Embarrassment is one of those emotions that is so profound and human, that we can often still feel it intensely when it’s second hand. Indeed, entire comedy series, most famously, the Office, have been built on inflicting both hilarity and cringe-worthy moments by putting characters in deeply embarrassing situations.
Often, the embarrassing things we go through are so intense, that many of us consider taking them with us to the grave. However, there is evidence that sharing your embarrassment, much like ripping off a band-aid, might hurt in the moment, but is actually a pretty good way to start feeling better about the experience. Humor, after all, is a great healer.
A netizen asked “what was your most embarrassing moment?” and some brave people shared their mortifying experiences. So get comfortable as you read through, upvote the worst ones and be sure to share your own stories and thoughts in the comments section below.
#1
I tore my last good pair of shorts at work. Wore them like a kilt to go into Walmart and spend my last few dollars on essential food items for the house. A lady noticed my shorts were torn and wouldn't let me leave the store until she paid for a pair of shorts for me.
I was nearly in tears. Some people are still nice, folks.
Image credits: jimmio92
#2
My favorite one was an account of an event on the work forums. A manager was working through a transaction with a couple. Whenever the man was asked a question, his wife would answer. He asked "does she ever let you speak for yourself?". The wife responded with "No. Not since his stroke."
F**k.
Image credits: Twours1944
#3
I went to Catholic school, and during my first confession, when the priest put his hand up to bless and forgive me for my sins, I high-fived him.
Image credits: WellrespectedDayana
#4
At a retreat we all were sitting on a hard wood floor.
Speaker: "Let us have a moment of silence to reflect upon God's word in our hearts."
At that point, my stomach was bothering me. I knew the best thing to do was to let out a fart. I thought, well this is just a little fart, if I let it out slowly it will be silent. No one will be the wiser. So I let it go.
The fart was extremely loud and was amplified by the wood floors and the silence of the room. It echoed and sounded as if my a*****e had torn in half.
Elicited chuckles and laughter afterwards. I claimed it.
Image credits: My_Space_page
#5
I had a great day at a waterpark / outdoor pool and towards the afternoon a woman came up to me and whispered in my ear that I have a problem with my swimsuit. I reached behind a noticed a huge gap. The fabric was torn right in the middle and you could see my white, untanned as*crack. I was running around like this all day and no one said anything.
Image credits: DarrenAShah
#6
It was the first day of school in 4th grade as I’ll never forget lol My mom had bought me a super cool Velcro jacket to wear to class and I put it in the dryer to make it warm in the morning. I took it out and threw it on and went to school all excited to show it off. The teacher asked everyone to go around the room, stand up, and introduce themselves. I VOLUNTEERED to go first, stood up and started talking. Some kid sitting next to me, interrupted and said wait you have something stuck to your back and proceeded to take this balled up thing stuck to my Velcro. He unraveled it very confused - in front of everyone - and it ended up being a massive pair of my mom’s maternity underwear ?.
Image credits: Careful-Show8065
#7
Getting cars mixed up and jumping into the back of some strangers car in muddy football gear.
To make things worse I was zoned out so took me a solid 10 seconds to look up and realise that the husband, wife and their kid were staring dead at me.. I still cringe to this day.
Image credits: AkaPhen
#8
I went to a mortuary for a friend’s funeral. The place was packed. Everyone was in line to pay respects and I couldn’t help but notice the overhead music: really good song, familiar sounding. Then I noticed people looking at me. I left my music app on in my pocket….
Image credits: Wise_Serve_5846
#9
Somehow in science class the teacher was talking about a girl in class who had a crush on someone. He started guessing names of boys in the class. When he guessed my name, all the girls in the room went "EEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!!" it was pretty humiliating.
Image credits: Ancient-Leg7990
#10
I said to my cousin's wife: how's the children? She said: oh they're not here yet. Then it hit me. She just had a miss carriage not a week ago. I mistook her for another cousin's wife.
Image credits: Begany11
#11
When I was younger, my mom didn’t teach me how to put a pad on and I started my period for the first time…while at school ? Someone asked me if I spilled BBQ sauce on myself. And then during a test, my pad slipped out and fell out in front of everyone because I didn’t take the wrapper off.
