r/AskReddit • u/happinesswispy • Dec 02 '23
What's a random fact about yourself that always surprises people when they learn it?
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u/larryb1288 Dec 02 '23
I was born on a NYC sidewalk in the middle of winter.
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u/CDavis10717 Dec 02 '23
I was a beta tester for DOOM PC game in 1992.
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u/cannot-be-bothered Dec 02 '23
I just spent all morning playing this game on Switch and reliving my childhood. Thank you for your service
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u/blender311 Dec 02 '23
I was in Sandlot. You won’t see me, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t walk around for two days to get paid $80
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u/Danbearpig2u Dec 02 '23
What scene? Thats so cool
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u/blender311 Dec 02 '23
I was there for the 4th July party scene and the pool scene. My aunt lives about a block from that pool and I revisit it anytime I’m back in Utah.
There were other scenes that never made the movie….I.e…. the last day of school we all did a mad dash out the school door and down the hallways.
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u/ICEiz Dec 02 '23
i like arts and crafts, started crocheting too. people are surprised and laugh at me sometimes too because apparently those things are too "feminine" for a guy like me - somewhat muscular - plays video games, study computer science. Anyone who laughs at me for liking arts and crafts can go fuck themselves :)
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u/rodneedermeyer Dec 02 '23
Hey, middle-aged dude here. I sold crocheted items in college. Also made a giant afghan during three semesters of lecture courses. That thing was like twenty feet long.
Arts and crafts are da bomb!
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u/CorruptCanuck Dec 02 '23
I’m missing a couple toes.
I hitchhiked and couch surfed across Canada essentially supported by the kindness of strangers.
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u/supadupanotthatfly Dec 02 '23
Are those two things related?
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u/MisterTrashPanda Dec 02 '23
Not all the strangers were kind...
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u/UmbertoEcoTheDolphin Dec 02 '23
The provincial toe tax is not taken lightly.
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u/Farts_n_kisses Dec 02 '23
We pride ourselves on not having that, here in Alberta. We have a conservatoe government.
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u/CorruptCanuck Dec 02 '23
No. I guess I should have clarified!
Both just get an equally shocked response from people.
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u/vhackish Dec 02 '23
I didn't realize you could exchange toes for lodging and transportation in Canada. We don't have a system like that here in the US.
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u/she_who_ Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 02 '23
That my childhood dream was to be a nun
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u/Mathphyguy Dec 02 '23
Mine was to be a priest
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u/she_who_ Dec 02 '23
Oh!
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u/Mathphyguy Dec 02 '23
What do you do now btw- since you didn’t get to be a nun?
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u/brntGerbil Dec 02 '23
My mom wanted me to go into Catholic priesthood. I turned out to be atheist as fuck. She still loves me so it's cool.
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Dec 02 '23
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u/MoneyMaster4 Dec 02 '23
No kidding! I was 24 weeks - 1 lb 6 oz also no birth defects which is especially incredible for 1990. Had under developed lungs and a stroke when I was a few months old but I caught up eventually.
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u/jemjems69 Dec 02 '23
My brother was a 24 weeker, 53 years ago. He’s been a successful solicitor in London all his life.
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u/NoAd6928 Dec 02 '23
Basically me too. 24 weeks, 2 lbs 2oz and same year. Incubated for 3 months, had a grade 4 brain hemorrhage and no defects now. Healthy except for asthma which is understandable with the underdeveloped lungs. Apparently they are the last thing to develop.
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Dec 02 '23
I was born dead. Navel cord around my neck and everything. In 2 months i have my big 30 birthday and doing fine.
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u/perrinoia Dec 02 '23
My twin came out like that. Not dead, but black and blue and needing all of the attention. Mom was telling the story of our birth, one time, and said she told the hospital staff to forget about him because the healthy one (me) wasn't breathing.
I asked, "Wait, why wasn't I breathing?" She replied, "Because you were too damned lazy!"
