As humans with autonomy and knowledge, we try to protect ourselves as much as we can. However, accidents do happen, and while we can expect the unexpected, we can't always protect ourselves from it.
Because there isn't always a defense, people sometimes have a close brush with death. They experience something that could've killed them but, by some miracle... didn't.
More people have stories like that than we expect.
Redditors are no exception and, in fact, were eager to share their close calls.
It all started when Redditor XboxCorgi asked:
"What has been your closest moment to death?"
Minding My Own Business
"Was sitting at my computer on the ground floor playing TF2 when a car came through the wall, smashed my desk and computer and almost killed me."
– caulkhead808
"I can’t imagine just chilling playing a video game and then the next second a car comes through my wall."
– RoutinePeach8752
Swim Parallel To The Shore
"I almost drowned in the ocean in Hawaii. I had swum out from shore, started getting tired, started swimming back but the current was pulling me out to sea! Scary as hell. I started to panic, but I remembered that the side stroke is the one that takes the least energy, so I started doing that and for 10 or 15 minutes just went back towards the shore. I wound up a few beaches south of where I had started! I had to walk north to return to my group."
– Snoo-35252
"I almost died like this in Panama when I was in the Army. Some of my buddies and I tried to swim out to what we thought was as an island from the beach, got halfway there only to realize it was a volcanic rock and that the waves crashing against it would surely crush/drown us. As we’re treading in murky pacific water something very large bumped against my leg (I suspect it might have been a shark but cannot say for certain as I never saw a fin). As we tried to swim back to shore we were all caught in a rip current, swimming towards the beach but going nowhere. As my friends and I ran out of steam to the point that we were panting faces barely above the water I put my foot down onto a coral reef or volcanic rock where I was able to catch my breath and then help my friends over to where I was."
"Eventually made it back to shore after swimming sideways out of the rip current, but that is legit probably the closest I’ve come to death."
"Unfortunately years later I had a friend in the army stationed in Hawaii who kayaked to an island, his boat got pulled out by the tide, and when he swam to get it he went under and never came back up. I knew we’d had a close call, but when that happened it really sunk in how incredibly stupid what we did was."
– MotoGeno
Twister!
"Joplin tornado in 2011. I was in the bathtub as my house was destroyed around me."
"Edit: I was taking cover in the bathtub, not taking a bath."
– m48a5_patton
"There was a tornado 15 years back or so in Oconto County in WI and a bar owner told us he had no shelter so he got into his bath tub and his house (trailer?) was destroyed around him. He says when it calmed down and he sat up there was a deer standing nearby looking at him and he said, "well buddy, I guess we made it.""
– arriesgado
Incredible Luck
"The light was red so I put my car to park because it was taking a while longer than usual. It went green and I forgot to take it off park, but as soon as I put it in drive a semitruck ran a red light."
– laxmagic
"Mate, that is f*cking terrifying. I can actually picture the scene and imagine the sound of it rumbling past, possibly horn blaring. Thank goodness for that little brain fart you had."
– Ecstatic_Ad_7104
"A Fart That Saved My Life"
– TheImpossibleBanana
Not All Heroes Wear Capes
"Was working on an oyster boat. It was a beautiful day and we were sorting oysters on the boat of the deck. All of a sudden I felt the gentlest of taps on the back of my skull. When I turned around I saw my supervisor, red-faced with the effort of restraining the metal boom, which had come loose and almost slammed right into my head. He was able to slow it down just in time so I only got that little tap (guy's basically all muscle). If he hadn't done that I would have been dead for sure."
– Valahar81
A Terrifying Vacation
"I went to Mexico in 2017 and nearly died my first day there. Was all good, having fun, having a few drinks, nothing too crazy though. Went to my room in the evening, and suddenly got a bad stomach ache that just got worse and worse with each min that passed. I also got feverish and delirious pretty quickly."
