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21 Things People Did “Just To Be Safe” That Ended Up Changing Their Lives For The Better
You never know what kind of lemons life will give you next, and sometimes, to avoid potentially unpleasant scenarios, we like to do things as a little precaution.
"What 'you know what, just to be safe' thing did you do that ended up saving your [butt] later?" – this internet user took to one of Reddit's most thought-provoking communities and invited its members to share their rather wild tales about the things they did that saved their lives. The thread managed to garner nearly 40K upvotes in just a matter of days as well as 10.7K comments.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Putting only one of my work shoes in the hotel safe along with my valuables. Literally has stopped me in my tracks from forgetting my wallet and passport in a different country.
RELATED:
#2
My friend and his wife were having their first child. They had gotten a big packet of information and paperwork to fillout before the due date to make things easier. There were also brochures for genetic testing and other thing that could be done, and one of the things was about saving the cord blood. My friend said that he looked at the front of the brochure and his wife asked if they should do it (it is not cheap, a couple thousand $ to save it and a few hundred a year after that), and my friend said "yes." Their daughter was born later that year. Three years after her birth, they had a boy, and he was born with an immune disorder (no white cells), and his big sisters cord blood and stem cells were used as a treatment.
#3
Not me, bit a coworker. Was trying to separate some rail road ties with a crowbar as part of his yardwork for the day and when it popped a nail flew…
And embedded itself in one of the lenses of his safety glasses he threw on because he had them for work. He keeps them on his desk as reminder.
PPE is not just for the workplace folks!
#4
I lock my doors habitually. Walk through a door, reach behind me, twist the lock. It's the way I was raised, and i honestly don't even think about it. I've actually gotten myself into trouble absent mindedly locking other people's doors (house, offices, shops ... I'm a menace).
This one night, I'm sitting and reading pretty late, and I suddenly think, "I need to check my front door to make sure it's locked." Lo and behold, it's actually unlocked. Shocked me a bit, but I locked the door and the dead bolt and slid the chain for good measure, then go get myself a glass of water.
As I'm walking with my glass of water from the kitchen back past my front door, I catch a movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn to the door and watch the doorknob slowly try to turn left and right. The mircomovements that a locked doorknob can be forced when twisted. I put on as deep of a voice as I can and forcefully stage project, "I have a gun, and I'm calling the cops!"
The doorknob stopped turning. I slept in a closet that night.... just in case.
#5
Might sound ridiculous, but many years ago when I did my mandatory community service (was a thing in Germany as a counterpart to mandatory military service), there was a particular day in a pretty harsh winter.
I usually went to 'work' with my bike, as the streets where cleared of snow and ice anyway. At this day, I didn't take my helmet off because when I arrived at the place I worked I immediately started to showel snow and didn't even walk inside first. My workplace was a huge and old 4-story hostel in the woods. The roof was packed with snow and there where massive icicles hanging from the gutters. When a coworker asked me why I decided to look like an idiot with my helmet on I jokingly replied it was for serious security reasons.
A few moments later an icicle block fell down and hit me on the head and the shoulders, the impact was so brutal that it made me fall down on my knees. Shoulders where bruised but my head was fine.
I really don't know what could have happened if I didn't wear my stupid bicycle helmet "for fun" that morning. Serious injury for sure.
#6
My dad lost his glasses once. He was going to just use his old prescription but last minute decided to just go to the optometrist anyway in case something changed. Turns out he had a tear in his retina and was booked for surgery within 24 hours. It was bad enough they said he probably would have gone blind really soon had they not caught it when then did.
#7
In college I was an RA. A girl wanted to hook up with me and I was going to but I ended up drinking and watching lord of the rings: two towers with some friends instead at their dorm.
Few days later I was fired from RA job for sexually harassing a student. I didn't in any way shape or form sexually harass anyone and the date/time given was when I was in middle of movie. I had 13 people to vouch for me.
Never found out this person who reported me but I'm fairly certain we can all guess who it was because after I and my friends all literally said I was watching movie (which I was and also I slept over at their dorm, nothing wrong with a 12 dude sleepover haha) I was rehired and case dismissed.
#8
Had some weird achy symptoms and went to the doctor even though I figured I was probably overreacting. Turns out I had cancer.
#9
Saved the GPS location of my vehicle on Google Maps before exploring a national forest with a road trip buddy.
We grabbed some fishing poles and head out towards the nearest water location on our map to hopefully catch a couple fish. Turns out it was a swamp not a lake and we got so incredibly turned around it could have ended very badly. We really didn't go that far in from where we parked but somehow ended up on the other side of the swamp without realizing it. Drizzling rain, mosquitos, bear tracks, and the sun started going down before we found the car.
Without the GPS coordinates saved it would have been a cold wet night in the woods at a minimum, and more than likely a "search and rescue required" situation.
#10
Learned CPR and first aid. Had to give CPR to a family friend when she collapsed from a heart attack and thankfully she was brought back after being down for 15 minutes. She only had minor memory problems and mostly just couldn't remember that day. She still here and kicking years later.
#11
Normally I'm pretty impressionable and cave to peer pressure, but this one time when I was younger I was hanging with my friends and a couple of "older" high school guys I'd only met that day. The girls were all fawning over them but I could tell they were idiots. When they all wanted to go for a drive with the guys, I thought 'nah, I don't trust these guys and I think it's best I just call my parents and go home'.
I got a call the next morning from one of the girls who was passenger. One of the high school boys was driving, they'd had a serious crash and one of the girls wasn't wearing her seatbelt and hit her head on the dash and was in a coma for six months. She was in intensive care and rehabilitation for years.
