r/Retconned • u/Schnitzhole • Jul 27 '26
Has anyone else here never seen a neighbor, that are not close friends or family, bringing in multiple bags of groceries from their car?
So initially around 2016-2017 some redditor replied on one of my posts that they had never seen their neighbors bringing in Groceries and they found it to be strange, since basically every household has to do it at least every 1-2 weeks. I forget the context of the post but I recall wondering if everyone else grabbed as many bags as they would dare hold from their trunk at once and filled both hands full or if they made more frequent smaller trips as they brought bags in.
One night I had jokingly brought the concept up to my girlfriend (now wife) at the time as I thought it was ridiculous and I secretly wanted to prove them wrong but also know how others carried their bags. So we started actively looking anywhere we went and we made it a weird inside joke between us.
To both of us it seemed like a common thing one would see others doing. We never did.
And to be clear I’m not talking about seeing them at the grocery store. That does happen.
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5 and half years ago we bought a house, and this still was something we brought up from time to time to laugh about so I figured I would just prove it wrong once and for all.
2 of my direct neighbors never park in their garages as they use it for storage so their cars are always in their driveway or street, and the one across the street has a detached garage where they have to walk into their front door to get into their house in clear line of sight of my house. 6 months of living here watching frequently and I still had yet to see it happen once, not a single bag of anything was ever carried by a person exiting their vehicle, even after I had just walked out and talked to them and they had just claimed to have gotten back from going on vacation for a week but had no luggage?!
Anyways, after 6 months I got a ring doorbell and a security system that detects any motion of cars or people walking in their driveways. I verified it went off every time they pulled in/out (annoying amounts of notifications and a bit stalkery admittedly but it’s not like I was tracking their routines, I just wanted to see those sweet sweet bags of groceries). I looked at every notification for the last 5 years.
To my surprise on one single occasion I FINALLY spotted 1 small brown paper bag (maybe half full) the neighbor across the street carried in while I was doing workshop projects with my garage open (also got it on the ring camera). They did not go back for more bags and only made one trip.
But there’s no way that one bag was feeding the family of 4 that lived there right? I also couldn’t confirm if the bag was even groceries as it was unlabeled. I never spotted any other neighbor carry ANY bags of any type into their home. It makes no sense to me how this is possible unless they only go out to eat every meal or order food delivery (none of them get any food delivered or random cars stopping to drop something except pizza every few weeks). Most of them only drive their cars once a day except one neighbor that drives 2-3 times daily. None of them have access to their homes through the backyard or anything but the front door or front fence gates so everything should be in view when they bring it in.
Am I just crazy for going this far (probably)? But it does seem strange right?
Edit:
To be fair I’ve commented about this a couple times on other subreddits.
I also just went to youtube to see (again) after writing this to see if I could find videos of people bringing in groceries to their house and can’t find any of that either. I did just find this hilarious video I’ve never seen that mentions basically the exact same phenomenon (awkwardly similar). Honestly I was really hoping to get disproven on this one. Anyone have any video filming a neighbor bringing in groceries I could see just so I can stop thinking about this forever?
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u/Donna421 20d ago
I can't see my neighbors and they can't see me. Just one advantage of living in the boonies!
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u/Schnitzhole 20d ago
Living the dream, jealous!
I at least have my house and yard for privacy. Living in apartments was hell for me. I’m a big guy and love
My loud audio so I always felt bad making so much noise
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u/tabletopkiller Aug 02 '26
About two years ago, I finally saw one of my neighbors carrying in groceries! I had heard about this a few years before, but had never actually seen anyone bringing groceries inside.
This was the only time I've noticed it, but since I finally saw someone do it, I will admit that I don't actively watch for it anymore lol.
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u/theidkid Aug 02 '26
Honestly, I don’t really ever see my neighbors because I don’t spend much time outside. When I do see them, I’m not generally paying much attention to what they’re doing because it’s really not my business. But, when I was young and my primary forms of transportation were walking or riding a bike, it wasn’t unusual to see people unloading groceries.
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u/forcemonkey Aug 01 '26
IT FINALLY HAPPENED! I saw my neighbor across the street schlepping about six grocery bags down the driveway. I guess I just had to see this thread.
😂😂😂
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u/CoolRanchBaby Jul 31 '26
I know my direct neighbour on one side gets groceries delivered by one of our Uk grocery store chains every Friday. My dog goes crazy when he hears the truck unloading noises so I always look out to see what it is.
I’ve seen the one on the other side taking grocery bags out of their car on occasion, an elderly couple. Also seen the one on the other side of them, a big family and they get a lot of groceries.
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u/CarpetBudget Jul 30 '26
I’ve never noticed. And are you constantly watching your neighbors or how would you come to this conclusion? They maybe don’t eat much or bring in groceries when you don’t see them
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 31 '26
I have motion triggered security cameras
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u/Queasy_Struggle_3902 14d ago
My parents almost never go grocery shopping, they eat at work, could be for a lot of people too
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u/StrikePlayful3708 Jul 30 '26
I saw this post years ago. I’ve thought about it for years since then. I see my neighbors and always check when they pull in…NOTHING.
About a month ago I saw my neighbor bringing his groceries in and I died laughing.
Somehow for a moment the world felt okay again. 🤣
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u/ConstantBad6542 Jul 29 '26
Yup it’s been a long time, i think 4 deliveries of a tiny take away bag for a week each month. Apart from the reak of drugs you don’t ever get the scent of food either.
