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People Share The Best Real-Life Cheat Codes They Know

People Share The Best Real-Life Cheat Codes They Know
Becca Tapert/Unsplash

The infamous Mortal Kombat ABACABB code doesn't actually work in real life, but there are absolutely times when some overly dramatic poorly-rendered game blood would make a moment way funnier.

We could use it for educational purposes, or in trauma reduction.

Ted the Feminist might even still have a girlfriend!

Sometimes a sense of humor is all you've got left, ya know?

Hilarious as that could get - if cheat codes actually DID work, we can think of quite a few we'd try before that one. Sorry, Ted.


Reddit user citizen287 asked:

"What is a real life cheat code you use?"

Instead, we're just stuck with these "real life cheat codes" from people who are somehow good at life or whatever.

Look It Up

GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy

"When I hear a word I cannot define, I stop whatever I am doing and look it up."

"You would be amazed how that helps you understand the world around you and all aspects of it, especially finances."

- Codeine-Radick

"You are absolutely right."

"It was the philosopher Wittgenstein who said: 'The limits of my language means the limits of my world.' “

"In other words, your field of experience of the world will increase as you become more competent in learning language, vocabulary, words and definitions."

- Quh49zvf

"Wait, I thought everyone just did that? How else would you understand the sentence or whatever"

-funlight45

"Context."

- r3coil

Size Matters

"When you decide to use a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon for ice cream or yoghurt or pretty much anything."

"It gives you more bites, forces you to take more time to enjoy something, really savor it -- and I think that's pretty special."

- KokoTheBanana

"I only use small dishes and utensils for the past few years :) Makes a huge difference!"

- AnotherThrowAway1320

"Completely agree with you!"

"I have tons of little spoons specifically for that reason, so I can savor what I’m eating instead of gobbling it down right there"

- Anzulia_Art

"Agreed. Except cereal, which requires bigger bites so it doesn't get soggy."

- ComplexCost4496

Thoughtful Notes

Taking Notes GIFGiphy

"Keep a list of things people love or want."

"It comes in super handy during birthdays and Christmas."

"I always get complimented on how thoughtful my gifts are. A little planning goes a long way."

- Wonderful-Rich-3411

"My brother decided to create a Google sheet for all of us."

"We each have our own tab, and after Sept 1, no one is allowed to look at their own tab, because the rest of us make changes to it to indicate what was bought."

"He got tired of all of us screaming for lists from his family."

- schroedingersnewcat

"I do this too! As people are chatting and mention something they like, a favorite restaurant, etc I’ll remember and add it to a list in my notes app on my phone."

"I’m constantly complimented on my thoughtful gifts but I’m just listening!"

- TuesdayWednesdayMe

To The Left To The Left

"Whenever I have to fart/have a belly ache I lay on my left side. I did this long before actually looking up the science but apparently your GI Tract is situated in such a way that laying on your left side helps move things along."

- Drive_Academic

"Same. Did it for years before understanding the reasoning why."

"Sometimes I can only burp if I lean up and to the left as well. When I was very young, I just told everyone I had a leaky chamber."

- PoopedACreature

"Yeah, this one's a good tip, which I also follow. Any of you who suffer GORD or similar can use use this to take some of the edge off the burning too."

"Doesn't always work, of course; but I'll say anecdotally that I've suffered severe GORD my entire life, and sometimes just moving into this position is the only thing that brings any kind of relief, even if slight or brief."

- EafLoso

Clean As You Go

cleaning GIFGiphy

"Wash your bowls, spatulas, and so on while you are cooking. After supper you will have hardly any dishes to do."

- butter00pecan

"YES. My dad swears by this, the 'clean as you go' strategy, thus I use it in my daily life even at work and not just in the kitchen."

"My mother is a ‘leave all the dirty dishes in a pile and clean them after the food starts to cook’ human"

- cyaveronica

"I do a lot of this while I'm waiting for the food to cool down before I eat. So much nicer being able to enjoy a warm meal knowing there's no cleanup afterward."

- pmw1981

"Also accept that you will clean your kitchen every day. It's just a law of physics."

- freehatt2018

One, Two, Three ...

"If you go into another room and forget what you came for, next time start counting in your head as you are getting up to go to the other room."

"You can think about other things but for some reason the counting keeps the original thought tied to it."

- whyunoletmepost

"I’m going to have to give this a try!"

- i_liek_games

"I did it all the time, I called them trigger points, basically recount your step so your head trigger and help you remember what you were doing in the first place."

