At some point in life, everyone will find themselves in a situation that seems too strange to be true. These scenarios can be so crazy they may have you thinking "I can't believe this is actually happening right now." These Redditors know that feeling all too well. Keep scrolling to read the stories that made them think "this can't be real."
Content has been edited for clarity.
How Could He Not Remember?
“I was driving down a dirt road. Cue blank in memory. There’s a bit of a gap, so I don’t know what happened. But when I came to my senses, I was in the middle of the Brazos River. I had come off the road, gone down a 120 yard ravine, and off a small cliff into the river.
Having no idea what just happened, I escaped, swam to shore, and got back up onto dry land. I just stood there staring for a few minutes before my emergency brain kicked in. I was dumbfounded. Did I seriously just drive off a cliff into a river? What the heck?
And before anyone asks, yes I was 100% sober. It was 9 am on a Sunday and I was on a supply run for work. I had sleep, had breakfast, and was completely sober. The doctors theorized a small, undetectable seizure. But they weren’t able to give me any answers with any of their tests or brain scans.”
The Scariest Race Of All Time
“The first ever race I did was an endurance at one of the highest average speed tracks in the world in such heavy rain and fog conditions that it almost got cancelled since two of the flag towers couldn’t see each other.
We had about one and a half car lengths of visibility before you couldn’t even see the car in front of you’s blinking rain light. The goal of this race for me was not to win, but to survive.
I ended up hyperventilating and nervously laughing to myself in the car multiple times due to all the stuff that almost went catastrophically wrong. One big problem is our car didn’t have a window defroster we just had a small fan pointed at the window which gave me about a 4″ diameter circle to see through while the rest of the window was pure frost. Combine this with the fog and I was literally driving with no visibility whatsoever on the straight. It was pure white. My first moment of sheer terror was when I got a brief moment of visibility and saw I was about to drop a wheel in the grass at nearly 200km/h, but just barely had enough time to correct my course.
The next was making a pass in a high speed corner only to get on the gas just a little too hard. Time slowed to a crawl. It felt like I spent half an hour correcting the car and getting it straight again. Two laps later, I came through the same corner and a guy did the same thing, but didn’t save it so he had smashed into and mounted the guard wall.
After that things were going pretty smooth, the pack had broken up a bit and I came over the crest of a hill only to see the headlights of a spun car; if I had taken the regular racing line instead of the rain line it would have been a head-on collision for me. So again, I was just going insane in that car.
The last sketchy moment was when I was away from the pack going up the straight alone and I just decided to lift early and come into the next corner at a lower speed since it just didn’t feel right. It turned out to be the right decision because as I crested the hill at the end of the straight, I saw 4 cars stopped in the middle of the track lined up because one guy was sideways across the track blocking their path. If I’d entered the corner at full speed, I would have rear ended that entire group at a ridiculous speed. I probably would have had a speed differential of 120km/h even if I got on the brakes when I saw them or I would have had to go straight instead and into the tire barrier.
The race was so sketchy that when it was finished, the guy observing me for my probationary races just gave me a full license, letting me skip the additional 3 races needed to earn a full license. I can honestly say it was the first time I had felt legitimate terror in my life. I have never and probably will not ever again feel as much true fear as I did during that race. I was nowhere near a seasoned competitor at the time and I got the most insane conditions possible to do my first ever sanctioned race in. I said to myself multiple times during the race, ‘I can’t believe this is happening, why did I agree to do this, why am I STILL doing this?'”
His Partner’s Secret
“Imagine coming home with flowers, chocolates and a gift for your 5th year wedding anniversary only to see your wife start crying when she sees you. Then comes the revelation that they feel like a man on the inside and want to transition into becoming one. That they’re so sorry they lied to you all this time about how they felt. That they were actually more into women than men, which is pretty inconvenient to you and your marriage as a non-trans, straight male.
When my spouse came out to me, they were in a really bad spot emotionally due to family issues. So I decided to support them through that time, even going so far as administering testosterone shots so they wouldn’t have to themself.
As I looked into the abyss of what all this meant, I instantly understood that no one could really get what I was going through without facing something similar themselves. I mean, I’d read about this happening in news stories here and there, but it was actually happening to me?
