The automobile industry REALLLLLY pushed for the mass adoption of cars. They lobbied local and federal governments to design cities around cars.
It did not have to be this way. If we were sensible, we'd still have cars but a lot more trains, buses, and walkable cities.
I still remember it being pounded in my brain when I was in Amsterdam about the bike lanes and to make sure I wasn’t walking in them.
The other thing I remember were no power lines above ground. One of the guys with me asked about it to a dude who had lived there for like seven years and he had never noticed.
> The automobile industry REALLLLLY pushed for the mass adoption of cars. They lobbied local and federal governments to design cities around cars.
In the US yes, sadly.
Still blows my mind how apparently LA was heading down the European road with trams and public transportation in the 1930s but then it all got fucked and now we have the 24-7 LA gridlock, where even car enthusiasts with 5+ luxury cars take a scooter to get around town for smaller distances.
> It did not have to be this way. If we were sensible, we'd still have cars but a lot more trains, buses, and walkable cities.
And it wasn't in Europe - Tons of public transportation here and cars are defacto obsolete in many larger cities in Europe, unless you have a mobility handicap of sorts or just need a taxi that one time.
Also neccesitated by not having as much space as US cities, so the streets and density of cities in Europe made a car centric reality impossible to be efficient.
It almost was in Amsterdam! [The Dutch protested like hell to stop it.](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord) [More pictures](https://www.fastcompany.com/3052699/these-historical-photos-show-how-amsterdam-turned-itself-into-a-bike-riders-paradise) (with very poor resolution for some reason but it gets the point across)
Well, kinda. Before cars were popular we used to live and build towns and cities that were easily walkable and had street cars to get across town and trains to get between them. Bicycles were also very popular and useful. You didn't *need* a car to get where you wanted to go. Since then we've retrofitted existing cities and designed our growing ones to fit cars. Pull up Google maps and look at how much space in your town or city is devoted solely to cars. Street parking, parking lots, wide roads, freeways, drive ways etc. and imagine how much smaller it would be if you took that stuff out.
Cars aren't inherently bad. But the fact that we accept putting millions of sleep deprived, stressed people on the road to get to a place they hate just to live paycheck to paycheck is a wild concept.
We should start incentives for remote work, or punishing companies for wasting space for offices.
There is a 4 lane road in Boston called the Jamaica way. Very twisty, huge trees on either side and only yellow line separates drivers often going 40 mph. It’s an act of faith in humanity everytime I drive it.
I'd like to add the Mystic Valley and Alewife River Parkways thru Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge too... also very twisty, 25-35+ mph drivers and to add to that, lanes ending without warning especially thru Somerville.
One time I was driving from Ohio to Florida with my Fiancé and it was all smooth flat driving for her and as soon as i took over we ended up on these razor thin roads in the middle of some mountains in Tennessee and I was stressed the whole time, like how are people going so fast on these crazy hills.
I remember seeing something years ago that basically said that if someone came up with the idea for driving and cars now it’d never happen due to health and safety. Driving two machines at each other at speed and the only thing stopping collisions is a thin line and a few meters of space? Insane when you actually think about it.
IIRC the OG speed limits were under 10. We didn’t get to hurtling down the road at 90 overnight. Cars would be insane to someone with no concept of them.
>Cars would be insane to someone with no concept of them.
'Hey, let's build a 2-ton metal and glass box that actively creates a bunch of tiny explosions which eventually causes these round rubber things to turn and moves the box forward 2-3x as fast as a horse at full gallop.'
Be sure to secure this thin strap of fabric across your body to keep you from flying out if one of the other metal things hits you and makes the cannon shoot at your face.
The idea of credit cards being invented today would also be impossible.
A payment method where all you need is somebody's card number? And you can use it online? And sometimes you just hand it to waiters and they WALK AWAY WITH IT (In some countries)?
Oh and if the user fucks up and the info gets leaked... The bank usually eats the cost....
Absolute insanity.
Yep. And it’s actually wild how people overlook this. I got into an argument online with someone who was saying that NYC’s subway is unsafe because of the recent headlines about a person getting pushed.
But you could easily have an entire family killed in a single traffic accident and it doesn’t even make the national news because it’s so routine. The majority of New Yorkers don’t even have a car and yet we have hundreds of traffic fatalities every year.
People are more scared of the thing that happens a handful of times a year on a train system that moves more people every day than every commercial flight in America combined.
Someone on Reddit was arguing with me about how they drive because public transit isn’t safe and they might get stabbed by a meth head.
I was trying to explain that per mile per passenger, you are way way way more likely to die in car. It’s like 17-20x safer to ride a bus or take a train than to drive.
For whatever reason they just couldn’t comprehend this and kept being like “but I don’t want to get stabbed by a meth head”. Overall safety stats was meaningless to them because they’ve decided in their head cars are safe and on public transit you get stabbed.
This is the correct answer. Boeing might be getting all the headlines now with its shoddy planes. But by pure numbers, driving is still much more dangerous and much more deadly. I don't think enough people appreciate just how many people die due to car accidents every year.
There are 4 small patches of rubber, each about a foot square (depending on car) that are everything between you and death at any moment. Everything you do in a car that matters - acceleration, braking, turning - ultimately comes down to those 4 small patches of rubber.
Climbing on ladders. I’m a physician doing fellowship training in ICU medicine, and I’m working in a trauma ICU currently.
I have seen an alarming number of dudes in their 40s and 50s end up paralyzed from the neck down and/or in a permanent vegetative state from injuries sustained falling off ladders from single-family home height.
Pay someone to clean your gutters or fix your roof, if you can.
I’m a homeowner in my late 30s. I absolutely refuse to do anything on a ladder more than 3 feet up, they scare the shit out of me. I will pay the guy $200 to clean my gutter thank you very much.
My mom’s been a nurse in internal medicine for 40 years and joked that ladders are how you find adult leukemia cases. So many guys take a bad fall and then discover cancer during the blood work/imaging.
It's true! Knew a guy who fell off a ladder and broke his back. A couple of images later...boom, found out he had stomach cancer. That fall saved his life in a weird way.
Honestly, too many people just don't follow basic ladder safety. They have massive labels telling the user what they can and can't do safely.