- K2P2C

Save The Zipper

"I had a pair of jeans where the zipper wouldn't stay up."

"I put a keyring through the little hole in the zipper and hooked it around the button. Zipper stays up and the keyring is hidden behind the fabric that fastens over the button."

"Saved me buying a new pair of jeans for a while. I hate buying jeans, they're the worst clothing to go shopping for."

- Random_Guy_47

"this is great!"

- Cute-Connection

"Elastic band works too"

- otisreddingsst

Let It Go

"I abandoned my ego about 11 years ago."

"Life has been immensely easier since then."

- drallafi

"100%. The easiest thing to do in life is to sometimes just say sorry or not have an ego about things and everything goes smoother."

- Latifi_WDC_2023

"So true. The focus returns to just what needs to get done in life/work/school without the ego clouding or triggering a lot of baggage."

- jesucont01

Don't Shed A Tear

world onion GIFGiphy

"When dicing onions, cut it in half and peel the paper then rinse it good. No tears."

- No-Return-3368

"5 - 8 sec microwaving the half onions do well, too."

- Fakedduckjump

"Didn't know that, nice."

- No-Return-3368

Opposable Toes

"You can pick up relatively anything with your toes instead of bending over."

"Yes I know it’s weird but it actually helps a lot whenever you have back issues"

- Creative-Sun2453

"And pregnancy!"

- Hrager333

"I do that, my family looks at me weird tho"

- Blister999

"Everyone that lives with me collectively agreed that I do not have feet, but rather four hands."

- Jexify

"This is a good one, I often use this especially when picking up clothes that have be put into the washing machine or something falls down and your hands are not free."

- Fakedduckjump

Friendly And Silent

Happy Stephen Colbert GIF by The Late Show With Stephen ColbertGiphy

"Let people talk and sound friendly they will always let out more than they are willing."

"Also always start a negotiation with a positive with the other party, then you start working your way through more sensitive terms of your soon to be agreement."

- Much_Committee_9355

"Also, make use of silence. Lots of people will be keen to fill the silence by saying something (anything!) which can give you an advantage."

- 365Anonymous

"I work in an inspection and enforcement role and I have had great success with this. I am friendly and personable by nature but also as a rule. I ask open ended questions and let people talk. They will inevitability keep talking and give me all the info I need."

"I was on an inspection recently and the employer had a work term student who came along. I told him that people will almost always tell you what you want to know, you just have to give them the opportunity. It's an easy job, listen and take notes, the workers will tell you what is wrong"

- Agile-Guarantee-7206

"Same thing I work in a very nieche part of the legal word, which mainly deals with contracts and maneuvering and expediting things with state institutions, while I was an intern through a lot of frustration and the express course from my coworkers I sort of started developing and honing this skills, which made life 100 times easier."

- Much_Committee_9355

Electric Kettle For The Win

Celebrity Masterchef Omg GIF by MasterChefAUGiphy

"When I'm cooking, I'll boil the water in the electric kettle and then add it to the pot, so I don't have to wait as long."

- Competitive_Ruin_370

"Another step to this is adding a bit of water to the pot and heating it as the kettle boils. It means that the pot is hot when you add the water from the kettle and usually goes straight back to boiling"

- Craunch_the_Marmoset

"I started doing this a few weeks ago! A lot faster"

- poopycactus

P.E.

"Exercise and eat well. An hour a day makes the other 23 SO MUCH INSANELY BETTER."

"I’ve been in amazing shape, then I had some medical stuff knock me down into depression/drinking/doordash every day and got fat as hell. Everything hurt. I slept like shit. People, men and women young and old treat you so much worse when you’re unattractive it’s ridiculous… snapped out of it, got back in shape, felt like myself again, body feels amazing, strangers are nice again."

"I’ve been the same person in both physical states. There is absolutely no comparison whatsoever. Life is much, much, much better as even a moderately fit person. It’s bizarre how much it effects your day to day social interactions with strangers"

- [Reddit]

"This was my cheat code when in therapy for depression and a restrictive eating disorder. I realized that even a short walk around my building complex boosted my mood a little, and that little could be enough to actually brush my hair or eat something decent. Some days were truly so awful that I couldn't bring myself to do even that, and I reached out to friends or neighbors who were kind enough to knock on my door and get me on a walk."

"For a while, cardio was one of the biggest weapons I could use against my condition, and afterwards I thought of it as just something I do a few times a week as preventative treatment."

- setsurenka

Proper Search

"Actually understanding how to use google search engine."

