
They say knowledge is power, and the more you know, the better off you are.
But to what extent is that much true if the nuggets of information you just acquired are things that gave you nightmares?
For me, the knowledge that we all have spiders crawling around our faces keeps me up at night. Yes, we all have face mites.
I cannot go on with the rest of my life being aware of the phenomena without sharing this with you all lovely readers. So, you're welcome.
Curious to hear about other dreadful information from strangers, Redditor jo_exotic asked:
"What is a disturbing fact you wish you could un-learn?"

Natural Phenomenon
Let's face it, organisms are downright creepy...or gross
Constant Nibbling
"There's a type of crayfish that farms sea stars by cutting all their water legs off and eating it's arms all the way to the center, but leaving the center intact. it then feeds the sea star with kelp to keep it alive so it regenerates, and then repeats the process."
When Comes A Parasite
"In most cases when a parasite gets into the brain, they don't remove it. They just kill it with some sort of acid or something with a similar effect, then just let the body calcify it. It's weird cause you'd think that the parasite could still do something."
Mouth To Toilet Paper
"If you have an intestinal blockage you can burp up farts and have fecal vomit which is basically just throwing up your poop."
In Your Blood
"My biology teacher had a Q&A session before Christmas and one student asked if its possible to be allergic to your own blood. Unfortunately you can. Just imagine your own immune system destroying your red blood cells, constant hemorrhaging, constantly feeling cold and out of breath. When we got back from winter break we saw a new face in class, a former student of my bio teacher who just so happened to have this disease and we spent the whole class asking questions. I feel so bad for the guy but thankfully the medicine available to suppress the immune system has made his life bearable."
Horrific Facts
The following are more disturbing than fiction.
Cause Of Death
"When the Challenger exploded in 1986, the astronauts didn't die from the explosion. Nor did they die from depressurisation as NASA has initially claimed. (There is some evidence they turned on their personal oxygen supply.) They died from impact when they hit the surface of the Atlantic Ocean."
"They were in free fall for two and a half minutes."
"Jeffrey Dahmer drilled a hole into some victims' skulls and tried pouring different toxic liquids into the hole. He was trying to make a sex slave that could eat and drink but could in no way fight back or escape. The worst fact is that victims might survive the first hole with all brain function intact and live long enough to be fully aware they were going to get a second or third hole drilled."
Animals
If you could get inside the mind of an animal, you might want to make an immediate about-face after discovering the following:
Deep Bond
"Parrots often bond with a keeper, from their perspective, as a lifelong romantic partner. If the person dies, or the parrot is displaced, they can go into massive depression and pluck out their own feathers."
Pecked To Death
"I learned on Reddit that a woodpecker will tap enough to break into a baby bird's skull and slurp up their brains."
Shriek Of Terror
"The fact that dogs like squeaky toys because it sounds like their prey crying out in pain."
Most of us have a thirst for knowledge out of genuine curiosity about how things work or why certain events occurred in history.
But Google searches will inevitably lead you down the proverbial rabbit hole where you uncover a lot more than you could ever bargain for.
This is exactly what happened to me when I looked up what might be the cause of my face itching. I may not have found the most accurate information about my ailment, but that was when I was introduced to the existence of Demodex or eyelash mites.
They're basically arachnids that spend most of the time burrowed in your hair follicles and come crawling out on the skin's surface while you're asleep at night to mate and head back to lay eggs.
Did you just feel something on the side of your nose? It's probably nothing.
Why do bullies bully? More importantly... how do we get bullies to back off?
Can we just use words? Does it always have to resort to violence?
There is no reason in this world for anyone to be a bully. It's all about power and self worth.
The bully has none and it's all they want.
RedditorYaboi2tallwanted to hear about how bullies can be stopped.
"How did you get a high school bully to never mess with you again?"
I swung on my bully, with a pencil. Never had an issue again.
Pea Soup?
"Vomited all over him. After that he never messed with me again."