The worst offenders? Overreaching the sides, climbing too high, moving a ladder while on it, and FOOTWEAR. Yes, people fall off of ladders often because they aren't wearing the right shoes. Crocs, flip flops, untied boots.
My dad is in his 80s and the other day he mentioned that he was done climbing to his own second story roof to do maintenance. I was like you should’ve stopped doing that a decade ago at least but good. He’s in really good shape for being 80 but still
A huge part of my job for almost a decade was climbing ladders to access roofs. I was well trained and had done it hundreds of not thousands of times.
I was feeling a little uncomfortable getting off the ladder on one house and decided to just go for it. Ladder slips to the side and I fall about 8 feet. Only hurt my ankle a bit luckily, but there was a t post set to hold up a tree about a foot from where I fell. If the ladder had slipped the other way I might have been impaled.
I had a new rule after that. If I feel uncomfortable I get off the ladder and pay someone else to do it.
Luckily I don't have to climb roofs anymore. Good riddance.
>Don't expect an answer though.
Just ask ChatGPT what he would say 🤷🏼♀️ /s
(For those that don't know, last year a German newspaper published a "first interview with Michael Schumacher since his accident", which was entirely generated by asking ChatGPT "what would Michael Schumacher say"... They did not make it clear that it wasn't real. Now they're getting sued by his family.)
That is one dense as shit editor for that paper. Directly lying is not a good look. But the computer said it was Michael Schumacher for realsies is not a good defense.
Friend of mine is on the search and rescue squad for a major mountain ski resort in North America. It's crazy how many severe injuries (limbs turned to jelly from hitting stationary objects) and deaths happen that he tells me about. I'd wager it's about one death per month during the season, they had 3 in two weeks at one point this year. We used to race/track motorcycles together and he tells me that is far safer compared to what he's seen over the years.
I do this every opportunity I have. Best feeling ever to be listening to Led Zeppelin with helmet speakers while throwing myself off a cliff, attached to two sticks.
Sounds like a blast.
I’m still fairly beginner and get nervous when I start picking up speed, but there’s a point where the speed is exciting instead of scary…which in and of itself is scary
Is this resort skiing or backcountry?
Because I can absolutely see backcountry skiing being extremely dangerous but that’s also generally a very respected activity. With the exception of 2020, people don’t generally go into backcountry skiing lightly.
But resort skiing, while risky I wouldn’t say is exceptionally dangerous. The chance of injury maybe but death isn’t rampant on resorts or anything.
Do you have any statistics where you’re drawing that from? I know skiing is dangerous and I ski anyways, but I never would’ve placed it among the most dangerous hobbies.
Funny enough, the sport you are most statistically likely to die while playing is golf, of all things. I guess it's just considered so deadly because so many old people are playing golf, and they tend to die.
Yeah and backcountry is very different to resort skiing.
We did have a terrible season one year where we saw 3 deaths (not the actual event just the aftermath). But two were heart attacks at the base.
One problem with statistics though is the resorts tend to keep a very very tight lip about incidents at their resort. So it may be hard to get reliable stats.
It's like Nevada with their casinos. There are a lot of protections carved out in the law for the resorts in states like Colorado and California to prevent liability for the resort. They can't act straight up negligently, but they aren't liable for almost anything that happens to you on the hill.
Ladders and stepladders, one of the most common ways people get injured at work or at home
[Have some nightmare fuel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5kiz7GhJt0) (NSFW)
Forklifts have machine spirits that lust for blood and property damage, but we tolerate them in commerce anyway for their incidental ability to move heavy stuff around
I’m opening a new restaurant for my company. My employees were on an 8 ft ladder yesterday and the one goes hey just move it while I’m up here. I yelled at them and said absolutely not. So he said fine I’ll do it my self and stared wiggling the ladder while he was on top of it and got it walked about 2 feet before I kicked him off of it and banned him from it
Fire that guy immediately. He openly defied your safety instructions if front of you, imagine what they'll do when you're not looking. And the company will be liable.
Ah yes, once you get to a certain age it’s time to tell your parents no more ladders or stepladders yet they never listen. My brother is huge on this, doesn’t allow any of his older neighbors to clean their own gutters or put up Christmas lights and does it all for them.
Both of my grandfathers have fallen off ladders many times. Both too stubborn to stop even though they’re in their 70s. One broke a hip, other got severe bruising the last times. Nothing quite like stubborn country folk
One of my friends nearly lost his foot in a forklift accident. The guy he was training stopped short and accidentally raised his forks when he stopped. My friend didn’t react in time and drove straight into the fork. It went all the way through his foot between his ankle and heel.
Man I started working as a dishwasher when I was 14 and this exact thing happened in front of me to my coworker.
He was transporting boiling chicken broth buckets in each hands, one handle broke, he slipped on the broth and his arm fell in the other bucket.
I will never forget his screams, poor guy was like a year older than me too. I saw him a year later and he had to wear a sleeve because his skin was still too sensitive to the sun.
I used to work at a Fortune 50 company and one of the big district managers was really wealthy from investing in years of stock early on. He was notorious for his slick-back hair and always having a cigar hanging out of his mouth. I always liked to see him visiting our building because he would always have the newest nicest Corvette or a Viper or some other bad ass car. One day I heard he died suddenly. Turns out he was cleaning his gutters in front of his house and slipped off the ladder and hit his head on his own front porch sidewalk.
A major part of my job is dealing with major trauma. There are three words that immediately let me know the shit is probably going to hit the fan - ladder, horse, and of course, motorbike.
A guy I went to high school with was cleaning gutters and fell from roof height. Went to the hospital for some bruises and a potential broken bone.
Got sent home to rest, wife found him dead in bed the next morning. I think there was a brain bleed that was missed.
Drinking alcohol.
It's addictive and that addiction has an incredible impact on those around you. Alcohol addiction is one of the main causes for childhood neglect and trauma and at the root of generational trauma patterns.
Yet drinking yourself into a stupor when you're struggling is still romanticized and socially acceptable.
I've hit rock bottom, and then drank myself even deeper than below that. Believe me folks, you do NOT want to be there. The only things present in that kind of lifestyle are legal trouble, depression, health issues, guilt, and a myriad of other things.
My dad drank ungodly amounts when I was a kid, and battered my mum while blind drunk. Then it was not limited to when he was drinking. Eventually she left him.