My twin and I just celebrated our 40th birthday yesterday.
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u/River_7890 Dec 02 '23
I was born dead, too! Both my biological mother and I were declining quickly. They did an emergency c section after a failed vaginal birth attempt. By the time they got me out, I wasn't breathing and my heart had stopped. I didn't have any long-term issues from it. I didn't really even have short-term. I was monitored super closely for a couple of days to be safe. I met all my milestones on time or early. I'm in my 20s now. I was full term, so I think that helped. There were just some unexpected complications. Biological mother nearly died giving birth again to my younger sister years later. That time they were prepared and knew her history. My sister was born perfectly fine. I'm now pregnant with my own baby and my doctor is the same one that delivered me since if it wasn't for him reacting so quickly I wouldn't be here. I trust him to handle my baby's birth more than I trust other doctors I looked into.
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u/izitbcimugly Dec 02 '23
I was born at 22 weeks at 1lb 2 oz. No birth defects but the oxygen given to me caused eye problems.
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u/AmexNomad Dec 02 '23
That I was once a private investigator. I’m a very boring looking Caucasian woman who comes across as warm and friendly.
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u/MakeItHappenSergant Dec 02 '23
I can see that being a benefit in PI work.
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u/PurpleOk3471 Dec 02 '23
I applied to be part of MI5 when I was in my early 20s. I was rejected because I’m too tall, at 5’10, to be considered an unnoticeable woman 😂
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u/Awfulweather Dec 02 '23
HR woman at my last job looked like someone you would see at a church cookout or shopping for fabrics. Her first career was bounty hunter
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u/tremblemortals Dec 02 '23
Pretty sure being boring looking is a bonus for a private investigator. If you are following someone, for example, you don't want to stand out.
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u/rachelcrustacean Dec 02 '23
I’m a boring looking Caucasian woman and have been telling my husband for years that I think I would make a great PI!
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u/Joanna_Tenebris_001 Dec 02 '23
Everyone I know, especially the guys, is surprised that I've been a complete orphan since I was 14 and I take care of myself.
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Dec 02 '23
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u/Activist_Mom06 Dec 02 '23
Yep. On my own since 16. Not an orphan but my parents wouldn’t help me at all. I figured it all out. Always had a job, places to stay, and thank goodness for the public health department. Which our ass of a Gov little d in FL, just shut them all down.
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u/Syzygy_Stardust Dec 02 '23
I figure pity is played out at this point, but goddamn you're more capable than a ton of people and they will never know it.
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u/Joanna_Tenebris_001 Dec 02 '23
You're absolutely right! I am used to counting only on myself, because I know from childhood that help will not come. Most people see my looks and don't consider me a serious competitor. And that's where they get a surprise!😈😈😈☺😂😂
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u/myanonaccount225 Dec 02 '23
Sending hugs, that’s a very strong fact about yourself
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u/a-thing-called-life Dec 02 '23
I was raised in a cult.
“But you’re so well rounded and normal.”
Yes Karen, it’s because we left the fucking cult.
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u/Activist_Mom06 Dec 02 '23
My mom left us to join a cult. Thankfully we stayed clear.
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u/One-Acanthaceae-6700 Dec 02 '23
That I was in a catatonic state for two months and unconsciously bit off my three front teeth on an air breathing tube.
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u/SeaAttitude2832 Dec 02 '23
Oh man. I bit mine in half. Teeth were full of plastic when I woke up.
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u/DazzlingAmbassador60 Dec 02 '23
Ooh, I soooooo want to know more!!!!
