People are aware of the obvious fears: spiders, dying alone, the overall state of our Commander in Chief. Thankfully, your wonderful friends on the internet are there to provide you with a whole new set of fears for you to fret ove as you go about your day to day life.
Reddit user, u/PBarnyak, wanted to know what to look out for when they asked:
What is more dangerous than people think?
Out Of Nowhere
Electricity. You can't see it, you can't smell it, you can't hear it, but that motherf-cker can kill you!
I learnt that the hard way when I was a kid.
Now as a grown a-- adult I stay the f-ck away from anything that could put me in close or direct contact with electricity.
You can't smell electricity, however when electricity forms plasma arcs or burns material, it often times creates ozone, which has a very distinct smell that I can best describe as 'burning electrical' smell.
And if you smell it, it's probably a good idea to figure out where it's coming from before too late.\
Never Underestimate The Dullness
A dull knife. One minute you're struggling to cut an onion, the next minute your mangled finger is hanging on my a sliver of skin because you used too much force and slipped.
Wait, Anyone Is Allowed To Drive Those Big Trucks?
Uhauls.
Those self-move vehicles are some of the most dangerous trucks on the road since anyone can drive them with no extra training (like real truck drivers get) and they're harder to maneuver than your average car. Think about every idiot you see on the road, they could be driving the Uhaul truck like it's their Prius, give them a very wide berth.
Sheep Are Dangerous. Never Forget.
Farm animals.
The sweeter they look the more ravaging they can be since they catch you off guard. 4 years Vet - 1 broken nose from sheep jumping on me, 2 broken ribs and a broken humerus from a horse kick, 1 toenail lost from herding bulls and my foot getting caught in the inside of their tracks.
Mixing It All Together
Mixed drug overdose.
A lot of teenagers cant afford enough or get pure enough opiates, mdma, booze etc. to overdose. But if kid A can steal moms painkillers and kid B can swipe some liquor and kid C has a prescription to adderal that he traded some to kid D for Xanax.. now you have 4 kids with access to a potentially fatal combo.
Wait, What?
In a litteral way, Remember Ricky Bobby running around, shouting he was on fire? Dropping to his underwear running around?
Invisible alcohol fires are a thing. In fact, race car drivers can experience being on fire, an no one will realize they're on fire. It's horrifying.
Death From Above
If you in vacation or find yourself near a coconut tree. Unless they are smaller DONOT go near them. Slightest of wind, or over weight stock will cause then to drop and they will kill you. Some animals eat coconut and leave the shells at top the tree and no warning when they fall. To prevent the animal from climbing, pictures of snakes are drawn in the tree trunks.
Grew up in house with 12 coconut tress, had few close calls.
Weaponized Air
Air.
Specifically, air under pressure, high velocity air flow, etc. Those "MAX PSI" numbers on tires are not a joke.
Air compressors aren't a toy.
Seriously. DON'T SMOKE AT GAS STATIONS.
Smoking in a servo (gas station).
I have a friend who used to work at a servo. One night he caught someone smoking while filling their car, and told him over the PA to put it out. It's unknown whether it was an accident or not, but next thing he saw was the pump, the car, and the guy go up in smoke. Luckily he was quick enough to shut off the pumps from inside, but he never found out about the guy, we assumed either he died or was burned so bad he might as well have.
The Smallest Of Foes With The Biggest Of Threats
Ticks
They can paralyze you if you're sensitive.
Pass several diseases like Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and Lyme disease.
There is now a condition happening on the Ease Coast where the person developes a severe allergic reaction to most meat protean. Do not insert Vegan joke here. Most can still eat turkey and seafood.
Sigh...This.
Working in a bar, especially for women.
I used to be a cocktail waitress at a popular hipster club in my city. This guy grabbed my ass, and I shook him off and tried to keep walking. Then he grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go, insisting that I dance with him. I told him I was working and couldn't and finally managed to get away. He did the same thing to a coworker. We alerted security, but we had to handle the guy carefully because we were pretty sure he had a gun on him, and he was extremely intoxicated. The specific club didn't allow guns, but my state does allow guns in bars, so I'm sure people brought them in anyway if they were concealed.
Stuff like that happened so frequently that I ended up eventually quitting; that wasn't the only reason, but I was tired of feeling unsafe at work.
Burn, Baby, Burn
Burning PVC. If someone throws some old PVC siding (the fake plastic stuff they put on houses) into a fire, if you inhale the smoke and gas your lungs are ruined and you are pretty much a dead man.
Burning plastics in general emits nasty thick black smoke that is full of harmful carcinogens. 2-3 breaths of it will make you unconscious, you can gather quite a bit of information about a fire from the smoke.
Please check your smoke alarms people, they save lives.
Go To Bed
Not getting enough sleep
I went through a period of bad insomnia, like no more than 1 hour a night if I was lucky enough to even get that. I couldn't even function. It loterally felt like I was going insane.
Who Knew Tossing Young Women Into The Air Was Deadly
Cheerleading, people get a ton of injuries doing that, apparently throwing people around and stacking them on top of each other is not always a good idea
Moo...To Death
Cows.
Cows kill a lot of people each year compared to the "scary" animals.