He's been sober for years, and happier for it. Except for when we recently found 3+ years of receipts in his house showing that he's been drinking 3 cases of beer a week MINIMUM. Unlocked all sorts of childhood trauma I didn't even know I had.
I basically don't drink. I'm too scared of becoming him.
Alcoholism is a socially acceptable addiction. It's crazy. I know someone who grew up with no food in the house because her dad was an alcoholic and spent all his money on booze. She has told me stories of her and her brother splitting a can of green beans for dinner while dad was passed out drunk in the living room. His brother literally drank himself to death and he still drinks like a fish. He will drunk dial her and be slurring his words all over the place and she'll just hang up on him. Later on he has no recollection of the call.
It’s also a carcinogen.
https://www.cancervic.org.au/cancer-information/preventing-cancer/limit-alcohol/how-alcohol-causes-cancer#:~:text=Alcohol%20is%20a%20known%20carcinogen,larynx)%2C%20oesophagus%20and%20bowel.
Especially breast cancer!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4299758/#:~:text=Alcohol%20is%20considered%20by%20the,both%20premenopausal%20and%20postmenopausal%20women.
7–10% increase in risk for each 10 g (~1 drink) alcohol consumed daily by adult women
Compared with other organs, breast appears to be more susceptible to carcinogenic effects of alcohol. The risk of breast cancer is significantly increased by 4–15% for light alcohol consumption (≤1 drink/day or ≤12.5 g/day)
Approximately 4–10% of breast cancers in the USA are attributable to alcohol consumption [2,5,6], accounting for 9000–23,000 new invasive breast cancer cases each year.
Also, even if you’re not addicted to alcohol (what would be considered an alcoholic), a lot of people seem to be semi-dependent on alcohol, to the point where you will sometimes get odd looks when you go out and don’t have a drink and other people are.
The level of acceptance and normalization of alcohol in society is absolutely insane.
as well as the the social and emotional impact, alcohol is [a known carcinogen](https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/alcohol/index.htm) with any amount consumed increasing your risk of cancer.
the way alcohol is treated now, compared to the proven health effects from using it, feels relatively similar to how smoking was treated 40-50 years ago.
Unprotected oral is the one that often gets forgotten, even when people are pretty observant at using condoms they seem to forget there’s a risk when putting someone else’s genitalia in/on your mouth.
My wife of 28 years regularly reminds me that she said "until death do us part" but not whose death or under what circumstances. She follows that up by reminding me that I fall asleep first.
Hey now. Most of us know that pulling out does nothing to do STDs and is very unreliable at preventing pregnancy, but the 5-second rule is 100% real, and you'll never convince me otherwise.
As long as it's fairly dry, anyway. I dropped a whole serving of ramen on the carpet last night. Yeah, no. No chance of salvaging that, no matter how fast you are.
Evolutionary consequence of bipedalism…humans evolved bigger brains/craniums while birth canal size decreased over time. With less room for error homo sapiens are more likely to suffer birthing issues than other mammals
And Remember when the "pro-life" people go on about how dangerous medical or surgical abortions are, they're way way safer than pregnancy and giving birth
Everyday relationships. The media and TV loves to push "STRANGER DANGER" but the fact is that murder is almost always a crime committed by an intimate partner or close relative. If you are worried about being killed, ignore the strangers and look at the Thanksgiving table.
Not brushing your teeth consistently.
I know it's probably not accepted as safe by everyone, but I'm going to add on here anyway. Some folks just don't care or don't realize how important it is to wash your teeth every day.
Many risks occur when you don't brush them for a long period of time.
I always feel like for adults that don’t brush at all it’s gotta be a reflection of their mental state. For kids it can be a lot of other things, but if I see an adult that has filthy teeth I just know they’re struggling with something tough.
why not start there? I have been struggling with severe depression most of my adult life, and it's the little things and small routines that can sometimes go a long way. Small goals, incremental steps.
brush your teeth daily, then tackle something slightly more difficult. Routines are everything.
Wish you all the best. You're awesome <3
It’s a lot more complicated than not caring or not realizing it’s important. A lot of people struggle with this and are well aware of the impact on their health.
I haven’t ridden in years, because my last fall triggered a seizure. Before that, I fell and had a concussion and dislocated my elbow. Saw a friend get run over by a horse while riding in a ring after she fell during training. Saw another friend nearly lose her breast after a horse bit her so hard she had to go to the ER.
I think of all the horror stories involving riding, and I just would rather watch other people do it now.
My friend was on a horse that reared up too far and fell backwards on top of her. The saddle horn went through her and shattered her pelvis. She was told she’d never walk again and takes photos of her X-rays to the airport since her whole midsection is bolted back together. But she is now an avid runner with a huge zest for life.
I loved horses as a teen and still do but my horseshow hobby stopped abruptly when I was 13 and was thrown clear through a (thankfully rotten) wooden fence headfirst. Amazingly didn't break my neck but was so shaken up I never got back into the hobby, only been on a horse a handful of times since.
>That is of course unless the horse
Is the famous Mister Ed!
*(For those who haven't seen the TV show: Mister Ed is a talking horse who lies and schemes incessantly)*
I went to college with a girl who fell off a horse once and it basically gave her what seemed like a milder (albeit still permanent) version of cerebral palsy, with comparable speech/movement problems and such. Scary shit.
>I don't know a single rider that hasn't been seriously injured or handicapped by a horse.
What the hell is going on with horse riders you know? I grew up with horses, as did my wife. My cousins had horses. My wife's friends had horses. I don't know anybody who got injured.
My dad has always wished that I would grow out of the horse obsession as a kid. Never had access to horses but now I have my own. For me, I recognize that a lot of things are dangerous. Hell just leaving your house and walking around is dangerous. Driving is very dangerous. And maybe it's because I grew up in bad areas and had my fair share of bad and near death experiences with people but I figure if I avoid everything that could get me injured or killed I'd just live in a padded room (and still probably find a way to get hurt). You have to pick what, in your mind, is worth the risk. I always wear a helmet and a protective vest in case of a fall and do everything I can to stay as safe as possible. But shit could still happen but for me at least it's something *I* chose, knowing the risks, and not something someone else chose for me.