Linklee2
TRAUMA
"A group of sociopaths from my school that always tormented us followed me and my friends to my house one day in a pick up truck. They stole my friends shoes, pushed one of them until she fell, and took my sketchpad and threw it in a puddle. My stepbrother came outside, beat one of them badly, stole his pants, and threw his keys into a sewer grave before hitting him with an empty vodka bottle. It was traumatizing for me on both ends, but that group of kids never even looked at us again."
LittleKaty_E
"Watch it!"
"He tried to shove me down an embankment while on a field trip. Had I fallen, I would have broken my leg or worse, because the embankment ended about 25 feet down, then dropped off into some deep brush and trees. Anyhow, my best friend was next to me, and said 'Watch it!' as he came at me."
"I side-stepped him, and he tumbled down the embankment and over the edge into the brush. Fractured several ribs, dislocated his shoulder and broke his ankle. He never did anything to me again. F**k you Darren! You b**ch!"
Darklord_Bravo
Trash
"She told me, my face made her want to kill herself. So I told the school counselor that she had confided in me she wanted to kill herself. She had to explain to the everyone what she really said. She would call me fat, and ugly everyday. She also would tell me I was trash because I was adopted. 'Your own mother thought you were so ugly she didn't want you.'"
JustJessJ_Art
Think Twice
"Made friends in the football team. Bullies think twice when you are buddies with a 6'2 250 pound Samoan. Crazy how nice so many Samoans are."
Large-Statistician-3
I do like Football players. I knew they'd good for something.
Wheeled
"I was bullied for my wheelchair, so I ran their feet over."
puthypanther
"Fast and furious."
Sigmr
The End
"A bully was harassing my daughter on the bus. Instead of calling his folks, or jumping on him, I did this…"
"I pulled him aside at the bus stop one day and asked for his help. “Hey Danny. I was hoping you could help me out. I guess there’s a kid on the bus who is picking on my daughter. She’s a girl and small and I’d like for you to help protect her. If you see anything like that, could you stick up for her please and let me know about it.'" That was the end of the bullying."
Relax-Enjoy
Farewell
"Graduated."
Bjarki56
"Pretty much the same. Stopped associating with our mutual friends when I realized they're not my friends if they're friends with a bully like this person and ever since we graduated, and I've been out of that social bubble, it's just was over."
Independent-Clerk310
My Chair
"Not a bully per se, but a d**k." In my French class a guy who sat behind me would always kick my chair repeatedly, and I was at the point where I was visibly infuriated by this happening every lesson. The girl who sat next to me turned to him and said 'Hey, you should probably stop doing that, he looks like he's about to hit you.'"
"Guy laughed it off and said I wouldn't. I didn't, but I turned around and cocked my arm back. He was leaning back on the hind legs of his chair with his feet on mine, so when I did this, he flinched, fell backwards off his chair, and got a few laughs from the people behind us. He never kicked my chair after that."
Pm_me_yo_nudes_
Duel
"Challenged him to a fight at lunch, left during the period before lunch to move 800 miles away."
undercoverhippie
Sometimes all it takes is one good punch. Not that I'm advocating violence. But most bullies are just cowards.
As much as we love to have eyes for others, those eyes are witness to some yuck.
We are easily turned on by many things and people.
We're humans, humans are easy.
But turning off and shutting down is also easy.
And once we see certain things, they can never be unseen.
And so... we move on.
Let's make a list so people stay vigilant.
Redditorfiginjosejospewanted to hear about what makes us yell a big NO for some things.
"What is your biggest turn off?"
I am easily turned off. It's my one flaw. Anything can do it. Alas...
Bad Sniffs
"When people smell bad. Hygiene is important."
ccherry124
Better
"One-uppers. Whatever you have done/seen or place you have gone, they have done it better."
UgliestDisability
"I struggle with this SO BADLY. I hear someone’s story and think 'I can relate! I’ve done XYZ' and tell the story. As soon as I see their facial expressions change I know they’ve taken it as me one upping. It’s so hard for me to relate without telling the story WHY I relate."
notanaltaccount88
Be Straight
"Deception. Say what you freaking mean, and your actions must match your words."
armywalrus
"I don't know if this counts as deception but I have the hardest time verbalizing my thoughts in the way that I think them. So I say something that doesn't match my thoughts but it's like theres a disconnect in my brain that doesn't let me say what I want to say. I've had multiple tbi's from a young age but I don't know if that has any to do with it."
potato-san
Just Listen
"When they constantly cut you off during a conversation."
