If you’ve been around kids, you know that they don’t really understand the dangers of the “real” world very well. You try to school them about it, but they don’t really listen to you; it seems that no amount of “don’t touch that!” will work on them. 

So they go on to touch something hot or prickly while you turn your back for a second and despite the tears afterwards, they learn a valuable lesson. These netizens have had similar realizations – sometimes in life-threatening situations – that they should not mess with some things. 

More info: Reddit

#1

Intuition. If something feels wrong stop. It doesn’t matter if it’s stepping out onto a snow-covered slope, pulling up to a sketchy gas station, or putting too small of a piece of wood in a table router, listen when your brain tells you “This is a bad idea.”

Image credits: 5hiphappens

#2

Never trust a fart when your bellies been talking ?

Image credits: Hey_Drunni

#3

Aggressive drivers. Just let them go

Image credits: allmimsyburogrove

#4

If someone at work tries to badmouth someone else and they ask you about what you think about that person, JUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

Image credits: Kororo_chan

#5

Chickens while there are chicks present.

 

My brother is a cruel little s**t who liked being mean to animals while we were kids. He liked hurting them for the feeling of power it gave him. So he hurt a lot of small wildlife, like frogs and garter snakes and mice. When that stopped being enough he decided to go after livestock.

 

We had chickens. There was a great big rooster and his ladies and all of them had chicks. My job was to take care of the chickens, feed, water them, collect eggs, ect.

 

My brother was bigger and stronger than me so one day he decided to have ‘fun’ and grabbed up one of the little chicks in the coop and squeezed it until it started to scream for help. My attempts to stop him did nothing.

 

Now the chickens were used to me picking up the chicks and petting them. So they weren’t alarmed when my brother picked up the chick. When it screamed however, all hell broke loose.

 

All the chickens went after him, going for his face and eyes. The rooster had spurs on his legs over an inch long and he cut big grooves on my brother’s face, missing his eyes by millimeters. They swarmed him and bullied him until he dropped the chick and ran out of the coop crying with blood on his face.

 

He was 10 at the time and should have known better. Did he stop being mean to animals? No. Did they punish him for it when they could? The animals sure did.

 

Chickens are very much like the cuccos in the Zelda games. If you hurt one they will all swarm you.

 

EDIT: I got several questions and I will detail them here so people doing have to go digging through comments.

 

Yes, my brother and I were both abused by our father. Our mother was a kindly women who did her best to nurture and discipline my brother. She died when I was 7 years old and my brother at 9 years old from cancer. My father went off the deep end and took out his rage on us both. He worked two shifts at a factory daily and did not want to be disturbed when home or he would beat us. So no, there was no adult supervision and we were left to our own devices except for a weekend here and there when our maternal grandmother would have us. She also did her best, but our father excused and enabled my brother’s behavior because he was more valuable in his eyes compared to me, a sickly girl. We did go to school. Yes CPS was called a couple times and my father told everyone that I was pathological liar so nothing came of it.

 

My brother most likely had a genetic flaw or some inherited mental health disorder that kept my brother from feeling empathy. However, our father did not believe in mental health services so my brother never got therapy or help. I fully believe he would have turned out to be a different person if he had these services. Instead he was isolated, abused, and enabled. It made him entitled and gave him the need to exert his will over everyone. If he wanted something he simply took it, including my innocence.

 

He grew up into a terrible adult. No he didnt [end] anyone. I dont believe he would [end] anyone because he likes to manipulate people and you cant manipulate a dead person. He instead became a thief, a r****t, and fell hard into [illegal substance] use. The last time I spoke to him was in 2013. I have fully cut him off from my life and have not spoken to him since. Maybe he has changed in these ten years, but i have no way of knowing. Once in a while I scan obituaries looking for his name, but otherwise I have nothing to do with him.

 

I acknowledge that he had a messed up beginning like I did. However, he willfully chose to hurt me and has never apologized or acknowledged what he did to me, even as adults. I may have forgiven him if he had at least acknowledged what he did was wrong, but he believes he did nothing wrong. So for my health and safety, I chose to cut him out.

 

I have diagnosed C-PTSD that I will have for the rest of my life. However, I spent the last decade in therapy learning how to cope and live with what happened to me. Some days are better than others, but I am genuinely happy and am in a safe place, several states away and surrounded by my friends who have become my new loving family.

