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People Share Extremely Useful Skills That Can Be Mastered In Under An Hour

60 Minutes or less....

There are basic life lessons that are life-saving and cost-effective that we are all intimidated by but, in actuality, they take all of a few minutes to acquire. We all condition ourselves to believe that certain skills in life are just too complex for regular joes to master.

The truth is... you do not need an Ivy League degree to learn how to clean out the water heater, clip your pet's nails, or change out a toilet.

Who knew?

So many of us have been forced to acquire new skills while we've been trapped at home and we're going to be better off for it.


Redditor goodspeed19 wanted to know what lessons we should all be learning while stuck in quarantine that will make us more useful in the future by asking:

What's a skill you can learn in 30 minutes to one hour that is extremely useful/cool?"

Car Basics....

Work Reaction GIF by EnBWGiphy

Changing the oil on a car. Changing a tire. Most of your basic car maintenance stuff that once learned will save you some money, and that you can fix in less time than it'd take to bring your car to a mechanic.

HanumanNinja

Blade

Knife sharpening, it'll stop you from cutting yourself to the bone by stopping your knife from slipping. Then use the other half of the hour to learn proper knife skills.

Cornflakesforfools

It's really amazing how much safer a sharp knife is. It "bites" whatever you're cutting immediately and stays on course almost like it has a mind of its own. As long as your fingers aren't in its path when you begin the slice, you're basically more likely to die of a brain aneurysm than cut yourself.

JeromesDream

Picker

Lockpicking simple 3 pin locks.

IrishUpstart

Yes. It's freaking hilarious that people on here can't figure this out on their own.

Think about leaving your bike out with a lock on it vs without. Much more likely to come back to no bike if you don't put a lock.

Kaibakura

The Rescue

cat save GIFGiphy

CPR, easy to learn and you could save a life someday ! (just don't do it like Michael and Dwight please).

KaoraZ

Man Down

I learnt how to fall in my first judo class. It is really a life saver. My teacher grandpa was a judo 8-dan master, and while he was an 87 year old dude, he fell during a walk. I know it won't be a big deal to you, but at that age, falling is a real threat. He managed to do a Zempo Kaiten Ukemi, which is kind of landing on your shoulder first and rolling through your back and getting up striking the floor to use momentum to stand up, its purpose its to soften and dissipate the fall damage. He got up like nothing happened, but all the bystanders were losing it to an old man doing a front roll in the street. He was unharmed thanks to judo. Learning how to fall can save your life.

Tocuto

by the book....

Read the Boy Scout handbook.

It includes a humongous amount of incredibly useful information, including (but not limited to):

  • Changing a car tire (depending on the edition)
  • Useful knots such as the Bowline and Tautline Hitch
  • How to sharpen a knife
  • How to properly use the toilet when you're outdoors
  • First-aid and triage
  • How to tie a necktie
  • How to set up and take down a tent, along with (most importantly!) where to set it up. It's ridiculous how many times I've been the only person on a campout whose tent wasn't flooded because I paid attention to this section.
  • How to properly clean your dishes when you're outdoors so that you don't get dysentery.
  • How to navigate using a map, compass, landmarks, and the stars
  • How to stay safe when hiking
  • Several different ways to start a fire
  • How to repair gear
  • How to detect, prepare for, and survive inclement weather
  • How to identify various dangerous plants
  • Etc. Etc. ad infinitum. The-Daleks

Keyboard Clips

Some keyboard shortcuts never hurt. Here's the ones I use the most

CTRL + W (Google chrome) = Immediately closes your current tab

CTRL + BACKSPACE = Deletes the last whole word rather than deleting one letter at a time

Click on a hyperlink with the mouse wheel button = Opens the link in another tab

CTRL + SHFT + ESC = Opens up task manager without having to go through the CTRL + ALT + DEL menu

K (YouTube) = pauses YouTube videos

, and . (YouTube) = cycles through frames of a YouTube video when paused

CTRL + N (Google Chrome) = Opens up a new tab immediately

CTRL + SHIFT + N (Google Chrome) = Opens up an incognito tab instantly.

HoochRevoo

Swipe Fire

Tom Hanks Reaction GIFGiphy

How to make fire using tinder... not the app.. lol.

