One of my favorite safety tips is that an adult never asks a child for help. If an adult comes up to a young kid asking for directions, help with their car, etc. they probably aren't up to anything innocent.
Danger can strike in a second. The best preparation you can have for the unexpected is knowledge.
That's why Redditor u/classic-tomato asked people to share, "What is a fact that can possibly save your life?" Useful tips poured in that can potentially save you from anything from a fatal heart attack to a kidnapping.
20. The importance of Narcan
"Probably not your own, but definitely someone else's. It's very important to know that a drug called NARCAN (NALOXONE) can bring someone back from an opioid overdose. If someone you know is at risk for morphine, fentanyl, etc. abuse, Narcan reverses the symptoms, makes the person breathe again and saves millions of lives"19. Keep your car running smoothly
"It takes minutes to go to your car maker's website to search your vin# for any recalls. Maintenance involving recalls are free of charge at authorized dealerships"
18. Try not to run for the hills
Giphy"Most Australians would know this but.
If you are bitten by a snake STOP, don't move ! Snake venom moves through the lymphatic system which spreads through movement.
Obviously make sure the snakes not going to bite you again.
Take deep breaths and calm yourself.
Call for help
Apply pressure (anything you got) over the bite first and then the whole limb second."
17. Is this aimed at someone in particular? I can't tell...
"When you see a PANDEMIC coming at you, read the playbook. Or, better give it to someone who can read!"
16. Just, woah!
"You can do a tracheotomy on yourself.
I saw a man choking in a restaurant and nothing helped (This was before the Heimlich maneuver was well known). He grabbed a steak knife stuck it into his throat. He used his fingers to hold the hole open and was breathing. I really did not understand what he did at the time. Later I found out you have about 3-4 minutes max before you pass out and brain damage sets in. I learned what a tracheotomy was and how to do it. I hope I can do it if the need arises."
15. When you need to absorb something fast...
"If you need to get something into the bloodstream quickly that cannot be injected. Put it under you tongue, it gets to the bloodstream faster. Good for diabetic people that need some sugar FAST."
14. You're not getting super powers if your hands look like that
"In a thunderstorm, if you notice a peculiar blue glow on something nearby or yourself, get out of there asap, its St. Elmos fire and its a sign of high electrical activity, i.e lightning, if your hands are sparking when you hold them into the air, get them down, otherwise you'll get struck."
12. Don't stop for anyone
"When a strange car follows/stops at you, run in the opposite side."
11. Leave it for the doctors
"If you are stabbed, keep the knife in the wound in order to prevent blood loss"
10. Chew that aspirin
"When having a heart attack, you don't swallow asprin, you chew it."
9. The safety video tells you this
"Airplane depressurizes and the masks drop?
Put your damn mask on first, as instructed.
At 35,000 feet you have 30-60 seconds of useful consciousness.
Make it count."
8. Why would you stick around?
"Do not delay getting out of a burning building. The flames are not what will kill you. The smoke will get very thick and toxic very quickly and you will not be able to see the way to get out."
7. For making a get away
"This obviously won't work all the time, but if someone grabs you by the arm, don't pull away - twist your arm instead.
Your arm goes (nearly) all directions but their wrists won't."
6. Drowning is silent
"Maybe not your life, but someone else's. Most drowning is silent. The victim quite literally cannot speak to call for help, as they are too desperately trying to get any air at all. Drowning can look simply like a person bobbing in the water until they no longer come back up. Keep a watch out. Especially if it's kids."
5. This deadly condiment
Giphy"Soy sauce is deadly if consumed in large quantities at once. So no stupid soy sauce dares or challenges please."
4. Know about secondary drowning
"If you ever almost drown to the point of throwing up water or passing out, even if you feel 100% fine, get to a hospital. Your lungs can unwittingly self-fill up with fluid over the next few hours."
3. New Zealand's great emergency number system
"This is a New Zealand specific one, but all emergency numbers work here. The official number is 111. But 999,000,911, etc. will all work. This is so that tourists can still reach emergency services easily."
2. An escape plan
Giphy"If you're being tied up, puff yourself out as much as possible so it'll be easier to wiggle out of. Tense muscles, inhale deep and stretch out your arms and legs to make more space."
