The Seagull
The concept of karma has a long and somewhat complicated history, but the basis is that you get whatever you give out. If you dish out positivity, that’s what you’ll reap in return. If you’re an incurable jerk, be prepared to have the world come back to bite you for it. Sometimes, people who do cruel or heartless things don’t have to wait for the universe to take its sweet, sweet revenge.
In these hilarious and heartwarming stories, karma doesn’t wait days, months, or years to strike: it’s instant. And few things are quite as satisfying as watching it happen. The internet dished on those super satisfying moments when someone watched as karma came right back around to give people what was coming to them. Read on for the best instant karma stories.
Unpaid Wages
One hot summer day in Florida, while visiting someone, I went to a Circle K convenience store to buy some drinks. As I was waiting in line, a group of old tourists cut in front of us, grumbling loudly about everything from the high prices to the crowded beach.
Their behavior was quite disruptive and unpleasant. They were also rude to the cashier, taking a long time to complain about prices and causing further delays for everyone else in line. Finally, they left, but not without one last hilarious incident.
As we were walking out of the store, a seagull swooped down and snatched the hot dog from one of the tourists’ hands. The woman accompanying him shrieked and dropped her own hot dog in surprise. The entire scene was so funny that I still remember it vividly even after five years. Reddit User: [redacted]
Not Giving It Back
When I turned 14 years and 9 months old, I became eligible for employment in Melbourne, Australia. I decided to work at a nearby Subway restaurant, where I, along with other employees, was paid minimum wage.
But the owner of the restaurant required us to complete a Certificate 2 & 3 in retail operations, which would benefit him in terms of receiving government upskilling benefits. Although we spent long hours every week coming into the shop to complete our certificates, we were not compensated for our time.
After finishing the course, one of the tutors revealed that we should have been paid for the hours we put in, which amounted to over 200 hours each for the year. We raised our concerns with the manager, but he refused to pay us back, so we decided to quit our jobs.
Later, the tutor informed the educational institution that was responsible for tutoring us about our situation, and they took it up with the owner/manager of Subway. As it turned out, the owner/manager had violated labor laws.
He was ordered to pay back all the benefits he received, which amounted to about $20,000 per employee, by the government. Reddit user: karma1990
Where’s a Cop When You Need One?
During my visit to New York, I witnessed an incident that left a lasting impression on me. As I sat in the passenger seat of a car, I saw someone pick up a wallet that had been dropped by someone ahead of them in the busy crosswalk.
The person who picked up the wallet, whom I will refer to as Guy A, immediately ran toward Guy B, who was already across the street. But in his haste, Guy A’s wallet fell out of his pocket and onto the sidewalk.
Suddenly, a cyclist who was riding in the nearby bike lane saw the wallet and picked it up, seemingly with the intention of keeping it for himself. My dad and I were about to intervene when a police car pulled up beside us and swerved in front of the cyclist, forcing him to stop.
The officer ordered the cyclist to return the wallet to its rightful owner. In the commotion, the cyclist accidentally bumped into the police car and attempted to ride around it, but was quickly tackled by another officer who appeared on the scene. Coolest instant karma I’ve ever seen. Reddit user: [redacted]
No Help This Time
One night, my friend and I were driving home from work. We’re both bartenders, so it was pretty late, maybe around midnight. We live in a small community, and we were driving on a stretch of road that has a speed limit that changes from 55 to 45 to 35 to 25 within a quarter of a mile.
As we were driving, a giant truck suddenly appeared behind us, tailgating us and flashing his brights. He was so close that we couldn’t even see his bumper, and his lights were blinding us.
Two seconds after we realized this was happening, one of us said, “Where’s a cop when you need one?” Just then, a sheriff’s deputy passed us going in the opposite direction. To our amazement, he immediately turned around and pulled the aggressive driver over. Reddit user: [redacted]
Being A Princess Pays
My boyfriend has a big GMC. One winter day, it was really snowy, and a bunch of cars had gone into the ditch, as they do. Because he’s a nice guy, he was spending his day off pulling people out for free.
