Someone is always watching. Well, that might not be entirely true, but it’s best to behave as if it is. You shouldn’t ever do or say anything that you wouldn’t want others to know about. Because it might just come back to bite you in the form of karma.
Redditors have recently been recalling times they witnessed instant karma, so we’ve gathered their best stories below. From reckless drivers getting pulled over immediately after speeding through school zones to people getting caught in the midst of trying to scam someone, these tales make it clear that karma can be fast-acting when it wants to. So enjoy scrolling through these stories, and be sure to upvote the ones that inspire you to be on your best behavior!
#1
When I was about 12, I kicked my best friend and broke my leg.
Image source: goaternutter, Curated Lifestyle
#2
Guy cut in line at starbucks and spilled his drink on himself two seconds later.
Image source: HallDesperate8381, Marcos Figueroa
#3
I worked at the service desk at a Zayre store many years ago. The managers were usually lazy and spent most of their time in the coffee shop, ignoring pages for assistance. A customer was at the service desk demanding cash for an item she was returning after paying by check that day. In those days a customer had to wait 10 days to be certain the check cleared before they could have cash back for a return. She was having a holy fit demanding cash immediately. I paged the manager and for once he showed up. He told the customer to wait and she stood there smirking at me. He went to the office, found her check and handed it back to her. The look on her face was priceless!
Image source: Daisytru, Fenghua
#4
I once had the pleasure of watching an aggressive driver who was cutting people off and then brake checking them down it to an unmarked state trooper and ended up cuffed and stuffed 🤣 it was glorious!
Image source: Responsible_Guard530, Justin Casey
#5
My sister’s friend made fun of me because she got her food at the restaurant first, then the waitress spilled her meal into her lap.
Image source: SuperbPerception8392, Louis Hansel
#6
This was back when I worked 3rds. I was on my way to work, sitting at a traffic light waiting to turn left. Some teenagers pulled up beside me to go straight. Right when the light turned green, they got me in the right eye with a green laser pointer and sped off. I merged over and followed them (a very bad idea in hindsight). I wasn’t going to chase them down or anything, I just wanted to spook them. I guess they were scared because they ran a red light and *instantly* got pulled over by the cops. I was a little shaken from seeing them run the light, but I was hooting and hollering when karma fell on them.
Image source: Hellspark08, Ahmet Kurt
#7
I always get instant karma! One time, I was young, and I wanted to skip work and hang out with my friends all day. So I called in and told them that my car was towed and that I wouldn’t be able to make it in. We were all excited to have the day off, until I went outside and saw that my car had actually been towed! I spent the day tracking it down and paying hundreds to get it out of impound. That’s what I get. I’ve learned my lesson. Never lie, never brag, and never challenge the universe, it can always get worse.
Image source: DahliDagger, fr0ggy5
#8
We were about 3 cars back in a left turn lane at a red light. The turn lane and straight lanes turned green at the same time. Everyone moves except the moron directly in front of us. We beeped and she finally looks up from her phone and slowly moves forward while the turn signal cycles to yellow then red right as she enters the intersection. Sheriffs Deputy was proceeding next to us in the straight lanes when this happened. He immediately turns left behind her, lights her up and is writing her a ticket when we next got the green light.
Image source: lonelysilverrain, Sonny Mauricio
#9
Some kid overtook me (I was doing the speed limit) in front of an elementary school. He did so by driving over the middle lane used to turn left on both sides. Right after he passed me a cop was driving the opposite way. The cop flipped a u-turn, turned on his lights, flew by me and pulled him over. I drove by him slow and looked over at him to see his reaction. He was not happy. I was.
Image source: ConclusionInfinite43, Vitaly Gariev
#10
I was being tailgated and honked for driving slow on an icy road. They went around me then braked to make a turn, slid through the intersection and crashed into a pole.
I turned slowly, made eye contact, rolled down the window and let loose a loud Nelson “Haw Haw!”.
Image source: Naive_Trip9351, Burak Donertas
#11
Pointing and belly laughing at friends on their hands and knees throwing up after an all you can drink day trip, within 30 seconds, I was right next to them doing the same. We were all laughing at that point.
Image source: Mobile_Bathroom_6465, Laszlo Barta
#12
Not me but my sister, she once saw this car with two people in it driving horribly, weaving in and out of traffic and apparently having a great time scaring people. The passenger throws a beer bottle out in front of the car. It shatters, they drive right over it and it flattens a tire. .
