30 Movies People Thought Would Be God Awful, But Actually Turned Out To Be Pretty Great
Recently, Reddit user bigbankmanman asked the question, "What's a movie you thought would be terrible but you ended up liking?" And the folks over at r/movies swiftly responded with some pretty surprising (or maybe not?!) answers. Check it out:
1. The Lego Movie (2014) — "Expected a cheap movie tie in. Got a brilliant meta-movie about playing with Legos."
2. Prey (2022) — "My hopes for the Predator franchise were on the floor, but god damn, I loved Prey."
3. Paddington (2014) — "I remember seeing the trailer and thinking it was just a cash grab kids movie. Fast forward to 2025, and that bear has made me reevaluate my life and the first two are two of my favorite films ever made. The second one is a fucking masterpiece, and I'll fight anyone who defies me. Everybody gangster 'til Aunt Lucy shows up at the end of Paddington 2."
— Edwardtrouserhands
4. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) — "That movie is amazing. Watched it the first time thinking it would be stupid but fun, but it ended up being awesome in every way and I've since watched it about eight times."
Paramount Pictures
— Overall_Cod2206
" Chris Pine is having SO much fun in that movie. It's a delight."
— MadPiglet42
5. Alien: Romulus (2024) — "When I first heard ANOTHER Alien movie was getting made, I assumed it would be a stinker. It's probably my favorite movie from last year."
6. The Cabin in the Woods (2011) — "It didn't get spoiled for me at all, and I watched it with my then girlfriend thinking it was some type of generic slasher flick. What a fun concept and great movie.""
Lionsgate
— BenntPitts
"I saw this in the theatre and had such low expectations. The film's opening scene and first five minutes genuinely had me thinking maybe we had accidentally walked into the wrong movie."
— johnmlsf
"My girlfriend made me watch it, and I really didn't want to because I was absolutely sick of 'teens dying in the woods' movies. Thankfully, she held firm."
— Potentatetial
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) — "At the time, it seemed absurd that they would adapt a theme park ride into a movie and it just seemed pointless. My high school girlfriend and I were bored one day and decided to check it out. It was an absolute blast and was way better than it had any right to be."
Buena Vista Pictures
— Music_For_The_Fire
I remember seeing the poster for Pirate s and thinking, Boy, they've really run out of ideas for movies if they gotta make one based on a ride. Then I went to see it with some people, and it was fun as hell, and Jack Sparrow is so instantly iconic I thought he might have been a preexisting character from something I'd read before."
— RedHelvetiCake
8. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) — "I boycotted this thing thinking it was a stupid money-grab remake of the Robin Williams one. I kept hearing it was good and finally watched it months later. I loved it... Now, I usually can't take much of Jack Black, but I still think he should have been nominated for his performance as a teen girl in a 50-year-old's body."
9. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) — "I watched Edge of Tomorrow on a flight. I was expecting a generic sci-fi action movie, and what I got instead was a cool film that makes very good use of its concept. Got me hooked the whole flight. "
10. Game Night (2018) — "'How can that be profitable for Frito-Lay?' Jesse Plemmons kills me in that scene 🤣"
— UhhBumbleBeeTuna
11. Galaxy Quest (1999) — "I couldn't believe they'd done such a great job."
12. Stardust (2007) — "I've argued with people about this movie because I think it was one of De Niro's best roles he has ever done. He isn't some version of the same character he has played in almost every movie he has been in. He IS Captain Shakespeare."
13. Lars and the Real Girl (2007) — "The description sounds so weird that I had to check it out. The description wasn't inaccurate, but it was so different from what I expected. It blew me away, and I've watched it several more times since."
— Basic_Seat_8349
"Yeah, I thought it would be a cringe-fest, but it's actually a movie about tolerance and growth. Loved the scene where the preacher stands up for him to the congregation."
— Lampmonster
14. Arrival (2016)— "I thought it was gonna be some corny sci-fi flick, and it blew me away."
Paramount Pictures
— CWKitch
"Same. I was expecting some Independence Day- type movie and was waiting for shit to go sideways the entire movie. I was blown away by what actually happened."
— LatterProfessional5
"PHENOMENAL FILM."
— ryano1076
15. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) — "This is my standard answer to this questino. That movie has NO business being as good as it is. It's Crispin Glover's finest cinematic performance, and I will die on this hill."
MGM
— MadPiglet42
"Definitely one of those that knows what it is and doesn't try and shy away from it."
— jjackson25
16. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) — "I remember thinking to myself, this movie sounds fucking stupid. But my friends insisted. It is now my favorite horror movie and my favorite comedy movie, LOL."
