...and then I found $20.

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mrs_hippiequeen@reddit

i swear i heard a stand up comic talk about this on stage once, and i have used it ever since!

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Quikies83@reddit

Def used this before with friends in mid-west “And then I found $5” Adjusted for inflation would bring it to $20

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zoddie3@reddit

Yep, $5 and grew up in the Northeast.

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Kandlish@reddit

Iowa here - it was $5 in the late 90s.

We also used "I like oranges" to interrupt awkward moments. If you needed to get the conversation rolling, you could ask someone else how they felt about oranges.

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thetallnathan@reddit

I once actually did find a $5 bill on a sidewalk. When I got home, I purposefully started telling my then-wife a meandering, boring story so she would interject, “And then you found five dollars.”

I pulled the bill out of my pocket and exclaimed, “Actually yes!”

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elphaba00@reddit

Grew up in Illinois, and I definitely feel like I’ve been saying this since the late 90s. I’ve always said $20.

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LifeWithEloise@reddit

Co-sign the $5! My friends and I still say this at the end of a boring anecdote

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Big_Somewhere9230@reddit

Grew up in Indiana, and then I found $5.

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Sutcliffe@reddit

This was definitely a staple in college.

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eaglewatch1945@reddit

..., and that's how I saved Christmas.

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Scherzkeks@reddit

…and that’s why you always leave a note!

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

J. Walter Werherman, the man who scared us as children and once when we were adults!

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False-Storm-5794@reddit

I'm going to start throwing this into random conversations!

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abernathym@reddit

I must of been poor, cause I always said $5.

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bodhemon@reddit

I do "...and then Japanese tourists starting taking pictures of us."

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Govain@reddit

I do this all the time. Sometimes if the story is really bombing I'll find $50.

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Opunaesala@reddit

Maybe a regional thing, I've never heard that before.

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

I guess I hadn't considered that possibility. I'm in SE Pennsylvania, but I remember it from college in the NY area as well.

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jbenze@reddit

I grew up and went to college (and still live) in NY and I never heard it. Maybe it's an upstate thing.

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dewnuts@reddit

Grew up in Wisconsin. I've definitely said this.

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sexwiththebabysitter@reddit

Also from SE PA and I don’t remember this

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hypnofedX@reddit

I grew up in New Jersey and it's new to me as well.

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On_my_last_spoon@reddit

Went to college in NYC never heard it there

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PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit

Huh, I am from that area too and never heard it.

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mrschukchuk@reddit

Philly area. Definitely remember this from high school and college!

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Available_Ad_4030@reddit

I grew up in a DC suburb and it was a thing there.

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littlemama9242@reddit

I'm in NY and my friends and I would say it

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psyclopsus@reddit

I’m in central OH and absolutely said this, but like others have mentioned it was $5

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lcl0706@reddit

I remember it and I’m from the KCMO area. I definitely said it.

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TheAngerMonkey@reddit

College in Texas, grad school in Indiana, and I heard it both places (as $5.)

I DO think the friend who used it in grad school was a Cornell kid, so maybe it WAS originally a New York state thing?

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goosedog79@reddit

Hmm, in NJ we always kept a random $20 in a jacket or hidden somewhere in our cars, but I don’t remember stories about finding $20.

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RoyalZeal@reddit

To be fair I have actually found 20$ a couple of times so it's not even untrue lol.

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mnfimo@reddit

I thought this was a small gag amongst my college buddies, did you got to KU? Never shake a baby

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

I think we gotta lead!

No, I didn't go to KU but my roommate's girlfriend (now wife) sure did! We're on to something.

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john_the_quain@reddit

Pitt State checking in. Definitely used it, still occasionally do.

Stories often started with “so I was balls deep…”

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BidInteresting8923@reddit

Had a friend in Indiana (from the Chicago area) who often started stories with “so I was balls deep”

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Emannuelle-in-space@reddit

I have no connection to Kansas and I do this. Sometimes I combine it with the other common one “…and so I punched him in the face and found $20”.

