April 22, 2024 | Scott Mazza

The Most Satisfying Instant Karma


These moments of instant karma—good or bad—truly prove that what goes around comes around.


1. Stings Like A…Wasp

This happened when I went back to my home country to spend summer with my cousins, and I'll never forget it. A few years back, we were at our favorite outdoor water park together. One of its few flaws is that it has wasps flying around the grassy area where people have their picnics. Due to this, our parents would always tell us to keep our flip-flops on, so we don't get stung. One of my cousins didn't listen, thinking she knew better, and got stung. Her foot hurt so bad that she didn't go back to the pool.

Two years later, we went again. My aunt told her, "Okay, make sure to have your flip-flops on, you learned your lesson last time”. Her response ended up being unforgettable. She said, "Really mom? What are the chances of the same thing happening again? I'll be fine”. Ten minutes later, she had again been stung on her foot and didn't go back in the water for the rest of the day.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

2. Bye, Bye Lunch

I have a co-worker who's an older lady and I have to say, she's pretty annoying. She is braggy about the weirdest things. I think she's just really insecure. So, we were working Labor Day and everyone was sad to be there because it's slow and pointless. Our manager offered to buy KFC to cheer everyone up and boost morale. We were all excitedly ordering when Glenda (the annoying co-worker) showed up and asked why everyone was so excited.

We told her about KFC and asked if she wants anything specifically. She goes on to say that she brought lunch already, which was a deliciously spicy meal that's healthy and homemade, and that she doesn't need KFC. We're like, "Okay, whatever, anyway”... and proceed to put in our orders. Seeing that the attention is off her, Glenda proceeded to microwave her meal and bring it back to literally waft the meal in front of us all.

"See how delicious! It's made with”... and she recited the ingredients to everyone. We're all annoyed, but let it pass. Finally, she went to her last co-worker and wafted the bowl over the cubicle, but tilted her lunch dish too far and spilled her soupy chicken meal. My boss said, "That's what you get for bragging”.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

3. She’s Trippin’

I work as a cashier at a grocery store and there's one customer who was so rude...but karma came for her. This girl who was probably in her early 20s and was wearing heavy makeup, with a Gucci handbag, high heels, tight jeans, and a jean jacket walked up to my cash register. She was on her phone. I tried to greet her, but she put up a finger to signal that she needs a second and then kept talking on her phone. I heard her say, “This cashier at the grocery store won’t shut up”.

In my head, I was thinking she should at least put her stuff on the belt because she was holding up a line. Eventually, she started to slowly put things one by one on the belt. I started losing patience with her. At this point, I “forgot” about our customer policy and just start chucking her stuff in bags hoping something breaks or gets ruined, so she can be angry about it.

After a solid ten minutes of her putting stuff on the belt and then taking breaks to talk on the phone, she finally got ready to pay. She whipped out a stack of hundreds and then “changed her mind” and decided to pay with her debit. Odd flex,, but okay. She paid, I gave her the receipt and said, “Have a nice day”. She didn’t even say thank you. She walked out the first set of doors carrying four bags. She slipped on the wet floor, which was wet because people walked in with their feet covered in snow.

Anyways, she slipped and her bags fly everywhere, her stuff broke is breaking and some stuff flew out of her handbag. Everyone was staring at her. She laid on the floor for a bit and everyone was still looking at her—but when she turned around, I couldn’t believe it. She got up and we saw that she had lost her two front teeth. My supervisor, who is as immature as I am, stood there trying not to laugh.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFreepik,freepik

4. Cat Got Your Hand

We had a cat who was a very sweet cat and would behave very well for the vet, but he hated to have his stomach touched. I don't know if it was ticklish for him or what, but the moment you touched his stomach, he would just have a fit. He got into a fight with another cat and ended up with an abscessed wound on his stomach.

We took him to the vet's office, but the usual vet (who knew how much Sebastian hated having his stomach touched) was on vacation, so he ended up being seen by a vet we'd never seen before. This substitute vet said he'd need to take the cat into the back to lance the abscess. My mom tried to warn him about the cat's extremely strong aversion to having his stomach touched, and the vet basically told her, "Don't worry your pretty little head over it”.

