
***CAUTION - SENSITIVE MATERIAL AHEAD***
It's another ordinary day in America.
So of course that means we've already had a mass shooting or two before brunch.
And aside from the mass shootings, the number of single gunshot wounds or deaths is too high to count.
So let's discuss the aftermath.
Let's hear from the people who have faced the barrel of a loaded gun, or were just a casualty going about their day.
What happens after the bullet lands?
Redditor notaninterestingaccwanted to hear from the people who have lived the nightmare.
They asked:
"Gunshot survivors of Reddit - What does it feel like to get shot?"
Guns are not a joke. Please educate yourself before you purchase.
Then the pin hit...
"I took a 7.62 to the stomach in Afghanistan. Felt like somebody had smacked with like, I dunno, a flyswatter or something. A short sharp smack. Didn’t feel much until I tried to come out of cover and I just... couldn’t. Couldn’t make my body listen to me. Then the pain hit. I’d put it at like, I dunno, an 11/10. Bullet blew off half my liver."
eyeCinfinitee
Thank you EMS...
"Chest, .357 magnum, through sternum, lung, ricochet off of rib, through scapula. Still have half under my shouldblade. Felt like I was stabbed in the chest with a hot fire poker mounted to the bottom of someone's foot when they drop kicked me. Was not expected to survive (severe blood loss), of course. Very good EMS team kept the liquids where they were supposed to and great doctors and nurses kept me going."
mndyerf**kinbusiness
Knocked Back
"I didn't really feel either of mine until about 10 minutes later. Took a grazing shot off my left arm and one in the right hip that went out my back thankfully missing my kidney. The arm felt like a bee sting the hip knocked me back a step the adrenalin at the time masked the pain."
richwith9
The Masked Men
"I was shot during a home robbery. I’m probably one of The luckiest people alive. The bullet no joke scratched my cheek and then went through the top of my ear and also a bullet grazed my wrist and opened it up. I didn’t feel anything but just liquid running down my face and my wrist was burning."
"Scariest night of my life and RIP Christian. Miss you so much buddy. Here is proof. We... https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/crime-courts/article/Man-charged-in-attempted-burglary-apartment-6236325.php Authorities said Burke and Brandon Fries, 21, fought the suspects for their guns, which were fired during the struggle."
"The two masked men fled, and investigators initially did not have any information about which direction they went or whether they escaped from the scene by car. Both Burke and Fries had been shot and were transported to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Katy. Burke was pronounced dead upon arrival at the emergency room, less than four miles away.”
Brandonfries28
Like a Rock
"I got shot in the ankle when I was 10. Honestly I thought a rock hit me. Just a slight stinging feeling. Didn't really hurt, I even kept running with my bike. Later at the hospital was a different story. The doctor tried to remove the bullet without putting me under."
"He said the pain medicine would make me forget everything. He gave up after a few minutes of hell. And, whatever he gave me didn't work as described, but it did oddly make everyone look purple from what I remember. So maybe it half worked? lol."
adamchilders
People really? How in the world do y'all get firearms?
Fleshed Off...
"Right thigh, 9mm, grazing shot across the front of the leg about 4 inches above the knee. It plowed a channel of skin and some flesh off the front. It felt searing hot like someone had laid a hot piece of metal on my leg for a second. Then, the pain went away for a while until the adrenaline wore off. It honestly hurt worse 6 hours later than it did when it happened."
morgen_benner
A slight pinch...
"I was randomly shot while walking down the street with my girlfriend in 2013. I didn't fall to the ground or anything like that. Walked into a store and told them to call the cops. It didn't hurt too bad at first. A slight pinch. The heat builds up and the pain comes in. Some throbbing as the blood pumps out. I was extremely lucky as the bullet lodged between my lower right ribs in the back just above my kidney."
"The aftermath was a really achey back. What I remember most was how everyone around me except for my girlfriend just walked around us like nothing happened. I was suffering and potentially dying and everyone just ignored it. 'Not my problem' I suppose. I lost a lot of faith in people that day."
SoggyPastaPants
Not the Head
"I accidentally discharged my 9 and I was hit in the head. While it was going on I honestly did not feel any pain but everything slowed way down. Healing and recooperating was the hardest. My mouth and jaw was wired shut for several months. Had to have complete facial reconstruction surgery."
"Had to take a piece of bone from my skull and graph it to my nose just so I could have a nose. I also had to have a feeding tube for almost a whole year. I've recovered fully and I'm very lucky. I remember mostly everything. Something's from the incident I don't remember, but for the most part, I have my memories in tact."
