Month: March 2020

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A Donor’s Family Received a Teddy Bear With the Heartbeat From Heart Recipient

This is an unusual and heartwarming story.

After his 16-year old son, Dakota, was killed in a car accident, John Reid made the decision to donate the teen’s organs. In return, he received something very special. The man who got Dakota’s heart sent him a teddy bear with his boy’s heartbeat inside.

Stephanie, John’s wife, posted a video of John’s reaction when he saw the bear from Robert O’Connor, the man who received the heart.

In an accompanying letter, O’Connor wrote,

“I would have preferred to give this to you in person, but not sure when that would happen.”

John gets understandably emotional when he sees the Build-A-Bear toy wearing a t-shirt that says “Best Dad Ever,” and he hears the sound of his son’s beating heart.

The gentleman who received Dakotas heart sent John Allen Lee Reid a build a bear with Dakotas heartbeat! ❤❤❤. Thank you!

Posted by Stephanie Reid on Wednesday, 5 February 2020

John said,

“When I got the bear, my heart was filled with joy. I did not expect any of this. I never left Dakota’s side.

At night I would lay my head on his chest for hours at a time, every night, listening to his heartbeat. Now, thanks to Bob, I can list [sic] to his heartbeat again!”

Photo Credit: Facebook

John told CBS that Dakota was killed early last year when the SUV he was riding in hit a car that pulled out in front of them. John and O’Conner now speak daily about how they can share the message of the importance of organ donation.

John has been contacted by others who received Dakota’s organs. A farmer, who got his kidneys and pancreas, and another young man, who can see again after receiving his eyes, have both reached out.

Photo Credit: Facebook

To John, it means the world to know his son has helped these people with his organs.

“It is the best healing and comfort I could ever ask for.

For sure, it is a part of God’s plan.”

He and O’Conner are determined to meet in person soon. John says O’Connor is blood–a true part of his family now.

The post A Donor’s Family Received a Teddy Bear With the Heartbeat From Heart Recipient appeared first on UberFacts.

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These 12 Tweets Prove Kids Can Be Brutal and Hilarious

Kids sometimes don’t have filters! Their innocence and precocious nature can drop a parent to the floor laughing.

These 12 tweets will have you crying with savage delight and brighten your inner child soul!

12. Chance the Rapper would be proud

11. The ugly truth?

10. This girl knows her worth

9. I’m not crying, you’re crying

8. Lentils down!

7. Oh, crap

6. A little more training, dad

5. Say, wha??

4. Dracula lives in us all

3. Inquiring minds need to know!

2. Ther-MOM-eter

1. Jackets make potatoes too hot, dear

Gotta love the innocence in these tweets! I wish I never lost that wit.

What about your kiddos? Share your best kid stories in the comments!

The post These 12 Tweets Prove Kids Can Be Brutal and Hilarious appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Woman Shared Her Personal Experience About Having COVID-19

The worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is in full swing, People are nervous, governments are telling everyone to stay home, canceling school, sporting events, and discouraging large gatherings, there’s no toilet paper and no one is sure how to clean themselves or their houses (apparently).

And while the news is full of all of the concerning things, people online are trying to push happier narratives – the instances of people coming together, people helping their neighbors, and success stories.

The latter is the reason that Seattle resident Elizabeth Schneider decided to share her story online. She caught coronavirus and survived to tell the tale, and hopes that her experience will both quell people’s fears – and remind them why it’s important to follow the CDC’s recommendations while people are still at risk.

Because listen…it spreads at least as easily as they’re saying.

I had COVID-19 and here is my story. I made this post public out of several requests from my friends who asked me to…

Posted by Elizabeth Schneider on Sunday, March 8, 2020

“I believe I caught it when attending a small house party at which no one was coughing, sneezing, or otherwise displaying any symptoms of illness. It appears that 40% of the attendees of this party ended up sick.”

Among their group of friends, the symptoms varied based on age and prior health.

“Most of my friends who got it were in their late 40s to early 50s. I’m in my mid 30s.

For us it was a headache, fever (for the first 3 days consistently and then on and off after 3 days), severe body aches and joint pain, and severe fatigue.”

I had a fever that spiked the first night to 103 degrees and eventually came own to 100 and then low grade 99.5. Some folks had diarrhea.

I felt nauseous one day. Once the fever is gone some were left with nasal congestion, sore throat. Only a very few of us had a mild itchy cough.

Very few had chest tightness or other respiratory symptoms.”

It lasted around 10-16 days.

The local health department recommended 7 days of isolation after the onset of symptoms, or 72 hours after your fever breaks. Elizabeth and her friends, though, are still avoiding large crowds and close personal interactions alike.

They believe that washing your hands and avoiding large crowds isn’t going to be enough to keep everyone safe and healthy.

“I also truly believe the lack of testing is leading to folks believing that they just have a cold or something else going out into public and spreading it.

And worse folks with no symptoms are also spreading it as in the case of a person attending a party or social gathering who has no symptoms.”

And listen, we all have to do our parts.

“You more likely than not will not die, but do you want to risk spreading it to a loved one or over 60 or someone with an immunity issue?

Stay healthy folks!”

It’s nice to hear about the experience from someone who has had it, but if anything, her tale only reinforces what health officials are saying – so stay home, wash your hands, clean your house, and spend time with your family.

And once that gets old, tackle some of those projects you’ve been putting off. I know we all have that list!