He carried Sebastian into the back. About ten minutes later, he came back out with his hands just shredded and said that he would need my mom to sign off on having the cat sedated for the procedure because the cat was fighting "harder than he expected”. Maybe listen to the owner next time.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

5. Out Of Principle

When a manager at a summer job tried to screw me, I got the best revenge. I worked as a database administrator for a community center for one summer at a university. Basically, I created a database for them to track who was donating to them and how much they were donating, who was volunteering at the center and for how many hours. It was very simple work and despite being the youngest person on staff by about 25-30 years, I got along well with all of my co-workers…except for my immediate boss.

The next spring, I was applying for jobs and e-mailed my old boss to ask for a letter of recommendation. Her reply made my blood run cold. She told me that she didn't write recommendation letters "out of principle”. I was pretty angry about it because I was finding it very difficult to find a position and not being able to count on my most recent employer for a reference was a definite blemish on my resume.

Despite this, I managed to land a decent job. Lo and behold, my old boss e-mailed me on day one of my new job, begging me to come in because she had somehow ignored all the warnings in the user documentation I wrote and moved some files around. This rendered it impossible for her to access the database. She asked if I would come in. I knew exactly what to do. 

I e-mailed her back and told her I already had a job and couldn't do it "out of principle," effectively rendering my entire summer at the center a waste of time from their perspective.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

6. Faceplant Fail

I watched an entitled, angry man berate and belittle his server to the point of tears. Then, he hitched up his belt and looked pleased with himself as he swaggered off the restaurant deck, tripped on the stairs, and face-planted in the sand on the beach. My wife looked mortified, as I laughed right out loud at the guy. He got up, saw everyone staring and at least one person openly laughing, and quickly stepped off down the beach.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

7. Too Slow

A girl was behind me one day on a ten-mile stretch of a two-lane country road and I wasn't going fast enough for her. I was already going 15 over the speed limit, but I guess 70 in a 55 zone was still too slow. She was screaming at me, trying to throw stuff at me, trying to pass me on the double yellow, and acting like she was going to hit me.

It was hilarious to me because I was in a big, solid steel Buick and she was in some small car with a wrecked front. Anyway, she was just freaking out. Finally, the road split into two lanes at a light and she drove up next to me. Both of us had our windows down. She screamed at me, then tried to throw a big fountain drink at me. It backfired on her so bad. 

It busted apart in her hand and exploded all over her and her car. I thought she was going to have a stroke, with her pure anger.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

8. Told You So

I was a substitute teacher and this kid was being an absolute jerk to everyone in the room. Not doing the work, distracting everyone, not allowing me to teach... he was standing on a desk and I was telling him to get down. I told him it wasn’t safe, he could hurt himself, etc. He went to jump off to show off to everyone watching, the desk moved from under him and he faceplanted. Everyone laughed and he cried. It was so hard to not say “I told you so”.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

9. Bad Blood

I suffered from instant karma when I was a cook, and I still can't help but laugh about it. My co-worker/friend and I were preparing for the day, when he sliced his finger pretty badly cutting some vegetables. I insulted him and made several jokes. Well, karma came for me quick. When I took over for him, I ended up slicing myself the same exact way. We both needed finger bandages after that.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

10. He’s Slippin’

In middle school, I was trying to get a friend’s attention, when a kid got up in my face and yelled, "Shut up”! The kid was still looking at me while he was walking away and ended up slipping in a puddle and landing, side first, onto the wet floor sign. The kid got mad and punted the sign at the wall and conveniently, the Vice Principal just so happened to see it. He was then taken to the office.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFreepik,master1305

11. Slow And Furious

I was driving on your typical New England suburb back road. You know the type—narrow, with lots of bends and curves. The speed limit was 35 because it's rural. So, I was driving along at the speed limit, when all of a sudden, a lady in a giant gold SUV is suddenly making contact with my bumper. I literally saw her screaming at me because I was not going fast enough for her.

But, I was not about to go any faster. Finally, she whipped around me, despite no passing, and was gone. She had to be doing at least 55. About 15 minutes later down the road, there she was, pulled over by a cop who was in the process of writing a ticket. As I drove by at the speed limit, I waved.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

12. What Goes Around Comes Around

I was dating a girl for about two years and one day, I checked her phone because it was blowing up in the morning. I looked and discovered she was cheating on me. So, I tried to talk to her and we eventually fell apart. So, a week passed and I was told she was dating the guy she cheated on me with. A month later, I was told by a mutual friend that her new boyfriend had cheated on her that week. You can imagine what I thought about this.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

13. Don’t Drink And Drive

I was at a party once, and a stereotypically macho man was being a jerk. He was progressively getting more aggressive and inebriated. Eventually, he decided he wanted to leave, but the party host told him he was keeping his keys because he couldn't drive. Well, macho bro decided this wouldn't fly. His reaction was seriously demented. 