1. This extremely alarming vomit
If your vomit look like coffee grounds, you are bleeding internally you need to go to the hospital.
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" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.
Reddit user direwolf107 asked the folks at r/AskReddit about their profound encounters with strangers, and got some wonderful answers.
10.
I was about 16 and getting the bus home from school. It was always super crowded and and you'd be really lucky to get a spot on before the driver closed the doors and drove off. You could wait 4 or 5 buses before one came along that you could get on.
Anyway, me and my friends had been really lucky that day and managed to squeeze on to the first one, just about. The lady behind us started begging to be let on, saying she had a job interview. The bus driver said he was sorry, but the legally couldn't because of how many people were on. He kept asking us to move down but there wasn't any room and people were starting to get mad and telling him to just go. The woman started sobbing. It was about 2010 so we'd all been hit really hard with the economic crash, and jobs were hard to come by.
Like, it broke my heart. It was the first time I'd really seen an adult publicly in such distress. So my friend and I just got off and she got on. We didn't even look at her or exchange any words. The bus was free for teenagers, all we lost was 30 minutes that we would have normally waited anyway. But my parents were fairly comfortable, I'd never had to face how bad things were before. It feel like a big moment for me.
I still think about her from time to time. I hope she's okay, I hope she got that job. I can't imagine how it must have felt to be that desperate.
9.
I was on my way back from Disneyland Paris, sat in the airport and a guy beside me was typing away on his laptop. A little curious at what he was writing I peeked over and saw the title "the last letter I'll ever write". I was frozen for a few minutes, im 24 and I had absolutely no idea what to do. I thought maybe he was a writer and if I ask ill look stupid. Eventually though I turned round to him and said, "Look man, I really hope I'm making a fool of myself, but are you OK?".
Turns out he and his long term partner had broken up, and they were meant to be coming on this holiday, that he'd now come on with his dad. He blamed himself, and he'd been going to therapy for a while to get out of a a pretty dark place but some days were better than others, and writing the letters was an exercise from his therapist.
We chatted for a bit, about her, his dad, me, life in general. Turned out his brother lived nearby me and frequented a coffee shop right by where I used to live.
Eventually my plane got called, and we hugged and I told him I really hope things get better for him and that at the very least I'd had a lovely time talking to him. We left there and I still wonder what happened to him. I hope he's happy now, I hope that he's managed to find some good in the world again. But I guess I'll never know for sure.
8.
When I was a kid, I flew by myself for the first time. At the airport, when I was about to check in, I spotted an elderly lady looking at me. Deeply. At first I thought I accidentally hit her or something, so I asked if she needed anything. She nodded. Didn't give it much importance so I just checked in and headed to my plane. Later, already on the plane, I see the very same lady, looking for her seat. Of course I helped her and asked her what number her seat was. She handed me her ticket. "B37". I'll never forget it because I was the C37. She sat right next to me. I was scared. I was a kid, and I wasn't used to coincidences. Anyway, long flight.
When we arrived and were waiting for the plane to land for us to head out, she finally says "You know, you really look like my daughter, I even thought you were her! But she passed away 5 years ago, silly me. Here, this is her with my grandkids". She handed me her phone with a zoomed in picture. I was paralyzed when I saw her.
She looked EXACTLY like me. But she was 28 and I was 10. I couldn't even talk. Now that I am older, every time I look in the mirror for my birthday, I remember that lady and the picture. I am a living photo of her daughter. Every year that goes by, is a year that I look more like that woman in the picture.
When I turn 28, I hope this memory will finally scare me less.
7.
GiphyA stranger I interacted with at Wall-Mart about 4 years ago is still engraved in my brain.
I was with my mom shopping, and we found ourselves at the yogurt section. I love this stuff, so I was looking around at all the flavors pretty carefully. Well, after a little while a searching, a older man came up and started also searching through as well. He was maybe mid 40s or early 50s. I remember him being really tall, and he had a resemblance to my features. He had my build, same skin complexion, same hair color, you name it.
As we're searching through, he chuckles and says how he's gotta find the perfect flavor, and I agree with him. It's like our little mission to find the best kind - it was a lighthearted feeling just searching through the brands and flavors with him. He asks what my favorite flavor is, and turns out we had the same favorite. I thought that was pretty cool.
