Things you've only heard to be true might shine in a different light once you see them with your own eyes. This sentiment is vividly illustrated in a popular thread on r/AskReddit where people have been sharing the secrets about the industries they work in that they probably wouldn't have learned without hands-on experience. From car dealers to teachers and servers, continue scrolling to learn some interesting facts and broaden your understanding of the world.

#1

The best time to buy a car is the second model year of it’s release.

Year 1 it’s patchwork to just get them off the line.

Year 2 everything is fixed and has quality content.

Year 3+ OEMs give incentives to make parts cheaper and to decontent to improve margins.

Image credits: Eagle115

#2

Things that you buy that come in “eco-friendly” packaging are first removed from their regular plastic packaging and then put back into the new packaging. It’s actually a double waste.

The places they get their inventory from overseas are not using eco friendly packaging. Go to a container shipyard, everything is shipped to minimize cost.

Image credits: GMSaaron

Your rank within it can heavily influence the number of secrets you learn about your industry. A 2024 survey revealed that executives are 2.5 times more likely than entry-level employees to trust their CEO’s transparency about what’s really going on within their organization.

On the other hand, associates tend to trust their coworkers more than leadership, feeling more in tune with the pulse of the workplace from a peer perspective.

Notably, job level emerged as a more powerful predictor of these trends than income.

#3

TV commercials really ARE louder than the programs.

Image credits: unshodone

#4

Teachers do in fact have favorite students.

Image credits: Unnecessary-Theory

#5

Political propaganda. TV hosts and speakers don't believe that s**t themselves and are very cynical about it, like it's just a job like any other.

Image credits: daluxe

The fact that 7 in 10 American workers reported disruptive change within their organization in the last year also doesn’t help their trust. According to a nationally representative Gallup survey of 18,665 people, 20 percent cite a large or very large extent of change. These changes range from restructuring efforts to shifting return-to-office expectations to new leadership and more.

However, while difficulties often affect frontline workers, in the current business environment, leaders and managers are 56% more likely to experience extensive disruptive change in their organization.

#6

Anyone giving stock advice is basically reading a horoscope. If they had the ability to pick superior investments, they’d do it themselves and not talk about it.

Image credits: TheBuzzSawFantasy

#7

I work at a milk processing plant. All milk is the same regardless of the brand. It comes out of the same tank…we just change the labels.

Image credits: BoobieDixon1

#8

Rotten potatos are used to make chips. People assume the brown spots are from where they got a little overcooked, they’re not.

Image credits: SubRoutine404

#9

Sometimes when a job is posted and the requirements are unrealistic, that’s because they already have someone that needs to be promoted to that specific position and they simply tailor that job ad so only that person qualifies even if hundreds of people apply.

Image credits: irosion

#10

Today's soup of the day, was yesterday's soup of the day, now with rice!

Iferrorgotozero:
The joys or working in food service. "Gently pats microwave"

Image credits: MagnusJohannes

#11

Bartenders find a discreet spot to google the recipe for that rare drink you just ordered.

Image credits: Nalga_Tronic

#12

Your call isn’t really important to us.

Image credits: sfbiker999

#13

I don't work for Wendys, but they actually have higher standards for their food than anyone else we distribute to.

Their beef is actually never frozen, and they'll send them back if they get packed with frozen items. They turn away shipments for things like meat (in boxes) touching produce (in boxes), like they should but no one else does. They send back expired or off-batch produce (ex: their tomatoes are usually picked a couple days before the store actually recieves them), which they should, but no one else does.

I still don't eat fast food, but I like to see food quality taken seriously.

A lot varies by region because that's how food distribution works.

Image credits: DeeplyTroubledSmurf

#14

The reading level of most teenagers is far, far worse than most of the country (US) realizes.

Teacher.

Image credits: BLClark1919

#15

The “signal strength” bars on your phone don’t mean anything real.

Each phone manufacturer comes up with their own secret formula, it might change between software versions, and it’s just a holdover from the old 1st generation analog phones when received signal strength was the only important metric. 4G and 5G networks are way too complex to distill into one bar graph, but customers are used to it, so phones still have it.

Image credits: theNewLevelZero

#16

The massive, professional-quality cinema projectors that movie theaters use… the ones that can project crystal-clear 4K+ images… the ones linked to top-notch surround systems that make movies come to life… the ones so big they have a giant exhaust hose…

…they have regular HDMI ports on the side.

The staff has totally ripped each other apart in *Mortal Kombat,* or explored a fantasy world in *Breath of the Wild* or blown away enemies in *Call of Duty* on the big-screen when everyone has left for the night. Or brought in some 4K discs and screened movies that haven’t been in theaters in decades in near cinema-quality. Or loaded up a streaming app and watched a streaming-exclusive movie in theaters.

Image credits: TedStixon

#17

I work in visual effects for tv and film. Most people that assumes big explosions and such, which it is, but a lot of it is cosmetic fixes and de-aging for the stars.

Image credits: perpetualmotionmachi

#18

Printer ink for home use printers is disgracefully expensive.

Printer ink for commercial printers is cheap.

Printer software for home use printers is rubbish, just re-skinned from the 2000’s.

Printer software for commercial printers are fantastic, unless your with Mimaki.

#19

Those sugar donuts at every Chinese buffet you go to are fried Pillsbury biscuits rolled in granulated sugar. And the yum yum sauce at hibachi restaurants is just mayonnaise, ketchup, sugar, paprika, and enough water to thin it out.

