People Share The Most Useless Advice They Ever Received

As we come up to new milestones, we may find ourselves face-to-face with a life experience we don’t know how to navigate.

While this reasonably will lead us to ask those around us for advice, that doesn’t necessarily mean the advice we will receive will actually be useful.

Redditor PsychedelicAirFusion asked:

“What’s the worst advice you have ever received?”

Some Redditors discussed mental health.

“‘Don’t be depressed, you have nothing to be depressed about.’”

“I hate any advice, especially concerning mental health, that invalidates or considers anyone’s personal situation as a reason why they can’t have x condition.”

“Yes, I had a good home life and a good childhood. But that doesn’t make my brain produce more dopamine or serotonin. I can’t just ‘get over it’ or stop feeling sad.”

“I was encouraged by my mom to stop taking my medication because it would have ‘long-term effects’ on me. She may not be wrong, but I think perpetual sadness and depression are worse.”

“I took control of my own mental health once I realized it wasn’t shameful to do so. It was way later than it needed to be. I’m doing better but there are still things I need to work on.” – dawrina

“‘Don’t go on meds, just exercise’ for depression.”

“Meds ended up practically saving my life.” – Introvertedpanda3

“My mom told me not to ‘bother’ one of my boyfriends by talking about my mental health issues. She said he doesn’t need to hear about it and it’ll just overwhelm him and make him more likely to break up with me.”

“I ignored that advice, and my current boyfriend and I frequently talk about our mental health issues and it makes us stronger.” – mrwilliamschue

There was a mention of addiction.

“When I realized I was an alcoholic at 21, I opened up to a friend and they said, ‘We’re supposed to be young and wild and free! There’s nothing wrong with that!’”

“I lost 3 more years of my life to drinking and a suicide attempt before I got sober at 24 – I’ll have 3 years in February! (No thanks to her)” – OrganizationQuiet470

Some received terrible relationship advice. 

“To break up with the girl I was dating because I felt unsure about it.”

“From there she became my girlfriend, I moved in with her, we moved to a bigger house, got married, and took a dog and now we plan for children.”

“Meanwhile, most of those friends only had short-lived relationships with long single periods for years. I think they are the ones doing something wrong.” – Lvcivs2311

“‘You weren’t physically abused so just get over it, it wasn’t that bad.’”

“Bro, I was mentally, verbally, and financially abused for two years straight by someone who was supposed to love me.”

“He pointed out insecurities I didn’t even realize I had, putting my self-esteem so low that for literally the first time in my life, I started to have very intense suicidal thoughts. And now I have an extremely hard time trusting anyone that comes into my life in a romantic sense because I’m convinced that the same thing is going to happen again.”

“I would love to just get over it. I would love to be the person I was before I met my ex. I would love to just have my self-esteem back and love to not to be as anxious as I am.”

“But I’m not. It took me almost a year, and getting back with him briefly to realize it WAS that bad. Maybe he didn’t beat the s**t out of me, but he made me believe that I was someone that wasn’t worthy of love. It was absolutely that bad and it’s going to take a long time before I completely heal from the trauma he caused.” – Pear_Jam2

“Only make friends with people who are of a higher ‘status’ than you are so you can use them to better your situation.”

“This came from my paternal unit (PU) when I was about 15 (in response to a new friendship of mine with the daughter of a cemetery worker*) and I knew it was pure bulls**t the second he said it. Lost all remaining shreds of respect for him in that moment.”

“*his job mattered to the PU, which is the only reason I mention it.” – maggie081670

Others received questionable advice for their futures.

“April 2008 – ‘You should really look into buying a house instead of renting.’ I started the process of getting preapproved and looking, but for some reason decided to wait.” – ioncloud9

“When my wife and I were looking for houses, my manager at the time called to ask how the house hunting was going.”

“At this time, I was rumored to be up for a promotion that would be a rather sizable boost in salary, about $1,200 a month. There was absolutely no guarantee when this promotion could hypothetically take place.”

“He said, ‘Here’s the thing, I could be a finance guy doing this s**t for a living, but I couldn’t stop smoking weed long enough to finish college — don’t buy something that suits you now, because you’re always going to wish you would have gone bigger.’”

“He continued, ‘Buy something that you can grow into. You’re going to be making a lot more money soon, so buy something you almost don’t even feel comfortable buying.’”

“I bought a house well within our means, got promoted a few months later, now have a huge disposable income. Glad I didn’t think his advice was sound.” – Forwardbase_Kodai

“I was told by a guidance counselor as an incoming freshman (who didn’t know me from anyone else, by the way) that taking more than one honors course plus being in Band was too much.”

“My mom was persuaded. I had to fight both of them to ignore the advice. I ended up taking every honors and AP course possible throughout high school, finishing with a perfect 4.0 GPA, then doing the same in college.”

“Don’t take advice on what you should or shouldn’t do from someone who doesn’t know you. Always take into account your personal strengths and weaknesses when considering any advice in life.” – Kooky_Finding8516

While the people expressing these pieces of advice might have been earnest, these definitely weren’t the shiniest gems of advice we’ve ever seen.

The glowing takeaway here seems to be to understand yourself, what you need, what you want and what you’re capable of.

If you remain honest about that, you’ll make a better decision than any of this advice could lead you to.

Desert Dwellers Break Down The Daily Facts Of Life They Face

Some months ago I found myself in El Paso, Texas. It was a fun enough time.

But let me tell you something—as a child of the Northeast, I don’t think I would enjoy living in the desert.

Nothing about the desert seems fun to me.

The idea of having the sun beating down on me all the time? I’m good, thanks.

Oh, there were no natural windbreaks out there, so sand just got everywhere whenever the wind picked up. That wasn’t great.

I mustn’t forget to mention the random lizards and scorpions that I’d see on the side of the road.

Or the spiders. Dear God, the spiders.

I guess I’m just accustomed to not having to think about animals all up in my space living in a Northeastern city. And I think I like it that way.

But there are plenty of people out there who live in these environments and would think I’m crazy for feeling the way I do!

They told us all about what it’s like living out there after Redditor Casual_WWE_Reference asked the online community:

“People who live in desert towns or cities, what are some everyday ‘facts of life’ about living in the desert that people who live in other places wouldn’t know?”

“And they are really freaking annoying.”

“Tumbleweed is not just in the cartoons. And they are really freaking annoying. Roadrunners are also around and are pretty cute. Coyotes party and sing in groups at night, and sound creepy as hell.” ~ sonictower

“Every now and then…”

“Every now and then we get a big wind storm that piles up the tumbleweeds in people’s yards. Imagine coming home from work and having tumbleweeds piled up to your roofline.” ~ elWattully

“Always wear a wide-brimmed hat.”

“Always wear a wide-brimmed hat. Long-sleeve T-shirts are underrated. Sunscreen. Lots of sunscreen.”

“Always have water on hand. Watch for snakes. Learn about heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and their respective symptoms.” ~ ClickBang911

“In the summer…”

“It’s dangerous.”

“In the summer we are often unable to go outside because 110-120 degree temps with little vegetation to absorb it will lead to heatstroke, and quickly.”

“Animals do not seek out the midday heat, and humans who think we’re somehow exempt from that will get sick.” 

“Adobe walls keep the heat out well but are hard to put nails into. Use 3M strips? Well, they melt. In my office, I usually have to replace broken frames every time the A/C shuts off because everything falls off the wall.” ~ [deleted]

“After a few days…”

“A couple of years after college, my friends and I spent a week in Big Bend National Park. It’s a large park in southwest Texas on the Mexican border, mostly desert with mountains, and the Rio Grande.”

“To give you an idea of the size of the park, our campsite was 70 miles from the park entrance.”

