While ignorance may be bliss for the ignorant, it can annoy the heck out of everyone around them.
Ignorance can come from both a lack of information or too much incorrect information.
Redditor rockytheboxer asked:
"What common misconception infuriates you?"
I try to be calm. But anything can infuriate me.
So let's chat.
Lies
Cat Zoom In GIF by Paul TrilloGiphy"That you can zoom in on a digital picture and it gets more clear."
skotgil
Not Simple
"The Dunning-Krueger Effect."
"It's not as simple as dumb people overestimating their intelligence while smart people underestimate it. Once you feel 100% certain in your knowledge, all new information looks like misinformation. Once you believe yourself an 'expert,' you're far less receptive to facts that contradict your position. Self-doubt is what keeps your mind open; the nagging sense that what you 'know' might not be true is what motivates intelligent people to keep pursuing knowledge."
"Studies even show the DK Effect actually horseshoes."
"People at the very bottom and the top tend to over-emphasize their own intelligence. When leading scientists are disproven by new discoveries, it's not uncommon them personally reject the new science. The 'Nobel Disease' describes when Nobel Prize-winners go on to become quacks, believing their 'genius' qualifies them as experts in things outside their expertise."
Rowan-Trees
37
"Life expectancy. People think hundreds of years ago you died at 40. Completely false. Infant mortality was extremely high so the average is skewed. If you made it out of infancy you had a pretty good chance of becoming old."
boludo1
"So much this. If half the people born die at age 2 and the other half die at 72, the average life expectancy is 37, but that doesn't mean 'everyone died at 37.'"
bulbaquil
Higher Levels
"'If they give me a raise at work, I'll bump up a tax bracket, and I'll actually make less!!'"
Mymoggievan
"Oh man, I just came here to say this. Had a high-level staff meeting last week to discuss how our company will be changing from weekly checks to bi-weekly."
"The uproar, because they were gonna get 'taxed more' was hilarious. I literally had to draw a crude graph for folks who’ve been on this Earth for decades longer than I have in order to explain how a progressive income tax works. My eyes are still rolling."
Bokuden101
Ruined
Angry Season 3 GIF by Paramount+Giphy"O.C.D. is not some cute obsession with cleanliness and order. It can ruin lives and comes in many forms."
Leeser
"I also hate when people play armchair psychologist."
Leeser
There is such a thing as too clean. Right?
Colors
season 1 friends GIFGiphy"As a colorblind person, I don't see in black and white. I have no problem driving. And I will never play the 'What color is this?' game. Not ever."
Midnight-Ran
'women’s work'
"The quote 'well-behaved women seldom make history' is frequently misquoted. Professor Laurel Ulrich stated this in a 1976 essay that details how women in early America have been lost to history as their stories weren’t considered important by those who wrote history."
"Her quote is not meant to minimize the lives of women who perform stereotypical 'women’s work' such as mothers and wives, but to stress the issue of women’s voices being lost in history."
"I think it’s important to support women who do not live within these archetypes, but not at the expense of women who enjoy being within these roles. Ultimately, having the voices of diverse women and gender-diverse people documented in history is incredibly important - which should include both 'well-behaved' and rebellious women."
littlepinch7
Communication
"Introversion and social anxiety are NOT the same things."
"Not every introvert has social anxiety or is a poor communicator. Stop lumping people together and just calling it introversion."
"I’m introverted. I know how to communicate well. I just don’t want to with you."
bumpty
Evil
"That the symbol of the upside-down cross is satanic, evil, witchcraft, etc. I see so many Catholics and Christians going off on people who have upside-down crosses on clothes and stuff because it’s 'evil.' No, it is not. The upside-down cross comes from Peter, who decided to be crucified upside down because he felt he was not worthy of dying in the same fashion that Christ did. It is a symbol of honor, love, and respect for Jesus."
Love Dies
In Love Hearts GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"People like to believe 'there's someone out there for everyone' but honestly this just isn't true. Or that we only have 'one true love.'"
awkward-fox-patrol
Everything makes me mad.
