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Original poster

AIBU to think this lady was nuts? Share your WTF interactions with strangers here

783 replies

BarbaraVineFan · 28/08/2024 22:31

In the park with 4 year old DD today and she became fascinated with a ladybird which she found near the path. We were standing by the side of the path as DD let the ladybird crawl over her arms and hands. A lady went past with a little kid of a similar age and was looking over, so I said 'we've got a ladybird!' (Not sure why really but I felt the need to explain.) Upon which this woman sort of sniggered and went 'ah..,Chlamydia!' And then just...went on her way.

Having googled, I see that apparently ladybirds carry all sorts of STIs, which they transmit to other ladybirds and not humans. So I guess that's what she meant. But at the time I was like 'What the actual fuck?' 😂 Who even says that to a stranger?!

Does anyone have any similar stories of batshit interactions with strangers to share?

OP posts:
Nagatha · 29/08/2024 07:19

Peanutbuttercrumble · 28/08/2024 22:53

I was in a sauna and a man came in, sat down and said "It smells a bit fousty in here, is that you?" I just left.

Oh my god, this one actually made me snort with laughter. That’s hilarious.

thirdtimemamma · 29/08/2024 07:19

I’m crying hysterically 😭

budnode · 29/08/2024 07:16

HeySummerWhereAreYou · 28/08/2024 22:40

I'm not kidding you, this 100% happened to me the other week. I'd got my rain coat on because there was a bit of a shower and I needed to post a letter in the postbox 7-8 minutes walk away...

My raincoat comes down just past my bum at the back, and I was lifting it up slightly to get my phone out of my jeans pocket. This man - around 10 years older than me, (early-mid 60s,) was walking towards me on the opposite side of the road. He said 'I thought you were going to squat down for a piss then. Haha...' 😆

Who in the name of holy hell thinks it's okay to say this to a random woman that they've never met before? 'I thought you were going to squat down for a piss?!!!' (Just because I was lifting my jacket up slightly at the back, so that I could get my phone out of my jeans pocket!)

'What an absolute weird perve,' I thought. Never seen him before or since, even though this was in my village about 5 minutes walk from my house. As I said, who thinks it's OK to say something like this to a random woman he doesn't know?

I didn't say anything back by the way, I just looked at him for about 3 seconds like >>>> Hmm and carried on walking.

Fucking weirdo.

!

Edited

Having read this and your reactions to other comments - which I agree are all good examples of odd things random strangers have said, its pretty obvious you take things far too literally and have a tendency to overreact.

How about lightening up and seeing the strangers as probably a bit odd and just pitying them for speaking before thinking. Or perhaps they might have been trying to be humorous. The sauna comment almost certainly referred to that smell saunas often have. He probably realised afterwards how it might've been construed and felt mortified about it. And I can imagine my dad making the comment to the PP who to him looked weighed down by her two children (I know just carrying one and pushing another isn't a big deal, I did it too but to some, in the moment it's what occurs to them) Anyway I wouldn't deduce from any of these interactions that it proves men are c#nts.

I found I used to run into strange characters a lot more when I lived in London. They're colourful characters on the whole and if instead you smile a ask what made them say that, you might end up having a chat and feel better in the long run about humanity rather than writing everybody off as weirdos.

WheresMySupportCat · 29/08/2024 07:14

the Dcs and I were at the cinema to watch Peter Rabbit and were talking about it and DS1 was holding his Peter Rabbit toy. A man who thanks to it being a small town I knew to work for the solicitors stopped and started ranting about how Peter rabbit was an absolute travesty and it was nothing like the original books and it was a disgrace to spend money on it. He was ranting so much he had spit flying. Totally bizarre.

I just laughed at him in sort of shocked disbelief and we went and thoroughly enjoyed the show. (And may have gone a few more times as well because we liked it so much).

Elderflower14 · 29/08/2024 07:13

Years ago when autistic ds2 was about six he had the mother of all meltdowns in a supermarket. Rolling around on the floor screaming.
An old lady walked past with her trolley looked down at ds2 and announced very loudly "That young man needs a good smack on the backside!"
I swiftly replied "And you old lady need to learn to mind your own business!"
I scooped up ds2 and left the lady doing an excellent impression of a goldfish out of water!!!!