"first tip. if you're looking for a specific quote, keyword or company and want to find only the reddit results type in first:"

"site:reddit.comthen you add in your actual query. It would look like this:"

"site:reddit.com what is a real life cheat code you use?"

"And you will be able to find this answer more easily. Google has a large variety of filtering tools to allow you search more effectively."

- filthyburrows

"You can honestly simplify it to just 'search term reddit'. So if I want to see what reddit thinks of a movie I'll do "the avengers reddit" and if I'm mostly getting memes might refine it to 'the avengers review Reddit'."

- PillowcaseGhostie

Efficient Commute

Bike Drive GIF by BoschGiphy

"I ride an ebike to work. I save money. I am in better shape. And because I don’t have to go to the gym to get cardio, I save time too."

"My commute is kinda far at 8 miles one way, so the adult helps with the time and sweatiness."

- Victor_Korchnoi

"I don't know how people pull this off TBH. I get a collar of sweat walking out to the mailbox sometimes. Not horribly out of shape or anything, I just sweat a lot."

- kylew1985

"The eBike helps a lot. You still sweat, but the 20 mph breeze evaporates it. Works better in drier climates, but I’ve been pretty happy with it in New England."

"Also, have a rack to put your bag. Wearing a backpack will keep you back sweat from evaporating. And finally, wear breathable clothes."

"That can mean wearing workout clothes & changing or I like to wear shorts that look like dress clothes but are made of breathable materials."

"I’m a notoriously sweaty dude, and it’s worked for me here and in Arizona."

"Somewhere like Miami might be different though."

- Victor_Korchnoigeico_fire

AM Errand Run

"If you can, go run your errands at night. All the stores you have to go to? Do it at night.

No people, no road anxiety, just you getting shit done in (mostly) quiet. The only things I go out in the daytime for are doctor's and dentist appointments."

- geico_fire

"i would not recommend this to anybody that isn't a man or at the very least cant physically defend themselves"

- xanxbar

"As a woman, I've found that if I shop before 9am, I feel completely safe. And most people dont want to be up that early so the stores are mostly empty and I dont have to stand in absurdly long lines to buy my groceries, gas, or fast food."

- kleigh1313

"i work nights so i too do most of my shopping in the mornings and can confirm the lines are almost non existent"

- xanxbar

"Fair. It depends on where you live. I live in a city where the downtown area is sketchy and full of druggies, but all the big-box stores are about 5-10 minutes away in a (generally) safer area. Haven't gotten attacked yet and I'm a woman. But other areas are far more dangerous regardless of store placement."

- geico_fire

Two Out Of Three

"Neil Gaiman's trio:"

"Submit quality work"

"Submit work punctually"

"Be pleasant to communicate with"

"...you only need two out of three."

"Over my academic career,"

"I've submitted absolute dogshit, but it was on time and I was polite about it."

"I've submitted requirements really late, but it was good work and I was apologetic about it."

"I can sort of ignore messages and be blunt in communication as long as I submit good work on time."

- NoStressAccoun

"Pretty much every professor has allowed me to submit at least one late assignment because I'm polite and participate class"

"I had one professor for 4 semesters and got As in all his classes. I had him for one more class a year later and was like 'Hey I know this assignment is 3 weeks late but I'm gonna go ahead and submit it now' and he was just like 'yeah that's cool' and gave me full credit"

- NoThorNoWay

"My dad used to quote a variation on that regarding buying products/services:"

"You can get it quick"

"You can get quality"

"You can get it cheap"

"Pick 2"

- LorenzoStomp

"I agree with this but I feel like punctuality outweighs the other factors in certain situations where the proctor is anal. I’ve experienced many situations throughout my degree in which I couldn’t submit assignments 10 minutes past the deadline even though the quality was great and I was as nice as I could possibly be."

"Although that’s pretty situational. Usually proctors aren’t total d*cks."

- Poiuytgfdsa

"I’ve gotten a 50% raise doing exactly this in my first year after graduation. It really works and it’s really easy, as long as you have integrity."

- GetInMyBellybutton

Night Hydration

saturday night live drinking GIF by globaltvGiphy

"Drinking water before you go to bed on a night out is the only way to prevent or diminish an inevitable morning hangover, especially useful if you work early."

"You're hangover is the result of you being dehydrated, you don't need to drink a gallon, even just a pint will save you from a day of headache hell"

- LynxZealousideal3344

"If you foeget drinking more than normal at breakfast also works just fyi"

- RelativeStranger

"I really don't think it works as well, as a seasoned drinker I can say drinking before you go to sleep works much better"

- LynxZealousideal3344

"You are right, it doesn't. You get the morning headache. But it doesn't last all day"

- RelativeStranger

"This is true. Also if you're going straight to sleep after there's no point drinking more than a pint cause apparently your body can't process that much water at once so most won't be absorbed anyway."

