Redditor DaniTheLovebug wanted to hear about the "wisdoms" people shared that were the worst possible things to say.
So they asked:
"What life hacks are actually terrible advice or dangerous?"
I do my best with bad advice. But I've taken too much.
Don't be like me.
The Winner
Wrestle Romantic Comedy GIF by HBO MaxGiphy"Any street fight 'advice' that isn't 'it's not worth it, run away.'"
AltruisticTadpole898
"The thing about street fights the street always wins."
OldElPasoSnowplow
Just 5
"Absolutely anything posted by 5 Minute Crafts."
WeaverWitch
"I came in here just to mention this, particularly one video-- not sure if it was by 5 Minutes Crafts or another similar channel-- that tells you to microwave an egg for a quick meal. It will explode and send you to the hospital."
sagganuts18
"This is what I was gonna say. Those people are the worst."
babybiggfoot
The Cut
"When cutting bagels remember to put your finger through the stabilization hole."
Bruin-lb-31
"Took me a minute to work this one out. My eyes widened so much the person next to me in Starbucks just asked if I needed help."
OffTheRecord_Models
"I know this is a joke, but I had to legit tell my then eight year old that she couldn’t put her hand in one of those big grinder/chipper thingys because she would not, in fact, grow a new one when it got chopped up."
dixiequick
A Bad Transformer
"ANYTHING AT ALL involving a microwave transformer. Woodburning, metal melting, arcs and sparks, whatever. Those little sh**s will kill you before you even know you're dying."
NotInherentAfterAll
"I had to go to a CPR of a 33 year old who fried himself in his backyard garage using some jerry-rigged microwave welder. He had a wife and two young kids. All I could think was 'man what a STUPID way to die.'"
anoncop1
New York Rule #1
bruce almighty fire GIFGiphy"Setting up candles and clay pots to heat your room instead of turning on the radiator. That's how a lot of fires start."
halbesbrot
I'm always weary around candles.
Melted
Melt Love GIF by CubemeltGiphy"There was a big thing a while back about boiling water melting the ice on your Windshield. Someone else used this 'hack' for me and my Windshield cracked into a total spider web."
LeeshaLeSmart
"That you can make your own air hockey table out of a couple dryers and some pegboard. Remember, if women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
Dokino21
"Love how I instantly thought of Red/Green 25 years after watching that episode."
reddituseronebillion
"Gotta love that show. My dad played it once when I was a kid and for some reason red green making a cop cars siren a toy girl doll crying was hilarious. And that was my gateway to this show."
Project-SBC
A Close Shave
"Using a nail file to shave the edges of your teeth to make them straighter."
youcantsitwithus-
"I got hit in the face with a hammer, and broke some teeth. Used this trick (well, 120grit sandpaper) to smooth off the jagged edges to tide me over until I could see a dentist. Dentist said I did a perfect job, and didn't charge me for the visit."
clueless_cueless
"It's so weird seeing people do it as a trend. I've always had people comment on the bottom of my teeth being uniform and straight, but its from years of grinding my teeth."
washed_up_okie
down your drain...
"Line your sink with foil and pour the grease and fat in that. Then when it dries an hour later, you can just roll it up and throw it away. Use an empty tin can. Line any ceramic bowl or mug with foil and use that instead. Don't make your sink unusable for at least an hour. Don't risk the foil tearing and the fat going down your drain. Use some common sense here."
manderifffic
A Delicate Balance
Credit Card Money GIF by Pudgy PenguinsGiphy"Keeping balances on your credit cards and opening more credit lines makes your score better. I've heard this thousands of times and it's the exact opposite of what you should do."
jc456981
Lesson here? Always research "advice" before you take it.
Thanks for that tip, Alton Brown!
Reddit user 0_BREAD_0 asked:
"What's that one lifehack that ever since you learned it you used it?"
So Alton has us all upgrading our guacamole game, let's see how Reddit can help us grow.
It's A Race!
"Race the microwave or the kettle to get things done in the kitchen."
"It's amazing how much you can do in just a few minutes."
- zazzlekdazzle
"I'll add, doing this while things are cooking on the stove or oven also goes a long way for longer tasks like cleaning counters or floors or inside the fridge."
- spicy-avocado4306
20 Minutes
radio remains GIFGiphy"Clean in 20-minute bursts."
"Set a timer and just go HAM on an area in your house or apartment. Stop when the time is up."
"I ended up making a schedule of sorts where I do 2 of these bursts weekly for the kitchen/bedroom, and one for other rooms."
"Your living space becomes so much easier to manage."
- qisabelle13
"Do most things in 20-minute bursts, really. Outside of specific critical tasks that have other requirements. Wherever possible ~25 minutes or less of focused effort spaced out throughout the day tends to be more valuable and sustaining effort past that threshold can introduce diminishing returns."
- iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
"This is what I do. When I was younger, I'd watch my mom clean the entire house twice a week. She'd spend the whole day cleaning."
"Whereas I just take a few minutes a day to clean ONE area of the house."
- windinthesail
Shine A Light
"If something small, like a needle, falls on a smooth floor ( tiles, wood...) shine a flashlight at an acute angle over the floor. Even the tiniest items cast shadows easy to see."
- Boing78
"I feel so obtuse for not thinking about this."