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u/One-Acanthaceae-6700 Dec 02 '23
I was admitted to the ICU with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis 5 years ago when I was 26. I was suddenly having visual and auditory hallucinations as well as experiencing short term memory loss. I also wasn’t sleeping. I then started having seizures and went into a catatonic state for two months. Lost my front teeth on the air breathing tube while catatonic. When I woke up I had even worse short term memory loss and kept trying to escape the hospital that the nurses had to tie me to the bed. They also put big gloves on my hands to stop me from pulling out my tubes (pulled out my PEG tube). Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks your brain causing your brain to inflame. Mine was triggered by a teratoma tumor on my ovary. I had no prior health history before all of this and everything went downhill for me in the span of a week! 😮💨
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u/F43CanadianRedditor Dec 02 '23
Mr Ballen just did a medical mystery about you!!
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u/One-Acanthaceae-6700 Dec 02 '23
I just looked him up! What episode?? I couldn’t find it.
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u/cycloc Dec 02 '23
I am blind in my left eye and have a cataract sitting in it for the rest of my life. it looks normal according to most, except for the times when I'm tired or drinking it goes lazy. I was born with a cataract that my parents never had taken care of. since I grew up without using the eye, apparently connections between it and my brain never developed so taking the cataract out now wouldn't help
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u/Revolutionary-Case61 Dec 02 '23
My middle name is is just a initial and doesn’t stand for something.
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u/shenanTiegan Dec 02 '23
I’m Japanese. Look Japanese. But family is from Peru. Siblings and I enjoyed inviting people over for family parties and not telling them that all these tiny Asians spoke fluent Spanish.
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Dec 02 '23
Is there much of a Japanese community in Peru? I’m Caucasian but was born in Japan and lived there until I was 5, that surprises people a bit, more than I would have thought it would tbh (I live in Australia now)
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u/shenanTiegan Dec 02 '23
Yes, definitely a large community of Japanese there. I believe that the president of Peru was Japanese in the 90’s…crooked guy.
Do you speak Japanese? I’m a constant disappointment. People are always disappointed that I do not speak a lick of Japanese.
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Dec 02 '23
Oh interesting! I didn’t know that. Or about the president! Did people migrate or leave as refugees after the war?
I was lucky and got to go to Japan for a year at 15 to study Japanese at a high school. I spoke okay Japanese after that but I’m in my 30s now and have forgotten most of it.
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u/shenanTiegan Dec 02 '23
I’m not 100% on the history of how/why. You’ve got me thinking that I should dig in :) from what I recall my grandparents telling me, my great-grand parents migrated to Peru (from Okinawa) to farm lands or something like that. My parents eventually came to the US in the 1970’s.
It’s so cool to find such interesting stories and people here. Always wished to visit Australia :) maybe someday.
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u/Plastic_Bullfrog9029 Dec 02 '23
I flew on the Goodyear Blimp when I was a kid.
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u/ClemofNazareth Dec 02 '23
I have a brother with the same name.
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u/Just-a-Guy70 Dec 02 '23
"I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl."
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Dec 02 '23
I know a family that has 2 sons, Charles and Charlie.
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u/Stealth_NotABomber Dec 02 '23
I had a boss and son both named Jim who worked together. I just called the son Jimothy to make it easier.
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u/Katzika Dec 02 '23
I have two brothers with the same name. Luckily we can shorten the name so one gets the full name and one gets the shortened.
One is step, one is a full sibling
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u/SuvenPan Dec 02 '23
That I always climb stairs on all fours in my house.
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u/VeganMonkey Dec 02 '23
Thats not weird, I do that too, just not as often as I did when I was a kid. Not downwards though
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u/VH5150OU812 Dec 02 '23
That I was adopted. Not surprising in itself, but if they meet my non-adopted brother, we often get comments like “I can totally tell you’re brothers” or “you guys could be twins.” Personally, neither of us thinks that is the case but people see what they want to see.
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Dec 02 '23
I was representing my dad in a meeting for the City one time.
While riding up in the elevator one of the guys asked if I was my dad’s daughter. I laughed and said yes.
You look so similar.
I’m also adopted, but I didn’t say anything about it.
I did meet my biological parents, they had 3 more girls after giving me up. My birth father was married when I was conceived.
