They say good things come in small packages—as a lifelong member of the "Never hit 5 feet tall" club it's a phrase I've had thrown at me often.
It's right up there with "small but mighty" and "people mcnugget."
It's popular because there's a fair bit of truth to it, though.
When it comes to some things, smaller is just flat out better.
Reddit user RasheenHyuga asked:
"What’s something that’s better when it’s smaller?"
We expected—and skipped over—the talk about butt stuff. Nobody is here to shame the size queens.
We did not, unfortunately, expect nor skip over the stuff about spiders.
We had to read it, so now you do too.
Differing Dad Approaches
"Pills/capsules shaped medicines."
"I have this difficulties swallowing hard capsules/tablets, if I'm aware."
"My dad used to hide them into fruits so I was not too anxious about it and not too bitter if I had to chew them."
-laffinator
"As a child, my father said that I’d need to learn how to dry-swallow pills in case there’s a world war & clean water is rationed."
- jesusbabygirl·
Tiny Pets
"Kittens and puppies. They’re so cute when they’re tiny and I just wanna pick them up and hug them all!"
-bobcatnat123
"Kittens, because when they grow up, they become bitches."
- MrFroggys
"I'm gonna get hate but dogs."
"I really like little dogs because they're like little wolves...but not! They're pocket companions and, if trained properly, can be well behaved and loving!"
"Yeah, having a large dog that can do stuff is awesome - but having a mini wolf you can shove in your back pack and take wherever is even cooler in my opinion. You'll never be alone because they're portable!"
"On a subway? Pocket dog."
"In a store? Pocket dog."
"Riding a bike? Pocket dog."
- CosmosFactor
Uno!
"The amount of Uno cards you're holding"
-saikopasu_neko28
"I wouldn't mind a few more if they are all wild cards"
--nogoodusernames0_0
"Especially if it’s a plus 4 or plus 2!"
- Thecrazytrainexpress
"The amount of Uno cards you're holding - while also remembering to say Uno on the last card. Learn from my mistakes..."
- poopellar
Bills, Bills, Bills
"Bills."
-Resistycometostrike
"A duck would disagree with you."
-smnow
"Hospital bills in the USA is the obvious answer."
- No_Comedian_9677
"With the hospital bills in the US right now, I totally agree."
"I got some old painkillers, tweezers, hydrogen peroxide, liquor, gauze & duct tape. I'll be fine."
- bleezzzy
The Small C
"Cancer."
"It's never good, but it's better if it's smaller. I had a low grade Glioma (pre-cancer, caught it early) scraped/removed out of my skull, hell ya!"
"Statistically 60% of people don’t know they have one until they have the first seizure. That's what happened to me but I had other symptoms like light sensitivity, vision rainbows, exhaustion, insomnia, etc."
"I work on a computer everyday and I happen to have light sensitive eyes. One day I had a seizure."
"Lots of tests, MRIS, cat scans, pet scan, brain scans. They found a mass of brain that was explained as a “black mold” of brain matter."
"Surgeon suggested removing it sooner rather than watching it slowly grow over time."
- TastelessDonut
"My cancer was caught on a mammogram when it was too small for even my doctors to feel, and it was right under my skin."
- notthesedays
No Good Stones
"Kidney stones."
"I've never had one, just figured bigger object through peepee = more pain."
-Manekosan
"Fun fact I learned from experience: smaller kidney stones are way easier to pass, but the pain of them getting to that point can be far more severe because they're more likely to be jagged in structure."
"Suffice to say I agree with this one, but only just barely cause nonexistent is the best size for a kidney stone. That sh*t hurts. lmao"
-eltanin_rastaban
"Aaahh, human pearls."
- KrAzY_TsEnG
Speaking Truths Over Here
"Potato wedges are crispier and have an overall better taste when they're smaller."
-CLTalbot
"First answer I have read that isn't just making a bad thing smaller but rather is increasing how good something is"
-MrGoogabonomon
"Yes. See? A real answer. Something I can apply to my life. Unlike philosophical moral truths and magic shrinking debt."
- CombustibleA1
Literal Small Packages
"I'm a postal worker - packages. If it fits in your box, fuck yeah. Time saved."
-BeechCow
"I replaced my street side mailbox a few years ago. No real need to but I put in a much larger box."
"My postman stopped one day and thanked me for doing it."
-richg0404
"F*ck yeah, I love it when my postal worker fits their package in my box."
- Kerrigore
"That reminds me of a jazz song called 'I'm Your Mailman' "
"It's about postal workers and yes, there's LOTS of innuendo."
- BeechCow
Yummy
"M&Ms"
"Mini m&ms are so much better in my opinion."
-ArkhamBookworm
"Damn I used to live mini M&Ms but they stopped selling them in my country."
"The tube they used to come in now comes with the regular size m&ms, which makes no sense cause you barely get any. What the hell is up with that?"
