Pick a card, any card… And hope your magician gets the trick right. 

The trick to nailing any kind of performance is practicing over and over and over again. Practice alone, in front of a crowd, in front of your parents, or in a park. The point is to get very comfortable with your performance. That way, if something goes wrong, it's no big deal! You'll be prepared for whatever happens, and able to quickly get back on track. 

Talented magicians know that their tricks take years to master. A lot of these performers grow up watching the greats surprise crowds, and they want to wow people in the same way. A lot of folks come to magic shows with low expectations, so when a trick makes them gasp instead of rolling their eyes, it's exactly what the magician wants. 

These magicians and illusionists explained that not every trick goes to plan, however. U/RayComfortsBanana requested these funny and terrible stories, "Whether it was a card trick, sawing a person in half, whatever." Some of the replies came from performers, while others were from witnesses in the audience. Check them all out below! 

Next up, this customer was stunned to enter an empty national chain donut shop, only to be directed by the cashier to order on a self-service screen. 

When will the Karens of the world understand that not every event is about them? It's wishful thinking at this point to imagine that sudden self-awareness is even possible, but we live to hope for another day. Thankfully, this performer/educator had enough confidence to confront Karen with facts and receipts after Karen tried to accuse her of being unfair.

The Redditor who shared this story visited schools and gave performative lectures about the importance of saving water, using volunteers from the student body for part of the performance. After the assembly ended, the mother of two daughters confronted the Redditor and asked her why she selected more boys for the volunteer portion than girls. The Redditor was quick to point out that the exercise required an odd number but that for another volunteer portion, she made sure to even things out by giving a young girl an extended solo exercise. Still, Karen was not pleased and it became clear that she was simply annoyed that her daughter had not been chosen out of literally 200 kids. Give it a break, Karen!

For more stories like this, here is one about an employee who caused a mass quitting after their Karen boss yelled at an intern.

After every exhausting week of work, weary employees uncontrollably count their hours and calculate their expected pay. We can't help it. The shining beacon of hope of every working citizen is their bi-weekly paystub, rewarding their hours of indentured servitude to 'The Man'. But when you get that glimmering check and the total balance comes up short, your ever-wavering shift resilience fades.

Did you calculate your hours wrong? 

Most likely, if you're anything like the guy in our next story, you have a gaslighting manager who's shorting you hours and thieving your hard-earned wages before they ever make it to your wallet. Debuting in a recently uncovered story on a popular Reddit forum, this former employee laid down the law for his former employer and took his thievery to court. But even after months in limbo, waiting for his ample payout and settlement check, this buffoon of a boss decided to take one last childish jab at the whistleblower, digging his own grave far deeper than he could ever imagine….

Where is the logic in hiring someone for a job and then immediately ridiculing them and making them quit? Even if the manager can magically tell by the first couple of hours on the job that the new hire isn't a good fit, that still is not an excuse to treat them like they are worthless.

That is why the manager in this Reddit story completely deserved what was coming for him. A new hire arrived at his job as a salesperson at a car lot, and while on training both the new hire and the manager felt like it wasn't a good fit. When the employee talked about it with the boss, the boss proceeded to make fun of the employee and even got the entire staff to join in on the ridiculing. The employee wanted to get a proper payback for the way he was treated, so on his way out, while no one was looking, he threw a pile of keys that was on his desk into the trash. 

There is more to this story, so scroll down to read the full tale. When you finish with this story, click here to read about an employee who got a $500k server because of a customer service mistake.

This lawyer picked the wrong dude to mess with. 

One person shared an excellent tale of malicious compliance that they got on their divorce lawyer. You'd think as a divorce lawyer, you'd have a bit of decorum. People are going through some of the most difficult parts of a relationship, and now they're also having to get a lawyer involved as they split up everything they own. 

This person, u/FederalAnt9, found themself in a "heated divorce/custody battle," and their ex's lawyer was prepared to go after them. Although this dude barely had any money (they couldn't even afford to hire their own attorney), the ex's lawyer was convinced the original poster (OP) had something to hide. It wasn't enough to provide financial information: this lawyer wanted that info in as much detail as possible. The OP was dismayed to find that this attorney now wanted a lengthy list of receipts to solidify what their income was. 

Even when this person called the lawyer to explain their complicated working situation, the lawyer didn't want to hear it. So this person did what they had to do! 

Next up, an employee was frustrated that their boss always answered questions with more questions, but after they called him out in a meeting, this worker is wondering if they pushed things too far. 

It's always satisfying when someone in a position of power sets an ultimatum, trying to coerce their subordinate into doing as they wish, only to have the subordinate call them on their bluff, exposing that the superior really never had any actual power at all. This, of course, plays out in small ways in workplaces every day, with authority often being revealed as nothing but a facade.

When these workers at a manufacturing plant were supposed to be granted a weekend of reprieve from all of the grueling and excessive overtime they had been working they instead found themselves faced with another round of mandated overtime. They had had enough and let the manager know that which prompted the manager to blow his top, screaming at the workers about how lazy they were and promising to terminate their employment if they didn't show up that weekend for the overtime. 