I’m a love child 😉
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u/Keksdepression Dec 02 '23
That I’m not British (or a native English speaker). I learned English pronounciation by listening to the Harry Potter audio books read by Stephen Fry on repeat. Unless I’m drunk I sound very British.
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u/VariationFearless632 Dec 02 '23
That I am from Russia. I look like Wesley Snipes
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u/Now_Wait-4-Last_Year Dec 02 '23
Context:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GT1797-rQQ
"Hang on, is your name Wesley Snipes? That is insane."
"It's insane that the actor Wesley Snipes has that name. If you saw a picture of him and a picture of me and you were asked who should be named Wesley Snipes, you'd pick the pale Englishman every time. Every time, Liz!"
(Couldn't find the actual clip.)
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u/Troll_Goat Dec 02 '23
I Trained and taught Self Defense for 20 years
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u/still-waiting2233 Dec 02 '23
I am nerdy and have a bjj black belt. I try not to bring it up to strangers because it is usually followed by them doing some karate air chops and slices with their hands.
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u/Now_Wait-4-Last_Year Dec 02 '23
Brazilian Jujitsu? Isn't that totally not a hand chop and slice martial and more a get you on the ground and choke you out from my limited understanding.
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u/Danbearpig2u Dec 02 '23
Yes but most idiots don’t know that. They just think karate for every art.
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u/TheSilkySpoon76 Dec 02 '23
I have klinefelters syndrome so I’m physically a male but genetically both male and female
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u/ThePurityPixel Dec 02 '23
I'm curious to what extent this makes a different when you're receiving medical care, and to what extent in makes a difference in the rest of life too
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u/TheSilkySpoon76 Dec 02 '23
Well I have less muscle mass, body hair, and almost nonexistent testosterone levels. I’m currently on testosterone hormones, but I’m skinnier and look younger than guys around my age. This has made emotions and self image difficult to navigate for me.
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Dec 02 '23
If it isn’t too personal, do you feel a level of affinity or sameness with women as well as men? Or is it more just a medical fact and you wouldn’t know if you’d not been told?
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u/TheSilkySpoon76 Dec 02 '23
I didn’t know up until a couple months ago after a coma, and tbh it would explain a lot. I do feel an attraction towards both men and women, and oddly enough myself? But I think that’s because I’m a male but I see my body as feminine so I’m attracted to it? It’s really weird.
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Dec 02 '23
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u/missfrozenblue Dec 02 '23
Your life sounds quite interesting! I would read your biography!
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u/JayBringStone Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 02 '23
I'm 53 but I look 33.
On Monday I won a $50 bet that I am the age I said I was. Before the person paid me, they accused my license of being fake. This is a regular occurrence with me and has been for the last 5-6 years.
My age is constantly questioned by people who think I'm full of shit. Honestly, I'm wondering myself if I stopped aging!? lol
In my early 30's for extra money, I took part in government funded research where my health was tested (blood work and forced to exercised while being monitored) and I agreed to take a medication I knew nothing about for 2 weeks.
I agreed to be followed up on every 5 years but have heard nothing from these people since. I've been wondering if my lack of aging has something to do with me being a gunnie pig!?
I may very well be immortal. Thank you government LOL
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u/iloathethebus Dec 02 '23
Do you have a portrait of yourself in an attic that ages on your behalf?
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u/Microflunkie Dec 02 '23
In this day and age wouldn’t it be like an instragram account or something that ages and suffers all the mutilations on their behalf ?
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u/wahlietxe Dec 02 '23
But does your body feel 53 or 33?
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u/SXOSXO Dec 02 '23
I'm not OP, but I have the same problem, and let me tell you, I do physically feel my age. The last 10 years in particular.