"I remember for some reason I decided a shower would be a good idea, and that's where my gf at the time found me heaped on the floor screaming in pain. I vaguely remember a paramedic stabbing me in the a** with some morphine which allowed to calm down. (Was not all the fun its cracked up to be, just made me sleep)"
"Get to the hospital, and they quickly find out that im going septic from a stomach infection. A few more hours and Id have been dead. Spent 3 days there, lost 30 pounds and could only eat soft fruit for about a week after."
"I also got the worst strep throat on the plane ride home too... my immune system was already weak, so it was horrible. Made me cough so much that blood came up. That was another hospital trip when I got home."
"The doctor who oversaw my care in Mexico was the most amazing doctor though. He spent the first 36 hours with me to make sure I was Ok, didn't eat or sleep or anything."
"Edit: I didn't get the infection in Mexico, I brought it with me. Doc said it had been building in my system for at least a week from the strength of it."
– Youpunyhumans
Think Fast
"I was around 3-4, picked up a live electric wire on the ground to play with. Got electrocuted immediately. Good samaritan grabbed a wooden stick and hit it out of my hands. People told my me later that they told my dad not to touch me because I was probably gone. That good samaritan saved my life. Acted when no one else did."
– champsgetup
"Wow insane that they knew what to do. I don’t think I’d be able to think that fast the correct way to save someone in such a situation."
– missilefire
Unspoken
"When I was real young, I was with my family at a hotel in Virginia (not sure which), but it had a decent sized pool.
"We were swimming in it, and my family went over to the deeper end. Not knowing how to swim, I stayed at the shallow end. After a while, I started feeling left out cause it looked like they were having fun, so I started to make my way over, hanging onto the edge."
"Dumb little me got careless, and my fingers slipped off the edge, and I started drowning pretty quick. About 5 seconds later, I get hoisted partly out of the water by a big Mexican lady, and she sets me on the edge of the pool. I hacked and coughed for a good minute before I walked along the edge to my family.
"They never noticed, and I never said a thing about it to them since."
– ThatThingTerran
Sugar Sugar
"I had undiagnosed diabetes for about 6 months, my blood sugar was in the 500's, I got to skip the line in the emergency room the doctors were so scared I was going to go to a coma."
– ThatOneTubil
"Hey, fellow diabetic here. Same story but my sugars were apparently over 800? Doc said the only reason I wasn't admitted straight to the ICU was cause I walked into the hospital instead of being brought in by an ambulance."
– Whit3Mex
Super Speed
"I was 7. My family had just arrived back home from watching The Incredibles in theaters. I decided to try and run like Dash around the whole house."
"I ended up running through the kitchen toward the back door that led to our back yard way too fast and couldn’t stop. This door had a window in it, and when I put my hands out to stop myself, I ran into the door and my hands went through the window."
"My parents heard the crash and called out for me to ask if I was ok. I came walking out of the kitchen into the living room, blood pouring from my wrist. I was in a Disney princess night gown too, so it was honestly like a scene from a horror movie."
"We lived in a remote area, so when my parents called the ambulance, it couldn’t find our house at first. My mom had to run out and flag down the ambulance while my dad was applying pressure to my wrist with a bunch of towels to try to stop the bleeding. The ambulance finally got to our house and the EMTs were able to get the bleeding to stop and take me to the hospital."
"I lived! The scar is pretty gnarly."
– turtledovefarts
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls
"Waterfall hiking. Dipped my foot in on top and was immediately swept under and over about 3 waterfalls. Was very lucky to land where I did. Still have a chunk outta my leg to this day."
– mystery_leaf
Miraculous
"I was on the back of my dad's motorcycle and he had a heart attack and blacked out. Bike went over; I hit the ground headfirst. Luckily he felt something was wrong and slowed down, so it wasn't nearly as close to death for me as it was for him, but it was still super scary. Thank god for helmets."
– zapatodulce
"dam did you r dad survive too?"
– GetaGoodLookCostanza
"He did! This was about 10 years ago and he's been taking good care of himself and hasn't had more heart problems!"