- crnhs
No Anus
"Spiders and all arthropods"
-Background_Egg1364
"Are you sure? Demodex is a genus of tiny mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals."
"Around 65 species of Demodex are known. Two species live on humans: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, both frequently referred to as eyelash mites, alternatively face mites or skin mites."
"They have no anus so they just live in your eyelash follicles until their own sh*t makes their exoskeleton burst and they die."
"You probably have some living on you right now, they're just too small for you to see."
-doublestitch
OK, you know ... we were all good until the poopsploding mites that live on your eyelids.
Somebody always has to make it weird on Reddit.
I'm starting to wonder if it's a secret by-law or something.
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Some treats or delicacies are meant to be consumed in moderation. They enhance an experience of a meal or are fine in small portions are their own.
We as humans love to indulge in these treats, but often don't know what 'too much of a good thing' really means until we are running to the bathroom. Why would we eat something that will make us sick? Well, it could be we're innocently unaware of the consequences.
Redditor EZZ2 wanted to hear some people's cautionary tales:
"What food is only good eaten in small quantities?"
Let's find out what foods we should keep to a minimum.
Harrowing tales of wasabi.
"Wasabi."
"I was reading once about the video game Tetris. It said the Russian creator Alexey Pajitnov got famous and was able to do some world traveling, but he was a little sheltered when it came to other countries."
"Supposedly, the first time he was in a Japanese restaurant, he thought a bowl of Wasabi was some type of custard, so he took a big spoonful and swallowed it before they could stop him. He felt like he was going to die while the rest of the table was laughing."
"A Tale of the Mirror World, Part 8: Life After Tetris:"
"The atmosphere was warmer that evening when Rogers, still playing the role of chaperone and tour guide, located the only sushi restaurant in Moscow and took Arakawa, Lincoln, Pajitnov, and Nintendo's legal consultant John Huhs out for dinner there. Pajitnov was skeptical of the notion of eating raw fish, but soon got with the program — at least until he popped an entire ball of wasabi into his mouth just ahead of his companions' urgent warning cries, nearly causing his head to explode."
"My Thai wife can use hot sauce like water. We went to shoguns, one of those sit around the grill cooking show places. Appetizer of tuna samishi. She reaches out with her chopsticks and pops the entire piece of Wasabi, about the size of my thumb in her mouth and swallows. I was too slow to stop her."
I watched and her eyes went wide and she started to Vibrant, whole body vibrations. She started gasping and squeaked out, 'Take me home.'"
"I threw a bunch of money down and we hauled home. She basically stayed in the bathroom for 2 days and every time she had to go I'd hear this low moaning sound. I laughed my butt off."
These people seem to live for the pain.
"If you don't eat enough wasabi peas to completely fry your taste buds for a week, have you even eaten any?"
- HugSized
"But that's actually the best part."
- Greyh4m
"Agreed, part of the reason I get sushi is so that I can load up on wasabi and unclog my sinuses."
Expensive fungus.
"Truffles - the fungus, not the chocolates. It's fabulous grated over something, giving it a wonderful earthy flavour, but if you overdo it, it's like someone has mixed mud into your food."
"One summer I found out I really like fries with truffle Mayo and ate it a few too many times. Now I get sick just smelling it, it's been 3 years."
"I worked in a small kitchen that used a lot of infused truffle oil. We were getting a shipment in, and there was a case of truffle oil that needed to be brought to our dry storage area, and our very own in-house Kevin (I'm actually pretty sure he's THAT Kevin), decided to drop the whole thing on the cement floor, and every bottle broke."
"Kevin probably got about a cup of oil in each shoe, and reeked to high Heaven. Chef was pissed anyway, and made him take a prep table outside so he wouldn't stink up the rest of the kitchen. I got a new job about 9 months after that incident, and no joke, you could still smell Kevin before he even got to the kitchen 9 months later because he refused to buy new work shoes. I've got some fun Kevin stories."
The cinnamon challenge.
"Similar: cinnamon."
"At home we often had milky-rice (basically sticky rice cooked in milk) which you serve sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon."
"So the brain of 4 years old Mammoth was like: 'If this little bit of cinnamon already tastes so great, a spoonful must be heaven.'"
"And before my parents could stop me, I proceeded to verify, and thereby disproof, my thesis."
"So basically I invented the cinnamon challenge back in the 80s..."
People Who Made A Lot Of Money From Something Totally Random | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Too many gummies in your tummies.
"Sugar free gummies."
"Is it just that the artificial sugar acts like a laxative? Is this true with sugar free gum and drinks, or is it specific to the gummies?"
- abqkat
"Sugar alcohols are laxatives. Beware. They taste better than other sweeteners, though!"
"I ate a pound in one sitting once just to see if the rumors were true. I shat my brains out for 12 hours. My butthole was so sensitive by the end that I couldn't even handle wet wipes. I had to jump into the shower and gently clean my butt. -1000/10 I regret everything."
