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Someone Asks What Facts Sound Comforting But Are Actually Highly Disturbing, And 30 People Deliver
Interview With Author
Facts are supposed to be educational, but if they’re entertaining or unusual, it helps them stick in our minds better. However, the truth doesn’t care about our feelings or making us feel ‘good.’ It can often be uncomfortable, and nuanced, and make us realize how fragile life can be.
The r/AskReddit online community tackled this idea by sharing facts that, on the surface, sound quite comforting. However, once you think about them a little longer, you realize how disturbing they actually are... and how little control we have over some aspects of our lives. Scroll down to see what the internet users shared.
Bored Panda reached out to the author of the viral thread, u/Soupmandog589, and they were kind enough to answer our questions. You'll find our interview with them below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
That there is enough food and water to feed everyone on the planet for free. But a small group of world owners governs it, plays monetary games, and uses it to control the masses.
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#2
When you're sick, you're supposed to do drugs and stay out of school.
#3
When you give birth, your body produces hormones and your brain forgets a lot of the trauma you experience so that you’ll be willing to have more children in the future. So whenever you look back on childbirth, your memory of it will likely be way less awful than it actually was.
Littlemiss 1 year ago
Um I beg to differ. I remember the horror of my son's birth. Nothing about it was nice. Neither were the first 5 days of his life.
Lizz 1 year ago
I hope everything turned out OK for you and your son. Childbirth was traumatic for me, too. Luckily my daughter was ok.
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T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
My mother wasn't one of the people who forget. She was in so much pain having me (and also like 36 hours of labour) that she developed PPD and had to be sent to a mental hospital because she tried to kill herself. (She died of natural causes 38 years later.)
CC Boom 1 year ago
I had PPD for my first and ended up in a mental hospital too. It was absolutely awful. It's no joke at all.
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Skulls.N.Succulents 1 year ago
I kind of agree. I can recall the trauma, pain and terror of all three of my c-sections but my kids outweighed it all every time. There's no way I'd go through anything as painful and scary as childbirth but without the baby at the end. No amount of anything else would be worth it lol
Annik Perrot 1 year ago
Theres an old saying in French that goes :" C'est le mal joli, quand c'est fini on en rit " ( It's a pretty pain, when it's over you laugh about it ) Yeah, sure...
Raymond Smith 1 year ago
I don’t remember my lawn mower accident that took my foot and for the longest time I didn’t remember what happened before and after only years later, like 15 years bots and pieces started coming back to me but still to this day not the accident itself.
Courtney Christelle 1 year ago
That’s a load of c**p, for me anyways. I remember everyday of morning sickness. I remember the pain of the needle going into my spine and I remember being gutted open like a fish. I also don’t want anymore children so maybe my brain lacks that hormone.
Sonja 1 year ago (edited)
Actually not just childbirth. It's all pain in general. Even just growing up is very painful. Think of all the time babies fall when they try to learn how to walk or stubb their toes or hurt their hands. If pain would discourage us from anything, we'd never do anything if even one little thing goes wrong. Same goes for any living being. No cat learns to hunt without getting bitten by their prey at least once. Do they stop trying? Of course not! They just try harder and a little different each time, because they know already how tasty the mouse will be. That's why punishment doesn't work. To discourage bad behaviour, reasonable consequences that are directly related to the behaviour are needed. Also rewards for good behaviour. The reward of holding the baby has a far greater impact than the pain of birth. That's why the memory of the pain is overwritten.
Barbara Skolly 1 year ago
I remember that it was painful but can't remember what the pain felt like.
MellonCollie 1 year ago
I had that feeling when i had my 3rd child 7 years after the 2nd. I joked about it with the midwife while having contractions. And was able to joke about it afterwards as well. Mine were painful but luckily not traumatic. I'd even do it again, but there's no need, 3 kids is quite enough and my body is aging.
