Over the years, I've become boring in terms of income....
but not that long ago or farther back, I could be found doing some nutty or dicey or maybe even clever type work, depending on your perspective - lol....

You as well?

I was just remembering the time that one of the points apps was paying people $200 bucks to sign up with DoorDash and do at least one delivery.
So I did. I signed up and within a couple hours, I picked up some food from a restaurant near me and took it to a guy who lived about 6 blocks away. He was standing there waiting at the end of his driveway. I handed it to him from my car window and went home. They paid me $200 plus the fee for doing the delivery and that was it, I never delivered again lol.

Years ago I worked for a private investigative company....my job was to meet targeted people at bars or restaurants, engage them in conversation, then report my findings. I was paid a good fee and the meals and drinks of course were paid by either the target or the employer.

The craziest job I ever had was working as a flight attendant. Crazy but worth it for the stories alone!
I always wanted to get a job in Las Vegas for the stories alone! never did lol.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2026 09:08AM by BarefootBliss.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2026 07:47PM by Minime.

You forgot the ‘wild thing.’ ($50)
(At least I’m entertained)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2026 09:09PM by Minime.

Sold snails on eBay... Got into it entirely by accident but it paid well while it lasted. Arbitrary rules for "humane treatment of animals" that were not based on science plus a fee structure that is punitive for sellers who have high shipping costs relative to the price of the product made it no longer worth doing.

snails? fresh water aquarium snails? like the apple snails? I loved having giant snails in my aquariums, the fish mostly left them alone, and I never had to clean the inside glass.. it was great. And then I got a wolf fish.. BIG mistake. The snails were illegal to have (not sure if it was just CA or the whole country), but they were awesome.

@Morledzep wrote:

snails? fresh water aquarium snails? like the apple snails? I loved having giant snails in my aquariums, the fish mostly left them alone, and I never had to clean the inside glass.. it was great. And then I got a wolf fish.. BIG mistake. The snails were illegal to have (not sure if it was just CA or the whole country), but they were awesome.

I had Pomacea diffusa, legal to ship and legal to possess. They won't eat your aquarium plants but they will eat some algae. Mostly, they are interesting to watch. These are not the same as Pomacea maculata which is considered an agricultural threat.

This may not be that unique overall. It seemed like a unique request from a mystery shopping company.

I stood at an intersection and counted the number of cars and the number people not wearing seat belts. They sent me a vest and a clicker to count.

One time the intersection was two country roads and maybe 2 cars came through. It seemed like a mistake ¯\(ツ)/¯

It's variety like this that kept me enjoying mystery shopping for several years.

At school, various creatures get sent by mail or other delivery. Examples -Butterfly eggs, mealworm eggs.

In college I participated in a paid study at the psychology department. They were studying group dynamics, I thnk. It was things like in one session, a new member joined the group. We had to agree on answers, including how many ounzes in a pint. We all said 16, but the new member insisted it was 18 or something, saying they were a chemistry student and they absolutely knew that was the correct answer because they dealt with measurements every day, etc. We all went along, lol. I guess the finding was that people will go along with a lie if it is told assertively from a position of authority,

I participated in a pelvic floor study when I was pregnant with my daughter 22 years ago at the local university research hospital. I had to pee, hold, pee, hold. I was paid $250.

I have done several mock jury trials. One of my favorites was over a marijuana growers contract. I learned more than I imagined possible.

mock jury trials sound very interesting....do lawyers pay people to participate in those?

just curious how one finds out about them...

I literally just received an email this week asking to fill out a survey to participate. They also have an ad on Indeed. The pay here is $30/hour.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

mock jury trials sound very interesting....do lawyers pay people to participate in those?

just curious how one finds out about them...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2026 03:23PM by gigishopper.

I drove for UBER for 4 months. I made very good money and only worked 3 days. Friday night, Saturday night and after a break/nap, early Sunday morning for airport rides. For about every ten customers, I had at least one nut/scary person, etc. But, the nine would leave me huge tips, usually $150-$300, minimum. They always said my car was so clean, smelled good and gave me a genuine compliment. I always got a 5-star rating. The nut/scary person, though, would always make me feel like this would be my last time doing this.

One night I picked up a guy from a club that was dressed in a beautiful suit. He got in the front seat and that made me bristle up. He sat staring at me while I drove and I just tried to act normal. Then he quickly reached his left hand toward my left leg, scooping under my calf, then swept his hand under my seat...all in a few seconds while asking me if I am carrying a weapon. I pulled over and stopped and said I was not and would not.

He asked why and I told him my religious convictions. So he proceeds to quiz me on the Bible. This went on for about 20 minutes and I had resumed the drive. He finally said he was surprised at what I knew, telling me he knew the scriptures very well, too. And he kept looking all over while I drove. As if he thought we were being followed. He then started telling me to turn here and there, because he said people were looking for him. He was on his cell phone changing the destination in the UBER App, several times. I kept getting the update and began to get worried. The ride was to be 30 minutes originally, and it had been well over an hour now. I was afraid to tell him to get out of the car. By the time it was just beyond the 2 hour mark, he had me pull into a gas station so he could buy something.

