Whether you call it instinct, intuition, juju, gut feelings or whatever - most of us have a word for that feeling when you just know something.
Most of the time that intuition saves us from things like bad dates, or that iffy tuna in the fridge - but sometimes it swoops in to save you from a whole lot more.
Reddit user CommanderDinosaur5 asked:
When did a gut feeling save your life?
And yeah... a lot of people are only still here because that little tug in their gut said something wasn't right. A few of these stories feature times when mom just knew something was up. So what have we learned? Listen to the juju, folks. Especially if it's mom juju.
Mom's Gut Feeling
A couple weeks ago my sister's ex tried to kill her when she was dropping their baby off at his house.
My mom got a gut feeling that something was wrong, so her and my dad showed up at the house and were let inside by the ahole ex's mom. When they got to the back bedroom and knocked, my sister screamed "he's going to kill me" and a gun shot went off. My dad knocked down the door and tackled him.
When my sister had heard our dad knock, she grabbed her ex's arm and wrestled the gun away from her face so the bullet went into the ceiling.
It's so crazy that she was saved by my mom's bad feeling. Also, he said after he was done killing her, he was going to kill the rest of her family, so all of us were saved by that. He is in jail right now and we are all hoping he gets a good long sentence. He has two felonies under his belt from the late 90's and he's been charged with two more.
Pouring Rain
I was a young, naive freshman in college and had basically no experience talking to boys. This guy had sat next to me for My whole 2 hour psych lecture and casually talked to me the whole time. Just little comments about the lecture, showing me things on his laptop. Innocent stuff. When lecture ended and we got outside it was POURING. Like, to this day I've seen rain like that maybe twice in my life. Rain that would physically HURT to walk in. He offered me a ride and I said yes, but as he was pulling the car up I thought to myself "don't get in" and took off running to my dorm. Saw him on the news a few months later for assaulting two women.
Walgreen's
When I was in college, I lived in a sketchy part of Chicago (Humboldt Park/Logan Square before gentrification).
I liked to take late night strolls, even when I was living in that neighborhood as a 20-year-old woman. Yeah, I know. Pretty dumb of me.
One night, I was feeling stressed out so I embarked on one of my late night strolls.
I was walking along a somewhat busy road. Cars were zooming past me. Pretty normal. I wasn't paying much attention because I was too wrapped up in whatever was stressing me out that night. Suddenly, a chill shot up my spine. Hyperviligance washed over me and I became more alert than I had ever been. Something was wrong. Someone was watching me.
I quickly spotted a car. It was driving in the opposite direction, a little slower than usual. It was too dark for me to see anyone inside the car, and the car was pretty unassuming. But I still knew something was off. They were watching me. I just knew.
The car drove past me and then made a u-turn. Now it was right behind me, creeping along the curb.
Luckily, there was a Walgreens a few blocks ahead. I started walking faster, and the car eventually sped past me and disappeared into a corner. I somehow knew I wasn't safe yet, so I still sprinted to Walgreens.
I told the security guard what happened, and we both went outside. The car was parked up the street, about 50-100 feet away. The security guard was a big guy who looked intimidating. He marched toward the car, and the car immediately backed up, made a u-turn, and then booked it out of there. The security guard called the cops, and they drove me home.
I never took a late night stroll again.
My gut made me more alert, but it was really the security guard who saved my life. I'm positive that if he wasn't there that night, something bad would've happened to me. I wish I could find that security guard to thank him.
- Waltermittyslife
The Ciggy
Relaying a friends story: He was living in London and about to catch his usual bus when he felt like a cigarette. Just as he lit up he could see his bus pull around the bend. He considered throwing out his Ciggy but thought, bugger it, I really want my smoke, next bus was six minutes away. So he didn't board his bus and watched it drive a bit down the road when suddenly he was knocked to the ground by a powerful unseen force. His bus was the victim of a terrorist bombing and exploded just after the stop.
"I'm Pregnant And Something Isn't Right"
Almost 8 months pregnant, normal, complication free pregnancy. Walking through the grocery store I had a twinge of a headache. Told my husband we needed to go home.