“After a few days driving around out there, we noticed that people were on another wavelength from what we were used to in the city and suburbs.”

“Folks you met at a store would give you a five-minute conversation. People driving by would wave. We would wave back because you could go half an hour without seeing another soul. People are wired to be social, and being completely isolated changes how you see others.”

“The loneliest I have ever felt was in downtown Tokyo on the streets of Shibuya, surrounded by thousands. Alone in the desert, people start to see each other.” ~ Thompson_S_Sweetback

“The entire reason…”

“It gets cold at night. The entire reason the desert is tolerable once you can provide shelter and water is almost exclusively because no matter how hot it gets, it’s usually around 50, 60 at night. Sand, dust, and dirt get everywhere.” ~ BigGoose478

“Big scorpions…”

“Big scorpions are scary, little scorpions will put you in the hospital. Incidentally, Fallout: New Vegas lied to you – the bark scorpion is actually both the smallest common scorpion in Arizona, and it’s also the most dangerous.”

“Learn to identify your spiders; the most dangerous spiders are not particularly predatory and will leave you alone, but you need to be able to ID your southern black widow, your Arizona brown spiders, and brown recluse spiders.”

“A brown recluse spider can cause organ failure, but a hobo spider, which looks really similar is harmless to the point that scientists are now assuming incidents attributed to the hobo spider are actually just misidentified brown recluse spiders.”

“There’s no hard, fast rule with snakes. Rattlesnakes want you to eff off. They tend to avoid humans for obvious reasons but that doesn’t mean you can’t stumble across one taking a nap.”

“There’s no cardinal rule with the danger of snakes at large, but on the off chance, a snake with black, red and white striping decides to taste test you, go to a hospital pronto.”

“The Arizona coral snake isn’t actually that dangerous – relative to rattlesnakes – but it’s also the one that’s really easy to identify.”

“Despite the cutesy name, Gila Monsters are dangerous. They’re not terribly fast but they’re pretty chompy and it’s the one case where a native lizard in the United States is also venomous.”

Other bugs: Arizona gets killer bees, and a particularly large eight-inch centipede called the Desert Centipede can also give a painful bite.” ~ BigGoose478

“When you’re choosing…”

“When you’re choosing where to place your garden, remember that ‘plant in full sun’ means full sun in the Midwest. That’s really not the same in southern New Mexico, where opening the front door is like checking if the lasagna is ready.”

“I have shade cloth over everything in our vegetable garden.” ~ DanYHKim

“Logistically…”

“Logistically, unless you have cloth seats in your car or seat covers of some kind, you need a towel to sit on your car seats or you’ll burn your legs. Using oven mitts to drive is not needed now but was crucial where we were in Arizona in the 70s.”

“Wild burros would walk through your yard at night, and sometimes would let you hand feed them. Carrot tops were especially liked!” ~ ReadOnTheCrapper

“I grew up…”

“I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and now live between Death Valley and Las Vegas in a rural low-elevation area. I can’t really safely go outside for what feels like half of the year.

“The temperatures where I live are insane, and they’re getting worse every year. I lost count of how many days we had over 120°F this past summer.”

“I have to physically pick up my dog to take her to the potty area. Some very cheap shoes will melt on the pavement on particularly bad days, so you can only imagine what that must be like for dogs’ feet.”

“Ground temperature is always much higher, especially asphalt. My rule of thumb is to usually take my foot out of my shoe and test it if I’m not too sure, if I wouldn’t walk on it then I won’t make my dog walk on it.” ~ Almadenn

Okay, after reading these, it seems clear to me that we shouldn’t be living out in the desert.

Why?

Why are we doing this to ourselves?

Safe to say I can’t handle it.

I don’t think I’d want to worry about my shoes melting… the humidity in the Northeast is enough!

People Break Down The Absolute Worst Trends Of 2021

As 2021 draws to a close, people are taking time to reflect on the year that was, is and could’ve been.

Regarding work-life, education and parenting, the uncertainty of the pandemic’s future prevented many of us from going back to a sense of normalcy. But one thing remained constant and that is our use of social media.

With many of us glued to our phones more than ever, you may have noticed trends have come and gone or have stuck around.

Curious to hear of the more disastrous viral events, Redditor SweatyCure asked:

“What is the dumbest trend of 2021?”

Observe the examples below to determine which do you think were the lamest trends of this year.

The Video Sharing App

“Anything on tik tok.” – CryptographerOwn3688

“Case in point: That school shooting day rumor last week.” – BayushiKazemi

Dance Trends

“Moms tik tok dancing next to their new born baby who’s either dead or dying.” – ThatOneFilmPerson

“All this booty and stomach stuff. All those dances that are so sexual. I don’t know if that’s so good for the youngsters to learn. I just find it cringey.” – iiipzy

Social Media In General

“Literally all of it.” – 44untrue

“twitter and tik tok.” – E190wings

“Tiktok is mainly children under 10.”

“Children are dumb.”

“It adds up.” – tuwabau

The Root Cause

“I’m not sure, but I’m 99% sure it started on Tik Tok.” – InfiNicty

Wreaking Havoc In Schools

“Hard to say, but maybe the whole ‘devious lick’ thing.” – Writy_Guy

“Devious licks licking icecream and dec 17 school shooter challenge.” – BobOfBrazil

“God the devious lick trend was so stupid.” – pyjamapants14

“Except that disappearing clothes trend. I’m good with that one.” – LexLuthorJr

“Milk crate challenge was one of the dumbest but also one of the most entertaining.” – Filtaido

School Shooter Challenge

Devious licks licking icecream and dec 17 school shooter challenge.” – BobOfBrazil

“December 17th – School Shooting Trend.” – sfisher923

A Violent Challenge

“You remember the skull breaker challenge?”

“It was a while ago. Three people would stand shoulder to shoulder, and the one in the middle would jump. The two people of the sides would then kick the middle’s legs in mid air, so they would fall backwards and crack their skull on the ground.”

“A few people died.” – uninterestedcrab

Gun Violence

“The new trend where they are threatening to shoot up schools on Tik Tok.” – OnasoapboX41

“What the actual f’k is wrong with people? How do they not know that threatening to shoot up a school is illegal?” – DogsAreCool69420

“That’s the exact reason why my parents didn’t let me go to school last Friday, there were too many threats towards my school.” – garvin1313

“My middle school was threatened to be shot up by a killer clown when that was going around 2017.” – OnasoapboX41

The Hair Don’t

“I hate that mullets have come back strong in Australia.” – flibblewobble88

“2020 wtf is the point of a crop top hoodie???” – Gilligan_Gurl

Pushing A Cause

“Making your political affiliation a major part of your personality and then cheerleading politics like it’s a goddamn sport.”

“And the worst part? Maybe 10% of these people actually knows sh*t about politics and political issues. And maybe 5% knows sh*t about how the government works.” – PunchBeard

Investments

“Gamestop and meme stock investing. Ruins price discovery and the entire equity market turned to sh*t.” – CapableScholar16

Conflicting Responses

“Treating CRT[critical race theory] like a pandemic, and COVID like a theory” – MacSanchez

“Honestly, the CRT thing gets under my skin. They can’t define it nor describe it to save their lives, but they hate it anyways because that’s what they’ve been told.” – BayushiKazemi

Anti-Biden Slogan

“Let’s Go Brandon” – cowboybluebird

COVID Reaction

“Antivaxxers” – gixanthrax

“Not wearing a mask in public.” – Laurence_Bloke

“Not washing your hands and using hand sanitizer.”

“COVID IS STILL AROUND.” – Dimple_from_YA

“Vaccine refusal and fake vaccine passports.” – muusandskwirrel

“Making the decision not to have a vaccine that could save your life because needles are sharp.” – AncientZebra0

The 5G Conspiracy Theory

“COVID shots give you 5g!!!”