But life goes on.
Every now and then, we fork over a rather large sum of money to buy something which we think will have a positive impact on our lives. This could be anything from a new home or car, an ice cream machine, or a super big flat-screen TV.
At the end of the day, we find ourselves justifying the purchase as money well spent, no matter how much damage the price tag inflicted on our bank account.
However, not all purchases which could have a hugely positive effect on your life require a loan or a second mortgage to buy.
Sometimes, something we find on sale or a discount store might prove to be the very thing we were missing all our lives.
"What’s something $100 or less but is a total game changer?"
For Safety And Sanity.
"Musicians ear plugs."
"Mine cut down the sound level by 2/3 or so and I use them at every concert, but also on the subway, at loud bars etc."
"They don't make things sound muffled, just quieter."
"Your ears can't regenerate, ever, and my work depends on my hearing so I gotta keep 'em safe."
"And my pair only cost about $25 Canadian!"- bjackilly
No Change Of Getting Tangled Up!
"Under-mattress clips to keep your bedsheet from coming off at the corners."
"It was recommended to me on Reddit and remains one of my favorite possessions."- Nepentheiii
Your Wrist And Fingers Will Thank You Later.
"Nintendo Switch Pro controller.'
'Huge difference over the joycons."- BocTheCrude
Video Game GIF by Fall GuysGiphyThe Good Kind Of Pressure
"A nice shower head."- Astrosloth92
When You're Not Ready For The Sun...
"Blackout curtains."
"Especially if you work second shift or graveyard."
"The quality of sleep goes up so much."- Fourloken
Three Simple Items, One Life-Changing Result
"Vinegar and Dawn dish soap in a spray bottle."
"It's absolutely 100% the best cleaner I have ever used."- evilpigclone
Window Spraying GIF by Leah DubucGiphyLet There Be Light!
"An electric, USB chargeable lighter."
'I don't smoke, but I do light a lot of candles, use it to light my fireplace, etc."
"No more dealing with the stupid ones that run out of fuel or whatever."
"Or the little tiny ones with the rollers that I could never freaking get to work."
"Plus there's no flame to blow back at you."
'If something pushes against the electrical current, it just goes out."- beepborpimajorp
Office Mobility
"Roller blade wheel casters for your desk chair."
"Quieter, smoother, and don't damage your floor."
"I finally just got some and I love them, 20$."- bingwhip
Surf With No Interruptions...
"PiHole."
"It Basically blocks every ad in your home network from loading."
"Combined with an ad-Blocking browser extension you will experience the internet on another level."- schobaloa1
Internet GIFGiphyIt's The Little Things That Get You, And The Thought That Counts.
"I bought my dad a $2 letter opener and he acted like it was the best gift in 20 years."- writingwrongs
As the saying goes, money can't buy happiness.
And it's the simple things in life which make us truly happy.
It's important to know that everything and anything can be addictive.
And we're not talking about the obvious ones you see depicted in films and movies.
You can be online too much to the point where it impacts your personal relationships.
You can exercise too much to chase those endorphins.
People can take anything to extremes.
We have to be careful.
Redditor mobstersquid wanted to discuss addiction, in all forms. So they asked everyone:
"What's something addicting that people don't realize is addicting?"
Rage
Angry Inside Out GIF by Disney PixarGiphy"Hate. Constantly trying to find reasons to hate."
nunchaitae
"Everybody wants outrage straight to their veins and Lord help anyone who calls them out on it."
2drawnonward5
Security
"Being sad or angry. It’s like a security blanket and if I don’t have it, who am I? It’s addicting and comforting being angry and sad."
TVkillyourTV
"It's the worst, because the downside is huge but the upside is so fleeting. You need to keep seeking out things to be mad about or you get that post-righteousness drop back to mere normality. Took me a looooong time to get over it. Contempt, hate, condescension, and judgment are the world's cheapest drugs."