At home I took a shower and relaxed a bit, but got an urgent "impending doom" feeling. Still just a tiny headache, not even enough for a tylenol. Packed my toddlers diaper bag and requested we go to urgent care.
The whole ride there I felt fine, wondering what I was even going to tell them at check in. But that "you're not okay" feeling was still looming.
We pulled in, I carried my sleeping two year old inside and basically said, "I'm pregnant and something isn't right."
My blood pressure was 256/148. I had a seizure 7 minutes after getting in the room. If I had told my husband to drive past and go to the ER, we would have been stuck in traffic, as a truck had rolled over. If I hadn't left the grocery store or my house when I did, there's a chance I wouldn't have made it.
We got a ride to the hospital when I was stable, I was induced at 35-ish weeks, and my son was born perfectly fine, albeit small. I stayed on blood pressure meds for 8 days before it went back to normal.
Lungs Full of Popcorn
Three years ago I was planning a major fundraising event. I was working ridiculous hours trying to make sure everything was going to run smoothly. I had worst case scenarios planned out like a crazy person. One day I was climbing the stairs after getting home rather late when I became unnaturally short of breath. As I sat on my bed my breathing returned to normal. My face became hot with what I can only assume is what's considered a hot-flash in older women. I started to tingle with fear. I don't know how to explain it exactly. It was like I could feel electricity in the air warning me something was wrong.
I immediately packed my laptop, paperwork, extra clothing, toothbrush, and so on, and I slowly walked down the stairs to my car driving myself to the ER. As soon as I got through the doors I collapsed, unable to breathe. I don't recall everything that happened right after, but what I do recall was being in the hospital for 8 days because both of my lungs were littered with blood clots. I had gotten a blood clot in my lower left calf from sitting & working too many hours on the event. It broke loose and spread throughout my lungs (the Doctor said it looked like my lungs were filled with popcorn). Had I not driven myself to the hospital when I did, the nurse said I would have died. I will NEVER ignore shortness of breath again, and I WILL trust myself when I KNOW something is wrong.
Pre-Owned Piece Of Liver
Was very ill, woke up to vomit and made it to the sink. Thought about rinsing it and go back to bed, but felt like I should turn the light on. Did, and the sink was full of blood. If I'd gone back to bed I would've bled to death in my sleep. I got a fun ride to the hospital at 2am. Luckily that bleed finally got me onto the transplant list. And 2 years later I got my nice pre owned piece of liver. September 30th will be my 8th liverversary! Yay!
Bovine Intervention
My husband,me, and our two young children were visiting my parents. They live in a rural farming area. There are steep hills, fenced acreages right next to the road. We left late the kids were asleep. We seat belted the kids in the back seat of the small car. Driving down one of the steep hills and around a curve I get an anxious feeling and say out loud, "it's a wonder we have never seen any cows loose out here."
Hysterical Teenager
Not my gut feeling, but my mom's. She wouldn't let me go out of town for a weekend with my best friend. We were supposed to go to an overnight picnic, where her older, responsible guy friend would "escort" us in his safe, new car. My mom categorically refused, and my teenage self became hysterical to the point of slamming doors and yelling profanities at her.
The next day I find out my best friend and another girl were decapitated in a car accident. The guy drove drunk waaaay too fast on a country road. The car hit the gravel on the side of the road, and the car flipped a few times before hitting a tree that ripped the car in half. My best friend's parents had to identify her remains through jewellery they found at the scene.
She was 17, I was 16. My mom saved my life that day. RIP Anna.
Phones And Money
It didn't exactly save my life, but I did avoid getting robbed. When I was in high school I was supposed to hang out with some friends after school. They were taking a long time to come out of class, and I just had this feeling that I should home. I tried to message them, but didn't get a reply so I went home. Later that day I heard from one of them that a group of guys came up to them as they exited the school and asked for their phones and money. Luckily they didn't get hurt since one of the guys had a knife. I felt bad for them, but I was glad that wasn't there because anything could have happened.