No-Kick1632
It Burns...
"My gf was shot, not me, but she said it felt hot and like impact but not particularly painful until much later. She was in shock and went to the hospital, after hours she said it started to hurt."
DntShadowBanMeDaddy
"This was my response too. It feels incredibly hot. It's like getting hit with a bee that's on fire. It burns like hell. But then, and only later, does is f**king hurt. The part two is that you might think you understand pressure, but get shot. It doesn't just hurt, it mashes into you."
trebuchetfight
Ricochet
"A good friend of mine got hit with a ricochet from a 9mm that hit his calf, there was drive by about a block down. He was outside of the bar smoking a cig when it happened, ran inside and felt his leg burning but decided to keep drinking. He had about 3 more drinks before someone mentioned he was bleeding… went to the ER absolutely hammered and was fine after surgery."
PM_Me_UrRightNipple
Bad Mr. Ed
"Shot twice. Second one resulted in separation from the army. The first was in my armor piece, no penetration but it felt like I was kicked by a horse. The second one was into my pelvis and it’s the worst pain I ever felt, and I still engaged in combat for the next 45 minutes before I could safely be moved back. 10/10 shi**y."
CaptainObvious0927
Ironed
"I was shot when I was nine. I didn't feel anything at first because my mind was in fight or flight mode and my only focus was dialing 911 and saving my mother. I only started feeling the immense stinging/burning sensation when I was loaded into the ambulance. I want to say it's as if you had a hot iron shoved through you."
skullexis
Lost in my Mind
"Wish I knew, I have no memory of the event. I had gotten off the rail and was waiting at a bus stop with my gf when I was struck by a stray bullet. It entered around my right shoulder and splintered across to my lower left shoulder. Ended up giving me a spinal cord injury, leaving me paralyzed from the chest down unfortunately. I just don’t like the fact that my gf has to live with that memory by herself."
MyReferenceWasTaken
Leaking Warmth
"It hurt, like, a lot. Was shot from behind, I was running away. Small caliber was best guess, maybe .22 Since it went in and out of my right arm. Entry just left and down my arm from my elbow, exit on forearm opposite side. X-rays showed hairline fracture on the ulna. Since the bone held and wasn’t shattered by the bullet, they assumed small caliber. Felt like getting hit in the elbow with a hammer."
"Then warmth.. which I later found was the blood leaking. No major arteries and lucky ricochet away from my center mass. Bloody clothes and ambulance ride. Pain killers and 8 hour observation to make sure no swelling which could lead to amputation. Trauma room for 8 hours, then sent home with pain killer prescription. Would not recommend."
fuzziexxslipperz
Lethally Lucky
"Not me but my neighbor. He was shot in the abdomen with a .22 during an altercation. He said that he couldn’t believe how much it burned. The trauma surgeon also told him he was lucky as .22’s can be surprisingly lethal."
NarcanPusher
Shrapnel
"Took an 7.62 round to the plate carrier, bruised for weeks, it felt like getting kicked by a mule in the chest. Took a piece of shrapnel to my ankle, felt cold then white hot pain for like thirty days, now it's just a dull ache twenty years later."
Murray_PhD
"'It's fine, it will only hurt for the next twenty years or so.'"
Material
Stones
"I got shot through the back one time at a party just standing there it went through my back and out through right below my solar plexus. Amazingly enough it didn't really hit anything the doctors even came in and were amazed by the x-rays. When I first noticed it it was because it was a spark in front of my face where the bullet that went through me hit the wall."
"Then I remember feeling like I was being squeezed and then I remember taking a huge breath and hearing a weird noise that was air rushing into the wound. Disbelief staggered me for probably 90 seconds maybe a little more. I'm with the other guy on a scale 1 to 10 I gave it a six and if you want to know what's worse kidney stones."
"F*** kidney stones you want to torture somebody give them f****** kidney stones."
WolfThick
After the adrenaline runs out...
"Got shot in military, you don't feel pain at first since adrenaline keeps pain at bay for a decent time; you just feel like something hot hit you and you have a fever there. After the adrenaline runs out it will make you cry no matter how emotionless you are. I was hit in the shoulder and the bullet stopped at my bone. Until they took it out every single second it was as if there was something stabbing me from inside."
Erenogucu
Jump-Start
"I've been shot whilst wearing body armour during my army days, sucks about as much as getting hit by a baseball full pelt into your ribs. One of my buddies had to get a jump-start after getting a 7.62 hit on his plate carrier right over his heart. One of the few benefits of ops in urban areas, there are generally decent medical facilities relatively nearby. Was 50/50 on whether the round fractured his sternum, or our CPR."
