Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down What Goods Were Sold On The 'Black Market' At Their School

Make us preferred on Google

kids, teens, and college students all find unique ways of making money or obtaining "contraband" items in schools.

A relative of mine ran a gambling ring in junior high, for example, and that was how they (and so many of their classmates) obtained all the candy and chocolates they could stuff their faces with. This same relative has since paid for their black market wits with numerous visits to the dentist over the years.

You win some, you lose some, right?

People were all too eager to share after Redditor Alice_exists asked the online community,

"What was the "black market" at your school?"

"My school banned..."

"My school banned soda. I used to keep a cooler full in my car and sell them for $2 a pop."

jsmys

Look at you, you little entrepreneur!

"So she'd constantly..."

"My mum owned a sweet shop and sweets were banned in our school as we had to have healthy meals and all that. So she'd constantly give me bags of sweets to smuggle in and sell every day at dinner. Made an absolute bomb."

skraii

Your mum owned a sweet shop, huh?

Can you say "privileged"?

Well, you certainly got a leg up!

"I'd burn a bunch of copies..."

"I used to sell bootleg movies in high school. Not the kind of bootleg where you take a video camera into a theater, but I knew someone who kept getting early versions of movies that I guess are sent to theaters (they had some message about it being for screening purposes only/internal use - I don't remember exactly) and giving them to me."

"I'd burn a bunch of copies and sell them to people for $5. They were high quality and still early in theaters."

Cheese_Pancakes

The bootlegs which were nothing more than someone taking a video camera into a theater were the absolute worst.

"In 5th grade..."

"In 5th grade, I sold fairies to every single one of my classmates for $1 each. I gave them names and backstories and drew little portraits of each then would toss them an invisible fairy and then collect from the next sucker."

venuscries

WHAT?

Clearly I was not doing the right thing. You sold people imaginary crap?

"Teachers punished us..."

"Teachers punished us by making us write 'I will refrain from extemporaneous vocalization during valuable pedagogical opportunities' 50 or 100 times as homework. So over the summer, we would do up a few hundred sheets of that, and we could sell or use them, as necessary."

FlavoredCuDispenser

Now this is clever. I love everything about it.

"A porn ring."

"A porn ring."

"Kids would find their dad's VHS pornos or magazines and sell them to this kid. Then he'd turn around and sell it for profit."

"Funny thing is that when the principal caught wind of it and found all the porn in his locker but the money wasn't there. The kid used the locker under his and hid it all in the bottom."

"The porn hustler dude is now a cybersecurity analyst. I asked him at our reunion how much he thought he made back then. He claims $900 in 4 months."

HelpMyBunny1080p

Now the porn hustler dude probably makes sure people aren't spreading viruses with all the crappy porn sites they visit while on company time.

"In high school..."

"In high school, there was this game/fad where people would try to stealth zip tie other people's bags to their desks, shoes together, whatever so they'd be stuck when the bell rang. One guy sold the heavy-duty zip ties and another sold mini scissors for easy escape."

SaSaMei

I think I would hate it if someone did this to me.

"The most popular..."

"In elementary school, it was flavored toothpicks. The most popular were soaked in cinnamon oil. First time I tasted Fireball whiskey took me right back to first grade."

SignificantStuff4930

I'm just imagining you sitting in the bar sharing this anecdote while all the other drinkers around you get a wistful look in their eyes and just nod silently.

"Everyone wanted them..."

"In elementary school, my friend had a sticker maker, and we pumped out hundreds of stickers with Neopets on them."

"Everyone wanted them, we were making away like bandits before teachers started to get pissed they were showing up all over the desks/walls/etc."

"Eventually we got called into the principal's office and had to stop."

colorabro

Aw, the teacher and principal were absolutely no fun!

"The one that stands out..."

"The one that stands out is marbles."

"Marbles were banned at the school, because kids were getting into arguments over them, as well as digging up the gardens making marbles tracks."

FormalMango

Have you lost your marbles??

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Well, it's clear after reading all of these that my black market hustle was severely lacking. Now as an adult, I have to figure out how to obtain such infamy.

Just kidding. I have bills to pay now.

Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Jesse Watters from Fox News
Fox News

Jesse Watters Blasted After Joking That Women 'Better Watch Out' For Testosterone-Boosted Male Troops

Fox News host Jesse Watters sparked outrage after implying that women will face more sexual assault from testosterone-boosted men in the U.S. military now that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that service members age 30 and older will be screened annually and treated for testosterone deficiency.

The decision to screen active-duty service members for testosterone levels and offering testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) when appropriate is part of an effort to keep U.S. troops on the "leading edge of lethality," Hegseth said in a video posted to X captioned "The High-T Department of War."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Marjorie Taylor Greene; Lindsey Graham
The Young Turks/YouTube; Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images

MTG Just Went Scorched Earth On Lindsey Graham's Legacy In Viral Rant: 'He Was A Murderer'

Former Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham a "murderer" in remarks on the progressive news show The Young Turks, saying Graham's legacy is defined by the fact he "supported war more than anything."

Graham died on the evening of July 11 after returning from an official visit to Ukraine. According to a preliminary finding from the medical examiner, shared by his office, Graham died after suffering an aortic dissection—a tear in the inner wall of the aorta—linked to hardening of the arteries.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nancy Dello Stritto reacts after receiving the now-viral Florida license plate.
@Khou11/TikTok

Florida Woman's Hilarious Reaction To Racy New License Plate Number Goes Viral—And Here Come The Jokes

Florida has given the internet plenty of strange stories over the years, but few arrive courtesy of a state-issued license plate. One Florida woman recently found herself at the center of the latest Sunshine State spectacle after spotting an unfortunate combination of letters and numbers on her newly assigned tag—and the internet immediately did what the internet does best.

Pompano Beach resident Nancy Dello Stritto opened her mail to find a license plate that could easily be interpreted as a crude phrase. Rather than laugh it off, she was less than thrilled by the discovery.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot of Laura Ingraham on her Fox News show
Fox News

Laura Ingraham Fumes After 'Worst Places To Live' List Only includes States That Voted For Trump

Fox News personality Laura Ingraham ranted on Tuesday's episode of The Ingraham Angle after CNBC issued their annual "America’s Top States for Business" study results showing the 10 worst states were all MAGA red states that mostly voted for Republican President Donald Trump.

The 10 states identified as the worst, largely due to having the poorest quality of life, were Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee. All but Georgia voted for Trump in 2020, while all of the states chose Trump in 2016 and 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from Redditor BakerAffectionate242's video
u/BakerAffectionate242/Reddit

Drunk Mom Sparks Debate After Interrupting Son's Surprise Proposal At Wedding To Kiss Him

Some parents have a harder time letting go and watching their children grow up than others, and there are definitely some who take their struggles way too far.

Redditor BakerAffectionate242, for example, shared a video on the "TikTok Cringe" subReddit of a mom who clearly was not ready for her adult son to love any other woman than her.

Keep ReadingShow less