You know it, yet choose to ignore it--all of the weird things that go on in school. The reason we do so is that, while they may seem intensely weird looking back on it, when they were happening it just seemed way too normal. Well, obviously we didn't think it was "normal" per se, but, rather, it was to be expected. There are too many weird people in the school still learning how to be normal human beings, so these were the things we did to make it through the day. We've collected a bunch of things that we would just accept in school and made them into a list for you to enjoy. Don't delay! Read on...
The Way They Fixed Things
It almost seems like schools don't have the means or budget to fix the things around the building that are out of whack or need some renovation. At least, that's how it was for us in middle school. Our high schools were a little bit better with the use of our tax dollars. That being said, it always seemed like there would be a quick fix before anything else that would last for weeks.
This is the kind of thing that just makes you wonder what's going through. Speaking of broken things, this next one will also shock you...or maybe not.
Broken Things Around The Building
Sometimes things aren't as obviously broken as other things around the school, and you may not know they are broken until it's too late. We've experienced everything from normal to bizarre like broken toilets, air conditioning units, and even walls. It's simply not possible to find everything wrong with the building to maintain it. Just be lucky you weren't this guy:
Yikes. This is the kind of thing we are lucky to not have faced because we aren't shocked to see it happen to someone. Though this is a little extreme because we didn't expect it to completely stop opening the door.
Dirty Toilets
You all know that dreaded moment where you realize you have to go to the bathroom and you have to decide where exactly that's going to take place. Will it be the upstairs bathroom? Maybe by the gym? We all know the family restroom is the best one. But it's almost a guarantee that they're going to be dirty in some way and you don't want to chance it. Then there's this:
Yes, we've seen all manner of bizarre things affect our toilet systems in our school and we need it to stop. Who in their right mind would do something like this?
Unbelievable Toilets
And if that wasn't enough for you, then how about this? There is always something wrong with a toilet somewhere in the building. It's almost impossible to find a normal bathroom in a school that has only fully functioning toilets in the entire room. Whether it's full of onions, garbage, toilet paper, a crab (?!), or has pee all over the toilet seat, you would be hard-pressed to find a comfortable toilet in your school.
The bottom line is not to do this yourself. If you are any normal human being, you would know how annoying it is to us others who just need to do our business.
Weird Hall Passes
Not every school has the privilege of specialized hall passes. We've all been to a class where the teacher uses any random object as the hall pass. We're not exactly sure how we manage to get away with using them when there is actual security in the building or other teachers on the lookout for those who are ditching, but it definitely happens, that's for sure.
We feel bad for the person who had to carry around a leaf for their hall pass. This seems like something that is too easy to lose or worse just embarrassing in general.
How Teachers Prevent Stealing
There is all manner of ways that teachers do to prevent their students from stealing their supplies. Some teachers use check-in check-out systems while others ask a student to leave something as an insurance policy. But we know that there are plenty of teachers that have their own unique ways of doing things and some will go to extreme lengths in order to keep their supplies from being stolen.
If your teacher was the one gluing her calculators to bricks then there was no way you were going to get away with taking it out of class. That is unless you wanted to lug around an extra 10 pounds everywhere.
Walking The Halls With Our Fingers On The Walls
Do you remember the way the walls used to have that perfect crevice that made it look like it was made of bricks? That perfectly smooth surface was the best tactile stimulation for none other than our fingers and we would run it through the hall all the way 'til the end. The way it felt could honestly not be replaced by anything else in the school.
We honestly miss being able to run our fingers along the wall like this. For those of you who are still able to do this, let us know how it feels so we can get some vicarious pleasure from it.
Bill Nye Addiction
If you have been to school in the last decade or two there is no way you weren't shown any videos featuring Bill Nye the Science Guy. For most of our education, our teachers would use his videos to explain more complex examples of things, or even explain whole concepts to us. If you haven't watched any Bill Nye, you were probably living under a rock and not going to school.
