Category: life

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People Describe The Stupidest Financial Decision They’ve Ever Made

Learning how to use and save money isn’t a natural born instinct.  It’s a skill that comes with a lot of time and a lot of budgeting.

It also comes with a lot of mistakes, as the only way to make sure someone learns is to make sure they mess up all the time.

Unfortunately messing up with money can have serious long term consequences.  Having something on your credit report that brings down the score will stay there for years—seven whole years in the United States.

And since we don’t learn how to budget when we are young, how are we supposed to not make crazy mistakes that follow us around our whole lives?

Redditor viKiKing0 asked:

“What was the stupidest financial decision you ever made?”

Here were some of those answers.

Milestones Don’t Matter

“My now wife and I were renting a terrace house for $50 a week. The landlord who was a very strange cat offered to sell us the house if we paid the weekly rent for 10 years.”

“Rent per year was about $2600 so for $26000 we would have owned a house. We were 20 years old and ten years was forever so we said no . That was my BIG mistake.”

“To people who have asked : The house was in Tasmania. About 40 years ago. At that stage I was earning about $250 per week.”

“It was double story ,2 bedroom terrace house. We bought a house about 6 years later for about $75000. We knew the landlord, he was divesting a lot of properties he owned.”-1999falcon

“Was a 10-99 day trader out of college. Didn’t pay taxes for a year or two. Making peanuts, IRS won’t notice, right?”

“The penalties were more than the original amount owed. Had to put $6,500 on a credit card (bad choice #2). Sent me on a 20 year whirlwind of credit card crappiness. Should have paid my taxes.”

“Should have set up a payment plan with the IRS.”-LurkersGoneLurk

“I got my B.S. in criminal justice. Applied for quite a few jobs, tested in and interviewed for several, but never got them.”

“My dream job was to be a coroner investigator, but I totally flubbed the interview.”

“I ended up going back to school for 3 semesters and got a second A.A./certificate in Paralegal Studies, got a job within a month of graduating.”

“I somewhat regret my CJ degree, but having a Bachelors really helps with other job prospects, so it all worked out in the end.”

“Find something related to the field that you might enjoy if finding work in the field doesn’t work out.”-callhersavage

When Stress Lies To You

“Last year at the start of the pandemic I got a great job as a video game developer working on one of the most successful VR titles.”

“After a few weeks the imposter syndrome was getting worse and worse and eventually I just…quit, I couldn’t take the stress it was causing me and I explained I’d need some time.”

“I never went back to it, never communicated, just returned to a state of depression.”

“Now I’m sat at work on a hot Sunday afternoon back in my call centre job, worrying about how I’ll get to the end of the month with the money left in the bank.”-MrSpindles

“Columbia warehouse records and tapes. I was 15….didn’t read the fine print stating i agreed to purchase at least one tape or record EVERY month for a year.”

“I got my 13 cassettes for a penny…and bought maybe one or two more cassettes as the year went on then forgot about it.”

“Cut to a year later i owed the difference of $86 for the cassettes i didnt buy. They hounded me for 10 yrs…one day when i came back from working offshore i had a few grand and was like ‘fuck it..u win’…i sent them a check for $86.”

“I like to think my account went through multiple hands through the years within the biz and once i eventually paid, the person got a promotion and a celebration was had for FINALLY getting this dude to pay up.”-ImInArea52

“My ex and I moved in together. Paid half each for deposits and all the bills etc. I took out a 4k loan in my name and bought furniture with it, I also bought us a 1.5k bed on finance.”

“My mistake was not getting it in writing that as I was paying the loans anything purchased with that would be mine.”

“I walked away with an £800 telly and nothing else and was still paying the loan off for 1.5 years after I moved out. In the future I will be keeping receipts and written agreements!”-spitroastyomum

Getting Screwed By An Ex, An Ex-Family Or An Ex-Hobby

“When I split with my ex husband, we came to our own agreement – I gave him the house (my share was about $100k) and he wouldn’t ask for child support (even though we had 50/50 care, I’d still have to pay him as I earned more).”

“I thought it would be less disruption for our kids if they could stay in their home half the time, and I’d be able to save for my own home deposit over the coming years.”

“We agreed the house would eventually go to the kids anyway. Despite the split, I had complete trust in him sticking to the deal.”

“4 months after the house was in his name, he moved in with his new girlfriend, sold the house and took me to court for child support saying there was no agreement.”

“The court believed him and I had to pay him another $80k over the next 5 years. It’s the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life, and I’m still suffering for it.”-idontwannabeflawless

“I wound up with a good $5k in credit card debt because “family”. Cut off most of my family 4 years ago, and it took another 3 years to pay off the debt.”

“My credit is still only decent because of how often I’d skip paying the bills because my family needed money again. I kept being told it would all get paid back, and they would pay off the credit cards.”

“Shockingly – they never did. Told me since I was cutting them off, I didn’t deserve it.”

“It’s RIDICULOUSLY hard to recover your credit once the debt is paid off because now you have nothing to pay to prove you can pay it, but no one will lend to you, because your history shows you can’t pay it. Capitalism ftw.”

“Sometimes I wonder how my family would react now if they knew how much more money I make now than I did back then, and they can’t get their grubby little hands on any of it.”-Emmyisme

“Last year around this time a buddy and inwere discussing AMC stock..it was like $1.98 or so…i told him ‘dude..im looking at the amc stock..when covid is over by next summer its going to pop..might go to $10 a share..we can make a quick buck.’”

“I was going to put $20,000 in it on margin….we discussed this for the next two months a few times a week…its gonna pop..its gonna pop….THEN the news started hitting around november of movie chains going bankrupt..out of biz for ever.”

“Streaming new movies is the new way of life…movie companies releasing movies same day as theater and in some cases ONLY on streaming…etc..etc…it was relentless news on how theaters are done for good…….so i didnt buy it.”

“Yes..im a dumb a**….but i believed streaming new movies was taking off big time and amc was on the verge of collapse based on all the news and chaos.”-ImInArea52

“I met a woman online, went to see her for a week, then decided to move across the country to be with her.”

“To afford this move, I sold all of my Magic: The Gathering cards which were older than Mercadian Masques for $3000.”

“These included a full set of dual lands (about an even split of Revised and Unlimited), some Arabian Nights stuff, and Mana Drains and about ten Force of Will.”

“She met someone else while I was figuring out to how move, and informed me when she met me at the airport.”

“About 10 months later, I used my last dime on gas as I packed my stuff into my car and drove across the country to move back in with my father at age 24.”-bp_516

Everybody makes major money mistakes.  Financial independence and stability is not something anybody comes by naturally, if they’re not from a wealthy family.

Perhaps it’s time to be a little bit more forgiving of our own transgressions.

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Lawyers Break Down The Pettiest Reasons They’ve Ever Seen A Couple Divorce

It’s by now common knowledge a profoundly high amount of marriages end in divorce in the United States.

Bearing that upsetting news in mind, we’d like to think each of those relationships meet their end for a worthy reason, full of movie-like passion and the strong convictions of both partners.

But a recent Reddit thread squashed those lofty hopes.

To bring us all back down to earth, Redditor KarysMR asked:

“Lawyers of Reddit, what is the pettiest reason you’ve ever seen for divorce?”

Many lawyers interpreted “petty” to mean “mind-bogglingly trivial.”

“Definitely the fridge Story!! A woman filed for divorce because her husband would eat everything he can find in their fridge whenever the wife was out for work.”

“So she came back to a basically empty fridge each night.”

“He also cheated on her but she was less angry about that. The fridge was what pushed her to the point she wanted a divorce.” — wrenisanecklace

“the husband kept putting wet/used towel on their bed.” — automind

“Wife wanted divorce like 2 months into marriage because the husband would squeeze the toothpaste from the top and not bottom.”

