Not Like That: 40 People Who Took Things Too Literally

Every one of us has been through those days. We don’t want to do a job because we are too tired, or because we don’t have any interest in the job in the first place. What do we do in that situation? Well, usually, we cry over it and try to do our best. Don’t you worry, because none of us are not alone in that. In many cases, people actually do the job, but barely. And when we mean barely, we mean they are not going to be winning any medals any time soon. And some people take things far too literally, and the end result is beyond hilarious. And just maybe, you will feel a lot better about yourselves after you have gone through some of these crazy pictures. Let’s start!

A Little on the Nose

It has happened to all of us. We just aren’t prepared for a test at school. Maybe we had been busy with our games or maybe our annoying teacher sprung a surprise test on us. Well, the questions may be baffling, but we need something to fill in the blanks, right?

So the next time you are stuck on your exam and don’t know how to cross that bridge, follow the priceless action of a genius by the name of Bobby. It is not his fault he took it literally. It DOES say, “show your thinking.”

Got the Breakfast Right

Since all of us need a nutritious breakfast so that we can fly through the day like an energized rabbit, we go to the market and usually find that there are many options out there for a rich and healthy breakfast that will be beneficial for us.

This man decided that he wanted to start the day by having a delicious bagel. They even cut it in half for him. If you think that is the end, think again. Apparently, there are other ways to cut a bagel besides the normal way. Imagine!

Found Another Way!!

To all the adults reading this article, do you remember the early days when we used to push our limits and have the courage to skateboard by the side of shops and tried to have the most fun we could have in a day?

Well these shops decided that enough was enough and they put up a very clever sign that covered all the vehicles that you could ride by a shop. But what they didn’t expect was the sheer will of the kids determined to enjoy their day. Kids-1, Adults-0.

Pet or PET?

Whenever we go to a park, we see so many signs posted everywhere that tell us what to do and where to go. We thought that this sign was meant to designate an area where you can let your pets run free and play.

Well, give this man an award since he has finally revealed to us that we had been wrong all these years. It is not actually an area for your pet but it is a petting area for the grass!! Well, we don’t think it takes three guesses to know who is the wrong one here.

Because the Box Said So.

The delivery man might not always be our favorite person in the world due to the way they handle our items. They might play ‘Pass the ball’ with our breakable items or smash the box that they have in their care. But this next one is definitely not their fault.

For those of you who don’t know, the “DO NOT CUT WITH A KNIFE” sign that usually comes with a package is included so that you don’t damage whatever it is that is inside the box. But hey, it didn’t mention that you can’t use a fork to open it.

Taking It Literally

Having a partner in your life is one of the best things that can happen to you. They are always by your side, supporting you through thick and thin. And most importantly, they help you when you really need them.

Well, this man just won the partner of the year. As the story goes, the wife was about to enter into a run and when she was asked what name she wanted on her name tag, she said “just Leisa is fine.” Apparently, the husband took her quite literally.

Which Side to Choose?

Whenever we have to open a container or push a straw through something, we are very diligent to follow the instructions given on the packet. When it comes to a juice box, we usually push the straw where the hole is. Right?

Well, this dude went one step further and instead of putting a straw in the hole, he poked a hole directly below the arrow. Right where it asks you to. The guy is obviously correct in his actions, and now we are rethinking all our life choices.

A Job Half Done

Kids are the lights of some of our lives, and we can’t wait for the moment when we can go home and play with them. But we also teach our students to be obedient and do whatever we tell them to do. Sometimes, they take us at our word.

Take these children for example. Their mom told them to eat half of the grapes before they went to school. But what she didn’t know was that her kids turned out to be too obedient and actually ate half of each grape.

Technology is a Witch!

Now, this one is a doozy. One professor asked their students to bring a CD with two photos of themselves on it. One of the students listened to her quite seriously, and actually brought a CD with two pictures on it.

What they didn’t know was that the teacher had actually asked them to bring a CD which had two pictures uploaded on it. But hey, it is not the student’s fault. They followed the instructions. The teacher should have been more clear, that’s all!

It Is Not Flushing

Remember the days when you could go to a bathroom stall and just flush it without any hassle? This was before technology came into play and introduced different ways of flushing everything away. Come on, there is only one way the water will go, anyway.