Then we start up another steep hill and I say "can you imagine if a black cow was out on a night like this?" My husband immediately slows down and at the bottom of the hill a black cow was standing in the middle of the road in our lane. We were stunned. We slowly drove around the cow and looked for a opened gate or downed fence. We didn't see anything. It was surreal. Looking back I have said it was sixth sense or divine intervention.
- Iamjune
Circle Of Bees
I'm one of those sensitive people who are allergic to many things in varying severity, but I am deathly allergic to bees.
Many years ago when I was a teenager, I traveled to rural Pennsylvania in the fall with my boyfriend (at the time) to stay with his grandmother. We were to sleep in the basement, which looked like it hadn't been touched in a long time. I don't know why, but I had a feeling to check under the pillow on my side of the bed. What did I find?
A giant circle of dead bees.
It looked like something out of a horror film. We got the sheets changed right away, but I had a very hard time sleeping there after that... I literally have 0 idea what compelled me to check, and it probably saved my life.
A dead bee can still sting. A circle of dead bees can still sting... and horrify. Yuck. I have no idea how they ended up there or like that - but at least I have a creepy story to tell more than a decade later!
Forgetting To Sign
When I was in fourth grade my mother told me that my grandmother would be picking me up from school, so I needed to wait instead of riding the bus. However, at my elementary school your parent had to write a note and sign it in your agenda or the teacher sent you home on the bus. My mom forgot to sign my agenda so I got on the bus, which would take me to my grandmother's house.
We went through the intersection near her house and there was her car on the side of the road, the driver side was smashed in to hell. She had been taking care of my older brother - he was home from sick that day.
A Marine from the nearby base's platoon had been given their orders to be shipped out and he had two hours to get home, pack and say goodbye. He was doing eighty-five in a fifty-five zone, ran the red light, hit right on the backseat behind the driver.
Nana's car spun something like seven or eight times, and she managed to get it to the side of the road. Everyone was fine, miraculously, just shaken up. But it was my seat that got hit. I always sat behind her because she was short and I'd have more leg room. If I had been in the car I probably would have been severely injured or even killed.
I don't know if my mother just forgot to sign it or she came to some strange decision to have me ride the bus, but it saved my life.
Heyo Bear
I was backpacking in the Yukon territory in Canada which has a lot of grizzly bears. I was walking along the top of a mountain with big 10 ft boulders everywhere, which isn't typically where you find bears cause there weren't any plants or other animals for the bears to eat. Because of this we weren't being loud like we normally would to not accidentally surprise a bear but, for some reason when I was looking at a huge 20 ft boulder I decided to yell "HHEEYYYOOOOO BEEEAAARRRR".
Immediately you can hear movement on the other side of a boulder and out saunters a gigantic grizzly bear and a second smaller one. The big one starts to fake charge us but stops about 10 feet away. He stands up on his back paws and towers over us close to twice our height. We yelled at it and came together into a group so he backed off. He goes about 15 feet and hides behind a shrub that is about half his size and is staring at us. We kept telling and eventually they both ran off.
We think they might have been there mating. If we had walked by the boulder we would have surprised them and had them cornered in what was essentially a small cave under the boulder. This would almost certainly have gotten a violent response and the closest hospital was 3 hours by helicopter away, which means they won't get back to the hospital for at least 6 more likely 7-8 hours. The gut instinct to yell out stopped us from surprising them and stopped an almost certain mauling by 2 grizzly bears.
- Jeff1737
Deer
I was driving home from work at 2am. About a mile from my neighborhood I, for no reason at all, felt like I need to slow down. Right as I decrease my speed by about 15 mpg a deer jumps through the bushes in front of me and runs across the road. I would have hit it head on at 55mph if I hadn't stopped.
Wife's Instincts
It wasn't mine...it was my wife's.
I'm an over the road truck driver and had just gotten checked into my room. It was a little after 10:00 and I was exhausted. As I was settling in when my wife called me.
The first words out of her mouth were: "Where are you?"
Me: "In the hotel room."
Wife: "Where's your truck at?"
Me: "In a parking lot across the road. Is there a problem?" (By "road" I meant 6 lanes of traffic going at 45 MPH with a 5 foot median in the middle.)