“She claims to have told him a millions times over to stop. Would have been easier to get 2 toothpastes i thought.” — Infamous-Offer6342

“Not a lawyer- but apparently my brother divorced his wife when McDonald’s forgot to put bbq sauce in with her chicken nuggets at the drive through and she asked him to go back and get some.”

“He didn’t and then I guess she started smashing up food and throwing it at him/out the window….. so yeah…. McDonalds how could you ruin a marriage 😅…….” — WITCH_glitch_I-hex-u

“Not a lawyer: My Mom’s coworker divorced over dishes in the dishwasher.”

“The wife would get so frustrated over the husband (coworker) not rinsing dishes before he loads them in the dishwasher.”

“To compromise, they bought a super nice, top of the line dishwasher. Solves the problem, right?”

“She yelled about the dishes that night. He filed for divorce the next day.” — weberster

“Not a lawyer but this happened to my wife’s cousin.”

“Her husband came home one day asking her to give a higher financial contribution on the groceries, because she, as a lady, was using more toilet paper than him.”

“She took it as a joke and had a good laugh. He got mad, and asked for divorce.”

“Worth mentioning that his salary was 3 times higher than hers.” — Yashky

Many people witnessed bizarre breaking points.

“Nobody ever believes me about this one, but it’s true.”

“A man wanted a divorce from his wife because – and he gave this example as the ‘last straw’ – his wife ate those nasty pumpkin Halloween candies, like candy corn but pumpkin shaped.”

“He had been looking forward to them all day and when he got home, she had eaten them all. He snapped.”

“Swear on my life this story is true.” — Brkiri

“My father-in-law and mother-in-law’s breaking point was when he threw a breadcrumb at her from across the kitchen.”

“The divorce took 4 years to settle.” — ITS_JUST_LOW_T

One Redditor offered up another version of that story.

“My ex thinks I divorced him because my friends told me to.”

“What actually happened was I was bitching about him to a friend and she said ‘you know, he really is a passive aggressive piece of garbage. He does this all the time’.”

“And then I started thinking about how he really did pull that crap all the time and how I wasn’t actually depressed, I just hated living with him.”

“She opened my eyes, but I divorced him because he treated me like crap, not because my friend told me to.” — scaly_friends_4me

Other times, the divorce was prompted by a surprise discovery.

“I remember one episode of a TV show here in my country, similar to Jerry Springer, the woman didn’t know her husband used dentures until marrying and living together.”

“She said she couldn’t handle anymore, she was disgusted.”

“They both cried, she said a lot of ‘I’m sorry’ but she couldn’t go on. They were married for a few months.”

“Don’t know if it was true though.” — nerdy_latino

“The weirdest I’ve ever seen is a coworker of mine.”

“His wife saw a picture of him at a pool when he was in high school and really athletic. Toned, muscular, tan and so on.”

“Over the 10 years after high school he stopped lifting and lost his muscle tone and just became skinny.”

She told him she wanted him to get back to working out because she really liked the way he once looked and he said it was something he missed doing and agreed to get a gym membership.”

“He was going to the gym four days a week but was only really working out for two of them. On the days he didn’t work out he would sit in the sauna to get sweaty, watch Netflix and then go home.”

“When she asked about him going to the gym and accidentally let it slip that he was fudging workouts twice a week. She apparently found that to be a deal breaker and filed for divorce.” — SafewordisJohnCandy

“A woman came in wanting to divorce her husband. He had just gotten a new job and a pretty big raise.”

“It turned out that this new job of his also required that he work from home but he was working in an office before.”

“She was having an affair with their next-door neighbor and him being home more meant that she couldn’t cheat on her husband easily.”

“That was definitely a twist. I was expecting something like him being the one having the affair but nope!” — red_duke117

“A teacher I had in HS got divorced because his wife didnt like how much sex he had before they had been married.”

“To put in context how petty of a reason that was, they had been married for 12 yrs and had three kids together.”

“She had also met him a few years into his teaching career which didn’t start till he was 32.”

“But to say both sides of the argument, he did have a staggering large amount of sex, he was an Olympian and had been going to the Olympics to compete since he was 18.”

“He was the best teacher to ever have as a homeroom teacher as the stories he could tell were just surreal.” — TarvidD12

So there you have it.

Even if you find yourself in the throes of a dying marriage destined for failure for the least legitimate reason possible, you will not be alone.

I guess there’s some comfort in that, right?

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People Break Out The Best Hygiene Hacks They Know

We all like to think we’re clean people, and we probably are.

But there are probably still some ways we can improve, or ways to get things just as clean without all the time and effort.

Redditor ProudSilver1576 asked:

“What is a hygiene tip/trick that everyone should know?”

You Might Be Surprised What Is Dirty

“Occasionally wipe down your doorknobs and light switches. When I was a maid I’d clean people’s light switches and they’d be covered is brown gunk because they’d never been cleaned before. We touch them multiple times every day. They get nasty.” –yarnfrog

“At the start of the plague I deep cleaned the office. The worst part was the door. Not the handle but the door itself, because everyone touches the same spot to hold it open when they pull their key out. Also the armrests on chairs. I swear I went home and took two showers from how nasty it all was.” –shiguywhy

“Whenever I lysol wipe my phone, the wipe still has lots of life left so I’ll go wipe any switches, door handles, sink handles, fridge handles, microwave buttons, all that good stuff in the vicinity. Doesn’t take too long.” –drsandwich_MD

They’re Really Not A Luxury

“Don’t ignore a toothache. Abscesses can lead to sepsis that’ll destroy your whole body. Take care of those luxury bones!” –februarytide

“During the lull between the first and second covid waves, we had two admissions to our intensive care unit with pericardial infections secondary to dental abscesses. One died. Don’t ignore dental infections.” –Mouse_Nightshirt

“Brush your tongue and the top of your mouth along with your teeth.” –pdxblaxer

Bad Acne?

Could Be Your Pillowcase

“Clean your pillowcase regularly, it helps keep your face from breaking out.” –Amish_Juggalo469

“I change my pillowcase every 4 nights (1 night per side) originally because of breakouts. Helped a lot. Just went to a second hand store, got a ton of cheap pillowcases, washed them with hot water and bleach and voila.” –Balderdash966

“And your comforter/blanket if you’re like me and bring it all the way up to your face.” –Reamund

Your Hairbrush Could Use Some Love Too

“Washing my hairbrush. I used to just get rid of the excess hair but that was it: I never rinsed it out. I wash it in a mild soap solution and rinse in very hot water and it makes my hair smell so much better.” –Redditor

“I did this the other day, I was pretty grossed out by how dirty the water was afterwards.” –spitfire07

“Omg. Bc of product buildup, natural oils, dry scalp, wtf I’m doing this tomorrow thank you! Seems like common sense that a brush would need cleaning too 😂” –rayne-drops

The Sun Is Not Your Friend

“Maybe not hygiene, but use a face lotion with a SPF of 15 or higher. You’ll thank yourself later on in life.” –__Sentient_Fedora__

“I’ve been doing this daily since I was 18. I’m now 52, no wrinkles at all. I still get asked for ID. Do it.” –Acornpoo

“Mid-40s here: Same. My sisters and I have been putting on SPF daily since childhood. My mom was super stringent about it. Face and neck.”

“My mom is 70-ish and she looks like she could be early 50s. My sisters and I have smooth skin, no sun spots and no wrinkles. It could be genetics, but it could also be rigorous use of sunscreen.” –ResidingAt42

The Order Is Important

“Poop first, shower second.” –belachewm

“I poop 5 times a day and shower once or twice so this isn’t really sustainable for me.” __Guy_Incognito

“One word. Bidet.” –Canisnate

This One’s For Everyone

“Pee after sex! Male or female, everybody needs to pee after sex.”

