As valuable as it is to learn, this is often the result of first making a mistake. These tend to not be any fun, so a wise person does their best to learn from someone else's mistakes. Or even better, they just ask an expert what to do and not do in advance.
One netizen decided to ask the internet for insider information on what to avoid and professionals from around the world gave their best bits of advice. So get comfortable, make sure your posture is correct and that your eyes aren’t strained, and scroll through. Upvote the best piece of advice and also comment your thoughts and auditions below.
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I am a professional caregiver in an assisted living facility. I will definitely drive off a cliff before being locked in a memory care unit for dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
Brachycephalic dogs. Pugs, bulldogs, frenchies, all of them. I don't understand why we keep making them.
Verbal confirmations. Always get it in writing via an email ,a text, carrier pigeon ,a letter I don't care get it in writing,!
I learnt that the hard way when I was a trainee long time ago. Now, I even confirm my own e-mail to myself 🤣
As scary as contracts can be, the various pieces of advice here are correct, if it’s not in writing and signed, it is effectively worthless. This isn’t just some modern concept, even in the ancient world people needed ways to ensure that there was evidence of an agreement between two parties. In other words, before we even had paper, we had legally binding contracts.
How was this done, one might ask, well, simply put, the agreement would be literally carved in stone. Examples of these can be found in Ancient Greece, where some are still visible today, and Sumeria, among others.
Don’t volunteer info to anyone that you haven’t solicited to assist you.
Not the cops.
Not your employer.
Not your vacation plans on FB.
Information will be used against you, limit your exposure.
Used to work at FedEx ground.
Pack your s**t like it's gonna get dropped off a cliff. Package handlers do not care if your box says fragile or has orientation arrows. Stuff it with whatever, packing peanuts, expanding foam, bubble wrap. Pack. Your. S**t. Or even better pack that box and put a bigger box around it. They will toss your s**t, put heavy stuff on top of it. Use it as a step stool to reach higher boxes.
Pack. Your. S**t.
Historian here. Not labeling anything.
Meta data is your friend. Always better to add too much information rather than have too little. Label the backs of your photographs. Write clearly. For the love of all that is holy WRITE CLEARLY!
Be very careful about what kind of pen you use to write on the back of your photographs and make sure you don’t stack them with the picture side of the next one touching the writing, or else you can end up with a terrible mess of photos sticking together and the writing transferring onto the next picture.
These agreements would evolve in a number of ways, for example, in the Indian subcontinent, a hundi would be a type of contract that could be transferred. This allowed for people to have significantly more liquidity, as they could sell off a contract to raise money quickly. In other places, similar ideas would develop for debt and obligations, as well as the somewhat detested ability to transfer the debt to another party upon death.
Go on a date without notifying a friend or family member where I am and who I’m with. I work in law enforcement
I work in accessibility.
Do not hesitate or wait to put grab bars, a tub cut out etc in your house when you grow old or if you have mobility issues.
Put grab bars in your bathroom before you fall in the shower, not because you already had a fall in the shower.
Yeah, if the elderly weren't so stubborn. My mum can't walk straight, but still thinks she doesn't need a walk aid, or aids in the shower. My aunt fell twice and broke her hip twice, because she still can walk properly and doesn't need a stick. My father holds his phone far away with squeezed eyes and mouth wide open, but hey, he still doesn't need reading glasses. 🙄
End of life treatment. Good God, why anyone chooses to be a breathing corpse is beyond me. Whether on machines or due to oxygen interruptions, there is no quality of life... support. Give it the ol' college try, and if I don't respond in the first 10 minutes, peace out cub scout.
That's not to say I won't take end of life CARE. If I'm 90 and still won't throw in the towel, I still want help eating and cleaning myself. But the day i stop responding to the world around me, just give me a solid Kevorkian and free up bed space for the next poor schmuck.
If I can't breathe, eat, and respond for a sustained amount of time then pull the plug my body will stop on its own.
On a more accessible scale, some people recommended avoiding “smart” devices that need to be constantly connected to the internet. At first glance, it may seem cool, your smart fridge can play a jingle when you open it on your birthday. This is all fun and games until it needs to update in the middle of the night and reboots, melting all your ice cream. Or even worse, a minor wifi issue now means you risk all your meat spoiling.
Bad friends. ER doc. The amount of people that hang out with the wrong people and end up paying the price is astounding. I teach my kids - whatever your friends do to other people, they will eventually do to you.
Don’t get back surgery unless it’s absolutely last resort. You need to fix the root cause of the injury - usually it’s core strength weakness or Glut weakness. Go to PT first and really do the exercises. Most people who get spine surgeries have multiple ones over their lives because the level just above or below their surgery becomes injured for the same reason your first one occurred.
I can verify this. Had 5 disc operations from 30yo. Now 49 and paralysed with cauda equina syndrome and agonising pain 24/7. No bladder or bowel control. And had to spend 20 months in hospital.Wish to god I'd never had them done.(and I don't even believe in the big man)
Chiropractors- as a medical practitioner I have heard of (although never personally seen) horrific, permanent damage come about from their 'manipulations'
Many chiropractors these days also teach exercises like a physical therapist. Might as well go to a physical therapist and have your insurance pay for part of the treatment. Also Chiropractors are supplement pushers. They will have you buy hundreds of dollars of useless supplements. Applied kinesiology is another scam they use. Go to four different chiropractors using that and you will get four totally different lists of foods you are allergic to.