Unfortunately, our friends and their family withdrew support. Not wanting my partner around their children and stuff, isolating both of us pretty badly even though we’d been there for them consistently for ages. This rejection was far too much for my partner who decided not to stick around on this planet anymore.
And that’s why I drink.
A few very difficult years later, I remember waking up thinking, ‘Haha, that was all a dream, there’s no way the person I loved so much told me those lies and did that to me.’ I then rolled over to put my arm around the other still empty side of the bed. That was the last truly bad day, full of tears.
To be honest, I still can’t believe that happened to me.
On a positive note, their super hot friend that helped me heal from that blow also gave me another ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now.’ They’d come over to watch shows with me and my brother, but this time, without any warning, they scooted over next to me and put my arm around them. Apparently, I was dating again. I’d been so dense to not notice that they’d been interested in me all this time. That I’d (in her words) shown her what a loving husband should be like and she wanted that now that I’d healed up enough to make a healthy relationship choice again. I still feel broken when I talk about it, but it helps and she helps more than anything. Just time gets it past.”
Escape From Columbine
“On April 20th, 1999, I was a freshman at Columbine High School eating my lunch when all of a sudden a bunch of students ran to the windows. I thought I would be witnessing a school yard fight. I noticed that a kid was running away from the school and thought that must be the kid who just got in a fight. Then another kid got off the ground running the same direction, which I thought was strange, but saw he was limping and bleeding and realized the situation was much more serious.
A teacher then yelled in the cafeteria ‘GET DOWN!’ We all hunkered down hiding behind tables and chairs and I was slowly moving away from where the teacher yelled. Then another yelled, ‘RUN!’ A wave of student started running the opposite direction as I followed the crowd. I started to enter a state of shock when my vision got tunneled. All of a sudden, I started to walk instead of run. I felt someone punch me on the shoulder and I snapped out of it and started running again. I reached the top of the stairs and then two very loud shots echoed through the halls stopped me in my tracks and made me cover my ears.
Then, I was like Neo from The Matrix, running down the hall sliding myself between people and lockers making ground from the back of the herd towards the front. I made it out and across the street from the high school and ran into someone I recognized. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, ‘Do you think we will get in trouble for ditching?’
Clearly still in shock, he said, ‘No. you idiot. We were just in a shooting.’
Someone else came up to me asking if I lived close and if they could use my phone to call his parents. I said sure. We started to run toward my house, which was less than a mile from the school and made it two blocks before I was completely exhausted. Adrenaline wore off and I had nothing left in the tank. I tried and waved down the first car I could and they passed right by me.
The second car, I got in front of at the speed bump so they basically had to stop. They rolled down the window and asked what’s up? I said we were in a school shooting and need a ride to my parents house in this neighborhood and asked if we could get a ride? As the words started to come out of my mouth, it sunk in and I broke down, not even able to speak clearly. He said no problem and dropped us off.
My mom working outside saw me crying and asked what’s wrong? I said we were in a shooting and this guy needed to use our phone to call his parents. She ran up to hug me and never questioned me. We went inside to turn on the TV and it all started to unravel on the news.
I spent the rest of the day letting family know I was okay and making sure my friends were okay and got out. That took a long time as some of them were trapped in the school for four hours. I’m thankful that none of my close friends were injured or killed, but some of my classmates were not so lucky.”
Earthquake!
“The February 2010 8.8 earthquake in Santiago, Chile. I was on the 9th floor of a high rise building, my wife about 5 months pregnant at the time.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. When I had moved to Santiago a few years prior, I’d felt the first tremor I’d ever felt in my life, a little 3.1 rumbler that barely shook the bookcase, but to me felt like the birth pangs of the great apocalypse. I walked around all day long with a fevered excitement asking everybody I saw what they thought of the morning’s earthquake. Nobody else had apparently even felt it, despite my insistence that the US Geological Survey’s website did in fact prove that it happened.
‘This is Chile. We don’t get out of bed for anything under a 6.’
So, when my wife had nudged me awake upon feeling the first perceptible waves of the coming megaquake, I calmly informed her that, ‘It’s not big deal honey, go back to sleep, nobody gets out of bed for anything under a 6.’