He waited and ambushed the host and hit him over the head with a lamp.

He grabbed his keys and bolted out the door, as people rushed to stop him. But, he hopped in his truck, drove away and struck a tree. Of course, he wasn't buckled up, so he smashed his head on the windshield and sustained terrible injuries. Classic karma.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFlickr, Anthony Quintano

14. Lucky Day

I was in a parking lot and let someone have a parking spot that was closer to the store because I saw that they had kids, and I know the stroller situation can be rough if you park far away. So, I parked in a farther parking spot, where I found $50 on the ground.

Cases Of Instant KarmaWikimedia Commons, Vyacheslav Argenberg

15. Hands Off

My restaurant co-worker was collecting glasses and unless it’s brightly lit, you usually can’t tell how much liquid is left in the glass. So, my co-worker took this woman’s glass away, thinking it was empty and the woman smacked her hand away like she was a toddler sneaking into the candy jar. The karma came later in the evening

That’s when the woman stood up, walked away, tripped, and landed on her hand. There was swelling, immediate bruising and she couldn’t move her fingers.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

16. Smacked

My sister and I were fighting and I took it too far and punched her. I stomped off to my room and went to slam the door. A broom handle had slipped between the hinges, so the door flew back open and smashed me in the head. When I opened my eyes, I was on the ground looking up at the ceiling and had a nice lump forming on my forehead.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

17. Declined

A customer was being an absolute jerk and treating me like a lesser being just because I work in a convenience store. He was threatening to get my pay cut in half, then remarked, “but then again, you don’t make that much anyway”. What happened next was so satisfying, it’s unforgettable. 

His card was declined and he had to abandon his items. It was glorious.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFreepik, stockking

18. Be Nice To The One With The Needle

I worked as a phlebotomist, taking people's blood. One day, I was relieving the clinic staff whilst this they had their lunch break. I sat behind the reception desk when a guy walked in and handed me his request form and walked away to sit down. I asked him to just quickly come back to check his ID details, to which he rudely and quite harshly responded that the doctor wouldn't get those wrong.

I shrugged my shoulders, finished writing his paperwork up, stood up, and asked him to follow me so I could take his blood. The look on his face when he realized he was a jerk to the person who was about to stick a needle in his arm was the only karma I needed.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

19. Sidewalk Antics

My kid kept walking in the wrong places in public, such as areas that were painted and not meant to be walked on, uneven areas that could cause her to trip, planters that were clearly not meant to be walked upon, and so on. It seemed like I spent much of the day correcting her and trying to teach her how to walk in public, so as not to interfere with other people in a crowd.

On the way to the car, she decided to walk on the other side of a metal railing than us and was looking at her feet. Her walkway ended and the railing curved around to block her off, but she didn't see it…and walked straight into the horizontal pole! I didn't see it coming because I was tending to my other kid, but when I heard it and turned to see her, it was all I could do to hold in my laughter and a heartfelt "I told you so”!

Cases Of Instant KarmaFreepik,8photo

20. This Is Bananas

I carelessly threw a banana skin onto the floor. My mother yelled, "Get that off the ground, someone could fall and get hurt”! I laughed and said to her that no one is so stupid to fall on that one. I was so wrong. Later on, I went to the kitchen for orange juice and on my way back, I stepped on it and slipped. I fell on the glass table and broke it. Hate to say it but, I had it coming.

Cases Of Instant KarmaRawpixel

21. Book For Book

I finished a book on a plane and offered it to the flight attendant. She was thrilled to get it. I was happy to see she was happy. I thought that was the end. A few days later, I was sitting and reading at the pool when a lady stopped me and offered me the book she just finished. I was thrilled, she looked happy to have it appreciated. My favorite kind of karma!

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

22. Listen To The Law

I tried to explain to my company how they were breaking the law with one of their procedures. They didn't listen and said somebody up the line would have caught it. Later, they illegally fired me whilst I was on FMLA leave. Well, they got what was coming to them.