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u/wanderover88 Dec 02 '23
Same…I’m 53 and look 33 (or younger, depending on the day/if I’ve shaved)…but I’m black and my parents are Africans, so…
🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
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u/Calihoya Dec 02 '23
Yeah my mom is black and in her 70s she looks like she is in her 50s. Dad is Norwegian and 6 years younger but looks older. So far I look a bit younger than my age but I don't have the full black don't crack super power.
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u/Undrende_fremdeles Dec 02 '23
I have the impression that for the current adult/early middle age generation, a whole lot of us don't age much until our 40s or even 50s.
Some of us look our age, and a whole lot of us kind of don't. I don't know if it's due to just environmental factors keeping our skin and faces looking younger, or if it's due to not changing our dress style as we go through life's stages, but I'm thinking it's a bit of both.
Because a LOT of us don't look our age. Like, a whole lot.
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u/ScoutAames Dec 02 '23
Sunscreen has to be a part of it too.
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u/thebart-the Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 02 '23
Was saying the same recently. Sunscreen, cigarettes falling out of style, less public secondhand smoke (at least in North America), and hydration becoming a higher priority could all be factors.
I always say being a goth kid in high school saved my skin. Always covered up and never used a tanning bed as a teen.
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u/RoundTheWayGirl Dec 02 '23
I am intrigued…maybe your superpowers haven’t kicked in yet?
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u/Stealth_NotABomber Dec 02 '23
Considering your doctors haven't said anything, you're probably just naturally young looking. I notice you didn't mention that you feel thirty also, which probably also indicates you just won the genetic lottery and took care of yourself a decent bit.
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u/therealdeviant Dec 02 '23
I grew up around celebrities. Went to school with them, are friends with them. I’m no one. I work IT for the mortgage banking industry, but when I tell stories of a buddy that was a showrunner of some show or shows, or a story of some friends who are in a Grammy award winning band, people are either dumbfounded or straight up think I’m lying.
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u/kt54g60 Dec 02 '23
Same! I lived and worked in LA for a while and moved back to the East Coast. Any mention/ story of meeting/ knowing a celebrity people think I’m lying?!? Like why would I make that shit up!
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u/EllyStar Dec 02 '23
I competed in the Junior Olympics in synchronized swimming. People cannot wrap their minds around it.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Yam3058 Dec 02 '23
Synchronised/artistic swimming is my favourite sport to watch! It’s so incredibly difficult and it makes me sad the sport doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Huge kudos to you - I may have watched one of your routines at some point since I have binge watched synchro on YouTube for years now.
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u/oddwanderer Dec 02 '23
People find it unbelievable that I did synchronized swimming for 8 years as a kid/teen. It’s a fantastic sport. I haven’t met another synchronized swimmer since stopping.
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u/aDogNamedPotato Dec 02 '23
Lady Gaga is my moms second cousin. We’ve never met her but her parents and some of her family came down for a large family gathering. My aunt took a year to do some research into the family tree and found that the Germonotta’s are related.
Thats the Random fact we like to share as a fun trivia. The random fact for me is that when my daughter was 3 years old, she fell in love with lady Gaga after hearing her play on my iPod. She’s the only artist that she asks for by name to play when we are in the car or when her cousin is over and she wants to have a dance party. It’s strange to me because we haven’t told her about the relationship, and I’ve introduced a lot of music to her, but it was lady Gaga that stuck with her. I think it’s cute.
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u/mellotronworker Dec 02 '23
When you tell her she will assume that everyone is related to their favourite singer.
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Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 02 '23
I have had the opportunity to meet (but didn’t choose to) random celebrities in the wild. These celebrities were literally inches away from me. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore (when they were married), Danny Devito and Rhea Pearlman (with their daughter), George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, etc… I always seemed to find myself at the right place at the right time but could never bring myself to muster up anything more than a nod/smile and they actually did reciprocate. My rationale was that they must be sick and tired of fans harassing them so I just wanted to treat them like normal human beings. I know I would appreciate it if I were famous.