There have been cases where smart lights fail to switch off when Google servers have been down, a somewhat comical issue until you need to sleep. On a more serious note, there are legitimate security concerns if someone can hack everything from a car to a door. These devices, at the very least, will store some of your data that can be stolen, while at worst, your household appliances can be controlled remotely by malicious actors.
Large cruise ships. The number of suits against cruise lines filed in Miami by cruise ship passengers who got infectious diseases or food poisoning at sea is really staggering, only the absolute worst cases make the news but it happens ALL THE TIME, I've heard cruise ships described as "floating petri dishes" and that's putting it mildly.
I wasn't ever going to be on one BEFORE I went to Pastry/Culinary school. Now that I'm certified in sanitation and understand Norovirus in a new way, they should all be burned at sea
Explaining your side to the police. Just don’t do it. It’s fine to give them your license etc on a traffic stop, tell them where you’re going or coming from (be general if you’re like coming from a crack house; you can say “the west side visiting a friend”) also fine to say you haven’t been drinking (never ever that you have). But, DO NOT CONSENT TO A SEARCH OR A FIELD SOBRIETY TEST. Let them get a search warrant, call the drug dog, or arrest you for refusal and draw your blood (which also requires a search warrant). All of these things can be challenged in court, your consent usually can’t be and even if it can it’s MUCH more difficult.
If you did not witness a crime or are the victim of a crime and the police want to talk to you, you are a suspect. You know whether you saw or heard a crime or not. Police want to talk to you about your neighbor getting beat and you heard screams, saw him/her throw a punch, you’re a witness and it’s fine. Police come to ask you about where you were last night, whether you know someone, what you said on social media and you didn’t witness a crimes where you were last night or by the person you know or on social media-you are a suspect.
I’ve practiced criminal defense for over a decade. Only 1 time have I ever seen a Defendant get out of criminal charges by talking to the police. And guess what, he didn’t do it by himself. Lawyer found evidence to back up what he said yada yada yada, The DA made the call to drop the charges.
You know what, the police were PISSED. They targeted him when he got out jail because no matter all of that, they still believed he committed the crime.
When you’re a suspect talking to the police always ends badly. Always.
I grew up with the Chief of Police in my tiny town a friend of our family, the onky extra thing he taught my brother and i was to repeatedly say "I do not consent to this search"
Going outside without sunscreen on my face if nowhere else. I’m a Pathology resident and the amount of ears, noses, lips and other chunks of face I see that surgeons have chopped off due to skin cancers caused by sun damage is sobering. Please in the name of all that’s good an holy find a daily sunscreen that works for you and wear it.
My dad went bald very early in his life and didn't bother to always protect his scalp. Now he's a senior citizen and several times a year he needs painful procedures to remove and prevent additional spots of skin cancer. Some of them of very invasive and brutal to recover from. He definitely wishes he had worn a hat and sunscreen more often. :(
Of course, this is a bleak scenario, as not all smart devices are constantly connected to the net. But you probably have noticed that increasingly advanced devices become more and more complicated to use and understand. A coffee machine now might have a whole tablet menu to navigate. While this may be great in the long run, touch screens can be a pain, and as Michael Littman, a computer scientist at Brown University put it “If users need to learn different interfaces for their vacuums, their locks, their sprinklers, their lights, and their coffeemakers, it's tough to say that their lives have been made any easier."
Doctors and physicians are regular people, which means some of them really suck at their jobs (treating your health). Don’t ignore that feeling if you think you might have a bad doctor. There’s nothing wrong with consulting multiple professionals.
You know what you call someone who graduated last in their medical school? DOCTOR. You hired them, you can fire them.
Consultants. We get paid to interview your staff to document the issues and solutions they’ve already identified but can’t get approval to do. Then we put some cool slides and bogus ROI numbers around it so your executives will fund the work.
It’s super rare for a company to not have someone on staff who knows what needs to be done and has it 3/4ths documented already. Execs either don’t trust their own team enough or need an outside group’s recommendation to get through the political BS to implement change.
This. My Fortune 100 company spends millions every year on consultants who often repurpose presentations employees have made highlighting changes that need to be made. What is more annoying is we are constantly told we need to reduce costs.
Opening any links or attachment of an email without verifying the sender mail address
Even if the email address is verified the sender could have been compromised with a virus that sends out email with malicious attachments and spoofed addresses.
As a software engineer, internet-connected 'smart' home stuff. I don't need some internet random gaining access to my security cameras.
Not getting agreements in writing when it comes to loaning substantial amounts of money. Family, friends, doesn't matter. A loan without an agreement is a gift.
Not getting a DNR or having and End of Life plan when I become elderly/if I become incredibly ill.
I'm a carer in elderly care and the idea of having my life extended just to live in pain and losing all my independence is horrific. I don't want to leave it to family members who might not be willing to let me go or be in denial about how unwell I am to decide those types of things for me.
Humans are emotional and it's totally understandable to go into shock/denial when you find out your loved one is dying, but forcing them to be resuscitated or to go to hospital to prolong their life regardless of the quality is painful to see.
1 - I wouldn’t drink water from the tap without letting it run a few seconds first. Especially first thing in the morning.
I used to work for my state’s drinking water compliance program and would collect and analyze drinking water samples from all sorts of public drinking water sources, including people’s homes. All the contaminants, minerals, etc. from the water source to the pipes and even the solder (especially if old) leach and accumulate the longer the water sits in the lines. Letting the tap run for a few seconds flushes out that “stagnant” water and draws fresher water from the mainlines.