For us, we went from watching Bill Nye to Hank Green, but there's always room in our hearts for some sort of science lesson from our favorite host.
The School Lunch Diet
Schools in America definitely try their best to keep their kids healthy and give them the most nutrition they can get. They also try to give us a wide variety of different vitamins and minerals in our food. But have you ever thought about what they used to serve us? Let's just say it may have been healthy and nutritious, but looking back on it now it seems pretty weird.
There's no way to explain it, but it just doesn't seem normal to be drinking dairy with meat so early in the morning, or at all for that matter. Not to mention the heavy meals we were provided.
The Weird Things Kids Did With Their Bodies
There was all manner of things that kids did to get attention or be weird or tried to impress others with. Some of these things were downright nasty like trying to show off all of their double joints or cracking their knuckles and bones from head to toe. But there was one trend that really stood out to us and we have no idea why they did.
This really should be illegal. It was bad enough seeing our friends do this in class and looking at this photo is already starting to feel triggering. Please don't do this ever again.
The Start Time
It doesn't matter what school you went to as a kid, everyone started at some form of early (unless, somehow, you went to night school). Many schools start within the hour of 8 o'clock while few others start at around 7 or 9. But we all know the struggle with having to get up earlier than some of our parents in order to not get punished for mandatory education and it sucked.
We're with you on that one. We actually got up for those classes because we had no other choice, but why couldn't we have just gone on strike to change the times?
All The Fighting
Speaking of going to school early, what was up with all the fighting going on? It's hard to believe that anyone had the strength to fight others, but we guess it's possible that they could have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and not getting enough sleep could not have possibly helped that in any way. Either way, there was no chance you would ever see us doing this in the morning.
To those of you who have the ability to throw hands and swing bags at that hour, you should consider yourself lucky. That amount of energy is rare in the later years of life.
Aggressive Jeopardy Games
One of the most popular review choices for teachers was to turn their lessons into some sort of Jeopardy-style game. The thing is that even those who were normally zombies in the class would suddenly turn into athletes when it came to this sort of thing. Before you knew it, everybody was ready for the showdown of their lives to prove beyond a doubt that they've been paying more attention than you.
Nobody is safe when it comes to Jeopardy review games in class. This was probably the most competitive we'd get when it came to class.
The Amount Of Backcracking
You all remember these chairs, right? Do you remember the amount of time the kids in your class would swivel around in them to get a good crackdown on their spine? We sure do. It was nearly constant. If the room got silent enough we guarantee that you would have been able to hear some kid popping all their vertebrae. And let us tell you, it was not pleasant.
That being said, we're guilty of this too. Something about those chairs just provided the perfect support to get all of the bubbles out of there.
The Amount Of Vomit
What was with all of those kids who would suddenly be sick in the middle of class? It's like we were too weak as kids to be able to go an entire week without some kid needing to go throw up in the trash can. You can chalk it up to disease spreading easily in schools like this, but we think it might be that a lot of parents don't believe their kids when they say they aren't feeling well.
It's not just that, though. We remember a time this kid smelled some horrible smell in the hallway and just couldn't hold it anymore. Good times.
Weird Noises
There was a lot that went on whenever classes were in session. Sometimes you would hear something that you just don't understand the source of or why it's happening. Most of the time--for us at least--it was the sound of the lucky class next door getting to watch a video for class or a movie because they were on a day or two break from the normal curriculum. But most of the time it was this:
If you went to school but never heard anyone suddenly scream, then we have no idea what kind of school you went to. But for us, this feels all too familiar.
The Screaming
Speaking of screaming, can we talk about for a second all the times that people would scream whenever the lights turned off? Like the worst that could mean is that there was a power outage and usually it wasn't complete darkness anyway. What was the point of screaming? We find it hard to believe people are so afraid of the dark that the second the lights went out they needed to scream.
Have these kids ever heard of the night? It's not like they've never been in the dark before. If someone could please explain this concept to us we would greatly appreciate it.
