The desire to help out friends and loved ones is baked into human nature. So if someone needs to borrow something, of course we want to say yes.
Then again, sometimes it’s only when you get that something back that you begin to regret your choice. Remember when people returning your stuff in the same condition you loaned it to them was the normal, respectful thing to do? Because these folks don’t.
“Loaned my wife’s brother my truck so he could move. This is what greeted me when I got it back.”
Let’s start out with possibly the most universal, and relatively low-stakes, example of loan regret. Who hasn’t loaned a car to someone and received it back with the fuel light on?
“Borrowed my boyfriend’s favorite shirt for Thanksgiving, and lit it on fire while cooking. Don’t wear loose clothing around a gas stove.”
I like how the description for this one includes a life lesson.
“Honey, I’m sorry I ruined your shirt, but we’ve learned something valuable about gas stoves today.”
“Borrowed my neighbor’s truck he never drives to haul some stuff. Wanted to be nice and bring it back filled up since it was almost empty when I got it”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about semi-enclosed, seldom-opened outdoor spaces, it’s that there’s always a good chance there will be a wasp nest inside.
“Brother told me there was ‘a little crack’ after he borrowed it.”
I guess this is a little crack after all, depending entirely on what your definition of ‘little’ is.
“Somebody parked on the bumper of the car my friend is letting me borrow. I’m parallel parked so I can’t even leave.”
Sometimes the person doing the borrowing is the one who’s filled with regret. They’re never getting this car out, are they?
“Returning after quarantine at work, a coworker borrowed my stuff without asking.”
There’s nothing like running your work area like a tight ship, only to have someone randomly barge in and start ruining stuff.
“Borrowed the wife’s car to buy a tin of paint. Oops.”
You just know when you spill a full can of paint that a) you won’t be doing any painting today, and b) that paint is never coming out.
“Dad borrowed my truck to load some stuff up. The window had a bad day.”
If you’re ever borrowing someone’s pickup truck to haul stuff, remember this photo and guard the back window appropriately.
“Before my wife borrowed my car there wasn’t a milkshake curdling in the cup holder, my eq balance wasn’t super trashy, my tank was 3/4 full, and my passenger side floor didn’t have a bunch of dirty tissues and a bottle of juice rolling around.”
It’s one thing to have your layabout friend or sibling pull this, but it’s a different kind of betrayal when your spouse does it.
“Dislocated my knee while wearing borrowed pants.”
Have you ever borrowed someone’s clothes? Keep in mind that if you experience a medical emergency, EMTs may need to cut those nice clothes up.
“My mom borrowed my car. Got it back smelling like cigarettes and my mints perfectly trapped in my cup holder.”
The cigarette smell will go away in time, but that perfectly lodged container of mints? It’ll be there forever.
“Younger brother borrowed my copy of slime rancher for a few hours, found it like this.”
I have no idea what Slime Rancher is, but based on the moisture damage, it looks like this case may have gotten a bit slimed.
“My partner borrowed my car for a few days, and gave it back like this.”
My car has been due for a deep-cleaning for, oh, five years now. Still, it’s never looked like this. Just toss your stuff in the garbage or recycling, please.
“After my little brother ‘borrowed’ my racket for badminton practice.”
I get it: racquet sports can be frustrating, and racquets are fun to smash. But if you’re using someone else’s racket, you need to resist the temptation.
“Loaned my fiancee my car so she could go to work. This is how I got it back.”
The nice thing about this picture? She’s still in fiancée status, so she can still be dumped without having to get a divorce.
“Loaned one of my guitars to a neighbor kid who was excited to learn to play and this happened.”
Next time you’re loaning your guitar to an excited kid, tell them, “Now, don’t lose your head…or the guitar’s head for that matter.”
“This knife blade was 15 days old. Still factory sharp, when I handed it to a coworker who wanted to borrow my pliers. He had it for 15 minutes.”
If they only needed the pliers from this multitool, how’d they manage to mess up the tip of the knife so badly? No, really: how??
“Had a magnet pen for 4 years, sister borrowed it for 1 DAY and I have 6 missing magnets, 5 damaged beyond repair and a whole bunch of missing metal parts.”
I’ve heard these magnet pens are garbage, but apparently they can stay in good shape for four years, or until someone’s sister gets their hands on one.
“Let someone borrow my truck, this is how it was returned.”
Was this person trying to build a time machine inside this truck? I don’t understand the source of all this mess.
“Gave a coworker my screwdriver (not the work’s) to use for literally a day and this is how it came back.”
I’d love to be a fly on the wall, if only to find out how this person managed to mess up a screwdriver so badly.
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Last Updated on March 3, 2022 by D