An enlightening online discussion recently highlighted some harsh truths. A poster asked for examples of things that people treat as seemingly harmless despite their very real danger. Here is what the forum had to say. Do you agree?
1. Driving With Loose Animals in Vehicles
How often have you seen someone, or been the one, to allow pets to roam free in a moving vehicle? It’s hazardous for you and the animals. A Veterinary Technician explains that loose cats in cars typically hide in low places. So sometimes they get under the brake pedals when loose. So it’s never a good idea.
2. Water on the Roadway
Water on the roadway is more dangerous than many recognize. Unfortunately, finding yourself in a life-or-death situation doesn’t take much water on the pavement.
I hit a puddle at 35 miles an hour and hydroplaned into a telephone pole that sent someone’s mailbox through the air, barely missing impact with a brand-new vehicle. It was terrifying. Additionally, driving a Mustang with rear-wheel drive taught me how dangerous water and ice on the road can be.
3. Not Wearing Sunscreen
Numerous people have stories about the dangers of not wearing sunscreen. You can develop skin cancer known as melanoma. Despite being treatable if caught early, many don’t discover it until it’s too late, and it becomes fatal.
4. Sympathetic Online Ears
Someone online with a sympathetic ear for problems is dangerous for children and young adults. Unfortunately, even older people fall for swindling romance scams that drain their retirement and life savings.
True. Many people have made genuine friendships with strangers on the internet. However, it doesn’t negate the reality that online predators are real and dangerous. One says, “Bonus danger points on anyone who throws down ‘You’re really mature for your age.'” Yes. If you are young, hearing that from an older person, the relationship is unhealthy and manipulative.
5. Not Wearing a Helmet
Not wearing a helmet when you ride your bike, scooter, skateboard, rollerblades, or motorcycle is one of the dumbest mistakes people make. One user clarifies, “As someone whose mother was a solicitor who specialized in getting compensation for people who had life-altering brain injuries, it makes me want to puke every time I see one of them on the road. I try and tell them, the school tries to tell them, their parents probably try to tell them, but they don’t think it’ll ever happen to them.”
6. Moose
I can attest to this. I lived in Alaska for a year on the Kenai peninsula. People get trampled every year. Once, my mom was walking the property and encountered a colossal moose positioning itself to charge. She was terrified, but her two dogs saved the day. Nonetheless, she expressed fear for the dogs’ lives. Moose do not play.
7. Not Washing Fruits and Vegetables
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen the annual romaine lettuce scares when people become ill from eating contaminated produce. Someone admits, “I almost died from E. Coli because of this. I was terrified!”
8. Water Up Your Nose
Getting water up your nose is more dangerous than many people realize. Brain-eating amoebas (Naegleria fowleri) can get inside you because of this, and they have a 97% mortality rate if it occurs, even with treatment.
9. Co-Sleeping With Babies
Co-sleeping with your baby is, sadly, a very dangerous thing. Did you know that roughly 3500 babies die in the U.S. each year from being suffocated by co-sleeping? It’s terrible and something many parents choose to ignore.
10. Putting Your Feet on the Dashboard
OK. There are some rather graphic descriptions of injuring people have allegedly heard about from EMTs, but I will spare you those details. However, never put your feet up on a vehicle’s dashboard. You can suffer severe injury or death when an accident occurs and the airbag deploys.
11. Driving When Exhausted
Did you know that driving while exhausted can be as, if not more, dangerous than drunk driving? Several people share stories of close calls. However, one was not so lucky.
He fell asleep with his cruise control at 50mph, which resulted in him in a ditch and totaling his car. He states, “Ford has excellent airbags, so I got out unscathed, but I could’ve died or killed someone else. Don’t drive tired people.”
Someone volunteers that if you ever find yourself in a pure exhausted state, pull over and make yourself gag. Others suggest pulling over to sleep.
12. Pool Covers
Pool covers. One explains, “are like being wrapped in a bedsheet underwater.” You can’t break free, and you can’t scream for help. Once you’re in, the only way to get out is to be incredibly lucky and get free or have faith that someone saw or heard you fall in and hope they reach you in time. “It’s a lengthy, terrifying death that’s completely avoidable.”
