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People Share The Things We Usually Refrigerate But Totally Don't Need To Be

People Share The Things We Usually Refrigerate But Totally Don't Need To Be
VWZ Photography/Unsplash

Hi everyone, it's time to argue about food again!

Let's just get right into it.

Ketchup is infinitely better cold and that's a hill I'm willing to die on.


Reddit user Monk_Never_Dies asked:

"What is something commonly refrigerated, but actually doesn’t need to be?"

And because some people just want to watch the world burn, folks came right out swinging with all their ketchup-y wrongness.

The Other Side of Ketchup Hill

"KETCHUP."

"This is my hill to die on. Restaurants leave it out on the table. The bottle does not say you have to refrigerate after opening."

"I grew up in a household where the ketchup was always in the cabinet and didn’t know until I got older we were the minority."

- Ambitious-Squirrel75

Giphy

Cats and Carbs

"Bread."

"We put it in the fridge because my precious little douche bags (cats) like to take chomps out of the bag."

- ChipTheOcelot

"When my cat had kittens I came out one morning and found they had chewed through the bag. They had then eaten 2 kitten-sized holes in the loaf for 2 of the babies to nap in."

"When I woke them up and they stayed laying down and started munching on bread. Apparently they got hungry in the night and mummas milk wasn't enough but they couldn't chew biscuits yet!"

"I went and got kitten food that day, but they still always want the bread, so we keep it in the fridge and also used the microwave!"

- MeltingMoment8

Giphy

Tepid Tomato

"Tomatoes."

"They'll stay edible longer in the fridge, but they'll instantly lose all their flavor when chilled."

"I worked on an organic farm. The first thing we were told by the farm manager is to never put the tomatoes in the cold box since it destroys the sugars in it, so it'll never be as sweet again."

"This effect is a lot more noticeable with freshly picked, vine ripened heirloom tomatoes (e.g, Brandywine) vs. the already flavorless grocery store beefsteaks/romas."

"My mother grew up relatively poor and so was it ingrained to never risk wasting food. She'll always refrigerate tomatoes (and even bananas!) despite my attempts to convince her otherwise."
- Cybyss

"Tomatoes taste better cold, especially on a sandwich."

- AcceptableAd7000

"I prefer my tomatoes chilled... but mostly where the f*ck do I just keep tomatoes? In the fruit bowl?"

- kbsths99

"I didn't know people refrigerated tomatoes."

- Gunnvor91

"I have never seen someone refrigerate a tomato."

- hjablowme919

Giphy

Lost In The Sauce

"Soy sauce loses a ton of flavor when it's refrigerated - and it doesn't need it."

"I found this out when I started working at a Japanese restaurant. My parents refrigerate their soy sauce and it just never tasted great to me."

"At the restaurant we use so much of it that we don’t get to refrigerate it. It comes in big buckets and we put in smaller containers for use in different parts of the kitchen."

"It tastes so much better room temp."

- tachycardicIVu

"Food manufacturers often put 'refrigerate after opening' notes on products that aren’t affected by temperature, such as catsup (aka ketchup) and yellow mustard - and soy sauce."

"Refrigeration can increase shelf life, but keeping at room temp is not dangerous if the product doesn’t contain milk or eggs, or if it has a high acidity level."

- No-Sheepherder-2896

Giphy

The Butter Brick

"When I got married my wife showed me that butter can just sit there right on the counter, even right next to the stove, forever."

"What is this conspiracy to make people think butter needs to be refrigerated? Is it by the margarine makers to sell their stuff as a softer alternative to butter?"

- obsertaries

"It's fine for a while, but can go rancid eventually. So if you only use it bit by bit over a month it's better to refrigerate it - particularly in warmer areas."

- Hypo_Mix

"I live in the UK, if you refrigerate butter it goes like a brick and you can't scrape it."

"If you leave it on the side, in the best summer it'll be almost-but-not-quite liquid so you can just spread it directly and even in winter it'll spread far easier."