She took a deep breath and said, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but, is there any way you can sleep in the cab of your rig tonight?"
I told her that I had already PAID for the room and wanted a shower and she was like: "OK...take a shower, check out, and then go back to your truck. Try to get a refund, but if they don't give you one...fuck it. I just want you to sleep IN YOUR RIG tonight. Will you do it for me..PLEASE...? I just have a really bad feeling about it."
I agreed to what she asked, went back to the hotel room, got my stuff, checked out, went back to my rig, climbed into my bunk, called her back and snipped at her, "OK, I'm in my rig...so you can quit f*cking worrying now. Go back to sleep, I'm going to try, and I'll call you in the morning."
About 6 AM the next morning, my alarm goes off, I crawl out of my bunk, put my boots on, get out of my truck, and look across the street at the hotel...and all I see is cop cars, police tape, and news crews.
I walk back across the street towards the hotel...and go to the Denny's next to it for breakfast and see the clerk who had checked me in (and out) sitting there...so I asked what happened. She just looked up at me, shook her head, and said, "I don't know where you went or why...but you should be thankful."
I asked her, again, what happened and she said that a little after 4 AM that morning, some people got into a shoot out in the parking lot. I asked her what that had to do with me and told me that about an hour after I left, another guy got checked into that room. When the shoot out happened, it was right in front of that room...and one of the bullets busted the window...and hit him as he was laying there in the bed.
"They carried him out in a bag under a sheet."
The next thing I did was call my wife, told her I loved her, and apologized for snapping at her.
Two Passengers Paralyzed
Friends offered to take me out drinking, wasn't really up for it as I knew the guy who would be driving had a habit of DUIs. Guess which vehicle was found in the ditch with the driver dead and two passengers paralyzed, yep.
Rattle
When I was around 4, my mom went on a challenge to find a hidden bow in the wilderness. I went with her and ran off to play.
As I was running, I stopped short because of a rattlesnake's rattle. I didn't see it. It honestly took me a bit to see it even though I liked snakes and knew what to look for.
I had never heard a rattlesnake rattle before that, so it was a pure gut instinct to freeze.
Cautious Driving
When I was still taking driving lessons, I stopped at an intersection with an all-way stop sign, and I had the right of way to proceed (which my instructor also noted) but something told me to wait the stop out a bit longer and let the semi approaching from the right to go first. The driver behind me honked impatiently as I watched the semi blow through the intersection without stopping or even slowing down. Would have been t-boned had I proceeded.
Scared And Alone
I was heading to my moms house for dinner and my gut told me to go back and get my dog. I couldn't shake the feeling. I got home and rushed in as soon as I could cause I had this terrible feeling.
I walked in on him choking on who-knows-what. I was able to help him and he was okay. I took him with me to my moms. If I hadn't gone back I would have lost my baby boy. He would have been scared and alone, too.
Sprinting
Felt like someone was watching me when I was walking home from a bar. Decided to sprint home and looked behind me halfway there and there was someone running after me but luckily a distance away, like half a street away. I never ran so fast in my whole life.
Him And The Baby
I'm a bit late to the party and this didn't save my life. It did save two other lives and saved me and my colleagues from a whole world of pain.
In 2003 I was deployed to Kuwait for the invasion of Iraq, I was "voluntold" to be part of the advance party that went over the border first to set up a small field hospital before the main party arrived to make a much bigger facility. We were all pretty hyped/scared. We were on edge.
We set up a perimeter and a couple of us were guarding a particular road when a man in full local garb came out of the blue running towards us with a bundle in his arms. We cocked our weapons, shouted warnings (in English because the Arabic had escaped us at the time), and prepared to shoot him.
I suddenly felt a strong feeling that we shouldn't do this. I yelled at my people to stand down. The phrase "Wakev wala anna batushack" (sp?) sprang into my mind, so I yelled it.
The man immediately stopped and revealed that the bundle that we'd thought was a bomb was just his sickly baby.
If we'd shot, we'd have gone through him and the baby.