Wellingtonsflyinghigh · 29/08/2024 07:11

@XChrome try harder next time yawn

IdgieThreadgoodeIsMyHeroine · 29/08/2024 07:06

Ariela · 28/08/2024 22:46

Are you sure she didn't say Coccinella - the Latin name for ladybirds? @BarbaraVineFan

Edited

What a weird attempt to show off that you know the Latin word for ladybird. The two words sound nothing alike!

autienotnaughty · 29/08/2024 06:57

Forevertiredmam · 28/08/2024 23:50

I was enroute to the park with my 18 month old in the stroller when a woman maybe in her 70’s was about to pass us in the opposite direction and she stopped and naturally I just presumed maybe she was going to say hi to my daughter or usual kind of pleasantries or something. She then just looks at me dead in the face and asks “have you been doing your pelvic floor?” And I felt a bit confused and awkwardly laughed and said “err yes” and she replied “oh please do!” and just walked straight off.
To this day I’ve found this interaction to be so odd to have with a complete stranger and wasn’t sure if she was just trying to give (unsolicited) advice or whether because my child is high percentile and I’m quite petite or maybe this is actually normal and I’m odd haha!

I was given the pelvic floor advice from an elderly relative and was informed 'otherwise it will be like waving a chip down an alley' !!!

TroysMammy · 29/08/2024 06:56

Thurien · 28/08/2024 23:16

A well dressed gentleman of about 80 came out of a block of flats in Central London, crossed the road to my side and as he approached me sang:

" I am a very friendly lion called Parsley" then proceeded to deliver two weak roars.

Edited

If you are in your 50s or older you should have sang " I'm Dill the dog, I'm a dog called Dill" 😀

ThePrologue · 29/08/2024 06:43

Ladybirds carrying STIs transmissable to humans is bollocks...

'As with any animal, ladybirds can suffer from disease. One such disease is an STI-like fungal infection called Hesperomyces virescens, which is only transferred when ladybirds are in close contact with each other, during overwintering or mating. Ladybirds with this infection do not die from it but may have a shorter lifespan or a reduced ability to produce as many eggs as normal. The good news though is that it’s impossible for humans to catch this infection as it’s specific only to ladybirds.'

European ladybird home page | European ladybirds

http://www.ladybird-survey.org/laboulbeniales.aspx

greektreacle · 29/08/2024 06:33

Oh, another gross man one. I was walking home from the bus stop in my not-so-nice student neighbourhood. Was wearing a woolly jumper, not exactly tight. A car slows down as it passes, window rolls down.

‘Ere, love……..nice titties!’.

I think I just glared and marched off but REALLY.

greektreacle · 29/08/2024 06:30

When I was about 14 I was walking up to the bus stop from school with some friends, chatting about normal 14yo stuff. Two girls from another school came up and one of them said to me ‘you know, you really remind me of Victoria Wood’ and fell about laughing. Had never met them before. This was the late 90s so not exactly prime VW viewing era.

I remain confused about whether it was a compliment or insult 😂😂

Magazinerack · 29/08/2024 06:28

PotterHead1985 · 29/08/2024 04:00

I was in the airport. Had spent all night on the uncomfortable chairs waiting for an early morning flight. Hadn't slept a wink, was blurry eyed, wearing a hoodie and jeans (needed to be comfy for a night on those seats). Was walking into the loos when a woman and her two youngish children were coming out. She looks at me and goes 'this is the ladies'. She gets a half asleep yea back from me to which she repeats herself more forcefully. I know I said and walked past her. Later that day I felt I wish I'd been awake enough to ask her did she want me to prove my right to be in there. Like apologies for not wearing my push up bra and a skirt for a night in the airport

I’ve heard of loads of cis women having the same experience. Shows how silly and harmful anti trans bathroom hysteria is imo

HelenWheels · 29/08/2024 06:21

in the coop, looking at the cakes, an elderly man said I looked like I had eaten all the cakes
fgs

CrochetMadRosie · 29/08/2024 06:20

@Probablyfinebutworried
I had something similar happen to
me once.
My daughter had a large birthmark right next to her eye and when she was only a few months old a random man in a shop walked over to us, stared at her and just said, 'Oh I feel so sorry for her!'
Really?!?! Who does that?

Stoptherideiwanttogetoff24 · 29/08/2024 06:01

VivienneDelacroix · 28/08/2024 23:04

When my eldest were aged about 1 and 2, I was going into the local post office. One in a pushchair, one in a sling on my back, both asleep, neither bothering anyone. I held the door open for a man who was coming out as I was going in and he looked me straight in the eye and said "Don't have any more children". Such an odd thing to say to a stranger - it wasn't like I had hoards of kids running rings around me and causing mayhem.

Maybe his grown up kids are arses and he felt he was giving you fair warning

SeatonCarew · 29/08/2024 05:55

Whatafabulousoaktree · 28/08/2024 23:48

'I'm a rather fat feathery owl called...Sage'
Yes, I too am THAT old 😂

Show quote history

"I'm a rather fat, feathery owl called Sage.... Brrrum, Brrum!
I've been sat here for what seems simply an age. Brrum! Brrum!
To tell you the truth, I don't like hatching eggs,
There's so little room, I get cramp in my legs. Brrum! Brrum!"