__Rainforest__

Grandma Knows

The basics of crochet/knitting. It's quite handy if you want to something original. In the end, the basics are quite simple. With those basics you can make anything. Pillows, stuffed animals/dolls, clothes, wash cloths, pot holders, gloves, hats, scarfs, and more. It can be as quick or slow as you like and as easy or challenging as you like.

Plus it's very mindful, kind if like meditation, and really calming and rewarding as you see your work grow and take form.

2tinymonkeys

Speak....

A little bit of sign language.

HeyItzProwlWolf

Crafts...

Sewing. Just learning how to straight stitch, whipstitch and ladderstitch can save A LOT of clothing, furniture, toys, etc and it's so easy that you likely will never forget how to do it.

Stitchymallows

Basics...

Basic excel or google sheets - it's shocking how many people with office jobs can't use this critical tool.

Romaine2k

Or a copier. Especially if its jammed. Most modern copiers have screens that will tell you where the jam is and how to fix it step by step. Some won't go to the next step unless you for sure fixed what needed to be fixed.

gilbs13

Knots...

just do it spikes GIF by NikeGiphy

Tie your shoes much quicker by learning the Ian Knot.

gonnabuysomewindows

Coding

Regular expressions are a neat skill and they come in handy if you work with computers, especially if you're a programmer or just work with a lot of text. While there are many programmers, not all of them learn it, and they should. Often programmers who don't know it take time writing needless code that can replace with much shorter code.

uvero

To Cut An Onion

How to cut an onion all fancy like, and pretty much a lot of knife technique. Takes practice after the initial 'learning' but they're not terribly tricky to remember.

BronchialChunk

I've been working on this one. Doing it right is taking me much longer than it did doing it wrong! :)

But I figure that it's like learning to type. At first it takes longer to do it the correct way. But once you get it down, you can go SO much faster than you ever could pecking it out with your pointer fingers. 2 months in and I'm still waiting to get faster with the onion.... but I'm sure it will happen. :) (I only chop an onion like once a week).

2Crafty2Care

Cubed

rubiks cube what GIF by DiggGiphy

You can learn to solve a Rubik's cube in an hour, or maybe two; it's just a matter of memorizing a few short series of turns and when to apply them. The rest is just training your muscle memory.

Nulono

Save A Life

How bout the Heimlich Maneuver? When you're choking bc of food everybody just hits your back, which may or not help or in some cases worsen things, but the Heimlich Maneuver just gets it done perfectly.

AlwaysUwu

Self taught

Self taught myself how to use editing programs like filmora and Adobe. I'm no where near an expert at them (not dissing on people with the trust skills gained from school or using them on a professional level) but it does allow me to make videos for teaching as well as worksheets for the class.

Lark1987

The Good Hole

I teach my students how to cut a hole in a standard piece of paper big enough to walk through. Not very useful, but my students end betting students outside my class that they can walk through a hole in paper. Easier to share a link then describe without photos, but here ya go!

https://allfortheboys.com/quick-trick-walk-through-a-sheet-of-paper/

Glittering-Try1045

It's magic...

notorious ryan guzman GIF by The Paley Center for MediaGiphy

Simple magic tricks. There are a bunch you can learn that shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes each.

Use them to make friends and meet people. CPR and fire-making are more important, because they could save you or someone else in an emergency... But you will use magic far more often in every day life.

The_Man_Who_Knows

In the Oven...

Cooking one home cooked meal. I had no idea how easy some meals are to cook, until my dad started to teach me. We prepared a meatloaf AND potatoes in 10 minutes when my dad was on a 15 minute break from work (he works from home). All I had to do after was just put it in the oven.

pastel_knives

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REDDIT

Romantic Confessions That Instantly Ended A Relationship

Reddit user AdditionalDentist100 asked: 'What's something you confessed to your partner that ended your relationship?'

broken heart hanging on wire
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

When it comes to romantic relationships, it's a lot harder to maintain a relationship than it is to start one. And unfortunately, it's all too easy to end that relationship.

A lot of things can end a relationship, and sometimes, it could be as simple as a single comment. Sometimes it's so hilariously stupid that you can't fathom being with the person any longer. Other times, the person says something so cruel that you know it's time to run. And sometimes, the comment isn't even necessarily bad -- just ill-timed.

Redditors know all about this and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor AdditionalDentist100 asked:

"What's something you confessed to your partner that ended your relationship?"

