I was shown a pre-production screening of Star Wars: Episode 3 in February.
That “Noooooo!”? I had to carry it around with me for over a month before I could tell anybody about it.
This, I have to hear!?
My dad was an MP in the army, and he tells me that his unit was going to be patrolling Havana after Cuba (or what was left of it) had been taken over. His unit was sitting in a plane, about to be sent to a front-line base when the crisis was settled.
He says that most Americans have no clue how close we came to war back then.
I had a detailed list of store closings for a major retailer while they were telling the media that they didn’t know what stores would close yet.
I also know when a person very high up in my organization will retire and who this person’s replacement is.
I was involved in the initial investigations into Felix Bloch, who was a very high-ranking diplomat in Vienna who was accused/suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets. At the time, it was a very large secret.
Also Overhead Imaging.
Can’t talk about it.
I know the real reason why an acquaintance’s mother died unexpectedly, based on an overheard conversation.
Her next of kin would probably be very rich right now, if only they had happened to live in the US.
Although this happened many years ago, I still sometimes wonder whether withholding this information from them was for the best.
I know that a former coworker of mine is a cokehead. This wouldn’t be a big deal except he’s involved with a current coworker of mine. I suppose it’s possible she knows, but I really, really seriously doubt it; she’s rather sheltered and naive, not to mention a bit socially conservative (ie, I’m pretty sure she’d dump him if she knew). She’s a sweet girl and I feel bad for her because eventually she’ll find out and it won’t be pretty.
While volunteering at a health center, I called the office after hours to get my schedule for the week. Our center also hosts a 24-hour crisis hotline. The person monitering this hotline accidentally picked up my line by error. He apologized and transferred me back to the volunteer line, or so he thought. He actually put in conference mode such that I could hear everything but they could not hear me. I know I should have hung up but I soon found out why he was so discombulated: The wife of a prominent religious leader was distraught that she had caught a venereal disease from her husband and was ranting and sobbing & threatening suicide and murder and they were trying to arrange a crisis intervention team. The call ended when a voice came on the line saying, “hello?” " hello?", followed by a dial tone. For the next week, I read nothing in the paper vaguely connected with what I had heard. But about three months later, I read that this prominent religous leader abruptly retired and moved back to the Midwest. :eek:
When I was working at Microsoft, I had access to software that hadn’t been released yet (Windows Vista, XBox 360, etc.) I didn’t see anything significant that hadn’t already been publicly released, though.
I also found porno movies one of my friends made with his girlfriend on his hard drive. I still haven’t told anyone about that.
A friend of mine once told me something that could get (his/her/its) (sister/brother/dog) a good ten or twenty years in federal prison.
We parted ways rather messily. I toyed with the idea of being a real bastard about it, but I figured I still have to look myself in the mirror to shave.
My sister works at a local library and got her hands on the last Harry Potter book a week before it was released. They let her take it home and read it, but it could not be lent out to the public until the big day. She never let out any spoilers, but if that happens again for the final book she could have some real fun if she wanted to be evil.
I work for a bank. There was a particular branch manager who was losing her grip and not functioning well in her day to day tasks at work. Her staff covered for her. One day she got a call when she was not in the building from the man who picked up the documents to be shredded. When he was told she wasn’t in, he insisted on speaking to somebody, anybody who worked there.
Often the things to be shredded were placed in a bin but occasionally they were just left on top of the bin and he would take everything and leave a new bin. That morning, this woman has taken that day’s cash delivery, about $350,000, and left it on top of the shred bin. He was calling to find out if the branch manager really wanted $350,000 in brand new, just from the mint bills to be shredded. He was told that was maybe not such a good idea. The manager took an early retirement the next week.
I’ve always wondered if the shredder guy was ever tempted to take the money and run. He could probably have gotten away with it as nobody in the bank even knew it was missing. I don’t know if there are cameras in the back rooms like there are in the main lobby. I’ve never been tempted like that. I hope i’d do the right thing but…$350,000 free untraceable bucks. That’d be a real test of my ethics.
“My baby “brother” is really my son.”
It was like something out of a soap opera.
I am still privy to them. One would for sure result in jail time for someone, the other at least loss of job, home, reputation and possible jail time.
I hate both of these secrets, but would never betray the ones who took me into confidence.
I knew a co-worker was going to be fired before they did. I told my wife and kept it secret aside from that.
I knew who was going to take over a big government position before it happened. I Googled it and it wasn’t common knowledge but very secret stuff. Funny, I worked in healthcare and the connection was health-related and with someone in this person’s family. My boss knew him very well, and she told me. Not all that exciting, but definitely secret.
Otherwise, I know about a couple of secret abortions and STDs and such. All friends of mine; I have no juicy secrets of my own.
I knew about this place and it’s “secret” at age 12.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/01/then.now/
I have a rich, well-connected uncle whom I have utterly failed to keep in contact with and otherwise kiss up to. . .(sigh). . .so I got to visit it once.
I have to admit, I might have mentioned it to a couple friends in the 15-16 years between my finding out about it and it being disclosed, but I don’t think I compromised nat’l security, and WTF, I was young. . .
Also, I knew about a co-workers VD, and didn’t make it a topic of water-cooler discussion. . .she should’ve slept with me instead of that “ladies man” sounding POS. I’m clean. . . and I’m spectacular. 
All the good ones are always privileged.