What is the strangest thing a stranger has ever said to you?

[PinkWaferBiscuit]

Took my almost 2 year old to the park this morning in between heavy rain showers so he could jump in puddles. When we arrived the park was empty, after about 10 minutes a women arrived with 3 children who began playing with my DS, all good and so she started to make small talk.

This is exactly how the conversation went.

Women - Awww he's a sweetheart what's his name.
Me - Thanks, his name is X. Your 3 are being so kind to include him in their game.
Her - Yeah they are great, it's good they have each other to play with. Is he an only?
Me - Yes.
Her - Oh that's sad... What happens if he dies?
Me - Errrrrrrrr (I was literally speechless)

Who the fuck thinks that's an acceptable thing to say to anyone let alone a random stranger in the park mere feet away from our kids.

Anyway you may not be shocked to learn we then made a hasty retreat and that comment well and truly killed the conversation.

But it got me wondering has a stranger ever said anything even more batshit to you? Or did I meet the strangest stranger ever in our local park and should I perhaps consider moving.

@Needhelp101

My sons and I were in a pub, having lunch. Random stranger asked, re. my autistic, mixed heritage son, "Are you looking after him for someone?"

My flabber was ghasted.

It doesn't happen so often now, but when my kids were little people often assumed they were adopted, because they both have disabilities.

I'd get a lot of 'aren't you doing a wonderful thing' type comments which on a couple of occasions were followed by absolute horror when I told them they were both mine, along the lines of 'why on earth did you have a second?'

People are barking.

I was working in a prison with young lads - another boy who I didn’t know walked over at the end and just said - if my mom had been like you - I would never have ended up here.

I had a Saturday job at a care home when I was in my teens - mostly just doing the tea run and the laundry. There was this elderly woman with dementia who couldn't see me without shouting "WHORE OF BABYLON!" every single time. I know she wasn't well but she never said much of anything else and didn't know where she was most of the time, so it was hard not to take it personally!

I was at my father's wake, having arrived the night before off a long distance flight, glasses broken en route so mended with Elastoplast, wearing the only skirt outfit I could find out of season. One of his "lovely" friends took the time to tell me I'd feel much better if I made more of an effort with my appearance.

Me in a post office in Newcastle 'Can I have a book of first class stamps please?' (said in my Geordie voice)
Man with Geordie voice behind counter 'Are you Norwegian?'
Me 'No I was born in Gateshead'
Man 'I would have had you down as Norwegian or Swedish - have you got Norwegian or Swedish ancestors?'
Me 'No- all from Northumberland'
Man ' Well your mam or dad might have had an affair with one'.
He was dead serious- never smiled.

Once when my mixed race toddler and I were out for a walk, a woman stopped me and asked if I was on benefits and lived in "giro city".

Me and friend who is deaf (I am hearing but sign), were out having a coffee and a chat when we noticed an older couple staring at us. We were quite used to being watched when we were signing but the man was tutting and shaking his head. He then came over and demanded we "talk properly" as he and his wife could not understand what we were saying and they "felt excluded from the conversation".

I could think of a few signs that they’d get...

@KittenKong

I could think of a few signs that they’d get...

Ha. My friend looked at him and smiled sweetly whilst finger spelling "fuck right off you twat".

@CalamityGladys, aww, that’s lovely x

Caught a lady on the bus staring intently at my sleeping 2 year old’s face. I caught her eye and she told me that my daughter “looks just like that little Maddie who went missing” she looked and sounded really accusing

A) my daughter didn’t look like MM, b) my daughter was born quite a while after MM went missing and c) what were the chances of MM being on a bus in the north of England, years younger than she would be at this point, looking nothing like she did when she went missing? Got off a stop early because I was so weirded out.

Chardonnay73 I meant to put it in the nicest not strangest thread xx

My neighbours over the road are odd to say the least. I'm categorising them as strangers as in 10 years of living here I've spoken to them perhaps once a year

I was pregnant with my first son and they often asked me how I was getting on.

After DS was born I'd see them on my way out and give them a cheery wave.

When DS was 4 months I saw the wife at the supermarket

Woman Neighbour: How are you and your DH getting on?
Me: Fine thanks, lots of adjusting
WN: And how's the application coming along?
Me: Application?
WN: Yes, to formalise the adoption. Do let us know if you need character statements as we both think you're making great parents
Me: 😳Do you mean for sons name? You do know he's not adopted?
WN: Are you sure?
Me: Erm, yes, believe me I can still remember the birth and the last time we spoke at length I was 9 months pregnant?
WN: Oh, we thought you couldn't have children and had just gotten fat. (Shouts across the veg aisle to husband neighbour) DENNIS! The baby isn't being adopted, it's their baby!!
Dennis shouting back: Really? Is she sure...?

