People Who Managed To Find New Depths Of Pettiness
It doesn't tend to do a person many favors to go through life with a petty, vindictive personality. Relationships quickly devolve into score keeping, misunderstandings become harder and harder to resolve, and it's very easy for retaliations to become more regrettable than the slight that inspired them in the first place.
However, whether pettiness is right or wrong, it's hard to deny how satisfying it can be sometimes. And whether you agree with a person's petty actions or not, that doesn't make the audacious or diabolical ways people go about pursuing them any less fascinating. And that's something these people could teach a master class about.
Shamelessly Chomping On The Hand That Feeds
Our narrator's grandmother has always held a special place in their life, and the two share a deep bond. Because they lives several hours apart and their grandmother struggles with technology, staying in regular contact by phone can sometimes be challenging. A few weekends earlier, they had traveled back home, and the two finally had some quiet time together to catch up. During their conversation, the grandmother revealed troubling news about her sister — our narrator's great aunt — whose health had been declining. The older woman had been experiencing serious kidney issues, and the illness had begun to affect her mental clarity. The narrator's grandmother and aunt had recently taken the great aunt to see a doctor and later stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a prescription that cost around $7. When she tried to pay, her card was declined.
Confused, she realized she hadn't checked her bank accounts in quite some time. After contacting the bank for answers, she learned that more than $10,000 had been withdrawn from her checking account, which had also been pushed into overdraft. That was when a disturbing reality came to light. They contacted her daughter and granddaughter to ask what had happened, and both eventually admitted they had been taking money from the account. For the past three years, the great aunt had already been covering their rent and had even provided them with two vehicles. On top of that, she continued to pay the insurance for both cars. This latest betrayal became the final straw, and she made the decision to cut them off completely. Fortunately, the most recent update regarding her health has been encouraging.
All She Had To Do Was Nothing
While eating lunch at a restaurant, our protagonist suddenly felt nature's call. She hurried toward the restroom and discovered it was tucked away in a corner and only had a single stall. After slipping inside quickly, she noticed a small sign that read, “please lock the door while in the restroom.” The message struck her as odd — why wouldn't someone lock the door? Regardless, she followed the instruction. The moment she sat down, however, someone immediately began knocking. She called out, “There’s someone in here.” Instead of stopping, the person outside started rattling the door so violently it felt like something out of a horror movie. She was literally on the toilet trying to finish her business while the pounding continued. The knocking didn’t ease up, and then whoever was outside began kicking the door incessantly. She had heard plenty of stories about people being attacked in restrooms, so panic started setting in while she remained stuck on the toilet. Her mind raced. Was this some kind of trick meant to force her to open the door? What was she supposed to do— u nlock it and face a violent stranger? After a moment, she tried reframing the situation in a more humorous way. She reminded herself she was standing behind a locked door, and whoever was outside couldn’t actually harm her. If the door got broken, the restaurant would probably make the culprit pay for it. Taking a few slow breaths — despite the unpleasant bathroom atmosphere — she brushed her hair and deliberately washed her hands extra thoroughly for another five minutes.
Meanwhile, the kicking kept going nonstop, and the knocking didn’t slow down either. In the middle of it all, she received a text from a friend asking if she was okay. She quickly messaged back, asking if the friend could peek over and see what was happening. The reply came back with surprising news: it was just a little girl. In fact, it was the same child who had earlier shouted at her father across the restaurant, “I WANT TO ORDER SOMETHING NOW!” She even remembered noticing that outburst herself. She would never behave harshly toward a child. At the same time, she knew that when she was young she never would have kicked and screamed at a stranger’s door — especially a public bathroom door — after waiting less than a minute. It struck her as unbelievably rude. Eventually she opened the door and saw the girl had already wandered over to a server. She caught the server saying, “Oh, look you can use it now.” When she finally stepped out, she shot a glare toward the girl’s mother, who only stared back with a wide, deer-in-the-headlights expression.
Some People Create A Monster. She Created A Bioweapon
Our protagonists tale of petty revenge came with a warning: It was a little gross. She had always struggled with sensitivities to most meats, red meat being the worst and beef particularly brutal. Doctors had advised her to find alternative protein sources, so she had happily embraced vegetarianism around age 13. Yet when she was younger, her aunt dismissed the medical advice, insisting she was simply being fussy. Growing up in a meat-and-potatoes town, her aunt had plenty of people supporting her skepticism. This was the same aunt who once convinced her parents she was faking asthma — turns out she wasn't — and who refused to get her own daughter glasses because she thought the child just wanted attention. Of course, she eventually learned her daughter’s eyesight was terrible — another shocker. Family dinners were a regular tradition, with hosting duties rotating. When it was her aunt’s turn, she personally assured her that the burger was meatless. As you might expect, it wasn’t. Hungry and unsuspecting, she gobbled down the (beef) burger first.
Her aunt smiled, and she assumed it was pride in her cooking. Looking back, she realized the smirk was far more devious — her aunt thought she had caught her in a lie or otherwise scored a small victory. Little did she know, that would backfire spectacularly. A few minutes later, the familiar queasy sensation hit. She understood immediately what her aunt had done and why she had been smiling. Eating meat almost always made her sick — her body just couldn’t handle it. So when it was time to go to the toilet, she stayed put. Instead, she set her sights on her aunt, who was smugly seated beside her at the head of the table. Presumably, she let nature take its course and ensured the aunt never doubted her medical issues again.
Did The Teacher Enter A Fugue State?
