We've all had those moments when we realise we've made a huge mistake.
If you're lucky, it isn't recorded on social media for eternity - and if it is, hopefully, you have a good sense of humour.
One woman left people in stitches after begging vets for help after finding a 'tapeworm' in her house - only to realise it was a curly fry.
Serena Morlock, 22, left red-faced after discovering the 'stomach worm' was leftover from her boyfriend's lunch.
The frantic cat owner was thrown into 'blind panic' when she walked into her five cats' room to spot the mystery brown mass on the floor.
She posted on Facebook in a group of animal medics, concerned that one of her cats had thrown up a potentially deadly stomach worm - but members quickly concluded it was a curly fry instead.
Embarrassed Serena remembered boyfriend Danny Lenheart, 19, had eaten curly fries earlier that day so believes a mischievous moggy took one from the bag and dragged it to their room.
Luckily the supermarket worker saw the funny side and shared her embarrassment on social media, where it has now racked up more than 11,000 times.
Serena, from Jamestown, North Dakota, US, said: "I'd just got home from work and I was tired so when I walked into the pet room and saw that on the floor, I was like 'oh my god, what do I do?'.
"My cats are like my kids so I automatically went into mum mode, worrying if my cats were okay. Wondering which one it came from. I started freaking out. I thought it was a stomach worm.
"A couple of days before I'd noticed in the vet group that somebody's dog had thrown up a worm, so I thought about that.
"I didn't really think about it. I just wanted to put some information out there because I was so worried.
"The more I looked at it I realised it was a curly fry and then I saw all the comments. I was embarrassed for a few minutes.
"Danny had Arby's for lunch and got curly fries but it didn't even cross my mind at the time. We don't feed the cats normal people food so one must have got it from the bag or he dropped it.
"After a while, I thought, 'this is funny'. I like to laugh at myself when things go wrong because that makes it better.
"I was so relieved. My cats are my kids, so if anything goes wrong I'd feel very bad for them so I was so relieved it wasn't anything to do with them. They were just curious about the curly fry.
"I'm an impulsive person and I get worried really quickly and kind of jump on things. Next time I should probably think before I post and freak out."
Serena takes pride in rescuing cats and lives on her own with now six moggies Jade and Milo, three, Peep and Otis, two, Mesa, one, and two-month-old Juno, along with two mice and two geckos.
Her panicked post said: "Hello vets. I got home from work and saw this laying in my cat room. I’m thinking it’s puke.
"I have five cats, [they are] all up to date on shots. Four are spayed, one is not. Should I be worried? What could this be? Thanks in advance."
She then commented: "Hi, you can delete this or laugh at me. It was a curly fry that my cats must have found... I feel like an idiot. Have a good night."
And later added: "I really thought it was a worm, and yes my cats have their own room. Lmao."
Serena added she'll keep the curly fries away from her curious cats in future.