“Then sign me the f’k up.” – muusandskwirrel

COVID Deniers

“The continued refusal of the general population of the planet to accept that covid has no easy solutions. Only one very hard solution.”

“Like a broken ankle, they would rather walk on it than get it taped up, plastered and immobilised giving it time to heal.” – BraveLittleToaster77

“During the height of Covid we stopped my stepdaughter from visiting her bio dad or his parents. The grandparents went absolutely crazy over this becuase according to them.Covid didn’t exist in their house.”

“Then they went silent for a few months. Found out later it was because grandma got covid.” – Kanagaguru

A Neglected Routine

“Not washing your hands and using hand sanitizer.”

“COVID IS STILL AROUND.” – Dimple_from_YA

Over The Variants

“Delta and Omicron.” – YashSrivastav17

Stupid Inconveniences

“Losing the tv remote and masks.” – doomslayercurse

Social Disgraces

“Inviting someone out to brunch whwn it’s obviously ypur treat and tgen expecting them to pau half.” – CollegeAssDiscoDorm

Baring It All

“Naked in front off your loved ones.” – Hugosimpon

Fashion Disaster

“The ‘big t-shirt as a dress’ look. The only thing frumpier is those god forsaken high wasted pants.” – BEJimmy

In The Buff

“Naked in front off your loved ones.” – Hugosimpon

In Summary

“2021 itself.” – MarvelSanctuary

“Its ability to pass by in the blink of an eye.” – Own-Jacket-1929

“I don’t know, if this is from 2021, but I really don’t like ?when something is funny, I don’t get it.” – Kalle579

Back in the day, trends focused more on fashion and food. While those still apply, the introduction of social media was a game-changer in many of our daily interactions.

Madonna was a huge trendsetter in the 80s, thanks to visual media like MTV showing her ground-breaking and very risque music videos. Soon, fans started dressing like her and wearing gummy bracelets–often purchased at grocery store toy dispensers.

Now, anyone can be a trendsetter as an influencer on various social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

However, this time, trends have become harmful “challenges.”

From TikTok challenges to COVID deniers, there were many trends from 2021 people could do without and are looking forward to a clean slate in 2022.

One thing’s for sure, many of the viral challenges that encouraged violence were the ones most Redditors detested and hoped would never continue as we head into the new year.

People Share Their Predictions For 2022

We are about to finally put 2021 to bed—and that was after surviving 2020!

It’s been a long, hard road these past few years. So it can be a bit triggering to think about what lies before us.

Can 2022 be the best? Can it make up for the past? Or are we in for the worst?

2022… thoughts?

Redditor july222020 wanted to hear about what everyone thinks the new year has in store.

So they asked:

“What’s Your One Prediction For 2022?”

it’s almost New Year’s so let’s get to some details.

Dwayne works so hard! 

“The Rock is going to make at least 2 more movies using the same clothes.” ~ Hydrated_Guy

“He is currently competing against himself for fan faves movies on different streaming products.”

“Red notice on Netflix and jungle cruise on whichever it’s playing on. Lol.”  ~ galaxyeyes47

“And he will be in the jungle.” ~ Mumblellama

All the Money is Gone

“Things will get more expensive.” ~ Embarrassed_Hotel655

“The rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer, and the middle class will continue to erode.”  ~ FSMFan_2pt0

“It’s not the rich, but the middle class and even the poor.”

“They are comfortable with our system believe it or not. The rich will just move to their vacation homes out of country anyways.”

“And who will be hurt? The middle and lower class.” ~ Alpha_pro2019

Long Live Her Majesty! 

“Queen Elizabeth WON’T die.” ~ toomanyparadoxes

“She is certainly looking very frail and unwell these days, having lost a lot of weight.”

“There was a recent photo of her doing a rare (these days) in person audience with a foreign official and you could see her clothes were too big and ill fitting.”

“My belief is that she is fundamentally unwell in some way, but private medical matters are not really for the public to be privy to.” ~ _spookyvision_

“She’s in her 90s, she’s allowed to finally have her age catch up to her.”

“As is the case with a lot of older people, she hasn’t been very busy in the last two years due to Covid which could have contributed to ageing very quickly.” ~ Isgortio

What’s in a Name?

“WHO will run out of greek alphabets and label one of the major COVID variant as ‘Omega variant.’”

“There will be doomsday conspiracists preaching it’s the end-time all over the world then.”

“And hopefully, after all that mess, countries across the globe officially declare pandemic is over.” ~ Redpo0l

“My money is on an overlapping pandemic like ebola, but we’ve created such a hostile environment to the protocols that stop it that it mutates and wipes out like 60% of humanity.”  ~ TheIowan

What Will Be Will Be…

“I’d like to put out into the void that I predict 2022 to be absolutely nothing that we expected.”

“I predict growth past barriers unimaginable, clarity, compromise and understanding. We could use a lot more of that now more than ever.” ~ superkooper3000

About to burst…

“The NFT bubble will burst.” ~ Pretend-Spread-1462

“It’s still not mainstream enough. When my aunt starts asking me about them or I see my FB friends talking about their NFT portfolio I’ll know it’s about to burst.”  ~ evil_con_carne

“Every new things that’s supposedly overhyped (or bubble) brings something good.”

“I wait for the day when every house is an NFT and you can buy sell houses on blockchain.”

“Time to get out of the clutches of closing players swindling buyers and sellers in the name of closing costs with line items no one can question.”  ~ dwightsrus

Goals, Goals, Goals…

“Losing weight, being happy and beating my mental illness.” ~ FxH69420

“Not sure I’ll ever beat mine entirely but this year I learned how to identify when things where spiralling and I started being honest about it, to myself and to other people.”

“I learned how to reach out and get support.”

“And, for me, being on top of it and being able to function better has made me content and contentedness (is that a word?!) is happiness.”

“I hope you find your version of happy.  :-)” ~ naturallyeyesblind

The Darkness Continues…

“New variant of Covid, more mandates, more jobless people, more suffering, more issues with governments, tax hikes, inflation, and death.” 

“And a new flavour of slush… got to keep it positive.”  ~ Empty-Refrigerator

“Babies will be born, some people will beat cancer and get a new lease on life.”

“Lots of fun movies, video games and sports will happen.”

“You really need to turn off the news and smell the fresh air and enjoy the beauty of the world once in a while.”  ~ HypnoToadBQ

Anything Can Happen

“I predict Aliens at this point.” ~ Overwhelmed-Insanity

“You just reminded me of the monoliths that were popping up all over in 2020, God so much happened that year, I’m pretty sure I forgot most of it.”

“Like every freaking month there was something new and terrifying.”  ~ miuaiga_infinite

Mother Nature Calls

“Probably lots of environmental disasters will surface.”  ~ ExtremeGagging

“Honestly, at the rate we’re going, I can bet you there will be a lot more hurricanes and that sort of the weather song the coastal areas.”

“While in the mainland, we will see more droughts/low rainfall and higher rates of forest fires.”  ~ MT128

It’s Going to Happen!

“I’m going to get my first speaking role in a movie. I’m going to get my first guest star role in a show.”

“I’m going to get work as a voice over artist. I’m going to sign with the agency I want.”

“I’m going to make a film and find a producer and financing. I’m going to be able to leave my job and have an income from my dreams.”  ~ NickyPathington

‘Next year should be better’

“That it will suck more than 2021.”

“The last few years I’ve said ‘Hopefully next year will be better …it can’t get much worse’. And each year has proven me wrong.”

“I’ve dealt with the death of parents, children’s mental health issues, partner issues, the loss of friends… and they’ve been the highlights.”

“And I live in a place that has been largely unaffected by Covid.”

