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People Divulge Which Things Are Normal Where They Live But Crazy Anywhere Else

People Divulge Which Things Are Normal Where They Live But Crazy Anywhere Else
Photo by Brett Zeck on Unsplash

I slurp my ramen. It's how my family eats at home.


While Americans think it's rude to slurp loudly, it is encouraged in Japan.

As a matter of fact, it's considered rude NOT to slurp.

But there is also a practical reason behind the warranted practice – the Japanese slurp hot noodles to avoid burning the tongue.

Allowing the air to rush in through through slurping cools down the temperature of the noodles – which is more favorable than the unsatisfying flavor of cooled noodles in the bowl that have thickened from soaking up water.

Slurping means it's delicious!

So don't come for me when I slurp my ramen. I'm just giving compliments to the chef.

Wondering about different cultural customs, Redditor "sackofpotatosacks" asked:

"What is normal where you live but would be considered crazy anywhere else?"

Come Back Now, You Hear?

"In Australian rural towns we all had our back doors unlocked; and friends are allowed to go through the back door and make themselves a cup of tea/coffee while they wait for you to get back from whatever you were doing."

Captain_Coco_Koala

Stay As Long As You Like

"Apparently being in a restaurant for hours and hours and only eating in 1% of the time. We talk for hours before and after eating here, so we don't leave right after eating. Everyone I knew from other country found it strange."

GrumpySupport

The Line Of Shame

"In the Eifel, Germany, on the night of May 1st, people paint a long line from one house to another. The line means that someone in these households is having an affair. Every year several relationships break up because of this. I love it."

definetly_not_a_duck

Garden State Rules

"I live in NJ and it's illegal here for you to pump your own gas/fuel. All stations are full service by law. I believe Oregon is the only other state in the USA that has this law."

joey_r00

Crowded House

"still being in the same house as your parents after marriage. also with kids."

CroquetteRocket

The Best Quality Rice

"Today (in Japan) over a hundred people lined up (staggered for social distancing) at 9:00 am on a Saturday. First one hundred get a ticket. At 10:30 we all line up again. One at a time we draw a number; 1 to 5. Then we go over to a big basin of the best quality of rice and take as many scoops as the number we drew. You are encourage to make each scoop heaping. This is not a food bank thing (I hope) just the promise of 'good rice' draws a crowd."

son_of_volmer

Living With Baboons

"I live next to a game reserve in South Africa. It's not that surprising to hear baboons in your back yard, or spot a rhino 10 meters from your fence."

"One time a whole troop of baboons ran over our roof. It's only corrugated iron and we all sh*t our pants."

Designer_Towel

It's Called "Systembolaget" In Sweden

"The government has monopoly on any alcohol above 3.5% and can only be bought at one store dedicated to it."

industrialslave

"Also Finland. Can't even order alcohol from web stores..."

sissichu

Norway And Sheep

"In Norway it's normal to release two million sheep (read: twomillionsheep) into the wild, mostly unsupervised, where an estimated 100,000 of them die to either injuries, illness or predators, with the farmers crying and complaining (usually only to that last one), and then repeat the same process again the next year, and every year after that."

"Does Norway kind of have a f'ked up and moronic sheep farming practice? Yes, yes we do."

Katherine9009

A High School Tradition

"In my hometown, it was totally normal to say and write on your car, 'Go bust a nut!' during high school football season. My high school's mascot was the acorn."

selenedestiny

Perfectly Bilingual

"My city is EXTREMELY bilingual, everyone speaks both English and French. You'll hear people speak both languages in conversations quite often, sometimes in the same sentence. In stores, most of the time, people greet you with both languages and you reply in one of them, which tells them which language you prefer to talk in. They go 'Bonjour, Hi!' And you say Bonjour back if you want to continue in French or Hi if you rather speak English. It's kinda crazy."

R-E-D-D-l-T

Land With No Boundaries

"Where I used to live in Manitoba, nobody had fences, mainly because when the properties were divided up, the town planners left space that belonged to the town behind all of them, that was just a strip of forest and Canadian shield. So almost nobody put up fences because it cut off their view & access to what was essentially a super cool nature trail network throughout the town. Everyone knew once you hit mowed grass, that belonged to someone. Us kids barely ever went anywhere on foot via roads or sidewalks, we always took the trails (we rode bikes on the roads though, there were too many rocks on the trails for a regular kid's bike)."

"Of course, living in a forest had some unintended consequences. We frequently had bears, so I remember when I wasn't even 5 yet being taught what to do if I saw a bear. And two separate years we had a mountain lion, which was a lot worse. The town would hire someone to trap and relocate these animals but it always took a while. I remember watching a bear lying down under the crabapple tree in our front yard just eating all the windfall apples for ages, not a care in the world."

JoanOfArctic

Chips In Your Sandwich

"I live in Dublin and when we tell people who live in America that we put crisps in sandwiches they laugh at us. Just try it mate. It's so good."