Faking It

"Not me, but someone I know was finally told that her husband was faking his English heritage, background/upbringing in England and fake accent. Dude kept it up for years, eventually admitted that it was all a lie and that he grew up on West Coast."

– NE_Golf

"I would think that was a lie but there are people who have faked being a 9/11 survivor. Apparently this type of stuff happens more frequently then I'd imagine."

– jdefr

Oh, The Humanity

"That I didn't rinse off the Mac and cheese noodles. This isn't even a joke it's a true story."

"They were done cooking and I didn't rinse them off. And yes this was a break up waiting to happen I guess lol."

– Ohlookavulture

"It says right on the box not to rinse them."

– Strong-Solution-7492

"The starch is good for the sauce. Dodged a bullet, I'd rather die alone than eat sh*tty mac & cheese."

– pleachchapel

The Past Is Not The Past

"Didn't happen to me, but a guy I knew married a girl I knew (both a bit older than me) and everything seemed great. However, they were at a party and someone mentioned that the guy used to smoke weed in high school (he admitted it, didn't think it was a big deal). She divorced him a month later, claiming that she couldn't forgive him for smoking weed. 😳"

– bomland10

"There had to be something else going on with her because this is so ridiculous. It's not even something he was currently doing."

– woodenmittens

But Faaaamily

"I didn’t want us to move in together with 6 other relatives."

– Ne0nGalax-E

Three Words, Eight Letters

"I believe it was "I love you.""

– AssistantManagerMan

"How f**king dare you!"

– Illustrious_Cancel83

"Oh yeah, I was out of line."

– AssistantManagerMan

And She Communicated

"I wanted better communication sooo she broke up with me."

– Plus-Bunch-4265

"I mean….."

– Outrageous_Egg6340

"Loud and clear."

– EchtGeenSpanjool

Run!

"I said, while crying because he got angry with me at a restaurant, that “I am sometimes afraid to tell you how I feel because I’m afraid of how you’ll react.” And he said, “well, thats f**king pathetic.”"

– internetgoth

"My partner had a habit of starting a convo by asking how I felt about something, then would criticize me for feeling what I felt. It always ended up being a debate about why I felt the way I did. It was never okay for me to feel sad, worried, scared, etc."

"Over time I started to feel anxious when he’d ask questions, and purposely responded vaguely, or just straight up said that I didn’t feel comfortable sharing (which would incite anger or more judgment)."

"Eventually my response became exactly that. A teary “I don’t know if I want to share because I’m worried about how you’ll react/respond” and his responses were along the lines of “that’s stupid” “you’re ridiculous” “don’t be an idiot” “seriously?”"

"I don’t know if it’s because I got so used to it, or from being distracted by all the other bigger things in the relationship…but for some reason I didn’t even notice that this was another bad thing until reading this comment. It was just…normal."

– alexanteros

Looks Always Matter

"It’s not necessarily what I confessed, but I showed him my picture from 8th grade and he couldn’t handle that I used to look like I did in 8th grade."

"If I knew that I had to peak in middle school I would have at least plucked my eyebrows 🥴"

– aero_love

""Sorry babe, you just weren't hot as a middle schooler. Gotta end it here.""

– bobbitdobbit

Happy Ending

"True story. I confessed that I wanted to do more for her. I thought I was neglecting her and working too much."

"That next week, she sat me down and told me that I was threatening her independence and that she needed a week to think about us. The week after that, she broke up with me."

"I later got the real reason from her former best friend. She never had a guy who wanted “all in” like I did and panicked."

"At the time I was destroyed. LOL I thought I was going to marry that woman. Turns out I was one woman off and my next relationship would turn into my current family. So all’s well that ends well."

– Salty-Technology8912

Better This Way

"Broke down crying during a more realistic war movie. She told me to suck it up."

"After she confronted me for drinking too much I finally sought VA disability. Diagnosed with depression, PTSD, anxiety, among other things. Bills started pouring in and I told her we can’t afford certain luxury things because I was the sole breadwinner. I said I felt like I was drowning and my head is slowly slipping under the surface. She told me to “figure it out.”"

""So, I did. We divorced. And I’m much more happy and no longer on the train of “be a man and tighten your boot straps.” I got help and know that it’s okay to do so."

