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People Share The Facts That Almost Feel Illegal To Know

It's always fun to be a little naughty, isn't it? We all have that urge to pickpocket a little something now and again. (Not that we should, that would be wrong, unless it's from Walmart; I jest.)

But we all love to dabble in the devious, the feeling can break up the monotony of the day.

That's why it's always fun to sometimes participate in an action or be aware of a knowledge that feels like it should get us arrested.

It maybe naughty but it ain't illegal.

Redditoru/poisionivey3wanted to see who was willing to spill some secret tea by asking:

What's a piece of information you know that feels illegal to know?

Eating grapes for testing at the grocery store. Everyone does it. Is it technically illegal? Does that count? I mean as long as I don't treat it like Golden Coral, I should fine, yet it feels so mischievous.

Pick-Up Artist

carmen ejogo starz GIF by The Girlfriend ExperienceGiphy

"I'm trying to lockpick. I'm terrified how easy was pick my bicycle lock. My first attempt and it took 5 minutes."

- Hygroscopa

Info Wars

"We can all easily find out what people paid for their house. Seems kind of personal, but it's very public. Same with divorce records."

- Westcobbguy

"People being able to look up that crap is obnoxious as a semi-new homeowner. Spammers scour that crap, so the first 6 months 90% of your mail is trying to sell you mortgage insurance (the home equivalent of the car "extended waranTEE" scam calls), and a fair number of the telemarketer calls I get are people trying to purchase my house (I haven't listened to any of those long enough to know what the angle is there)."

- 00zau

Graceland

"Elvis Presley's autopsy will be released in 2027."

- isthisamurderweapon

"From what I was able to dig up the family requested the autopsy and not the state. Since the family requested the autopsy they had the option to seal it."

- Mt838373

In the Air

"According to what a flight attendant told me, the TVs on airplanes that charge you to watch aren't connected to the wifi when they're at the gate, so you can scan any card that resembles a debit card. They just store the info to be charged later, so if you give them a bogus card, you might still be able to get free tv."

- Dangerous_Effort3355

the meg

Dog Reaction GIFGiphy

"Nutmeg, when eaten in large quantities, is a psychedelic drug that can cause hallucinations, coma, or even death."

- theassassintherapist

Nutmeg for the high? Now I wish I had known that sooner! Also, I never thought about lockpicking being shady. So many useful tips here. Let's see who else is a bandit in the making.

Vanced...

youtube oh no you didnt GIFGiphy

"Youtube Vanced is a free app that's basically Youtube premium without spending money."

- freddy0got0fingered

Old Codes

"Really (before 1997/98 or so) old microsoft product keys relied on a REALLY simple validity check. They were numbers in the form XXXX-YYYYYYY. The first 4 digits were specific to the software (I think Office 97 was 0402?) and fixed. The last 7 .. the check was just that the sum of all digits has to be able to be divided by 7 without rest. So 1111111 worked all the time. 1234567 worked all the time, 7777777 did."

- cerker

10 Items or Less

"If your local Walmart is closed overnight but there are employees working there, the doors probably aren't locked and the self check registers are on. There's actually nothing keeping you from going in there, picking up a few items, using self checkout and walking out. I work at Walmart overnight and this guy did that a couple nights ago. He didn't speak English and when a manager noticed him they actually just escorted him to grab his items, check out and go."

- lenniemane

Crazy Historical Events That Sound Fake But Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Show me thew $$$

"How much my coworkers make."

- InfiniteElway

"Fun fact: talking about your salary (i'm assuming you're in the US) is one of the few things your boss can't fire you for."

- Spottyhickory63

Masquerade

"How a lot of places just let you and a friend in if you wear a construction vest and helmet and carry a ladder."

- Reddit

"Back in the day, we used to go to this very popular night club, where people started lining up at 6pm. Met a guy inside partying one night wearing an orange construction vest. He said he bypassed the entire line and they let him right in the door, because he was wearing that vest and carrying a clipboard. He told the bouncers he was the Fire Marshal."

