Strangers

<p>When our parents warned us about &quot;stranger danger,&quot; they were talking about our personal safety. But strangers can be dangerous for many reasons. They might be murderers or predators. <em>Or </em>they might be perfectly nice people who happen to be involved in a painfully awkward or embarrassing moment. We&#39;ve all experienced a moment like this with or in front of a total stranger. And sure, these moments don&#39;t <em>actually</em> put us in danger, but the shame may follow us for the rest of our lives.</p><h2>Someone <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/yp9f3/whats_the_most_awkward_moment_youve_ever_had_with/" target="_blank">asked</a> Reddit: &quot;What&#39;s the most awkward moment you&#39;ve ever had with a stranger?&quot;</h2><h2>1.) This awkward bathroom moment.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/SULLYvin/">SULLYvin</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>Today, I went to the bathroom on my office building&#39;s floor, and proceeded to push open a stall door. Turns out, the guy taking a sh*t there had forgotten to lock the door. We both just kind of froze, terrified and shocked, and made eye contact for a split second. I nope&#39;d the f**k out of there and went to the floor below&#39;s bathroom. Oh god, why?</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>2.) This embarrassing handshake fail.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/SunLuv/">SunLuv</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>Without thinking, I once tried to shake an amputee&#39;s hand. He stuck out his arm in a non-offended way to show that he was unable to shake my hand, and to diffuse the situation with only minimal amounts of awkwardness. I, for some reason, took this as a gesture to shake his handless arm (it was cut off at just above the elbow so I had to really reach for it) which resulted in uneasy laughs and goodbyes.</p> </blockquote><h2>3.) Public bathrooms are a landmine of awkwardness.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/HeroicKitten/">HeroicKitten</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>I was taking a sh*t in a stall while in a local wal-mart. Anyways a little boy had to use the restroom and he started pulling on the door and said &quot;Daddy the doors stuck!&quot; and I said &quot;somebodys in here.&quot; the little kid kept pulling on the door &quot;I HAVE TO GO POOOOO!!&quot; started screaming at me to get out then tried to crawl under the stall. I had to put my foot on the top of his head to stop him from getting in.</p> <p>oh God why....</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>4.) This on-campus nightmare.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/minngirl/">minngirl</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>On the first day of the semester I was walking on campus, and one of my hands accidentally swung into this stranger&#39;s crotch area for a second. We made eye contact and then quickly walked away from each other. When I get to class, I find out he is my TA. I never went in for extra help. EVER.</p> </blockquote><h2>5.) This person who will likely never again talk to a stranger.</h2><p>From [deleted]:</p><blockquote> <p>I have a minor social phobia. I was on the bus the other day, and I decided that I want to live my life, goddammit. I wanted to just start a conversation with a stranger, and I didn&#39;t know how. This woman and I were the only two people on the bus.</p> <p>I looked at her and said, &quot;Isn&#39;t it funny how we&#39;re so afraid to just begin a conversation with another human being?&quot;</p> <p>She just stared at me.</p> <p>So to answer my own question - yes, it is funny, in a very tragic way.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>6.) Sometimes you just gotta cry in a bathroom!</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/inmynothing/">inmynothing</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>After taking a very stressful French exam during college, I went to the bathroom. All the stress from my life just kind of hit me at once and I started bawling. Several minutes into my nervous breakdown, some dude walks in to find me sitting in the corner near a sink just sobbing. He was so uncomfortable and I could tell. It was so ridiculous that I started laughing uncontrollably like a crazy... the dude just turned around and left.</p> </blockquote><h2>7.) This awkward moment of synchronicity.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/alecco11/">alecco11</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>Ended up going to a gas station and filled up my car while this older guy was there doing the same.</p> <p>We both drove off and ended up at a Starbucks about 2 miles away.</p> <p>We then both ended up at the gym and ran a few treadmills apart.</p> <p>We both knew. It was awkward.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>8.) This mortifying wedding faux pas.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/DonkeyPunchTheGalaxy/">DonkeyPunchTheGalaxy</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>I was at a wedding reception at a golf course once and thought the entire patio was filled with wedding guests. Drunk and hungry, I also thought all the food at the tables were wedding appetizers. Turns out there were regular country club members on the patio as well. Feeling social, I sat at one of the tables, started eating part of their shrimp cocktail appetizer and chatting them up. Unfortunately they weren&#39;t part of the wedding, and I was stealing their food. I probably sat there for 10 minutes until I came to the horrible realization of what was happening.</p> </blockquote><h2>9.) This very, very bumpy bus trip.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Mountebank/">Mountebank</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>Freshman in college (I&#39;m a guy), during the first week of classes. I was taking the campus bus as it went down this horribly bumpy hill. Having grown up in the suburbs, I wasn&#39;t used to standing on the bus so I lost my balance and fell. Into the lap of this guy. Over and over again, apologizing profusely all the while.