A math teacher had returned their tests during class, each one marked and graded. She was reviewing questions that many students — including the narrator — had gotten wrong. As the narrator wrote notes directly on the test to help remember mistakes and correct methods for later, the teacher's reaction was terrifying.
In an instant, she snatched the test away and began screaming that cheating was absolutely unacceptable and that the student should be ashamed. Shocked and confused, the narrator’s throat tightened as they tried to explain they were merely taking notes. The experience became one of the most humiliating moments of their childhood, leaving them still baffled by why it had happened.
Don't Mess With People Who Handle Your Refreshments
His former boss had been a strict, sheltered Mormon woman, famously opposed to coffee. One day, she asked the narrator to fetch coffee for the office lawyers. Always the office's whipping boy, the narrator saw a chance for some mischief. He brought back a frappuccino for her, describing it as being "like a smoothie."
The boss quickly became hooked — literally addicted. By the time the narrator was leaving, she was recounting tearfully over the phone how she had fallen into a full-blown coffee addiction.
Homeowner's Associations Had This Coming
As our progatonist put it, they had never met anyone who ever said, "Oh good, a Home Owners' Association." Everyone had trash cans, yet somehow the sight of theirs offended the delicate sensibilities of some neighbors. Naturally, they complied with the new rule forbidding bins from being visible from the street. So they were surprised when they received a notice about they bins being out — especially since they was the only one who handled them and was certain she was fully compliant. They called to ask why the notice had been issued. The description read, “Bins in the driveway with lids off.” They asked if it had happened on a Tuesday, and sure enough, it had.
Wednesdays were trash pickup days, and they had simply been doing their weekly cleaning, calmly explaining through gritted teeth that they were actively using them. “Oh okay, I’ll remove the notice,” came the reply. That was fine, but they wanted to know how to prevent it from happening again. The answer was, “Oh, uh… I guess notify us.” They agreed, promising to notify them every time she used her trash cans. “Oh that won’t be necessary," they were told but clearly, it was. That was five Tuesdays ago. Today, they called promptly at 10 a.m. to let Alan know they were about to use the bins. Finally, “You know what? I’m just going to put a hold on any trash can notices for you.” They thought that would be just swell.
Who Knows What The Son Did To Deserve that?
A lawyer once handled a particularly memorable request from a doctor client. The man wanted to amend his will, specifically to disinherit his son. Everything that had originally been intended for the son was removed, and in its place the doctor instructed that a single item be left to him: a "manure spreader." The lawyer didn't press for details about the family conflict.
After all, modifying a will is usually a straightforward legal task, and the request itself was simple enough to carry out. Still, the change stood out. Someday, when the doctor eventually passes away, and the will is read, his son will discover that instead of receiving the inheritance he once expected, he has been left only that lone item — a message that will effectively tell him to “eat excrement.”
This Is Just Sad To See
While riding home from school, she had a conversation with her mother about the future. Her mom casually asked, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" After thinking about it, she answered honestly, “Maybe be an author or something like that.”
The reaction she received was harsh and unexpected. Her mother immediately responded, “That is so dumb, that is the stupidest thing. You are smart, and you have the whole world at your fingertips, and you want to be an author? You can be a scientist or a doctor, but you want to waste your life being an author.”
The Most Sadly Hard-Won Acknowledgement There Is
She had been attending cooking school for more than a year, but her mother had never supported the decision — largely because she had dropped out of a nursing program to pursue it. Ever since, her mother made constant snide remarks, suggesting she should have become a nurse or a lawyer instead. At times, she even mocked the path outright, saying the only future it would lead to was becoming a subservient housewife. Whenever she prepared food at home, the criticism began immediately. Her mother would pick apart every detail as if she were some version of Gordon Ramsay: "Oh, too much salt." “It's undercooked.” “It looks disgusting.” Nearly everyone else who tasted her food said the exact opposite, but her mother seemed determined to find something — anything — to complain about. She regularly insisted that her daughter couldn't cook and should pursue a “real” career. She had even prepared full three-course dinners for the family that received glowing feedback from everyone except her mother. One time, her mother hosted a party for coworkers, and she prepared a large tray of her specialty — her own signature version of homemade meatballs, a recipe she had developed herself. Guests kept coming back for more until the tray was completely empty. Curious, she asked her mother what she thought of them. The response was dismissive: “They were drinking, they couldn't taste anything.”
At that point, she decided that if she ever wanted her mother to compliment her cooking, she would have to trick her. She prepared one of her mother’s absolute favorite meals entirely from scratch—the dish her mom could never resist. She plated it neatly so it looked professional, packed it into a plain take-out box, and had her boyfriend film the entire preparation process from start to finish. Later, she called her mother and said that she and her boyfriend were eating at a diner — one that didn’t actually exist. She invented a name and story for it, explaining that they served her mom’s favorite meal and asking if she wanted them to bring one home. Her mother eagerly agreed. When she delivered the dish, she continued describing the imaginary diner. Her mother started eating and immediately began complimenting it, saying how delicious it was. At one point, she even mentioned wanting to visit the diner herself to order another. Once her mother had nearly finished the meal, she casually asked for her honest thoughts so they could leave a review on Yelp. Her mom happily talked for nearly ten minutes about how great the dish was — until the truth came out. She revealed that she had actually cooked it herself. Her mother’s attitude shifted instantly. She set down her fork and insisted she had been lying, claiming the food actually tasted terrible. Her boyfriend then showed the video of the entire cooking process, and when her mother searched online for the restaurant, nothing appeared. At that point, she began pointing out supposed flaws — too much sauce, too spicy, even saying it burned her mouth. She calmly asked why she had almost finished the whole plate if it was so bad. Her mother didn’t answer. Instead, she simply asked if she was ready to admit the truth. Her mother still refused, so she and her boyfriend left the room. A moment later, she spotted her mother continuing to eat the dish from the other room. When she asked again, her mom finally laughed and admitted it — yes, she really was a good chef. After more than a year of constant criticism and doubt, her mother had finally said it out loud.
