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“Friend Died Aged 32”: 40 Everyday Things Most People Don’t Realize Are Deadly
When I was growing up, I used to make fun of my mother for being scared of seemingly everything. I felt invincible as a kid, and I couldn’t understand why playing in the park alone, swimming without adult supervision, driving home after midnight and leaving a candle burning when I left the house was so dangerous. As an adult, however, I’ve become painfully aware of how many dangers are lurking around us at all times.
Redditors have recently been discussing seemingly harmless yet potentially fatal things that most of us don’t worry about at all, so we’ve gathered some of the most frightening replies below. Good luck getting through this list without unlocking some new fears, and be sure to upvote the things you'll be extra careful with in the future!
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#1
My wife and I were at a Cracker Barrel and my wife ordered a salad. She asked for no bacon. She explained to the waiter that it was a bad allergy. Food is delivered and there is bacon on the salad. We send it back and reiterate the health implications. The waiter brings it back, and it was clearly the same salad as before but with the bacon scraped off. Some bacon pieces were still in the bottom of the bowl. At this point I asked for the manager. I explained what happened, what we told his waiter, and then showed him the bacon on the plate that got returned to us. He looked furious. Excused himself briefly and returned with a fresh salad. Assured us he made it himself and to not worry. Then be disappeared with the waiter for five minutes. I don't know what he said, but the waiter was visibly down the remainder of the evening. My wife winds up spending an entire day puking with an agonizing migraine and severe pain under every joint in her body after contact with any pork (gelatin and chemical derivatives included). Other people aren't so lucky and go into anaphylaxis. Just don't cross contaminate food or assume someone is just being picky... You might [end] them.
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#2
Cars. I see so many people driving recklessly and putting other people in danger just to get somewhere a little faster. These things weigh several tons, calm the [darn] down!
#3
For the love of god, when you're boiling water on the stove, turn the handles of your pots inward. My grandmother's sister, when she was a toddler, was running around with her arms in the air and smacked the handle of a pot of boiling water. The water poured all over her and she died a few days later from her injuries. Because of that, all throughout my life it was drilled into me to a) use the back burners first and b) if you need to use the front burners, turn the handles in. It wasn't until I became and adult and moved in with roommates/SO's that I realized so many people don't think to do that.
#4
Bartender here. I yelled at a new bartender for improvising a recipe with grapefruit juice. Told them that’s the one you don’t improvise with unless requested. It messes with people’s medications. Not sure if it’s *[end]* worthy but I’m not taking that gamble.
#5
Stress.
FuzzyComedian638:
This should be higher. Even lower level stress over a long period of time can cause heart attacks or cancer.
#6
Lollipops. When I was in first grade me and my siblings and cousins were messing around in my room, I was jumping up and down my bed with them with a lollipop in my mouth. Seconds after jumping and rough housing the candy suddenly dislodged from the stick. The lollipop wasn't even halfway melted. I just opened it about 10 seconds prior to it being dislodged from the stick so it was impossible to swallow. I quickly jumped out of bed in panic. They all started laughing because they thought I was making a funny face until one of them realized I was choking. Luckily, my younger sister caught on quickly, went out and ran after my mother who was one shoe away from going out of the house for work. My mother rushed in and tried to make me gag by fishing the candy out from my mouth, but it was too deep so she performed a heimlich instead which caused the candy to "pop" out. 5 yr old me would've died that day if my 4 yr old sister didn't realize I was choking, and was minutes late into getting my mother.
#7
Cheerleading. I had an accident and almost died because one of my teammate's lost balance while I was on top, and that caused me to fall. That fall broke my neck and I haven't been able to walk or move most of my body ever again.
#8
I made garlic infused olive oil once. Left it out because that’s how I always saw it on people counters. Used it a few weeks later. Botulism. Was out for four whole days writhing in pain with nothing left to expel. Turns out, I could have died.
samizdat1:
It's specifically the combination of garlic and oil that is the issue here. The only other time that botulism can be threatening for most people is improperly stored home-canned foods.
Most of the time, you leave food out at unsafe temps for too long and bacteria that can make you sick will grow on it. Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria that is relatively common in the wild, but not very competitive; meaning that when you leave food out, odds are a different bacteria will outcompete it. This is a good thing because given enough time and food, the botulinum bacteria will produce botulinum toxin, one of the deadliest substances on the planet.
But clostridium botulinum thrives in low oxygen environments such as oil, garlic is low acidity meaning it's the perfect place for botulinum bacteria to grow, and room temp is the perfect temperature for them. When you combine these factors, you create one of the few situations where your food might end up with botulinum toxin in your improperly stored foods, instead of a more common bacteria that might give you an upset stomach but probably not [end] you.
