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People Explain Why They Oppose Legalizing Marijuana Use

People Explain Why They Oppose Legalizing Marijuana Use
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People typically think of cannabis legalization as one of those cut and dry things.

If you don't use marijuana, you probably don't want to legalize it.

If you do use marijuana, you are probably pro-legalization.

... except it's not that simple.


Reddit user SaifurCloudstrife asked:

"Redditors opposed to marijuana legalization and decriminalization: Why?"

Normally when these types of questions are asked, you get a bunch of people who are pro-the-thing chiming in and that absolutely happened here.

Interestingly, that opened up discourse that got people actually talking—probably more than they normally would have. The constant back and forth helped people get down to the core of their beliefs and reasons.

I can't say minds or hearts were changed, or even that people had particularly good reasons (and there were some not-great counter arguments, let's be real) when it came right down to it, but conversations were certainly had...

The 70's

"It's a drug."

"I have two examples in my close family that clearly show how devastating pot can be. This attitude to marijuana reminds me of the attitude towards cocaine in the mid to late seventies when everyone thought it was harmless 'nose candy.' "

"I'm against sentences for drug possession but many people would benefit from dealers serving 3-5 for selling pot."

- aykontakt

"But how is it any different than alcohol? Or would you ban that too? (Serious question)"

"Honestly, I think everyone against it should come to Canada for a visit. It's been legal here for 4 years and absolutely NONE of the spooky stories have come true."

"The only real differences is that people buy their weed in nice, clean stores with clear labels and not on street corners and our tax dollars don't go towards harassing people for a weekend indulgence."

- QueenShnoogleberry

Giphy

The Smell

"It stinks and makes people lazy."

- amateuraesthete

"It stinks"

- VanillaSarcoline

"I hate the smell it gives me headaches and makes me wanna puke!"

"And often the weed smokers don't care if they are a pain in the butt to others and that kind of apathy is a huge no for me."

- MyriamJean

Giphy

"I live in WA, where rec weed is legal."

"I rarely ever smell pot smoke. And I have the nose of a bloodhound."

"Yes, more often than as a teen when it was still illegal, but far less than any amount to be pro-prohibition about it."

"Plus, I mean, there's lots of smells I f*cking hate but wouldn't enact harmful laws over- Axe body spray being one."

- DiligentDaughter

"Laws can be made regarding where you can smoke."

"In Australia you can't smoke inside or within a certain distance to entryways. The only space you smell smoke is at an outdoor pub, designated smoking areas and occasionally when walking."

"It took years, but people become accustomed to new rules. Knowing Americans though, you guys will be on the brink of civil war if they brought in similar restrictions."

- IAMJUX

It's TOO Good

"I've read that the potency in pot these days is a hell of a lot stronger compared to say 20 or 30 yrs ago."

"The huge increase in THC levels should be a huge concern for people. The pot being legalized today is not the same I smoked when I was much younger."

- FreshStartLiving

"This argument has been rolled out again and again since I was in elementary school (~30 years ago) and I never understood it."

"THC is remarkably non-toxic, it's so much less toxic than many common substances people ingest on a regular basis (aspirin, and plenty of other OTC meds, as examples), to the point where actual THC toxicity is caused by physical rather than chemical/metabolic actions."

"Smoked cannabis is also much easier to titrate (dose appropriately), since the effects are nearly instantaneous - take a couple hits and you'll know if you've had enough within seconds."

Giphy

"As opposed to an accidental edible overdose where you might not know for a couple hours that you've taken a heroic dose."

"So a higher % of THC by weight in cannabis flower shouldn't be an issue, especially considering that back in D.A.R.E. they used to tell us that smoking cannabis was SO MUCH WORSE than smoking tobacco."

"Cannabis was supposedly so much 'harsher,' one joint contains 'toxins' equivalent to an entire pack of cigs, etc...which is total bull, but even if that were true...wouldn't that mean that stronger cannabis is less harmful, since you don't have to smoke so much to achieve the desired effect?"

"Can't have it both ways."

- r-whatdoyouthink_

It is high potency because it is illegal. It's easier to transport a half pound of skunk than 10 pounds of trash weed."

"Look at states that have legalized. There are low thc strains available and easily accessible."

- ADD-DDS

Like Cigarettes

"Because dipsh*ts will start smoking it in public places where others can not really avoid it, like is the case with cigarettes currently."

"Also yes: F*ck cigarettes."

- DariusIsLove

"Yep my problem is drugs in public."

"I do not care if you do drugs as long as your doing them in a private place. I don't want to breathe in your smoke and get lung cancer."

