/r/hypotheticalsituation

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We are a fun, interesting, and creative subreddit for you to ask what others would do in certain hypothetical situations.


ABOUT US

We are a fun, interesting, and creative subreddit for you to ask what others would do in certain hypothetical situations.


These situations can be real or imaginary, covering any kind of topic. For a good place to start, try this list of paradoxes.


This is a respectful and intelligent community where we bounce ideas back and forth. In German, it's called a Gedankenexperiment.


As such, we maintain a proper discourse, and refrain from violating the rules when submitting posts or comments.


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292,488 Subscribers

3

You have 10million Dollars But can't tell anyone or give anyone any gifts and if someone notices your new wealth it disappears

No gifts allowed. You get 10 million dollars fully and you can spend it as you wish

12 Comments
2025/01/31
21:04 UTC

0

Choose one

  • Everybody is required to read 3 new books(audiobooks count) per year, and if they don't 10% of their income is taxed and used for free universal education.
  • Once a person has more than 10 billion dollars, they're secretly kidnapped in the middle of the night and fed to the Great Kur5fur Flooubflubphh, with the rest of the world thinking that they went to Mars.
2 Comments
2025/01/31
21:01 UTC

3

You get your ideal body permanently but no one you know will recognise you

If you hate how you look, you will look exactly how you currently want to. If you're trans but haven't undergone the procedures to medically transition, you will gain the body you would have had were you born identically genetically but as your perceived gender. Your body will still age, but in such a way that you and everyone else will perceive you as having aged well. The change will take place the instant you take the deal and you won't feel anything as it happens. Anyone you know will not recognise you or remember your former self at all and if they mean enough to you that you want to get close with them again you will have to go through the process or introducing yourself, becoming friends, getting close, etc again.. In a relationship/married? Not anymore. Friends? None.

4 Comments
2025/01/31
20:55 UTC

1

$50,000 for Every Grape

You get $50,000 for each grape you eat. There are 1,000. One of them is poison and will instantly kill you and there is no way to tell which one. How many grapes are you eating?

8 Comments
2025/01/31
20:40 UTC

1

200k but you cant do anything that involves or is related to sex for 5 months straight

Yup you cant even masturbate for 5 months,you have to temporarily be a prude. Would you do it?

10 Comments
2025/01/31
20:35 UTC

8

Immortality but no sex

You become immortal, also guaranteed lucky as in you won't die in a car crash, but you have to give up sex forever.

But also this way, sex is your exit strategy, if you get bored of immortality you can start having sex and die.

Do you take the deal?

18 Comments
2025/01/31
20:23 UTC

1

You are paid 10 million dollars for every crime against humanity you commit within the next 30 days

You have 2 days of prep time. You can only do each crime once. The crime has to be done to an unsuspecting group of people as it would normally happen. So no meeting up with people beforehand and planning it out. You cannot tell people why you are doing this. You will not face any legal repercussions, but people will still know your name. Nothing will happen from any of their actions, and you are immune from assassination by them.

If you take the deal how many crimes do you commit?

Edited so the hypothetical made sense (person —-> people)

14 Comments
2025/01/31
20:11 UTC

1

50 tries to make a half court shot to win 10 million

First time poster so hope I’m doing this right

You get 50 tries to make a half court shot NBA court style. You hit it and you win 10 million

However if you don’t make the shot, you have to pay 50k to whoever offered you this deal. If you don’t have the 50K then you take out the loan

Would you participate or no? Also once you say yes and take the first shot, you can’t change your mind about the competition

16 Comments
2025/01/31
20:10 UTC

6

Give up 15% of your salary but any food you eat over your alloted calories does not count.

Imagine an app that lets you set your daily calorie target—say, 1,800 calories. Once you reach that limit, any extra calories you consume have no impact on your body. You can eat whatever you want, gaining or losing as much weight as you choose.

You’d still feel full and experience the effects of overeating, but there’d be no lasting consequences.

The catch? The app costs 15% of your salary.