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lcl0706@reddit

Hahaha literally just commented above that I’m from the KCMO area and said it

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taleofbenji@reddit

I grew up in Kansas and definitely heard it there. Although only took $5 back then to rescue a boring story.

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This is hilarious because I started using this back in high school in Georgia … but I lived in Lawrence KS in the early 2000s! In fact, I can’t say that I ever heard anyone use it while I lived there.

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Quikies83@reddit

This is where I heard it - KCMO back in 2007

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islipped83@reddit

We still use it in my family, mostly at my mom 😆

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Secret_Elevator17@reddit

NC and have heard of it but I'm not sure when, I know it was used in college, just not sure if I heard it before that.

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RealityOk9823@reddit

Vaguely remember this.

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zzz242zzz@reddit

One time a friend had an eighth of weed literally hit her in the legs while we were smoking outside. It was super windy on a college campus at night. She was stoked!

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macrocosm93@reddit

I just awkwardly stop talking.

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fuzzydice82@reddit

I had a group of guys that I sometimes hung out with in high school who had the “…and then I found $5” ending that I thought was clever since I had only ever heard it from them.

I also worked with a girl who had a really good dry sense of humor who one time ended her meandering story out of nowhere with “…and then I showed my boobs.”

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ksgar77@reddit

It was “and then I found $5”…but with inflation out would be like $20 now.

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Mike__O@reddit

When I'm on the receiving end of those kind of stories, I will think nothing of dropping a "Cool story bro" complete with a thums up

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Dazzling-Skin-308@reddit

I think I heard one of my dad's co-workers say this, when I was a kid... I thought it was to see if I was paying attention or something. 😅

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cbih@reddit

Cool story, Hansel

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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

Hänsel?

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cbih@reddit

Zoolander

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S4V4NN4H_G4@reddit

I still do that. PNW. '85.

I have recently start using "I lost $20🥺" -- to explain, when I am inexplicably sad.

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Ineedavodka2019@reddit

I mean I actually DID find $20.

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Zuccherina@reddit

Hmmmm… I’ve never heard this but… We did the same thing with “and then I died.” I forgot all about that!

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RainbowUnicorn0228@reddit

Idk but once I found a $20 bill folded up inside the coin slot of a pay phone.

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monstermack1977@reddit

I made a joke out of that phrase. Whenever my mom would tell a long boring story I'd always ask if she found $20 at the end of it, because that'd would have been cooler.

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ChickenArise@reddit

'and then I jerked off' or 'and then I jerked him/her off'

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rpmsm@reddit

I always said $5

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lost_horizons@reddit

I HAVE heard of this. I have NOT heard it said in years though. Maybe I’ll bring it back

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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

"And they made me their chief."

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DrewZouk@reddit

I had a different one. "I was young and I needed the money."

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Individual_Check_442@reddit

Never heard it either

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elevencharles@reddit

I’d never heard this, but my girlfriend (born ‘88, grew up in CT) says it all the time.

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Usual-Bag-3605@reddit

Never heard of it. In middle school, my friends and I started saying "and then the aliens came" in that sort of situation, but it was in reference to a conversation where someone literally ended their story that way and, for some reason, we thought it was hilarious so just started doing it amongst ourselves.

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tiny_purple_Alfador@reddit

I go with the "So I tied an onion onto my belt, as was the style at the time".

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AshDogBucket@reddit

My friends and I used "... and then Steve stabbed the guy."

It came from a comedian, I can't remember who.

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Dare2BeU420@reddit

Lol, I have never used that despite most of my stories being duds but I'm gonna start, thanks! 😂

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lucidspoon@reddit

The real trick is to find a hypeman. A guy at my company is so great at making even boring stories seen interesting. I'll tell him something boring that happened, and he gets so excited about it. Later, he'll tell other people, and they'll be super interested and want to talk to me about it. It's magical.

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Dare2BeU420@reddit

Lol, that's awesome.

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Outrageous_Way_4258@reddit

I’m from CA and used this a lot, except it was $5. Also around the same time I would get people to actually listen to my dream stories by telling them they were in it. No gives a shit about your dreams otherwise

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LineImpossible3958@reddit

This is new to me

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eels-eels-eels@reddit

I’ve heard that, but more often it was, “…and then I got bit by a squirrel.”

