I laughed. I won. 

7.) What language do you prefer?-AlfafaFloozy

-I'm an American that was born and raised in the south. It's an obvious dialect. Also, English is a 2nd language for most people here. Language barriers are not uncommon. All of this comes into the revenge. Years ago, I worked in a call center. It was a large company with English and Spanish departments. I worked in the English department, but sat next to our Spanish department. I handled billing. No one calls billing in a good mood, but in general they're angry with the company not the rep. You calm them down, fix the issue, and you're off to the next call. Few customers are memorable, but this one I will never forget and I still laugh. This call happened on a busy day with long wait times. This just made the revenge sweeter.The call went like this.

Me: Thank you for calling blah blah blah.

Lady: I want an American on the phone.

Me: What?

Lady: I said I want an AMERICAN on the phone.

Me: Mam, I'm an American.

Lady: I WANT AN AMERICAN ON THE PHONE!

At this point, I can only assume I'm not speaking the right language.

Me: Un momento por favor

I put her on hold, transfer her over to the Spanish line, and just giggled to myself.

BUT IT DIDN'T END THERE. The lines were starting to calm down and I was chatting with one of the Spanish reps when his desk mate pops up and says she's got a psycho on the phone. IT WAS THE WOMAN I HAD TRANSFERRED!!! She was going BALLISTIC! The Spanish rep had her on mute while talking to us. I apologized and told her what happened. She started laughing. Then looks right at me and said "I'm gonna put her back in the Spanish queue". The Spanish department had a blast laughing at this crazy b*tch as they kept putting her back in the queue. I don't know if she ever got her issue fixed. Then again, we never found out what the issue was either. She was too busy yelling at everyone. Moral of the story, be nice to phone reps.

8.) Shoplifting don't pay-Erik069

-When I was in high school I worked as a stocker in a grocery store. One hot Saturday I’m stocking the ice cream freezer and saw a young women grab a couple ice-cream bars and shove them in her shorts. Quickly I found my manger and told him what I’d seen. I pointed out the women as she was walking out of the store, he went running. Caught up with her. I watched from the store entry as he chatted with her for a few minutes in the hot parking lot. I wondering what the heck they where talking about. As the manager is walking back to the store I see her reach in her shorts and toss the bars into the landscape planter. His revenge was to tell her the store was doing a survey and had some customer survey questions for her. Probably being scared she cooperated. When he saw melting ice cream running down her legs he finished the interview. Thanked her and came back into the store. We had a good laugh over his creative way to punish this shoplifter.

9.) Troublesome customer has to get her refund...50 miles away-Joelovesbacon97

-Before I start, for some background, I work at customer service as a department lead and I'll say my hardware store practices the rule that says "we reserve the right to refuse and limit any returns for any reasons" very often. With that being said... A Karen slithered into my store with a water heater that was around $800, She hissed at us "I want to return it" I asked if she had a receipt, she ask why does she need one and I said to do the refund, since it was over $50, we would for sure need a proof of purchase, she groaned and dug around in her purse and called me a moron and etc, she was already rude for no apparent reason.

I was kind of already in a pissy mood that day so I decided I'd have some fun with her being an a**hole by being an a**hole back to her. When she presented the receipt, I looked at the receipt to find any possible reason to deny her return and saw it! It was bought at a store 50+ miles away, with items that expensive we normally ask the customer to return to point of sale. So I told her "you can't return this item at this store, you need to return this item at the point of sale, which is the riverside store" when she heard this she hissed at me in anger something to the effect of "NO I WANT TO RETURN IT HERE I AM NOT DRIVING THAT FAR FOR A REFUND!” She proceeded to yell at me and my associates further, calling us rather offensive names and whatnot, until she asked for a Manager, so I got one, but I made sure to call my manager who has the same mindset of denying returns just like me. When my boss came, he saw what was going on, and he was on my side, he told her the same thing I said and she cursed us all out and slithered off to hell. As soon as she went off to the parking lot, we all began to laugh :)

10.) My two cents on this-/jzimm79

-I work retail and part of that is ringing customers up for their purchases. Occasionally you’ll get a total of 9.02 and the customer will pay with a ten. Normally I’ll give them a dollar instead of counting out .98. Today I gave a customer the dollar instead of a handful of change and he asked for another dollar because one corner was slightly torn. Instead of giving him a new dollar I gave him a handful of change. Oh the look on his entitled face. That tiny bit of revenge will get me thru this day.

11.) Waiting is the hardest part...for hard work-lupin_stargazer

-I work a crappy retail job, and we just started putting out our christmas stock (It kills me to say that when it isn't even Halloween yet). I was working the register while my coworker was in the back room handling a delivery. It was a quiet night, no customers for about half an hour, and in walks a woman with her three year old daughter. They start looking in the christmas aisle. I happen to walk by it about ten minutes later, and the aisle is completely trashed. I watch as her daughter pulls three pegs worth of garland off the wall, then as her mother picks out the color she wants and leaves the rest on the floor. This woman had allowed her daughter to do this for nearly everything in the aisle.

She saw me, took her daughters hand and said "Come on honey, lets go check out while this nice lady cleans up." And she leads her kid toward the check out. Well, jokes on you, lady. I'm the only one working them tonight! I start cleaning the aisle (very slowly) while she waits at the register. After a few minutes, the lady looks at me and clears her throat. I look up, smile and say "I'm sorry, but company policy states that I can't leave any obstruction in an aisle unattended. I'll be with you as soon as I can." And I go back to cleaning. Made her wait for a good twenty minutes trying to entertain a bored, increasingly whiny toddler before I came up and wrang her stuff up. I made sure to give her my biggest smile as I handed her her change and said "Have a nice night!".

12.) The change-man strikes no more-PM_YOUR_PRETTY_FACE

-I work overnights in a gas station in a particularly bad part of town. So from 11pm-6am I use a pass through drawer to make transactions so I don't get shot or robbed. This one a**hole shows up a couple times a week and gets at least 20 dollars in gas, and maybe 10-15 bucks in other stuff. How does he pay? By just dumping a handful of change into the drawer, making me pick it all up. Even if I have my hand out, he'll go under my hand and throw it in the drawer. That pissed me off like you wouldn't believe, so I started being rude back to him. I don't give him his stuff until I pick up each coin piece by piece and then count it all out and put it in the drawer. I'm talking like $30 in quarters and dimes and nickels so it takes a good five minutes. One time I was doing it, he says "Come the f**k on man, I'm in a hurry!" I just said "Yeah?" and kept going while he huffed and puffed and swore and paced back and forth. After 5 or 6 times of this, he started paying only in bills. I win :)

13.) Today was your last "free meal comp" from us-blobley

-I'll start off by saying that I take pride in cooking customers orders to perfection, and I strive to always make the customer happy. It's hard to do that when the person calls back every time no matter what and says that we messed their order up in some way. Well today sir, today was your last meal from us. I deleted your account and blocked all of your numbers that you have ever called us from. When you call, you will get a never ending elevator music tone. I also took the liberty of emailing every pizza place in a 3 mile radius of our store to inform them of your selfish habit. I told them what you do, and how many times you have done it to us. Hope you like Chinese food from now on f***er.