Just what the topic says. What’s the biggest secret you’ve ever been in on? Of course, don’t post if you don’t feel comfortable in mentioning it. You don’t even have to give details; anything from, “I had the script to the season finale of Lost two months in advance” (which could be “I had the script to a popular TV show long in advance”) to “my brother told me never to tell Mom that he twisted his ankle jumping off the roof pretending to be Superman.”
Anyone?
I was going to be on one of the planes that dropped 101st Airborne troops into Cuba if the missile crisis went ballistic.
It was all very hush-hush and secret, soldiers and airmen with masking tape over their unit insignia so nobody’d know who was where, all that cool stuff.
Lucky for the world, it never came to pass. At the time I was pissed when it blew over; all that work getting ready and no war to fight.
Hey, when you’re 19 you think everything’s gonna be fun.
On several occasions in my current role I’ve been privy to sensitive market information about proposed mergers/takeovers of financial institutions. I could have used this information to make quite a bit of money if I’d been silly enough to indulge in some insider trading.
My best friend’s husband (also my friend) told me he was “in love” with me. I didn’t believe him, so I didn’t tell anyone. I just figured he was having a weird moment. (Long story, but sometimes he tends to go off on things, they were having a rough time, I didn’t think he meant it…) It bothered me a lot, but I didn’t want to make things go wrong between them.
Anyway, when he told her, and told her that I knew… there was a rough period.
In the end, I told him that anything he told me I would immediately tell her and I have since kept my word. I am glad she forgave me and was able to get past it. But I guess such things are easy when you’re the best person in the universe. 
Also I was right, he didn’t actually mean it. But it was a heavy burden on my shoulders for a while.
If I told you, I’d have to kill you.
I’ve been told the exact date of the end of the world, just can’t share with any one you! 
Actually, I was told once about a planned layoff in the previous company, which included me. :eek: Being prepared, I was able to bargin for a better package than other people got.
I do product development work, including patent drawings and disclosures, for a manufacturer in a niche market. That’s probably the biggest one.
My parents (now retired) both used to work for the National Security Agency. Although they never told me anything about it, I’d imagine they had some interesting stuff rattling around in their heads.
December 12, 2024!
Haha!!
I’ve broken omerta.
and…
I know who killed Johann Babage!
In my circle of friends I’ve somehow become the repository for all the secrets. It’s nice to know I’m trusted but kinda burdensome at the same time.
Nothing really major ever happens, usually, I just know who’s having financial difficulty, who’s thinking of leaving their spouse, who’s spouses have erectile dysfunction, who’s cheating or wishes they were, who got busted for something, etc.
Mind you, while any of these situations are ongoing, they’re the Biggest Thing In The World to the involved parties so the secret is ginormous, but in the grand scheme of things, not so much.
I know who in town took a sh - er, “number two” in the then-under-construction StarBucks in town. This delayed the construction immensely (the bastards still aren’t open) due to the extensive cleaning they had to do.
I know who Keyser Soze is.
I know when my boss is going to retire, and who he’s picking to replace him.
Hmm… the biggest secret I ever knew involved nuclear warheads.
More recently I’m a pre-reader for a published author.
Having held a variety of jobs that required security clearances, I’ve known a lot of stuff - some cool, some terrifying. Fortunately, most of the terrifying stuff was just “what if” type planning, so I could wallow in denial about that.
One interesting thing I’ve noticed over the years - some of the most highly classified stuff seems, on the surface, inane. Maybe it’s just me.
As for personal secrets, it was the longest time before we told my mom how quickly we eloped. At first, we told my folks 3 months (well we met on Oct 31, started dating in mid-Nov, and married Dec 12 - technically, we knew each other during 3 separate months) when in fact, we dated for 4 weeks. That little tidbit came out at my dad’s funeral, just before our 19th anniversary.
The identity of the father of someone who thinks it is someone else.
No, it’s not you. My time at State as a young man I held a clearance and the stuff I saw was just silly. Scripts and such for educational kids plays in Africa were made secure out of policy (no fooling).
I saw MUCH more sensitive stuff covering the Hill and the White House.
I know someone who had sex a while back with a celeb who passes for straight. Said person also told me said celebrity is very busy with having gay sex with multiple partners.
The configuration of the B-2 stealth bomber. Only me and a couple thousand others…
Mr. S and I were the first people a friend came out to. It was a bit of a job dancing around the pronouns when friends asked about how she was doing, but she’s mostly out now (and much happier).
Not necessarily the biggest secret I know, but probably the most interesting:
I do computer support for an educational institution. The Welding instructor, a 55 year old, overweight man, had just got a very expensive video capture card at home and had asked me to come over and walk him through the basics of how to use it. When I got there, it was set up with a VCR hooked up so we could send sample video to capture onto the computer. I turned on the VCR and started playing the tape he had put in, then started walking through the procedure. As we were going through this, the tape got to the end. I rewound it and pressed play.
I have to pause for just a moment to point out that up to this point, the tape had been playing some vacation video that he had shot. You will understand why this is important momentarily.
So I rewound the tape and pressed play so we could continue capturing sample video when up on the screen was no vacation video. Oh no. It was this instructor NAKED with his wife doing the nasty! Yes, this guy had made a homemade porno video and then taped over the latter half with vacation video. This poor guy must have turned about 8 different shades of red when he saw this. He asked me not to tell anyone at work. I told him not to worry about it.
I’ve since become very good friends with this guy, but I will always have this little tidbit ready to hang over his head if something should happen… you know… just in case. 