Therefore, in order to keep up with all the different technologies to flush your toilets, establishments have started to post pictures above the toilet to make it clearer how to use them. But even that wasn’t enough for this gentleman right here. We feel you, bro!

Sticky Notes, Sticky Notes

Moms around the world usually have this ritual where they leave instructions on sticky notes for their kids. It always makes things a bit easier and gives the mom respite from all the hectic workload she has. Children to the rescue!!

Well, that was pretty much what one of the moms thought as well, but she hadn’t expected her children obeying her instructions to a T. Instead of hanging the clothes that the sticky note was probably placed on, the kids hung the sticky note instead.

Sweep It Under the Rug

Just like the previous delivery in this article, this one is also not the delivery man’s fault. He was just following the instructions that were given to him. Don’t believe us? Just look at the instructions that the customer sent!

The customer had very explicitly asked the delivery man to put their parcel under the doormat. It seems the customer hadn’t expected the item to be so large and didn’t think about the fact that it wouldn’t be hidden under the mat.

The Right Angle

Cooking is probably one of the most useful skills one can have. It makes your family happy, gets you extra brownie points during Thanksgiving, and sometimes also calms you down when you are going through some stuff and need a distraction.

When it comes to cooking, baking is probably one of the first skills you learn. But this person is teaching us the correct technique to bake something at just the right degree by using a protractor. It seemed we had been wrong all these years thinking the recipes meant temperature.

The Skirt Revolution

Dress codes are something that are adopted at many schools, institutions, companies etc. Sometimes they make sense and sometimes they don’t. For example, the glasses you have to wear when you are doing experiments. They actually make total sense to us!

This gentleman, for example, loved wearing shorts to his job. But since it was against the dress code of the company and you were only allowed to wear pants or skirts, he went for the second option. And why should he not? Why should girls have all the breeze?

Color Me Green

Electric cars are the new trend of the world and are actually quite beneficial to the environment, if you really think about it. They don’t create pollution which, as a result, help the environment. Some buildings, therefore, have different parking spots reserved for these cars.

This was one of those places that gave a special preference to green cars and saved them a spot. But someone misunderstood the sign and thought that it was a spot for green-colored cars. But hey, can you blame him? Just read the sign. It says so right there!

Lets Wrap It Up

Till now, this article has mentioned people who have technically followed the instructions, albeit maybe a little too literally. But in many cases, there are often people who want to avoid following the instructions altogether and they find ways to do it.

This man, for example, was asked to wash the dishes after eating in order to maintain cleanliness. But what did he do? He wrapped his plate in plastic so that after eating, he could just throw the plastic away. Result: clean plates! Talk about thinking outside the box.

Hint Me Up

Have you ever had a friend or a relative who had no clue what to give someone as a present? And so, when your birthday comes around, you need to spell it out to them what you want, or drop some major hint to nudge them in the right direction?

And so was the case for this woman as well. She was probably asked by her husband what she wanted for her birthday, and she told him that she wanted a coach purse. Well, her wish was his command. She did get her purse. But not exactly the one she wanted.

Show Me the Meaning

When you tour a city, you will almost certainly come across some beautiful graffiti that increases the splendor and realness of the place. And then there is graffiti that sometimes insults people, and some that cracks jokes, making your day brighter.

And then there are some graffiti that actually make you think. Look at this graffiti, for instance. It says, “QUESTION EVERYTHING,” which makes sense. We should question everything. But then somebody has added “WHY?” to it. Well, we ask, WHY NOT?

Lettuce Be Healthy

In a world full of diseases and unhealthy processed foods, people have started to be more health conscious and try to eat healthy as much as possible. But sadly, some people – or establishments – haven’t caught up to the trend yet.

This man wanted to eat something healthy at a restaurant, and so he asked for a burger wrapped in lettuce. The chef obviously had never heard of such a thing, so they wrapped a lettuce around a regular burger. Well, that works too. Kind of.

Box Half Checked

Kids are innocent creatures who sometimes don’t know how to follow instructions, and sometimes just act so quickly that they don’t give much time to actually thinking about their actions. If they did, they might follow instructions correctly. We say maybe.

This little kid, for example, was instructed by the teacher to color half of the fish. When you really think about it, the teacher never really specified if he should color half of the number of fish, or half of each fish. So, technically, the kid is not wrong.

