Behind The Awkwardness
Knifeshaming
“This was back in the 80’s when child safety was of no concern to adults. We never figured out if my grandpa took this picture for posterity or to shame me for not being able to safely use a large knife at 6 years-old. (Knowing him, my money’s on the latter.)”
(submitted by Nancy)
The Fall Guy
“My son and I went on a white water rafting excursion this summer. Clearly I was a bit nervous about going over the 15 foot water fall. I didn’t realize how terrified I looked until this photo was posted by the rafting company back at the store.”
(submitted by Steve)
Body Rock
“Back in the 80’s a body wave permanent hairstyle seemed to be the rage. In hindsight, I’m glad that era has passed on. I have a few more like this, but probably none that better captured the 80’s fashion like this one.”
(submitted by Jarrod)
That Guy
“During the summer of 1989, my BFF and I were staying on the beach with her parents. We were both 16. We spent the morning in the hotel’s pool, where this older man kept watching us and grinning. Later that afternoon, we were dressed and ready to go out, but first we stopped at the Tiki Bar near the pool to take some pics of each other in our totally 80s outfits (yes, I realize my outfit and hair here could absolutely stand alone in their awkwardness, but I digress). Wouldn’t you know, the same older man showed up and stood behind me, still grinning, while my BFF took my picture. I don’t know if he was being truly creepy, or if he was just an odd old guy who got a kick out of the two teenyboppers at the pool and all the giggling we no doubt did, but it sure made for an awkward photo!”
(submitted by Cam)
Sandy
“I’m safely assuming drugs were the reason that led my parents to have a t-shirt of my face made back in the 80’s. Now, it’s my son’s favorite thing to wear.”
(submitted by Sandy)
Rain Check
After an 18 month engagement we finally celebrated our wedding day, albeit in rainy conditions. Our photographer suggested a shot with umbrellas and told our bridesmaids and groomsmen to act as if they were talking amongst themselves. Eoin clearly did not buy in to this and was unable to hide his displeasure. Instead of making an excuse or apologising for his grimace, when asked about this photo he replied with the following “the guy on the right can’t have said something that funny and some of the bridesmaids clearly aren’t talking to anyone at all”. We’re so glad that Eoin was a part of our special day.
(submitted by Kentaro in the UK)
Lady Finger
“I accidentally cut off my sister’s finger when we were younger. I think she handled it well. We were playing a game of hide and go seek- dinosaur edition. I went to go hide in a closet and she came running to hide there as well. I slammed the door and next thing you know, screams. Took her to the local hospital, where they claimed they could do nothing about it. That not being good enough for my mom, so she decided to take her to children’s hospital where they promptly put it back on. The end result was a fully functional finger, except the very very tip (the puffy part that rises above the finger nail) died, and never puffed back up.”
(via source)
Jaws
“This is my brother. My older siblings took him down to the lake at our old cabin. He’s only in about a foot of water, but after telling him what the sign said and putting the fear of Jaws in him, they left him hanging for a photo opp…my 81 year old mom still gets mad when she sees this and defends herself of any prior knowledge of them taking him out for this picture.”
(submitted by Dan)
This Magic Moment
“So I was going through some old photos and I found this. My Dad holding Magic Johnson and looking incredibly badass while doing it. A little backstory. My Dad was good friends with Jerry Buss’ niece, and was invited to a Laker’s picnic. He played volleyball all his life and Magic, along with a few others, wanted to test his skills. He played Magic and as he was going up for a spike, my Dad slammed it back into his face to win the game. Magic came up to him after, grabbed him and said, “Next time, you’re on my team.” They both had a good laugh and my Dad swooped him up into his arms.”
(via source)