“Also, if you’re reading this, you probably need to drink at least one glass of water.” –hananobira

“I don’t need to drink any more water. I work in construction and it is summer here. I drink plenty because I sweat it out like a faucet. What I need are electrodes especially sodium.”

“That ‘drinking lots of water is good’ mentality can be really dangerous. We periodically get reminded that drinking water is not a substitute for a rest to cool down because of how many people drink themselves to the point of water poisoning.”

“The peeing to prevent UTI is spot on though.” –idunnoijustlurk

Quick Fixes For BO

“You’re in public and your armpits smell disgusting. Use hand sanitizer because the smell is caused by bacteria, and the hand sanitizer killed it. Just don’t do this regularly because your skin is sensitive under your armpits.” –Toxicity5675

“Also don’t do this on freshly shaved armpits.” –standinginmyownway

“Pro tip for hairy guys: Shave your pits. Saves your shirts from stains and GREATLY reduces the smell. Also, your deodorant will actually work.” –Intyleryoutrust

“Years ago I had BO that would go through the best deodorant. My dermatologist told me to buy this product called Hibiclens – it has 4% chlorhexidine gluconate- and use on my pits when i shower.”

“Game changer. I still use it to this day, maybe 1 or 2 times a week instead of every time I shower.” –PAXICHEN

Nobody Likes A Wet Floor

“When you take a shower or get out of a pool, slide your hands down your legs, arms, stomach, butt etc a few times like windshield wipers when you turn the water of and there’ll be less on the floor when you get out and your towel wont be as soaking wet either.” –pURPleDorito4108

“Hand squeegies!” –II_Confused

“Note for my fellow hairy dudes: It still works somewhat but mileage may vary.” –Ennbeard

“points finger to temple”

“Dry off while standing in the tub/shower. No water on the floor.” –InanimateSensation

Your Feet Might Need Some Attention

“Wash you feet! Most people I know seem to believe their feet magically become clean from having soapy water run down them while they are showering.”

“That is NOT the case! You really need to wash your feet.”

“Also a good idea to take a pumice or foot file to calluses and use a hard nail brush for toenails.”

“Keeping your feet clean will prevent a lot of problems, particularly with fungus. Funguses live and thrive on dead skin cells so if you have toenail fungus you will have a really hard time getting rid of it till you get rid of dead skin around the nails!” –internet_commie

“To piggyback off foot health – if you work at a job where you work for long hours and maybe your feet kinda smell at the end of the day.”

“Try having two pairs of shoes and wear them alternate days.”

“Changing socks mid shift can help a lot.” –OrcOfDoom

Hopefully some of these hygiene hacks will help make your life a little easier, and maybe a little cleaner.

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People Who’ve Done Top Secret Work Finally Divulge What They Were Working On

Most of us will work a fairly wide variety of jobs over the course of our lives, and some of us walk away with some pretty interesting stories while trying to pay the bills.

The most fascinating jobs, though, have to be the ones that we’re not supposed to talk about.

Redditor Charcoals7 asked: 

“People who did super-secret work, what is something you can share now that you couldn’t before?”

Some had worked with dermatologists and plastic surgeons.

“Interned for a plastic surgeon who is very well known and does work on celebs. They sold their skincare line for hundreds of dollars and touted it as having highly advanced ingredients of the highest quality.”

“They bought most of it from a wholesale retailer who stuck their name on the bottle. The website looked sketchy tbh (to be honest).”

“They also had ’24k gold face masks’ that were purchased in bundles off of Amazon for cheap.”

“These fancy skincare lines are such a scam, don’t waste your money.” – monkeylioness

“Dermatologists do this too.”

‘A lot, if not all, don’t really formulate their own products. They buy it in bulk at a discounted price from pharma sales reps, repackage, and mark up by a ridiculous percentage.” – streakfolmlore

Others had experience with security.

“Friend had to get heaps of security clearance at one of his first jobs. Inventory reporting that fed into customs databases.”

“I had to speak to an FBI agent as part of his background check and the job really just amounts to tallying information almost like tick sheets.” – tdasnowman

“Worked at an engineering department at a university that had an aviation engine testing shop. We got military surplus stuff all the time through industry agreements.”

“Some stuff that got dropped off were cruise missile engines with pretty advanced thrust vectoring and some stealthy design features.”

“All the aviation geeks were like, ‘We didn’t know that those missiles had that on them.’”

“Then some serious-looking men came to the department and took them back, and kindly reminded us not to talk about whatever it was we thought we saw but actually didn’t see because it had never happened.”

“I saw some of it published a few years ago in the open so I figure I’m good.” – gunmedic15

“My grandpa worked for the NSA. Had to say he answered phones his entire life.”

“Went to the DC Spy Museum and they had his career on display. Wild. He cried a lot.” – EepEekim

A few challenged the history books. 

“Dad (died 2016) was in the Navy and on one of the ships in the blockade that was part of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The official story is that no American ship fired any shots.”

“A few months before he died, Dad said his ship was one of several that fired shots.” – xkulp8

“During the 1982 Falklands conflict, it was spread on the news that several British submarines were in the area, and this is likely what deterred the Argentine carrier Vientecinco de mayo from engaging the British fleet.”

“My father was a submariner at the time (didn’t go down there). When he was in the bar on base back home, it was announced on the radio that a certain British submarine was in the area. 

“The guy next to him said, ‘I hope not, I just walked off it an hour ago.’”

“Basically pulled the same trick the Royal Navy used against the Graf Spee in 1939.” – EmperorOfNipples

There were gamers in the mix. 

“I was a QA tester on Half Life 2. At the time it operated under multiple code names outside of the main testing room: the two I remember was Red Rooster and Dirty Butler.”

“Security was INSANE. They had us in a small corner office with PCs and draped-out windows. Our lead kept the office locked at all times, and when we got into work each day we had to hand over all bags, cell phones, and any storage media we had.”

“If I recall, screenshots were only allowed with permission, and had to be sent in an email to the lead, then scrubbed from the computer.”

‘This was also during the time Vivendi Universal Games (where I worked) was having tensions with Valve over the whole Steam thing, so for a while, it didn’t seem like we’d get credited either: we eventually did, but only on Gamasutra.”

“The entire team got printed shirts that read, ‘I survived Red Rooster,’ and I’ve still got mine kicking around. It’s itchy, thick, and uncomfortable to wear, but I refuse to get rid of it, since it’s a memento I’m fairly proud of.” – PatienceHero

“I worked at a printing company that made Magic The Gathering cards. It was insane.”

“There’s nothing quite like seeing uncut sheets of foil mythic rares stacked in a block 4 feet high 8 months before release.”

“I wasn’t allowed to play in tournaments during my tenure there and I had to sign an NDA.” – feverishdodo

“I worked similarly at Hasbro, the parent company for Wizards of the Coast which owns Magic and I was given a free uncut press sheet of Japanese Rise of Eldrazi foil mythic rares. They also gave me a full set of the employee-only holiday cards and a bunch of other stuff.”

“Basically one of the higher-ups found out that I loved Magic and made a call to get a huge package of free stuff sent to me. I barely knew the guy but it was such an incredible thing to do that my whole department came out to watch me open the stuff.”

‘It’s one of my most cherished memories honestly.”

‘It makes sense though that a company made up largely of adults who love toys and games would retain that childlike spark of just wanting to give your friend a gift to make them happy, no strings attached.”

“If anyone here reads this and gets the chance to work for Hasbro, I can’t recommend it enough, TAKE THAT JOB!”

“I wish I still had the press sheet, but life gets in the way sometimes and I had to sell it along with all the other rare cards I had to make sure my wife and I could survive. I miss them, but making sure my wife felt a little more secure that month about money was easily worth all of my cards.” – Itsfitzgames

There were wholesome secrets, too.

“Still secret: Sometimes I warn my dad about certain things and tell him how to react/ what to do (dad has autism so he can’t keep the truth from his expression) for my mom’s sake.”

