Just because we incessantly watch reruns of Law & Order: SVU and Blue Bloods doesn't make us law enforcement officials. I no more want a public defender trained by Annalise Keating than I want a surgeon trained by Meredith Grey. For some reason we all think we're well versed enough in justice that we know better than the officials. But oh the amount we are wrong. We'll argue until we're blue in the face without ever cracking a law book..... or a neighborhood watch pamphlet. Hence the problem.
Redditor u/IfItQuackedLikeADuck wanted the lawyers of the web to inform us about all the things we DON'T know about the law by asking...Lawyers, What's a law that isn't real that normal people insist exists?
Goodwill Honor....
"In the UK, people often claim that if an item is listed for sale in a shop then the shop legally has to sell it to you at that price. This is not true at all as the shop doesn't have to sell you anything at any price."
"Often as a gesture of goodwill shops will honor erroneous prices, but they are under absolutely no obligation to do so."HereForTheTurnips_
implied endorsement....
Giphy"That commercial use of a photograph means selling the photograph."
"Commercial use means that there is an implied endorsement. You can take and sell photos of Eric Clapton all day long. Put that same photo in an advertisement for a certain guitar without a release and you can be sued." xaclewtunu
"reading of the will"
"Probate attorney here. I've had many people ask me when the "reading of the will" is going to take place. I explain to them that only happens in movies. But one of these days I am going to have one, and hire a mysterious blonde wearing a veil to sit in the corner quietly."
"Then I'll tell everyone that she inherits everything. Provided, of course, that she must adopt the decedent's cute but troublemaking six year old child no one knew about. Or she can spend the night in a haunted house. Her choice." SpaceFaceAce
Lie to Me.
"Re my father who is a lawyer: 'Policeman cannot lie to you.'"
"This is false. They can and they do."
Edit:
"There's so many replies that I cannot even find some of the ones I'd like to respond to so I want to leave a general note for those who have asked for a reference:"
"Frazier vs Cupp is the Supreme Court ruling that "affirmed the legality of deceptive interrogation tactics" in 1969. The ruling is still active."LoveOfficialxx
On Camera.
"People that think it's illegal to be video taped in a public space."RmeMSG
"I saw someone on next door complaining about 'my reasonable right to privacy in a public place,' when someone was shaming 20 people standing together waiting for take out. Sorry that's the opposite of how it works."khaominer
Citizens.
Giphy"Sovereign citizen stuff. I feel like enough folks have claimed to be sovereign citizens that it's become normal. But no, generally you can't declare yourself exempt from the laws in effect where you are."Alleline
Don't Sign....
"Not quite on point: A lot of people don't understand that co-signing a loan means that you are on the hook for the loan as much as the other person. The car gets repoed and then they are shocked that their wages are getting garnished."
"Co-signing is not you saying you think your friend is a cool dude who is good for it; you are saying you will pay for it if they don't. And they want you on the hook because they think there is a good chance the main applicant is a deadbeat. Basically, don't cosign anything for anybody."notrexhudler
'no pedestrians'
"As a former lawyer (UK), I lost count of the amount of people that thought jaywalking was a crime."
"Unless it's a road that specifically states 'no pedestrians' or a motorway, no such offense exists here."
"Edit: to clarify I'm talking about it not being a crime in the UK, it may well be elsewhere (Australia, USA, Germany and others)" brevity_is_hard
"fighting words"
Giphy"Fighting words is not a defense to battery. It just means that the government can prosecute face to face insults likely to lead to a breach of the peace."
"ETA: Not to say that provocation defenses don't exist dependent on jurisdiction, but "fighting words" in the US refers to an exception to the 1st Amendment."
+10....
"You can go 10 over the speed limit. My dad thought this was true as he was new to the country and quickly found out by a speeding ticket that it was not."
"Edit: I'm now realizing that this is may vary from state to state and county to county. For my case, South Florida generally tolerates 10 over but is still technically illegal." loopywalker
Cop TV.
Giphy"An arrest isn't magically invalidated if the police don't read you your rights on the spot."
"There could be a whole thread of just misconceptions people have from watching Cop TV." Auntie_Hero
"Miranda rights protect you from self incrimination when being questioned by the police for a crime."
"It doesn't mean they have to Miranda you the second you get arrested. If you aren't questioned then it doesn't apply."
"People also think it's illegal not to let them make a phone call after being arrested." candaceelise
It's just surveying....
"It's a law that exists but widely misunderstood is the concept of Entrapment. If the police put a Bait vehicle in a high crime area, that is NOT entrapment. If the police are watching a bar known to over-serve to see if there are impaired drivers at the end of the night that is NOT entrapment."
"Entrapment only occurs when a Gov agent suggests committing a crime that you were not otherwise going to commit."Dinothegreen
'press charges'
"In my country some people believe they can 'press charges' against someone."
"You can't. You report a crime and the police decide if they are taking it further. It's not up to you whether charges are brought, you may want charges brought but the police drop the case."
"Alternatively you can refuse to 'press charges' and the police can bring a case anyway. It's harder without the victim or witness cooperation but they still can."
"You do have a right to civil cases of course but when people say 'press charges' they believe they can do this via the police." Reddit
Parked.
"In the UK, it's not illegal to park on someone else's drive(way). It's classified as trespassing, a civil offense, not criminal, which means the police can't do anything."
"This particularly surprises people as many think that they have exclusive rights to the parking outside their house as well."TannedCroissant
Money Issues...
Giphy"It's actually not illegal anywhere in the United States to discuss wages or form/join a union, contrary to what many employers may claim. I also strongly recommend you do both to protect yourself and your colleagues from being taken advantage of."Ninjachibi117
Barefoot Life....
"No laws against driving barefoot." LaserBeamsCattleProd
"Mandatory addition: In the US. In Germany, while appropriate footwear is not directly required, you can be found at fault if your choice of footwear or lack thereof leads to your inability to avert an accident." TheReddective
16 & Up!
"In the UK that it is illegal to drink under the age of 18."
"You can buy alcohol with a meal at 16 (beer, wine, cider) and you are not breaking any laws if you give your child some alcohol in the privacy of your own home and they are over the age of 5."
"Edit: At 16 you have to be accompanied by an adult and it is paid for by the adult. Thanks u/kelusk" Hamsternoir
"watch out for that bus!"
"Paralegal: A lot of people think that the law requires you to be a good, decent person.
"If I'm sitting on a bench and see a blind person about to walk into the path of a bus, it's completely legal for me (in the United States) to remain silent, take my cell phone out, and take a video of his death. It's even legal for me to profit from the video. I'd be a monster for doing it, but there's no law imposing a duty on me to tell this stranger, 'watch out for that bus!'" NoBlueKoolAid
Obstructer.
Negligent motorcycle driver forced me to hit him from behind with my car.
I was young and naive at the time, never been in an accident until then, guy makes me sign a paper that says that the accident is my fault because i hit from behind and wanted compensation.
I explained the situation to my dad, and he concluded that the guy was obstructing normal traffic and i had no option but to hit him from behind in the particular circumstance.
"The guy ended up taking us to court, showed the judge the piece of paper that i signed, i explained that I signed it under duress and that he explained that ''by law whoever hits from behind is responsible for the accident."'
"Judge looked him in the eye and asked him if thats true, he said yes, then she asked him to point out which law states that, he just shut the hell up."Reddit
Say Whatever....
Giphy"It's federal law in the US that a plain clothes or undercover police officer HAS to identify themselves as law enforcement if asked. No, it's not the law, and they can tell you whatever the heck they want." doctor-rumack
When in doubt, be sure to consult a professional or at the very least Google it!
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.