Walking on sidewalks next to strangers operating massive metal machines with kids fighting in the back seat, music blasting and making phone calls and stressed from traffic and work and family at home, trying to get where theyre going as quickly as possible, usually medicated into some kind of trance by something or other with almost no checks to test their competency.
We need more people friendly cities instead of car friendly cities.
Also faster. And with the rise of EVs, they’re also getting quieter. Less trucks and muscle cars with loud roaring engines, more EVs with little to no noise other than the crunch of tires on the road
Distracted walking.
Walking while texting, talking on the phone, or being preoccupied with headphones can lead to accidents, falls, or collisions with vehicles or other pedestrians. It's important to remain aware of your surroundings while walking to ensure your safety.
This is why I lost a huge chunk of a settlement. I was 16 and going for a walk to my girlfriend's house. I was walking along the sidewalk and a drunk driver came up behind me doing an estimated 60+ (according to the ups driver who saw and said he was doing 60 when he was passed by the guy who hit me). The road curved and he did not take the turn but instead kept going straight and hit me from behind. I got a big payout thanks to dad's insurance but I got 150k less than I was supposed yo get because they argued that I was 50% to blame due to having headphones in. Guess maybe I could have spidermanned out of the way or something without my headphones.
Sometimes, as backwards as it sounds, I’m so grateful to be from the hood. I would never do any of your examples because where I grew up, that would easily get you robbed. I don’t live in a bad neighborhood anymore but I kept the habits and I think I’m better off for it
Social media such as Facebook or Instagram, more or less. Why would I want some strangers to know EXACTLY where I work, where do I live, when I'm home, how do I look, what do I like, and so on?
I think there also should be more consideration in terms of consent regarding what gets posted. I've been butting heads with family because I'm trying not to have an online presence in terms of pics and vids of me and pics of me from holidays and family events are being posted because we HAVE to share these moments with everyone and I'm just being insecure.
It makes me uncomfortable when parents are posting pics and updates for every single event in their kids' lives. I get wanting to document everything, but do it in a scrapbook. These kids are going to have their entire childhoods shared online to strangers whether they like it or not.
texting and driving.
I spend over 3 hours commuting 5 days a week and it seems like 75% of drivers are straight up holding the phones in front of their face, even at 70 plus MPH.
Skiing. I live in Colorado and all of my friends who ski have a story about the ski season they missed because of a bad injury.
They’re all still happy to get back out there each year, though.
My favorite homemade cleaning combo is bleach and vinegar. Does a great job of dealing with those stains, and it also works to kill off those pesky humans!
I travel a lot for work. Driving has gotten so much more dangerous since the pandemic started. Every state has gotten worse. It's to the point where I can tell if someone's looking at their phone just by how they drive. And those 'no hes' drivers need to be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The numbers of near accidents I've seen from improper merges is crazy.
Maybe not EVERYONE, but I'd say that way too many people out there just indiscriminately have unprotected sex. Then they're stuck with an STD or an unwanted pregnancy (or two or three) and they're stuck with the consequences just cuz they didn't want to put on a condom or whatever lame excuse they come up with.
100% agree especially when guys go raw with strangers like you really risking your health for a few minutes of sex then they're the first one to scream baby trap when not wearing condoms is consenting to kids.
prolly gambling. crazy how much more its been advertised in the past few years like its no thing. I imagine people lives are getting ruined quickly with some of these apps
driving
Only answer. Thin yellow line between you and 2 ton death machines and we all agree that it's fine.
Every once in a while, I think about this. What batshit insane person figured this was ok... It's just nuts when you start to think about it.
The automobile industry REALLLLLY pushed for the mass adoption of cars. They lobbied local and federal governments to design cities around cars. It did not have to be this way. If we were sensible, we'd still have cars but a lot more trains, buses, and walkable cities.
I'm happy to live in the Netherlands. Most cities here are just hell to drive into because pedestians and bikes have almost everywhere priority.
I still remember it being pounded in my brain when I was in Amsterdam about the bike lanes and to make sure I wasn’t walking in them. The other thing I remember were no power lines above ground. One of the guys with me asked about it to a dude who had lived there for like seven years and he had never noticed.
The ground is pretty soft over here so we just put everything underground
> The automobile industry REALLLLLY pushed for the mass adoption of cars. They lobbied local and federal governments to design cities around cars. In the US yes, sadly. Still blows my mind how apparently LA was heading down the European road with trams and public transportation in the 1930s but then it all got fucked and now we have the 24-7 LA gridlock, where even car enthusiasts with 5+ luxury cars take a scooter to get around town for smaller distances. > It did not have to be this way. If we were sensible, we'd still have cars but a lot more trains, buses, and walkable cities. And it wasn't in Europe - Tons of public transportation here and cars are defacto obsolete in many larger cities in Europe, unless you have a mobility handicap of sorts or just need a taxi that one time. Also neccesitated by not having as much space as US cities, so the streets and density of cities in Europe made a car centric reality impossible to be efficient.
It almost was in Amsterdam! [The Dutch protested like hell to stop it.](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord) [More pictures](https://www.fastcompany.com/3052699/these-historical-photos-show-how-amsterdam-turned-itself-into-a-bike-riders-paradise) (with very poor resolution for some reason but it gets the point across)
You get to go places quick whenever you want though
Well, kinda. Before cars were popular we used to live and build towns and cities that were easily walkable and had street cars to get across town and trains to get between them. Bicycles were also very popular and useful. You didn't *need* a car to get where you wanted to go. Since then we've retrofitted existing cities and designed our growing ones to fit cars. Pull up Google maps and look at how much space in your town or city is devoted solely to cars. Street parking, parking lots, wide roads, freeways, drive ways etc. and imagine how much smaller it would be if you took that stuff out.
And that place is usually just work Fuck
Cars aren't inherently bad. But the fact that we accept putting millions of sleep deprived, stressed people on the road to get to a place they hate just to live paycheck to paycheck is a wild concept. We should start incentives for remote work, or punishing companies for wasting space for offices.
Not like a bullet train. Not when there is any traffic
I miss those bullet trains... Tokyo to Kagoshima in... I can't remember from 15 years ago but it felt pretty quick
I think about it every time I get behind the wheel, which is why I have terrible driving anxiety.
There is a 4 lane road in Boston called the Jamaica way. Very twisty, huge trees on either side and only yellow line separates drivers often going 40 mph. It’s an act of faith in humanity everytime I drive it.