A couple of seconds, later the plaster began raining down from above and I knew this one meant business. We scurried out of bed and began fumbling around with the door handle like fish attempting to pick the lock. After we got it open, I realized I’d left my cigs inside (I used to be a smoker), so before the door slammed shut, I risked digits to hold it open, dash back in, and grab my stumps, only later in the aftermath realizing that I’d left the keys on top of the microwave.
Once we got out into the hallway, to make it to the staircase, the horror of the quake began in earnest. The building was literally jumping up and down, the floor felt like walking through marshmallow, like the stairs in Nightmare on Elm Street. It was the only time in my life I was ever honestly convinced that I was going to die.
My wife tells a tale—and I have no recollection of this—that once we reached the end of the hall, she froze and grabbed onto the wall, refusing to move. Apparently I grabbed her, threw her over my shoulder, and carried her down 9 flights of stairs, bearing in mind she was 5 months pregnant.
I’m not going to say it happened, as her perception of the events could be equally as skewed by all the excitement and fear as my own, but that would classify as the ‘I can’t believe this is happening moment’ because I literally can’t believe it actually happened.”
Relationship Rollercoaster
“A few months ago, my girlfriend decided that we were getting too serious and that our paths in life were too different to work out and so she ended things. It was a bit of a stinger and kind of out of left field, but it happened and I was fine with it.
Now my ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now’ moment came a few days later when she came over to talk about something. It turns out that she was pregnant. So my now ex-girlfriend is pregnant with my kid, just days after she dumped me. That was a really hard pill to swallow and really awkward too.
The story continues. I decided that I was going to be a part of her life and we unofficially got back together. Basically pretending that she never dumped in the first place. There was no way she was going to be raising my kid without me. Things were awkward for a bit, but we were working through them. Then, she had a miscarriage. That messed her up pretty good for a while.
So within the span of a few weeks I got dumped, found out I was going to be a father, got undumped, then found out I wasn’t going to be a father afterwards. The whole thing happened so fast. It was completely surreal.
We’re still dating each other now. Though honestly I am not quite sure why it’s supposedly better now than when she dumped me in the first place. I think she’s bonded to the fact that we went through everything together.”
Van On Fire!
“It was a typical run to the local post office. I was waiting in line with some items to ship while my then 16 year old daughter was waiting in the car listening to music, etc.
This older gal was in front of me with her two grandkids was chatting with another in line (small town you hear everything) when her third grandkid walked in from outside and quietly told her that when he shut the AC off in the car, he saw a spark inside the air vent.
She was like ‘What?’ in an almost annoyed ‘you couldn’t have seen a spark,’ type of tone. She left the two grandkids (since one was an infant) with her pal and walked out.
A good 7-8 minutes passed by. The lady in line ahead of grandma was next and we were both looking around like, ‘When is this chick coming back?’
A minute later, the double doors burst open. The grandma fall to her knees, her purse and its contents go sliding across the floor as she dramatically screams that her car is on fire!
It would have been comical if it hadn’t been so annoying. Now her two youngest grandkids are upset and she’s a wreck on the floor screaming, ‘Somebody please call 911! Oh, sweet Jesus!’ Her cell phone is in pieces on the floor.
It never even occurred to me where her car was. In less than a minute, the doors open and I hear my daughter calmly call out ‘Uh, Mom the car next to us is on fire.’
Me: ‘Oh no.’
I put my packages on the counter, start to head to the lobby.
Daughter: ‘Mom, the van is on fire.’
Me: ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’
I walk outside and, sure enough, the minivan next to mine is completely engulfed in flames and the heat has started to crack the nearest windows on my Kia. The siding is black and smoking.
I grab the keys from my daughter to climb through the passenger side door so I could move the van, but my daughter held me back.
The staff moves us inside. Fire rescue shows up. Grandma is hysterical and I’m wondering ‘What am I gonna do now?’
My daughter tells me that Grandma did nothing outside the entire 7- 8 minutes but cry to her husband on the phone instead of telling anyone.
A postal worker called 911 first, but since the phone system of all three branches were set up as one location, fire rescue was dispatched to the wrong office.
