Everyone's a little weird, but some people are definitely weirder than others. In fact, there are so many weirdos out there that seeing strange behaviors in public is such a common occurrence. Subways, light rails, city buses, and long-distance coach buses, in particular, are notorious sighting spots for the truly odd.
The strange things people do in public can be gross, surprising, or even heartwarming. They can be so unbelievable that you end up wondering if you really saw what you saw. These stories from internet users worldwide are instances of strange public behavior that just could not go unnoticed.
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#1 A Special Car For A Special Lady
I worked at a radio station and was doing a remote shift at a car dealership. A woman walked up to us wearing a shirt, an apron-type skirt (with no back) and men’s boots. She had nothing else on other than spray paint all around her mouth, and she kept asking to buy
"the special car." No one knew what she was saying and it freaked me out.
Pexels
#2 Never Eat Unidentified Mushrooms
I had a delivery guy bend over and eat mushrooms out of my front yard before getting back in the truck and driving off. He didn't even wipe them down or anything; he just pulled them out from the ground and stuffed them straight into his mouth. Then, he went back into the car as if nothing happened. I wonder if he's still alive.
Pixabay
#3 Never Travel Without Your Roombas
Someone went through airport security with two Roombas and nothing else. One Roomba per bin, of course. The customs officers spent quite a bit of time questioning him about the Roombas. I guess they wanted to make sure that he hadn't rigged them for a different purpose, but in the end he was good to go—just your regular, double-Roomba-owning character.
#4 Between A Man And His Bicycle
One time, I was on my way to a house inspection and witnessed a man talking to his chained up bicycle. He was getting progressively angrier until, at one point, he started screaming and fighting with it. He'd then go into fits of laughter as if the bicycle had been telling him some incredibly funny jokes. It was my first introduction to weird city people.
Flickr
#5 No One Bothers The Crazy Guy
In the middle of the night in a hip city neighborhood, we saw a guy coming down the street with an awkward gait. As he approached us, we realized he was skipping while spanking himself—yes, hand to butt. And thus he went into the darkness, galloping away, with the sound of his slaps still audible from a distance... Maybe it was his way of avoiding a mugging?
Pixabay
#6 It's Not Quite Chicken, But It'll Do
I once watched a guy on the sidewalk below the train platform bend down and casually put a pigeon in his pocket. He literally just snatched it with his bare hands, then tucked it away as if nothing happened. I'm pretty sure a bunch of other people other than me saw him do it, but everyone was so creeped out that not a word was said. Dinner is served, I guess.
Flickr
#8 Unexpected Public Hurl
There was a lady at the airport, nicely dressed. She vomited in the middle of a walkway and just kept on walking, perfectly composed. She hardly even broke her stride. It was as if throwing up on the floor of a crowded public space was just another task to tick off on her list. I didn't expect her to just, like, conjure up a pack of paper towels and clean it up, but her total nonchalance about it was seared into my memory.
Pexels
#9 People Who Still Have Landlines Are Weird
When I worked at PC World, I had a customer who came in and started browsing the landline phones. At some point, she got a call on her mobile phone and she proceeded to make herself comfortable. She took off her jacket, her shoes, and her socks, then and laid down on the floor of the store whilst talking on her phone.
After a while, she put the phone down but continued to lay on the floor, looking at all the types of landline phones. I asked her if she needed a hand and she said yes. So I sat down on the floor with her, kicked off my shoes as well and had a good old chat all about landline phones. She ended up buying one with an extended warranty, so management didn't care that I just sat down on the floor with her.
#10 Blatant Lies Are Often The Funniest
One time, I was at Walmart and saw the strangest thing I’d ever seen at one. I was behind a lady at the checkout whose last item on the conveyor belt was a zucchini but with a big bite taken out of it.
Cashier: "Did you....bite this zucchini?"
Stranger (with a dead serious look on her face): "No."
Cashier: "...Well, do you still want it?"
Stranger: "Yeah, just put it in the bag!"
From where I was, I could still see the glimmer of saliva from the bite. But even if she was telling the truth, why the heck would you buy a zucchini someone else bit into?! I still think about it today.