Not So Fun When It Happens To Her
The night before, he had gone to see a movie with a group of friends. After settling into their seats, he quickly noticed that a girl sitting in the row behind them had her feet propped up on his friend David's chair. She was there with another friend. David turned around and politely asked something along the lines of, "Uh, do you think you could put your feet down?" The girls seemed to respond, though he couldn’t clearly hear what they said. The feet stayed exactly where they were. A few minutes later, David tried again, this time more firmly. “Hey, will you get your feet off my chair? It's extremely rude.” Still, nothing changed. Seeing the situation go nowhere, he suggested that David find an employee and ask them to handle it. David followed the advice and returned shortly afterward with a staff member, who spoke to the girl.
She clearly wasn’t happy about it, but she reluctantly agreed to take her feet down. The moment the employee walked away, however, the girl immediately put them right back on the seat. That was the point where he lost his patience. Why was it so important for her to keep her feet on someone else’s chair? It just felt childish. So he got up, walked two rows back, sat directly behind the girl, and planted his own foot on the back of her chair, pushing it forward. Both girls turned around and tried to say something to him, but by then the movie had already started, and their voices were drowned out. He simply responded, “Just watch the movie.” Then he kept his foot there for the rest of the film. It felt like doing wall sits for two straight hours — but he figured it was worth it.
It Doesn't Pay To Be Pedantic
While working in the newsroom at a newspaper, one of our narrators' responsibilities was entering official reports into the system so they could be printed in the paper. The publication's style guidelines clearly called for common abbreviations such as "VCR," “CD player," “TV," and similar shorthand. Despite that, a petty, power-tripping coworker started harassing them about it.
The man insisted that they absolutely had to spell everything out in full — “videocassette recorder," “compact disc player," “television,” and so on. Rather than argue, our narrator simply followed the instructions exactly as they were given. Later, when the editor reviewed the entries and asked why everything had been written out that way, they calmly replied, “That guy told me I had to do it that way." What happened to the coworker afterward wasn’t entirely clear, but they assumed the guy probably got called out for it. Either way, they didn’t lose any sleep over it — it felt like well-deserved payback for someone who had been so petty and uptight.
Their Diabolical Creativity Is Almost Frightening
Two coworkers had a habit of relentlessly picking on our protagonist. In response, they found a rather unconventional form of revenge: They would arrive early and spray raccoon urine on the chairs in their shared office.
After about two weeks, the men seemed largely unaffected by the awful smell themselves, but everyone else in the office certainly noticed. Even now, they are infamous throughout the Fortune 500 company for having the worst body odor, a reputation that still sticks to them.
Always One Step Ahead
Our protagonist was pursuing a computer science degree at university when a group project turned into a perfect storm of frustration and vindication. The project was split into two stages: Part A, where they built an application and wrote a report (50/50 split), and Part B, which required improvements based on feedback from Part A. The entire module hinged on this project, with a crucial component being the Group Contribution Report (GCR), where each member rated how much everyone had contributed. Randomly assigned to a group of four others, our protagonist took on roughly half of the coding, being the most confident coder. They finished their portion in about three weeks, then focused on other coursework. Soon after, their teammates asked them to do their parts too. They initially protested but agreed on the condition that it was noted in the GCR. For the next three weeks, they balanced their work alongside her other assignments. As the deadline approached, they realized they had done the workload of three people. The others even suggested they all claim equal contributions of 20% to appear fair. They refused, which triggered a barrage of insults and harassment. They submitted their GCR with 60% credit for their own work and 10% for each teammate. Their module organizer then contacted them, noting our protagonist's teammates had rated them at 0% while claiming 25% each for themselves. With over 150 hours logged on the code and 50 on diagrams and the report, they had plenty of proof. They linked their GitHub commits and Google Drive edit history, clearly showing their contributions. The organizer reviewed everything and gave them the majority of the credit: They scored 65%, while the others received 11% — far below the 69% needed to pass. Predictably, the groupmates erupted in anger, bombarding our protagonist with calls, messages, and emails for hours.
They collected screenshots and recordings of their messages, forwarded them to the module organizer, and requested that they leave the group. He agreed and escalated the messages to higher authorities. Our protagonist then worked on Part B entirely solo, taking all their code with them and revoking the group's access, with the organizer’s approval. When her old teammates begged them to return and even offered payment, they documented everything and ignored them. They completed and submitted Part B two weeks early, earning a perfect 100% — a rare achievement. Their old group attempted retaliation. A plagiarism and collusion officer summoned her to a hearing, claiming the new submission was suspiciously similar to the old group’s work. They had prepared meticulously, documenting commits, screenshots of their pleas, and using comparison software to show that the old group had simply cloned their code. At the hearing, they presented the evidence clearly and convincingly. The VP of computing and the panel were stunned. The result was decisive: They were cleared, fully credited, and no longer associated with the group. Meanwhile, their old teammates failed the module entirely, forcing them to retake it over the summer — losing out on year-long placements and roughly $20,000 each — while our protagonist happily kept theirs.
Good Luck Catching Him
Our narrator knew a man going through a bitter divorce after discovering his wife had cheated on him. During the proceedings, the man made a decisive move: He liquidated his 401(k) and sold the house, which was solely in his name, netting over a million dollars.