[deleted]

Younger Legal Drinking Age

"Drinking alcohol for the first time when you're around 14 y/o. In Germany, it is legal to buy beer and wine when you're 16. So the majority of parents don't see it as a problem when the first drunk experience happens a few years earlier. Actually it is hard to find a teenager here that never tried alcohol before."

myrjxm

Reserving A Spot

"Putting a chair in the road to reserve a parking spot. Not only do people do it, but people respect people who do it."

chickcoreasnuts

Class Participation

"Starting college, meeting your class on week 1 and then having introductory sauna the next week, boys and girls all drunk & nekkid. Finland :3"

tasankovasara

Legalities

tractor drifting GIFGiphy

"People who are 12-14 driving tractors on the roads in rural Ireland. The legal minimum age is 16, but most farmers don't really care.

EDIT: I didn't realize that this is a rural thing. Still comes as a shock to urban people though."

- computerfan0

Keeping it Cool

Many (but not all) Germans restricting themselves to exactly one hot meal per day. I've heard sentences such as:

"No I can't, I already ate warm at lunch"
"I tried so hard to find a breakfast place that sells cold food"
"Let's just eat bread, I've had hot lunch"
"You can't eat two hot meals, that's too much"

I still don't get why it has to be no more and less than one hot meal? And why do breakfast pancakes not count as hot food?

- yanbochen

The Road Menu

"Picking up roadkill for your table. Gotta temp it first, but if it's fresh or new and frozen, it's good."

Radiant_Obligation_3

"The only problem with roadkill is the meat is often ruined due to internal organ damage. If the stomach or intestines are ruptured, it's game over. And anywhere the vehicle hit or it impacted the pavement hard, there will be bruising that will ruin it."

WardenWolf

4 times a day

"Experiencing 4 seasons every day. Jacket on, jacket off, it's sunny but it's raining, freezing and windy, then it's hot again... I like to wear shorts and puffer jacket combos for both extremes. Tasmania."

- orceingiemsa

Feet to Earth

"Some people not wearing any footwear to observe a festival, for nine days, even if they go out. India, during Navratri. Though there is no naked baba.

There are few saints who live their lives nude, the point is that they have enough will power to not get erection even if they come in close quarters with women.

They are called Brahmchari or eternal celibate."

- manjeete

Minty

thumbs GIFGiphy

"Driving over the mountains and shouting "mint sauce" out the window to the sheep....

Wales.

(And fellow welshys... Don't lie..you know you've done it)."

- vad2004

being a woman

"As a female:

1- Not having to move out of my parents' house unless I get married.

2- Obtaining a degree is a must, but working is a complete option. Also if I choose to work, I don't have to share my income with my spouse.

3- I get the superiority in lines so I don't have to stand in long lines with men. Which happens rarely anyway because women don't run errands in here."

- Nrnr_nr

Melbourne

"In the next 16 days there will be two public holidays in my city.

Both of which are to recognize different sporting events.

One of those sporting events is taking place 2000 odd kms away.

The other is taking place in my city - though with very few attendees because of 'Rona restrictions.

Gotta love Melbourne."

- TheGloveMan

Freedom Calls

"Calling an uber instead of an ambulance or going to work while sick during a pandemic.

Gotta love freedom."

- BladesQueen

"I never had a problem calling in sick in the USA... Always got a "no problem man, get better soon"... Now calling in sick in Japan... My boss wants to know which hospital I'm going too and a direct call back afterwards with an update on my condition. They usually pressure me to come back in to work afterwards too... And yes this happened during Corona when I had a fever."

- QuitMessingwithme

Yummy?

"Apparently to eat minced meat raw (seasoned and on bread). Obviously you keep it in the fridge until you eat it. And you'd have to eat it rather quickly after you bought it."

- The_Sceptic_Lemur

"Here in France it is called "filet américain". It's raw minced beef, with pepper, salt, a raw egg yolk, some herbs, raw minced onions. Add Tabasco or similar as you wish. Often served with french fries."

- Bipi7

Time and Tyme again....

"Calling a water fountain a "bubbler", calling an ATM a Time Machine, REAL tailgating, cheese on apple pie, and wearing foam cheese on your head."

- alexbx77

"YES was hoping most for this right here! Fellow Wisconsinite represent! Can confirm since childhood have heard ATM as Tyme, though never understood why, it was just a word everyone used.

Also cheese curds (what's that? Well there's variations, a not so simple ball of cheese or the more common a baked or fried ball of cheese) DEEP FRIED everything State Fair.

Also Chicken and waffles."

- Jammer590

Hexes and Taxes

"Being a witch/medium is an official job, meaning you need a permit, your profit is monitored and you pay taxes.

When killing a pig, raw skin covered in salt is the first food consumed, as it is considered a delicacy.

We also fill the pig's small intestine with a mixture of meat, rice and garlic and put it in the oven for about an hour. Yum!

Many people believe that if you look at a baby for too long, you can unknowingly put a curse on it, which will make it cry until you pour holy water on the child and pray to make the curse go away. Parents are an exception, they can not curse their own child."

- Sinister_Fish42

Free for all....

Happy Oprah Winfrey GIFGiphy

"Free Sundays (Germany) Everything, literally everything is closed on Sundays which is amazing cuz everyone (except from the most essential like doctors, firefighters and the police) have a free day which is awesome!!"