Salty_Paroxysm
Please stay sober when handling a weapon. Please be careful in general.
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Those who commute to work are always looking for ways to pass the time.
Many take it as an opportunity to catch up on their reading, or in this modern age, binge their favorite show on their laptop, tablet or phone.
Others, however, might make the time it takes them to get to and from work a little more practical, and either hone or learn a skill.
And while one can't master anything too complicated or difficult on the train or bus, there are some skills which can be practiced virtually any time, anywhere.
Redditor This_IsATroll was curious to hear from the Reddit community the ideal skills to fine tune on the way to work, leading them to ask:
"What's a silly little skill one can practice during the daily train commute?"
Expand your skills in communication
"One phrase in many languages."
"I used to know 'Where's the bathroom?' and 'More water please' in 16 different languages."- shaka_sulu
"Sign language"- Billie_Goat_Eilish
"Use Duolingo to learn a new language."
"Before you know it, you've learned phrases like "''m crying on the floor and eating bread'," and you'll soon be ready for your breakdown in multiple languages."-
Impress your inner circle
"Memorize obscure poetry."- GodsCasino
Before there was Wordle...
"Crossword really expands your vocabulary and gives you some useless knowledge."
"You never know when you will need to know who was the first president of Serbia."- Much_Committee_9355
Work those abs!
"Clench your ab muscles."
"'Tuck your tummy in' anytime the train stops at a station."
"Hold them clenched until the train starts up again."
"We used to do this as kids when the car was stopped at a red light."
"It sounds silly, but it's a surprisingly strenuous workout for your core!"- AirborneRodent
You never know when it will come in handy.
'Learning how to tie knots."
"I highly recommend the app Knots 3D.'
"It provides a history of the knot being displayed, its intended use case, strength, reliability, and its structure."
'It's a wonderfully useful and easy to learn skill to have."- Nobodythrowout
You'll have a blanket in no time!
"Knitting/crocheting?"- _austinm
Take your pick, challenge yourself!
"Online chess."
"Learn a language."
"Write a story."- camelfarmer1
Next time you're on your way to work, and think about all the things you wish you could do, maybe try doing them?
Who knows, you might end up seeing your fellow passengers reading the book you started riding the train...
It feels like I scrub and scrub and scrub and still things are never fully clean.
I have no idea what spotless looks like.
Soap always leaves spots.
And as soon as you finish sweeping, there is more to sweep.
Tell me your secrets.
Redditorgossipchickenwanted to hear about all the best ways make things spic and span. They asked:
"Janitors/maids of Reddit. What are some neat cleaning tricks we can use?"
We all can use as much advice as possible when it comes to cleaning. So let's listen up.
Red Matters
"Peroxide gets fresh blood out of clothes/linens if applied ASAP."
aaronkellysbones
"If it's your blood, your own spit also begins the breakdown process!!!"
littlegingerfae
Mix 10:1...
"Tri-sodoum-phosphate is my go to for anything oil/fat based. Get it in the painting prep supplies at the hardware store. It just melts though grease. You only need a tiny bit for a stain. Mix a few tbsp into your bucket for cleaning around the kitchen."
"Mix 10:1 with water to clean really really greasy messes, like between the stove and the cupboards in a new rental or to strip waxed floors. Keep the stripping ability in mind if you're cleaning anything wood, you can take off the finish if it's a strong mix or sits too long."
"Only reason it's not in all cleaning products like it used to be was overuse was causing problems with algae growth in waterways (phosphates). It's not a problem to use a bit there and there, it's more a problem if every single load of laundry done by everyone has phosphates."
Wtrset
Get the Gunk
"Former cleaning tech here. Get a scrub daddy and some bar keeper’s friend. Literally the best stuff I’ve ever used to get any sort of gunk or residue off of any surface."
alteredsauce
"Not a cleaning professional (and God bless all of you, you should be paid a hell of a lot more than you already are, no f**king joke), but barkeeper's friend, a scrub daddy, some steel wool, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, baking soda makes a hell of a cleaning kit. There are few household messes you can't fix with them."
DeepStateofAffairs
Efficiency
"Make sure the mops and brooms are long enough so you don’t have to bend. That increases your efficiency and you don’t get tired easily."
femoric9
"Man. I'm entirely freaking convinced that no mop or broom is made for people over 5'8". TF am i supposed to do when I'm holding the top of the broom at my waist? I'm disabled. Slightly bending over to do housework is the greatest source of rage (and pain) in my life and I hate it."