Image credits: JJCookieMonster
#12
When I was in fourth grade I s**t pants in front of my entire class, including my crush. I held it in for about three hours, when I just couldn't anymore. In my defense, I had asked the teachers multiple times to go to the bathroom, but no one let me. Since then I've taken the motto " If you won't let me s**t when it's just my problem, then I'm going to make it our problem then. People I have s**t my pants before and I will s**t them again".
Image credits: Tvisionary55
#13
I did a talent show and forgot the lyrics in front of 100+ people, so I just stood there staring until the song finished. I was 8.
Image credits: katyreddit00
#14
I was at a networking event for women engineers and tech leaders at hosted by a big company. Sit down dinner in a large room. Every seat was filled.
I was asked to give an example of work I was proud of because women rarely talk about their successes. I started to describe a successful non-profit project I did in college then suddenly bust into uncontrollable tears. I couldn’t stop them, I didn’t even know why it was happening. I had to stop and sit down. Sadly, I haven’t been invited back.
I did figure out I was describing a time period when, “home” was my dad’s house. He had passed away a couple years earlier, we were close, I miss him every day. Remembering this project brought back memories of this time and my grief was sudden and overwhelming. I can’t think about how much losing him hurts every day. If you ignore it long enough, grief will find a way out. It was so surprising and sudden.
So, yeah, super embarrassing, especially given no one present will ever know why.
Image credits: DangerousMusic14
#15
I was doing a play. It was children's theater so we entered from behind and among the audience to help suck the kids into this magical world. I'm playing Mike Teevee and I had to come in a side entrance and down these steps. Each step in that theater was like a small landing . So it's step down, take two strides then step down.
I had to time it so that by the time I've finished my monologue I'm standing in the front of the stage between the two narrators. It's our final dress rehearsal and my mom showed up to record me.
I'm making my way down and I stepped wrong and from what I saw on the recording what everyone else sees is me literally dropping out of view and then everyone laughing.
I basically somersaulted my way back to my feet and jumped back up to my feet blushing the rest of the way to the stage mortified.
I didn't realize it until I watched the recording back though. I never stopped monologuing. Not once. I was still doing my lines as I fell and as I was popping up without missing a beat.
Embarrassing as hell in the moment but kind of proud of it after the fact.
#16
I walked face first into a street light lamp post because I was staring at a beautiful girl walking towards the direction where I was coming from. It was in front of the main gate of our university. Hundreds of students saw it. My friends laughed hard as hell.
Image credits: Whichosednrt
#17
I asked my cousin, who I hadn't seen in two decades, how long he and his girlfriend had been together. He informed me that it was his daughter.
Image credits: Auguriskinc
#18
Recently went on a vacation with some friends + a mutual friend who I don't know that well. Him and I took the pullout couches, and his was right next to the bathroom. Later one night, when we were all walking around away from our hotel, I got the stomach rumbles. Then the nausea hit. I have never felt so sick in my life. It felt like someone was grabbing my insides and twisting them. The second we got back to our hotel I made a beeline for the bathroom. Through that paper thin wall, this guy I barely knew heard me s**t pure liquid out of my a*s (complete with loud, wet farts), cry, and vomit in a trash can in front of me. I spent the rest of the night shivering in bed and making runs to the bathroom. I hit the "been married for a decade" barrier with them in a single night.
Food poisoning is a b***h.
Image credits: CharleneTHill
#19
I was freshmen in highschool playing at soccer game. We had gotten our a**es totally kicked, 0-4 by the best team in the league. At the end of the soccer game usually the moms would bring snacks and drinks for everyone, well my team didn't really have a great support network and nobody brought them for us.
I was so tired and sad that we lost I got confused and followed the other team to the snack area. They had twinkies, jerky, those little juice boxes that looked like grenades.. the best stuff. Started scarfing them down. Then noticed I was the only one on my team eating with these guys.
There was so much silence as an entire team of players and their support parents just looked at me. I was like, 'oh... I shouldn't be here'..They all started laughing at me. Then I walked back to my side of the field.. with my entire team started laughing at me.
Yea it was a tuff day.
#20
1982. 4th grade. I got one of those s****y plastic costumes for Halloween. Decided not to wear anything under it. It degraded. Long story short, you know that common nightmare where you are sitting in class in your underwear? Ya.
