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Let’s face it—some people have no idea what our jobs are all about. Sometimes, we might enjoy explaining the basics with a few polite sentences but when they ask the same questions over and over again, it can start to feel slightly annoying. Luckily, there are plenty of people on the internet ready to enlighten the masses about the realities of what they do for a living.

One Reddit user posed a question on the r/AskReddit forum, "What is something that people in your profession understand, but the general public can’t seem to grasp?" From lifeguards to teachers, hundreds of people rushed to share insider knowledge and debunk the myths surrounding their jobs.

Take a look at some of the illuminating observations commenters revealed in this thread and make sure to upvote the ones that you might not have known about. And if you can relate to any of them, don’t be shy and share your insights in the comments below!

#1

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession I work in healthcare. People are dumb and I’m just going to leave it at that.

toxinogen , Klaus Nielsen Report

#2

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Pencils are expensive. Prints are expensive. Proper paper is expensive. It takes a lot of time to do a painting. So, no, I can't give it to you for free or 'exposure.'

SidnyM , David Perkins Report

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ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep. Materials cost for an A3 painting is in the region of $50 for materials alone, never mind time. So your minimum cost for a painting is going to be, at minimum wage, about $100.

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#3

Mental health is real health.

toomanyweirdoshere Report

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's all tied together. Your mental health WILL affect your physical health - and vice versa!! Pain management is mental health care too.

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We managed to get in touch with one of the Redditors who had enough of people misunderstanding their profession. User Substantially-Ranged left an illuminating comment under this thread, explaining the common misconceptions they face as a teacher. 

"Teaching children takes more than subject knowledge," they wrote. "Many people think that their experience as a student qualifies them to be teachers. It's called the apprenticeship of observation. There are strategies for both classroom management and teaching that you don't learn from being a student."

Substantially-Ranged was kind enough to have a little chat and share some thoughts about the topic. They started by mentioning that, sadly, teachers in the US feel unappreciated. 

#4

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession I work on super yachts. We understand that the rich and famous can get away with ordering drugs, hookers and whatever else they want to their yachts. I've been stopped by police with drugs, but when I tell them it's for the owner of the yacht I work on they let me go. Rules and laws do not apply to the rich and famous. Oh,....... And yacht owners are rich and rarely famous. The really rich don't want to be known.

Shug22389 , Furkan Tumer Report

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#5

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Public libraries are not safe places to drop off your kids. It's not the books that are unsafe; it’s the other patrons, and the fact that librarians are not babysitters.

fauxbuous , Ranurte Report

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Mistralok
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are common refuges for the homeless, especially in the winter. Most of them are quite harmless.

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#6

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession In most places, we don't set the prices for anything. Your surgeon is not making $50,000 on your grandma's hip because the hospital charged that much. He or she is probably getting $1,500, and the institution gets the rest. Insurances and institutions are the problem.

will0593 , Павел Сорокин Report

"When classes went online due to COVID-19, the public attacked teachers as being lazy and suggested that they should be paid less because they were not actually in the classroom," they told Bored Panda. "It starts to feel like your education, your commitment, and your effort aren't appreciated."

The user believes that the general public does not value and respect "the amount of education and experience it takes to be a skilled teacher." One of the reasons behind this could be that "the apprenticeship of observation makes people think that because they've seen teachers, that they can teach."

#7

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Your children are generally [jerks] and we don't find them nearly as charming as you find them

JonGilbony , Pixabay Report

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Scagsy
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The thing with this is, you ALWAYS notice the naughty kids, running amok in the restaurant. I would hazard a guess that because the other kids are well-behaved you NEVER notice them. It's always a minority spoiling it for the majority. Note: You can apply this to adults too.

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#8

Military spending.

The U.S. spends the most by far, but it doesn't mean that money goes towards making sure Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines have the best training, facilities, education, and equipment.

The vast majority of that money goes to private companies for programs that never produce anything or contribute in any way to the effectiveness of the fighting forces.

There is no concrete evidence that the U.S. has "The Best" military in the world.

potential_human0 Report

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#9

A lot of "tough" parenting stances don't work.