- JamieTeatime

We may not be able to use video game cheat codes, but if you're nailing it at life and have a cheat the rest of us can use, share it in the comments.

Please? Seriously, 2022 is a mess and we need all the help we can get.

Romantic Confessions That Instantly Ended A Relationship

Reddit user AdditionalDentist100 asked: 'What's something you confessed to your partner that ended your relationship?'

broken heart hanging on wire
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

When it comes to romantic relationships, it's a lot harder to maintain a relationship than it is to start one. And unfortunately, it's all too easy to end that relationship.

A lot of things can end a relationship, and sometimes, it could be as simple as a single comment. Sometimes it's so hilariously stupid that you can't fathom being with the person any longer. Other times, the person says something so cruel that you know it's time to run. And sometimes, the comment isn't even necessarily bad -- just ill-timed.

Redditors know all about this and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor AdditionalDentist100 asked:

"What's something you confessed to your partner that ended your relationship?"

Faking It

"Not me, but someone I know was finally told that her husband was faking his English heritage, background/upbringing in England and fake accent. Dude kept it up for years, eventually admitted that it was all a lie and that he grew up on West Coast."

– NE_Golf

"I would think that was a lie but there are people who have faked being a 9/11 survivor. Apparently this type of stuff happens more frequently then I'd imagine."

– jdefr

Oh, The Humanity

"That I didn't rinse off the Mac and cheese noodles. This isn't even a joke it's a true story."

"They were done cooking and I didn't rinse them off. And yes this was a break up waiting to happen I guess lol."

– Ohlookavulture

"It says right on the box not to rinse them."

– Strong-Solution-7492

"The starch is good for the sauce. Dodged a bullet, I'd rather die alone than eat sh*tty mac & cheese."

– pleachchapel

The Past Is Not The Past

"Didn't happen to me, but a guy I knew married a girl I knew (both a bit older than me) and everything seemed great. However, they were at a party and someone mentioned that the guy used to smoke weed in high school (he admitted it, didn't think it was a big deal). She divorced him a month later, claiming that she couldn't forgive him for smoking weed. 😳"

– bomland10

"There had to be something else going on with her because this is so ridiculous. It's not even something he was currently doing."

– woodenmittens

But Faaaamily

"I didn’t want us to move in together with 6 other relatives."

– Ne0nGalax-E

Three Words, Eight Letters

"I believe it was "I love you.""

– AssistantManagerMan

"How f**king dare you!"

– Illustrious_Cancel83

"Oh yeah, I was out of line."

– AssistantManagerMan

And She Communicated

"I wanted better communication sooo she broke up with me."

– Plus-Bunch-4265

"I mean….."

– Outrageous_Egg6340

"Loud and clear."

– EchtGeenSpanjool

Run!

"I said, while crying because he got angry with me at a restaurant, that “I am sometimes afraid to tell you how I feel because I’m afraid of how you’ll react.” And he said, “well, thats f**king pathetic.”"

– internetgoth

"My partner had a habit of starting a convo by asking how I felt about something, then would criticize me for feeling what I felt. It always ended up being a debate about why I felt the way I did. It was never okay for me to feel sad, worried, scared, etc."

"Over time I started to feel anxious when he’d ask questions, and purposely responded vaguely, or just straight up said that I didn’t feel comfortable sharing (which would incite anger or more judgment)."

"Eventually my response became exactly that. A teary “I don’t know if I want to share because I’m worried about how you’ll react/respond” and his responses were along the lines of “that’s stupid” “you’re ridiculous” “don’t be an idiot” “seriously?”"

"I don’t know if it’s because I got so used to it, or from being distracted by all the other bigger things in the relationship…but for some reason I didn’t even notice that this was another bad thing until reading this comment. It was just…normal."

– alexanteros

Looks Always Matter

"It’s not necessarily what I confessed, but I showed him my picture from 8th grade and he couldn’t handle that I used to look like I did in 8th grade."

"If I knew that I had to peak in middle school I would have at least plucked my eyebrows 🥴"

– aero_love

""Sorry babe, you just weren't hot as a middle schooler. Gotta end it here.""

– bobbitdobbit

Happy Ending

"True story. I confessed that I wanted to do more for her. I thought I was neglecting her and working too much."