Air Force Medicine
#11 The Joy Of Taking The Bus
I was visiting my family in Ireland and planned to stay in London for a few days before flying home. For some reason, I wanted to travel by boat instead of flying for a change, so I traveled by bus and boat from Dublin to London. At Busaras, the awful bus station, there was a very obviously strung out man and woman organizing various packages of pills and other paraphernalia into different bags as though nobody was around.
Another dodgy-looking woman walked in and handed them another bag. They exchanged the pills in front of everyone including the few staff that were wandering around. The girl was sporting a "baby bump" and proceeded to stuff the pills up into her jumper. She then asked the guy, in a very loud and strong Dublin accent: "Does this look realistic, Aidan?" They pushed up past everyone to board the bus first, mumbling things like, "Out me way."
I ended up sitting behind them, and they obviously took something on the bus because the woman started slurring her speech while on the phone; which, by the way, was on a speaker. "Mommy will be home soon, I'm just messed up out of my head right now though," she said to her daughter who was on the other end of the line.
The man turned around to me randomly during the trip and said, "Do you have perfume or something? My missus won't wake up. I'm going #2 in my pants." I handed him my spray and he proceeded to spray it all over her, telling her to "wake up". She was barely conscious and he was crying when we pulled into Birmingham station where they were meant to get off. He had to basically drag her off.
#13 An Old Man In A Bush
A few years ago, I came home from partying at about 3 a.m. Right as I was walking up to the front door of the house, I noticed a rustling noise coming from the bushes near the door. I figured it was some animal, so I didn't think anything of it until some older guy (I'd guess around 80 years old) stepped out of the bushes. He was holding a plastic bag and looked a little shocked to see me.
I just politely said hello and he did the same, then I entered the building. He just kept standing there. I was a little confused but didn't think of it any further. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was packing my car early on Saturday, around the same time that I saw him before. After the second trip to the car, I was just walking up to the front door again, when that same guy came out of the building with his plastic bag.
Again, we exchanged greetings and I went back upstairs to my flat. He just kept standing in front of the door, looking at what I was doing. When I came back down with the third load, he was gone, but there was that same rustling noise again, coming from the bushes. I coughed so that he'd notice that I was there and the noise stopped immediately.
I've seen him once again since then, doing the same thing. Obviously, I never asked him, but what would some 80-year-old guy with a plastic bag do in the bushes in the middle of the night?! He obviously lives in my building, but I've never seen him during the daytime (it's a big building with about 30 flats, so it's not that unusual). I definitely thought that was weird!
Pexels
#14 He Has A Peppermint Addiction
I saw an old man in a casino eat 40 or so peppermint candies. He would put five in his mouth, swallow them, then do it again. These were the ones you would have to suck on for an hour to get anywhere. He brought them around to the different slot machines in a large glass bowl. He might have taken it from one of the restaurants nearby.
Pixabay
#15 Splashing In Puddles Never Gets Old
A few years ago, I was visiting my old college campus to finish up some paperwork. For some reason, I decided to have lunch at the university food court. The seating area was situated along the edge of a big building and it had giant floor-to-ceiling glass windows, so you could get a good view of everyone going past outside.
On this day, in particular, it was raining really heavily, so there wasn't much foot traffic. I saw this one woman wearing a raincoat stop at a giant mud puddle. She looked around to see if anyone was watching, but didn't spot me because the food court was on the second floor. She carefully took off her shoes and started splashing around in the mud puddle like a five-year-old. She did this for about 30 seconds, then put her shoes back on and continued on her way as if nothing happened.
Pixabay
#16 So Strange He Can't Remember If It Actually Happened
When I was backpacking around Ethiopia, I ended up staying overnight in some tiny little town whilst waiting for my bus to my next destination. I saw someone walking down the street completely naked with a block of wood clenched between his bum cheeks. It was so strange and illogical that there are times when I question whether or not I really saw it.
#17 The Things People Do When They Think No One Is Watching
Yesterday, there was a girl in the car next to me licking her phone screen like it was an ice cream cone.