Image credits: My_browsing
#21
New kid in HS, first day of school. Wearing my favorite jeans. Apparently my mom's granny panties hitched a ride on the inside of my pant leg and started coming out the bottom later on in the day.
Image credits: USN253
#22
Farted in the lift and when it opened boss got in.
Image credits: wetlettuce42
#23
I was at my friend's birthday party in high school and was super drunk. I ran up to a group of people and said, 'Watch this!' I then proceeded to run and dive into a bounce house, only for the Velcro-lined entrance to grab my sweats and boxers and pull them down to my ankles. I’ll never forget the looks of horror on their faces while I laid there on my back with my legs in the air showing off all my goodies.
Image credits: WillisAShelby
#24
Was picking my son up from school and the hot male preschool teacher was letting the kids go, I am holding back a fart when getting my son. I get him loaded into the car, get into drivers seat and let it rip…the hot teacher starts walking and I’m thinking oh he is going to talk yo another parent…nope came to my car and wanted to tell me he forgot to mention that my son got hurt but forgot to write it up…(was just a bump on the elbow). When he is telling me, I could tell he smelled it…by his face and my son laughing.
#25
For grade school, I attended a religious school. We went to church every week. One week, the weather was particularly warm and muggy, and we were in church. I was wearing the school uniform shorts, while sitting on the wooden pew/seats and my skin was very sticky.
The priest was droning on through his homily, and I adjusted my position in the seat. The back of my sweaty sticky leg stuck to the pew and made the loudest farting sound against the hardwood of the seat, and it echoed through the church, and everything subsequently went silent. *Everyone*, including the priest looked my way. There was a long, awkward, silent pause while everyone gazed at me while I flushed red like never before.
Nothing else came of it, the priest continued droning on and everyone else continued being bored, but that moment of thunderous fart noise and the world standing still while everyone stared at little 2nd grade me was absolutely mortifying.
Image credits: External_Lock_
#26
I walked into a glass wall/full sized window at a gas station, bounced off, and then fell on my a*s.
The employees and customers inside all saw what happened and laughed. Even a few people pumping gas laughed.
#27
I s**t my pants at my ex's nephew's first birthday party.
We had a small party at a local park with pizza and cake. I'm dairy intolerant, so I asked my ex to stop and get Lactaid before the event. He told me we were near bathrooms and I would be fine if I had to go to the bathroom.
We were not near any bathrooms. I felt the urge to go number two, which was coming quickly. I told my ex, and we started walking towards the restrooms, or so we thought. Turns out we were walking in the wrong direction.
I could not hold it anymore. I started s******g myself. He told me to go into the thicket along the walking trail/bike path we were on to finish relieving myself. He went to get baby wipes from his sister. I cleaned up and left my underwear and my pride in the thicket.
#28
So I have this issue when I'm stressed, scared or sad I laugh, so I once laughed at a funeral I felt so bad and I literally wanted to burry myself 6 feet under.
Image credits: Dry_Foundation3337
#29
Farted in a patient's room, who I thought AMS after cleaning her up with the nurse.
Everyone could smell it, nurse thought the patient had pooped again. I told her I though she just farted. But she insisted we check the patient again, so we turned her, there was no poop.
The patient points a finger at me and loudly says "it's not me it's you! You're the one with the stinky poo-poo!" I turned bright red, the nurse was not pleased with me.
Image credits: Vi0l3t
#30
Caught fire making corn dogs then my friends came over as the EMT's were carrying me completely naked down the stairs on this weird chair thing.
#31
In 4th grade I was wearing fake velvet/corduroy tweety bird overalls and we were doing parachute day in PE. The overalls split at the butt and the nurse used safety pins to keep it together for the next 4-5 hours. I went to BASE because my parents both worked and had long commutes so after school I basically just sat in a plastic chair so no one could see my butt.
Also when I was 12 or 13 I got my period in PE and bled through my underwear, pants, and a sweatshirt tied around my waist and I had to sit on the bleachers and not do field hockey which was my favorite. The rest is a little foggy but I think they had me wear stuff from the lost & found until I went home. Man I have a lot of PE related small t trauma.
#32
Cr*pping my pants in church.