"That next week, she sat me down and told me that I was threatening her independence and that she needed a week to think about us. The week after that, she broke up with me."

"I later got the real reason from her former best friend. She never had a guy who wanted “all in” like I did and panicked."

"At the time I was destroyed. LOL I thought I was going to marry that woman. Turns out I was one woman off and my next relationship would turn into my current family. So all’s well that ends well."

– Salty-Technology8912

Better This Way

"Broke down crying during a more realistic war movie. She told me to suck it up."

"After she confronted me for drinking too much I finally sought VA disability. Diagnosed with depression, PTSD, anxiety, among other things. Bills started pouring in and I told her we can’t afford certain luxury things because I was the sole breadwinner. I said I felt like I was drowning and my head is slowly slipping under the surface. She told me to “figure it out.”"

""So, I did. We divorced. And I’m much more happy and no longer on the train of “be a man and tighten your boot straps.” I got help and know that it’s okay to do so."

– NyetRifleIsFine47

"So much easier to keep your head above water without the anchor around your neck."

– Probably_Not_Evil

The Cards Don't Lie

"That I didn’t believe in astrology and tarot cards. She then said her tarot cards told her to break up with me. Sure dodged a bullet there."

– Zenith_21

"The tarot cards were right! And still you don’t believe!"

– TDLMTH

Let's Hear It For The Boy

"I didn’t confess, I just went to a couple bars with her to dance. She left me because “YOU CAN’T DANCE!” Of all the things that she could’ve said that was the weirdest reason ever. Like, I had no response. I was 28. I’m happily married for 22 years now to someone who I constantly do bad dancing for because she thinks it’s hilarious. I mean, since I was told I can’t dance, I developed a habit of dancing badly when celebrating ANYTHING. It’s a real crowd pleaser. I am loved for my bad dancing now."

– generic230

I can't dance either! But this is exactly why we all need to find someone who loves us for our quirks, not despite them.

A brown mini pinscher laying down, has it's ears perked and looks to side in worry
Sarah G./Unsplash

I have been left utterly bewildered by what some people believe is acceptable thought, conversation, and behavior.

Like... "Do YOU hear you?"

It shows when a person lacks life experience and/or brain cells.

Words expose everything.

And sometimes shock is all that is left to grapple with.

Redditor nlwfty wanted to hear about all the things people have overheard that left them utterly stunned, so they asked:

"What's the most out-of-touch thing you've heard someone say?"

I once a friend's friend moan about how she and her husband were nearly destitute.

Almost penniless.

All while she was straightening up the house for the new au pair they had just gotten from Columbia.

The Who?

Over It Maid GIFGiphy

"My boss once told me to have 'the maid' drop my car at the shop. WTF!!"

amboomernotkaren

Be Happy

"'You won't be happier at work if we pay you more, but we need to figure out why workplace happiness is so low.' This coming from a guy that made 10x what I did and was born into old money."

Dirac_comb

"I had a job that was paying below market rates and 'expected' daily overtime (unpaid, natch) and was trying to figure out how to improve morale. They were considering bringing in consoles and having video game nights after work... as if we weren't stuck there too long already."

"I did have the fun of leaving, then being asked to come back as a contractor to help out, and taking advantage of being on a short-term contract and giving no f**ks to suggest that maybe they should consider at least TRACKING the overtime people were working, even if they weren't going to pay for it since there was probably a whole extra job's worth of hours in there and maybe hiring another person might improve morale and reduce the risk of the kind of errors tired people make."

"Didn't stay long as a temp. Apparently telling the truth and discussing facts with your co-workers isn't good for morale >_< They told everyone I was leaving because I got a better offer (!), but I told everyone exactly what was really happening when they asked XD."

princess_ferocious

It hasn't?

"My dad (who is now the Director of Accounting for the school district I teach for) was talking about how my starting pay was way more than his starting pay."

"I said, 'Well, yeah... The cost of living has increased a ton since then.' This motherf**ker straight up said, 'No it hasn't.'"

"He started working there in 1992. This conversation happened in like 2017 (about a year after I started working there). Again, he is the director of accounting."

pjsans

Move On

"'You seem sad.'"

"My mother to my sister, at her husband's funeral."

blarg-zilla

"My sister's son was murdered. Two weeks later my mom asked her if she was over it yet."

NeverCallMeFifi

"One of my sons was murdered 12 years ago. Many people started telling me that I needed to 'move on' after 4-6 weeks. My brother refuses to say my son's name, so I no longer speak to him. Sending my deepest condolences to your family from a mom who understands losing a child to homicide."