A dual citizen of the US and Romania, he left for Romania just days before the divorce was finalized, taking the money with him. In the end, all his wife received was her BMW lease.
She Learned What Real Love Was
The first time her husband met her parents was also the moment she realized just how toxic her family was. When they left, he said, "Wow, your parents have literally not said a single positive thing about you. All their 'funny' stories about you growing up are really just awful."
She had always assumed that this was normal. After many more eye-opening experiences, she eventually stopped speaking to her parents altogether, for a long list of reasons.
What Did She Think Was Going To Happen?
Years ago, our protagonist worked delivering jugs of water to homes and offices, driving a sizable truck — about 35 feet long. One of his regular stops was a building with 8–10 delivery points, one of the few that had a proper loading bay. The bay was wide enough for two large trucks side by side and long enough for his truck to mostly fit, leaving just a bit of the cab sticking out into the alley. On the opposite side of the alley were dumpsters for a neighboring building. Maneuvering into the dock could be tight, but it was always doable. One day, he pulled up and saw a small courier car, roughly the size of a Honda Civic, parked right at the entrance of the bay. The position made it impossible to angle his truck properly to back up to the dumpsters without risking a collision.
Fortunately, the driver was just exiting the car, so he politely asked her to back up a few feet. She responded, "I'm only going to be a few minutes…" He explained that if she moved in just five seconds, they could both get their work done. She shrugged and walked into the building, leaving him stunned. With almost a decade in deliveries, he knew most drivers followed an unwritten code of mutual respect. So he carefully maneuvered his truck perpendicular to the loading dock entrance, blocking her car while keeping the alley clear, and began unloading the first of two or three cartloads. When she came out and saw the truck, she said, “Well, isn’t this cute… You need to move.” He calmly replied, “I’ll only be a few minutes.” She insisted she needed to leave immediately. By then, he had finished loading the cart, reassured her again, and walked into the building, leaving her temporarily blocked but without escalating the situation.
That Must've Been So Satisfying
Back in high school, her boyfriend ended their relationship with some harsh words. He admitted he was "just in it for the fun," claimed he “didn't really mean any of it,” and accused her of wanting him for the same reasons he did. Shortly after, he had a hot and heavy make-out session with her best friend — and then returned to tell her she was “a bad kisser compared to her.” Clearly, he was a jerk. But a few months earlier, she had been frustrated with his hot-and-cold behavior and wrote an angry poem about him.
The magazine he’d been trying to get published in had a website where poems could gain traction based on popularity. She had joined months before and had only submitted a few poems. At the time, she’d decided not to post the angry poem because it felt “too mean.” After his betrayal, however, she saw an opportunity for a little revenge. She posted the poem online. It quickly gained massive popularity, and the magazine contacted her, asking to publish it. Naturally, her first move was to message him about her success. He congratulated her at first — until he read the poem. Millions of people ended up reading it, and to this day, he still hasn’t been published.
That Was An Unexpected Escalation
Back in high school, our protagonist was easily the top student in his class, especially in math, physics, and chemistry. The subjects came naturally to him, though he was shy and rarely participated in class, preferring to quietly ace every test. His classmates quickly realized his talent and often came to him for help instead of asking the teacher. Most teachers didn't mind, but one geometry teacher — whose name he couldn’t quite recall — decided to challenge him. One day, she wrote a highly convoluted problem on the board and gave the class five minutes to solve for an angle — a problem that would normally take at least twenty minutes to work through.
When the time was up, the teacher insisted he go to the board and solve it for the entire class. He asked for more time, but the teacher pressed him to do it together with the class. Reluctantly, he stood and approached the board, silently wrestling with how to begin. Eventually, the teacher offered some pointers, and he solved the problem. Afterwards, the teacher sent him back to his seat, telling the class to direct any future questions to her instead. He spent the rest of the lesson furious and nearly in tears. Later that month, he got his petty revenge: Noticing the teacher’s car parked in a slightly hidden spot, he urinated on the door handle. Perhaps even pettier than the teacher’s public embarrassment, but he felt it was worth it.
That Manager Killed The Golden Goose
Our protagonist once worked at a sign company where their supervisor had a full-blown nervous breakdown. The supervisor would sleep at the office, refuse to shower or change clothes, and basically do nothing. Even as a temp, they stepped up and ran the department on their own — attending meetings, managing workflow, and handling everything single-handedly. When their contract was ending, the operation's manager had to decide whether to hire them. They were called into the office and offered a salary less than what they were earning through the temp agency.
They reminded the manager that they had increased department output by over 200% and had been performing the supervisor’s job on top of their own. The manager refused to budge, so they declined the offer and planned to leave at the end of their contract. Before departing, they left a little parting gift. Part of their job had been engraving braille on signs. Whenever they engraved a sign that wasn’t a number, they made the braille read: "I hate this job and my cheapskate manager." Only they could read it visually, so no one else ever knew. And, to be clear, they never tampered with fire or emergency signs.
They Didn't Know He Could Do That
Our protagonist stated hating gym class — not because of the exercise, since he played hockey and football — but because there was never enough time to shower before the bell, leaving him smelling awful for the rest of the day. To avoid this, he would walk the track with the girls, which infuriated his coaches. They ended up flunking him in junior year and refused to let him double up in senior year, meaning she'd have to repeat a year. He had already been accepted to a tech school and just needed to finish senior year. He tried negotiating with the guidance counselor and coach, but neither would budge. Feeling stuck, he considered her options: Could he start college early? Were there alternatives? He contacted the college admissions office and the college guidance counselor to explain his situation and learn about options.