A White Trailer
I was driving to work at 430AM. Going up a ramp to the expressway, I checked my left hand mirror for traffic, and saw none. I can't really say why, but I touched the brake lightly, and just as I did, an eighteen wheeler with no lights on roared past, and came as close to touching my car as you can, without touching it. I still remember that it was a white trailer with corrugated sides, and the rear trailer doors were aluminum with a cross hatch pattern.
- Buffyoh
There are few things more satisfying than a crisp $20 bill. Well, maybe a crisp $100 bill.
But twenty big ones can get you pretty far nonetheless.
Whether it's tucked firmly in a birthday card, passing from hand to hand after a knee-jerk sports bet, or going toward a useful tool, the old twenty dollar bill has been used for countless purposes.
Breaking Even
<p>"I got a jacket and a pair of jeans at goodwill for about $20. My first time wearing the jacket I found a tiny zipper inside a pocket."</p><p>"There was a secret inner pocket with a twenty in it."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpdv70q?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">TheBrontosaurus</a></p>Keeps On Giving
<p>"23 Years ago I was in the US for some work and was not prepared for the cold of Chicago. Went to wal-mart and bought myself a cheap, warm jacket."</p><p>"I'm wearing that jacket right now - still looks fine, still keeps me warm."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpe41xv?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">TastyEnd</a></p>As Good As They Come
<p>"Wool pinstripe double breasted suit from Goodwill, fit perfectly and was brand new. Ended up wearing it to get married the next year." -- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpdw6mx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">verminiusrex</a></p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"God I love Goodwill!!" -- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpe5aee?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Neverthelilacqueen</a></p>The Socks She Needed
<p>"I work at a thrift shop. A homeless lady came in and asked us where the socks were. We only sell new socks, so I directed her towards the new socks and she was... shocked and disappointed by the price tag, surely."<br></p><p>"I gave her a moment as she looked, and she moved to some kids' socks and picked them up, and I... just couldn't let that happen. I told her that I would help her, and told her to get herself some socks and a jacket."</p><p>"She kind of just... held out the children's socks, so I took them, put them back, and grabbed the extra fluffy socks that were hanging."</p><p>"She grabs a jacket and some pants, and I pay for it. My coworker looks the other way since we're not supposed to purchase anything while on the clock. The lady is in tears as she walks out."</p><p>"I notice that she's still outside a minute later putting them on, and ask her if they fit her or if she needed something else; and she told me they were perfect and proceeded to cry. I cried in return."</p><p>"It was a good day."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpen3w1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Snowodin</a></p>Not Forgotten
<p>"A guy came into my work when I managed a mom and pop Pizza Place. He said he was stranded with no phone, and no money, but that the people at the Verizon store next door to us said they could get him a cheap phone with some minutes on it for 20 bucks."</p><p>"He offered to do dishes for a few hours to make some money so he could get this phone. I told him not to worry about it and gave him a 20 from my wallet. He thanked me, asked me for my name, and then he left and I never saw him again."</p><p>"Skip forward about 5 months, and when I get into work the owner was there and said she had gotten a letter addressed to me. 'Weird,' I thought."</p><p>"But when I opened it there was a 50 dollar bill and a short note from the guy I gave 20 dollars to thanking me for my kindness and for not turning him away."</p><p>"Turns out he was in a bad way (addicted to hard drugs and homeless) and really was stranded there. He was trying to get a phone so he could contact his parents (who lived in another state) for help."</p><p>"From what it sounded like, he seemed to really turn his life around. He was clean and working a stable job while still living with his parents."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpem2xc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Mixmaster-McGuire</a></p>The Best Finale
<p>"It was the day before payday. My wife came to see me at work. My break was in an hour, so I asked for her to wait a bit, so we could enjoy it together. She did."</p><p>"I bought her some lunch, because it was what I could afford. I bought her a ham and cheese sub sandwich and two iced teas. These were her favorite. I bought gas with the rest of the twenty so she could get home. She dropped me back off at work."</p><p>"That night, she passed away. It brings me comfort to know that I bought her favorite sandwich and drink for her that afternoon. It was likely the last thing she ate, since it was near dinner. I'll never forget it. Best $20 I ever spent, because it was for her."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpe9c6d?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">LollipopDreamscape</a></p>Leaning Into the Nerdery