 

So yes I’m okay now. I dont fear him or my father coming after me because they are lazy cowards and I’m too strong now to allow them to hurt me. If any of them contact me about giving up a kidney or a liver lobe I will laugh in thier faces and then get a restraining order.

Image credits: tinytabbytoebeans

#6

Head injuries I had a single friend that got into a bar room scuffle. He got knocked down a hit his head on a tiled floor. Got back up and said that’s it for tonight. He lived alone and that was on a Friday night. When he didn’t show for work on Monday with a no call, that raised some eyebrows. When he didn’t show on Tuesday, someone when out to his place and broke in after no answer. He was dead on the kitchen floor. Doctor guessed a brain bleed. I think about him every time I see a video of someone getting knocked out.

Image credits: lestairwellwit

#7

Vibrating logs in the forest.
Don’t investigate.
Don’t kick it.
Don’t throw things at it.
It is always hornets.

Image credits: tricularia

#8

HR. They are not your friends.

Image credits: icylinguine

#9

Not immediately washing and disinfecting an open wound.

Image credits: slimpawws

#10

Ladders.

I worked in an ED at a major trauma center and the number of otherwise healthy people who came in paralyzed or soon-to-be-dead from falling off ladders was eye-opening.

Image credits: StrebLab

#11

Cows. Grew up on a cattle farm. They can run faster than you think and can hit you so hard that you fly out of your shoes.

Image credits: ozarkbanshee

#12

Student loans. Only take what you need. Don’t get the “oh, I’ll pay this later” attitude. It will come back to bite you, and the loan companies are relentless. No one teaches a 17-18 y/o kid about student loans and long-term consequences.

Image credits: kteerin

#13

Trusting people’s blinkers to mean they are turning

Image credits: Ok-Avocado-5876

#14

The sea in a storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.

Image credits: earlofhoundstooth

#15

Water. Rivers. Current.

I’m a fairly good swimmer, and I wanted to swim in a river where the current seemed really tame. Boy was I wrong, just small moving body of water dragged my poor body like a leaf in the wind.

Image credits: guacamol705

#16

ticks

Image credits: Moist-Taro

#17

Garage door springs. Pay a professional to mess with that s**t.

Image credits: naimlessone

#18

Being careless in the shower.

 

A few years ago, I was showering and I forgot the new bottle of conditioner sitting in the counter. I slipped on some shampoo residue in a rush to get out of the shower (because no likey cold air). I slammed my ribs against the porcelain tub. Completely knocked the wind out of me, but I somehow managed to crawl out of the shower and bathroom to make it to my phone, genuinely thinking I would have to call an ambulance to take my naked a*s to the hospital.

 

Thankfully that wasn’t necessary as I laid down and caught my breath, but I had pretty bad rib pain for at least a month after (and only a TINY bruise to show for it!). After that experience I could absolutely see how falling in the shower can [end] a person.

 

Anyway, now I don’t rush when exiting the shower and I always bring my phone in the bathroom because that naked, wet crawl on the floor to retrieve it was humiliating and I’d rather not go through it again.

Image credits: ChaunceTime

#19

Fridays. In the IT world we call it “read-only friday”. Don’t change anything!!

Image credits: TheRogueMoose

#20

Mandolins. (The kitchen gadgets not instrument.)

Image credits: facemesouth

#21

Waves.

Newby body surfer, misjudged a six foot wave and nearly drowned.

Image credits: OlderMan42

#22

Drowsy driving

ETA: Back in 2015, I had an incident where I fell asleep behind the wheel.

It was in mid-August, and I had fallen asleep on my way home from work after a 16 hour night shift because my job messed up the schedule (we couldn’t work more than 12 in a single shift). All I remember is I was driving, then I was waking up in a hospital 4 hours away from home. No clue where I was or what happened. I had suffered a major TBI and have been mentally different ever since. Had a pretty major concussion following the accident.

It happened in the backroads of southern Idaho, and I was lucky to have come out of it with 0 broken bones. Everyone at the hospital was saying I was lucky to have survived. There were witnesses who saw the whole wreck, a couple high schoolers on their lunch. I read the police report and witness statements, and according to them, my car rolled 6.5 times, ended wheels up and I was partially ejected (laying half in and half out of the car through the window) my seatbelt buckle had broken as the car was coming to rest.