Free Stock Photos
#18 This Woman Takes Spills Very Seriously
When I used to work at a grocery store, this guy came by and got a box of food from our hot bar. He asked if I could put a rubber band around the container which was a common request, so I wrapped one around. He said thank you and proceeded to go to the next register which was empty because it was for where we put our schedule and things at.
He took about 20 rubber bands and wrapped them around the container. I thought it was overboard and so did my coworker next to me. He didn't stop there, either: he took our tape dispenser and started wrapping it around the container. At this point, I was super confused. You couldn't even see the container anymore.
Max Pixel
#19 It All Started On A Warm Summer Day In 1812...
I was out for a hike. Maybe half a mile into the woods, I ran by a man wandering about in full 18th-century clothing. His coat was bright red, so he stood out about as much as a man possibly could. Trapper attire, I guess? I kept catching glimpses of him as I approached his position, and he looked right back at me each time.
When I got near, he asked me if I was lost. I wasn't; I had hiked that trail many times before. I told him as much, and he asked, “Are you sure?” I replied that I was. Hey, if you’re into cosplay or whatever, that’s great, but his entire manner was unsettling. It's just odd to walk about a popular hiking area in full costume.
Pxhere
#20 Even Moses Couldn't Part A Sea Of Dancers
I was at a concert and the area in front of the stage was filled with people dancing. It was near the end of the show and one dude who looked like he was in his forties started walking through the crowd, right up at the front. He was talking on his cellphone and disrupting everyone's good vibes. It was so strange... What was he thinking? It was as if he thought he was Moses and could part the sea of dancers or something.
Pxhere
#21 Not Your Typical Drinking Fountain
I was hanging out in Washington Square Park by the fountain with my buddy. It was a hot summer day; people had their feet in the water and everyone was just relaxing. I kid you not, a guy suddenly jogged up to us, placed his water bottle under the fountain to fill it up with water, then chugged it. He filled it again before jogging away. My buddy and I looked at each other in disbelief.
Flickr
#22 Foot Sanitizer
I was at my parents' church for a Sunday morning service a few years ago. It's a small church that fits around 50 people. As a faith community, it's pretty progressive. For example, all of the pews had hand sanitizer dispensers since there's a part of the mass when everybody shakes each other's hands as a form of offering peace. I thought it was a nice touch.
At some point, I watched the lady next to me take off her shoe and begin to squirt the sanitizer on her foot. She covers one foot with the gel, then spent the next few minutes rubbing it in. But she didn’t do both feet... just the one. I was so confused. What made her think that was appropriate to do in front of a bunch of parishioners?
Pixabay
#23 She Obviously Needed Those 12 Coffees
I worked at a gas station for a while on a night shift in a small town. A lady came in one night, and, without browsing the store, immediately approached the counter to tell me about her no good ex-husband. After she ranted to me for a couple of minutes, she finally started to shop. She yelled across the store to ask if she could preview a couple of magazines before deciding to buy one. I told her yes because I didn't really care.
About 10 minutes went by and I’d forgotten about her. I looked up and she was gone. I couldn't see her anywhere but I also didn’t hear the door make a sound, so I got up to look around. The lady had decided to sit down in the middle of the aisle to read and ended up falling asleep, sitting pretzel style while facedown in the magazine. I didn’t want to wake her up and have her be aggressive towards me... so I just went back to doing my own thing.
She woke up about a half an hour later and proceeded to buy like, twelve coffees. I finally cashed her out and she exited the store. I went to clean the bathroom since she finally left and I didn't have to worry about her. When I came back, I looked out the window and saw that she fell asleep in her running vehicle. She slept out there for about an hour and then came back in to buy something else.
#24 Who Doesn't Vacuum Their Lawn?
An ex-neighbor of ours used to vacuum her lawn. The entire thing. With a normal house vacuum. The thing was super loud, too. Our house is probably 300 feet from her yard and you could still hear that thing from ANYWHERE in the house. It happened about every two weeks, rain or shine. I might also add, she did this in her PJs and usually did it around 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Flickr
#25 The Secret Grocery Store Bandit
I was checking out in the grocery store with my roommate and we only had like, three items. An older man got in line behind me and put his three items—a quarter of a watermelon, a bottle of shampoo, and milk—on the belt, all pressing up right against my items. I was talking with the cashier and didn’t notice as it was happening.