8 Comments
2025/01/31
19:52 UTC

7

1 billion dollars to spend in the next 10 minutes

If you don't spend ALL of it, you lose it all

How do you spend it?

72 Comments
2025/01/31
19:46 UTC

0

would you kill someone if it meant the difference between being imprisoned?

factor in life imprisonment / short term, etc in prison you have no true freedom and your reputation is marred upon getting out if you cannot become self sufficient; in my opinion death is a better alternative to a life behind bars, and suicide in prison is difficult and ineffective

4 Comments
2025/01/31
19:28 UTC

64

$5,000,000 but every time you pee, you have to poop, and vice versa for the rest of your life

Like title, If you have to pee, you also poop, if you poop, you have to pee. Non taxed, cash.

91 Comments
2025/01/31
19:07 UTC

4

Would you rather commit a horrible thing and no one will know about it or you don't commit but everyone somehow are convinced you have done it and their mind can't be changed?

Most horrible thing you can think of.

34 Comments
2025/01/31
18:05 UTC

27

An omniscient, omnipotent god offers to "Thanos snap" away the evilest half of humanity. What do you say?

The god will rank everyone from most evil to least evil (or least good to most good, however you want to look at it). The god is omniscient and knows the intentions of everyone. So an ex-criminal who feels genuine remorse, tried to make things right, and now leads a wholesome life will be considered less evil than someone who has never committed a crime but is planning to shoot up a school for fun.

You do not know all the details of the moral values of the god, but may assume that it aligns with universally agreed upon standards. That is, premeditated murder is worse than cheating on your spouse, which is worse than shoplifting a loaf of bread to feed your children. As the example shows, legality does not play into the god's judgement (adultery is generally legal but shoplifting isn't). All other things equal, someone who is mean will be considered more evil than someone who is kind. The god also does not adhere to arbitrary moral standards from religion (i.e. being gay, atheist, Sunday worker, etc. is not considered evil).

The 50% is not negotiable, so for those who believe that most people are good (which I hope is everyone, but who knows), that means many more-good-than-evil people will not make it. Who knows where the line will be drawn... Maybe people who don't return their shopping carts

The people who get eliminated will not feel any pain. Of course, some of the people who remain may feel sad, as a child may find that their parents have vanished. It can be argued that the remaining good people will eventually sort out the chaos in the best way possible. For example, there won't be looting of empty homes.

One week before the snap, there will be a telepathic announcement made into everyone's heads so that people know what will happen. Assume everyone believes this message. So you don't have to worry about an airline pilot who abuse animals vanishing and sending a plane full of Buddhist monks crashing.

The god lays out this plan before you and asks whether the god should do it.

117 Comments
2025/01/31
17:55 UTC

10

You are in an uber when all of a sudden the driver starts crying and says he doesn’t want to live anymore and will crash the car. You must choose between 3 options

Option 1. Console him and attempt to calm him down

Option 2, knock him out and try to take control of the steering wheel

Option 3 jump from the car

36 Comments
2025/01/31
17:40 UTC

5

An alien grants one of you a wish

An alien posts the following on this subreddit: “Greetings , I am yfjfuihd from oyddiph. I have been reading you posts here, and am amazed at the abundance of wish granting entities on your world. On my world, I am one of only 12 wish grantees, but you seem to have hundreds.

Unlike most of the posters, I can only grant a wish to one sapient at a time. As most of the posts here follow a pattern, I will attempt to offer a wish in keeping with your culture.

I offer wealth sufficient to remove you and your family from the burdens of capitalism. But you must make an appropriate sacrifice. I’m not sure what constitutes a sacrifice on your world, so I will let you choose a sacrifice. The sapient who makes the greatest sacrifice, as determined by upvotes, gets the wish.”

For some reason, when you read their post you believe it to be absolutely true.

What is your offer?

17 Comments
2025/01/31
17:37 UTC

16

How would you react if your doorbell rang, and when you answered if, a baby kangaroo was standing there with a box of Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts?

37 Comments
2025/01/31
17:32 UTC

0

You receive a letter in the mail.....