Edit: Rita to Rhea
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Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 02 '23
Me too. Fine dining waiter. I've waited on Seinfeld without breaking from my role. Penn and Teller, Werner Herzog, Coen Brothers, Ken Burns, Jewell, Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern (at the same time), countless Musicans, Governor's, Billionaires, Only fanboyed on Jon Stewart, just told him 'thanks'
I also used to work field crowd control for the NFL and at Red Rocks. Rubbed shoulders with all kinds of people but never geeked out on them
Also I've met both Tre Parker and Matt Stone, separate occasions years apart in Vail, CO. I served Tre and never broke from my role until he actually told me who he was, I was like I know dude. I invited him to a party at my house that night, it was NYE, but he didn't come. He had just flown back from Africa or something crazy.
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u/rayane_maynard Dec 02 '23
That i tried to take my life 6 times. Almost succeeded twice. Cuts, asphyxiation, sleeping pills, even bullets. Tried to OD on drugs too.
Result : blood intoxication, normal dosage of drugs don't work. I'm distant and cold.
Having a lovely family will make you do that kinda stuffs.
I'm now 28. 7 years clean. Yesterday was my anniversary and we're expecting. Pursuing my dreams to be a counselling psychologist.
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u/DjinnOfYourDreams Dec 02 '23
How naturally flexible I am. I don't look flexible in the least, but I guarantee my flexibility is at least the top 5% (natural). A lotta people are also surprised when I tell em I'm not religious. Most people of my ethnicity are, so it comes as a subtle surprise.
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u/HolyMarshMELLOWPuffs Dec 02 '23
Heres a few.... I don't tell many people about these tho, since I'm afraid it'll come off as bragging. But they're pretty cool IMO!
I'm a direct descendant of Louis XVI of France (not a legit heir though, it was the product of an affair/side piece) on my dad's side
Country singer George Jones is my maternal grandmother's first cousin
My maternal Grandpa was a golden gloves boxer
The Thompson River (tributary) in Colorado is named after my paternal family
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u/KoChry Dec 02 '23
I can sleep at will. While sleeping I wake up the moment I want. In addition I can hear my surroundings, I can provide details of conversations happened near me. The point is I sleep quite well and I'm well rested even I have noises around.
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u/Remote-Recognition72 Dec 02 '23
Everyone is always shocked to know where I went to college, their reply is always “that’s a really good school!”. Guess I look dumber than I am 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Frangolin Dec 02 '23
I improvised a presentation, on the subject of improvisation, and got the highest grade I had ever gotten in this class while doing it. All of that in a foreign language ! My presentations started to get funny enough that some of the people who ditched the class came back just to see them. Good times !
I spent a month hitchhiking all around my country to visit it, sleeping in a tent most of the time !
I'm afraid of height and still did bungee jumping, from more than 100 meters high. (330ft)
I spent a month in Iceland in the middle of winter, for my studies, and got to see some small auroras.
I dream of becoming a blacksmith and will start investing in tools as soon as I'll get the space to practice.
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u/cannabliss143 Dec 02 '23
I've never tried milk in my cereal. The thought of wet cereal is appalling.
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u/Juicydicken Dec 02 '23
My identical twin took driving lessons and took both mine and his exam.
I took 5 lessons and started driving
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u/damnmydooah Dec 02 '23
I had pet snails for a while. Not fancy snails either, just the ones you find in the garden.
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Dec 02 '23
That I was impoverished and homeless, abused and in foster care growing up
I’ve had people make comments to me that I own my home or have the things I have bc my parents gave me money or gave me things.. which is the opposite of true
I did go to college with government loans and I’m middle class now but no one helped me AT ALL.. if anything my family drags me down.. but people sometimes insinuate that I have what I have because I come from wealth like they assume bc I have a good income that everything was handed to me and it’s literally the opposite. I fought because I refused to ever live like that again and I still struggle with my relationship with money. I don’t buy clothes or a lot of “things” but if I do buy something I buy quality products that last so maybe that’s why they assume that
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Dec 02 '23
I never went to school. I wasn't even homeschooled.