ANewMachine615
Neverending
"The last chip you keep eating."
herpderpgood
"I have diagnosed OCD and I'm really bad about this because it's like the last one doesn't feel satisfying enough and then before you know it my stomach hurts because I went beyond being full, took me awhile to have self control over this so I wouldn't hurt myself."
Medical_Season3979
"I firmly believe that potato chips are broken up so much that it forces people to eat them by the bags. The only potato chips that can consistently be measured in calories is Pringles because they're in a can and actually have chips."
simajae
Let's Talk
"Chatting/Constant exchange of messages and communication."
drawnandchill
"I think this is mostly because the time you spent chatting with some one is suddenly gone so you feel really funny about it."
"One way to combat this is to find something else to fill your time, like a new hobby. I used to have late night chats with a friend for extended period of time and on days that I don't, I experience a bit of anxiety... keep checking the messenger over and over again. Take your mind off and do something else."
warofexodus
Do Sour
steve sugar GIFGiphy"Sugar. It’s in almost everything, and people don’t realize it. It’s addicting."
Fear_Full
Sugar will end us all.
$$$
Pay Me Kim Kardashian GIF by GQGiphy"Making money."
"Oh wow I didn't know, sounds awful. Can you tell me how to do it so I can avoid it?"
BabylonsDissidence
Alone
"Being alone and staying home."
Situation-Candid
"Yeah, I work remotely and live alone. Like 98% it’s fantastic (sometimes I do feel very lonely). I wonder if I’ll ever be able to go into an office or live with someone again."
"I suck at dating because I get really anxious about the thought of being away from home for a night or having someone spend the night. Even with friends, I’ve offered to have people stay over on a few occasions and deep down hope that they don’t stay."
OrangeTree81
Love Me
"Getting attention/compliments."
"How do I know? Personal experience."
"Because f**k the only thing I live for is trying to get as many genuine compliments as possible. I want people to like me and my ideas, and I'm tired of lying that I don't."
PsychologicalTear899
Nasal Fun
"Nasal sprays for colds/congestion."
reddirich
"After being addicted for like 10 years, I mentioned it to my family doctor without much hope. She was shocked I never said before, and prescribed me Flixonase (Fluticasone Propionate Nasal) for 14 days. It really helped, and I never used oxymetazoline again."
alteredxenon
Teeth Out
nervous spongebob squarepants GIFGiphy"Biting nails (I know it weird)."
forkshape
"Oooh I feel this. I bit my nails so bad they bled until my late twenties. It took so long to break the habit. I finally managed to do it by stopping one finger at a time rather than all at once but it was incredibly difficult."
prinkes
I feel attacked. Do you have anything to add to this list? Let us know in the comments.
India Arie sang "It's the little things and the joy they bring" twenty whole years ago (go ahead and take a moment to process that. We OLD, fam!) and the lyrics to that undeniable bop are still just as relevant as ever.
Except maybe the lines about phone calls - nobody calls anyone now. We have voice notes and messaging apps for that, India.
The last time I used my phone as a phone I had to actually search for the icon to make that outgoing call. Grumbled about how it could have been a voice note the whole time.
"This could have been a voice note" is the 2022 version of "this could have been an email" - but aside from that, Arie's lyrics are nothing but truth.
Reddit user praguru14 asked:
"What simple things make you happy?"
And it's time to talk about the little joys in life because honestly, we'll take the shot of happiness wherever we can find it.
India talked about sweet tea with honey, calls from her siblings, and time with her parents.
Let's see what Reddit thinks about when they focus on the little joys.
A Storm
Storm Thunder GIFGiphy"A thunderstorm and a window that's cracked open just so"
- Because-Im-ginger
"I love watching thunderstorms. Even after my house was hit by lightning when I was 12. Still fascinated by them."
- tingulz
"Lovely :’)"
- gameoverman89
Me, Myself, and I
"Alone time"
- SwedishKiwiGuy
"That was my first thought, too!"