Even Weirder Noises
Screams weren't the only weird things that came out of our fellow classmates. Screeches, random noises a kid realized he could make, or even that thing where you flick your cheek and open your mouth in time to make a water dripping noise were anything but uncommon. However, there was one thing that really stood out amongst the rest; it was all the moaning.
This was definitely one of the weirder things we experienced in our days at school. We still have yet to understand why this occurs, but if you find out please let us know.
The Chicken Nugget Mad Dash
It doesn't matter who you are or what school you went to, there was no way you didn't have this happening at your school. Anytime there was a hot lunch that consisted of chicken nuggets the kids would make a mad dash for them to be able to get the best ones and possibly more if it was available. Though we highly doubt there was ever anything left by the end of the lunch period.
We won't lie, chicken nuggets were mad good and maybe one of the better lunch options we had back then. Don't you agree?
That One Ball In The Ceiling Of The Gym
Make no mistake; even if you think there weren't any balls in the ceiling of the gym, there was definitely a ball stuck in the ceiling of the gym. And if you're the person who put in all the effort to bounce or throw another ball to knock it out of the ceiling, well... sorry but someone is going to go through the same effort to make sure that another ball gets stuck up there.
We won't lie, this was definitely a fun thing to try the first time around, but after that, it gets pretty old. Especially when the ceiling is low enough that it gets stuck by accident.
Always Falling Behind Somehow
Somehow, and this is especially true of math classes, they always seem to fall behind. It doesn't matter how much we try, it doesn't matter how easy the concept is, somehow it always takes longer than it needs to, and the next thing you know you hear the teacher telling you that we're behind in the schedule and need to get a move on. Was there no way to avoid this?
We don't know what it was about this, but it seems like there was always some sort of issue preventing us from getting on track. Well, it did make for a humorous meme, at least.
That One Weird Rumor
There were plenty of rumors that went around in school, but there was one that stuck out especially well amongst the rest, especially to those people who were... curious about it themselves. We're talking about that rumor about Marilyn Manson that he went through a particularly grueling and risky surgery in order to give himself a bit more pleasure. Don't know what we're talking about?
If you haven't heard this rumor before there's no way you haven't been living under a rock. Sure, there were a lot of rumors about him, but this one really stood out, especially amongst the guys.
Mechanical Pencil Magic
There was this obsession people had with mechanical pencils as well. For some reason, nobody could stop stabbing themselves with it in an attempt to look cool. The trick where you can hold the eraser down in order to push the led back in made this trick all too common in the classroom. Everyone seems to have tried this at some point regardless of their reason for doing so.
There was something just so mesmerizing about doing this that it was hard to stop. Still, we don't know why people liked pretending to stab themselves so much.
The Way People Would Dress
There were all sorts of ways people would dress up at school. They might have put on their most stylish clothes in an effort to make a statement or they might have even come in pajamas because they just don't care, provided that their school's dress code allows for things like that. And then there were the people who would dress up in costume, such as this one:
We have no idea why people do the things they do, but this kind of thing was at least interesting in some way. It's better than some of the other things we've seen on this list.
The List Of Priorities
A lot of schools seem to have a mixed-up understanding of what their curriculum priorities are. Some schools focused on certain things more than others, but there is something we can all agree on: the fact that they all seemed to hype up the importance of the mitochondria. It is so well known that it has become quite a joke in the online community:
Did it ever feel like this to you? We honestly will never forget what the mitochondria is because of this. The mitochondria really did seem to be the main focus of all classes even outside of science.
That Kid Who Always Wore Shorts
We've all met someone like this before, or at least seen this person in school. We certainly have. It's that kid who no matter what, for whatever reason, simply cannot wear anything on their lower body that isn't shorts. Rain or shine, hot or cold, it doesn't matter to this kid. There could even be a literal blizzard or hurricane and they still wouldn't be caught wearing pants.
We understand feeling nervous about wearing shorts because that can feel a little bit exposed, but to always wear shorts? Now that's something we can't understand.