They got fined 250K for the violation I brought up several times. I'm still unemployed, but I go hiking all day and love my life. I have enough saved up to last me until I do find work.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

23. Good Samaritan

Today, I missed my bus to help an elderly woman with her groceries—only to have a friend pass me by and offer to give me a ride home.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

24. Don’t Speed Up

My stepdad is a driving instructor. One day, he was giving me a lesson and we were going over one of the possible test courses. While we were driving down a street in the suburbs, a guy was tailgating me. Every time I came to a stop sign, I did a full stop and he would throw his hands in the air and yell. It was starting to stress me out, but my stepdad said, "Don't worry about it, watch this”. 

As we were going down the street he says, "Okay, now in about 50 feet, I want you to start slowing down a little bit, and right when you are in front of that school zone, pull over to the right”. So I did it, and right after I pulled over, the guy behind me took off like a rocket. And about five seconds later, a cop stepped out from behind a tree and waved him over for going double the speed limit in a school zone.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFlickr, TijsB

25. Rated M

I worked at K-Mart in high school. It was a small store, so I worked in every department. You name it, I did it. I asked a woman and her son, who was about 12 or 13, if they needed help finding anything as I was out on the floor. The kid immediately complained that I was annoying him. I ignored it and went about my business. Right after that, I get called to checkouts.

As I was working there, the pair came by. The kid had gone all out back in the electronics area, with some EA sports titles and a Grand Theft Auto game. I was checking them out when the age prompt came up for the M-rated game. I decided to take a chance. I flipped the game over, and informed the mother, "This game has been rated M for the following reasons" and read the list off the back of the case. There is an awkward silence, then she angrily informed me that the son said it was only a little violent. He wasn't able to get anything that day.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFlickr, Lee Stranahan

26. Free Ice

Three days ago, I went into a store to buy a bag of ice. I put the bag on the checkout counter and waited while the woman in front of me completed her purchase. This reminded her that she also needed a bag of ice. "Here...take this one," I said, and grabbed another bag. What she did next brought a tear to my eye.

"Is that all you're buying”? she asked me. "Yes”. She looked at me and said, "You're done....bye-bye," and before I could figure out what she meant, she turned to the clerk and said, "Put his ice on my bill”.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

27. Bad Boss

I worked selling shoes for two years on a weekend-only basis during school at a national chain. I was never offered a raise by the boss, never offered to open the store, never given any recognition. When I asked for some more responsibilities, I was told I was unimportant, as two new outside managers were coming in. One managed a section of PetSmart, and the other had no prior experience.

I put in my two weeks’ notice. Both people came in on my last day, so I showed them everything I learned and all the small quirks of the inventory that we had. Both quit within a week, and the store closed within four months.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

28. Change In Exchange For Life

I was in my tiny Dodge Neon at a red light and I gave a homeless person all of the change in my ashtray. The light turned green, and I made my left turn a few seconds later, I was hit head-on by a full-size truck. When they were loading my car on the tow truck, the driver asked, “How’s the driver”? and I simply said, “I’m fine”. His reaction left me stunned. 

He was shocked at first, and then once he realized I wasn’t kidding, he said he’d been towing for 20 years and never seen anyone survive this extreme of an accident, let alone be standing there talking to him while loading up the car.

Cases Of Instant KarmaWikimedia Commons, Padaguan

29. Victory Is Sweet

I was targeted for firing. It had nothing to do with my performance and everything to do with my manager, who took a disliking to me. I walked the line of perfection for about a month until I found another job. I handed in my two weeks’ notice. That was victory number one—but I had so much more in store for them. 

I hired about a half-dozen of their employees and got them hired into my new company. That was victory number two. I'd like to think that victory number three was the 30 or 40 employees they lost in the following year, but I can’t claim direct responsibility for that. The thing is, when you have employees with high-demand skills like software engineering, you better treat them right.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

30. Caught Red-Handed…By Karma

I go to New York City about once a year to visit family. While there, I always crave the "Grandma's Sicilian" pizza, and the best slice in the city is served near my cousin's place. Well, it's New York, and naturally the joint is crowded as ever. Across from the register, you can grab drinks, and paying for them basically comes down to the honor system, as well as your courage (the cashier can see you take a drink, but 90% of the time is occupied with a customer).

I had never really stolen before, but my cousin just nonchalantly took a drink and nobody said a word! I do love me some Peach Snapple, so I got greedy and took two of them. I paid for the food and we were on our way out. I was on a little adrenaline rush. Did I mention my craving for the pizza was so large that I got an entire pizza instead of just one or two slices? Yep, an entire pie for myself.