There was a special service being held on Halloween night and I ate way too much candy and my stomach got upset. I was the cross-bearer and I ran to the back right before they did the offering (where the cross-bearer has to go to the back of the church) and couldn't get the vestments off in time and just let it rip. I remember my pants expanding like a balloon and I felt the liquid goo running down my leg. The secondary priest came to the back to check on me and he could smell the foul deed I did and I remember him saying "oh god" and he went to the back to get my mom who quickly shuffled me out the back/side door of the church.
They tried to wash the vestments and my parents ended up buying the church an entire new set. Needless to say I never wanted to "serve" again.
#33
I was attending an online class on my phone, and went to the toilet. My mic was on, but luckily the camera was off. Still I got teased a lot that day in our class WhatsApp group.
Image credits: GoingTo_Sleep
#34
Not me but a friend. Went to the ladies room back in the day when we wore panty hose all the time. Well, she tucked her dress in her pantyhose by mistake, was commando of course and walked around the whole rest saying hi to all these ppl she knew. Her husb kept calling her name and saying she was showing her a*s and she thought he meant she had too much to drink lol. They never went back.
Image credits: Grand-Ad-3177
#35
I made a light joke about a co-worker in what I thought was a DM to a friend but was actually a channel that the co-worker and our whole team was in. It wasn't personal or intentionally hurtful, but it did hit home for him and he was REALLY really hurt. The friend that I thought I'd sent it to knew that I'd put it in a channel but didn't tell me so it was up for several minutes.
I felt like such an incredible a*****e. Had a call with the person to apologize but the fact that it hit home meant the damage was done. It's been over a year and I still think about it all the time.
#36
Tripped and slid face first down down the steps at a Texas Ranger baseball game with my sundress hiked up exposing that I was wearing nothing else.
#37
Near the end of Freshman year, of college, my first ever bf dumped me.
I was devastated but I played it really cool and acted like it was fine.
We were laughing and joking as he left. **Soon as the door closed behind him I burst into tears. Not 5 minutes later he's knocking on my door because he left his book bag behind.**
That was some mortifying sh*te.
Image credits: _hootyowlscissors
#38
Puked while doing deadlifts, and of course the girl I had my eye on saw me dribble s****y a*s frosted donut protein powder down my shirt as it happened.
Image credits: StiffDiq
#39
I was being introduced to my coworkers at my first job and one of them asked my name. He couldn't hear me so he put his hand up to his ear and I high fived him.
Image credits: Cuh_Shark
#40
Getting drunk, and crushing on a girl who sang karaoke. She sat down with her family at a table, and I approached and asked for her number. Her dad stared daggers through me, and she said “My boyfriend is the DJ.”
That experience alone was enough to make me stop drinking. So many dumb stupid deductions. She was way out of my league anyway.
#41
During a show I made for our national festival I (accidently)sang the song from another country. Everybody was booing me. So humiliating.
#42
I was once running on a treadmill my friend turned the speed up really high and I fell off went absolutely flying. Never went back to that gym.
Image credits: peachyezza2
#43
When I was a kid, I was watching the new release of Harry Potter that year and while watching I put some foreign objects in my mouth. I had this little habit of putting things lego or Hot Wheels in my mouth because I liked the taste of metal or plastic. So at that moment, I was munchin on small watch batteries because the iron or something was sort of giving me interesting tastes. And mid munching, my mom walked in and surprised me, leading me to swallow a whole 3 watch batteries. I just turned to her afterwards and said "Mom, help". Basically had to be rushed to the hospital as my dumb*ss thought it would open up in my stomach and kill me.
#44
I gave myself 2 black eyes on crazy hat day in first grade by walking into things the first hour of school.
#45
I got sh*t on by a seagull in middle school at the lunch line. Right on top of my head.
Image credits: FirstSipp
#46
On a first date at a fancy restaurant. Halfway through, my stomach started rumbling ominously. I rushed to the restroom, but it was too late. Had to sneak out the back in shame. Never saw her again.
#47
When I was in 5th grade we were outside at playground and I was swinging, having a great time with my friends. I went to stop myself but hit the back of my feet too hard on the ground that it shot me backwards on my back, feet up in the air. Well it was so powerful that it completely pulled my sweatpants down over my a*s and I mooned the whole playground. God knows how many people saw it, but I know a couple friends did and they were laughing so hard at me. I’ll never forgot that.