“So I’ve decided that when I say ‘Next year should be better’ it gets worse. So now I’m going to say ‘Next year will be worse.’”

“At least I won’t be disappointed.”  ~ cheerupyoullthinkof1

Raise your glass and plaster on a smile.

2022 is upon us!

All we can do is hope for the best—but prepare for the worst.

It’s going to be what is.

Hopefully it will be better than the last. Have a laugh and a dance.

There’s a prediction that sounds like fun.

2022 for the life win!!

People Explain Which Dating ‘Red Flags’ Actually Don’t Bother Them At All

Relationships are complicated, and dating even moreso.

People are often told to look out for “red flags” when dating, but what really constitutes a red flag?

Redditor TaxiDriverThankGod asked:

“What is seen as a red flag in dating which you believe is actually a ‘green flag’?”

It’s Not Always An Overshare

“Depending on the situation, oversharing. Some times you just gotta put it all out there right away and if they don’t like it, you’re not wasting your time.” -Cyndas-quil

“I’m lucky enough to be married to the love of my life and together for 15+ years since we were teenagers so don’t need to worry about dating but I have ADHD and am the absolute worst for over sharing, I’ll tell you my life story and all my deepest darkest secrets if you so much as hint that you might give a sh*t.” -InncnceDstryr

“I have very severe anxiety and I tend to get a lot of panic attacks so that’s something I like to make known right away because I’ve had too many experiences with guys dumping me and blaming my anxiety for it.”

“Mental illness can really complicate things when it comes to dating because it’s different for everyone so you can’t expect everyone to understand and want to stick around. You’re so lucky to have found someone who has been with you every step of the way no matter what. It’s not easy to find people like that.” -Cyndas-quil

“I overshare because I’m way past the point of giving f*ck about keeping up with false appearances or trying to seem like my life is more perfect than it is. These days I’d rather both sides lay it out straight, let’s not waste my time or theirs playing that stupid back and forth footsie game only for one of us to back out once all the information becomes clear. F*ck that, I’ve wasted far too much time due to that exact thing.” -Captain_Aizen

Excitement Is A Good Thing

“Being excited to go on another date, immediately.”

“Could be codependency, or it could be that you’re genuinely that interesting to her. Why wouldn’t I want to spend a lot of time with someone I like?” -uselessthrowawaydude

“Yeah it’s weird that society expects people to act like they don’t care that much when dating.” -vercetti87

“It’s really weird when it contradicts how you’d treat a friend. Like, it makes sense to not jump the gun and make grand statements of love and affection and so on right off the bat, but for schedules to really work and all that, any friend group knows that it helps to set up the next meetup, get an idea of work schedules, etc.”

“Yet with dating, it often seems the opposite and you get people trying to get the romance and the affection while limiting the discussion of logistics.”

“Ftr, it’s understandable why this springs up in context, but it just… seems like a miracle that anybody actually gets it to work this way.” -country2poplarbeef

Different Skills Entirely

“Being bad at dating in general. Dating and relationships have completely different skill sets. One requires timing and guarding your information and trying to show your best self and not being too weird and handling these various interested people while the other requires opening up and sharing your true self with just one person. Totally different skill sets. People who are terrible at dating might be just great at being in a relationship, ya know?” -TommyTuttle

“100% me. I absolutely LOATHED dating. HAAAAAAAAAATED it. I wasn’t good at the trade craft of it all.”

“I think I am a pretty darn good partner though. Now that all that BS is behind is, we can just get down to the business of being together.” -LifeOpEd

“Agreed. Awkward people can make the best friends and soulmates. I’m outgoing and my SO was always awkward and bad at flirting but we get along like nothing else.” -Helicocccter

Shouldn’t Wanting To Communicate Be A Good Thing?

“Being open. Texting multiple times. Not caring to much about social dating rules.” -goudendonut

“This. If a guy I’m interested in answers my text soon, not wait a day or a week later, it shows he’s interested and prioritizes me.” -PuzzledInside123

“It also makes it more authentic instead of going to that overthinking mode for cool responses.” -goudendonut

Why Make Them Wait?

“The three day rule is just plain stupid. I can’t count the number of times I’ve assumed someone wasn’t interested because after a first date they didn’t text for days. And have had several who thought I was weird for texting within that time. How is showing interest a bad thing? If it’s a bad date sure, but I don’t see any reason for this social norms bs of ‘don’t seem too eager or they’ll think you’re weak.’” -EvieJC

Find Out If You Want The Same Things

“Discussing life goals and future desires such as kids, marriage, work or education within the first few dates. Some people think it’s to heavy for getting to know someone, but to me nothing is more freeing than knowing the expectations and goals the other person has set so we can both make an informed decision.” -4Gotten1

“Yeah I’ve had friends who got engaged really quickly and I’ve asked them about things like if they’re gonna have kids, where do they want to live other things like that and they admit that they haven’t talked about it at all. Like you need to know about those things before you marry someone.” -Mangobunny98

“How do you make a commitment to a life with someone when you don’t even know if they want the same kind of life you do?? That’s wild to me.” -Proud_Hedgehog_6767

Being Able To Talk About Emotions Is A Good Thing

“Oversharing their emotions. I am too weak in understanding people. So if someone is very expressive about how they feel… I’m all in.” -friday_panda

“My girlfriend was like this when we first started to date. Wasn’t a red flag. More like a yellow flag at that time. But it’s turned out well because she’s always open to communicating and sharing her feelings whenever something is bothering her in life or in our relationship. We rarely ever get into arguments because she chooses to share and communicate and encourages me to before it gets to the point of it causing a fight.” -texxmix

Companionable Silence Rocks

“Running out of things to say. It’s a good sign that the person you are with is comfortable not jabbering” -SlapDickery

“If you can feel comfortable with them in silence, that’s a green flag. You don’t necessarily want the silence to be due to lack of mutual interest, but it is important that not every moment needs to be filled with speaking.” -omgtater

“Agreed! I’m generally the person in a conversation who likes to facilitate what others are saying and play more of a supportive role, but the people who will monologue at others like a steamroller on meth just drive me insane. Being talkative =/= social skills.” -MyGreatBurner5198

Weirdness Makes Things Interesting

“Honestly weirdness, I need someone interesting. Mutual weirdness is the way to go.” -Firm_Egg2505

“Weird can mean many things, good and bad. But I think I know where you’re coming from. I’m down for weird as in forgetful, goofy and funny way.” -DyingOfExcitement

Nerds Unite!

“Hardcore hobbies. Nerds make great lovers.” -RedneckNomad

“I’ve met my favorite lovers through medieval reenactment.” -Kataphractoi

Not everyone communicates the same ways, or looks for the same things in relationships.

People Break Down The Best Hacks To Fall Asleep Faster

Some people have been blessed with the ability to get into bed and fall right to sleep, but sadly, most of us have not been as lucky.  We are up until all hours of the night, tossing and turning, and just wishing sleep would come, but it never shows.

What if we tried some new sleep hacks?

Redditor Joydipisalamer asked:

“What is your life hack to fall asleep faster?”

Here were some of those hacks.

Tense, Relax…Tense, Relax…

“Progressive Muscle Relaxation. I learned about it from therapy, but it’s also very useful in helping you relax both your body and mind.”

“The practice basically boils down to the intentional of tensing and releasing of muscles in a specific order, while maintaining your breathing.”-Technical_Worker_264

“I used to have a job where I’d work freight for about 5 hours straight and then manage the rest of the time I was there, another 3 hours on my feet running around.”

“I would be drop dead exhausted, come home, shower, sit on the couch for 15-20 minutes and feel like I was going to pass out right there.”