At one point, while he was helping someone, some jerk FLEW by him, wailing on the horn and flipping him off out the window. It was a rude and disrespectful act towards someone who was just trying to help others in need.
My boyfriend finished pulling the car out and decided to head up the road in the direction that the jerk had gone. About a mile up the road, they found him standing outside of his car, which was now plowed into a giant freaking tree.
The car was completely totaled, and the driver was clearly shaken up from the accident. My boyfriend honked his horn, waved, and kept driving. It was a small act of revenge, but it was enough to make the driver feel embarrassed. The dude just hung his head like a scolded dog. Reddit user: Carryoncrow
Rudeness Never Wins
I worked at a grocery store where I once had an interesting experience while stocking Instant Noodles. I was working on a large sales display that required me to stand on a small step stool.
The stool was cheap and had a bar running across the top step, which made it difficult to maintain balance. Reaching down to the stool from the shelf I was standing on was about three feet, and I had a 60% chance that my foot would land on the top bar and collapse the stool.
To avoid this, I asked a coworker to use his shoulder as a handle as I got down. But when my supervisor saw this, he called me a “princess” for getting assistance. The situation turned ironic when my supervisor was later stocking the two-liter Coke bottles on a sales display.
He tried to get down from the stool and took the 40% success rate jump onto the step, hit the top bar, and the step ladder collapsed. As a result, he broke his arm and took down half of the display. I just clocked out and left before they told me to clean up the spilled soda all over the place. Reddit user: ChileConCaveman
The Guy In The Hummer
I work at a movie theater, which is a part-time job that I enjoy. One afternoon, I was selling tickets at the box office, and an elderly lady approached me with a question about our Cinemark app.
Although I had some knowledge about the app, I wasn’t entirely sure about the answer to her question, so I politely told her that I didn’t know. She responded, however, by being very rude and condescending, saying, “Isn’t it your job to know? Are you stupid or something?”
I was taken aback by her behavior, but I maintained my composure and simply apologized again for not being able to help her. At that moment, something unexpected happened. The lady turned around and saw that the mall cop was writing her a ticket for parking in a handicapped spot without a handicap plate or placard.
She panicked and took off running towards her car, shouting, “Wait, stop! That’s my car!” I couldn’t keep the huge grin off my face for the rest of the day. It was way more satisfying than I can ever say. Reddit user: [redacted]
What Happens When You Speed
I had an idiot in a Hummer riding my tail at the speed limit down a steep, snowy hill, in the right lane, in the middle of winter, 20 to 30 seconds away from a light that clearly had less than 15 seconds left before turning.
He decides to change lanes and floor it in an attempt to cover the last 20 seconds of ground in the 10 seconds left… About 200 feet short of the intersection, the light turns red, and the moron finally decides it would be a good time to start slowing down.
He slid through the red light, clipped the rear end of a tractor-trailer, and took out the traffic light at the far end of the intersection. It turned out there was a cop a few hundred feet behind us who had a nice clear view of everything. Reddit user: [redacted]
An Unexpected Bonus
I was driving on the highway a few miles back when I noticed a reckless driver. This driver was weaving in and out of traffic across three lanes, putting other drivers in danger. At that moment, I was in the left-hand lane, passing a semi-truck, and I had nowhere to go except to continue forward.
I was determined to get ahead of the truck and then move over so that the reckless driver could continue on his way and potentially cause an accident elsewhere. As I was already driving at 10 miles over the speed limit, I had no intention of going any faster as I didn’t want to risk receiving a higher fine.
I flicked on my blinker to signal that I was getting out of the reckless driver’s way and started moving into the middle lane. But then the driver decided to cut me off on the right side, which was also a ticketable offense in my state.
To avoid a collision, I swerved back into the left lane. The driver then accelerated and quickly moved to the right-hand lane. Suddenly, a police car appeared behind the reckless driver, flashing its lights and sirens. He was then pulled over, and justice was served. It was fantastic to witness. Reddit user: [redacted]
A Good Deed
I worked for an events company, and on the morning of our biggest annual event last year, I was sent to the office to pick up a couple of things. As I was leaving the office, another guy approached me with a sob story.
