For some people, their dad’s past and background are a bit of a mystery.

I am one of those people.

I know where my dad is from and where we grew up, but that’s really about it. He’s never told me about any of the hijinx that he and his friends got into when he was young or anything like that.

Oh well, maybe someday he’ll go on the record with me about the wild stuff from his past…but until then I’ll just have to enjoy these stories from complete strangers.

AskReddit users shared some great stories about their dear old dads.

1. That’s cool.

“Him and his pals were thirteen years old at the time and they got to thinking/talking about their respective adolescent love lifes and who they’re “going to get” when they’re older. My pa had a girl in mind – a girl who he didn’t even interact with on a relationship level yet – but a girl nevertheless.

They decided to write down the name of their pick on a piece of paper each, and then one of them had to keep all of the pieces of paper for safekeeping.

Fast forward fifteen years and the game has been forgotten about. It’s my parents wedding day. As the car is leaving the chapel after the service, my pa’s friend stops the car and hands in an envelope through the passenger window.

Pa opens the envelope and it’s the same piece of paper that he had written on fifteen years ago with his now wife’s name on it.

It’s pretty neat.”

2. Party animal!

“When my dad first met my mom and asked her on a date he had a full ’70s style mustache. When he picked her up for their first date he no longer had a mustache.

He told my mom that he just didn’t like having facial hair anymore. In reality he had burnt it off the night before taking flaming shots of tequila.

Love that guy.”

3. The day the world changed.

“My father worked on the 68th floor of the World Trade Center and was at his desk on 9/11. He made it down the 68 floors to safety, and received a medal from the mayor for helping people down.

Many of his co-workers were not as fortunate. Amongst the dead was his boss. My father was given the promotion, and all the benefits that come with it, because his boss was killed.

The boss’ wife was left a widow. The whole office came together and had a vote to pick someone to look after the widow. My father was chosen. He would take her out every single weekend for years following 9/11 for drinks, or to catch a movie, or have a nice dinner out – basically anything to keep her mind off of her loss.

My father never told me this story. In fact, he never even mentioned this lady to me. It was only a few months ago that my father’s good friend told me.

Whether it was out of guilt or a sense of duty, my father silently went about a morally upstanding act without spreading awareness of it. I believe this is something I could learn from.”

4. Here she is!

“Back in 1975, my father asked my mother out on a date. They had known each other already because my dad’s buddy dated her a few months prior (yes, pops got permission from his buddy. No bro code violation).

Anyway, they are all drinking, smoking weed, having a great ol’ time. My mother, at the time, used to suffer from extremely bad cramps and would often pass out from the pain. Well, this happened that evening while they were at a party.

My dad thinks she is on something and refuses to listen to her when she tells him to give her a shot (the booze would ease the pain. a technique she had done countless times in the past). Well, dad doesn’t listen so mom passes out.

My father had to bring her home to her parents from their first date, unconscious, and carrying her in his arms. When my grandpa opened the door, my dad was already mentally prepared for the verbal, and likely, physical abuse that he was about to endure.

But my grandpa just smiled at him, said hello and thank you for returning her, and that he looks forward to seeing my dad again.

My dad just stands there for a minute completely dumbfounded.”

5. Proud of him.

“My dad is a native Rhodesian (now Zimbabwe). His ancestors (Huguenots) had fled France during the Reformation when the Huguenots were being killed. My mom’s parents were missionaries in Rhodesia and she started dating my dad in high school.

When they graduated, my mom came back to the states to go to university. My dad stayed in Rhodesia for a year without her before eventually realising that he would lose the chance to marry her if he stayed much longer.

So, my dad sold all of his cows (my grandpa was a farmer and gave one cow to my dad every year for his birthday), which got him enough money for a one way ticket to New York City.

He arrived in NYC in winter wearing shorts and a tshirt. He had no idea which state my mom was in but somehow was able to catch a greyhound bus and make his way to the city where he thought she’d be. He found her on the day before finals as she was studying. He asked her to marry him and the rest is history.

There are so many amazing stories about my dad, but this one always makes me especially proud.”

6. Badass!

“My dad stole a helicopter. During the last days of the Vietnam War, the airport at Saigon was being shelled by the NVA and the South Vietnamese government was collapsing.

My dad, a South Vietnamese soldier, and his drill sergeant stole a helicopter and made their way south because they thought they would have to keep fighting. Sometime during their flight they found out that South Vietnam had surrendered and they were essentially stranded in mid-air.

They flew to Thailand and met friendly forces there, and eventually made it to the US.

Btw he’s not the only soldier who did this. During the last days several Vietnamese soldiers stole whatever aircraft they could get their hands on, and they would literally land in their backyards, pick up their families, and then head out to the ocean and land on American aircraft carriers before they ran out of fuel.

Check out stories about Major Buang and Ba Van Nguyen as examples of soldiers who did this.”

7. This is awesome.

“My old man told me a story one time that I really didn’t believe until years later when I ran into my uncle who could confirm.

Okay, so this was in the early 00’s and he and my Uncle head down to Miami to do some golfing and well, mostly some drinking at the bars. It just so happened to be Spring Break. Now, they didn’t know because we’re from Canada.

They end up getting one of those deals where it’s like $50 for a bracelet that lets you drink all you want. So, he’s getting a little tipsy and Again, can’t stress enough, he’s from bum-fuck nowhere in Canada, starts shooting the shit with the college girls.

I’ve seen it before and he’s insanely good at chatting people up, real people person. So these girls come over and are laughing at his jokes etc. He starts claiming that hes a Rapper from Canada. Going off about how he goes by Two-Packs-a-Day (smokes).