– NyetRifleIsFine47

"So much easier to keep your head above water without the anchor around your neck."

– Probably_Not_Evil

The Cards Don't Lie

"That I didn’t believe in astrology and tarot cards. She then said her tarot cards told her to break up with me. Sure dodged a bullet there."

– Zenith_21

"The tarot cards were right! And still you don’t believe!"

– TDLMTH

Let's Hear It For The Boy

"I didn’t confess, I just went to a couple bars with her to dance. She left me because “YOU CAN’T DANCE!” Of all the things that she could’ve said that was the weirdest reason ever. Like, I had no response. I was 28. I’m happily married for 22 years now to someone who I constantly do bad dancing for because she thinks it’s hilarious. I mean, since I was told I can’t dance, I developed a habit of dancing badly when celebrating ANYTHING. It’s a real crowd pleaser. I am loved for my bad dancing now."

– generic230

I can't dance either! But this is exactly why we all need to find someone who loves us for our quirks, not despite them.

A brown mini pinscher laying down, has it's ears perked and looks to side in worry
Sarah G./Unsplash

I have been left utterly bewildered by what some people believe is acceptable thought, conversation, and behavior.

Like... "Do YOU hear you?"

It shows when a person lacks life experience and/or brain cells.

Words expose everything.

And sometimes shock is all that is left to grapple with.

Redditor nlwfty wanted to hear about all the things people have overheard that left them utterly stunned, so they asked:

"What's the most out-of-touch thing you've heard someone say?"

I once a friend's friend moan about how she and her husband were nearly destitute.

Almost penniless.

All while she was straightening up the house for the new au pair they had just gotten from Columbia.

The Who?

Over It Maid GIFGiphy

"My boss once told me to have 'the maid' drop my car at the shop. WTF!!"

amboomernotkaren

Be Happy

"'You won't be happier at work if we pay you more, but we need to figure out why workplace happiness is so low.' This coming from a guy that made 10x what I did and was born into old money."

Dirac_comb

"I had a job that was paying below market rates and 'expected' daily overtime (unpaid, natch) and was trying to figure out how to improve morale. They were considering bringing in consoles and having video game nights after work... as if we weren't stuck there too long already."

"I did have the fun of leaving, then being asked to come back as a contractor to help out, and taking advantage of being on a short-term contract and giving no f**ks to suggest that maybe they should consider at least TRACKING the overtime people were working, even if they weren't going to pay for it since there was probably a whole extra job's worth of hours in there and maybe hiring another person might improve morale and reduce the risk of the kind of errors tired people make."

"Didn't stay long as a temp. Apparently telling the truth and discussing facts with your co-workers isn't good for morale >_< They told everyone I was leaving because I got a better offer (!), but I told everyone exactly what was really happening when they asked XD."

princess_ferocious

It hasn't?

"My dad (who is now the Director of Accounting for the school district I teach for) was talking about how my starting pay was way more than his starting pay."

"I said, 'Well, yeah... The cost of living has increased a ton since then.' This motherf**ker straight up said, 'No it hasn't.'"

"He started working there in 1992. This conversation happened in like 2017 (about a year after I started working there). Again, he is the director of accounting."

pjsans

Move On

"'You seem sad.'"

"My mother to my sister, at her husband's funeral."

blarg-zilla

"My sister's son was murdered. Two weeks later my mom asked her if she was over it yet."

NeverCallMeFifi

"One of my sons was murdered 12 years ago. Many people started telling me that I needed to 'move on' after 4-6 weeks. My brother refuses to say my son's name, so I no longer speak to him. Sending my deepest condolences to your family from a mom who understands losing a child to homicide."

PDXer328

Good Idea!

New Girl Facepalm GIF by HULUGiphy

“'I don’t know why people get big mortgages. Just save up for a few months and pay cash for a starter home!'"

Hopeful-Moose87

People with money always seem to have a plan, unless the plan is sharing.

