Myth Busters Talk About All the 'Dangerous' Things That Are Actually Pretty Safe

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Sep 22, 2023 9:00 AM EDT

If you grew up with parents that were even the slightest bit neurotic, you probably spent a lot of your childhood hearing awful tales about things that could happen to you in the wrong circumstances. The world is a mighty dangerous place where all sorts of things can go wrong, and in turn they can harm you.

We could sit here all day worrying ourselves sick about the tragedies that could befall us if we're not careful, but that is no way to live. While we should do our best to avoid jeopardizing our safety, it's a lot more comforting to think about everything out there that actually isn't too bad for us. 

This seemed to be the reasoning behind a recent Reddit thread, where people shared examples of things that many have been told are a lot more dangerous than they actually are. A mixture of obvious and surprising, it's enough to (slightly) reassure even the biggest scaredy-cat. 

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  • 01
    Human body - r/AskReddit u/Thrwwyforrandostuff • 13h What's actually pretty safe but everyone treats it like it's way more dangerous than it is?
    via Thrwwyforrandostuff
  • 02
    Font - dilly-dally0 8h Going trick or treating
    via dilly-dally0
  • 03
    Organism - CA Mrofcourse 8h Radiation. People will panic about wifi, microwaves, etc and then will go out in the sun without sunscreen. : Reply 7.0k OutOfCharacterAnswer 6h Oh man, this one is classic. People wanting to get tan, but won't microwave their food.
    via Mrofcourse
  • 04
    Rectangle - MilkyRae24 11h Traveling...by plane. Obviously everyone doesn't think so, but trust me when I say there are so many individuals that don't want to fly! More than we know, it's shocking.
    via MilkyRae24
  • 05
    Font - Erlkaizer 9h MSG. It's full of flavor.
    via Erlkaizer
  • 06
    Font - Kalo301 9h Swimming after eating : Reply 2.7k JellyDonutFrenzy 8h Because of this myth, my dad used to make me wait 30 mins after eating dinner before I could take a shower. What could happen in a shower???
    via Kalo301
  • 07
    Font - Longboardsandbikes 9h Hammerhead sharks. They were blamed for a lot of shark attacks. But the reality is they are not built for chomping people. They are aggressively territorial though, and that can freak people out. Sharks in general are not that dangerous. If they ate people intentionally the ocean would be very dangerous. Attacks happen because we disguise ourselves as their food when we swim on the surface above them (tiger sharks or whites) or when we wiggle our toes in the water th
    via Longboardsandbikes
  • 08
    Font - Mister_Moho 8h Toads. They don't give you warts.
    via Mister_Moho
  • 09
    Font - mmmurrrr 9h Stepping on a crack
    via mmmurrrr
  • 10
    Rectangle - CrumzAus 9h Australia : Reply candangoek 8h That's what Australia would say 1.3k
    via CrumzAus
  • 11
    Font - valdeckner 7h In Oregon and New Jersey: pumping gas.
    via valdeckner
  • 12
    Sleeve - RegularEmbarrassed36 13h Nuclear power
    via RegularEmbarrassed36
  • 13
    Font - commonersafe 7h Handling raw chicken. Don't get me wrong, proper food prep is important for health and safety but, just being in the vicinity of raw chicken isn't going to instantly kill you. Some people act like if the chicken touches anything you have to fumigate your house and wash your hands for 20 minutes.
    via commonersafe
  • 14
    Font - RecordLonely 8h Kids playing outside or riding their bikes or in general not being hovered over by their parents. The parents think it's so dangerous outside so they stick them in front of a screen, online, where all the predators are actually hanging out.
    via RecordLonely
  • 15
    Font - PantherGk7 13h Building Implosion Sure, there have been some implosions that have gone terribly wrong. However, implosion is usually the safest and most efficient method of demolishing a large building.
    via PantherGk7
  • 16
    Font - czokopaka 7h GMO foods... I can't stand all products in the stores yelling at me that they're non-GMO. I'd prefer they use GMO and be cheaper thanks to that. GMO hasn't been proved to be unsafe yet, but people are scared that their offspring will get 3 arms because genetically modified sounds scary. Similar situation to nuclear power really.
    via czokopaka
  • 17
    Font - cozmoLOVEScubes2 13h Spiders 90%of spiders are not dangerous, and they also eat annoying bugs such as flies and mosquitoes. And yes, SOME spiders are dangerous but unless you live in Brazil or Australia your chances of finding dangerous spiders is so miniscule it's silly to worry abt them. And me personally... I think all spiders are adorable
    via cozmoLOVEScubes2
  • 18
    Font - pplazzz 8h Rock climbing Climbing ropes are really strong. You need to physically cut it for it to break
    via pplazzzz
  • 19
    Font - FanOfFreedom 8h Loose small arms ammunition. You can drop it, throw it across the room, and even toss it in a campfire - you'll be just fine. You may hear a small pop/bang if you do the ol' campfire disposal though. But yeah, it doesn't need to be babied. It really is only dangerous in a gun barrel.
    via FanOfFreedom
  • 20
    Font - Munrizzle 10h Cooking pork, people think it can only served well done and dry as all hell ⠀ Reply 436 ⇓ Rokhnal 9h To be fair, it's only been a few decades since Trichinellosis became no longer a concern, at least in the US. Plenty of people alive today have been cooking pork for far longer than that and still have the old habits. I can understand not taking the chance, were I them.
    via Munrizzle
  • 21
    Font - OlderMan42 7h Forest fire fighting. More dangerous to drive a car there than fight the fire. Yes, we are trained professionals.
    via OlderMan42

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risk safe danger Death interesting safety first askreddit living reddit thread Reddit safety dangerous
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