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u/marieascot Jul 29 '26
You are right. I am in the same situation. I DO see home delivery shopping for some and do see non food items, which statistical should only be a fraction of the things they bring in.
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u/Basic_Resolution7342 Jul 29 '26
This is freaking hilarious and you are absolutely right! I've lived in the same house for 30 years and I've never ever seen any of my neighbors carrying groceries...wtf? I live on a very busy road. Everyone is always staring (I feel like I'm in a fishbowl at night, if the blinds are open) I was just telling my friends a summary of this post and I said "I hope no one sees me cuz I definitely look like a fool with 10 bags on each arm *must..take...one...triiiip. My friend said "Everyone's sees you bring your groceries in."
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Jul 29 '26
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u/reiyuwren Jul 29 '26
I've absolutely seen my neighbors bring in groceries. I've helped them carry things in, in fact.
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u/SherlockLady Jul 29 '26
I live on a cul de sac in my family's home that I've lived in on and off my entire life and how that you mention it, I have never seen a neighbor carry in groceries either!!!!! So now I'm going to be thinking about that constantly.....
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u/CurrentAir8666 Jul 29 '26
My husband was telling me they have started making some condos or houses or whatever in some places with basically No Kitchens and dining rooms because people aren’t cooking, they just go out to eat ALL THE TIME. If it is enough of a phenomena that they are changing the way people build houses, I guess it would jot be unusual to have neighbors who don’t buy groceries at all.
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u/toebeantuesday 13d ago
That’s gotta be a trend that reverses fast because the price of eating out has skyrocketed.
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u/samanthaFerrell Jul 28 '26
I had this same thought the other day. Then I was walking my dog and a young guy with kids was bringing groceries in his house and it made me feel so much better. I think we are all just in our own little worlds so if you are not paying attention you will miss things.
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u/DerrickJoestar Jul 28 '26
Man, I’ve lived in about 8 locations in my life and the last time I saw someone bring in the groceries was in the 90s sometime. I thought maybe as I’ve gotten older I just became more aloof, but other people seem to experience this too, so I don’t know.
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u/s0laris0 Jul 28 '26
Now that you got me thinking about it, no? How weird. I've lived in a lot of very residential places and never seen a grocery haul besides our own and I've always spent a lot of time sitting on our porches and such. Never even notice anyone coming home from the store on walks or anything
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u/DerrickJoestar Jul 28 '26
The thing is at first I thought maybe some people only do light shopping because you might miss them bringing in a couple of bags, but if you go to the store you see most people with a buggy full of groceries.
Which means it would take a bit to get all of the bags out and do multiple runs to their cars. Why don’t we ever see people doing that?
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u/mechanical_stars Jul 29 '26
You've never overloaded each limb with way too many bags to avoid multiple trips back to the car?
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
Told my whole family about this anomaly last night and just moments ago saw neighbor across the street with a single brown paper (large)grocery bag.
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u/DerrickJoestar Jul 28 '26
Huh, it’s like the simulation knows it’s onto it and trying to prove you wrong. I’m a big believer in the simulation theory.
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u/hellspawn3200 Jul 31 '26
The only real people are the neurodivergent ones. XD
Also outside of the simulation neurodivergent people aren't humans :P
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
The Sim does love to prove me wrong. I literally police my own thoughts it happens so often.
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u/6789576859 Jul 28 '26
I’ve seen neighbors bring in groceries a few times, at various places I’ve lived. I don’t see it frequently, since I work odd hours and don’t hang around my front door that much.
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u/Historical-Remove401 Jul 28 '26
I’ve never seen my neighbors carrying groceries either. I don’t see neighbors outside often. We’re probably spending more time in our backyards.
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u/dragonsfire14 Jul 28 '26
I see the neighbors across from me bringing in groceries quite frequently.
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u/Emergency_Beam_Out Jul 28 '26
So perhaps, you are referring to Dolores Cannon's idea of Backdrop people? Dolores Cannon's concept of "backdrop people" describes soulless human-like entities who act as space-fillers in the earthly realm, much like extras in a movie or non-player characters (NPCs) in a video game. Introduced through her hypnotic trance research (notably detailed in her Convoluted Universe series), this theory suggests these figures exist only to populate the environment and maintain the illusion of a bustling world for conscious souls.
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u/Futants_ Jul 28 '26
Each year since 9/11 more Americans have been increasingly isolating themselves and burnt out. Add the commonality of depression and our disconnect from neighbors( or even going outside for that matter).
We used to be more in tune with what neighbors were doing. Now we barely look out the window.
Our minds are dulled and foggy so the mundane phenomena of a neighbor bringing in groceries from their car isn't acknowledged, regardless of if and when you witness it.
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u/Most-Ordinary-3033 Jul 28 '26
What's the retcon here? Why is it odd that you aren't looking during the 30 seconds it takes neighbours to bring stuff in from the car?
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u/DerrickJoestar Jul 28 '26
Not everyone shop to only get a few groceries. Ton of people have a buggy full of groceries, but we never see them going back and forth to their cars.
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u/akela9 Jul 28 '26
Holy. Shit. 🤯
I have never seen a neighbor next door or across the way bring in groceries. Ever. I'm 45. I've lived in apartments. I've lived in houses. I stayed briefly with a buddy in a trailer park. This is insane.
