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
This post may include affiliate links.
Not my a*s, but i was getting ready for school whilst mum was vomitting in the bathroom. She said it was just a stomach bug and to just go to school but mentioned her arm hurt.
Something didn’t sit right so i called the ambulance from downstairs.
They arrived and took her into the ambulance - she then proceeded to have 3 cardiac arrests and needed defibrillated each time. A double bypass later and she was up and about within a month.
Paramedics told me she would have died 5 mins after i left, if i hadn’t called.
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.
I used to always carry a small high powered flashlight in my pocket. One day my wife had to go to the ER. She was having problems with her feminine bits. Her gyno was called, and during the exam, my wife began to bleed out. The ER was insufficiently equipped as far as portable light sources on hand, and on a whim, as her doctor stepped out of the room, looking panicked, I made a snap decision, pulled that flashlight from my pocket, and offered it to the doctor. I showed her how to operate it, and to make a long story short, that $5 flashlight saved my wife's life by making it possible for her doctor to find the bleed and stop it. It didn't save my a*s, but it saved the life of the woman I love more than life itself.
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.
Was watching my toddler nephew and he’d found a metal straw somewhere in the house and started playing with it. He was just tapping stuff and waving it around, but I’d *just* read a story on Reddit about a woman who got completely f****d up by a metal straw when she fell and it impaled her face, so I took the metal one from nephew and gave him a soft, squishy silicone one to play with instead.
I’m not exaggerating when I say less than five minutes later, he fell like toddlers do and I saw the silicone straw all smushed into his cheek.
I had to just sit for a while after that, lol.
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!
Not my a*s, but my moms. She and I were home alone and I was getting ready to go to a party. I came upstairs and found her with the carbon monoxide detector in pieces on the coffee table. She said it was beeping, and apparently once years ago in our last house one was malfunctioning and giving a false alarm so I guess she just assumed it was happening again. I shrugged it off and continued getting ready. I was about to leave but something was nagging at me, she was insisting it was fine. After some arguing with her I said “No. we are calling the fire department.” So I did. They came, and the levels of carbon monoxide were so high in the basement they said anyone sleeping down there would be dead already. Our cats were vomiting from the poisoning and we didn’t realize. I guess the filter on the furnace was so clogged it was pumping out carbon monoxide. One of the fire fighters pulled me aside and said if I hadn’t called I likely would have come home to my mom dead in her bed.
Carbon monoxide is terrifying. I’ve read stories about people that had their detectors go off but since they were so out of it we’re just annoyed and turned it off.
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.
I had jury duty on a rape trial where the guy literally went walking around at night and every door that was unlocked he rapes or tried to rape the woman in the house/apartment. Chilling.
jebus thats scary imma just lock every door/window/drawer/blanket I can (yes blanket)
Load More Replies...
I have to force myself not to check more than twice because it was becoming an ocd thing. It had gotten to where I was checking 5, 6, 7 times.
I don't know how much it would help you and I don't know loads about ocd but some people I know record themselves moving the handle to reassure themselves? I hope you find something to help you and that things get better
Load More Replies...
I am a 50yo single woman who lives in the Barrio. I have 4 dogs and some pew-pews that as an Army Vet, I'm well-trained on. Usually the Belgian Malinois at the window is enough to deter anyone who wishes to cause me harm.
Yet so many people still don't lock their doors. It's one thing when my closest neighbor is half a mile away it's quite another when it's in the middle of a town.
That is seriously one of my worst nightmares and I lock and deadbolt my door any time I come through it.
When you have a potential intruder, instead of saying "I'm calling the cops!" Say "I've called the cops and they are on their way!" If they think there's a chance they can prevent you from calling for help, they could take more drastic measures than they would if they think the authorities are on their way and their time is limited. They'd be more likely to just run away.
30+ years ago we moved into a very (800 sq ft) small mobile home. The windows would not lock so I nailed them shut. My kids were woken up from sleep seeing a hand trying to push the window up.
