There is a saying, according to which, revenge is a dish best served cold. But something else happens when that small act of revenge is directed at people who manage to exhaust the patience of others with their abusive behavior. In these cases, getting even proves to be very sweet. In a Reddit thread, users share stories of how they settle scores to keep the scales of evil and righteousness evenly balanced.
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Many years ago, around 1998-99, my husband and I moved to a new city and we had a landline as cellphones weren’t widely in use at the time. We had caller ID.
Late one weeknight, we were startled awake at around 2 a.m. by the phone ringing. Heart pounding, I anxiously answered. It was a woman asking for Jim. I told her she had the wrong number and hung up. She rang again and argued that this was Jim’s number. I told her that it may have once been his number, but it was my number now and there was no Jim here.
It took at least an hour for me to relax enough to get back to sleep and I was tired at work the whole next day. I was annoyed, of course, but these things happen, and I got over it. Until it happened again a few nights later. And again a few nights after that. And then a fourth time.
After that fourth time, I was no longer annoyed… I was super mad. I couldn’t get back to sleep at all. I decided that, as long as I was awake, I might as well make good use of my time. I used the caller ID to call this woman to remind her that Jim STILL wasn’t at this number. I called her at 3:45 a.m. and again at 4:30 a.m. to remind her that Jim no longer had the phone number 555-XXXX. I called at 6 a.m. and before leaving for work at 7 a.m. For the next week, I called each morning when my alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. and again before I left for work at 7 a.m. If I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I’d call her as long as I was up. Each time I could tell I woke her up — it was glorious. “Don’t forget, Jim is no longer at 555-XXXX!”
Then, after a week, I stopped. I never received another call from her, either, so I guess my reminders worked. © RumBunBun / Reddit
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I noticed that my Spotify had a PS4 with a German name connected to it, which is odd because I don’t have a PS4. Spotify was unable to disconnect me from it using my account, so I decided to take it into my own hands and blast Attila at full volume on their PS4 at midnight, Germany time. I think they may have been in the game since they let it go for a few seconds then attempted going to the next/previous songs and pausing it a few times (to no avail). Eventually, they uninstalled Spotify and I changed my password, but heck that felt good. © goldenjumper11 / Reddit
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We bought a house a couple of months ago and the sellers insisted that we pay several small fees that are customarily covered by the seller. The total was $187 and in comparison to the house price we weren’t going to walk away over something so small.
We renovated the house and there was a table/credenza thing that had been built into the entryway. After the demo, we were planning on throwing it out. When one of the neighbors noticed we had put it outside to be thrown out, they texted the old owners to see if they wanted it as it was something they said they had loved about the house.
The old owners texted me, saying since we were getting rid of it anyway, surely we wouldn’t mind if they came by and picked it up instead?
I told them that, interestingly, we had recently gotten an offer from someone else to buy it… for $187. Since it was theirs originally I told them we’d be happy to part with it… for $188. They dropped off the check and picked it up a week later. © ParkShipPirate / Reddit
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This happened during my freshman year in college. We were 4 to a dorm, with a shared kitchen. I bought a brand new set of dishes —service for 8! 8 plates, 8 bowls, and 8 mugs. And I bought a flatware set! 8 big spoons! 8 little spoons! 8 forks! 8 butter knives!
I told my roommates they could feel free to use my dishes because I had such a large set, as long as they washed what they used when they used it. So simple! They agreed!
About 2 months in, I had HAD IT. EVERY time I’d go to the kitchen to eat, every single plate, bowl, mug, fork, knife, and spoon would be sitting in the sink. Dirty. I asked —a few times— that they take care of the dishes they used. Wait, did I say dirty? Oh, no. Not just dirty. They wouldn’t even bother to scrape or rinse them. They had food caked and dried on, so that regular washing couldn’t get rid of it. They’d have to sit in hot soapy water for hours, THEN be scrubbed.
