When toilet paper was invented by Joseph Gayetty in 1857, people were very embarrassed to talk about it and to be seen buying it in public.
Nowadays this isn’t an issue anymore… except for this guy’s cousin.
Let’s read the story.
AITA for laughing at my cousin after she had an absolute meltdown after her boss saw her buying toilet paper at Costco?
Yesterday I tagged along with my cousin on her trip to Costco. She has always been very high-strung but for the most part, we were having a nice time.
As we were in the checkout line a very pleasant man in his 50s or 60s said hello. My cousin introduced him as the man who owns the company she works for.
I sort of stood by as they had normal small talk and he even complimented her on helping out with a huge sale, even though she’s not in sales.
He said that they were still working out what the bonus was going to be, but it was going to be more than they initially thought.
All in all, it seemed like a great interaction to have with a boss when you see them out in public.
But it didn’t feel that way for the cousin.
Shortly after he left she started almost hyperventilating saying “Oh my God, oh my God, I can’t believe that just happened.”
I had no idea what she was talking about and then she started saying “We have to leave, we have to get out of here, that was horrible.”
I said that I had $300 worth of groceries and I couldn’t go to Costco, I couldn’t just leave.
She actually walked away and sat down in the food court and I was still so lost, but her leaving caused an even bigger scene, since I had to go find her because they needed to scan her membership card.
She was in absolute hysterics at this point and even the cashier asked if she was ok and if they could get her some water.
She made a bigger deal than this had to be, but that’s social anxiety for you!
We paid and walked out and she appeared to be so physically weak. I told her to lay down in the back seat and I would load everything and drive.
As I was driving I finally asked her what was going on and she screamed at me: “My boss just saw me buying toilet paper!!! Do you know how humiliating that is?”
I actually thought I misheard her, so I said: “Wait this whole thing is over toilet paper?”
She screamed: “yes I’m probably going to get fired!!”
The horror!
I asked her if she seriously thought she was going to get fired for buying toilet paper.
She said she couldn’t let anyone at work know her private life.
I told her I doubt he even noticed and I also doubt he thinks about her bathroom habits.
Then she screamed back: “Your job is so easy, you couldn’t possibly understand how much pressure I’m under at work… I’m going to lose it!”
At this point, I lost it and started laughing harder than I knew was possible.
Not only was it ridiculous, but I felt like she was attacking me and instead of going back and forth, I felt that finding the humor in it was the way to go.
And I agree!
She said: “You’re actually laughing at me? You are such an a******. I do you a huge favor, and you’re laughing at me?” She got to my house and dropped me off and sped off with my groceries.
I called my aunt to make sure they got at least put in the fridge; my aunt said my cousin overreacted but I’ll probably need to apologize to be able to get my groceries.
AITA?
We can only hope she can find the humor in this as well, someday.
Let’s see what Reddit has to say.
A reader shares their unfiltered opinion.
Someone shares some advice.
Someone has a different take.
Another commenter seems baffled.
Great idea!
Is she a time traveler from the 1800s?
This is so weird.
If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.