I work with teenagers who have committed minor offenses and are not required to do jail time, but seeing a youth worker and working on anger management/social skills/life skills is required of them. There is not one single teen that has been sent to me who has come from a background of "gentle parenting". Not one. Every singe one of them without fail as long as I have been doing this will tell stories of all the times they were hit as punishment, and it becomes their logic when faced with conflict, "He disrespected me so I bashed his face in", "He called me a wanker so a smashed his car with my baseball bat", "I didn't do anything wrong, he stole the girl I like so I kicked him and his knee just broke, it's not really my fault".

This whole "Back in my day we got hit and we grew up right!" is just silly. Back in "your day" hitting was more prevalent so it's safe to say that most, if not all, violent crimes were committed by those who were hit. Most of the more shocking serial killers and so on have very well documented back stories of abuse.

Not every child who is hit will resort to physical violence when things don't go their way, of course, but children who are taught proper coping mechanisms for anger other than hitting people or things are very less likely to resort to that themselves, because they've been given conflict resolution skills that they can carry on into young adulthood.

And yeah, here's the point that a lot do understand in regards to this- if you are saying that you were hit and you grew up okay and you are using that to defend physical violence against children who most of the time actually don't know any better (and it's even worse when it's "Oh well they're too young to understand why they shouldn't touch the stove, so I hit them so they understand"- if they can't understand why they can't touch the stove they won't understand why you hit them either), you didn't grow up okay, you grew up with violent tendencies.

General rule, don't hit people.
If you hit children, they will learn to hit.
When children grow up and hit other grown ups, that's a criminal offense and they will go to jail.

12ed11 Report

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was hit as a child and I did NOT turn out ok. There are better options.

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It can be quite hard to figure out why the public has so many misconceptions about other professions. Whether it’s seeing librarians as babysitters or assuming that the IT guys can do it all, there seems to be a general lack of common sense when it comes to appreciating what others do for a living. "It can be difficult to have empathy for others and realize that they have to work hard," Substantially-Ranged added.

The user continued by saying that it’s necessary to talk about such issues. "The beauty of Reddit is that it creates an environment where positive and open discourse can occur. A simple subreddit like r/AskReddit has the power to educate people and enlighten them about things just by scrolling," they concluded.

#10

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession 'Switching it off and on again' in I.T. usually resets the device to the state before you pissed about with it — this quite often solves the problem.

Jezbod , Lukas Report

#11

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Just because I "play" in a band, doesn't mean it isn't work! For every hour you see me on stage, I spent probably 100 hours practicing and rehearsing, so you would enjoy listening to me.

LusciousLennyStone , Eneida Nieves Report

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Yugan Talovich
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Chinese there's an expression, One minute on stage comes from ten years' practice.

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#12

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Veterinary- just because you can’t afford care for your pet, doesn’t mean I have to give said care for free. Nor does it it mean I’m heartless and cruel and killing your pet. It just means you can’t afford it.

I have bills to pay too. I have a right to make a living wage. I need to get paid. We get no government funding, we exist solely because people they their bills.

Crazyboutdogs , FLOUFFY Report

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Slinkman
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well this goes for healthcare as a whole. I don't think it's the fact people have to pay that is the problem, it's the ammount of money that needs to be payed that is the issue. Sometimes a vet just looks at my cat, gives a short diagnose 'give it some rest' and I walk out fo the door with a € 80,- Bill. I know they deserve a good salary (studied long, have a big responsibility), but this I find ridiculous. I take care of kids in my profession, a big responsibility, but the pay is lousy. Just to compare.

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#13

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Emergency Rooms are NOT first-come, first-serve businesses! We triage you for a reason, and you CANNOT cut the line in front of somebody with a more serious complaint just because you got here first!

SwingGirlAtHeart , Mat Napo Report

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sorry, Jenny's non-Covid sniffles have to wait behind that guy's bone sticking out of his arm.

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#14

As a teacher, No! Your "babies" are not babies. They are delinquent teens with sociopathic behaviors that you allowed to go unchecked, and now we have to deal with it when they disrupt learning environments and harm others, while you throw a fit when we call home about it, even though we have video evidence of them brutally hitting others, including staff, and behaving like out of control animals. But your little "baby" would "never do that."

Enlightened_Ghost_ Report

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Mimi whatev
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A teacher was killed in my country because of 14 year old "babies"

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#15

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession I am not a babysitter. It is your job as a parent to watch your kid when swimming and if they can't swim, you have to be in the water within five feet of them at all times.