“For example, my mom is older and got a shorter haircut and talked about how worried she was to show my dad because she knows he doesn’t like shorter hair on women.”

“I texted him to warn him and tell him to just smile and say it’s nice, DONT tell her you like it longer.”

“The next day, my mom couldn’t stop looking in the mirror because my dad said he really liked her haircut.”

“She doesn’t know it’s because I warn him about things and she will never know.”

“I love my dad but he is horrible at lying with his facial expressions. Same as instructing him to order flowers and a gift for my mom to send to grandma’s house for Valentine’s Day because she was visiting her mom and would be away.” – CorruptManatee

Some secrets are less interesting than the fact they were made to be kept secret at one point, but every once in a while, a person finds a gem.

The ones that make us question something basic about our lives, or that remind us to be thankful?

Those are the best kinds of secrets.

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People Explain Which Things They Think They’re Doing Wrong But Are Too Afraid To Ask

Parents and teachers mean well when they attempt to instruct us on the ways of the world.

But it doesn’t mean they’ll teach us everything we need to know, does it? Most of what they teach us is the basics: bathroom etiquette, tying our shoes, reading, writing and the like.

However, what about the more irregular stuff? The things you wish you knew about before entering adulthood?

Reddit user, Wijting, asked:

“What do you think you are doing wrong, but are too scared to ask somebody?”

Ride The Lunch Train Straight To Hell

“I have no idea if my lunch break is an hour or 30 minutes.”

“Where my office is located in my building, my boss and co-workers can’t see me leave for lunch. When I started, I just began taking hour lunches like I did at my last job.”

“Recently I heard a co-worker mention taking her 30 minute lunch.”

“I’ve been taking hour long lunches for 6 years and it’s way past the point of asking….” ~ spydervenom

Feel The Fury

“How to handle anger? I’m too embarrassed to ask” ~ Ok-Plastic-62

“Theres an excersise that i use sometimes when i get too angry:”

“First take deep, slow breaths. This evens out your breathing and calms you down (sometimes youll unconsiously start brething at a quicker pace when angry).”

“Make sure your in a comfortable position, one that you can be in for a minite of two, and imagine that your body is slowly being filled up with ‘liquid sunshine’ from the bottom up, like an hourglass.”

“Sounds odd, but give it a try! It has helped me out more than once.” ~ TroospooK

You Just Pucker Up

“Kissing. I’ve had no complaints but it’s not really something your parents taught you to do properly (unless you’re into that)” ~ BenignFrustration

“You and your SO will learn from one another what they like/you like and what they don’t like/you don’t like.” ~ Gianca16

It’s The Hardest, Simplest Decision You Can Make

“My finances – no idea how to properly manage my money.” ~ FinnbarMcBride

“Figure out exactly how much money you bring in during an average month.”

“Take your last x months of expenses (I did 3 but if you had a full year of normal expenses that’d be best)and break it down into categories of what you spent money on [i.e. loans, food, gas, fun stuff]”

“If you have more expenses than income take a honest look at your expenses and make some cuts, id mostly focus on stuff like gaming, going out, drinking.”

“Try to put as much money as you can into your 401k, usually 10-15% of your monthly income is advised (but also doesn’t have to happen if that would put you into the res)”

“If you have cc debt pay that off first, then car loans then long term loans like student loans and mortgages” ~ pspspsprjrjejdjdjdj

Tongue-Tied Argument

“I feel like I’m really articulate when I’m going about my day especially over text, but as soon as I get into a verbal disagreement it’s like my f’king brain shuts off and I forget how to think. Like a deer in the headlights.”

“I don’t remember it always being this way but it’s like I’ve got this huge amount of social anxiety in those situations now and I struggle to accurately express myself.” ~ The_Splenda_Man

“That’s totally normal. You don’t have the same amount of time to think about your response in person.”

“I think that it is really more important to listen to what the person is saying rather than trying to come up with a response. Remember, it is always valid to say ‘I need more time to think about this’.” ~ kitskill

Are They Still Breathing? Probably A Good Start.

“Babysitting. I babysat a few times when I was 13 or 14 and I wasn’t sure if I was just supposed to check in on the kid or play with them or just like, make sure they don’t die.”

“I’m really good at kid sitting but babysitting (or for me watching a kid under 7 years old) is just hard.” ~ Teabeany

“If it’s new parents they’ll inundate you with instructions.”

“If it’s not new parents they’ll be happy as long as the kids are alive and the house hasn’t burnt down.” ~ IAmJohnny5ive

I Thought I Was Being Friendly?

“Flirting. Let’s face it.”

“I don’t even know what the heck that is, how it works and what the difference between talking and flirting is.”

“Funny enough apparently that leads to me being constantly flirty without wanting to be. At least I often get told that I flirt with almost every single person I met.” ~ OverlyShyEnby

We’re All Envious Of You

“Showering. I have very very long thick hair and I just kind of blast shampoo and conditioner at it.”

“People ask me what I do to keep my hair so nice and I have no idea what to say. People seem to have such complex hair rituals and I’m here just aping it up.” ~ SkylordZoey

Who’s Supposed To Teach You This? Honestly?

“I’m a girl. Not sure if I’m supposed to shave the thin blonde hairs in my thighs or not.”

“Sometimes they look darker, but sometimes they look blonde.”

“I shave the rest of my legs ( below the knee), but I’m in my 30s. Feels like I should know this already….” ~ busycleaning

“Out of all the women I’ve slept with, I genuinely can’t remember if there were hair on their thighs.”

“It never even occurred to me until I saw your comment, and I can’t imagine other people would care unless they were particularly squeamish about that specific thing.”

“But would that still matter to them in the heat of the moment? Idk. I don’t think so” ~ DandyBubbles

Not As Complicated As You Think

“Life.”

“Like what am I supposed to be doing? I have about 80 years total.”

“So far, I’ve learned stuff, got married, and got a good job. Am I just grinding out the rest of my years?” ~ OPmeansopeningposter

“Help others, improve the world.”

“You’ve listed a bunch of stuff you’ve gotten out of life. Now it’s time to think about what you can give.” ~ orange_avalanche

When in doubt?

Just ask.

Someone.

Anyone.

Or JFGI.

Better to know than not know, right?

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People Explain Which Items Everyone Should Stock In Their Fridge At All Times

I never know what’s in my fridge, until the smell overpowers me.

I know, that’s terrible. So first, I should probably acquire a maid for my fridge.

For me, the first item on my essentials list, for the kitchen’s most essential item, is cleanliness. Then chilled water and fruits, all kinds.

Home Ec life lesson number one… every refrigerator should house a few necessary key ingredients that make the home and life function.

Our meals begin there and it’s how our nutrients stay fresh. So what makes the permanent cut for your cooler?

Redditor connnor4real was also wondering the same thing, they asked:

What is essential to have in your fridge at all times?

Stay High!

“Having just condiments is pretty sad, but not having condiments at all is a whole different level of low.”   ~ 1SweetChuck

“The feeling of buying the ingredients to make something you really fancy.”

“It’s ready and you’re just about to eat so you open the fridge and realise at the last second that you don’t have that one specific condiment you like with it.”   ~ Reddit

Life’s Most Hidden “Treasures.”

“A strange jar of something completely unlabelled and hidden toward the back. It stays there for years and keeps people guessing.”  ~ turboyabby

“When we were renovating our stairs we found a few jars of asparagus from the 1930s.”

“We also threw a lot of old food away after my grandpa passed, but unfortunately I didn’t pay attention to the dates on it.”

“Old houses and old people are always interested in this regard.”   ~ Jidaque

I have nothing to shake!

“I’ll never forget the time I was invited to eat at my aunt’s boyfriend’s house (why, I have no clue). I had to have been around 11 or so.”

