Have you ever asked yourself: “Why are people so dumb?” Be it because of the way they behave in public, the way they drive, or the way they put themselves, intentionally or not, in harm’s way, some people really possess the ability to make fellow human beings roll their eyes in disbelief or sigh in frustration.
Of course, someone might say, “Let people do dumb things if they don’t learn from their own mistakes,” but the thing here is that it is often other people who suffer from the consequences. Unfortunately, one stupid action may lead to a whole bunch of disasters, but the person responsible for it won’t even realize the damage. That’s not to say that smart people never make mistakes, but most of the time, they learn not to repeat them.
Users of AskReddit shared their opinions as to what things exist only because of other people’s stupidity — to either prevent its consequences or, sad as it is, to take advantage of dumb people. They voiced a lot of interesting, thought-provoking points of view. Do you agree with this list? Is there anything else that, in your opinion, exists only because people do dumb things? Share in the comments.
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"I know a lot of people say warning labels, but let's be honest... Warning labels have probably never stopped stupid people from doing stupid things. They're just there to protect corporations from getting lawsuits."
"Expiration date on salt.
It’s been in the ground longer than time itself. Regulations on food have required an expiration date.
That pure salt that was mined out of the earth is not going to go bad sitting in your dry goods pantry."
expiration date on a bottle of water... its for the packaging apparently.
"'Wearing this costume does not enable you to fly.' - tag on a Superman Halloween costume."
"People who genuinely believe 5G is bad and that coronavirus is fake."
Beginnerer wrote:
"The belief of a flat earth."
BATTLEHOOG replied:
"This is by far my favorite conspiracy just to laugh at just cause like.... why? Who would lie about that?! What is there to gain from people thinking the earth is actually a globe?!"
Some think that there is a wall of ice and that there are land on the other side that is concealed from the rest of us. Others have all kinds of ideas wrapped in word sallad. This is a good debunk/debate on the topic if you ever thought the earth was not a spheroid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-7vs0BkLE&t=10s
"Warning signs on chainsaws that say "do not attempt to stop blades with hands or genitals"."
"Wealthy televangelists."
Arghhh! It's despicable how much money they make off lying to people.
"Measles. In 2000, measles was nearly eradicated, but then anti-vaxxers brought it back to popularity. I should mention it was nearly eradicated in the U.S.A. Measles is still very prevalent in other places around the globe."
I find the anti vax issue only slightly amusing because a few years ago you couldn't enroll your kid in school unless their vaccination card was up-to-date. We literally had no choice. I remember when I was 12, back in 1984, standing in line with the other girls in my grade to get a German measles vaccine.
"The disclaimer on a microwave that says "you can't dry your cat in this". Some women killed her cat that way."
"The warning label on my scooter. “Caution: object moves when used”."
Oh well I didn't know that thanks! *proceeds to get hurt by commencing a game of catch with the scooter*
"The ban on Kinder eggs."
As I understand it, it's not Kinder eggs per say. Just no toys/stuff embedded in food?
justinwatt wrote:
"'Do not eat contents' on a claymore mine."
tylerchu replied:
"WWII (or maybe Vietnam?) soldiers actually did eat bits of C4 occasionally because it would give them symptoms mimicking that of the flu, which they’d use to get out of combat."
"Warning labels that say to not use the hairdryer in the bathtub."
"The name X AE A-12."
May sound stupid, but the only reason I know how to pronounce this is because of Kingdom Hearts where they talk about the Key Blade (X-Blade)
"Low fat food. The reason low fat food became popular was because people wanted to get slim and decided to believe the lies that fat makes you fat instead of the truth being that sugar has a major impact on your weight. So when you buy low fat food with extra sugar to add the taste lost by the fat, then you are actually eating food that is worse for you than the regular stuff."
Like when someone says they ate a ceasar salad for lunch because they are watching their weight. Sure, as long as you only eat the lettuce with a squeeze of lemon juice.
"Warnings on hammers saying this object can cause damage if you strike yourself."
That hás been a known fact. Since the XIII century, when knights would use hammers to bash other knights on the head....
Commenter No. 1 wrote:
"The emoji movie."
VereDiz replied:
"Having watched it, I firmly believe it was the product of Columbia pictures going through Pixar's trash and finding an initial concept for Inside Out."
