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

[BarbaraVineFan]

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?

I know, this is much worse than a bloke making a dumb joke about having a wee!

🤢🤮🥶

I was a student in the 80's - that heady time when you could sign on the dole during university holidays - waiting at my local unemployment office. A male fellow signer-on proceeded to tell me how difficult he and his family were finding things, and how little money they had. My student socialist side was nodding sympathetically, although tempered by my weirdo awareness antennae. He then asked me if I would give him a shag for £20! Hindsight's great, should have called him out, but I think I just said 'no thank you'

Hang on, is the fish still alive?
I assumed a dead fish and sort of mackrel sized

I was once in a very long queue in a bank to pay in a cheque and the queue was moving incredibly slowly because every single customer was being asked by the cashiers to complete a survey on a piece of A4 paper after their transaction.

When it was my turn I declined the survey and the cashier looked terrified and stuttered but you HAVE to complete it, I couldn’t be bothered to argue so I completed it, the first question was something like ‘are you happy with the service provided today’ so I ticked ‘no’ and when I handed it back she sat and read my answers and said why have you ticked ‘no’? I said “I’ve been stood in the queue for ages longer than I would’ve had to if you hadn’t been asking every customer to do your survey so I don’t think that was good, so I’ve ticked no.” She replied “my manager says you can’t say no for queue times, you’ll have to speak to her” I said to her “I don’t work here, I don’t have to speak to your manager and I can put what answers I like on your stupid survey” - it honestly was the most bizarre interaction I’ve ever had.

In fairness, I think a lot of these will be down to chance encounters with people who have psychosis and are hearing voices.

husband had psychotic illness and would respond to what he was hearing , could be very unnerving for strangers. Sadly.

It was you wasn’t it? 😂

Oh just thought of another one! When my LO was newborn I was pushing the pram and a man fell into step beside me and did the usual "isn't he cute" etc. Then he asked how I was feeling, then he really intently asked how birth had been for me.

I suspect the person who asked the question had read "Lace" by Shirley Conran at some point. It does leave one with questions......

I was leaving the gym, walking to the door with my water bottle and keys. I walked past an old man who promptly coughed (in the way you do to get someone's attention) and he was waving towards the recycling bin. I looked at him enquiringly and he gestured more strongly toward the recycling bin and glaring at me. Genuinely perplexed, I said "you alright?" Upon which he reached over and plucked my water bottle out of my hand and dropped it in the recycling bin. Then he said "it says clearly to put bottles in the recycling bin" and folded his arms triumphantly.

I replied that didn't apply to personalised bottles and anyway it wasn't even empty, reached in and took it back.

He said "well how the fuck was I meant to know that" as I showed him the bottle with my actual name on it in gold lettering. He then told me I needed to lose weight. 🙄

I told him he was pathetic and walked away., letting the door shut in his face. Later, I heard him at reception trying to make a complaint about rude behaviour.

I assume he had seen my youthful-looking rear and was disappointed that my mid-40s haggard face did not match up and his original sexist leer had to be replaced with a more age appropriate rudeness. I am still trying to come up with a witty rejoinder.

What about "I'll be able to outrun creeps like you though", or "next time I want your opinion, I'll give it to you", or "I may be unfit, but your ugly, and at least I can get fitter".

"Why did you not just hit him with your sticks?"

What about "I was looking for his owner to hit them with the sticks for not training him properly", or "he is fine, it's his owners who are the problem", or "because I'm a decent human being".

Seriously, the stuff on this thread is amazing. I've said some stupid things in an unthinking moment, or where my sense of humour hasn't been aligned, but I don't think I'm ever going to worry about it again as I'm nowhere close to some of the fucktards you have all experienced. In the old days, people with mental health issues were often in institutions, possibly too many were. These days, I wonder if it hasn't gone completely the other way with people not getting the care they need anymore.

No policing, I'm voicing my opinion. You're the one making a statement of fact.

