That’s what friends are for, right? These people recall the strange favors a friend asked of them. I hope my friends would help me this much, too! Content has been edited for clarity.
“I Was Completely Unprepared”
“My friend asked me to go to Doncaster, England, to pick up an ice cream van he bought on eBay. He was in Australia at the time, so I obliged.
First, my friend wired me six thousand bucks, which I withdrew in cash to pay for the van. At the time, this was the most money I’d ever held, so I was nervous. My girlfriend then drove me to Doncaster and dropped me off at a house with a Pepto Bismol pink ice cream van in the driveway.
I knocked on the door and a jolly man in dirty overalls opened the door. I spent the next two hours with him as I learned to take apart and rebuild the ice cream machine inside the van. I was thoroughly unprepared to spend such a long amount of time at this man’s house. I was also completely unprepared for the ice cream machine exploding in my face after loading it with too much ice cream mix.
With the stench of slightly sour milk now coating my clothes and the daylight fading, the friendly ice cream truck man talked me through the intricacies of starting and driving a 1973 Bedford ice cream van. The ice cream machine inside ran off the engine’s power, rather than a generator like most do. There was an elaborate set of linkages that transferred engine power from the wheels to the machinery when engaged. The linkages were also entirely exposed, and they sat directly where you would normally put your foot while driving. Lovely.
The engine also didn’t start on its own, you had to crack open the bonnet and spray a generous amount of gas directly into the air intake before giving the accelerator a good stomp. Fortunately, the ice cream truck man did this step for me. He then let me drive it to the local gas station to fill the van up, during which time he also let me discover the windshield wipers and speedometer didn’t work. Oh, the fuel gauge didn’t work, either. I had no real idea how much fuel was in the van, but I was assured it was plenty to get the van home.
After (sort of) filling the van up, struggling to start it, and chugging back to the man’s house at a leisurely pace, I paid him and we filled out some paperwork. At this point, the man let me know the van was untaxed and contrary to my friend’s belief, not exempt. So, I would be breaking the law driving the van back to my friend’s house. Great.
I drove home in the dark, against the law, with no real headlights. Did I mention it had just started to rain? But off I set, gingerly traversing on the on-ramp to the busiest motorway in the United Kingdom, foot to the floor, wind whistling through the various holes in the bodywork. I had no idea how fast I was going, but from the waves and gestures I received from passing vehicles, it wasn’t fast enough.
As I was driving, I realized I didn’t know how good the brakes were, or what condition the tires were in. It was very wet outside, and the off-ramp was downhill. Suddenly, smoke began coming from the bonnet of the van.
By some miracle of engineering and blind faith, I made it back to my apartment and parked the van in a visitor’s space. The van sat in this space for the next three months, and I gradually ate my way through the industrial-sized box of ice cream slowly going out of date. This happened until my building management lost their sense of humor and forced my friend to come to get the van, or else they would have it towed away. Once my friend realized the van was a lemon, he was in no hurry to pick it up. But I’d do it all again. The joy I gave kids on the tedious car journey by hitting the ice cream tune as I drove by was priceless.”
“She Was A Terrible Person And A Worse Friend”
“I was friends with a girl through junior high and high school. We called one another best friends, but in truth, she was a terrible person and a worse friend.
We drifted apart, as most people do when they graduate high school and go to college. When I went to college, she made other unfavorable choices.
One day out of the blue, she called me and said, ‘Hey, I miss you. We should get lunch and catch up sometime soon.’
I agreed, and we met up for lunch the next week.
As we were eating lunch, she explained, ‘My friends and I went to a party recently. It was super fun, I wish you would have been there. By the way, I need you to be my alibi. My friends and I managed to accidentally set the house we were partying at on fire.’
What?
I angrily responded, ‘I am not going to be your alibi! You illegally entered the home in the first place. I refuse to get involved. I’m not going to volunteer any information, but I am also not going to lie to a police officer about you.’
She wasn’t happy with me, but no officials ever came to me with questions. She and I had even less to do with one another afterward.