FInd the Treasure

Dragons Den Television GIF by CBCGiphy

"When people were complaining about not being able to afford housing/food/living in general, one of the Dutch ministers (I think he was a minister or at least the leader of a party) said something along the line of 'well, find a rich boyfriend then'. ah, yes, that will solve the crisis!"

pastelchannl

Dumbfounded

"I went to an Ivy League college with lots of children of extraordinarily wealthy families. When discussing inequality and its effects on housing, my professor briefly mentioned how mortgages are out of reach for a growing number of Americans. The girl next to me stopped the class, and with a confused face asked the professor why people don’t just buy their homes in cash outright because 'surely the interest means it will cost them more over time.' The professor was dumbfounded. I found out later that she is the heiress to a major luxury brand that you have all heard of."

wildblue2

The Increase

"My former landlord and his wife dropped by to tell me and my financially struggling 20-something roommates that they were raising the rent, by nearly 25%. They said, 'We noticed on Craigslist that neighbors had higher rent so we’re doing the same.' The wife then earnestly reminded us that we’ve been great tenants but maybe we just needed to find some higher-paying jobs. 🙃."

agingcatmom

Not Me

"I was waxing a woman’s eyebrows once and she was complaining that sometimes after she gets a massage the pillow leaves a circular indent on her face and she can’t go out to lunch after. She then asked me if that ever happened to me? I was like ma'am I wax people for eleven bucks an hour; I’m not going out to lunch lol, let alone getting massages."

lomi08

Investments

Money Invest GIF by ProBit GlobalGiphy

"Something like: Give a rich person $500 and they will invest it into $1000. Give it to a poor person and they will spend it in a week."

"Yeah exactly give it to someone who’s needs are met and they can save… give it to someone who needs to eat/pay rent etc they will spend it to survive!"

ExaminationLucky6082

You need money to make money.

One of life's biggest lessons apparently.

So someone give me some money.

Grossed out woman
Photo by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash

When we thing of something being gross, or nasty, or cruel, there are certain examples that we can all think of, like bullying or an uncleaned bathroom.

But there are other things in our lives that are actually much nastier than we would expect them to be, and we can only really uncover the truth by taking a closer look at them.

Cringing already, Redditor Strawberry_no_cake asked:

"What is nastier than people realize?"

Not So Sweet Now

"Ice machines in restaurants."

- Goodygumdrops

"I worked at a golf course after I lost my law firm internship during the pandemic. I basically just cooked people easy food (burgers, hot dogs, fries, BLTs, etc.) and tended bar in the clubhouse."

"I can confirm that the ice machine can get gross. I’d always do a quick wipe down clean if I saw anything on the ice, but it was typically on parts of the machine that never touched the actual ice we’d use."

- S**tfacedGrizzlyBear

Unexpected, but Makes Sense

"RN here: Hospital floors!"

"Seems obvious, but apparently it isn’t. I can’t believe how many folks will allow their CHILDREN to sit or play on the floors, or just generally treat them like they are sterile. I don’t even wear my work shoes into my own house."

"The other day I spilled a few drops of tea on the floor where I work… gave it a very light wipe with a cloth and the cloth was BLACK."

"I think people assume that since it’s a hospital the floors are in mint condition… absolutely no way, lol (laughing out loud)."

- gracebloome

Secondary Symptoms in Autoimmune Diseases

"Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis."

"Thanks to drug company ads, most people think it's just about going to the bathroom a few times a day. There's never any mention of fissures, fistulas, fevers, extreme pain, extreme fatigue, depression, anemia, drug side effects, joint pain, painful and horrific surgeries, mouth sores, skin disorders, etc."

- reddy_kil0watt

Our Enemies Don't Even Deserve This

"Dementia, especially advanced dementia. It's not just quirky memory problems, your brain controls every bodily function."

- youngboomergal

Carer Fatigue is Real

"Being a caregiver. Again, people know it might be nasty, but I think they still overlook the awful experience it is for people who are caring for an elder."

"My mom took care of my bedridden grandmother for three years. The amount of s**t everywhere (she had chronic diarrhea, and I don't know if it's just me, but old people's s**t smells like something of another realm), awful body odor (even when we were cleaning her constantly), the difficulty of changing diapers/sheets/covers as constantly as she needed (at least two times during the night)."

"So what I meant is that sometimes people think is 'nice' of a certain daughter/son to take care of their old parents (at least in my country where putting your parents in facilities is not common). But it's just such an intense, nerve-wracking, hard, and disgusting job, with no breaks, with little rewards (because at least my grandma was not in her right mind), and almost no social recognition that it blows my mind how underappreciated it is."