2 - Don’t be an a*****e to anyone in customer service - from retail to sales and food service - I worked in retail for many, many years. These folks are just trying to get by and aren’t responsible for whatever is that got you all upset in the first place. In fact, simply being nice to them in a difficult situation can more times than not actually work out in your favor as they may sympathize/empathize with you.
The last comment in part 2. Yes, yes. You will get a better result being polite, than being an idiot.
After working as a paralegal at an insurance defense firm, DO NOT TAKE ANY HELICOPTER TOURS. At least in Hawaii, a lot of the helicopters aren't well maintained and there are a surprising amount of crashes they manage to keep quiet. One of the evidence exhibits I helped put together for one case was a picture the family had taken in front of the helicopter before they boarded it and were all killed when it crashed. That was almost 20 years ago and that one sticks with me.
I have an uncle who flew jets and helicopters for the USNG and he refuses to get in any helicopter.
Wearing contacts in the shower/pool/any body of water. Worked as an ophthalmic photographer in Pittsburgh for seven years. College students were coming in with ulcers and amoeba in their corneas from swimming in their contacts and then sleeping in them for days.
How can anyone sleep in contacts for DAYS? I can barely last a few hours before they get too dry and irritated.
Not all confidential/anonymous surveys are as confidential/anonymous as you think
Always always always argue a claim denied by health insurance. They will arbitrarily reject claims with no justification.
EDIT: ALSO, insurance companies will always send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB), which is not a bill, but has the amount that should appear on the bill. If there is any question in your mind about a bill, always compare the bill from the provider with the EOB.
I used to work in healthcare administration. Insurance will usually cave on the 3rd try. Send in a well written, factual re submission looking for answers, not pity. The next letter should reference the last letter but have more information or just reword it. Always be polite. If you are rude your file ends up in the closed files drawers.
Texting/emailing anything negative to anyone I work with about anything.
I work in HR.
Don’t build or buy a house in a floodplain or near a stream.
Cleanses and detoxes, your body does this with organs, lol. Specifically lungs, skin, liver and kidneys. Take whatever you want the body still needs those organs to get it out.
Chiropractor: "This (expensive useless supplement) will remove your toxins."
Allow a pet to fly as checked luggage. I haven't witnessed any mistreatment of animals during loading or unloading, but the whole process is generally stressful for them and most don't look very comfortable.
I flew my dog twice in the baggage hold in the 80s. Both times he was well taken care of. I wouldn't board until I saw him brought over and when he was unloaded, I had to match his tag with mine to make sure I was the owner. At that time, the holds were heated and pressurized. The pilot was always told if any animals were aboard and the airlines had a policy of any animal put in the hold was last on, first off. I remember watching at the window while the baggage handlers were waiting to load my dog and I can still see the handler bending over and talking to my dog. This was Western Airlines. I don't know about the airlines now, but then I had no fear of shipping my dog.
I’m a athletic trainer. Never letting my kids play football.
Your coworkers are not your friends, they’re your colleagues. Do not date people you work with. I’ve seen it a million times, and it seldom works out. I’m sure there are people who were coworkers that fostered happy relationships outside of work, but it’s rare.
Don’t get your honey where you get your money!
HR is not there for your benefit, either. No matter what they say, their end goal is to protect the company.
Health and fitness field- don’t argue with people who speak in “absolute” terms. Example: “___ is bad for you.” You’ll never win and it isn’t worth the time nor energy
TikTok and any short form social media video content. As a teacher I saw a rapid and significant drop in student’s attention spans when they got popular. It’s made me more self aware of the fact my own attention span is worse than it used to be when I started using them too. So I cut it all out and my attention span and general anxiety levels have dropped
I eradicated and completely deleted all of my social media profiles in 2016. My life has never been better.
The first production run of any product. I build and maintain automation. It's never perfect on the first try. Employees need time to learn how to assemble the product properly and trades need time to work out the kinks.
Not setting boundaries for your child/ren - daycare worker
I used to work for a ver large casket manufacturer. The deathcare industry (funeral homes) are some of the most predatory businesses I have ever dealt with. They pressure people who are usually an emotional wreck into making quick decisions about products that are ridiculously marked up by telling them “your mom is literally on ice and we need a decision”.
Funeral home reps hang out near hospitals and end of life care facilities like vultures that swoop in the minute someone passes OR they have agreements with these places to push their services. I’ve seen the sheets of paper these funeral homes gives to hospitals to pass on to literally anyone who just passed aways family. They aren’t snatching the bodies they are pushing their services as soon as someone passes. It’s usually just a “menu” of what they offer but I know for a fact some places do this. The markup on caskets is near 1000% in some cases. They promote a “white glove” service and I can tell you that is complete BS. We threw those caskets around as quick as we could and repairs were made in house with whatever we could use. We fixed scratches and dents in wood caskets with meted crayons and painted imperfections in metal caskets with nail polish. The rule of thumb was “if you can’t see it in dim light through watery eyes it’s fine” because most people stop paying attention to the details of the $3000 casket once it’s been “bodied” and the service starts.
When I die, cremate me and spread my ashes somewhere cool or just throw me away. If you put me in a Batesville casket I will haunt you.
Edit: Anyone who tells you a casket is protected from the elements is full of s**t. The gaskets on the hardware are cheap as hell and we NEVER replaced them when we were supposed to. Most of the caskets underground are full of groundwater and most of the caskets above ground will eventually leak remains. You don’t see the underground damage unless you exhume the casket and the ones above ground are placed in a way that the liquid collect and drips in a place you’ll never see. One more reason I want to be cremated is because I don’t wanna turn into a puddle of people goo and rainwater. Sorry to break it to anyone visiting loved ones gravesites but whatever is in there is disgusting.
