There are several things in this life we know to be rare, resulting in millions of people seeking them out, or taking the opportunity to enjoy them.
These include seeing a solar or lunar eclipse, vintage bottles of wine, the first issue of a comic book, or being upgraded to first class without warning.
Sometimes, however, we take for granted certain things we just assume are part of daily life which are, in fact, quite rare.
Be it an uninterrupted night's sleep, a life-threatening illness, or a old recording on our DVR (or, for that matter a VHS!), some things we think can be enjoyed or could happen to anyone might be much harder to come by than we think.
Redditor f*ckandfrolic was curious to learn all about the seemingly everyday things that are, in fact, anything but common, leading them to ask:
"What is far more rare than people realize?"
Or, Perhaps, The Vaccines Are What Made It Rare?
"Tetanus."
"We get vaccines for it, but it's actually a bit harder to get than you may believe."- pheat0n
Meow
"Solid brown fur cats, apparently it’s some kind of recessive gene in them."- TheJadedSF
"We have a male tortoiseshell cat."
"Cat people tend to know they’re quite rare but others probably don’t."- Tacoma__Crow
In Love Cat GIF
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You Never Know Who Your Friends Really Are...
"People who remain friends with you once you leave school."- GrockleKaug
"Good, honest friends who don’t have ulterior motives."
"The ones that genuinely enjoy your company and friendship."
"Hold onto them!"- ZealousidealWealth88
Think Carefully About The Last Time You Saw One...
"Blimps."
"I live in northeast Ohio near the Goodyear hangar."
"We see them all the time."
"I had to pull up a list, that northeast Ohio has 3 out of 4 operating Goodyear blimps named Wingfoot 1 2 and 3."
"Only maybe 12 are operating anywhere in the world, with a total of 25 existing at all."
"But we see them all the time at Wingfoot lake disc golf course."- Worried_Place_917·
good year zeppelin GIF by Digg
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Making Others Green With Envy?
"Green eyes make up just two percent of the global population."- New-Tomorrow-4309
Not A Routine Occurrence
"Northern lights."
"The amount of people I’ve heard say: 'We’ve come all this way, what time do they come on?' Is staggering."- The_Town_of_Canada
Amen!
"Bit of peace and f*cking quiet."- Winoforevr1
Taking A Long, Hard Look At Ourselves...
"Humility and an understanding that we’re sometimes the victim and sometimes the perpetrator."
"No one is ever just one or the other."- Fitandfriendlydude
Money Talks
"Being a multi-millionaire."
"Lots of people faking it out here."- tab_completion
Some Might Say Thinking In General...
"Critical thinking skills."- hstarbird11
Thinking Think GIF by Rodney Dangerfield
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Sobering Reality
"Clean water."
'My son and I have been discussing this lately."
"He is a chemical engineer and works exclusively with water."
"Many of the studies he has been published on also have to do with clean water and forever chemicals."
"Water is a huge issue that is becoming bigger everyday and normal people are forgetting about it."
"Flint Michigan is in year 9!"- No-Fishing5325
Rare, Or A Myth?
"A stable, loving, peaceful domestic life."- reginapinsley
In Dreams, Maybe...
"Absolute silence and being in a place where no man-made light exists."- whiskey_formymen
black and white dark GIF
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Perhaps we can all rest a little easier knowing that some things that keep us up at night worrying are actually not a big deal in the slightest.
Or, next time we see and experience something truly beautiful, we might want to stop and truly take it in.
For all we know, we just experienced something that was truly once in a lifetime.
"What immediately makes a man/woman unattractive?"
When You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say...
"Snidely putting down other people for no reason."
"Especially if the other person was talking about something they’re passionate about."
"That sh*t hurts my soul."- serbianspy
Compliments Are Easier Than You Think...
"Speaking down to someone else in order to get the group’s attention/laugh."- spaceflower890·
A Little Kindness Goes A Long Way
"How they treat others."- bawbsmith
insulting dan levy GIF by CBCGiphyOpen Your Eyes!
"Ignorance and a wish to stay that way instead of improving."- Tigydavid135
No One Loves A Know It All
"When they think they know everything/ are always right."- SoupAddict34
Homer Simpson Fox GIF by AniDom"But Enough About Me, What Do You Think Of Me?"
