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We never know when our last day might come—or what might bring it about. But we can take steps to avoid the risks that make an early exit more likely.

Autopsy technician Dolly has seen firsthand how countless lives have been cut short. After noticing patterns in the causes of death on her table, she decided to share on TikTok the things she personally refuses to do in order to steer clear of the same fate.

Scroll down to see the full list and decide if you’d avoid them too.

This autopsy technician has seen countless lives end too soon

Image credits: yurlocalgothgurl

Now, she’s sharing the things she personally avoids to escape the same fate

#1

Person working under a car in a garage, illustrating risks to avoid to prevent ending up on an autopsy tech’s table. Working on my car with cheap jacks. Listen, I wouldn't be underneath my car anyway. I don't know what I'm looking at, but if I was, I'm not going to trust the $6.99 Harbor Freight jacks. Please spend a little bit more money. Your life is worth more than that.

yurlocalgothgurl , AZ-BLT / Envato Report

ƒιѕн
Community Member
4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't trust just using jacks or jack stands. When I crawl under and change oil in my truck (or any time I need it up in the air) I drive it up on ramps, solid wooden ramps, that I built just for working on my truck.

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    #2

    Man in red shirt riding a red lawn mower on grass, illustrating things to avoid to prevent landing on an autopsy tech’s table. Reaching my hand and or wearing untied shoelaces while operating heavy machinery, like a tractor or a really big lawn mower. If you Google what degloving is, you'll know why I said that one.

    yurlocalgothgurl , KaterinaDalemans / Envato Report

    #3

    Child with legs sticking out of a washing machine in a laundry room, illustrating risks to avoid for autopsy tech safety. Bending over too far in the washer. If you've ever heard of positional asphyxia, I have done countless autopsies of people who have positional asphyxiated in their washing machine from leaning into it and getting stuck, and they can't get out. It's not the start of a fun movie. It's real life. It can happen to you. Especially if you're me and you're short.

    yurlocalgothgurl , Image-Source / Envato Report

    ƒιѕн
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wait, are you getting the clothes out with your teeth or what, how do you lean in a washer so far to get clothes out that you get stuck?

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    #4

    Man and woman wearing helmets riding a motorcycle at sunset, illustrating risks to avoid for autopsy techs table safety. Motorcycles. You can look cute with your cheeks hanging out all you want on the back of the motorcycle. But when you hit that pavement with nothing on your skin, the ground is the cheese grater, and you are the cheese. And please don't ruin that for everybody else.

    yurlocalgothgurl , Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash Report

    Joe Reaves
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In other words, dress for the slide, not the ride. Or, you know, don't get on a motorbike in the first place because you may be the next Valentino Rossi, but that won't help you when you encounter a 90 year old in an SUV who hasn't seen you and can't react in time when they do.

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    #5

    Woman falling on stairs, illustrating dangers to avoid to prevent accidents leading to autopsy tech involvement. Not being careful on stairs. 'Cause what we're not gonna do is— the last visual someone has of me isn't gonna be like a stomped-out cockroach at the end of the stairs. And then I essentially have to be airlifted up the stairs in a sheet from a bunch of firemen carrying me that way. That's not what you're gonna see of me. That's not it. It's painful, it's sometimes not fast, and that's not how you're gonna view me.

    yurlocalgothgurl , chormail / Envato Report

    Rali Meyer
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    as we say in sailing: always one hand for the boat. Use the handrails. Always

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    #6

    Woman fastening seatbelt inside car, highlighting safety habits to avoid autopsy tech situations. It kind of goes without saying, like motorcycles, wear your seatbelt. It's not cool to not wear your seatbelt anymore. Like, wear your seatbelt. Cause what's even more uncool is trying to think that you're cool and then having your sunroof open on a nice summer day, getting hit, getting in a rollover accident, getting halfway ejected out of your sunroof and getting cut in half. And you're not gonna be like the cute cut in half like the lady from Beetlejuice. They're gonna have a hard time putting you back together, so please wear your seatbelt.

    yurlocalgothgurl , ArtemVarnitsin / Envato Report

    Nina
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Or just being ejected during a crash, period. If you go from moving at 80 km/h to stationary because you hit a tree, your body just becomes a projectile that'll be launched at that speed. People found outside of cars usually don't fare well.

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    #7

    Elderly woman in blue cardigan clutching chest indoors, illustrating risks to avoid from autopsy tech perspective. When I'm elderly, I will not be eating steak. Baby girl, you can't chew anymore. You can't eat steak. You can't chew it, you're going to choke and die, and then you end up in the morgue, and I have to retrieve it from your esophagus, and it is disgusting. Please stop. Please stop eating steak when you're elderly.

    yurlocalgothgurl , halfpoint / Envato Report

    KatSaidWhat
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ok, this can f**k right off. I will die by the steak if necessary. That's your problem.