The post A Woman Shared Her Personal Experience About Having COVID-19 appeared first on UberFacts.

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These InfoComics Illustrate The Impact Of Social Distancing On The Spread Of COVID-19

There’s a ton of information about how we can all help stop the spread of coronavirus, why it’s important to do our part, and what could happen if people choose to simply go about their business and usual.

Like, a sh*t ton. It’s overwhelming, some of it is hard to decipher (because we’re not all scientists) and also, it can be hard to tell which ones are the most applicable to us personally, and why we should care.

Enter artist Wei Man Kow, who writes comicsforgood.com.

View this post on Instagram

(Part 1/2) Did a short #infocomic on how to keep yourself safe from #coronaviruses. Swipe left to read comic! – Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common #cold, seasonal #flu, #mers, #sars, and the #wuhanvirus. The same methods can be used to prevent similar #contagious #respiratory #diseases. I’ve cited my references for the information in the last page of Part 2. – I’ve been utterly miserable with a tenacious fever, cough, and cold that will NOT go away for a month and a half. This is my third week away from work, and I miss work ?. I’ve decided to put the results of my intense googling on how NOT to get a cold EVER again into a comic that can be quickly and easily understood by everyone, in hopes that no one will have to suffer from highly preventable illnesses. – Do forgive if some of the lines have been shaky, was coughing through drawing it, while chugging meds. Working on the comic did help me feel more sane/focused while recovering though, and a nice break from eating meds and sleeping the days away. – I’m thinking of doing a version in Chinese next. Let me know if there’s something related you want me to cover in an infocomic too! Stay safe everyone! . . . #coronavirus #maxpack #ourbetterworld #frankentoonbrushes #ipad #procreate #psa #drawing #illustration #cartoon #doodle #infographic #digitalart #sketchnote #design #instaart #comic #sequentialart #webcomic #covid19comics

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She was sick and researching the illness a few weeks ago, and found that many of the informative articles on COVID-19 were hard to digest. So, she does what every good artist tries to do – she used her talents to disseminate the particulars to the public.

I mean it. The illustrations she’s come up with would even help children grasp what’s going on, and she also adapted it into a handy, downloadable infographic.

You can keep it in your purse, you can print it poster-sized and hang it on your wall.

View this post on Instagram

(Part 2/2) Did a short #infocomic on how to keep yourself safe from #coronaviruses. Swipe left to read comic! – Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common #cold, seasonal #flu, #mers, #sars, and the #wuhanvirus. The same methods can be used to prevent similar #contagious #respiratory #diseases. I’ve cited my references for the information in the last page of Part 2. – I’ve been utterly miserable with a tenacious fever, cough, and cold that will NOT go away for a month and a half. This is my third week away from work, and I miss work ?. I’ve decided to put the results of my intense googling on how NOT to get a cold EVER again into a comic that can be quickly and easily understood by everyone, in hopes that no one will have to suffer from highly preventable illnesses. – Do forgive if some of the lines have been shaky, was coughing through drawing it, while chugging meds. Working on the comic did help me feel more sane/focused while recovering though, and a nice break from eating meds and sleeping the days away. – I’m thinking of doing a version in Chinese next. Let me know if there’s something related you want me to cover in an infocomic too! Stay safe everyone! . . . #coronavirus #wuhan #maxpackwatercolor #maxpack #frankentoonbrushes #ipad #procreate #psa #drawing #illustration #cartoon #doodle #infographic #digitalart #sketchnote #design #instaart #comic #sequentialart #webcomic

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She’s also translated it into multiple languages, and urges you to email her at comicsforgood@gmail.com if you need help translating it into another language.

One of my favorite things about this whole pandemic situation (okay, my only favorite thing, but silver linings are hard to come by) is the people who are coming together, using their talents to make things easier, and simply showing the rest of us how to be better human beings.

View this post on Instagram

And…. my next topic is on misinformation! Why it is dangerous, how to identify it and how to fight it! Like many others, my heart sank when I saw others hoarding supplies at the supermarket and pharmacies, and I would like to highlight some of the terrible consequences that might happen as a result. ???? . I created this comic as part of a group of launch artists for the #covid19comicsforgood #c19cfg challenge, organised by @comicsforgood, to help make difficult facts about covid-19 easier to understand for the public. ?? . Check out the other launch artist’s works at their pages @donlowcomics @callouscomics @_o.plus @cktanjames @curiouspiyuesh ??????? . I’m tagging @tanveenabar, @ladyfingersco_, and @artbynikkita, the wonderful sketchnoters from India I met at @designupconf in #bangalore last year, to continue the challenge! ! ?? ?? ?? . Check out the challenge guidelines at @comicsforgood. You can help by tagging your favorite artists to continue the challenge! ?? . . #c19cfg #coronavirus #COVID19 #art #sciencecomics #artchallenge #challenge #comicsforgood #covid19healthtips #covid19facts #covid19safetytips #health #fightcovid19 #sciencecomics #creativity #infographic #graphicmedicine #sketchnotes

A post shared by Wei Man Kow (@weimankow) on

It’s not easy to be a good neighbor in the best of times, but in times like these, lifting other people up is going to be the best and only way to get through unscathed.

I hope this infocomic helped you with your own understanding, and stay healthy out there, my friends.

The post These InfoComics Illustrate The Impact Of Social Distancing On The Spread Of COVID-19 appeared first on UberFacts.