The school was non-traditional and allowed students to start without a high school diploma. He called another meeting with the high school administrators, hoping they’d reconsider — but they stuck to their guns. Thinking he had no choice, he stood up and said, "Well, I’m just going to have to drop out then. I can’t see missing a year of college to just do gym class." The coach smugly claimed, “You can’t go to college without a diploma.” He explained the tech school’s policy, and the room went silent. The guidance counselor realized that a dropout looked bad for both her and the small school during state audits. She tried backpedaling, but he wasn’t interested. That evening, the principal and vice-principal called to talk, but by then, he was already focused on starting classes in the fall.
Not The Most Mature Decision
Our narrator's co-worker once handled a client involved in a messy divorce where the couple had to split a collection of antique pots. Presumably, both our narrator and the co-worker worked at a law firm.
When the husband delivered the wife's portion to the office, he had defecated in every single pot, creating an outrageous incident. Unfortunately, it's unclear what exactly came of that little stunt.
What A Sad And Despicable Situation
After our protagonist's father passed, they helped clean out his apartment with their mother, paternal aunt, and paternal grandmother. They were 11 at the time, their parents were divorced, and although their mother warned them that their grandmother wasn't entirely trustworthy, she allowed them to form their own bond with their dad’s family. Their father had a beloved motorcycle. Because he had no will, all major possessions were supposed to be documented for the estate lawyers, with nothing taken home. On his key rack, they noticed his motorcycle keys, marked by a keychain shaped like a bike. While alone in the kitchen with their grandmother, they casually remarked, "Oh, it’s Dad’s motorcycle keys!" Their grandmother acknowledged it — and then slipped the keys into her pocket. Weeks later, they overheard their mother talking to the lawyer about the missing keys. They told her mother what they had seen, and when asked if they were certain, they confirmed it completely. Lawyers got involved, and her grandmother flatly denied taking the keys.
The situation escalated to a deposition, where they had to give sworn testimony. Their grandmother looked them in the eye and told everyone she was “a grief-stricken delusional child prone to lying,” arguing that the trauma of losing their father made their testimony unreliable. She openly questioned whether a court should believe an 11-year-old over an adult. Their grandmother prioritized possessions over family. Supported by every member of their father’s side, she went further — altering their father’s gravestone to inflate his military rank and falsely claim he served in a war he never did. They no longer visit their father’s grave because of the lies. Sporadic contact with that side of the family continued for a few years, but they officially cut ties in 2013.
A Very Cunning, If Dishonest, Plan
A few years back, our protagonist had new neighbors move in next door. They seemed friendly enough, but there was a recurring issue. The husband traveled frequently, and the wife was afraid of nearly everything — darkness, storms, you name it. She insisted on leaving the floodlights over their garage doors on all night, every night, even though they weren't visible from inside her house. The problem was that the lights shone directly into our protagonist's bedroom, and the curtains couldn’t block them effectively. They politely asked the neighbors several times to turn the lights off at night, but the couple refused. Even an offer to pay for a timer was rejected.
After considering more drastic measures, the solution they settled on was to loosen the bulbs so the lights wouldn’t turn on. Because the neighbors couldn’t see the lights from inside, it took five or six months before they noticed and screwed them back in. A couple of weeks later, the bulbs were loosened again. Months went by, and eventually the neighbor mentioned to the husband that their outdoor lights sometimes gave them trouble. He explained that he experienced the same issue, blaming it on street traffic vibrations. Eventually, he just left them off. In the end, both households were satisfied, and the nighttime glare problem was resolved.
Thankfully, His Little Scheme Didn't Work
They work from home and got a notification that an Amazon package — worth a couple of hundred dollars — had been delivered. Immediately stepping outside, they couldn't find it anywhere. They saw the delivery van just two houses down, meaning no one could have grabbed it in the 20 seconds since the notification. Approaching the driver, they said, "Excuse me, I received notification that my package was just delivered, but it’s not here." The driver looked flustered. “Oh… uh… what’s the address?” they asked. After being given the address, the driver insisted he had delivered it. When challenged, he stammered, “Oh, I found your package… but there’s an issue, likely a duplicate, and another driver will deliver the correct one later.”
Frustrated, they called Amazon. The company said the package was marked delivered, and nothing was wrong. They explained the driver shouldn’t withhold it, and Amazon promised to investigate within 24 hours. Just two minutes after ending the call, the doorbell rang. They opened it to see the same driver rushing down the driveway. The package was there. They called Amazon again, reporting that the same driver had delivered it and had been speeding through the neighborhood. Amazon confirmed they would investigate the driver. Our protagonist felt guilty for complaining, but the whole incident suggested to them that the driver was possibly running a package scam: Marking deliveries as complete, then making excuses when the customer claimed they hadn’t received them.
This Just Gets Worse All The Time
In seventh grade, they had a math teacher who really disliked them. Because they were a bit slower at solving equations and asked questions about why things had to be done a certain way, the teacher singled them out. He even sent them to an after-school remedial class meant for children with special educational needs, despite the fact that they didn't have any.
One time, they handed in a homework project 10 minutes late — because the teacher hadn’t been there yet — and were punished with three months of detention. Every lunchtime, they had to write lines, and if they didn’t finish before the bell, they couldn’t eat. They told their mom, who basically said to just deal with it since the family was emigrating to the UK later that year. They never finished the detention because they left the country, so in the end, the teacher got nothing.
