Top Stories

People Explain Which Supplies Every Household Should Have During A Large-Scale Emergency

People Explain Which Supplies Every Household Should Have During A Large-Scale Emergency
Photo by DDP on Unsplash

It's so important to be prepared. Especially on the East Coast where there's a ton of hurricanes. And the West Coast where there's a ton of earthquakes. And the Midwest where there's a ton of tornadoes. Basically, nowhere in the US is safe, so it's best to be safe, rather than sorry.

Reddit user statementbrand asked:

What supplies or items should every household have in case of a large-scale emergency?


Some of those doomsday preppers have the right idea.

"I got doomsday prepper survival food because I live in Houston and we have hurricanes. I can keep it in my closet for 25 years and it will always be there."

"I also have a few jugs of water and a camping stove with several propane cartridges."

5np

Good tip!

Giphy

"Water."

"Can't stress this enough."

"You can only survive about 3 days without it, and better to have some than rely on a questionable or bad source."

Silverlight42

"Yeah, heard the best thing to do is (assuming you can somewhat predict the emergency) fill the bath up as much as you can beforehand so you can boil and use it."

mjoq

That's a very true point.

"Extra doses of your medication. Ex., insulin for diabetics."

jam219

"In college I had one roommate who was diabetic, one who was deaf with hearing aids, and one who had his thyroid removed and required medication daily. We used to watch The Walking Dead together and morbidly joke that if it ever happened our house would be in a lot of trouble."

mister-fancypants-

A nifty trick.

"Water, a few days of food, a radio and extra batteries, decent first aid kit, light of some kind."

daHob

"During our last power outage we realized the solar outdoor lights worked for indoors after dark. We put them in vases around the house. Just a thought for others if you have those in your yard."

Quadruplem

Can't prepare for the apocalypse without these things.

Giphy

"I think most people have covered water and food, you really can't survive without much of that. Some items you might not think to have stored away but would be invaluable would be like:"

"Can opener - How awesome it is to have so much canned food, but what are you going to do if you can't open it?"

"Matches or other fire generator - Being able to heat things will become invaluable."


"Emergency blankets - If left with no power, these can help preserve body heat. Many don't know, but shivering causes you to expend a lot of calories."

"A sharp hunting/camping knife - Many uses from cutting, opening things, working with rope, etc."

"Maps - If the internet/GPS goes down, these are invaluable in knowing where you are and where you can go."

Nobuko42

Food is a top priority.

"Shelf stable food supply that does not require refrigeration."

"Have you seen those tubs of dehydrated emergency ration foods that the preppers like to buy?"

"Buy one of those big tubs. Enough to feed everyone in your home for at LEAST 3 days. Preferably more."

"Put the thing in the back of your pantry, or your closet, or wherever, and forget you have it."

"But if the worst happens, you will have a food buffer."

Edymnion

Don't forget about the pets!!!

"So yes to all the water/food comments in here. 🙂 But also consider keeping hard copies of important documentation, like IDs, medical information, contact list, birth certificates, passports, titles, recent photos of loved ones and pets to help with reunification, etc. Keep it all together in a folder or something in a safe, so you can grab it if needed."

AlpacaEM

Can confirm, hot sauce is a life saver.

Giphy

"Hot sauce."

"You're probably gonna be eating a lot of shitty food."

"If you all are s***ting your brains from a little hot sauce you got bigger problems than hot sauce."

Murphuffle

"And hot sauces basically last forever. Most brands of hot sauce you'd find in the store are basically vinegar and chile peppers, which are basically natural preservatives. The acidity in the hot sauce means they can last for years and don't really go bad. I found they get more vingegary the longer they sit around, but still consumable."

juneypur

Pro-level preparedness!

"PLANS - A plan for shelter in place - minimum ten days supplies of food, water and meds for person and pet in the household or who could be at your home (think older relatives). Presume electricity and running water are not operational (bucket/trash bags/ kitty litter for toilet), extra water for hygiene). Lighting (batteries/ flashlights). Foods that don't need lots of water or elaborate cooking. Manual can opener."