Ceiling_Fan_Lady , z pm Report

#16

YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN IN BAD WEATHER!!!!!

MetalMikeJr Report

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DUN DUN (she/her)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

(Two wheelers)If you ride faster in rain, the rain will pelt you like bullets. Driving slower makes it a bit bearable.

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#17

That the eighty thousand pound truck I’m driving can’t stop in a dime

blakjak66 Report

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thiiiiiiissss! That extra car length in front of them isn't for your beemer to slide into! And if you can't see the driver's face, the driver can't see your CAR.

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#18

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession You actually don't want an exotic animal as a pet.

feivelgoeswest , Worldspectrum Report

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Chucky Cheezburger
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not very exotic, but we(my wife) just "adopted" a mouse. Not a lil white mouse from a pet store, but a field mouse that we found almost dead in the toilet. I didnt want to put it out in the cold while half dead and wet, so I had it in a box to recover. Showed it to my wife...she deemed it🤩 "precious, with its little ears and feet"...so now we have a house for a mouse in our house. So far, it doesn't seem to have any diseases, but its still under observations. Hoo boy...

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#19

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Marriage and Family Therapist

Your partner only wants your advice if they ask for it. They want you to listen and emphasize. Tell them what they're going through must (fill in appropriate adjective here- examples: suck, feel amazing, feel overwhelming, etc)

No, you haven't found your soulmate. You're brain is giving you a super boost in brain chemicals so you screw like bunnies and have babies. Tell me in 1.5-2 years if they're still your soulmate. That's how long it takes for that chemical boost to return to their "normal for you" state. And not feeling fireworks at the first kiss doesn't mean anything. Plenty of amazing long-term relationships started from friendship (which by the way is what you'll need to have a long-term, fulfilling relationship).

Also... be kind to each other. You will each f*** things up in your relationship. All is not lost because one of you talked to an ex, forgot a birthday, etc. Relationships go through seasons and I promise if you can work though the winter you'll have an amazing summer! Every relationship sucks sometimes (screw you social media and your highlight reels).

Lastly, though there are so many more- I can't stress this one enough, there is no such thing as my problem or yours. Though the work to get through it will look different for each of you, once you decide to become partners, everything becomes ours to work through together. Yes, even that thing that happened before you met but is getting in the way of your healthy relationship. And especially that thing you never want to talk about that is getting in the way of your relationship.

GlamtasticGlitter , Alex Green Report

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Emily M
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me and my spouse make a point of saying thank you when the other does things. Works wonders

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#20

Your kids lie to you. If we said they didn’t do the homework and they said they did, it’s a 99.985% chance they are lying. If they say they weren’t doing xyz behavior in class and we say they were, it’s a 99.985% chance they were doing it. I have so many more demands on my time than to make up random c**p about your kid.

skybluedreams Report

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Emily M
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had a mother of a 7 year old in a meeting tell the principal her child was probably being more truthful than the teachers because "children don't lie" ????

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#22

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession You can lie all you want about falling on or accidentally sitting on the stuff that gets lodged in your [butt], none of us HCWs believe you though!

Smudgeandarrogant44 , Karolina Grabowska Report

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Debbie Barnes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dear lord.. I'd probably die of embarrassment if I 'fell' onto anything.. But I'm pretty sure people make up stories to cover their own embarrassment in these situations,rather then think they'll ever be believed....

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#23

Teachers don't "give grades" - students earn them. The teachers just calculate them.

Sure, some teachers can be d**ks, and actually give grades, but that's not how it's supposed to work.

LotusPrince Report

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Beeps
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, had someone in my family who, every single time one of their three kids got a bad grade, they explained it with: “the teacher doesn’t like her/him.”

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#24

That office work is more than just making excel spreadsheets and chatting at the water cooler. A busy day in an office can be exhausting.

ShutterBug1988 Report

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Peej Maybe
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This. Mental exhaustion still counts as exhaustion. Just because I'm not in the middle of a forest chopping down trees all day it does not mean my job is less taxing than yours

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#25

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession My god, your chocolate will last the two weeks until Christmas. Buy it now and give it next Christmas. It has a shelf life measured in years. And stop putting it in the fridge. I made it three months ago and it's been sitting at room temperature in a box since then. If you put it in the fridge for a week it'll get condensation on it and turn sticky, or the cold will ruin the tempering.