Magnet Releasing
— cookiesarenomnom
17. We're the Millers (2013) — "Looked stupid but it was very funny and the acting is just wonderful."
Warner Bros.
— IAMAHORSESIZEDUCK
"Yep, no ragrets."
— pembunuhUpahan
18. My Old Ass (2024) — "It looked interesting from the get-go, but in an 'interesting concept but no way they do it right' way. But oh, did they! My favorite movie of 2024. "
Amazon MGM Studios
— odrer-is-an-ilulsoin
"Totally over-performed expectations. The time travel stuff was really just a Trojan horse for a poignant and smart coming-of-age family dramedy. Thought the young leads were very strong!"
— nikes_alt
19. Tremors (1990) — "An early '90s movie with Kevin Bacon fighting giant underground worms? That sounds dumb as hell. But it's now one of my favorite movies ever made."
Universal Pictures
— willi5x
20. Singin' in the Rain (1952) — "It was at my local cinema, so I thought I'd watch it, as it's a classic. But I'm not really into many old musicals. Really enjoyed it in the end. I'd seen the famous scene many times before but didn't know anything about the storyline beforehand. I didn't know it was a film about filmmaking. I often enjoy films like that."
Loew's Inc.
— eltictac
21. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) — "Watched it like three times in my twenties. I'm a straight guy and the movie had a target audience that was definitely female oriented...I enjoyed it."
20th Century Fox
— -OkButWhy-
22. Kick-Ass (2010) — "I did not know what I was getting into until Hit Girl flipped the switch with the violence."
Lionsgate
— Silent_Pr0tagonist
23. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) — "This movie had no right to be as good as it was."
Universal Pictures
— Zestyclose-Past-5305
"Yeah, I have no idea who at Dreamworks was like, 'Hey guys, remember that Puss in Boots movie we did like a decade ago? What if we did a sequel and went extra fuck with it?' but God bless 'em for it."
— EssenceOfGrimace
24. The Prestige (2006) — "Two rival magicians turned deadly! I thought, WTF...this is garbage. Then I had a date and she wanted to see it. I still don't remember that date's name but that movie is now displayed on my home theater shelf proudly. Eff, that movie is the best."
Buena Vista Pictures
— thebluezero0
"That movie is SO good, worth it for David Bowie alone."
— MadPiglet42
25. Click (2006) — "Seemed like a switch-brain-off slo-mo-jiggles film, turned down to be a wake-up call to enjoy life."
Sony Pictures Releasing
— stony_phased
"Before the movie: 'Haha, I saw in the trailer that he used the remote to pause time, fart on a coworker, and slap his boss.'
After the movie: 'The small, seemingly inconsequential decisions we make every day become habits that we repeat. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Life is fleeting. Hug your loved ones.'"
— dumptruckulent
26. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) — "I didn't like it until the third watch, and I didn't love it until the sixth. Now? I've probably seen it 300 times."
Fox Searchlight Pictures
— S_dot56
"Exactly. It's like The Big Lebowski. It's not funny the first time around. But after that it's hilarious."
— farside808
27. A Quiet Place (2018) — "I am not into horror, so A Quiet Place was not really on my radar. It's now one of my favorite movies. People love pointing out its plot holes but I just think the suspense is really well done and it's a fun watch."
Paramount Pictures
— StaplesLewis
28. Dredd (2012) — "This movie was amazing, and I am still waiting for a sequel."
Reliance Entertainment
— Glissandra198
29. Mean Girls (2004) — "I thought Mean Girls was going to be some lame 'chick flick.' Boy, was I wrong? I watch it at least once a year on October 3 now."
Paramount Pictures
— ory1994
30. Finally, The Princess Bride (1987) — "Fucking most useless trailer of all time. Weird '80s rock saxophone backdrop. Very bored narrator. Spoils Vizzini's end for no reason. Tries to use 'affairs of state' as a draw for audiences. The movie itself though... One of the most quotable, clever, funny, and enjoyable flicks of all time. Weirdly timeless despite the cheesiest special effects. Absolutely stunning film."
20th Century Fox
— DandyLama
And here's that "useless" trailer if you feel like checking it out:
View this video on YouTube
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
What do you think? Is there a movie you went into (at the theater or at home) where you thought it would be terrible but were surprised that you actually really liked it?! Tell us all about it below or via this totally anonymous form, and who knows, maybe there'll be a part two!