“The man had no salt. No salt-like product. How do you not own salt?”

“If you choose not to eat salt for whatever reason, how do you not own salt for people you invite over? It’s like the one basic seasoning.”

“I’m 41 and whenever that comes to mind I still get annoyed at the idea of it.”  ~ manderly808

Don’t be without your shot!

“If you’re a type 1 diabetic, a nicely chilled stockpile of insulin.”  ~ DarthContinent

“It has to be in the butter compartment though, amirite? We call it the insulin penthouse.”

“Edit: lots of people mentioning the butter compartment is a bad spot to store insulin.”

“This is very fridge design dependant. Our insulin penthouse stays a pretty consistent 5-6°C. Most insulin should be stored between 2-8°C.”  ~ xisonc

“I’ve had bottles fly out of butter compartments when I open the door quick. So now I put my insulin and juice in the crisper drawer and call it the diabetes drawer.”

“Any veggies I would keep in there were are gonna go bad before I eat them anyway.” ~ Clynnhof

Keep the Spices Close!!

“Some kinda hot sauce, I go for cholula and sriracha.”

“Yo I’m very aware you don’t need them in the fridge to stay good. Also thanks for the recommendations everyone!”  ~ BewareTheLobster

“We keep El Yucateco, Cholula, Louisiana, Tabasco, Huichol, Valentina, and Tapatío.”

“Also often keep a more home style jalapeño and tomatillo or chile de árbol salsa.”

“Once in awhile the molcajéte will show up with various salsas in it, or whatever was left over from the last trip to the taqueria.”

“I could go for some chile morita salsa. And carnitas.”  ~ CoherentLogic

All that is Left Behind…

“Leftovers that I will never actually eat.” ~ wehosh

“Leftovers go through 3 phases…”

“1) I can still eat this because I just cooked it yesterday but I won’t.”

“2) It’s been 2-3 days, I should really eat that now before it goes bad.”

“3) Why did I even save that, now it’s been 4 days and it’s definitely bad but I don’t want to throw it out and let it sit in my garbage can so might as well wait until garbage day.”

“Edit: Yes I get it. You can eat leftovers after 4 days. That’s great.”

“Personally I have leftover fish in my fridge from Thursday and it’s in phase 3. But if you want to eat food a week after it’s been cooked be my guest.”  ~ Blaine_The_Mono_

Just in case Bugs Bunny swings by…

“Carrots… just because.”  ~ ejsfsc07

“If they need to be in the fridge, why do they not live in the fridge section of the supermarket?”

“I guess it depends how long you plan to keep them before eating them, I never had a problem having them in my room.”  ~ KorhakaFor carrots? 

“For carrots? In the south US at least, the whole carrots are always in the cooled off veggie section (no doors, lower temps, sprayed with water throughout the day).”

“And the cut and shredded bags are definitely in the refrigerated veggie section (even lower temps along with lettuce and salad bags, sometimes with doors depending on store).”  ~ unboundartist

Spreading for the carbs

“Anything that can be used on bread. Cheese, pâté, any kind of savoury spread.”

“I lost all pleasure to cook when my partner died, and bread+spreadables is my usual go-to. Oh, and eggs.” ~ LadyOfSighs

Whenever I Need it… I Need it!!

“Shredded cheese and tortillas. Gotta be able to make a quesadilla at the drop of a hat.”

We get the 50 pack at Costco. They sell it next to the bread, out in the open. It comes in two bags of 25, so one goes in the fridge and one in the freezer.”

“Yeah, they last a lot longer. If you’re getting a smaller quantity and getting through the bag before they grow fuzz, you’re probably ok.”  ~ NoSoul2335

Gotta give the box life…

“Electricity.”  ~ DavosLostFingers

“As someone who lives in one of the areas that have recently been flooded, this is definitely the most importing thing.”

“A lot of the things in the fridge were gone, but the worst part was that we weren’t able to conserve any of these.”  ~ Jeff_the_Officer

I Can’t See!

“Working light bulb.”  ~ SnooPears3006</

“Yes! Mine blew a few weeks ago and that’s never happened to me before. I had no idea what to do.

“I ended up finding a light bulb at the store easily enough the next day but until then, trying to find something in the fridge was so hard!!”

“We take advantage of that little thing!”  ~ Smil3yAngel

Well I now I have to go shopping.

My fridge is a sad, desolate place. I do have butter though, it’s a start.

Oh, and corn. I love corn.

Maybe we all need to start thinking in survival mode when we stock up and not just for our refrigerators, our cabinets too.

If Covid taught us anything, it’s that everything you may want or need, may be gone quickly, so always make sure the essentials are there.

Did anyone else’s shopping list just grow exponentially?

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People Divulge The Absolute Best Questions To Ask In A Job Interview

The job interview process is almost always stressful, and that’s only after you’ve sent in enough resumés and applications to get someone to offer you an interview in the first place.

Knowing what to ask your interviewer when they ask you “Do you have any questions for us?” is often the most nerve-wracking part of the interview itself.

But below, you’ll find some great questions to ask your potential employer during your next interview.

Reddit user fmgame asked:

“What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?”

Ask About Your Predecessor

“One that has always gone over well for me: ‘What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?’”

“Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this.” –uneasyandcheesy

Ask For Your Interviewer’s Expertise

“When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?” –BeBackInASchmeck

“This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained.”

“She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job.” –slowbreaths

“This sounds like it allows too much room for them to promote themselves or the company. It’s not a bad question, I just think it will be hard to get an honest answer.” –Dukeronomy

“But are we looking for an honest answer, or just trying to get hired?” –DungeonsAndDragonsD*ldos

What Do They Want From You?

“Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to ‘don’t think of a purple hippo,’ this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position.” –stack_cats

“I asked this question in the interview for my current job. The answer I got was great:”

“‘Nothing. Just settle in, find your feet, concentrate on doing the basics right. We’ll sort out some challenges for you next year’.”

“It meant that I felt really relaxed and at ease when I started, knowing that I didn’t have to make any grand statements early on in my career here.” –SamwiseTheOppressed

This One Can Help You Weed Out Places That Aren’t A Good Fit

“What do you like best about working here?” –SJExit4

“This question has helped a lot to get an accurate view on the employer” –HurricaneHugo

“‘Good work-life balance, open and transparent communication, and a healthy work environment,’ even if none of those things are true.” –reallydarnconfused

“In February I asked this question in a job interview and the immediate response of the guy interviewing me is to look down and laugh a bit.”

“He then told me the likes the ‘balance’ and the ‘comradeship’ and that it feels like ‘family’.”

“That didn’t satisfy me but they proceeded to hire me a week later and I accepted. That comradeship he was talking about was true.”

“It was a group of 15 people and they were all 45+ and older and we’re highly racist towards everyone not German enough.”

“I quit after 2 months after listening to daily right wing conspiracies and whining about foreigners.” –Shaawny

Are They A Good Manager?

“A question that landed me a job once was: ‘If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they’d tell me?’ Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but I got the job.”

“In my current interviews I’m asking ‘what did your company do for its employees during COVID to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.’ and I ask ‘Is there anything your company adopted during COVID that they plan to keep post COVID?’”

“These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well.”

“Other questions that I’ve been complemented on are:”

“‘If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?’”

“‘If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?’” –Ophelia_AO

“When I’m interviewing, if it’s not offered proactively, I ask to meet some of the team I would be working with – and have a meeting where the hiring manager was not present.”

“When I’m talking with my potential coworkers I can them ask them about daily tasks/projects, any challenges, and what it’s like to work with the hiring manager. Not being able to meet with them separate from the hiring manager would be a red flag.”

“But then a couple of years ago I was interviewing and was offered a job where I would be the first employee at a company. The owner had previously done a lot of his business with contractors, and wanted to bring on an employee.”

“Obviously there were no coworkers for me to interview, since I would be the first one hired.”

