Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

louplummer.lol

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 353 posts

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#151

Post by lukan »

tjwebbnorfolk wrote: post #106

I've got a weird one from a bank. I was driving from South Carolina to Virginia, I was completely broke, and had exactly $20 in cash, and only a couple dollars in my checking account. I did my math wrong, and didn't have enough money for enough gas to make it home. I was trying to draft behind semi trucks and drive slow to conserve fuel, but it wasn't enough. I called my bank at the gas station with my needle on empt…

Ah yes, I kind of grew up with the expectations bank people are supposed to always rip you of, so they cannot really be kind, only pretend nice to get money from you. So when I was a poor backpacker in australia wanting to cash in the small check from fruit picking work, I was suprised to find out, that there were normaly quite some fees involved to get the cash, but the bank person just smiled and said, it is ok in my case and I got all the cash with no fees.

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#152

Post by hexbin010 »

amelius wrote: post #38

I'm wondering if altruism is in decline, in this selfish age of social media. I sometimes even get the feeling that altruism is seen as a weakness these days.

IMO it that it's harder to notice opportunities to help when you're glued to your phone 24/7

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#153

Post by stavros »

le-mark wrote: post #42

I saw my mom do something as a child that really stuck with me. This was back in the 70s cause I’m old. It was summer in the Midwest we were in the car in a store parking lot gettin ready to leave. An African-American lady pulled into a spot beside our car. In front of her was a pickup truck with two men and a pregnant woman. They started accosting the lady telling her she had bumped their vehicle and now the pregnan…

Your mom was especially courageous to do this as a child!

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#154

Post by wrs »

OneMorePerson wrote: post #128

I was at a waterpark as a young teen and ended up trying the wave pool, but even being tall for my age I was shorter than a typical adult. When I first went out the waves weren't turned on/going yet, but once the waves started everyone moved forward and the crowded pool compressed even more, plus I got pushed even deeper into the deep end, and basically I sank down because I couldn't really get any space to swim and…

PSA for anyone near water: Drowning people can act the opposite of what one might expect. No flailing, no splashing, no yelling, just quietly disappearing. It’s good to know the real signs to watch for. [0]

[0] https://ndpa.org/drowningdoesntlooklikedrowning/

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#155

Post by phyzome »

Pikamander2 wrote: post #51
donatj wrote: post #39

I live in Minnesota and do not own a snowblower. Probably my mistake, but I always joke that I get most of my exercise in the winter. Snow is really heavy for those without context. A couple years ago we had a particularly bad snowfall. The plow has a nasty hate filled habit of dumping all its snow in my driveway. I had a drift at the end of my driveway about 4 feet high and 6 feet deep. Literally up to my chest. I h…

Plot twist: He just wanted an excuse to try out his new snowblower.

Plausible. When I got a new trailer for my bike that could haul 300 lbs I just wanted to find someone who needed a sofa moved for free.

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#156

Post by bjt »

Neywiny wrote: post #96
donatj wrote: post #39

I live in Minnesota and do not own a snowblower. Probably my mistake, but I always joke that I get most of my exercise in the winter. Snow is really heavy for those without context. A couple years ago we had a particularly bad snowfall. The plow has a nasty hate filled habit of dumping all its snow in my driveway. I had a drift at the end of my driveway about 4 feet high and 6 feet deep. Literally up to my chest. I h…

Just be wary as you get older. The number of old men who die from heart attacks while shoveling snow is nonzero

My ninth grade English teacher never made it back from Christmas break because of this.

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#157

Post by satvikpendem »

mertd wrote: post #57
lubujackson wrote: post #36

5th grade, my best friend at the time was in a basketball team, just a small town league for kids. I never really played basketball, so I was planning to watch the game then we'd hang out. It was the first game of the season and my friend was getting his uniform from a table when a dad running things asked me what team I was playing on and I said no, I'm just here to hang out with my friend. He shook his head and sai…

There is a million ways where that interaction goes sideways and becomes a drama between the parents nowadays.

It's the kids that seem to appreciate it more than the parents, funnily enough.

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#158

Post by hermitcrab »

I worked on a summer camp in the USA in the 1980s. We had a day off and went into the small local town (Kent, Connecticut IIRC). A small group of us British students went into the local bar for a beer before we went back to camp. The barman/owner was quite slow about giving us the bill for the beer. This is going to be expensive, we thought. But he just said 'It's on the house. Tell people Americans are nice when you get home'. It was a small kindness, but greatly appreciated by some poor students.

Re: What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

#160

Post by phyzome »

lostlogin wrote: post #91
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #50

My chain had slipped off the rear sprocket, wedged itself between the gear and the frame. I forgot my toolkit and I was unable to free it. I was miles out of town so a walk back was going to take hours. A guy on a motorcycle rode by, looked at me and turned around. He got off his bike, got his tools, and freed the chain in seconds. I was profoundly grateful. Years later, I happened across a cyclist in a similar situa…

I find that cyclists often help cyclists. ‘Help the next guy’ being a phrase I’ve heard a few times. A $5 tube is so small a cost. Not having one can make a minor inconvenience into an utter shambles if you have to call home go a lift from 50km away at 6am.

You know what else is a nice thing to carry? A wad of paper towels to get the grease off. Even if someone can repair their own bike, they often don't have a plan for the grease.

I've handed out paper towels to 4-5 people this year and they were all delighted.

Post reply on HN