- FuelSelect

One Word: Cancer

"Cancer. People know it’s nasty. People know it’s nasty as all h**l. But here’s the thing. Going through it myself, I could have never imagined how nasty it truly is."

"I watched my mom fight stage four ovarian cancer 18 years ago (I’m 40 right now for reference). She was so far along, and so riddled with the cancer that she was given weeks to live, and sent away from three oncologists who told her to check into hospice and prepare for the end."

"Thankfully she found an oncologist (who is mine now) who took her in, and went to war with her. They cut her open from the chest down, and spent hours plucking tumors out of her while rearranging her internal organs. Taking out the bad stuff and building what he could with what was left. Then two long rounds of chemo. Hospital visits. Illness left and right. Side effects. Recovery. It was h**l for her, but she beat the odds and lived."

"Watching this, I understood what I could. I saw the pain, but now, going through it myself, couldn’t possibly comprehend how bad it truly was. I saw the illness, the nausea, the neuropathy, all the stupid side effects that hit you for no reason at all."

"So yeah, cancer. Everyone knows it’s nasty, but man is it even worse than that!"

- jdizzle161

Travel Luggage

"Luggage. It gets rolled throughout the world, often in gross airport bathrooms where floors are literally wet with pee, and then when people get to their destination, the first thing they do is toss it on the bed to unpack."

"Come to think of it, this also makes hotel comforters that never get washed even more disgusting."

- jgilbs

That One Article of Clothing

"Your belt. Think about it, it´s basically the only piece of clothing you never wash. And you always have to touch it after you pooped and before you wash your hands."

- KeplerFinn

Dusty Keyboard Keys

"Your keyboard."

"Seriously man, wash that thing. I can see the dirt from your window!"

- BowlOfJello___

A World of Germs in Your Pocket

"Phones."

"One time I was in line at a food service place, think Chipotle style where you tell them what you want and they make it behind the counter."

"There was this sweaty Door Dasher guy who couldn’t really articulate the order so he handed his phone to the kid behind the counter. The kid proceeds to take his phone, starts swiping and touching it WITHOUT GLOVES ON, and goes right back to touching people’s food."

"Disgusting."

- white_cyclosa

Where Has That Been?

"The top of a soda can. People buy them from a store and put it right onto their mouth without hesitation."

- fuzzynavel5

Far Beyond the Stereotypes

"OCD. It's not some goofy personality quirk. It's h**l on earth."

- MERT-x123

"'Oh, you have OCD? Well, how come your house is a mess?'"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because I'm so consumed with intrusive thoughts I can't function?"

"'lol (laughing out loud), I get those too! They're normal, just ignore them.'"

"ha-ha-ha-ha sob."

- SerakTheRegallian

What We Wear Everywhere

"Shoes. They are filled with sweaty feet and go everywhere. Think about the gas station and airport bathrooms. The bathrooms you can feel the ick in."

- golamas1992

Also, Watch Straps

"Your watch strap: mine is white and the notches for the buckle go all the way around and every week I have to clean out all the lint and build up to stop it going funky. Makes me shudder at the idea of other watch straps where it may not be as obvious."

- durkbot

Kids Who Don't Know Better

"Speaking as a teacher of four- to five-year-olds:"

"Kids with colds who do not know how to blow their noses or cover their coughs and sneezes. Sometimes they just leave the snot on their faces, or wipe it on their clothes. They can produce a mind-boggling amount of snot!"

"The awful gross things kids will willingly put in their mouths, and then share with others!"

"I love them regardless!"

- CreepyCandidate4449

We're absolutely squirming at the thought of all of these situations, mostly because we haven't thought about them to this degree before, or perhaps even considered it (we're looking at you, belts).

Take this as a reminder to clean the things you haven't in a while, and perhaps take some extra health precautions in public spaces where other people may not be.

Aircraft losing control
Richard R. Schünemann/Unsplash

Do you ever wonder what it must've been like to experience major events throughout world history when reading about them in text books?

But if you take pause and actually think about it, we're living through many newsworthy current events that succeeding generations will be talking about long after we're gone.

Reading about them online or in newspapers is one thing. But seeing them happen unfold before our eyes is another.

Curious to hear from those who'll have anecdotes to tell in the future, Redditor FictionVent asked:
"What is the most historically significant event you witnessed IN PERSON?"

