Ever wanted to do something that was definitely not a good idea, but went through with it anyway? It could be for a variety of reasons; on a dare, showing off or trying to impress someone, or doing it just because. Most of the time, these shenanigans don't end well, but they make for entertaining stories!
People on Reddit share the stupidest thing they've ever done just to prove they could do it. Content has been edited for clarity.
At Least He Beat The Record
“I took a dare against a friend to beat another friend’s record of eating 16 Weet-bix bars. However, this was the cereal Weet-Bix, it’s like if nature valley bars were made of very densely packed corn flakes. Like, solid, flakey bricks that turn to a thick, dry paste in your mouth if you eat them as-is.
But I get into a stupid determination mode for challenges like this, and as my opponent was already hurling his guts up in a bucket around bar 12, I choked down 17 bars, all while focusing everything I had to keep myself from projectile vomiting.
I puked it all up as soon as I got home so they wouldn’t know. My stomach felt like a solid mass of bloated pain. Never again.”
A Surprise Ending
“I had this bully in middle school (1994). A girl a grade higher than me. No one outside of school believed that this girl was bullying me, the biggest dude in all of my schools since third grade. However, everyone at school knew and I was constantly harassed for not doing something about it. And my parent’s advice?
‘Just ignore her.’
Anyway, my best friend and I were at a party and my bully was there with her clique of like four other girls. That night, she laid it on thick with me. Just really pushed my buttons. She made jokes about my weight and the dog we had recently lost. As the night wore on and my patience with this girl wore thin, someone got the bright idea to play spin the bottle. I didn’t want to since she was playing, but my friend insisted.
A couple of spins in and the bottle lands on me. I chose dare. My bully, thinking she had me all but locked up, dared me to hit her then just sat back, crossed her arms, and laid out a big grin. Everyone knew I had never fought back against her, or anyone else, and didn’t think I would do it. Well, imagine their surprise when I clocked that girl as hard as I could right in the face. That room got real quiet real fast; blood was shed, cries were had, and parents were called. I knew I should not have done it, but just wow. Talking about my dead dog like he was a piece of trash? You just don’t go there.
When my mom got there, she was furious with me. But after explaining that this was the girl that had been bullying me and that she dared me to do it, she didn’t know what to do. I think she felt guilty for not getting involved sooner after realizing I had told her dozens of times about this chick.
The girls’ parents were just as mad as my mom was, but after talking it out, and hearing from the parents that chaperoned the party who witnessed the bullying, they backed down and went home.
The next day, the girl and her parents showed up at my house. She had a black eye and a swollen nose. She gave me a very heartfelt apology about all the bullying she had done and said to me and then promised not to do it ever again. I said thank you and apologized for hitting her, then added that she looked pretty cool with the black eye. After that, my parents talked things out with her parents and we had a cook out.
Turns out that the girl and I had a lot in common. Over the next 15 years, we became wonderful friends. In high school, she would sneak me off-campus during lunch while I was a sophomore and later bought me smokes and drinks when she turned 18 and 21 respectively. She even took it upon herself to mess this girl up that broke my heart in a very public way. Got suspended for it too. We never dated though. She was just a friend. However, whenever I needed a date for a work event, she was there for me no matter what… and I was there for her. She helped me through some tough breakups, and I helped her with a couple of horrible boyfriends.
Unfortunately, she had some demons in her life that got the best of her, and in 2010 she committed suicide. I miss her dearly.”
“That Could Have Been Bad”
“Both times were to impress a lady. The first one was I when picked up a 2-3 foot long gopher snake. I successfully grabbed it but it also bit the heck out of me.
The second one I still get anxious sometimes when I think about it. I was completely and totally smashed, and with a girl I really liked. For some reason, the subject of climbing this parking garage came up and I felt the need to show everyone that we were with that you could indeed climb the building from a single pipe on the side. I then, without warning, immediately began my ascent and was already a floor up before my friends could stop me.
I proceeded to climb all five stories using the wall and the pipe. Topped out to all the people we were with freaking out and then my best friend slapped me.
Good times, but that could have been bad.”
Did It Look As Cool As It Felt?
“I used to work at a movie theater. As it gets to midnight, all the employees hang out behind the concessions counter and just hang out, eat the popcorn before we have to throw it out, gossip, things like that. One of them dared someone to do a butter shot. But like, the liquid butter for popcorn is way closer to straight oil. So an oil shot.