“Then when I got in bed because I couldn’t keep my eyes open, I’d just lay there for an hour or longer wishing I could fall asleep.”-justalittleparanoia

“I only have intermittent issues with falling asleep, but I did try a weighted blanket. I’ve heard it works wonders and I’m sure it does for many, but for me it gave me night terrors.”

“I’m already prone to them, and maybe if I gave my body time to adjust to the feel it wouldn’t last, but night terrors are awful and it wasn’t worth it for me.”

“So just a note of caution for anyone who gets occasional night terrors. I’m glad it helps you OP, I did love the feel of it, but my subconscious did not.”-chikaygo

Routines Work As Well Here Too

“If possible, go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. But you have to really stick with it… not just do it for 3 days and then go ‘oh it isn’t working.’”

“As you keep doing it, your body will get used to it and you’ll naturally get tired at the same time every day. Also, make sure you are in a cool dark room. Those are ideal sleeping conditions.”

“If it’s too hot, it’s really hard to fall asleep. Ideally, you should NEED your blanket to actually be a comfortable temperature. If you are not a bit chilly without the blanket, the room ain’t cool enough.”

“And if you have a night light or light coming in from a window, that also makes it tough. Even just a TINY bit of light coming in compared to pitch black makes a huge difference.”

“Blackout curtains are great.”-mew5175_TheSecond

“I try to think of the longest word I can that starts with each letter of the alphabet, in order.”

“Then start over and do words that start with ‘Ab,’ ‘Ac,’ ‘Ad,’ ‘Ae,’ and so on until I’m so bored that my brain says ‘nahhh fam we’re done here.’”-Ok_Security_8657

A New Spot In My Mind

“Visualize standing in a nice cool wooden hallway and you’re turning a brass knob to go through a wonderful door.”

“And remember the door only opens to where you want to go you have to tell yourself over and over slowly as you twist the knob where you want to go keep that picture sharp in your mind and repeat it.”-WolfThick

“Two Gravol and a glass of wine. I don’t necessarily recommend it but I suffered from insomnia for years and this is the fastest way for me to sleep. I rarely do it now.”

“I think there’s a reason (bad job, stress…) that gives us insomnia and if we don’t find the cause it’s hard to get better. For me, the moment I quit my stupid job I was able to sleep a lot better.”-sonia72quebec

“Imitate the breathing patterns of sleeping – close your eyes, deep breath, deep release. Focus on only this, and you can listen to some sleep soundtracks on Spotify to cancel out potential distractions.”

“Honestly though, nothing works as well as physical exercise. I’m practically unconscious by the time the day ends.”-cakehole07

Hygiene?! Now I Gotta Clean My Sleeps?!

“Every few weeks or months I end up giving some version of this comment because someone says they’re having a hard time with sleep issues.”

“I have and sometimes still do, and when I’m having ongoing inadequate sleep I notice my mood and outlook tanks hard.”

“Crabby bastard and everything sucks and !@#$ you for that minor oops that shouldn’t even bother me, you !@#$!@#$.”

“It’s a two part answer. First is sleep hygiene. Second is a little trick that has helped me, and with a few days of using it it can be pretty reliable.”

“So first, sleep hygiene. Some or all of these will definitely help. If you have chronic sleep problems (and surprisingly many people do)”

“Try to limit caffeine to the early part of your day. No caffeine 8-10 hours before bed. Caffeine you had 10 hours ago might not have any noticeable effect on your alertness, but it can stop you from sleeping and stop you from getting good sleep.”

“This can be a huge downward spiral for people who use caffeine to overcome how tired they are from sleep problems.”

“Try not to use any electronics in bed. Try not to watch tv in bed. You want to associate bed with sleeping, and NOTHING ELSE.”

“Want to use your phone before bed? Do it in a comfy chair in your bedroom or livingroom. Even sitting on the floor next to your bed. My only exception is a kindle with the brightness all the way down, with the lights off.”

“Blackout your room if possible. Block all the light coming in from the window, close the door, if your alarm has a dim setting, use it. Light is a trigger for activity in our caveman brains.”

“White noise can be a huge help, blocking out all kinds of noises. There are free apps/websites, my favorite is this site with a combo white noise / rain generator: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteRainNoiseGenerator.php”

“Lastly, make sure you are budgeting enough time for sleep. Most people need approximately 7.5 hours. After maybe a week or two of enforcing this stuff you’ll probably notice you wake pretty refreshed before your alarm goes off, if you give yourself enough time.”

“Okay one more lastly: If you snore or always seem to be tired even with ‘enough’ sleep, or wake up tired after a normal/long sleep, you might have apnea and should get that checked out.”

“Sleep studies are expensive though, so I definitely will not tell you that a lot of people sell their old cpap machines privately.”

“You should definitely not buy one without a doctor’s input, should definitely not buy a new hose and mask for it, and should definitely not start with the lowest pressure setting and raise it a 1/2 lb at a time until you magically wake up feeling awesome.”

“And you should definitely, ABSOLUTELY never get the idea that shouldn’t ever set the pressure setting above 15 lbs without seeing a doctor, because you should really see a doctor about apnea.”

“Now for the trick. It sounds stupid, but it (hopefully for you) works: However you lie comfortable for sleep, do that.”

“Let your eyes relax to a natural straight-ahead aiming position, and then imagine a black circle in front of you. Don’t think about anything, just imagine the black circle. Any size. Tiny, huge, whatever. What’s that?”

“Your old kindergarten teacher wants you help power wash your old neighbor’s trampoline? Ooops, almost got me, brain, back to the circle.”

“What? No I still am not over what that b*tch Cassie said at work today, but black circle time. It will take a few minutes the first few nights if you really try this, but eventually you’ll discipline your mind to stop thinking weird sh*t (that sometimes results in that adrenaline spike) and you’ll get to sleep quickly.”-inthrees

“Exposure to most kinds of light at night messes up your circadian rhythm, and simply fixing that problem can make a huge difference.”

“In the evening, I use a blue light filter app on top of my phone’s built in filter and it has turned around my sleep SO much. It takes a few weeks to see a huge difference but it’s so easy and so worth it.”-Crabtoe

Do you see any habits that you can add into your arsenal of tricks for getting to sleep early?

For us insomniacs, even one of these tricks can quite literally save a life.

People Divulge Which Movies Actually Teach A Bad Lesson

There’s something that really irks me about The Little Mermaid to this day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun movie and a modern Disney classic.

But doesn’t anyone think it’s a little odd that the film celebrates the fact 16-year-old Ariel abandons her family and everyone she knows for a man she just looked at once?

Seriously, she looked at him once, decided she was in love with him–LOVE–and then made a deal with a literal sea witch to get her man.

Oh, did I add that she didn’t even bother to read the contract she signed?

Read the contracts you sign, people. You’ll avoid a lot of uncomfortable circumstances later. Actually, you should make a habit of reading the contracts you don’t sign, too.

But that’s not Ariel! No, sir.

The Little Mermaid isn’t the only film out there bound to raise your eyebrows.

I mean, have you seen most Disney films?

We heard all about other movies with questionable morals after Redditor sakurachan asked the online community:

“What’s a movie that teaches a really bad lesson?”

Limitless (2011)

“Limitless basically ends with the protagonist winning and succeeding in everything he ever pursued in life while getting back together with the woman who previously wanted nothing to do with him because he did enough super Adderall to be high all the time.” ~ zilde

My take:

Yeah… what was up with that. I remember when this came out. I saw it on a bootleg DVD. I didn’t think the film was all that great to begin with, let’s be real, but the writing was all over the place.

Jackass: The Movie (2002)

“Didn’t want to let the kids see Jackass. Gave in. Ńext day, the very next day, they were sliding down a staircase in a laundry basket.” ~ mediaman54

My take:

I think I was definitely the opposite. I saw this movie as an impressionable kid and thought that all of those stunts looked like they would hurt.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was pretty hilarious at the time, but I had no desire to do anything the crew did in the film.