I'd like to add the Mystic Valley and Alewife River Parkways thru Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge too... also very twisty, 25-35+ mph drivers and to add to that, lanes ending without warning especially thru Somerville.
Even scarier, is the amount of people considering those lines as suggestions in mountainous areas
One time I was driving from Ohio to Florida with my Fiancé and it was all smooth flat driving for her and as soon as i took over we ended up on these razor thin roads in the middle of some mountains in Tennessee and I was stressed the whole time, like how are people going so fast on these crazy hills.
Haha I live in the ozark mountains. Just like learning to drive in a tight city, we learn to drive on hilly, curvy roads.
Especially in bad weather.
I remember seeing something years ago that basically said that if someone came up with the idea for driving and cars now it’d never happen due to health and safety. Driving two machines at each other at speed and the only thing stopping collisions is a thin line and a few meters of space? Insane when you actually think about it.
IIRC the OG speed limits were under 10. We didn’t get to hurtling down the road at 90 overnight. Cars would be insane to someone with no concept of them.
>Cars would be insane to someone with no concept of them. 'Hey, let's build a 2-ton metal and glass box that actively creates a bunch of tiny explosions which eventually causes these round rubber things to turn and moves the box forward 2-3x as fast as a horse at full gallop.'
‘For safety, it’s going to fire a bunch of weird pillows out of cannons at you if you bump into another behemoth at full gait’
Be sure to secure this thin strap of fabric across your body to keep you from flying out if one of the other metal things hits you and makes the cannon shoot at your face.
The idea of credit cards being invented today would also be impossible. A payment method where all you need is somebody's card number? And you can use it online? And sometimes you just hand it to waiters and they WALK AWAY WITH IT (In some countries)? Oh and if the user fucks up and the info gets leaked... The bank usually eats the cost.... Absolute insanity.
It’s OK, the banks are stealing enough data from you all the time that they know before you do when you’re going to make a purchase.
The only thing keeping you alive is the on coming person’s will to live
yep, people are afraid of flying, but driving cars is way more dangerous
Go a step further and say riding a motorcycle
Seriously. Wish I didn't have to do it.
This is why I prefer city with a good public transportation
Yep. And it’s actually wild how people overlook this. I got into an argument online with someone who was saying that NYC’s subway is unsafe because of the recent headlines about a person getting pushed. But you could easily have an entire family killed in a single traffic accident and it doesn’t even make the national news because it’s so routine. The majority of New Yorkers don’t even have a car and yet we have hundreds of traffic fatalities every year. People are more scared of the thing that happens a handful of times a year on a train system that moves more people every day than every commercial flight in America combined.
Someone on Reddit was arguing with me about how they drive because public transit isn’t safe and they might get stabbed by a meth head. I was trying to explain that per mile per passenger, you are way way way more likely to die in car. It’s like 17-20x safer to ride a bus or take a train than to drive. For whatever reason they just couldn’t comprehend this and kept being like “but I don’t want to get stabbed by a meth head”. Overall safety stats was meaningless to them because they’ve decided in their head cars are safe and on public transit you get stabbed.
This is the correct answer. Boeing might be getting all the headlines now with its shoddy planes. But by pure numbers, driving is still much more dangerous and much more deadly. I don't think enough people appreciate just how many people die due to car accidents every year.
In the US alone, it's approximately the same as if a fully loaded 737 max 8 crashed *every other day.*
There are 4 small patches of rubber, each about a foot square (depending on car) that are everything between you and death at any moment. Everything you do in a car that matters - acceleration, braking, turning - ultimately comes down to those 4 small patches of rubber.
Climbing on ladders. I’m a physician doing fellowship training in ICU medicine, and I’m working in a trauma ICU currently. I have seen an alarming number of dudes in their 40s and 50s end up paralyzed from the neck down and/or in a permanent vegetative state from injuries sustained falling off ladders from single-family home height. Pay someone to clean your gutters or fix your roof, if you can.
I’m a homeowner in my late 30s. I absolutely refuse to do anything on a ladder more than 3 feet up, they scare the shit out of me. I will pay the guy $200 to clean my gutter thank you very much.
My mom’s been a nurse in internal medicine for 40 years and joked that ladders are how you find adult leukemia cases. So many guys take a bad fall and then discover cancer during the blood work/imaging.
It's true! Knew a guy who fell off a ladder and broke his back. A couple of images later...boom, found out he had stomach cancer. That fall saved his life in a weird way.
Wow that’s sad
Honestly, too many people just don't follow basic ladder safety. They have massive labels telling the user what they can and can't do safely. The worst offenders? Overreaching the sides, climbing too high, moving a ladder while on it, and FOOTWEAR. Yes, people fall off of ladders often because they aren't wearing the right shoes. Crocs, flip flops, untied boots.
My dad is in his 80s and the other day he mentioned that he was done climbing to his own second story roof to do maintenance. I was like you should’ve stopped doing that a decade ago at least but good. He’s in really good shape for being 80 but still
A huge part of my job for almost a decade was climbing ladders to access roofs. I was well trained and had done it hundreds of not thousands of times. I was feeling a little uncomfortable getting off the ladder on one house and decided to just go for it. Ladder slips to the side and I fall about 8 feet. Only hurt my ankle a bit luckily, but there was a t post set to hold up a tree about a foot from where I fell. If the ladder had slipped the other way I might have been impaled. I had a new rule after that. If I feel uncomfortable I get off the ladder and pay someone else to do it. Luckily I don't have to climb roofs anymore. Good riddance.
Skiing is one the most dangerous activity that is accepted and even promoted
Ask Michael Schumacher. Don't expect an answer though.
>Don't expect an answer though. Just ask ChatGPT what he would say 🤷🏼♀️ /s (For those that don't know, last year a German newspaper published a "first interview with Michael Schumacher since his accident", which was entirely generated by asking ChatGPT "what would Michael Schumacher say"... They did not make it clear that it wasn't real. Now they're getting sued by his family.)
That is really fucked up.
And so bafflingly stupid, Who approved that?!!
That is one dense as shit editor for that paper. Directly lying is not a good look. But the computer said it was Michael Schumacher for realsies is not a good defense.
Or Sonny Bono
Or Natasha Richardson
Directly had to think of this too. Really sad story.