JvckiWaifu , Pixabay Report

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Becky Moore
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like my chocolate from the fridge. It's never in there for more than a day cos I'm a pig :P

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#26

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Yes, the animal is in the exhibit. Sometimes you have to look for longer than eight seconds.

rue842 , Daiga Ellaby Report

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kristina law
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would try to stay hidden too if I was forced to be stared at all day by hundreds of strange looking beings.

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#27

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Bathroom renovations — things take time. Drying times are a factor. If I ask your budget, it’s not because I’m trying to empty your account. I just need to know your expectations so I can meet them.

EasyOutside4 , Steven Ungermann Report

#28

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Teaching children takes more than subject knowledge. Many people think that their experience as a student qualifies them to be teachers. It's called the apprenticeship of observation. There are strategies for both classroom management and teaching that you don't learn from being a student.

Substantially-Ranged , Tra Nguyen Report

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DUN DUN (she/her)
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely! I had two kinds of science (phy) teachers- one who came in, stood like a robot, and puked out everything written in the textbook. And one who made us learn through real-life experiences, telling us topic related jokes, bringing all types of teaching aids, etc. The thing is, we still talk about the second teacher and miss him so damn much, whereas almost everyone has forgotten about the first.

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#29

Correlation is not causation.

RegMonkey4Life Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had 4 vaccines today, and one of them was the MMR. I wonder how long till I get Autism. lol

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#30

The Cloud is just someone else's computer.

EnigmaCA Report

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Peej Maybe
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

See also: "Microsoft are reading all my emails, accessing all my files and examining all my data" - Trust me, no one's interested in your furry porn collection son...

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#31

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Just because I'm an electrical engineer doesn't mean I can rewire your house. At least not legally.

CrumpledPopCan , Sami Abdullah Report

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, you CAN, but it will cost 5 figures, a few permits, and a couple of inspections, plus a crew.

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#32

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession I work in long term mental health care with special need adults.

I see al kinds of s**t, trust me. Most people get that. I get the 'ah you are such a hero for doing what you do, I could never do that' quite often.

What most people don't grasp is that the good moments are equally amazing as the bad things are horrible.
My residents are capable of such great things. Or they become so happy in our care it's just amazing to witness.
I could tell amazing or terrible things about my job, depending on the mood you're in to hear about.

VloekenenVentileren , Pixabay Report

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having spent some significant time as a patient on Psych Wards (not special needs, just adults) I feel quite well placed to comment on my experience. The ward staff were always ready to offer an ear, a hug or to nip to the shops. If it was in their power, they would do it for you in a heartbeat. Whilst the modesty of this chap is admirable, I have to disagree, these doctors and nurses ARE heroes, do a wonderful job and deserve praise.

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#33

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession No, I can't grab your iPhone and take a picture to match my best studio works, even if it's the most recent model of an iPhone. Also, yes, I do charge money 'just to take a picture.

le_wild_ahole , PhotoMIX Company Report

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Chloe Patt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lots of ppl are willing to pay lawyers $$$ per hour for advice on the law "because they had to study long and hard" but somehow think artists just somehow "know" how to paint/take photos etc. beautifully and therefore don't deserve to charge much. Like..it's just drawing sth with a pencil, or "push a button" etc. Sure, you also know how to read but you still pay lawyers so what gives?

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#34

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Unpleasant feelings are healthy and needed for us to function properly

bananaritual , RF._.studio Report

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, but if I feel my depression signs building on top of grief and stress, I should be able to get requested relief from my MH team during a time of additional mental stress.

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#35

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession That everyone is entitled to due process and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty no matter how sleazy or guilty they are.

bobby4orr70 , EKATERINA BOLOVTS Report

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like most people, I strongly suspect that Jimmy Savile was guilty of multiple child sex offences, however, he was never brought to trial. So innocent? It's a hard pill to swallow.

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#36

Complaining to my manager isn't going to get me fired. If anything he's going to be even more blunt with you about how much of a power tripping c**t you're being because he knows for a fact that you can't get him fired either. Retail workers, especially during a labor shortage and especially when they've got a few years experience, aren't so replacable that you can get one axed just by complaining to management. Most of the time your complaints won't even reach anyone with the authority to fire someone. Even if they do, they get so many complaints from unreasonable people that the management is far more likely to side with an employee that's in good standing with the store than with some random weirdo that didn't get what they wanted.