- Rubyshooz

On the Tarmac

si2 GIF by Solar ImpulseGiphy

"If you want to disrupt an airport it is usually super easy to drive, walk, boat etc onto the tarmac directly and security will rarely notice you before you're already causing problems. Used to write marketing copy for security companies. 90% of our airport copy was "hey wanna have some security on the back end? no? maybe?"

- landshanties

Jeff in Seattle

"Jeff Bezos works on the 6th floor of his building Day 1 in Seattle. He has his own private security on that floor (different from building security). A silent alarm goes off when you press the elevator button and you're not Jeff Bezos and his security will be waiting to arrest you when the elevator opens."

- ookaookaooka

Race

"Aside from Native American, there is no legal definition of race in the USA so there's no such thing as "lying" about your race on a form. On the other hand, others could be in legal hot water for trying to challenge you on it with "you don't look like that race" or something along those lines."

- Phil_Drill

Verdicts

"What jury nullification is."

- Old_Credit5105

"It's when the jury knows the defendant is guilty but chooses to acquit them because they are either opposed to the law, personally biased in favour of the defendant, or find the punishment is too harsh."

- kimathon

And Papa John's?

Breaking Bad Pizza GIFGiphy

"If you google pizza hut, you get an ad for 30% off dominoes pizza (where I live anyway)."

- Hello_Sweetie25

LETHAL DANGER!!!

"In my town, there are some mountain paths that have a big "ENTRY BANNED - LETHAL DANGER" sign."

"The truth is that:

  1. Entry is not banned, it's just that you can't count on public services if you get hurt
  2. The danger exists only from Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM - it's caused by the construction of avalanche barrier. Outside of that hours, it's safe to enter." - Odin_Allfathir

The Lock

"The leg lock trick around a pole. Saw it while on holidays on the west coast of Ireland."

- Goblin_Movement

"For those who didn't know about this :

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G20dlvsuIwc".

- smokey_randy

"That's funny, I first learned of that trick in an old recreation ideas book, it was in a section on how to properly conduct a snowball war. I'm not sure what kind of snowball fights these kids in early 20th century were having, but apparently they involved impressive fortifications and actual captive prisoners."

- UslashMKIV

The Edit

"In the Goonies in the news scene, one of the characters says "the octopus was scary" but there was no octopus scene, but it was a deleted scene where right after they find the gems a giant octopus fights them but they defeat it with the hand recorder."

- OkJury2071

"I've seen that clip! Despite being fun the movie is better without it (and you can pretend Data just says it because kids make up crazy crap)."

- Humorbot_5_point_0

Cheap Results

Pregnancy Test Im Pregnant GIF by Shay MitchellGiphy

"Dollar store pregnancy tests are just as effective as their more expensive counterparts."

- randompersons90

Vend Away

"It takes minimal negotiation and paperwork to set up a vending machine. You can probs stock it up for 100 bucks buying bulk and then you'll make like twice that back."

"Edit since this has a decent amount of upvotes, a bonus fact! The Ford F-150 is the smallest vehicle that can be used as a tax write-off up to iirc a $1.2 million return, but it only applies if you use it for commerce. (I'm no tax expert so I may have gotten something wrong)."

- FreenBurgler

Ok, I'm totally trying that air traffic, runway thing. Though this really makes me feel even more anxious about our airport security. Like... how is that possible? I'm gonna need more Xanax for my next flight.

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person holding photo of three girls near chainlink fence
Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Life is all about learning new things, including learning new things about the people in your life. Sometimes, the things you learn are shocking, disgusting, or even scary.

I was the new kid in town when I was in fifth grade and my first friend was this quiet (and cute) boy in my class. He and I remained friends through middle school, and even though we drifted apart in high school, our interactions when we ran into each other in the halls or the cafeteria were really nice.

All throughout school and even beyond, he remained quiet, polite, and reserved. Just a few years ago, I read a news article written about him. He had apparently fatally wounded his father after an argument.

I had to reread the article several times to make sure it was really about my old friend. I think about it a lot, and still can't believe it!