I lived next to a small cow farm growing up. 99.9% of the time they were docile and sweet and you could go right up to the fence and feed them. But just one time I saw the bull get actually mad (not posturing and showing off for his ladies) and he cracked the fence post we were standing on the other side of. We stopped feeding the cows for a while after that.
You'll Never Look At Animatronics The Same Way Again
Hydraulic systems.
3000psi hydraulics won't even hesitate to remove your limbs.
Adding to that, a leak in a hose under pressure can result in a nearly invisible 5,000 to 10,000 pound spray of hydraulic fluid depending on the application. It can punch straight through flesh and tends to follow bones when it gets inside. It's corrosive, so you can't just leave it. Everything it touches has to be irrigated. This can include cutting along the path of the injection injury, opening the wound, and spraying it out with saline solution. Needless to say, if you have to have that done, recovery takes a while. Not getting it done will mean your tissue being destroyed and potentially losing the affected body parts.
Always Have A Partner
Hiking by yourself
Seriously, last year, a guy I grew up with disappeared. The local area has numerous hiking spots, some that can be a bit dicey.
Long story short - he fell and died. The saddest part was he obviously was knocked unconscious or died instantly, because he was only a 5-10 minute hike from the nearest access point / road, and he did have his phone on him. Still, he wasn't found for days when he was missing.
Be safe out there folks - you don't need to be in the middle of nowhere to have a fatal accident.
We Don't Want The Smoke
Steam.
I work in power plants. Not scared of anything else I'm around, and I use explosives for work, but f-ck steam.
And boilers. The one in my elementary school exploded, and the local newspaper said probably sixty kids would have died if it happened during school.
It'll Never Come Back
Loud noise exposure.
There's no cure for tinniuts, hyperacusis and hearing loss.
Younger me thought that this was BS from boomers so we'd turn down the music. Besides, we've got hearing aids to help with that!
Nope. If you hear buzzing in your ear, it's now there forever. And no amount of money or technology can make it even a tiny bit better.
The Miracle Of Life And Death
Pregnancy and giving birth
When you learn how many ways being pregnant can kill you it makes you realize how much of a miracle it is that our species has survived.
This is exactly why I'll never change my mind that pregnancy should be 100% voluntary and not "forced" via legislation.
There are many ways pregnancy can kill you or cause negative life-long issues. People should have the option to... not go through that.
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Jobs That Seem Easy But Are Actually Incredibly Challenging
Reddit user CeleryLover4U asked: 'What's a job or profession that seems easy, but is incredibly challenging?'
When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.
But some jobs are much harder than they look.
Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:
"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"
Customer Service
"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."
- gwarrior5
"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"
- Conscious_Camel4830
"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."
"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."
- First-Combination-12
High Stakes
"A pharmacist."
"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."
- VaeSapiens
"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."
"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."
- Worth_University_884
Teaching Woes
"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"
"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"
"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."
- bq87
Creativity Is "Easy"
"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."
- rubberduckyis
"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."
"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."
- whitepepper
Care Fatigue Is Real
"Care work."
"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."
- MangoMatiLemonMelon
Physical Labor Generally Wins
"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."
- anachronistika
Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild
"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."
"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."
"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."
"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."
- Yak-Mak-5000
Professional Cooking
"Being a chef."
- Canadian_bro7
"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."
- ChuckDeBongo
Team Leading, Oof
"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."
- Counterboudd
Not a Pet Sitter At All
"Veterinary Technician."
"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"
- forthegoddessathena
Harder Than It Looks!
"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"
"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."
"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."
"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."
- Joebroni1414
Twiddling Thumbs and Listening
"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"
"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"
"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."
"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."
- mylovelanguageiswine
Constant Updates
"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."
"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."
"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."
- GlizzyMcGuire_
Performing Is Not Easy
"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."
- ThrowRA1r3a5
All About Perception
"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."
"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."
"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"
- DrHugh
It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.
This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.
Things Left-Handed People Deal With That Right-Handed People Never Do
Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.
It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.
Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.
For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.
Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:
"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"
If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.
Furniture Obstacle
"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."
– Prussian__Princess
"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."
– earwighoney
Everyday Objects For Everyday People
"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."
– J0rdan_24
Dangerous Tools
"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."
"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."
– diegojones4
It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.
Sports Disadvantage
"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."
– AjCheeze
No Future In Softball
"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."
– Leftover-Cheese
Find A Glove That Fits
"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."
– BowlerSea1569
"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."
– Jef_Wheaton
These examples are understandably annoying.
Shocking Observation
"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."
– UsefulIdiot85
"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"
"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."
– SilverGladiolus22
Can't Admire The Mug
"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."
– vanetti
"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."
– Bubbly-Anteater7345
"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."
– Material-Imagination
The Writing On The Wall
"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."
– darkjedi39
"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."
– dancingbanana123
Immeasurable
"Rulers."
"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."
– fourangers
Just Can't Win
"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."
"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."
"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."
"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."
"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."
– igenus44
The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.
But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.
Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:
"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."
Word.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen GiphyWhat Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost GiphyWho Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF Giphy
Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy
Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine Giphy"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace Giphy"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office Giphy"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.