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an hour ago
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People Are Sharing Their "Rare" Phobias, And It's Actually Super Fascinating
Reddit user nitin_is_me recently asked people to share their "rare" phobias that others often don't believe they have. Here are some of the phobias folks shared: 1."Kosmemophobia. It's a phobia of wearing or touching jewelry or small, intricate metal things. For me and probably most others with this phobia, it's not really a fear but more of a strong dislike of being in contact with, or sometimes even seeing, jewelry. Small, dangly things are the worst offenders for me." —Downtown-Assistant1 2."I had a friend who's afraid of inflated party balloons, which I learned about the hard way. One time, for my birthday, my girlfriend at the time had arranged for my housemate to let her and two friends in, and they spent a few hours blowing up balloons and filling my bedroom. The next day, my neighbor (the friend in question) asked me about the surprise my friends left in my bedroom. I told her to go check. She screamed and ran back home crying, which I did find odd. It wasn't until an hour later that her boyfriend called me out for making her go into a balloon-filled room. Only after I looked very confused did he ask if I knew about her phobia. I did not." —uitSCHOT 3."Stickers, but in particular, fruit stickers. I will vomit sometimes just from having to touch one to throw it out. I usually use a folded-up napkin to pick them up so I don't have to touch them. Sometimes my husband leaves them around, and it makes me so anxious." —riverwheel 4."My brother is terrified of butterflies. He says it's something about the way they move. He found out when we went through a butterfly house at a theme park. They wouldn't let him go back out the entrance, so he was army crawling and sobbing through the whole place. It's super irrational. He's shoved his girlfriend into the street to get away from them, and he'll jerk his car out of the way." —dumplingdoodoo 5."Large human statues like the Statue of Liberty. It's a form of megalophobia. I can't even look at photos of them, and I'm not enjoying writing this." —Roots_Manuka 6."Ketchup. The smell of it makes me physically gag and almost throw up, and the thought of it touching my skin makes me incredibly anxious, but it's a widely loved condiment, so I try and deal with it — usually by spraying my hands with perfume and covering my nose when in fast food places." —Fantasydreamer2450 "I have a phobia of ketchup. I'm not sure why, but ever since I was little, it was beyond just not liking it. I have had full-blown panic attacks because it touched my food. Even if it was on one fry that someone else ate and it didn't touch anything else, I cannot manage. I will refuse to touch the plate. I may start hyperventilating near it, so my boyfriend no longer eats it around me. If I know he's eaten it, I can't kiss him for the rest of the day. I'll feel like there's still some on or around his mouth. Even knowing it was near him makes me think twice before hugging him because what if some ketchup got on him and now it's touching me?" —nocomment413 7."Hair. I know it's strange. I'm disgusted and so freaked out by hair that's not attached to someone. I can't touch my own hair out of the drain without some layers of paper towels. A pube or leg hair in the bathroom from my husband makes me want to puke. Random hair in a public sink? I'll have nightmares about it that night." —macaron1ncheese 8."I have a fear of buttons, as in clothing buttons. However, not a fear of buttons that are attached to clothes, more like random, unknown buttons. If I touch them, it causes me to gag and sometimes vomit. I believe it's called koumpounophobia. I've had this reaction since I was a small child. In kindergarten, they used to have a cookie tin full of buttons for crafts. I couldn't touch them." —delroy13 9."Dead insects. I never kill so much as a mosquito with my bare hands. I can kill very small moths with a shoe or a vacuum cleaner now because we had three invasions of these pests: they ate my clothes (twice) and my food (once). But if there is a dead insect of any kind on my desk, I have to leave the room. If there is a vacuum cleaner available, on a good day, I can vacuum them. But I can't touch them with the tube or watch the moment they are sucked into the cleaner. We cohabited with a wasp's nest in our bedroom a few years ago. I can live with the living ones; I dread the dead ones or the ones fighting death and dying in front of me." —Hornkueken42 10."I can't deal with anything eye-related. I can't use contacts or put in eye drops. I have to look away if others are doing it. Even watching my girlfriend put on make-up gets me. I can watch gory horror scenes, but the second eyes are involved, I'm a total baby." —Pissed_With_A_Boner 11."Anything man-made in water. I can't go to a swimming pool because of drains, ladders, those floating things that separate lanes, etc. I won't go in the water near a pier, bridge, or boat. Even if someone put a plastic chair in a pool, I'd get panicked." —Jadeinda 12."Escalators. I had a traumatic experience on one, and I still have a physical anxiety response when I get on a fast-moving downward escalator. I thought it would go away over time, but 20 years later, it hasn't subsided." —Karenins_Egau Related: People In HR Revealed Truly Unhinged