I was in a very big hurry, so I gave him $10 and headed on my way. Little did I know, that act of kindness would come back to me in a big way. Despite having a sub-par year in terms of revenue, we received unexpected bonus checks tied to the success of the event.
I was absolutely shocked when I saw what was on my desk. Despite not expecting anything, I found a rather pleasant surprise waiting for me: a bonus check. It was given to me just two days after the event. I’d like to think the karma gods were smiling at me. Reddit user: [redacted]
Right On The Butt
My son and I went to Wal-Mart to get a new game for his DS. We got to the cash register, and I noticed the woman in front of me was upset. Her card had been declined, and she was purchasing baby formula.
My son is fascinated with babies, so he was talking to the woman about her adorable little girl. He put the game down and handed the distraught mother his video game money and said, “Your baby needs food more than I need Plants Vs. Zombies.”
This act of kindness from my son made me feel proud and happy. As we were walking out, a lady approached us and said she saw what he just did. She gave him an envelope and said to open it when he got home.
When we got home, there was a $100 bill and a note that said, “You deserve this, young man!” This was an unexpected and incredibly generous gesture. Reddit user: JeffreyGlen
Nacho Order
In the United Kingdom, schoolchildren typically wear uniforms consisting of blazers and ties. Unfortunately, this dress code has given bullies a new way to torment their peers.
One common bullying tactic is to run up to unsuspecting students and pull their ties, causing them to become tightly knotted. The experience can be incredibly uncomfortable and even painful.
I remember one particularly traumatic incident on my bus ride home from school. The bus was crowded, and I found myself standing in front of one of these tie-pulling bullies. Just as the bus came to a sudden stop, he grabbed my tie. But he had mistakenly grabbed the wrong end since I had already untied it as soon as the bell rang.
The sudden stop caused him to lose his balance, and the only thing keeping him upright was the fact that he was holding onto my tie. He ended up falling on his behind, and I was relieved to have escaped another “knotted” experience. Reddit user: dead-ced-dead
Well-Suited
I had a hankering for some nachos, so I decided to head to Taco Bell. When I got there, I noticed that there was a man standing behind me who also ordered the same thing – nachos bell grande.
We struck up a conversation while we waited for our orders to be ready. He seemed like a busy man, dressed in a suit and tie, while I was in my construction work clothes. As we waited, the Taco Bell employee called out my number.
But before I could grab my food, the man behind me grabbed it instead. He then turned to me and said, “You ordered the same thing as me, but I’m in a hurry, so you can just take mine when it’s ready.”
I was taken aback by his kindness. But as he took a step towards the door, he slipped on something on the floor and ended up spilling his drink and my nachos all over his shirt and jacket. It was a complete mess.
To make matters worse, they called out his number at that exact moment. Without any hesitation, I picked up his nachos and thanked him for his earlier generosity. As I walked out of the door, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the man’s kind gesture. Reddit user: HotrodCorvair
Fired For $1
I was in line at Wendy’s, and a gentleman realized he had misplaced his wallet. He ran to and from his car very flustered and jumped on the phone with his wife to have her look for it and drive to the Wendy’s.
While he wasn’t paying attention, I stepped in front of him and paid 8 bucks for his food. It was just a lame situation for the guy, so I felt bad, even though he drove a Lexus. The guy insisted that I don’t; I said, “Too late, bro.”
I patted him on the shoulder and said to pay it forward with a smile. He approached my table and told me that was one of the nicest things he had ever witnessed, then he told me to come across the street after work to the tailor/suit shop. He got me an $800 custom suit.
I was surprised by his generosity and didn’t expect anything in return for my small act of kindness. Nevertheless, I decided to take him up on his offer and went to the tailor/suit shop after work. He got me an $800 custom suit. Reddit user: [redacted]
Guard Your Rear
I arrived at work and was immediately approached by a customer who had called the store from our parking lot. She informed me that she had received the wrong frozen drink and requested a refund and a replacement.
Although it was only a $1 drink, I was happy to oblige and retrieved the money while trying to determine which drink she had wanted. As we were discussing the situation, the woman became increasingly agitated and demanded a refund for her fries as well.