<p>"It was my ninth or tenth birthday. My grandparents gave me $20. The first $20 bill I ever held in my hand! I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it."</p><p>"A week later, we went into the city and Toys R Us. I went straight to the Transformers aisle. And there he was. My favourite Transformer. The one I always wanted...Soundwave."</p><p>"He's the one who turned into a Walkman and he could eject cassettes that turned into robot animals. The price tag said $19.99. It was meant to be."</p><p>"I took Soundwave to the clerk and gave her my $20 bill. "And here's your change!" she said, as she gave me a single penny."</p><p>"Ah, Soundwave. The best friend a lonely little nerd could have."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpdzzxe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">originalchaosinabox</a></p>Different Time
<p>"I went to a Rush concert in 1982. The ticket was $9.50 and the t-shirt was $10." -- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpdyr0k?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">PaulsRedditUsername</a></p>Motivational Spending
<p>"My then six year old niece had a loose tooth she loved to show off and had resisted pulling out for two weeks. We were all at my parents and I was getting ready to leave, I pulled out a $20 and said 'I'll give you this right now if you pull out your tooth.' "</p><p>"She was already crying because her little sister had did something so when she ran into the bathroom none of us had no idea in what she was about to do."</p><p>"So she comes out crying still, but a little bit of blood I'm her mouth because of course, she pulled out her tooth. But the now removed tooth fell down the drain to the sink and she was crying because she lost her proof!"</p><p>"After she calmed down she was happy as a clam with a brand new $20 and everyone was quite proud of her. My sister told me she spent it on candy and shared with her little sister."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpdxi4k?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">themasimumdorkus</a></p>For the Story
<p>"It was actually to a scammer in Rome. There was this guy right outside of Colosseum who started tying strings around my wrist and told me to make a wish. I knew it was going to cost but I thought what the hell, last day in Rome so might as well go with it. </p><p>"My wish was to find love."</p><p>"I spent rest of the day getting lost in the city and stumbled across two weddings and one baptism ceremony. So I did find love, just not for myself."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lvu5aq/whats_the_best_20_you_ever_spent/gpe7b2w?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">FatalFinn</a></p>I realize that school safety has been severely compromised and has been under dire scrutiny over the past decade and of course, it should be. And when I was a student, my safety was one of my greatest priorities but, some implemented rules under the guise of "safety" were and are... just plain ludicrous. Like who thinks up some of these ideas?
Redditor u/Animeking1108 wanted to discuss how the education system has ideas that sometimes are just more a pain in the butt than a daily enhancement... What was the dumbest rule your school enforced?Don't Peek
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNDc4OS9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDE0Mzc2OH0.Y1Lzy1MTqxyVqOCe9xjeHTRZsKnbyVjYzdb4-Heldyo/img.gif?width=980" id="78b19" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e14a90be026b734830e7661f776ba4a8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="475" data-height="475" />schitts creek wtf GIF by CBCGiphy<p>Took all the doors off the men's room bathroom stalls because of vandalism for 2 months.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gphrfce?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank"> Endless_Vanity</a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Endless_Vanity/" target="_blank"></a></p>Scanned
<p>School added thumb print scanners at gates of school which counted as registration - needless to say I would just walk to school scan my thumb and walk back home with them none the wiser. Was a great few months until they noticed. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpidnou?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">richpianofan5</a></p>Age of Empires...
<p>Conservative Christian College. A group of us played Age of Empires one weekend. They didn't like it and called a meeting. Everyone involved got misdemeanors on their records. There was nothing in the handbook about it being against the rules. The only person that didn't get any punishment was the son of the president even though he was just as involved as the rest of us. <span></span></p>"Genius"
<p>In my freshman year of high school we had a terrible vandalism problem, the bathrooms would be broken in various ways almost constantly. In a stroke of pure genius, the staff decided that any bathroom that was vandalized would be closed for the week on first offense, the quarter for second, and permanently on the third offense.</p><p>They took back the rule after closing every bathroom on day one. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpi77co?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank"> Samus388</a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Samus388/" target="_blank"></a></p>Is this Footloose?