"Not being interested in anyone outside of themselves."- peywally
"It's OK If I Do It..."
"Years ago, before meeting a blind date for the first time she told me over the phone that she hoped that I didn't wear glasses because she found them unattractive and couldn't see herself dating a guy with glasses."
"So, I met her later, and she wore glasses."
"I find Hypocrites unattractive now."- nsvxheIeuc3h2uddh3h1
Jurassic Park No GIFSHUT UP ALREADY!!!!!
"Constant whining."- BulldawgHokie
There's nothing wrong with being stopped dead in your tracks after an impossibly gorgeous person walks by you on the street.
But best to reserve judgment on that individual until sharing at least a word or two with them.
As the first thing they say might camouflage their beauty in the blink of an eye.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor dontaskmeforfeetpics asked:
"What is something about yourself that sounds totally made up but is 100% real?"
Just putting these out there. It's up to you to decided whether or not to be a believer.
The Artist
"I built a 13 foot tall t rex with Christopher Walken's head, and New York magazine called it high brow and brilliant."
– RainbowHoodieGang
Gaming Reality
"My dad’s name is Luigi and my uncle’s name is Mario. They are brothers."
"ETA: I forgot to add that my dad is also a plumber."
– ecofreckle
"I am allergic to lettuce."
"Like I carry an epi pen allergic."
– PepperFinn
Creating Opportunity
"I was once sponsored by the CRUNK energy drink company for sailing. I imagine I was the only sailor on their list. I literally just emailed them saying that I sailed and asked if they wanted me to put stickers on my boat. They sent me a few cases of the drink, t shirts, hats, the works. My car was known as the crunk-mobile."
– __slamallama__
Equine Story
"A horse threw me in the air when I was a child. But I wasn’t on his back. He grabbed the skin of my back with his teeth and yeeted me."
– Kaibethha
These Redditors beat the odds in unimaginable ways.
A Second Chance
"I died first, and then was born."
"I’ve told this story a few times on reddit, but I enjoy telling it so here we go again."
"During the Caesarian to bring me into the world, there was some major complication on my mother’s end. She started bleeding internally, drowning me in the womb. When I was removed, the doctors tried to get me breathing but couldn’t. I was declared dead. My mother was still unconscious, but my dad was brought in to say goodbye to me. He held me in his arms, was saying goodbye when out of nowhere I started coughing up blood and screaming as babies do. Apparently it was the weirdest moment in his life, being abjectly terrified and overwhelmed with joy that I was alive."
"It’s my favourite story to tell, because weirdly it takes some pressures off on birthdays. I don’t do well with to much attention by family/friends, but celebrating my “death day” doesn’t bring people the same connotations."
– CountPeter
Success Story
"I grew up 'on the wrong side of the river', was considered by all to be the town loser, and went to work as a janitor while still in high school... then... in my 40s I set a goal for myself (while still working full time) to take one class at time until I either graduate or die, whichever comes first. At age 49 I finished my Bachelors of Science Degree, at age 52 my MBA, and age 61 my Ph.D. Never let the arrogant elitists define who you are or what you can be!"
– owoBP7oT6RByPN1rfl0o
Unconventional Academic
"I never graduated high school but I have a bachelor's degree. I was homeschooled and my mom never went through the legal steps to actually get me a real diploma, so she made one in photoshop that was then used to get me into this podunk community college that didn't verify it. From there I got my associate's degree, which I then used to get into a decent university where I got my bachelor's."
– testbotV1
Family histories are fascinating but can also be confounding.
A Different Time
"My great-grandma ran a brothel back at the turn of the 20th century. She was Algonquin and people were pretty racist back then so she had a hard time getting business. Since it was a coastal town (Maine) she bought up a couple leaky old rowboats and would load them up with hookers and booze and row them out to the ships at night. When ships came in to port most of the crew would get shore leave and hit the bars and brothels in town, but they always had to leave a few sailors on the ship to keep an eye on it. My Great-grandmother figured those guys had money too and probably felt left out. She basically set up waterbased lot lizards. Or UberHoes."
"My Grandpa and his sisters grew up in the brothel and no one would talk to them or socialize with them. My Grandpa met my Grandma picking green beans for a local farmer. They fell in love. When they wanted to get married they had to leave the state to get away from her family that were utterly disgusted that she would marry the son of a whore. So they ran off to Detroit because GM was hiring and that's how my family came to Michigan."
