When someone wrongs us, there are really two choices. To forgive and peacefully move on, or to get creative and craft the perfect revenge plan.
People on this We list chose the second option and carried it out in the most hilarious way possible. From filling donuts with mustard to paying back a lost bet in pennies, scroll down to see the most masterful ways these petty university alumni got back at people who tried to play them. May this be a public service announcement to never be a jerk to others!
#1 Pettiness Takes A Lot Of Effort
#2 Do Not Mess With A Geologist
#3 Southlake PD For The Win
It turns out that people seek revenge because, in the moment, it feels quite rewarding. This was revealed by a group of Swiss researchers who wanted to figure out what happens in the brain when someone takes revenge.
They observed brain scans of people who had been wronged during a game in the laboratory. Then they gave these participants the opportunity to get back at the other person. During the minute the victim contemplated revenge, their brain activity was recorded. Immediately, the researchers noticed action flowing into the caudate nucleus, a part of the brain responsible for reward processes.
#4 Love The Level Of Pettiness
#5 Madlad Waits 11 Years To Get Revenge For His Wall
#6 Portrait Client Was Insufferably Rude, So Photographer Gets His Revenge
Another motivation for revenge, according to Fade Eadeh, an assistant professor of psychology at Seattle University, is believing in a fair world. “Good things happen to good people,” he says, “and bad things happen to bad people.” When supposedly a good person experiences something bad, they might be driven to even things.
#7 This Should Make Monday At Work More Interesting
#8 Valentine’s Day At 5:30 AM Part 2: Revenge
Exactly one year ago, I surprised my less than morning people family with a 5:30 AM Valentine's Day breakfast at IHOP. Last night my wife warned me not to do that again today. I agreed, and then proceeded to work late at my office until nearly 2 AM. Then at 5:30 this morning, my kids woke me up with a "Surprise Daddy! We're taking you to IHOP!" My wife was standing behind them with an evil grin. Vengence was hers.
Coffee helped, but I was still barely awake. My wife on the other hand, was happy and perky. Turns out, getting back at me is something that makes it easy for her to get up early!
#9 Steve Wasn’t An Honest Man
However, while initially, revenge might be satisfying, it quickly becomes bitter. Scientists have found that instead of delivering ‘justice’, revenge prolongs the unpleasantness of the original wrongdoing, creating a cursed cycle of retaliation.
#10 I’ve Been Nerfed By The New Neighbor Kids Unarmed For The Last Time. Vengeance Will Be Swift
#11 I’m Against Wasting Other People’s Time, But That Said, If You’re Going To Do It, You Should Certainly Do It With Style
#12 If It’s On The Porch, It Must Be Free
Focusing on revenge might take our minds off the individual who hurt us, becoming a distraction from fully experiencing the pain. After the feeling of reward wears off, we’re left to suffer from what happened to us initially.
#13 Next Year Go For The Craft Set That Includes 1000 Beads
#14 Dave Looks Like He Hasn’t Learned The Concept Of Consequences
#15 Called My Wife A Sandwich Maker As She Was Making My Lunch For Work
Therefore, experts don’t recommend using revenge as the first plan of action. Instead, it might be a good idea to think through all the potential outcomes. Or try giving the wrongdoer the benefit of the doubt. Ask yourself, “What could have caused their behavior?” There’s a chance that it was the fault of something out of their control.
#16 For $5, This Shelter Will Write The Name Of The Person You Hate On A Cat Litter Box
#17 Revenge Of The Garbage Men
#18 Classic Stephanie
Talking through your feelings with someone who sees the situation objectively might also help to prevent carrying out revenge. It can be a friend or a mental health professional. Holding onto resentment takes away your precious time and energy; letting go of it can help restore power and peace without searching for ways to get even.