OMG never even considered it would be alive, although l actually pictured something like a mackerel too !! l think that brings us into the territory of foof size and what kind of fish could potentially be accommodated !! The mind doth boggle !!

Working in a fairly fancy shop, a middle-aged, normal-looking German woman came in and bought a few things. At the till she unzipped her jeans , pulled them open so you could see her knickers and her stomach and the tops of her thighs and proceeded to remove her credit card from a buttoned pocket which she had obviously specially handsewn onto her knickers.

While some of theses stories are a little bit weird I think it’s very sad that almost any attempt to be friendly to strangers is seen as inappropriate these days. Making conversation is hard and people sometimes get it wrong or are misunderstood but I’d rather live in a world where people at least tried. A lot of people today are lonely. Simple human contact, however brief, does help.

A car of men drove past and one shouted fat pig. I am fat and I know it. It was more funny than anything and I pity the grown men who act like that.

A woman at the bus stop was asking me about what I do for work and then the questions got more and more identifying. I didn't want to tell her where I worked so told her so in a nice way. She went berserk and told me she might want to access the services where I work. Even when I told her the services we supply wouldn't be accessible to her she went even more mad. I was quite stern with her in the end and told her I no longer wished to talk to her.

Here it is for those too young to have experienced it!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pvUhDpYGO6M&pp=ygUQcGFyc2xleSB0aGUgbGlvbg%3D%3D

Years ago I was a student on a busy ward in my first week there and had one of the nurses come to me and say the Senior Consultant was asking for me on the 'phone. I hadn't met her yet but had seen her in passing and was panicking thinking i'd done something terrible.

When I got to the 'phone she asked if I would babysit for her kids that Friday night so she and her DH could attend a party. I stutteringly said no I was busy when what I was thinking was WTAF? I was 21, not a teenager looking for pocket money, and also, a full-time student and a complete stranger to her and her DC.

Bizarre.

OK then.l’ll take fact over opinion every time.

She told me someone had done it with a live fish but it had died and they were being looked into for animal cruelty. I think she was asking about live though, because she mentioned flapping.

Whrn i had my identical twin toddlers in a pushchair for a walk, a guy came up behind me, peered in and said "ooh they're creepy little shits aren't they?" He looked at me like he expected me to agree and then walked off

Also when I was around 6 months pregnant with them, a different man, who I gad bever seen before, walked up to tell me that he was going to ask me for my number but as he could see that I'd been bred he was going to politely bow out.
Like wtf, surely thats an inside thought not one for sharing.

😂😂 no, but I can see how you'd think it.

Another time (and this was me being odd) I was walking to work listening to the radio on earphones. It was a very playful interactive show, and there was a phone in competition. A contestant was played "who lives in a pineapple under the sea" and seeing no one around I decided to bellow "SpongeBob SquarePants" loudly.

I then spotted this lady rapidly walking away from me whom I had just shouted at as she'd walked past me. She looked back at me with a terrible look of incomprehension and bemusement. I called "sorry" and pointed at my Ear buds. As she nearly sprinted away I realised she probably couldn't see my ear buds... 😂

So if you were in Castle Park at just after 8am on a Tuesday and this oddball shouted SpongeBob SquarePants as you walked past, that was me. 🤭

When I was about 16 I had left school at lunchtime to buy a sausage roll. I was in a rush to get back and as I was standing by a pelican crossing waiting to cross, I started to eat it. A man came up to me and asked me which way to a particular shop. I pointed him in the right direction, he thanked me, I turned back to face the road, he walked behind me and shouted at me as he passed “DON’T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!”

I was so taken aback as he was the one who initiated the conversation with me as I was eating and I was only trying to help him.

No, you're absolutely right you two; this was a completely every day, totally non-wtf interaction with a stranger. Not remotely relevant to this thread. I don't even know what @HeySummerWhereAreYou was thinking. Clearly she's the weirdo here.

I mean just the other day I was eating a Twirl in the post office and an old lady asked why I was shovelling human faeces into my mouth? I just shrugged it off.