I'm not the only one that has a shocking story like that. A lot of Redditors learned shocking or scary things about people from their childhood, and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor ValuableHovercraft90 asked:

"What's the scariest thing you have found out about someone from your childhood (old friends, teachers, etc)?"

So Creepy

"That the boy who lived across the street and moved when I was 6 is still obsessed with me and my sister 30+ years later and posts ramblings on Facebook with our names and that he's going to be with us. Pretty terrifying honestly."

– mrscrawfish

The Worst List

"A neighbour died when he was 30. Police searched a trailer he owned and found weapons, bombs and a list of people he wanted to kill. My uncle was on that list."

– Flashy_Somewhere_648

"I'm glad this ended the way it did."

– CreepyCandidate4449

Terrifying

"One of my best friends (and locker partner) from high school was kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq. After a nightmare of 6+ months, all went silent. We buried an empty casket in his memory 10 years later."

– francois_du_nord

"This is horrifying. How incredibly sad for family to never get any closure. Very sad to read this. :("

– fizzycherryseltzer

"About 15 years ago my dad received a very good offer for work in Iraq, as a construction specialist. He was considering going, since at the same time the financial crisis started in Europe, but then one of his friends, a civil engineer, was kidnapped. Never returned back either."

– 19lgkrn70

"Same thing for my dad old coworker told him how great the money was. Dude got sniped working on a radio tower or something. My dad luckily was like, "I got a wife and family that would kill me for doing something so dangerous.""

– tristanjones

End Of The Friendship

"One of my dad's good friends, and my "uncle", just stopped coming around one day. I was told he was always busy with work, away, etc."

"Turns out, he killed 3 people in a drug deal gone bad and got life in prison."

"What's scary, is that we were over at his house for a weekend BBQ with a bunch of people earlier in the day of the night he did it, and it happened at his house."

– pnwking509

School Friends

"Don't know if it was scary, but I grew up with a kid whose birthday was the day before mine so we almost always shared birthdays in elementary school. We were friends, even spent the night at his house growing up. Later on in our teens, he started getting into some really dark stuff. I recognize that now as his being a sociopath, but like most everybody else at the time, figured it was just him going through some kind of emo phase. Over the years, we lost touch but I would occasionally run into him around town and our meetings were cordial, if not friendly."

"Last year, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man back in 1993, roughly 3 years after we got out of High School. Apparently he, his sister and another man lured this guy out to the boonies and killed him to steal money he had gotten in an insurance settlement."

"The only reason they were caught is the other guy got religion, felt remorse and went on the local TV station and aired a confession before turning himself in (He got 25 to life)."

– 530_Oldschoolgeek

"A girl I went to school with did the same thing. She was the nicest girl, got good grades & was kind of a dork. Mixed with the wrong people after graduation. She and two others lured an old man into an abandoned building, stabbed him and robbed him. He later died from his wounds."

– HereF0rTheSnacks

The Worst Afternoon

"I had a friend in grade school who was being raised by her single dad. She had a unique name and pretty face. She never talked about her mom, and she was super outgoing, so all us kids just made friends with her quickly. It was weird her dad never brought her to our birthday parties, even though she was always invited, but we didn’t think much of it. A couple times, she was allowed to ride the bus home with me after school, and we played and had fun until her dad came to pick her up. Later in the school year, she invited me to ride the bus to her house, and my mom agreed. I was 10. It was the scariest afternoon of my young life. I cannot articulate the extreme tension in her home. We weren’t allowed to make any noise, and we mostly stayed outside, me desperate for my mom to arrive."

"Her dad screamed at us for opening the door, and I was too nervous to go into the house to use the restroom. I knew she was embarrassed that there were no snacks or comforting interactions, like at my house. I didn’t really tell anyone how uncomfortable the experience was. After that day, I didn’t hang out with her a lot. We were in different classes, drifted apart, and decades later, when my own daughter asked to go to a friend’s house, I thought about that girl."

"As an adult, I figured out her dad probably worked a night shift and tried to sleep during the day…or he was an alcoholic who was really angry. Maybe both? I looked her up on social media, and thanks to her unique name and face, I recognized her immediately. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted woman with a beautiful family. She even had pictures of her kids with her dad and tributes to him as the greatest father and grandpa. Her whole page made me wonder what the hell I experienced that afternoon in the 4th grade?"