Cats (2019)

Cats. It teaches impressionable Hollywood producers that it’s a good idea to make a movie like Cats.” ~ flychinook

My take:

Cats isn’t even funny to watch. I tried to watch it with some friends some months after it was initially released and we ended up turning it off about halfway through. It merely succeeded at making us angry.

Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Christmas with the Kranks teaches us that adults should not be allowed to spend Christmas however they like, and they must bow to peer pressure and do what other people want them to do.” ~ QuietlySmirking

My take:

Does anyone actually LIKE Christmas with the Kranks? I remember reading the John Grisham–yes, THAT John Grisham–novel that it was based on and thinking the story was woefully thin.

Oh, and the characters were morons. Each and every single one of them was a total moron.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Fifty Shades of Grey.

“It’s a movie about a guy who was abused perpetuating the cycle of abuse with the thin veneer of “it’s okay because he’s rich and this is how BDSM works.” The f*ck it does; almost all the characters are all s****y people. Period.” ~ Lentra888

My take:

This film–and the subsequent series–are probably single-handedly responsible for a lot of misinformation out there about the BDSM community.

Ask anyone in the scene and they’ll tell you that aftercare is essential. Christian Grey is just an abuser, it’s really that simple.

Love Story (1970)

Love Story. ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry!’ What the hell were they thinking?” ~ NutsAndOrBerries

My take:

This film continues to baffle me. Even for the time, it was ridiculous. Nothing about it has aged particularly well. And who can stand the wooden Ryan O’Neal outside of Barry Lyndon, especially?

The Intern (2015)

The Intern – It teaches that if your boyfriend cheats on you because he can’t stand how successful you are, it’s your fault and you should forgive him.” ~ misskitten1313

My take:

A part of me feels like this film came and went. Maybe it was the lazy screenwriting. Audiences, especially these days, aren’t going to be so kind to behavior like that on screen.

Sierra Burgess is a Loser (2018)

“Sierra Burgess is a Loser It’s ok to catfish a guy because you’re not cool and he seems to really like you anyway. He’ll fall for your true self so it’s all good.” ~ JackiewiththeO

My take:

Nothing about this plot made sense. In reality, Sierra Burgess would be more than just a loser – she’d be run out of town for that sick stunt.

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Raya and the Last Dragon made no sense!”

“The story ‘teaches’ that you should learn to trust people. Literally everyone they meet gives them a reason not to trust them. Makes absolutely no sense.” ~ Reddit

My take:

Yeah… none of that particularly worked, did it?

No one thought that script through all that well. Want to write a movie but are interested in how to undermine your own premise? Just watch Raya and the Last Dragon.

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

“Sweet Home Alabama’s lesson is that you’ll always be trash no matter how good your new guy treats you so go back to your trash ex and trash town.” ~ Razor1834

My take:

How true! There was a huge push for this film, too. The trailers were everywhere at the time.

It’s rather funny to watch this movie nowadays knowing how Reese Witherspoon’s career has developed. She’s made a career as a producer bringing stories of strong women to the screen.

it’s safe to say that Sweet Home Alabama would not fall under this umbrella.

We could go on, obviously.

But just to beat a dead horse… have any of you ever watched any Disney Channel original movie aimed at teen girls?

All of the protagonists are mean and do whatever they want–to hell with everyone else–in the name of “empowerment.”

I remember I used to watch everything that came out on the channel as a kid and I don’t think I could stomach a single minute now.

The lesson here, people?

Your tastes will change. It’ll be interesting to revisit this topic in another ten years or so and hear what movies people are complaining about.

People Share Their Craziest ‘Wrong Number’ Experiences

The telephone is a miracle of the modern world.

We can speak, instantly, to anyone we’d like no matter the time of day or distance.

A little over a hundred years ago, this would have been considered science fiction.

Of course, not every call placed gets to the intended recipient.

Redditor cowgary decided to find out how strange these misdirected calls could be when they asked:

“What is your strangest wrong number story?”

Some calls were born of good news.

“I got a call at like 6 am, and I was still sleeping so I kind of didn’t understand what was happening- but this person was SO EXCITED to tell me that they got the new job.”

“And they recognized I was still half asleep so they said they’d call me back later, and said ‘I love you’ – I just said ‘I love you too, I’m glad you got the job’.”

“I absolutely did not know that person and they never called back, but I think of that call all the time.”~ boobookittyf*ck28

Maybe it wasn’t a wrong number after all.

“An old friend of mine got a wrong number text from a mother responding to an ad about a used electric wheelchair for her child.”

“For some reason, he used got a lot of wrong number texts. He would usually have a little fun with the sender before telling them they had the wrong number, and share it on social media.”

“But this time, he didn’t mess with her (obviously).”

“He posted it on social media and asked around if anyone knew where to find a used electric wheelchair.”

“The mother couldn’t afford a new one. It got a lot of attention, but nobody could find one for sale.”

“After a couple days of no luck, anonymous donors bought and donated to them a brand-new electric wheelchair.”

“More heart-warming than strange, but a good story either way.” ~ Buckle_Sandwich

A shared moment in time.

“I called a wrong number when I was in high school (I am a male and 43 now) and a teen girl answered.”

“We quickly realized it was a wrong number but started having a little fun banter.”

“She seemed really cool and funny and so we kept talking.”

“I asked her what she was doing and she said she was watching OJ Simpson in a police car chase on TV.”

“I turned it on too and together we talked for an hour and watched the slow-speed chase of OJ in the back of the white Bronco.”

“At the end, we laughed that we had shared that together and then said goodbye. I don’t remember her name or anything but it was a really memorable night.” ~Imaginary_Worth682

Party time! 

“I was home for from college for Christmas break around 2014, and ended up chilling downtown with a few buddies from high school who were also in town for the holidays.”

“While hanging out, I received a group text with a bunch of numbers I didn’t recognize.”

“The message was a group picture with people who were obviously at a Christmas party.”

“I made the only logical choice and immediately sent a selfie back with the message ‘wrong number’.”

“The rest of the people in this text absolutely loved this and responded with ‘hahaha’s’ and ‘you’re kinda cute’ texts until one person said ‘You should come to our Christmas party’!’

“The party was only a few blocks away from where I was hanging out, so I left my friends and went to the party.”

“I find the apartment, walk in, and it had a “record scratch moment’ like from a cheesy 90s movie.”

“Everyone goes silent stares at me: I am the only white person there.”

“After a few seconds the host shatters the silence with the shout: ‘It’s wrong number guy’!’

“We end up doing shots and partying for The next few hours! By far the BEST wrong number experience ever!” ~ monty2

The G-Files.

“Got a call from a government agency, FDA maybe?”

“Anyway the first thing the lady says to me is, ‘We got a call that you have a problem with goats?’ “

“I’m like no, sorry, wrong number.”

” ‘Are you sure you don’t have a goat problem?’ Nope. ‘Ok thanks, sorry about the confusion’.” ~ Thac0_is_Zero

Behold the power of Snacks.

“So… I got this group text about a break room installation. It showed snacks, coffee, etc. It looked beautiful.”

“I responded with a text of my office break room. It was sad sight. No coffee or snacks.”

“I got a response about how it was a company who does that service. We scheduled a visit to my office to sample the snacks and coffee.”

“The branch manager LOVED the coffee. He ordered a completed redo of our break room; snacks, coffee, etc.”

“I don’t work their anymore but… “~ Askirby

A grim coincidence.

“Years ago, while I was living at home, I got a phone line for my computer (yeah, I’m old), but also had a phone connected to it, because phones are cheap.”