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNDc5Ny9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzg0MjU2M30.PeBUt-YWZeeRStaD_RZlGPQzo29E9t733yqZbIiJlYs/img.gif?width=980" id="3a5bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="102730e3b1b90ba9cb393561c702c9af" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="500" data-height="500" />kevin bacon dancing GIF by STARZGiphy<p>Prom was a mandatory lockdown for the night in order to avoid students going to parties after prom.</p><p>Prom was held at various house parties across town instead. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpi37x7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Coffee-spree</a></p>HOLDEN FOREVER!!!
<p>My high school mascot was Daniel Boone holding a musket. A kid wore a Guns 'n Roses shirt to school and was told he had to change shirts because of the pistols on the shirt. He pointed out the hypocrisy of the school mascot and they changed EVERYTHING. The mascot was switched to holding a flag pole instead. <span></span></p>No Dots
<p>You couldn't wear ANY kind of head items that were "gang colours" (red or blue) - this No included hair bands, scrunchies, beads in your hair, ribbons - ANYTHING. I got in trouble for wearing a blue hair band with white polka dots. </p><p><span></span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gphzpyf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Pleasant-Flamingo344</a></p>Clothes Check
<p>We had to wear belts. Someone snitched that people weren't wearing belts under their sweaters, and they actually checked and a bunch of people got detentions. Stupid. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gphz3y6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">ooo-ooo-oooyea</a></p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gphz3y6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>We had belt raids at my school where the dean would burst into classes, completely interrupting any education, to check that everyone was wearing a belt. </p><p><span></span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpia8pp?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">GuinnessMicrodose</a></p>Chase the Flat
<p>We weren't allowed to play tag football at lunch, only frisbee. When I asked the principal what the difference was, he responded with a sarcastic tone, "A football is round and a frisbee is a flat disk."</p><p>He left the school later that year, went to another school, and a few years later was brought up on charges for failing to report the abuse of a student by a teacher. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpi6lh3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">uninc4life2010</a></p>Poke-Thief
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNDgwMy9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODg5MzY2Nn0.5LMPk1suou6U2SvAURKP-sHEuK7Izpkbxm0PWqvx95E/img.gif?width=980" id="b6e9f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92383d30e34aa92fd74cf6c1374ec294" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="480" />hotline bling pokemon GIFGiphy<p>Pokemon cards got banned in middle school because someone stole the vice principal's kid's cards. Yep. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpiapym?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank"> Skadoosh_it</a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Skadoosh_it/" target="_blank"></a></p>In the Face...
<p>If you were involved in a fight, you got suspended. While it sounds reasonable, context didn't matter.</p><p>I got suspended once not for throwing a single punch, kick, whatever. I got suspended because someone knocked the books out of my hand and when I reached down to grab them they punched me in the face.</p><p>I got suspended for walking down the hallway and unprovoked getting punched in the face.</p><p>Forget Brandon Valley Middle School. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lwjlif/what_was_the_dumbest_rule_your_school_enforced/gpicbyx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">CLG_MianBao</a></p>One of the golden rules of life? Doctors are merely human. They don't know everything and they make mistakes. That is why you always want to get another opinion. Things are constantly missed. That doesn't mean docs don't know what they're doing, they just aren't infallible. So make sure to ask questions, lots of them.
