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Death is coming for all of us.
Do you ever wonder what that will feel like?
Or what your mind will be thinking?
I do. I worry about it far too often.
What will matter most in the seconds before we go?
That's if we're lucky enough to even get a warning of the end.
Redditor 0b111111100001 wanted to hear about life right before death. They asked:
"People who have almost been killed, what were your last thoughts before almost dying?"
I hope I still have my memory. Then at least I can feel a comfort.
RUSH
adrenaline sport extreme GIF by Sport Decouverte
Giphy
"For me it was really just 'Oh F**k!'"
"Then a huge adrenaline rush after."
"Mine happened in Airborne school when I was in the military. My 3rd time jumping out of a plane, another jumper landed on top of my parachute which prevented it from opening all the way. Instead, it was pressing against my face and I could feel myself free falling."
"I looked down and was about to pull my reserve chute, but I realized instinctually that there was probably not enough time for it to open and catch enough wind to fully deploy and there was a good chance i’d die. It just felt surreal, all I could say was “oh f**k” and then my chute opened. "
"The dude that was on top of me was able to free himself and he was screaming in fear too. I landed safely and immediately felt an insane adrenaline rush; I was actually laughing hysterically after, probably a nervous response. Glad my days jumping are behind me! Lol that was the only close call."
DefiantFungus
I'm Good
"It was a weird sort of acceptance. I came to grips with the fact I was going to die and I was ok with it."
StanePantsen
"This was my exact experience drowning, I just thought 'oh OK, what a strange way to die, I feel bad for the person who has to find me'. I didn't really even get time to dedicate thoughts to my friends and family, just sort of accepted that this was it and GGWP."
chance_waters
I Lived
"I had a stroke; and on the way to the hospital, I was sad that if I died, I'd never have a chance to tell my best friend how much she meant to me and thank her for all of her support and kindness. I was more sad about that than the prospect of dying. Luckily, I lived. So, I told her that."
haloarh
Derek
"The calm, simple thought: 'Derek’s not that bad.' When I almost got killed with my coworker Derek who we all hated for some reason. I just like stopped hating people that day, realizing even the most annoying people aren’t that bad when you’re about to die together."
No_Helicopter3114
Tranquil
Chill Reaction GIF by MOST EXPENSIVEST
Giphy
"Shocked when I first realized what was happening. Then just a lot of peace. Peace like had never felt before. Then, for some completely unknown reason, my attacker just turned around and left."
Bebe_Bleau
Peace is so illusive in life. Of course we find it in death.
Invasion
burglar GIF by State Champs
Giphy
"Been a victim of a home invasion before and honestly my only thoughts were to protect my little cousins."
"The adrenaline of escaping and running to the nearest store with them - didn’t make me realize I was cut, which I initially thought was made-up for movies. Glad I haven’t lived there in three years and to this day I’m too afraid of living in houses so I live in an apartment."
throwaway_anoni
'OHHHH MY GOOOOOD'
"This was a few months back, September 2021. I was headed home after a dinner with my wife, 18-month old daughter, and a family friend of ours; we were going 65 mph down the interstate when two other cars got into a brief altercation in the lane to my immediate left (two cars do not fit into one space)."
"My back left bumper got hit and I ended up losing control, spinning wildly and then sliding sideways down the grassy embankment on the right side of the interstate, before going backwards into a ditch and stopping among some trees. My car had missed smacking into a road sign passenger-side first by five feet."
"My only thoughts were concern for my family and my friend. I was screaming 'OHHHH MY GOOOOOD' but my mind was going Let them be okay let them be okay please let them be okay My 18-month old daughter, on the other hand, looked at us wondering why the ride suddenly stopped."
SolWishing12
“lucky son of a *****”
"I was in the rear passenger seat of my parents’ car while we were driving to dinner on Thanksgiving 2016. As we were turning left at an intersection I saw a car flying directly at us in oncoming traffic and right before we were hit I said, 'Welp, we’re dead.' My world completely turned into a beige color (which I think was the color of the airbags?) and we spun and spun for what felt like an eternity until we crashed into a tree."
"All my ribs were broken and I had a lacerated liver. The ER doc came in and said I was a “lucky son of a *****” because apparently my ribs all collapsed inward in such a way as gears might turn without actually impacting each other or puncturing any organs, which was apparently very unlikely and by all rights I should have died. It was a very strange and surreal several seconds of knowing I was about to die and having absolutely no control over the situation."
erichagarty
"this is gonna hurt"
"I was in a car accident when I was 18. As I lost control the car was drifting from one side to the other for what felt like eternity and was ultimately to be stopped by a ditch and a big tree. The whole thing probably only lasted a few seconds before the car flipped over and I lost consciousness for a moment, but I remember thinking 'Oh god this is actually happening"'and as I processed what was going to happen next 'this is gonna hurt.'"