Edit 2: I didn’t work at the production plant, I delivered finished caskets to funeral homes and had daily interaction with these people and when they get friendly they get talkative. Every single one was in it for the money and wouldn’t hesitate to brag about how much they could sell a casket for. We had one guy who was very proud of his ability to sell casket accessories that never went into the ground. “Oh your dad was a marine? For an extra $65 we can put a really nice metal and enamel EGA on each corner instead of those basic plastic ones bay are currently on there. And guess what, they are magnetic so you could even get it one for yourself to keep on your fridge that way you can always have something to remember him”.
Whatever is in a casket will be gross no matter if rainwater leaks into it or not.
That certain plastics that we use regularly really shouldn’t be exposed to high heat and a lot of the disposable products we use aren’t as safe as we truly think. A lot of plastics break down when hot and a lot of our coffee cups and things are lined with plastic that also isn’t superb at high temps. Also, a lot of our “recyclable” goods can only be recycled in a handful of facilities in the U.S. which means most of this still ends up in the trash
The myth of single stream recyclying. Also, shiploads of US plastics are sent to other countries as components of trade and relief agreements.
If you're a creative--actor, musician, painter, etc--avoid self-proclaimed coaches that charge you an arm and a leg telling you they'll get you into the industry quick.
I'm coming from the world of voice over. There are a thousand and one "I'll teach you everything you need to know!" type of coaches who charge hundreds of dollars for a single hour or two. They'll promise to train you, do your demo, etc. Truth is, their business isn't voice over, it's education. *You* are their job. And you will overspend and burn out for very little return.
If you want a coach or class, look for people who are known by everyone in your industry and who have verifiable results from their own work. And for goodness sake, **don't wait for formal coaching to start doing what you want to do!** A book or YouTube video is enough to get you started in almost every case; the best thing you can do is work on it every day.
name brand grocery items - dairy specifically. 99% it's the exact same thing from the exact same farm/plant, just different packaging.
Someone please convince my mom of this!! She still insists on paying for name brand Advil, among other things. Such a waste of money.
As a person that works in a hospital, I really, really don’t want to go to the ER if I can help it.
As a nail tech I've learned too much about communicable foot illnesses. Bring cheap flip flops with you when you travel and wear them in every shower. Avoid water parks but if you must, always wear some kind of water shoe. Always wear socks at the airport so you don't have to walk your bare feet through security after like 200 other bare footed people 🤢
Warts and athletes foot suuuuck
Avoid representing yourself in any court proceedings. If it involves the US legal system, yes, you really do need a lawyer. There are very few exceptions to this but even the exceptions (like a self help divorce where there are no assets, no kids, no contest), you are better off at least consulting with an attorney first.
My ex wanted to utilize a do-it-yourself method for our dissolutionment. He didn't have any money so he thought it was a great idea. I said absolutely not and I paid for the attorney. In the scheme of things it was pretty affordable. Not something where you want a bargain basement deal. It always has the potential to come back and bite you in the behind.
If the railroad crossing gates are down, do not go around them.
If a train is stopped over the railroad crossing? It's probable that they will be there awhile. Turn around and find another way.
If a train passes a railroad crossing and the gates stay down? Do not go around them. Another train may be approaching on the second main.
Do not walk on railroad tracks, especially with earbuds in. There are a million better ways to get somewhere that isn't walking on railroad ballast.
If you insist on walking on the railroad right of way? You are trespassing. If the rail is shiny? It's definitely used. A lot. If it's rusty? It's not used as much, but be aware that a train can come at any time.
Also, railroaders do not stop on crossings because they want to. The train length, lack of communication from the dispatcher, emergency situations, are usually the cause. It's very difficult to try to park a 14,000 ft train somewhere that doesn't block a crossing.
On that last point, most of the places where a train is allowed to knowingly park were established long ago with the Feds (in the US). Despite that, cities and neighborhoods have been building road crossings over them for years. Then the people complain when there's a train parked there. Don't build your house next to an airport and expect them to stop flying and don't build your driveway over a train track and expect them to stop using it.
When you choose a medical power of attorney, choose someone who can be very rational and can make very unselfish decisions. Often a friend or someone outside the family. Discuss everything with them, and fill out a specific advanced directive (mayo clinic has a good one). No one wants to talk about death, but it is soooo important. Discuss living if you had to be on a ventilator, or never being able to eat again, or living the rest of your life in a nursing home.
have had long discussions w/my dad on this. and, i am willing to pull the plug per his instructions. the only thing i don't like about our conversations is that he has told me that if he is ever in a situation where he knows he is going to decline rapidly he has made it clear that he will stop taking his needed meds to go out on his terms. he won't make overt suicidal acts but he feels that he doesn't need to extend the inevitable. he's 81 & while i want him around for as long as possible i respect his wishes entirely.
Purchasing residential solar. As someone who works in industrial solar, I can tell you that the only profit margin currently is in how much tax deferral and grant money you can get for the install. The guys coming around with the high pressure sakes tactics are actually selling you on a high interest loan, not solar, and they are taking your subsidies in trade. It's entirely a scam meant to prey on people who care about the environment.
If you want solar, do it yourself for half the price, keep your own tax credits, and you'll actually see a profit in energy reductions. Even if you find a contractor to build it, you can work the math correctly. Do not use a contractor that came to you.
If a film crew is in your neighborhood or near your business and they didn’t pay you, cut the grass ALL DAY and make as much noise as possible. When a PA comes up to ask you to be quiet, say you’ll stop for money. Producers give them wads of cash to stop noisy neighbors. Start at $1k.