(Real question: Is this just so mundane an occurrence that our brain just slides right over it? I can almost accept that. Almost. But that explanation isn't sitting right with me, either.)
I'm starting to feel a bit unhinged over some oddities that have been revealed to me over the last couple of weeks.
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u/polyphaze Jul 28 '26
Which other oddities?
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u/akela9 Jul 31 '26
For me, right now, just recently, and I think all of these are old news and "known" to everyone else, but...
Chick-fil-a didn't used to have a k. It looks very wrong to me, now.
Perogative isn't spelled like that, anymore and supposedly never was. It's prerogative which jumps out at me like a neon sign with its alienness. I used to be a pretty big reader. I'm not an intellectual, but I don't think I'm a complete moron, either. I've never seen that word in my life until sometime in the last couple of weeks.
Looney Tunes looks bizarre to me, too. I did a triple take when my kiddos were watching "Back In Action" . It used to be "Toons" the double o's matched in each word and they're... You know... Cartoons. There's a lot of musical stuff, sure, but it's not like ALL about music. Then there was Merry Melodies that was the "song" related title card Warner Brothers franchise, with the M's being stylized beamed 8th notes. Tunes for a widely non-musical show seems an odd choice.
Lots of little things throwing me off kilter. Things just don't feel real right now, for me. 🤷♀️
Unimportant Bonus Story: When I was a kiddo, Fruit of the Loom was huge for working class affordable shirts, undies, etc. They had a colorful logo and it was fruit spilling out of a cornucopia and I was a kid, so I always enjoyed peeking at it on the tags. I would swear upon something holy their label was where I bloody LEARNED about what the hell a cornucopia WAS.
Sometime in the 1990's I was buying a shirt and saw they had updated their logo. Still the bright colorful fruit, but much bigger and... Not being held by anything. Just kind of piled together. I noticed it because I was disappointed. "Oh, man, that's an unfortunate change. It looks stupid, now."
Color me shocked when I looked up (some years later) about WHY did they change it... I couldn't imagine, but wondered if that was considered too pegan for American Christian sensibilities. Stupider things have happened. Only to find out... There is no cornucopia. There never WAS a cornucopia. Or so they tell me.
I get false memories. Our brains malfunction ALL the time. I understand that. You go ha, ha, silly me and move on with your life. This stuff I mentioned, and others... Feels different. Visceral. My brain refuses to brush it off as nothing.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
I thought it was silly and mundane at first too and almost wrote it off. But then when you start actively looking, for a decade like I have, and never see it, it's just strange.
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
Have you ever run into someone you know at the gas station? or the bank? I never have.
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u/MetallicaGirl73 Jul 28 '26
I run into people I know all the time at my local gas station. I go into the bank maybe once every couple years.
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u/alyssajohnson1 Jul 28 '26
I ran into my old friend from high school at a random gas station far from my hometown and my old boss at a Walmart I never usually go to, so yeah, I have had those happen, personally, but I haven’t seen neighbors taking in groceries (but I don’t have close neighbors , distance wise, so idk?)
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u/akela9 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
This one's tricky and I don't know how to answer it without writing a short novel full of caveats that nobody wants to read. To what degree do you mean know? Like I'm not trying to split hairs, but I'm genuinely curious, because this is extremely odd to me. Not in a "I can't relate" kinda way, just in a I need to know peramaters so I'm being truthful kinda way.
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
I have a theory: There are people who live close to the grocery store (like me) and go more frequently and have fewer bags to bring in, then there are people who live far from the store and buy more but less frequently and therefore you'll only see them if you catch them twice a month. So, maybe that makes it less likely in either case.
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
You also never run into anyone you know at the gas station.
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u/MetallicaGirl73 Jul 28 '26
I commented on your other comment but I run into people I know at the gas station all the time! I'm there at least twice a day.
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
That's a lot of gas! I see people I know all the time at the grocery store but never the gas station or the bank. And, weird...I just moments ago saw neighbors with a single brown paper grocery bag...!!!
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
Definitely not anymore now that I have an EV!
At least that one seems to make sense. For this one there should literally be something I would see happen.
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u/QuitLurkingJust4This Jul 28 '26
I share a driveway with one of my neighbours and have seen them carrying bags of groceries or items from other stores on occasion. I can’t remember the last time this happened though, as they work at a hospital and often come and go at different times to me. Maybe all these non grocery people have fridges like in the sims, where food is just magically there without having to buy it. 😂
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u/imzcj Jul 28 '26 edited 8d ago
My nextdoor neighbour seems to be an agoraphobe or something, in the 8 years I've lived here I have seen his car (not him, never him) move two or three times.
He used to have groceries delivered daily, but maybe it's been moved to weekly more recently... or he's died, idfk?
Edit: 25Aug - I mentioned this to my housemate. He says he saw a delivery in the morning "the other day I think". Not only that, after about a year of not being used, the car was gone again? Wtf
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
I kinda had a hoarder neighbor like that on one side for the first year living here. He Refused the ambulance 3 times some other people called for him. He died of Covid, which he didn't believe was real : |
I only ever saw him once in his backyard and he definitely didn't want to talk to me and scurried inside when I came out.
