Life-Threatening Situations First Responders Wish People Knew How To Handle Better
Reddit user PeachMilkshake2319 asked: 'First Responders of Reddit what is a terrifying situation that you wish more people knew how to handle to result in less casualties?'
When I was about 16 months old, I fell asleep in my high chair with a piece of toast in my mouth. No one noticed I had a piece of toast in my mouth, so it was panic-inducing for my parents when I suddenly woke up because I was choking.
Luckily, my mom knew what to do in this situation and was able to make me cough it back up. When my mom told that story a few years later to her paramedic friend, the paramedic said she'd seen a lot of children in fatal situations because their parents weren't able to help them while they were choking.
First responders have seen a lot of bad situations that could've been avoided if people educated themselves to handle them better.
First responder Redditors know this all too well and are ready to share their advice.
It all started when Redditor PeachMilkshake2319 asked:
"First Responders of Reddit what is a terrifying situation that you wish more people knew how to handle to result in less casualties?"
Here I Am
"Have your address clearly marked & lit so responders can get to you quickly... every second counts."
– Ten7850
"So many of the tips here are wilderness survival, and I can't argue those will help."
"But coming from a kid that's suburban raised and city for the last dozen - this hit me hard."
– pnwWaiter
When You're Alone
"How to perform a heimlich on yourself, you're a goner without a doubt if you're by yourself and food gets too stuck."
– Personalberet49
"When I was 13 years old I was choking on a bit of hamburger in my grandparents house while both of them were out of the house. I had to get up against the lazy boy and give myself the Heimlich maneuver. Finished the burger though it was tasty."
– Mewtoy
"On this note, if you’re choking on something and coughing, lean forward over your knees with your head down. Let gravity help clear the blockage, rather than trying to fight it."
– Catfishers
Please, Make A Scene
"It is way too common to find people choked to death on toilet stalls at restaurant. By instinct they don't want to disturb others and seek a place where they try to get whatever is stuck on their throat out. Please, if you are choking, try to get help and let everyone know that you are in trouble."
""Oh I don't want to embarras myself and ruin peoples night, so I'll just die in the toilet" is a wrong mindset in that situation."
– timippa
"I’ve had 3 instructors mention that it’s mostly women who do this too. Women are (in general) raised to not make a scene and are more likely than men to go to the bathroom when choking."
– Anoif_sky
Don't Cut It Off!
"Limb amputations. Easy to save someone with a tourniquet. Keep a few in your car, know how to apply them. It can save your or someone else’s life. Tons and tons of blood dumps out of an amputation."
– tibearius1123
Better Safe Than Sorry
"Treat every gun as if it’s loaded."
– RangerDangerfield
Stumble And Fall
"Friend of mine is a police officer in his home city. If your friend is drunk get them a cab home. DO NOT leave them to take the train home. He always tells me 90 percent of the people he gets run over by trains are drunks who fall into the train tracks."
– Cool_loser69
No Water Please
"Caveat - do not drink water that smells or tastes rancid or contaminated. Chances are it will make you vomit, causing you to get even more dehydrated."
– KristjanKa
Verify, Don't Trust
"Also don't entrust a drunk/incapacitated person to the care of someone you don't know. Don't trust their tinder date or an uber driver to get them home safely. That's how people go missing or get assaulted."
– notreallylucy
Check, Never Assume
"Ex-EMT here. We’re talking 13 years ago."
"It’s not a great idea to put the pedal down as soon as the traffic light turns green. Wait a couple extra seconds. That first 2-3 seconds when the light turns green is a GREAT time to get nailed by some idiot blowing through a red light."
– CDC_
"The only assumption I make when driving is that everybody else on the road is an idiot."
"If you assume they're an idiot, you can be more prepared for stupid stuff they might do"
– Raxsah
"I’ve always said “assume every other driver doesn’t know what they’re doing, where they’re going, where they are, or how to operate their vehicle”. Thus far, it’s been a success."
– EveryFairyDies
"My dad always told me"
""75% of people on the road are blind and stupid. The other 25% are actively trying to kill you""
– WhiteWizardDD
Allergies Kill
"How to inject an epipen!"