13. Undercooked Kidney Beans
Not boiling dried kidney beans long enough can cause Lectin toxicity, which can cause red blood cells to clump together. Additionally, it can result in nausea, gas, bloating, vomiting, upset stomach, and diarrhea. A foodie shared that crockpots do not heat them high enough to eliminate this problem. So boil them for ten minutes before adding them to crockpot recipes.
14. Social Media
Science has linked social media to a negative self-image, anxiety, depression, and other mental illness issues. One states, “It’s a thief of time, spreader of unresearched misinformation, home of abuse, and a constant stream of dopamine.” I couldn’t have said it any better.
15. Oil Painting in a Closed Studio
Oil painting in a closed studio is dangerous due to paint thinner fumes. Others add epoxy handcrafting, 3D resin printing, or anything involving resins that are all “Stinky toxic.”
16. Pushing Someone’s Face Into a Cake
Did you know that many tiered cakes have skewers to support them? So what seems like a seemingly harmless prank can result in being impaled and losing an eye. Additionally, several users in the thread suggest it’s a jerk thing to do. I’ve seen videos of this where they slammed the person’s head so hard that it smacked into the solid wood table.
17. Getting Into a Car
“Getting into a car is one of the riskiest things we do on a daily basis.” One adds that while this is true, half of the people on the road are racing around like it’s Mario Kart.
They further note it’s insane when you realize the only thing preventing violent crashes into oncoming traffic is an expectation that everyone on the road will “follow guidelines of painted lines on the ground.”
18. Calm Ocean Patches
Did you know that a patch of calm, smooth ocean between sections that look rough is dangerous? A swimmer explains it “generally means” there’s a rip tide under the surface waiting to drag you out to sea and drown you.
19. Garage Springs
Garage springs are dangerous. A prior door installer admits being very wary of the springs initially because he heard the stories. They are springs under tension and fire like a shotgun when busted. They can seriously injure or kill you.
20. Kids Picking Flowers
A conservation Technician for a county park system shares that she prevents parents from allowing them to pick flowers every year. For example, she’s caught kids picking poison hemlock (one of the deadliest plants if ingested) or wild parsnip, “which can cause severe permanent scarring, burns, and boils if the sap gets onto your skin and is exposed to sunlight.”
21. Cults
Cults are a dangerous operation that most people ignore as seemingly harmless. If you’ve never been indoctrinated by a cult or been around those who have, it’s easy to ignore. But when you’ve been a part of one, it’s easy to spot the markings of a cult in other things like MAGA, and it’s scarier understanding those implications.
Things That Donald Trump and His MAGA Cult Ruined for the Rest of Us
What did MAGA ruin for you? I’ll go first and say relationships. Family and friends I have known for years revealed a side to them I didn’t realize existed or represented their thoughts on things like the rights of people of color.
12 Stupidest Things People Brag About Like We Are Supposed to Be Impressed
What is the stupidest thing people brag about? I’ll go first and say when Americans brag about not tipping. I understand tipping culture has gotten out of hand, but if you’re in a sit-down restaurant and don’t tip, you’re a jerk, and it’s nothing to be proud of. After someone asked for other examples in an online forum, here are THEIR top responses.
20 Skills People Born Before 1990 Possess That No One Uses Anymore, Do You?
I love reminiscing about the good ole days sometimes, and that is how I stumbled on this fun thread in an online forum: “People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?” Here are some of their best answers! Do you remember?
15 Jobs That Women Admit Are Automatic Deal Breakers for Dating Them
Are there any professions that would make a person undatable for you? You’re not alone. A man recently asked women in an online forum, “What job would a man have that would be an automatic deal breaker for you?” Here are THEIR honest confessions.
Top 12 Most Racist Disney Classics That Are Better Left in the Vault
Exploring film history often exposes tales of awe, imagination, and cultural shifts. Did you know that there are racist undertones in many Disney classics? It makes sense as progress evolves throughout the decades, but it’s cringe-watching it now. Here is a look at the most racist Disney films.
Source: Reddit.
Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and spirituality.