It was my daughter’s call that got the correct rescue out, nearly 30 minutes after Grandma first walked outside to check on her car.
Since both minivans had full gas tanks and were parked directly in front of the building over a 100 of us had to be evacuated even further away with no shade, no water, and no place to sit for hours in mid July. We were dying.
Some were especially mad because all they did was drive up to drop off a letter in the mailbox outside and were now blocked in by fire rescue.
Grandma had full coverage. She kept telling me, ‘You’ll be fine, I have full coverage!’
I wasn’t fine. Her insurance found her ‘not at fault,’ thus refused to pay for anything including my complete loss and everything inside my van (that I had just paid off), the bills from the city for damages, the front of the post office, and the Hazmat clean up from draining the gas tanks.
I still want to wring Grandma’s neck.”
They Took Her Baby!
“The day they took my baby away.
When I was pregnant, we discovered my baby had some unusual things going on and she would need surgery after birth. We planned to birth at a hospital further away with a child surgeon on staff. Everything was planned ahead of time. We met with the hospital, had our doula through it all. We had baby via c section after laboring all day. They took her for an ultrasound the next morning prior to surgery. My husband went down to get some food and I was in the room alone, hopped up on meds.
The staff pediatrician walked in. She didn’t preface anything with. She just asked, ‘Would you prefer Children’s hospital or Hopkin’s for your baby?’
I laughed out of disbelief. She then explained they believe there’s cancer in the baby and the child surgeon on staff wasn’t equipped to handle those types of cases. I asked for my husband to be back in the room because I couldn’t make the decision alone. It felt like someone sucked all the air out of me.
He came back and was also floored and immediately angry. The next few hours were a blur. Our family came to meet baby and say goodbye. A friend came to take photographs quickly. I was a mess. We had an emergency baptism bedside in the hospital room. Then, the Children’s hospital staff enters the room abruptly with a transport for her. They hook her all up and I give her one last kiss and they wheel her out with my husband close behind.
In that moment, it was so surreal. I let out what was likely a blood curdling wail. The next few hours were a void. She was supposed to be in my arms nursing. We were supposed to be going home together.
Leaving the hospital after having a baby with no baby is the most empty feeling I have ever experienced. A mom was cooing over her baby as I waited for my dad to come with the car and I couldn’t stop the tears. I’ll never forget that.
For those wondering, my baby did not have cancer! She did need two surgeries, one at 4 weeks and one at 6 months and spent a stint in the NICU at Children’s in DC. She’s a happy healthy toddler now, but I am forever scarred from that.”
Grandpa VS Boyfriend
“My dad and my daughter’s boyfriend at the time started fist fighting in my front yard. The boyfriend had decided that my daughter (18 years old) was moving to his house due to my family not exactly liking him much. He had been living at our house with my daughter.
I was paralyzed with the shock of it. I couldn’t interfere. All I could do was sort of sit in the fetal position in a corner near the staircase. This reaction also shocked me.
I guess I didn’t want to hurt either one of them, so I felt incapable of getting between them? I may have also been feeling some kind of residual childhood terror from when my dad beat the life out of my mom.
My daughter, my sister, and my adult nephew helped separate them after a few blows.
My mom left my dad when I was around 3 or 4. I don’t remember the beatings consciously. And, I’ve stood up to him in my adult life.
Seeing him come running around the corner of the house making a bee line for the boyfriend though. It was like a nightmare come to life.
Both made it out relatively unharmed. My dad broke one of his ring fingers. It is permanently bent at the last knuckle now. The boyfriend came out bruised, but nothing bad.
My daughter has now left that boyfriend and is living with her best friend, to the relief of everyone.”
The Best Day Of Their Life
“I come from a not-so-well-off background. Not the worst life by any means, but my father died of AIDS when I was a kid, my mother developed a substance abuse problem when I was a teenager, and my step father was abusive. So yeah, not great.
I didn’t go to college after high school because I just needed to get out of that situation, but I finally enrolled almost a decade later.
My ‘I absolutely can’t believe this is my life’ moment was when I got the acceptance phone call from Harvard Law. It’s still the best day of my life. Even after graduating, I still look back on that day with reverence and can’t believe how fortunate my life has become.”