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Look at this Teacher’s Ingenious Hand Washing Solution to Help Her Kids Stay Safe

In the case of teaching children important lessons about safety in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, one teacher’s simple solution has made waves on social media.

Shauna Woods is a third-grade teacher at Hallsville Schools in Missouri. Her creative method for ensuring her kids understand the importance of washing their hands is not only ingenious but also heart-warming. Woods told Good Morning America that the schools experience a spike in illness and absentees around this time every year due to viruses and the familiar common cold.

So what’s the secret behind Woods’ hand-washing lesson?

Stamps!

Y107 l, a local radio station, told my class today that if their stamps were all gone by the end of the day, they would visit our classroom after Spring Break. Needless to say, they earned their prize today. ?

Posted by Mrs. Woods 3rd Grade on Thursday, March 12, 2020

Woods explained that she stamps students’ hands every morning. To incentive her students for washing their hands, Woods rewards students with a prize if the stamp is washed away by the end of the day. The simple gesture could pay off immensely during a time where concern about the coronavirus outbreak is at an all-time high.

Woods explained,

“I’ve had a ‘Mrs. Woods’ stamp for years and have used it to stamp my classroom books.

I decided to grab that on a Monday morning, told students to wash their hands in the classroom sink and then come see their teacher — this was their morning work as we call it.

I put the stamp on their hands and they were sold when I told them prizes were involved.”

Posted by Mrs. Woods 3rd Grade on Monday, March 2, 2020

Of course, Woods had to educate her students that the goal wasn’t simply to wash away the stamp for the prize. Rather, she explained that it should serve as a reminder to be diligent about staying clean and germ-free throughout the entire day.

The teacher even got involved in the challenge herself and has inspired other teachers to follow suit.

Woods said,

“Let’s be honest, some student’s biggest worry is if they’ll get to recess on time.

Providing a visual reminder and incentive has boosted their hygiene regiment.

I even joined in on the fun and put a stamp on my hand to be their positive role model.”

Woods’ small act just goes to show the power of educating the public on proper hygiene methods. Her stamp method may not be the cure to solving the coronavirus pandemic, but she certainly made her mark in one corner of the world.

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Young Americans Who Don’t Vote Talk About Why They Don’t

There’s a huge election coming up in November that’s been in the news just a little bit.

The upcoming election has become very divisive with people digging in on both sides of the aisle. What will happen? We’ll have to wait and see.

But one thing we can all agree on is that if you’re an American, you should vote.

But these young Americans went on the record and admitted they don’t.

AskReddit users opened up and said why they don’t vote.

1. This is why.

“This will be the first year I won’t vote. I don’t want my parents being able to find out where im living and once you register your address to vote then your info is out there. I don’t have enough cause to file a restraining order against them either so I can’t do one of those programs like they have for DV survivors.”

2. Don’t have the right.

“I got caught up in the opiate epidemic currently sweeping the nation and currently do not have the right to.”

3. Working all the time.

“I didn’t vote in my early 20s because I couldn’t make it to the polls due to work.

In my mid 20s I tried to but they moved my polling station and I couldn’t find it. 3 different times.

In my late 20s to today I do vote, but I moved so my polling location is easy to get too and I now have a job with normal hours. Makes it easy to do.”

4. All kinds of reasons.

“I hate everything about this election cycle. People feel powerless and that their vote means nothing, and these recent DNC scandals just prove and fuel that. You have people who are scared and are acting out of survival campaigning for healthcare reform, yet the media is handwringing and boosting stories about how mean the “Bernie Bros” are to them online instead.

People are feeling scared, powerless, and worthless, and others are attacking them for it instead of being empathetic and understanding why they’re so angry.

It feels like the mask is off, even more so than 2016, and I have no idea what is right anymore. Right now, to me, violent revolution seems fine. I’m so tired of the rich and privileged shaming people because they want better healthcare. I’m so tired of being called entitled because I don’t want to die of a preventable illness. I’m tired of the dog and pony show of progressive virtue signaling with no real change. I’m tired of being called a harasser because I am passionate about not dying. I’m just tired.

I was someone who tried to fight voter apathy. But they did it, they exhausted and broke me. They looked at me and other poor people in the eyes and said “fuck you, you don’t matter.”

5. Exhausted.

“Because 80% of my day is work. 20% is me being so exhausted from work that i don’t have the motivation to do anything other than sleep. and on the off chance that i do have energy, I’d rather do something that makes me happy.”

6. Very intimidating.

“I’m too overwhelmed by all the resources and information out there that it’s very intimidating. I’m not good with all that government/politics talk either, so that makes tough to figure out a starting point.”

7. Haven’t done the research.

“I’m so wrapped up in school that I haven’t REALLY looked into each candidate and if I vote I want to make sure I have done enough research to validate and make sure I’m not voting based off of what everyone tells me to vote for.”

8. Moved to a new state.

“I moved to a different state recently and didn’t have time to change my registration.”

9. Feeling guilty.

“I feel so disgusting. I REALLY wanted to vote in the primary, but I worked yesterday until 7 AND I live in a different state than I’m registered in. The state is close enough that I could totally go over there to vote, I just didn’t keep track of Super Tuesday and now I feel so guilty.”

10. Don’t keep up.

“Since I don’t keep up with elections solely because of the drama around it (thanks American media!) I’m misinformed in politics. I feel my vote would be irresponsible.”

11. Don’t know enough.

“I don’t feel educated enough about politics to make such a big decision.”