- Rapperdonut

Across the Land

"Driving 3 hours at 100km/h and still being in the middle of nowhere (Australia). In parts of Europe you'd have crossed 3 borders in that time."

- ihavefourgirlfriends

TAG

"Drinking beer bottles while driving and left-hand lobbing them over the car to try to hit speed limit signs.

It's called "sign tag", my 60 year old aunt is the county champion. Southern Indiana."

- ImJokingNoImNot

The Facade

"A royal house with no power, no authority, is an absolute money sink and only exists for status and nostalgia. The Netherlands."

- ruffresia9

"I assume you are talking about the UK. But the money sink thing doesn't hold up when you look at it.

The royal turn over all the profits from all the land then own to the state in exchange for their living expenses being paid. And the provides from this land comes to much more than the expenses. And this ignores the impact of the royal on tourism (Yea it's not happening at the moment, but still)."

- Hops77

Kreepy Khristmas

"In Austria around Christmas/St Nicholas time we have events called "Krampusläufe" where people, mostly young (drunk) men dress up as demonic devil-like creatures called Krampus with fur suits, creepy masks and cow bells and pull of shows that include lots of fire, smoke, witch burns etc while mainly Ramstein plays in the back. They also like to whip people in the audience with cow tails. And hell yea we enjoy the show while getting drunk on hot punch. We even bring our kids along."

- confusions0up

Street Boom

"Every Last Tuesday of the year people make fire and literally blow up everything on the city streets. It's called "Charshanbe Soori" -

HamedMacsword

Delicacy

"In the north of Portugal we have a very typical rice dish that's made with the chicken or pig's blood. It´s very delicious but I met people for other countries that call us vampires."

- No_Opportunity_9811

"I think most countries in Europe have some dish that's made with blood, it's mostly the Americans who get grossed out."

- GrandDukeOfNowhere

Wheels on the bus

back to school television GIFGiphy

"Only having a snow day if the buses can't physically get to school, or the temperature is -40° F or below without wind chill. (I'm from northern Wisconsin)."

- turkeysandwich_sock

Praying for $$$

"Where I live, it is normal for about 15% of the population not to work and get paid by the government since they are praying to God and that's important too. Off course, the rest of the ppl pay for them. Forget them and their God. The holy land."

- TheReal_KindStranger

Croc Days

"Alligators. Just... everywhere. I live in a swampy area of Florida, and it's pretty normal to come across alligators in small ponds, ditches, around pools, or just chilling in a parking lot. I've nearly tripped on alligators more times than i'd like to admit. Thankfully they're pretty chill and won't really bother you unless you mess with them or go near a nest. The police are even trained to deal with rogue alligator calls."

- SugoiBakaMatt

In Cincy

full house eating GIFGiphy

"In Cincinnati we eat spaghetti noodles topped with a soup-like chili and a 1/4 pound of shredded cheddar cheese.

And it's delicious."

- wss1252

Hunter OGs

"During hunting season, the real OGs would sell venison jerky for $5 a small ziplock on the school bus. My bus had 2-3 hunters any given year, some was more tender, some was seasoned better, some were just bigger bags. It was awesome and I bet they made bank."

- PillsBayBay

Passing Through

"Cougars walking through my yard most nights. We live in a forest with a lot of cougars (estimated 200 within 10 miles) and since we live near the edge and don't have dogs, the cougars use our yard to pass through.

It's not a big deal unless one of the males walks under our window. They stink really strongly and will wake you up with the stench."

- Baeker

Afterlife Party

"Every now and then we dig up corpses of our loved ones, bring 'em through the village where they lived for a visit, change the tissues they where covered in (several layers) with new ones and put them back in the grave and all that while partying. Madagascar."

- Motuarsde

Cheese It

"Putting a block of cheese in your hot chocolate. It's quite good actually. Check out this reaction video: https://youtu.be/KcxxYY-1MVQ. Colombia."

- NecroPaCo

Tradition

"Hungarian villages: the slaughtering of a pig is kind of a ceremony with family and friends being invited, the day is taken up by work (preparing the meat, making products out of the different parts) and the evening is feasting. Literally almost every part of the pig is used. My mother told me that the day afterwards they are the cooked brain with the crunchy ears."

- gs_batta

Cannibal Win

Warrior Princess Win GIFGiphy

"In the rural Midwest USA, lots of bars have meat raffles. Not sure if they do that anywhere else but I always thought it was weird."

- greasywallaby

Traffic Issues

"Kids, as young as 10 years old, driving. The police don't really care much, and you see primary schoolers driving themselves and their siblings to school. Nope, most of them aren't orphans, their parents are just.... extremely free here.

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death here unsurprisingly. I think it's a real shame that people are so careless. Saudi Arabia 😳 some other middle eastern countries are the same, though."

- paracozmic

Shoeless Joes and Janes

"People walking around barefoot. its way more common in beach suburbs, but even in suburbs 20km+ away from the beach you will see people (especially young people) walking around super markets and shopping centers with no shoes on. and not because they cant afford them. Australia."

- uduneven

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

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.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

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.