A little bit more looking through the section goes by, and he introduces himself as John.
My name is Jonathan.
He then found the ones he wanted, which were the same brand as the ones I was getting, and he put them into his cart, smiled at me, and rolled away.
I have not seen him since, but every time I remember the story I can't help but think that there's always a possibility I met my future self - even if it's just a silly idea.
6.
When I was fresh out of college I drove over two hours away for a job interview and got into a car accident like a block away from the building. My car was completely totaled. A woman who was stopped at the stop sign near my accident pulled over and got out to make sure I was okay. I was completely fine physically but have very bad anxiety and immediately had a panic attack. I was sobbing and couldn’t catch my breath and this complete stranger sat with me the entire time telling me to breathe and just being so caring and supportive. She waited with me for the police to come, she helped me talk them through what happened, she called my mom for me, she even called the office I was on my way to so she could let them know about the accident and that I would call them to reschedule my interview. As if that wasn’t enough, once she found out that I was that far away from home and it was going to take my mom two hours to get to me, she CANCELLED HER MEETING THAT SHE WAS ALREADY LATE TO SO SHE COULD DRIVE ME HALFWAY.
She did not think it was a big deal whatsoever. She just stepped up to the plate to help without question. I would have been completely alone and lost without her that day. She was an angel, honestly. I lost her business card between all the paperwork from the accident and I've been kicking myself over it for the last five years. All I want is to call her and tell her how thankful I am and that I've kept her in my thoughts ever since. Roxanne if you're out there, thank you so so much. And please for the love of god send me your last name so I can send you some flowers.
5.
GiphyI was having a rough day and I thought I'd get an ice cream to cheer myself up. I was standing in the line and this old lady looked at me and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine and just had a rough day. I got up to the front to get my ice cream and she tells the cashier, "I've got this young man, he's had a rough day". She smiles at me and says enjoy your ice cream. I still think of her whenever I have a rough day. I send her my good vibes.
4.
An old man I overheard telling his grandkids that if their dad got accepted to the job he was interviewing for in town, they would move there and then they could visit each other all the time. I never even saw the guy interviewing for the job but I really hope he got it
3.
A year after graduating from a tiny college on Idaho, I was at Disneyland with a high school buddy. I was totally convinced that I saw a college friend, Adam, in line at Pirates of the Caribbean. I kept waving at him, but he looked at me like I was out of my mind. My high school friend tried to talk me down, saying that "Adam" clearly had no idea who I was...it's not him...everyone has a twin...yada, yada, yada.
The line finally snakes around to where I am standing right next to "Adam" so I tap him on the shoulder and ask "hey, aren't you Adam M?" And he says "no, I'm his twin brother Aaron"
34 years later and I still tell that story at parties. I only met Aaron once, in 1986, in line at Pirates, but I do wish him...and Adam...a very happy birthday on Facebook.
2.
I met my husband's doppelganger once. The man looked EXACTLY like my husband. I was eith someone at the hospital waiting for their medical transport to pick us up and I saw who I thought was my husband across the street. My husband was supposed to be at work so I was confused. I called out to him but he didnt respond. My patient and I walked over to him but I stopped short a few feet away because I started to realize maybe it wasnt actually him. His clothes were different and this man was assisting someone in care giving type role -my husband absolutely would not do that.
The guy noticed me staring at him and so I explained why and even showed him a picture of my husband. He swore that was a picture of him and this was all some practical joke. I had to show him pictures of my husband and I together for him to realize the pictures were not of him. This man could have been his identical twin. I often think of that encounter and how insane it was. I also think of the astronomical chances that not only did my husband have a doppelganger but that we lived in the same city for a while and I happened to cross paths with him.
1.
Once I was walking to work past a homeless shelter pickup spot. It was a sunny day, middle of summer. A small lady was standing on the sidewalk wearing rain boots, a yellow raincoat, and wrapped completely in a blue vinyl tarp. As I walked by her, she leaned into me, looked me in the eye and said, "...fish monster...?"