Exact_Mammoth6874
"I noticed my bad habit of interrupting when I started dating my partner. I worked on it because it bothered him so much. Now when I'm around my family who I don't see often, I'm keenly aware of how bad we all are at it. Dinners, drinks, video calls are a literal cacophony of people talking over each other and having to repeat yourself because no one listens."
helenmaryskata
Over time...
"Entitlement."
Hercdajerk35
"Having been on this earth almost six decades, I can say this has definitely gotten worse over time. Now, you can see it getting worse by the year."
Cautious-Damage7575
I hate entitled people. Nobody is owed anything.
That's all...
"When a person is rude or just behaves poorly and everyone around them says, 'that's just how he/she is.' No. There is no excuse for piss poor behavior."
Sarahkm90
Be Prudent
"Over sharing at social media."
naniyamanaki
"I had an ex who would straight up get pissed if I didn’t post about us on instagram or facebook back when I had it. Even if we just hung out and did nothing Lol. She got even more upset if I did post something and not include her... or if I got more likes than her."
AskinggAlesana
"Social media has completely ruined our brains… it’s so sad to realize the damage that’s been done in such a short amount of time."
e-commerceguy
Trash
"Littering. I absolutely hate it when people litter just because 'there is no trashcan close' or 'Yeah, but everything here is anyway already dirty.' That makes me so annoyed and just ugh. I can understand that it's annoying to keep on holding onto trash but like... It's not that difficult."
TheWanderingLich
Lips Together
"Open mouth chewer. Or any kind of lip smacking while eating."
welshegg
"At a family reunion, I got seated in front of a woman I hadn't met before. Food gets there and we started loading ourselves up. I still remember what we had: tostadas."
"They're a flat baked or fried tortilla topped with pretty much whichever ingredients you want. Usually meat, some veg, cheese, cream, and salsa. This is relevant because half of that food ended up smeared on her face. I have never seen a grown a** adult eat like that. Open mouth chewing, with food actually spilling out as she ate."
"Loud, boisterous talking and laughing, with more, half chewed food spilling out everywhere. And napkins seemed to not be a thing for her because she never used one, making all the cream and salsa get stuck to her lips and cheeks. I was freaking disgusted, as was everyone around her. That was not a pleasant meal."
Ihlita
Hang Up
"Using phones every time we hang out."
mortally_guarded
"My wife has a friend that if you aren’t talking to her about only her, she zones out and just stares at her phone."
mofoofinvention
When the turn is off. It's off. And that's all.
When trying to eat healthy you have to do research.
We have to be vigilant and read the labels.
Just because it says "healthy"... that means nothing.
That was just years of gaslighting.
Also, just because it says "diet" you can't have 10 of them.
RedditorJoltyJobwanted to dissect what's on the menu.
"What food do most people think is healthy but is actually unhealthy?"
I love fruit. But... some fruits are just sugar. Now they tell us.
No Juice
"Jamba juice."
versionii
"Can confirm this. I used to work there and most of the smoothies on the menu are made with frozen juice concentrate which was just liquid processed sugar and multiple scoops of sherbet. Not sorbet. Sherbet."
Coconut_Less
Nudes
"Naked smoothies/juices and flavored yogurt."
blaynevee
"Looking through the various yogurt's nutritional information while trying to find a good High-protein Greek Yogurt recently was very eye-opening. The majority of them were pretty much just softer ice cream."
mordahl
Not Free
"Some people think 'Gluten Free' means 'healthy.' Not automatically, it doesn't. This is NOT about people who MUST follow a GF diet."
notthesedays
"As someone with celiac disease it’s astounding how often I have to explain this to people. Gluten free diets are no healthier than regular diets. Gluten is just a single protein being omitted from your diet. The difference is you’re probably eating way less bread, or you’re just generally more anxious about eating so you might lose weight as a result."