I liked 'Inside Out'. As a person who is bipolar, I could especially relate to Sadness and Joy.
"Labels that say "Allergy Advice: Contains X" on packets/bottles/whatever, where X is the only thing in there. Like "Contains Nuts" on a packet of peanuts."
Well, peanuts [is] not nuts. It's a legume. So not so nuts... to print that on the bag. Edit: spelling [ ]
"‘I am not a Robot’ verification, the Imperial system of measurement and squashy ducks."
Verifications, I thought that was for spambots and such? Imperial it's not the most usefull, as for someone use[d] to SI units. But leave the ducks out of this :)
""Gluten Free" on bottled water."
I am a dental hygienist and even toothpaste needs to be labeled gluten-free for folks with Crohn's disease. It never even occurred to me that this needed to be a thing until I had patients who really suffered. They need to know that everything is gluten free. Who knows if bottled water has been processed on the same machinery that is used in part to process something containing gluten? Just like something that doesn't contain nuts may have been processed on the same machinery that did process nuts or in a factory processing nuts at one time.
"There is a job where people rub dirt on clean potatoes because some people think clean potatoes are sprayed with toxic chemicals. Dirt gives them a more ‘natural look’."
"Noisy AC/Vacuum Cleaners/other devices. Its possible, easy actually, to design most of the noisy things you find in an average household in such a way that its not noisy. However, studies found that people are idiots and will return perfectly functioning devices because they're not making any sound."
I'm always put off by my new computer cause I had an ancient one that just roared when it turned on. I'm very happy with how quiet my new one is
Commenter No. 1 wrote:
"The Darwin Awards."
alx924 replied:
"My favorite is the gasoline truck driver. When they get back to the yard, they would fill the tanks with water to evacuate the leftover fumes. It was late at night and he wanted to see how full his tanks were, but he didn’t have a flashlight to see into the tank. But he did have a cigarette lighter. You can see where this goes."
In South Africa, there was a story about some guys hijacking a tanker that they thought carried fuel but when getting it back home they discovered it was a "honeysucker" which sucks out the contents of septic tanks. I always imagine queues of people lined up with Jerry cans or cannisters.
"Nigerian princes who need money."
And who ask random people to help, instead of someone they know...or a bank. You'd think royalty would have connections.
"Protests against a deadly virus."
The thing my weird family member told me when he waved a moldy onion in my face.
"Let's not get on a tangent about the topic of TV ads for prescription medication, but recently (last couple years) they started adding a sentence in the commercials:
"Do not take trivexica if you are allergic to trivexica."
What happened to make that a thing that they need to mention now? Why the hell would anyone knowingly continue to put a drug in their body if they knew or realized they were allergic to it? Answer: people are stupid.
I get that it's to protect them legally, but it's mind blowing to me that it needs to be said even to do that."
I find it odd that there are TV ads for medication. Not something you really see in the UK.
"The "Do not eat" label on silica packets."
I had a classmates in third grade who found one in a package of seaweed and thought you were supposed to sprinkle it on and then eat it. Yes, it did have a do not eat label, and yes, she knew how to read.
"When you can’t enter famous tourist attractions because people vandalized the site with their names."
Looking at you Chinese 13 year old kid at the Egiptian 3000 year old ruins...
"Modern Politics. If we were smarter there would be a better collective decision making process."
"The word "AMBULANCE" written in reverse on an ambulance.
for those people that don't realize that the huge vehicle behind them, with the flashing lights and siren is, in fact, an ambulance."
Stahlflittchen wrote:
"The warning on my dad's old motorcycle saying "This is a motorcycle and only to be used as such.""
Philip_De_Bowl replied:
"I used mine as a ram once and it was pretty ineffective. It only left a small bump on the guys cars, but it totaled me and my bike."
"I used to love working on Health & Safety, it's almost a nature documentary on how little people think before something messes up."
For sure. I took a course in health and safety.... It f*****g left me paranoid, EVERY F*****G THING IS A HAZZARD deppending of how stupid the user is.
"Lets see: "dont stop on the tracks", "contents are hot", "straw paper can go in your eye". The list goes on and on!"