– readitpaige
"Don't put your thumb on the end of the pen! Great way to stab yourself instead (although if you're stabbing yourself anyway an EpiPen to the thumb is still better than nothing)"
– TerribleIdea27
"Haha in my EMS class the day they passed around an EpiPen, my teacher was literally saying "and just so y'all know, that EpiPen is hot, so whatever you do, don't put your finger--" and got cut off by "OW!""
"Calm as a cucumber, he continued, "--and now yall're gonna practice vitals on our newest victim!""
– TrailMomKat
Be Prepared
"I’m not a first responder, but my wife was a trauma nurse (now PACU) and we’ve found ourselves in some not ideal situations in our travels."
"Take an AED/CPR/First Aid class, bonus points for Stop The Bleed (it’s often free!). That will prep you for the majority of stuff you’ll encounter. Have a good first aid kit on hand at home and in your car."
– hipsterasshipster
You Are Not Immune
"If everyone in a room/vehicle/building is unresponsive, DO NOT ENTER FOR ANY REASON. If you see someone collapse after entering a confined space, DO NOT ENTER FOR ANY REASON. If you see a person collapsed near a potential chemical spill, DO NOT ENTER FOR ANY REASON. Overall, if it killed them, it will kill you."
– garfieldlover3000
Strapped In
"Wear your f**king seat belt"
– Shamefullvaper
"And make sure others in the car also wear their seatbelt."
– FueledByFlan
"I literally won't move my car until everyone inside is buckled in. It's one of the few things I've been a stickler about my whole life."
– TUNGSTEN_WOOKIE
Some of these (especially that last one) seem simple, but they are all vitally important!
Sixth sense, hunch, spidey senses tingling, or gut feeling: no matter what you call it, we all have had that feeling at one point or another. Not everyone is as in tune with that feeling as some, but when we have that feeling it's important to listen to it. It could be life or death.
Science tells us that there's actual physical feelings associated with the gut feeling due to our gut-brain connection. Signals from our brain can actually cause intestinal signals to bubble up. It can come in a moments notice. Sometimes feeling a little like anxiety or even "hearing" a voice in your head telling you something might be off.
Healthline says:
"Research links these flashes of intuition to certain brain processes, such as evaluating and decoding emotional and other nonverbal cues."
We might need to listen to our gut specifically to protect ourselves. It's that intuitive knowledge that keeps humanity alive for centuries.
Antonia Hock, global head of The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center said:
"Instinct is a powerful data point that can be a treasure trove of untapped generational knowledge in decision making."
Redditors shared their life-saving moments when they listened to their gut and trusted it.
Redditor TheGaySussyBaka asked:
"What's a gut feeling that saved yours or someone else's life?"
Intuition could save a life. Let's read some true stories about gut feelings that made all the difference.
It was worth being late to the party.
"Years ago, my wife and I were driving on the expressway that was under major construction. Traffic had slowed quite a bit and I saw a plume of smoke ahead. As we drew closer, I could see it was the beginning of a Carbeque, but the driver was still in the vehicle."
"I did a death defying move to cross multiple lanes of traffic to pull over, despite my wife's protests about being late to the event we were headed to."
"I approached the car, which was just starting to produce visible fire from the wheel wells and opened the door to the car. The guy was conscious, but in obvious shock and was unresponsive. I had to reach in to unbuckle him and pull him out of the car. Within seconds of me getting him out, the driver's compartment was completely engulfed in flames."
"In that moment, that's what your wife was thinking about?"
"I don't think she had malicious intent. She's just nuts about being everywhere 5 minutes early. She assumed the guy would get out of the car and all would be fine. I didn't get that feeling."
"Tipsy" driving is still drunk driving.
"Do not get into a car with someone who says 'they are just a little tipsy.'"
"The guy who was trying to convince us that he 'was totally fine to drive' didn't die that night but he did have to spend a two years learning to walk again."
"My story isn't as bad as that but I'm pretty sure I saved a friend from getting arrested for drunk driving. She'd been hanging out at my fraternity and had at least a couple drinks. She said she was going to drive to the bar, but I told her I wasn't going to let her and would find someone to drive her. But everybody else had been drinking. I hadn't, but I also didn't have a driver's license at the time (not for nefarious reasons, I just didn't get one until I graduated college)."