Networking Is About Keeping Connections Too
One contractor explained that they get their revenge by simply telling the truth whenever people in their small industry call to ask about what it was like working for their former boss. As a result, he hasn't ever been hired for any of the jobs where they’ve been consulted on his work and demeanor.
The best instance was when a friend called about him applying for a job at the company they were contracting with at the time. They said, "If you hire him, I’ll quit." They continued working for the company on and off over the next three years.
All Of That Could Have Been Avoided So Easily
Earlier today, a construction foreman working on a new house build had an encounter that was too perfect not to share. The house was located 250 feet up a hill, accessible only by a footpath, so all materials had to be carried by hand—literally an entire house up a hill. Thankfully, the site had two parking spots on the street at the bottom of the hill, marked with official No Parking signs. Unfortunately, parents from a nearby elementary school often parked there at pickup and drop-off times. The foreman usually let it slide if no delivery or truck parking was needed, but today, a lumber delivery truck was en route. As he began heading down the hill to meet the driver, he noticed a parent idling in one of the spots. Assuming she was just waiting to pick up her child, he politely said, "You are parked in a no-parking zone, and we really need you to clear it to park a delivery truck." She scoffed and replied, “I'll just be a few minutes, and your truck isn’t here, take a chill pill, dude.” Before he could respond, the lumber truck appeared around the corner. He waved to the driver and gestured to the woman, who rolled her window up after saying, "Can't you guys just unload around me? Jesus, it’s not that hard." The foreman smiled and walked away, letting a plan form in his mind. He instructed the driver to park as closely as possible to her car, trapping her between the porta-potty at one end of the reserved spots and an adjacent parked car.
The driver immediately understood and positioned the truck expertly. As the crew began carrying lumber up the hill, the foreman called parking enforcement, not to get her in trouble but to document why part of the street was blocked. When the parent’s child arrived, she realized she couldn’t exit her car normally. She stormed up, saying, “I’m in a big hurry; you need to move your darn truck right now so I can go.” The driver grinned and calmly said, “Ma’am, in order to unload the lumber on the truck, we had to unstrap it, and per our company policy, I’m not allowed to move the truck with any unsecured load on it. Sorry.” She barked back, “Screw your policy, I have somewhere to be!” At that moment, the parking officer arrived and parked behind the truck. The foreman casually asked, “Can’t you just pull out around it? It’s not that hard.” Her face went from anger to shock as she realized she had just been caught in her own words. Enraged, she slammed the car into reverse, crashing into the porta-potty, then tried to mount the curb. The officer promptly ordered her out, and a second unit arrived to take her into custody. By the end of the ordeal, she was charged with Child Endangerment (her kid was in the back of the car), Reckless Driving, Destruction of Property (the porta-potty), and Driving on a Suspended License. Her car was towed, her child went home with his grandmother, and she spent some quality time in a cell. The foreman never expected that using her own words against her would work so perfectly, but it left a clear lesson: Don’t park in tow-away zones.
She Doesn't Forgive, And She Doesn't Forget
For one person, there wasn't a lot to explain about what their grandmother did that was so petty. And in just one sentence, they managed to describe a situation that rivals even the more elaborate and diabolical plans in sheer pettiness.
As they said, "In her will, my vindictive grandmother left my aunt $20 as a reminder of the $20 my aunt stole from her once."
At Least He Responded Appropriately
At her mother's house, someone was waiting outside the toilet for their partner to come out. They had accompanied her because she struggles with severe depression and anxiety and wanted support.
Their mother came out of her room and exploded, demanding to know why so much was being "sacrificed" and claiming that the partner was “faking it to manipulate” them, saying other horrible things as well. The worst part was that the partner overheard everything and broke down badly. Since then, they haven’t brought her to their mother’s house again.
What Was His Game With This?
In our protagonist's old department, there was a dispatcher — who they called G — who probably shouldn’t have been a dispatcher. One day, G needed to stay home because of gas and electric workers doing work at his house. Instead of taking the whole day off, he told their boss he’d be at work no later than noon but could come in sooner if it got really busy. G said he’d call to check on the workload to see if he needed to come in early. The other dispatcher was left to handle the shift alone. They arrived at 6 a.m., and starting at 7 a.m., G began calling repeatedly. By 9 a.m., G had called at least 20 times, asking the same thing every time: "Is it busy? How does it look? Do I need to come in?"
By the twentieth call, the dispatcher got fed up and told G it was really busy and they could use his help if he could come in. G hesitated because he had no one to watch the house, but eventually agreed and said he’d be there in a few minutes. When he arrived, he asked about the workload and realized it wasn’t that busy. He asked why they had said it was. The response: “Because you called me more than a psycho ex-girlfriend would. I had to stop you somehow.” Their boss found the whole thing hilarious, especially since G knew better than to pester them like that.
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
Someone noticed that their Spotify account had a PS4 with a German name connected to it, even though they didn't own a PS4. Spotify wasn’t able to disconnect the device through the account, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. At midnight German time, they blasted heavy metal at full volume on the stranger’s PS4.
It seemed the person might have been in a game, as the music played for a few seconds before they tried skipping songs and pausing it, all without success. Eventually, the intruder uninstalled Spotify, and the account owner changed their password. They later admitted that, despite the hassle, "Darn, that felt good."
There's No Way That Was Allowed
When our narrator was in fourth grade, a teacher handed the class a set of questions just before lunch break and expected everyone to have the correct answers when they returned. One of the students in the class struggled and couldn't get several of the answers right. Instead of helping, the teacher punished him in a humiliating way.
The student was made to walk from bench to bench around the classroom while each classmate present was instructed to give him a smack. Looking back on the moment years later, the observer still feels anger about what happened. The memory of the incident makes them wish they could go back in time and "beat the snot out of that horrible teacher."