I still think about her. Did she think I was a fish monster? Was she concerned that I had seen a fish monster? Perhaps she felt I was unprepared, and her questioning tone was more about if I'd heard about the potential of fish monsters.
Such a surreally complex interaction in just two words. One thing I know for certain is that whatever the fish monster status was, she was clearly the best prepared of everyone present.
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rockonyou717 asked, "Redditors, what is the worst thing you've ever had to experience?"
Professional Opinions
"I was stung by a Tarantula Hawk once and it was 5 minutes of the most excruciating pain I've ever felt.”
“Like, it sucks so bad the official medical advice for getting stung is to lie down and scream until it's over so you don't accidentally hurt yourself."
-- TheSorge
When a Child Mourns it’s as Confusing as it is Sad
"Good friend of mine committed suicide. We were 13. Just walked into a dead quiet school. Seat next to me was empty in 5th period. Nobody sat there the rest of the year."
"Still have the sticker she gave me a few weeks before she passed. I miss her so bad still."
-- BeeboIsHigh
A Gradual Slipping Away
"Taking care of my wife as she suffered from Alzheimer's. She was beautiful to the very end." -- OldGeezer
"Your answer broke me." -- _i_want_to_go_home
"That's one of the most beautiful statements I have heard in my life.
"As an older guy myself, who has struggled w the thoughts of 'poor me, poor me,' it's uplifting to know there are people like you and relationships that exist, where love or commitment or compassion, last until the end." -- norfolk-gentlemen
First Sadness, Then Rage
"My best friend was murdered when I was a kid. He had a twin sister. We were like the 3 amigos."
"After he was killed I fell into a deep depression and started having sleep paralysis. Killer was caught and felt zero remorse at trial. I wanted to kill the guy."
"His sister and me never recovered our friendship."
-- dbeey270
Pragmatic, Often Unmentioned Details
"Pulling my grandpa's life support 2 days after Christmas. He gagged for air for 30 minutes until he died. My whole family was there."
"He had a massive brain hemorrhage in his sleep the night before. Brain dead on arrival at the hospital. Totally healthy until then."
"I had a shot of whiskey with him 2 days earlier."
-- westdan2
Plugged In and Powerless
"I woke up during an upper endoscopy while intubated. I didn't fully wake up, I just became conscious. Couldn't move or open my eyes."
"Had about 2 hours of feeling like I was suffocating while they finished the procedure."
"Had nightmares for a month and still don't sleep well."
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...“Well I’ve Had Quite Enough of That.”
"I was on a fire department for a few years after high school."
"A decapitated 3yr old at a car accident, dad through the windshield, basically eviscerated, and the mother with barely a scratch but screaming bloody murder."
"It broke me and I quit a few weeks later."
-- KingBrinell
The Great Scism
"In 2016 I had a tooth removed in the back of my mouth and the hole got infected causing an abscess that pushed my teeth apart."
"When I went to the hospital they told me if I had waited a few more days it would have split my face and broken my jaw."
Dinner for Two
"5th grade, had a parasite for 9 months. Didn't know I had it or what it was, but it was just awful. I skipped nearly that entire school year."
"I didn't eat anything except an applesauce every other day or so. Barely any water. Always had an upset stomach but nothing to throw up, so I often threw up bile which made my throat and mouth feel all burnt."
"I didn't do anything but puke and try to sleep. Didn't talk, didn't watch TV, nothing like that. It hurt way too damn much."
The Poison Cure
"Being diagnosed with cancer and going through chemotherapy during this pandemic. I am young, and was healthy and extremely active before all this. I never got sick."
"The cancer was tough enough, but now I can't even see my friends or family who kept my spirits up."
"I'm terrified I won't make it out of this mentally the same, if at all. Each chemo decimates my immune system. Even a regular cut that gets infected could be life threatening."
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That's so scary.
I almost got kidnapped once. I was like 23 or so.
I was walking down my street at a little after dusk. I saw a van approaching a little ahead, no lights on. Didn't think much of it due to the time of day.
The van slowed down and almost started creeping, as I was approaching this part of the sidewalk which had a tall solid wall fence to a community. This gave me some pause in that quick moment. For me to keep walking, I'd have to go between the wall and the van.