She claimed that the ordeal had made her “sick to her stomach.” I apologized and explained that I had not known she wanted a full refund as it was not mentioned during our initial conversation.
Despite my efforts to remedy the situation and ensure she made it to her event on time, the customer continued to berate me. In a fit of anger, she threw her bag of fries at me, hitting me in the chest.
I calmly retrieved the bag and went to retrieve her refund. The customer continued to shout at me until I returned with the $2.60. It turned out that another customer, who had been waiting in line behind her, had witnessed the entire incident.
As the woman was in a company car, the witness reported her behavior to the company (Tupperware), and she was fired later that day. Subsequently, the disgruntled customer attempted to get me fired and demanded compensation, but our customer service team dismissed her claims.
Eventually, the store owner had to speak with her directly. But when he called her, she began to swear at him. In response, he warned her that he would report her behavior to Tupperware again if she continued to swear at him and then promptly hung up. Reddit user: Magnum231
Blizzard Bummer
When I was in high school, getting out of the student parking lot at the end of the day was always a hassle. The narrow aisles and limited space often caused a bottleneck, as everyone tried to make their way out of the lot.
To make matters worse, some students were impatient and didn’t want to wait their turn. One day, as I was trying to exit the lot, I noticed a car in the last aisle waiting to pull out. I decided to be patient and let them go first.
But as I began to make my way down the side, a kid I knew from school pulled out in front of me. This kid was notorious for being weird and mean, always trying to give himself cringy nicknames. He and his friends in the car started pointing and laughing at me.
But their laughter was short-lived. As he was looking back at me, trying to make fun of me, he rear-ended the car in front of him. Reddit user: CantFindMyWallet
Bad Footing
We were living in Cleveland at the time, and my dad was driving home in his old Cutlass. It was a cold winter evening, and the snow was falling heavily, making it hard to see. Despite the driving conditions, my dad was taking it slow, driving at 15-20 mph.
Suddenly, a car pulled up next to him, and the driver motioned for him to roll down his window. My dad, concerned that something was wrong, rolled down his window. But the driver of the other vehicle had no intention of asking for help.
Instead, he hurled insults at my dad, calling him a wuss, flipping him off, and telling him to learn how to drive. My dad was left feeling upset and shaken by the encounter. As he continued driving, my dad couldn’t help but think about the rude driver and what had just happened.
But just five minutes later, he came across an accident where someone had crashed their car into a telephone pole. To his surprise, the driver of the crashed car was none other than the person who had insulted him just moments before.
Feeling vindicated, my dad slowed down and rolled down his window. He gave the other driver a taste of his own medicine, flipping him off and telling him that he needed to learn how to drive. It was one of the happiest moments I ever saw my dad when he came home from work. Reddit user: [redacted]
Patience Is A Virtue
One time in middle school, I witnessed an incident that still makes me laugh to this day. There was a guy who was relatively new at our school and he was a little bit of a class clown. One day, he was making fun of a girl in our class who had nearly fallen in the hallway in between classes.
I remember feeling embarrassed for her as she struggled to regain her balance. Coincidentally, this was a girl I had a crush on and I wished I could have done something to help her. The guy was mocking her, making her look stupid and clumsy.
But then karma caught up with him when he misjudged his footing and while attempting to jokingly mimic the way she might’ve fallen, he actually fell for real. He landed squarely on his back in front of everybody.
I couldn’t believe it. I saw him just lying there, surrounded by adults and staring up at the ceiling, face completely expressionless. Reddit user: CaptainCruiser
Maybe You Should Pay More Attention To Your Work
My dad once shared a story with me that has stayed with me ever since. It happened on a day when he was driving back home from the shore. The traffic was really bad and there was an accident about a mile ahead that had brought traffic to a crawl.
Despite the frustration, my dad decided to be patient about it and wait it out. But not everyone shared his patience. As time passed, people started to become more and more impatient. Some drivers, in an effort to get ahead of the traffic, began driving on the shoulder.