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okayyayayay@reddit

We say $5

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taleofbenji@reddit

OMG I thought that was just from one friend of mine.

Although his was $5.

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FoppyRETURNS@reddit

I remember when Homer bought goods and services with $20

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yodellingllama_@reddit

$20 can buy many peanuts.

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CelticSith@reddit

Poor guy just wanted a peanut

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heyitscory@reddit

explain how

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nothingaspen@reddit

It was $5 and we said it all the time! This would be in Minnesota/Iowa. Usually got a good laugh

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IloveMe80@reddit

My group would do this but we said and then I was running down the street naked. That always got everyone’s attention back to the story

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PilotC150@reddit

From Minnesota and I definitely remember that.

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nothingaspen@reddit

Same, we said it a lot in college

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an_inverse@reddit

And then I fkked your mom.

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FletchMom@reddit

No, I never did. But my husband, who is solid Gen X, always says, “Could have used a vampire” when I tell him a long story about something in my real life that is uninteresting LOL

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whinniethepony@reddit

I heard about this one 20/25 years ago from a friend in Philly. Her sister suggested she end her stories with "And then I found $5!" because she was a bit of a talker and her stories seemed to go nowhere and you never knew when they were over. I like to put it in at the end of some family members' stories because I'm mean and it lets them know I'm now done with this conversation. "Yeah yeah, and then you found $5."
But there was this one time that I actually did find $5 after having a shite day and nobody believed me.

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imjustamermaid@reddit

Same thing happened to me. And then I found $10… no for real!

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Hammerhandle@reddit

Inflation has sure hit hard. It was $5 back in my day too.

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Anthrax4breakfast@reddit

Nah, we always used, “and then our penises touched”. It was a good way to see who was paying attention still

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orangina_it_burns@reddit

It sounds like the GEICO commercial (I think it was them??)

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Independent-Crab-914@reddit

20$ can buy many peanuts.

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bokehtoast@reddit

Oh wow, many forgotten memories unlocked! This was definitely a thing in my friend group but it was $5

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tc_cad@reddit

One time when I was a kid, we were outside playing street hockey on a very windy day. I saw $20 blowing in the wind down the street. Went to get it. My friend also found $20, then another friend found $20. Within just a few minutes every kid had $20 which amounted to $200 total. Someone had lost a stack of $20s and the wind blew it all to us kids.

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CelticSith@reddit

If I can see they’ve tuned out, I’ve done the “..I mean I’m not gay but $20 is $20”. That usually snaps their attention right back

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CantaloupeAsleep502@reddit

I've definitely heard it, not much in about 20 years though lol

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CorgiMonsoon@reddit

https://i.redd.it/gjdtyzju90yg1.gif

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Reasonable-Company71@reddit

Hawaii-Never heard of it

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PlsContinueMrBrooder@reddit

$5 back in the day, and I still do it hehe

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PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit

I have never heard this before. Maybe it was a regional thing?

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gribbit311@reddit

or the alternative, “and I never saw my pants again.”

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DarksunDaFirst@reddit

$20?

In this economy?

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roonilwonwonweasly@reddit

Laundry was my job. One time I put a pair of someone's jeans in the dryer. They took forever to dry. I had to check them 5 times. Each time I found $20 so I went shoe shopping.

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Parabolic_Reflector@reddit

Hahaha, I still do this all the time!

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Worth_Concert_2169@reddit

lol, my Xennial husband and I just explained this to my 9 year old.

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The_C0u5@reddit

I've had to up it to 50 now cos of inflation

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

Yeah, and because "then I found a Bitcoin" makes no sense and doesn't have the same ring to it.

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edasto42@reddit

We didn’t use the $20 line. But sometimes it was ‘then we had sex’ or ‘then they died’

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Golden_Enby@reddit

The "and then they had sex" line was incredibly popular online in the 2000s. I don't recall hearing it in person, though

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hypnofedX@reddit

I had a prof in medical school who ended every story with and then they died, but it was for unrelated reasons.