- Tom_89n

"I don't really have strong feelings regarding legalization but people who smoke anything in public spaces are annoying."

"I don't especially care what folks get up to on their own, it's when they make everyone around them a participant that it aggravates me."

"Plus, depending on the setting, it's really inconsiderate."

"I have a friend whose job does random drug testing and he left a bar because a bunch of folks were smoking inside and he was worried about work."

- illy-chan

Giphy

Go Away, Government!

"I'm for legalization but as someone that worked for corporate cannabis, I'd loathe seeing those scums run the market."

"My state Governor tried writing a recreational cannabis bill on their own terms since we are surrounded by recreational territories."

"They stated they didn't want it to lead to a ballot measure because that's worst case scenario (didnt think voters were educated) than proceeded to write the most comically bad legalization bill that existed - before completely dropping it because they couldn't write a competent law."

- Gat_Gat_Habitat

"I am about as anti pot as they come, but if they are going to legalize it, why wouldn't they make it legal to grow your own? (Rhetorical- I know the answer… same reason "they" are legalizing it… tax money)"

- tmccrn

"This is what I am screaming. For them it's only about money."

"They are waiting for the rich to install a profit making infrastructure before they let us peasants enjoy anything."

- Rancor8209

Giphy

The Idiots

"If I had any good reason it's because idiots insist it's not addictive and it doesn't impede your senses. So they drive and do dangerous sh*t while high."

"My issue isn't the severity of the impediment. It's that people refuse to admit that it does alter the mind."

"I already have one person insist they smoke weed and drive because they know their body."

"Now imagine if someone openly said that about alcohol and how you'd react. It's a really dumb mentality to have."

"If anything I'd push for it to be illegalized ALONG WITH alcohol and cigarettes."

"But prohibition taught us that is not the way to go."

- SketchySketchist

Giphy

The Same Path As Alcohol

"I believe that if it was legalized, it would become a much bigger part in society, much like how alcohol is now."

"I do have a problem with public drinking and personally view alcohol as much worse compared to marijuana."

"However, since drinking is already so ingrained in our society, it's not like we can get rid of it. I'm just hoping that weed doesn't follow in the same path as alcohol."

- cheetahstr1ke

Giphy

Snake Oil

"Im so sick of all these CBD oil pyramid schemes popping up!"

"The testimonials are all, 'I broke my spine in half and had to get it surgically fused together. Now all I have to do is rub a drop of CBD on it, and the pain is gone!' "

"And I'm not against it, I actually use high grade CBD at night to help me sleep. I hate going through a rep though, they always try to hard sell me on topical CBD for my back pain that's like $80 for a little jar, or $30 bath bombs."

"I have discs squeezing out of my spine, I'm pretty sure a dab of hemp oil is gonna do jack shit for that."

"And the cancer patient abuse!"

"Smoking or ingesting edibles with THC for pain management and appetite is super helpful for cancer patients, but cbd won't do anything. Not to mention getting an ounce of good weed won't set you back much, but getting a tiny vial of cbd can set you back a couple hundred bucks."

"With our healthcare system in the states, we know damn well cancer patients are already in a hole of debt. I'm worried legalizing will encourage these CBD lies."

"It's the new snake oil."

- Caserious

"My MIL is that person. She's was touting its Indica strains ability to outright cure cancer the last I saw her."

- aledayis

"Cancer patients get hit very hard with the cannabis oil scams. What kind of evil sh*t do you need to be to take advantage of desperate people?"

- OutrageousLie

"I agree with you about people thinking it's the grand cure all, but that's why I feel we SHOULD legalize."

"The main reason I want it legalize is so they can do more research on the things it does help. It's effect on tremors alone is fascinating."

- Nerdtrance

Wasted

"Used to smoke weed every single day for nearly 3 years and used to be all for legislation."

"Managed to get off it a while back and looking back, I think that stuff f*cked my life up completely. I wasted thousands on it and dropped out of college because of it."

"Also I lost my job because I got too depressed because all I used to think about was smoking weed. I'd wake up every morning and the first thing I thought about was weed."

"That's the same with nearly everyone who smokes it. You're only lying to yourself if you say it's not."

"I would never go back to it now. My days of smoking weed are over. F*ck that shit."

"I'm not saying this will happen to everyone but I know a LOT of people that just sit all day every day and smoke weed and completely waste their lives."

"On the other hand I don't know anyone who is able to hold down a decent job and smoke every day and try and say they aren't dependent on it. It's actually really sad to see."

"I'm also from the UK. It would turn this place into a zombie land 100%."