#19 Petty Spice Was Always My Favorite Spice Girl
#20 This Guy Would Always Park His Motorcycle On The Sidewalk, Blocking The Path For Wheelchair Access. I Think Someone Finally Had Enough
#21 Recently Someone Stomped The Pride Flag We Keep In The Front Yard. My Level Of Retaliation May Have Reached Petty
In addition, David Chester, an associate professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, suggests finding other, non-harmful, ways to communicate to someone how they hurt you. “As long as you feel like the other party gets it, they understood what they did to you, they feel remorse for it, especially if they express manifest actions and commitments that they won’t do it again and they will try and undo some of the harm they did,” he says, “people don’t want vengeance anymore.”
#22 “Petty Labelle” Makes Me So Happy. Now I Gotta Find Something To Be Petty About Just So I Can Use That
#23 My Two Older Children Were Trying To Lay Out All Of Their Pokémon Cards, But The Youngest Kept Intervening, So They Duct-Taped Him To A Chair
#24 This Is What Happens When You Take Up Two Parking Spaces
Other great ways to release the pent-up energy are to go for a walk, sign up for an art class, do a fun DIY project, or plan a meeting with friends. Anything that wouldn’t give the transgressor the pleasure to see that they upset you. “By virtue of focusing on making your life good, you’ve thwarted their attempts at hurting you,” Chester said.
#25 Masterful
#26 Petty? Yes. Satisfying? Definitely. Handwriting? Horrible
#27 Parking In Australia
#28 Boss Said I Wasn’t Using Enough Wet Floor Signs While Mopping
#29 Lucky Dip Time
#30 My Neighbor Took These Without Asking, So I Took Them Back And Placed Them In My Front Yard For Free
#31 Bento Box Of A Japanese Husband The Day After Quarreling With His Wife
The chopsticks are in the food container and the food is in the chopstick container.
#32 Get Up And Do Some Work, John
#33 Get Wrecked, Jim
#34 Can’t Wait To Do This To My Daughter
#35 I Guess I Shouldn’t Have Used Her Coffee Creamer
#36 Revenge Is Sweet
#37 There Is A Road Being Built Next To My Friend’s House And Some Idiot Parked His Car There Yesterday
An excavator arrived in the morning and beeped for a long time, but no one came for the car. As a result, the worker came up with the perfect plan for revenge.
#38 Don’t Spy On Your Coworkers
A colleague at work installed a webcam and connected to it from home, sniffing out what was going on in the office while he was away. The payback didn't take long to arrive.
#39 Neighbor Smokes In The Balcony Outside Our Unit And Dumps His Butts On The Ground. Thought Taping A Note To His Front Door Was A Fun Way To Address The Issue
#40 My Buddy Saran-Wrapped My Car. This Was My Payback
#41 Why You Shouldn’t Take Up Two Parking Spaces
#42 I Like This Energy
#43 The Intern Gets Revenge
Two girls at the ad agency I work at reprogrammed this guy's phone contacts and littered his desk with silly pictures. So he filled one girl's desk with packing peanuts and saran-wrapped the other's. This sort of creativity isn't punished here, it's applauded.
#44 My Buddy Is A Dodgers Fan While I’m A Giants Fan. We Had A Friendly $20 Bet On Who Would Win The NLDS. Here Is The $20 I Will Be Giving Him On Monday
#45 Someone At My Work Was Cheated On. He Brought All Of Her Shoes To Work
#46 Peak Pettiness Or Justifiable Security In The Office Kitchen?
#47 A Year Ago My Fiancé Scared Me With A Cutout Of Austin Powers. Time For A Little Payback
#48 Give Rich A Scoop And He’ll Take The Whole Carton
#49 My Coworker’s Solution To The Person Who Keeps Getting M&M’s Out Of The Vending Machine And Leaving The Wrappers Everywhere
She started buying them up before said coworker gets a chance to buy them and fail to dispose of the wrappers responsibly.
#50 I Cleaned The Entire Kitchen Except For This One Spot Where My Partner Spilled Sugar Two Days Ago And Left It