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>10.) Tall people should never, ever do this.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Five5ign/">Five5ign</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>I was taking a sh*t at the office when someone walks in and tries the stall door, which was locked obviously. The guy proceeds to look over the stall door (tall mf), and we lock eye contact before he says &quot;oh sorry&quot; and I say &quot;yo what the f**k&quot;.</p> </blockquote><h2>11.) We&#39;ve all been there!</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ammorie/">ammorie</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>Saw my friends Meg and Brandon walking down the street toward me. I was excited to see them so I ran toward them and yelled &quot;What&#39;s up, F**KERS??&quot;. It wasn&#39;t them.</p> </blockquote><h2>12.) When you assume, you make an ass of u and me (but mostly u)</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/linds360/">linds360</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>I ordered pizza online from Dominos and tracked it as it was being made. (If you haven&#39;t ordered online before, it tells you <em>by name</em> who is preparing your pizza, etc).</p> <p>Anyway, it told me Diego was on his way to deliver the pizza, so when the delivery man buzzed I opened the door and said a very friendly, &quot;HELLO DIEGO! Thanks for delivering my pizza!!!&quot;</p> <p>The man (who happened to be of Latin descent) just stood there and looked at me for a minute. Then said, &quot;My name is Luiz.&quot;</p> <p>...I could have tried to explain, but I was really hungry. So I paid the man and ate my pizza.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>13.) This is when you know it&#39;s time to go home.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/SilentWolfjh/">SilentWolfjh</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>I was waiting in line for a ride at cedar point and I swung my arms down to my sides. Except there was a girl with a mini skirt on the other side of the rail and my hand accidentally smacked her butt ... I was beet red, apologised, then just left the line.</p> </blockquote><h2>14.) Flight attendants are friendly, but not <em>that</em> friendly.</h2><p>From [deleted]:</p><blockquote> <p>I was getting onto an international flight and the flight attendent asked for my passport. I didn&#39;t hear him though and I just saw him extending his hand out towards me so I reached out and shook his hand. It was at that moment when I realized what he said to me. He just laughed and tried to save us both from a really awkward moment by saying &quot; Nice to meet you. Do you have your passport?&quot;. I apologized and opened up my bag to look for my passport. I looked behind me and a line of people had started to form so I tried to hurry.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> <p>I had a newspaper in my hand so I tucked it under my arm. As I started opening up all of the pockets in my backpack trying to find my passport, I dropped my newspaper. I went to pick up the newspaper and as I bent over the contents of my backpack fell onto the floor. I felt so awkward that I was apologizing to other people for subjecting them to my awkwardness. I found my passport, showed the flight attendent, and proceded to gather up my things. At the end of the flight though the flight attendent shook my hand so I think we&#39;re cool.</p> </blockquote><h2>15.) One cappucino, extra frothy with a shot of shame.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/DickeyD/">DickeyD</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>When I was 13, I was at the local convenience store with friends in the middle of winter. We all decided to get some frothy cappuccinos to warm our spirits. I decided on the French Vanilla, while my other friend went for an English Toffee. We paid while our other friends were perusing other items and started walking towards the door, with me walking in front. As I approached the door, I took the cap off my frothy beverage, smelled it, and turned back to my friend with my eyes closed while giving an over-the-top and obnoxious &quot;Mmmmmmmm&quot; sound.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> <p>When I opened my eyes, I realized it wasn&#39;t my friend but an extremely unimpressed middle aged woman with glasses. We stared at each other for at least five seconds, me rooted to the spot in shock, and her judging me. She then moved past me and left.</p> </blockquote><blockquote> <p>It turns out my one friend doubled back to go talk to the other friends perusing other things, and the middle age woman had purchased her things right after mine. My friends saw it all and were dying of laughter.</p> </blockquote><h2>16.) This is not how to win over your girlfriend&#39;s mom.</h2><p>From <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Nexaz/">Nexaz</a>:</p><blockquote> <p>I was out at a Walmart picking up a few things back when I was in High School and I ran into a girl I had just started dating a week prior (I was actually about to go over to her house for the first time). She ran up behind me and did a kind of groping hug on me which had surprised me at the time because well I wasn&#39;t expecting. She told me she was just about to be leaving after grabbing a few last minute things so I told her I would see her at her house. Well I was walking around the store and I saw her again in the soda isle in the back so I figured hey I&#39;d do what she did to me. I went up behind her gave her a hug and groped her all in one motion. It wasn&#39;t her, it was her mom.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>17.) Why is this just the <em>worst?!</em></h2><p>From [deleted]:</p><blockquote> <p>That moment when you are walking towards a stranger on the street and yous don&#39;t know which way to move to avoid each other.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

17 people share the most awkward moment they’ve ever had with a stranger.