"Butter stays in my fridge only while it's still an unused block, then it goes in a butter dish out on the side."

- ledow

"I found this out too when I got married!"

"Husband was from Maine where it never really gets hot, so I just chalked it up to this, until I realized that even in Florida butter on the counter kept just fine. And it was always the perfect spreading consistency instead of rock solid where it tears apart your bread!"

"So it's a compromise, the box goes in the fridge and the individual sticks for use stay out."

- Coconut-bird

Giphy

Cold Coffee?

"My Argentinian flatmate used to keep coffee powder in the fridge. I didn't know why, but this was working for him."

- jehacas74

"The oils in coffee can go rancid and change the flavor. Keeping it in the fridge (especially ground coffee) preserves the flavor a little longer."

"My family keeps our Greek (Turkish) coffee in the freezer since we don't make it too often."

- SecretiveGoat

"This is a good way to ruin coffee, which is extremely absorbent. I guess it's fine if you’re OK with coffee that tastes like your freezer smells."

"Keep coffee in airtight glass containers."

- improbable_humanoid

Giphy

Mama Never Steered Me Wrong

"Store-bought mayonnaise."

"I was raised in the South, and my mother (born in 1924) was kind of obsessed with the idea that mayonnaise left out of the refrigerator would "turn" and grow a bunch of salmonella."

"We were repeatedly cautioned to be sure to return the mayonnaise jar to the fridge immediately. When Mom was a girl, mayonnaise was homemade out of raw egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cooking oil."

"Then I took a food safety course (I was an RN and got assigned to be the safety inspector at my hospital) and to my great surprise the county food safety instructor told us that unrefrigerated commercial mayonnaise only very rarely was ever a problem."

"I still don't trust it though. My mama never steered me wrong, I don't care what the county food safety guy says."

- KaBar2

Giphy

Protective Coating

"EGGS"

"In America they are refrigerated because they get washed after laying so the cuticle is removed."

"I have hens at home and i do not refrigerate eggs and nowhere in Europe they do this in the stores and i have never ever bought an egg that has gone bad."

- HairyPlastic

Giphy

How The French Do

"Orange juice."

"I found out they don't refrigerate it over in France. That freaked me out."

- TeeteringCrockery

"You don't have to refrigerate it until you open it."

"Then you absolutely have to refrigerate it, in France just as much as anywhere else. It says this on the bottle/carton."

- VivianCold

Giphy

That Annoying Kid

"If you're that annoying kid, that almost-emptied water jug, carton of milk, juice container, etc."

- SafeNa_jhokjhok

Joseph Sikora Drinking GIF by PowerGiphy

But It's Better Cold

"Salami is a preservation technique that doesn’t require refrigeration."

- SnooPeppers8858

Food Cooking GIF by WiesbauerGiphy

It Never Lasts

"Orange juice. It’s a lot better at room temp."

"Orange juice never lasts longer then a day in my house, if I get heartburn maybe two days. I buy mine at this store where you can get the fresh squeezed stuff from a machine that has all these oranges at the top and you see the whole process of juice makin’"

"I usually chug half the bottle on my way home and then drink the rest later. It never gets refrigerated."

- LSVSK

Juicing Good Morning GIF by La Guarimba Film FestivalGiphy

No Spread

"Peanut butter. I always hated making pb and j with the cold ass peanut butter in the fridge."

"Black people, stop this nonsense. Yes, I'm calling us out. You know what your parents did."

- AlextheLyonnn

"Hispanic household here, was super annoying and weird to have cold peanut butter. It doesn't spread! Why do we do this?"

- NerdzillaFTW

"My fam keeps it in the fridge but I'd like it outside cuz it would be less difficult to actually get a scoop of it."

- WRISTBLVDE

Sad Peanut Butter GIF by For EverestGiphy

It's Gonna Have To Be A Big Circle

"The deepest circle of hell is reserved for anyone who puts jam, vegemite, tomato sauce or chocolate in the fridge."

