Not all danger is obvious at first glance. In fact, it is usually the things that appear harmless when they really are not that cause the most damage.Most of us have been in situations like these. You go on doing something that seems like some good, cleanfun, only to quickly realize that the stakes are a lot higher than you imagined. Well, when one person asked other Redditors to share these stories and the experiences that came with them, they were eager to do so. Scroll down to see what they wrote!More info:RedditThis post may includeaffiliate links.
Not all danger is obvious at first glance. In fact, it is usually the things that appear harmless when they really are not that cause the most damage.
Most of us have been in situations like these. You go on doing something that seems like some good, cleanfun, only to quickly realize that the stakes are a lot higher than you imagined. Well, when one person asked other Redditors to share these stories and the experiences that came with them, they were eager to do so. Scroll down to see what they wrote!
More info:Reddit
This post may includeaffiliate links.
When I was around 12 years old I went for a hike with a friend - we didn’t tell anyone where we were going and my parents thought we were playing in the backyard.Well our hike took us through the forest to a frozen river which we decided to walk across. Since it was spring the ice wasn’t as thick as we thought it was and I ended falling through. My friend quickly grabbed me and pulled me backwards out of the water. The water was flowing surprisingly fast and I remember at the time thinking how lucky I was that he was there to catch me.That was over 25 years ago and I still have flash backs to that and think what if. Nobody knew where we were, and if he didn’t catch me I could have easily been swept under the ice.
Trusting HR to do their job.
Mixing bleach and vinegar with hot water to mop the floors, then getting really light headed so I would sit near the bucket of chemical warfare I had created.
Many of the stories that people shared in this thread included one common factor – they were allyoung. This leads us to observe that there is a good correlation between young age or inexperience and taking higher risks or neglecting danger.When realizing such a thing, one usually can’t help but wonder why exactly it occurs. You could say that young people are reckless and refuse to listen to reason, but with a closer look, that seems like a stretch, doesn’t it? After all, there are plenty of reallysmartyoungsters out there who will still go and do something stupidly dangerous just for the thrill of it.
Many of the stories that people shared in this thread included one common factor – they were allyoung. This leads us to observe that there is a good correlation between young age or inexperience and taking higher risks or neglecting danger.
When realizing such a thing, one usually can’t help but wonder why exactly it occurs. You could say that young people are reckless and refuse to listen to reason, but with a closer look, that seems like a stretch, doesn’t it? After all, there are plenty of reallysmartyoungsters out there who will still go and do something stupidly dangerous just for the thrill of it.
We were picnicking near a lake in northern CA that was full of salamandersI caught one and was walking around showing it to people. I found out later that their skin secretes tetrodotoxin which is super toxic, especially if ingested. in hindsight im hella glad I washed my hands before eating pizza.
I live in rural Alaska and when I met my bf I quickly learned he loves ice fishing. We went to a lake (my first time) beginning of winter to go ice fishing. I later learned that the lake we went to has alot of “hot spots,” and people fall through the ice frequently never to be found again. It’s apparently one of the scariest and most dangerous lakes to ice fish on in the area. Had no idea lol.
Not paying attention to hearing protection, listening to music in headphones loud enough for others to hear, not wearing an appropriate mask when creating fine wood dust. I now have tinnitus and asthma thanks to those two.
My neighbor had a set of lawn darts. We all survived.
I replaced my garage door spring before reading that they’re hella dangerous.
Karen Young ofHey Sigmundadded that the lack of a sense of fear might as well have been an evolutionary trait that gave humans, especially males, an advantage in earlier times, as putting one’s life in danger could mean a world of difference when it came to protecting or providing for the tribe.
Instead, the best way to help a young person through this period is to be there for them so they have someone to turn to and a place where they will be listened to and heard. After all, these lessons won’t be learned until the person experiences them on their own.
I joined a crowd that surged and overwhelmed the entrances to a Rolling Stones general admission show in 1979. A few weeks later, the tragedy at The Who’s show in Cincinnati occurred.
In the end, it is as the saying goes: “To be old and wise, first you have to be young and stupid.” While, as with any other thing, there are always some exceptions, it is only natural that younger people seek more thrills and experiences that lead to moredangerousevents because that is how we learn what life is and how to handle it.
There was a short-cut path we took as kids to get to school in the 1970s. It involved walking across a small (30m - 100') gorge on a 400mm pipe to get to the other side - the alternative was an extra mile or so. None of us considered what might happen if we fell off the pipe.
Sun tanning.
The amount of random unidentified pills I took in my 20’s.
My first cigarette.
I was on a trip with my older sister and I had insomnia. Seemed like a good idea to go for a walk at like 1 or 2 in the morning. Alone. In Seattle. When I was 16. And I’m female.At the time I just thought it was weird that so many men stopped to ask if I wanted a ride. Especially the car that pulled off and blocked my walking path.
More a near miss…Working in a s****y kitchen at about 20 years of age. I was carrying a 30ltr drum of oil in a cardboard box and positioned myself in front of the fryer and drop the box down onto another upturned drum to refill the fryers. These were 30ltr fryer dumps each and currently were full of cooking fries.The oil drum just clipped both handles and landed safely. Had it of hit both handles full on…. I can only imagine both fryer baskets flipping up and forward covering me in 180 degree oil and hundreds of nice little burny potato sticks.I think about it still at 37.
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Pre-internet, in the prior century, I wanted to beat a snowstorm while on a cross-country drive. Weather started out as nothing special - turned into a blizzard with white-out conditions. I couldn’t see the freeway surface, then I couldn’t see in front of the car. I was behind an empty logging truck (it had poles sticking up in the air that I could see). The truck kept going and I stayed [closely behind] for the next hour and a half until I could see the road surface again. White-knuckle driving. Really (young) stupid judgement, on my part.
Drinking excessively and passing out alone regularly.
The amount of bullying my friends and I did in high school. We made it up to this one kid and he really enjoyed his graduation day for it, but the reality is we shouldn’t have been f*****g with these kids to begin with.
We had a small boat when I was growing up. In my early teens me and my friends used to go out in it all the time, and no one ever wore life jackets. Storms form quite fast in the area I grew up in, and we were caught out more than once. .
Driving with my teen friends who regularly got in auto accidents and drove over the speed limit. Regularly smooshing in like 6 people in a car even. No one was buckled. So bad. .
Going to the old Buster Brown shoe stores in the early to mid 70’s and using their X-ray machine to look at the bones in our feet.Link.
Broken glass in food. If you break a glass or ceramic cup or bowl near food, don’t fk around with it and eat it. It will fk up your insides if you eat enough of it.
Put on my bike helmet and rammed my head into a tree to make my friends laugh.Everything from the shoulders up hurt after that.
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‘Skitching’ — holding onto the side of a car while standing on a skateboard (like Marty McFly!). At a certain speed, the skateboard truck would uncontrollably wobble and shoot out from under me. We were ‘smart’ though and only did this in a parking lot.
Slouching.
I used to jump the I90 freeway in Issaquah, WA from the trailer park to Gilman Blvd to and from school every day. I did this from 4th grade to graduation in the 90s. Shaved like 45 minutes off the trip. I walked the 2.5 miles each way because the kids on the bus would constantly pick on me.
Might sound boring but definitely having a diet full of refined sugar and soda. It doesn’t seem like much at a young age especially if you are physically active. Yet it can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health in the blink of an eye. I get it, everyone loves chocolate and it’s probably OK to go for a dessert every once in a while but in a way, now I find it so scary that kids grow up consuming so much sugar and developing a mindset that this is OK, this is what eating or “normal” diet looks like.
Eating less and less.
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