*Sigh* as someone who works in the SOUND DEPARTMENT of a film crew, please don't do this. In the UK at least, if we're filming near you, you will have had at least a leaflet drop. We will have permits for filming, parking, etc. We don't want to inconvenience anyone any more than absolutely necessary, we just want to make programmes for your entertainment. Making yourself a huge nuisance, wrecking my personal work, and adding a whole lot of unnecessary labour all down the line (the pa or locations person who has to find you and bargain with you, the producer who has to approve payments, the accountants who have to log it in the budget, myself who is trying to get usable dialogue, the sound mixer who has to make their job about managing your disruption, the post production people who have to prices and filter out your lawn mower - cos we won't always get there in time, we won't always be able to pay you, you won't always be cooperative) - is all that worth you making a fast twenty out of being an a*****e? Please don't
I do not swim in pools that make my eyes burn or smell like chlorine. Was a pool operator for 10 years.
Former CNA. I will do everything I can to not send any family to a nursing home. And hopefully my kids will someday do the same for me.
Edit: just to add, if someone I know is ever in a nursing home I will visit as often as I can. Especially if they are in a state where they can't advocate for themselves.
Edit 2: don't let some internet stranger make you feel bad if you have family in a nursing facility. I'm sure it is still the right choice for many families.
I'm a firefighter, if you get stuck in an elevator call 911 immediately. Casinos, hotels, apartments, etc will fumble f**k their way trying to get you out or await the elevator company for HOURS! I avoid elevators if I can and if I got stuck, I'd avoid their maintenance people trying to get me out.
This is totally true. The building will also not call the fire dept in as it will effect their elevator permit and fees. You can be in an elevator for hours waiting for help from the building or elevator repair company. They will all put keeping the elevator in working order above you being stuck in it. The fire dept will breach the door and bring you out.
From a US lens: ALWAYS confirm salary in a first round interview. I make it a point to always confirm when I am the recruiter, but I can't tell you how many times other recruiters don't. If you really want to work somewhere and the recruiter doesn't ask, you are totally justified to ask what the salary range is. Time is invaluable and waiting until a 2nd/3rd round only to find out your expectations vs. their budget is misaligned is huge a waste of time for everyone involved.
What is the salary range for this position and what are the factors used to decide where a candidate lands within that range?
As a mechanic: Almost all cars from any brand is just as reliable as the next, with notable exceptions. The reason one brand may appear more reliable than another, specifically Toyota, is actually because of the culture of the owners. Toyota owners are far, far more likely to perform their maintenance on time and as recommended than any other brand out there. Conversely, a Chevy truck owner is likely to put off a simple oil change for 20k miles and then wonder why they need major work at 60k. Ford owners have a tendency to care for the engines but completely neglect the driveline and suspension, then complain that they blow transmissions and wheel bearings or balljoints prematurely.
Now for some raid fire advice from a mechanic: Toyota from 22 and 23 are absolute trash and as a Toyota tech I cannot believe they actually rolled that garbage out. Never buy Landrover, period. Avoid anything Italian as a daily driver, but when they do work they're amazing so go ahead and get one for the weekends (if you're rich enough i guess). Keep buying Japanese, except 22 and 23 Toyota and anything Nissan with a CVT. Buy German, but only ever take it to a shop that's actually equipped for them, they require special computers, training, and repair manuals because the common scantools can't interface with all of the systems in them, and the common repair manuals don't even have the most basic information needed to accurately diagnose and repair one. That's where their bad reputation actually comes from, not a lack of quality. German cars actually are built very differently using different approaches than American or Asian cars are. And for the love of all that is good DO YOUR MAINTENANCE!
I have a 2018 Toyota 4Runner and that thing runs like a beast but handles like a car. I love it. I’d run it to the ground before I ever get another one.
A PhD. Too much work for too little money. Some people makes lots but most don’t and end up with a lot of debt.
Don't do this. I came through a Physics PhD program, and there are lots of PhDs doing fulfillment at Amazon warehouses. There are almost zero academic job openings and limited ones in industry. I've seen many people put off living a real adult life for 10 years, making 15k per year, only to be forced to find something else for their career. Get as much education as you need for a good job - no more no less - and be happy.
Neck manipulation. Oh, the countless vertebral dissections and strokes I have seen.
I'll never work a janitorial job again. Janitors get absolutely zero respect from anyone else in a given facility, despite the fact that businesses would fall apart in a matter of days, if not hours, without regular cleaning. Not to mention that your accomplishments are never noticed, just your mistakes.
Full service moving companies. Just read reviews and you'll see a lot of em are scams.
Edit - this is somewhat specific to long distance moves. The scam is typically centered around a quote at a certain weight, "weighing" the load, and declaring a much higher weight.
Always pay a piano mover to move your piano, not the moving company. Most moving companies do not know the proper way to transport a piano without damaging it.
I work in bridal alterations. Bridal stores and boutiques will mark up things based on the most random attributes. Gowns claim to be hand beaded a lot of the time aren’t. If it looks too uniform and the ends of the threads aren’t tied off, then it was probably machine beaded. Most people will not be able to tell if your dress is $5000 or $1000. Don’t overspend if you don’t have to
Not buying any appliance or vehicle made in 2020-2023 if I can help it. I work in HVAC and quality of EVERYTHING has seriously declined. Material shortages and government efficiency regulations cause manufacturers to use a different most of the time cheaper material to assemble appliances causing them to fail sooner, alot sooner.