Don’t Stop This Party

Some people are born to be party animals, and some people don’t really like the wildness and shenanigans that come with a party. They just want to enjoy their day quietly. And if they have a great spouse, that is exactly what happens.

Take this couple. The wife asked her husband to not make a big deal about her birthday, and being a loving husband, he followed the instructions she gave. He brought bland balloons, greeting cards, and threw a perfectly boring party. Yay, husband!!

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

Halloween is one kids’ favorite holidays. They can wear different costumes, go to spooky parties, and go trick-or-treating and get lots of candy. But sometimes their schools don’t allow it, which is just unfair of them, to be completely honest.

This set of cool parents said to heck with the school rules and discreetly dressed their kids as one of our favorite cartoon friends groups. We spy with our little eye Fred, Shaggy, Daphne, and Velma, but where is Scooby Dooby Doo?

The Holy Trinity

We have another instance for you where, again, the delivery guy is not technically wrong. He was just following the instructions. Here, the box advices him not to double stack it. And, to be honest, he doesn’t. He followed the literal instructions.

What he did do is he triple stacked them. And hey, the box never said he can’t do that now did it? So, he is not wrong. We just hope that the box didn’t have anything breakable inside it. Otherwise, the delivery man would have had to take it back.

Smooth As Butter

Now, this one really cracked us up. Whenever we go to the store to get our prescriptions and come across a huge line, it is always irritating, especially if we’re sick. Instead of making us better, seeing the line makes our day that much worse.

This store divided the line into those who were dropping off the prescription and those who were picking it up. One of the customers must have seen the pick-up sign and decided to have some fun with it. If we are being honest, this one impressed us very much.

Take Out the Trash

When we are kids, being an adult seems so fun. We see them having so fun, having no rules, and getting to do whatever they want. Only when we become adults ourselves do we realize that being an adult is a life of doing chores and almost nothing else.

This man decided to find a new way to make his life easier. He was too lazy to walk out the trash, so he found a genius way of doing it lazily. We are not going to lie, we are jealous we didn’t think of it first. Absolutely revolutionary!

Keep It Easy

There are a few people in this world who actually find math easy. So, if a teacher decides to give the students the option to solve a problem in an easy or a hard way, chances are the students would take the easy way to solve it. We would, too!

This teacher, in the same way, gave their students the chance to come up with an equation that is true for when x=7. The students took the easiest way out and copy-pasted the same equation as their answer. Somebody give that kid an award!

Toasty Locos

There are some people in your life who will always be able to make you laugh, no matter what. These jokes could be as lame as they can be, but they will always manage to crack you up and put a smile on your face for the rest of the day.

Apparently, in this case, a pregnant wife asked her husband to draw her a toasty shower so that she could just a relaxing time. Well, her husband decided to add a bit of humor to her request and voilà, you have a literal toasty shower. We love this guy!

That’s a New Way to Look At It

Now, as far as signs go, this one has us pretty confused. Both the red sign and the green sign ask us to go in the same direction. But the sign that confuses us the most is the blue one. What exactly does it mean?

Well, this girl is here to save the day! She graciously shows us the right way to follow this sign by flopping face-down on the grass and thereby explaining exactly how to follow the rules. Girl, you are the person to follow.

Give Me Some Space

One of the most well-visited tourist spots in America is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It accommodates about ten million visitors each year. We don’t need to tell you, then, how crowded the bridge usually is during peak tourist season.

If you ever visit this bridge, you will notice that the division between the cyclist side and the walking side is pretty unclear. I mean, look at that, the biking side has it all!! We are pretty confused as to who exactly can cross.

Just Enough Space

Winter is a lot of people’s favorite season, and one of the reasons for that might be the snow that falls all around us, making the world so much more beautiful. But the aftereffects aren’t always pretty, leaving us with frozen and slippery ground.

And the hardest part is actually shoveling the heavy snow away so that we can continue on with our day. One man decided enough is enough, and shoveled away only enough snow so that he could see out his side of the windshield.

Boss Told Me So

Find us a more obedient and dutiful employee; we’ll wait! This employee was asked to change the sign, and he took it quite literally, if we may say so. But, if truth be told, a real message about their would have cost him fewer words.