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BlitheSpirit 1 year ago
Can confirm. What I never forgot was the sleep deprivatiion that followed 😳
Robin Roper 1 year ago
No, I had back labor, and I distinctly remember it feeling like a transfer truck was sitting on my hips.
Marjorie Macrae 1 year ago
This works for any kind of trauma the body has, I don't think I want to remember all the trauma.
Just me, myself, and I 1 year ago
I was in a horseback riding accident and ended up in the hospital for a week. I talked to a dr about the last thing I remembered and the time lapse to the next thing I remembered. He said the brain blocks certain memories to protect you. I believe it.
Yayheterogeneity (her/she) het 1 year ago
In this one case I think it's okay to forget and focus on the good outcome
Michelle Thomas 1 year ago
ROFLMAO 🤣 ah no.... I remember every damn minute of it it was horrible and I never did it again
Awesome At Being Autistic 1 year ago
Nope, I was in horrendous pain with both times I was in labor, and by God I remember every bit of it. What helps a teeny tiny little bit is knowing that labor pains don't last forever.
Ann Si 1 year ago
Can't confirm this one. I gave birth for the second time just 3 weeks ago and it was exactly how I remembered it from the first time which was 2 years ago. It's the most terrible pain I can imagine (didn't have any drugs against pain both times) but for having another child I was willing to pay this prize. I don't want to scare any future moms - the bad part isn't the waves that last all day (that's each just a minute of cramp and then you're fine again for a while), it's only the last 1/2 hour, the so-called ring of fire that s***s. I call it the ring of lava. But as soon as the child is out it's gone and you're just happy
Montanavanna 1 year ago
My body felt such sweet relief when the babies came that it outweighed all the pain. Every body will have a different experience. Thanks for the data MadMonkey!
MadMonkey 1 year ago
I did a quick review of some of the studies out there, referencing NIH articles and a review article. The answer is sort of in the middle. Giving birth does influence recall, but wildly (meaning there is a lot of variance among mothers as to whether they recall pain, if so, how much, and if so, how accurately). This is by no means a black and white, done-deal conclusion as presented in the OP. Studies are limited in number and, more concerning, limited by methodological issues (which calls into question the legitimacy of conclusions). A few references https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19076128/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11251509/ There are more but these should get anyone started.
Bewarethere@gmail.com 1 year ago
You've obviously never had children. You do not forget the pain. Some do but not many. That's where the sentence "I'm not having any more children " comes from
Caroline Fraser 1 year ago
Kids are now in their 20s but both births were rather awful. About 10 years ago, seemingly out of nowhere, I was struck by the trauma of it all and collapsed on my kitchen floor. I try to avoid thinking about it now.
Janice Seagraves 1 year ago
When my due date with drew close, I asked all my female friends about what happens when they gave birthday and they all said they honestly couldn't remember. Not me, I remembered all 36 hours of it.
Puppy Dancing! 1 year ago
Anytime you experience severe pain this can happen. Which is why people don't remember the accident that wound them up in hospital and other horrible experiences don't seems that bad in retrospect. Our brain stops laying down memories and avoids the pain memories.
Ellie Ahmed 1 year ago
Another related fact: When I was pregnant with my first and having an anxiety-fuelled meltdown in my obstetrician's office one day about whether I was going to be a terrible mum, I asked her "what if my baby comes out all squished and I think they're ugly?". She reassured me that after birth, you're flooded with hormones that tell you your baby is absolutely the most beautiful thing to have ever existed, so if my baby is a little wonky-looking I won't even see it. But I didn't need the hormones because both of my mine really were the most beautiful babies to have ever existed
rumple slunkskin 1 year ago
Honestly yeah. I barely made it to the hospital in time so they didn't have time for any medication at all and I don't remember hardly anything about the actual labor and birth. I remember every boring weird feeling moment of giving birth to my first child with an epidural though.