In the little time it took me to take a couple of steps, and as the van was getting close, I noticed that the side door was slowly sliding open.
The one thought in my mind was, why isn't the light turning on inside the van? When you open the door of a vehicle, the light should come on inside it. Unless you deliberately switch that off.
And I just ran to the median, I ran in front of the van and across the street... because if they're gonna have some use of roadkill me, have at it.... but they're not getting me in one glorious piece.
Immediately, the van took off like someone lit it on fire. From a slow crawl to full speed. As I looked after it to see the plates... I noticed it had no plates. And still no lights.
I called the police, of course. They sent cars out and didn't find the van. I never had anything like this happen again and I'm just an ordinary person, so I don't suspect it was targeted. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Spooky.
GiphyI get really bad vibes from the car park in work - it's a giant, poorly lit multi-story and I've seen enough horror films to know I shouldn't be taking it lightly. Whenever I get in, I pay attention to the floors people call the lift to to keep an eye on where they're going.
One time a guy got in in front of me and pressed 6, while I was parked on 8. He didn't get out at 6, and was still in the lift as I got to my floor. I leave, he doesn't... so I guess he's remembered he's on another floor, but just before I get to the dark area with all the cars, I turned back. This guy had waited about 30 seconds (therefore held the lift to wait) and silently emerged to follow me. I just stopped and stared him down. He had a deer-in-the-headlights look and turned straight back to the lift.
I have no idea if it saved my life but it freaked me the f*ck out!
Holy crap.
When I was around 18, I was on a backroad with some friends and a girl I didn't know was driving really fast. Now, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and I have always enjoyed a calculated risk in the name of a good time, but on this occasion I told her to either slow the f*ck down or let me out. I literally had to start screaming at her before she listened and slowed down.
A week later she crashed on that same stretch of road at 90mph, killing her, and the three passengers of her car.
Smart of your wife to suggest that.
A pain in the lungs when I inhaled. I've never been stabbed, don't know what it's like but the pain should have been equal to it, if not worse.
It had happened before, years ago. Some hot water in the shower and the pain was gone.
My wife (then girlfriend) insisted on going to ER. I insisted on hot water. "I feel like we should go and see a doctor", she had said.
I was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism on both lungs. Doctor said "1 or 2 more hours and you were gone".
So yeah, I owe my wife one.
That's lucky.
GiphyMy now wife and I did the long distance thing in college, and I planned on doing my normal routine to visit her, leave Chicagoland in the morning, get to her early afternoon on Friday. Well I'm closing my store on Thursday night, and get a feeling I should leave that night. So I said 'F it' and left that night.
A little after lunch on Friday, tornado sirens go off. I don't think anything of it until I head back home Sunday, and drive through a town about half hour north of her. It got lit up by the tornado. I quickly realize that I had left at my normal time, I woulda been smack dab in the middle of tornado.
Oh my God.
Few years ago I was at a bar with a couple of friends. All was good, we were drinking and having fun.
All of sudden, we heard this discussion taking place just a couple of tables from us. Two guys decided to have a shouting/threat match.
I stopped everything to pay attention to them. My friends were making fun of me, saying I was gossipy.
One of the guys in the discussion got up and left. Immediately after he left I told my friends we had to go. Now. Let's gtfo now!
They didn't get why I was like that, but I'm their friends since forever, they reluctantly agreed.
We went to a different bar in a different neighborhood but I couldn't take my mind off of those two guys.
The next day, the news were talking about a bar fight. Apparently the guy who got up went home, grabbed a gun and came back for a drive by. Killed 4 people in the process.
My grandpa taught me to never ignore my gut and I couldn't be happier to have listened.
Good on your mom for standing her ground.
My mum knew something was wrong with me when I was younger, Drs didn't want to see me for another 2 weeks. Mum went into a blind rage over the phone telling them that she was taking me to get checked whether they liked it or not....
We got to the GP, he puts a stethoscope on my back and smells my breath. Then says "We need to get him to hospital NOW."
Turns out I have type 1 Diabetes and if I'd waited another day I would have died.
That's terrifying.
GiphyA few weeks ago.