12. Don’t care.

“I’m 25.

I don’t vote because I just don’t care.

Between my min wage job, no real degree and no general prospects in life…I have no real reason or personal incentive to get off my butt and vote.

Make no mistake-I’m not complaining about the consequences of my lack of action. I just get up, go to work, turn off as many emotions as I can in order to just get through the damn day, go to bed and do it all over again.

I don’t vote because I’m just a drone. That’s how my life is and that’s how it’ll end.”

13. No good options.

“I want a president under the age of 70, not a socialist, not a reality show host, and not someone who panders to African-Americans after writing legislation that oppressed their communities. I liked Buttigieg and Klobuchar.”

14. A broken system.

“System is illogical, lots of ways for it to be corrupted, and its seemingly made that way on purpose. The delegate system / Electoral College is a joke. Why do we need a middle man (Whom is most likely biased / bought anyway) between what people vote for and what we actually get?

For example Bernie Won Iowa and New Hampshire, by a Landslide, and somehow buttgieig had more Delegates than bernie.??? It wasn’t until Bernie Had a landslide in Nevada that he actually got a significant lead.”

15. Don’t like any of the candidates.

“The candidates put forward by each party are repulsive according to my beliefs.”

16. Not accepted by others.

“Because I’m gay and not liberal. I’m not accepted by others if I don’t vote for who they want me to vote for. I also don’t like lying.”

17. And finally, this.

“I used to not vote because I thought i was protesting a broken and corrupt system. I thought by participating in it, I would legitimatize it.

Years later I realized that it those in power really don’t want you to vote after all, that’s why they make it so hard to. So now I vote out of spite.”

Wow. Those are kind of depressing and disheartening.

What do you think?

Talk to us in the comments!

The post Young Americans Who Don’t Vote Talk About Why They Don’t appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Open up About the Things They Absolutely Hate

It bothers me when folks define themselves by what they hate instead of what they love and enjoy, but we all have to admit that there are things out there in this great big world of ours that drive us insane.

Whether you choose to use the word “hate” or not, that’s your choice.

But these folks on AskReddit certainly weren’t holding back…

1. No more ads!

“When I click the “x” on the mobile ad and it takes me to the play store anyway. That and interactive ads that you can clear the first level in but it pretends you can play the second. Game companies are evil and I hate them.

2. This is a real concern.

“Health-related products with misleading (or fake) claims, also applied to people selling all that shit. Due to a family tragedy.

My cousin died because of an useless fitness supplement. She made a mistake and took more than she was supposed to. She was a healthy young beautiful woman, she was gonna marry a great man just one week ago (it happened half a year ago).

She took ALA (Alpha-Lipoic Acid) from MyProtein, a dangerous fat-removing powder you have to take in small dosages. She thought it was grams, not milligrams [not really, see EDIT 1]. She was dead in 24 hours. And of course it has bullshit claims: it does nothing.”

3. Stupid is as stupid does.

“People who refuse to learn or admit that there’s a possibility they might be wrong when you show proof to them.

4. The worst.

“Rude customers who want the rules bent for them or not to pay full price because that’s not how “the other Starbucks” charges them (I work at Starbucks if that’s not obvious)

I’m just trying to do my job dude, I don’t even make a livable wage, stop getting mad because there’s a $0.70 up charge to make your drink with coconut milk.”

5. All fired up.

“Autoplay. Autoplay Netflix previews, autoplay next podcast on Spotify, autoplay YouTube videos. I was reading the comments! Maybe I was trying to read the logline, Netflix. Maybe, I wanted to actually choose which podcast to listen to next. And even if you turn it off, it seems like it always finds a way to turn itself back on.

“Oh lEtS aDd a NeW fEaTuRe to mAkE eVeRyThInG AUtOpLAY dURR”

THANKS, I HATE IT.”

6. You’re not better than anyone else.

“People who go to shop at any retail place, restaurants or anywhere they are paying for a service and are rude to the employees or act as though they are superior to the people just trying to do their job.”

7. Am I the only one…

“When people say “Am I the only one who _____?”

Yes. You’re the only person out of billions of people that think Linkin Park is “awesome.”

In the comment section of a Linkin Park video.

The only one. Of all time.”

8. Then go do something about it.

“People who whine about something which is in their power to change and don’t.”

9. One of my biggest pet peeves.

“Left. Lane. Campers. Especially the ones that drive slower than the speed of traffic.”

10. All in your head…

“People that say “mental illness is all in your head” or “Just get out more, get fresh air, think better thoughts.”

Cool. When I’m hyperventilating and my heart is racing during a panic attack I’ll just remeber ‘it’s all in my head’ and go for a freaking walk.

It’s called mental illness. But mental illnesses affect peoples bodies physically. They wouldn’t prescribe meds if you could just think your way out.”

11. I’m feeling this one.

“I also absolutely hate being woken up at night/not getting enough sleep. Nothing makes me feel more angry and annoyed than being sleep deprived.”

12. Here, here!

“Anything to do with the Kardashians or other “reality stars” stop giving these fucking idiots money!”

13. I just couldn’t make it…

“When people complain about the outcomes of elections, but didn’t actually vote, despite being eligible to vote.”

14. More ads!

“Unskippable ads or ads that have nothing to do with their product, just randomness to get your attention. You seriously think I’m going to buy your product now? I hate your company beyond measure and I will remember your stupidity for years to come!”