– zapatodulce
Despite the happy ending, that might actually be the worst one, and that's saying something!
Danger lurks around every corner.
That is just a simple fact.
It's obvious that dark alleys in the dead of night are not a great idea.
But where else should we be on alert?
Let's discuss...
Redditorbeginnerlife22wanted everyone to be on the lookout for danger, so we survive another day. They asked:
"Which dangerous places should everyone avoid?"
I find danger anywhere and everywhere so my list of places is long. Help me lengthen it...
The Streams
do the right thing water GIFGiphy"Fast moving water."
Important_Outcome_67
"Working at a hydropower station and cant believe how ignorant some people are, fishing while standing on rocks right below. If they fall they are 100% gonna be flushed down the stream."
JedXander
Pulled from Death...
"Monastery Beach in Monterey, CA. Going into the water can kill you and the waves have pulled people from the shore to their death."
_zydrate_
"My old roommate wanted to go scuba diving AT NIGHT in Monastery, f**king crazy. I went along just to get out of the house, I’m not even scuba certified. But then he said to me, and I’ll never forget this, he said: 'if I’m not back in an hour, call rescue and keep the car,' Most anxious hour of my life waiting for him to come back safe, he made it though."
pf27_lda
Wildlife
"When the park service tells you not to go somewhere, listen to them, especially regarding hot springs in Yellowstone."
Fantastic_Rock_3836
"Also in regards to wildlife. I saw an article of a person who got gored by a bison recently at a national park because they got too close."
coolishmom
"And don’t bring your dang pets to Yellowstone. Too many dogs jumping in the boiling hot water."
FallPsychological635
Spots
"The blind spots next to and behind big trucks."
HawaiianShirtsOR
"True, i prefer to start my overtake some distance behind the truck so they have a chance to spot me in the mirror. I also avoid to linger next to the truck and generally try to keep my distance. A 50 ton semi will make my little civic very flat if it crashes into me."
Mjarf88
Be professional...
"Kayaking or any water rafting type support with amatuers. Many people die due to carelessness or not knowing safety precautions."
MaximumRabbit5276
Well thankfully I've avoided most of this list most of my life.
No Way Out
season 6 friends GIFGiphy"Sulfur vents. You get nose-blind to the smell almost immediately. If the concentration gets high enough, you will asphyxiate. If you fall in, you may die from the steam burns before you asphyxiate, though. Either way, you ain't coming out."
Sttocs
Below
"Caves. I know spelunking is a "cool hobby" for some people, just like scuba diving and rock climbing. But things can go so wrong so fast when you're in a subterranean cave, and it can be really difficult for anyone to come rescue you."
"You can die by falling, by getting stuck, by a cave-in, by getting lost, by getting caught in a flash flood and drowning... just so many awful ways to die in a cave. (See: John Jones dying in Nutty Putty cave)."
Clara_Coulson
On the Field
"Old battlefields. You should never cross an an old battlefield even if it’s from decades ago, and seems 'safe.' There could be landmines hidden and you could end up with a limb blown off, or dead. It can be very difficult for someone to rescue you because there are landmines and it’s difficult to know where to step, and most battlefields are abandoned or far away from civilization."
"You can die by being exploded of course, wound infection or bleeding out (if limb was blown off), starvation and thirst. Either way, just don’t do it."
NimbleVaseline
They are drowning machines....
"Low head dams on rivers. They are drowning machines. You fall off the dam, or swim too close the the downstream side where the water spills over- there is a circular current. It draws a person into the water fall; waterfall pushes the down to near bottom and shoots you down stream, but not enough to get out of the cycle. If you lived through it and surface, you are pulled back to the waterfall again."
Popcorn53
Velocity Issues
celebrity GIF by Brimstone (The Grindhouse Radio, Hound Comics)Giphy"Please stay away from rails, people always underestimate how fast trains are."
RedandAlive
Has everyone listened? Be smart, not stupid.
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