This really ticked my dad off. He was annoyed that while he was doing the right thing, others were not and were probably going to get away with it. He thought about following suit and driving on the shoulder but ultimately decided against it and continued to wait.
As he got closer to the accident site, he noticed a parking lot with two cops stationed there. One of the cops was directing all of the shoulder drivers into the parking lot, while the other cop was writing them tickets for their actions. He describes it as one of the most satisfying things he’s ever seen. Reddit user: DrDudeManJones
School Zone Shenanigans
I used to work as a mechanic and had a rather frustrating experience when I received a part that was almost perfect – except for the electrical plug which had a different shape. It was only after I installed the part that I realized the plug didn’t have long enough prongs to communicate.
I had to order the correct part a second time and go through the hassle of removing the wrong part and installing the right one. All of this, while only getting paid for the time it took me to install the correct part.
To make matters worse, my co-worker found the whole situation hilarious and decided to rub it in my face. He laughed and said, “Bet you won’t make that mistake again. Pay attention next time.”
While I recognized my mistake, I didn’t need him to throw it in my face. But karma works in mysterious ways and it wasn’t long before my co-worker made a mistake of his own. During his next job, he put all four tires on backward, forgetting that some tires are directional.
I couldn’t help but say the same thing to him. I knew I would use it against him, I just didn’t know it would be that soon. Reddit user: GenerationSam
Sorry Officer
In my town, there is a bustling road that connects many different parts of the area. As is common with roads, there are times when construction work needs to be done to maintain the infrastructure.
This was the case over the winter when the right lane was closed and the speed limit was reduced to a mere 15 mph. As a responsible driver, I was careful to abide by the posted limit, but not everyone on the road was as patient.
One particular incident came to mind when a woman driving a BMW became quite agitated behind me. Despite my adherence to the speed limit and the obvious construction work being done, she began waving her arms and flashing her lights in frustration.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her as I knew that the conditions were less than ideal for everyone. Eventually, we made it past the roadworks, but the woman’s hostility only seemed to grow.
She flipped me off and accelerated to speeds of 45-55 mph, even though we were still within city limits. It was at this point that I made the decision to ignore her and continue driving safely. To my surprise, she was still speeding when she passed a police officer parked in front of the local elementary school.
I can only imagine that the ticket she received must have been quite a costly one, especially given that it was a school day and there were likely many children around. Reddit user: [redacted]
Cutting Across
It was about 1 am when I was waiting for the stoplight to turn green when I heard the unmistakable sound of a revving engine. Turning to my left, I saw a sleek Mustang pull up beside me, the driver glaring at me.
He started calling me names and laughing with his girlfriend, trying to provoke a reaction from me. But I refused to engage with him and instead turned up my music, drowning out his obnoxious behavior.
Suddenly, the Mustang peeled out, leaving me behind in a trail of smoke and noise. But as I went around the bend, I saw something that made me smile. A police car had pulled out of a nearby parking lot and was now pulling the Mustang over.
As I drove past the scene, I couldn’t help but wave goodbye to the driver, who now had a look of anger on his face. He flips me off just as the cop is walking up to his window. I’ve never driven away from a situation so happy in my life. I was in a great mood for the rest of the week. Reddit user: [redacted]
What a Mean Substitute
A friend and I were driving behind a guy on a motorcycle. As we approached a four-way intersection, we noticed a car already at the stop sign, waiting to cut across the intersection.
We slowed down, assuming that the biker in front of us would do the same, considering it was a four-way stop. But nope! To our surprise, the biker sped through the intersection without stopping.
Just as the biker was passing through the intersection, the car that was already waiting there began to cut across. The biker had to slam on the brakes to avoid colliding with the car. After the close call, the biker was visibly angry and even slapped the back of the car.
Then, things took an unexpected turn when blue lights flickered on, indicating that the car was actually an unmarked police car. It was a tense moment as the officer stepped out of the car and approached the biker. After a brief conversation, the officer let the biker go with a warning. Reddit user: JackReaper333
Anything for Attention
During my 6th grade year, we had a substitute teacher that we all thought was a little bit strange. There was just something off about her, and it seemed like she would yell about the most random things.