"Refusing to let her drive, I told her I would. She got in next to me and even though I hadn't driven in awhile, I drove slowly to the bar. After I pulled in to the spot, I finally noticed that there had been a cop right behind us. Luckily he drove off. But the cops in our college town were notorious jerks and even if she had been below the legal limit, she probably would have been arrested. But she was fine and I drove her back to her apartment after we were done."
"Also later found out that the car I was driving wasn't even hers - it belonged to her sorority sister. So there's a good chance I prevented her a) from getting arrested, b) getting into a bad accident, c) damaging her sorority sister's car or d) all of the above."
"You're really burying the good part."
"You prevented her from possible troubles by driving a stolen car without a license right in front of a cop."
Listen to your parental gut feeling.
"My son has leukemia and is on chemotherapy. He was just...off. Looked paler than usual and something just felt odd. Turns out chemo had obliterated his blood so much it might as well have been water and he would have died within days. Two blood transfusions, five days hospital and two weeks off chemotherapy and he was on the mend."
"I went into traumatic shock and the one thing that pulled me out was a debrief with my doctor, who told me I had just saved my child's life with my maternal instinct and never doubt it. Fast forward a few months and he got an infection and that same odd feeling woke me up. He spent a week in hospital that time."
"Parental instinct is there for a reason. Don't doubt it. When you feel it, it's not like feeling a concern or worry that something might be wrong... it's a deep primal knowing."
"My wife had the same thing happen with our 3rd kid. 3 days old. Something was off for her. She had a feeling, called the pediatrician and tested his blood sugar with her kit since she was a gestational diabetic. It was in the basement. Like the oh f**k basement. Verge of coma basement. Doc had us call 9-11 and they would have life-flighted him to a bigger hospital had the weather not sucked a**. Spent 9 days in the NICU. Now he's a wild 5-year-old boy. She 100% saved his life."
- Fleadip
"When I worked in peds, this was the mantra among the nursing staff. If mom (or dad) thinks something is wrong, something is wrong! You know your kid better than anyone else in the world."
"This is so true! When I had appendicitis, my doctor tried to send me home saying it was the flu. If my mom hadn't insisted something was seriously wrong, I might be dead. It was hours from rupturing when they removed it."
People Share The Most Selfless Thing They've Ever Secretly Done | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
A near miss.
"Scenario- driving myself and 2 coworkers back from lunch. Didn't immediately go when my light was green as I got this weird knot in my stomach like something was gonna go down. Car next to me went forward and got slammed into a brick building and post by a speeding car that went thru his red. Some debris rained on my car but basically was left unscathed. Shook but unscathed."
"My friends make fun of me for this, bc the 'light is green lol' but I've been involved in that type of accident, and am only alive because my dad, who was driving saw it in time to slam the gas and make them only hit the bed of the truck."
The man in the truck.
"This is before cell phones (think beepers). I went out one night and was meeting my bestie half way between my house and hers. I noticed this truck drive by me and he slowed down to a crawl. Another car was coming so he kept going. My spidey senses were triggered though. I saw my best friend and I grabbed her and pulled her into an old shed at an abandoned house. I shut the door quick and told her to be quiet. There was a space so we were able to see this truck coming."
"She is whispering rapidly to me asking what is happening. I told her that I had seen that guy a few minutes before and he made me nervous. He slowly crept down the street, pulled over and got out with a flashlight. That's when we saw the gun. The most terrifying thing, it was only moments, but felt like hours. He finally took off, but I was hesitant to leave yet. We stayed there for about 15-20 minutes and he came back 4 or 5 times."
"Finally we heard our names being called, her older brother and his best friend had come looking because it typically takes 10 minutes to get from my house to hers. I am convinced that she and I would both be dead if it wasn't for that shed and me trusting my spidey senses."
Caught it just in time.
"Was hanging out with my brother who was visiting from a few hours away. We went to one of his highschool friends house to shoot the sh*t."