The envelope is addressed to you, has no return address, and is postmarked from a city where you don't know anyone. You do not recognize the handwritting.

Inside is a note that says: "You will be murdered on February 24th, 2025."

What do you do?

11 Comments
2025/01/31
17:06 UTC

50

You get 100 million , but for the next 10 years, every animal you see will try to chase you.

Rules: Title says it all . You get 100 million , but whatever animal you see within a 10 year span , it will chase you. Do you take it or not ?

Edit:

removed the edit , because they are not allowed

126 Comments
2025/01/31
16:42 UTC

2

Happiest day of your life!

You get the happiest day of your life. Any and everything is a possibility. Except, you absolutely will not remember it the next day for the rest of your life and there can be no reminders. I.E. cash in your bank account, photos, stock, etc.

Everyone else remembers and are bound from telling you by law.

Do you take it?

7 Comments
2025/01/31
16:14 UTC

24

2 Million Dollars if you skydive but there is a 2 percent chance the parachute does not open.

Simple, you skydive, land, and then receive 2 million dollars. However, there is a 2 percent chance the parachute does not open, resulting in immediate death. Do you take the offer?

70 Comments
2025/01/31
16:05 UTC

2

You're a soldier

You're meeting with General Benjamin Mayfield. He stood up as the new leader of the country after The Great War killed most of humanity. You're his best soldier and you two are meeting to discuss your upcoming solo operation.

You enter his office and find him with his back turned away from you; viewing a picture of his daughter, Vyr. She was recently killed in action. He places the picture down and turns to you.

You: "Sir, I'm... sorry for you loss." He briefly pauses.

Mayfield: "That's not what we're here to talk about. There's been a change of plans. Forget the operation to recover the EMP. Just grab the data and go. Understood?"

You: "But... sir, how—"

Mayfield: "I'll figure it out."

You: "It's impossible. We don't stand a chance without that EMP. It's our only hope." He sharply rises from his desk.

Mayfield: "ENOUGH!" He sighs. "Vyr isn't here anymore. You're the best I have now. You can't stay on that base a second longer than you need to. It's too risky."

You: "Sir, I am a soldier."

Mayfield: "SHUT UP!"

You: "Risking my life is what I do!" Mayfield smacks you across the face, bloodying your nose and knocking you to the floor. You instinctively draw your pistol, pointing it low, and scoot back to the door behind you. Mayfield gives you a tired stare before sighing and turning away from you.

Mayfield: "If anyone asks, you fell off your bike. You are dismissed." You holster your gun and leave. Mayfield definitely crossed the line, but he's under an immense amount of stress. Everyone's looking at him to solve the world's problems. And now, he's mourning the lost of his daughter.

Will you keep quiet about what happened? Or will you speak up?

What do you do?

1 Comment
2025/01/31
16:00 UTC

314

$100 for every serving of alcohol for the rest of your life.

Pretty much as the title says. Your life remains entirely the same, but every time you finish a standard serving of alcohol (5 oz glass of wine, 12 oz beer, 1.5 oz of liquor, for these purposes) $100 US is deposited in your bank account. The downside is that all long and short term physical, mental, and societal negatives remain unchanged. Your current potential for dependency is still there, the harm you’re possibly doing to your body is not lessened, and you are still fully responsible for any actions taken while drunk or drinking. Hangovers also occur with the frequency and severity they currently do for you. There is no minimum or maximum you can earn, but this is unable to be turned off for the rest of your life. If you don’t drink now, no harm or gain will happen to you.
You are still required to obtain the booze yourself at whatever the standard cost for the drink is, so in terms of profit you’re making much less drinking a $60 pour of bourbon vs. a 99¢ shooter from the gas station. Unexpected $1000 bill due? You’re just a 12 pack away from covering it. Want to quit your job and become a “professional” drinker? 3 drinks a day earns you just over $100k a year, but your liver might eventually crap out much earlier than it should. Do you take this deal, and perhaps more importantly, do you think you could regulate yourself knowing that short term financial security may have long term health issues?