#9
Going to include very few details because I don’t want to ever deal with him finding this post. I have a friend who is the most loving and gentle father to his kids that he could be. Pure love for his family ever since he became a parent. All the kids are very young, one of them was maybe 3 and like toddlers do they tend to explore and go wherever they can. One of those simple activities we all do every day without thinking about it. One day in the morning ready to go to work, he backs his car out of the garage, stops in the driveway because he forgot something inside. In between those slight hectic moments of being late, going in and out of a door, his 3 year old wanders out into the garage, and just outside. My friend returned to the car, puts it in reverse ready to hurry to work like any other day, and bumps into his child who just happens to be in a blind spot near the corner of the bumper. He was only going maybe 3-4 mph but for a child’s head, that’s all it takes to create severe trauma that became a brain bleed situation and he passed a couple hours later in the hospital. This is a man who has lived life the right way and helped people every chance I’ve ever known, but this world is just an absolutely harsh, random b***h.
#10
Allergies! A guy at work didn't believe a coworker had a deadly peanut allergy and had to try it out. The victim had luck that the medical center in our company has a doctor and medicine.
HiddenA:
I have a friend who has an extreme nut allergy. He ordered a soy latte once… the shop was apparently out of soy and substituted almond milk.
He fortunately noticed it tasted off immediately, and asked the barista who said 'We were out of soy. Almond milk is better for you anyway.' And when he had to go to the bathroom to make himself puke, she responded that he was just 'overreacting.'
He did talk to a manager eventually but after making sure he was healthy/okay/not dying.
#12
A dental infection. I went to grief support meetings, and a woman there lost her son to an impacted tooth that spread infection to his brain.
guylinerapologist:
This is why seeing those 'veneer techs' pop up drives me insane. Some of them are putting veneers/crowns over decay not knowing (or not caring) that it will probably create an abscess or infection. It is so dangerous.
#13
Getting drunk going to sleep and choking on your own vomit. Always lay your drunk friends on their side, and lift their chin to open their airway. DO NOT lay them on their backs, friend died aged 32.
#14
Don't use water on an oil fire. (Should be common knowledge) Fine dust clouds can explode when introduced to flame, especially in confined spaces. Ex: dropping a bag of flour while using a gas stove top in a small kitchen.
#16
[angry] off or frightened livestock. Cows alone [end] nearly two dozen people a year in the U.S. H**l, just the other day a sheep killed a man and his wife in New Zealand.
#17
Playing in a deep hole at the beach.
Strongpa:
I had a friend who had a holiday job in construction as a student. One day he dug a trench which collapsed on him, and he was dug out by his crew. It was about midday but they all knocked off for the day and went to the pub where they all got drunk, which he thought was great as they were buying. When he asked if it was some sort of tradition they explained that usually, the person caught in the trench didn't survive.
vaexorn:
We had a very scary close call with friends. We dug a hole for hours, it was like three metres deep. All of a sudden one of the sides crumbled, burying one of my friends from the waist down. It was impossible for him to move. Needless to say, we got him out and closed the hole ASAP.
#18
Being shoved. Seen too many videos of fights/scuffles where someone is shoved or punched, and the trip on concrete and suffer fatal TBIs hitting their head on concrete. The brain is fragile. Protect it.
#19
Slipping down the stairs. Yes some people know stairs can be dangerous. But many don’t realize how deadly residential stairs can be.
#20
Withdrawing cold turkey from alcohol when you're a very heavy drinker.
33LinAsuit:
I was convinced I could do it at home on my own, my therapist talked me into going to detox. I’m glad I did, because even with all the meds I still had a seizure. I think I may have died if I did it at home
#22
A high pressure puncture wound/ high pressure injections.
Imagine you're wearing all your PPE, got your goggles, your gloves, etc. And you're working with high pressure liquids, I'm not talking cutting steel with water jets, just something with high enough pressure that can pierce or puncture the skin. And bang, you get a little stab from a pressurized fluid source. Not even bleeding that much, if at all, sometimes it’s just a little sting, but you go to medical and get the assistance and after a day, your hand is sore but otherwise fine. If you obtain one of these injuries and don't alert the medical staff, you typically lose the limb. It can be just as bad with water/steam as with chemicals. This was a safety moment at my company due to a mechanic getting a pinprick while changing a line. While he went for medical help, he didnt tell them it was a high pressure wound. As such, he progressively lost three fingers on his hand because the substances were blasted into muscle tissues and cause necrosis, slowly.
bryrod:
Not fluids, but I had a teacher in the union who had a nail in his brain. He was an elevator worker and was shooting very, very thin nails into the shaft to reinforce certain parts. He said one sparked, and he thought nothing of it. When he came up, his buddy noticed a tiny hole and crack in his glasses and told him he needed to get it checked out. The teacher insisted he probably just dropped them earlier, but the coworker made him go to the ER.