"My brother's friend had a kid who was literally bouncing off the walls. After one bounce I heard a little scrape behind me. I looked behind me to see the 8 point deer head mounted to the wall just in time for another bounce."
"I snatched that head out of the air just about 3 inches from giving the kid 4 stab wounds to the skull."
"I was at a party my house was hosting back in the day. We had a back area that had a door leading to the backyard, the door swung inwards. Someone was bent over putting their shoe on and I heard someone coming up the stairs to come in. As soon as the handle started turning, I put my hand over the door to stop it coming in. The person putting on their shoe was so shocked because no one else noticed the door opening and their head was right near the handle. Maybe not exactly saving a life, but a solid concussion at least."
"Peacefully riding my motorcycle."
"'I don't think that guy is going to stop for that stop sign. I'll slow down just a little bit so he'd miss me if he didnt.'"
"Guy flys through intersection at 100km/h."
"'God wanted me to live this day, I see.'"
Don't cross just yet.
"This happened like a year ago but I still remember it clearly. I was walking to school and there was one of these roads where there's a little place in the middle for pedestrians to stop for a moment."
"I was waiting not at the pedestrian stop but at the edge of the road. This guy in a car gestured at me to cross the road but my gut started screaming loudly at me to not go. He didn't even have time to roll down his window before the guy behind him crashed right into the back of the first guy's car sending two cars skidding right across the road and over the pedestrian stop thing. Avoided something big there."
- chxaki
"Where I live it's called 'wave someone to their grave.'"
"Right of way is important. It's not 'polite' to give it to someone else, you want to be as predictable as possible in a car. In situations where someone stops and tries to give me right of way, I'll flat out refuse. They usually get frustrated with me because they stopped in the middle of the road for nothing, but that's their fault. I could've just waited the 2 seconds for the car to go by."
"If it's a pedestrian crosswalk it's required by law (I assume in most states) to yield to pedestrians. Even if you in particular would rather wait, many people will stop out of fear of getting a ticket."
"Sounds like it was just a regular road with a pedestrian island. People who give way randomly and trying to be kind, but often cause frustration and delays that would have been avoided if everyone had just followed the rules. The only exception would be politely allowing merging in bumper to bumper traffic."
Maybe not instinct, but good timing.
"Not much intuition but lucky instincts haha."
'I was in the car with my sister (7 and 5 years old, I'm the oldest) while our mom was buying something at the drugstore (we were parked in front of the shop, she usually took like 5 min, take the meds and back). She closed the car but we could still open from the inside."
'So I get a major urge to PEE. Urgent like now. I decide to go to the shop and ask to use the bathroom (we lived in a small town and the people of that shop know me, and in the end I was a 7 yo asking to pee. And It was like a few steps away from the car)."
"Well, so I take my sister, open the door, and when we are like a few steps away, a drunk driver crashed into our car. Destroying it totally. The people from the shop came to see and our mom was in shock, but calmed down when she saw me and my sister in one piece."
"You can imagine, all tears and relief. That much that I wet myself."
- Freyjann
Checking on a friend.
"I felt like I really needed to check on an old lady i sometimes give company to. She was having a heart attack in her house."
"How'd you get in? Were you able to see her from a window or something?"
"She left her front door opened. Like just wide open which she never does."
Decided to stay home.
"In 2015 there was a fire in the Colectiv club in Bucharest, Romania during a rock concert. It was free entry and me and my friend were supposed to go but at the last minute i decided not to. I just don't know why. I called my 2 friends and boyfriend saying I'm not going anymore and decided to meet at my place instead. 27 people died that night. The total number was 64. We lost 3 people we knew very well, it was a disaster."
"So sorry to read that."
"Wow. That's just wow...."
Toddler tantrum.
"Might not have been deadly and might have been a coincidence, but judge for yourself: when I was a kid I loved to go on walks around town with my aunt. One day I absolutely refused to cross the street to pick up some drinks at our usual corner store. Apparently there was a 'cat demon' inside the corner store who would kill us (in my defense I was about eight years old an obsessed with a fairytale/ story where a cat demon sets out to kill a hunter)."