Instead of working overtime, the workers turned off their machines and left for the weekend, refusing to answer a single phone call from the managers of the plant, meaning that they were all effectively fired. Having every machine operator out of the plant, of course, meant that production was stalled. Which the owners didn't take kindly to, firing the plant manager and his entire management team and rehiring the workers at a better rate.

Do you ever wish you could take karma into your own hands? Unfortunately, life doesn't always give us opportunities to play with our tormentors, but for the brewery bartender in our next story, the karmic cookie crumbled in his favor after he caught a coworker red-handed stealing his tips.

There are a few things that are sacred behind the bar: customer banter, keeping the beer taps clean, and watching the tip jar fill up throughout the night. The guy in our next story, a hobbyist brewtender who tended the bar of his local brewery a few nights a week, caught a coworker desecrating one of the holiest of service industry totems–he caught him stealing from the tip jar. 

The thief's reasoning? Well apparently the brewtender he was stealing from 'didn't need the money', so he was just relieving him of the burden of extra pocket change. Thanks, bud! Scroll onward to see how 0.75 cents of karma played out through the mischievous hoodwinking of a beer-loving bartender. 

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It takes a certain kind of parent to let their kids run amok in a store. We understand that kids can get rowdy; that's inevitable. We also understand that this mother may have tried to calm them down in the past to no avail. That being said, once they start tampering with the store products and once they start actively disrupting other customers, it's time to take control and at least attempt to restore order.

Not only did this woman refuse to try, but she ended up offloading her kids onto another customer at the store. Clearly, she had enough and was offended by the customer's request for her to calm her kids down. Thankfully, the customer knew exactly what would get this entitled mother to pay more attention to the situation at hand. The customer's daughter bore witness to the whole encounter and shared her side of the story via this thread on Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit.

Keep scrolling below for the full story. For more, check out this post about some office Karens who got their comeuppance. 

Sometimes a promotion can actually be your downfall. 

Do you remember your first job? How nervous you were at the interview? And how nerve-racking the end of that job was? Whether you quit or got fired, it's so stressful. 

Now, it's fair to say that OreosTM are a fantastic snack. I really think that OreosTM are one of the most essential pillars of Americana. Without OreosTM where would we be? It's hard to say. OreosTM are great, but, as satisfying as licking the middle out of each OreoTM before putting the cookie part back in the OreoTM packaging for your significant other to discover later, I can't go as far as saying that I'd accost a random stranger outside a grocery store in order to claim their OreosTM for myself. And I certainly wouldn't go as far as accosting a random stranger outside a grocery store, claiming their OreosTM for myself, before then turning around and pleading innocence and claiming that they were actually trying to steal my OreosTM from me.

No, this isn't a guerilla marketing campaign (I wish it was) but, OreosTM (or anyone else) feel free to DM me for ideas.

Serving customers is never an easy job. However, meeting the demands of tourists can be 10 times more challenging. Sometimes, in the rush of things, we forget that the ordinary folks who serve us—whether at the restaurant, hotel, or valet—don't work for us; instead, they are just regular people who are trying to make it through their shift with as little trouble as possible.

The story that follows is an account of a frustrated hotel employee. The Original Poster (OP) works for a four-star hotel. Because of this, OP's line of work necessitates him to assist customers from diverse backgrounds and go above and beyond to meet their needs. But when one very demanding guest urged the valet to cancel all of his previous reservations in order to satisfy his demands, OP realized he was in for a wild ride. 

That being said, be sure to read the story below if you're interested in learning more about the events that took place between OP and the entitled guest as well as how OP skillfully complied with the guest's unreasonable requests! When you're done, don't forget to read the story of the worker who finds out her manager passed on her request for a raise because she had feelings for her spouse!

Keeping life and work separate is, of course, a healthy separation to strive to achieve, but it is nearly impossible to achieve entirely. Balance is important, but the inability to achieve a total separation between life and work is not necessarily a bad thing. Just ask anyone who has seen the Severance! 

The fact of the matter is that you spend the majority of your week as an adult with your coworkers. They are bound to get to know you in some small way, and that is necessary for healthy collaboration in the workplace. They don't need to know everything about your personal life (they shouldn't), but keeping any detail about life outside of work silent is almost weirder. 

This teacher was showing her new coworker the ropes when the coworker asked her a few personal questions about why she hadn't applied to a higher-up position. It wasn't exactly a typical question to ask someone you just met, but the teacher's response was way over-the-top and will now only make things tense. She shared her side of the story on Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit and learned from the ruthless judges of the AITA community the difference between work-life balance and what she did. For more stories like this, feel free to take a look at this post about a boss's passive-aggressive message to their team.

This person was surprised that when they tried to order from a person, they were turned away. Instead, they were directed to order from a screen instead, sparking a debate about the practice of replacing cashiers with kiosks. 

Some coffee shops make you the perfect coffee every single time. Others, like the national chain mentioned in this post, manage to mess up my order of a cold brew with half and half every single time. It's uncanny. Why did they randomly put caramel syrup in my coffee last time when I never ordered that? Why did they put in extra ice that time I ordered it with none? Why do they sometimes add sugar? It's a two-ingredient order, and yet this chain manages to mess it up every single time, no matter which location I visit. It's hilarious at this point to me, a charmingly baffling experience by now, but others are understandably disappointed with other aspects of their visit. 