“My parents’ room was all the way across the house and upstairs, so they’d call me sometimes instead of walking all that way.”

“One day, in our sleepy little town, some guy killed his wife, shot his kid, and drove into town shooting at random people and buildings.”

“He was killed in a shootout with police at the main intersection in town.”

“He happened to have the same first name as me. At some point during the investigation, they contacted my mom, because she’d made a call to his house shortly before he went on his rampage.”

“As it turns out, his phone number was the same as mine, but with the last two digits reversed.”

“My mom called him that day, and just said ‘<First Name>, get up here, I need help.’ then she hung up.”

“Since I never showed up, she got my brother to help her with whatever it was and forgot about it until the cops showed up asking how she knew the crazy guy.” ~ Wadsworth_McStumpy

Extra crispy.

“Not me but a friend of mine.”

“Gets a text one day that simply says ‘Dan I burnt the chicken.’ Alongside a picture of an almost comically huge fire with a burnt chicken in the center, shoved into a pan that was way too small.”

“This was followed by a stream of increasingly panicked texts about the chicken.” ~ Chancellor_Valorum82

Phone number reincarnation.

“Bought a cell phone you pay by the month.”

“Basically a burner phone, but I only had that one.”

“Bought it at a BestBuy when I was out of town. 3 hours away from home. Same state.”

“2 days later I get a random text from a friend on the new number. I didn’t give anyone my new number yet.”

“Turns out the number I had was a recently old number from a mutual friend. So all my friends had my number already. Just had to update the name. Weird sh*t.” ~ newtizzle

And lastly, the spice must flow.

“Had someone text me for meth.. I think.. They called it ‘cream’ which returned meth in google.”

“Anyway, I didn’t really care but I couldn’t assist them. I responded with a random cop selfie & the message ‘wrong number.. don’t do drugs’.” ~ Mr_Beemer

The telephone is a miracle of the modern world, sure.

But sometimes the real miracle is ever getting in contact with the person you were trying to reach in the first place!

Be sure to check the number and dial again.

Though, clearly, some wrong numbers are just the start of fantastic adventures.

People Share Their Best Grocery Store Hacks

It’s becoming increasingly clear we’re all going to need to learn how to stretch every food dollar we have as far as possible.

Whether you’re preparing for a post-societal-collapse-dystopia, impending depression (financial or personal; we don’t judge) or you just like NOT spending money you don’t have to, this article is a useful one.

So get ready to take screenshots. Remember to actually use them later.

Let’s get into it.

Reddit user JustSoHappy asked:

“What are your best grocery store hacks?” 

People came out of the woodwork with advice on this one.

It seems like nobody “just shops” anymore. It’s a whole production with prep time and everything!

The Basics

“Always eat before you shop so you don’t buy stuff just cause you’re hungry”

– SushiAndCoochie

“I make the worst grocery store decisions if I haven’t eaten.”

“Seriously even just a handful of peanuts makes the difference between ‘stuff that’s on the list + a logical set of ingredients for dinner’ and ‘well I managed to get 7 different snacks and partial components for 3 different meals.’ “

“Hungry me cannot complete the task at hand.”

– InannasPocket

Do It Santa Style

“Make a list. Take the list. Stick to the list.” 

– Okno-rose

“Check it twice.”

– EternalGhandi

“My wife and I make our list on Reminders. I always reorganize the list in order of the store route to make it easier to keep track of things.” 

“If it’s in route order, it prevents you from having to run back across the store again, past that display of stuff you don’t need but is on sale so maybe you should just grab…” 

“Put it in order and check it off as you go.”

–  Haquistadore

The Night Before

“Join their membership club and actually use it.”

“The night before shopping I go on the stores website and add the coupons to my club card as well as any points I’ve earned so I get money off.”

– TimeTraveler3056

Divide And Conquer

“If you have teenagers and/or a partner, split up the work.”

“Send everyone to get a different batch of things. Or better yet, order online and pick up.”

– Trolltollhouse

“My best ‘hack’ was bringing my daughter shopping with me every single week starting from when she was around 7 years old.”

“I’m a dad who does all the shopping and cooking, and having my little sidekick made it so much easier and more fun.”

“Over time, she learned to coupon, do quick math in her head, compare ounces in packages, and really find good deals.”

“She was also great at running to other side of store to get something I forgot!”

“And of course, the bonding. We did that together all the time until she graduated high school, so over 10 years.”

“I miss my grocery store partner so much. By the way, she is in college now and she is an excellent shopper, and always seeks out smart deals!”

– lymantoadstool

The Ultimate Hack

“Pay attention to price per ounce, not just price per package.”

– CDMT22

“This is the ultimate hack.”

“The biggest pack isn’t always the cheapest.”

“Pay attention to unit cost, and spend a few extra seconds figuring out the price when the same product type presents units differently – sometimes soda will have a fl.oz. price (or ml), and sometimes per can cost.”

“Do a little math and save yourselves some cash.”

– jacobsadder

“Please also consider your actual consumption and the expiration date.”

“Bigger pack might have a better value, but that amounts to nothing or worse if half of it turns inedible before you can finish it.”

– suddenefficiencydrop

Timing Is Everything

“I worked grocery for 16 years.”

“Usually late evenings in the middle of the week are the slowest and best time to shop. Close to closing on a Wednesday.”

– Klaus_Heisler87

“Late Friday nights.”

“Everything is stocked for Saturday, but there’s no other shoppers in the store.”

– Macracanthorhynchus

“For me, it was near the end of the day on Saturdays and Sundays.”

– BePostiveeveryday

Let’s Talk Veggies

“Frozen veggies are often just as good as fresh – especially green beans, peas and corn. Never buy canned except like mushrooms, beans or olives.”

“The leafy greens in plastic wilt faster. Lettuce and cabbage heads on the stem thing last much longer (realistically this goes for all greens).”

“Avoid those plastic tubs and bags unless you need arugula or something.”

“Don’t buy baby carrots.”

“They’re just large carrots that have been trimmed down to snack size for marketing. They should not exist and are a sin against food. Just cut the damn carrots.”

– FrostByte62

Clearance

“I check clearance 100% of the time I go to the store.” 

“Almost all departments have a clearance section and I am famous for stocking up on vitamins, cold meds, toys and stocking stuffers throughout the year.”

“Often times I get a discount of 70-90%.”

– expressoyourself1

“100% this.”

“I go into the store with a rough idea of some meals, based on which expensive components I can get for cheap and improvise from there.”

“First stop is the protein clearance section, next stop is the veggie clearance, then bakery & dry goods clearance. Fill in the blanks from there.”

“So I may have gone in thinking we will do tacos one night, but whether that is beef / pork / bean / etc will depend on what’s cheap. Same with a pasta dish.”

“Once you get good at cooking and shopping, every trip is like your own personal version of Chopped mixed with Guys grocery games. I live a wild life.”

– nigelisacat

The Hack Is Humanity

“Work grocery, retail. We constantly save things for employees that we know sell quickly, and staff don’t get a chance to buy.”

“We scrap, and repack, discount cold/dry freight, and save for employees.”

“So, make friends with your local scrap certified associate, and ask them if they think an item can be discounted. Not too high of a pricey item, but some small things.” 

“I once had a regular say the bananas were really ripe, and wondered if we had a policy of marking down produce. So, I marked down some barely ripened, still pretty green bananas for him (cashier I told him to use didn’t say anything because he’s a homie.)”

“Another time, another of our regulars asked me about the quality of our mandarin oranges. I scrapped 4 individual oranges from 4 bags, and repackaged them into one.”

“We do this for our staff all the time.”

“My best grocery hack? Be a human being to retail workers, and we’ll make sure you can reap the benefits.”

