Make it a night to remember, they said.
Ah, prom. A quintessential teen experience that somehow manages to take every single one of those high octane, conflicting emotions felt during the entire school year and condense them into one solitary evening. All while everyone is dressed in elegant evening wear.
Though prom began as early as the 1800s as a simple cotillion, it has evolved over the years to become more extravagant—what with “promposals” and limousines and celebrity appearances. But, it has also evolved to become more LGBTQ inclusive and challenging of old gender rules.
Prom is (and continues to be) such an integral part of teen culture that it’s the central plot of many well loved rites-of-passage movies like “Pretty in Pink,” “She’s All That,” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Hopefully, your own prom was more like these movies, and less like “Carrie.”
But the truth is: for many of us, prom really was somewhere between a romantic comedy and a horror movie. For every romantic slow dance and first kiss there were also plenty of fashion disasters, alcohol experiments gone wrong and relationship drama. Lots and lots of relationship drama. Successes and failures, if you will.
In honor of prom season, Jimmy Fallon asked his “Tonight Show” audience to share some of their most memorable prom fails on Twitter. Here are 20 that were just too hilarious and/or relatable not to share. Hopefully it will help you love your own #PromFail.
Fallon went first.
1.
“My friend ripped his tuxedo and spent the night crying because he thought Men’s Wearhouse was going to sue him.” – @jimmyfallon
2.
“A guy I knew rented a tuxedo and died on his way to prom. It wasn't damaged, so his family decided to bury him while wearing it, but forgot it was just a rental and they didn't buy it, so they ended up with a huge debt and the other partygoers had to help them pay.” – @jon_jonz
3.
“A friend of mine was planning on going with a girl he had liked for many years. He was so nervous, he got Very drunk, then ended up throwing up all over his rented suit AND spending the night in jail for underaged drinking as he was entering, so she had to go alone…" – @Sallyjo25
4.
“Our limo driver was pulled over at the venue and turns out he was driving with an expired license and we had no way to get home so we had to scramble during prom to find another limo." – @allieng07
stretch limo GIFGiphy5.
“My date’s ex-boyfriend showed up to the prom and won her back. He didn’t even go to our school. I still paid for their room.”– @chrisfreas
6.
"I was walking up to a girl in the cafeteria to ask her to prom and someone threw a big piece of cake and hit me in the head right as I got there. Long story short, she went with someone else and I became known as 'cake boy.'" – @gumgumerson
7.
"I was dumped on prom. That’s it." – @beastmodemom247
break up crying GIFGiphy8.
"End of the night, stepped outside the perimeter to see my date off. A total distance of about 10 feet. Well within eye shot. Was denied re-entry because 1. I went on the grass (a real excuse they used) and 2. They genuinely thought I was a stranger crashing the party." – @L_Drumer
9.
"We didn't have a prom in 90's UK but did have a disco. I don't imagine U.S. proms had a quality beige buffet of sausage rolls, chicken legs, vol-a-vents & chips; & a DJ who waited till each record ended before lifting it off the player and putting the next one on!" – @Optimist_Eeyore
10.
"One year they played "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line - the grind pit immediately vacated the floor and the only ones left were like 8 of us that decided to square dance while everyone left to quench their thirst off the dance floor." – @TotallyVannah
dance off GIFGiphy11.
"The Prom King and Queen were twins. Their slow dance song was "Truly Madly Deeply". They pleaded with the DJ to find another song, and when asked why, they yelled "We're twins!" The DJ quickly picked another song: "Always be my baby." The king walked away, grumbling.” – @overbaughs
12.
"Walked in dressed to impress including fake fur. Walked beautiful self to bathroom sat down and realized the feet next stall facing towards toilet. I had been so self absorbed I walked into mens room.” – msyvonnne2u
13.
"My date's friend was trying to impress me by breakdancing. He ended up slipping on his own sweat and broke his wrist in the process. I guess he put the break in breakdancing.” – overbaughs
14.
“My girlfriend and I broke up right before my senior Prom! She ended up not going at all, so when we won queen and king, my friend just yelled out 'that’s one lonely castle”'!– @claydoughrocks
High School Reaction GIF by OppoSuitsGiphy15.
“A bunch of the girls in my class all got their super puffy, super expensive dresses from the same place. By the end of the night, they were stuck sitting because their dresses were falling apart. Meanwhile, 18 years later. I still have my maybe $200 dress.” – SaiyanaBrief
16.
"My husband and I are teachers. We were chaperones and he was doing the Russian bottle dance and tore his meniscus. Life’s little reminder he was 40.” – MrsMieschigan
17.
“Our prom was booked at a hotel resort. When prom committee went to decorate and setup the space. There was a huge wedding party already in progress. Wedding party offered more money so resort Mgr took it. Took 3+ yrs in court to get the $21k fee they refused to refund.” – @DingleBob
18.
“I wore the wrong spanx under my dress, does this really need more explaining?” – @itstherealmeboo
19.
“After leaving prom my date and I were involved in a 9 car accident on the freeway. Just bruises luckily, and hey we got to ride in the same ambulance together.” – @Wayren
For the last one, let’s just say a picture’s worth a thousand words:
20.
My daughter and her friends thought it would be fun to take pictures in the rainforest at our zoo. This was the moment a bird decided to fly right at them. #PromFail pic.twitter.com/wMMVdyrVJZ
— Lisa Hebert (@lmhksu) May 10, 2022
This article originally appeared on 5.11.22
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An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."