"While we were standing on the sidewalk arguing about corner store demons, a driver lost control of their car and crashed next to the store. Nobody got hurt, but my aunt and I might well have been if we'd just crossed the street without me making a fuss."
"The only time toddler tantrums helped."
A fish almost started a fire.
"I'm not sure if this counts, but when I was younger I had this white betta fish named Dovey, one night I had an extremely vivid dream about waking up the next morning and finding her dead, as well as a very VERY strong urge to wake up! I woke up and went down the hall to check on her. She was lying on the ELECTRICAL SOCKET near the tank!"
"We always kept the tank a few feet to the side of the sockets and never directly in front of them in case some water splashed out, but I guess she jumped out and landed on one of them! I'm not sure if the small amount of water on her would have been enough to start an electrical fire if it got into the socket but safe to say I'm glad I woke up when I did! Also she was alive and had only a minor injury to her side where she landed on the socket."
"OK just wow on that one!!! I've never heard of that kind of connection with a fish before. Glad everyone was okay."
"You heard her commit seppuku in your sleep and your unconscious mind knew she was in danger and woke you up. Also you had probably, consciously or not, observed over days behavior suggesting she was thinking about taking the death leap."
"I don't know honestly, fish usually Leap out of the tank as a desperate attempt to find cleaner waters but since this was a live planted 10 gallon tank I don't think that was the case, I think she may have been startled by a small earthquake or my mom's dog."
Bad Tinder date vibes.
"I had befriended a very troubled girl when I was 18, she was two years younger and had horrible parents, horrible friends, and horrible judgement. She was on tinder (pretending to be 18), and showed me some conversations with a guy in his early 20s that she was planning on meeting. I told her I could not pinpoint why, but he gave me bad vibes. There was no red flags in the convo, but I had a horrible sense of dread about it (beyond the anxiety of her pretending to be an adult on tinder). Her nasty lil friends ended up convincing her I was jealous, so she went on the date anyway, but took some pepper spray I gave her."
"I was 100% correct, he followed her to her car after she cut short the very bad and creepy date, grabbed her, and she pepper sprayed his a**, and drove away. We aren't friends anymore (had to realize at a certain point that I am not a therapist), but I hope she's made better choices since then."
There are a few things you'll need to do to learn how to trust your gut. Part of it is recognizing when your gut is trying to send you signals. Body awareness, emotional awareness and cognitive processing is something that can happen intuitively, but we have to know how to recognize it.
Pay attention to when it is intrinsically emotional or when it might be clouded by bias. Know the difference so you can make choices that make the most sense for the situation.
And practice! Find ways to listen to your body and emotions and put the skills to the test.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Alright y'all, buckle up--it's time for a NSFW post. Kinda. But like, it's a useful NSFW post, so that means we won't get censored, right? Right?!
Some of the best advice can also be the weirdest, grossest, or most awkward advice to give. But trust me, being gross can pay off sometimes. U/ImposterIsRed asked:
What's a tip that's NSFW but can save your life?
Let’s start more lowkey, because if you want the best advice, you’ll have to buy us dinner first.
Practice makes perfect.
“If someone is trying to smother you with a pillow, stay very calm. Don't fight it, and turn your head to the left or right. Most smothering deaths are due to the panic rather than an actual loss of air.”
“You know, ever since I was a kid I'd practice this very thing. I always knew in the back of my mind that if just have to pretend to struggle for a bit and then pretend to pass out/die and wait for them to take the pillow off. Just lay there, hold my breath and pretend to be dead. Then, when the coast is clear-ish, make my sloppy grand escape.”
Anything to not die, I GUESS.
Angry Aubrey Plaza GIF by Parks and RecreationGiphy“If you get stabbed with, or impaled on, something sharp and the item stays in you, don't try and remove the item - no matter how instinctively appealing it might be to try and remove it.
The item remaining inside you will increase your chances of reducing blood loss, not developing shock, and staying alive.”
Don’t even f*ck on ‘em.
“If you go to any hotel, no matter how clean the floor and bedding might be. DO NOT SIT NAKED ON THOSE CHAIRS IN THE CORNER OR AT THE DESK. DON'T EVEN HAVE SEX ON THEM ON EM.
THEY'RE THE DIRTIEST PART OF THE ROOM.