Reasons Employees Got Fired, And My Jaw Is On The Floor 13."I've had bouts of casadastraphobia, which is an irrational fear of falling into the sky, especially at night. It's worse if I'm lying on my back. Yes, I know it's impossible, but it's very similar to the fear of vertigo if you look down from a tall building. It sucks." —Killybug 14."Teeth. I like brushing my own teeth; I can't stand NOT having clean teeth, but anything involving others' teeth or anything scraping on my teeth (I HATE cleanings at the dentist, it's like nails on a chalkboard) sets me right off. When I was a kid, I also hated the sensation of having loose teeth. As soon as a tooth wiggled even a little bit, I'd pull it right out. The memory still makes my skin crawl, and the clicky squelch sound…" —BabaTheBlackSheep 15."I'm mycophobic. I will cry and scream if I have to touch a mushroom in the outdoors or clean out something with mold. Especially those pancake-looking mushrooms on trees, or the weird ones that look like ears, or the jelly ones, ones that look like nets…NO. The only ones I can tolerate are clean, cut mushrooms from the store. And ONLY certain kinds. I'm still not a fan of eating them, though." —chanyeol2012 16."Agrostophobia is a fear of grass in general. I'm only afraid of TALL grass, but that's the closest way to define my fear, I think. I absolutely cannot force myself to walk through an area where the ground cover of any kind is taller than the shoes I'm wearing. It freaks me out. I'll go a mile around the long way to avoid walking through a 20-foot patch of it." —Exotic-Blacksmith-56 17."Dinosaurs. When I was around 5, I had untreated anxiety. One night, while having an anxiety attack, I went crying to my parents to soothe me. When I walked into the TV room, they were watching Jurassic Park, right at the scene with the T-Rex in the rain. I watched in stunned, anxiety-riddled silence as the T-Rex ate the guy in the toilet. If that hadn't cemented a lifelong fear of dinosaurs in me, a very similar thing happened maybe a year later, but with Godzilla." —MentallyPsycho 18."Bellybuttons. Seeing one isn't a problem, but seeing one being touched...I'm really not comfortable even writing this." —MicroCosno Related: 15 Times Someone Bravely Took A Photo Of The Very Worst Design This World Has Ever Seen 19."My husband's so scared of snakes that he can't even look at a picture of one. When he's going to see a movie, he will wait until someone he knows has seen it and ask them if there are any snakes in it, so he knows if it's okay for him to go. He's currently playing an Indiana Jones game on his Xbox, and I've had to offer to play through the bit with snakes for him because he's stuck there." —tiptoe_only 20."Deep water that I can't see the bottom of. The ocean is fine as long as I can stand it, or the water is clear, and I can see the reef. Any kind of lake or lagoon where I can't see? Fuck that. Also, any kind of outlet, grate, or anything underwater. Those jets in the pool that spray water out? Nope. The grate where water is sucked into the filtration system? Fuck no. The hole in the side of the pool where the pipe goes through? I don't go near that side of the pool at all. I even get the absolute creeps if my foot touches the spot in the hot tub where it sucks the water in." —puzzledpilgrim 21."I have a fear of tall staircases with spaces between the steps or ones that wind so that you can look over the rail and see straight down. It's not heights. It's stairs — any stairs where you can see through them. So there's a tower in this state park we go to where you can see through the slats the whole way up, and I can't do it. Or if I force myself to go up, I can't get down." —Hedgehog_Insomniac 22."Cockroaches. My heart rate jumps, and I hyperventilate and panic. I won't even go into a room if there's one. Even a picture scares me." —Illustrious_Hand_03 23."Blimps. I've never met anyone else afraid of them. They are terrifying, and I will start to shake, cry, and have a full-on panic attack. I've never been in one or seen one up close, but at one point, my local airport had one for like a week or two. I was in the garden, saw it, and ran for cover. It was so weird! They will not have one again! I can safely say that because I work as a safety manager for said airport. I will do everything I can to never have one here again!" —Imagra78 24."Goats. I know it's a weird phobia, but their eyes are terrifying. Their horizontal pupils scare the living s@#t out of me. It's an irrational fear. I've scuba dived and met octopuses with similar horizontal eyes, and I wasn't afraid. But somehow, goats are terrifying. I can't explain it." —Pretend_Analysis_359 25."Talking into phones, radios, speakers, etc. I don't know what it is. It seemed to develop around the age of 18, when I would burst into tears if a phone rang and nobody immediately answered it. Through constant exposure, I've managed to mostly get over it. I still feel uncomfortable and stressed, but I can deal with it now. I always keep my phone on silent, though." —Sajiri 26."My sister is deathly scared of lizards. Her heart rate rises, she panics, starts kicking things, and runs away. She won't calm down for hours." —Even-Construction-10 27."Mascots or people in similar costumes. My parents would drag me to see the Easter Bunny or Santa, and I would be SOBBING. Even still, my fight or flight response kicks in when I see a mascot or something