"The lottery."
purpleflyingcow1 wrote:
"Global warming."
sybrwookie replied:
"I mean, it doesn't exist because humans are dumb. It exists because we didn't know what we were doing in the Industrial Revolution.
It thrives because humans are dumb."
I would look into how much money this actually generates on a yearly basis and you may get an answer that tests your belief.
"Cults."
Less stupid people and more people in really bad places mentally. Cults prey on people who are going through hard times and need something to rely on
"Large scale pollution. A few animal turds here and there aren't so bad. Millions and billions of gallons of human waste, landfills and oceans full of plastic, discharging all types of contaminants into the atmosphere daily in huge quantities, etc. We're the only organism stupid enough to destroy our home for a piece of paper with a number on it. All other organisms live without it. It's dumb how dumb we are."
"About half of what a hospital does. Of course the side that deals with sickness isn’t there because we’re dumb, but the part that deals with glass bottles being stuck inside anuses is there because we’re dumb."
"You know those labels on buckets with an upside down drowning baby? Yeah, probably had to start using those for a reason."
Commenter No. 1 wrote:
"Daylight saving time."
GosutoOkami replied:
"The idea of Daylight Savings Time itself was not stupid when it was created. However, since the many advancements in technology and crop growth/yield since it was implemented, it has become unnecessary."
DST has always been stupid. Time changes have never impacted farming or crop growth. Plants don't care what time it is
"The Great Pacific garbage patch."
"All of IT jobs. As a programmer who's done some IT work before, I can safely tell you that 90% of the job is googling how other people solved the problem."
As someone currently in IT, I can verify this. There are a few things you do from basically muscle memory, but I would say at least 80% of my job is just googling for ideas on how to fix certain problems. As my boss likes to say, "Yes, but you know WHAT to Google."
"Religion."
Religion, or faith more importantly can be a good thing, some Times i wish i had it ( not even kidding ), having faith can make life a bit better, like beliving that you're in the s**t right now, but God hás a Higher plan for you, is a lot better than knowing you're in the s**t right now, and well... Life's a b***h só f**k you.... Só yea religion and faith can be a good thing sometimes
Commenter No. 1 wrote:
“This is for external use only”
Commenter No. 2 replied:
"*puts Clorox container down*"
"Warning signs next to large waterfalls, cliffs, any other potentially lethal terrain."
Good if you have kids. Just a reminder to keep them away from the dangerous area.
"Flammable tags on underwear."
"Lawyers.
Source: Am one."
Just because I don't know all the paragraphs of the law, or know how they should be interpreted, or know the practice of all legal cases. There are alot. The things I understand and use, I understand that someone can interpret it some completely other way.
"Debt consolidation companies.
First hand experience:
I was desperate due to my own stupidly and got myself into too much credit card debt when I was in my early 20’s. Looking for an out I called a debt consolidation company. They told me to not pay my credit cards that I wanted to compile for months until they got sold to a lawyer. Well once I ruined my credit. They took all those loans and tried to settle payments. After they denied. I had to go to court for each card and settle with a one time payment thusly putting a judgement on my credit report. It wasn’t until I was 33 or so that I actually fully recovered from it.
TL;DR:
Pay your bills and never try to exceed what you can’t pay out of pocket, that way when you do have an emergency you can afford it easier by using credit."
Paying cash instead of credit seems to be going away. Personally I only buy what I have cash for, and it's worked wonders for budgeting
"Pugs and bulldogs."
Not "dumb"? just for people who values accessories over well being of animals? Not applicable for those who adopts a dog from a shelter or similar though.
"Do not inject Lysol"
I've seen ppl drink this to get f'd up. They said it worked? F'n clowns.
"The companies that get you out of timeshares."
"Don’t know what it’s called but at the gas pumps the mechanism connected from the pump to the hose unlocks when people forget to place the nozzle back and drive off."
"Stay at home protests."
"Ctrl z. Perhaps not necessarily because we are dumb, but we make mistakes."
Or just try something out? And it's just "happy little accidents" anyway :)
"School."
Dumb and young aren't synonyms. School is to educate people who could not know what schools will teach them purely because they're too young to know everything
"Safety lids on medication."
"The meat and dairy industry."
Tell me you don't know anything about human agricultural history without saying you don't know anything, and you're a vegan