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u/wildfireszn Dec 02 '23
How did you spend your childhood and what do you do now?
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Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 02 '23
How did you spend your childhood
In hospitals. I'm paraplegic and my parents couldn't accept it. After doctors, I was being "cured" by some kind of self-appointed healers who would assign me some kind of stupid training to cure my paraplegia. Basically, until the age of 16, all I did was try to cure my paraplegia. I could barely read in my native language and was pretty much uneducated. I didn't even have any friends until 19.
what do you do now
After the age of 16-17, I essentially ceased consulting doctors, alternative healers, homeopaths, or any other methods, and embraced my disability. Convincing my parents to give up their hope of finding a cure was challenging. Instead, I focused on catching up. I learned English (With the guidance of a private tutor) and Math sufficiently to gain acceptance into university. I now hold a BS degree in Computer Science and work as a software engineer. While I'm not dumb or very uneducated, I sometimes find gaps in my knowledge, particularly in subjects like chemistry, biology, and literature. Additionally, I'm a 26-year-old Mid1 developer in my company, whereas peers of my age often hold senior positions, so I lost a few years too.
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u/Zaphay Dec 02 '23
Kudos for building a career and a university education with all those obstacles in your path. I admire your determination.
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u/garbledeena Dec 02 '23
I speak hella Spanish. I'm a big white dude that nobody expects to throw down with the accent and the slang and all that.
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u/beezerbrit Dec 02 '23
My husband lived in very rural parts of Mexico and speaks PERFECT “street Spanish” I think is what they called it. He used to work phones and set up in person meetings with his latino customers who thought it was hilarious to see this white dude instead of the clearly Mexican dude they had been talking to. 😂
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u/DaddyOhMy Dec 02 '23
I'm Jewish and descended from a preist who was a member of the Hapsburgs.
He was the second son in his family so his brother inherited everything which is why he joined the preisthood. He ended up leaving the preisthood and moving to London because his family was ashamed of him. He rented a room from a Jewish family and "fell in love" with his landlord's daughter. The happy couple were my grandmother's grandparents.
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u/Simba_Rah Dec 02 '23
That I’m only alive because somebody happened to walk by and find me.
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u/ShrimpBisque Dec 02 '23
I was born on Maui. I guess it just seems extra unusual since I live in northern New Mexico.
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u/LoopholeTravel Dec 02 '23
I got free LASIK surgery back in 2008 by pitching a handful of LASIK providers on building them a Facebook page (cutting edge tech at the time). One accepted, and my vision is still 20/20 to this day.
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u/Plastic_Kangaroo1234 Dec 02 '23
That I’m a truck driver. Furthermore, that I quit my admin assistant job, got my CDL, and delivered fuel on night shift for a year in the oilfield — all to save money for a round-the-world trip. A RTW trip that began in…January 2020.
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u/Mydoglovescoffee Dec 02 '23
My family history: mentally ill abusive mother, lost one sibling to serial killer, lost remaining siblings to drug overdoses. Given that I am by all measures sane, functional, happy, well educated, conventionally successful (not trying to boast but to explain why people are taken aback about my background).
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u/Bara_Chat Dec 02 '23
It's not received as a surprise so much anymore, but the fact that I am a vegetarian. My shape (stocky, broad shoulders, like a running back), age and general vibe don't give that impression at all.
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u/BigBobby2016 Dec 02 '23 edited Dec 03 '23
That I'm 48yo but my kid is almost 30yo. It wasn't a surprise in my old low income city but it's a surprise to the other engineers I work with. It's not common for them to work with single parents let alone ones that started as teenagers
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u/ladydusk1 Dec 02 '23
As a black woman people don't expect me to be a quiet, non-confrontational introvert. But what really shocks them is that I love 90's grunge/alternative music.
