It can feel like the world is out to get you, especially when people die in such easily avoidable ways.
This isn't to make light of tragic accidents, or people suffering from long term illnesses, but when you look at the staggering amount of gun deaths in the country, or the number of people still losing loved ones to lung cancer after years of smoking, it becomes apparent maybe some people don't want to avoid it at all.
When it seemingly would be so easy to step to the side.
Reddit user, Viapiane, wanted to know what common pitfalls you can avoid when they asked:
"What is a common death that could easily be avoided?"
Classes and preparation are important for a reason, to make sure you know what to do when a dangerous situation arises.
Last thing you want is to be out at sea and not know what to do if the boat capsizes.
Take a class.
And stay away from that raccoon.
Swim Classes As Soon As Possible
"Drowning. Practice water safety and teach your kids. It's so sad to hear of a child that drowned from falling in a pool when supervision and education could have prevented that."
Imrealbutter
Take A Class And Go To A Range Before Even Thinking About Buying One
"Gun accidents. There are rules around guns for reasons."
TheBitwolf
"Yup. I grew up in a SUPER hillbilly home. Dad was an avid gun collector. He never even had to lock them up because the rules were NON NEGOTIABLE. For as long as I can literally remember, we knew the rules. And you did NOT f-ck around. The consequences were very real and we knew it. That's just the way it was. Period."
JustGenericName
"No matter how they're phrased, it always comes down to the four universal rules of firearms. If someone is disobeying even ONE of these rules, they're not safe to be around when handling guns."
- "Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Always. It doesn't matter if you "know" you just saw them empty the chamber and remove the magazine. It doesn't matter if the slide/chamber is locked open. Always. Loaded. Trust but verify."
- "Never point the barrel of a gun at something or someone you are not willing to destroy/harm/kill. Is it ok to point a gun at someone if the gun isn't loaded? See Rule 1."
- "Keep your booger hook off the bang switch. The finger does not touch the trigger until such time as the target has been acquired and you are immediately ready to apply deadly force."
- "Know your target and what is behind it. This goes back to Rule 2. Bullets do not always stop on/in whatever you are actually firing the gun at. Overpenetration is a thing. Missing is a thing. You are responsible for whatever that round hits after it leaves your gun."
Seriously. Don't Go Near The Raccoon.
"Death from wild animals. Most people are going up to animals and provoking them. What are they expecting to happen?"
FoxKid720
"People are trained to think cute fluffy animal is adorable because wild domestic animals like cats and dogs are deceptively friendly, as they've learned being nice to the humans can mean pets and food handed to them. Wild animals not so much. They're also self trained to think that dogs growling and upset till they run away means the bear will do the same. No, it's just going to take your face off."
Sasparillafizz
You would think being in control of a 2,000 pound metal object would make people a little more careful.
And you would be surprised how often you are wrong.
Let The Gas Go
"The carbon monoxide deaths in Texas last year come to mind as especially tragic because a lot of people just didn’t know how to avoid them, like by not turning on the car in a closed garage"
jq12ton
"One cause of CO poisoning that's much less well known is starting a car when it's exhaust and up to their tires are buried in snow. The exhaust collects under the car, having no where to go thanks to the snow, then re-enters the car through the wheel wells and other areas, filling it with CO and killing anyone who's inside trying to stay warm."
"Happens to dozens of people every year when a sufficiently large snowstorm hits an area."
jackp0t789
Eyes Up. Don't Drink. Buckle Up.
"Vehicle accident fatalities. So many are due to DUI, texting, drowsiness, carelessness. If people just took driving more seriously and realized it was a privilege rather than a right and that their road rage/road policing/rushing can result in killing someone, maybe people would slow down and take more care."
"I live in a pretty bad area for driving. People can't stay in their lanes when the road curves, they merge over without checking blindspots, they merge over going 20mph less than the posted speed limit when you're right on top of them, etc etc. It is one of my biggest fears that my SO will die in some utterly stupid and fully preventable auto accident because some jackass was being a careless, and therefore enormously dangerous, driver."
ohmynymph
Whatever the cause of death may be, there could have been long term warning signs, things to look out for, before it happens.
Talk to someone to get your anger issues under control, go for a walk and for the sake of the world, get your COVID vaccine.
Don't Let Things Escalate
"In conflict that is looking to turn violent?"
"Walk away. Swallow the ego and walk away."
