It can take thousands, or even millions, of people to popularize something: a game, a hairstyle, a style of music. But unfortunately, it can all be changed in an instant, as it only takes one bad apple to turn something from fun and exciting to inappropriate (or even illegal). 

One curious Reddit user recently asked others to share some of the things that one person managed to ruin for everyone else, so you’ll find their most relatable responses below. Enjoy reminiscing about “the good old days” before these things were tainted, and be sure to upvote everything you wish was still the same today!

#1

The kid who jumped off of 7th floor of a building here in Turkey because he thought he was a Pokemon. They stopped airing the show because people thought it was “bad influence” on kids. And Pokemon was huge back when i was a kid so pretty much every kid back then was devastated.

Image credits: No-Side-2450

#2

Whatever slack-jaw f**kwit had their username set as “Han-Solo-Dies”.

Image credits: HydingSuspence

#3

Gender reveals during fire season.

Image credits: doowapeedoo

#4

A small town permanently cancelled Halloween because one kid was bullied and the mother lobbied and won. Turned out the kid was not bullied but was stealing other kid’s candy and they fought back.

Image credits: The_North45

#5

The guy who stole my Amazon package. I used to have treats outside my door for delivery people but decided to remove all the snacks and the basket they were laid on.

Image credits: Silverjeyjey44

#6

Guys on 9/11 ruined flying honestly. All the security means when u fly u have to get there super early and stand in lines all day.

Image credits: Longjumping-Volume25

#7

Twitter, by Elon Musk. Pretty basic, I know but geez. This man’s just an arrogant child with waay to much money.

Image credits: empty_skull_

#8

Vaccines by Andrew Wakefield. Thanks to that a*s hat we have way too many antivax idiots.

Image credits: timberwolf0122

#9

Remember the chick that licked all the ice cream in the store? Now we got a bunch of plastic s**t to cut through.

Image credits: Jdawg_mck1996

#10

The female body image, by the Kardashians. Yes, I consider them all one person, since they all seem to have been built by the same plastic surgeon. Millions of girls and women worldwide seem to think that surgery, teams of hairdressers, nail and make-up artists, personal stylists, shapewear, Instagram filters and photoshop make them real women. That whoie family should be cancelled, instead they’re billionnaires. Sign of the times ..

Image credits: CutTheCrapDotCom

#11

The sushi terrorist who licked things on the conveyor belt of the Japanese chain Sushiro for clout, making them stop doing the conveyer belt thing. (Tbf, he wasn’t the only one, but the one that comes to mind.)

Image credits: Majowa

#12

Someone installed an AC incorrectly in their window at my in-laws building. It ended up falling out and killing a 2 year old girl and now everyone is banned from using window AC’s (in certain buildings, not all)  (This was in Scarborough – Toronto)

Image credits: AmazonianGiantess

#13

Back in the middle ages when I was a child in Detroit, the electric company gave out free light bulbs. You kept the burnt out ones in a bag, and when it was full, Dad would take it to Detroit Edison and exchange them for free ones. Then some guy who owned a store (I remembered it as a pharmacy) sued because he couldn’t sell light bulbs and that was the end of free light bulbs.

Image credits: MomoTheKing92I

#14

Your last meal before execution in the U.S. used to be whatever you wanted, until one guy ordered an 18 course feast and didn’t touch it. After he was executed a law was passed saying all death row prisoners’ last meal would be the same as all the other prisoners.

Image credits: YodasChick-O-Stick

#15

The shoe bomber.

 

Editor’s note: After “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001, footwear started coming off at security checkpoints. 

Image credits: FIJAGDH

#16

The toothbrush mustache. Made famous by people like Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy, ruined forever.

Image credits: BlueRFR3100

#17

Coronavirus —> no more snow days.

Image credits: rosaluv2

#18

A kid in my high school got their nose broken and had a severe concussion because the guys would take dodgeball so seriously. They banned it my freshman year because multiple kids got hurt and this one guy would not chill tf out.

We also stopped being allowed to play soccer because this guy hit a girl in the face so hard he broke her glasses, gave her a nose bleed and knocked her out.

Basketball was almost banned because of the same guy. He got mad and chucked the ball.. right into my face. He was on the floor laughing and could barely even say sorry through his laughter. Even the kids that bullied me were like “dude wtf it’s not funny”. Dude had a huge ego from playing soccer for the high school team and obvious anger issues.

#19

Jared ruined the Subway diet.

I mean, the Subway diet was always a sham that was basically intermittent fasting mixed with anorexic tendencies, but he sure shattered the illusion.

Image credits: CLearyMcCarthy

#20

Telemarketing. Owning a phone used to be a good thing, now almost every phone call is some shady insurance scam or panhandler looking for money.

Image credits: wkarraker

#21

Giving out free product when we are just going to throw it away anyway.

