No matter how cool and collected we may think we are, we all have our breaking points.
We can only suppress our patience for incessant brow-beating or perpetual tension for so long before we give in to emotional outbursts, regretful utterances, or worse, physical retaliation.
Even the sweetest, likable person you know is capable of doing something they regret later, and it's fine.
Sometimes, we all need a justifiable release to prevent ourselves from being committed to the looney bin.
Curious to hear from strangers online who've snapped at one time or another, Redditor DarkWingDucksGhost asked:
"What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve done?"
These Redditors behavied accordingly after their livelihood was compromised.
Messing With The Wrong Guy
"I was pickpocketed in Barcelona and something snapped in my brain to make me realise it happened. A guy had bumped into me on my way out of the airport, and about 10 seconds later I realised my wallet was gone."
"I had been flying for hours and gone through airport security twice so I was all out of patience for the day and I snapped and took off sprinting. I see the guy and I tackle him and slam him against a wall, and start telling him to give me back my wallet."
"My friends who were with me think I have lost my mind until I start going through the guys pockets and find my wallet. At this point there were three other guys there shouting at me in spanish and we are a short way from the entrance to the airport."
"One of the shouting guys rips out his ID at this point which looks like some kind of cop ID that went through a washing machine 20 times."
"I am not buying it since the guy does not speak a hint of english and his ID is unreadable. He is holding me by my collar and I am holding him and I decide 'F'k it there are real cops in the airport' so I start dragging the guy there and when we reach the revolving door it's me, the thief, my two friends, and the three screaming guys. And I now see that each screaming guy has a pistol holstered under their jacket."
"So I start screaming. Airport cops show up and it turns out the three screaming guys were doing an undercover sting operation to catch this pickpocketer who had been evading them for months. Had to spend 8 hours giving a report and then skype in as a witness months later."
"I was there for two days to see At the Drive in play..."
– Minecraftfinn
Nothing To Lose
"Not me but my son. He was kicking around Europe on the cheap after studying abroad in Germany one summer. He arrived in Rome around midnight and was walking to the hostel when a guy pulled a knife and stole his phone, wallet and passport. My son was scared sh*tless and gave it all up."
"The thief turned around and casually walked away. My son quickly realized he had nothing and ran down the thief and jumped on his back; thief’s head smacked the sidewalk and he was out cold..."
"My son grabbed his stuff back and ran away."
– jetpack324
Some quick-thinking decisions are bad, while others are not so much.
R.I.P. Printer
"Threw a printer off the top of a hospital into a dumpster. Highlight of my IT career."
– Lonecoon
Dissatisfied Thief
"I was in my teens, so this was over forty years ago. I broke into a private school's computer lab from the second story of a fire escape, and stole an Apple IIe (c?)."
"A week later, after I was bored with it, I broke in through the same window and returned it."
– HornetParticular6625
Undecided
"I am a pretty boring person, but when I was looking for a college, I couldn't find one I liked. So I took the college guidebook my mom got for me (it was 1999), closed my eyes, opened it to a random page, stuck my finger on a school, and went there."
– GraciesMomGoingOn83
King Of The Beer
"When I turned 21 I went gambling for the first time at a local casino in Seattle .. I played for like 3 hours and wasted about $500 or so.. my last bet I hit and won $7000 on some triple diamond game.."
"Woke up the next day and went to the airport and asked for the next flight leaving earliest .. I booked a flight leaving to Puerto Rico .. with zero plans on where I was staying or what I would do.. with just the clothes I had on.."
"When I landed I got a taxi to a local wal mart ish store .. bought a tent and a backpack .. took the shopping cart and went to the beach near this little place called Luquillo.."
"I lived in the tent on that beach for two months .. like I was homeless .. I stocked my cart with Medalla beer every day and just pushed it around with a blanket that was given to me .. I ate the local pastelon .. mofongo .. fried goodies and fresh fruit everyday .. and just got f'ked up .."
"I got to know a lot of the locals and traditions including Noche De San Juan Bautista .. the locals would call me 'Rey De La Cerveza' which means king of the beer… I travelled all around Puerto Rico hitchhiking and would always return to Luquillo at night .. it was the best time I have ever had traveling .. it was also the most humbling."
"Yes .. I asked if I could use the cart, and yes, I actually did return the cart."
– Hot-Resident8537
Method Acting
"When I was in 5th grade, my class played a game where you wore a certain cap, and you’d have to act as a certain type of student (I.e. model student, bully etc.). This was to teach us a bit about acting the right way in school, but it also taught us about acting in general."
"When it was my turn, I took things a bit too literal. I got the bully hat. I walked out of the classroom, walked back in, slammed the door behind me so hard that the entire class audibly gasped in shock and finally, slapped one of my classmates in the face for dramatic effect."
"The entire class died of laughter, including the teacher. She eventually told me to 'start over, try to behave a bit less animated and intense next time' ”.
"Teachers these days can’t see talent for theater even if it slaps them in the face (no pun intended)."
– LLancee
Never mess with a loved one.
Calling It Off
"Incredibly immature, but luckily this is over 10 years ago. My boyfriend at the time cheated on me with another person. He wanted me to forgive him, so I told him I would if he called her on speakerphone, and told her he didn’t love her."
"He did it, then I broke up with him 💁♀️"
– thegrapewhisperer
The most unhinged thing I ever did had less to do with spontaneity than it was deliberate.
I jumped out of a plane. In tandem, of course.
It was a big deal for someone like me who hated playing sports growing up since I was afraid of the ball–any ball.
Would I ever go skydiving again? Not in this lifetime.
What is the most unhinged thing you've ever done?