Stradoverius Report

#37

Teaching English in Japan does not elevate you to godlike status among the locals and Japanese kids can be as ill mannered and unruly as kids in the West.

welshegg Report

#38

The only certainty in medicine is that everyone dies eventually.

Tapestry-of-Life Report

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Mistralok
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hi Jennie." "Hi doc, how did my tests come out?" "Great! Everything is as it should be." "Thanks doc!" "You know you're going to die though."

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#39

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession I am a material scientist.

America will never go to war with Russia. We buy too much Titanium and Helium from them.

Cassandra_Canmore , RF._.studio Report

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Daniel Marsh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, this is a weirdly false assertion. We produce many times more Helium than Russia and we could easily skimp if we needed to. (How about stop wasting it in balloons?)

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#40

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession If you want to fit a portrait image into a landscape canvas, you either have to crop it, leave a black or white border or empty space left and right, or distort it (which is almost always a bad idea). On a regular occurrence, clients are unhappy with either of these options, they just want me to somehow make it fit.

aleqqqs , Alex Azabache Report

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Madison Feehan
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please turn your phone sideways when taking pictures of scenery or large groups!

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#41

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Yes, your flight is in fact delayed due to weather. Yes, I also understand it’s a gorgeous day here AND at our destination airport. What you don’t understand is the airplane is coming from New York and THEY had weather.

poser765 , Kevin Woblick Report

#42

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession We can't keep a copy of every book ever published on hand in our store. Some things we will have to order for you.

BatmansKhaleesi , Element5 Digital Report

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Daria B
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let's be thankful that nowadays we live in an era when you can actually have one single book printed only for you. You may have to wait for it slightly longer, though. But at least you can have it.

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#43

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Just because I'm an IT guy doesn't mean I know how to fix everything. Just like every other profession, there are specialties. Want me to build out a server? Im in. Want me to remove a virus on your Windows 7 machine? Ummm... No thanks, not really my gig.

Kaertos , Aryan Dhiman Report

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James016
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone in IT, the most common misconception is that I know every function of every piece of software that has ever been written. 😡

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#44

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Horses are less fragile than people think. They are also more fragile than people think. Also, it probably won’t kick you if you walk behind it, but insurance is expensive, so please don’t.

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sebastianlloyd avatar
Canary
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They won't kick, they will kick. They're fragile and they're not fragile... helpful.

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#45

Anecdotes and personal experience aren’t good (they’re terrible) barometers of how a policy can work. You know what is? Peer-reviewed studies. You saw a homeless person using drugs and breaking windows outside your neighborhood? That doesn’t negate the fact that property crime in the city is down and homeless people and housed people use drugs and commit crimes at roughly the same rate.

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Luther von Wolfen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I work with homeless people. They no "better" or "worse" than anyone else - they just don't have anyplace to live at the moment.

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#46

You cannot use the terms "concrete" and "cement" interchangeably.

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Daniel Marsh
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some concrete examples might help cement this in people's minds. Cement binds things together. Concrete is made out of rocky chunks cemented together.

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#47

Tv anchors were way ahead of the zoom game (blazer, shirt, tie, boxers)

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Vorknkx
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seen it with my own eyes during an internship. I thought it was so funny.

#48

That every person is going to die. And it is better to accept it and plan for it. Better for you and your loved ones. I work at a hospital, and the majority of people do not fully understand/accept this reality. One of the most heartbreaking things is watching a 60-70 year old person realize they only have hours left on this earth and they wasted so much time.

Live your life to the fullest. See the world, try that new hobby, explore, and take care of the ones you love.

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Mistralok
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That would be nice, but income and health issues can severely limit this.

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#49

Was a preschool teacher before I was a mom. PSA: your child is in GROUP CARE. You did not hire a one-on-one nanny. No, I cannot spend 45 of the 60 minutes I have to get children to sleep for nap time coddling your one child who refuses to sleep. If he refuses to nap within a reasonable time, you're s**t out of luck. It's not your fault, but it isn't mine either. You need to work, so you put him in daycare; I get it. But I'M at work here, and I can't ignore 8 other kids because your little Johnny doesn't want to nap. You don't like that he doesn't nap? Arrange for someone to pick him up before nap time so he can sleep at home where he's comfortable, or deal with the fact that he's not going to sleep at school.