People recall the natural disaster events they've witnessed.

Tremors

"1964 Good Friday Earthquake 9.2 Richter. Was a boy in Cordova, Alaska at the time."

– KitchenLab2536

"My father was skipper of the USCG cutter stationed there. He was inport, and when the quake struck shortly before 5:30pm, he and my mom gathered me and my three siblings on the front porch. At first, it felt like the house was crumbling at the foundation, but on the porch we could plainly see our whole world was shaking. I remember watching telephone poles swaying, and the wires snapping and crackling in the street. The quake lasted about five minutes initially. My dad got his ship underway to avoid the tidal wave which was sure to come. We had several aftershocks in the coming weeks, some of which were quite strong, though nowhere near as strong or as long as the quake itself. I was seven at the time."

– KitchenLab2536

Collapsing Freeway

"October 17th, 1989. I watched the 880 Nimitz freeway collapse during the San Francisco earthquake. The Honda in front of me had the upper deck crush her front-end engine compartment. The mother and her daughter were shaken up but completely fine."

"I was driving a convertible Triumph Spitfire, which was scratched up slightly from debris. However, I walked away unscathed. Aside from the fact I pissed my pants, which I didn't notice until much later."

– CatDaddyWhisper

Thar She Blows

"I sat on the roof of our house and watched Mt. St. Helens erupt less than 100 miles away."

– stinkykitty71

"This must have been fascinating and terryfing in equal measure. What a thing to witness."

– runrossyrun

"It was amazing! The ash that covered everything like snow was interesting to kid me, but less so to my parents."

– stinkykitty71

People recall seeing major catastrophes as a result of malfunctions or judgement errors.

Bomber Crash

"The b-52 crash that led to changing what large military aircraft are allowed to do for airshows."

"I didn't see the plane, but immediately saw the fireball. It was just a perfect, bright red turning to black mushroom cloud."

"Fairchild is a nuclear air base and there were a few minutes there where I was sure the world was about to end."

"A few years before a KC-135 doing the same thing crashed near the school while we were in class."

– goffstock

Tragic Takeoff

"I was standing on my front porch watching the launch of the Challenger."

– StarChaser_Tyger

"Was riding in my parents car to a basketball game in the next town over in north texas when we saw a shooting star and thought that was neat."

"It was the Columbia..."

– Misdirected_Colors

Demolition Gone Wrong

"The failed implosion of the Zip feed mill in Sioux Falls, SD in 2005."

"They hyped it up, sold tickets to it, had a big 'BOOM' marketing thing, and broadcast it live on TV."

"The explosives took out the main supports on the first floor, and the rest of the building above it just plopped down 10ft or so and came to a rest. It was a massive failure, and was a funny little blurb on news stations around the world that day. Definitely not major news, just the rest of the world taking 20 seconds to laugh at us."

"The building sat like that (the leaning tower of SuFu) for quite a while until they figured out how to safely demolish it."

"Here's a clip of the failed demolition."

https://youtu.be/I8DEDUqd0RU

– KitchenBandicoots

These well-known historical events were seen by very few who are alive today.

Historical Remnant

"The tumbling of the Wall in Germany… along with people selling bits and pieces of it on tables in lobby in front of commissary and px in the following weeks and months. I had picked up a chunk about the size of an oreo and kept it… has blue spray paint on the flat side. Wonder if anyone is buying them now?"

– SingedPenguin13

Major Upheaval

"I would have to say the LA riots. I lived about two blocks from where it started. I was on my way home from school and saw someone throw a brick through a window. I didn’t even wait. I just started running the whole way home."

– Scarlaymama0721

Day Of Infamy

"9/11, I could SMELL the collapse of the towers."

– go4tli

"A friend of mine was there. One day in the warehouse we worked in together there was an odd electrical burning smell. He stopped in his tracks and went 'this is what 9/11 smelled like.'"

– mantistoboggan287

I didn't physically witness the fall of the World Trade Center but I was living in New York City at the time.

However, I did see the smoke.

I was living up north in Washington Heights at the time and knowing what happened, uncertain of what was to come, and seeing the plumes of smoke from the attack site was the most ominous sight I've ever seen in my life to date.

Have you ever lived through a historic moment or witnessed something sure to be noted in history books? Let us know in the comments below.