Image source: Salt-Particular5499, Bernd 📷 Dittrich
#13
Some tourist in Uganda (a very poor country btw) was arguing with a ranger over some tax in a national park. Like a few dollars worth of tax. My group left him to argue and left with a different ranger to go see Some rhinos. We found a mother and calf eating grass and interacting sweetly with each other. We had about 20 solid minutes watching them. It as magical. Especially the little calf which was so bloody cute. By the time the angry guy showed up, the rhinos were done feeding and laid down in the grass. All you could see was the mother’s ears sticking up and the calf was not visible at all. The ranger said they will probably stay like that for the next few hours before getting up to eat right before dusk. Sucks to be that guy.
Image source: Wise-Living-850, Eileen Flynn
#14
I was on a short domestic flight the other week – I was near the back of the plane. As soon as we landed and the seat belt sign went off, a guy a few rows behind me sprinted up the aisle. He got to pretty much the middle of the plane before other people had stood up and blocked his path.
5 mins later, they announced the backdoor was opened as well and we could depart from the rear. The guy went from potentially being one of the first off the plane (being right at the back) to being the last off the plane. As I left the back of the plane I could just see his head swiveling back and forth.
Image source: maybemeat, Phil Desforges
#15
I once had a person in a Cadillac undertake me on the interstate then proceeded to bob and weave around several more cars passing on the left and right. I was hoping for a cop to magically appear. But they weren’t needed because the idiot lost control and went head first into the concrete divide. Fortunately he didn’t hit anyone else and everyone was able to slow down to get around them.
Image source: SkippyMagnificent, Dan Williams
#16
A big pick up truck was tailgating me on an ice covered road. When we got to a straightaway, he gunned it to pass me on a double yellow line. He immediately spun out and hit a sign post. No injuries but he did some nice damage to his truck.
Image source: LukeSkywalkerDog
#17
Someone being really rude unnecessarily to a cashier and then leaving their phone on the counter and me just keeping my mouth shut and letting them walk out the store.
Image source: Beautiful-String5572
#18
In 7th grade gym, I messed up in volleyball causing my jerkwad classmate Paul to yell at me for not getting the ball, saying “this is why nobody likes you” At that moment from a few feet away and completely unrelated, a jokester classmate named John kicked a different volleyball and it smacked Paul right in the face as he was still yelling at me, knocking a tooth out of his mouth and he started bleeding.
I got detention for laughing. Worth it.
Image source: Starbucks__Lovers
#19
I was a Walmart cart pusher for 5 years. Brutal job, but countless opportunities for mischief and mayhem.
One day, this boomer drives his official Grand Prix pace car to Walmart and takes up four parking spots so it would be safe from door dings. I waited till he and his wife go inside and then I put a note on his car that said I scratched his car to teach him a lesson. Because I was working the parking lot, I was there to see his reaction when he came out. He went nuts when he found the note and screamed at his wife and then spend the next 30 minutes searching for the non existent scratch. He even had his hood up examining the engine bay.
Image source: Empty_Mobile1076
#20
Maybe not best but first one I remember. As kids my friend spits gum out of the car window. We get to the destination, friend steps out of the car onto a piece of gum. Hot asphalt in the summer, that gum is hard to remove.
Image source: burger_o_t_day
#21
I saw somebody decide that everybody was driving too slow on the highway during a blizzard. So they went into the second lane which wasn’t plowed and had no cars in it (everyone was following each other in single file), and decided to go fast. Not 400′ later they were in the ditch.
Image source: QZip
#22
1993. Me not paying to get into the frat’s kegger and then immediately falling down the stairs to their basement. I was already drunk.
Image source: Jolwi
#23
I’m a commercial loan officer. Some real estate had been referred to me by a broker. He had called me demanding approval, and I told him it would likely go to our loan committee scheduled for the following day. Unknown to me, he called our headquarters and bullied the receptionist into pulling our bank’s president out of a meeting so this random broker could demand our approval.
My favorite ever bank president told him, “If you must have an answer right now, then the answer is no.”.
Image source: Karen125
#24
Boss chewed me out for something stupid publicly on the sales floor of a grocery store. When she was done she tried to walk through these large double swinging doors and someone was coming out full speed with an overload cart full of stuff to stock and knocked her in her back. I asked if she was ok and then laughed uncontrollably.
Image source: ronnie98865
#25
Was walking one time with my friend in a very rough area
A group of guys were kind of on both sides of a narrow path we had to walk through
They were trying to really intimidate us
As my friend is gay and Im unconventional looking
As soon as we passed them, I mean less then a second a car drove by and egged them all
I felt like that was the universe kinda getting them for tryna make us feel uncomfortable
felt like a perfect benign hilarious universal justice.
Image source: Admirable-Cup2304
#26
One time, a guy at the coffee shop was trying to cut in line and totally ignoring everyone behind him. He’s smirking, acting like he’s above it all. Then just as he leaves the counter carrying his coffee, he slips on a little puddle and drops his coffee all over himself. In front of everyone he was trying to skip past.