I find it fascinating how ski resorts allow people with zero experience to go straight from the bar to a black diamond trail.
People can go where they want. Someone with zero experience is going to have a bad time on a black diamond.
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Yeah...it won't matter if they're sober or not. Getting on a trail way above your skill level can be a very bad time.
I mean anyone can go and try something they have no ability to do but it's going to end poorly for them
Friend of mine is on the search and rescue squad for a major mountain ski resort in North America. It's crazy how many severe injuries (limbs turned to jelly from hitting stationary objects) and deaths happen that he tells me about. I'd wager it's about one death per month during the season, they had 3 in two weeks at one point this year. We used to race/track motorcycles together and he tells me that is far safer compared to what he's seen over the years.
Imagine hurtling head first toward trees and cliffs and your feet are each on their own unstoppable separate trajectory.
>unstoppable I mean most skiers know how to stop
I love to do the quick side stop and dust my husband. I call it my Powder Move.
I do this every opportunity I have. Best feeling ever to be listening to Led Zeppelin with helmet speakers while throwing myself off a cliff, attached to two sticks.
This guy rambles on
I heard he was walking in the park just the other day
Sounds like a blast. I’m still fairly beginner and get nervous when I start picking up speed, but there’s a point where the speed is exciting instead of scary…which in and of itself is scary
Is this resort skiing or backcountry? Because I can absolutely see backcountry skiing being extremely dangerous but that’s also generally a very respected activity. With the exception of 2020, people don’t generally go into backcountry skiing lightly. But resort skiing, while risky I wouldn’t say is exceptionally dangerous. The chance of injury maybe but death isn’t rampant on resorts or anything.
Thankfully 95% of people wear helmets now, that has definitely helped.
Do you have any statistics where you’re drawing that from? I know skiing is dangerous and I ski anyways, but I never would’ve placed it among the most dangerous hobbies.
Funny enough, the sport you are most statistically likely to die while playing is golf, of all things. I guess it's just considered so deadly because so many old people are playing golf, and they tend to die.
I would have guessed lighting or drunk golf cart rollovers
Also getting hit in the head by errant tee shots probably accounts for a few
John Daly-types having heart attacks on the course is my bet
John Daly will be golfing with Keith Richards long after most of us are gone.
Yeah and backcountry is very different to resort skiing. We did have a terrible season one year where we saw 3 deaths (not the actual event just the aftermath). But two were heart attacks at the base. One problem with statistics though is the resorts tend to keep a very very tight lip about incidents at their resort. So it may be hard to get reliable stats.
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It's like Nevada with their casinos. There are a lot of protections carved out in the law for the resorts in states like Colorado and California to prevent liability for the resort. They can't act straight up negligently, but they aren't liable for almost anything that happens to you on the hill.
Statistically, no.
More risky than driving over 230mph for Michael Schumacher
Ladders and stepladders, one of the most common ways people get injured at work or at home [Have some nightmare fuel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5kiz7GhJt0) (NSFW) Forklifts have machine spirits that lust for blood and property damage, but we tolerate them in commerce anyway for their incidental ability to move heavy stuff around
I’m opening a new restaurant for my company. My employees were on an 8 ft ladder yesterday and the one goes hey just move it while I’m up here. I yelled at them and said absolutely not. So he said fine I’ll do it my self and stared wiggling the ladder while he was on top of it and got it walked about 2 feet before I kicked him off of it and banned him from it
My staff tend to do things like using wheeled office chairs as stepladders and I have to constantly yell at them to not do that
Fire that guy immediately. He openly defied your safety instructions if front of you, imagine what they'll do when you're not looking. And the company will be liable.
> And the company will be liable Do you think a restaurant industry worker is going to pass a mandatory post-accident drug test But yeah fire him
Definitely ladders. That’s how my mom’s first husband died :( work accident falling off a normal 6 foot ladder. He was only 32.
Ah yes, once you get to a certain age it’s time to tell your parents no more ladders or stepladders yet they never listen. My brother is huge on this, doesn’t allow any of his older neighbors to clean their own gutters or put up Christmas lights and does it all for them.
Both of my grandfathers have fallen off ladders many times. Both too stubborn to stop even though they’re in their 70s. One broke a hip, other got severe bruising the last times. Nothing quite like stubborn country folk
One of my friends nearly lost his foot in a forklift accident. The guy he was training stopped short and accidentally raised his forks when he stopped. My friend didn’t react in time and drove straight into the fork. It went all the way through his foot between his ankle and heel.
Yeah. Didn't want that visual but it's here to stay.
[The kitchen one from that series is way worse](https://youtu.be/kOk2Akqb3CI?si=pDIy79_59e118QVZ) possibly NSFL?
Man I started working as a dishwasher when I was 14 and this exact thing happened in front of me to my coworker. He was transporting boiling chicken broth buckets in each hands, one handle broke, he slipped on the broth and his arm fell in the other bucket. I will never forget his screams, poor guy was like a year older than me too. I saw him a year later and he had to wear a sleeve because his skin was still too sensitive to the sun.
I used to work at a Fortune 50 company and one of the big district managers was really wealthy from investing in years of stock early on. He was notorious for his slick-back hair and always having a cigar hanging out of his mouth. I always liked to see him visiting our building because he would always have the newest nicest Corvette or a Viper or some other bad ass car. One day I heard he died suddenly. Turns out he was cleaning his gutters in front of his house and slipped off the ladder and hit his head on his own front porch sidewalk.
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A major part of my job is dealing with major trauma. There are three words that immediately let me know the shit is probably going to hit the fan - ladder, horse, and of course, motorbike.
A guy I went to high school with was cleaning gutters and fell from roof height. Went to the hospital for some bruises and a potential broken bone. Got sent home to rest, wife found him dead in bed the next morning. I think there was a brain bleed that was missed.
My dad broke both of wrists falling off just a two step ladder. Ladders can be underrated death traps.
Drinking alcohol. It's addictive and that addiction has an incredible impact on those around you. Alcohol addiction is one of the main causes for childhood neglect and trauma and at the root of generational trauma patterns. Yet drinking yourself into a stupor when you're struggling is still romanticized and socially acceptable.
I've hit rock bottom, and then drank myself even deeper than below that. Believe me folks, you do NOT want to be there. The only things present in that kind of lifestyle are legal trouble, depression, health issues, guilt, and a myriad of other things.