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MyOpinionHasBeenServed
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Daycare staff used to berate me for my daughter not wanting to nap. I told them she doesn't really nap because if she did she'd be too difficult to get to sleep on time and be up half the night fighting to stay up. We all gotta pick our battles. Eventually the staff learned how to cope with her by letting her have a quiet time reading. It worked out for all of us.

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#50

Engineering. There is no "right answer.". There are a long string of tradeoffs that reduce the number of solutions. But, no matter what you do, one or more of those tradeoffs are going to come back and bite you in the ass.

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M O'Connell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can have it 'Fast', you can have it 'Cheap', or you can have it 'Good.' Rarely you can have two of those things, but never all three.

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#51

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession I paint the lines on roads (white edge lines and yellow center lines) and SOMEHOW when the signs and flashing lights on the truck say "DO NOT PASS" and "WET PAINT" people still pass us and get paint slung up onto their car... then feel the need to call our office and insurance company to get a free trip to the body shop.... or they pull in front of the paint truck to stop us and cuss us out..

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#52

Therapy doesn’t fix you. Therapists aren’t super Hero’s. It gives you the tools to manage the issue and self support yourself

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#53

Don’t watch a welder when they are welding.

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#54

People Share 40 Things The General Public Doesn’t Understand About Their Profession Not every problem with audio is feedback. Feedback is when the sound goes out the speakers and back through the mic and loops around and around. Ground hum is not feedback, noise is not feedback, echo off the wall is not feedback. And speak up, people, the mic isn't magic, you need to be heard!

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ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How many sound engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "One two, One two".

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#55

Teaching is exhausting. A thousand little decisions. Every day.

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Ace Girl
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe this 100%. The first week of school my son's teacher said that she was "teacher tired." A special kind of tired from being a teacher. I totally get it.

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#56

You can allocate more taxes to schools or whatever, but that doesn't mean the money is spent wisely or that the tax code has much say in how those funds are spent.

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Daniel Marsh
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Northern Virginia, they've managed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars PER SCHOOL in rebuilding the schools... but then still poor-mouth for money for books. We can't spend 200 dollars per student for books for 2000 students ($400,000 total), but somehow the motion-detecting lights in the bathroom cost untold millions?

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#57

RVs are not built like cars. They are slapped together as fast as humanly possible by people on piece rate that just want to go home. There is no regard for quality or quality control. They are literally junk stuffed with pretty furniture to distract you.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For those who don't speak american, an RV is a combination of a caravan and a lorry.

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#58

If you think your server is being rude because they’re not all “customer service-y”

You’re more than likely a prick.

We go out of our way to make nice experiences for lovely customers, even to the extent of I’ve given discounts (I’m a manager) just because of how they’ve treated us. But if you are rude and disrespectful and generally s**tty towards us, we will do what we have to do, with the least effort forced smile, and nothing else

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Kate Jones
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been in CS my whole life and I will never ever understand the logic that if someone is yelling and screaming (and it isn't for a valid reason, something really at the fault of the merchant), why we shouldn't be allowed to yell right back at them. We're human and we shouldnt have to pretend to be some kind of robot when someone is behaving like a child. People wouldn't behave the way they do if they knew there were reprecussions. Especially these days where people are doing things on purpose to evoke a response so they can then claim they've been abused and get money off things. I was a manager of a major retail chain and I have to say the most annoying thing was when someone treated the staff horribly and the manager would just give in and give them what they wanted. It was rewarding their bad behavior. I understand not wanting to cause a scene and just fixing it but to reward that is so infuriating.

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#60

Legal - 9 out of 10 times I don't want your case.

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#61

As somebody in the travel industry... most chain hotels are not actually owned by the company whose name is over the front door.

People kind of get the franchise model for fast food restaurants, but they have no idea it applies to hotels as well.

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#62

Building a building is ridiculously more expensive than you would think.

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boredkoala
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even just the design fees for an entire design team - architects, structural engineers, MEP engineers, civil engineers, Geotechnical engineers, landscape architects, and then the specialists like acoustic engineers, Soil scientists, traffic consultants, permit specialists, public process consultants, sustainability consultants, environmental modeling (wind load etc), etc etc etc...

