It's no secret that the Big Apple can be a tough place to live.
So when a post on Reddit's “Ask NYC” subreddit implored New Yorkers to share their “worst day of NYC-specific mishaps,” hundreds flocked to the comments to share their most horrific stories from life in the five to please districts.
The original poster (OP) opened the share-a-thon with a story of its own.
After a “nice” day at work, the OP went to a doctor's appointment, but got on the wrong train, and when he finally got to the doctor, he got “bad news (nothing serious, just trouble).”
One nervous Reddit user took to the Ask NYC subreddit to ask about people's “worst NYC-specific mishaps” to help them “feel better” about their own day.
It's no secret that life in the Big Apple can be chaotic – but for some of the city's unluckiest residents, that concept has taken on a whole new dimension
From there, the OP went to Whole Foods to get groceries and headed home.
“At this point I'm feeling good about my big bag and 12-pack of Diet Coke until I come across a loose brick, a stumbling block and a face plant.” Cans are flying everywhere. “My leg is bleeding and my hands are scraped,” they said.
“Two nice men help me up and help me collect my lemonade. “At this point I'm completely sobbing while reassuring them that I'm fine, which must have been a confusing experience.”
Back at her apartment, OP rinses her cuts and scrapes from the fall – only to discover that her tap water is “uncolored” – the product of rust, and the water won't run clear for more than an hour.
“It felt like a very special day in New York that I can laugh about at some point in the future when my leg is better.” “I'm sure people who have been here longer than me, have much crazier stories,” OP concluded, encouraging others to try to beat their own.
And they certainly did.
One of the top-rated entries was a story of woe involving feces.
When they were late to watch a movie, “they rushed up the subway steps, I tripped and caught myself with my hands.”
Hundreds of Redditors took to the comments section to share their “worst” days in NYC
“Only to see someone had a wet diarrhea at the top of the stairs and he… ran down the steps… the ones I touched,” they recalled grimly.
Another story combined a collision with projectile vomit and further humiliation upon meeting the new neighbors.
“On an electric train that was very late for the night shift due to construction, a homeless guy projectile vomited on me and laughed lol,” the person wrote.
“It was March and it was snowing, I accidentally left my coat at the coat check in Manhattan and had to walk 15 minutes home at the time.”
“My building was family-oriented, so no one will be awake, we don’t have cameras in the hallway, and the trash chute room is right across the street from my apartment.”
“I decide to throw the clothes (they were old) in the trash chute.” Boom, there are my new neighbors while I'm wearing my bra and thong. I just looked at her and said, ‘A homeless guy threw up on me,’ and went in and showered.”
Apparently, “the neighbors actually knocked on the door the next day to see if I was in danger or had a mental illness, which was sweet… The wife and I actually became friends for a while, but the husband was suspicious,” there You to .
Some stories took place in recent years, others went back decades
A third narrator recalled her time as a fashion intern, which began awkwardly on her “first day.”
After initially showing up at the wrong building, the then-intern had to “take and pick up everyone’s lunch orders.”
“I forget someone's latte and immediately tell her I'll get it for her.” She told me not to worry about it and kept saying it was fine. For the next 30 minutes she repeats “I'm so thirsty” over and over until I just stand up and say I'll get you your latte.
“I open the door in total frustration and fall down all 11 concrete stairs while there's a line of models standing outside.” I stand up and my hands are completely bloody. Try to keep it together and get some napkins for when I get the latte.
“I come back and am immediately given the task of hanging up all the clothes for the spring collection.” They are white and my hands are bloody. Needless to say, I cried and cried that day, but now I'm telling the story and laughing so much!'
Submissions ranged from catastrophic falls to unfortunate encounters with bodily fluids
One man shared a particularly harrowing anecdote from 2007. Remarkably, this was years before Uber became commonplace, and also long before most people had apps like Google Maps on their phones.
At the time, the man was a recent graduate and on his way to a job interview. He lived on the northern part of Roosevelt Island – a residential island on the East River between Midtown Manhattan and Queen – and his interview took place down in Tribeca in Lower Manhattan.
“My goal was to get there about 15 to 20 minutes early,” the man wrote. Given the limited transportation options to leave Roosevelt Island, under the best of circumstances he already had to face at least a 45 to 50 minute public transit ride.
“I leave our building and just miss the red bus that takes you a mile south to the train and streetcar,” he continued.
“I decide to walk instead of waiting 15 minutes for the next bus. It's a direct hit. I'm also a pretty big guy (I played offensive line in basic training at a D1 school).
“I'm starting to sweat profusely, but I'm hoping the air conditioning in the subway will give me some relief.” I get to the train and there are no trains to Manhattan. So I decide to take the tram and then walk a few blocks to the subway. Due to the train delays there is a queue so I have to wait a while to get on the tram.
“At some point I get on the subway, but there is no air conditioning. To make matters worse, our train is held up underground for about 10 minutes between stations.
“I’m starting to turn into a puddle.”
“I get out of the subway and realize that I’m already five minutes late.” Panicked and unfamiliar with the city center’s broken system, I get turned around. I'll get there someday. I'm about 20 minutes late, my clothes are soaked with sweat and sweat is dripping off my forehead and forearms.
“After a few minutes, the human resources representative and one of the people from the team for whom the position was intended met with me. They asked me what happened. I tell them the truth. Her response was, “Sure, you don’t fit in here, so you can leave.”
“And as I'm walking out, the team member says to me condescendingly, 'You know, you should really try to be on time and put more together.'”
But the harrowing story had a happy ending: “Eventually I got a job with a great client (Warner Bros.) and got to work on films like Harry Potter, The Hangover and The Dark Knight.”
Elsewhere, a teacher recalled a day when she took her students on a field trip to MoMA.
“One of my students was obstructing a hot dog vendor as he was setting up his cart.” He started yelling and cursing at her, and I could tell she was getting angry, so I stepped in and said, “Hey, she didn't want that . Please watch your language in front of my students,” she said.
'So. Then he said to me, and I quote: “F**k you and fuck your students, you smell awful.” IN FRONT OF MY STUDENTS.
“I grab the student who was originally yelled at by the arm and walk across 5th Avenue (thank God the light is green now) while he continues yelling at me.” I turn around to make sure I have my group , and see two of my male students screaming in his face, “Don't you dare talk to my teacher like that,” which was so cute, but also please don't let me argue with a hot dog vendor on our field trip.
“I had to go back and separate them – they were just seconds away from being physically harmed.”
A man reported that after his girlfriend slipped on the ice in a park and broke her ankle, he “commanded” a “wheelbarrow” to get her to safety
One commenter offered a ray of light on all the harrowing – and often disgusting – stories about life in New York
'Best part? It couldn't have been after 9:30.'
Among the more recent stories in the thread, a man described how just “today” his “girlfriend” slipped on the ice in a park and broke her ankle. I got to her house and called an ambulance. I waited for over an hour in 22 degree weather and said screw it.
“I got a parking wheelbarrow and two very nice gentlemen helped me wheel it onto the street like a drunk in an old movie.” “On the plus side, the Uber ride was a lot cheaper than the ambulance,” he admitted to.
To which one commenter jokingly replied: “Great story.” “I think we should start a medical rickshaw company to end the ambulance monopoly.”
In any case, others offered words of wisdom about coping with the harrowing stories of life in NYC.
“Everyone always says, 'If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,'” one wrote.
“But I like to change that sentence and say, ‘If you can make it through your WORST day in NYC, then you can really make it anywhere.’ This city is humbling. “Tomorrow is a new day, soldier.”