Oh, and I paid for lunch. Never again.”
What’s With The Barbecue Sauce?
“Several years ago, a friend of mine asked me to help him move his ex-wife’s stuff out of the barracks he was living in. According to him, she had gone missing just a few months prior without any notice. He claimed she just vanished.
Normally, he would have been able to move his ex-wife’s belongings by himself. However, he had a broken ankle and arm from a personal accident, so I and another friend accepted his request for help.
While moving the ex-wife’s belongings, we opened up the trunk of our friend’s car to put some items inside. What we found in the trunk made us both stop, pause, and reevaluate the missing wife story he told us.
Inside the trunk, we found rope, duct tape, gloves, garbage bags, and four one-gallon containers of barbecue sauce.
My buddy turned to me and asked with a hint of seriousness, ‘Hey man, do you think he ate his wife?’
We finished packing the car in awkward silence.
We pulled our friend aside later and asked, ‘Dude, what’s with the barbecue sauce?’
His response?
‘I just like barbecue sauce,’ the friend replied.
His wife showed up several weeks later. It turned out she ran off with a person she met while playing World of Warcraft.
People are so weird.”
The Accidental Apartment Thief
“One time, I had a friend who was thinking about moving to another state. He went to visit friends for a couple of weeks in a different state, and he would decide if he wanted to move or not while he was there.
Two weeks later, the friend called me and explained, ‘Hey, man. I decided to move out of the state. Do you think you could gather up my stuff back home? I could use some help moving my furniture and stuff. If you pick it up and put it in your basement, my parents will come by and get it.’
I responded, ‘Yeah, I can do it for you. I’m busy this week, but I can move your stuff next week.’
The next week rolled around, and I drove my pickup truck to my friend’s apartment. The doors were all locked, so I climbed in through the window. For the next two or three hours, I loaded up the truck with clothes, a sofa, a mattress, tables, and kitchen utensils. I had just about everything in the apartment in the back of my truck.
I threw away all of the food in the apartment and cleaned the place up a bit. I was happy to do it for a good friend who was getting his life together. I closed up the apartment and drove home to unload his belongings in my basement.
The next day, I called my friend and said, ‘I moved all of your stuff out. Your parents can come to pick it up from my basement anytime.’
Shocked, the friend replied, ‘What stuff? My parents already picked up my stuff last week when you couldn’t get it.’
My stomach turned cold.
I hurriedly questioned, ‘Whose stuff is in my basement then?’
‘I don’t know,’ my friend responded, ‘Maybe a new tenant moved in already.’
I thought about what I should do all night. I accidentally stole everything in a stranger’s home!
I decided to take all of the stuff back to the apartment and apologize to the new tenant. When I got to the apartment, nobody was home. I looked around, and no neighbors were around, so I snuck in through the apartment window again.
There was only an air mattress on the floor and some leftover takeout in the sink. Someone had indeed rented the apartment. I was going to replace everything as I had found it, and if the tenant came home, I would just explain how I was returning everything and made a huge mistake. I just had to hope the tenant knew I was being sincere.
After an hour or so, I finished moving everything back in. Nobody ever returned to the apartment, so I locked the door and exited.
As I walked to my now empty truck, an old man across the street yelled, ‘Hey, I thought I just saw you move all of this stuff out of there the other day.’
I yelled back, ‘Yeah, it’s crazy.’
He yelled back, ‘Yeah, it does seem awfully crazy.’
Our conversation ended there, and I got in my truck and drove away. I’ve often wondered what the poor tenant must have gone through trying to figure out what happened, or if it really happened at all.”
The Proud Texan
“My brother wears a cowboy hat faithfully, nearly every day. Recently, he went on a date with a girl.
The girl asked, ‘So, why do you always wear the hat?’
Instead of simply saying, ‘I like to wear it,’ my brother told the girl, ‘I’m from Texas, we all wear cowboy hats there.’
It was the strangest lie I had ever heard my brother tell. We weren’t from Texas, we were from North Carolina!
