What's the strangest thing you've seen in someone's house that they thought was 'normal'?

[00100001]

I'll go first.

When I was 7, I went to a friend's house, and had bright red mashed potatoes for dinner.her dad always put food colouring in food. She thought this was normal, a d everyone had coloured mash.

My nephews went through a phase of Yorkshire puddings with custard...

My mum also taught me chocolate digestives with Philadelphia- MMMMM ❤️❤️

I think what shocked @Cosmos123 was the whole family getting excited about rice and jam for dessert.
It's a pretty basic desert not like a Gateau Diane or a Crepe Suzette en Flambé.

@00100001 regarding eating crisps with knife and fork

I just want to explain that is was as a side to a main meal and not straight from the packet

They would carefully fit the crisp in between the thines of the fork and help balance it with the knife Everyone thought it was unnecessary but the father of the family insisted.

@Cocolapew

Not me but DH. When he was younger he went home with a women who was a barmaid in his local. He asked to use the loo and she asked him if it was a "wee or a poo?". He was a bit but said a wee. She answered that's ok its just the toilet won't flush poo away. He did wonder what she did when she had to have a crap and found out the answer when he walked into the bathroom and was faced with the bath full to the brim of carrier bags with shit in them.

That is truly awful!

A snake in a tank.

A very dead couple of colouring pens.

My parents had some friends who had moved away to a different county, but retained their original home as a second home - which they then didn’t visit for many years. (Not great, but for context.)

I was 4 when we visited their house once, and evidently Mum had brought along a colouring book to keep me occupied while she and her friend chatted, and 17 by the time we were invited again.

On arrival they said brightly “Oh, here are the felt-tip pens you left behind last time”, as if it were the most natural thing in the world I’d missed them ever since, and should be reunited with them forthwith.

They’d dried up. And I was 17. That was one hell of a surreal visit - it just didn’t get any better.

@LadyEloise1

I think what shocked *@Cosmos123 was the whole family getting excited* about rice and jam for dessert. It's a pretty basic desert not like a Gateau Diane or a Crepe Suzette en Flambé.

This entirely. Big build up. Monday night is our weekly dessert night bla bla.

Nothing against rice pudding and jam.

We met a lovely elderly English lady while abroad and she asked us round for a cup of tea. Her husband worked away for long periods and she said she enjoyed a chat and some company.

On our way out she asked "Would you like to see Ronald's (her DH's) trophies?" I was imagining Ronald winning prizes at badminton or golf or something, so not riveted at the thought but agreed to be polite.

She warned "Some people don't like them`' which I did think was odd. We were then led to a specially constructed building in the grounds and shown a full sized stuffed lion, tiger skin, huge stuffed antelope and numerous heads of animals all mounted on the walls. Plus a book of photos detailing all Ronald's kills. Most unpleasant.

Ronald managed a game reserve in an African country it turned out.

Also, in a previous job I had to visit client's houses. I was there with a colleague and we couldn't help noticing the clock above the lounge door.

It was a fat cartoon male pig bent over having sex with a female pig. With every tick the male pig pulled back and with every tock he drove forward into the female pig.

It was difficult having a serious conversation. We kept getting distracted by the clock.

I appreciate that these are popular with lots of people, but I find the huge family portraits really weird. The whole family dressed up, sometimes in coordinating outfits, and taken with a soft focus.

A memorable example was at an ex-boyfriend's. He'd moved back home after uni shortly before we got together. Pride of place in the living room was a series of these photographs, but the one I remember is of Ex and brother (both adults) posed lovingly staring at mother with their hands clasped on her shoulders. Makes me shudder to think of it.

Went to visit PIL elderly friends when they lived abroad .On holiday with In laws ,Really cosy little couple ,all tea served in bone china cups ,little cakes etc .Went to use bathroom and a finished jigsaw had been framed of a nude lady! Was a little shocked at the time !