Image source: manuel198
#27
Little league game: dad telling hi kid loudly to watch what he was doing at all times, then he walked right into the light pole and fell backwards.
Image source: Snoo_35372
#28
There was a big traffic jam and the dude behind me was darting back and forth between lanes aggressively without a signal until finally pulling off to the shoulder and speeding past. I hear a crash and then inched by where he rear-ended another car with the same idea.
Image source: sitophilicsquirrel
#29
When I was a kid I grabbed my cat’s paws, and gently made him hit himself in the face saying “why are you hitting yourself?” He goes to bite my hand, and I yank my hand back quickly and smack myself in the face.
Image source: micro111
#30
A friend at work tried to gossip about someone and realized that person was literally right behind her.
Image source: cutielandia
#31
An aggressive driver turned around to flip me off and promptly got T boned in the intersection.
Image source: Perfect_Lunch_6669
#32
When someone cuts me off and immediately gets cut off by someone else. It brings me pleasure.
Image source: ladykiller1020
#33
I was walking at night and saw a guy in a fancy car with his lights off. I tried to signal that his lights were off, he did the same signal back and flipped me off.
I saw him get pulled over 10 seconds later.
Image source: in4theTacos
#34
My ex one day he went to hit me during an argument. The moment he swung, he dislocated his shoulder, and I had to hold off from laughing.
Image source: monstrouslibrarian
#35
Me. I was boasting at a basketball game that my family never gets sick, and not 3 minutes later my 5 year old niece projectile vomits in my lap.
Image source: Bodyoddyoddy_
#36
Standing on a crowded NYC sidewalk during morning rush when a messenger bicycle goes whizzing past. Some dude in the crowd reaches out and pushes the guy on the bike, and he wipes out spectacularly.
Bike rider jumps right up, runs back and just lays. this. guy. out. KPOW, dude hit the deck like a ton of bricks, out cold.
Rider then calmly goes over, gets on his bike and rides off.
Image source: Iamthewalrusforreal
#37
I was riding the tram home one afternoon and a few seats in front of me was this scruff with her feet on the empty seats, eating sweets and throwing the papers on the floor. Absolutely vile and disrespectful.
She got off at the same stop as me, only to be stopped by the ticket inspectors for not having a ticket and fined on the spot.
Image source: Successful_Hope6604
#38
Wife and I were walking around California Adventure. We had to step around an obstacle / person and in the process, apparently got in front of someone else.
Said someone else proceeded to make a minor huffing sound, step to the side, and charge forward. Love that he was in a hurry and staring down at his phone, because that distraction is what allowed him to plow straight into one of the light poles on Buena Vista Street with his forehead.
We had to restrain ourselves till we get out of earshot of this cat.
Image source: SaroDude
#39
I was helping my dad build a shed. I have a bad back (disc issues) and took a few 3 minute breaks when it gets too painful. He started telling me I’m just lazy. I cried. He nailed 3 of his fingers together with the framing nail gun, and I had to drive him to the ER.
Image source: PaulaWoz
#40
I was giving my wife grief about always shaking out her shoes before putting them on. Then I went to put on my shoes, felt something wriggling inside. It was a giant desert centipede! 😱.
Image source: el_goyo_rojo
#41
In 2nd grade this boy always picked on me. Punching, smacking, hair pulling, kicking, etc. then one day I’m sitting on top of the monkey bars and he’s pulling my arm and hitting me to make me fall, I tell him to stop or I’ll push him off. He didn’t stop so I shoved him off. He fell and broke his arm. Left me alone after that. He ended up apologizing in high school and admitted he had a crush on me and that’s why he was a jerk.
Image source: freyjathebloody
#42
One kid got to the bus as the door was closing in the rain and the driver didn’t open and let him on. So he ran to the next stop and beat the bus there and got on and we all cheered him and booed the bus driver. The kid got on and didn’t pay just walked right on to applause and the bus driver didn’t say a word.
Image source: mikenolan888
#43
Was at an NFL game and afterwards this guy was talking smack to a random couple in the other team’s jerseys. He was walking forward and looking back talking – wham! Right into a metal stop sign and he goes down hard! Everyone had a good laugh at his expense.
Image source: jk10021
#44
I was at this night club just down the street from where I lived at the time, and noticed this nerdy looking fella approach a woman and asked her to dance. She shot him down immediately, and by the looks of it she wasn’t sugarcoating it either, so our nerd friend slinked away and parked at the bar instead.
A few minutes later the woman was dancing, and asked this blonde guy standing at the outskirts of the dance floor for a dance. He pointed to his friend, who was the nerdy guy from earlier, and while I couldn’t hear them over the music she was apparently rude enough earlier to make the blonde guy tell her to get lost. So now it was her turn to slink away, and I was all like “Ooooh, karma!”.
Image source: Tjodleik
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