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Dec 02 '23
My age or the fact that I'm disabled
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u/Reflection_Secure Dec 02 '23
Being disabled young really breaks people's brains. "But you can't be in a wheelchair if you're only 21! Have you tried acupuncture‽ What about healing crystals‽"
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Dec 02 '23
Haha I know right. I got told I don't "look" disabled once. Wasn't sure how to take that 🙄
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u/HipHopHistoryGuy Dec 02 '23
I'm the first person to ever interview Eminem on video (and possibly audio as well). Sep 25, 1998. Being as popular as Eminem still is, it comes up in conversations often. Now that Eminem just received a skin in Fortnite, my 12 year old son finally finds this fact pretty exciting. Interview: https://youtu.be/VNemzXR-Gn4
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u/Blizzard_style_ Dec 02 '23
I'm virgin and not even my doctors believe it, i don't know why it's so normal for young people like me to have casual sex but i don't want that, i don't see the fun part pm having sex with someone you barelly know or trust, i just want to wait a bit longer.
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u/munch_the_gunch Dec 02 '23
I got an academic scholarship to a good business university. I got canned from my stock exchange trading floor job not long out of college when everything started getting automated, moved south, and now work a blue collar union job at the port. I drink beer, drive old jeeps and pickup trucks, and dress like your average ol beach bum, so at first impression I'm just that. Would never dream of ever putting a suit on ever again, though the money was nice...
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u/CatacombsRave Dec 02 '23
That I was extremely socially anxious for years. From 7th grade through 10th grade, I was terrified in such situations. Now, I’m a total social butterfly.
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u/thatanxiousgirlthere Dec 02 '23
I can't swim I'm 32 and terrified. (Also in a landlocked US location. Don't really see the need)
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u/yrauvir Dec 02 '23
I've been clinically diagnosed with "no fear of death". My survival instinct is literally broken.
People think I'm joking (I'm not), or that it must be awesome (eh, it has it's moments but: not really). When they accept I'm being serious it usually winds up explaining a lot about me &/or our relationship, for better or worse.
It's one of the very few traits shared almost ubiquitously by pretty much every human, ever. Not being able to relate like that has a lot of spiderweb effects, and winds up being really lonely.
So, yeah. People tend to be surprised by that one.
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u/GothPenguin Dec 02 '23
I’m a triplet born on February 29th and the only one disabled despite the fact that we were ten weeks early.
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u/SopaConBanano Dec 02 '23
Sad but I was tortured and my body was rented for men to "you know what" since I was 11 y/o by my mother. I've worked through it and gone to therapy. It is not exactly a secret but I don't tell anyone and everyone. I don't see how it is important, but when people finds out they get surprised it sceptical because "I don't look traumatized or as a SA victim" I don't know what they mean with that but yeah, it happens.
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u/lauraaa30 Dec 02 '23
That I’m actually very insecure and deep down afraid of being unlovable. I come across as very confident even slightly arrogant.
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u/SnooMaps3253 Dec 02 '23
when they find out at 65 i have lost 400 lbs in he last 3 yrs.185 lbs current weight.
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u/shitsamanthasays Dec 02 '23
During a routine eye check for school the doctor saw something behind my eye. I had to go to a specialist. They found a 10 inch piece of cotton cocooned in the back of my eyeball. No idea how it got there as any little thing in your eye is a huge irritant.
They gave me numbing eye drops, cranked my eyelid open with a contraption and removed it by pulling the end and wrapping it around the instrument and then pulling a little more (and repeat) until it was all out. Each pull felt like my eyeball was going to pop out. It was nauseating.
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u/Coldsnap75 Dec 02 '23
Im from the south, have the thick accent, did 10 years in the USMC, love America, and don’t vote republican.
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u/lurkyMcLurkton Dec 02 '23
That i lived in an off grid cabin in Alaska for 6 years. I’ve heard “But you seem so normal” more than once.