Nice Beast Ludo 1 year ago
I started having severe back pain over Thanksgiving weekend that was eerily similar to labor pains. I started panicking because it made me remember what labor felt like and made me go to the doctor this week to make sure THAT never happens again
Kyllein MacKellerann 1 year ago
I'm reminded of the comment: "The first time a male gives birth, the whole species is doomed,"
Panda Kicki 1 year ago
With my live born, yes. Not with my stillborns. Last time I was in labor for five days and had therapy meant for tortyr victims afterwards. (weird where you moved the eyes rapidly while recalling the pain. I worked pretty good though)
kitteh floof lover 1 year ago
not always true. i had an awful pregnancy and delivery of my first born. it was so bad, that when i got pregnant the second time, i had a nervous breakdown.
Kathy Richardson 1 year ago
My body must not have produced enough of the hormones because I remember just how horrible it was all three times. With my youngest (with the largest head) I felt like he had ripped me in half. Oh yes, I remember how bad it was.
martymcmatrix 1 year ago
Weight gain, 6 months of permanent nausea and vomiting, pickles dipped in ice cream, lower leg edema...all long forgotten and half as bad as it felt! I can't even wait to get pregnant again, ASAP...🤱🏽👶🏽🧑🏽🍼
manu michael 1 year ago
Actually I wince everytime I think of my kidneystones. Imagine taking a hot knife and getting stabbed in the lower back...or or having glass shards trapped in your kidneys? Or peeing acid? Kidney stone pain is no joke. I'll never forget it.
Life can be incredibly fragile. So it’s important to take good care of your body and mind and know what to do in case of an emergency. That way, when something (inevitably) goes wrong, you’ll be tough and capable enough to handle it.
However, living in constant paranoia and fear is horrible. Yes, bad things can and do happen all the time. While you can prepare yourself for some of them, others are completely and utterly out of control to anticipate or react to. You need to be able to get on with your daily life without succumbing to chronic anxiety. And that comes down to recognizing what you can control (to a certain extent) and what you really can’t.
#4
People think about you far less than you actually believe they do.
Littlemiss 1 year ago
If you worried about what people think of you, you'd be surprised at how little they did.
#5
The most peaceful way to die is in your sleep, but you’ll go to sleep not knowing you’ll never see anything ever again.
#6
I was at a bbq yesterday and my uncle told me “think about it one day you went outside to play with your friends for the last time and didn’t even know it”.
Bored Panda got in touch with the author of the thread to learn more about the inspiration behind the question, as well as to get their thoughts on dealing with situations we can't control and not living in constant fear of the unknown.
According to redditor u/Soupmandog589, they thought of a fact that "seemed comforting on the outside but was actually disturbing on the inside," which prompted them to ask the r/AskReddit community for their perspectives.
However, because the OP had created the thread a while back, they can't quite remember what the initial fact that started the entire discussion was.
The author of the thread opened up to Bored Panda that they are fascinated by what other people on the internet had to say on the topic. They also shared with us how much they enjoy learning new facts.
"I’m curious, and would like to hear other people’s facts," they told us. "I just love facts."
#7
Death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you.
#8
There are hundreds if not thousands of versions of you in the minds of other people.
Depending on how many people you have met in your life.
#9
Your really really sick, you have no energy, no appetite, and just the will to do nothing at all. Let’s say this is your grandpa in this situation. All the sudden grandpa calls you and says he wants to eat so much that it hurts and he wants to go do some fun projects, this sudden burst of energy kinda thing. Well you drive to the hospital to find that your grandpa has just died minutes after he called you. The nurse will then explain to you that this is very common when people are dying to just have a sudden burst of energy.
We asked the author of the thread for their thoughts on how people can come to terms with the fact that some things are entirely out of their control.
Redditor u/Soupmandog589 told us that self-regulation is incredibly important. "I have autism and have stuff that I can’t control but which causes major stress such as loud noises and atmospheres," they were very open and honest with Bored Panda.