"You're all terrible human beings!"

- Sowab

welcome to hell swerk GIFGiphy

Sketchy Sailor

"Most things. Even mayonnaise can live outside the fridge, as long as you always use a clean utensil."

"I lived on a sailboat for 3 years with no refrigerator and only ever needed a cooler when I wanted meat, or milk.
Even cheese can live on the counter."

"I'd leave leftovers (rice and bean based dishes, cooked meat sometimes) in Tupperware on the counter for a couple days even."

- mrjigglejam

Suspicious Pop Tv GIF by Schitt's CreekGiphy

Called Out

"Those 2 month old leftovers hiding in the back in the takeout container."

- Dylsnick

"I just cleaned out my fridge and this hits so hard."

"I went from full fridge to basically condiments. I was not proud of what I saw."

- h3yw00d

"I cleaned out my grandpa's fridge a week ago and found mustard in there that expired in 2016..."

- UnicornT-Rex

Hungry Labor Day GIF by BounceGiphy

Cool To Heat

"I think bagels."

"I mean you heat them up. Why would I cool them just to then heat em up again??"

- SubstantialLie366

Season 5 Episode 3 GIF by Broad CityGiphy

Buy Less

"Most people in this this thread buy more than they should and refrigerate things to make them last longer. Instead, buy less."

- CivilizedEightyFiver

Less Is More GIF by PeacockTVGiphy

American Hurricanes

"American cheese food product."

"Read that again carefully before setting your cheese slices on the counter."

"Cheese needs to be refrigerated. Cheese food product does not."

"Learned that surprising fact after Hurricane Irene triggered a nearly $300K food fight of grocery store staff dumping refrigeration loss spoilage."

- thatsharkchick

Texas Hurricane GIFGiphy

So what fridge-food hill are you totally willing to die on?

Join the food fight in the comments.

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People Who Actually Died And Were Revived Share Their Experiences

"Reddit user AlaskaStiletto asked: 'Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?'"

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.

In 2017, I returned to my office after my lunch break to hear my supervisors discussing Tom Petty. This seemed like a random topic to me until one of my supervisors told me Tom Petty had passed away. He was a huge fan of Petty and spent the next hour or so combing through the internet to get more information.

He came back into the room my other supervisor and I were working in and announced that Tom Petty wasn't dead after all. News outlets had jumped the gun to announce his death, but he was actually still alive.

The next day, I came in to find out that Tom Petty was dead; the news may have been premature, but true.

This is a classic example of the rumor being started on the internet. Sometimes, like with the news of Tom Petty's death, the rumor can run wild and appear everywhere. Other times, the rumor can be seen by just a few people and dismissed. However, a lot of times, these rumors turn out to be true.

Redditors know a lot of internet rumors that turned out to be true, and are eager to share.

It all started when Redditor strakerak asked:

"What started out as an internet rumor that ended up being infamously true?"

The King Of Pop

"Michael Jackson writing the music for Sonic 3."

"He actually did, but was never credited on the game because it would breach his contract with his record label."

– -WigglyLine-

"He did the same when he appeared on The Simpsons. He appeared under a pseudonym, and the Producers said it was an impersonator."

"Only years later they confirmed it really was Michael."

"His singing voice was actually done by an impersonator, though."

– given2fly_

The Truth Comes Out

"In 1998, US Men’s National Team captain John Harkes was shockingly cut from the team right before the World Cup. The coach claimed it was because Harkes wouldn’t fit into his new preferred formation, but rumors flew on the early internet that it was actually because he had slept with his teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife. The rumor was so well-known in soccer circles that Harkes expressly denied it in his autobiography the next year."

"Fast forward 12 years to 2010 and Wynalda admits it’s true. The coach then came out and admitted it was why he dropped Harkes, but that he’d planned to keep the secret as long as Wynalda did."

– guyfromsoccer

Video Evidence

"The Tim Burton Hansel and Gretel that aired once on halloween in the 80's."

