There's one word to describe these tales about too much information: awkward. In response to a recent MSNBC.com story about how we're becoming more accustomed to oversharing, readers described the stories they wish they hadn't heard (or hadn't shared).
Do us all a favor, one reader begs, and learn to decipher what information might be inappropriate.
"My boss recently walked in my office and raised her arms, revealing two sweat-stained armpits," writes one reader. "She laughed and said, 'It's been a long day.' My only thought was, 'That is waaaaaay too much information!'"
But others, like Jeff of Bloomington, Ind., are fans of the TMI trend.
"Keep sharing, people!" Jeff writes. "We need to understand each other in an age where technology wedges us apart."
Keep reading for more TMI stories.
I have a friend who recently visited our house. He happens to have no voice modulation — everything he says comes out at full volume! We went to a minor league ballgame, where he proceeded to take a cell phone call — and told his friend, and our entire section, about his recent urinary tract infection!
— Steve
We were at a swimming party with my single parent Sunday school class and while all of us were in the pool together playing volleyball my friend and I began to talk about our leg stubble and how we had just shaved that morning, but the razors weren't that good, and we showed each other our legs and chattered about this quite openly there in the pool with everyone else and one of the men said, "Do you women often share such personal information in public?" It was a bit embarrassing but also hilarious.
— Tammy, Fort Myers, Fla.
The headline on MSNBC.com, "No cancer found in Bush's colon." Ironic, but way too much information!
— Anonymous
A coworker shared with me that she had gained so much weight, she couldn't reach around to wipe her butt. I haven't been able to look at her the same since then.
— Anonymous
I have never felt that sharing my HIV status - regardless of the situation- has been in error. I'm proud of surviving this illness and proud to be able to help chip away at any stigma.
— Mark, Brooklyn, N.Y.
My mother-in-law has recently been diagnosed with IBS. When her problems first started, she would call us with a play by play of her trips to the bathroom. She would leave messages on our answering machine about how much her bum hurt after going so often. It got to the point where both my husband and I didnt want to talk to her and hear about her bathroom adventures. We finally had to tell her she was sharing TMI when about 90 percent of the conversation would revolve around her bathroom trips. Luckily for us she stopped the play by play, but we don't dare ask her how she is or we get an ear full.
— Anonymous
A co-worker I barely knew went into nauseating detail about her and her husband's sex life. After everyone told her to knock it off, she got offended, pouted and said that if she couldn't share every detail of her life, we didn't accept her as a person.
— Anonymous
A very attractive woman came up my friends and I at a local tavern and asked if she could sit with us while she waited for friend to arrive. We all agreed but within the first five minutes realized it was a huge mistake. Before we could finish a single beer, we all knew her most "intimate" issues with her boyfriend, all about her old job as an exotic dancer and how her mother has custody of her 5-year-old son. Later that night she sent a nude picture of herself to my friend's cell phone. A week later one of my friends was back at the same tavern and overheard two other men talking about how they had met the same girl just a couple nights earlier ... and had the same TMI conversation with her.
— Xavier, Orlando, Fla.
I have a friend who tells me every chance she gets about her herpes outbreaks — TMI! Somehow it always comes out when I'm eating — yuck.
— Ginger, Euless, Texas
I started a new job recently and my new supervisor showed me before and after breast enhancement pictures of her in a bikini that she had on her office computer ... on my second day at work. I'm no prude and was just a little shocked, but some other males may have taken her openness as an invitation. I decided not to tell the Mrs.
— Michael, Orlando, Fla.
A couple years ago I just had started a new job in Nashville. I was in the breakroom one day and a guy that worked there was showing off pictures of his newborn child. He asked if I wanted to see them, I mistakenly said, "Sure." He failed to mention they were taken in the delivery room while the kid was being born.
— Brian, Chicago
I think I am falling into this narcissistic category. I love to tell certain people about secrets and past event in my life that they might find interesting or perhaps a turn-on. Often I get carried away and regret what I said. But I keep pushing it. There are only a few people I can tell these stories to. The excitment is when a new person hears them for the first time and you see their reactions.
— G., Dayton, Ohio
I went into work at a clothing store in the mall one day, and the new girl was headed my way. We had not actually met yet, and as she approached I was getting my introduction ready in my head and before I could say anything she says: "Man I'm so tired. I hardly slept last night because my husband and I got into a fight that lasted until 4 a.m. because he thinks I'm cheating on him again." To which I reply, "OK, uh, I'm Tanya."
— Tanya
Today I was at work and this girl told me about these diet pills she was taking. They are the Alli pill and she stated they really worked! She also said she had to stop taking them because of the effects they were giving her. She said: "Everything they said is true! I have oily gas and I have to wear a pad even though I am not on my period!" ... I was like, "Whoa!" I can't believe she just said that! I was thinking is this some kind of sick joke?
— Elizabeth, Denver