"Please support your local Sugar-Free Haribo Victims Fund."
Something's fishy...
"Fish sauce."
"Use a little bit in cooking certain dishes and it's amazing. Use too much, though, and the dish just tastes like fish sauce."
"Ever had fish sauce chicken wings? Whew! I hate eating regular wings now."
"We Vietnamese dip everything in fish sauce though."
"Ever had fish sauce chicken wings? Whew! I hate eating regular wings now."
"I do fish sauce, sugar, couple Thai chilies, let them rock for a day or two days. Fry them off, then reduce the same mixture as marinade into a glaze."
"Half cup fish sauce, 3/4 cup sugar, desired amount of chilies, couple garlic cloves, splash of hot water to dissolve sugar. For the glaze I do the same thing but had juice from a whole lime. Fry wings, reduce glaze, then I add fried garlic, cilantro and fresh limes at plating."
Those yellow Easter treats.
"Peeps. First bite, this is a nice treat. Second bite, I want to puke now."
"Had a contest at my cousins church for Easter that I volunteered for (my cousin told me not to but I don't back down from challenges) where it was men vs women to see who could eat the most peeps in the least amount of time. I won. I will never eat another peep in my life."
"So, I started collecting plush peep toys on a lark because they are cute. I don't super love the candy, just the shape. Well. This lead people in my family to believe that I am super in love with peeps and so I started to get tons of packages of them. And some plus toys and other stuff which I liked."
"One year I got like a dozen packages of peeps candy. I did try to eat some but blargh. Now when they do the limited edition flavors? Cool. I will try some. But the regular ones are a big no."
Gooey Cadbury Eggs.
"Also Cadbury Cream Eggs. I can handle 1 a year. No more. They're just a big egg of sugar ooze."
"Hahaha My son use to beg every year for a Cadbury egg as soon as the commercials started. I would tell him, you don't like them remember? Oh but I do Mom ! So we would get one, then he would open it and take a bite and cry and I would say what's wrong? And he would say, I don't Wike the cadbury egg. For like 5 years in a row. Lol I still buy him a Cadbury egg for Easter. He's 38."
Bacon is a treat, not a main meal.
"Bacon. Yeah heresy I know. Local sandwich shop had a mix your own salad thing when I went to collage. Me and a friend bought the biggest box and filled it with bacon. Proceeded to eat it over the next hour."
"The human body isn't meant for that much salt."
"You also end up being the reason there's a sign with bacon restriction rules at the shop. And having to explain that to your peers."
- MrFeles
"Friend had a 'bacon party' which was basically just a potluck with bacon dishes. It was too much, all the dishes tasted just like salt after a while."
- Stryl
Sour.
"Skittles sours or I guess anything sour. Unless you want your mouth to be hamburg."
"This reminds me of miracle fruit. If you eat it first, then anything sour you eat afterwards will taste sweet."
"Really strange. The effect lasts up to about 30 minutes."
"I had a somewhat similar experience with those little sour watermelon candies and vodka. I was just devouring the little watermelon treats, and then took a swig of vodka because meh... All I could taste was sour watermelon treats. No vodka burn, no alcohol taste, it just tasted like I was drinking liquified sour candy."
"It works well, however, we ended up with a stomach ache after from all the acidic/sour things we were putting in our bellies at once. Didn't think about that beforehand."
Pineapple.
"Pineapple! Too much and my mouth feels so strange."
"That's probably due to the enzymes in pineapple, pineapple contain enzymes that break down proteins so to put it short it's digesting you mouth"
Something heavy and rich.
"Anything that is super rich. You're just gonna feel like sh*t for the rest of the day."
"Fudge!! I can only eat it in tiny bites over a long period of time due to its richness."
"Eat the rich."
"I'll never feel sick when I eat the rich."
"Rich or poor, I always feel sick after eating people."
Vegemite is definitely meant for moderation.
"Vegemite—when I visited Australia a local gave it to me the 'proper' way (i.e. not slathered on like peanut butter) on toast with some butter and it was actually delicious!"
"Yep, same with marmite."
That's because vegemite is the wartime knock-off the Aussies made when shipments couldn't get through during WW2"
"I tell Americans to think like it's Wasabi. Which is also the top answer right now."
We've come full circle.
Strong flavors, bold spices, and delicacies are there to enhance you eating experience, not be the main attraction. You could very likely become ill. So take these as cautionary tales!
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The "dish." The "scoop." The "4-1-1." Small towns are full of gossip, thanks to all the people knowing literally everyone else. It's hard not to be in each other's business, like walking down a hallway full of cobwebs. Sometimes, though, that gossip turns out true and we've got a full blown scandal on our hands.
Reddit user, u/SY81, wanted the juiciest bits when they asked:
Redditors from small towns, what was your town's big scandal/dirty secret?
Live in a small town and got the gossip to share? Tell us all about it!