Of course, they found a three-inch nail in his brain and couldn’t remove it. It’s a miracle it never affected him or anything. He was the one who got me to buy ballistic safety glasses that can stop a .22 mag. I wear them every day.
#23
Dont ration your water if you get lost in the woods. Many hikers die of dehydration with a backpack full of water.
#24
Party buses. My wife's cousin was on one a couple of years ago. They were all dancing on the bus while it was driving on the 101 freeway in LA and she slipped and fell against the door. The door gave way and she fell out of the bus at freeway speeds and was immediately run over by a car. There wasn't much left of her, closed casket for sure. She was celebrating her 30th birthday but instead she died and left behind 5 kids all under 10.
#27
Flowing water inches deep can still have the strength to sweep you away if you’re not careful.
#28
Confined spaces. If it only has one way in and out, especially if it is below ground, there is a very real possibility that there isn't enough oxygen in there to support life. Even something as simple as rusting metal can remove the oxygen from the air and if there isn't airflow going through the space the oxygen-depleted air won't be replaced. Other processes can remove oxygen or produce actively toxic gases. This sort of thing often kills more than one person as the first person to find the victim goes in to rescue them and becomes the second victim.
#29
Riding a horse with no helmet. Concussions are no joke and will [end] you. The amount of times that I see tik tok vids of kids and teens racing around on horses is horrific. Especially among Western riders. A cowboy hat will not protect your brain. Honestly horses in general will [end] you if you aren't careful. A well placed kick to the face while picking out hind hooves is no joke. I've had a few near misses. .
#30
Mixing bleach and ammonia when you clean provinces toxic gas that will make you REALLY sick.
Curlyquinn02:
Mixing cleaning products is almost always a bad idea. It can be fatal and doesn't even make them more effective. In some cases, it can even make the outcome about as useful as using water.
#31
Swimming pool covers. About 20 years ago, my next door neighbor's 14 year old daughter decided to walk across their inground pool's cover. It came loose, and she sunk, wrapped in a tarp. She drowned about ten feet away from her dad who was eating breakfast at the kitchen table at the time.
#32
Rags covered in linseed oil can spontaneously combust when left in a pile. I randomly discovered this fact in a reddit post titled, "The new guy burned down our workshop." A carpenter I know confirmed that this is a real thing. I've been getting into refinishing old furniture, so I'm glad I learned this now. You'd think it'd be more common knowledge!
#33
Sleep apnea.
Famous_Lab8426:
The only reason my husband and I can afford our apartment is because the guy who had it before us died in it of sleep apnoea.
My husband also has horrible sleep apnea. He finally got a CPAP.
#35
Poison hemlock. It sounds strange, but it grows everywhere, looks very similar to many common garden vegetables, and it's lethal in very small amounts. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the plant so you never mistake it for a vegetable.
#36
More well known now, but strep can easily [end] you if not taken care of. I had a friend in high school who didn’t really have their parents around or anyone looking after them. We had just graduated and they got diagnosed with mono but it seemed to linger. They were in a bad place honestly, and there was talk of d***s but in reality, it was just undiagnosed, untreated strep. They found her past out on the bathroom floor. She had gone over to her dad’s house to talk because she was having a bad night and I don’t think they ever even connected. He found her body. I think about her all the time. She would be 30 soon, but instead she’s forever 18.
#37
Overdrinking water.
wherestherum757:
There was a radio contest at one point in the US somewhere; the competition was to chug (I forget the amount & time exactly) but something like a liter every x minutes
If you puked youre out. If you [angry], you’re out. Last one left won a Wii.
The lady that won died shortly after
19Thanatos83:
Hijacking your comment: Giving little babys water to drink. Doesnt have to be much, it kills them very easy.
#39
A cracked toilet. Even if it isn't leaking or doesnt seem like its a problem - Replace it immediately! Do not sit on it! If it breaks while you're doing your business, that s**t will slice your leg/assmeat open like a razor! Broken porcelain is no joke especially when you put all your weight on it! Edit to add: Only reason I know was an old post from r/watchpeopledie . Dude didn't die but got seriously deep cuts in the b**t/leg area.
#40
Things under tension are dangerous. Like steel cables or something similar. When the tension is released it can cause harm.
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