We used to do this at the end of the night, last few hours of the day if we had a lot of donuts or bread BUT because of certain people who use this as an opportunity to sue a business with the excuse of “They gave me spoiled food and i got sick” now it’s not allowed and we have to put coffee grounds on everything we throw away.

Also the drug addicts who think it’s funny to just throw it all over the parking lot too.

Also bathroom privileges. Since it’s apparent that people don’t know how to use one properly, we don’t have to let the public use them and yes that includes your kids as well since you don’t clean up after them.

Image credits: KariRose31

#22

I used to love playing the video game God of War. My ex husband is a spitting image of Norse Kratos. Now I can’t play it without thinking about him. F**k you, Edgar. 

Image credits: AGirlHasNoUsername13

#23

Tipping. Businesses are pushing their customers to tip because they don’t want to pay their employees fair wages.

Image credits: BoysenberryWilling94

#24

Germany, i am British and lived there for 3 years and it’s an astonishing country but gets the worst reputation bc of an artistic thanos.

Image credits: ManlyMustachioMan

#25

Kevin Spacey ruined Kevin Spacey movies for me.

#26

Montana’s lack of a speed limit.

Back in the early 90s, there was no speed limit of some Montana highways. There was a law that you had to drive at a speed that is safe for the conditions. Well, a race car driver for pulled over for driving at speeds unsafe for the conditions. The ticket would have been under $100 but the driver spent thousands contesting the ticket, arguing that his speed was not unsafe because he was used to driving faster in races. After trials and appeals, the state added a speed limit.

#27

My city first introduced LIME scooters. A 16 y/o drove the motorized scooter at 11 at night and was killed by a truck turning right.

The next day the city removed the scooters off the streets.

#28

The name Adolf.

#29

Toronto Dominion bank used to have a free change counter. But some guy got upset that it miscounted his change and started a class action lawsuit. As part of the settlement the bank removed the machines and paid their customers restitution. I got a check for 8 cents.

#30

The name “Karen”.

Image credits: hornypandey

#31

Pokémon cards at my school. Some Kid lost a battle and (as playground rules dictate) he had to hand over his losing card to the victor. However, this was a particularly rare card that had suffered a surprise loss when his opponent whipped out an even rarer and more powerful Pokémon to battle it. The kid never expected the defeat and had no intention of handing the card over; a fight broke out and teachers got involved. Being this was one of a multitude of Pokémon related fights breaking out at the time, the teachers (at the end of their tether) gave the boy a choice; hand over the card or Pokémon gets banned in the school…. And that’s why my school had no more Pokémon from that moment on.

Image credits: BarraDoner

#32

A s**t ton of symbols have had their meaning completely changed because some mentally ill dude got rejected by an art school.

Image credits: Ya_boi_excalibur

#33

I hate to be dark but, as a gymnastics coach: people like Larry Nassar and my own coach

As a gymnastics coach myself, I have to be extremely careful how I touch a kid in a sport where I have to….pick them up and move their body around and stuff. And obviously, I’d never purposefully put my hand in an inappropriate spot, but if I accidentally do while saving a kid from falling or something I have to profusely apologize and feel anxious. 99% of the time, the kid doesn’t even notice I grabbed them or something. Or, they don’t care because they’re happy I saved them from snapping their neck.

Some gyms ban coaches from giving a kid a hug and whatnot. We have strict rules in the gymnastics world where two or more adults have to be with a kid if they are alone in the gym. Which hey, I support. When I train male coaches, I tell them to be extra careful since they are more likely to get accused. Groomers gonna groom, but if a guy accidentally brushes a girl’s boob when he spots her, it shouldn’t be world ending. With the abusers that people know of primarily being men, male coaches are watched like hawks. I can get away with a gaggle of little four year olds tackling me and laying on me for a group hug. A male coach has to be veeeery careful.

But, it’s sad it has to be like that. I wish I could text a kid myself, set up a private lesson, meet them at the gym alone, we work on stuff, their parent picks them up. That’s not reality. People should just…not be weird to kids. Adults should be respectful and not abuse their privilege and a child’s innocence.

Now, people have a terrible perception of the sport I love because of the abuse myself and others faced. And, I don’t blame them.

Image credits: SandiRHo

#34

Red baseball caps.

dishonourableaccount replied:

“MAGA hats” became popular with his supporters and very unpopular with those who hated him.

Issue is, baseball caps are pretty popular and common to wear in a lot of places. Especially among sports fans. Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Washingtons Nats, and the Phillies all have red caps that– at first glance– looked like MAGA hats. So people felt self-conscious, not wanting to be mistaken for supporters.

Image credits: seyheystretch

#35

I used to work at the YMCA teaching children from 3-11 swimming lessons.The amount of times the pool closed because someone s**t in it or puked and had to be rechlorinated….. guys just don’t use public pools.