As he tells it, a soft spoken African American guy with a bunch of “big bodyguard” type guys surrounding him comes over and asks to sit down beside my old man and my uncle.

The bodyguards leave and they shoot the shit for the whole time at the bar. My dad, pounding drinks back, and this guy, somehow was able to smoke joints at the bar the whole time.

He finds out from one of the college girls who were hanging around that the guy was someone named “SNOOP DOGG”, who he does not recognize at all. (Again, Bum-fuck Nowhere Canada).

Cut to a couple years later. I’m watching Old school on the TV and my old man is on the computer in the other end of the room. He goes; “Who the f*** is that?” I’m like, “Who? Will Farrell?” “No the guy with the Mic.”

Flabbergasted, I tell him that Snoop Dogg, one of the most famous rappers of all time. He proceeds to tell me this story about how that guy is just the nicest dude ever. They talked about home renovations and raising kids the whole time.

I thought he’d lost it until I brought it up around my uncle. He knew the whole time and didn’t bring it up because he thought if my Dad knew who that guy was, he’d scare him off.

Totally weird. He’s got a billion stories like that, a real good one about getting banned from public transit in all of British Columbia for a decade.”

8. A good man.

“He dropped out of school in 4th grade to work on the family farm. Then at 12 he left his country of Nepal to work in India.

He left there with the same employer who took him to India to Australia when he was 18. And from there with the same employer went to Cali in the late 80s. Stayed there for 3 years, then moved cross country to Baltimore in ’91, alone.

Stayed there for 3 years and left to Northern Virginia after being held at gunpoint thrice while running a Pizza Bolis. Then after 1 year in VA, he went to Nepal, got married, came back, and has been living in NoVA ever since.

Tough life, good man.”

9. Thief!

“My Dad is pretty reserved. Most of the time, he keeps to himself. He’s not what you’d call adventurous.

One day, my little brother has to do a project on Japan. Mum says she’ll have a look in the garage, since she went on exchange there. After a few minutes, she returns with a huge Japanese flag, which, unfolded, is about the size of our kitchen.

I’m curious, so I ask where it came from.

“Oh, your father jumped the fence of the Japanese Embassy and nicked it from up the top of the flagpole when he was still at university.”

The best bit is when I approach Dad about it that evening. He shakes his head, smirks, and just says: “I guess I should send it back with an apology letter.”

Within a week, Dad had posted the flag back to the embassy with a handwritten note.”

10. This is epic.

“My dad got knocked out by Chuck Norris.

When he was a teenager in the 1970s he lived in LA and his dad wanted him to learn to fight. They went to a dojang that Chuck Norris had helped open/funded/did guest lessons at. It was a hot day and my dad was dehydrated when Chuck Norris came in to show some kicks.

He used my dad to demonstrate and kicked just a little bit too hard in his side. It knocked the wind out of him and he fell over.

After that he wasn’t interested in martial arts.”

11. The penguin story.

“When he was in the Marines, he and his buddies had a night off while they were based somewhere (I’m not sure where, but it was cold) and they got very drunk and went out.

While walking home they saw a king penguin, so they went back to their house, grabbed a blanket, came back and threw it over the penguin and took it back to their house.

They then passed out drunk, and woke up the next morning to a house full of penguin shit, a very pissed off king penguin, and a lot of questions.”

12. Brawler.

“Growing up in a small town, I was told by every adult my fathers age that our last name used to have quite a reputation.

My dad and his brothers didn’t go to the bar without getting in a fight. Here’s one story, according to my Mother. My Dad was about 23 and he went to the bar one evening, alone, with intention of meeting his friends. Probably due to something that happened the previous weekend, he was jumped by 6 guys.

When his friends arrived, my dad was coming out of the front entrance with his white shirt covered in blood and looking like he’d had his ass handed to him. His friends saw him and went to get these guys. My dad ripped off his bloodied shirt and ran back in with them.”

13. Moonshine.

“He was a bootlegger in the 1960s in North Carolina and Tennessee.

He ran liquor between cities/towns in those states going crazy fast on back roads in big fast cars. I wish I knew more, it sounds interesting, but we aren’t on speaking terms.”

14. What a life.

“He ran away from home at the age of 12 and never went back. Hitch hiked to Florida, hustled pool and learned sign language to be able to communicate with the lady letting him live with her.

Joined the Navy at age 14. Injured by 500 lb bomb during the war. They found out his age, now 17, and gave him the option of discharge or reenlistment. He enlisted in the 82nd Airborne.

When he got out, he went to college, and then med school.”

15. In the drug trade.

“My dad was a Drug Lord in west Texas.

At one point he was arrested after a raid seized 12 Semi Truck loads worth of weed he was growing on his ranch.

However he had to be released, as by the time everything went to trial all of the evidence had magically disappeared….”

16. Good one, Dad…

“My dad tried to remove an underground yellow jacket nest in our back yard….. by setting it on fire.

So, he pours some gas in while my mom watches from the kitchen window. This should have been enough, but no, he took it one step further by lighting a match, stepping away, and throwing it into the nest.

Little did he know, the yellow jackets would have the last laugh, as their final moments approached, the ground burst open, sending not only dirt chunks flying, but releasing flaming yellowjackets which proceeded to chased my terrified father a good distance before finally succumbing to the flames.

All while my mom laughed herself to tears in the kitchen.”

What about your dad?

What’s the best story that you know about him?

Give us all the dirt in the comments!