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#63

Peer-reviewed scientific articles are not tablets from god illuminating the transcendent, unquestionable truth.

They frequently:

-fail to take into account lurking variables

-have findings that are not reproducible

-are published by people with conflicts of interest that they fail to disclose (although yes, you are supposed to)

-are published in journals that are less-than-reputable

-Or, don't make claims as strong or conclusive as the journalists reading them and regurgitating their interpretations to the public do.

Reading scientific articles to figure things out takes work, time investment, and past experience doing it, and often requires experience in that field, too.

Scientists are not priests. It's okay to question the word of "experts," although yes, it should be done with a dose of humility because they probably do know more than you on the topic they've devoted their life to researching. But that isn't an excuse to delegate all of your critical thinking to an authority figure with some credentials by their name, and the temptation to do so is the exact opposite of scientific thinking. Science is about questioning anything and everything and trying to poke holes in it and often succeeding, and then hopefully ending up a little bit less wrong in the future as a result.

I have worked in the medical field for five years and have been doing scientific research for a decade- specifically in viral research. So when Dr. Fauci lied to the nation and the world, telling us "masks don't work," and I questioned it because it flew in the face of everything we've known about upper respiratory viruses for decades, I was told numerous times to shut up and "listen to the experts." F**k off, I am an expert. Yes, not as much of an expert as Fauci, who has spent many more decades doing this than I have, but I'm more than qualified to ask questions and form an opinion of my own.

I feel the need to clarify that I want you to get vaccinated here, because I know how this type of person (of which there are no doubt some reading this) think, and the first thing they do is lump you into a category of "Pro-x pet covid topic" or "anti-x pet covid topic" But just because I want you to get vaccinated doesn't mean I don't want you to be able to ask questions. Those questions serve a valuable purpose and they should receive answers that are better than "because I said so." Those kinds of answers sow so much distrust and actually create anti-vaxxers. Look, I get that you're also tired of getting disingenuous questions from people who have already made up their minds to follow other authority figures, like Trump or whoever the f**k they're listening to. Sure, don't waste your time talking to a brick wall... but if somebody is genuinely trying to learn and has questions and concerns, we have a responsibility to answer them.

I'm sick of science being treated like a religion. That attitude is the opposite of everything science stands for. All of my colleagues know this, maybe because every single one of them has seen somebody smarter and more educated than them be wrong before, or just flat-out lie.

So why don't the members of the public who consider themselves "pro-science" know it too?

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Published in a peer reviewed journal is still far better than "saw it on Facebook"!

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#64

How exhausted I am after a day of teaching elementary school

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm exhausted after a couple of hours teaching my son during home-schooling lol. BTW, I am being deadly serious.

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#65

How to interact with autistic children/adults.

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jammer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The overly social office extroverts have always been the most difficult people to work with.

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#66

That you don't hit children. I'm a nanny

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Kimi Tomminello
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait- are you saying nannies are hitting children or that the parents hit the kids and you know because you're the nanny? I'm so confused.

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#67

In my time working in a cemetery, which involved record keeping and burials, it always astounded me how the general public doesn't understand spatial physics. Bluntly put the bigger you are, the more problems you present for burial or cremation.

A single grave plot/space is only so big. If you let yourself go the last 20 years of your life and you are 600 lbs then you may not get buried in the spot you want due to lack of room. The poor funeral director has to now explain to the grieving family that because you couldn't do portion control when you were alive that you now have to be buried in a different area of the cemetery, likely away from your desired spot. One lady was so big that no company made a large enough vault or coffin for her very large size. The solution was to use a concrete septic tank with a lid for the vault and place her inside of it.

Above ground vaults pose a similar problem. One man bought a above ground vault (cost over 10K) and was so large that his casket literally had an inch of clearance on each side and he almost didn't fit.

Cremation furnaces access doors are only so large. Extremely large people may not fit through the door or even inside of the furnace itself. There is no good solution. They can't just chop you to size.

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Julie C Rose
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I refuse to believe that anyone reaches that size for the express purpose of inconveniencing you.

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Metallicd3ath
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean if I knew this and was super vindictive, I might. I'm not vindictive but I could see myself doing it if I was.