I could tell you the words to half The Herbs songs, but forget what I went for when I walk to the kitchen. 😄. A wonderful programme.

VelvetButCold · 29/08/2024 05:43

Thurien · 28/08/2024 23:16

A well dressed gentleman of about 80 came out of a block of flats in Central London, crossed the road to my side and as he approached me sang:

" I am a very friendly lion called Parsley" then proceeded to deliver two weak roars.

Edited

https://theherbs.homestead.com/Characters.html

I’d forgotten about this programme

The Herbs,Parsley the Lion characters

https://theherbs.homestead.com/Characters.html

SeatonCarew · 29/08/2024 05:42

Thurien · 28/08/2024 23:16

A well dressed gentleman of about 80 came out of a block of flats in Central London, crossed the road to my side and as he approached me sang:

" I am a very friendly lion called Parsley" then proceeded to deliver two weak roars.

Edited

🤣🤣🤣

I hope you didn't speak to him too harshly.

theresabluebirdinmyheart · 29/08/2024 05:40

peribaddreams · 29/08/2024 04:11

When I was at university I worked on the checkouts at Tesco. A man unloaded his basket and I started putting the items through the till. One of the items was a box of those Belgian buns- the ones with icing and a cherry in the middle. I picked them up to scan and sent them down the conveyor belt.

When he went to pay he held up the buns and whispered 'you know what I call these? Tits in a box'.

just awful, wtf is wrong with these men that think it’s okay to say stuff like this to women???

theresabluebirdinmyheart · 29/08/2024 05:35

LivelyMintViper · 29/08/2024 05:00

Totally agree. Not to mention the implied insult that she looked the kind of skank who would piss in the street

Show quote history

Yes that too!

Fiddlemetimbers · 29/08/2024 05:27

I was 17. Just landed myself a second job, part-time as a waitress in a pub serving the food side of things. I showed up for my first shift wearing a below the knee black tulip wrap skirt and a white long sleeve blouse. The landlady's husband was sitting next to the bar with 3 of his mates. As I stepped behind the bar he said, "oooh, I like your skirt", and the other blokes said, "yeah, like your skirt". They were leering, smirking and laughing. It sounds fairly innocuous but the tone was was creepy and weird. It sounded like they could see something I wasn't aware of. I was checking my stockings weren't showing, wondering if my skirt was tucked in my knickers or something but they just kept smirking and laughing at my confusion. I had no end of weird male behaviour in that place. At times it was like every bloke in there thought I was going to let em give me one. I was 17, naive, never been near a man and thought myself totally unattractive because I was a size 16. To this day, I cannot work out what was so funny about my skirt.

Fleur240 · 29/08/2024 05:19

On the park walking the dog with my DP. This lady who also had a dog started saying that we shouldn’t be using this park because she knows we don’t live around here. We said we live just down the road (not that it should make a difference!). She then started saying several unkind things to my DP, including calling him fat. When she wasn’t getting a rise out of us, she got her dog and left the park, purposefully leaving the gate open shouting ‘I hope your dog escapes and gets hit by a car!’ 😮 At this point some people are walking past and she suddenly starts shouting ‘help, their dog has just attacked me!’, even though it hadn’t been anywhere near her! After being ignored by these people she then walked off as if nothing had happened.

Firenzeflower · 29/08/2024 05:09

I found two women sitting on the floor of a car park in a shopping centre. They were crying, one gently sobbing and the other howling. She was properly sobbing, howling and almost beating her chest. I asked them if they needed help. The not so sobbing one said no they were just upset about Sophie. At the mention of Sophie the loud one got louder. I was trying to work out who Sophie was and if she was lost or ill or worse. Anyway this went on for a while and more people had gathered worried. After some more careful probing I discovered Sophie was a rabbit and the louder one was worried Sophie might get ill. She wasn't actually ill but might get ill. At this point men in high vis jackets had arrived and I had had enough of dealing with mad people.

So if ever you're worried about your perfectly healthy rabbit it's ok to lay on the floor of a carpark and howl along with your friend.

Gremlins101 · 29/08/2024 05:00

Years ago my mum and her friend did a weekend road trip. They (accidentally, or so they tell me) passed through a town where there was an annual matchmaking festival for local farmers. They were in a pub, an elderly man was sitting nearby, and some American women were at the next table.

Out of nowhere, the old man took his walking stick and prodded one of the Americans in the side, saying "and what are you across the scales then?"

i was horrified at this story, but my mum said he genuinely seemed to think that was how to spoke to a woman you liked the look of at a matchmaking festival!