Original_name18
To Dust
"Use an old pillowcase to dust ceiling fan blades, it contains the dust so you don't get the dreaded allergy ash cloud."
HauntedButtCheeks
I hate dust. And I hate ceiling fans. So good to know.
Genius
"Vacuum your way out of a room to not leave footprints. Incredibly satisfying work."
Mellokins
Slow Down
"Learned this one from a janitor. Don't scrub right away when you're mopping a floor. First get the whole floor soaked (kind of like soaking a dish with dried on food), then go back to the beginning. Anything that was stuck to the floor will be easier to clean with less work."
audiomechanic
Hot Pour
"(Restaurant janitor) Pouring Hot coffee and letting it sit for a while paired with a good follow up scrub for some reason is good at removing grease stains, I was shown this and never looked further into the why it works but it does!"
thetwin22
"Might be because coffee is slightly acidic! Really good tip as long as you clean the coffee off properly."
Fun-Calligrapher980
Relax
"If you show up to a job and find out that the building was unused that day then make sure the garbages are empty then go find a quiet place to read for 8 hours."
Pay Attention
"Former custodian here. Trash bags don't need to have all that air surrounding them, wasting space in the can and making trash bounce back out, and it's surprisingly easy to get out."
"- Unfurl the bag and get some air in it, so it's not stuck to itself."
"- Shake the air out. Yes, this may sound like extra work, but the next part is cool."
"- Fling the bag, bottom-first, into the trash can, holding onto the top so it doesn't just crumple up at the bottom."
"- Blow into the bag from a foot away. The Bernoulli Effect fills the bag AND pushes out all the air around the bag."
"Now the bag fills the trash can and has its full capacity ready to use. You can even add a knot to hold the bag in place if you want, but I've found it's not needed if done right."
DuplexFields
Maybe now I can keep my house clean. Maybe...
Ah, the great outdoors.
One of the worst places ever.
I have never understood people's fascination with camping.
Give me a TV, a bed, and air conditioning any day.
Camping only leads to trouble.
Convinvce me otherwise.
RedditorDolphins_With_D*ldoswanted to hear from everyone who has been left shook by spending time in the great outdoors. They asked:
"What's your scariest camping experience?"
I barely wonder into the backyard. Last time I was there, there were snakes. Hell no.
A Few Sips
"Solo camp in the middle of nowhere. When I woke up in the morning someone had made a cup of tea and partially drunk it in the middle of the night. No sign of anyone anywhere."
Magnus_40
Four Spots
"Camping with my kids in the woods for the first time. They were very nervous, but I assured them that nothing was out there to be afraid. Immediately after one of my assurances, we heard something moving outside of the tent. They started crying a bit, and I said it was either the wind or maybe a racoon a little bit away. At that moment, something came down on the top of the tent... something pushing in at four spots. They lost their minds with terror... even I screamed."
"It was our cat. My wife had let him outside, and he made his way down in the woods to see us. He was young and had never seen a tent before and jumped on top of it right above us. This was a few years ago, and my kids still bring up how scary it was and how daddy screamed."
joeltheconner
Alone
"I went camping alone (female) with only my son who was about four at the time. When setting up in a fairly remote place, there was a guy who just stood watching us from about 100 metres away (his tent was all set up). During the night, we heard footsteps walking around our tent for about half an hour. No other noises."
"I sat up with a mallet in my hands for the rest of the night. When it got light, I went outside and saw hundreds of emu tracks all over our campsite and a friendly camper neighbour congratulating me on getting the tent up by myself because he wasn't sure I could do it but didn't want to intrude."
essentialpuzzle
Food Hunt
"Sheer terror when I was a kid at boy scout summer camp. One kid left a couple airheads out on the picnic table. Everyone woke up in the middle of the night to, no joke 30+ raccoons fighting over airheads and going into tents looking for more food. If you've never heard that many hissing and growling raccoons at the same time good for you."
pirate737
Staring Out
"Camping in the Serengeti with Masai tribe men as guards. Sitting around the fire when suddenly the Masi looks out into the pitch blackness, turns the flashlight on illuminating The eyes of a lion 40 yards out. Just staring at us. I never heard a thing."
pamacdon
Now why do people do this to themselves? When there are lovely Marriots.
Under the Stars
"I was about 8, I didn't want to sleep in the tent with my sister so I slept on a cot under the stars."
"Woke up to a bear sniffing my head/neck. I was basically paralyzed with fear, the bear left me and went to sniff around for snacks. It made enough noise to wake my parents who then scared it away. I moved my cot into my sister's tent immediately after."