Glad you're still here.
Me too man. Literally, I damn near drank myself to death. Thankful I got out of that life.
Been there. 0/10, Do not recommend.
My dad drank ungodly amounts when I was a kid, and battered my mum while blind drunk. Then it was not limited to when he was drinking. Eventually she left him. He's been sober for years, and happier for it. Except for when we recently found 3+ years of receipts in his house showing that he's been drinking 3 cases of beer a week MINIMUM. Unlocked all sorts of childhood trauma I didn't even know I had. I basically don't drink. I'm too scared of becoming him.
Alcoholism is a socially acceptable addiction. It's crazy. I know someone who grew up with no food in the house because her dad was an alcoholic and spent all his money on booze. She has told me stories of her and her brother splitting a can of green beans for dinner while dad was passed out drunk in the living room. His brother literally drank himself to death and he still drinks like a fish. He will drunk dial her and be slurring his words all over the place and she'll just hang up on him. Later on he has no recollection of the call.
You don’t even have to be addicted or drink “too much” by social standards… alcohol is poison that’s why our bodies react to it they way they do.
Yeah my dad was surprised that the amount he and my fam drink at birthday parties is actually binge drinking
It’s also a carcinogen. https://www.cancervic.org.au/cancer-information/preventing-cancer/limit-alcohol/how-alcohol-causes-cancer#:~:text=Alcohol%20is%20a%20known%20carcinogen,larynx)%2C%20oesophagus%20and%20bowel.
Especially breast cancer! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4299758/#:~:text=Alcohol%20is%20considered%20by%20the,both%20premenopausal%20and%20postmenopausal%20women. 7–10% increase in risk for each 10 g (~1 drink) alcohol consumed daily by adult women Compared with other organs, breast appears to be more susceptible to carcinogenic effects of alcohol. The risk of breast cancer is significantly increased by 4–15% for light alcohol consumption (≤1 drink/day or ≤12.5 g/day) Approximately 4–10% of breast cancers in the USA are attributable to alcohol consumption [2,5,6], accounting for 9000–23,000 new invasive breast cancer cases each year.
Also, even if you’re not addicted to alcohol (what would be considered an alcoholic), a lot of people seem to be semi-dependent on alcohol, to the point where you will sometimes get odd looks when you go out and don’t have a drink and other people are. The level of acceptance and normalization of alcohol in society is absolutely insane.
as well as the the social and emotional impact, alcohol is [a known carcinogen](https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/alcohol/index.htm) with any amount consumed increasing your risk of cancer. the way alcohol is treated now, compared to the proven health effects from using it, feels relatively similar to how smoking was treated 40-50 years ago.
Maybe not safe by everyone but unprotected sex
Unprotected oral is the one that often gets forgotten, even when people are pretty observant at using condoms they seem to forget there’s a risk when putting someone else’s genitalia in/on your mouth.
You would think it would be common sense but no put a random dick in your mouth why not.
you'll have to take these random dicks away from my cold dead red and bumpy mouth.
It's pretty safe if you only have sex with long term partners after getting to know them.
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Yeah bud get in line. Might not be as safe by your turn.
In line with a bunch of redditors? I think I’ll be fine
Statistically speaking your spouse is the most likely person to kill you.
My wife of 28 years regularly reminds me that she said "until death do us part" but not whose death or under what circumstances. She follows that up by reminding me that I fall asleep first.
And her least favorite number is 29
Especially when you don't even know the person and think pullout stops std
The same people that live by the 5 seconds rule
Hey now. Most of us know that pulling out does nothing to do STDs and is very unreliable at preventing pregnancy, but the 5-second rule is 100% real, and you'll never convince me otherwise. As long as it's fairly dry, anyway. I dropped a whole serving of ramen on the carpet last night. Yeah, no. No chance of salvaging that, no matter how fast you are.
Pregnancy and giving birth
The whole concept is wild asf for me and I realize this is the foundation of life.
Evolutionary consequence of bipedalism…humans evolved bigger brains/craniums while birth canal size decreased over time. With less room for error homo sapiens are more likely to suffer birthing issues than other mammals
And Remember when the "pro-life" people go on about how dangerous medical or surgical abortions are, they're way way safer than pregnancy and giving birth
Everyday relationships. The media and TV loves to push "STRANGER DANGER" but the fact is that murder is almost always a crime committed by an intimate partner or close relative. If you are worried about being killed, ignore the strangers and look at the Thanksgiving table.
Grandma: You want some more stuffing? Me: Back off grandma, I know what you're up to.
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God forbid you say that in the true crime discussion subreddit. Fun crowd over there.
Being able to take a loan or mortgage way above your comfort level.
Not brushing your teeth consistently. I know it's probably not accepted as safe by everyone, but I'm going to add on here anyway. Some folks just don't care or don't realize how important it is to wash your teeth every day. Many risks occur when you don't brush them for a long period of time.
I always feel like for adults that don’t brush at all it’s gotta be a reflection of their mental state. For kids it can be a lot of other things, but if I see an adult that has filthy teeth I just know they’re struggling with something tough.
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why not start there? I have been struggling with severe depression most of my adult life, and it's the little things and small routines that can sometimes go a long way. Small goals, incremental steps. brush your teeth daily, then tackle something slightly more difficult. Routines are everything. Wish you all the best. You're awesome <3
Can confirm. Got endocarditis through an infection in my tooth.
It’s a lot more complicated than not caring or not realizing it’s important. A lot of people struggle with this and are well aware of the impact on their health.
Horse riding seriously. I don't know a single rider that hasn't been seriously injured or handicapped by a horse.
I haven’t ridden in years, because my last fall triggered a seizure. Before that, I fell and had a concussion and dislocated my elbow. Saw a friend get run over by a horse while riding in a ring after she fell during training. Saw another friend nearly lose her breast after a horse bit her so hard she had to go to the ER. I think of all the horror stories involving riding, and I just would rather watch other people do it now.
Horse biting off a boob was not in my Morning Reddit Bingo.
It's little moments like these that keep me coming back
My friend was on a horse that reared up too far and fell backwards on top of her. The saddle horn went through her and shattered her pelvis. She was told she’d never walk again and takes photos of her X-rays to the airport since her whole midsection is bolted back together. But she is now an avid runner with a huge zest for life.
