When People Take Things So Literally That You Can’t Help But Laugh

The word "literal" has long been defined as taking words in their most basic sense and not applying any added meaning to them. This definition may sound tricky, but we humans seem to abuse it's meaning every day.

When people take things too literally, it's hard to tell whether they're being a jokester or just didn't get it in the first place. If you grew up with siblings or have had a kid that's too smart for their own good, you'll know that even the most simple requests can backfire. Either way, these people took the directions a bit too literally and we can't help but laugh and shake our heads because of it. When you offer your sibling half of your grapes, don't be surprised with the outcome.

This Sister Who Dried Thier Sibling's Jeans

Photo credit: lipefleming/Reddit
Photo credit: lipefleming/Reddit

This sister got a little creative when asked to help dry these jeans. Taking something that literal actually takes a lot of work too.

This is the type of creativity that can only be learned in college when you're so broke that you have to pinch every penny rather than pay the $1 for the dry cycle in the laundry room.

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This Grocery Store Stocker

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Photo credit: corruptious/Reddit
Photo credit: corruptious/Reddit
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We love the person that decided Doritos Cool Ranch chips needed to be stocked in the cooler section of the grocery store.

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The only issue is that this decision can only mean the shelf-stocker clearly has not had Cool Ranch chips before and, if so, they're seriously missing out on one of life's greatest gifts.

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These Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers

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Photo credit: Seely2593/Reddit
Photo credit: Seely2593/Reddit
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This is a clear example of siblings taking your requests too literally just to be petty. This person's brother had to work on Thanksgiving and asked their sibling to "save them a little bit of everything".

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We hope they ate something before coming home to these leftovers.

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This Brother Who Only Ate Half The Grapes

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Photo credit: @Jaaaaamomma/Twitter
Photo credit: @Jaaaaamomma/Twitter
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This girl tried to be a good older sister and offer up half her grapes, until her four-year-old brother came back with this hilarity. It's times like this where you regret trying to be a nice person.

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Seriously, we can't tell if he did this on purpose or just took her too literally, but we love it.

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This Kid Who Wasn't Allowed To Step Foot Outside

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Photo credit: relational/Reddit
Photo credit: relational/Reddit
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It seems like the only way to keep kids in line is by making sure all parents have a basic understanding of complex legal languages.

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Becuase apparently you need a contract with fine print to make sure your kid doesn't "step foot outside".

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This Kid Who Was Told To Use His Chopsticks

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Photo credit: drbatookhan/Imgur
Photo credit: drbatookhan/Imgur
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There are a million things that can go wrong when you bring your kid to a restaurant, but this clever use of chopsticks isn't the worst.

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His parents told him that he had to use the chopsticks at the restaurant and it looks like he took that direction to heart, even when his soup arrived.

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The Singapore Food Stand Selling This Ice Cream Sandwich

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Photo credit: jumpdolph/Imgur
Photo credit: jumpdolph/Imgur
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The ice cream cart in Singapore serving this very literal ice cream sandwich may seem like they're just providing a knockoff, when in reality they are business marketing geniuses.

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Not only can they advertise their product as "ice cream sandwiches," but they lower their business costs using sliced bread.

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This Son Who Was Asked To Hang The Laundry

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Photo credit: @KaysonCoakley/Twitter
Photo credit: @KaysonCoakley/Twitter
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This Scottish kid's mom was not impressed when he hung the note rather than the sheets outside to dry and was quickly reminded of how cheeky the kid she raised could be.

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In his defense, why would wet sheets be folded already? Why would you hang dry sheets outside? Who knows what they do over in Scotland.

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This Kid Who Needed His Floor To Be Spotless

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Photo credit: dollarspeed/Reddit
Photo credit: dollarspeed/Reddit
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We're a bit salty we didn't think of this when we were kids. All those times our moms told us to pick up everything off the floor, and we all actually put away everything!

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Granted, not all of us got bunk beds to throw all our stuff on and still have a place to sleep at night.