If you want to avoid screens, you'll have to steer clear of the big chain restaurants altogether. It seems like more and more, these places are directing customers to the touch-screen order stations. They can be confusing for those who aren't accustomed to that, but it is nice to order quickly without waiting in line. 

In the comments, one person wrote that they'd gone to get fast food and wanted to pay with cash. The cashier explained that they still had to use the self-service machine! The machine would print out a ticket, and that person could pay at the counter. That person was frustrated with how convoluted that all seems, and ended up walking out and never returning. 

Check out this interesting post, as well as the commenters who shared their own stories. Then, these neighbors are feuding over just 4cm of property. 

If you have a Karen neighbor with a knack for making constant noise complaints, consider moving out of your place as soon as possible. It doesn't matter if you try to reason with her; she won't be reasonable. It doesn't matter if you try to use furniture cups or to get a carpet; she will not budge.  People like that simply cannot be appeased.

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/pettyrevenge subreddit by u/Laserskrivare, a graduate student who is rarely at home anyway. However, when she is at home, she often receives a noise complaint from the Karen downstairs. It started with a gift of furniture cups. The student tried using them, but Karen did not stop. She wound up punching the ceiling every single time the student made a move, including using her tea kettle. 

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions in the comments. For more stories like this, check out this post about a passive-aggressive Karen in the workplace.

"At the same time, I probably dodged a bullet because what a weird requirement! Do they just fire anyone who turns 25??"

Teachers don't get paid enough to deal with the various issues that pop up with the lovely school system.

Whether it's the students who, let's be honest, are a handful, or the pay that is meh, or the higher-ups who aren't actually doing any teaching but still have a lot of opinions… Teachers just go through a lot.

We'll call this school teacher OP, as in, original poster. So OP was working as a middle school teacher, teaching Spanish. They had lots of opportunities due to being bilingual and could tutor students for some extra cash. At the end of the school year, OP realized that they were being docked 11.5 hours of pay, which was as unfair as it was upsetting. OP stomped over to the district manager's office who made OP sign a document. Why? She insisted OP couldn't be 'double paid'.

Well, it turns out that signing that document did more good for OP than the manager expected. Scroll down to read how OP ended up getting paid way more than they thought they would. Be nice to teachers! Then, here is a demanding couple who tried making their server look bad… and succeeded.

What is the one thing someone could do to ensure they'd never get an invite from you again? These folks were faced with that question after hosting some very impolite people. It doesn't matter if it's an unstoppable little toddler or a badly-behaved party-animal adult, when that person crosses the line, they won't be allowed back. 

Count yourself lucky if you've never had a terrible guest visit your home. That definitely happens from time to time. Some people shared that they hosted parties, only to have some unsavory characters arrive and trash their house. Other people hosted family members, but then they realized that they'd made themselves a little too comfortable. 

Most infuriating are people who stole valuable (and sometime irreplaceable) items. One person admitted that one of their three friends stole their "prized Wayne Gretzky Rookie card." But because they don't know which friend took it from them, they have no way to get it back. Another person had a family photo frame pilfered from their home. They didn't care about getting the frame back, but their mom had no copies of the childhood photographs that were also taken. 

There were a few guests who made positive impressions, though. U/alanchazari asked, "What is something a guest did at your home that shocked you?" A few people were stunned to find that a guest cleaned or reorganized their home! Instead of being thankful, people seemed to find that weird, and wondered if the guest had been going through their belongings while cleaning. 

Up next, check out these people who technically told the truth. 

Relocating for work is a tough choice to make. On the one hand, the opportunities on offer could open doors and lead to opportunities that would set you up for the rest of your life. On the other hand, you'd be leaving your life, as you know it, behind. There's no telling whether or not what you're giving up will actually be worth it or how things will even turn out on the other side. 

All this counts on the fact that you like your current job that's being relocated and that you trust the people asking you to relocate, because, again, there's a lot at stake, and trusting such a dramatic shift and creating that much uncertainty in your life for to the wrong people is a risk that's not worth taking. 

When this worker was granted the opportunity to take another role within their current organization it seemed too good to pass up—but there was just one catch. They had to relocate 1700 miles, uprooting their entire life, in a week's time. They decided to go for it, giving notice to their apartment and packing up a U-Haul with all their stuff. 

Ah, promotions. Such a bitter subject. So many employees have been led on by their managers to believe they would be getting one. Only to be faced with a loud, 'No' when the annual review arrived. What can I say? Managers be managing, I guess.

This boss was like every other micromanager out there, trying to get their employee to do a manager's job, without the title of 'manager'. He tried forcing his employee into a managerial role, which the employee did not accept. And why would they? Why do extra work without the appreciation of a title? What is this, the olden days? Keep up, people. Times change, and employees aren't going to deal with the same unfairness that they've had to face in the past. The world is evolving… might as well evolve with it.

Scroll down to read how this employee handled this frustrating situation, and afterward, take a look at these wholesome posts for some much-needed serotonin after this gobsmackingly infuriating post.