He proceeded to tell the girl, ‘My parents shipped me off to Texas when I was born to be raised by my uncle. My two other brothers stayed in North Carolina to be raised by our parents. I was sent back to North Carolina in high school, and I wear the hat to show off my Texas pride.’
My brother asked not only me, but my dad and my brother to back up his story for him when we met the girl.
He started his request off by asking, ‘Would you lie for me?’ and then told us the story of what he told the girl.
Now, my whole family calls my brother the ‘proud Texan’ as a joke. He never told the girl the trust, and he broke up with her because he knew we weren’t going to go along with the crazy story he made up for no reason.
I felt really sorry for the girl.”
“I Didn’t Hang Out With Her Again”
“A while back, I became friends with a female co-worker of mine. I was dating a guy who was friends with her boyfriend at the time.
She had a weird issue about not going to the bathroom when her boyfriend was in the next room. It got to the point where when she would visit him on the weekends, she wouldn’t go to the bathroom and hold it the entire time.
We planned a trip together and shared a hotel room with all four of us.
While she and I were getting ready to go out, she looked at me and explained, ‘I have to go to the bathroom so bad, but I don’t want to be in the bathroom alone because everyone will know I am using the toilet. Can you stay in the bathroom with me so it seems like we are doing our makeup?’
I was astonished she asked. I felt bad for her, so I agreed.
I kid you not, when she went to the bathroom it smelled awful. I am one hundred percent sure her boyfriend smelled it in the other room, anyways. Afterward, we both just looked like weirdos who went to the bathroom together.
I didn’t hang out with her again after our trip was over.”
“They Wanted A Place To Live For Free”
“One of my old friends wanted me to buy a house for him. I had known this friend since I was a kid, and he had a history of leeching off of other people.
There were a lot of, “Can you spot me?” meals and things of that exact nature.
As a kid, he came over to our house for dinner hundreds of times, but his parents had only ever been invited to stay for dinner once or twice. I think he had just gotten away with this type of behavior for so long to the point where he believed it was normal. This friend believed getting stuff out of others was just a part of friendship, and his company was repayment enough.
His girlfriend was pregnant, and they wanted a place to live together for free. I had a hard enough time paying for my apartment, and I had no idea why he thought I had the money to buy him a house. He didn’t just ask me once, either. He sent me house listings all of the time and tried to schedule tours.
I think he truly believed I just needed to see some houses, in person, to be convinced.
This friend stopped speaking to me after I moved out of state and I didn’t invite them to join me. I had no remorse.
He and the girl ended up getting married, but I wasn’t invited. I dodged a bullet, though, because I heard from other friends about how they tried to get their wedding party to pool their money together to pay for the whole thing. The only person I feel bad for is their child, having to grow up with those kinds of parents.”
The Mischievous Cheater
“My friend had been dating a girl for a few months. He began thinking she was attracted to me, and not him. After he told me this, I paid closer attention to her behavior when she was around me. Her behavior did seem flirty.
Anyway, he asked me to hit on his girlfriend to see how she responded. So, I started flirting back with her here and there. I could tell she was really into it.
One day, I asked his girlfriend, ‘I’ve really wanted to ask you something. Do you wanna come over and hang out while your boyfriend is at work?’
She eagerly accepted.
Of course, I didn’t meet up with her. However, I did report all of this information back to my friend, and her boyfriend. My friend broke it off with her. He didn’t think their relationship was going anywhere.
The girl tried calling and texting me to hang out.
I told the girl, “I can’t hang out with you. My friend and I have known each other for a long time, and it wouldn’t be right.”
To this day, I don’t think she had a clue about what happened.”
“I Couldn’t Say I Felt Good About What I Did”
“The worst thing a friend did to me happened in high school. This friend had moved out of his parent’s house, and he did so without informing his parents about it first.
The friend moved out on the sly while the parents were at work, and he asked me to help him. When the parents came home sooner than expected, the friend asked me to go downstairs and make up a lie to tell the parents while he snuck out.