– 88GrandWagoneer
Missed Opportunities
"My great grandfather worked in the textile business and started importing rayon fabric from Japan in the late 60s and 70s. Keep in mind this was during the early days of synthetic fabrics and travelling to Japan was not all that common. On a business trip, he met some Japanese business men who were selling newly designed transistor radios. His contacts wanted to setup an exclusive import agreement for their electronics to North America, but my great grandfather declined, because how many of these radios could you possibly sell?"
"Turns out that was a short sighted business decision, because that company was called Sony Electronics. He turned down the exclusive import contract for Sony."
"On the other side of my family, my Canadian relatives walked away from 100 acres of land in Alberta during the dust bowl and great depression. They decided it was not worth paying the taxes on their land. Turns out that land was right in the heart of the Alberta oil deposits."
"Also on my mother's side of the family, they used to have a citrus orchard near Los Angeles. They sold it cheap to some land developers. That farm was right at Hollywood and Vine."
"My family on both sides is bad at seeing long term investments."
– theironmanatee
Unrelated
"I found out my 'father' wasnt my biological father in 10th grade Biology class. We were learning about blood types and traits. I raised my hand thinking I was a smart a**, 'You're chart isnt accurate, my dad has AB negative and I'm O positive.' My teacher said 'I think your mom has some explaining to do!'. And we all chuckled."
"Turned out, he was not my father."
– aoyfas
The Redditors who shared their stories above definitely sound like they can be huge hits at a cocktail party.
Especially if the two people attending said event are Mario and Luigi.
As far as I'm concerned, their parents are winning.
Redditor PadWanKenobi was curious to hear what people felt were the tell tale signs they were in the company of a possible genius, leading them to ask:
"What’s a sign of extremely high intelligence?"
Instant adapability
"Ability to intuitively and quickly understand complex systems and how lots of parts relate in a coherent whole."
"Like I work with some people who just keep tons of concepts in their head and easily integrate new information into their understanding of those concepts."
"They immediately know what questions they should be asking to better understand."
"And these are things they're currently working on, not like things they spent time studying in school over years."
"They just have a very strong ability to synthesize new information into their understanding."
"I sit in meetings distracted and confused having forgotten what we talked about in the previous meetings, and these folks just consistently have a solid handle on everything."- Ok-Control-787
Innate Problem Solvers
"They know when not to solve a problem."
"This took me a while to understand but the smartest people I know do this."
"It could be a really simple thing like ignoring emails from people asking for help."
"The supervisor or boss might have a quick and easy solution for the situation but instead of just handing it to the person that asked they let them figure it out on their own."
"They know who they can do this with and when to do it."
"If they did that with all of their underlings it would just create a mess."
"Another example that I can think of is planned chaos."
"Some people can predict exactly where things will go wrong and they could fix it before it creates a problem."
"They don't because nobody ever notices what's going on in the background when things are working perfectly."
"Once things fails then everybody notices and if you are the one person that fixed it you become the hero."
"They can also use then chaos to reach a goal they couldn't get before if things were working correctly."
"There's many examples of this in every day life that I didn't see before until I realized what was happening."- atapes
GiphyYou know what they say about people with small hands
"If your hand is smaller than your face."- FallofTheKnight
The all knowing glow.
"When someone asks you a question and you push your glasses up while light comes out of it and covers your eyes for some reason."- JonEregor
Those giveaway behavioral quirks
"Wearing glasses and saying things like 'ah yes', and 'I see' while you pensively rub your chin."- iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
Thinking Reaction GIF by ABC TV + IVIEWGiphyEncouraging others
"When they explain something they make the people around them feel smarter, not dumber."- redkat85
Being one step ahead.
"The capacity to understand complex things, see patterns where regular people don't."- Ostepop234
"They have this tendency to make you go 'Ohhh, why didn't I think of that?' when listening to them talk."- did_it_forthelulz
Why Didnt I Think Of That Cillian Murphy GIFGiphyAn endless love of learning
"A passion for knowledge and expanding understanding of complex concepts."
"The plumber can be just as insightful as the scholar."- KatatoniK94
Some people like to flaunt it.