So, as we were walking back to the subway station, I tripped on the curb and fell. I landed on the pizza with my stomach, covering my clothes in sauce. Both Snapples shattered and the glass lodged itself in my knuckles, palms, and legs. The brand-new jeans I purchased the day before got ripped by the glass and stained by my blood. Despite cleaning the wounds properly, the ones on my hand became infected that night. Suffice it to say, I haven't stolen since.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFreepik, rawpixel.com

31. Read The Fine Print

When I was a law student, I had a part-time job at a bar with a boss who was a jerk. When I went to sign the contract I, like the good little law student I was, read through it in its entirety. Of course, I was also on the clock, so I really took my time. I noticed that there was a clause (it was a standard form contract for this pub chain) about paying for damaged stock.

Basically, if we dropped a bottle, then we'd have to pay for it. Being a male, I was always the one doing the stocking and regularly carried cases up from the cellar. I knew one day I'd eventually break some stock, especially with the way the boss was. So, in the contracts (his copy and mine), I'd struck out the term about paying for damaged stock and signed and dated it before signing both copies of the contract.

He did not read the contracts before signing them, so he missed my changes. Eventually, the day came a few weeks later when he caused me to drop 16 bottles. That was my moment to get revenge for the way he’d treated me. When he told me I'd have to pay for them, I told him I didn’t. He said it was in the contract. I asked him to prove it. He showed me a blank contract. I told him that was not in my contract.

He got my contract out and finally saw where I'd crossed out that term. I wish I had a picture of his expression. I did not show up for work the next day. I got all the satisfaction I needed from seeing his expression when reading my contract.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

32. Most Deserving Of A Tackle

It was the last day of school in the sixth grade and I had gotten an award for "most improved”. I was walking towards my bus while looking at the award, when all of a sudden, this guy who had bullied me the entire school year ran up to me, swiped the award, and ran off. I tried to chase after him, but he was much, much faster than me.

I chased him around to the front of the school, and just as we were passing the front doors, the teacher who gave me the award was walking out. He knew this kid bullied me and saw me chasing him, him holding my award, and the teacher bolted after this kid and then proceeded to tackle him to the pavement and restrain him.

And yes, he was allowed to do that, because we were in special ed, and the teachers had the right to exercise a certain level of force to restrain kids if they were being some sort of problem. I got my award back, and the kid got suspended at the start of the next school year.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

33. No Tip, No Treats

I spent my last few dollars on a donut, instead of using it to tip the person who filled my gas. I then dropped my donut as I pulled out of the gas station.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

34. Don’t Mess With The IT Guy

I was hired as an "IT Guy" and did almost everything around the office. A client snatched my boss’ new phone. I had, of course, set it up so that it could be tracked and all data removed remotely. However, the boss thought it was I who took the phone, even though I wasn't in the office that day. He didn't tell me for three days until someone explained why it couldn't have been me. I tried to wipe the data, only to find he had already called the provider and had the number barred from the network (no number to call, no GPS, no cell data means no access to wiping it).

We also had security cameras installed and he had tried to access the day’s file without closing the process that was writing it. So, the file was corrupt and could not be read.

He then fired me, as I had not performed my job role (which was never actually described).

He then realized no one knew the passwords, how to record video footage, or how to set up his new phone.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

35. Watch Out For That Tree!

When I was at a local ski area about four years ago, a snowboarder cut me off at high speed and pretty much took out the little kid next to me. But when I went down a bit further, I saw karma had come for him. 

He was out cold in the woods. Jerk hit a tree.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFlickr, Heath Alseike

36. My Name Is…

My friend is transgender and recently got a job delivering pizza. She's passable, but very out and would ask nicely for people to use her preferred name. She also wouldn't correct people if they used her old name. Her boss wouldn't have any of this and was in the process of getting her fired for "being overly aggressive about her name”.

She was going to fire my friend the next day but ended up getting fired herself after calling one of her other employees an inappropriate name in front of one of the customers. The new manager is really nice, according to my friend, and she's never been happier.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

37. Paying It Forward

I was eating at a local sushi place when I noticed a $20 bill fall out of the pocket of a gentleman who was sitting near me. I picked the money up, tapped the guy on the shoulder, and gave it back to him. Another guy saw this happen and paid for both my lunch and my date's lunch, which totaled over $20.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

38. Keep On Waiting

I work in customer service, which involves doing cashier duties when covering someone’s break or when we’re super busy. One day, I was on the express register covering a break. I had a line of four people—one paying, three waiting. They all had maybe five items each. I had been doing this job long enough that I was pretty quick, especially with such short orders.