Many of the other students in my class were too intimidated to speak up when she was around, and I couldn’t blame them. One day, she stopped me on my way to the office and started berating me out of nowhere.
She told me that I was a terrible person and a bad student, which was really hurtful since I had always been a quiet, straight-A kid. I tried to keep walking, but she followed me and continued to yell at me while staring me down.
Eventually, she walked right into a big metal pole and fell to the ground. I was honestly pretty shocked and didn’t know what to do, so I just kept walking. Reddit user: Jock_Ewing
Taking It Slow
As an educator, I encounter countless moments of instant karma in my daily life. One particular incident stands out in my memory: I had a student when I was teaching at a middle school who was known for being loud, obnoxious, and always seeking attention.
It was after we had just completed an exam that required stapled papers in order to be turned in. The student was hitting the stapler against his hand with it open. Concerned for his safety, I gently cautioned him.
“Hey, if you keep hitting that stapler against your hand with it open, it probably won’t end well for you,” I said, but my words fell on deaf ears as he responded with, “I do this all the time, I’ve never been stap…”
He didn’t get to finish as the sound of the stapler piercing his hand cut him short. The student let out the loudest scream I’ve ever heard. He was bleeding and crying. I was laughing (on the inside, hopefully) and sent him out to the office. Reddit user: CodeDanger
No Traction
I recall an incident that happened to me while driving on the highway. I was driving on the passing lane and gradually approaching a couple of cars on the right lane. Ahead of me, the speed limit was about to reduce and suddenly, I noticed another car speeding up from behind.
Rather than accelerating to get ahead of the right-lane traffic, I decided to slow down and merge in behind them. Unfortunately, the car behind me was tailgating me closely. After merging to the right lane, the car abruptly overtook me, blaring its horn loudly.
The passenger’s body was partly out of the window, shouting and flipping me off as they drove past. Later, I discovered that the car I pulled behind was an unmarked state trooper who promptly pulled over the offender. Justice was served. Reddit user: yesidumbx100
A Good Samaritan
My friends and I were excited to see the first light snow of the season. We had been eagerly waiting for it, and we wanted to make the most of it, so we decided to go out with our sled and have some fun on the road.
We took turns lying on the sled while the others pulled us down the street with a rope. It was a bit silly, but we were bored and it was a great way to enjoy the snow. As we were having fun, a car passed by and its occupants shouted some unpleasant names at us.
We were surprised and a bit annoyed, but we decided to ignore them and kept playing. But the car then lost control and crashed into some bushes at the end of the street. It was a Honda Civic, and it was clear that the driver had been reckless and irresponsible.
My friends and I watched as the occupants of the car struggled for about 20 minutes to get their vehicle out of the bushes. They had no traction in the snow. Ha! Reddit user: thecorkster
Running on Good Karma
When I was living in Newfoundland, I worked in a bar that was situated on a road that didn’t get much traffic. One night, as I was heading into work, I noticed a man standing by the side of the road with a sign that read something like “far from home, no place to sleep, and hungry.”
I felt a pang of sympathy for him and decided to help him out. I waved him over and gave him the only cash I had on me – $5 – and told him to take care of himself. I couldn’t stop thinking about the man as I worked that night.
As the night went on, I tended the bar as usual. Thursdays were usually slow, and I typically only made about $5 in tips, or $10 on a good day. However, that Thursday turned out to be different. Three separate customers hit it big on the slot machines and gave me $20 tips each.
I couldn’t believe my luck! By the end of the night, I had made about $75 in tips – a significant increase from my usual earnings. Reddit user: nyerinohio
In a Bunch of Muck
I had just finished grocery shopping and was loading the bags into my car when I encountered a problem – my car wouldn’t start. Despite checking the battery wires and ensuring everything was in place, the car still wouldn’t start.
This was frustrating, especially since I had just replaced the battery a month ago. With no other option left, I called my girlfriend to come and pick me up, which she estimated would take around 20 minutes.