It remains the most bizarre exchange I've ever had.

As a 14 year old a middle-aged woman who was clearly not quite all there started chatting to me as I walked home. At one point she looked at me appraisingly and said 'I suppose you are QUITE pretty'. Wow, thanks.

I much preferred the Bolivian man on a plane a few decades later who asked if I was married (I'm not), then a few minutes later murmured 'but why...you are beautiful.' Given I can count on 2 fingers how many times I have been called beautiful in my life, I can't lie, I enjoyed it.

This guy was not a stranger but a man I did a few sessions of acupuncture with many years ago, I was in my 20ies. On my first session, whilst putting needles in my face, he said, are you a tatar? I said no, I have Russian roots (I was born in South-East Europe and I look a little different than my co-nationals). He said: 'no you are not Russian!!!' I said: 'I am, my grandmother only speaks Russian and all my other relatives are bilingual, I have no other roots. He insisted 'you are a tatar(apparently because of the shape of my face, the high cheek bones and the shape of my eyes), you just don't know it!!'

For many years I actually thought he might be right and I thought I had these exotic roots I wasn't aware of :)).

Did a DNA test 4 years ago and it turned out I was about 90% Russian with a bit of Polish and Finnish. I was a little disappointed I had no tatar roots whatsoever :)).

Probably not strange, just innapropriate... Doing a presentation to a group of men with a new admin system - one of them just said "I'll have number 35 with fried rice please" (yes am mixed-race - but what an uncouth twat) ... And having my hair done on holiday in Israel & the very abrupt hairdresser 'lifted' my hair up at the back where I had some honey-coloured low-lights and said with disbelief "you actually CHOSE to have your hair like this"

It's not what she said, but what we did.

Many years ago, my then husband was in the Army. He had just finished a tour of Afghanistan and we wanted to get away for the weekend.

We arrived in Brighton, and found a little B & B in a side street, quickly dropped our bags, got dressed and headed out.

He went to move the car to an allocated space and I was going down to the pub to get the drinks in. I realised I didn't have any money, so he gave me some notes and i was about to go, when an older woman walking along had such a go at me, effing and jeffing, calling me every name under the sun, waving her arms around and reciting passages from the bible. We were both so stunned we just stood there, not knowing what to do or say.

The short version of this story is that she thought I was a hooker! And my client was just leaving and had paid me in the street. The dirty bitch spat on me, it landed on my shoe.

I look back now and laugh, it must of looked a bit weird, but at the time I was fuming!

Someone asked me when my baby was due. I said May and they asked what year! Erm obviously next year I’m not an elephant 😂

Took DC (then around 3) to shops and in one of them the woman behind the counter started chatting to us. Then said to DC "You'll have to bring Granny here again", whilst looking at me.
I said that I was mum, actually.
Woman: "Are you sure?"

Random man walking past me in the street: -
"Aha, my ginger princess!"
The thing is, I'm not ginger! My hair is brown with a slight auburn tint to it, but very much not ginger.
I also have resting bitch face so am often told to "cheer up." On one occasion in a bar I simply replied "Why?" which stumped him a bit. My friend who was with me got very embarrassed by my response and accused me of being rude. Hey, I think randomly interrupting someone to make a stupid personal comment is much ruder.

When I bought my first flat.
The seller (the wife of a pair who were in their early 60's so not senile)
said to me: 'oh, you DO remind me of (name of girl who had just been discovered horribly murdered under floorboards) - you best be careful not to end up like HER'. With a horrible smile.
Just bizarre. Can't remember now if it was still at the stage where I could have pulled out of the purchase or not but batshit. And nasty.

@HerRoyalWitchyness saying that babies looked like a cow or had cow's eyes was definitely a compliment at one time. When I was born DM was planning to call me Rachel but when she saw my big brown eyes she changed my name to because she thought that it meant cow's eyes.
It later turned out that it doesn't .

Another one with resting bitch face here, being told to 'cheer up it might never happen' by random people is a common occurrence

I used to get “Cheer up!” by random men but am now middle aged so doesn’t happen any more. I either look more cheerful (doubtful) or have become more invisible.