similar." —xscapethetoxic 28."Cats! For as long as I can remember, they've always given me the heebie-jeebies. I get along fine with kittens, but larger cats…nope! I know some people who absolutely adore their cats, and I understand why. They're lovable animals. That's why I don't talk about my phobia much. If someone asks whether I'm a dog or cat person, I always say dog and rarely explain why I don't like cats. Most people don't realize how deeply terrified I am of them. Everything about cats scares me — how soft they are, their hissing, the way they slither against you, even the sounds they make. Whenever I'm around one, my heart rate skyrockets within seconds. I often just hope and pray that it doesn't come near me, fearing it will pick up on my anxiety and approach for that very reason. Internally, it's much worse than I let on. I struggle with this fear and always have, far more than anyone might realize from the outside." —pearlsandposh 29."Mirrors at night. I cannot have mirrors in my bedroom for this reason." —Demonicbunnyslippers 30."I'm not sure I'd call it a phobia, but wind turbines really freak me out. I get a sense of impending doom the closer I get to one, and I get a cold shiver down my back. I have no idea why." —lpar00197 31."Driving. I don't know what it is, but every time I try, I am guaranteed to have a full-on fight or flight meltdown where I'm sobbing and feel like I can't breathe. It just feels like TOO MUCH and TOO FAST. I don't know what to focus on, but you have to focus on EVERYTHING. I can't tell if I'm too far over in the lane. I have to focus on that while focusing on speed, if someone is trying to merge, if I'm trying to merge, when I need to slow down, if someone else is driving unsafe nearby, if a person is walking in front of my car in a parking lot, or if someone is crossing the street when they shouldn't be. Then I have to make sure I don't lose focus on literally everything and space out while driving a death trap on wheels." —dollkyu 32."Emery boards. I assume it started as a texture thing (there are a lot of things I can't touch, like pottery) and progressed. Folks think it's hilarious. I've had folks leave them lying on work keyboards or taped to gifts. It's embarrassing because I know how irrational it is." —Mammoth_Geologist917 33."I have a huge phobia of getting my blood drawn. Needles don't necessarily bother me, as I have eight piercings and have no issue getting shots, but the idea of a needle going into my vein and taking my blood makes me faint." —MacheteAndMeatballs 34."Chalk. I can't stand the feeling, the texture, the dust, or the sound of it being used. I can't touch it or be near it." —Froggirl26 35."Driving through a car wash. I'll be a passenger, but being the one to drive through it causes panic." —Key-Wallaby-9276 36."Revolving doors and getting trapped or otherwise injured while travelling through one. Like, what if the bag I'm rolling through gets sucked under and then I fall and it squishes half my body? Or my coat/sweater/shirt gets trapped in the side, and I slowly get run over by the side of the door? Or it comes up too quickly behind me, hits me in the back, and I fall? Etc., etc., etc." —Aromatic-Cook-869 "I am genuinely terrified of shower drains. I don't know if it's an established, known phobia, but they're horrifying. I always feel like if I look down one, there will be an eye staring back at me. They make me so paranoid." —bri_2498 Do you have an extreme yet uncommon phobia? Tell us about it in the comments or share anonymously using this form. Also in Internet Finds: Tattoo Artists Are Sharing The Tattoos They Felt REALLY Uncomfortable Doing, And I Have No Words Also in Internet Finds: 23 People Who Tried Their Best, But Crapped The Bed So Bad Also in Internet Finds: "I've Worked In Various Prisons. I Will Take A Men's Over Women's Any Day Of The Week. Shit Is Scary": Former Female Inmates Are Sharing Their Most Disturbing Prison Experiences, And My Jaw Is Literally On The Floor
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an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
37 Rare Phobias People Actually Have
Reddit user nitin_is_me recently asked people to share their "rare" phobias that others often don't believe they have. Here are some of the phobias folks shared: "Kosmemophobia. It's a phobia of wearing or touching jewelry or small, intricate metal things. For me and probably most others with this phobia, it's not really a fear but more of a strong dislike of being in contact with, or sometimes even seeing, jewelry. Small, dangly things are the worst offenders for me." "I had a friend who's afraid of inflated party balloons, which I learned about the hard way. One time, for my birthday, my girlfriend at the time had arranged for my housemate to let her and two friends in, and they spent a few hours blowing up balloons and filling my bedroom. The next day, my neighbor (the friend in question) asked me about the surprise my friends left in my bedroom. I told her to go check. She screamed and ran back home crying, which I did find odd. It wasn't until an hour later that her boyfriend called me out for making her go into a balloon-filled room. Only after I looked very confused did he ask if I knew about her phobia. I did not." "Stickers, but in particular, fruit stickers. I will vomit sometimes just from having to touch one to throw it out. I usually use a folded-up napkin to pick them