As I waited, I noticed an elderly lady struggling to push her cart, which was filled with four times as many bags as mine. I knew she could use some help. I approached her and offered to help load her groceries into her car. She gratefully accepted my offer, and together we loaded the bags into her car.
Afterward, I returned to my car and decided to try starting it one more time. To my surprise, it started right up. I couldn’t help but think that maybe my good deed had somehow contributed to my car’s sudden revival. Reddit user: Ih8YourCat
Icing on the Cake
When I was about 8 years old, my family visited some friends who lived on a farm. After church, we went over to their place, and one of their kids and I went out to look at the cows. I was dressed in my Sunday best, so I was careful not to get dirty.
As we were walking around, the other kid noticed how clean I was and decided to play a prank on me. He grabbed a stick with some mud on the end and started chasing me around. I tried to run away, but he finally cornered me against some fencing.
I was scared and didn’t know what he was going to do with the stick. Suddenly, out of nowhere, their huge golden retriever came running towards us. The dog weighed about 70 pounds, and I was a little scared of him too. But the dog was actually coming to my rescue!
The other kid was about to throw the stick at me when the dog leaped and tackled him to the ground. The other kid fell face-first into a mud patch, and I ran away as fast as I could. Looking back, it was a hilarious incident, and I still laugh about it today. Reddit user: IrritableGourmet
When One Gets Too Cocky
My husband was in the Army. He was stationed in Washington, DC at the time. Traffic there can be a real headache. One day, during rush hour traffic on I-495, this idiot in his girly Miata takes advantage of the fact that I’m letting a little old lady merge on in front of me, and he cuts me off horribly to where I have to slam on my brakes.
No huge deal, I wasn’t going too fast anyway, but for some reason he deems it necessary to flip me off. Well, I lose sight of him as he’s weaving through traffic, cutting everyone off. As I get off on my exit, I notice an unusual amount of traffic piling up, causing me to slow down further. As I pull up to the accident, I become rather excited because I see that Mr. Jerk has rear ended someone.
Oh, not just someone…he’s rear-ended a police officer. The icing on the cake: we make eye contact as I’m driving by him, and I give him a huge cheesy smile and a big thumbs up. Reddit user: thecunningstunt
A Laugh Worth $10,000
I used to work as tech support for a college campus. There are classrooms with motion sensors connected to the lights, so if no one is in the room, the lights shut off. I had a professor come into our office and tell us the classroom didn’t have working lights.
I instantly knew what happened. The light switch was on, but the motion sensor turned them off. When she flipped the switch, she was turning the lights off instead of on. So I bought a soda on the way to the classroom and hit the lights. They turn on.
I go to the room where she’s temporarily teaching the class and tell her, “The lights are on in the room.” She asks, “How did you turn them on? I smugly reply, “I just flipped the switch.” Her entire class starts laughing. Feeling full of myself, I turn around and open the soda bottle I got from the vending machine. It explodes and sprays my face and shirt with Dr. Pepper. Reddit user: mattigus
A Change of Heart
I was 20 years old, doing my second big paint job on a race car. It was a 3-day project, painting a front grill and chrome accents on a stingray style body on a drag car. A guy clears it, then claims he wasn’t happy with the final product (my work, not the clear) and says he won’t pay me the $500 he owes me. He cleared it already, so I didn’t even have a chance to fix it.
As this guy was an ex-marine and my boss’s friend, I wasn’t going to push it too hard. I was bummed, chalked it up to learning about not getting paid up front and giving people leeway. Two days later, when he takes it to race, he blows up the whole engine, costing him over 10 grand. I was secretly really happy. Reddit user: OSullivanArt
An Unfortunate Date
I was standing in line once at a convenience store when I noticed that the man in front of me had dropped a twenty as he was taking out his wallet. I and one other person in line had seen it fall. I stepped forward first and picked it up with the intention of returning it once his transaction was finished.
I made it clear that this was my intention, and the other bystander nodded in agreement. Before I could do so, the man freaked out and started yelling at the cashier because they were out of his particular brand of tobacco.