It’s more sanitary to to get p**s drunk in a kiddie pool sitting in warm p**s water in your lawn then setting foot in a public pool.

Image credits: DowntownSession3387

#36

The a*****e who poisoned Tylenol in the 1980s and made it acceptable to make everything, not even just medications, very tamper-proof, but also pretty damn user-proof if you have any dexterity limitations at all.

Image credits: 4AcidRayne

#37

Kombucha was ruined by Lindsey Lohan. At least it had to be altered and or labeled differently. She had an ankle monitor on and that’s how the powers that be discovered that kombucha has alcohol in it.

#38

There was a coffee shop that everyone loved that did the thing where if you buy 8 drinks, you get the next one for free. For 2 years I went there religiously at least once a week. Then one day, they told us that the stamp cards were no longer good because someone had stolen the stamp and had been abusing it by stamping their own cards. I just didn’t like the accusatory tone when they explained to us what happened, I felt like I lost something that I made an effort to earn (although only maybe 5/8th of one drink), and they were punishing the loyal customers. It was just terribly handled. I never went back after that. The once bustling coffee shop that everyone loved closed down 6 months later.

Basically, they probably killed their business over one person who maybe got a few free drinks at most.

#39

American flag… every time I see one I automatically think the person flying it is racist. I think we all know who.

#40

Whoever made it so we can’t bring our dogs to the office anymore. F**K that guy.

#41

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was 8th grade, the final period of the day. The bell was about to ring in less than 5 minutes, until I hear this kid behind me go “what happened to the weekend packet? Seeing the teachers face go “ohh you’re right!”

#42

Not sure if its been said but Kanye ruined Kanye for everybody.

#43

The second Temple of Artemis. Way to go Herostratus…

 

Man burns down a temple for the sole reason that he would go down in history as the man who did this.

Ephesian citizens order his name erased from every record. However somehow the name was preserved in a text written by a non-Ephesian, resulting in the guy’s name being preserved longer than the names of the judges who passed down his sentence.

#44

I can’t get ammonium nitrate anymore thanks to Mr. Timothy McVeigh.

#45

When i was overnight stocking at walmart one of the rules was you can’t have headphones. A lot of us did it anyway. We kept it low profile. Music loud enough only you can hear, only one earbud in so you can hear a customer or manager speak to you, we would run the wire under our clothes so you could pretty much only see the bit coming from your neck to your ear, color that matched/blended into our skintone. Management would just turn a blind eye to it. We hire some new guy. He starts rolling around with both earbuds in, music blaring, highlighter pink wires outside the shirt. We tried to mention to him he might wanna keep that low profile. He didnt listen. Less than a week later daytime management came through our shift and told us earbuds/earphones will not be tolerated. to top it off. that guy got fired like a week later. Heightened enforcement of the rule stayed in place.

#46

Beatles reunion ruined by Mark D. Chapman.

#47

Bill Murray refused to do another Ghostbusters movie and was the single holdout among Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, Dan Akroyd who together owned creative control of the project.

#48

The mf who put taxes on everything In the egyptian era they just took 20% of your crops as taxes and everything was without taxes Today you can’t name a thing that isn’t taxed.

#49

My primary school removed the monkey bars after some kid called Ben fell from them and broke his arm. Thanks a lot, Ben.

#50

That one guy who operated heavy machinery after taking prescription drugs has ruined it for the rest of us.

#51

The Cosby Show.

Because of Cosby.

#52

The internet was ruined by whoever it was that invented pop-ups. And video ads, for that matter.

#53

Irving Gould Ruined the whole computer gaming era. Back in the day Mac’s were for artists, PC for boring engineers, and Amiga was waaay ahead for gaming. Irving then mismanaged the whole commodore company that made the Amiga, and the whole home gaming was moved towards they way worse PCs. I’ve always imagined what gaming would have become if he didn’t ruin it for everyone.

#54

The arsonists who set the Quebec forests ablaze, placing the North western hemisphere under smoke for a third of our summer….. Natural disaster caused a lot of the fires still going today but intentional sabotage didn’t help.

#55

The name Lolita.

#56

Neil Armstrong. What’s the point of going to the Moon if you can’t be first?

#57

Sex …by my kid…. wtf little dude. You can watch paw patrol for 2 hours straight but then I snatch yo momma in for a min and we can’t even get through the warm up!?

#58

Submarine tourism by Stockton Rush.

#59

One guy has a heart attack and the entire world is pressured, by him and other lobbyists, into changing their fast food menus from natural ingredients (beef tallow for fries for example) to artificial s**t to satisfy new requirements for “healthier fat free foods” when… it was never confirmed the guy had it because of fast food. It turns out most fat free foods are full of sugar and are HORRIBLE for you, and whole, fat inclusive foods are much healthier

#60

The idea of a secure white collar jobs is ruined by Jack Welch, who first pioneered the practice of laying off masses of people just to buy company stock prices.