My mother often jokes that if/when she is finally declared the supreme leader of the world, the first thing she's going to do is outlaw chewing with your mouth open and other "offensive mouth noises" ... but the thing is, she's only half joking. If she could punish people for "offensive mouth noises" she totally would - supreme leader or not.
That got me thinking... I'm sure there are other people out there who would love to outlaw stuff that is totally legal. Reddit user notbradford actually asked about it!
What is something legal that should be illegal?
and honestly, what it boils down to is that people really, really, reeeaaaally hate being annoyed, taken advantage of, and disgusted. Can't say I blame them.
Robomarketing
"Robo telemarketing!! Get called 3 times a day by a machine saying it's in reference to my credit card accounts, I don't freaking have any credit card accounts!!!!"
- Merdin86
"My favorite is one I started getting a few weeks ago, where they say (and this is an exact quote)"
"The local government agencies have filed lawsuits against you for reasons. Contact immediately to pay fines instead of facing legal consequences"
"I mean come on, at least put in some effort."
"I had them say "there is a warrant out for your home". So apparently, since I didn't pay anything, my home has been evading the law for a few years now, and I expect it to be arrested any minute."
- ArtEclectic
Who Decides?
"Insurance companies getting to decide what medication or treatments a patient can get access to. Doctors are the only people who should be deciding these things."
"Pretty common in the U.S. I've had eczema (skin condition) since I was a child. It's pretty much gone away with age, but I had a little flare up this summer."
"Went to the doctor and got a prescription for some cream that'll help with it (same stuff I'd used years ago) but when I went to get it filled insurance denied it, cost around $120 to pay out of pocket for it."
"Insurance wants me to try another cream instead of what my doctor prescribed. I talked to my mother about it and she mentioned I had been put on the cream they wanted me to try when I was a kid and that it didn't really help back then. Which is why the doctor had been prescribing the current cream.
"Yeah, I live in the US. My doctor can prescribe whatever they want, but lately more often than not, my insurance company will kick it back when I try to fill it and be like "Nah, that's too expensive, you don't actually need that."
"So, then I COULD pay out of pocket if I wanted to, but the last medication I had that this happened with cost $2,780 for 8 pills. 8. Pills. I also had a 10 year long history of taking this medication with amazing results, all of which my insurance knew about and they sent me a formal letter saying, "We know you've taken this before and it helps, but we will not cover it because its too expensive."
"This was not a life saving medication for me, but this happens a lot with medications that people need in order to stay alive (like insulin) and then people can't afford to pay out of pocket when their insurance says no to covering it and they end up dying. The US healthcare system is so f-ed. If you're wealthy it doesn't matter, you can pay out of pocket if you need to, (but you're likely able to afford healthcare that covers everything you could ever ask for anyway) but the system is designed specifically to screw over the poor."
IE
Giphy"Internet Explorer. It ruins my day when I click on it accidentally. Freaking piece of trash takes ages to open and close. Then there's this pop up 'Would you like to make this your default browser?'
"I would rather die and have all my friends and family murdered then make it my default browser."
"Free" Trials
"Free trials that auto charge when they run out."
"I signed up for one once, it was a one month trial for a subscription box, 20 days later the box still hadn't shipped, but a charge was placed on my account."
"I went to the website and sure enough in tiny print on the bottom of the page it said "subscription auto renews 10 days before the start of the next month."
"Kind of a dick move, and I hadn't even received the box yet. I went to customer service and tried to get them to reverse the charge and they just sent me auto responses. But waited a while to send them? Website also wouldn't let me cancel the subscription."
"10 days later 2 boxes arrived, in a single package, revealing this was the plan all along."
"I called them and the person on the other end of the phone wouldn't do anything, wouldn't even cancel the subscription."
"Ended up calling my bank and requesting a chargeback, explained the situation to them and they were able to reverse the charge and block future charges from that company."
"A month later I received a third box, since the company was blocked from charging me it wasn't charged to my account."
"Then I got an angry email from the company saying I must return the box, on my dime."
"I emailed them back "lol"
Public Bathroom Bandits
"The state some people leave public bathrooms in should somehow be illegal. I mean, whoever is wiping poo on the wall should at least be fined."
Fake Tips
"Leaving those fake 20/50/100 dollar bill pamphlets at a tip. You are a literal piece of trash if you do that to someone."
- dc5trbo
"I used to be a server. And it never failed that during Sunday brunch I'd get the church group. There was always at least one jerk that would leave those bills as my tip. On more than one occasion members of this group told me I should be ashamed of myself for working on the Lord's day."
"...Seriously? They came to a restaurant on Sunday and just expected the staff to be what - ..machines or ghosts or something? Or were they counting on being served by blasphemous individuals?"
Ad Sounds
"Playing noises like ringtones, vehicle sirens and doorbells on the radio ads. It pisses me off!"
"I hate cop sirens in songs or on radio ads. Always start looking around frantically wondering where the cop came from."
- lvl5Loki
"Baby crying has been making me go crazy lately, and my local radio station has at least 3 commercials that have it..."
- AcheeCat
"There used to be a drunk driving ad in Canada that was just 30 seconds of a baby crying alone in a crib, the premise being that a drunk had killed the mother. I can remember sitting in a room with two guys and three women, and that ad had come on for the second time in about 15 minutes and all three ladies got up and cleared out of the room."
Put It Back!