- vitim_m
Say It To Save It
Whats Her Name Comedy GIF by CBCGiphy"When you meet someone for the first time say their name, at least, twice. "Good to meet you, Bryan." and at the end "Good talking to you, Bryan." You are WAAAAAAYYY more likely to remember their name next time."
- voice_of_craisin
"I usually forget their name before I can tell them mine"
- knovit
"I also will ask them to spell their name or repeat it back to them 'is that spelled John or Jon'."
- reganz
"God as someone who works in an education job and had trouble even remembering my phone number once upon a time, this is SO accurate! I usually also try to come up with a specific thing to associate a person with (I.e, if I might find out some kid named Blank likes Ben 10, and later on I’d remember, 'oh, that’s Blank, the Ben 10 guy!')."
- bubblessensei
Stay Hydrated Feline Friends
"You can get your cat to drink more water and prevent eventual fatal kidney issues by moving their water dish to a different room than it's food. Cats don't like to drink water right next to their food."
"I tried it one day and like 5 minutes later caught my cat gulping water like he had been in the dessert."
- Regnes
"Long story short: I accidentally trained my cat to drink out of a water glass. My cat now demands her own glass of water on the coffee table. I’ve created a monster, but I’ve created a monster that won’t have kidney issues. 🤷♀️"
- iono_maybe
"Getting a yule tree, and having them drink outta the water stand. Lol."
"But real talk, you can add things into the water too."
"Cats and other animals are more like humans than we care to admit. They like clean toilets, their favorite toys, and different foods and drinks."
"So, you can spruce your cat water up with catnip, cat-thyme, valerian, and chamomile herbs."
"As well as you can use your canned meat juices to mix into their water.I do this with tuna and chicken."
"Note: while it is a cliche stereotype, cats shouldn't be given fish, at least not raw. Should always be cooked, canned, smoked, or some other safe way to eat. Also, best bet to not give them any raw food. They can get food poisoning too. Especially true for cats that are indoors-only. They have less resilience."
- DaddyMelkers
Thank You
Sesame Street Reaction GIF by HBO MaxGiphy"Saying 'thank you' more and 'sorry' less."
"Like, instead of saying, 'sorry that I'm talking so much,' say, 'thanks for listening'."
"If someone does something nice, or thoughtful, or even just basic common courtesy, don't apologize for having them do it - that puts them in the position of needing to make you feel better. Give them the thanks that they would appreciate."
- zazzlekdazzle
"I'm a big fan of this one. "Thanks" instead of "sorry" leaves both people feeling appreciated, more confident, and less awkward."
- peter_ym_account
"For real. 'thank you for your patience' instead of 'I'm sorry this has taken so long!' Has saved me a lot of pointless conversation and reassuring. Things go wrong or sideways, you can't change that. You can change how you deliver news!"
- animal1988
Sleep!
"Sounds dumb but going to bed on time is pretty damn amazing. I'm happier, have better discipline (make better nutrition choices, more productive at work/gym) and I'm a more patient and pleasant human in general."
- lance2k2
"Not dumb at all. The person I am (internally and externally) when I get <5 hours of sleep vs 7/8 is surprising, for all the reasons you mentioned. I’m a great sleeper and fall asleep easily, but also very sleep sensitive in that way."
- massiejs09
"My life hack is similar to yours. To reinforce going to bed on time, I started to feed my cat canned food right before I went to bed. Sure enough, after only a couple days my cat made sure I know exactly what time it is every night, and often starts his bitching early, which is sadly helps."
- SeattleTrashPanda
Don't Over Do It
"Get up at least 20 minutes earlier for work or appointments than you need to."
"This reduces stress by not feeling so "pushed" to get out the door and to show up on time."
- Back2Bach
"Yep, this has definitely worked for me. I have to be to work by 9 most days, and I used to get up at 7:30 for years. A frw months ago I set my alarm for 7, and it has been a game changer. I don't even miss that half hour of sleep."
- DirtyBirdDawg
"This doesn’t work for me. I will take a little leisure time, either before or after getting ready, and then I lose all motivation. For me, I have to basically allow myself just enough time."
- hiding-identity23
Excited To Say Hi
Tom Hanks Hello GIFGiphy"Got this from reddit, but the thing where when you greet people with enthusiasm, eventually they start to be enthusiastic back."
- AlsdousHuxley
"My colleague replies with a 'Thanks!' with an exclamation mark, regardless of how trivial or insignificant the things I'm helping him with are"
""I feel like it makes me more receptive towards him asking me for stuff, and have started using it myself when asking other colleagues for stuff"
- BlitzAceSamy
No Glugging Or Mess
"This is really dumb but when you open a box of milk or juice and you pour it on the glass it always goes like under the box and it makes a mess, but if you flip the box and pour it backwards it doesn't do that."
"A friend taught me that like a year or two ago"
- arandomalbedofan
"The same idea works when pouring oil from a plastic bottle into a car engine. If you hold the bottle so the spout is at the top rather than the bottom, the oil pours smoothly rather than 'glugging' out. Hadn't thought of using it on a box of milk or juice, but it makes sense."
- retailguy_again
Yall ... I'm about to go change my oil and try this flipped bottle thing cause ya girl is a DISASTER about that.