If I'm not going through it, it's locked. That's been my personal philosophy my entire adult life.
This happened to me many years ago at a crappy motel. The doorknob was very obviously being tested by someone outside. I woke my friend and she and I quickly called the front desk...twice...right before a giant knife blade came thru crack between door and wall trying to jimmy the lock. Then we heard angry yelling and the knife (and the person holding it) disappeared. 🤷
Where I live, getting door/window alarms is standard. If it's not, where you are, and you are worried about safety, there are individual noise alarms you can put on doors/windows. It won't call the police, but it can make a heck of a loud noise if it's opened after you arm it. It's nice for rentals, and apartments.
I’m glad I live in the country where we leave the keys to our vehicles in the ignition. However, not gonna lie, I do lock the doors when my husband goes away because I have some irrational fear of a bear breaking in.
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.
Daaaaang. We save our own @sses more than I think we even know. I sometimes say when taking an alternate route somewhere was probably for a reason and then hear about a huge accident on the normal route and often wonder to myself how many times this may have happened that we don't even know about.
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.
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.
Had some weird achy symptoms and went to the doctor even though I figured I was probably overreacting. Turns out I had cancer.
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.
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.
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.
At my age of 44, I've really learned to get in tune with acting on my gut feelings. Life has changed dramatically over the years, and tbh, the instances when I don't, it's usually not long after that I should've.
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.
Colon cancer rates are definitely on the rise in younger people. The prep for the colonoscopies is getting better too - instead of all the disgusting chalky liquid they usually have you drink, you can now take a series of pills for the prep instead.
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.
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.
Love my car because the doors lock as soon as you put the car in gear just for this reason!
$5 breakage insurance on a rental surf board. Broke that f****r clean in half in my first 10 minutes.
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
I had put a glass Pyrex square pan in the oven when I accidentally turned it on. I took the pan out of the oven and put it on the stove to cool down. It had a lid on it. I walked out of the kitchen and the pan exploded and shot glass shards all over the kitchen. I was glad I wasn't in the area of the explosion.
I forwarded an email to my non-work address so that after I left and anonymously reported my employer to the state I couldn't get stuck with the blame for s**t.
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
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.
Super embarrassing story but f**k it I'll share with internet strangers.
My 10 month old recently got Norovirus. For those who don't know, Norovirus is a highly contagious stomach virus that comes with vomiting and diarrhea for days. He got sick and gave it to me, so as you can imagine, it was a rough time. He ended up having to go to the ER twice and the second time I knew I was gonna have to stay overnight. so I brought a change of clothes, just in case. Whelp, halfway through the night, I thought I just had to fart badly and ended up s******g my pants. But I had brought that extra pair of underwear and pants! So I had to casually and nonchalantly call the nurse into the room, ask her if she minded sitting with my baby so I could go pee, walk all the way to the one avaliable restroom and wait for it to open up all while trying not to do the poop waddle and let it be known I had destroyed my pants. Luckily I had packed the underwear and alot of baby wipes so I was able to clean myself up in the bathroom. I threw my underwear and pants right into the trash.
My "just to be safe" quite literally saved my a*s.