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Ace Girl
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fat shaming is strong here. Ask a mortician has a great episode on her YouTube channel about your options if you die while fat. It's one of her most popular videos and she doesn't talk down to people who are fat or make them feel subhuman. It's worth a watch. All people deserve dignity when they die regardless of their size.

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Shelli Aderman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. AND, it’s an issue! I say this as a large person. It’s not about shaming, it’s about physics. When I’m on a plane, I ask for a seatbelt extender, and I’m fine. What *should* a mortician do with a deceased person who won’t fit? 🤷🏽‍♀️

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Katherine Boag
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah just imagine old people with mobility disabilities so they cant exercise being described as 'letting themselves go' f**k you.

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Ashley Schriber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The tone here bugs me. Fair enough, if someone is unusually fat, that needs to be taken into consideration when making burial plans. That part is, as the poster stated simple "spatial physics." But I could do without the condescending snark about "portion control" and letting oneself go. Someone who reaches 600 pounds has some genuine issues that led to this end; they did not simply decide they couldn't be arsed to learn about proper portion sizes.

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Lara Verne
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone who won't fit burial space/access doors must have some health issues. Even if you "let yourself go", you won't be that fat. No one decides: "I'm gonna overeat until my legs won't bear my weigh."

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Dutchman Callypso
Community Member
2 years ago

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#68

Asking for a manager when phoning customer support wastes your own time as they will just tell you what the frontline agents tell you. There’s no difference between what a manager can offer and frontline can. Often times the “managers” are just skilled frontline.

Edit: also I’d like to say that shouting and screaming will get you nowhere agents are not paid to listen to abuse over problems that are outside of their control, we’re more likely to do everything we can to help if you remain calm. Also threatening to sue the company has the opposite effect and you end up looking like a clown as we’re told to tell you to go ahead with that and we’ll support you.

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OctoPaige
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I usually pre-apologize then calmly explain like a Vulcan that I'm actually filled with white hot rage about whatever issue. It's much more effective than yelling, or pretending it's fine. Like I'm not gonna harm you, but I'm not gonna be harmed either.

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#69

That when you special order an appliance, we have zero control over when it will be here. Stop expecting a discount because your fridge arrives 3 months after your kitchen remodel and it doesn’t fit so you have to pay to alter it. Poor planning on your behalf does not make it an emergency on our behalf.

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We took what there was when we needed a fridge last year, but ALL the US factories were closed.

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#70

ELECTRONICS AND WATER DON'T MIX! you would think professionals in various fields who work with electronic equipment/machinery would know this by now.. oh well i charge by the hour

'The last idiot has not been born yet'

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#71

Cooking can be difficult.

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Gladys Hayes Southerland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone is not a natural cook & don't have the flare for seasoning, etc. They have to use a straight recipe & even then, it probably won't be inspired, just decent.

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#72

5ghz wifi and 5G cellular are different technologies.

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#73

As an electrical engineer in the construction design industry: No, you can't just put in a larger breaker if one keeps tripping. You bought a smart switch that requires a neutral, so you can't install that in place of your current switch that just has 2 wires in the box. You can't just buy an espresso machine from Italy and expect it to work with your kitchen counter receptacles.

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ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if one keeps tripping it means your wires are too thin for the load or you are overloading, putting a switch in with a higher tolerance will make the building burn down.

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#74

The bank doesn’t have the money you received from a check as soon as you deposit it. For all we know it could bounce.

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ZAPanda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not entirely true in my country. (a) we've stopped using cheques because we're in the 21st century, but (b) if you do deposit one, some of us with better credit scores would get instant clearance on our cheques because the bank knows that we're not idiots and won't deal with idiots. So it depends on which bank and your credit score, in our country.

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#75

That we can't pay your invoice immediately whenever we receive it. There is a ton of administration behind it (especially in a huge company) so it can take a couple of days/weeks to be paid

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then there's the businesses that you do work for and put in the invoice who take months and months to pay up. They're hoping you - small fish - go out of business so they don't have to pay you at all. The worst part is that it works a lot.

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#76

The Tax code

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#77

a 2x4 is 2" by 4" when it is first cut from the tree. It gets milled down from there, so it is smooth and doesn't give splinters to you every time you look at it funny. You can get true 2"x4" 2x4's but you probably won't like them.

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#78

How to read the instructions on your amazon return.

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