A few seconds later, I politely shifted his items back about six inches and put a divider between them. He then proceeded to slide his items into the bagging area with mine. I had to stop the cashier and tell him not to scan his three items. He replied, “Oh, I’m sorry. There wasn’t a divider so I just assumed...”
This old dude had removed the divider and pushed his groceries back up with mine so I’d buy them. I turned around and stared right at him in disbelief, but he was determined to not make eye contact. I finished up and left, never getting a glance from the man. What I can’t figure out is, what was his end game?
Moody
#26 What Happens When You Think You Are Your Dog's Real Mother
A woman got in her car, took a big sip of a smoothie, then proceeded to open her mouth so her small dog could lap up the smoothie in her mouth.
Max Pixel
#27 Oscar The Grouch In Real Life
I pulled into a shopping center where I had to do some banking. A grown man was sitting in a trash can at the corner with his legs and torso sticking out flailing like a fish. I rolled down my window and asked, "You need any help?" to which he replied, "It's a party over here!" Alright. I rolled up my window, did my banking, then pulled out about 30 minutes later to see him still hanging out in his garbage can, Oscar-the-Grouch-style, waving at passersby.
Flickr
#28 Barbeques Can Happen At Any Hour
I came back from a library all-nighter at my university to find my neighbor in her PJs starting a barbecue at 6 a.m. She proceeded to cook about 20 sausages. I sort of stood by, blankly watching her do it, wondering if I was tripping from sleep deprivation or if it was actually real. I took a photo and went to sleep. It was still equally bizarre when I woke up.
Pxhere
#29 That's One Way To File A Complaint
One time, my coworker was frustrated about something and went over to customer service to complain. After about 10 minutes of back and forth arguing, he pulled superglue out of his pocket, squeezed some onto the counter, and promptly head-butted the desk. He didn’t even pause his rage. Once he finally got pried off, his eyebrows were still stuck to the desk. The cleaning lady had to come and scrape em off.
#30 The Case Of The Stolen Doorstoppers
I used to work at the front desk in a big museum. We had three sets of double doors at the entrance and there were doorstops put in place to hold some of them open. One set of doorstops were made of wood and on this particular day, they weren't being used so they were just in the corner, out of the way beside the entrance.
I watched a woman and her toddler grandson walk into the museum. She pointed down at the wooden doorstops and he picked them up. They then walked out with them. Not a word was spoken and as far as I know, they never came back. They just took the doorstops and left. No one really knew how to approach that situation.
Pxhere
#31 The Perfect Beer Exchange
Just yesterday, I saw a guy walking down the street with a glass of beer. Another stranger walking in the opposite direction approached him and said, "Hey, give me your beer. Here's some cash, go buy me a beer and buy yourself another one too." The first stranger obliged; he gave the man his beer and went off with the money to buy some more beer. By the time he was back, the second guy had finished the first guy's glass. The first guy handed a glass to the second guy, then they both went their separate ways. It was pretty amusing.
Shutterstock
#32 Got Milk?
I saw a woman dual-wielding two gallons of milk in a public library. She was actively drinking from one at the time I saw this and it bewildered me. She didn't have the milk with anything else—no cookies, no cereal, nothing—she just chugged it by itself. It was weird, but who am I to judge? She seemed like she was genuinely enjoying her drink.
Flickr
#33 Macaroni And Cheese Rituals
A man came downstairs from his apartment with a box of macaroni and cheese. He put the mac and cheese on top of a parking meter and proceded to dance with it. After he was done with his dance, he bowed to it and went back upstairs, leaving it on the meter. He does this almost every week. I'm guessing it's an offering to the gods?
Pexels
#34 People Eat The Strangest Things
At a casino, I saw a woman playing a machine with a pile of toilet paper in the seat next to her. Every now and then she’d reach over, rip a piece off, and eat it. A bunch of other people saw her doing this too, but nobody was brave enough to approach her and say something. I hope she's doing okay; eating toilet paper can't be healthy.