The employee could argue that he did exactly what he was asked to do, but we’re pretty sure that it wouldn’t save him from getting an earful from the boss. But, he should get points for his sassiness, that’s for sure.

Posters Limited

There are many occasions or functions when shops and vendors are prohibited from selling drinks. At one festival, the shops weren’t allowed to sell any kind of drink, even including water. So, this one food stand found a great loophole.

We can’t help but wonder why on earth a festival would not have drinks available. This shop posted a notice on their window saying that if someone bought one peanut, they would get a free drink. Yes, man, show them how it is done!!

Roll With the Rules

When it comes to rules, there are different offices who have some really weird ones. For example, this one office asks its employees to use a Styrofoam up to put their drink in. Oh, come on! This rule must create so much waste.

And we all know that an energy drink never tastes the same if it is poured outside of the can. So one of the employees used the left side of their brain and put their can inside of the Styrofoam cup. Problem faced and solved!

Brotherly Love

Nobody likes missing a big holiday, especially when that holiday is Thanksgiving, with all its delicious turkey, sides, and desserts. Meetings and last-minute chores right before this holiday might risk us losing out on that scrumptious meal we’ve been waiting for.

During these occasions, your family often comes to the rescue. One girl, for instance, had something important to take care of last minute and asked her brother to save her some Thanksgiving food. This is what he made for her. Thanks, brother!

Fly Me Away

It is an age-old concept that women have a variation of clothes and makeup that they take a lot of time to put together. When it comes to men, all they need is a shirt, pants, and maybe a tie, and they are good to go.

One man was recommended by his workplace to wear a plain tie instead of a plaid tie or a stripped tie. Well, this man followed the order and did indeed buy a plane tie. You might be wrong, sir, but we respect your sense of humor.

Make Me A Note

Technology, especially Artificial Intelligence, has helped us a long way. It helps us with our daily lists and saving our favorite songs on our phones. But sometimes, even they get a little sassy with us as well. They must be learning.

In this case, someone was asking the Siri some questions and Siri decided to be quite literal with the user. Or they just have a really weird sense of humor. Siri, come on! All we want is to be heard and understood. Why don’t you understand that?!

Rules Are Rules

Being a health inspector is tough, but living by the different rules of different health inspectors is tougher. They usually send the restaurant in a whirlwind and find various reasons to nitpick everything. Just ask this restaurant and you will know.

One customer in this restaurant noticed these clearly labelled empty bottles and asked one of the employees why they were labelled as such. Apparently, if you had an empty bottle, you had to label them, and only when you filled it up can you change the label. Um, okay.

Find Another Way Out

There are different methods of signing a User Compliance Agreement. Sometimes you have to sign on it with a pen or you just hit that tick mark on your computer. And sometimes, breaking the seal gets the job done as well!!

In this case for instance, the customer refused to abide by the User Compliance Agreement, or maybe they just didn’t agree to it. But they wanted the product. And so they found another way to use it without breaking the seal. Literally!

My Head in the Clouds

Drawing tutorials on YouTube are probably one of the best things an amateur artist can come across. They can learn a bunch of things from them. But one of the hardest drawing tutorials are the ones that don’t come with any videos, just instructions.

Take this nonsensical tutorial, for example. The instructions given by the user ate quite accurate. But this person took the instructions quite literally and came up with a drawing which is decidedly NOT that of a sheep. It is ridiculously funny, though.

Ticked It Off

If any of you have ever visited a public bathroom, you know how icky it can get in there. Now imagine how ickier it is for people who actually clean these bathrooms. Therefore, it is always nice to leave things clean when you leave the bathroom.

One cleaner, in order to make sure that people actually did that, put up a sign in order to remind people. And people, in all their innocence, started ticking the sign in order in order to show the worker that they did it. Our question is: What happens when space runs out?

Laugh Me A Check

Going to a restaurant with your date, or your family, for a nice dinner usually results in a hefty check at the end of the night. The appetizers, entrees, and the main course might burn a hole in your pocket. And we’re are not even adding in the dessert.

One dad, when he realized that he would have to pay a big check for dinner, asked the waitress to bring him a small check. The waitress agreed and promptly brought him a check that was small in size, but the amount in it remained the same. We are laughing with you, too, dear waitress!!