Relatives of mine in the late 70's early 80's. A house of 3 women. Ashtrays in the bathroom. Kept there permanently, always brimming with cigarette butts.

There was also often a line of cigarette butts, standing on their ends, along the side of the bath. Sometimes one or two, other times around a dozen.

Not really strange as such, but an ex boyfriend's family used to just throw all their dirty laundry on the bathroom floor where it would wait to be washed twice a week, on certain days and after 6pm because they thought it was cheaper. Some days you couldn't see the floor because there were several days worth of dirty clothes, bedding and towels.

feeding my 8m food without my permission.
it happened twice on the same, long holiday, different countries, different food.
both times it was something I didn't /wouldn't approve of for his age.
I was quite angry about it, but they acted like I was strange - but they had zero right to interfere.
you just don't feed someone else"s baby without parent/carer's permission!

@SundaySheAteChocolate

Is there anyone not now craving home-made rice pudding with jam?

I have homemade rice pud and poached plums leftover from last night in my fridge…

*my 8m old

@DoubleShotEspresso

A glass display case the height and width of the living room, containing Hitler memorabilia. Was chilling to be offered a cup of tea when I walked in and then taken into the living room to be greeted with such a horrific sight as if this was normal decor. Disturbing

😨

@ilovetomatoes

So many comments about cucumbers in vinegar but nothing about the nazi memorabilia or family porn?!!! Ok….

😂😂

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba

feeding my 8m food without my permission. it happened twice on the same, long holiday, different countries, different food. both times it was something I didn't /wouldn't approve of for his age. I was quite angry about it, but they acted like I was strange - but they had zero right to interfere. you just don't feed someone else"s baby without parent/carer's permission!

Someone gave my 5mo (not yet eating) Sprite!!!! Freaking sugary soda it was a nice very educated family good friends of DHs family and I felt out of place to stop it and apparently so did DH..... she's ok obviously but damn......

deer on the wall

Aeons ago when I was no more than 11, at the house of a boy I used to play with.

They had a dog, a cat, and a rabbit, and all 3 of them were drinking from saucers of tea lined up in a row on the kitchen floor.

I adored that house!

@grey12

that's out of order. I would've stopped out.
I stopped the feeding of pickled herring and rich chocolate cake too - I had a monthly plan of which foods to introduce until he turned one, because we have a lot of different allergies in the family so I had to be careful. salty fish and full fat cream simply wasn't appropriate at that point.
I would've shared this info, if I'd had a chance. but they did it when I wasn't in the room.
And I swear it wasn't a PFB thing. I had 6 more kids and followed the same menu plan with all of them.
Interestingly enough DS1 (20) doesn't like fish and too much dairy doesn't agree with him.🤣 I feel kind of justified

When I was a child my mum used to take me to violin lessons every Sunday. They used to take place in the teacher’s home which was a big old house. We would turn up and his wife or one of his kids would open the door and we would wait in the hallways until the lesson before had finished and it was my time to go in. They had a small terrier dog and on several occasions we turned up and there was dog turds all over the carpet. There were quite a few lumps of it so I can only guess it had been left there for some time and they just hadn’t bothered to pick it up. I was friendly with his daughter and went round there a couple of times for birthdays etc and the rest of the house was clean and tidy. I just can’t understand how they thought it was acceptable for their customers to wait surrounded by dog filth.

Small shot gun inside a box of milk tray on the coffee table at my grandparents very lovely house -my grandpa had escaped nazi Germany and fought for the British army. He never shook the feeling that people were after him...
We all knew it was there and loaded with pellets. He said it was in case there was ever a burglar.
When they did get burgled they stole they stole the gun...

@pheonixrebirth

Going for Sunday dinner at my friends house and her mum put a plate of sliced cucumbers in vinegar on the table along with the gravy boat. I've never seen or heard about cucumbers in vinegar before or since. Just weird???

My mil does this. She will leave it in the fridge too and everything ends up smelling of vinegar. Vom.