When our parents warned us about &quot;stranger danger,&quot; they were talking about our personal safety. But strangers can be dangerous for many reasons. They might be murderers or predators. Or they might be perfectly nice people who happen to be involved in a painfully awkward or embarrassing moment. We&#39;ve all experienced a moment like this with or in front of a total stranger. And sure, these moments don&#39;t actually put us in danger, but the shame may follow us for the rest of our lives.Someone asked Reddit: &quot;What&#39;s the most awkward moment you&#39;ve ever had with a stranger?&quot;1.) This awkward bathroom moment.From SULLYvin: Today, I went to the bathroom on my office building&#39;s floor, and proceeded to push open a stall door. Turns out, the guy taking a sh*t there had forgotten to lock the door. We both just kind of froze, terrified and shocked, and made eye contact for a split second. I nope&#39;d the f**k out of there and went to the floor below&#39;s bathroom. Oh god, why? 2.) This embarrassing handshake fail.From SunLuv: Without thinking, I once tried to shake an amputee&#39;s hand. He stuck out his arm in a non-offended way to show that he was unable to shake my hand, and to diffuse the situation with only minimal amounts of awkwardness. I, for some reason, took this as a gesture to shake his handless arm (it was cut off at just above the elbow so I had to really reach for it) which resulted in uneasy laughs and goodbyes. 3.) Public bathrooms are a landmine of awkwardness.From HeroicKitten: I was taking a sh*t in a stall while in a local wal-mart. Anyways a little boy had to use the restroom and he started pulling on the door and said &quot;Daddy the doors stuck!&quot; and I said &quot;somebodys in here.&quot; the little kid kept pulling on the door &quot;I HAVE TO GO POOOOO!!&quot; started screaming at me to get out then tried to crawl under the stall. I had to put my foot on the top of his head to stop him from getting in. oh God why.... 4.) This on-campus nightmare.From minngirl: On the first day of the semester I was walking on campus, and one of my hands accidentally swung into this stranger&#39;s crotch area for a second. We made eye contact and then quickly walked away from each other. When I get to class, I find out he is my TA. I never went in for extra help. EVER. 5.) This person who will likely never again talk to a stranger.From [deleted]: I have a minor social phobia. I was on the bus the other day, and I decided that I want to live my life, goddammit. I wanted to just start a conversation with a stranger, and I didn&#39;t know how. This woman and I were the only two people on the bus. I looked at her and said, &quot;Isn&#39;t it funny how we&#39;re so afraid to just begin a conversation with another human being?&quot; She just stared at me. So to answer my own question - yes, it is funny, in a very tragic way. 6.) Sometimes you just gotta cry in a bathroom!From inmynothing: After taking a very stressful French exam during college, I went to the bathroom. All the stress from my life just kind of hit me at once and I started bawling. Several minutes into my nervous breakdown, some dude walks in to find me sitting in the corner near a sink just sobbing. He was so uncomfortable and I could tell. It was so ridiculous that I started laughing uncontrollably like a crazy... the dude just turned around and left. 7.) This awkward moment of synchronicity.From alecco11: Ended up going to a gas station and filled up my car while this older guy was there doing the same. We both drove off and ended up at a Starbucks about 2 miles away. We then both ended up at the gym and ran a few treadmills apart. We both knew. It was awkward. 8.) This mortifying wedding faux pas.From DonkeyPunchTheGalaxy: I was at a wedding reception at a golf course once and thought the entire patio was filled with wedding guests. Drunk and hungry, I also thought all the food at the tables were wedding appetizers. Turns out there were regular country club members on the patio as well. Feeling social, I sat at one of the tables, started eating part of their shrimp cocktail appetizer and chatting them up. Unfortunately they weren&#39;t part of the wedding, and I was stealing their food. I probably sat there for 10 minutes until I came to the horrible realization of what was happening. 9.) This very, very bumpy bus trip.From Mountebank: Freshman in college (I&#39;m a guy), during the first week of classes. I was taking the campus bus as it went down this horribly bumpy hill. Having grown up in the suburbs, I wasn&#39;t used to standing on the bus so I lost my balance and fell. Into the lap of this guy. Over and over again, apologizing profusely all the while. 