– OlderAndTired

School Is Supposed To Be Safe!

"In our school, we had something called "de halte." In English, it means "the halt" literally translated. Basically time out. BIf you had a meltdown in class or you were just a little sh*thead, you were sent there for 15 minutes or so to cool off.

The de hatle teacher got fired and jailed for breaking 4 different wrists of 4 different students by bending them the wrong way..."

– Ok_Win7358

*Skin Crawling*

​"There was this classmate a grade below me but all grades shared the same drama class. She was weird and kind of "off." I tried to befriend her at one point and was rebuffed. It later came out that she was actually an almost 30-year-old woman who would show up in a new area claiming to be a 15-year-old runaway. Kind of freaked me out."

jackfaire

It turns out it was a good thing that the friendship didn't work out!

Group of people dining out at a restaurant
Dan Gold on Unsplash

When we think of the term "red flags," we're quick to think of red flags that might appear in a problematic or abusive relationship.

But red flags can appear in any place in our life, especially the workplace or places that consumers frequent, like big box stores and restaurants.

When it comes to restaurant red flags, these are important to note, as they could have a negative impact on a consumer's health.

Redditor FlintTheDad asked:

"What's an immediate red flag at a restaurant?"

Fair Enough

"When you see the owner breaking apart frozen chicken on the curb outback."

- Mourning-Poo

High Humidity

"High humidity inside."

- Presitigious_Gold_585

"Yes! The small that causes is unmistakable."

- TemperatureTop246

Sticky Furniture

"All of the furniture and menus are weirdly sticky..."

- Silver_Sunshine360

"I know what *some* of that is. Some furniture and cleaning solutions aren't compatible. The cleaning spray reacts with the finish on the table tops, and softens, it, which makes it feel a bit sticky, and dulls it super fast... but it's the sanitizer cleaner they use for *everything*, and they don't want to have to deal with a separate cleaner for certain surfaces."

"I used to sell commercial office furniture, and we'd run into this issue sometimes. The worst was when a company asked us to source some tables they found from a local craftsman (since we were already an approved vendor in their system, they often had us buy and deliver stuff for them). Beautiful, hand-made stuff."

"So we bought them and arranged for the delivery and placement. When we got to the site and saw where they wanted them, I cringed... I knew the tables were finished in shellac, and they were having us put them in their lounge area, where I knew they often had events with drinks."

"Shellac dissolves in alcohol. Spilling a drink on it can ruin the finish. Before we left, I left a note on the tables about being careful and emailed the client some care tips. The NEXT DAY they sent us pictures of the ruined finish, asking, 'What is wrong with our tables?!'"

- NecroJoe

Sounds Fishy

"A seafood restaurant should NOT smell fishy."

- turtyurt

"And conversely, a seafood MARKET that does not smell fishy is indeed fishy."

- FourMeterRabbit

A Specific Smell

"That *smell.*"

"You know the one. floors feel a little slippery/slimy underfoot and it smells like they've been mopping the place with the same dirty mop and bucket water for weeks."

"This isn't something you're likely to see in a nice place but I've encountered it in more fast-casual dining places than I care to remember."

- y2knole

"THAT smell. It always reminds me of yeast rolls. I guess it's bacteria in the mop water that has been setting in that bucket for three days."

- SpeelingChamp

Restroom Cleanliness

"Dirty restrooms."

- carboncanyondesign

"This is a dead giveaway. If they can't keep part of the restaurant that the public DOES see clean, you can imagine how the non-public facing parts look."

- OkaySureBye

"Health inspector here. The key is to look for build-up that looks like it's been there more than a day. Most places don't have bathroom attendants and it's unrealistic to expect public bathrooms to be spotless every minute of the day."

- Vives_solo_una_vez

The Right Audience

"Whenever I have friends come to visit me in Osaka and they're dying to try some authentic ramen. My goto line is:"

"'Look for the most run-down looking, back ally shack you can, the more run-down looking; the better. Guaranteed It'll be the best ramen you'll ever have!'"

