Like many people, I use my phone for pretty much anything except talking on the phone.
I hate taking or making phone calls, so my primary form of communication is text, instant messenger, or other messaging apps.
But texts have hazards that phone calls don't. If you call a wrong number, you know right away. If you message the wrong person, it may take a while to realize your mistake.
Reddit user Immediate-Phase-5910 asked:
"Hey Reddit, what is the worst message you accidentally sent to the wrong person?"
Soft Sell
"I was texting back and forth with a guy selling a space heater online."
"I then started texting with a friend about the weird things we do in the doctor’s exam room while waiting for the doctor to come in."
"I texted, 'I always hide my bra and underwear under my clothes when I see my gynecologist'."
"I received a text back, 'that’s nice, but are you still interested in the space heater?'."
~ bluebearthree
"Dude just wanted to make the sale."
~ Gloomy-Average-7714
P.S. IBS
"My friend and I both have severe bowel issues and will often commiserate by sending each other way too graphic texts about our diarrhea."
"I sent one to my boss instead by mistake."
"On the bright side, it's been 3 years, and I've never had my sick leave questioned ever again."
~ PM_ME_YOUR_WEIRD_PET
How They Became Parents
"I didn't send it, but I received a text from my mom asking if I knew what a very specific sex act was."
"She promptly followed up with, 'Oops! That was meant for your dad'."
"As if that made it any better!"
~ serenasam24
Tell Me How You Really Feel
"Wasn't me that sent the message, but I was talking to someone I knew through discord when they messaged me an image of the conversation we were having."
"They were mocking the way I was talking, then they deleted it, but not fast enough. I saw it."
~ tripegle
"I did this to my boss once."
"A coworker and I were talking about her. I took a screenshot of some dumb crap she sent me and sent it to her—with comments—instead of the coworker."
~ corteser
"This is my worst nightmare and also why I save my supervisors numbers with 'BOSS' before their name."
"Or I don’t save it at all, so I recognise it’s not a friend."
~ between3to420
So, There’s Still A Chance...
"I was selling a motorbike and started sexting with my partner while waiting to finalize the sale."
"I accidently sent the buyer instead of my partner a message about fellatio. He didn't respond to it."
"The guy ended up buying the motorbike."
"After paying me, he laughed and then he rode off."
~ Adept_Vegetable_4355
He's Got It
"Sent 'hey, sexy' to my male boss instead of my wife."
"He responded, 'Wrong sexy'."
~ SugarInvestigator
"Bro, he responded perfectly!"
~ Ok_Neat_1192
"He wasnt called 'the silver fox' for nothing, I guess."
~ SugarInvestigator
Happy Birthday 🎂
"I just had finished taking a test, and I didn’t think I did the best on it. I went to text my mom 'well, that was a mistake'."
"This was at the time Facebook would send you text reminders to tell people 'happy birthday'. You could post directly on their wall with a text."
"Ended up posting that on the Facebook wall of some guy I went to high school with—on his birthday."
~ Rachel15_
"This is the funniest, because it's so baldly mean seeming for no reason."
"Guy must have been so hurt and confused."
~ kamace11
How To Get Banned At Your Kid's School
"Sent my child's classmate—who was 10 at the time—a text asking if she wanted to come over for some hot tub fun."
"I had her number due to a school activity I was volunteering for."
"I meant to send the message to the contact above her."
~ westslexander
"Kid was probably all excited to go play in the hot tub, too."
~ 4LostSoulsinaBowl
"Another reason not to give 10-year-olds phones."
~ alhazred111
Did You Get A Job Offer?
"When my wife found out she was pregnant, I snapped a pic of the ultrasound and was going to send it to my sister."
"Unfortunately, I fat fingered it and clicked the wrong name."
"That's the story of how the first person to find out about my wife's pregnancy was my former boss."
"Not catastrophic, but definitely awkward."
~ Infinite_Ground1395
"S" Is Next To "D"
"I once emailed my whole division—plus a few major donors and a head of the department—at my hospital."
"Told them I had to skip an important meeting. I had a sore throat and couldn't speak, because I had gotten 'd*ck'."
"If you move one key to the left on your keyboard..."
"I meant 'sick'. I had gotten sick with a sore throat, not d*ck."
"Slip of the finger. I never lived it down."
~ CAPTCHA_later
No Laughing Matter
"I accidentally sent a mom joke—'yo momma is so...'—to my friend’s real mom instead of my friend."
"She was not happy with me."
~ Hanna515
"That's hilarious, because convincing her who it was really for doesn't make it any better."
~ No-Sense-9840
Conditional Assistance
"My wife asked me for something at the same time my friend's wife asked me for something."
"Sent my wife the generic, 'Yeah, I'll help you out'."
"Sent my friend's wife a sexually explicit quid pro quo offer."
"She didn't reply. I realized my error and sent her an apology."
"Things were awkward between us for a while. I don't think she believed it was a mistake."
"I know I didn't intentionally send it to her. Whether anyone believes that or not is up to them."
~ ashton8177
Honest Communication
"I like to write strongly worded emails to people and not send them. They get UGLY, but it’s extremely therapeutic."
"I often times edit them over and over until my rage turns level headed. Do it. I highly recommend it."
"Except, don’t put their actual email address in, or don’t save them for ever and ever. Or at the very minimum, don’t accidentally pocket email your last 20 drafts to unsuspecting supervisors, CEOs, colleagues, parents, preachers, and friends."
"Obviously, I don’t always make great choices.
"Also, though, I’ll start with the intention to send something, but when I read it over, I see that it’s absolutely not appropriate to send. That’s where the editing comes in. By the end I’m generally pretty calm and level headed and don’t see a reason to send."
"Except I should have hit delete instead of leaving them as unsent drafts."
"Thankfully, the worst of the emails had been sent before—one by me through a different source and another by different party that was involved. I was able to explain pretty easily what happened and apologize for resurfacing the issue."
"The others were old news or already resolved. I replied to each individually apologizing and explaining myself."
"No bridges were burned that weren’t already on the way out. Thankfully, I’m pretty honest and direct anyway."
"I believe in authenticity and resolution, so people are used to me confronting them—albeit in a much more gentle manner."
"After explaining that I was working through my negative feelings and that they just got a copy of my innermost negativity, most people leaned on my reputation and gave me lots of grace."
~ Ok_Pea8520
How Not To Win In Court
"I sent a strategy email meant for my attorney to the person I was suing."
~ PoetrySubstantial455
"I’m not a lawyer, but this is precisely why I now have a hardcoded mental check when sending an important email to say, 'I am sending this to X' while reading the 'To' line."
~ heelstoo
Keeping It Professional
"Sent 'love you 😘' to my boss instead of my girlfriend."
"Instant panic."
'He replied, 'Appreciate the enthusiasm, but let’s keep it professional'."
~ Zephyrrrrrrr
What's your worst messaging mishap?