Michael’s art framing services. Just don’t. ESPECIALLY photographs. Go to a reputable custom framer if you care at all about what you are getting framed. A bit more expensive but your art/photos/memorabilia will be kept safe for years to come.
I’m a gigging musician and I’m officially done with drugs and alcohol
So many musicians I know abuse drugs (including myself in the past)
I think it’s to cope with the weird hours and strange way to make money but damn is life so much easier without all that and also my guitar playing is so much better without
The insidious part of drug use is that it makes one think the music sounds better. Easily proven by all the really crappy records I bought in my youth while stoned.
Any hot drinks on an airplane like coffee or tea. I’m an airline pilot and that hot water comes from the “potable water tank.” Never gets cleaned only has cleaning tablets thrown in there every now and again and tested for E. coli. There was more than once I flew an airplane that had the potable water system deferred for E. coli.
Timeshares, payday loans, and whole life insurance are scams.
I'm a physician. I will do everything possible to avoid being hospitalized. The risks and frequent mismanagement are scary and the place is dehumanizing. Do what you can to remain healthy, when you do get sick get the treatments you can at home, and it's time for a hospital ask yourself if you really think you'll make it out in a livable condition.
As someone who has spent frequent, long periods of time in hospital, I cannot disagree. And these were “good” hospitals. I think I saved my own life at least 5 times, because I paid attention. God help those who aren’t able to, or have someone with them able to.
If you get a name brand sunscreen, and generic sunscreen, and there seems to be nothing different except the label on the bottle. The generic is probably the exact same thing and from the same factory, and may even be the same batch as the name brand. Avoid the name brand and get the generic.
Literally all it took was flipping one switch on the machine I operated to switch from making [name brand here] to [store's own brand here], all it did was switch what label it applied.
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If a convenience store has precooked food items available under heat lamps that you can just buy cold and microwave for a few seconds, don't go for the precooked ones, microwave a new one. It's still microwaved either way, but at least now you know you aren't eating something that was heated 3 hours ago.
You should sign your apartment leases in November and December. This is the slow season and apartment owners get desperate for occupancy. Often offering lower rates and higher concessions.
If ever you are speaking in front of a crowd with a sound system, **do not** tap the mic to check if its live. As long as theres a person running sound you will be heard as soon as you start talking or worst case a second later. Tapping on the mic causes damage to speakers over time and can long term be a problem.
(for americans) get a AAA membership, today. do NOT pay your insurance for roadside assistance (if it cost you extra). you will get roadside assistance from a 3rd party company and they will absolutely leave you stranded for hours because they are looking to find a service provider who will do the job for the least amount of money.
I worked at one of those 3rd party companies for 4 years and I saw firsthand how we left motorist stranded for hours and hours because we would not pay a tow truck driver more than $100 for a 10 mile tow. Same goes for the roadside assistance the dealership tries to sell you. don't be fooled by luxury brands either (BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar/Land Rover) they are all working with 3rd party companies to do roadside assistance and that 3rd party does not give a f**k about you. they want profit.
get a AAA membership! those drivers work for AAA and get paid better, they also use local towing companies and pay them better than 3rd party motor clubs do. AND they will get to you SOONER!
Medicare Advantage plans. The whole point of insurance is that it should be there when you need it. Unfortunately, that's not the way Medicare Advantage plans work. The insurance company gets to choose what's covered and what's not, and after they deny it, you can appeal, but usually once you are in a situation to need that kind of healthcare, you already have health issues and don't want to spend your valuable time and energy just to receive basic health care. Straight federal Medicare with a supplement if they can afford it is what I tell friends and family in my life. It's really sad to hear all the advertisements on the radio for Medicare Advantage plans.
The drug coverage in those plans is deceptive. Only generic ones are free or low cost. The last three new meds that do not have a generic that my doc's prescribed have copays that are hundreds a month.
Soda dispensers at gas stations. I worked as a cashier at two gas stations for well over a year each, and we never cleaned them once. Mold grows all over the inside or the nozzles and ice container. Just get the bottled soda.
Replace your backup disk drive hard drives. They last about 5 - 10 years. Solid state back up drives last much longer, if you are not overwriting the data constantly.
45 years working in I.T. here. I am afraid that is a vast over simplification. What sort of drive (I mean grade not Spinny/SSD) There are enterprise - archive - gaming etc. What sort of use? Do you leave your PC on 24/7 (masivly extends the live as there is no expantion contraction cycles). Cheap SSDs die real quick - are you using TRIM with them - again - mostly reading (last ages) mostly writing will hame a much shorter life. I have had drives die in less than a year. My current media server is on 24/7 - the drives in there are easily over 10 years old but because it's mostly reading they are going just fine.
Hamsters.
Worked at a pet store for six years that sold a variety of "specialty" pets, i.e. birds, rodents, reptiles, etc. They all could be nasty on the wrong day, don't get me wrong. Getting chomped by anything sucks. But no single animal bit as much or a *fraction* as hard* as the goddamn hamsters. Huge rodent teeth that would go right through to the bone of your finger, and then a little more. So many parents would come in looking for a furry little friend for their sweet Jimmy and I'd do everything in my power to steer them towards the guinea pigs, the mice, the rats. No, Jimmy wants a goddamn hamster, and he wants to hold it please. Jimmy gonna learn today. I'm sorry Jimmy.