"I love alone time in the forest. Just having a walk by myself. Or a drive while listening to music."
- My-Color-Is-RED
"The joy of alone time is one of the reasons I run in the wee hours."
- Jmen4Ever
So Detailed
Tree Drone GIF by DeeJayOneGiphy"A clear, sunny day where the temperature is about 70 degrees with a slight breeze, and the sky is a deep blue."
"Sitting in a park or a forest clearing, breathing in fresh air, and the green of the trees contrasting the blue of the sky in just the right way."
"A small stream flows behind you as you stare at the sky."
- Benjamin_Wrench
"You just described my afternoon. Right down to the small stream that flows behind my home."
- Frosthinz
Road Trip!
"I live in the east coast."
"When I see a car with plates from somewhere far away like Alaska, Oregon or California I like to imagine the people in that car doing the long road trip to get to the east coast. That they had some adventures, saw some beautiful sights and made some special memories on the road."
- PlanetOfTheAprons
"That's so wonderful."
"My husband and I are both from the Northern Territory (Australia), but we live down south now."
"Every time we see a car with those white and orange Territory license plates that are all numbers - and especially if the car is sporting red dirt they haven't managed to wash off - it always makes us smile and point it out to each other."
"Like seeing a distant relative we haven't seen for ages, and we always have a look to see if it's someone we know."
"It's like seeing a little piece of home."
- FormalMango
"West coaster here, I do the same thing with you guys :)"
- Tor_2ga
"So wholesome!"
- Barnowl79
Special Someone
Power Couple GIF by Bob's BurgersGiphy"When my husband and I have the whole weekend off together, and we're on the same sleeping pattern (which is really rare for us.)"
"Just spending time together, hanging out. Eating a lazy lunch and watching movies all afternoon."
"Being with him makes me happy."
- FormalMango
"Same with me and my girlfriend. We really enjoy each other’s company."
- Danoof64
"That's beautiful."
- Illustrious_Charge88
Book Smell
"Book smell"
- Zalucrat
"Ah, yes. Before I start reading, I bring the book close to my face and do the page flipping thing with my thumb and take a big whiff"
- pineappleprincess_13
"Or the smell of a store full of used books. It’s kind of a dusty book smell."
- diet_pepsi_lover
"My school had a store room with a bunch of textbooks, stationary and reams of paper."
"I used to love helping out my teacher or the librarian fetch things from there cause I got to spend a few minutes just breathing in the book smell. It was so calming."
- tintin93yalls
Humans best friend
White Dog GIFGiphy"My dog"
- arthurdent00
"I love my little (though not actually little because she is the size of a normal dog) dog."
- MZFunkyboi
"After almost every walk, my dog hops up on his blanket, digs around on it for 30-45 seconds until he gets it just the way he likes it, then plops down with a satisfied grin on his face."
"Makes me smile every damn time."
- lbeaty1981
Connection and Clean
"I really like sweeping."
"It makes me feel connected to the rest of humanity....Pretty much everybody who has ever lived has swept at some point."
"Also, immediately clean floors is nice."
- father_jarman
"Thats a neat point of view!"
"I'll have to mull that one over at the end of the day when I'm sweeping up the days metal chips from the floor around my machines."
- TheRuralEngineer
Rain
raining GIFGiphy"Rain on the roof at night while being tucked up in bed."
- Smurf_x
"Rain itself makes me happy."
"I'm one of the few people who absolutely love rain. Instant morale boost in my everyday life."
"Whether it's droplets, drizzle, torrential, cold or warm, I take every chance to go outside."
"When I'm having a bad day I often think: well, at least it's raining."
- EingestricheneOktave
"I agree about the rain. Not when it's cold though."
"But if it's warm, I like to go outside and stand in it, sometimes. It feels nice."
- teddypa1981
"Bonus points if there's rumbling thunder in the distance."