15. How much do you need?

“The rich and powerful who are willing to burn the world down just to have a little more wealth and a little more power.

It’s disgusting watching people cause such widespread suffering for so little in return.”

16. Out of my way.

“Lack of spatial awareness is the thing that drives me up the wall. I come from a family who will all just stop in the middle of an airport to open their bags, even if it’s in the middle of a very busy walkway. And now more recently, my girlfriend will just start backing up, regardless of what is behind her, often bumping into other people.

I always feel like I’m a guide when I’m with most people. With my family, I would always have to guide them to the side so they aren’t in people’s way, and with my girlfriend, I have to constantly have my hand on her back so that she doesn’t just start backing up.”

Well, at least they’re being honest, right?

We want to hear from you in the comments!

What are the things in life that you hate and that drive you up the wall? Time to sound off!

The post People Open up About the Things They Absolutely Hate appeared first on UberFacts.

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Can’t-Miss Tweets From the Finale Of “The Bachelor”

Another season of The Bachelor is over and done with. I have watched the show, I have eschewed the show, and I have been in that weird in-between place where you don’t watch it, but also if you turn on the television and it’s on, you can’t make yourself turn it off.

So, if you’ve just concluded another wild ride of a season (I heard it was nuts!), you’re probably devouring amazing tweets from the finale – and these 20 definitely fit the bill.

20. Oh yeah, there’s definitely more coming.

19. This seems like a legit good solution.

18. It was just about that subtle, too.

17. My actual friend Karen will be so happy.

16. I really hope they’re out shopping together.

15. The best part is I can hear Julia Louise Dreyfus say this in my mind.

14. Cheers to her, seriously.

13. This really made me lol.

12. A masterclass in toxic parenting.

11. A valid use of that tool.

10. Ross Gellar all over again.

9. Okay but was that really the first one?

8. A skill that would definitely come in handy regularly.

7. Sike I love you mama!

6. Yep. Nailed it.

5. That poor girl.

4. “So proud” is the only way to finish that sentence.

3. It’s just so embarrassing for him…or at least, it should be.

2. Definitely nightmare mother-in-law material.

1. This whole women standing up for themselves thing is bad for business!

I don’t know, y’all…I may have to come back for the next round (if they get to finish production around the coronavirus madness!).

Do you love The Bachelor? Hate it? Both?

Tell us your thoughts on the finale in the comments!

The post Can’t-Miss Tweets From the Finale Of “The Bachelor” appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Share Stories About When They Thought They Were Really Going to Die

Even though we don’t think about it too often, life is very precious and when your existence is in danger, it is legitimately terrifying. All the people who shared these stories really believed that their time was up and they were going to die.

Here are some true, hair-raising stories from AskReddit users.

1. Scary stuff.

“Caught Norovirus a few years ago. I didn’t realize how bad it could be before it struck.

No fluids would stay in for more than a few seconds. I ended up really dehydrated almost overnight. Like if you pushed on my skin it would stay sunk. I couldn’t move or any muscles would full cramp – legs, jaw, arms, abs – all of them.

I didn’t think I would survive. At the very least thought my heart would cramp.

But I got over it after five or six days.

I can totally see how it kills old people though. If I was any less averagely healthy for an adult male, I’m sure if be dead.”

2. This is terrifying.

“The day I had a dystonic reaction from a antipsychotic medication. It’s basically a episode of dystonia.

From the torso up, I didn’t have any control over my muscles. I thought I was going to snap my own neck.

This happened while I was driving.”

3. Choking is no joke.

“This happened about 4-5 months ago. I was home alone eating steak tip kebabs for dinner. My wife was at work and due home in about an hour. I choked on one of the pieces of steak (chew throughly people).

At first I thought I just needed to swallow harder. Bad idea, as now it was firmly lodged in my throat. I tried coughing it up, punching myself in the stomach, and pulling it out with my hand, none of which helped. I then ran over to the kitchen and tried to wash it down with some water. The water just sat in a pool in my mouth, my throat was completely blocked.

At this point I contemplated calling 911, but I knew I’d be long dead before they’d arrive. The thought of my wife(we just celebrated our 1st anniversary and recently decided to start trying to conceive) coming home to find my dead body was by far the scariest part. I remember looking at my cats, but they just stared at me, confused at my odd behavior.

Eventually I reached what felt like my whole hand down my throat and pulled a chunk of the obstruction out. This loosened it enough to let me cough out the remainder. I was so close to passing out. Vomit everywhere. Total time in throat around 90 seconds. I couldn’t talk for a day due to the physical trauma on my throat.

Drove myself to the hospital. Cried in front of my wife when I saw her. The next few days were surreal. It was like I was living in an alternate timeline. I dont find choking gags in movies/tv amusing anymore. Still have mild PTSD about it.”

4. Paralyzed by fear.

“Woke up immediately wide awake in the middle of the night without moving and the hair standing up on the back of my neck because my now-ex-wife was standing in our bedroom holding a large kitchen knife and staring at my feet. She had had a schizophrenic break a few months earlier and had started referring to me as “the enemy.”

I laid there without moving. She stood there for over an hour. Have no idea how long she was there before I woke up. Anyway, she leaves the room and comes back without the knife, gets into bed, and cuddles in little spoon style like she made a decision. Then she made me waffles for breakfast. Best believe I put on my best “oh wow, amazing wife. These waffles are yum” voice.”

5. This is intense.

“When I was taken hostage in Iraq and held for over two and half years. The four other people captured with me were killed. I was the only one who made it out alive.

