If you're ever in an accident, when its feels like you're trapped with no way out, when your life is literally on the line, you won't be thinking of your material things at home or your job or how you didn't stick to that diet. No, there will only be one thing going through your mind:
Knowing the best way to stay alive.
Reddit user, u/GlumExcitement9, wanted to know exactly that when they asked:
People of Reddit, what is a surprisingly unknown survival fact that everyone should know?
Dig In The Cold
GiphyIf you're trapped in an extremely cold environment, a rudimentary igloo will keep you relatively warm if you're smart about it. They keep heat in fairly well. However always be sure to mark where you are with something that won't get covered in snow so if rescue comes they don't miss you in the snow.
You don't need to actually build an igloo (that's a lot of work). In Norway we learn rhat if you get caught out in a blizzard, dig a cave in the snow and seal it with a block of snow as best you can.
Stay Put
If in a vehicle hit by a downed power line, STAY IN YOUR CAR. DO NOT STEP OUT.
The vehicle is the same voltage as the car, and so are you at this point, so it is important not to touch anything. Your tires are not insulating you, despite popular belief. Often these power lines are 4600V, 116,000Volts, or more. When you step out of the car, the ground is at a lower voltage as it dissipates from the vehicle...stepping out, you may be on a spot that is half the voltage of the 4600V, meaning you get 2300V because you are a different potential & current will flow through you, and with whatever amperage Ohm's law determines (any small amount at all WILL kill you)
Don't Leave Them, Bring Them. Big Difference.
Do not keep a kit with a candy bar and water in your car in the winter. They will be frozen and you wont be able to eat or drink them. I don't know WHY so many reporters give this awful advice for winter survival. Bring them WITH you when you enter and leave your car.
A garbage bag may work better instead of or in addition to a blanket, which is also going to be VERY cold if kept anywhere but on your seat when you drive. You may not need the water at all, and it make you need to use the bathroom, making you uncomfortable or push you outside to pee, making you cold all over again. Don't drink it just because you are bored.
Metal. Got It Memorized?
Always bring a metal pot or cup for boiling water. You can make a fire primitively, but it's much more difficult to make something to boil water in.
Disinfect And Cleanse
Boil water, cook food.
Don't chug water because it looks clear. Your mind is all you have now.
Palamine101Hotels. AirBnB. Dorm Rooms. Travel. Anywhere.
I forgot to add, go to Amazon and by a door blocker. They cost around $10 or more depending on what you buy. You can take them with you to hotels. There are videos on YouTube showing burglars how to break into room with chain locks. The door blockers prevent your door from being opened period. I use one in my apartment because our doors are very easy to open with a credit card. Not with a door blocker. I've tried it. It prevents someone from breaking in and possibly killing you. I recommend it to everyone now and have even bought one for friends.
Keep It In
During the winter, it is WAY better to be slightly cold than it is to sweat. If you start to sweat, you can go hypothermic way faster.
Reminds me of a quote from Bear Grylls. "I need to work quickly before hypothermia sets in. But not too quickly, because then I'll start to sweat, the sweat will freeze, and then hypothermia sets in."
Weave It Back And Forth
The ability to weave. Looked at as more of a craft than a survival skill. But my grandma taught me that if you can weave you can make clothing, shoes, traps, shelter, etc. with nothing more than the vegatation on hand.
This was hammered home later when watching that show with naked survival people. The guy harassed the girl because she spent most of the first 2 days weaving but in the end he had to be taken out because he was sick yet there she was having crab for dinner.
More Than Just A Watch
If you have a watch. (with hands and dial, not digital display) you can use it as a compass. Hold the watch flat, and point the hour hand at the sun. Half way between the hour hand and 12 o'clock points south. You use the shorter gap to 12. So if the hour hand is a 4, 2 would be south. If the hour hand is at 8, 10 would be south. There's a few problems such as night time, and when the sun is directly over head... But it helps in a pinch.
Keep These In Mind, No Matter Where You Live
Two come to mind:
Hypothermia can strike extremely quickly even when temps are well above freezing. In fact, it's said that more people die of hypothermia in summer than in winter. I've experienced it several times - wind and a sudden cold rain are the common denominator.Here's a great first-hand story of a guy who experienced hypothermia on a 100 degree day in Virginia. So even in the summer, be very careful about hypothermia, particularly if you're going into higher elevations.