"And yes this will probably get downvoted to oblivion by all the stoners. I woulda done the same 4 months ago."

"They are all addicted/dependent on it. I don't like using the word addicted when talking about green because I don't think you can really become physically addicted to it."

"You won't have withdrawal symptoms or anything if you go off it but you can definitely become dependent on it which is almost the same as addicted I guess."

"Addiction is always around the corner from dependency."

"It's when you stop smoking it and see how much better you can handle your life without it."

"Some people find it very difficult to give up even though they know it might be affecting their family life or money, they continue to do it. That's when it becomes a problem."

"If you're smoking marijuana every day it's already been proven to lower IQ levels. Also if you started smoking in your teens it's thought to alter brain development, but I believe there are still studies going on in that."

"Marijuana is becoming more potent than ever. The studies will come out in the next ten years, I would be VERY surprised if smoking potent marijuana every day isn't doing any adverse affects on your health."

- McGintySir

Father Of The Bride Money GIFGiphy

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The Actors Who Seemed Miscast But Absolutely Nailed The RoleFew people bought into the idea of Bryan Cranston in the role of Walter White before Breaking Bad...

She Robbed A Store

"Marijuana ruined my best friend's life."

"She was really smart, but she ended up being peer pressured into marijuana and robbed a convenience store with a deadly weapon."

"She ended up not being able to finish college. We don't talk anymore because she blamed it on me because I didn't stop her (I was about 150 miles away and in a different state when she told me she was about to rob it, so there was nothing I could do anyway.)"

- ilovewalnuts

"Wait, she got talked into robbing a store, then tried to blame YOU for her robbing that store because you 'didn't stop her' like people need to be told not to rob places with deadly weapons... and you still think the problem was the weed and not the friend?"

"kay."

- [Reddit]

things bob GIFGiphy

No Ambition

"In my own personal experience, everyone that I've known to smoke weed either tried it once and hated it or became dependent and would smoke multiple times a day. There was absolutely no middle ground."

"Becoming dependent on a substance for normal daily living is incredibly unhealthy. They would smoke before exams, smoke before going to work. Smoke before going to class."

"We've seen the affects of alcohol dependence, and yet it's perfectly legal."

"The spill over effects of legalizing marijuana would enable people who are already dependent on the drug to function in normally society, to not ever get any kind of substance abuse help. Why would they if they can walk to their nearest dispensary to buy more?"

"A girl I dated a few months ago was also heavily dependent."

"She told me straight up she has no ambition to actively pursue higher paying jobs because the one she was in at the time allowed her the flexibility to work from home and secretively smoke weed whenever she wanted."

"She worried that pursuing a higher paying higher responsibility job would hinder her ability to smoke weed when she wanted to."

"Again to reiterate, making marijuana legal only serves to reinforce the fact that these people engaging in these habits is okay because it's legal and they face no repercussions."

"Not to mention the act of smoking weed hinders everybody else around you not just yourself. If I want to have a beer while I'm playing video games, that doesn't bother my neighbor."

"If my neighbor wants to smoke weed while he's playing video games, now I and the other neighbors have to smell it and it stinks."

"Weed contains pollutants that can stain the area around you over time similar to cigarettes. Just look at what cigarettes do to people's houses after 40 years of smoking indoors."

- NotBen_2

Im Good Regina King GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy

Let's Talk About Schedules

"I'm against decriminalization but not against legalization. Decriminalization allows it to still be used against people. Legalization is the way to go here."

"I say this as a Federal employee: The schedule needs to be re-evaluated."

"For those who doesn't know what that means, a drug's schedule (or danger level in layman's terms) is based upon the potential for abuse and it's apparent medical applications. Heroin, LSD, Ecstasy and marijuana are all schedule 1, at the top."

"Legally they have 'no currently accepted medical use' in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse."

"Schedule 2 substances have a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence and are mostly opioids: methadone, fentanyl, morphine, opium, adderall, Ritalin, codeine, etc."

"Schedule 3 substances have a potential for abuse less than substances in Schedules I or II and abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence and include anabolic steroids, ketamine, and Tylenol with codeine."

"Finally schedules 4 and 5 have things on descending scales of potential for abuse, and are things like valium and Xanax [4] and codeine containing cough syrups [5]."

"Okay, enough context, now back to marijuana."

"Schedule 1 means no currently accepted medical use. I think that right there should be challenged."