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

Given a long enough timeline, he's technically correct.

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Throwaway_inSC_79@reddit

I mean, one time when getting home from work I found $60 in the front yard. Not sure where it came from, nobody in my house lost it and we rarely carry cash. There was a moving truck down the street, but the wind wasn’t really blowing from that direction that day. And the next door neighbors were out of town (from the direction the wind wasn’t blowing). Nobody on the neighborhood FB page asked if anybody found it, and it’s not like I’m going to say “found $60, is it yours?” Because who’s not going to say “yeah that’s mine.”

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squarebodynewb@reddit

Never heard or said bc a dud is brewing. Just take the L.

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SilverAsparagus2985@reddit

So….it doesn’t end with “and that’s what she said?”

🤔

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Ralinor@reddit

Closest I have is a thing we did in high school. We were fairly near an airport and sometimes planes would fly too low over us. Whenever that happened we’d just start moving our mouths as though we were still talking and when we could finally hear again say a random punchline, like “and the horse said that’s his toupee.” Then we’d all laugh like it was the best joke ever told.

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Turbulent_Tale6497@reddit

...and then I died

Yeah, I say this a lot. Though I say five dollars. Inflation, and all that

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Frippertron42@reddit

I’m from north Jersey/NEPA and we used this but it was $10 back then

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littlemama9242@reddit

I always would say "and then you found $10" at the end of someone else's boring story lol. I still do sometimes

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Seven19td@reddit

Never heard this one but mine was and sometimes still is “Big Gulps huh? Cool. Welp, see ya later!”

gif

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Objective-Plum1201@reddit

The amount of people who haven’t used this is crazy to me. I really thought this would have been universal.

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

I know, I'm questioning my sanity. Was it just used so much in my friend group that I thought it was more universal? I'm seeing other people who use it tend toward SE PA and the Midwest. Where are you from?

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Objective-Plum1201@reddit

I’m from Colorado. So nowhere near you.

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Astrazigniferi@reddit

Never heard this one before, but then, my social awareness isn’t great and I don’t think I ever noticed I was losing my audience before it was too late until I was well into adulthood. Makes me think of Reddit’s obsession with the Loch Ness monster needing tree fiddy, though. Just give the poor thing some bus money and move on.

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TrixieLaBouche@reddit

And then I got off the bus.......maybe only Richard Herring fans get that ending

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Brian1326@reddit

It was "and then I found $5" where I was in the Midwest. I always assumed it was from a movie or something but I guess not.

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DJmagikMIKE@reddit

Never heard that one before. But the go to among my group of friends when attention started to drift was ,” So then there I was…balls deep.” That usually got a reaction.

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TheAngerMonkey@reddit

Oh, our version was "...and then I found FIVE DOLLARS!"

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beachbummeddd@reddit

…and then the aliens came down and abducted me

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scizzix@reddit

Yeah, I think this is a You thing, rather than a generational thing.

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UnderH20giraffe@reddit

We did it all the time but with $5 cause $20 was like a million dollars back then

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PeterGibbons316@reddit

Yes, for us it was $5, but same principle.

I was dating my now wife and had been invited to Christmas dinner. We were there with her whole family and her mom told the most boring story you've ever hear and then at the very end she unknowingly said "OH! And then I found $5!!!" My wife and I immediately BURST out laughing and no one knew why. We shared this with everyone and we all got a good kick out of it.

......and then I found $5.

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Revolutionary-Good22@reddit

Lol yes, I've definitely don't this as an "out" of a story everyone has checked out on!

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WasteOfBerries@reddit

$20???
"Thank you, sir. And with my newfound wealth, I shall be able to treat myself to a Happy Meal!"

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Vic131231@reddit

Never heard of that either! Where are you from? Maybe it's regional? Or you're discovering right now this is something your family did and no one else ? 😂 I'm so curious about this

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NonsequiturSushi@reddit (OP)

Answered in another post, but I'm in SE Pennsylvania and was in the NY area for college.

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Fun_Skirt8220@reddit

I am also these two things, but we ended things with "next day we found him, all liquor'd up. True story! "

But that was regional to us 😄

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