My freshman roommate and I had a massive falling out during our first semester. By Thanksgiving I’d already requested a room change, but had to wait until holiday break because there were no free rooms available. While we waiting for the room change we avoided each other and I generally spent as little time in the room as possible, which was usually fine. The last day of class before thanksgiving break rolls around and I was chilling in a friends room waiting for a ride home for the week. I’d texted my roommate to let me know when she was gone so I could come and grab my stuff and after she replied ‘k’ I didn’t think much of it. Out of no where a thought struck me and I sat bolt up right and shouted “THE VODKA!” I realized I had a half a handle of vodka stashed in my mini fridge. I’d jumped through hoops to get it from my older sister when we’d first moved in because my roommate had desperately wanted to throw a party in our room. But now that we were on the outs I KNEW this b***h would point it out to her mom when she got picked up in an attempt to get my disciplined. My friend thought I was insane, but I convinced her in a near panic that we had to do something! We called a mutual friend and cashed in a favor. We told him he needed to call my roommate and demand she get lunch with him to get her out of the room. I waited just out of sight in the dorm courtyard and watched her and the guy walk into the dining hall then dead sprinted to our room. THE HANDLE WAS SITTING OUT ON MY DESK. I immediately threw it in a garbage bag and buried it in my laundry then flew out of that room like a bat out of hell. Hours later I went to the room to pack up and found that she’d absolutely trashed the room. She had pulled apart my desk, my bed and my closet but some how missed my hamper. In a rage she ripped apart my name tag. In the end I got away with my vodka and she got written up from trashing my s**t. My instincts did not lead me astray that day!
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.
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
“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.
I have nearly been hit by a semi that ran a red light, so I always give a few extra seconds after the light turns green to prepare for a**holes who run the light.
Snow chains at the bottom of the mountain. A bunch of cars passed me on a clear road on the way up with several warnings all the way up. I saw a local throwing on chains with no snow in the area. I decided to be safe and put them on. 30 minutes later I was in one of the worst snow driving conditions I’ve ever seen. White out conditions in a snow storm that eventually resulted in the complete shutdown of the roads. I passed car crash after car crash with just enough traction to feel somewhat comfortable moving 15 miles an hour.
Anyone heading to Tahoe needs chains and chains that fit. Don’t f**k around. I don’t care if you have a four wheel drive. Driving through Tahoe and Mammoth during snow storms is no joke. Literally sunny with no clouds to blinding white darkness in an hour.
Edit: one more thing. If you find yourself near Heavenly and Siri sends you to a snowed over hill that feels too steep, turn around. Unless you have the right set up you aren’t gonna make it. Snow chains or not, you will slide. Just take the Harrah’s Gondola if it’s that bad. If you don’t already have your own gear try another resort. Heavenly is uniquely bad for rentals and beginners in general.
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get snow chains. Where I live you can get them and have someone put them on for 20 to 40 ish bucks. They can save your life.
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.
You can crack ribs from coughing too hard/too long! Source: My mom and I have done this on multiple occasions.
I had a female patient coming for I131 therapy. Patient must be not pregnant and to make sure we do a blood test one day prior to dosing. I checked the results on screen that was negative. I printed it out and put it in the patient file “ just in case “ although we went paperless years earlier. After giving her radiation safety instructions and discharging her. She came a couple of days saying that she was late. The doctor inserted another pregnancy blood test and came out positive. The lab technician went to the previous negative blood test and CHANGED IT TO POSITIVE. Haven’t I printed the test it would look like I dosed the patient while pregnant and could get fired. Staff before this incident used to make fun of me being paranoid. After this incident everyone started printing the results 😂.
Because a lot of people asked and to answe their questions ETA:
I reported it to the head of department, he immediately involved the medical physics department and they calculated the dose to the fetus and found out she had to abort because the baby will be severely mutated. So they involved the oby/gyn also. Last thing I knew that a huge investigation was carried out and the patient filed an official complaint. I don’t know what happened later. Everything completely changed ( policies and procedures/ hospitals information system/ quality department was established / risk management department was established etc.) That was back in the beginning of 2007. The system was installed in the end of 2006. That was the first time anyone used and electronic system.