up so I don't have to touch them. Sometimes my husband leaves them around, and it makes me so anxious." "My brother is terrified of butterflies. He says it's something about the way they move. He found out when we went through a butterfly house at a theme park. They wouldn't let him go back out the entrance, so he was army crawling and sobbing through the whole place. It's super irrational. He's shoved his girlfriend into the street to get away from them, and he'll jerk his car out of the way." "Large human statues like the Statue of Liberty. It's a form of megalophobia. I can't even look at photos of them, and I'm not enjoying writing this." "Ketchup. The smell of it makes me physically gag and almost throw up, and the thought of it touching my skin makes me incredibly anxious, but it's a widely loved condiment, so I try and deal with it — usually by spraying my hands with perfume and covering my nose when in fast food places." "Hair. I know it's strange. I'm disgusted and so freaked out by hair that's not attached to someone. I can't touch my own hair out of the drain without some layers of paper towels. A pube or leg hair in the bathroom from my husband makes me want to puke. Random hair in a public sink? I'll have nightmares about it that night." "I have a fear of buttons, as in clothing buttons. However, not a fear of buttons that are attached to clothes, more like random, unknown buttons. If I touch them, it causes me to gag and sometimes vomit. I believe it's called koumpounophobia. I've had this reaction since I was a small child. In kindergarten, they used to have a cookie tin full of buttons for crafts. I couldn't touch them." "Dead insects. I never kill so much as a mosquito with my bare hands. I can kill very small moths with a shoe or a vacuum cleaner now because we had three invasions of these pests: they ate my clothes (twice) and my food (once). But if there is a dead insect of any kind on my desk, I have to leave the room. If there is a vacuum cleaner available, on a good day, I can vacuum them. But I can't touch them with the tube or watch the moment they are sucked into the cleaner. We cohabited with a wasp's nest in our bedroom a few years ago. I can live with the living ones; I dread the dead ones or the ones fighting death and dying in front of me." "I can't deal with anything eye-related. I can't use contacts or put in eye drops. I have to look away if others are doing it. Even watching my girlfriend put on make-up gets me. I can watch gory horror scenes, but the second eyes are involved, I'm a total baby." "Anything man-made in water. I can't go to a swimming pool because of drains, ladders, those floating things that separate lanes, etc. I won't go in the water near a pier, bridge, or boat. Even if someone put a plastic chair in a pool, I'd get panicked." "Escalators. I had a traumatic experience on one, and I still have a physical anxiety response when I get on a fast-moving downward escalator. I thought it would go away over time, but 20 years later, it hasn't subsided." "I've had bouts of casadastraphobia, which is an irrational fear of falling into the sky, especially at night. It's worse if I'm lying on my back. Yes, I know it's impossible, but it's very similar to the fear of vertigo if you look down from a tall building. It sucks." "Teeth. I like brushing my own teeth; I can't stand NOT having clean teeth, but anything involving others' teeth or anything scraping on my teeth (I HATE cleanings at the dentist, it's like nails on a chalkboard) sets me right off. When I was a kid, I also hated the sensation of having loose teeth. As soon as a tooth wiggled even a little bit, I'd pull it right out. The memory still makes my skin crawl, and the clicky squelch sound…" "I'm mycophobic. I will cry and scream if I have to touch a mushroom in the outdoors or clean out something with mold. Especially those pancake-looking mushrooms on trees, or the weird ones that look like ears, or the jelly ones, ones that look like nets…NO. The only ones I can tolerate are clean, cut mushrooms from the store. And ONLY certain kinds. I'm still not a fan of eating them, though." "Agrostophobia is a fear of grass in general. I'm only afraid of TALL grass, but that's the closest way to define my fear, I think. I absolutely cannot force myself to walk through an area where the ground cover of any kind is taller than the shoes I'm wearing. It freaks me out. I'll go a mile around the long way to avoid walking through a 20-foot patch of it." "Dinosaurs. When I was around 5, I had untreated anxiety. One night, while having an anxiety attack, I went crying to my parents to soothe me. When I walked into the TV room, they were watching Jurassic Park, right at the scene with the T-Rex in the rain. I watched in stunned, anxiety-riddled silence as the T-Rex ate the guy in the toilet. If that hadn't cemented a lifelong fear of dinosaurs in me, a very similar thing happened maybe a year later, but with Godzilla." "Bellybuttons. Seeing one isn't a problem, but seeing one being touched...I'm really not comfortable even writing this." "My husband's so scared of snakes that he can't even look at a picture of one. When he's going to see a movie, he will wait until someone he knows has seen it and ask them if there are any snakes in it, so he knows if it's okay for him to go. He's currently playing an Indiana Jones game on his Xbox, and I've had to offer to play through the bit with snakes