Viral 9/11 Memories Reddit Thread Is Pure Nightmare Fuel

An incredible Reddit thread of 9/11 memories is going viral, and it's a blunt reminder of the carnage and chaos America faced more than two decades ago.

America lost thousands of our people on September 11, 2001 when 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing into the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and one went down in Pennsylvania when the passengers heroically fought back.

It's hard to believe this September will mark 23 years since the attack that sparked a massive war on terror that is still being fought to some degree in 2024.

9/11 Reddit thread goes viral.

Everyone old enough to remember 9/11 has a memory of that day, and people are taking to Reddit to discuss and share their stories, the craziest claims that were made about the attack, false misinformation/conspiracy theories and more.

It's a great journey down a dark road of history, and parts of it are pure nightmare fuel. You can see some of the responses below, and send me your 9/11 memories at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• My cousin worked for Morgan Stanley in London at the time. She was on a call to one of her colleagues in New York when the phone cut out. She tried dialing back a few times but couldn't get through. Then someone came running through the office saying a plane had hit one of the towers… All-in-all, everyone in that office lost work colleagues across the pond. Most eventually moved jobs as it was too distressing.
• It was surprising how long it took everyone to realize that the plane that hit the first tower was a jetliner and not a small private prop job.
• I think it was because most people weren't looking up yet, and the idea of a jetliner accidentally hitting the tower just didn't make sense. Plus, this was before the time we all had cameras in our pocket at all times.
• The 2nd plane hitting removed any doubt. That's when fear was showing.
• The conspiracy theories came later. A lot of us were just sitting alone in front of our TVs in shock. There was no Facebook or Twitter yet. No Reddit or discord. And no iphones. Most people didn’t even have a mobile phone. I e-mailed my friends in New York City to see if they were okay, but I knew I wouldn’t likely hear back for hours even if they were. We were all just waiting for more info from the news.
• I was standing right outside the towers when the second plane hit. I was looking up when the plane came out of nowhere and crashed into the tower and never came out. The explosion was so loud my ears were ringing, everyone was running. I worked a block away, ran to my building and they refused to let anyone in. I started that job on September 4. I was initially standing outside because I was curious to see how firefighters would put out the fire of the first tower. I had no idea at that point the first tower was hit by a plane, too. After the second plane hit, I remember a guy running out of a building and saying 'that was the second plane, the other tower was hit by a plane' That day was nuts. Manhattan was cut off from the rest of the city and it took forever to finally get home. I was stuck inside of a packed local bar several blocks away, until the bridges were opened back up.
• The big one was that the US Military shot down the plane in Pennsylvania to keep it from crashing into the White House. Right after the attacks, reports started coming in that gas prices were going sky high. A friend called and said he had to pay $9 a gallon and told us to rush to the gas station and stock up before there were shortages. Everyone was rushing to the gas stations. We took both cars, motorcycles and as many gas tanks as we could get our hands on, and so did tons of other people.
• There weren't a lot of conspiracy theories in real time. The second plane hitting is what crystallized for most of us that it was a terrorist attack. The conspiracy theories came later. One of the big ones was that it was a missile rather than a plane.
• Missile hit the Pentagon. That lasted a bit.
• We knew within an hour who was responsible.
• One of the first things Howard Stern says after he’s told about the second plane is that it was bin Laden. Everyone knew back then.
• The only thing that struck me was they stopped showing commercials. There were no commercial breaks for a while it was just straight live coverage on TV.
• Every single channel including MTV and Cartoon Network were showing the news for days. It was surreal.
• Rumors? Car bomb found at the state department. Pipe bombs found at the Supreme Court. Failed suicide bomb at the Washington Monument. That day had a lot of bad info.
• Some others I remember were the Washington Mall on fire, car bombs at the Capitol, flights headed for the White House/other targets. It all just added to the fear and anxiety that day. I was 17 at the time and I specifically remember wondering if I was safe in my metro Atlanta suburban high school. Of course I was safe but that assumed sense of security was gone. Suddenly all those bad things that happen in other countries were at our doorstep.
• When we were still in school, as 9/11 was unfolding, we had a teacher turn on the news. A girl in the front row turned around and announced to the entire class, "It's the Russians!" My teacher (think puffy hair French teacher) screams OH My God! And runs out of the room. So that was fun.
• With all the people in this thread saying they knew who was responsible immediately, I'm happy to see another person young enough to have heard a naive theory. I was in 8th grade when it happened, one kid thought India did it so another kid said we'd be safe if we each adopted a cow.
• This doesn't answer your question, but one of the more sobering parts about the whole deal was that there WAS a momentary sense of a genuine, horrible accident. Now the MOMENT that 2nd plane hit, live as the entire country watched and the sheer horror of the newscasters and frankly, everyone watching was so palpable and unforgettable. That was truly a moment when our armor was pierced deep. We realized America is not impenetrable.
• The first guesses on casualty numbers were hugely inflated. People were throwing out numbers like 50K, not considering that the building and area would be much less crowded than at a peak time. AQ intentionally chose morning flights because there'd be fewer passengers/less resistance, but that also unavoidably reduced casualties both in the air and on the ground.
• I lived in Canada and someone said the statue of liberty got hit by a plane. Then my history teacher rolled in a tv and we watched what was actually happening live.
• The weirdest thing was that parents picked their kids up from school cause the planes indicated a possible all out war and i guess people thought schools would be attacked?
• My dad was at the towers that day. I didn't know when I watched the live footage in my classroom. The worst information I got was a call from my sister to my school telling me my dad was there and they didn't know if he was okay. He ended up being okay, but even if he didn't, I don't feel my 12 year old self needed to worry about it until it was sure. The second worse misinformation I got was my dad's story, that he went down for a bagel and that's why he was on the ground floor when it happened. He finally fessed up recently (like 2 months ago) that he was on the ground floor for a smoke. Not to condone smoking, but c'mon dad, tell us that way earlier!

That's just a sample of the different 9/11 stories circulating the thread. It's a very deep hole you can dive down if you want to burn a few hours.

I was in fourth grade when 9/11 happened, and I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in a classroom that had a door connecting to another one, teacher came in very flustered, spoke to my teacher, they turned the TV on, we all saw what was happening and then there was an announcement made on the PA system that all teachers were to turn on their TVs. We didn't do anything all day other than watch the news until we got picked up. After getting home, I just remember being glued to the TV all day and all the moms were panicking. There was also a very real fear that missiles might be coming next. People had no idea what was happening or what was going to happen next. Even for being in fourth grade, I remember the fear and a true feeling of being in the dark.

I know some people who were in *VERY* high government positions when 9/11 happened, and their stories are something not even Hollywood could cook up. Some were rushed to bunkers, others were loading weapons ready for an imminent fight. I hope some of those people eventually publicly talk about their 9/11 experiences because they're incredible.

A fiery blast rocks the World Trade Center after being hit by two planes September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Do you remember what you were doing on 9/11? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com. I look forward to hearing your stories.

P.S.: 9/11 conspiracy theories are among the dumbest conspiracy theories you will ever stumble upon. Just complete nonsense that's all easily debunked. Yet, morons keep believing.