ETA2 : I wrote the reply and went to sleep and woke up never thinking that this would blow up , wow ! Thank you everyone for upvoting and thank you kind stranger for the award !! Thanks for everyone who wished me a happy cake day ! You all made my day 🙏
Edit3: that story happened in MENA ( Middle East and North Africa ).
during a hurricane, i realized the street was flooding so i figured i should move my car farther up the driveway.
on my way out, i had the sudden urge to poop so just to be safe, i stopped by the bathroom first. maybe 30 seconds later? BOOM!
neighbor's tree fell directly on my car, [crushing it]
Had my boat trailer bearings "repacked" by the boat repair shop/dealer before I went on a trip that I had to tow it for 400+ miles. (I usually repacked the bearings myself but figured I'd have the pros do it since I had a long haul ahead of me.) The day before I left I decided to double check that the bearing case was full of grease (without it they would overheat and I'd be f*cked royally and stranded with a high risk of a wheel actually coming off the trailer if I didn't notice it in transit). There was no grease at all in the bearing case on any of the 4 wheels. I would have been lucky to make it 20 miles before something serious happened.
Also this has been a habit for decades - Pat my pocket to make sure my keys are in my pocket before: closing the locked house door, my car door, etc.
There are times when I’m just soooo comfy and about to fall asleep, and I suddenly sit bolt upright and have to check and make sure I turned the stove/oven off or locked the door or turned all the lights out or prepped something for the next morning, before I went to bed. I usually do those things out of habit, but sometimes that means you just go on autopilot while doing all those things. 99% of the time I check and find that I did do them, but you never know when you hit that 1% instead, and you’re going to save yourself a load of grief in the morning (or overnight) by just double checking before going to sleep.
I didn't wanna wear a helmet while riding my razor scooter because I couldn't see how I could possibly fall and hit my head. Anyway I fell and hit my head HARD. luckily I had decided to wear a helmet *just in case*
Omg I remember the Razor scooters! I had a blue one with light up wheels when I was little. I though I was the hottest s**t lol
Was on a side-by-side vehicle mudding on some property a friend and I were visiting.
Mid ride, I turn to my friend and say “hey, you should probably buckle your seat belt. Just in case”
Not 1 min later did he lose control and slide front first into a tree going about as fast as this thing could go given the conditions.
Both of us were okay but the side by side was completely ruined.
He looked at me right after and his eyes were as big as dinner plates.
People not wearing seatbelts genuinely scare me. I refuse to get into or remain inside of a vehicle when the driver refuses to buckle up.
Leaving a spare set of keys at the pub that I live above. Went out on St Patrick’s day and had my coat stolen (I keep my keys in my coat). At 3 in the morning, I had genuinely no idea how I would’ve been able to get home otherwise. Definitely not some big life-saving moment or anything but it was a relief lol
I always leave 2 spare sets of keys - one with my next door neighbour the other with a friend who lives locally, as well as another set in a very, very hidden but accessible place in my garden. Many years ago, when I was single, I had to get an emergency locksmith out to get me into my flat - it would have been cheaper to kick the bloody door off it's hinges and replace it the day after !! Since then I've always been aware of keeping keys available !!
When I bought a used car while traveling around my dad pressured me into bying a towing insurance. I thought it was a waste of money for 60$. I ended up getting towed 6 times in 2 months when my car broke down. I saved about 2000$ with having that insurance.
I’ve been a member of AAA for decades now, before the age of cell phones, when you had to find a pay phone or wait in your car until a cop stopped to check on you and could drive you to a safe pay phone and back to your car (plus, I had a car conk out in a sketchy area, and the state trooper not only got me to a pay phone and back to my car to wait for AAA, he stayed parked behind my car until AAA got there). Best thing I ever did. Best investment I ever made. You may think you pay all that money and never have to use it. Wrong. It has paid for itself and then some, several times over the years, and not just with towing fees, either. They come out and replace batteries, check and top up oil, check and top up your radiator with water and anti-freeze. and do other minor repairs, replacements, etc like that. It can add up, especially if you hold onto cars as long as I do. I can’t honestly think of anytime AAA has let me down.
Grabbed a helmet when riding a bike down a steep hill as a kid. Normally didn't bit I ended up falling at top speed and breaking my helmet and chipping 3 teeth. Could've been my head that was broken.
I’m 62. When I think of my childhood, and the stuff we did without helmets or any other safety gear—and the number of times I fell off my bike or out of a tree I was climbing (I was a wiry little monkey as a kid, and loved to climb up just about anything), or injured myself some other way—-I am amazed I’m still here, with no brain damage, to talk about it.