- LetterkennyGinger
Human Moments
"Everybody who posted before me is getting an upvote because it is so comforting to see all the intimate moments we share as humans even when we are apart."
"Been on a 6 year long mental health journey and sometimes this wholesome stuff shows me the compassion that isn’t often advertised"
"Let it ride my doods"
-Remarkable-Dog2418
Your turn.
What little joys do you find yourself leaning in on?
Let's share some happy in the comments.
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I grew up poor, and I remember the little things that made me smile when we just happened to have enough that week.
The little things that a truly rich person would not think twice about.
Ah, the luxury of it.
What spells luxury for you?
Redditor ConAir161057 wanted to compare notes about the things in life that feel like items only money can buy. They asked:
"For people who grew up with little money, what always felt like a luxury?"
New clothes. I had so many hand me downs and thrift store clothes... new seemed like a dream.
Anxiety
Nervous Anxiety GIF by blackbearGiphy"After growing up in a home where every unexpected problem was a financial emergency, my idea of wealthy became 'I just want enough money that if something breaks I don't get anxiety about how to deal with it.'"
Obiwan_ca_bl**me
Literature
"Getting to buy something from the scholastic book fair."
Rich*itch3232
"My school, at the end of it a bunch of books were 'donated' and then spread out on a table in the library. We all got to go pick one book. So even if kids didn’t get to purchase a book, in the end they had a chance to still get a book. It’s actually how I got my first Harry Potter book. Was a cool idea for any school staff or parents active in their kids’ schools."
glass_pillow
Christmas
"Getting new clothes at Christmas from relatives. I don't know if that is exactly a luxury or the kind of answer you are looking for, but we never had a lot of money when I was in middle school. I went an entire year wearing the same pants everyday. The funny thing was my parents didn't even buy them for me."
"I got them for Christmas from my Grandparents. All the kids use to give me so much sh*t for wearing the same pants everyday. I always told them that I had 5 of the same pair which made me feel good inside and kind of made them ease off even though I know they didn't believe me."
"I remember I fell on the school bus one day and the jagged floor cut a hole right in the knee cap and the panic that went over me was just insane. It was one of the worst feelings of my whole life because I knew that I didn't have any other pants to wear and that now all of the kids in my school were going to know that I only had 1 pair. Needless to say I could not wait for the last month of school to end."
themagicman_1231
I'm Away
"Summer camp, or basically any school trips that had to be paid for. At my school the kids who couldn't afford to go on trips that happened during school hours still had to come to the school, we just sat in a room and did extra work like it was detention."
Helpful_Yams
"I was lucky. If you taught at the day camp your kid could go for free. That was just day camp though not sleepaway camp. My mom found a camp teacher who had no kids of his own and he signed me up as his kid so I could get free day camp. Did that all through elementary school."
randtcouple
Big Deals
Pizza Pizza Pizza Dancing GIF by Domino’s UK and ROIGiphy"Going out for pizza was a big deal. Those free mini pizzas for reading books were huge."
Shroom4Yoshi
Food is always an issue when you're broke.
Damage
Summer Ac GIF by MashableGiphy"Being able to turn on the heat in the cold and pay a professional to fix damaged appliances, plumbing, and other issues."
Liggettef
Spoiled
"When my grandma would come pick me up and spoil me. My parents didn't have much money and were addicts so when my grandma would come get me I would come back with new clothes, video games, toys, etc. I used to think my grandma was rich but she actually just had a stable income."
nawlepen
"I was in this position when I was younger. I always thought my grandma had SO much money… but all she did was go to work everyday. Always made sure I had clothes and all my school supplies. I miss her pretty bad."
Keywork29
Water
"I am from a small island in the Pacific. While I mostly still take cold showers, I have always felt that a hot shower is the finest luxury one can experience. I had my first hot shower when I was 22 years old and I can never forget it."
FSMPIO
"This is the kind of luxury I think people take for granted, I always avoided showers in the winter as a kid since most of the time they where cold showers and the temperature here was around 12c° during those times."