I watched this woman walk up from the floral department with a balloon bouquet, see my line, and apparently decide she was special and shouldn’t have to wait like everyone else, so she headed to the customer service desk. This is one of my biggest pet peeves because we can’t turn people away. The desk is for people who need things like returns or lottery, not for those who think they’re too good to wait a couple of extra minutes.

It also annoyed me because if we are legitimately getting backed up, it delays me from opening a full-size register to take some of the people who have already been waiting. I glanced over and saw my co-worker already in the process of helping a lady and smiled a little because the lady is a regular, and while not rude or anything, she always has to go over her receipt with a fine-tooth comb.

Any transaction involving her takes a bit of time, no matter what the details of it actually are. So, I checked through the people in my line at my usual pace. I noticed her glance over, obviously realizing she messed up. I checked out probably another two or three people before the lady ahead of her at the desk was even finished. A minor thing, really, in the grand scheme of things, but it was exactly, proportionally what she deserved, so it was pretty satisfying!

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

39. Not-So-Sweet Kisses

The washers and dryers in my apartment building are run through Bluetooth and an app you download on your phone. I figured out that if I put my phone on airplane mode while simultaneously pressing the start button on the machine, the washer would start but I wouldn’t get charged. I was so proud. I tried the same thing on the dryer and it worked—but then I learned my lesson. I went to get my clothes out of the dryer an hour later and everything was covered in melted Hershey’s Kisses.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

40. Overheard The Compliments

I was watching my buddy stream on Twitch. He and I were just chatting and the conversation turned to one of our mutual friends. I went on a very brief bragging session about our mutual friend and how he’s such an awesome human. When I started watching the stream, I was the only viewer. Unbeknownst to me, our mutual friend also popped in, but was just lurking.

I found out he was there when he said something to the effect of “thanks for the compliments”. I was really embarrassed for just a moment, then said something like, “Well, now I’m embarrassed, but I meant every word”. We are all grown men approaching 40 years old. In this case, it was instant positive karma for my buddy and a good reminder for me to tell my friends and family how much they really mean to me.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

41. Guardian Angels

I have a happy good karma story that happened to me a few months ago on vacation in San Francisco. Late at night after a potluck and drinks, my friend drove me to a BART metro station near her house and gave me directions to take the train back to my hotel. I walked in, paid my fare, and went underground only to find out I'd just missed the last train.

Fortunately, my friend was awesome and gave me bus directions back, but there was another person who'd missed the same train, and he was in a far worse situation than mine. He was not sober and was carrying massive bags of groceries, trying to get back to Richmond, which was super far away. He also had no way to call an Uber.

Feeling bad, I offered to call him an Uber and told him he could pay me back what he could. He only had $3, but so be it, I didn’t turn him down. I didn’t know what a difference it would make. We chatted a while until his ride came. He went off on his merry, inebriated way, and I went to catch my bus. Except when I got on, I realized it was a MUNI bus, the other transit company, and so my BART fare wasn't transferable, and I'd have to pay again.

I realized I had no dollar bills left in my wallet. I spent it all on that useless fare. Panicking, I reached into my back pocket where I keep small change, knowing I didn't have enough for the $2.50 fare. And that's when I felt the $3 that guy gave me. It was such a beautiful feeling. I think we were mutual guardian angels that night.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

42. Free Fruit

I liked going to the local fruit stand near my old job before work. It's a small family-owned and run place. A little kid was working the register and accidentally gave me back more than I gave them. I gave back the money and corrected the mistake, insisting it happens and to not worry about it, as I'm not telling anybody.

The kid must have told her family. About two weeks later, I didn't pay for fruit and that continued for the next month until I got another job. Karma works both ways!

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

43. Big Burritos

I was walking into a gas station one night when a homeless guy asked me for some spare change because he wanted to buy a frozen burrito. I politely asked him what kind he wants and he said, "I’m trying to get the biggest one they've got”! I told him to wait right there, and I went inside and bought one of those huge burritos and handed it to him. The smile on his face was one of the brightest I'd seen in a while.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

44. He’s Gotta Go

I managed a steakhouse for a couple of years. During that time, we had an employee who was a know-it-all, who always talked back when asked to perform certain duties. After a while, I got sick of his nonsense and started writing him up whenever I could. Anyway, the manager at the time really liked this jerk for some reason, so I couldn't run him out as I had planned.