I'm sure someone reading this will have the inevitable Not All Hamsters response. Yes, there are the odd sweet ones. Yes, hamsters raised by hand in a one-on-one environment with a human, as opposed to the meager chaos of a pet store, are probably fine. Yes, certain breeds were typically less prone to nastiness--*typically.* It changes nothing. I'd rather let a 5 year old hold a hundred snakes than one of those furry demon turds. It would be safer for both the 5 year old, and the turd.
*We did sell conures, a small type of parrot, which arguably have more crushing power per bite than a rodent. In all my years working there though I can never remember having a conure who was so ornery as to try to use that bite force beyond a stern nip.
Thing to avoid, second mortgage. I've had two clients whose banks didn't want to renew the second mortgage and said "pay us out or we force a sale on your home."
Thing to do, get a will. Some people are f*****g vultures and if you don't have a will that is clear on who gets what or how things are to be divided they will gleefully pick you carcass clean trying to get every penny they can.
Home equity lines of credit have been incredibly helpful for a lot of people. If you have a balance when the draw period ends, many people "renew," which does mean an entirely new loan application. If your circumstances have changed and you're unable to get approved, the balance is still due. Many banks will work out a repayment plan for the balance though; they're just not going to allow further draws. Stay in communication with your bank and they will work with you as much as possible. HELOCs have allowed people to consolidate their debt at significantly lower interest, and has been a lifesaver for those who suddenly have a home repair they don't have the savings for. A blanket statement to not get one is foolish.
Being the first car out to an intersection after a red light.... traffic engineer.
I always book both ways before crossing an intersection as if i'm a pedestrian. You never know.
Buying the expensive vanilla.
Worked in vanilla manufacturing while the recipes had a slight difference between each label we did they were all pretty much the same thing. That trader Joe's vanilla you spend $15 for 8oz of? You can buy 16oz of the same exact thing from Costco under a different label for the same price. Oh and great value(walmart brand) guess what? Same as the others. We probably made the exact same vanilla for roughly 30ish companies all selling it at different prices.
Dog parks. Parasites can live in the soil for years. Lots are a fecal-oral transmission, some can be transmitted just by stepping on them. Hot bed for respiratory disease transmission. And lots of people with unsocialized dogs letting them roam in a pen and then break out in dog fights. Are the dogs being brought vaccinated? Neutered/spayed? Who knows, most of them have no one actually regulating that stuff. -a vet
Checking a bag. If possible, for the love of god take a carry on.
Also, please I am begging you to pay the extra money for the direct flight. Missed connections are way too common anymore. Booking 2 legs just to save $80 I promise you is not worth it.
As the black cat on every flight I can confirm that direct is better if possible.
The healthiest food is the one you grow, cut and prepare yourself. Food industry does not care about your health.
More than 20 years experience at several food factories as process operator. Because of my experience at work I buy organic and almost no processed food.
edit: replaced "biological" for "organic". The typo was for some people more interesting than the issue.
I haven't found that to be cost effective for me. But if you can, Check your soil for chemicals. Someone may have been changing their oil, renovating and burying the waste in the ground. When we dug a garden area in a rental house we found where the landlord dumped glass and paint. The only thing to do is lay plastic on the ground with raised garden beds.
Renting your home to a film crew.
- They have a crazy ambitious schedule for the day and being careful around the place is not a part of it.
- The people closer to the producer, who is responsible for returning the place in pristine condition, will be a bit more careful. Most people won't. And if they are having a bad day, they might handle poorly something and break it.
- And, last but not least, they are great at making something look unbroken at first sight. They have a whole department for that.
My grandad has his house used by a film crew. They gutted the place, put EVERYTHING in storage, then redecorated it to a 1950's style, filmed for a few days (all the while Gramps was in absolutely mint hotel), then redecorated to a modern style and refitted his entire kitchen. It added a few grand to the property value.
Liquor and spirits industry. Big name allocated bourbons (Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton's, etc). If you can find them for MSR they're *fine* but it's almost become cultish. 5 years ago Buffalo was a pretty good $25 mixing bourbon. Now people travels STATES just to drop $100 on a bottle and they think they're getting a steal. They're decent whiskeys but nothing special. And Jose cuervo. There are MANY tequila under $15 I would happily pick. If Jose was 8 bucks it would still be over priced.
One of the news programs (20/20, Dateline?) did several tests years ago with people that would "only drink top-shelf" vodka and knew the difference. I think like 98% of them preferred the taste of bottom shelf brands like Smirnoff over Kettle One and Grey Goose.
Hot air balloons. I'm an Air Traffic Controller.
But it looks amazing, a great number of hot ballons overflying looks like st from another planet. Pitty for being dangerous.
Never work for an engineering/manufacturing/service/technology company where the CEO has a finance background. Bean-counters screw everything up.
Can attest to this. Worked for a small internet provider that had a bean-counter CFO and a CEO who was cheap and cut corners everywhere. Business failed in the end, and they treated their employees terribly the whole time.
1. Smoking
2. Unprotected sex- diagnosed way too many teens with HSV and other STIs after one night stands.
I would not want to be young and foolish again. Way too many STD's in the world today.
Sitting on random objects that can get stuck in your rectum. It happens to too many people I x-ray.
And why are people not wearing clothes and sitting on random objects?
Worked in residential solar for a few years in finance and project management. It’s not a good deal unless you’re going to be in your home for 25 years FOR SURE. If you sell, it’s extremely unlikely you will recoup any of the cost and that the new owner will want to take on the remainder of what is often a 25 year loan term. And that’s IF the system is still working which is a big IF. The companies that install rarely stay in business long enough to service or warranty their own work, so if it fails, you’re hosed.
