People are chameleons. If there is one thing that most of us are really good at, it is hiding who we really are. We can blend into a group so well that it’s scary. Just think about it for a minute. It all started when you went to school. Were you ever really just yourself? No, you weren’t. You were whatever and whoever the kids around you thought that you should be, with your true colors tucked away. The troublemaker did what was expected of him. The class clown did what was expected of him. The nerd did what was expected of her. It was like a TV show. There was no escape.
But that doesn’t end with grade school. Throughout life we go around blending into our surroundings. Being different is hard. And why be different when you can just avoid all of that and blend? That is exactly the subconscious logic that most of us go through. Even at work it can be hard to let people know the real you.
Well, today we are talking about getting to know people. Real people. But we’re not talking about it in a positive way. What we mean by that is that is we’re talking about getting acquainted with somebody’s bad side. Think about the last time you played monopoly with someone. You’d had the impression that they were actually nice, didn’t you?! There are other life situations where we can really get to know people; here are 25 Events And Activities That Will Show You Somebody’s True Colors!
Featured Image: olarte.ollie via Flickr
Sims
If you want to see what somebody is really like, watch how they treat their sims or any other game where they get to play god.
Using the metro during rush hour
You thought driving was bad? Just wait until people push you straight off of the train.
IKEA furniture
More specifically, assembling IKEA furniture.
Discussing politics
There is no way that this will not go badly, especially when it comes to hot button issues like immigration.
Restaurant service
This applies primarily to North America, but you can tell a lot about a person from the way they treat the waiter and/or react to poor service.
Youtube commenting
There is perhaps not a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than any comments section on the internet.
Note: when we say “any”, we are primarily talking about Yahoo and Youtube
Drinking
It’s interesting what people will say and do when their inhibition is gone.
Social media
We’ve discussed the comments section already, but social media in general still offers a (slightly smaller) sense of anonymity that people often abuse.
Heat
Yes, heat. This counts for double if the activity involves physical labor in the heat. It’s a crucible for negative emotions.
Free giveaways
Piñatas are a classic example of this. Oh, but they’re just kids right? Well, when it comes to free stuff, we adults don’t fare much better.
Divorce
While whatever led to the divorce is probably already on this list, some divorces can be quite amicable while others….less so.
Promotions
Well, not the promotions themselves, but rather what people are willing to do to get them.
Risk
Apart from actual war, there is nothing that shows humanity’s true colors more effectively than a protracted game of Risk.
Driving
Just wait until somebody gets cut off in traffic. Now you know their true self.
Splitting an inheritance
Every lawyer will tell you…leave a will. If you don’t, there is perhaps no better way to shatter a once close family into an irreparable mess.
Black Friday
So you didn’t believe us about adults acting like children when it comes to free giveaways? Welcome to Black Friday, where people have actually died in stampedes. And the stuff isn’t even free!
Monopoly
The money might be fake, but you would never know it from the way people go at each other.
Home projects
It will be cheap they said. It will fun they said. They never, ever said anything about divorce…
Lag
We’re talking about your internet connection for all you non-gamers. This is a great way to know how patient people truly are.
Youth Sports
Actually, we’re not talking about the youth here. We’re talking about the parents. There are even cases of parents beating each other to death during games (see sentencing by Judge Charles Grabau of Middlesex County Superior Court)
Presidential elections
While this is true anywhere, it rings especially true in bipartisan, heavily polarized climates like the United States at the moment.
Wedding planning
Everybody has an opinion. Scratch that. Everybody has multiple, often conflicting opinions. And as usual, money makes it all ten times worse.
Flying
Yes, as in airplanes. The reactions that otherwise normal people can have to minor inconveniences is enough to make you lose faith in humanity. Just ask any gate agent/flight attendant/airport worker.
Capitalism & Socialism
If only you saw what people would do to each other during food shortages. Or the way they took advantage of each other under supposedly “equal” regimes. People are people. That’s why socialism failed. Capitalism simply acknowledges how scummy humans are and tries to harness it. But either way, the title of this one should really be “power”. Give someone a little power, no matter the system, and see who they really are on the inside.
UNO
This game has the power to end even the closest friendships.