They Will Find Any Weak Point To Exploit
While working at a large nightclub, an employee experienced frustration with a new general manager who quickly became a complete jerk. He frequently mocked staff, made inappropriate comments, and repeatedly told the same stories. One night, while closing the club with a friend, the employee noticed a jar of jellybeans on the manager's desk, and an idea struck him. He rubbed his hands on his sweaty genitals and then handled the jellybeans, even dipping himself briefly into the jar. His friend walked in during the act, and he instructed him to stay quiet.
The next morning, the general manager called the friend into his office. He offered the friend some jellybeans, which were politely declined, and then proceeded to eat the rest of the jar. At one point, a jellybean stuck to his mouth, nearly causing the friend to laugh and reveal what had happened. The employee later reflected that he still didn’t feel guilty, given the manager’s prior behavior.
Silence Would Have Gotten Him A Better Deal
When our protagonist was 13 or 14, a young teen wanted a PS3, but his father refused to buy one. His uncle, however, made him an offer: If he worked at his sweets shop for the two months of summer break, the teen could have a PS3 and some games instead of monetary payment. For a teenager with no commitments, this seemed like a fantastic deal. The shop specialized in mini-samosas, sold in pre-packed 250 g and 500 g amounts, as well as individually. The teen's job was to make these packages. Instead of weighing each pack, he counted the individual samosas — 28 for 250 g and 56 for 500 g — which saved time. Customers could also buy them in custom amounts. One particularly hot afternoon, with the shop suffering a power cut and both uncle and nephew sweating under no fans, a regular customer named Mr. Karan stormed in.
He grabbed a 500 g pack and demanded, "How many samosas are in this thing?" The teen replied, “56.” Karan exploded, accusing him of trying to cheat and insisting that the samosas be individually packed to exactly 500 g. The teen smiled, picked up samosas, and carefully counted them onto a scale. When the last samosa pushed the weight over 500 g, he crushed it and added the powder until the scale read exactly 500 g. When Karan smugly asked, “So how many samosas now?” the teen declared, “48,” knowing the new chef had added a bit more filling to each samosa. Uncle allowed the teen to complete the custom package. Karan reluctantly bought it, realizing his pre-packed samosas had slightly fewer due to the old standard weight. From then on, Karan treated them more respectfully. The teen later recalled the story when his PS3 finally crashed, remembering the clever satisfaction of that summer job lesson.
She Was Literally Mad For No Reason
At the narrator's sister's wedding, they had one of the most enjoyable nights they’d ever experienced at a family celebration. The atmosphere was lively, everyone seemed to be having a great time, and they were catching up with some first cousins they rarely saw. While they were talking, their mother walked over and immediately started complaining about the guest list. She began criticizing their sister for not wanting to invite some of the mother’s cousins. The problem, from the siblings’ perspective, was that they had only met those relatives a few years earlier, and his sister simply didn’t like them enough to want them at her wedding.
According to their mother, however, those cousins needed to be there so she could have fun. What made the moment even more frustrating was that his sister had already given in to the pressure. Some of those very cousins were actually at the wedding because she had reluctantly agreed to her mother’s demands. Despite getting exactly what she wanted, the mother was still standing there complaining about it — at her daughter’s own wedding. Listening to her criticize the bride in the middle of the celebration made something click for our narrator. He had always known that their mother’s parents and siblings could be pretty awful people. But in that moment, hearing her behave that way during her own daughter’s wedding, they realized she really wasn’t any different from the rest of them.
Not How He Expected That To Go
A few months earlier, a man and his boyfriend went out for drinks at a small "speakeasy"-style bar in Montreal. The place had an unusual setup: guests entered through an unmarked doorway, and once inside, the atmosphere was stylish and relaxed. It was also the type of bar where servers handled table service instead of customers ordering directly at the bar. After being seated by a server, the couple ordered a pair of cocktails. Before long, they ordered another round, and then another after that. The problem was that each time they wanted drinks, one of them had to track down the server to take their order—or walk up to the bar themselves to ask for drinks and carry them back to the table. When they were ready to leave, the man once again had to go find the server so he would come over with the bill. The server arrived but assumed they were placing another order, even though the man had clearly asked for the check when he went up to the bar. The server returned to grab the card machine, and it took another ten minutes before he finally came back. By that point, the man was already irritated by the lackluster service and debated whether he should leave a tip at all. The payment screen offered the standard options—10%, 15%, 20%, or “other.” To avoid creating an argument, he selected 10%, figuring it would be easier than making an issue out of it. In Canada, tipping expectations can be fairly strict in some places, and he didn't feel like dealing with a confrontation.
But the situation didn’t end there. After printing the receipt, the server looked at it and noticed the 10% tip. He asked if the couple had enjoyed their evening. The man’s boyfriend replied that they had, assuming it was simply a routine question servers ask customers. Neither of them mentioned the poor service since it wouldn’t really change anything at that point. Instead, the server responded with an unexpected remark: “Oh, well, if you had such a nice time, then you should’ve left at least a 15% tip. Because, in Canada, it’s customary to leave a minimum 15% when the service is good.” The man suspected the reason the server emphasized how tipping works “in Canada” was because he was a brown-skinned man. That was when the petty idea struck him. He calmly replied, “Oh, I didn’t know. Why don’t you cancel this bill and redo it so I can tip you properly?” The server answered, “Sure thing, just give me a second because the manager has to approve bill cancellations.” Naturally, it took another ten minutes before the server returned with the updated bill. The man didn’t mind the wait this time. When the payment screen appeared again, he entered his PIN, selected the “other” option for the tip, and left 0%. The receipt printed out, and the look of disbelief on the server’s face made the whole thing worthwhile. As they stood to leave, the man’s white Canadian boyfriend offered one last comment: “Our only tip for you is to give better service and not be so much of a jerk. In Canada, we don’t really like jerks.”