Redditor u/Gorgon_the_Dragon wanted to hear from doctors about why it is imperative we always get second and maybe third opinions by asking... Doctors of Reddit, what was the worse thing you've seen for a patient that another Doctor overlooked?Grandma Wins
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNDcxOC9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTQxNTgzOX0.n9IaFGgHwnULMlI2kg7RUftxDg6lyWvdM9CnhvptCRY/img.gif?width=980" id="a0857" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9762f97a23c27ccf6b75974caa854361" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="270" />Old Lady Wine GIF by MattielGiphy<p>Not a doctor, but my grandmother saved my father's eyesight because she didn't listen to their doctor. </p>The Mummy Appendage
<p>When I was a resident, an 80yo female was admitted from the nursing home for confusion. Workup showed some mild UTI and we were giving her antibiotics. The nurse mentioned that her toe looked dark and asked me to look at it. The toe wasn't just dark, it was mummified. It looked like dry beef jerky. I touched it and pieces flaked off. So the patient from a nursing home, had a mummified toe, probably for months, that no one knew about. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lw2g2z/doctors_of_reddit_what_was_the_worse_thing_youve/gpg00qn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Dr2ray</a></p>The CT Save
<p>Here's my story:</p><p>A guy came in to our ICU and was very septic but still talking. He had visited his primary care MD with complaints of a sore throat for a couple of days. Dismissed without any intervention since he didn't appear to have strep throat or the flu. At this point he was having pretty severe abdominal discomfort, so we sent him for a CT scan. As the scan was finishing, he coded and had to be intubated, multi-organ failure, etc. </p>Patches
<p>When I was an ER nurse we got an elderly lady in for altered mental status from a nursing home, when we undressed her to put her in a gown and hook her up to the monitor, I noticed no less than 5 fentanyl patches on her, guess I discovered the cause of the AMS. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lw2g2z/doctors_of_reddit_what_was_the_worse_thing_youve/gpg1lml?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">ChewbaccaSlim426</a></p>Use your Words
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNDcyMi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDA1NjI0MH0.WtyCdxL1vRZwD2-jpKZXMOEakwhiBaJIkp1YPnOzlvo/img.gif?width=980" id="e45ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f5b98e6a4605a587dbd97579468a51d8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="498" data-height="367" />Communication GIF by memecandyGiphy<p>Neurologist sent patient to our ED without informing her that imaging showed a glioblastoma assuring her impending death. He didn't overlook the disease, he overlooked the communication. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lw2g2z/doctors_of_reddit_what_was_the_worse_thing_youve/gpfl5t5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">AzureSkye27</a></p>Mad Cow Realty
<p>During my residency we had this lady in her 60s who was getting progressively more forgetful, just overall declining and getting less and less able to take care of herself. She had been seeing her pcp who diagnosed her with dementia. And she saw a neurologist who agreed. She was not really able to provide an accurate history. <span></span></p>After Birth...
<p>I used to work in maternal-fetal medicine, and every single week, we would have women referred to us "because the doctor couldn't see something clearly with the baby and wanted to double check." Nope, they just didn't want to have to be the ones to tell you that your baby had a complex cardiac defect or multiple anomalies indicative of a genetic syndrome or any other of a large number of horrible things that can happen during fetal development. Still pisses me off when I think about how many women waited weeks for more information because their doctors were cowards who couldn't tell them, "There's something seriously wrong here." <span></span></p>bad doctors
<p>I'm not a doctor, but a RN. This happened to me, but isn't nearly as bad as most of the stories on here.</p><p>When I was in college, I got to where I couldn't swallow. It started with difficulty swallowing, progressed to me having to swallow bites of food multiple times/regurgitating it, and then got to where all I could swallow was broths and mashed potatoes with no chunks. I went to the doctor multiple times, and was told every time it was acid reflux and part of my anxiety disorder. <span></span></p>The Valve...
<p>He put the pacemaker lead in the subclavian artery (and across the aortic valve into the left ventricle). The proper approach is: subclavian vein to right ventricle). And then he didn't notice it for over a year. I saw the patient (a 25 yo woman who didn't need the pacemaker in the first place) when she was in congestive heart failure. <span></span><br></p>Bitten
<p>Rattlesnake bite. On a 2 year old. Patient and dad out in the fields near a small town that is several hours away from the nearest big city, where I work.</p>When we think about learning history, our first thought is usually sitting in our high school history class (or AP World History class if you're a nerd like me) being bored out of our minds. Unless again, you're a huge freaking nerd like me. But I think we all have the memory of the moment where we realized learning about history was kinda cool. And they usually start from one weird fact.
Here are a few examples of turning points in learning about history, straight from the keyboards of the people at AskReddit.
U/Tynoa2 asked: What's your favourite historical fact?