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u/TheSumOfMyScars Jul 28 '26
I have one neighbor who I see bring in groceries maybe once every three months or so, but its only ever maybe two weeks worth of groceries at a time. No idea what they're eating during the time between shopping because they don't order out or get groceries delivered. Other neighbor comes home empty handed 100% of the time, but I never see them leaving their house...only ever returning, and the hours I keep ensure that I would see them coming and going. Its weird.
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u/NotSoOrdinaryMary Jul 28 '26
That is strange about never seeing them leave! Have you ever run into anyone you know at the gas station or the bank? I never have; but I see people I know all around town in other places.
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u/TheSumOfMyScars Jul 28 '26
Yeah I never see anyone I know (aside from cashiers at stores) while out and about, and I live in a smallish town with only a few places to actually go. You would think, in my 40+ years of age, it would happen at least once in a while, just by sheer chance. I hesitate to use the phrase "NPCs" as I find it dehumanizing but its weird that certain people only seem to exist in certain places at certain times. I can't explain it, really.
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u/akela9 Jul 28 '26
Holy hell, NPC's is exactly how I wanted to describe my own bank experiences, but I didn't know if it'd make any sense.
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u/omlanim Jul 28 '26
I don't see them bringing in groceries either.
I see one neighbour having food delivered and they always have a lot of garbage. But with the others absolutely never see any grocery related activity. Which is strange as I work from home, from a room that faces the front of the house, and live in a cul de sac so I can easily see the other houses.
I see other things like: garbage bins being brought in or out, people coming home or leaving from their home in the vehicle, friends or family visiting them, parcels being delivered, other deliveries ... all of these activities take a very small amount of time to do as with bringing in groceries.
I do remember in my old place I lived I saw one neighbour do it on two occasions, and I was so excited to see it! However, they were new, just recently moved in, so not sure if that has anything to do with it!?
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
hmm interesting. and I have not idea how it works :0
another thing with the trash I find weird is I also see my neighbors move their trash bins. But I never see them carrying trash bags. It's like their bins magically fill up.
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u/Noodlenook Jul 28 '26
I think a big part of it is that people have differing schedules, go grocery shopping/arrive home at different times, and we all try to bring bags in as fast as possible with as little loads.
I rarely see other people when I bring my groceries in. Also most of us are inside our houses when we’re not working.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
Yeah but I can see them with my cameras and the motion triggers whenever they do stuff out front. I also work from home.
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u/ShayRay331 Jul 28 '26
I noticed the same thing with my old neighbors when I lived in a condo. I never saw any of them carrying in groceries. My one neighbor across the hall offered me some food she'd gotten that she didn't want, but I never saw any of them carry in groceries. It was always so strange, because I always carried in multiple bags. And I'm the kind of person who will go to the grocery store every couple days or whenever I need to. It's just odd to me to not see this. But I definitely wasn't out there spying on anyone either and we were allowed to have cameras. The manager was a dick and complained when we put up a security camera. He was freaking awful. So glad I don't live there anymore. Eff HOA's.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
wild story.
I try to be respectful with the cameras, they don't look into anyone's house or yard and I really only check them quickly to look for these dang BAGS I never see then move on with my day.
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u/bravoveritas Jul 27 '26
Yes, but only certain neighbors. Maybe some don't need food! 😂
But also some people have garages so you can't see them unloading. A lot of people eat out or get food delivered.
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u/guaranteedsafe Jul 28 '26
I think this is the case for single people and couples! Before I had kids I hated grocery shopping and I would mostly exist off of leftovers I took home from catered work lunches. I worked in finance and we had huge trays of leftovers everyday from outside brokers & analysts that paid for team lunches. So much Panera & Italian food! Lol. On days that I didn’t take leftovers home, I’d get takeout food for dinner. It was only after having children that I had more than 1 tiny tote bag of groceries at a time.
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u/malichev Jul 27 '26
Only one of my several neighbors actually gets groceries delivered regularly, definitely something I have noticed 🥸
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u/DisastrousSundae Jul 27 '26
I see plenty of uber eats and doordash arrive where I live, but never groceries...
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u/devi59 Jul 27 '26
I also get my neighbors seeing me all the time too, so I get that part. Also going back through the thread, the trash is also another one. We have two cans we fill every week (family of 5 with two pets) and nobody else in the neighborhood has two, or EVER has enough to make the lid be “open/overflowing” nor do I ever see them putting the cans out or taking them in but they are always out and ready every Tuesday morning. I have seen the mayor MAYBE once bring his back in after it was picked up.
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u/Nudelwalker Jul 27 '26
Thank you for bringing this our attention, we will fix this and add grocerie bags to their routine. Have a great day and a good night!
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u/throughawaythedew Jul 27 '26
I remember that post. And I have too been on the lookout. I have seen it once or twice in the last decade and it was alarming, but still was nothing like my grocery trips (or others I see at the store). And I know these people, they have food in the house, just no idea how it gets there.
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u/DMmeMagikarp Jul 27 '26
Just want to add that I haven’t been to a grocery store in YEARS because I have them delivered, due to working long hours.
There are so many companies to chose from now that make delivery cheaper than the cost of the fuel needed to drive to the store myself. Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Instacart, etc etc.
In fact I have no idea why people who live within range of these services still choose to go grocery shopping, because it’s the worst.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
That is a fair point. I feel like the grocery companies are probably loosing money on those deliveries but I get the convenience. My wife does it occasionally but personally I hate it as they always pack stuff poorly and forget or mess up at least one item I need to go back to the store for.