Willow5331
Less Fat?
"I'm shocked how many moms think Nutella is better than peanut butter."
I-amthegump
"When it first came out in Australia they advertised it 'less fat than peanut butter' and 'less sugar than jam' so that sounds great..."
"Until you think about it, peanut butter is high in fat but low in sugar and jam is high in sugar and low in fat. So of course Nutella has less fat than peanut butter, it's got to make room for all the added sugar. And of course it has less sugar than jam, it's gotta make room for all that palm oil."
Azzulah
Same for apples...
"Granola bars. They're chocolate, oats and sugar for the most part. Oats can be healthy by themselves. But a granola bar is unhealthy due to all the sugar, chocolate and stuff along with them. Same for apples. Apples are healthy, apple pie, not healthy."
SinisterMeatball
The truth about granola bars has been out there forever. Beware...
Bad Products
"Cereal."
Confident-Laugh138
"That's because when I was kid the food pyramid posters were printed by the American grain council. They said we needed a couple of servings of both meat and vegetables and like 9 servings of bread and various grain products."
RUfuqingkiddingme
Sugar No!
"Juice. Most packaged juices you get are super high in sugar."
PhreedomPhighter
"Ha. One of the reasons why I switched providers last year for my prenatal care was because the first one told me, in all seriousness, I needed to drink three cups of milk and two cups of juice per day. I was like, say what now???"
Lindsaydoodles
"Same with ketchup 25% of it is sugar."
GetOutOfTheWhey
Check the Bag
"Veggie Straws."
supernaut32
"This is actually a pretty good response. A surprising number of people didn't check the back of those packages to find that they're just Pringles that included a little bit of vegetable dust in the potato chip mix. People actually think they're just eating salty crispy vegetables."
no_comment12
Unsafe
"Anything 'natural' doesn’t immediately mean healthy. At least in the EU when a product is natural, it doesn’t need to go through all the testing that is required for other products. This doesn’t mean that the product is safe, as many natural products can be harmful."
Adriana-meyer
Dirty
"Panera Bread...healthy 'clean' ingredients. It's full of salt, sugar and processed crap."
Carrann823
Just because it says healthy or diet doesn't mean it's true. Lesson learned.
People Break Down Which Modern Day Practices And Beliefs Will Be Considered Barbaric In The Future
It's hard not to look back on history and be disgusted by a number of things which were at one point deemed acceptable, even not so long ago in the grand scheme of things.
The endless list includes segregation and women not having the right to vote.
We'd certainly like to think that we've come a long way.
But when we look back on how much we, as a culture, have evolved for the better, it also makes us stop and wonder what current customs or practices accepted in society today people twenty years from now will look back on in disgust.
This piqued the curiosity of RedditorSalt-Campaign6402,leading them to take to Reddit to ask:
"What modern day practice/ belief is most likely to be considered barbaric and outdated in the future?"
A revaluation of medical practices
"The way that f*cking speculum is shaped."- PopK0rnAndMMs
"Gynaecology procedures being done with out sedation or some type of proper numbing agent."- baconbutt96
"Chemotherapy."- sphygmomanometito
The end of stigma
"The entire system surrounding mental health."- crapgarbage
More respect for the environment
"Deforestation hopefully."- CrumbledTheCookies
More sustainable materials
"Single use plastics."- Lemilli000000n
Improvements in wages and working hours
"Working long hours to the point of sleep deprivation and exhaustion."
"Right now people brag about it."- HonestlyPizza
"Hustle culture."
"It's a scam made up by the rich to make the poor feel good about being exploited."- whythatusername
More humane treatment of animals
"Breeding dogs that can’t breathe."- username-alrdy-takn
Possible life saving advancements in science?
"I feel like organ transplants from strangers will seem bizarre in the future."
"I imagine we will be able to grow genetically-identical organs and use those instead."- thunderbiird1
Twenty years from now, we'll likely find ourselves relieved that some things have finally changed.
Then too, we might look back in horror at many things we wouldn't even take a second thought about at the time.