for him because he's stuck there." "Deep water that I can't see the bottom of. The ocean is fine as long as I can stand it, or the water is clear, and I can see the reef. Any kind of lake or lagoon where I can't see? Fuck that. Also, any kind of outlet, grate, or anything underwater. Those jets in the pool that spray water out? Nope. The grate where water is sucked into the filtration system? Fuck no. The hole in the side of the pool where the pipe goes through? I don't go near that side of the pool at all. I even get the absolute creeps if my foot touches the spot in the hot tub where it sucks the water in." "I have a fear of tall staircases with spaces between the steps or ones that wind so that you can look over the rail and see straight down. It's not heights. It's stairs — any stairs where you can see through them. So there's a tower in this state park we go to where you can see through the slats the whole way up, and I can't do it. Or if I force myself to go up, I can't get down." "Cockroaches. My heart rate jumps, and I hyperventilate and panic. I won't even go into a room if there's one. Even a picture scares me." "Blimps. I've never met anyone else afraid of them. They are terrifying, and I will start to shake, cry, and have a full-on panic attack. I've never been in one or seen one up close, but at one point, my local airport had one for like a week or two. I was in the garden, saw it, and ran for cover. It was so weird! They will not have one again! I can safely say that because I work as a safety manager for said airport. I will do everything I can to never have one here again!" "Goats. I know it's a weird phobia, but their eyes are terrifying. Their horizontal pupils scare the living s@#t out of me. It's an irrational fear. I've scuba dived and met octopuses with similar horizontal eyes, and I wasn't afraid. But somehow, goats are terrifying. I can't explain it." "Talking into phones, radios, speakers, etc. I don't know what it is. It seemed to develop around the age of 18, when I would burst into tears if a phone rang and nobody immediately answered it. Through constant exposure, I've managed to mostly get over it. I still feel uncomfortable and stressed, but I can deal with it now. I always keep my phone on silent, though." "My sister is deathly scared of lizards. Her heart rate rises, she panics, starts kicking things, and runs away. She won't calm down for hours." "Mascots or people in similar costumes. My parents would drag me to see the Easter Bunny or Santa, and I would be SOBBING. Even still, my fight or flight response kicks in when I see a mascot or something similar." "Cats! For as long as I can remember, they've always given me the heebie-jeebies. I get along fine with kittens, but larger cats…nope! I know some people who absolutely adore their cats, and I understand why. They're lovable animals. That's why I don't talk about my phobia much. If someone asks whether I'm a dog or cat person, I always say dog and rarely explain why I don't like cats. Most people don't realize how deeply terrified I am of them. Everything about cats scares me — how soft they are, their hissing, the way they slither against you, even the sounds they make. Whenever I'm around one, my heart rate skyrockets within seconds. I often just hope and pray that it doesn't come near me, fearing it will pick up on my anxiety and approach for that very reason. Internally, it's much worse than I let on. I struggle with this fear and always have, far more than anyone might realize from the outside." "Mirrors at night. I cannot have mirrors in my bedroom for this reason." "I'm not sure I'd call it a phobia, but wind turbines really freak me out. I get a sense of impending doom the closer I get to one, and I get a cold shiver down my back. I have no idea why." "Driving. I don't know what it is, but every time I try, I am guaranteed to have a full-on fight or flight meltdown where I'm sobbing and feel like I can't breathe. It just feels like TOO MUCH and TOO FAST. I don't know what to focus on, but you have to focus on EVERYTHING. I can't tell if I'm too far over in the lane. I have to focus on that while focusing on speed, if someone is trying to merge, if I'm trying to merge, when I need to slow down, if someone else is driving unsafe nearby, if a person is walking in front of my car in a parking lot, or if someone is crossing the street when they shouldn't be. Then I have to make sure I don't lose focus on literally everything and space out while driving a death trap on wheels." "Emery boards. I assume it started as a texture thing (there are a lot of things I can't touch, like pottery) and progressed. Folks think it's hilarious. I've had folks leave them lying on work keyboards or taped to gifts. It's embarrassing because I know how irrational it is." "I have a huge phobia of getting my blood drawn. Needles don't necessarily bother me, as I have eight piercings and have no issue getting shots, but the idea of a needle going into my vein and taking my blood makes me faint." "Chalk. I can't stand the feeling, the texture, the dust, or the sound of it being used. I can't touch it or be near it." "Driving through a car wash. I'll be a passenger, but being the one to drive through it causes panic." "Revolving doors and getting trapped or otherwise injured while travelling through one. Like, what if the bag I'm rolling through gets sucked under and then I fall and it squishes half my body? Or my coat/sweater/shirt gets trapped in the side, and I slowly get run over by the side of the door? Or it comes up too quickly behind me, hits me in the back, and I fall? Etc., etc., etc." And: "I am genuinely terrified of shower drains. I don't know if it's an established, known phobia, but they're horrifying. I always feel like if I look down one, there will be an eye staring back at me. They make me so paranoid." Do you have an extreme yet uncommon phobia? Tell us about it in the comments or share anonymously using this form. Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Witness testifies that Diddy dangled her over apartment balcony