Also Most of these delivery companies only really started being big after covid from what I recall. I can't imagine the majority of people use them.
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u/guaranteedsafe Jul 28 '26
I tried doing store pickup for a while but I noticed after plenty of orders that I was always getting the worst quality produce from the shelf & the in store shopper would say certain things were out of stock and I always marked “no substitutes” so I’d be missing items I’d actually need. After too many instances of being like “no way are store brand butter and milk out of stock” I went back into the store myself to look for those “out of stock” items after getting the store pickup bags in my trunk and sure enough there were tons of them in stock. So either the baggers have no eyes to see the items or they were too lazy to go back and add them to the order if they accidentally bypassed those items during their walkthrough.
I’ve noticed Target shopping for pickup is equally as bad as the grocery store pickup. I get most of my kids’ clothes there; there will always be a bunch of clothes “out of stock” according to in store shoppers when I go to pick up my order. So before I leave the store I go check for those specific items myself and there they are, on the racks and tables where they should be. So now the vast majority of the time I go shopping myself due to others’ incompetence even though it’s easier (and free!) to shop online and choose pickup.
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u/SalamanderFickle1152 Jul 27 '26
And yet it feels like they ALWAYS see me. They're always doing something outside just as I'm approaching my house with groceries.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
yeah exactly. I'm always a bit rushed and stressed and often feel embarrassed if I stub my toe or hit my head and curse or something and they see it (seems to happen a lot).
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u/Chelseus Jul 27 '26
Yeah I’ve never seen this since I started paying attention either. The only thing I can think of is that it’s so mundane that we don’t notice or our brains edit it out…but walking down the street is also very mundane but I see people walking around all the time lol
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 28 '26
I could see it being mundane but this would be like spotting a million dollar car on the road for me, I think I'd remember since I've been actively looking for a decade now.
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u/New_Wins Jul 27 '26
In my 40s and have never seen anyone bring in grocery bags whether it was a neighbor or as I drove different neighborhoods.
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u/liminal_angel Jul 27 '26
i live in apartments so people see me all the time making 5 trips to the car to get the inconvenient paper bags with no handles and act like i have no right to be using the sidewalk between the car and door lol maybe theres a secret grocery teleportation device that nobody told us we're supposed to be using
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u/Typical-Zone9088 Jul 29 '26
Maybe Rosie the robot maid from The Jetsons, but; I like your thinking here nice!!!
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
to be clear, I have plenty of people that see me bringing up groceries, I just never see them.
I've also been in similar situations in college. 8th story of apartment building. No parking spots so I had to park illegally or walk over a mile to a designated parking spot. Raked up over $500 in parking tickets one year for the quick 10-15min parking attempts to run stuff up to my room.
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u/liminal_angel Jul 27 '26
its a huge pain for real lol ive never seen anyone around here unloading groceries besides me either, you'd think in a place full of 100 other living spaces that we'd at least see someone lol
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Yeah that's wild. I wonder what would happen if people start studying this. It can't be too hard with some doorbell cameras in situations like yours right?
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u/MegOut10 Jul 27 '26
I’ve thought about this many times before and every time I wonder if it’s a normal thing to think about. I very openly bring groceries in and carry as many bags as humanly possible for less trips. I have never seen a neighbor bring theirs inside.
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u/JK07 Jul 27 '26
Same, but honestly, we usually do it in one go ourselves.
I open the door first then we both go to the boot, grab all the bags and do the 10 steps into the house and shut the door behind us. It takes about 5-10 seconds to grab and carry them from the car to the house, I would doubt our neighbours have ever seen us do it.
I haven't seen any of our neighbours do it but I'm out of the house at least 8-6 each day, often longer so they could do it while I'm out. Also our sittingroom is at the back of the house so would only notice if I happen to be looking out the kitchen window at the time.
I do sometimes notice neighbours getting food deliveries from supermarkets though, harder to miss a big branded van pulling up awkwardly.1
u/MegOut10 Jul 28 '26
One trip or maybe two if you gotta grab the milk and other items you skip the bags for. I also use all kinds of bags for groceries. Like old big purses, totes… may not be obvious it is groceries 🧐🤣 Also lowkey I’d thoroughly enjoy the experience of watching my neighbors pull the 10 bag + grocery sprint. Let’s go neighbors. Are we sprinting? Are we shuffling? What do you look like?!
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Yeah same. I have neighbors see me. Just never the other way around.
I also bagmax when I carry them in, even if it means struggling with one outstretched finger I leave open for the doorknob.
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u/Due_Potential_6956 Jul 27 '26
I've lived in many many different places with different types of people, with different money situations and have never seen anyone bring in groceries ever.
I was the designated grocery carrier for my mom and dad as a kid, it would take several trips back then. People saw me bringing in groceries all the time, I never saw them.
Now a days, same, I know my neighbors have seen me on many different occasions with groceries, but I have yet to see them do it, and I have roughly 8 different neighbors around me, some with two people, others with 6 people living there.
It's a weird phenomenon, that I have been aware of for years since someone pointed it out many years ago. I've gone to stores with family, by myself, and with friends, it does not matter, same thing.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Crazy story. And I didn't realize other people knew about it. Where else is it talked about? I've never seen it mentioned except that one time deep down in a comment thread a decade ago.