I once subcultured a master culture which was used in a very important research study. We were specifically told not to do that because of patent liabilities. But still I had a gut feeling that we were going to need another plate cultured. And lo and behold, a student accidentally dropped the plate in a lab and it shattered. Saved us a 6 months of time and penalties.
filling up my ridiculously large 2.5 litre water bottle yesterday... a pipe burst in my building last night and we still don't have running water 20 hours later but I still have my bottle. Make sure you have an emergency supply of water in your house!
We just discovered we still have a stash of 9l bottled water from when we needed a lot of it a few years ago. Normally we drink tap.
There are times when it's crucial for me to take something with me when I leave home the next day. I figure that of course I'll remember, because it's so crucial ... but just to be safe, I will put the thing on top of my car keys. And yes, that's bailed me out a couple of times.
Was in a dune buggy with a roll cage and just driving it around the neighborhood. Put on a motor cross helmet just to be safe. When we wrecked the side of the helmet that hit the road was completely white as all the paint had been scrapped off.
So many people die riding these. A roll bar, seatbelt and helmet aren't a 'just in case', they are a necessity!
Somehow, it randomly occured to me one day to purchase pet insurance for my dog. Some months later, my dog suffered a severe back injury, and needed surgery to reverse the paralysis.
It was expensive out of pocket, but without the reimbursement from insurance it would’ve been way worse!
EDIT: Backtaxes! [Here he is post-surgery](https://imgur.com/O9ri6U1), [standing by himself,](https://imgur.com/gjLQtyM) and for more recent pics, here he is [sleeping](https://imgur.com/0jGW0Ti) and [looking goofy!](https://imgur.com/a/phaV5BG) (Most of my dog pics are of him asleep, since otherwise he moves around so much, it just looks like a blur)
EDIT 2: Lots of people asking what breed he is! We think he’s an Australian Shepherd. Possibly a mix, he was a rescue so not 100% sure.
He also has a condition called [Double Merle](https://deafdogsrock.com/what-is-a-double-merle), caused by poor breeding practices. That’s why he’s all white (with black spots on his face and paws) with super light blue eyes. If you look closely in the first pic, you can see his pupils are asymmetrical. Double Merle dogs commonly have eye abnormalities, and can have some level of blindness and deafness. Lolo has pretty good eyesight, but is completely deaf.
There are a few other dog breeds he looks similar to; Border collie, German shepherd, Swiss shepherd, etc. But since he's a double merle, both his parents must have had the merle color pattern, which those breeds don't have. So, I conclude he must be an Aussie! When I look up pics of other double merle Aussies, they look just like him. I think Lolo just happens to also have other traits that don't fit the breed standard, like a long tail, upright ears, and large size. (He's 60-70 lb, at the upper limit for the breed) The lack of coloration also gives his fur a different texture, (crazy and curly instead of straight and smooth) which is why he's extra fluffy!
I started pet insurance 20 years ago when I adopted my first 2 cats. I was worth it. One barely used it, she might have been sick once, and lived to be 19. But the other was a medical disaster: urinary crystals, mystery allergy and/or mental disorder that caused him to pull out his hair when I was stressed (never figured that out), tooth abscess and the worst - I woke up to a blood bath and rushed by blood soaked cat to the vet ER - found out he nicked his ear and did just didn't clot. The wound was about a mm long. The vets were relieved and laughing. I was still hyperventilating from the shock. He lived to be 20.
Back when i used to smoke weed. My friend and i went to pick up a particularly large bag of it. We took two cars with the idea ill tailgate him Incase any cops in our town do a routine pull over. The corner of our street had a small shop and wouldn't you know who was parked there ready to pull over the next car? Couldn't believe our luck when it worked. They pulled out behind us, sirens went on and i pulled over and my friend just continued on home with the goods. I got a routine alcohol test and sent on my way.