I loved horses as a teen and still do but my horseshow hobby stopped abruptly when I was 13 and was thrown clear through a (thankfully rotten) wooden fence headfirst. Amazingly didn't break my neck but was so shaken up I never got back into the hobby, only been on a horse a handful of times since.
You can never trust a horse
>That is of course unless the horse Is the famous Mister Ed! *(For those who haven't seen the TV show: Mister Ed is a talking horse who lies and schemes incessantly)*
I went to college with a girl who fell off a horse once and it basically gave her what seemed like a milder (albeit still permanent) version of cerebral palsy, with comparable speech/movement problems and such. Scary shit.
>I don't know a single rider that hasn't been seriously injured or handicapped by a horse. What the hell is going on with horse riders you know? I grew up with horses, as did my wife. My cousins had horses. My wife's friends had horses. I don't know anybody who got injured.
My dad has always wished that I would grow out of the horse obsession as a kid. Never had access to horses but now I have my own. For me, I recognize that a lot of things are dangerous. Hell just leaving your house and walking around is dangerous. Driving is very dangerous. And maybe it's because I grew up in bad areas and had my fair share of bad and near death experiences with people but I figure if I avoid everything that could get me injured or killed I'd just live in a padded room (and still probably find a way to get hurt). You have to pick what, in your mind, is worth the risk. I always wear a helmet and a protective vest in case of a fall and do everything I can to stay as safe as possible. But shit could still happen but for me at least it's something *I* chose, knowing the risks, and not something someone else chose for me.
Childbirth
Walking on sidewalks next to strangers operating massive metal machines with kids fighting in the back seat, music blasting and making phone calls and stressed from traffic and work and family at home, trying to get where theyre going as quickly as possible, usually medicated into some kind of trance by something or other with almost no checks to test their competency. We need more people friendly cities instead of car friendly cities.
Meanwhile they get bigger and heavier every year.
Also faster. And with the rise of EVs, they’re also getting quieter. Less trucks and muscle cars with loud roaring engines, more EVs with little to no noise other than the crunch of tires on the road
Distracted walking. Walking while texting, talking on the phone, or being preoccupied with headphones can lead to accidents, falls, or collisions with vehicles or other pedestrians. It's important to remain aware of your surroundings while walking to ensure your safety.
This is why I lost a huge chunk of a settlement. I was 16 and going for a walk to my girlfriend's house. I was walking along the sidewalk and a drunk driver came up behind me doing an estimated 60+ (according to the ups driver who saw and said he was doing 60 when he was passed by the guy who hit me). The road curved and he did not take the turn but instead kept going straight and hit me from behind. I got a big payout thanks to dad's insurance but I got 150k less than I was supposed yo get because they argued that I was 50% to blame due to having headphones in. Guess maybe I could have spidermanned out of the way or something without my headphones.
THAT IS INFURIATING
Insurance companies employ most of the lawyers who graduated with top honors but have a Saul Goodman moral compass.
Sometimes, as backwards as it sounds, I’m so grateful to be from the hood. I would never do any of your examples because where I grew up, that would easily get you robbed. I don’t live in a bad neighborhood anymore but I kept the habits and I think I’m better off for it
Street Smarts can take you a long way, especially if you live in the city.
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Social media such as Facebook or Instagram, more or less. Why would I want some strangers to know EXACTLY where I work, where do I live, when I'm home, how do I look, what do I like, and so on?
I work at a social media company. You’d be surprised how many of us feel this same way and don’t use the product we build.
But hey, money
I think there also should be more consideration in terms of consent regarding what gets posted. I've been butting heads with family because I'm trying not to have an online presence in terms of pics and vids of me and pics of me from holidays and family events are being posted because we HAVE to share these moments with everyone and I'm just being insecure. It makes me uncomfortable when parents are posting pics and updates for every single event in their kids' lives. I get wanting to document everything, but do it in a scrapbook. These kids are going to have their entire childhoods shared online to strangers whether they like it or not.
Chiropractors
Trampolines. Most trampoline parks have you sign a waiver so you can't sue them if you get injured using their facilities.
If you ask a group of doctors what they never let their family do there are always two major answers: have a trampoline and go to chiropractors.
For me... farting.
I trusted a fart once…never again
People just don't know the dangers.
Student loans. It’s crazy easy to get them, and insane to pay them off.
According to this thread the answer is existence which seems correct.
Getting in and out of a bathtub is one of the most common places to be injured in the home!
Social media.
Life
sex and especially oral sex
Stairs
texting and driving. I spend over 3 hours commuting 5 days a week and it seems like 75% of drivers are straight up holding the phones in front of their face, even at 70 plus MPH.
Crypto, It's basically gambling
It's MLM for guys
Skiing. I live in Colorado and all of my friends who ski have a story about the ski season they missed because of a bad injury. They’re all still happy to get back out there each year, though.
Household every day cleaning chemicals, especially if you mix them to make a "stronger & better" cleaner.
Calm down there Peggy Hill
My favorite homemade cleaning combo is bleach and vinegar. Does a great job of dealing with those stains, and it also works to kill off those pesky humans!
Drinking alcohol around other people who are drinking alcohol.
I travel a lot for work. Driving has gotten so much more dangerous since the pandemic started. Every state has gotten worse. It's to the point where I can tell if someone's looking at their phone just by how they drive. And those 'no hes' drivers need to be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The numbers of near accidents I've seen from improper merges is crazy.
Zebra crossings
Walking in front of cars
Driving.
Maybe not EVERYONE, but I'd say that way too many people out there just indiscriminately have unprotected sex. Then they're stuck with an STD or an unwanted pregnancy (or two or three) and they're stuck with the consequences just cuz they didn't want to put on a condom or whatever lame excuse they come up with.
100% agree especially when guys go raw with strangers like you really risking your health for a few minutes of sex then they're the first one to scream baby trap when not wearing condoms is consenting to kids.
Drinking alcohol. Class 1 carcinogen.
Walking on a pavement with 38 tonne HGVs passing a few feet away at 30mph.
prolly gambling. crazy how much more its been advertised in the past few years like its no thing. I imagine people lives are getting ruined quickly with some of these apps
Mountain climbing and hill walking
Driving