“I did a couple of interviews with the owner, and he said he definitely wants to offer me the position, and he asked me to email him my references.”

“I said I would, and then I noted that normally I would want to speak with coworkers, but since that was not really possible I asked him for references of his own – specifically some who could speak to his management style.”

“He apparently loved that I did that. Said he had never been asked that before, and I could see he was surprised and hadn’t even thought about it.”

“But he agreed to send me an email later that night.”

“What I really appreciated was that he didn’t just give me people who were his direct reports in past jobs. He gave me a couple of levels of people to speak to.”

“One reference was someone who he directly managed previously. This one could speak about his long term experience with my prospective boss, and management style, and whether or not he was a micromanager (was not one, yay).”

“One reference was someone who was currently a managing partner at a pretty big Australian company. They had been VPs at the same time, managing different divisions at a previous company.”

“This one could speak to the leadership style, how my prospective boss approached business problems, and about his vision for the company. They had a long history, and it was really valuable to understand that my boss had a 5 year and 10 year plan for the business that was well thought out.”

“And I think the third reference was a current contractor at the company I was thinking about joining. This one was able to speak about current management style, and current projects I would work on.”

“Got valuable info from all of those references, and I accepted the job”

“Absolutely all of them were accurate about him as a manager.”

“A year or so later told me that me making the request for his references stood out – he took it as a sign that I was a good choice.”

“I don’t work for him anymore, but he’s still one of the best managers I have ever had.”

“The only manager I ever had who when he was trying to hire more people, came to me and said that in trying to hire he had come to realize that he was underpaying me, and gave me a $10k raise on the spot.” –LadyCiani

This One’s Important

“Why is this position open?” –TXJOEMAMA

“The position was ALWAYS hiring (call centre) so I asked them what their turnover rate was… 20% per month.”

“I lasted a good while. I had the highest call ratings in the company, and several customers spoke to or sent letters to my manager about how much they appreciated my help.”

“But I also had the lowest amount of calls taken per shift. Because of that, they never gave me my monthly award in front of the other staff.”

“They didn’t want anyone else to think they could get away with it.”

“Quantity, not quality.” –blameitonmyouth

Not Everyone Wants To Move Up

“Perhaps not the best but very interesting. A candidate asked me if it is possible in our company to get a significant raise without climbing up the career ladder in our company.”

“This guy never wanted to be a manager, he wanted to do what he applied for but wanted to know it will be well paid.”

“We hired him. He’s introvert, working alone in his ‘basement’ but he’s great at what he does.” –Nathaniel66

Job interviews are often stressful, but hopefully these suggestions about what to ask your interviewer make at least part of the process easier.

Happy job hunting!

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People Explain What You Should Never Do On A First Date

First dates can feel trickier than they actually are.

What starts out as a memorable first encounter can quickly turn south if you put too much thought into it. At most, a first date should attempt to establish a line of connection and if there’s the chance for something more serious to occur.

Turns out, not everyone gets this and that’s where terrible first dates come from.

You’ve heard of them.

You’ve had them.

Now, hear what you can avoid to skip that first date awkwardness.

Reddit user, Couch_Licker, wanted to know what to skip when they asked:

What should you NEVER do on a first date?

Put Them Away

“Be on your phone the whole time” ~ beforesunset1010

“Put it on vibrate and don’t look at it except when you go to the bathroom. I walked out on a date because she was constantly replying to messages. They did not take it well.” ~ [usernamedeleted]

“But what if it is a “let’s play Pokemon GO together” sort of date?” ~ zetta_baron

Keep It On The Present

“Only talk about your previous relationships” ~ Nevlu

“She talked about him so much I started to miss the guy” ~ 2x4x93

“Discuss any particular ex for a length of time. In my experience it’s a big red flag that they’re not over someone or carrying that baggage. And I mean everyone has baggage – it’s normal. I have some and expect the people I’ve dated in the past to have some.”

“But a first date should be about exploring each other and whether you like the person, are attracted to them, want to continue getting to know them. You can mention previous relationships but unless both parties have known each other during previous relationships – do not vent or over explain your exes.” ~ meowowomeow

Don’t Be Egg Hands

“Once had a dude grab some of my food off of my plate with his bare hands. He was trying to do a cutesy sharing food thing but it was a poached egg. He grabbed a poached egg with his bare hands right off of my plate. Please do not be like that guy.” ~ bubblebubbeleh

“I was picturing fries or something. I was not ready for the mental image of a guy trying to grab poached egg with his bare hands. Attempting to be cute or not, what part of that seemed like a good idea?” ~ themightybearorrist

Be Up Front About It, At Least

“invite your spouse. It’s just so awkward” ~ ickysam

“You think Im kidding but at least 10% of Tinder is two people looking to add someone else.” ~ Stories_for_days

Watch Your Strength, Bro

“Break her nose. My now husband hugged me the way Lenny petted rabbits.”

“He was happy to finally meet me in person after online relationship, was a virgin, and thought harder hugs mean more love. They do not.”

“He still apologizes when it’s brought up, lol.” ~ Fact_Even

“So you’re saying it worked?” ~ DunderBearForceOne

“WARNING: THIS IS THE WRONG TAKEAWAY FROM THIS STORY!” ~ a-horse-has-no-name

Believe In Science

“Revealing that you’re a flat earther. This serious happened to me.”

“This guy I met online seems okay. We went on a date and he started asking ‘those type of questions that make people fall in love with you’.”

“Idk if you know what I’m talking about. If that didn’t weird me out enough, he went on and claimed that we worked for NASA and they lied to everyone.”

“The earth is flat and those images we saw of earth are CGI renders. The US never landed on the moon and conspiracy sh*t like that.”

“Needless to say there was no second date.” ~ pink0205

Monitoring Your Breath

“Well, don’t do what I did: order the French onion soup.”

“This was a lunch date and I’m not sure what the hell I was thinking ordering something that both makes a mess (all that melted, stringy cheese) and gives you bad breath.”

“My wife still gives me crap about that boneheaded decision to this day.” ~ Southern_Snowshoe

A Quiet Opening

“Go to the movies. I think going to the movies should be reserved for people in relationships.”

“Why? Because if you go to the movies on the first date you’ll practically have wasted two hours watching something, not being able to talk and get to know each other.” ~ YogurtSocks

“Going to see a film then going for a meal after isn’t the worst option. At least then you have one thing to talk about.”

“However, the theater on its own seems silly. You can’t get to know much about a person that way.” ~ [usernamedeleted]

Keep Your Head On Straight

“Show up wasted.”

“This guy was obviously drunk or on some sort of drugs. His date was being so polite but was clearly uncomfortable.”

“Her server managed to pick up her signals and when she got up to ‘go to the bathroom’ he ushered her to our service elevator to make her getaway.”

“After about 15 minutes he let him know his date had left, he seemed surprised, then a bit upset, finally confessing that it was the second time this had happened to him this week.”

“I kind of felt sad for him in the end, dealing with addiction is tough.” ~ omgbbqpork

Have A Little Bit Of Confidence

“Don’t dump out every single unappealing thing about your life on a first date. There is plenty of time to get to know someone, and plenty of time to be honest about those things – but a first date isn’t the time for it.”

“I feel like sometimes people do this as a defense mechanism, to ‘rip off the bandaid’ and test if someone will accept them completely – but it is far too much all at once and creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of rejection.”

“As an example: on a first date, a guy disclosed to me he’s living with his parents who are homeless and refuse to move out of his apartment so almost all his income goes to them, he has zero sex drive, and he struggles with severe body image issues.”

“He also had plenty of great qualities, and if I’d had a chance to slowly get to know him we may have been able to navigate around some of that stuff… but honestly it was way too much to process all at once.”