"Plan for sudden evacuation (in case of wildfire for example). Identify hotels 50-100 miles in each direction from your house, if you have pets / physically disabled person, make sure a hotel will accept them. Print out directions/phone number (stop relying on cells/ contact lists/gps). As soon as you get an evac notice, make arrangements to get to that hotel (with the following:)"

"Right now, go through each room of your house and identify one-two items in each room absolutely irreplaceable either sentimentally or physically. Tape a list of those items in that room on the door of that room so you don't have to "think" in a panic."

"For actual evacuation (now)- make a very short checklist of things to prep house - usually cutting off power / water / gas connections if you can safely and quickly. Make an evac pack or go bag for every person in your household including potential visitors AND for PETS. Shelters are getting better about taking pets but you should still be prepared to support their care (food, water, toys, leashes/collars with IDs, poop bags/ kitty litter). Human go bag - food, water, meds, clothing, small bedding, non-electrical entertainment (books, cards, coloring books, toys), charge cords, power strip, ear plugs, head phones."

"Shelters are a roof over your head; not a four-star hotel. It will be loud, crowded and stressful. Best is to be prepared mentally / physically and bring your own stuff so you are not such a burden. Be nice to shelter staff; most of them are volunteers with affected families themselves."

"In all cases, Lots of cash including coins and small bills (not just a stack of $100s). Misc: good pocket knife, duct tape, print out hard copies of anything important including phone numbers (don't presume cellular service is working). First aid kit include a good tourniquet and know how to use everything. Think self care, buddy care, medic care."

"If cellular service is still up - texts will get through on busy networks better than calls. I don't know the situation since so many folks are getting rid of true landlines, but it used to be (even three-five years ago), that you could reach another US region even if your region was ringing busy. For example, if you/disaster is in VA, you can't call someone in MD, but you could call someone in NV. We have identified a family member in each US time zone as a disaster point of contact to help with coordination and check in."

"Ready.gov and after action reports of disasters (non-secure available by internet search) are good sources of more information."

"Source: I am an emergency management planner with expertise in planning, training and exercises."

alulubaby

You kinda do need to stay entertained.

"Board/card games."

"A lot of the things mentioned here are very important and would definitely cover a lot of physical aspects of getting through it. I wanted to bring in some sort of entertainment not only to help pass the time, but also to serve as a bit of distraction from whatever is going on because your mental well-being is important too."

-eDgAR-

Good point.

Giphy

"FILTER. YOUR. WATER. I cannot stress this enough. A lot of people have suggested keeping a bathtub full of it which is a great idea and boiling it is too. But sometimes you need to filter it too."

LouisTheJollyPirate

Most people probably haven't thought of this.

"Cash. Probably $100-200 per person in ones and fives. Everyone else is going to have only credit cards and the few that have cash, will have twenties."

GoldenGirl925

Important stuff.

"Water and flash lights."

"When a large-scale emergency happens water and electricity are the first to go. It hard to remain safe if you cant see, hence why flash lights are so important.

"Water because once the water goes you purely don't have any. Unlike food because you will always have food around the house you can take.""

katebear88

GENIUS.

Giphy

"My grandma, who is a bit of a prepper, as cases and cases of cigarettes. She doesn't smoke, but always says she'll be able to trade them for whatever she needs. Genius."

OddMembership3

But not Shrek 3. F**k Shrek 3.

"Shrek 1 and 2 copies."

Vodkasas

Be sure to prep before disaster hits. Do you have things to add? Let us know in the comment section below

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

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

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

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

– Practical_Eye_3600

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

– bikergirlr7

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

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

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

– KingBooRadley

Remember

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

– AquamarineCheetah

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

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

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

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

– OhhGoood

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

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

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

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

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

– RandomSharinganUser

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

– Kolkeia

If Only

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

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

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

– drummerskillit

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

– Isitjustmedownhere

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

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

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

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

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

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

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

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

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

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

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

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

– We-R-Doomed

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

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

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

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

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

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

– LesPaltaX

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

– MoonlightKayla

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

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

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.