Alex Buscemi
Dads have a way of turning ordinary moments into something unforgettable, whether it’s by embarrassing their kids, pulling off legendary pranks, or stepping up in ways no one saw coming.
People on Reddit are sharing their favorite “one time my dad…” stories, and the results are equal parts hilarious and heartwarming.
Some of these wholesome dads are protective, some are chaotic, and some are just flat-out ridiculous in the best way possible.
From showing up at the right time with the perfect dad joke to somehow creating a minor disaster with the most innocent intentions, these stories prove that dads really do operate on their own wavelength.
Whether they’re defending their kid’s honor in the most unexpected way or just making the family laugh until they cry, these moments are exactly what makes dads so iconic.
Scroll on for some of the best.
1.
One time my dad defended my honor in the form of a snowball fight/massacre, which I didn’t learn about until nearly a decade later.
I was maybe 7 or 8 years old walking home from my friend’s house after enjoying a snow day sledding around in her hilly backyard. Apparently, the neighborhood boys around my age (I am a girl) spent their day building a fort structure. I remember stopping briefly to admire it, but no kids were in sight. Suddenly, about 5 boys popped out the back of the fort and pummeled me with snowballs.They really did a number on me. I was a really tiny little girl, and these dumb boys didn’t understand they were going too far. I was down on the ground and still getting nailed—mostly in the head/face area. After the initial shock, I made efforts to block the shots with my snow saucer and finally got on my feet to run. They followed me until they ran out of projectiles and retreated.
Then my dad’s car pulled up next to me. He had gone to work that day, despite the snow, and had just pulled into the neighborhood.
“Hey kid, need a ride?”
I got in, and he saw I’d been crying. At first, I wouldn’t tell him why I was upset, but once we pulled into the driveway, he wouldn’t let me out of the car until I explained. After I told him, he said to go inside and get washed up for dinner—he’d be back soon.
Ten years later, I was planning a high school graduation cookout at our house, and some of those boys told me they didn’t feel comfortable hanging out at my parents’ house. Confused, I asked why.
Apparently, on that fateful day, my dad drove back to the fort, made the boys come out, and—still in his suit and tie—demolished their fort. He then made huge man-sized snowballs and made sure each kid got a face full of their own work.
Absolutely legendary.
2.
One time my dad waited till my three siblings and I had gone to bed on Christmas Eve, then he shouted, “I don’t care who you are, fat man, get that sled off my roof!” We were all up and telling Dad not to yell at Santa.
3.
One time my dad scared the life out of a guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
I got peer pressured into going on a double date with a guy I hated. I had told him I hated him. We both worked at the local fast food joint. He asked me out in a way that put me on the spot—he showed up on his day off, dressed like he was going to a wedding, brought me flowers, and asked in the middle of a lunch rush. Mortified, I said yes just to get out of the situation.After the date, it was obvious I wasn’t interested, but he kept calling, texting, and even leaving weird, threatening voicemails. My parents noticed my change in mood, so I told them everything and played the messages for them.
My dad asked when we next had a shift together. That night, after his factory shift, my dad—big, covered in grease, looking absolutely terrifying—stormed into the restaurant.
“Where is the son of a b****?” he asked, eyes locked on the guy. The whole place froze.
The guy looked like he was about to wet himself. My dad pointed at him and said, “LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE OR I’LL GO BACK TO JAIL.”
Then he gave me a hug, told me Mom was cooking dinner, and walked out like nothing had happened.
That guy went on break and never came back.
4.
I am Bengali, and as all good Bengalis, we went to see tigers in North Bengal. (Spoiler: no tigers.)
After a disappointing day of seeing no wild animals, we stopped at a dried-up riverbed as the sun was setting. Suddenly, we heard a deep growl. Monkeys started going nuts. The telltale sign of a tiger nearby. The guide told us to rush to our jeeps.After an hour of waiting, we saw no tigers and headed home. The next morning, while everyone was still talking about the growl, my dad pulled me aside.
It was a burp.
A freaking burp.
So, I can proudly say that once, my dad burped so hard, the jungle thought it was a tiger.
5.
One time my dad saw I was in a really low mood, so he walked into my room, grabbed my trash Hatsune Miku wig and my swim goggles, put them both on, and followed me around for ten minutes, completely nonchalant, to make me laugh.
Imagine a large, imposing man wearing a teal pigtail wig and goggles so old they were turning brown, casually making himself a sandwich.
6.
One time my dad ripped a massive fart, and all the power in the neighborhood went out.
Literally—PHHHT… dark.Spoiler: Someone hit a power pole at that exact moment.
Still, as kids, we were convinced. Dad’s an electrician, and he has deadly farts. PHHHT… dark.
Now I use this as an example that correlation is not causation.
7.
One time my dad’s fart smelled so bad my dog threw up.
8.
This was a few years back, but my dad really got into my pot brownies.
I woke up in the middle of the night to him putting baby socks on my dog. His only statement was, “Dogs shouldn’t have cold feet.”
9.
One time my dad took me to my college orientation back in ‘98.
We had a family joke that whenever we saw a Jeep like ours, we’d yell, “Hey! Look! It’s Little Blackie!”Walking around campus, my dad spotted a Jeep and, true to form, yelled, “Hey! Look! Little Blackie!! LITTLE BLACKIE!!!”