Legalize weed. Alcohol is already worse, and if it’s legal it can be regulated. I don’t use marijuana, I have a family history of paranoid schizophrenia, but I think you should be able to get stoned in peace.
Before I was born, my aunt was walking alone. As she was walking, she saw a van parked on her side of the street, doors open. She did not think to much of it at first, but her gut was telling her something was not right. The way she was walking, she would pass the van in just a few seconds, so she did not have a lot of time to think it comprehend what was going on. Conveniently, there was also an ally , and she was the only thing separating the van and the ally. Following her gut, she quickly swerved into the ally and started running. Not sure how many but maybe two men jumped out of the vehicle and grabbed at her, just barely missing her because they did not know she would run into the ally. She escaped, and I can not imagine what would have happened if she had just brushed that weird feeling off. Don't f**k with your gut. It could save your life, people.
When I (now mid-50's) was about 12 or 13 I was walking home from the store and was on the overpass of the interstate highway, on the side that faced oncoming traffic. A van with 3 or 4 men pulled over and commented that I had cute toes (eeewwwww) and would I like a ride. I was an extremely shy and easily embarrassed girl so I just said "thanks" and kept walking. It was only many years later that I realized my shyness and embarrassment probably saved me from being raped, sold into sex-trafficking, or being murdered.
My mum was always pretty relaxed about our social life when we were teens, letting us drink one or two drinks, happy to pick us up from parties late etc. One time though, I was invited to a party and mum insisted that we got picked up by 10pm on the dot. I laughed it off, but when we got to school on Monday we found out that only half an hour after we were picked up there was a fight and someone got stabbed!
When we were kids, we played with all the other neighborhood kids. We were all under 7 at the time, walking along from one house to the other (late 70s, so we were allowed to be outside all day) when a guy in a muscle car stopped next to us. Asked if we wanted to go for a ride. "No". Then asked where we lived, as the houses were kinda spread out. Figured he could grab at least a couple of us before we could get home. I said we all lived right here, and pointed to whatever house we were in front of. "What, all of you?" Yeah. Then we all ran like hell for the front porch. (I'm so glad she wasn't home, or that could have been even weirder) When the cops came to talk to us, they had to deal with a bunch of kids too young to know what an erection on an adult was and trying to describe it to them.
My ex and I were driving behind a truck with a ladder in the back. My ex just didn't like following it and changed lanes. Like 2 minutes later, that ladder flew out of the back (at 70mph) and skidded across the empty lane where we had just been. Also, started having a bit of trouble breathing but chalked it up to asthma from wildfires and pollution. We were supposed to go to his mom's house to house sit. 40 miles from the nearest town and at the time, neither of us had a driver's license or cell phone. I decided to go to the ER...just to be safe (my doc couldn't get me in). Turns out, my lungs were filled with blood clots. I had been fine up until the day before when I REALLY started having problems. They estimated that I had the largest ones for close to 18 months and my heart was partially enlarged from having to force blood into my lungs for so long.
I live very close to the world's biggest spring break hangout (Panama City Beach, Fl). Like, other side of the bridge close. I was in my 20's then (and they didn't have police presence and laws like they do now). I wanted to go have some fun. Car broke down in bumper to bumper traffic on Front beach road, where all the craziness happened. Pushed it out the way and called my buddy to come me. While waiting two guys in a van pulled over and asked if they could help. I said no thanks I'm ok. They hung around chit chatting and getting closer and closer to me and I eventually told them the cops were on the way to help me get towed (total lie). Thry stopped dead in their tracks, jumped in their van and took off in the turning lane, only road not bumper to bumper. Next day saw on news those two guys had 4 women and a man tied up ans beaten in the back of that van. I still thank God for my instincts.
I had a bad cough and my chest ached, so I went in for an xray to rule out pneumonia, and the tech told me my collarbone was broken. I'd broken it a year earlier, but my stupid doctor told me it was healing. An orthopedic surgeon later repaired it using a piece of my hip, a metal plate, and some screws.