I went down and spoke to the parents, and my friend snuck out of the back of the house and hopped on the fence. I did it, but I couldn’t say I felt good about what I did.
The weirdest thing someone asked me to do actually came from my brother. My brother grew up estranged from me for well over a decade.
Out of the blue one day, my brother called me and asked, ‘Can you hold on to some baggies of the good stuff for me? My place is too hot to keep it right now. I’ll send someone over to come over and pick it back up in a few days.’
I gave my brother a fake address. It was a terrible thing to do, but we weren’t on good terms.”
The Blind Date Confession
“The favor my friend asked me wasn’t weird, it was what happened later which was weird. The friend asked me to go on a date for him, but it got much worse.
One day, my best friend called me and asked, ‘Someone arranged a blind date for me, and I already told the person I would go. It turns out I am going to be busy, do you think you could go for me? The girl never saw my face, so she won’t know it’s not me.’
I, according to bro code, told my friend yes.
I went on the date and was surprised to find the girl was actually really nice. We had a good time, and after dinner, we went to a park. At the park, we chatted for a while and got to know each other better. We both had some drinks and were a bit tipsy at this point.
All of a sudden, the girl turned to me and said, ‘I have something to confess.’
Long story short, the same thing happened, except the other way around. The girl was busy, and she asked a friend to go on the date for her. Now, my friend and the original girl who was supposed to be on the date are dating.
I’m dating the girl who I went on a date with now, too.
What an interesting turn of events. I don’t regret going on the date for a second.”
“She Was Completely Blue”
“One time, I had a friend ask me to go to a job interview and pretend to be them.
My friend and I looked sort of similar, but not completely, so I was caught off guard by her request. However, she sounded really desperate over the phone, so I agreed.
My friend sent me her resume with some notes for the interview, complete with instructions on what she would want to ask the interviewer. I did the interview, but the hiring manager barely looked at me the entire time.
I figured it wasn’t going well, but in the end, he offered me the job. I told the hiring manager I would e-mail him a start date after I checked in with my current job.
I went to my friend’s house with a gift to tell her the good news, but I was appalled when she opened the door. She was completely blue, from head to toe!
Her terrible little brother put a dye tablet in her shower head as a prank, and it almost cost her the job she worked hard to be qualified for.
We ended up getting the blue dye off of her, and she has worked for the company for over a decade now.”
“I Had To Make Sure He Didn’t Drown”
“One of my friends had a strange, but overall pretty funny request.
At the time, I was still living with my parents, and my best friend came over pretty regularly. At the time, we were both around twenty-two years old.
My friend didn’t have a bathtub at his house, only a shower. At my house, we had a tub with a shower attached to the wall.
Every once in a while, my friend would say, ‘Man, I miss bathing. Showering is fine, but soaking in the tub is the best. It’s so relaxing.’
At first, I didn’t make much of it.
One day, my friend texted me and asked, ‘Hey can I come over and just soak in the tub for a few hours?’
I told him yes and informed my parents. The friend was basically like a brother to me, so we obliged.
This friend straight up soaked in the tub for four hours. I had to knock on the door to confirm he didn’t drown.
After his bath, he thanked my family and me and went home. It was an odd favor, but it made him really happy. And yes, I showed him where the bubble bath foam was so he could use it too.
I have never met anyone so enthusiastic about taking a bath.”
“I Was Grateful To Have Such A Good Friend”
“I wasn’t the type of person who usually asked for anything. However, one day at work, I was starving.
My friend visited me at work, and I asked them if they could stop by my parent’s home and pick up some food my mom prepared for me. My friend assured me picking up the food would be no problem, so he left.
When my friend came back, he brought me a dish of his own. He cooked a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon for me. This wasn’t the weirdest thing I have experienced, but it was surely a strange experience for my friend.
I asked my friend, ‘Why didn’t you get the food my mom made?’
My friend replied and said, ‘I totally misheard you. I thought you asked me to make your food.’
It was the best laugh we ever had. I was grateful to have such a good friend.”