I did an AMA about it some years ago”

https://reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/125ukc/i_am_peter_moore_the_longest_held_hostage_in_iraq 

6. T-boned.

“Back in july I was riding my motorcycle and was turning into my driveway. A girl came from behind me around a sharp turn and t-boned me, she was going at least 60mph up until a couple seconds before impact when she hit her brakes. She hit me because she was either texting or dicking around with something in here car, either way she wasnt paying attention.

I remember hearing tires screeching and seeing the car half a second before impact then everything went black. I broke the windshield with my head, broke the mirror with my hip, then landed face first on the road. I do remember being scared because I wasnt sure if there were more cars so adrenaline kicked in and I caught myself with my hands and knees and pushed myself to my feet to run off the road, that’s where I regained my vision.

The bike was totaled but thanks to my helmet and pure rage at being hit I managed to literally walk away with only a concussion, nasty bruises, and a deep bone bruise on my left foot, no broken bones at all. It’s been ~8 months and I’m still recovering from the concussion, my toe barely hurts, and the leg that took the impact has a dent in the muscle but other than that I’m fine. If I wouldn’t have been wearing a helmet then I have no doubt that I would be dead now, wear your damn helmets kids!”

7. Heart problems.

“I was on vacation this past summer, was staying at a friends house, when i started to notice my chest feeling tight, i started to get a fever and feel sick, i threw up and the feeling in my chest started to expand, it felt like it was going to explode, like a balloon beind inflated inside me.

I couldn’t stand it, i literally felt like at any moment my heart would give out or my chest would explode, went to the emergency, turns out i had a really bad gall bladder attack. But on the drive to the hospital i was tellling my wife how much i love her lol and that if she remarries dont let it be anyone we currently know hahaha.”

8. This is no joke.

“I woke up in the morning to get ready for work, bent to tie my shoe, and when I stood back up the sight in my right eye was entirely gone. I did the usual thing of blinking and shaking my head a little, thinking maybe blood rushed to my head weird or whatever, but it wouldn’t come back. I tried to explain to my partner that I was in trouble, but when I spoke the wrong words kept coming out. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I definitely said “tree” instead of “hospital” at one point.

I figured I was having a stroke or an aneurysm had ruptured, or something brain tumoury…who knows? Whatever the case I spent the entire ride to the hospital crying and telling my partner over and over that I loved him. It felt like I couldn’t say it enough.

Turns out I was preparing for my first migraine (cluster headaches, I do not recommend them), and the migraine aura I get is blindness and aphasia because I’m a lucky girl like that I guess?”

9. Thankful for the outcome.

“Hit a stopped car going over 65mph. Spent 2 years in a wheelchair, 6 months of that was learning to walk again. Honestly thought I was going to die in the seconds before impact. I can still clearly see the people in the other car, the other traffic around us (car was stopped to turn on a highway with no middle turning lane).

I was the only one injured though, and I’m still sort of grateful for that because I swear there was a kid in the backseat of the other car. (I wasn’t the driver, front-seat passenger of a reckless driver).”

10. Roller coaster mayhem.

“Once when I was probably 5 or 6, my family was at an amusement park. I went on a roller coaster with my mom, since I was way too small to ride alone but I was just barely tall enough to ride at all. This was one of those older coasters, made of mostly wood, and the security was not great.

Well, on this roller coaster ride, there were corkscrews. During the first loop around, I started to slide out of my seat. The safety strap was not properly fastened, and I was very small, so as we continued to loop I slid further and further out of my seat. I assume at first my mom thought I was yelling from the thrill, until she looked over and barely caught me before I flew off the ride. She had to hold onto me while the ride continued for another minute or so, before stopping.

I was sobbing, my mom was borderline manic, and since we were in the frontmost seat everyone behind us immediately got out and rushed forward to make sure we were okay. Thats the oldest memory I have, and it’s not a great one. I think our whole family (7 of us) got season passes for free after that. Because we went suspiciously often after that.”

11. You survived.

“I got hit by a car and lost consciousness for a few seconds. I remember the moment I saw the car the moment I got hit and had a thousand thoughts going through my head. Like in a dream. And then there I am in the middle of the road, I woke up and ran to the side of it as fast as I could, little did I know I was running with a broken leg.”

12. I’ve heard things like this before.

“Just last night, my rubber floor mat in my truck slipped onto the gas pedal. There was a line of cars ahead of me at a stop light, so I pressed on the brake to slow down, which caused me to put pressure on the mat, which caused my truck to suddenly speed up.

I slammed harder on the brakes and fumbled for the stick to shift into neutral, when two seconds after my truck accelerated, the mat slipped, allowing my gas pedal to snap back into place. I only knew it was the mat because I tried to pry the gas pedal off the floor but couldn’t, because my toe was being blocked by the mat. Thankfully, I stopped long before I plowed into the cars ahead of me. But, I was seriously thinking about crashing into the traffic light pole.

At least, then, nobody but myself would get hurt. And, I was leaving a restaurant after hanging out with some buddies of mine, one of whom was following right behind me. If I’d crashed, he would’ve seen it and probably been the first to respond.

That whole incident ended up giving me a massive anxiety attack that lasted for five hours. I cried the rest of the way home, and hung out in the slow lane like an old lady. Once I got home, I cried in my mom’s arms like I used to do when I was a little girl.