She Was Definitely Worried About The Wrong Thing
One of our narrator's best friends, Alex, worked as a staffer in a legislative office. Alex’s boss was the head of a key Senate budget committee, so the office regularly received visitors seeking the senator’s support for projects or grants. On one occasion, a representative from an arts program requesting a $250K grant — whom they called "LobbyAnn" — arrived at the office. LobbyAnn approached the reception desk and asked for a pen. The office kept giveaway pens with the senator’s name on them, which Alex reached for, but LobbyAnn protested, saying, “Well, then the Senator will know that I showed up without a pen.” That didn't seem to matter to anyone but her, but she then spotted Alex’s own favorite pen — a personal, expensive pen with lapis inlay and an engraving of his name and term in a campus organization. She reached over, snatched it up, and dropped it into her purse. Alex, a very polite person, was stunned and immediately said, “That’s my personal pen, it’s not up for grabs.”
A few minutes later, the senator came out to meet LobbyAnn. As they walked past Alex’s desk, he stood and calmly said, “I’m going to need my pen back. That pen is precious to me; you took it right off this desk, and I want it back.” The senator gasped, “She took your lapis pen?” and turned to LobbyAnn, who frantically rummaged in her purse, stammering that she was just borrowing it. The senator firmly said, “Give it back.” Once Alex had his pen returned, the senator said, “Come on back, I need you,” and walked back into her office, leaving LobbyAnn standing outside. Then the senator picked up her purse, smiled, and said, “Want Starbucks?” She and Alex went out the side door and across the street, with a view of the office front. It apparently took LobbyAnn about five minutes to realize the gravity of her mistake: She would not meet with the senator that day — or likely any day. The project she was advocating for, while it had some support in the House, was probably doomed. Alex later recounted the experience, always ending with, “That was the best coffee I’ve ever had.”
Anybody Who Bullies A Kindergartener Shouldn't Teach
When our protagonist was in kindergarten, her father packed her lunch. The school promoted "healthy eating" and “healthy snacks,” and she generally ate those foods without issue. Occasionally, however, her father would include a cookie as a small surprise. One day, the teacher noticed the cookie, grabbed it, and exclaimed, “WE DON'T EAT COOKIES IN THIS CLASSROOM!”
She then proceeded to eat the cookie right in front of her, leaving a lasting impression. Her father arranged a meeting with the principal. During the appointment, he called both the principal and the teacher un-American for not allowing him to include in his child’s lunch the foods he deemed appropriate.
Living Well Is The Best Revenge
At a local bagel shop, an employee handled both baking and prep work and had become an "unofficial" manager after years on the job, earning more than most staff. Because their shift started early, they were able to leave early, which didn't sit well with a new employee and her boyfriend. The couple frequently displayed attitude problems toward the employee for reasons that were never clear. One day, around 11 a.m., the boyfriend began his closing duties, and the employee told him, “Sorry, Boyfriend, you can do all of your closing duties if you want, but you still have to stay until close.” He ran to tell his girlfriend. She started yelling at the employee from the front of the store, hurling rude names in front of customers. The employee asked her to come to the back if she wanted to talk.
When she arrived, visibly shaking, the employee feared she might physically attack them and left for the day in tears. The girlfriend later quit, leaving a note to the boss claiming the employee was horrible. The boss crumpled it up, threw it away, and reassured the employee of their character. Later, the boss ran into the former employee while she was grocery shopping in another town, having moved back in with her parents and her boyfriend. In the end, the employee didn’t need to take action themselves. Support from friends like the boss reinforced that they were a good person and that others’ poor behavior often resolves itself. With a stable relationship, school, and life mostly together, they found that karma can be the most effective way to deal with someone who was wrong.
An Annoying Problem With A Hilarious Solution
On a small American military base, all personnel were occasionally assigned sentry duty at the front gate, which included housing for families. Sentry duty was simple: stop every vehicle, check IDs, and wave them through. Officers could usually be identified by colored stickers on the front windshield, and once verified, enlisted personnel were expected to render a salute. One day, a vehicle approached with an officer's sticker, but only the officer’s wife was driving. After returning her ID and wishing her a good day, she paused, stern-faced, and demanded, "Where’s my salute, Petty Officer?" She seemed to believe her sticker entitled her to one. Politely, the sentry replied, “Ma’am, salutes are only rendered to commissioned officers.” She angrily pointed to the sticker and insisted, “I have a sticker, and you need to salute the sticker.” The sentry calmly replied, “I’m afraid that sticker is not an officer either,” and she drove off, heading straight to the administrative building to complain.
Later that day, the base issued a new mandate: all enlisted personnel were to salute officer vehicle stickers, regardless of who was inside. This created an opportunity for subtle revenge. In the military, when an enlisted member salutes an officer, the salute is held until the officer returns it. Typically, the salute is directed to the highest-ranking individual, but the order made no provision for cars. From then on, the sentry began saluting the stickers themselves, even empty cars, and often prioritized sticker salutes over actual officers. Others noticed and began copying the behavior. Soon, the mandate was publicly rescinded, restoring proper protocol, and the officer’s wife never received a single unearned salute. The sentry found the outcome immensely satisfying.