PDXer328

Good Idea!

New Girl Facepalm GIF by HULUGiphy

“'I don’t know why people get big mortgages. Just save up for a few months and pay cash for a starter home!'"

Hopeful-Moose87

People with money always seem to have a plan, unless the plan is sharing.

FInd the Treasure

Dragons Den Television GIF by CBCGiphy

"When people were complaining about not being able to afford housing/food/living in general, one of the Dutch ministers (I think he was a minister or at least the leader of a party) said something along the line of 'well, find a rich boyfriend then'. ah, yes, that will solve the crisis!"

pastelchannl

Dumbfounded

"I went to an Ivy League college with lots of children of extraordinarily wealthy families. When discussing inequality and its effects on housing, my professor briefly mentioned how mortgages are out of reach for a growing number of Americans. The girl next to me stopped the class, and with a confused face asked the professor why people don’t just buy their homes in cash outright because 'surely the interest means it will cost them more over time.' The professor was dumbfounded. I found out later that she is the heiress to a major luxury brand that you have all heard of."

wildblue2

The Increase

"My former landlord and his wife dropped by to tell me and my financially struggling 20-something roommates that they were raising the rent, by nearly 25%. They said, 'We noticed on Craigslist that neighbors had higher rent so we’re doing the same.' The wife then earnestly reminded us that we’ve been great tenants but maybe we just needed to find some higher-paying jobs. 🙃."

agingcatmom

Not Me

"I was waxing a woman’s eyebrows once and she was complaining that sometimes after she gets a massage the pillow leaves a circular indent on her face and she can’t go out to lunch after. She then asked me if that ever happened to me? I was like ma'am I wax people for eleven bucks an hour; I’m not going out to lunch lol, let alone getting massages."

lomi08

Investments

Money Invest GIF by ProBit GlobalGiphy

"Something like: Give a rich person $500 and they will invest it into $1000. Give it to a poor person and they will spend it in a week."

"Yeah exactly give it to someone who’s needs are met and they can save… give it to someone who needs to eat/pay rent etc they will spend it to survive!"

ExaminationLucky6082

You need money to make money.

One of life's biggest lessons apparently.

So someone give me some money.

Grossed out woman
Photo by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash

When we thing of something being gross, or nasty, or cruel, there are certain examples that we can all think of, like bullying or an uncleaned bathroom.

But there are other things in our lives that are actually much nastier than we would expect them to be, and we can only really uncover the truth by taking a closer look at them.

Cringing already, Redditor Strawberry_no_cake asked:

"What is nastier than people realize?"

Not So Sweet Now

"Ice machines in restaurants."

- Goodygumdrops

"I worked at a golf course after I lost my law firm internship during the pandemic. I basically just cooked people easy food (burgers, hot dogs, fries, BLTs, etc.) and tended bar in the clubhouse."

"I can confirm that the ice machine can get gross. I’d always do a quick wipe down clean if I saw anything on the ice, but it was typically on parts of the machine that never touched the actual ice we’d use."

- S**tfacedGrizzlyBear

Unexpected, but Makes Sense

"RN here: Hospital floors!"

"Seems obvious, but apparently it isn’t. I can’t believe how many folks will allow their CHILDREN to sit or play on the floors, or just generally treat them like they are sterile. I don’t even wear my work shoes into my own house."

"The other day I spilled a few drops of tea on the floor where I work… gave it a very light wipe with a cloth and the cloth was BLACK."

"I think people assume that since it’s a hospital the floors are in mint condition… absolutely no way, lol (laughing out loud)."

- gracebloome

Secondary Symptoms in Autoimmune Diseases

"Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis."

"Thanks to drug company ads, most people think it's just about going to the bathroom a few times a day. There's never any mention of fissures, fistulas, fevers, extreme pain, extreme fatigue, depression, anemia, drug side effects, joint pain, painful and horrific surgeries, mouth sores, skin disorders, etc."

- reddy_kil0watt

Our Enemies Don't Even Deserve This

"Dementia, especially advanced dementia. It's not just quirky memory problems, your brain controls every bodily function."

- youngboomergal

Carer Fatigue is Real

"Being a caregiver. Again, people know it might be nasty, but I think they still overlook the awful experience it is for people who are caring for an elder."

"My mom took care of my bedridden grandmother for three years. The amount of s**t everywhere (she had chronic diarrhea, and I don't know if it's just me, but old people's s**t smells like something of another realm), awful body odor (even when we were cleaning her constantly), the difficulty of changing diapers/sheets/covers as constantly as she needed (at least two times during the night)."