I had just left my apartment complex and was heading to a friends. I pulled out of my driveway and up to the traffic light and stopped, I was in the left turn lane, light was red. It was late out and there wasn't many people on the road. I watched as the light went yellow, and then red for through traffic, one guy ran the tail end of the yellow, like usual.
My turn! Light goes green, I have an arrow blinking for me to turn left, I looked both ways and there was no one around, and I just didn't go.
I can not explain what happened other than something inside me just said DON'T GO, so I sat there staring at the green light. A couple seconds later a car came screaming through the red light, through the intersection, probably doing about 100km/hr, in the lane I would have been turning in to. They were going so fast their vehicle had a bounce to it. If I had turned my car would have been destroyed, and me along with it.
I sat there through the whole next light cycle and then turned, pulled over and called my sister. It was a ghostly feeling. I am a light jumper, I look both ways but I am impatient, and I can not explain what stopped me from going the second that light went green, but I'm glad it did.
Bless that fifth doctor.
Lump in my right breast. 43 years old; clean mammogram 5 months earlier. I just knew. Four different doctors told me it was nothing and to come back in a year. I did not and found a 5th. Yeah, I had to argue my way into being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.
On the bright side, Thursday was my 5 years all clear date!
Nope.
I was at the county fair when I was younger, like eight or nine. I wandered off from my parents and I had an odd feeling that I was being watched, but I ignored that for some reason. This man had followed me up and down the walkways of the expo hall we were standing in. As he started to get closer, I got this overwhelming feeling of fright.
I called for my dad and I could tell it startled him — he promptly turned and changed direction from me.
A really quick thing but it's stuck with me all these years.
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An important lesson.
Being so damn worried about what other people think of me ALL of the time. Always comparing myself. Always afraid I'll look stupid. Always. I feel like I've missed out on so many opportunities because I'm afraid of judgement.
At one point in my life I realized if something embarrassing happened to someone else I spent maybe 2 seconds thinking about it and then I moved on. I think it's the same for everyone. Since then I don't care about what others think of me anymore.
Oof.
GiphyNot telling one of my oldest friends how I felt about him because I was afraid to lose him. When I finally tried to seize the opportunity, my friend announced he was seeing someone.
He still doesn't know and we haven't seen each other in 6 months, my fear led to the exact thing I wanted to avoid
Equally bad decisions.
Marrying someone I thought I knew, only to find out that she would take literally the first opportunity she had to cheat on me. Or maybe the bigger regret is getting the wedding date tattooed on my chest. They both ended up being rather bad decisions.
Don't do this!
Staying at a job I hated for far too long.
It really does destroy your mental health. Waking up at 8am every Monday and just being miserable about what your day is going to be. Not being able to sleep Sunday night because you don't WANT to wake up on Monday morning.
There are too many abusive companies out there. But trust me, there are also companies that will value you as a person.
This.
GiphyNot making the most out of my childhood and teenage years.
High school was a 100% waste from top to bottom. Both socially and academically.
Tell your parents you love them.
Not spending enough time with my dad.
This comment made me realise how little time I spend with my dad. I think I should go talk to him.
Live it up while you can.
GiphyNot dating more when I was younger. I kept putting it off and making excuses. Now it's nearly impossible to meet single people.
Why do I feel the same but I'm 26? I am literally the only single person in my entire department. It's depressing.
Achieve those goals.
Not setting goals and trying achieve something when I was in my 20's. And instead just following the path of least resistance and ending up where it took me.
I got lucky and landed in a great situation. When I look back with the benefit of hindsight, I realize had I put my mind to it I could have been almost anything.
I heard a great quote about education and age. Someone was talking themselves out of going back to law school and said, "I'd be 35 years old by time I finished". They were told, "you're going to be 35 either way, you might as well be a lawyer too".
I realize the message is mixed about not doing it when I was younger and also it not being too late. But they're both true and good advice.
Be proud of your growth.
Being an a**hole and a "nice guy" to girls in high school. I cringe when I remember how I acted back then.
The fact that you cringe now is a clear indicator of how much you have changed and evolved as a person. At some point we have to forgive ourselves for our past behavior and do what we have and make a positive change. I commend you for not being "that guy" from school that never grew up and continued to be an odious toad.