I’m always one looking for attention, so I said pass it to me and I downed it without letting myself think about the consequences. It tasted like liquid plastic, and I hated it but everyone was howling and incredulous and I felt cool for a whole minute.
Pooped my brains out the next morning. Worth it.”
He Did All Of That To Be Liked
“It was one of my first lunch outings with coworkers at my very first full-time job, and they took me to an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet. I had the brilliant idea of buying a bunch of sushi so I could share it.
I didn’t realize until after I was brought this massive plate of rolls that the buffet didn’t allow you to share. What you ordered you had to eat it. And they watched to make sure you did. Also, if you didn’t eat everything off your plate, you had to pay $1.50 for each roll uneaten.
So after a while, everyone else finished their food and I was left with about 35 or so rolls, and my manager asked if I thought I would be able to finish. I had this weird shot of anxiety at that moment that I would appear weak in front of my new coworkers if I didn’t. And that’s where I had this second brilliant idea of impressing everyone with my new-found competitive-level eating prowess and power ate through a disgusting amount of sushi in about 10 minutes. I think I forced down vomit like three times.
Sufficed to say needless display of dominance worked– I had established my title in the group as the one who eats grotesque amounts of food. It felt like this expectation I was supposed to meet now and then when we would go out to lunch to a buffet. For example, we’d go to an Indian buffet once a week or so and I’d have three or four heaping plates of food. In two months, I had put on almost 40 pounds in and I felt absolutely horrible.
Thankfully over time, I was able to build a genuine form of confidence with my coworkers, the pressure of being the competitive eater of lunchtime waned, and I was able to lose most of the weight I put on.
But it was one of the worst things I had ever done to my body for the sake of getting people to like me.”
“Put Him In His Place”
“In college, the choir I worked for sent out an invitation for a ‘sweats only’ party. This was clearly intended to mean ‘comfy and or casual dress,’ but a rumor got started that it meant you were only supposed to wear sweatpants, no shirt.
The leader of the club issued a clarification, but since we were all college students, she also found it funny to say ‘You absolutely can wear shirts to the party. But you don’t have to!’
I joked to another friend that, if it was optional, I was definitely coming topless.
A freshman boy overheard and interrupted to tell us, ‘No, you’re not allowed to do that. Girls can’t walk around with no shirts on.’
He said this in a tone that strongly suggested he felt our mortal souls should be forfeit if we tried.
Mind you, he wasn’t in any kind of leadership position, and we were both seniors who belonged to the executive board of this organization. So he was trying to boss us around just because… It’s a man’s world?
The two of us went topless to the party, in a Massachusetts winter. Pretty much froze our butts off, but we put him in his place.”
She Did Not Need His Help
“I’m a small 5’3” woman. I was weightlifting at my campus gym one day, and my goal at the time was to finally break 200lbs in my squat. I was squatting 185 and was taking a small break in between sets. Then some scrawny man comes over and condescending says he’ll help me ‘take all that weight off if [I] want to use the squat rack’. Guess he assumed I couldn’t possibly lift that much and someone just left their weight on and left.
My coach taught me that if you can still talk during a workout then you obviously aren’t working hard enough. So, I said nothing. But, I put another 10lbs on each side of the bench and proceeded to do another set. So I finally hit my goal and was squatting 205lbs. He looked very uncomfortable and walked away, didn’t talk to me for the rest of my workout. I told my siblings after and my sisters congratulated me but one of my brothers said I was stupid and could’ve hurt myself just to one-up some guy at the gym. Worth it.”
“The Story Doesn’t End There”
“When my dad was a teenager, he worked as a busboy at a local restaurant that was right on the bank of a large river. It is important to note that this river had a bridge across it relatively close to the restaurant. It was a big bridge, around 40-50ft above the water, and you weren’t allowed to jump off the bridge for obvious safety reasons.
So one day my dad was working, and he gets to talking with one of the customers who commented on the bridge.
He says something along the lines of ‘Does anyone ever jump off that bridge?’
To which my dad responds with something like, ‘yeah some kids do but people tend to freak out.’
The customer thinks my dad is pulling his leg though so naturally, he doubts him, saying, ‘I bet you won’t jump off the bridge right now.’
