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.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.