At this point, I looked back at the other bystander, who grinned and nodded at me in approval. I used that $20 to complete both mine and the bystander’s purchases. Reddit user: Unpoopular
Karma from Mother Earth
A couple of years ago at university, I was dating this girl for about a month, and things were not going well. She was gorgeous and amazing romantically; however, she was also a moron. Needless to say, I was hedging my bets. One day she came to my place after a night of partying and asked me to go to a movie. I say “sure,” and away we go.
Walking to the cinema, we started having another enormous argument, and I decided to end it right then and there. So I did. She would not accept it, and for like an hour, we were just fighting. Finally, she walked away in tears, and I was upset. Altogether, it was a bad night.
Immediately afterward, I called my best mate and asked if he wanted to get a drink because of my unfortunate day. I hung up and saw the date on the calendar. It was February fourteenth. I broke up with a girl on Valentine’s Day and didn’t even realize it.
I sighed and started walking to my mate’s place feeling like a pretty bad person. Then I got hit by a bus. Not a serious disaster, but it really hurt. I guess that’s what I get for breaking someone’s heart on a day meant for love. Reddit user: SlyLikeAFox7
With Arizona Plates
I broke up with a woman who used me for both emotional and financial stability. She was a monster. One day while she was at work, I called up some close family members and friends to help me move out. I didn’t even tell her I was leaving. She didn’t deserve it. And so I decided to leave and be on my own.
We lived together by the beach, and the next day, her entire road flooded by about three feet, destroying all of the work she had me help her ex-boyfriend do to the beach house and the foundation underneath. Karma from mother earth herself sent via first class priority airmail, shipped straight to my ex. I was so happy when I found out. Reddit user: ph1lanthropic
Don’t Throw Rocks
I live in Southern California, and 1 out of every 20 cars on the freeway is from Arizona. And I’m not saying all drivers from Arizona are horrible, I’m just saying that every time I almost got hit and could have possibly died from it, it was caused by someone with Arizona plates. I’m not even exaggerating or making this up.
I was driving and this woman kept weaving back and forth between two lanes; she was riding everyone’s tail. When she got behind me, I brake-checked her, and she and her even grosser passenger flipped us off. She switched lanes and rolled down her window to cuss me out, and in doing this, let go of her wheel and careened off the side of the road and down a steep dirt trench. It was beautiful. Reddit user: lutslanger96
What Being Helpful Can Do
Just last week, my wife took my kids (6 and 3) for a visit to my parents. While romping outside, our 6-year-old starts picking up rocks and throwing them. My wife tells her not to, but my mother proceeds to tell her it’s OK, and also that she should throw them at the geese. My wife, although angry that my mother has usurped her parental authority, doesn’t say anything in the interest of keeping the peace.
Not five minutes later, my daughter, for no apparent reason whatsoever, whips a rock at my dad, hitting him in the temple. Thankfully, he blew it off as an “accident,” but at least he and my mother both got to witness why my wife told our child not to throw rocks in the first place. It cracks me up every time I think about it. Reddit user: sirbeast
A Muddy Mess
I was once in Bed Bath and Beyond, about to check out my items, when I noticed a very pregnant woman with about ten full bags struggling to open the door. I put all of my items to the side and told the next person in line to go ahead of me, then rushed to help her with the door. Afterward, I helped carry her bags to her car.
After they were all loaded into her trunk, she turned, thanked me, and handed me an envelope, saying that she hoped to repay me for my deed. After I got home from buying my items, I opened the envelope. Inside were two tickets to a sold-out concert that I had been dying to see. It was amazing instant karma. Reddit user: THE_DINOSAUR_QUEEN
I was driving with a friend to work. There was construction on the road we normally take, so the lanes were shifted. The cars going the other direction on our left-hand side were being forced to drive in the gravel and mud. My buddy noticed this and pointed and laughed at them saying “Ha, look at those guys having to drive in the mud.”
Before his hand fell, one of the cars to our left had hit a puddle, and a big glob of mud came flying at my friend’s window. Sure enough, it was down just a tad, and he turned and looked at me with half his face covered in mud. It was amazing how instant it was. Now he doesn’t point and laugh. Reddit user: Hellion4s