"I heard for years that it was fake but I knew it was real because my dad recorded everything in the 80s and he recorded that. We let a good friend of ours borrow it and switch it over from VHS to DVD and soon after that it made its way on to the internet , and there it is now. I know it's our copy because the tracking in the beginning is screwed up. Still have the VHS."

– Frozenthickness

"There was a similar story with a Nickelodeon movie called Cry Baby Lane. It was supposed to be so scary that Nickelodeon got complaints and denied its existence for years. Someone uploaded a taped copy to youtube about a decade ago."

– PattiAllen

The Movie Business

"That North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of The Interview movie."

"I worked in the movie business at the time and the account managers at Sony all basically needed to get new identities as all of their personal information got leaked online."

OldMastodon5363

"My partner worked on that movie and the production bought all the crew 1 year of an identity theft tracking service."

CMV_Viremia

Keep Away From The Ears Of Kids

"Some banned episodes or scenes of cartoons."

"For example, I remember there was a Dexter’s Lab cartoon where he clones evil versions of DeDe and himself and they swear like every other word (censored of course), and people debated whether it even existed cause they only aired it like once. Now it’s pretty accessible online."

– Spledidlife

Yes, It's True

"Echelon, a massive electronic espionage system by the US and allies to intercept all electronic messages, especially emails."

"In the mid-nineties it was a topic on conspiracy BBS boards. A lot of people in my bubble at the time (mainly uni students in Europe) were including fake threats to the US in the their email signatures as a way to "protest" and "fill the system with false alarms" (obviously useless)."

"Then, in 1999-2000 came out to be true and a lot of security service agencies from UK and other US allies started to admit they were part of the espionage network."

– latflickr

How The Mighty Fell

"John Edward’s love child."

– ACam574

"A reminder that he was cheating on his wife while she was hospitalized for cancer treatment."

– Fanclock314

Ugh...

"Carrie Fisher's heart attack. Some a**hole who was on the same flight was livetweeting the whole medical emergency and justified it by insisting she was just making sure the family was informed."

– everylastlight

It Actually Happened

"Every year around her birthday there was a rumor that Betty White died. When I heard she died, I scoffed, saying that dumb rumor is back.... then saw it on the news. I was in shock."

– Known-Committee8679

"The fact that Betty died literally right before she turned 100 is such a Betty White way to go out."

– Paganigsegg

Big Actor, Small Roles

"I distinctly remember some rumors about the reason why Bruce Willis was taking so many roles in sh*tty movies before it was announced he has dementia."

– KampferMann

"RedLetterMedia did a deep dive on his recent movie activity to try and work out why exactly he was taking part in basically scam-movies. They noticed he had an earpiece in one of the scenes and joked that the director was feeding him lines. I remember they even disclaimed over the rumours at the time, and possible made a follow-up vid when it was revealed to the public."

– CardinalCreepia

What To Do Next?

"That the writer of LOST were making it up as they went."

"Turned out to be absolutely true."

– homarjr

That last one was kind of obvious!

Do you have any to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Shocked woman covering her mouth
vaitheeswaran Nataraj/Unsplash

When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.

But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.

Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.

It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.

Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:

"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"

These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.

Bleeding Out

"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."

"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."

– DongLaiCha

Tragic News

"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."

– accountnameredacted

Bottom Of The Barrel

"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."

– Crotch-Monster

A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.

Like Father, Like Son

"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."

– psycospaz

Busted

"Flashing blue lights."

– FiddleOfGold

"This sobered me up just thinking about it."

– redmaple_syrup

Losing Sight

"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."

– MissHibernia

Quitting The Bottle

"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."

– omgtater

These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.

Unplanned House Guests

"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."

– Oneinsevenbillion75

Serious Health Warning

"Elevated liver enzymes."

"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."

"So I opted for recovery, instead."

"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."

– Far_Meal8674

The Joyride

"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."

– foxfood9116

The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.

But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.

Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.