___okaythen___
"why, what happened?"
"I was camping in Zion National Park in late August 1992. The campground was almost empty by then. At 3:30 in the morning I woke up in midair. You know those dreams where that happens? I figured that's what it was... then I hit the ground. Earthquake. Then I was hearing cracking sounds, a few small thuds, then thud."
"Little bits of the cliff face had sheared off. Thankfully the campground was far enough from there that no one was injured. Had that happened in the daytime there's a good chance that a number of people would have been killed. The park was closed for a few days after that, and you couldn't get in or out for much of that day, as one entrance road was just gone, and the other one a boulder the size of a car had fallen on it."
"That one they got open that day and they kicked everyone out of the park. Anyhow I called home to say I was OK, everyone was like 'Why, what happened?' It hadn't made the news or anything, fortunately it was relatively mild, just some local destruction."
drebinf
Mama...
"I was tent camping in Arkansas around 2003-04, and The Blair Witch project was still fresh on my mind. I was about 20 years old at the time. Around 2-3 in the morning we’re woken up by what sounds like a small child running around our tent crying and trying to get in. I was thoroughly freaked out."
"Finally decided to open the tent and there was a kid that couldn’t have been more than 3 years old scared half to death and only wearing a diaper. I had lots of thought going through my head, but mostly - how the hell do I handle this. I can’t really go campsite to campsite, the ranger office is closed and I’m standing there in the middle of the night holding a child that isn’t mine."
"We had decided to call the cops, figuring it was the safest thing to do, just then a lady walks down the trail and is like ‘how did you get out?’ The kid was saying ‘mama, mama…’ and went straight to her. She nonchalantly said thank you and walked away. Now as a parent, I can’t imagine how much more that would freak me out if it were my kid."
khoelzeman
Lake Chelan
"I went on a road trip with some friends to Lake Chelan. We left late and got lost (this was before cell phones, we didn’t have a map and trusted my friends memory). So we pull off the road and decide to camp for the night at a grassy area. We have limited lights and quickly make our tent."
"We’re woken in the morning by someone hitting the tent and screaming to get off his property. We’d inadvertently camped on some poor guys lawn. We were just dumb 18 year old kids but have never packed up camp that quickly before!"
TuesdayWednesdayMe
Woof
"Thought our tent was being attacked by 3 bears. Turns out someone's dogs just got loose and the light outside made them look gigantic."
mentallydistressed1
And this is why I only sleep in actual beds. Inside.
It can be so "frustrating" when people mispronounce words.
Very, very frustrating indeed.
Particularly for grammarians, who might as well be hearing nails on a chalkboard when they hear "sherbert" or "libary".
Some words are even mispronounced so frequently, that the majority of people might not even realize they're saying the word incorrectly.
Making things all the more unbearable for sticklers for grammar.
Redditor BubbaClegane was curious to hear which common or not-so-common mispronunciations make the Reddit community want to pull their hair out, leading them to ask:
"What mispronunciation makes you excessively angry?'
'B and D are interchangeable, aren't they?"
"Supposedly/supposably."- MuluLizidrummer
Hearing this is FRUSTRATING!
"Fustrated."- WYWH13
"My coworker adds some extra syllables to frustrated."
"She says fer-ust-er-at-ed."
"Or maybe I've been pronouncing it wrong my whole life."- MarvellouslyChaotic
Might want to pay a visit to learn how to pronounce it properly...
"'Li-BERRY'"
"It is LIBRARY!"- F*ckBradfordPears
Understandable, but still wrong
"Expresso."
"Ecsetera."- FormalWare
All the time he spent in front of one makes this especially surprising...
"I used to have a help-desk guy who pronounced 'Console', the thing you use to control an old computer, as 'council'."
"And he used the word ALL THE TIME when doing phone support, and it drove me absolutely over the edge."- GuruBuckaroo
Not "exactly"...
"This is very specific to my aunt."
"She pronounces 'exactly' as “ezacly'."
"I can’t stand it."- antisocial_moth2
One "X" lead to another...
"EKscape for escape."
"My boyfriend did that and now he’s my Eks-boyfriend."- just_some_australian
Too many to name!!!
"Instead of saying shoes, my friend would say shoosh."
"Another one is when people say sammich instead of sandwich."
"It bothers the heeeeeeeck out of me."- HuntridgeHuntridge
Of all the words to mispronounce...
“Mispronounciation”- AllPointless
Should you not be certain how to pronounce any word, people are always willing to help those who ask.
And tend to be even more inclined those "aksing" for help.