“I know a lot of people hate the idea of working a minimum wage retail job, but I’ve had some wonderful experiences. And, to be honest, I love it when I see my regulars, and enjoy talking to them, even if it eats into my available working hours.”

“Those warm regulars are the type of people that are the reason I keep that minimum wage job. I love interacting, talking, and being with people.”

“I always feel so good after working with some customers that it boosts my mood, and I’m sure my work performance. I know it’s a low wage whatever job, but I take pride in all the smiling faces when I’m faced with stress.”

– FMewithAnA10

My personal favorite hack is to use a grocery store with a rewards card and BOGO the crap out of your staples.

Having that extra box of pasta, bit of rice, or can of beans is sometimes exactly the life-saver you need.

You’ve heard Reddit, now it’s your turn.

People Break Down Which Things Are Far More Dangerous Than Anyone Realizes

So many of us find ourselves settled into routines, where we start to forget the reality of our situation.

We forget the beauty in our day-to-day lives, we forget the things we were once grateful for, and of course, we forget the things we should remain wary of.

Redditor FrenchDude1000 asked:

“What’s dangerous but most people don’t realize it?”

Two Redditors pointed out batteries and fires.

“Lithium ion batteries. If they’re punctured or catch fire its extremely difficult to put out. Their fumes are also very toxic.” – bugz1452

“Fires in general. You know how in movies they cover their mouth with a wet cloth and then run through smoke without issues?”

“Might have worked a long time ago but try that in real life, especially in a fire caused by batteries, and you will collapse after a few steps even if you hold your breath. The toxic smoke gets absorbed through the skin and your muscles will lock up almost instantly.” – RevozZ-ETSE

Others talked about some people’s everday routines.

“A bad diet and sedentary lifestyle. Most people don’t think about how these two can lead to an incredible amount of health problems and how they can remain asymptomatic for years and suddenly have a heart attack or stroke.” – IntelligentMeat138

“I have relatives that are like this. Most of them got away with it for awhile.”

“Age 30: ‘I’m out of shape, but my doctor says I’m in good health!’”

“Age 40: ‘I’m out of shape, but my doctor says I’m in good health!’”

“Age 50: ‘I’m out of shape, and need a knee replacement. Other than that, I’m fine!’”

“Age 60: ‘I have diabetes, need my leg amputated and had a stroke. Other than that, I’m fine!’” – HandyDrunkard

“Eight years ago this month. I had had surgery and my husband was off to take care off me. Day after surgery he tells me he doesn’t feel well and wouldn’t get out of bed. I was p**sed and left him in bed.”

“At 6pm that same day, I went upstairs to check on him. His speech sounded weird. I put my hand on his head and was shocked by how hot his fever was.”

“Flip the side lamp on and see he is swollen ear to collar bone. Tell him we are going to the ER. He didn’t want to go but I made him.”

“Getting through triage the dr comes to check in. He takes me into the hall and tells me had I let him go back to sleep he would have never woke up. He had gone septic.”

“The following day he had a five hour surgery followed by a week in the hospital.”

“Please DON’T ignore tooth pain. I still feel guilty that I didn’t check on him sooner.” – still_hate_pancakes

“There are so many dangerous side effects of lack of sleep…”

“Heart disease, Heart attack, Heart failure, Irregular heartbeat, High blood pressure, Stroke, Diabetes, Depression, Lack of libido, Paranoia, Dumbness, Brain fog, Accidents, Agression, Faster aging, Weight gain, The list goes on…” – LifeCoachAnonymous

Some talked about the everyday routine of driving a car. 

“Driving. The forces involved in driving are way above anything the human body can withstand should things go wrong. All the safety features built into cars lead us to believe that it’s a safe activity, which encourages additional risky behaviors like texting.”

“Everybody should be hyper-focused while driving down the highway at 80mph, but almost everybody is doing something else in addition to driving.” – Sidivan

“Waaay too many people drive recklessly: Tailgating, cutting people off, speeding, just to name a few.”

“These behaviors put everyone around the reckless driver at risk. The laws of physics don’t care about who was driving or who was in the legal right.” – pretty-as-a-pic

“I give people s**t for texting in the car, but I do stupid crap like change the audiobook cd. Like, locating the next one from the case with one hand.”

“A friend’s 19-year-old daughter was just in a horrible accident – hit a tree while fumbling with stereo. She’ll recover but yecch, stitches and broken ribs.” – Lucinnda

“People think you double the forces when you double the speed. Nope. You quadruple the total force. AND the stopping distance.” – 0001010001

“And people think that all-seeing self-driving cars are too dangerous. They don’t need to be perfect. They just need to be safer than than us.” – cutelyaware

Speaking of cars: there’s also carseat safety to worry about. 

“90% of children are improperly restrained in the car.”

“I spent a decade as a CPST and the things I’ve seen are deeply upsetting knowing they’re easily fixable with an hour or two of effort.”

“I’ve seen children internally decapitated. Parents put their kids in car seats forward facing far too early, booster seats before they’re truly large enough, coats under the straps, straps never properly tightened.”

“Car accidents are still a leading cause of death. The awareness has gotten better in the last 15 years but with plenty of room for improvement.”

“If you have a child, please make an appointment with a certified CPST whenever they are big enough for their next seat or seating position. It’s worth the effort.”

“Also, not every fire fighter is a CPST. The goal is to teach YOU how to install the seat, not to have them do it for you.” – bionicback

Some were concerned about negative work conditions.

“Toxic workplaces. Stay there long enough and you will hate life itself.” – pk1950

“I recently quit my job for this reason. The next two weeks will be rough and even worse later unless I find another job within that time. I got money saved up so I’m set for a few months.”

“In the end though, TOTALLY worth it. F**k grocery stores!” – comeallwithme

“This was me. Co-workers doing minimal work. Was labelled as introvert and anti-anti-social for picking up the slack.”

“It impressed in me how they can get away with it so long as they talk up any minor work and making it sound huge.” – SadSkirt4441

“9 years of this s**t. It’s like cancer. The anger and negativity spreads to all corners of your life and causes all sorts of physical/mental health issues.” – inaka_

Others were concerned about people underestimating nature.

“THE SUN. Skin cancer is a major killer that is easily preventable by wearing sunscreen. Sun damage is more significant than many people realize and it’s such an easy thing to avoid.” – theredditdetective1

“ALL wild animals are dangerous, even if they don’t look it. Most people know that large predators like mountain lions and bears are dangerous, but many underestimate herbivores and/or smaller animals like deer and squirrels.”

“A lot of people assume smaller animals/herbivores are tame, and try to get close or even touch them.”

“This is extremely dangerous – these animals don’t understand humans, and an animal that feels cornered or threatened will lash out to try and escape. Please keep a safe and respectful distance from any animal you don’t know!” – pretty-as-a-pic

“My rabbits have hurt more people in the family than all cats and dogs we’ve had over 16 years. Not viciously, just in prey-response escape efforts. And they are tame.”

“I’ve seen videos of squirrels, wild rabbits, and other cute little forest creatures shred humans who get too close. Deer, moose and other large herbivores can kill an adult human with a single well placed kick.”

“A nature park warned us to keep our hands inside the vehicle around the zebra, because they will bite and can sheer a whole arm off.” – ColourSchemer

“Running water is crazy powerful! I think that running water at knee height if going fast enough is enough to sweep you away.”

“I remember there was a post a while ago where someone did the math that like a fast enough stream of 6″ or 12″ of water was enough to sweep a car away because if the car moved at all the friction of the tires would just give way.” – ta-210110

Shares like this are a great reminder that, while there are things we often forget to be grateful for, there are also things we should understandably be more cautious around.

Stay safe out there, folks.