"So what I meant is that sometimes people think is 'nice' of a certain daughter/son to take care of their old parents (at least in my country where putting your parents in facilities is not common). But it's just such an intense, nerve-wracking, hard, and disgusting job, with no breaks, with little rewards (because at least my grandma was not in her right mind), and almost no social recognition that it blows my mind how underappreciated it is."

- FuelSelect

One Word: Cancer

"Cancer. People know it’s nasty. People know it’s nasty as all h**l. But here’s the thing. Going through it myself, I could have never imagined how nasty it truly is."

"I watched my mom fight stage four ovarian cancer 18 years ago (I’m 40 right now for reference). She was so far along, and so riddled with the cancer that she was given weeks to live, and sent away from three oncologists who told her to check into hospice and prepare for the end."

"Thankfully she found an oncologist (who is mine now) who took her in, and went to war with her. They cut her open from the chest down, and spent hours plucking tumors out of her while rearranging her internal organs. Taking out the bad stuff and building what he could with what was left. Then two long rounds of chemo. Hospital visits. Illness left and right. Side effects. Recovery. It was h**l for her, but she beat the odds and lived."

"Watching this, I understood what I could. I saw the pain, but now, going through it myself, couldn’t possibly comprehend how bad it truly was. I saw the illness, the nausea, the neuropathy, all the stupid side effects that hit you for no reason at all."

"So yeah, cancer. Everyone knows it’s nasty, but man is it even worse than that!"

- jdizzle161

Travel Luggage

"Luggage. It gets rolled throughout the world, often in gross airport bathrooms where floors are literally wet with pee, and then when people get to their destination, the first thing they do is toss it on the bed to unpack."

"Come to think of it, this also makes hotel comforters that never get washed even more disgusting."

- jgilbs

That One Article of Clothing

"Your belt. Think about it, it´s basically the only piece of clothing you never wash. And you always have to touch it after you pooped and before you wash your hands."

- KeplerFinn

Dusty Keyboard Keys

"Your keyboard."

"Seriously man, wash that thing. I can see the dirt from your window!"

- BowlOfJello___

A World of Germs in Your Pocket

"Phones."

"One time I was in line at a food service place, think Chipotle style where you tell them what you want and they make it behind the counter."

"There was this sweaty Door Dasher guy who couldn’t really articulate the order so he handed his phone to the kid behind the counter. The kid proceeds to take his phone, starts swiping and touching it WITHOUT GLOVES ON, and goes right back to touching people’s food."

"Disgusting."

- white_cyclosa

Where Has That Been?

"The top of a soda can. People buy them from a store and put it right onto their mouth without hesitation."

- fuzzynavel5

Far Beyond the Stereotypes

"OCD. It's not some goofy personality quirk. It's h**l on earth."

- MERT-x123

"'Oh, you have OCD? Well, how come your house is a mess?'"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because I'm so consumed with intrusive thoughts I can't function?"

"'lol (laughing out loud), I get those too! They're normal, just ignore them.'"

"ha-ha-ha-ha sob."

- SerakTheRegallian

What We Wear Everywhere

"Shoes. They are filled with sweaty feet and go everywhere. Think about the gas station and airport bathrooms. The bathrooms you can feel the ick in."

- golamas1992

Also, Watch Straps

"Your watch strap: mine is white and the notches for the buckle go all the way around and every week I have to clean out all the lint and build up to stop it going funky. Makes me shudder at the idea of other watch straps where it may not be as obvious."

- durkbot

Kids Who Don't Know Better

"Speaking as a teacher of four- to five-year-olds:"

"Kids with colds who do not know how to blow their noses or cover their coughs and sneezes. Sometimes they just leave the snot on their faces, or wipe it on their clothes. They can produce a mind-boggling amount of snot!"

"The awful gross things kids will willingly put in their mouths, and then share with others!"

"I love them regardless!"

- CreepyCandidate4449

We're absolutely squirming at the thought of all of these situations, mostly because we haven't thought about them to this degree before, or perhaps even considered it (we're looking at you, belts).

Take this as a reminder to clean the things you haven't in a while, and perhaps take some extra health precautions in public spaces where other people may not be.

Aircraft losing control
Richard R. Schünemann/Unsplash

Do you ever wonder what it must've been like to experience major events throughout world history when reading about them in text books?

But if you take pause and actually think about it, we're living through many newsworthy current events that succeeding generations will be talking about long after we're gone.