Hard to clean a chair than a floor and bedding."
Balls are funny.
“You better believe it's preferable for a doctor to laugh at the lump on your balls that is nothing instead of getting testicular cancer.”
“I built up the courage to get that weird sensation down there checked. The doctor was unavailable, so his replacement comes in and its a guy I went to High School with LMAO. Talk about awkward, but he was very professional and the thing turned out to be a minor infection. So yeah guys, if I could do it then you can too.”
Alright, you asked for it, and we’re delivering. Here are some useful tips for all things steamy.
By steamy, I meant extremely useful.
happy the simpsons GIFGiphy“Condoms can hold up to 3 liters of water if necessary.”
“How much water can they hold if it's not necessary?”
Stay safe.
“If your partner ask for no condom, assume all their previous encounters has been without protection. STD are no joke. Also, if something looks or smells weird, go away."
“A partner that insists you don't need a condom is a very good reason to use a condom."
Well. Sorry if that wasn’t the steamy content you were looking for. But hey, now you’ll be safer in bed. Now let’s get weirder.
Please don’t do this, omg.
Sick Vomit GIF by CBSGiphy“Flared bases, people. Flared bases.
My mother is a nurse and once had to look after a guy whose "friends" stuck a toy where the sun don't shine on his stag do as a "prank". It proceeded bounce around his insides, causing a ruptured bowel as well as a number of other problems. A ruptured bowel can kill you. This guy was lucky.
While his situation was particularly extreme and illustrated the need to choose your friends carefully, this can happen to anyone who is using the wrong toy or the right toy incorrectly.
Hell, this doesn't even have to just refer to sex and/or sex toys. Always be safe and use the right tool for the particular job."
Huh. Good to know.
“If you are ever the victim of a Chlorine Gas attack...
Pee into a towel or handkerchief or something that will retain the urine and use it to cover your mouth, nose and eyes while you search for an exit.
The urea in the urine will neutralize the chlorine gas, rendering it inert, giving you time to save your own life.”
Alright, that's it for some NSFW advice! And if you came here for actual NSFW content….what's wrong with you?
Moral of these stories: never underestimate the power of your own pee. It's amazing what urine can do.
Saving a life - especially your own - might just be as simple as knowing what to do (or not to do) when you find yourself in a bad situation.
One Reddit user asked:
What is a little known fact that can save you from a life-threatening situation?
And after thousands of responses we've noticed a trend. A lot of the most useful and expert-approved tips involved learning to fight against your instinct.
Someone drowning? Your instinct is to jump in and help, but all you're doing is putting yourself in danger. Toss them something or reach with something first.
Lost? Your instinct is to try and find your way back, but wandering around often makes things worse. Staying put is best, but if you must wander, leave yourself a little trail so you can find your way back to start. You don't need to get yourself doubly lost.
Other tips, like "the trucker seatbelt thing" were just as useful. So here we go, let's learn how to save a life.
Don't Stop Running
In the extremely unlikely event you are attacked by a swarm of bees, most adults can typically just outrun them, especially if you run into the wind. Do not stop running, some bees will chase you for up to a quarter mile. Do not try to hide under water, they will wait for you to come up for air.
- XYZ-wing
A Swift Exit
Know where the exits are.
Absolutely a top answer. Anytime you walk into a building, you should always find all the exits and have an idea of how to reach them in case of an emergency. Which one is closest, if that one is blocked which is the next best option, etc.
Don't Jump In To Save The Drowning
drowning GIFGiphyUnless you have training don't try to rescue someone drowning by swimming to them, use something to reach out for them to grab onto. They will grab onto you out of fear and not let go and you may drown with them.
- GooseNYC
Knowing this fact actually stopped me from trying to pull my wife down with me! I dont know how to swim, but she is a fantastic swimmer so she convinced me to jump into the lake. Well I did. But I did not expect myself to absolutley panic the millisecond I touched the water.
I started going nuts, thinking I was going to drown. I was desperately trying to swim. So she jumped in after me. The feeling to just grab on to anything and push my head above water was SO overwhelming. My brain was in complete survival mode. But I remember this very fact and it took all the will-power I had to stop moving and to just let her drag me up to the surface. It physically hurt me to counteract that feeling.