Only then did I realize the only Black student on campus was walking right in front of us.
Mortified.
Luckily, we later became good friends, and when I told him the story, he thought it was hilarious. But I still cringe thinking about it.
10.
My dad was a fireman and picked me up from school in a fire engine once.
11.
One time, my older brother and I were helping my dad cut down some trees in the backyard. The chainsaw got stuck, and my dad yanked it out a little too hard—hitting my brother’s leg.
We all froze and stared at his jeans… four or so perfectly spaced holes… but no blood. He had managed to hit my brother’s pants but hadn’t cut through to his skin.The next words out of his mouth were pretty obvious:
“Don’t tell your mother!”
Twenty-plus years later, we still haven’t.
12.
After my parents got married, my dad would come home late at night, very drunk—almost every night. He never thought twice about it until my mother went into labor for the first time, and he was too drunk to drive her to the hospital.
She had to call the neighbor to take her.Since that moment, he has never touched a beer.
13.
One time my dad was an absolute badass—working from 5 in the morning until at least 6 at night on the family farm. Every single day, every single week, for 40 years.
My dad has always been a superhero to me.
14.
About five years ago, my dad accidentally cut three of his fingers off in our garage with a saw.
My niece was only five months old at the time, so growing up, she never knew my dad with all of his fingers. When she was about two and a half, she noticed one of his hands was different and asked, “Grandpoppy, what happened to your fingers?”My dad looked down at his hand all shocked and said, “Someone stole them!”
Her face was pure horror. She screamed, “Who stole your fingers?”
Without missing a beat, my dad pointed at my mom and said, “Granmommy stole them!”
My niece ran up to my mom, started beating on her legs, and checked her pockets to give back Grandpoppy’s fingers.
15.
One day, my dad answered the door in his underwear at 8 AM.
The salesman was obviously weirded out. After he left, my mom was mortified and asked why he did that.My dad shrugged and said, “If these people don’t want a show, they shouldn’t come for the matinee.”
16.
According to my grandmother, my dad, on his first day of school back in the ‘60s, came home all smiles and laughter.
The next day, when my grandmother woke him up for his second day of school, he matter-of-factly replied:“No, I’ve already been to school.”
He thought school was like the dentist—something you only had to do once.
17.
One time we went to Universal Studios, and my dad took me on The Hulk roller coaster even though he knew it would make him sick.
I was afraid of coasters, and he sacrificed himself to help me get over my fear.When we got off, his face was completely colorless, and his stomach was done working for the rest of the day—but I loved the ride.
18.
One time I was in another room when the phone rang. I heard my dad answer.
A telemarketer asked if he wanted his ductwork cleaned.He said, “Yes, I would love to have my ducks cleaned. QUACK QUACK… QUACK QUACK…”
Then he just hung up.
19.
One time my dad got so drunk he stole a Shetland pony and tried to keep it in the kitchen.
My mom was absolutely losing it while my dad was just trying to feed it carrots.
20.
We were having dinner, and my sister had brought home a big bowl of fruit salad from a BBQ.
My dad stared at the fruit salad for a while, then picked up a blueberry and asked, “What are these little blue things?”
We all stopped and were like, “How do you not know what a blueberry is?”
Then we realized my mom hates blueberries, so my dad hadn’t seen one in 45 years and just… forgot they existed.
21.
One time, my dad almost got into a fight with a guy who hit his truck mirror—but the guy stopped, looked at the damage, turned to my dad, and said, “I’m so sorry. I was about to shit myself.”
My dad, still pissed, was also visibly trying not to laugh.The guy ended up paying for the mirror, but honestly, we all respected his honesty.
22.
One time my dad took my brother’s walkie-talkie and had about ten kids in the neighborhood convinced that they had picked up a distress signal from a crashing plane.
We spent an hour running through the streets, eyes on the sky, listening to the “pilot” trying to reach someone for help.Eventually, we realized Dad had his windows open, and after every “Mayday,” we heard his heinous laughter echoing between the houses.
23.
One time my dad came home after I had a party.
There were girls dancing on the pool table, and one had left Cheeto dust stains on it. I tried to clean it up before my parents got back, but I couldn’t get it all off.Dad called me downstairs, stared at the table, and asked what happened. I couldn’t think of a lie, so I told him the truth.
He stared for a few seconds and then just said, “Nice.”
24.
When I was 17, my crush came to pick me up but just honked from the driveway.
My dad, outraged, wouldn’t let me go out. He said honking was unacceptable and kept bringing it up as an example of how I should be treated.
Years later, after I had married that same guy, I was joking about it, and my dad suddenly looked shocked.
“Wait. That was the same guy??!”
Yes, Dad. That was the same guy.
25.
One time my dad crashed a frat party during my college’s father’s weekend.
He got bored, recruited my roommate’s dad, and walked until they found a party to crash.
Not only did they talk their way in, but they also made fun of the bad liquor selection, bought the party a keg of the “good stuff,” and then my dad started DJing.
At one point, he jumped on a table to dance. The table broke.
A year later, people on campus were still talking about him.