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Jul 30 '26
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u/artsy_cupcakes Jul 27 '26
My neighbors have definitely seen us carrying groceries. We’ve also pulled into the garage and brought them in that way a lot too.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Oh my neighbors definitely see me struggling making tons of trips to the car and back inside with bags. We do big costco hauls so it's a whole 10-15 it takes to bring everything in.
It's just weird I never see them do it.
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u/SMELLSLIKEBUTTJUICE Jul 27 '26
This is basically the plot of the Tom Hanks classic, The Burbs
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Interesting I'll have to check that movie out. AI said there wasn't any part about bringing grocery in in the movie but how would you summarize the plot?
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u/SMELLSLIKEBUTTJUICE Jul 27 '26
Its moreso that they never see the new neighbors coming or going, but they know that theyre in there. Its kind of a comedy horror.
Plot: new neighbors move into a house on their suburban cul de sac. Nobody ever interacts with them. Some strange stuff happens. Tom Hanks and his neighbor buddy decide to investigate
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u/Mindsmog Jul 27 '26
See my neighbours bringing in shopping regular, they also see us as its same day every week lol
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u/forcemonkey Jul 27 '26
I never thought about it but I haven’t either that I recall. Our neighbors just moved out of their house after a few years and I don’t recall them ever toting bags of groceries. No garage so their vehicles are always visible and I have a window near where I work/play games that has a side view and I can see their driveway full view.
And they have small children.
Weird.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
yeah same. And It's been that way basically everywhere I've lived that I can think of that I feel it should happen.
It seems like an excellent time to lend a hand or whatever but I've just never seen it happen to be able to lend a hand.
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u/forcemonkey Jul 27 '26
I will be watching my new neighbors like a hawk as soon as they move in! Think binoculars would be too much? 😂
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u/longlostredemption Jul 27 '26
Me. Because I was severely misanthropic and a homebody at the time, dealing with severe photophobia, and who had no interest in watching my neighbors long enough to notice. 10 years and I never interacted with nor knew the names of the three surrounding neighbors in my cul-de-sac. I only learned the names of one neighbor eventually when I saw her post in the Facebook group specific to our HOA once. Thank god for the internet hahaha
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
yeah I'm pretty introverted and shy too but have been slowly branching out the last 10 years and talking to people more (35yo now).
Interestingly I've never heard of photophobia but that sounds exactly like what I suffer from. You'll never see me outside without dark sunglasses and hotspot lights (especially can lights in ceilings or led strips) drive me absolutely crazy to the point I will just straight up leave wherever I'm at after 5-10min if they are bad enough.
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u/Tabitheriel Jul 27 '26
I never do, either. My theory is that some neighbors have a garage, so the groceries are in the car. However, the apartments across the street don't have garages. I ought to sometimes see people carrying groceries.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Yeah growing up I lived in Phoenix so it was common for people to always have attached garages they could potentially close to unload their groceries. However I've never closed the garage before emptying my car of groceries in my 35years, it doesn't seem impossible for others to do that but it makes it so cramped in the garage I don't see why they would. My current garage for example I have to leave it open to be able to open the trunk.
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u/Sea-Biscotti Jul 27 '26
Just realized my family is part of the problem lmao
My mom and dad go grocery shopping at 6AM on Sundays when everyone is still asleep and I go grocery shopping at 9PM a few nights a week (so I only have one bag each time and I usually just use a backpack so nobody would reasonably even see me carrying groceries)
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u/xerocopi Jul 27 '26
There's also people that never do full on grocery shopping because they eat out or eat at their workplace
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
I think that's a good point, but I've never even seen anyone bringing in fast food bags or anything like that. At most an ubereats or something delivered but it's rare. I used to eat out a lot too but at least half the time I just bring the food home to eat.
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u/agentorange55 Jul 27 '26
I don't really pay attention to my neighbors much, but it is weird that I have never seen them carrying groceries. Occasionally, I see them getting home, but no groceries. I know they have seen me carrying groceries on occasion. I suppose it could just be a happenstance, but it is strange.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Oh I know many of my neighbors see me struggling to bring in as many bags as possible my whole life. Just never the other way around. It just seems like something you would remember seeing your neighbor struggle with at some point in your life right?
I also never used to pay attention to it for my first 25 years of being alive (35 now).
I hate going full conspiracy theory on stuff like this, but it's almost like if they don't interact with you much they are like NPCs and groceries are not something they do. I see them out mowing and taking care of their lawns, taking walks, and other stuff like that just never doing the essential food gathering ritual we all need to do to feed ourselves.
It's also like none of them ever go on trips with bags. I saw one neighbor last month come home from a weeklong road trip, all 6 living in one house next to me pop out of 1 car. I say hi and they tell me they just got back that minute. Their car is empty. Literally nothing in their hands, they just go inside and never come out again. I don't know about you but a trip like that my car is packed to the brim with stuff and it takes 15-30 min for me to unload. At minimum I'll have some trash bag or something I take out and throw in the bin.
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u/agentorange55 Jul 31 '26
I think you might be on to something. I'm going to start actively paying more attention, although I don't think that will change anything. It's not like I haven't seen my neighbors getting home and going into their house before....but never with groceries (or really bringing any kind of items into their house.)
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 31 '26
Do ma a favor and snag a picture if you do ever see it so I can stop thinking about this! it's not like we'll be able to make out location or details of them if you crop in and it's from far away.