So, this fact is 100% true. Do not underestimate someone's survival instincts. They WILL try to do whatever it takes, and that includes taking you down.
This is one of the first things they teach you as a lifeguard. I have had to pretty much fight people (lifeguards are literally trained to punch you into compliance if needed) during rescues because their brain is pretty much off. It's all instinct at that point for them and they'll grab onto anything their brain thinks will float.
Spoiler alert, humans don't 'float.'
- bjanas
Click It
If you have to sleep in a car, you can loop your seatbelt through your door handle loop and click it in for extra security.
Learned that from a truck driver
Thank you for this. Seriously. I'm a woman who finds herself sleeping in parking lots more and more unfortunately and while I always try to pick more populated areas just in case something happens bros will be a good trick to have.
Eye Contact
People commonly say not to make eye contact with people in sketchy places. However, eye contact takes away the element of surprise, which is often an attacker's first weapon/advantage.
I usually walk with purpose and make sure I acknowledge everyone's presence by looking briefly in their direction. No aggressive eye contact but I want them to know there is no element of surprise and I've seen their face.
After a brief look, I move my gaze to the side. Never downwards as it could make me looks scared or inattentive.
Ghost Gas
Carbon monoxide can travel through walls.
I had to look this up as it doesn't seem possible. All the studies I found just say it can pass through drywall and that's seemingly it. But it doesn't say why, what type or how.
As a college science major, I'm wracking my brain trying to figure how the hell can a gas move through a solid. My only guess is that the dry wall's molecules have holes large enough for small CO molecules to pass through. But that would also mean, many other small gasses can too?
Finding The Highway
forest woods GIF by truTV’s Adam Ruins EverythingGiphyI don't know if it's true everywhere, but where I've been in the western states it's a general rule.
When lost in the woods and you find a logging road, the intersections at a t are generally not 90. The least sharp turns almost always point back to the highways. Full logging trucks don't turn as easily so the less sharp turns are usually on the way out.
__ \ ___ --> highway this way.
Use The Tool
Awareness is a tool. Use it.
When you walk into a place you've never been, take note of everything around you.
When you meet someone new, pay attention to them.
When things are sketchy in any way, pay attention to them.
If you keep attention at all times, you'll rarely be surprised by anything.
Miranda
Remember what the Miranda Warning says..."anything you say can and will be used AGAINST you."
They will never use what you say to your advantage only to harm you. It's not their job. They are part of the prosecution. It is your defense attorneys job to protect you from the prosecution - which includes the police.
We think of the police as being there to help us but once we are arrested we are treated as a criminal and their job is to get information to help the prosecution. Even if you're innocent they will use what helps them and leave out what helps you. Every step of what they do is to find you guilty. It's never to find you innocent. That's not what the system is there for. It's best not to give them anything to use against you because they will use it against you. So don't say anything.
Whiskey To The Rescue
This is something that happened to me a few years ago.
After a week of heavy drinking me and some friends were in the back of a car heading home. We were sleeping off our hangovers when I reached over groggily and gulped down a few gulps of my water. It took me a couple of seconds to realize the water was blue.
In fact it was actually antifreeze in a water bottle that he had kept in the back. Antifreeze is tasteless and so is actually easy to drink. I immediately panicked and let everyone know I'd just drank poison, we pulled over and I tried to make myself sick repeatedly but I couldn't due to my adrenaline even with fingers down my throat.
I recalled in my college biology class that antifreeze itself isn't poisonous, it's what it breaks down into, if you can drink something that stops that from happening then you're okay. I distinctly remember my teacher telling me that alcohol gets a priority pass when ingested after antifreeze and you should immediately drink it if this crazy situation should occur.
I ran to the boot and started chugging straight alcohol that was left over from the weekend, I think I drank a half bottle of whiskey which was probably too much. At the hospital they actually gave me a tiny bottle of Smirnoff I think.
I was quite hammered the rest of the way back singing songs in the car while my mates all had bad headaches, my hangover was delayed for a day and probably a lot worse but at least I didn't die.