“I also have my own family/medical/mental health sh*t to deal with too – I just didn’t dump it all on him in one day – so all I could think about was how much of his sh*t he was asking me to take on, and I didn’t even know him.”

“I ended up not accepting a second date, then watched him post about how women won’t give him a chance on social media… I felt bad because he’s a really nice guy and he’s absolutely sabotaging himself with that first date etiquette.” ~ cebogs

Know Where The Boundaries Are

“Speaking as a woman who dates men: getting offended if she doesn’t want you to pick her up/drive her home.”

“Basic safety there and you look like a creep even if you were just trying to be nice. Offering is fine– but don’t push.” ~ catmos

Something To Be Proud Of?

“Reveal your collection of used panties you’ve bought online.” ~ RedShaun21

You don’t have to do much to have a good first date.

Just don’t show up drunk and skip sharing your panty collecting hobby.

It can be that easy.

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People Share Little-Known Survival Tips That Could Save Your Life

In a perfect world, none of us would need to know or use any of the information we’re about to go over.

We don’t live in anything remotely close to a perfect world.

Tragedies happen, accidents occur, life gets heavy. In those moments, the thing that tips the scales might be something as seemingly unimportant as “that random factoid I read on the internet.”

Reddit user GlumExcitement9 asked: 

“People of Reddit, what is a surprisingly unknown survival fact that everyone should know?” 

So listen, we sincerely hope you never need this stuff.

We hope you never find yourself waiting to be rescued, facing down a person determined to hurt you, or falling off of a ship in the middle of the open ocean.

But just in case …

Whistle While You Wait

“Pack a whistle.”

“There’s no chance your voice will hold out yelling at the top of your lungs, and whistles carry long distances. Especially handy if you’ve injured yourself, and need to rely on others finding you.”

“SOS in Morse code is … – – – …”

“So three short blasts, three longer ones, three short, pause….and repeat.”

“This is an especially handy and harmless device to give kids that are along for a hike (along with, ‘if you get separated, stop walking and blow the whistle lots, and we’ll come to you’).” – Bubbafett33

Don’t Climb

“Contractor and someone who has designed quite a few subway and stations here.”

“Here’s something we’re taught during the first day of security clearance classes and this is how we design stations as a standard feature on every new platform being built. Older platforms may not have this or will have some other safety feature.”

“Having said that – many subway platforms have a space big enough for a person to fit under in case they fall onto the subways tracks.”

“So if you fall off the edge of the platform and onto the tracks and there’s a train coming, roll to the side. There’s likely a gap you can fit in.”

“It might be tight, and you’ll certainly get dirty, but better than standing up, scrambling to try and climb out, and dying.” – IndianInferno

“I work for NYCT. There are niches you can stand that are safe if you fall.”

“As long as there isn’t a red and white stripped board, you’re good.”

“Another fatal and idiotic piece of advice I hear a lot is to lie down flat between the running rails. This may work in a few stations and in specific spots in those stations but do not try this!”

“Just look along the wall for niches and flatten yourself against the wall in there. If there’s no wall then stand next to a column and hold onto it with one hand.”

“Then just try to stand flush with the column.” – CrankBar

Self Defense Is Cowardly

“My family runs self-defense classes. They include multiple black belts and lawyers.”

“In terms of ‘fights’ – bar brawls, people in the street, muggings, etc.:”

“- If they have a weapon, any weapon, run. Seriously, you will die, no matter how good you think you are or how many test-disarms you’ve done in a dojo.”

“Run like f*ck and be prepared to kill if cornered.”

“We’ve witnessed experienced black-belts hurt themselves with a real knife (after signing disclaimers!) so badly that they were hospitalized when they were JUST SPARRING, not fighting for real.”

“It’s just not worth it.”

“- If the fight is just ‘brewing’, repeatedly announce that you don’t want to fight them (attracts help, shows you’re not trying to one-up them, covers you legally, and doesn’t prepare them if you do fight).”

‘ Say things like ‘Nah, man, I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to fight you. Look, I don’t want to fight you. Whatever, man, I don’t want to fight. I’m just gonna walk away, alright, I don’t wanna fight you’.” 

“- If it’s not immediately life-threatening and you can avoid it, try not to throw the first punch. Again, legal coverage, but also means you’re not the guy who gets into something they didn’t want to.”

“The first punch is the trigger for everything to kick off. Up until that point you can still defuse everything back to harsh words and idle threats.”

“Once a punch is thrown, someone’s getting really hurt and you literally have no idea if the other guy is more experienced or better at it that you. No matter who you are.”

“However, you can *react* to anything that appears to come towards you perfectly legitimately… if he’s “faking out” a punch, you have no idea of that but can act as if it was real.”

“- If you’re surprised, ‘attacked’, etc… without warning… it’s no holds barred.”

“Literally, who cares about his eyesight, his future fatherhood prospects, whether his kneecaps will ever work again or if he can breathe.”

“You can’t afford to end up on the floor, be incapacitated yourself, stunned, reeling, unconscious, for him to summon aid, or even just to fall to the ground awkwardly.”

“And YES, that guy could stab you and you wouldn’t know until after he walked away, things are really that quick!”

“Your brain doesn’t notice some subtle movements, your body won’t scream out in pain because of the adrenaline, and someone who knows what they’re doing will not attract attention to the weapon until it’s in you, etc…”

“You can’t take that risk.”

“Once it gets physical, don’t stop until you’re sure he’s not able to harm you, and then run away anyway for good measure (legal hint: report to the police at the first opportunity, don’t wait).”

“Once they have shown they have an intention to hurt you, and they’ve started to act on it – nothing is out of line.”

“And to quote the legal people in our clubs who were always asked the questions: If you feel your life is genuinely in danger, you can do almost anything to protect it until the point it’s no longer in danger. Worry about the legalities later.”

“But if your life is in danger, you would act to protect.”

“Going back in for another kick, or using a weapon when he’s already down and you could run, or anything else? Yeah, that’s not self-defense.”

“You’re not *defending* yourself by walking back into a fight you could have easily escaped.”

“Victims who ‘just tried to punch him once, but he punched back, so I shot him’ are also often harder to take seriously for self-defense than ‘he was three times my size, I was on my own, he attacked, I was in a struggle for my life at that point’.”

“That’s especially true if they were heard trying to stop the fight from happening, ran away immediately when they could, and called the police as they ran.”

“You can also act in defense of others, but again – you are defending. You’re giving them time to run away – wife, child, friend, whoever.”

“If there’s a threat, that’s what you’re giving them; the opportunity to escape the threat.”

“But there’s literally nothing wrong with breaking the guy’s knee as your first action (kick it so it goes sideways) – in fact, from a self-defense point of view, it’s perfectly legitimate. It’s a perfect way to prevent pursuit and allow you to escape.”

“Self-defense is cowardly, at its heart.”

“Do everything you can to capitulate, avoid the fight, etc… but if it escalates, take the quickest, most effective way to incapacitate them and then run away.”  – ledow

You Vs. The Ocean

“If you are ever caught in a rip current, swim perpendicular to it. If you swim into it, you will die.”

“If you let it carry you out to sea and aren’t a strong swimmer, you will die.” – [Reddit]

“I’ve been caught in a rip current. This advice is incredibly useful to know, because without it you’re also going to panic real hard when swimming towards the shore doesn’t work.” – homarjr

“I was caught in one, too, during my freshman year of college. I almost died.”

“I would have if it weren’t for my friend, who was a lifeguard, that was nearby. I tried the whole swimming parallel to the beach method, but what everyone conveniently forgets to mention is that you STILL have to swim back to shore.”

“This task is seriously exhausting. If you’re not VERY in shape, you’re pretty much f*cked if you’re caught in a rip current with no one out there to help rescue you.” – enginerd12

“Been a sailing merchant for 12 years. If you ever fall off a ship/ferry at sea and you’re lucky enough to be spotted – don’t try to swim your way to safety. The ocean will win.”