So I soaked and scrubbed and dried them. And then I packed every last one up and brought them back to my parents’ house. Didn’t even warn them I was doing it, either. Just took them all home. I bought myself plastic flatware and paper plates and kept them hidden in my room. Refuse to wash the dishes I bought and allowed you all to use? Fine. No dishes for you. © lesmax / Reddit
Unfortunately, my roommate doesn’t seem to get this. She keeps taking my stuff and when I ask her to please replace everything she takes, she’ll buy one new thing and “forget” to do it the next time despite having more money than me.
I finally snapped when I wanted to wash my clothes but only found an empty box that used to contain my laundry detergent. I don’t buy fancy or expensive stuff and I don’t care about brands. After using the last of my powder a week earlier, she could literally have bought the cheapest no-brand laundry detergent in the world and I would have been fine. I just snapped. I had told her over and over to not use my laundry detergent if she wasn’t going to replace it and I just had enough.
I bought a new box of laundry detergent, some Dylon machine dye, mixed it with a bit of the powdered laundry detergent, and dumped it into the old box. When the dye is dry it looks like powdered detergent, especially if you’re not expecting it. I took my new box of laundry detergent to my room and waited.
A week later I came home from work and saw her laundry hanging outside, all with a mysterious pink color all over it. She stomped up to me and demanded to know what I had done. I told her I was going to dye my own clothes and someone had told me the shade would be lighter if I mixed it with powder (lie), then asked her why she had used it when it had clearly been in a box with my name on it, and when I had told her not to use it because she never replaced it?
I don’t think she believed me but she finally got the message. She almost never takes my stuff and when she does she’s quick to replace it. © nothemisme / Reddit
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I was in the pharmacy waiting to pick up my prescription when someone shouted something at me. I pretended to not hear them and they shouted again. They ended up getting frustrated and tugging on my arm. I twisted around and immediately recognized who it was — a guy who had bullied me for over 10 years. So rather than get angry I thought I would mess with him and see what happened.
Him: Hi, I heard you were at [local university] Me: I’m sorry but I don’t know who you are, do I know you from somewhere?
He immediately deflated. It was glorious to see, I had to stop myself from smiling.
Him: It’s me, [his name], from school. Come on, you know me. Me, with a confused face, acting 100%: I’m really sorry but I don’t know you. Did we go swimming together maybe? Him: …No I don’t think so. Me: I’m really sorry but I just don’t know who you are. I think you should go to the back of the line, sir.
I got on my phone and just blocked him out. He looked lost and eventually went to the back of the line. I got my prescription, ignored him, went to my car, and drove off. I literally screamed for joy and also because I was about to break down. It was a wonderful feeling to see him like that and to feel like he had no power over me. To make him feel like he hadn’t had a huge effect on my life. © tryclosetomybest / Reddit
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When I was younger, my sibling and I used to play harmless pranks on one another. For the most part, it was all in good fun, but occasionally it would end up getting annoying. There was this one period of time where we would leap out around corners and do our best to give each other a good fright. I startle easily, so this quickly got on my nerves.
One night, I was leaving my room when I saw a shadow around the corner by the stairwell. I paused, remembering that I had a full glass of water on my bedside table, and decided I should probably bring it downstairs.
My sibling leapt out at me laughing, I screamed loudly, and swung the glass forward, completely drenching them. The best part was that I was the “victim” and how was I supposed to know to be careful? My sibling was angry because they suspected it was on purpose (I really got them good) but to this day there is no proof. © haunted-willow / Reddit
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This is a tale of my 2 siblings and it happened circa the late ’80s. My brother thought it would be amusing to put Vicks VapoRub in my sister’s little pot of lip balm. Being winter in Canada, she took it with her on the school bus and shared it with her friends. By the time they arrived at school, they all had swollen, numb lips, and watery eyes. She was not amused. As it was the ’80s, my brother had a love affair with Final Net hairspray. The kind that you pump out like a fire extinguisher. His hair was a crystallized edifice that could withstand gale-force winds. He is a native and has very thick, very black hair.
My sister topped up the bottle with hydrogen peroxide. Over the course of a few weeks (and a few more top-ups), his hair started to slowly turn orange. It was so gradual that you didn’t notice until it was all you could see. We kept our lips zipped and it eventually grew out. I found out decades later that my mother actually took him to medical specialists trying to find out what was going on. 😆 © WillowmereCottage / Reddit