Image credits: i_am_invictus

#23

My health. Getting older you rediscover all those old hurts. When I was 20 I hyperextended both elbows playing volleyball. 15 years later my elbows started aching in the winter 🙁

Also my teeth. It falls under health, but not everyone thinks about the dentist when they think about health. If you are reading this please floss. Its a small thing that can make a huge difference later. Trust me

Image credits: kongwasframed

#24

Heights. I fell out of a tree when I was a kid and nearly severed my leg. A branch ripped it wide open and to the bone, I had fat and muscle falling out, and I very nearly bled to death. It took hours of surgery and months spent mostly in bed before I was able to really use that leg again. It’s been more than twenty-five years since then and the scar is still massive (half an inch wide and wraps all the way around my inner thigh). That fall was only three feet. #1 reason for why I frequently tell people to never underestimate a fall, even a short one. It only takes one accident to completely f**k you up and potentially [end] you, so caution is important.

Image credits: IDoBelieveInGarys

#25

Cat bites.

I love cats, but got bit by one once. Spent 3 days in the hospital and there were talks of amputating 2 of my fingers and maybe 1/2 of another finger. Had intense IV antibiotics and came out fine but was scary for a couple days

Image credits: 3DNZ

#26

The ocean or any body of water, really.

Image credits: Navinsjohnson1313

#27

Bed bugs. You cant treat those mother F*****s by yourself. You need a professional to treat that s**t.

Image credits: Ohheywhatehoh

#28

Boulders covered with algae in mountain creeks do not equal water slides.

Image credits: jojothe_barb

#29

Precipitation when it is cold outside.

I got caught in a snowstorm in Shenandoah National Park in March, 2019. It was 50 in the valley, but I got 2 feet of snow on the top of the ridge. The forecast did not call for any precipitation that day. I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail and thought that a few flurries were nothing to worry about. I left a lean-to shelter that would have kept me dry and protected from the wind. I hiked less than 6 miles and was struggling to move forward because the snow was so deep. I was soaked to the bone, freezing cold, and beginning to lose fine muscle control in my fingers. The trail followed the side of a ridge and was not providing me any flat spaces to set up a tent. I eventually found a clearing where some power lines crossed the trail and struggled to get my tent erected despite the loss of feeling in my fingers. Once my tent was set up, I got my sleeping pad and sleeping bag deployed, got out of my wet clothes and crawled into the bag for an hour to warm up.

I didn’t even have a cell signal where I could let someone know my exact location and that I was ok. I had been in contact the previous evening, so my girlfriend knew my location to within a couple of miles.

The snowstorm lasted all night and I had to spend a full 24 hours in the tent before the snow stopped. The next day after the snow stopped, I packed up my camp and kept hiking through the 2 feet of snow. The trail crossed Skyline Drive after a short distance and I followed that road for ~9 miles to the nearest park entrance. I called a shuttle and spent the night in Waynesboro, VA at a hiker hostel. The warm shower, boot dryer, and warm food were exquisite.

When you make an error in judgement in the wilderness, the goal is to survive long enough to learn from your mistake. I learned my lesson. I will not screw around when dealing with precipitation and cold weather. If there is any doubt, I will just hunker down and wait for the wet weather to pass.

Image credits: TheBigDogOrr

#30

People who have nothing to lose…

#31

Having allergies and very bad asthma

Image credits: Random_person1357

#32

Hikes in the Arizona summer.

Image credits: tsh87

#33

Never never trust a trench or a hole over your shoulders deep. You will die a horrible death. Yes at the beach too.

Image credits: CorvinRobot

#34

Electricity

Image credits: oilman300

#35

The IRS

Image credits: ITM_ENRON_CALLS

#36

Wu Tang Clan

They ain’t nothing to f**k with

#37

A commercial dishwasher that has tape over the power button. I time travelled to the other side of the room.

#38

You ever slide down a staircase on a pillow or a mattress?

10 y/o me thought going down headfirst inside a sleeping bag was a great way to up the rush.

Turns out, going into shock is not fun.

#39

The HR frequent flyer. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t do anything wrong, they will still make your work life unbearably annoying if you dare upset them.

Image credits: Particular-Natural12

#40

The pancreas

Image credits: SkeeDino

#41

A falling KitchenAid mixer.

#42

ElectroBoom taught me not to f**k with the power supply in a microwave. Dude made a Jacob’s Ladder using one and it fell over, he said it was the only time he seriously got scared.

#43

Dudes with cauliflower ears

Image credits: RynoLasVegas

Source: boredpanda.com