"Self-regulation and listening to music usually helps for me but different things can help different people," they said.
#10
You’re statistically more likely to die in a car crash on the way to the airport than you are in a plane crash.
#11
The average age of empires is 250 years.
To put it simply, self-regulation is a person's ability to control their behavior, emotions, and thoughts, for the sake of long-term goals. Emotional self-regulation, for instance, means managing one's more disruptive emotions and impulses.
Not only that, but it also involves rebounding from the disappointments we face in life, as well as behaving in ways that are consistent with our values.
According to the OP, the secret to making the most of one's life, no matter the consequences, is committing yourself completely to your goals, whatever they might be.
#14
Hippos and coconuts kill more people than sharks each year.
Donteatme666 1 year ago
What about a hippo riding a shark 🦈 when someone throws a coconut 🥥 at you
Something that we most definitely cannot control is avoiding any and all accidents. What you can do is choose to be more attentive as a pedestrian. You can choose to drive carefully. You can follow the road rules and what to do if someone needs immediate medical help. But accidents can and do happen even if we’re doing everything right. Choosing not to travel, whether by car, plane, or any other mode of transportation, is not an option if you want to make the most of life.
You need to travel for work, to visit the people you love, and for those annual holidays somewhere far away, so you can forget what a computer even is for a couple of weeks.
‘Simple Flying’ notes that the odds of someone getting into an accident during a flight are 1 in 1.2 million. Meanwhile, the chances of this being a fatal accident are 1 in 11 million.
A study published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2020 found that flying is 6 times safer than it was 30 years ago and 22 times safer than it was 50 years ago, around the world. We’ve seen technology and safety standards improve over time.
#16
There will be a point in time where humans go extinct. We won't experience it but imagine our future generations will see the “end of the world”.
#17
Either alien life exists, or we are totally alone in the universe.
Mrs. Dearly Regret 1 year ago
For the universe is Infinite the chance for alien life is Infinite too
#18
Even if 99% of the population finds you unattractive, around 78 million people still find you attractive. Idk this just really creeps me out.
Luck. Genetics. Both of these have a role to play in what happens to us. Getting frustrated about how unlucky you’ve been is going to eat away at you. A far healthier response is to look at things from a growth-oriented perspective, where you don’t see failure as something inherently wrong. Or, to put a slightly cheesy twist on it: “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.” If you take failure or bad luck personally, it can destroy your confidence and sense of calm.
Health and fitness coach Anna Armagno Toussaint previously explained to Bored Panda the things that we can control in life.
"You can control what you put into your body. You can control your water intake and the foods you choose. You can choose to exercise or be sedentary. In most cases, there are good or bad decisions you can make. And the biggest one is that you can choose your mindset about things," she told us in an earlier interview.
#19
If you don’t have children you end a several hundred year long bloodline.
Jill Rhodry 1 year ago
Only if the blood line had only one child that had only one child who had only one child and so forth.
#20
While we're losing a lot of forests in the tropics due to climate change, we're actually gaining a lot of forest in the northern latitudes, and into formerly grassland areas as more available CO2 allows them to grow in more arid regions. And everyone loves trees, right?
The problem is the climate crisis is also a biodiversity crisis, and habitat loss - like grasslands or tundra becoming forest - is arguably even harder on species than changes in weather patterns.
#21
The idea that who we are is not who we used to be, nor who we will be. Both literally and figuratively, considering our cells are constantly dying and recycling so every 7ish years you have a "new" body and because our minds are ever expanding and learning new things.
Another one is the fact that who you are is not who others perceive you to be, since no one can ever truly know who you are and how you think, to the point that if you ever lost your memories, no one would be able to describe you fully to you.
The health coach pointed out that genetics plays such a large role in our lives, however, we cannot control it. “As someone with an autoimmune disease that I didn't choose, there are always hereditary factors that you may need to work around. Some people won't be able to make great choices. For a year I lived off mostly potatoes because that was what I could stomach. Staying positive is what got me through that," the fitness expert said that feeling jealous about other people’s advantages won’t help you.