"Dozens of states have recognized marijuana as successful treatment protocols for a multitude of medical conditions. Studies from all over the world have shown decades worth of use for conditions including:"

"Alzheimer's disease"

"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)"

"HIV/AIDS"

"Cancer"

"Crohn's disease"

"Epilepsy and seizures"

"Glaucoma"

"Multiple sclerosis and muscle spasms"

"Severe and chronic pain"

"Severe nausea"

"Next, a schedule 1 drug means there is 'a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.' "

"This is talking about the risk of overdose and dosage delivery. I have never heard of a single person dying from marijuana overdose. Nobody has. Doctors have been looking for it since the 1950's and it hasn't happened. So I challenge that."

"Finally: 'a high potential for abuse.' I have never seen anyone with a crippling marijuana addiction."

"Notice how neither cigarettes, alcohol, nor caffeine are mentioned anywhere. That is because they are not scheduled."

"And here we see the political underpinnings of how these substances are scheduled. Tobacco products come with horrible health related issues from the tar and nicotine in them, whether smoked or dipped."

"I would say that all 3 are more habit forming than marijuana. The health impacts are also more severe, whether you want to talk about abuse (DUIs, domestic incidents and fights while drunk) and the long term medical effects linked with them such as pneumonia, COPD, liver disease and high blood pressure along with a variety of cancers."

"If you look at the values relative to other substances, the logic behind the schedule falls apart. Mostly because there wasn't any logic to begin with. I won't get into details, but look up Harry J. Anslinger and what he said about WHY cannabis needed to be a federal issue."

"But let's think about what being Schedule 1 means."

"According to the government cannabis has no medical uses, it's more harmful than meth or fentanyl? It's more addictive than morphine? It's so dangerous it needs to be given under medical supervision or you can overdose?"

"None of that is true and everyone has always known that."

"As for why I am against decriminalization, here is the reason: its still illegal. It still becomes a charge for suspicion."

"This is changing in some places, but the old "I smelt marijuana in the car and had grounds to search the entire vehicle" and racial disparities of police justice have their roots."

"Also, I am a big fan of firearms. I'm a federal employee. If marijuana is only decriminalized, legally they can still say 'guns or pot, pick one, you cant have both or its a felony.' and 'yes its decriminalized but as a federal employee you still can't partake no matter how much it helps you.' "

"I've never consumed, but as a child it was done a lot around me in my household and friends homes. I grew up with responsible use so I'm well familiar with what that REALLY looks like."

- CannibalVegan

Independence Day Makes No Sense GIF by Paramount NetworkGiphy

So what have we really learned here? I'm not really certain.

Lots of people's reasons seemed under-informed, but just as many people had legitimate concerns.

Sure, those concerns could just as easily be applied to alcohol, but lots of Redditors admitted that and seemed to take LARGER issue with alcohol than cannabis. It was honestly difficult to find anyone (aside from the smell people) who was 100% against it.

And that, dear reader, is possibly the biggest takeaway from this. Attitudes are changing.

Sorry, D.A.R.E.—looks like we said yes to drugs. Well, cannabis at least.


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People Who've Lost Weight Break Down What Surprised Them Most

Reddit user apprenti8455 asked: 'People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?'

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.

Person holding large stack of books
Photo by Jay Lamm on Unsplash

Whether you're naturally interested in fun facts and trivia or not, it's always nice to know a few that you can pull out of your pocket at a moment's notice as a nice conversation starter.

But there are some fun facts out there that are so weird, people become more preoccupied with how the teller found out that information rather than the information itself.

Redditor Dry_Bus_935 asked:

"What is your 'don't ask me how I know' random fact?"

Nuclear Fail Safe

"You have quite a lot of time, certainly more than ten seconds, to turn back on the main pumps of a nuclear reactor once you have accidentally turned them off."

- egorf

"I'm not surprised. The amount of fail safes, redundancies, and emergency scenario planning for nuclear power plants is insane."

"I toured a nuclear plant and wrote my high school senior thesis on the plans put in place to ensure the Fukushima disaster would not happen at that plant."

"I'm sure the secondary pumps are plenty capable of handling the reactor until the main pumps are repaired or just turned back on."

- Borderlandsman

Happy Cat

"If your cat chews on fresh eucalyptus, they might start hallucinating and fall over repeatedly, leading to a $400 emergency vet bill just to be told she’s just kinda high."

- oddidealstronghold

"And, that's part of why koalas love it. Little stoners."

- littlebluefoxy

Archaeology: Do Not Lick

"Old human bones are very porous, so if you lick them, they’ll stick to your tongue."

- clanculcarius

Sharing is Caring

"A pigeon will only eat a Starburst if you chew it up a little bit first. Just to clarify: chew the Starburst, not the pigeon."