Graphic designer Bryana Bongolan testified that Sean "Diddy" Combs once dangled her off a 17th floor apartment balcony, and that she saw him throw a knife at her friend Casandra Ventura. On Wednesday, prosecutors displayed photos taken by Ms Bongolan and her then-girlfriend of Ms Bongolan's bruises, which she claimed she sustained during the alleged 2016 incident. Combs' attorneys worked to cast doubt on Ms Bongolan's credibility before the jury under intense cross-examination, during which she responded that she could not recall past statements she gave the government. Combs faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty. The federal case, now in its fourth week of testimony, followed dozens of civil lawsuits filed against him by men and women accusing him of abuse, including both Ms Ventura, who is Combs' ex-girlfriend, and Ms Bongolan. Ms Bongolan said she met Ms Ventura in 2014 when she worked for the brand, Young and Reckless. Later, as the head women's designer at Diamond Supply Co., she was assigned to work with Ms Ventura on creating a collection and the two became close. Ms Bongolan testified they often took drugs like cocaine, ketamine and marijuana together. She later alleged that she procured drugs for Ms Ventura, and that the R&B singer paid her for them. She also acknowledged that she and Ms Ventura had a "problem" with drug use, but that she was currently sober. Ms Bongolan testified that during the friendship, she saw signs of Combs' alleged violence. She said once saw Ms Ventura on FaceTime with a black eye, and that the rapper would often pound on Ms Ventura's apartment door at night. In September 2016, Ms Bongolan testified that she heard banging on Ms Ventura's front door when she and her girlfriend were sleeping on the couch. She hid her girlfriend in a bathroom and went to the balcony, then Mr Combs entered the apartment, and allegedly picked her up and lifted her onto the ledge, she told the court. She said he repeatedly yelled, "You know what the (expletive) you did", and then threw her into the balcony furniture. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of a puncture and bruise on Ms Bongolan's leg, along with accompanying metadata displaying the date they were taken. She also testified she suffered night terrors and paranoia as a result of the evening. In another incident she described, Combs burst into Ms Ventura's apartment and allegedly threw a knife at the R&B singer. Ms Bongolan said Ms Ventura picked the knife up and threw it back. Neither of them was injured, she said. Once during a photoshoot in Malibu with Ms Ventura, Ms Bongolan alleged that Mr Combs got in her face and told her, "I'm the devil and I could kill you". "I was terrified," she told the court. During cross examination, Mr Combs' defence attorney sought to undercut Ms Bongolan, who struggled to answer questions about her statements in previous meetings with prosecutors. Nicole Westmoreland repeatedly asked Ms Bongolan about what she told government prosecutors when she first met with them in January 2024. Several times, she asked her about the alleged balcony incident, but the witness struggled to recall details she described at the initial meeting. During her testimony two weeks ago, Ms Ventura, the prosecution's key witness told the court, "I saw him bring her back over the railing of the balcony and then throw her onto the patio furniture." Ms Westmoreland also asked Ms Bongolan about her initial account of the incident in Malibu. The defence attorney said Ms Bongolan originally told government prosecutors that Combs made that threat at a party, and Ms Bongolan testified she could not recall that conversation. As the afternoon wore on, Ms Bongolan increasingly repeated that she could not recall details of previous conversations with prosecutors. At one point, Ms Westmoreland asked Ms Bongolan to recall her conversations with prosecutors two days prior. Asked about specifics, Ms Bongolan answered that she could not remember. The court also heard on Wednesday from forensic video editor Frank Piazza, who took the jury through recordings of the "Cassie video", which shows Mr Combs beating Ms Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016. He explained that the recordings were untampered with and were an accurate depiction. Ms Bongolan is expected to return to the stand Thursday. She will likely be followed by "Jane", whose testimony under a pseudonym could take several days. What is Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with and how long will his trial last? Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces new charges of sex trafficking and prostitution Kid Cudi testifies at Diddy trial about Molotov cocktail attack Kid Cudi testifies at Diddy trial about Molotov cocktail attack
