What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

As human beings, we are often very protective of our own sense of personal justice – and injustice.   When I was a child, I had a teacher who – to me – seemed very unfair. If one of the kids in the class did something like write a bad word on the chalkboard, she would ask the entire class who did it. She really did her best to find the culprit, and carry out punishment.   But sometimes she just co...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What movie traumatized you as a kid?   Links for this episode:   Costco figs: https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/sunny-fruit-organic-sun-dried-figs%2C-40-oz.product.100362726.html   Blade Runner: https://www.im...

Amanda just wanted to go for a short trail run. Life had something else in store for her.   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PL...

What do heart attacks, car accidents, and murder usually have in common? Most of the time, when any of these things happen, someone calls 911.   It’s one of the most reliable things we have – whenever there’s any kind of emergency, here in the US, we know we can just pick up any phone and dial 911 and get help. Even if it’s a phone that has no service.   This is an episode where I talk with someon...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What did you throw away that you wish you had kept?   Links for this episode:   The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing/dp/16...

There was a time in his life when Dan was in a pretty difficult situation. He was facing something that most people don’t ever have to go through.   Even though he was not a violent person, and he certainly was not any kind of career criminal, he made a bad decision and accepted a job that, looking back, he never should have taken. But he did. And that lead him to the tough spot he found himself i...

When you live up north, where the winters are really cold, one of the best times of the year is the day when you feel spring coming. That first hint of warmer temperatures.   With the time change, there’s longer sunlight at the end of each day, the birds start chirping, and everyone starts thinking about what they’re going to do with this warmer weather.   And the lakes that have been frozen over...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What's the most amazing coincidence you've experienced?   Links for this episode:   YouTube channel Dating Beyond Borders: https://www.youtube.com/@DatingBeyondBorders   Tim O’Brien: https://timobrien.net/   Tig No...

If there’s one thing children are good at, it’s their ability to give their parents a good scare.   When our son David was about 2 years old, we were at home, just a regular day, not much going on. At some point, either my wife or I, I don’t remember which one of us saw it – but we noticed he had some kind of liquid all around his mouth. Like he had been drinking a smoothie or something. But there...

Have you ever had something bad happen, while you were actually trying to do something good?   It’s kind of that old phrase – no good deed goes unpunished.   There was a thread about this online. This is what one person wrote:   “I ran in the middle of a busy road to rescue a kitten. I went door to door until I finally found the owner. The first thing she did when she saw me holding her kitten was...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What did you say that caused you to think “I never thought I would say that”?     Links for this episode:   The music for the Benny Hill show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg   Financial Peace Universit...

To the Tallahassee Police, Rachel Hoffman was just a pawn to be used in their war on drugs.   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/...

Many years ago, I had a small pickup truck. It was kind of a junker.   Mostly, I just used it for when I had some stuff to haul to the town dump. It wasn’t pretty but it mostly served my purposes.   But this little truck had a problem. It would constantly overheat.   Even in the cold Maine winter, I would have to keep an eye on that temperature gauge to be aware of when the engine got too hot. And...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What’s it like to have a panic attack?     Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert: https://MeredithForReal.com   To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at...

On the morning of April 19, 1995, a former US Army soldier parked a rented Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building, located in downtown Oklahoma City.   Inside the truck was everything he needed to carry out his plan of terrorism and mass murder. He had a large bomb, which he created using agricultural fertilizer and some chemicals, including diesel fuel. After parking the car...

Hey, this is Scott and you’re listening to What Was That Like.   And the name of the podcast, What Was That Like, was chosen very specifically – because that’s what I ask people who are guests on the show. They’ve just been through something really unusual, like being attacked by a monkey, or saving the life of a stranger, or some other crazy situation. And I ask them to tell all of us – what was...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: What's a common social etiquette rule that makes no sense? Links for this episode: Meredith’s foot fetish episode: https://www.meredithforreal.com/podcast-episodes/episode/7cc267d5/ep-274-whats-up-with-foot-fetishes...

George Pickering Sr heard his son’s medical prognosis, but he wasn’t ready to accept it. Sponsor deals: Head to http://Lumen.me/WWTL for 20% off your purchase. Go to bluenile.com to shop Blue Nile, the original online jeweler since 1999! Follow “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories” on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give o...

When you hear the word “grandparents”, what comes into your mind? For me, it’s someone who loves their grandchildren unconditionally. And they just want to GIVE all the time. There’s some truth to the phrase “If Mom and Dad say no, go ask Grandma!”. “Grandma” brings up an image of an older woman, in the kitchen baking cookies. “Grandpa” means the old man out in the garage, tinkering with the lawn...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: What's the most difficult thing you've ever had to tell someone? Links for this episode:   Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott: https://www.amazon.com/Fierce-Conversations-Achieving-Success-Conversation/dp/0425193373...

If you’re a parent, you know that the birth of your first child is an incredible experience. For Steve and Camre, it didn’t happen at all the way they expected it to. Steve got the call at work that Camre was at the hospital and had already delivered the baby. He dropped everything and drove there frantically, and he was confused because the baby wasn’t due for another 7 weeks. He ran into the hos...

Asian elephants are incredibly huge animals. An adult elephant can be roughly 9 to 11 feet tall. Just standing next to one is pretty intimidating. But imagine being on top of one of them. It would be like if you had an average size man, then another man was standing on the first man’s shoulders. Then you would be sitting on that second man’s shoulders. That’s pretty high up. For Leilani, it was a...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: What made your neighbor so terrible? Links for this episode: Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert: https://MeredithForReal.com To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussio...

Floyd loved exploring the caves of Kentucky, but one day things didn’t go as planned. Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and c...

The thing about living in an apartment or renting a room is… you have to deal with other people. Depending on how the building is laid out, it’s almost like living with strangers. If your next door neighbor accidentally starts a fire, your home could burn too. If the person above you has a flood, it’s very likely that you’ll be dealing with that problem as well. Not to mention, what if your neighb...