My dad being the crazy teenager that he is proceeds to take off his apron, walk out of the restaurant, and goes and jumps off the bridge. He walks back into the restaurant soaking wet and just shrugs off the whole restaurant staring at him. The story doesn’t end there though. A year or two later my dad, serving tables at the same restaurant, strikes a conversation with a younger adult.
He asks if they had been there before and they said, ‘Yes, the last time I was here some server jumped off the bridge.’ My dad goes to tell the customer that was him but he doesn’t believe that coincidence, he tells my dad to prove it by jumping off the bridge again. My dad, not wanting to disappoint, takes off his apron, walks out of the restaurant, and goes and jumps off the bridge.
When he walks back in the customer shouts, ‘IT WAS YOU!’ In disbelief.”
The Answer Was Revealed Later
“My husband kept saying his bottom hurt and there was something very wrong with it. I kept begging him to show it to me but he wouldn’t.
This went on until the next day when it had gotten much worse. Turns out he had a giant hemorrhoid! I asked him how he thinks he got this and he said he hasn’t a clue. I run to Walmart to buy $50 worth of product just to see if any of it will work.
After some time and it popping, it healed up and went back in.
Weeks later I went to a family BBQ, and one of his bowling buddies said ‘Hey! How did your husband like the ghost pepper he ate at bowling a while ago?’
I answered back, ‘What ghost pepper?’
The friend told me that he brought back some ghost peppers from a holiday and brought some to bowling. He bet anyone to eat it for $50 but no one would. So he raised it to $100. My husband went over, took the pepper ate it, and then grabbed the $100 and walked away.
Not knowing he’d pay a horrible price much later. I asked him about it and he said he forgot all about doing that.”
“Owners Were Less Than Pleased”
“Eating a whole onion like an apple. I made this claim at the bar and the next day at work (was young, worked at a pizza shop), my coworkers reminded me of my claim and got me the biggest white onion they could find. Not being one to wimp out on a claim, I did my best to eat said onion. Raw. Like an apple.
When I was about halfway through, the owners showed up with the staff of their new fine dining restaurant to treat them to pizza. As they all walked up, I began vomiting onion and water into a grocery bag. We were on the patio, but the owners were less than pleased.
Got scolded, finished the onion, puked a few more times. Very happy to not be as young or dumb these days.”
Reading Must Have Been Difficult After This
“After the AP tests in high school, one of my friend’s AP class was having a party day where they were just going to eat food and watch a movie. My friend brought in some ridiculously spicy hot sauce.
My friends in high school knew how much I loved hot food, so this friend made a bet with me; $10 for me to stop by his class between my classes, dip a tortilla chip in the hot sauce, and eat it. Sounds really simple, but it was seriously hot. Hot like if you smelled it your eyes would start to water. He just wanted me to dip it. You know, take a triangle tortilla chip, dip the corner in a good amount, and eat it.
I didn’t want there to be any question though. I wanted to over-do it. I searched for a chip that was all rolled up so I could scoop it out, and then I stopped when I saw a bag of Tostitos Scoops on the counter. I found the biggest chip I could, dipped the chip in like a ladle, and ate the whole thing in one bite.
I was nearly late to class, so I had to leave right after I ate the chip. I sat in my English class and my mouth felt like it was literally on fire for what seemed like hours, but couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes, my eyes watering and nose running the whole time while I’m reading Hamlet.
My friend gave me the money on the bus after school. Totally worth it.”
“Decided It Would Make Me Look Cool”
“I was a high school freshman (like 14 years old) and at a lunch table full of seniors I didn’t know. A bag of dried ghost peppers was being passed around and everyone was too scared to try one. My dumb self decided it would make me look cool if I tried one, so I put the entire thing in my mouth with nothing to drink nearby.
Couldn’t have been more than two seconds before I involuntarily coughed it out onto the table. Pitiful. It’s not just regular spiciness, that thing hurts, especially when the spiciest thing you’d ever eaten at that point was black pepper.
And the girl I was mainly doing it to impress was already looking away and talking to someone else. That almost hurt worse.”
“If He Can Do That, So Can I”
“One time, I saw my dog jump from the top of our very high raised garden to the steps below. I immediately thought, Hey! If he could do that, I can!
In the way of my jump, there was a bush, and a short wall of bricks right in front of the cement. For some reason, I closed my eyes and jumped, missed, and landed on my left pinky toe. Went to school the next day because the day before that (the day I jumped) was the last day of summer vacation. Wobbled around the school the entire day thinking that I just bruised my toe, when I had a hard time FITTING MY FOOT INTO MY SHOE that morning.