Flickr
#35 Multitasking Goes To Another Level
I passed a guy in traffic and noticed that he was driving with his feet while playing on the trumpet. The even weirder part is, he was actually a decent driver. He would keep a safe distance between himself and other cars, he'd obey all the traffic signs and he'd still use his signals. All while playing a concerto on his trumpet.
Pxhere
#36 Obsessed With His Own Muscles
When I first started working out at the gym, I saw a guy kissing dumbells at the top of every rep. I don't know if he was doing it intentionally or if the dumbells were just touching his lips as a result of the lifting motion. Either way, it was super weird. No one ever cleans the dumbells after they use them. I cannot imagine what type of disease or infection he got from doing that.
Pxhere
#37 Who's Ever Heard Of Corn Anyway?
The strangest thing I’ve heard was at a burrito shop.
The man ordering: "Can I get some of those yellow bean things?"
Burrito lady: "...You mean corn?"
#38 Once Is An Accident, Twice Is Intentional
Do you know those sticks that dog owners use to throw the tennis ball further? I saw a guy at a park with one of them and he just throw the whole thing, with a ball attached. The dude did it twice. Maybe he just didn't know how it worked. It's okay though because the dog was having an absolute blast, which is the most important thing.
Flickr
#39 The Lengths A Superfan Will Go To
Rick Ross is a rapper who's pretty large. I was at a concert of his once and he took off his sweat-soaked shirt and tossed it into the crowd. A girl caught it and squeezed the sweat out, into her mouth. It was probably one of the most disgusting things I had ever seen in my life. That moment is forever seared into my memory.
#40 What Is He Growing In His Coat?
I was walking through town and some guy walking just ahead of me looked like Hagrid from Harry Potter. He was big and tall with long hair and also wore a long brown wool coat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plant, with its roots still intact and everything. He looked down, repotted the plant in his pocket, and reached into his other side pocket for a watering can. Since then, I've been totally in awe of him and I often wonder what he was growing in his coat.
Flickr
#41 His Property, His Rules
I grew up in a fairly rural area. One day, while I was on the school bus I saw the strangest thing I had ever seen. The bus stopped to let some kids out and when I looked out the window, I saw some guy sitting on a toilet in his front yard. Not an outhouse, just a porcelain toilet. His pants around his ankles and he was just doing his business while reading a newspaper. Next to him was a plunger with three rolls of toilet paper on it.
As my young mind was struggling to comprehend what I was seeing, things got even stranger. He quickly folded his paper, laid it in his lap and stared at his lawn with great intensity. A gopher began pushing up a mound. He slowly reached behind his lawn toilet and pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds.
He sprinkled some on the lawn in hopes that the gopher would come by for a snack and keep him company. The gopher never came; I guess it was just as traumatized by the sight of the man on the toilet as we were. I rode by that house many times over the next few years and never saw anything even close to that level of weird again. Also, I feel like I should say that this all happened in the United States.
#42 What Doesn't A Woman Have In Her Purse?
I was working at a movie theatre. A woman bought a hot dog covered with nacho cheese and then put it into her purse, unwrapped.
#43 Advice For Making An Impromptu Shoe
Just last week, I saw a man walking around my work with one shoe. I politely pointed out that he was missing a shoe and he very politely apologized. He then proceeded to pull out his wallet and attempt to wear it as the other shoe. Even though it didn't fit his foot (it literally only covered his toes), he just went with it.
Flickr
#44 The Man Was A Traveling Oyster Bar
A guy in a bar asked me if I wanted an oyster. I said yes. He then reached down into his backpack that was full of oysters on ice. He shucked a few, then pulled out the hot sauce from a side pocket. We tapped our shells together and ate some oysters. It probably wasn't the best decision on my part. Thankfully, I never got sick from it.
#45 Apparently Too Cute Not To Snap A Photo
We were playing with our twin babies at the park when a stranger pulled up in her car and took our photo before speeding away.
Max Pixel
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