"And to anyone who happens to read this, no, Ichiran is NOT the best reman joint. It's nice don't get me wrong but please ask around, research ramen in the area you're visiting, I guarantee you there's SO much better out there!"

- kevo998

"I look for people of that ethnicity eating there. Mexican restaurant with only white people? It might be good. Mexican restaurant with Mexicans wearing high-vis shirts? S**t's going be fire. Bonus points if there’s a grocery store attached."

"The same thing goes for Asian restaurants sans the high-vis shirts."

- PsychoticMessiah

Too Many Variables

"A huge menu."

- dnb_4eva

"A huge VARIED menu."

"Places like Chinese, Mexican, and Indian restaurants generally have large menus, but most items use the same base ingredients."

"It's the places that try to incorporate lots of wildly different dishes that you want to avoid."

- MagnusPI

Unexpected Restaurant Guests

"A raccoon falling through the ceiling tiles. 1:00 AM, drunk as h**l, looking for something to eat, and I found a dive that was still open. I ordered my food, and while waiting for my order, a raccoon fell from the ceiling."

"The waitress ran to the back screaming. The cook came out armed with a cleaver and chased it into the kitchen. The look on his face was like it had happened before. Other people eating there were in shock and got up and left."

"Mystery meat: the new special. Get me the f**k out of there."

- alwaystired707

That Wait Time

"I immediately look to see if there is anyone actually eating. If there are a half dozen tables with no food on them, and people looking anxiously to the kitchen, I'm out."

- scotttr3b

Cleaning Response Time

"Multiple dirty tables that haven’t been cleared. If the restaurant isn’t crowded, staff should have time to clean them. If it is crowded, staff should be trying to turn tables over quickly."

"Dirty tables mean they are either severely understaffed or the staff just doesn’t care. Either way, you will be waiting a long time."

- 787la57la47al

Inappropriate Smells

"Once went into a restaurant that boasted the biggest Cinnamon Rolls in the city/state... Only for there to be a pervasive smell of absolutely raw stagnate sewage throughout the dining room. Needless to say, did not return."

- nekroves

Construction Said It Best

"A green flag for a restaurant is when you see a lot of construction workers going there for lunch. You'll know it's cheap and good, hearty food."

"In my old city, there was this tiny little family-owned Chinese restaurant with delicious and cheap lunch specials. Every construction worker downtown sat at the counter at the front for lunch."

"Meanwhile, the waiters would be in this little back room watching TV and the chef must have been at least 70 years old. The food was genuinely so delicious and filling. Probably not good for your cholesterol but so tasty!"

- okaymoose

Atmosphere Matters

"Not a red flag about the food but if a place has their music up so loud I can’t hear the person I’m with, then I won’t eat there."

- Adro87

"Conversely, if it's TOO quiet; as in, not only is the sound system way too low, but if the customers are also weirdly quiet (barely having conversations, just sort of sitting there) and the atmosphere seems almost stifling."

"A couple of years ago we walked into a gastropub in Scotland just like this - very low music, the room was half full (and this was at peak lunch time), and everyone who was there were just sitting, looking sullen, barely speaking, waiting for their food. Just really... odd... vibes."

"After five minutes of sitting at the bar trying to get the attention of staff (who were all standing around looking at their phones), we left and went to a definitely *not fancy* cafe down the block that was the absolutely opposite: people just seemed happy to be there, staff were attentive, and the vibe was really welcoming."

- Good_Difference_2837

The Ultimate Red Flag

"Gordon Ramsey walking in with a camera crew."

- Tint-kicker

"One of the local restaurants we like was recently closed for a bit due to filming for 'Kitchen Nightmares.'"

"My husband still likes to get their food, but I'm waiting until the episode airs!"

- Lington

No restaurant is going to be perfect 100 percent of the time. They're going to have a slow night or poor response time or get some orders wrong from time to time.

But there are far more problematic behaviors and characteristics to find in a restaurant that are perfectly good reasons to never go back there again, no matter how good they may have been in the past.