"Your username is EitiFrie."
"Jk."- EitiFrie
Take your pick...
"Talking to yourself while constantly working out things in your mind."
"Asking many questions - curiosity."
"Having anxiety and depression."
"Not having motivation to try once you fail something - you’re used to 'getting' things immediately."- I_Just_Want_2_Live
Stressed Over It GIF by HULUGiphyThose who really hear you.
"Being a good listener."- IMeanHeck
Careful considerations.
"They actually think logically about conspiracy theories without completely believing them."- skyistootired
No one likes a "know it all"
"Knowing when to say 'I don’t know'."- CattDawg2008
Give Up GIF by TLC EuropeA nose for trouble...
"Depression."
"Hopeless."
"Understanding exactly how doomed we are."
"The next 50 years are going to be brutal."
"21/22 was just a warm-up."- hopeianonymous
It's not always easy.
"Unfortunately Schizophrenia and a ADHD."
The ususal...
"The most intelligent people have ."
"A good general knowledge."
"idk but speak 2 or more languages."
"Have an understanding of crypto and programming."
"And finally know how to fix a car."
"That is the most ultimate smartest person, we should be able to all agree on this."- hehehhe_
The company they keep
"Discreetly distancing themselves from raucous buffoons."- Chameleon777
Anthony Anderson Reaction GIF by ABC NetworkGiphyOf course, one shouldn't always be fooled by what they see.
As many people are masters at appearing much smarter than they are.
In fact, one important sign of super intelligence is being able to separate those who appear smart, from those who actually are.
A mighty heart indeed
"Scars on my heart."
"I have about 30, I think."
"On my 4th heart procedure, I had 24 cardiac ablations."
"They use radio waves to kill tissue to create scarring so that effectively signals can't travel through that way."
"During one procedure, epicardial, meaning both inside and outside the heart. by the top electrophysiologist on the east coast."
"He said only one other patient of his had more done in one procedure."
"Took 10 hours."
"I could hear the nurses gossiping about me in the hallway."
"This was 7 years ago, and now my heart is working great!"- pearlie_girl·
Extremely comfortable in my skin
"Half of my body is a birthmark of tan skin, and the other half is pale white."
"It's right down the middle of my stomach and same with my back."
"I've only ever seen 1 person online with it saying 'chimerism' but idk if that's same with me."
"Idk but it's uncommon." - User Deleted
Still standing!
"Still living with stage IV lung cancer for 13 yrs."- Flashy-Cattle-8086
Big shoes to fill indeed...
"Shoe size."
"I wear a size 18."- wearegoodthings
Love your job!
"Don't know if it's less cool because I do it for work, but I 'photograph' atoms and crystalline atomic structures most days."
"I get to see the world in a way few ever do which is kinda neat."- RayseBraize
Animation Loop GIF by xponentialdesignGiphyAn exclusive club no one wants to be part of...
"I have this condition called Miyoshi Myopathy, which, thankfully, affects only my calves and hence my walking capabilities."
"My doctor told me it is rare, but tbh statistically rare does not really mean anything, everyone might have it but they either did not get out of their way to test it, via taking blood and had it examined in a lab, or they just never realized there was something wrong at all."
"If you are wondering why I said 'Thankfully it only affected the legs', it is because it is a muscle disorder, and some disorders affect Cardiac, heart, and Pulmonary, lungs, muscles that will obviously not be pretty."
"I have to get tested every year to make sure all my vital functions are normal and as of now nothing significant is noted and I should be living a long and healthy life."- 1123Icantthinkofname
Just one?
"Apparently only 0.1% of people become mechanical engineers in the US and an even smaller percentage are women, so maybe that?"
"I was also less than 2 lbs when I was born, and I think the percentage is probably similar."
"I somehow have no lasting physical issues from that, though my sister has cerebral palsy."- s_p_o_c_k
Plenty to go around!
"I have 3 functional kidneys."
"No it doesn't mean I pee more."
"No it doesn't mean I can drink more alcohol, thats the liver."
"No I won't sell it for under $71,241." - User Deleted
While some wouldn't necessarily consider some of these things an accomplishment, all of them certainly make for fascinating conversation starters.
Seriously, where would the third kidney even go...?