"I absolutely wish I didn't have to have digestive issues that took years to figure out and go through the pain and trial and error medication, but I also knew it could have been worse. I stayed positive (faith helps if you're a believer because it gives you someone to turn to) and I was grateful that I was alive. Any feelings you have are real and that's ok, but don't let yourself be taken over by them,” the coach said.
#22
You might be just like your parents when you have kids.
#23
"This too shall pass"
#24
My husband has worked in elderly care for over 10 years. He can attest that even without dementia, older people tend to loose their ability to taste. It’s like weakening eye sight but with flavor. He’s always getting complaints that the food is too bland but it’s so full of salt substitute it’s almost inedible to everyone else.
Masen Penland 1 year ago
Taste buds die, and sure, reform, but at a higher age its slower because not very important and most older people are on medications, a lot do weird things like kill taste.
According to her, if you’re ever in a tight spot, you shouldn’t be scared or too prideful to ask for help. “I struggle with this, but it is so important to talk to people and get another perspective, whether it's a therapist or loved one.”
For some more disturbing facts to shake up your day, feel free to take a peek at Bored Panda’s previous feature.
#25
You walk by at least 10 murderers in your life time without even knowing it.
Jill Rhodry 1 year ago
I suspect this is too simplistic and that would largely depend on which country you live - the population, how many murderers, what geographical area the murders/you live etc.
#26
when you get skinned, you (most likely) won’t die of blood loss, but instead hypothermia or infection as they will get you first.
#28
Everyday we get closer to death, some faster than others. Not sure if that’s creepy or if it makes me feel better.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 1 year ago
Wouldn't we all be getting closer to death at the same rate? Sure, some are much closer than others, but we're all experiencing time one minute at a time.
#29
You never truly know what anyone really thinks about you
Edit: I mean this like super literally. Like you never know if your spouse is planning on [hurting] you, you never know if a stranger is keeping an eye on you thinking about assaulting you. Several possibilities that you could never know.
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What do you think ?
Rick Seiden 1 year ago
There was a day when your parents picked you up for the last time, and neither one of you knew it.
PolymathNecromancer 1 year ago
I think about this concept often. And because so many things were stored somewhere, I have begun to get reacquainted with things that until recently fit this many decades ago. It's weird
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Tiny Dancer 1 year ago
Gee, thanks, Brian. So, I'll be dead before 2024 kicks in, good to know.
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Veronica Salazar 1 year ago
Why did I read this. My anxieties are going through the roof right now
David Paterson 1 year ago
Try this for a fact that sounds comforting but is actually highly disturbing:- Australia doesn't have a cobalt bomb or other Doomsday device.
Tracy Sellars 1 year ago
Considering the number of species that can kill us, we have a great big bird that won a war and we are miles away from everyone, I think we are doing okay. Oh and also, we have fricken dropbears, no one messes with them.
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Rick Seiden 1 year ago
There was a day when your parents picked you up for the last time, and neither one of you knew it.
PolymathNecromancer 1 year ago
I think about this concept often. And because so many things were stored somewhere, I have begun to get reacquainted with things that until recently fit this many decades ago. It's weird
Load More Replies... Tiny Dancer 1 year ago
Gee, thanks, Brian. So, I'll be dead before 2024 kicks in, good to know.
Load More Replies... Veronica Salazar 1 year ago
Why did I read this. My anxieties are going through the roof right now
David Paterson 1 year ago
Try this for a fact that sounds comforting but is actually highly disturbing:- Australia doesn't have a cobalt bomb or other Doomsday device.
Tracy Sellars 1 year ago
Considering the number of species that can kill us, we have a great big bird that won a war and we are miles away from everyone, I think we are doing okay. Oh and also, we have fricken dropbears, no one messes with them.
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