#48
I threw up in public. It was in a museum. I was part of a bus tour group and I just got really sick during the trip. This happened when I was 10. I’m 27 now and I still feel the embarrassment whenever I remember it.
#49
When I told a girl I loved her and she told me she knew and that she felt sorry for me.
#50
I once tried to do karaoke to a Taiwanese nationalist song at a Chinese international student event and realized halfway through the song that the song was nationalist. I left the room halfway though the song.
Part of the problem is I didn't know the language I attempted to sing in and it's easy as a 19 year old to forget that songs can have meanings that would offend people. The only way I realized it was when I saw the Taiwanese flag and saw the confused faces of the Chinese students.
#51
When I was like 13 I was in gymnastics, we were working on vault, I ran, I jumped, I did not put my hands up and slammed right into it, bounced off, tripped over the spring board and smacked my head on on of the poles supporting the bars. In front of everyone.
#52
Sophomore in college, spring term, first day of a class. None of us knew who the professor was going to be. I happened to say aloud that I hoped it wasn’t a certain professor because nobody really liked his classes. Classmate sitting next to me kept trying to get my attention, but I kept ranting about how awful he was. She was trying to get my attention because said professor’s son was sitting right behind me. He graciously accepted my apology, and thankfully, the professor in the particular class wasn’t his father.
#53
If you ever saw Freaks and Geeks they did a great job capturing Middle School in the early 80s. There's a scene where a character is pushed out into the hallway from the locker room nude. That was a common prank in our school, except it was pushed out into the gymnasium. It was after PE so there was rarely someone in there, but when it happened to me there was a bunch of people setting up equipment for an assembly. Being the shortest kid in your grade sucked. I was the target.
#54
Failed the bar exam. Had to tell my bosses, friends, and family. Not fun. (I passed on my second try, but still so embarrassing.).
#55
S**t my pants in the middle of the concourse at JFK while I was waiting in line for the bathroom. I had just gotten off my flight from Italy, and I had severe diarrhea from the food on the plane. The line to the bathroom was very long as several other international flights had also just deplaned. I felt a relief of pressure in my gut, and thought “maybe II just need to fart.” (How foolish of me), I tried to let one rip and suddenly felt a very warm liquid fill my pants. The guy standing in front of me saw the pain on my face and asked if I was waiting to use the bathroom. I nodded and he said that I could go right ahead as the line I was waiting in was actually the line for the ATM…
I rushed into the bathroom and took the last open stall. I cleaned up as best as I could, threw my underwear in the trash, then washed my hands and headed for my next gate to catch my connecting to Chicago. I could still smell a faint s**t smell coming off of my after getting on the next plane. I was hoping that the seat next to me would be empty, but nope. ‘Twas a full flight. I felt really embarrassed throughout this whole ordeal.
#56
Falling down the stairs at my high school in a mini skirt (the 80’s).
#57
One day in high school, when the bell rang at the end of the day and all the kids are coming out of class and all headed in the same direction, I threw up and it most likely hit a few kids who were in front of me.
I blame my teacher for this humiliation.…I was sitting in last period feeling sick and asked to go the restroom. Being that there were only about 10 minutes left in class, he said no. And the rest is history.
#58
Passed out drunk watching p*rn. My girlfriend came by unannounced to introduce me to her sister for the first time.
#59
When I was 10 during summer camp, we had a really chewy steak for the first dinner. I was trying to cut it with all of my strength. At some point, my knife slided and pushed the plate out of the table. Obviously it broke and everybody around my noticed it.
#60
I fell into a man's junk walking into a store.
#61
Fist day at new school after my parent moved to another city. I was standing on the schoolyard when suddenly a mf ball hit my head. Everyone laughed at me and i just wanted to cry.
#62
Class ends and I wanted to leave the class, before that my friend called me and said my crush waved and acknowledge me and I quickly said Hi back and lave the class (cause I was so fkin shy). Turns out she was acknowledging someone..... it was a facepalm at the end of the day.
#63
Had to drive a ford C-max for work. It still haunts me.
