You've probably heard about the “Ship of Theseus,” a paradoxical thought experiment that challenges you to question whether or not an object that has had all of its parts replaced is actually the same object anymore. Another variant of this is the "grandfather’s axe," which seeks to challenge whether or not an axe that has had its handle replaced and then later its head is really the same axe as it was before. Although not really quite the same philosophical question, I can't help but wonder… I…

We all spent the past week giving thanks and expressing our gratitude for life's many joys. Unfortunately for us and for the rest of the world, life still comes with Karens. So now that we are done saying what we're thankful for this week, let's take a look at some of the people who we aren't thankful for but we have to deal with every so often. This week's roundup of Karen stories includes an Internet rant, a parking debacle, a customer service experience gone wrong, a workplace sabotage saga,…

It's the holiday season, and anyone who has a job knows that though it's the time of year to be merry, it is also the time of year to argue about who gets what days off. For example, in this Reddit story posted by u/Sirix_8472 in the comment section of a post about another worker trying to get their Thanksgiving shift swiped . This story is a little stickier, apparently. The commenter says he was getting bullied by his manager and a coworker because he didn't want to switch shifts with someone…

Imagine the kind of level of desperation one would have to exhibit to draft a Santa Wish List letter as a 12-year-old child in order to get expensive Christmas gifts. These are the kinds of letters to nonprofit organizations where billionaires purchase Holiday gifts for underprivileged kids. These are the kinds of organizations that are meant for children in need, not fully grown choosing beggars with a whole lot of audacity.

One thing no one is thankful for is their nightmare roommate who has made the year exponentially more difficult than it needed to be. Thankfully, my year of having a nightmare roommate is long over, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I'm sure I am not the only person who will tell you that these experiences stick with you. Sure, you might go through a process of convincing yourself that it was an important chapter of your life and one that helped you grow into the person you are today, bl…

Do you know a nepo-baby? The term was coined very recently, but “nepotism” has been around since the dawn of material riches. If you didn't know, it's when someone already in power favors someone they know, say a family member, friend, or whatever, and provides them with things like a job. Basically, it means you need money to make money. And I mean a lot of it… To add insult to injury, most nepo-babies will deny being one. They will claim they just worked harder than anyone else and made their…

Calling all siblings, this one is a familiar burn. Parents, partners, and besties are supposed to take the high road, but siblings get a pass to the low road. If you're a sibling, you get what I mean. Nobody can talk badly to your sister or brother, that is YOUR job. If you need to teach your sibling a lesson and fight fire with fire, then light it up! Because nobody else is allowed to do that. In this story, however, things may or may not have gone too far… The sisters were prone to squabbling…

Sometimes, the only way to deal with a Karen customer is to give them a taste of their own medicine. Here, we have a rare instance of a revenge tale that ends up having more of a wholesome ending. Who knew that getting payback could actually lead to positive change in your adversary's behavior? That's what this Redditor learned after they refused to let this regular customer get away with nonsense at the fast food restaurant where OP worked.

There is nothing like a hypothetical question to figure out who amongst us is selfish and who is caring. Some of you are far greater individuals than I would be in this situation. But then again, this is all incredibly theoretical. For instance, let's give a warm shoutout to the Redditor who said they would buy up vacant hotels and convert them into affordable housing. Perhaps if I became the richest person in the world, that would be the second or third thought that would cross my mind. Unfort…

No offense to this woman, but if you're in a super big rush , why are you stopping at a restaurant? We've all been there: you're out on the go somewhere, maybe between jobs or between meetings, and you suddenly get that rumble in your stomach. When you're hungry, every restaurant looks appealing. If you have an hour or two to spare, stopping into a sit-down dining establishment is a great way to have a break and refuel.

It's certainly not easy to deal with a Karen customer or a Karen coworker, but what about having to deal with being married to one? Or rather, having a Karen in your immediate family? There are several tips and tricks for how to cope with this unfortunate but very real phenomenon. Firstly, find someone else to confide in, whether that's another family member or, ideally, a professional because this Karen is probably going to cause you to go into therapy at some point anyway. Second, draw bounda…

Whether we like it or not, life is full of nuisances. We try our best to muddle through these struggles, but that does not stop us from being overdramatic and drawing attention to ourselves as we express our frustration over the smallest of problems. Yes, we're aware that there are bigger problems in this world than our in-grown toenails or the 10-minute wait time for the next subway, but that won't stop us from acting like we are the most aggrieved people in the world. Call it main character s…

Being a military spouse is a big deal to some people. Their husband or wife joins the military, and in order to go with them, they travel to whichever base their spouse happens to be stationed at. It can oftentimes be a lonely life. So the military spouses become a tight-knit group. After all, who else can you spend time with while you're at the base? Maybe that's why so many military spouses take their partner's ranking so seriously. They think that because their husband or wife is an official…

It's no secret that part of being a parent is messing up. Ideally, like in all things in life, we learn from our mistakes, but there are some parents out there who will never learn and who are practically walking red flags as a result of how they treat their kids. As these folks on Reddit pointed out via this r/AskReddit thread, there are countless signs that you or someone you know may be a trashy parent. Whether it's yelling at your kids in public or refusing to believe your kid could possibl…

Accusing a hotel front desk agent of fraud is probably not the best way to get them to help you. Remember: these are the people that can make your stay exponentially easier or exponentially more difficult. It's also worth noting that so much of this drama can be easily resolved if people remember to book their hotel stays directly on the hotel website rather than through a third-party site. The number of instances in which we have seen irate customers make this mistake through Internet stories…

The amount of money people are expected to casually spend on their friends' weddings is one of society's greatest ills at the moment. From exorbitant costs spent on flights and hotels for bachelor/bachelorette parties to money spent on bridal showers and gifts for the actual wedding weekend, the expenses can feel endless and can almost certainly put someone into debt. No one said anything about how budgeting for your best friend's wedding would be as hard to do as budgeting for your own adult l…