I thought I would just take off once he was inside. He went into the store and kept looking back at me. Then I noticed his wallet was on the floor in front of his seat. I grabbed it and looked inside. I saw his license and took a photograph of it and quickly put it back. HIs name was different than what the UBER App had. I used my resources from a previous job, that I still had access to, and looked him up. Released from a Federal High-Security prison in Kentucky about a month ago. We were not in Kentucky, though. Major drug dealer. He served about 6 of a 20 year term. He had given up information for the shortened term. That caused the arrest of larger criminals he was affiliated with. He was now on his way back to my car. Yeah, I did not leave. I thought he might find me somehow, so I just prayed that this ride would end soon.

He got back into my car and handed me a Perrier. Then he tells me it was a good thing he had cash, because he could not find his wallet. I said it was on the floor. I told him I thought he left it there to test me. Quick thinking! He said he did not and grabbed it. He changed the destination again. I said I really did not plan on working this long and I needed to stop soon. He asked if I could take him to his hotel and that would be it. I agreed and it was an hour away. He had already been with me for 3 hours. On the way he quizzed me on the prophet Daniel. I provided some details he was not aware of. He was intrigued and wanted to know more. I explained that the book of Revelation has parts that elaborate on the prophecies of Daniel and that was how I knew those details. Then I showed him on my phone using a Bible App.

We made it to his hotel and he asked if I would go up to his room before he did to make sure no one was lurking around on that floor. I agreed, even though I was scared. He waited in the lobby and I was to text him if all was clear. I did and he came up. He opened his door and I was ready to go. He said he just wanted to tell me something. He asked me to step inside, but said he would leave the door open. I thought this was where I crossed the line and was going to die. He took his jacket off and then got his wallet and took out his license. He handed it to me and said: "This is who I am." "I got out of prison a month ago." "I was a heroin dealer." "People want to kill me because I gave them up." "These are people who let me go to prison and set me up." "I am not sure if they know I am in this part of the country, but I have to be careful."

It was easy to keep calm, since I already knew. I also felt better that he was telling me the truth. I handed back his license and thanked him for being honest. I told him I was scared during the ride and up to the point of stepping into his room. He apologized and handed me a wad of cash and told me to get home safely and to text him when I made it home!

All I did was cry and pray in thankfulness all the way home. And no more UBER. This guy would text me every once in a while and check on me. Never asked where I lived. Then started contacting me from new numbers, explaining he had to do that. Then I never heard from him again.

OMG!

Yes, the mock jury trials/focus groups pay well. I did one all day on a Saturday for $250 I think. But it was over zoom and I was multitasking and eating LOL. I did a 3 hour (in person) that paid $100 in cash, then a 3-4 hour zoom that paid $80 in Amazon card. Just google for mock jury trials and focus groups in your area. Many are run by marketing firms.

One of the stranger things that has happened to me was that I did a property inspection a few years ago and took a bunch of photos for an empty piece of land. On that land now sits a car wash that I shop almost every month!

I use to sell hard-to-get items, mostly health & beauty, on eBay. There was a cold medicine that was temporarily unavailable in most places but it was still available near me. So I bought and listed it. After a few times, I noticed all my listings were being bought by the same few buyers. After some checking, I discovered that I had unintentionally become a drug dealer! Apparently, they could make meth or something out of my otc meds…. I did learn that drug dealing really does pay well! Even if just a few dozen boxes of cold meds.

@purpleicee Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. lol

Holy Toledo Purple, that would scare me away from doing rideshare too..

@Morledzep - Some people get in your car and start demanding and grabbing things. They reach forward and grab your phone charging cable to plug their phone in, nearly tearing it out of the socket. They want to use your phone. Nope. They start clicking the window buttons rapidly, as some do at crosswalks or elevators - pressing the button over and over. They stick their hand way down into the pockets behind the front seats, looking for something to take. They want access to your car's bluetooth so they can blast their nasty/vile music. Nope. There is so much more they do and these are the nightmare people, the one out of every ten that get into your car and you cannot wait to drop them off. Never again. I even get PTSD when a friend will ask me if I could do them a favor and pick up "their" friend from the airport. Nope, I cannot. Sorry.

purple....that was quite the story.....I felt like I was watching a movie when I read it....so glad it all turned out ok...wow....and I hope that wad of cash was enough for all that he put you through. I am sure you needed rest when that was all over.

I haven't considered the driver's perspective.....here's a naive question - there is no way to screen potential customers?

I've had a couple dicey interactions with Uber drivers....but thankfully nothing escalated.

@BarefootBliss - With UBER, and I am not sure about LYFT, they screen the drivers. They cannot even have a misdemeanor, unless that has changed. They have your identification verified and background check. BUT, not the same for the riders! They could have a fake name on their account and use anyone's credit card to pay for their ride. (Like the long ride home I had. Name on the APP was Tony and not his real name). So, the driver has to have a clean record, but their life could be in danger since the customer is not verified and may not have a clean record.

UBER also randomly shuts down your APP access to receiving new customers for a few minutes. This is so they can verify you are really the driver. They have you look at the screen so they can see you and record your image. But, yes, there are some odd drivers that I have had experiences with as a passenger.