Reading about them online or in newspapers is one thing. But seeing them happen unfold before our eyes is another.

Curious to hear from those who'll have anecdotes to tell in the future, Redditor FictionVent asked:
"What is the most historically significant event you witnessed IN PERSON?"

People recall the natural disaster events they've witnessed.

Tremors

"1964 Good Friday Earthquake 9.2 Richter. Was a boy in Cordova, Alaska at the time."

– KitchenLab2536

"My father was skipper of the USCG cutter stationed there. He was inport, and when the quake struck shortly before 5:30pm, he and my mom gathered me and my three siblings on the front porch. At first, it felt like the house was crumbling at the foundation, but on the porch we could plainly see our whole world was shaking. I remember watching telephone poles swaying, and the wires snapping and crackling in the street. The quake lasted about five minutes initially. My dad got his ship underway to avoid the tidal wave which was sure to come. We had several aftershocks in the coming weeks, some of which were quite strong, though nowhere near as strong or as long as the quake itself. I was seven at the time."

– KitchenLab2536

Collapsing Freeway

"October 17th, 1989. I watched the 880 Nimitz freeway collapse during the San Francisco earthquake. The Honda in front of me had the upper deck crush her front-end engine compartment. The mother and her daughter were shaken up but completely fine."

"I was driving a convertible Triumph Spitfire, which was scratched up slightly from debris. However, I walked away unscathed. Aside from the fact I pissed my pants, which I didn't notice until much later."

– CatDaddyWhisper

Thar She Blows

"I sat on the roof of our house and watched Mt. St. Helens erupt less than 100 miles away."

– stinkykitty71

"This must have been fascinating and terryfing in equal measure. What a thing to witness."

– runrossyrun

"It was amazing! The ash that covered everything like snow was interesting to kid me, but less so to my parents."

– stinkykitty71

People recall seeing major catastrophes as a result of malfunctions or judgement errors.

Bomber Crash

"The b-52 crash that led to changing what large military aircraft are allowed to do for airshows."

"I didn't see the plane, but immediately saw the fireball. It was just a perfect, bright red turning to black mushroom cloud."

"Fairchild is a nuclear air base and there were a few minutes there where I was sure the world was about to end."

"A few years before a KC-135 doing the same thing crashed near the school while we were in class."

– goffstock

Tragic Takeoff

"I was standing on my front porch watching the launch of the Challenger."

– StarChaser_Tyger

"Was riding in my parents car to a basketball game in the next town over in north texas when we saw a shooting star and thought that was neat."

"It was the Columbia..."

– Misdirected_Colors

Demolition Gone Wrong

"The failed implosion of the Zip feed mill in Sioux Falls, SD in 2005."

"They hyped it up, sold tickets to it, had a big 'BOOM' marketing thing, and broadcast it live on TV."

"The explosives took out the main supports on the first floor, and the rest of the building above it just plopped down 10ft or so and came to a rest. It was a massive failure, and was a funny little blurb on news stations around the world that day. Definitely not major news, just the rest of the world taking 20 seconds to laugh at us."

"The building sat like that (the leaning tower of SuFu) for quite a while until they figured out how to safely demolish it."

"Here's a clip of the failed demolition."

https://youtu.be/I8DEDUqd0RU

– KitchenBandicoots

These well-known historical events were seen by very few who are alive today.

Historical Remnant

"The tumbling of the Wall in Germany… along with people selling bits and pieces of it on tables in lobby in front of commissary and px in the following weeks and months. I had picked up a chunk about the size of an oreo and kept it… has blue spray paint on the flat side. Wonder if anyone is buying them now?"

– SingedPenguin13

Major Upheaval

"I would have to say the LA riots. I lived about two blocks from where it started. I was on my way home from school and saw someone throw a brick through a window. I didn’t even wait. I just started running the whole way home."

– Scarlaymama0721

Day Of Infamy

"9/11, I could SMELL the collapse of the towers."

– go4tli

"A friend of mine was there. One day in the warehouse we worked in together there was an odd electrical burning smell. He stopped in his tracks and went 'this is what 9/11 smelled like.'"

– mantistoboggan287

I didn't physically witness the fall of the World Trade Center but I was living in New York City at the time.

However, I did see the smoke.

I was living up north in Washington Heights at the time and knowing what happened, uncertain of what was to come, and seeing the plumes of smoke from the attack site was the most ominous sight I've ever seen in my life to date.

Have you ever lived through a historic moment or witnessed something sure to be noted in history books? Let us know in the comments below.