Great if you’re off grid, but if you’re on grid, the fees and payback from the utility vary from decent to nonexistent, extending your payback period.
Pest control here:
- Never drink from a can, always drink your beer/soda from a glass. You never know how many rats live in the warehouse it came from
- Never throw oil and wasted food in toilet or sink - this is a great recipe to get cockroaches.
- Eating in fish food oriented restaurants. I've seen it all and it's not worth a risk. It could be clean, but if it's not it's a REAL hazard.
I work in IT and I will avoid MS surface devices. They have very high rates of hardware failure. Also impossible to repair. Also on that note I Won’t buy anything from Newegg anymore it went downhill.
Fresh caught wild freshwater fish
Edit- research coming out on forever chemicals such as PFAS being in pretty much every wild fish in the US is alarming. Is it sensationalized? Maybe only because these are brand new studies coming out. We really don’t know what it means for people consuming them yet. Can you eat one fish a month? Maybe, if you aren’t a child or pregnant. -Great Lakes researcher
LG and Samsung brand appliances like fridges and washers/dryers. Only worked as an in home appliance repair technician for a little while but it was long enough to see a pattern. Not only do they seem to break more often but the replacement parts are also more expensive and take longer to get delivered.
Edit: To everybody asking about a good brand, sorry I don’t really have an answer for that just because I don’t know what brand all the appliances were that didn’t break since we never went to those houses lol. All I can say are most of the service calls were for LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and Kenmore appliances. Occasionally went out for GE as well but not as often as everything else.
anything that's marketed as "audiophile grade"
As a musician with years of critical listening in a recording studio environment, I can definitely hear a difference between the low end gear and the expensive gear. Now whether that difference is worth the extra few thousand you have to spend on the high end gear is a different issue. It is limited by one's budget. That being said, rich people who are not musicians and buy the most expensive stereo system, probably can not tell the difference.
I'm an Engineer - I will never buy critical parts that need to hold up to high forces from a Chinese manufacturer. You never know for sure what materials they use.
Pre k teacher- play rooms and co-sleeping absolutely decimate empathy in children. You're better off explaining why you need your own space to sleep, and you deserve it and have worked hard for you both to have your own space. Play rooms for one child are insane. Having a space in your home if you have multiple children is one thing, but your only child does not need two rooms in your home. Tablets aren't as bad as people think but YouTube kids is worse.
Never trust raw percentage, averages or "high level" business KPI
I'm a data scientist / statistician. Most of these are not wrong, in fact they are often the result of 'good intentions', but there is always layers and nuances underneath.
For me it was Bariatric Surgery. I worked for one of the top hospitals in my state with well-respected, very talented surgeons and it had a VERY rigorous program - as in, you'd be lucky to be under the knife within six months. It was necessary, they needed to make sure patients were ready for the demands of post-op lifestyle changes (because, guess what? You still need to engage in diet and exercise plans after this procedure - shocker, I know). Even with all that prep, though, the number of people I had calling my line for revision consults or who were having issues YEARS later was astounding. Understand, this was not a reflection on our surgeons - their hernia patients, appendix patients, anyone outside of bariatric I never heard from again unless there was an immediate post-op concern or I was scheduling their post-healing follow up. I truly believe it's the procedures that are the problem. They just don't seem safe enough if years later patients are coming back with complications.
Rest in peace, Lisa Marie Presley. The medical reports show damage from her bariatric surgery was what led to her death.
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After working as a food safety microbiologist I avoid eating bagged salad mixes, premade deli salads (potato, pasta ect), buffets, salad bars, soft serve icecream and raw milk.
Legit question here!! So, I eat at Chang's Mongolian Grill, like all the time (its my only pregnancy craving 😅) It's a restaurant where you build-your-own bowl (of raw ingredients) and then the chef stir fries it on a huge 550°F (we asked cause husband was curious) cast iron grill and then its handed directly back to the customer by the chef. Go ahead and google the restaurant if I didnt describe it well enough, lots of photos of the way it works there! Is this safer than a precooked, grab-and-go buffet?
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For me it was Bariatric Surgery. I worked for one of the top hospitals in my state with well-respected, very talented surgeons and it had a VERY rigorous program - as in, you'd be lucky to be under the knife within six months. It was necessary, they needed to make sure patients were ready for the demands of post-op lifestyle changes (because, guess what? You still need to engage in diet and exercise plans after this procedure - shocker, I know). Even with all that prep, though, the number of people I had calling my line for revision consults or who were having issues YEARS later was astounding. Understand, this was not a reflection on our surgeons - their hernia patients, appendix patients, anyone outside of bariatric I never heard from again unless there was an immediate post-op concern or I was scheduling their post-healing follow up. I truly believe it's the procedures that are the problem. They just don't seem safe enough if years later patients are coming back with complications.
Rest in peace, Lisa Marie Presley. The medical reports show damage from her bariatric surgery was what led to her death.
Load More Replies... After working as a food safety microbiologist I avoid eating bagged salad mixes, premade deli salads (potato, pasta ect), buffets, salad bars, soft serve icecream and raw milk.
Legit question here!! So, I eat at Chang's Mongolian Grill, like all the time (its my only pregnancy craving 😅) It's a restaurant where you build-your-own bowl (of raw ingredients) and then the chef stir fries it on a huge 550°F (we asked cause husband was curious) cast iron grill and then its handed directly back to the customer by the chef. Go ahead and google the restaurant if I didnt describe it well enough, lots of photos of the way it works there! Is this safer than a precooked, grab-and-go buffet?
Load More Replies... 