I believe that you should listen to that inner voice. As a teenager my mother told me to not to get in cars with boys. One weekend a friend of mine and his buddy asked if i wanted to ride to a club outside town. I almost accepted because he was a friend and i knew he could be trusted. The next day I heard that he had wrecked the car and the other guy had a broken leg. A retired teacher had paid him to drive for him, and the car was totalled. I could have been hurt or worse.
Before it was required to wear seat belts, I dropped my daughter off at a birthday party. For some reason I decided to wear mine on the way home. It had been raining and I hydroplaned. My car plowed into the side of the mountain I was driving down. If I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt i would be dead.
Several years ago I was driving on a busy street. I was driving along and saw a dad holding his toddler's hand walking along the sidewalk. All of the sudden the thought "I better go slow here just in case that kid breaks away from his dad and runs into the street". So I did. That kid broke from his dad, ran directly in front of my vehicle and I was able to stop before I hit him. I was close enough to him that we made direct eye contact. Had I not slowed down I'd have crushed that little guy. Still shakes me, years later.
When i was around 19/20 was at my older sister and her husband's house, there were like 8 other people there and we had just finished "smoking" and i'm stoned and all of a sudden i get up and hide the pipe and stuff in the microwave that's on top the fridge. Not 10 minutes later the house was raided. Cops looked in fridge and freezer but not the microwave, they didn't find anything so left. Sobered us all up quick like!!
One day my husband was going to get stuff with my 2 of 3 kids. I had just filled my babies bottle and put him down for a nap. I started cooking and remembered we needed milk. So for some reason I thought he's gone by now, but I went outside and looked anyway. I had a large knife in my hand. I opened from door and saw him backing up I screamed stop, put my hand out to get him to stop where he was. There was a little boy on his bike right at his fender. I still will never understand why I went out there but the little boy would have been run over for sure. Yes I probably looked like a maniac screaming with a knife in my hand but it saved that little boy it still amazes me as to why I went out there after a fairly long period of time.
Before I was born, my aunt was walking alone. As she was walking, she saw a van parked on her side of the street, doors open. She did not think to much of it at first, but her gut was telling her something was not right. The way she was walking, she would pass the van in just a few seconds, so she did not have a lot of time to think it comprehend what was going on. Conveniently, there was also an ally , and she was the only thing separating the van and the ally. Following her gut, she quickly swerved into the ally and started running. Not sure how many but maybe two men jumped out of the vehicle and grabbed at her, just barely missing her because they did not know she would run into the ally. She escaped, and I can not imagine what would have happened if she had just brushed that weird feeling off. Don't f**k with your gut. It could save your life, people.
When I (now mid-50's) was about 12 or 13 I was walking home from the store and was on the overpass of the interstate highway, on the side that faced oncoming traffic. A van with 3 or 4 men pulled over and commented that I had cute toes (eeewwwww) and would I like a ride. I was an extremely shy and easily embarrassed girl so I just said "thanks" and kept walking. It was only many years later that I realized my shyness and embarrassment probably saved me from being raped, sold into sex-trafficking, or being murdered.
My mum was always pretty relaxed about our social life when we were teens, letting us drink one or two drinks, happy to pick us up from parties late etc. One time though, I was invited to a party and mum insisted that we got picked up by 10pm on the dot. I laughed it off, but when we got to school on Monday we found out that only half an hour after we were picked up there was a fight and someone got stabbed!
When we were kids, we played with all the other neighborhood kids. We were all under 7 at the time, walking along from one house to the other (late 70s, so we were allowed to be outside all day) when a guy in a muscle car stopped next to us. Asked if we wanted to go for a ride. "No". Then asked where we lived, as the houses were kinda spread out. Figured he could grab at least a couple of us before we could get home. I said we all lived right here, and pointed to whatever house we were in front of. "What, all of you?" Yeah. Then we all ran like hell for the front porch. (I'm so glad she wasn't home, or that could have been even weirder) When the cops came to talk to us, they had to deal with a bunch of kids too young to know what an erection on an adult was and trying to describe it to them.