Still can't believe of all the days I decided not to go with the flow, it probably saved my life. Terribly sad about my friend. We were really close but she never came 'right' and her personality changed. I still wonder how successful she might have been and if we'd still be friends if that hadn't happened to her. Really sad.
#12
My stomach had some issues and my doctor sent me for a colonoscopy just to get things checked out. They found 1 polyp, no big deal, not related to the current problem, and told me to come back in 5 years just in case. I put a google reminder and forgot about it.
5 years later, I went for the colonoscopy and they found a lot more and said I would have ended up with cancer in 5-20 years for sure had I not gone. Instead, they removed all polyps and now I’m regularly going to colonoscopies due to having a syndrome they identified.
I’m far away from the age where you normally get a colonoscopy so I would definitely have got cancer.
When you are eligible or if it is recommended, get a colonoscopy.
#13
Lived in Baltimore at the time. Pulled up outside my place after getting off a late shift and had to get a backpack out of my trunk before going in. I noticed a group of teenaged kids hanging out on the corner and thought "nope". Called my roommate to come watch me walk to the door. About 10 mins later a girl comes running down the street bleeding saying she got jumped by the group of kids for no reason. Stay alert out there yall.
#14
I dropped my high school girlfriend off, then for some reason I locked the passenger door. Not 10 minutes later I was stopped at a red light and some scummy looking dude tried to open up the door. I have no idea why I locked that door after she got out, I really didn't have a habit of that. No idea what would have happened if that guy got in my truck.
#15
One day I was attempting to make carioca for the first time, a kind of Filipino fried mochi, and after I popped them in the oil, I settled in and watched them carefully. I never wear an apron whilst cooking, but for some reason I figured why not this time, and as soon as I stepped out of range of the fryer, they all exploded. Turns out, carioca can form an impermeable shell when fried, so pressure built up inside until they popped and sprayed hot oil all over the kitchen. Of course, I was safely away reaching for an apron and was completely dumbfounded. Made sure to punch some holes in all subsequent batches.
Of course, once I cleaned the kitchen, I ate them and they were delicious. 10/10 highly recommend
#16
On a road trip with our (my siblings and I) dad in Latin America (he lived there and we were visiting).
On a highway at night, with clouds, no moon and no lights (this was a new highway that nobody likes taking now, as criminals often leave glass or spikes to puncture tires and rob you, or worse).
We were driving and this guy was pulled over and waving for help. My dad stopped behind and the guy was scared and asked if we could light up his car while he changed a flat tire (he was terrified of being out where alone and rightfully so)
Dad goes to get out to help and my sister grabbed him and said she didn't think this felt right. Dad assured us it was fine and almost got out, but sister grabbed him again. Right then a car flew by the door right where he would have been. 4 guys jump out, one grabs the man puts a gun to his head and the others sprint to our car.
There was a brief chase down the highway, but luckily their old Corolla didn't keep up with our jeep, and they gave up after 2-3 mins of driving 170km/h
My sister saved my dad's life (and probably ours) by making him stay in the car that extra few seconds
Edit: The guy with a gun to his head lived and was "okay" given everything. After the chase, we had to turn around and continue on the way we were originally going, as the were no other routes to get back home (unless we backtracked 6 hours). After we passed the vehicle of the man, we saw he wasn't there anymore and we thought the worst. Luckily we ended up passing 4 national guard vehicles about 2 km later and saw that the man was with them talking to them.
To answer, I've never known if the guy was in on it. The timing has always seemed off to me, however the look of fear in his face was so genuine when the guys jumped out that I can remember it perfectly 15 years later
Edit 2: The country in question is Venezuela
#17
Worked alone in a gambling/video poker place, closing. Strange guy came in and started making small talk with me. I was expected to be kind and friendly to everybody who came in so I was doing that. I decided to send a message to my boyfriend and a friend and then something in me told me to take a picture of the guy as he moved closer to the counter I was behind. I snuck one real quick and sent it to said friend since she was awake. She called me immediately as she drove the 20 minutes to my job. An hour before I got off. I'll add, I didnt drive so I had no vehicle in the now abandoned parking lot, the only car being his which was conveniently backed in, right next to front door. 2 days later there was a missing person's report released of someone who was a very familiar build and features that I have and suspected trafficking in the area. She went missing later that same night. He left after my friend showed up. I've never had such an uneasy feeling in my life and I truly think sending those messages are what saved my life. He was waiting for me to get off work at 1 am - our hours were right on the front door.
#18
Backing up computer files onto an external drive on a regular basis. Power goes out one afternoon, and I was the only one not profusely sweating.
#19
When I was a student I’d do my own work on my car to save mechanic bills. One day, after changing brake pads, I was driving on the motorway at 100kmh (the freeway at 60mph for our American friends) and felt a slight shuddering through the steering wheel. Given you’re not supposed to stop on a motorway unless it’s a real emergency, I was reluctant to pull over to check if anything was wrong. Though having only worked on the car that morning, I decided I check - just to be safe. Turns out I hadn’t even finger tightened the wheel nuts, only threaded them about a half-turn each.
Edit- grammar
#20
“You know what, I’m gonna look to see if all the vehicles have come to a stop, just to be safe.” I told myself this, right before I enter an intersection in my car. It saved my life because there was a vehicle doing around 100km/hr (60mph) that would have tore my car in half and [end] me.
#21
I went to the doctor because I couldn’t get rid of a cough. Turned out I had pneumonia. A pretty bad case of it.
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