“Waited 11 Years To Do That”: 67 Times People Got Back At Someone So Perfectly, Even The Victim Was Impressed

Most people have a sense of fairness that really gets put on edge when someone breaks it. This is one of the reasons why revenge stories are so persistent in culture. Achilles dueling Hector, The Count of Monte Cristo, John Wick, the list goes on and on.

So we’ve gathered some of the best posts and pics of people detailing a revenge story from around the internet. Get comfortable, take a moment to thank your lucky stars this didn’t happen to you, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

#1 Now Hit The Car And Leave No Note

#2 One Of The Best Revenge Against Waste Dumper

Guy finds garbage bags dumped on his farm. Opens bags to reveal dumper’s address… Then returns dumped garbage to his driveway

#3 Madrevenge

There is actual science behind why we love watching someone get their comeuppance. Researchers at Ohio State University asked 200 people to react to short scenarios where a wrongdoer was forgiven, punished fairly, or punished way harder than they deserved. The study, published in Communication Research, found that people rated the over the top punishment scenarios as the most fun, even though they admitted the forgiveness scenarios felt more meaningful.

Lead researcher Matthew Grizzard summed it up nicely when he said we enjoy stories where wrongdoers get more punishment than they technically deserve. Basically our brains know forgiveness is the mature choice while our hearts want the karma bus to arrive at full speed.

#5 How To Get Revenge 101

#6 Locked My Cat In The Bathroom While I Made A Meal Because He Was Being Annoying. Revenge Was Had

Part of this comes down to something psychologists call the just world hypothesis, the deep seated belief that people generally get what they deserve. When someone cuts in line, steals credit for your work, or scams an elderly neighbor, it creates a crack in that belief. A satisfying revenge story patches the crack right back up. It reassures us that the universe still has some kind of moral accounting system running in the background, even if real life rarely works that cleanly.

#7 Awesome Mom

#8 Not All Heros Wear Capes

#9 Innovative Revenge

There is also a timing element to why these stories land so well. Psychologist Mario Gollwitzer studies what he calls the understanding hypothesis, which suggests that revenge feels most satisfying when the person on the receiving end actually understands why it is happening to them.

#10 Sweet Revenge

#11 Maddad Petty Revenge

#12 Madlad Waits 11 Years To Get Revenge For His Wall

That is why the best revenge stories always include the moment the villain realizes exactly who outsmarted them and why. According to research on this topic, that flicker of recognition on the wrongdoer’s face is often the most emotionally rewarding part of the whole story, even more than the punishment itself.

#13

#14 Stuck In The Middle With You

#15 Saw This On Social Media…

Interestingly, actually getting revenge in real life tends to disappoint people far more than they expect. A study by social psychologist Kevin Carlsmith found that participants who got to punish someone who wronged them in an experiment often felt worse afterward, not better, because it kept the original conflict alive in their minds instead of letting them move past it. Reading about someone else’s revenge, though, comes with none of that baggage. We get all the emotional payoff of justice being served without any of the guilt, awkwardness, or lingering resentment that comes with dishing it out ourselves.

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#16

#17 The Judge Needed Revenge

#18 Guy Parked Wrong, Shop Clerks Took Revenge

This is probably why internet revenge stories have become their own genre. They let us live out the fantasy from a safe distance. Nobody has to actually confront their nightmare coworker or petty landlord, we just get to enjoy someone else doing it brilliantly, then go back to our day feeling weirdly refreshed.

#19 Revenge Is Sweet

#20 After Years Of This Guy Using My Email As A Spam Account, I Got My Revenge. He Signed My Email. Up For Siriusxm Which Also Gives Me The Ability To Beep His Horn

#21 Maybe This Will Teach Them Not To Park Like An Idiot

There is a name for the pleasure people get from someone else’s misfortune, schadenfreude, and it gets extra strong when the misfortune is deserved. A rude customer getting hit with a surprise bill, a cheating ex getting exposed by their own group chat, a bully getting outsmarted by the exact person they underestimated, these stories check every box our brains are wired to enjoy.

#22

#23 Thats So Me LOL

#24 Found It On Linkedin

So the appeal really isn’t complicated. These stories give us justice without violence, closure without confrontation, and a little proof that karma occasionally shows up on schedule. Scroll on and enjoy the show, you earned it just by putting up with your own petty grievances all week.

#25 Meirl

I work at a credit card company. Someone replied to our offer by taping the “no postage necessary” flyer to a box full of their trash and a small boulder.

#26 My Friends Parents Force Her And Her Siblings To Have A Picture With Santa Every Year. This Year They Got Revenge And Took This Beauty Home

#27 Meirl

#28 Revenge Of The Garbage Men

#29 Revenge Of The Nerd

#30 Last Week My Son Did This To His Little Sister (Top Left). Yesterday All His Sisters Took Revenge

#31 Really Expensive Revenge

#32 Me_irl

#33 Forbidden Taco Revenge

#34 As Revenge For My Brother Wrapping My Christmas Present In Duct Tape Last Year, This Year I’ve Wrapped My Brother’s Present In Concrete! Revenge Best Served Stone-Cold!