10.) Tall people should never, ever do this.From Five5ign: I was taking a sh*t at the office when someone walks in and tries the stall door, which was locked obviously. The guy proceeds to look over the stall door (tall mf), and we lock eye contact before he says &quot;oh sorry&quot; and I say &quot;yo what the f**k&quot;. 11.) We&#39;ve all been there!From ammorie: Saw my friends Meg and Brandon walking down the street toward me. I was excited to see them so I ran toward them and yelled &quot;What&#39;s up, F**KERS??&quot;. It wasn&#39;t them. 12.) When you assume, you make an ass of u and me (but mostly u)From linds360: I ordered pizza online from Dominos and tracked it as it was being made. (If you haven&#39;t ordered online before, it tells you by name who is preparing your pizza, etc). Anyway, it told me Diego was on his way to deliver the pizza, so when the delivery man buzzed I opened the door and said a very friendly, &quot;HELLO DIEGO! Thanks for delivering my pizza!!!&quot; The man (who happened to be of Latin descent) just stood there and looked at me for a minute. Then said, &quot;My name is Luiz.&quot; ...I could have tried to explain, but I was really hungry. So I paid the man and ate my pizza. 13.) This is when you know it&#39;s time to go home.From SilentWolfjh: I was waiting in line for a ride at cedar point and I swung my arms down to my sides. Except there was a girl with a mini skirt on the other side of the rail and my hand accidentally smacked her butt ... I was beet red, apologised, then just left the line. 14.) Flight attendants are friendly, but not that friendly.From [deleted]: I was getting onto an international flight and the flight attendent asked for my passport. I didn&#39;t hear him though and I just saw him extending his hand out towards me so I reached out and shook his hand. It was at that moment when I realized what he said to me. He just laughed and tried to save us both from a really awkward moment by saying &quot; Nice to meet you. Do you have your passport?&quot;. I apologized and opened up my bag to look for my passport. I looked behind me and a line of people had started to form so I tried to hurry.  I had a newspaper in my hand so I tucked it under my arm. As I started opening up all of the pockets in my backpack trying to find my passport, I dropped my newspaper. I went to pick up the newspaper and as I bent over the contents of my backpack fell onto the floor. I felt so awkward that I was apologizing to other people for subjecting them to my awkwardness. I found my passport, showed the flight attendent, and proceded to gather up my things. At the end of the flight though the flight attendent shook my hand so I think we&#39;re cool. 15.) One cappucino, extra frothy with a shot of shame.From DickeyD: When I was 13, I was at the local convenience store with friends in the middle of winter. We all decided to get some frothy cappuccinos to warm our spirits. I decided on the French Vanilla, while my other friend went for an English Toffee. We paid while our other friends were perusing other items and started walking towards the door, with me walking in front. As I approached the door, I took the cap off my frothy beverage, smelled it, and turned back to my friend with my eyes closed while giving an over-the-top and obnoxious &quot;Mmmmmmmm&quot; sound.  When I opened my eyes, I realized it wasn&#39;t my friend but an extremely unimpressed middle aged woman with glasses. We stared at each other for at least five seconds, me rooted to the spot in shock, and her judging me. She then moved past me and left.  It turns out my one friend doubled back to go talk to the other friends perusing other things, and the middle age woman had purchased her things right after mine. My friends saw it all and were dying of laughter. 16.) This is not how to win over your girlfriend&#39;s mom.From Nexaz: I was out at a Walmart picking up a few things back when I was in High School and I ran into a girl I had just started dating a week prior (I was actually about to go over to her house for the first time). She ran up behind me and did a kind of groping hug on me which had surprised me at the time because well I wasn&#39;t expecting. She told me she was just about to be leaving after grabbing a few last minute things so I told her I would see her at her house. Well I was walking around the store and I saw her again in the soda isle in the back so I figured hey I&#39;d do what she did to me. I went up behind her gave her a hug and groped her all in one motion. It wasn&#39;t her, it was her mom. 17.) Why is this just the worst?!From [deleted]: That moment when you are walking towards a stranger on the street and yous don&#39;t know which way to move to avoid each other. 

When our parents warned us about &quot;stranger danger,&quot; they were talking about our personal safety. But strangers can be dangerous for many reasons. They might be murderers or predators. Or they might be perfectly nice people who...