“The more you try to swim, the lesser your chances of survival. Just try to keep afloat and conserve energy (and body heat) while rescue team do what they’re supposed to.”

“Unless you are in hypothermic waters, the best bet always is to stay afloat without trying to swim to somewhere.” – trendz19

Snakebite Position

“Lead the pack if you’re scared of snakes. You’ll disturb them but the person behind you is more likely to get bitten.” – knittingtaco

“Mountain biker from southern Arizona here.”

“In the summer, we trail ride at night to avoid the heat. When on single track, whoever is behind the guy in front is in ‘snakebite’ position.”

“We’ve all at one time or another had to bunnyhop a rattlesnake” – tucsonyeti

The Star

“Elevator stuff: The STAR symbol on the elevator panel indicates the floor that is the most direct route to outside. It’s not always the first floor.” – AtopMountEmotion

Leave It To The Professionals

“Don’t f*ck with garage door springs.” – SpitefulShrimp

“Used to work on commercial and residential doors and openers. Seen a broken spring go through a cinderblock wall.”

“The main thing to look for are the red bolts.(assuming the door was installed correctly.) Those are the ones holding tension on the springs/lines.”

“Screw with something else you might break it. Screw with the reds they might break you.” – ThePrevailer

“THIS is what almost killed me!”

“I was trying to fix a gap in my garage door a couple of years ago and started to unscrew a couple of bolts with the door closed.”

“One of them flew right by my face. I almost pissed my pants and couldn’t sleep that night just thinking about how I almost won a Darwin award.” – Lapare

Sure, some of this is stuff we’re not really likely to use, but how many elevators have you been in.

Did you know what that star was for?

Had you even noticed it?

Exactly.

Posted on

People Break Down The Most Likely Reasons Humanity Will Go Extinct

We all know the story of the dinosaurs extinction. An asteroid hit the earth and caused great environmental impact that wiped out their world.

When we think about our world today and what could possibly cause the end of human life, there’s so many more possibilities beyond an asteroid.

Some scientists predict it could happen in 100 years due to the crumbling political and social climates, while others believe it will be climate related which places the end of days anywhere between 5,100 to 7.8 million years from now.

Redditor TwoTimeToj wanted to know:

“What is the most likely to cause humanity’s extinction?”

This question stirred up quite the debate.

Our own doing.

“Humanity.” ~ LopensLeftArm

“This reminds me of the time last year May 2020. When due to lockdown, a lot of pollution went away, and then everyone on the internet declared: ‘We, humans are the real virus.’” ~ tadxb

“It’s not worth arguing because that alone will bring us to the brink. its us fighting ourselves.” ~ Moglist

“I like to think that when the baby boomer generation currently in charge of companies and politics all die off, we’ll be in a better world because the millennials will take over who have more realistic views and understandings and actually seem to give a sh*t about the future, having had such a hard time for their own futures.”

“But at the same time I know it’s just a dream. ‘Man, I’ve had it so sh*t for so long but now I’m in charge and can screw everyone else over to live a really comfortable, extravagant life I always wanted? Why change the wheel when I can abuse it too and live on a beach driving fast cars?’”

“Aaaaaaand nothing’s changed. Big f*cking surprise.” ~ Dynasty2201

“‘We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning, since the world’s been turning.’ – Billy Joel” ~ Guardanapkins

Some think it’s not that easy.

“I think people really underestimate what it would take to actually completely exterminate our entire species. We already bounced back from a population collapse down to under 10,000 once, we could do so again.”

“Nuclear war, ecological collapse, incurable disease; I highly doubt that any of them could kill everyone. Even if it’s just a few isolated pockets in the outback or the jungle that survive, that’s still not extinction.”

“Honestly, I think it would take a cosmic catastrophe (asteroid/comet impact, gamma ray burst, etc) to completely obliterate us and that assumes that it occurs soon enough that we don’t have viable populations outside of Earth.”

“I’m not for a minute saying that ‘Everything will be fine.’ If we nuke ourselves back to the stone age, or completely alter the planet’s climate such that agriculture becomes impossible, then of course human civilization would probably never recover.”

“The questions is explicitly outright extinction, which I think is big step further.” ~ GalacticNexus

“What’s the event that brought us down to 10,000 if I may ask?” ~ madmenrus1

“I believe it was a supervolcano eruption which initiated a mini ice age, correct me if I’m wrong.” ~ elik2226

A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

“A bad-tempered, bureaucratic alien species of space engineers deciding to construct a hyperspace bypass through our solar system.” ~ -o0_0o-

“I mean, the plans have been on display in Alpha Centauri for quite some time.” ~ itsf*ckingpizzatime

“On display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.’” ~ PeterLemonjellow

Genetic modification.

“I’ve always thought that humans will begin modifying DNA and making cyborg-like modifications to the human body until we reach the point that the concept of human will be so diluted that we will have to call ourselves another way, leading to the extinction of humanity as we know it.” ~ -exekiel-

“You should read the book Homo Deus basically the same idea.” ~ ZeusFarous

“The Omnissiah would be proud.” ~ ctank01

Climate change.

“Climate change, pandemics, etc will probably just make a dent of a smaller or bigger size. For an extinction level event, there’s fewer options:”

  • “Asteroid impact.”
  • “Global thermonuclear war.”
  • “Gamma ray burst.”

“…that kind of thing.” ~ arkaydee

“How about solar flares? What if there comes a solar flare that fries all electronics?”

“Suddenly, we’d have no transportation, no food because it relies on transportation, no running water, no pacemakers, etc.?” ~ 101st_kilometre

“We won’t go extinct, it will just collapse society.” ~ Elbonio

“Back to stone age.”

“Exciting.” ~ Entry-

“It won’t be the stone age. There is a lot of accumulated knowledge that would allow us to be way better off than any time prior to the 1800’s.”

“Just the idea of washing your hands before a medical procedure was revolutionary and not recognized by doctors until after the mid 1800’s.” ~ Alatain

“Can’t wait to get back to the good old days, when you cut your lawn using a giant lobster, and your shower was an elephant that complained a lot!” ~ TheAllyCrime

“If tech suddenly went awry there would still be plenty of people able to live in local farms. It would destroy our civilization but people would survive.”

“The only thing that would truly send humans extinct is the earth becoming entirely uninhabitable for us and the food we eat, like an asteroid boiling our oceans or something like that.” ~ tredli

Probably something so ridiculous.

“Probably the dumbest f*cking thing you can imagine.” ~ jks_david

“Like yogurt or giving cats opposable thumbs in love death and robots.” ~ fox_office

“The yogurt will leave us behind.” ~ uncalledforgiraffe

“At least we will be cultured.” ~ AdAny287

A rogue planet.

“Astronomical phenomenon like a rogue planet, or an asteroid.” ~ Tink2013

“I’m apparently fuzzy on the definition of a rogue planet. I believed they were simply planets that formed outside of or somehow escaped a star system.”

“Simply a planet without a star. How might that bring about humanities extinction? Through a collision?” ~ QiKS

“If one came close enough to disrupt our orbit around the sun and kick us out of the ‘goldilocks’ zone, we could die by heat or cold.” ~ spauldhaliwal

Ancient bacteria.

“Polar ice cap melts, releases bacteria from 5 million years ago and it’s p*ssed.” ~ tuscabam

“There’s a really good book about this. The trick is that it kills the livestock as well, transmitted by insects.” ~ KarmaEeleon

One just to lighten the mood.

“A.I. And by ‘A.I.’ I mean Auto Insurance.” ~ 6_String_Slinger

“Flo takes her job seriously. If you’re not on the plan, plan to die.” ~ yankstraveler

Whether it’s climate change or nuclear war, the end of humanity may come one day.

Hopefully, none of us will be around to see it.