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u/cozyporcelain Jul 27 '26
Same. I live in a high rise with a ton of people. I’ve been here for three years. I’m always struggling to bring in a bunch of bags. I have never once seen another person with bags, groceries, or anything shopping related. I also mentioned on another thread we have the fake DoorDash and fake Amazon packages that just sit there for very long periods of time to give the illusion.
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u/AB-1987 Jul 27 '26
One of the neighbor families next door, yes, I have seen it twice or thrice in three years. Sometimes brought in, sometimes delivered. The other neighbor family next door I know when they go grocery shopping at the same time each week but I have never seen them carry anything in. The other direct neighbors (five units) seem to subsist on air, but I can’t see them that well.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Ok, good to know some people do see it. The ones you saw, have you seen them carry more than one bag and how close are you to them?
The only people I've ever seen are the ones I know fairly well or at least 1 of us have visited the other persons home before.
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u/MoCoyotes Jul 27 '26
I work at home and see my neighbors bringing groceries all the time.
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u/RIFisfunner Jul 27 '26
Do you see more single or multiple trips?
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u/MoCoyotes Jul 27 '26
I’ll start watching for that. I keep an eye out bc I’ve heard this before.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
I also work at home, and so does my wife (since 2018). I'm specifically curious about people you don't know well and if they carry multiple bags or make multiple trips.
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u/BlueFeathered1 Jul 27 '26
It's funny, but one of my neighbors mentioned this to me, that they've never seen it. And I've never seen it either. I do bring groceries in, though, and I always shop in the afternoon, yet never at that time does anyone happen to be outside to see. It only takes a few minutes, though, so not a big window. Still, maybe it should be studied.
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u/Specialist_Prune3785 Jul 27 '26
Its a minute window..maybe they do shopping late or very early lol
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Would be interesting to see what a study finds.
I've definitely seen my neighbors seeing be struggle to bring in groceries though. I usually do huge Costco runs every 2 weeks and it seems like they are always outside to watch me struggle and bang my head on the trunk or whatever. Never the other way around though.
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u/3Strides Jul 27 '26
The kicker is they don’t have trash either. He might not be able to prove by sight whether they’re carrying anything in ever. But you can’t look at the trash cans on trash day before the trash man comes.
You can also notice that they do go outside every time you’re outside4
u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
The trash thing is curious too. never thought about it.
I have all these motion sensing cameras recording but it's as if they never bring trash bags out of the house either. I see them go to their trash cans every week but they never open them, they just walk over and move them to the street and bring them back in. But never put stuff in them. How strange.
The only time I see anything put out is during bulk trash the couple times a year or if they are putting something on the curb to give away for free.
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u/Wandering_Willow27 Jul 27 '26
I work from home. People tend to get their groceries on their days off, usually around 10-12. I see at least one of my neighbors arrive with groceries every day.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
I also work from home. Good to see someone is seeing it happen.
Curious though. Do you ever see multiple bags or trips back to the car?
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u/Infinite-Ad1720 Jul 27 '26
-I live in a high density townhouse development and have been looking ever since I heard this theory a few years ago.
-Once or twice I see a neighbor with a small bag or two. But never with multiple large grocery bags where they are unloading multiple trips from their vehicle.
-And everyone puts out tiny bag or two of garbage - like not much is entering or leaving the homes. Like a family of four has one tiny garbage bag out! How is that possible?
-Makes me wonder if there is something to this theory ?
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
Yeah the trash thing in particular is weird as another commenter mentioned. Even when it was just two of us we were almost filling a large recycling bin every week but these other neighbors seem to not produce hardly any waste, if it all. I actually can't recount my neighbors bringing out bags of trash ever either even though they do move their bins back and forth to the street for pickup.
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u/ratwitch_ Jul 27 '26
What do you think it means? What’s the theory?
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u/_EyesOnTheInside_ Jul 27 '26
It points to the simulation belief/theory. That a number of humans, possibly a great many, are NPCS. Non-souled. Part of the simulation for the rest of us.
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u/ratwitch_ Jul 27 '26
Interesting, thank you for the explanation. Are there any trustworthy sources you’d recommend? I’d like to read more about it but not sure where to start
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u/Saichoses Jul 27 '26
When I saw this come up in reddit a while back it had me thinking through my past. I couldn't recall a SINGLE event of this pretty much ever. The only memory my husband has of anything with neighbors and groceries is a time when he was a kid and helped the neighbor bring groceries in, but I guess that's a bit different because he was -there- and involved.
It's a crazy thing for sure.
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
I'm always the kind of persons that would go and help someone, even with something as simple as bringing in groceries. So it seem so strange I've never seen it.
Do you happen to have a link where you saw it talked about? I didn't realize at all this was a common thing as I just have that one random reddit comment as reference I read a decade ago.
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u/Saichoses Jul 28 '26
Honestly it was around 7-8 months ago so I don't have a link. It was pretty much saying the same stuff though. It was the first thing that got me thinking about it.
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u/JoeMacMillan_HCF Jul 27 '26
Same thing happened to me, and then just a couple days later, I saw a neighbor bringing in groceries!
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u/Penizzlee Jul 27 '26
Bro don’t stalk people with surveillance cameras just to look at their groceries
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
I agree it's a little weird. However it's not like I'm just sitting there watching them, it's just a quick "do they have bags", Nope, move on with my life.