After school, we went to the doctor and it turned out that I had severely broken my toe, and walking on it all day had made it worse.
I spent the next year in crutches.”
A Nickname Was Born
“When I was in elementary, my class went on a camp out at a lodge in the mountains. We were having burritos for dinner at the cafeteria, and they somewhat stupidly let kids have full access to hot sauce. My friend told me he’d call me boss if I put the whole bottle of hot sauce on my burrito, and being the stupid kid I was, I did.
So, eventually all the kids in my grade stranded around me while I wolfed down this nuclear bomb of a burrito, and I finished. My mouth was on fire. I drank two mini cartons of milk and felt better. This isn’t even where the problem started. The next day, we were supposed to go sledding and snowboarding down the mountain, but I woke up with a burn in my stomach. I couldn’t move, but I somehow managed to get to the bathroom.
A few words to describe how this felt: Fire. In. The. Hole. Even after taking a massive one, I didn’t feel better and had to miss out on the sledding and snowboarding.”
An Interesting Shift Indeed
“My friend used to work at a Subway, and would sometimes complain to me when customers got super complicated orders/really gross orders. I told her I would come in and order a sub with everything on it just to annoy her and she told me I wouldn’t, so naturally, I had to. Got a sub with all the vegetables, all the meats, all the sauces, I mean everything.
Ended up being around $50. It was the size of a Christmas ham. I obviously had to get it toasted, but the thing didn’t fit in the regular toaster so she had to put it in the big oven.
I had to cut a slice out of it like a cake to get a manageable piece to eat, and it tasted… interesting. It honestly wasn’t outright horrible because it was so loaded with various salty and savory flavors, but it’s still not something I’d recommend. At least, I don’t recommend it if you plan on eating it. If you know someone who works at a Subway and have $50 to spare, it’ll probably make their day.
My friend wasn’t upset at all, the sheer ridiculousness of the order made her shift a lot more interesting.
I got a lot of comments from other customers saying ‘What the heck is that?’ and other things along those lines.
“Uncomfortably Full, But Very Proud”
“My family went out for lunch with my aunt and uncle and their three sons who all play ice hockey, American football, and are at least 10 years older than me. The oldest son and I both ordered the same meal which was a massive sandwich with a huge serving of fries.
He finishes his meal first and said to me, ‘Don’t worry if you can’t finish it, that was a lot of food, even for me!’
And so 10-year-old me, who’s only maybe 4 feet tall (petite family) proceeds to scarf down the rest of what’s on my plate to prove a point. I was uncomfortably full but also very proud of myself.”
“He Made It About Halfway Through”
“One of my former co-workers told us about the time he ate a tub of butter on a dare. He made it about halfway through and had to throw up. He said what came out was neon yellow. For the next month, the smell of butter made him gag and when he perspired, he could still smell it.
You’d think he’d learn, but he attempted the butter tub challenge a second time. This time, he paced himself and actually finished the whole thing!
He said the worse part was eating it before having to catch a train. While he was waiting, his heart was racing and he felt so amped up, he did push-ups and jumping jacks at Penn Station.”
They Got To Enjoy A Lot Of Pudding
“Stuck my tongue to a metal pole on the playground in the dead of winter.
To my credit, I had not yet seen A Christmas Story and my friend’s older brother had just said ‘Don’t put your tongue on that.’
But not in a warning tone, more of a ‘You won’t’ tone.
We all now know what the result is when you put a tongue to a metal pole in the dead of winter.
My tongue instantly stuck to the pole. I was stunned. To make matters worse, the morning recess bell rang. In a panic, I grabbed my tongue and ripped it off. Blood was everywhere.
Fast-forward a quick trip to the hospital and I got to eat pudding for a week straight.”
“A Well-Earned Life Lesson”
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“In 2001, my sister got me a Sony phone, a tiny little thing with a flip-down front. She worked in a phone shop and got a discount.
On the box, it said the phone was waterproof and there were tiny rubber seals in places.
I believed them.
At the pub where I worked, this aspect came up in conversation. Some guy said the phone couldn’t be waterproof, and that shower proof was probably more accurate. Remembering the box, I argued the point. So, I dropped my phone into my drink in an effort to prove it.
I was wrong. Brutal, but a well-earned life lesson.”