"In the end, I only had whiplash and some bruises while my car was totalled but I was absolutely convinced that this was going to be the end. After the adrenaline wore of I broke down crying and felt incredibly relieved that I had decided to not take my dog with me. Something had stopped me from bringing her that day and I'm still so thankful for that."
Meenulara
fight or flight
"I died in a motorcycle accident and was revived, suffered a TBI and all kinds of other injuries. When I woke up I thought I was being kidnapped and went into fight or flight mode."
Awkward_Pianist3839
painful truths
"'This is going to hurt, I hope my son isn't the one that finds me.' I was checking on a newly born calf when the mom turned and charged me unexpectedly. I'm usually quick enough to step aside and dodge, but I stepped in a hole and fell instead. The cow ran right over the top of me, and stomped on my chest."
"That should have killed me on the spot, but I was in about 3 feet of fresh snow which gave me just enough margin to be severely bruised instead of crushed. I had to crawl back to our house on my hands and knees, where it hurt to move for several days."
ls1c-10
Don't Wait
"I got shot through the pelvis, nanometers from my femoral artery. Blood was still shooting out of me like a turbo-charged sprinkler. As I was laying in the back of the ambulance, looking at the grey 70W, thinking these are my last moments... all I could think about was all the things I wanted to do, and how I wouldn't be able to now."
"I saw all the faces of those I loved, and those I wish I got to see one last time. Do the things you only dream of. Tell everyone you love them, constantly. Don't spend your life waiting, it's up to you to take it."
Good_Will_Toking
Oh Damn...
"One word. 'Damn...' Then just blurry mental images of my immediate family for a few seconds before blacking out Really anticlimactic. There was surprisingly little emotion associated with the experience (over dose). When you abuse hard drugs for a while, you know death might be just around the corner so it's no surprise when it comes (or you think it does). It's not at all like a healthy person having a random stroke or something which would be terrifying."
SuspectFantastic7066
Ditched...
"Seeing a pickup towing landscaping equipment barreling down on me in my rear view. I was at a red light. My only thought was for my 1yr old in the backseat. And being pissed off at the idiot. Somehow he swerved at the last second and completely missed us by going into the ditch. He drove off like nothing happened."'
EstelSnape
4 Feet
"I was hiking in the mountains and slipped on a rock. I fell into a very quickly moving stream that turned into a 100ft drop off about 55 yards (50 meters) downstream from where I went in. I think my exact thoughts were HOLY F**K, HOLY F**K, HOLY F**K until the moment I was able to grab on to the side of the rock wall and climb out of the water. I was able to find a small ledge and then had to jump back over the stream to get to safety. The jump was not large but I was cold, wet and exhausted from climbing. Scariest 4ft leap ever!"
wannaplayaround
"well, here we go"
happy ronald mcdonald GIF by McDonald's CZ/SK
Giphy
"I was driving to work, when a Kia Soul in front of me slammed on its brakes. I slammed on mine, and barely miss god smacking this car. I then look into my rearview mirror, and see a semi truck barreling towards me at 40-50 mph. And I just tightened the grip on my steering wheel and thought 'well, here we go.'"
"Thankfully, the semi truck changed lanes, and missed me by a couple inches. Maybe I wouldn't have died if it hit me, but I sure felt like I was about to. All because some Kia Soul almost missed the turn for the McDonalds and slammed on its breaks."
TheJewFromTheMidwest
Under the Water
"I almost drowned in a white water rafting accident. It's very difficult to describe what I felt... there was a sensation of panic, but also one of surrealism. It didn't feel real, but... it did. I also remember being able to reach my hands out above the water and having an all encompassing yearning to be able to breathe."
"The combination of hypothermia (water temperature 35 degrees F/1 degree C for our friends who use a better system of measurement) and near drowning was a mind f**k."
Travalanche49
SWOOSH!
skiing GIF by NOWNESS
Giphy
"'OH DEAR LORD HAVE MERCY ON MY SINNED SOUL!'"
"Almost had a terrible skiing accident."
Walvie9
Oh Crap!
"I feel off a small cliff once and my exact thoughts were OH CRAP, were's that damn bush you see in cartoons? Fortunately I landed on my feet and only twisted my ankle but if i had landed on my jest or head i would not have made it to a hospital."
ExistingExample281
Death is coming. Try to prepare.
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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.