She told me that happened to her once, and as long as one doesn’t pump the brakes, but just holds them down, chances are you’d be okay. Still, nothing is scarier than nearing 60 miles per hour in a Nissan Xterra, unsure if your brakes can stop the car or if your gas pedal will ever get unstuck, headed straight at a line of stopped cars a block away.

Fun stuff.”

13. From a firefighter.

“Was still a rookie firefighter, well maybe two years on the job at this point, but was advancing a hose line into a burning house when I had no business doing so. (The house was almost completely in flames and the fire should have been a defensive attack from the start. I was still young and wanted to show off like an idiot.)

About the time I got on the porch up by the front door, a huge heavy timber support came crashing down and landed inches away from my partner and I. I heard it crack and saw it start falling down but I froze up and couldn’t react in time to move. We were beyond lucky that it didn’t hit us but I definitely remember having the thought that it was gonna be the end right there.”

14. Not a good idea.

“When I was in high school I ate a couple hits of acid and went body surfing while there was a hurricane off the coast. One wave would crash into me and as soon as I could recover from it and get my head above water there goes another wave sending me tumbling around in circles under water. Then there was the riptide to contend with. The last thing I remember was getting sucked out to sea and the lights from the beach getting further and further away.

I have no idea how I made it back to the beach, but when I woke up every muscle in my arms and legs felt like they were on fire and I was puking up what felt like 2 gallons of water. In retrospect, I think body surfing while tripping balls in a hurricane was a bad idea.”

15. What an idiot.

“Some dick pulled a revolver on me while at a party. Turns out it was one of those decommissioned ones with a cemented barrel and cylinder, but I didn’t know at the time and it was fucking scary.”

16. Lucky to be alive.

“A couple friends and i were driving home from a birthday party and we got rear ended by a drunk driver who was going about 120. on impact all of the windows exploded and the tires caved inwards and we were going about 70 so there was a sort of slingshot effect that made us pick up some speed – we were just careening down the freeway with zero control. the car swerved around a bunch, almost hits another car and a pole and eventually rolled into an area just right of the shoulder.

luckily it ended up back upright on the tires and somehow ended up facing the complete opposite direction we were initially going. we thought our friend in the backseat was dead but she was just unconscious and ended up having some pretty bad whiplash.

my other friend and i were basically unharmed except for some cuts and bruises and just overall body ache for a little bit. this was in 2007 and i still think about pretty frequently, we all probably should’ve died for sure.”

Yikes! Scary stuff!

Now it’s your turn.

In the comments, tell us about a time (or times) that you legitimately thought your life was in danger.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post People Share Stories About When They Thought They Were Really Going to Die appeared first on UberFacts.

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Window Washers Share the Weirdest Things They’ve Seen on the Job

We all see weird things at work sometimes, but the people who wash windows on big buildings and houses for a living really get to see the good stuff.

They literally get a peek into the private world of all kinds of people on a daily basis.

Here are some quality tales from the job from AskReddit 15 Window Washers Share the Weirdest Things They’ve Seen on the Job users.

1. Sounds awful.

“The weirdest thing to me is a mansion with round the clock staff inside, they even wear uniforms. It’s just this one rich dude his wife and their two kids. I’m not allowed inside, but I can see the wife. She’s surrounded by the serving staff, but she never talks to any of them, and they don’t talk to her. She seems really sad and lonely.”

2. An embarrassing situation.

“I washed windows once, still not sure if it was on purpose but was washing skylights on a regular house and the daughter walks into the bathroom naked and starts checking herself out.

She was the same age as me, like 20 at the time. I didn’t know what to do so I apologized. Her parents heard and made fun of her the rest of the day, I’ve never seen someone turn so red as when her dad said “so you were giving the cleaning boy a show?” They were getting ready to sell the house and I was there for another 8 hours cleaning.”

3. He had an audience.

“My boyfriend has done a lot of high rise window washing. As he was doing his thing, a man walked into an office, unzipped his pants, proceeded to pee into a potted plant, and walked back out as soon as he was done doing his business. The man was never aware that he had an audience.”

4. Two stories.

“I only did the job for about 8 or 9 months but saw two unexpected things.

Got to the top of the ladder and saw a guy I know is a priest enjoying some porn. I scurried back down the ladder hoping he would hear me and then slowly went back up. He obviously had heard me because when I got back to the window he was standing up reading a bible.

The other time I got to the top of the ladder and saw a woman in her 80s sitting on her bed completely naked. I was sure she saw me so I gave her a few minutes before going back to the window. When I get there she’s sitting in exactly the same place, still naked, smiling at me. I got a job in an office soon after.”

5. That’s a nice story.

“My (maternal) grandfather was a window washer in the 1930’s. He saw my (eventual) grandmother on the other side of the glass.”

6. Don’t mess with wasps.

“I was volunteering for the first time at this small place a while ago because high school, and they gave me a simple job. A bottle of spray and a towel to wipe down the windows.

So I did it obediently, and I was looking through the window. I could see across the road there was a sidewalk and some apartments. On the sidewalk, there’s some trees, not too small or big, just your average tree. I could see this lump dangling on a branch, and I immediately recognized it as a wasp nest because my neighborhood had a lot.

I remember thinking to myself, “Man I feel bad for whoever has to take care of that.” (For some reason I thought people like beekeepers didn’t exist) Lo and behold, a white middle aged woman, kinda chubby, probably in her 50s, is watching from a reasonable distance. She goes back into her apartment, and comes back out with a metal baseball bat. I stopped wiping the windows and watched with horror thinking, “Uh oh.”