PowerfullDio
Showerware
"Towels. Honestly, I was almost 10 When I realized people didn’t just put back on their dirty clothes after a shower because my family was so large (12 kids total including myself) and extremely poor. I thought towels were just for hotels or were maybe a prop on television. I went to a friends house and she asked for my help folding her towels. I remember laughing and thinking she must be rich."
"Long story short, I wasn’t sure which way to fold the towels, and begged my mom to buy them after I revealed that my friend, Simone, had them. She bought a box of used ones from a local auction and I walked around with them on my head feeling like a frigging empress after that, even though—-let’s be clear… these were second hand towels!"
shakezula1025
Or BK...
ronald mcdonald yes GIF by McDonald's CZ/SKGiphy"Grew up poor and when I was a kid I used to think you were rich if you had a dishwasher and a millionaire if you had one of those refrigerators that have a button for ice. McDonalds was also a luxury, a couple times a year on our birthdays."
chinderellab*tch
Warmth
"Having the heating on. We used to go to bed in our sleeping bags in winter which was really cool back then, pretty depressing now."
pm_me_boooba
"Oh absolutely, I don't think i could ever forget the feeling of when we’d wake up at 5am freezing and trying to keep as much warmth under the blanket as possible."
ooobats
Clear Sips
"Drinking clean (and enough) water and just having a decent meal, not just a piece of dry bread and tea! Yes, I come from Yemen, where we did not have a sufficient amount of water (for drinking or cleaning) and did not necessarily have three meals a day. I remember that we would not have random plants in our garden to water, that would be a waste of water. If you watch Dune, we kinda had (and still have) a similar situation!"
Let's get fruity...
"At the end of the season, sometimes the grocery store would have peck baskets of peaches on sale for a dime to clear them out before they went bad. And if Mom had a spare dime, she'd buy them and tell us to eat all we wanted - normally fruit was limited to one a day if there was any at all. Man, we'd hit those peaches like a plague of locusts."
HowdyDoobie
Everything!
Old Lady Wtf GIFGiphy"Kraft Macaroni and Cheese as opposed to store brand. Soda out of a can. Any restaurant where you sit down and get a menu. Having the AC on in the car."
Senseisntsocommon
Cooldown
"Air conditioning. Whether in a house or vehicle."
fondoftheforge
"We were lucky we had a car that ran. A/C would have been heaven. We fought for window seat rights, but as the eldest of six kids I usually won. Sometimes I would bestow my won seat on whichever sibling I was fond of at the time."
"We didn’t have A/C in the house, but we did have huge air ducts and vents for forced hot air heating. As the furnace was off during the summer, my dad put a large box fan in the basement by the intake vent - blowing cooler basement air into the upstairs bedrooms at night. A slight respite from hot summer nights."
DadsRGR8
"dirty punk"
"New clothes. Pretty much had to make everything last and while I'm not proud of it I did a lot of shoplifting as young teen. I always look back and think how I really lucked out that the 'dirty punk' look was super in when I was a teen. I basically based my whole style around it and people thought I was just being fashionable but I was just really f**king poor lmao."
de_jim
Splurge
"I grew up broke and am incredibly fortunate to have money as an adult. Meals out when I was a kid were huge, I think I only really remember three in my whole childhood, so as an adult who does largely whatever I like, going out to dinner still thrills me, always get dressed up, make the most of it etc."
Vegetable-Ad-647
Fun Times
fireworks dancing GIF by MAJOR LAZERGiphy"Going to a fair, a concert, or a similar event, and buying food. Unthinkable when I was a child. Clearly people go to the summer fair just to enjoy the aroma of fried dough."
ABadFeeling
Must Haves
"Dental and medical care. Dental insurance was a huge luxury. I didn't have an employer that offered that until I was in my late 20's. Needless to say, I spent a fortune on my teeth. I made sure my kids always had dental care from them on."
iRunthesehills
Everyone should have access to all of these things. Why is life unfair?
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