"There's a number of people who would still be alive if they followed this."
thatswhatshesaidxx
"I think this also applies to a lot of conflicts with strangers generally. It's really senseless to argue with a stranger and especially to let that escalate into a fight. I mean what is a good outcome there? You take a risk of getting at least punched, sued, injured or killed just to win and not see that person ever again if you're lucky?"
"That wouldn't even be worth a bruise for me. It's not 'manly' or strong to carry out those conflicts. Strong real men choose their conflicts wisely and don't resort to violence but solve their problems with words where necessary. You either talk things out with people you are close too or you walk away."
quackiemcduck
Taboo To Talk About, But Nonetheless Important
"Unfortunately, it's incredibly hard to stop once your drinking crosses that invisible line. Alcohol eventually changes your body chemistry, creating a dependance on it."
Complete_Business_31
Get It Checked When You Can
"Colon cancer. Super curable when caught early. Death sentence when caught late."
Scrappy_Larue
"A colonoscopy is terrible, but the relief when doc says, I found 3 precancerous polyps and removed them, it’s a giant relief."
CommercialExotic2038
2020. 2021. 2022?
"Covid. Get vaccinated."
sneeeki
"And now, also get boosted. Unless you have other major health issues, that pretty much guarantees you won't die from Covid."
AgoraiosBum
Starting Crap
"Starting crap in bars, you'd be surprised how quickly a bar fight can escalate to someone getting their head cracked open or paralyzed. All you have to do is just not take it personally move on with your business and don't engage in petty squabbles."
Urbanfalcon756
"Worked in the ER, one of the trauma cases of the week was a 25 year old who was in a drunk bar fight and got decked. He sustained a fall from standing and he died."
salty-MA-student
bad road planing...
"Car accidents. All can be easily avoided if some idiots juts follow the transit rules. The only reason we have many people dying in accidents is just because of us (people). I know there are excluded cases where the problem was the infrastructure or a bad road planing, but most of the times is a human error."
STJ41
Get a Vaccine
"I’m not sure if it’s common, but cervical cancer caused by HPV. There’s a vaccine for strains of HPV that cause cancer that’s done wonders at reducing it. And regular Pap smears are great at detecting it and any cell abnormalities. Prevention and early detection is key. Everyone should get their HPV vaccines."
whorgans
Fallen
Dog Oops GIF by AFV PetsGiphy"All those people falling just for sake of a selfie."
Arrowhead1600
"We went to the Grand Canyon a couple of months ago (our first visit), and there were so many people climbing over the guardrails and walking out to sit on the edge of the precipice to take photos. People die doing that every year."
BSB8728
"dive shallow"
"Drowning in lakes. Many times when people drown its because they dove into the water and once they got past the warm water on the top, they hit the much colder water under the thermocline and their muscles seized up. Teaching people to 'dive shallow' or go into the water slowly isn't a big change, but would save a lot of lives."
PinocchioWasFramed
Don't Start
"Diseases caused by smoking."
Ditlev1323
"My grandfather dropped dead of a heart attack 12 years after he quit smoking, and smoking was still listed as a contributory factor. I guess after 40 years of John Wayne levels of cigarettes consumption the damage was done. It's best never to start."
Johhnymaddog316
Buckle Up
"Children dying in vehicle accidents as a result of them not being in the proper safety seat, the seat not being properly installed, or them.not being properly buckled in or a combination of all of them. So easily avoided if parents and care givers just put the seat in correctly, made sure it was the correct seat for their child's size, and always make sure their child stays buckled."
Lemurtoes666
Body isn’t ready yet...
"I heard this from a death janitor. Heart attacks on the toilet first thing in the morning. If you wake up and need to poop, do a couple laps around your place first, maybe put the kettle on. Never go straight from bed to the toilet. He said it had something to do with going right from a sleeping state to sitting and bearing down. Body isn’t ready yet. He’s not a doctor but he sees the dead people so I believe it."
ivytiger99
Tragedy
"Fentanyl overdoses. They're the leading cause of death for people 18-45 years old in the US, more than all other drug overdoses combined. Tons of those deaths could have been easily avoided by testing drugs before doing them."
Bruhtonium_2
The world is a dangerous place, so make sure you're keeping an eye out for yourself and those around you.
That cute raccoon is coming for your face.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nogGiphyWho Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIFGiphySee You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
homer simpson episode 23 GIFGiphyHoly Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno CalypsoGiphyHappiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIFGiphyThe horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIFGiphy"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTVGiphy"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMANGiphy"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.