The Way That Classes Ended
Classes can be really long sometimes, even if they're not. Especially when you're not in college and you have the same class and teacher at least once every single day. That's why we wanted to get out as soon as possible and the exact second we were allowed to get up, you know that we were out of there. It was the thing that the teachers hated the most.
We couldn't help it though. There was this instinctual itch that we knew when the bell was going to ring and we needed to get up and away from all the learning.
Working Out In The Worst Way
This got a little bit easier for us in high school when we were finally given a uniform to change into, but when we were younger we pretty much wore the same clothes in the gym that we did throughout the day. Maybe it was fine regarding the smell since that was something that got worse when we were older, but the fact that we were wearing normal clothes while working out was just excruciating.
There was no way that anyone could have found this comfortable. Going back to class as sweaty as that was just not fun for any of us.
Needing Permission For The Bathroom
Probably the worst part about school before undergrad was the inability to go to the bathroom without a teacher's permission. We understand not letting too many people out at a time, but sometimes the teachers were simply jerks, and they wouldn't let you go. It's almost as if they wanted us to pee all over the floor. When we say it's an emergency, we probably mean it.
The rule should change to something like three people out at a time. Or, at the very least they should allow us to go whenever we want and hang the pass at the door.
Not Using Folders
There was definitely a time where organization was not exactly key. What life was like before we started to use folders we wish not to remember, but it was a time of chaos and utter uncertainty. If you have been using a folder your whole life, that's great, but there are classes we remember not taking as seriously and the papers would get lost and crumpled inside our bags.
It wasn't the best way to do it, but it didn't matter to us. The homework became absolutely essential and we struggled to get into the right rythm. We will never go back.
That One Girl Who Was A Cat
If you have ever gone to school you might have met a girl who truly, without a doubt, thought she was a cat. It's cute at first, but then it just spirals into madness as she continued to wear anything with cat ears, purr and hiss, scratch at people, and lick herself clean (okay that one is a bit of an over-exaggeration). These people were truly an oddity in the good old school days.
We don't exactly know why this is such a thing. Maybe it has to do with anime. But in truth, we may never find out the real answers that we seek.
That We Can Leave If The Teacher Doesn't Show
It's rare, but there are times when a teacher doesn't show up and they haven't scheduled a substitute. Then there's that one kid in class who says you can go after X amount of time. Sure, if a teacher doesn't come at a certain point, then it's probably fair to say that you can leave, but there's usually someone who is going to come and inform you that you can do so.
We recommend waiting until someone comes to help you out. And anyway it can be fun to hang out with your friends in an empty class. It's like an extra recess.
The Popular Kids
There were always those kids in school who were the popular ones. It was typically the theatre kid who gets all the lead roles, the really pretty girl who could definitely be a supermodel, and the jock who does the best on their sports team. But did anyone ever actually fact check them to see if they were actually genuine people or if they actually had a large amount of friends? No.
This is so true. No one ever actually did the research as to how many friends the popular kids actually had. We feel it was usually just determined by looks or talent rather than actually being popular amongst friends.
Writing Things In Calculators
Do you remember all those times you would input things into your calculator, flip it upside down, and then have a laugh with friends? We certainly do. There were so many things you can write (not that we knew that many ourselves) and you could actually write quite a few dirty things or rude words. This was probably one of the most popular things that kids did in school. Definitely everyone has done this.
Honestly, we didn't even know that "boobless" was a possible input. We just know that you can right "boob" and "hello". Someone really put too much thought into these.
Putting A Pin Through Your Skin
This one is not for the squeamish and if you're one of those people you probably weren't one of the ones doing this. All of those times that some kid (we are actually guilty of this) took a safety pin or a thumbtack and put it through their skin to scare their friends. Hopefully, you were never in a sewing class/club because that same kid would have probably sewn their fingers together.
Have you ever done anything like this? We think this is the second most common thing after the calculator, but we could be wrong about that.