I started heading towards the door to yell stop, but I wasn’t quick enough. She runs up to the nest and takes a good hit at it. And I guess she tried to run away from the nest, but sprinting is a bit hard in your 50s, and her weight didn’t help. Yikes. She got stung and she kinda fell on the ground in the process. Wasp stings hurt like hell. I told the store manager what happened and she called an ambulance. She got whisked off, and that’s the end of the story.”

7. A brothel!?!?

“I used to wash the windows of a house that turned out to be a brothel.

Shouldve known really the signs were all there

Different men answering the door All beds were king size with silky sheets Showers in every room, etc.”

8. All kinds of good stuff.

“2 BDSM rooms.

A room full of hitler memorabilia.

A single Black dildo suspended from the celing.

A room full of cardbodboxed drinks.

christmast ree in july

Those are the things on the top of my head.”

9. Very awkward.

“Was cleaning a home for a couple in there mid 60’s early 70’s. House was two stories and in a rural area. While cleaning outside the bathroom window the wife decided to take a shower.

It was obvious she wasn’t trying to show off or be inappropriate but for some reason she didn’t think I could see her even though I was on the other side of the glass. I quickly got off my ladder and started working somewhere else until I was sure she was done with her shower. Very awkward.”

10. That’s strange.

“A piglet. As in, a baby pig, not the Winnie the Pooh character.

No idea why he got an office on the 10th floor.”

11. She sounds like a treat.

“The strangest was a woman who watched me to my work from the other side, pointing at all the streaks and spots as if I were missing it all. Her windows were filthy because we’d had a rain storm followed by a dust storm (only in Texas). I knew it’d take more than one pass to get it all, so I started with the big squeegee to get the bulk of the dirt off before going at it again with the smaller one that doesn’t leave streaks.

She was losing her mind tapping during the first pass, tapping on the parts I was going to go over again. She pointed out the wet streaks that dry up almost immediately into nothing but clean window. She pointed at the spots I had to really get at when the squeegee didn’t get them. She pointed at me a lot, and I’m not sure what that was about.

As part of the job, I also remove any spider webs or hornet/wasp’s nests I see. Wasps/Hornets aren’t really a big deal if you get the jump on them. You reach up, grab their mud nest, and just smash it in your hands before they get out to bite you.

This lady kept freaking out and making barfing faces whenever I did it. She looked completely disgusted. She didn’t ask me to stop cleaning her windows though, so I don’t know what she expected me to do. Not do what I was contracted to do?

The lady clearly thought I was a neanderthal. She later complained that she had to do all the work, pointing it all out to me. I tried to explain that I could sit in a bus and point out the route, but that doesn’t change the work the bus driver is doing.

She complained that I couldn’t be that smart because I was a window washer and window washers are lazy. I explained it was one of two jobs I was working while taking a full course load at the university.”

12. Gonna be sick.

“Wash windows for a hospital certain operating rooms have windows… the drs just waved at me as I could see this persons midsection cut open on a table. I almost threw up down the side of the building.”

13. A view from the other side.

“Person on the other side of the glass here. I was in my university classroom and the window washers decided to wash our classroom window (4th floor) during class. One of the guys’ shirts went up and his hairy belly kept rubbing around to the beat of the music in his headphones. I highly doubt he realized anyone was in the classroom.”

14. From a professional.

“I used to be a professional window washer for mostly very high end houses. Worked on a few celebrity homes but I really don’t have any interesting stories from them. Here are the top 3 weird places I remember working.

The first place, wasn’t a single occurrence but a particular client. To picture this guy, imagine a more boring version of Steve Carell.

This dude had a larger house. Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500 square feet. He had the Rolladen shutters around his entire house. For those who don’t know what they are, imaging metalish window covers that roll down over the whole window. Something you’d see in a zombie apocalypse movie.

That in and of itself wasn’t that weird. But I still remember the first time those shutters went up. The guy had zero furniture. None. Nada. Nothing except for a very basic queen sized bed with white sheets in one of the bedrooms. The guy would follow us around from the inside and leer at us the entire time we’d be cleaning the windows.

Then when we’d do the inside, he’d follow us around with a roll of paper towels and dab up any minor droplet that would hit the ground. Keep in mind, we always used drop cloths when we cleaned inside glass. We were used to working in the nicest of nice homes so we were always very careful to not get water on the floor. Wasn’t good enough for this dude. He’d literally stand 2 feet behind you with the roll and just stare.

Next place that I can remember that was weird was this gay couple’s house. They were super friendly and perfectly normal for the most part. The inside of their house however, was unsettling.

All of the walls were painted either blood red or black. Pagan and Satanic looking statues, paintings and decorations everywhere. It was unsettling to say the least.

The last was this weird guy with insanely curly hair who had like fifty life sized statues of children on his property. Dude lived alone. My co-worker joked he was an angry old mage who would turn children to stone for walking on his lawn when they weren’t supposed too.”

15. Through the other side.

“I was washing the windows at the store I worked at when I was younger, and I watched a naked man running down the street get tackled by the police.”

It’s sounds kind of exciting, doesn’t it?

I think I might need to consider a career change…

Have you ever done this for a living?

If so, tell us the weird and wild stuff you saw in the comments!

The post Window Washers Share the Weirdest Things They’ve Seen on the Job appeared first on UberFacts.