So we all in the USA joke about Australia and how scary its wildlife is, but the only reason we can joke is because we don't have to live it.
Australians themselves, however, are not so lucky.
u/XennIsNotHere asked:
Australians of Reddit, what is the scariest encounter you've had with one of the native animals?
Here were some of those answers.
ASDFGHJKL
GiphyI had just come home after a long bicycle ride. I took my shoes off and just forgot to bring them inside afterwards. 2 days later I was about to go on another bicycle ride so needed my shoes...I put my left one on with no problems, but felt something a little squishy when putting my foot into my right shoe. I immediately took my foot out to discover it to be covered in at least 100 baby spiders and a larger red back spider came scuttling out of the shoe!
Don't leave your shoes outside...or at the very least check them unlike me!
Em-who?
I was driving on a straight unsealed road through barren land and had not seen anything on the road or to either side for about half an hour when I had to decelerate heavily to avoid driving into a group of half a dozen emus who were startled and who scattered in all directions.
Ahhhhhhhhhhcgfhjbjkyjgk.jbtjykyukjhkgjcfjkh
Came home from work and went to step outside to enjoy the garden when I noticed an intense buzzing. I look down and there's a spider wasp and a huntsman spider having a Godzilla: King of the Monsters showdown, wrestling all over the patio area. The spider wasp stung the huntsman into submission and dragged it over to a hole in the wall. I later learnt that the spider wasp lays her eggs in the barely living body and uses it as an incubator. Nice.
In another huntsman incident, the one I keep in my garage dropped into my lap from the sun visor in my car as I reversed out of my driveway. I screamed for a bit before scooping him up and popping him back in the garage. I warned him not to get in my car again. Anyone watching would have found a grown man lecturing huge spider a bit weird. I do generally like them though, hence not killing it.
I've also been chased by an emu while cycling a few times. They're deranged.
The Wrong Snake Again
While I was mowing saw a snake, thought it was a red bellied black snake (get them all the time) So I took a stick and hit the ground near it to scare it off, the thing arced up hissed and charged at me. I took off. It was a tiger snake.
Dang Emus
Lived in the outback. Was just minding my own business walking past the local cinema and a 6ft emu came running out from behind a tree and nearly knocked me down. Scared the absolute crap out of me.
Follow up - emus were not supposed to be in the township (there was a fence to keep them out), so town services had to forcibly 'evict' it. They achieved this by driving up close to it, throwing a noose around its neck, quickly winding up the windows and slowly escorting it out of town. Bad idea. They are surprisingly strong and it kicked in the whole side of the vehicle in the process.
Oh, Possum!
Came home after two weeks away. My parents picked me up, unloaded my suitcase, loaded it up themselves, then left on holidays.
That night, I was sleeping on my stomach, and a possum came in through the window and landed on the soles of my feet. I'm guessing he had pushed through the flyscreen while I was away and had been sleeping in my room. All I knew is something big and hairy landed on me. I lashed out, and he went flying across the room.
I left pretty quick and slept on the couch.
Batmaaaaaaan
I'm not from from Australia but lived in Brisbane for a year while studying abroad. Was walking to the bars with a friend in the evening, quite dark out even on suburb city streets, so I pulled out my smart phone camera light. Just as I do so, I pan up to rustling in a nearby tree and there is a giant bat on a tree that turns around, and spreads its wings like it's Batman. We ran out of there damn fast. After that, along with spider webs, I no longer walk on side walks into the suburbs, even during the day.
Just When You Thought It Couldn't Actually Get Worse
A leech attached itself to my eyeball while I was hiking in the rainforest. My friends wanted to piss on it, or light a match over it, but neither solution seemed ideal. So I waited while it wiggled about, filled up with blood, and finally dropped off an hour later. The following week I went on a date with one of the guys I met on that hike, even though I still had a zombie eye from the leech bite. 10 years on, last year, he and I went back to the place where he first looked me in the eye with that leech wiggling about, and we were married in the rainforest with our friends standing by.
Naked And Afraid
Hubby and a couple of mates were swimming in the dam in their jocks when someone yelled out "crocodile ", but it was an 8ft black snake swimming out after them on top of the water. Hubby went back to the gum tree to get his clothes and the black snake had curled up next to their pile of clothes. They walked about 2 miles back home in wet jocks, barefoot. The 3 of them went back on the tractor with a shotgun but couldn't find the snake. He also reckons he saw a black panther in the bush, but I'm skeptical.
Hoppity Hop Hop
GiphyWas down at a lodge by a lake with some friends and we brought one girl's two dogs (big dogs, briards).
Anyway, it was evening and the dogs start going crazy so we look outside to see what's going on and there's a whole mob of kangaroos, like at least 15 all just standing in the trees near our little lodge.
Idk how but one of the dogs opened the gate and they both went running after the roos. Fully chasing them, going wild, barking. Me and my friends had to sprint after the kangaroos to try and get the dogs back. The dogs somehow cornered them but weren't moving no matter how much we called them so we had to go up to the roos to get the dogs. Had a stare off with one of em, was scared, fully thought it was gonna punch me in the face. Bloody terrifying
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.