615 Comments
2025/01/31
15:40 UTC

71

You can only say one word for the year. What word do you choose?

Everyone over age 12 must choose one word to say for an entire year. You can say that word as many times as you want, but it's the only word you are capable of saying. You get to pick a new one annually, but until then, that’s it—your only spoken word.

Society would adapt for different communication. What word would you choose?

326 Comments
2025/01/31
15:39 UTC

0

How would you react if a neighborhood kid did this prank to you.....

On a warm spring or autumn night, you are sitting in your bedroom watching TV, on reddit, whatever, and your bedroom window is open.

Suddenly a spray of liquid comes flying in through your window, you don't know it at the time, but it's grape soda. And it gets all over the place and possibly you depending on your position relative to the window.

If you look out your window, you'll see some kid running away, carrying a super soaker, laughing.

He's like 13 and is a neighborhood kid but you don't know his name or where he lives.

Lol how would you react?

6 Comments
2025/01/31
15:34 UTC

185

Youre sick for an entire year but you get 5M at the end if it

The sickness itself can never progress to the point where it alone can kill you, but you are still responsible for making sure you get enough nutrients and stay hydrated throughout the year.

Every week the sickness starts over with Monday : symptoms are at their lowest and you have a scratchy throat which makes it slightly painful to swallow

Tuesday - Wednesday : You have a running feaver and a massive bubble feeling in your stomach

Thursday - Saturday : you have full fledged flu symptoms including vomiting, headaches, clogged nose, body pains and weakness

Sunday : youre on the tail end of the sickness, major flu symptoms are gone but you still feel slightly under the weather

All for it to repeat until the end of the year, do you take the 5M ?

129 Comments
2025/01/31
15:28 UTC

1

In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hank's character gets lost at sea and ends up in an island for four years. Tom's Wife, Helen, gets remarried in that time frame and has a child with her new husband.

If you were the partner that remarried in this hypothetical scenario and the one you thought you lost was the love of your life, do you continue with the new marriage given there is strong roots? Or do you figure out a coparenting situation?

7 Comments
2025/01/31
15:17 UTC

2

Who is held accountable?

Hypothetically Let’s say you and your ex share joint custody of your beloved dog Bojo! It’s your month to keep your dog and you head to doggy daycare to pick him up. Unbeknownst to you he has already been picked up by your ex! Strange right because this is your month! Moments later you get a call from the police station! Your ex and dog have been in a car accident and unfortunately your ex survived but not Bojo! Your ex doesn’t take responsibility for the accident! Even says the dog was 6 years old has arthritis and could have died soon any way! My question: is it the ex fault or your fault that the dog died?

5 Comments
2025/01/31
14:54 UTC

54

5 million USD if you reach the midfield logo at the Super Bowl.

A Mr. Beast type character offers you 5 million dollars if sometime after opening kickoff and before the final whistle, you run out of the stands and are able to reach and touch whatever logo is painted at midfield for the 2025 Super Bowl. No one but you and him knows about this bet beforehand. You will have to cover any ticket and travel expenses to get there, and if you fail you will be on your own for any legal/life consequences.

The contract remains completely secretive unless you succeed, then why you did what you did will become public knowledge. If you fail, any evidence of the contract will be deleted and you will just look like a normal field runner babbling on about some contract that didn’t exist. Assume you can trust that if you win, the money will be paid out.

You taking the deal?

48 Comments
2025/01/31
14:26 UTC

1

This is for all my bald kings, for the record, I don't know what my choice would be

You meet a magic hair fairy and they offer you this deal. Your hairline will be fully restored and you will have a full head of hair for life, BUT as soon as it grows in sufficiently you have to get a broccoli haircut, and if you're not curly naturally, then a perm to complete the look. You are required to rock this broccoli cut for 1 full year and you just have to roll with it. You can't tell anyone why you've chosen this hairstyle, except your partner, if you have one before you meet the magic hair fairy who makes you this offer, and your partner can't tell anyone else.

Edited for clarity.

4 Comments
2025/01/31
14:10 UTC

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