"Leaving cold stuff at the grocery store just anywhere random when you don't want it. Put it back! The store, especially during a rush, doesn't have magic elves to run around and put your crap back for you. ESPECIALLY NOT if you hide it behind something like a jerk."
"Unless the item was already out of date or damaged, leaving it out of the cooler to spoil is just wasting it for no reason."
"Do I come to your house and leave your lunchmeat out in the hot house all day without putting it back? Do I hide your lunchmeat in your cupboard so you won't know I was too lazy to put it back in the fridge? No, no I don't."
Rejection Notice
"Company's not responding to you after you go in for a job interview. I don't understand why it's acceptable for these places to bring you in for an interview, then if you don't get the job you will just never hear from them again. It's honestly kind of unprofessional in my opinion."
"I'm not asking for a real person to reach out to everybody who didn't make the cut. But an automated email or phone call telling me I didn't get the job would be nice rather than having me sit around for several weeks wondering if I'm gonna hear back or not so I can move on with my life. It should be required that company's send some kind of rejection notice to the people who didn't make it."
Littering Into My House
"Putting things through my letterbox other than my mail. I'm talking about pizza menus, adverts for double glazing salesmen, psychic readings etc. Stop littering into my house - sometimes I'll get home and there's a whole stack of this garbage."
On Several Notes
"On a severe note: Child marriage is still a thing in the US and a lot of folks don't realize it."
"On a medium note: Banks charging you money when you don't have enough in your account."
"On a softer note: Manhattan chowder."
Troubling Taxes
"Being poor and paying more in taxes than some billionaires."
"Tax write-offs for high net worth individuals. The 1% of the 1% really don't like to pay their debts to the government."
- qyjq
Zombie Debt
"Debt collectors harassing people to collect debt that has past the statute of limitations, as well as the debt of deceased loved ones. Zombie debt is nasty, and debt collectors will go through any means to get people to pay, even if they no longer have to or if the debt isn't theirs."
Eminent Domain Killed The Pickle Factory
"Eminent domain."
- "You own something."
- "The government wants it (or wants someone else to have it)."
- "the government says "it's for the public good", and they take it."
- "They pay you pennies on the dollar for it's value, even though you didn't want to sell it."
"The current Colts stadium in Indianapolis was built that way. Used to be a pickle factory on part of that property. But the city of Indianapolis valued 1 private business (the Colts) over another (the pickle factory). So the colts got a new stadium... Across the street from their old stadium."
Fossil Fuels Are Over
"Manufacturing any device that burns fossil fuels."
"Even Exxon knew since the 70's what it causes. Homeowners cannot buy insurance against floods in many places or wildfires in California now as the danger is beginning to outpace premiums. We will be completely on our own against real peril."
"So power stations should have been replaced with clean energy, engines in cars, ships, planes, lawnmowers should have been required to be replaced with clean energy, such as electric motors, etc. Same with heating and cooking, only non fossil energy burning technologies should be legal - like heat pumps, induction stoves."
Bullet Dodged
"My ex cheated on me and married his cousin. Bullet dodged, but cousin marriage is not illegal where he's from."
Declawing
"Declawing cats (it's already illegal some places but it should be illegal EVERYWHERE)!"
"Cats scratch; that is what they do, and if you don't like it then don't get a cat."
"Declawing is the removal of the first bone of the paw and it can be painful and debilitating for the cat long term."
"Imagine if you had the first bone removed from all your fingers!"
Social Media Permission
"Social media companies being able to use your pictures for promotional reasons without your permission."
"For example, there was a pretty recent thing where a YouTuber named Cody Ko had videos from his TikTok account, which was private, being used for TikTok ads. So even though his account and all the videos on it were private, TikTok was still able to access them and repurpose them for their own promotional reasons and it was all totally legal."
- eDgAR
Non-medial Exemptions
"Being able to not vaccinate your kids when they are not allergic to the vaccines. For some reason, this form of child abuse is legal."
- Ecoli42
"Some people are allergic to vaccines or otherwise can't get them for medical reasons. Those people are the very reason anti-vaxxing should be illegal. Their lives depend on herd immunity, when parents choose not to vaccinate, herd immunity wears down and puts those who cannot be vaccinated at risk."
"Jehovahs witnesses not letting their children get blood transfusions to save their lives. It's "sinful" in their eyes."
"A friend of mine's parents were part of a church that forbids blood transfusions, when she was injured and needed blood, her father approved it and when questioned said "Well I said they could, so its my sin, not hers. And God will have to sort out whether the sin of it outdoes the responsibility He gave me to protect my children the best I am able."
"They were kicked out of their church, which is how they ended up at ours."
- SeaOkra
Creeping On Kids
Giphy1."Using Binoculars to look at parks or schools."
2. "Taking pictures of children without permission from them and their parents/guardians."
No Tolerance
"No tolerance" fighting policy for schools. You don't see a judge sending someone who survived a murder to jail for getting stabbed or shot. It's unfair that even if you didn't do anything to that person you still get suspended for being "involved." Just get punched in the face and then you get suspended for doing what? Getting punched in the face? It's ridiculous."
Timeshares
"Timeshares. The fees are perpetual, even after paying the loan. They are very difficult to get rid of, and most people who buy them do so after incredibly high pressure sales and tactics."
- Asti_
We'd like to see a few of these changes made!
Do you have something to add? Let us know in the comments below.
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.