My ex and I were driving behind a truck with a ladder in the back. My ex just didn't like following it and changed lanes. Like 2 minutes later, that ladder flew out of the back (at 70mph) and skidded across the empty lane where we had just been. Also, started having a bit of trouble breathing but chalked it up to asthma from wildfires and pollution. We were supposed to go to his mom's house to house sit. 40 miles from the nearest town and at the time, neither of us had a driver's license or cell phone. I decided to go to the ER...just to be safe (my doc couldn't get me in). Turns out, my lungs were filled with blood clots. I had been fine up until the day before when I REALLY started having problems. They estimated that I had the largest ones for close to 18 months and my heart was partially enlarged from having to force blood into my lungs for so long.
I live very close to the world's biggest spring break hangout (Panama City Beach, Fl). Like, other side of the bridge close. I was in my 20's then (and they didn't have police presence and laws like they do now). I wanted to go have some fun. Car broke down in bumper to bumper traffic on Front beach road, where all the craziness happened. Pushed it out the way and called my buddy to come me. While waiting two guys in a van pulled over and asked if they could help. I said no thanks I'm ok. They hung around chit chatting and getting closer and closer to me and I eventually told them the cops were on the way to help me get towed (total lie). Thry stopped dead in their tracks, jumped in their van and took off in the turning lane, only road not bumper to bumper. Next day saw on news those two guys had 4 women and a man tied up ans beaten in the back of that van. I still thank God for my instincts.
I had a bad cough and my chest ached, so I went in for an xray to rule out pneumonia, and the tech told me my collarbone was broken. I'd broken it a year earlier, but my stupid doctor told me it was healing. An orthopedic surgeon later repaired it using a piece of my hip, a metal plate, and some screws.
I believe that you should listen to that inner voice. As a teenager my mother told me to not to get in cars with boys. One weekend a friend of mine and his buddy asked if i wanted to ride to a club outside town. I almost accepted because he was a friend and i knew he could be trusted. The next day I heard that he had wrecked the car and the other guy had a broken leg. A retired teacher had paid him to drive for him, and the car was totalled. I could have been hurt or worse.
Before it was required to wear seat belts, I dropped my daughter off at a birthday party. For some reason I decided to wear mine on the way home. It had been raining and I hydroplaned. My car plowed into the side of the mountain I was driving down. If I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt i would be dead.
Several years ago I was driving on a busy street. I was driving along and saw a dad holding his toddler's hand walking along the sidewalk. All of the sudden the thought "I better go slow here just in case that kid breaks away from his dad and runs into the street". So I did. That kid broke from his dad, ran directly in front of my vehicle and I was able to stop before I hit him. I was close enough to him that we made direct eye contact. Had I not slowed down I'd have crushed that little guy. Still shakes me, years later.
When i was around 19/20 was at my older sister and her husband's house, there were like 8 other people there and we had just finished "smoking" and i'm stoned and all of a sudden i get up and hide the pipe and stuff in the microwave that's on top the fridge. Not 10 minutes later the house was raided. Cops looked in fridge and freezer but not the microwave, they didn't find anything so left. Sobered us all up quick like!!
One day my husband was going to get stuff with my 2 of 3 kids. I had just filled my babies bottle and put him down for a nap. I started cooking and remembered we needed milk. So for some reason I thought he's gone by now, but I went outside and looked anyway. I had a large knife in my hand. I opened from door and saw him backing up I screamed stop, put my hand out to get him to stop where he was. There was a little boy on his bike right at his fender. I still will never understand why I went out there but the little boy would have been run over for sure. Yes I probably looked like a maniac screaming with a knife in my hand but it saved that little boy it still amazes me as to why I went out there after a fairly long period of time.