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This Bring Your Fish To School Day

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Photo credit: drbatookhan/Imgur
Photo credit: drbatookhan/Imgur
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Well... he did bring a fish for "bring your fish to school day." His fish is actually a lot more useful than all those other fish just swimming around doing nothing.

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You know what they say: teach a kid to fish and he'll provide for his entire classroom.

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This Kid Who Was Told He Couldn't Play Games Inside

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Photo credit: reviewstl/Imgur
Photo credit: reviewstl/Imgur
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Gen Z is getting out of hand. This first generation to grow up with the Internet can't get enough of it.

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This kid definitely didn't take his mom's order to get outside too literally on his own. He probably Googled "how to out-smart your parents."

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This Guest Bathroom's Hand Soap

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Photo credit: dmce01/Reddit
Photo credit: dmce01/Reddit
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We're not sure if this very literal hand soap is clever or creepy. Whoever made the soap would have to pour it into tiny hand molds which you could really only get from ripping the hands off toy dolls.

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We can only hope that any guests have a similar sense of humor, or they probably won't be returning.

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This Engraver

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Photo credit: laxster_2/Reddit
Photo credit: laxster_2/Reddit
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There is something about engraving and cake decorating that seems to make people forget how to logically read an order form. Usually, it's just misspelling or reading private directions, but this one takes the cake.

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Whoever engraved this must have realized their mistake by the second line but continued on anyways.

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This Traffic-Obeying Pedestrian

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Photo credit: ah-ah-a-ra-ah-ah/Reddit
Photo credit: ah-ah-a-ra-ah-ah/Reddit
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Road safety isn't the worst thing you can take too literally. It's better to take double the time getting home than risk breaking the sidewalk-traffic law.

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This girl must have grown up in a household with the utmost respect for road signs.

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The Sibling Who Saved Some Of The Lucky Charms

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Photo credit: Reddit
Photo credit: Reddit
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Shoutout to the kid who took the time and effort to pick out every single marshmallow after their sibling asked them to save them some Lucky Charms.

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Everyone knows the marshmallows are the only good part, so this was not simply a misunderstanding, but an act of petty vengeance.

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This Dog Who Was Told To Sit On His Bed

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Photo credit: iloveyoursun/Reddit
Photo credit: iloveyoursun/Reddit
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Dogs are so pure. Even when they mess up and take something way too literally, how can you get mad? This little pug was told to sit on his dog bed so he did just that.

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The owners should be giving him extra praise for being such a good boy.

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The Husband Who Followed His Wife's Orders

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Photo credit: arbucklefatty/Reddit
Photo credit: arbucklefatty/Reddit
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Something like this is clearly a preamble to the dad joke. This husband must be working his way up to dad jokes and began by taking directions so literally.

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We can only assume when his wife asked, "can you put the shampoo in the bathroom?" that she didn't mean this.

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The Justin Tuck Fan Who Keeps It Classy

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Photo credit: ctmarlin/Imgur
Photo credit: ctmarlin/Imgur
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A tucked in jersey is not a common sight at NFL games but we're okay with that changing for the sake of this clever man.

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10 to 1 odds that this man's favorite player isn't even Justin Tuck, but he bought the jersey just for an elaborate dad joke. And we're totally fine with it.

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The Person Who Took A Bus Stop Ad To Heart

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Photo credit: vfhuuuu/Reddit
Photo credit: vfhuuuu/Reddit
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We don't advocate vandalism but, hey, the sign did egg them on. What was Mike's Hard Lemonade expecting when they post an add like that surrounded by glass?

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Seriously, this is a lesson in why we can't trust anyone nowadays because there's always one person who will take something way too literally.

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One Of The Many Who Don't Understand Drive-Thrus

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Photo credit: Reddit
Photo credit: Reddit
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Ah, the drive-thru. We all love them. We can now get our food, our coffee, even our prescription drugs, without the burden of stepping out of our cars.

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Yet somehow, despite how common they are, there's still the special few who take it too literally and drive right thru the store. When will they learn?