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    #8

    Damaged microwave component showing burnt metal parts, relevant to 15 things to avoid in autopsy tech safety. Fracture burning. And this one may seem far-fetched, but there's a resurgence of it lately, in the past few years. Do not dismantle your microwave like a cr*ckhead and use the transformer to make pretty lightning bolts in your wood. Don't do it. Cause when you die, you're gonna look like the dude from Home Alone. Your hair is gonna be fried, and I'm gonna be able to see the electricity go through your entire body as it immediately stops your heart and burns your arms into that position.

    yurlocalgothgurl , IcedBlue13 / reddit Report

    Joe Reaves
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is how the wikipedia article on fractal burning starts - Fractal burning, Lichtenberg burning or wood fracking refers to a technique where a Lichtenberg figure is burnt into wood using high voltage electricity. It has gained notoriety due to numerous incidents of death or severe injuries when people have attempted it at home, with at least 33 people having died between 2017 and 2022

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    #9

    Woman in pink jacket resisting a masked robber, illustrating risks to avoid to steer clear of an autopsy tech’s table situations. Under no circumstances, ever. Please. If you take away one thing from this, let it be this. Do not ever say these words to somebody: What are you gonna do, stab me? What are you gonna do, shoot me? They are. They're going to shoot and or stab you. Both. Even worse. I don't know. Don't say that. That's stupid. Don't f*****g say that. I cannot tell you how many people I've autopsied, and those are their last words.

    yurlocalgothgurl , Garakta-Studio / Envato Report

    Nina
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How do they know? The person who did the stabbing/shooting declared that to them while they were picking up the body?

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    #10

    Close-up of laboratory test equipment and samples for botulism analysis on a clinical autopsy tech workbench. Botulism. This could be an irrational fear of mine. Botulism is like an extreme case of, like, the worst stomach flu you could ever have. It's a neurotoxin. And it happens when canned food is improperly sealed or, you know, someone does it themselves. So when papaw from down the street at the trailer park offers you homemade canned green beans, you can say yes, but don't eat that s**t. 'Cause the best case scenario is you're just gonna s**t your pants. Worst case scenario is you're gonna s**t your pants until you become paralyzed and die.

    yurlocalgothgurl , felipecaparros / Envato Report

    Lousha
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I do lots of home canning, and I wouldn't eat someone else's canned goods. I know what I'm doing, I don't know what they are doing, and not gonna hope for the best.

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    #11

    Close-up of a forearm with a small adhesive bandage applied, representing autopsy tech safety and injury prevention. You wouldn't catch me dead getting any type of cut, burn, scrape that I'm not taking care of. Because what scares me even more than botulism is necrotizing fasciitis. Um, and that's where your skin is rotting and falling off. And the best way I can describe this to you is if you've ever made, like, the perfect top to a brownie pan, and it's, like, kind of caving in on some parts and, like, flaky on some parts, but, like, you can still see the underneath, that's what your skin's gonna look like. And it's not cute, it's not appetizing. And the smell is honestly horrific. It's one of the worst things I've ever smelled. I will never forget that smell. So please take care of your wounds thoroughly, please.

    yurlocalgothgurl , towfiqu98 / Envato Report

    nottheactualphoto
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This would make more sense if you'd throw in a "like" now and then.

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    #12

    Firefighter using hydraulic rescue tool to break a car window in an emergency accident rescue scene, related to autopsy tech risks. You wouldn't catch me dead, getting in a car accident, um, where I hit a fence. This may seem confusing, but let me explain to you. When you're going at a high rate of speed and you hit a junction of a fence, if it is a chain link fence or any kind of metal fence, chances are the poles are gonna be hollow. And what happens when you hit the junction of that? It's gonna come apart. And when that pole goes directly through the front of your car, through your steering wheel, and cuts a Swiss cheese hole into your chest that I then have to pull out like King Arthur in the morgue, you will understand why that is at the top of my list.

    yurlocalgothgurl , dotshock / Envato Report

    L.V
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I get what she says, but I've seen accidents where the car was pushed by another car/truck, or even lost control due to brakes falling, ice... I don't think that's something you'd do on purpose

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    #13

    Green herbal powder in a wooden bowl with capsules on a dark wooden surface related to autopsy tech risks. This is going to be controversial. You guys can totally argue amongst yourselves. No amount of arguing with me is going to change my mind based on the things that I have seen. Um, kratom is not safe. It's not safe. Quit pushing it on kids. Quit advertising it that way. It is not safe. It's not a safe pain management system. It's not safe. Please stop taking it. I'm tired of seeing people end up in the morgue because of this.

    yurlocalgothgurl , LittleIvan / Envato Report

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    #14

    Person holding glass terrarium with plants inside, illustrating things to avoid to prevent autopsy tech table visits. I wouldn't be carrying any type of breakable enclosure. So let's say, like if I had a pet snake and I was carrying it down the stairs to take to the basement, and I tripped and fell, and then it crushed into me, and then my body got to the morgue. Morgue staff was really scared the whole time they were doing my autopsy because they thought maybe the snake was inside of me. Not that I would know that from experience or anything.

    yurlocalgothgurl , astakhovyaroslav / Envato Report

    detective miller's hat
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So how the helI does she move breakable stuff?? This one is just stupid.

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    #15

    Man wearing a white shirt and plaid pants sitting and holding his stomach in discomfort, related to autopsy tech risks. A GI (Gastrointestinal bleeding) bleed. You're not gonna catch me dead doing anything that can give me a GI bleed later on in life. And if I get one, immediately fixed. Not only are they incredibly painful, but the mess they leave in your house is like finding a crime scene. You follow the puddles that you have left behind, whether it's from the top or the bottom, to find your body. Like bloody handprints. And I just can't be seen like that for my last dying days.

    yurlocalgothgurl , sedrik2007 / Envato Report

    UKDeek
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I mean, if getting a GI bleed was a choice, I wouldn't choose it. However, people don't choose their medical problems, so this is a rather stupid "advice". If you have anything wrong with you, seek medical advice.

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    The comments only strengthened her message as people shared real-life examples they knew of