Well, one day, this employee showed up late to work (as usual) and decided he doesn't want to work after all. The manager decided to let him go home and covered his shift. He told him he had better show up for his shift in the morning since the girl who was working for him tonight only did it under the condition that he would work her morning shift.

That’s when opportunity reared its head. About an hour later, a tow truck driver showed up asking about the guy and if we could give him his home address. I told him I can't give employee personal information. Well, turns out the guy was a repo dude. He whipped out $200 and asked if that would make it easier for me. I quickly took the money and gave him the employee’s address.

Two hours later, the tow truck driver showed up with the employee’s truck. He then greased me with another $100 and thanked me. The employee didn't make it to work the next morning and was fired. Yep, the last laugh was mine.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

45. Her Spot

My cousin parked her car on the street near my house. My neighbor came out and yelled about how that was her spot. My cousin simply moved her car rather than argue. A few hours later, one of the children who live on our street rode a bike into my neighbor’s car in that exact spot.

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

46. Going, Going, Gone

I was buying some drinks at a Circle K one day while visiting someone in Florida and some tourists cut us in line, all the while complaining loudly about everything (how expensive everything is, how crowded the beach is, it’s too hot, etc.). They were also really rude to the cashier and take forever arguing about the price of the hot dogs they were buying.

They left and as we walk out, we witnessed a seagull come and snatch the guy’s hot dog right out of his hand. His wife then shrieked and proceeded to drop hers out of surprise. I know it isn’t that big of a deal, but it was so hilarious watching that happening that I still remember it five years later.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFlickr, Malingering

47. Two Lanes, One Winner

One day a few years ago, I was grabbing McDonald’s near work to eat something last second before my shift. It was one of those two-lane microphone deals. I blatantly finished ordering before the other lane, when he stomped on the gas to cut me off. I couldn’t help but laugh after what happened to him. 

His car broke down right there, and I got to take my rightful turn in line.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

48. Don’t Mess With A Black Belt

One time, I was walking down a street in Downtown Los Angeles with my family. We had just gotten groceries because we were staying at a hotel at the time. We didn’t drive because the store was within walking distance from the hotel. All of a sudden, a lady in black grabbed the bag that I was holding. Little did she know, I am a black belt in Tae Kwon-Do.

I grabbed her hand and twisted it around her back and took the bag from her—but it didn’t end there. I threw her on the street and a car ran over all ten of her toes. With a painful shriek, followed by the sound of cracking, we all ran to the hotel quickly.

Cases Of Instant KarmaShutterstock

49. Why You Gotta Be So Rude?

I work at a movie theater. One afternoon, I was selling tickets at the box office when an older lady came up and asked me a question about our app (it’s a Cinemark app). I, however, wasn’t sure about the answer and told her that. She proceeded to say, very rudely, “Isn’t is your job to know? Are you stupid or something”?

Then, she turned around and noticed the mall cop was writing her a ticket for parking in a handicap spot when she did not have a handicap plate or placard. She took off running and screaming, “Wait, stop! That’s my car”! I couldn’t keep the huge grin off my face for the rest of the day.

Cases Of Instant KarmaFreepik, wayhomestudio

50. Nothing To Me

I dated a girl all through college, after four years, we were going to move in together and on that day, I was going to propose to her. Two days before that happened,  I made a disturbing discovery. I found out she was cheating. We broke up, but neither could find another place, so we had to move in together. She continued to date the guy and we continued to live together in a very awkward situation.

Several months later, she began to flirt with me, and eventually called me into her room one night and asked me to stay with her. We had a physical affair behind the back of her boyfriend.

The payoff came when she asked me if we can get back together, saying she made a huge mistake and wanted to break up with her boyfriend to be with me.

I never enjoyed rejecting someone in my life as much as that. I took great pleasure in telling her she meant nothing to me. Then, I started dating her old roommate who I always had a thing for, which drove her even more nuts. Fast forward to today and I'm very successful, and happily married with two kids. She lives in a trailer park with her loser unemployed husband (she ended up marrying the guy after I rejected her).

Cases Of Instant KarmaPexels

Sources:  Reddit


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.