The vast majority of people I see on day-hiking trails seem to be completely unprepared for any change in weather - they're worried about bears, but not about rain. Totally backwards. Here in North America, hypothermia is almost always the greatest danger when you're doing stuff in the outdoors. When I'm doing a multiday backpack or canoe/kayak trip, I always pack a set of dry, non-cotton thermal underwear and wool socks in a small dry sack, not to be touched unless everything else is soaked and I'm shivering. To date, that's happened twice, and I've been extremely grateful to have it.
Short hikes are, in my experience, the most dangerous. This is because we tend to not take them as seriously. A person going on a two-hour hike will likely not pack much, may not take a map or even really consult a map, may not tell anyone where they're going, etc. They may think that a litre of water and their cell phone is basically all that they need.
All it takes for disaster to strike is getting off the trail and getting turned around and/or for an ankle or leg to get broken. Throw in dampness and a miserable night of shivering- hypothermia can strike at temps well above freezing, especially if you're wet - and suddenly that person is substantially weakened, less than 24 hours after setting out.
Here in the PNW, it happens all of the time: somebody will venture off of a well-established day-hiking trail, not respecting the fact that it's a rugged semi-wilderness all around them, and they'll get turned around and suddenly find that their phone lost coverage in all of those mountains. They'll start wandering. They'll do something stupid like "follow the river to civilization" (which in the mountains is generally horrible advice). And...cue the rescue team.
I'd consider myself a veteran hiker/backpacker, but I once got turned around on a crazy simple day hike. Ended up not getting back to my car until well after dark. After that experience, I made a simple survival kit in a Nalgene bottle - essentially, the bare minimum that I'd need to reliably survive a few days on my own - and I always throw it in my backpack on even the shortest trails.
Douglas Adams Would Be Proud
GiphyA towel is the most useful thing to have.
You can dry yourself if you are wet. But it is also a blanket if you are cold, can give shade if it is warm or you can use it to wipe your sweat.
It's a hat, a cushion, a bag,...
Well, I Mean, Yeah...
Eyeballs are everybody's weakness.
If someone is attacking you or have you in like a chokehold or something, go for their eyes.
They May Look Like Everything Is Fine, But...
Stay clear of tree wells - the hidden cavities of deep snow that form when low-hanging fir tree branches block snowflakes from compacting around the tree trunks.
Skiers or boarders who get close to those trees can fall in, often headfirst, and suffocate as the snow caves in around them.
Defense Mode!
If your about to be hit by a big wave close your eyes and hold your breath than curl up in a ball so that your limbs don't fly everywhere and break.
Wait, whoa whoa whoa, your LIMBS can BREAK from a WAVE?!
Yes, it depends on how strong they are. At the beach a life guard was talking to everybody because there had been problems when they left and people got into the ocean and situations started. He said people had broken there necks before in the water. I almost broke my leg once in the water. I was a lucky kid.
Not Sure If True Or If It's Just A Mental Placebo, But It Works
If you're hungry, ask yourself if you would eat an apple, if yes, you're genuinely hungry, if no, then you're just bored
Don't Climb Up. Roll Over.
Most subway platforms have a space for a person to crawl under in case they fall on the subways tracks. So if you fall off the edge of the platform and onto the tracks. Instead of trying to climb back up, if you see a train coming there's a crawl area underneath. It might be tight, and you'll certainly get dirty, but better than dying
Drink The Plant Water
You can squeeze relatively safe water out of moss.
Obviously you should still boil it and and it's going to have some dirt but it way better than drinking out of a steam or puddle.
They Pop Off For A Reason
You can remove the top of your car seats to break the windows of your car in case you can't open the doors. Specially useful if you drive into a lake or something like that.
It's important to note that you don't just swing the headrest at the window, it'll just bounce off. You have to wedge the metal down where the glass meets the door and pry it. The pressure will shatter the glass, then you can use the headrest or something else in the car to clear the glass without cutting your hands up.
Not all are removable or sturdy enough for this, but it's an option of last resort.
Just get a window hammer. They're dirt cheap and often come as part of a tool you wanted anyways. In my case, it's also a seatbelt cutter, pocketknife, and magnesium strip.
Just Remember "The Rule of 3's"
GiphyExposure and dehydration will f-ck you up much faster than hunger.
Bring spare socks, your feet will rot if you don't
Rule of 3's
3 minutes without air - ya dead
3 hours exposed to extreme weather - ya dead
3 days without water - ya dead
3 weeks without food - ya dead
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.