- OhTheHueManatee

"Instructions unclear. Pigeon unhappy."

- Wild-Lychee-3312

Intriguing Anatomy

"Everyone is here with the creepy crime stuff, and I'm just like, 'A soft fur rat has 22 nipples.'"

- horroscoblue

"Okay, so either they have really small nipples, their nipples overlap, or they have nipples in places where there shouldn't be nipples."

"(I've never written the word 'nipples' so many times in a singular sentence before.)"

- GdeGraaf

'Don't Ask Me,' Indeed!

"Turmeric can be used as clothes dye. It is capable of permanently dyeing cotton cloth even after it has passed through the digestive tract of an adult male."

- SlefeMcDichael

"You s**t your pants, didn't you?"

- PMmecrossstitch

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

- SlefeMcDichael

High-Risk Survival Skills

"If you ever trying to survive in the Arctic, don’t eat polar bear liver. It is so high in vitamin A, it will kill you."

- WrongWayCorrigan-361

"It's also surrounded by a lethal amount of angry polar bear."

- horanc2

Real-Life Spies

"TV shows and movies go out of their way to make military/intelligence officers look bada**."

"But real-life 'spies,' by design and training, are boring. They have regular houses and standard second-hand cars, they dress down, and they have vague, boring job titles (accounts receivable) as cover, and they do not draw attention to themselves. Most come from specialized academia."

- Ok_Worth_1093

Haunting Reality

"Your muscles can keep twitching for several hours after you die."

- JustDave62

"Also, beards can appear to grow. This is however not because the beard itself grows but because the skin shrinks."

- RRautamaa

"I worked at a morgue for over eight years. If you grasp the hand of a dead body to move the arm, the hand will grasp back, but that's just muscles and tendons reacting to the tension."

- goneferalinid

The Sneakiness of Drowning

"When a drowning victim is revived, get them to a hospital as soon as possible. Drowning is the leading cause of death of kids from the age of one to seven and is ruled as accidental drowning when it comes to secondary drowning or dry drowning."

"Basically, your lungs are full of water despite being revived. Your lungs will absorb the liquid, but not before your body acidifies from high levels of carbon dioxide. The only chance to survive is to have the lungs pumped with oxygen via CPAP machine and time."

"Also, drowning is extremely quiet. You don’t hear the victim go under. And if you see flailing, do not attempt to save the victim otherwise you’ll become another drowning victim. Throw them a lifeline and hope their amygdala realizes that a rope or something is floating near them and grabs on it."

- Dfiggsmeister

Not Everyone's Favorite Chocolate

"Hershey’s chocolate has the strong smell of vomit or feces to some people (me), and that’s because they use butyric acid as a preservative. Butyric acid is the compound that makes vomit smell so bad."

"Edit: Digging further into it, there are some claims that they may not be “adding” the butyric acid, but rather it is occurring from essentially spoiling the milk in their milk chocolate. Either way, the butyric acid and putrid smell remains a part of their product."

- hefewiseman1

"That explains the weird aftertaste I always get! I don’t smell it but their chocolate always has this super unpleasant sharp/acidic aftertaste that I find repulsive. I assume this is why!!"

- PomegranateNo975

Do Not Lick the Asbestos

"Asbestos tastes like chalk. And if you lick it, it has the texture of extremely gritty sandpaper. Which is actually the feeling of microscopic asbestos needles piercing your flesh!"

- TooYoungToBeThisOld1

Mapping Out the War

"Beginning in 1911 in anticipation of the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, two statesmen, one from England and one from France, began visiting locations in France that they believed would be the settings for a number of major battles that would occur during the great war."

"Long bike rides through these future battle zones in the countryside and weeks spent building a foundation for a French-Anglo codebook that would later prove important in helping win the war."

- fjordperfect123

Avoiding Lawsuits > Protecting Patients

"Doctors, or surgeons more specifically, that make too many mistakes during surgery, ie, leaving instruments in patients, frequently gets ‘quietly traded’ to other hospitals where they continue their path of destruction with the patients not being aware of their past record. Hospitals tend to keep quiet about the matter to avoid lawsuits."

- Kittytigris

Bonus Points: Do This While Having Lunch in Your Car

"If you overfill a fast food gravy cup and then put a lid on, it will create a pressurized gravy stream that sprays all over your face and uniform while your coworker looks on in horror."

- thechaosjester776

This subReddit thread was so a roller-coaster of random facts, we've surely all walked away learning something.

But the biggest takeaway might just be: Maybe don't lick so many things.

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.