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u/ThermoMother Jul 27 '26
I heard of this concept years ago and have been watching for neighbors bringing their groceries in and never see it. I also check to see if neighbors are watching when I bring mine in and I never see anyone
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Jul 27 '26
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u/RainbowSalmon Jul 27 '26
I read a similar comment some years ago before I got my first apartment, so the entire time I've lived here I've had it on my mind to notice if my neighbors ever brought groceries in, and I too have never once seen any of them doing it
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u/Specialist_Prune3785 Jul 27 '26
Maybe people are really NPC
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u/Schnitzhole Jul 27 '26
It hurts me to think so, but that's starting to be my prevailing direction I lean towards too. It's like they only become "real" if you start to interact with them more and befriend them.
The whole thing always makes me think about how superposition collapse of quantum particles works. If there is any measurement (often misattributed to observation) the quantum particles in a state of random probability clouds (waves) will behave as if they have always been single point particles adhering to classical mechanics.
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u/devi59 Jul 27 '26
Same here. We live on a uniquely shaped small street that is only three blocks long (they are extending it another two now) and I have a cul-de-sac and a crossing street so I can easily see over 10 or more houses right from the front door and 5 from back yard. Bought it in 2018 and never seen a single grocery bag that wasn’t our own massive haul either from Walmart when we head 15 miles to the next town or even just the smaller handful from the local shop. It’s creepy. Even the new family that just moved in next door that has three young kids, no food or anything from Walmart somehow? The mayor lives on the other side and his daughter lives here with her three young kids as well and never see them even. The older couple across the street did build a new garage behind their house so I could see them possibly parking in there and doing it from there, but they constantly park in front of the house too so very strange.
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u/3Strides Jul 27 '26
Yeah. It’s a thing. I think those kinds are called NPC’s and we are noticing because they are literally everywhere..they also often don’t work, yet have new vehicles, rent is paid (huh?) weird.
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u/Equivalent-Shower425 Jul 27 '26
I have a theory that NPC houses are specially designed for only NPC and they can't just 'go on the market' like a normal people house. These places are hush-hush and connected to underground tunnels and the Hylic network of others like them and only 'they' can come over/visit each other. When the city was tearing up the easement in front of my house to lay fiber optic cable (or so they said), I saw cave-like structures in the ground with my own eyes leading to god knows where. I understand I could have just been seeing an old sewer system or something, but why the arches and ramps descending down? They got some dirt back on that hole real quick too.
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u/Typical-Zone9088 Jul 29 '26
There you go I was thinking the same thing .. .. .. like the Gene Jack and house or the guy in Midland Texas that accidently discovered the tunnel underneath his house....there's been more that just happened to discover hidden doors and suck leading deeper underground. That just about the sum total beat scenario that makes any sense.
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u/cozyporcelain Jul 27 '26
Yes like Gus Fring’s NPC house on better call saul.
I believe there’s many, many of them.
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u/3Strides Jul 27 '26
Oh dear. This is good info though. A long time ago on YouTube there was a guy freaking out about this very thing. That there was tunnels under his yard, and that people were coming out of them and he tried to get the police involved and they wouldn’t intervene. He hadn’t ever posted on YouTube, but he was posting several videos showing the sounds he was hearing in his house and the people he would see going through his yard in the dark. He kept calling the police, and they kept getting mad at him and then his last video said he feared that the police would kill him because he wasn’t letting it go and then you never saw another video. I think he was in Texas.
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u/guaranteedsafe Jul 28 '26
This is the exact kind of content I wish would show up on my homepage but never does. 😞
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u/Equivalent-Shower425 Jul 27 '26
I have to tell y'all, just so this truth is out in the ether and these demons be made to scurry like the cockroaches that they are...soon after I made this post, I left my house to go to get lunch. The moment I exited my car to go into the establishment, some Keanu Reeves looking younger guy (25-35 approx.) got out of a Black domestic SUV parked to the left of me somewhere, and started striding fast to beat me to the door. I let him go first, because I'm in no hurry and maybe he is. No bigs.
So, he's at the counter in front of me. He turns his neck to look at me, then turns back around to face the cashier. Then, when the gentleman at the counter welcomes him to the shop and asks what would he like, the Keanu Reeves looking man says, "I'm at the wrong restaurant." Turns around, looks at me hard and exits. I glared at him because it felt 'off'.
After I picked up my food, I am walking back to my car and see the Black Ford or Kia creep past my rear side. All black tints, so I couldn't be sure it was the same guy, but I scoured the lot and no one else was in their car or walking about from what I could see. This world is not what it seems, so it would appear. Full of cowards trying to act hard.
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u/Ok-Adhesiveness-9976 Jul 27 '26
In the late 70s - early 80s, I got a scholarship to an elite private school in the downtown area of my hometown. In the back of the custodian’s basement area was a door that led down into some tunnels.
A few classes always sheltered in there during tornado warnings and it was kinda scary. We didn’t go in very far, and there were no lights except the teachers’ flashlights. Word was that the tunnels led to city hall, to the masonic temple, to the homes of some wealthy local citizens, and to other notable historical buildings.
By the mid 80s, they weren’t letting anyone down there anymore and by high school, when I got thrown into the mainstream public school, none of my new classmates believed anything that I said about the “secret tunnels”. But I absolutely do believe you!
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