Image credits: KamandaTsaar

#20

My old professor teaches exercise science, once taught the military, did international research on muscles and was an ex bodybuilding champ, worked at GNC. His schpiel on the entire vitamin industry and more specifically the workout supplements is a whole sham. Why do think these supplements aren’t meeting FDA requirements? OTC testosterone boosters? Doesn’t work. A majority of the supplements don’t work (physicians can support this). Unless you are deficient, your body won’t be absorbing and storing extra vitamins and nutrients in your body; excess gets excreted. Two things he does vouch for are protein use and creatine use.

#21

Accountant here at big 4. We are still to this day cooking the books. When we get audited, there are times where we have no way of tracing it back so we make s**t up.

Image credits: mthwkim

#22

Don’t get in hot tubs unless it’s your own, just don’t do it.

Image credits: MkultraPsyop

#23

A lot of commercial garden centers pump their plants full of fertilizer before they sell it so it looks the best. Usually so much so that they die or it severely causes harm after a while. Buy locally or go to a legit nursery where they actually care about the quality of their products.

Environmental Technician at a Native Plant Nursery.

Image credits: HoboJerreey

#24

For the most part, countries purchase their currency (cash notes) from third party companies that design and print them. This maybe well known, but until I started working for a company who supplies cash to 40+ different countries, I assumed each country’s government would handle it, like the US government (BEP) does.

Image credits: pops_of_3

#25

Not my current industry but most supermarkets price fix between themselves. It's known, it has been known and nothing is done about it.

Image credits: Status_Worldly

#26

The ham in the gold foil is the same as the ham without the gold foil. Worked the line where they’re both made and the gold foil packaging was added without even stopping the line or changing anything at all. Save yourself $5-$15 and buy the one without the gold foil.

Image credits: blackguitar2009

#27

That you can’t trust the “Made in x” label on items. A lot of companies have stuff made in china, change the label, then resell it as if it was made localy. It’s not legal, but nobody knows or care.

Image credits: BB-biboo

#28

Whenever you buy a new sim. They sell your number and details to call centers.

Image credits: Impossible_Salt_666

#29

Turning it off and back on again will fix 95% of all software issues.

Image credits: anotherlab

#30

Carpenter here!

After a 8 years of framing houses, 3 as a foreman, and now 3 years of trim carpentry, Iv realized that the vast majority of houses aren’t built to code, or are just slapped together with the cheapest products.

Most inspectors aren’t willing to crawl around in the roofs, and won’t look in the subfloor, and plenty of contractors know this. They will take shortcuts, splice things together or will block off and hide s****y work.

If you have an island in your kitchen that has been framed, there is a phenomenal chance that you have some pizza crusts, Modelo bottles, or a p**s bottle hidden inside. Drywallers seem to hate walking their trash to the dumpster.

100 year old houses are a thing of the past.

Image credits: Slagree92

#31

Utility construction, (primarily fiber) the majority of the subcontractors have no idea what they’re actually doing and are just following the instructions like it’s IKEA furniture.

Image credits: jf2k4

#32

As far as I can tell, “military grade” means painted green.

Image credits: Sekshual_Tyranosauce

#33

Maybe an open secret by now, but all those real estate reality shows where couples are looking for houses…they’re already in contract with the one they want before they start filming. The production crew works with a local realtor to find two jabroni houses to take the fall.

That realtor will be in the show credits.

#34

Healthcare equipment costs are massively inflated in the U.S. For example, the batteries that go into the little blood pressure electric carts will cost hundreds to replace. But they are virtually indentical to the game feeder batteries you can buy at sporting good shops for maybe $20.

And those costs are lower in other countries. The manufacturers know they can inflate costs in the US far more than anywhere else. It is cheaper to buy a replacement xray tube overseas, import it legally, pay all the associated fees and shipping costs than to buy one here in the US. Same tube, same specifications.

#35

Almost every company that gets an ‘award’ basically paid to get it. Look closely at industry awards and you’ll see award lists where each of the winners either sponsored one of the other categories, or is a major client of one of the sponsors.

#36

If your kid receives an even 60% in class they really failed but no one wanted to do the paper work.

#37

The extra chicken nugget(s) or food in general, was not an accident.

#38

Your packages get the Sh*t beat out of them while they are being processed. Fragile? that means throw underhand.

#39

Your housekeepers have to clean 10-13 rooms in 30-45 minutes a day, each.

Strip the bed, remake the bed, clean all surfaces, bathroom vanity, toilet, tub, floors.

In an easy room? No problem. A dirty room? Things get skipped.

That floor got looked and picked over, not vaccumed. That trash, got emptied, not changed. Those sheets, are remade, not clean. Why? Because they don’t have time. Are pushed by management, and are constantly pressured to get those rooms out. Guests are waiting.

This btw, was my experience in 2021, during peak covid.

#40

Worked at Best Buy. We were trained to categorize customers into segments. If someone was rich and older they were referred to as Barry. His wife was Jill and she was all about spending his money. There was the “empty nesters” group that were old folks who thought technology was too difficult. Then of course the “urban” couple which was always portrayed as black people were identified as “wants to keep up with everyone but doesn’t have the funds of Barry”

Edit: forgot to mention this was hard coded into your account. So let’s say someone came to return something out of the return policy. If I put in his phone number it would say BARRY 5 which means he’s the highest type of spender at the store and that I could make the exception for him. So yes, the store basically has a social score.

#41

In the storage industry the staff have to go through abandoned units and check for any dangerous or illegal items and remove any personal possessions before the unit is sold.

Not only are there no surprises, cash is also removed to recover the debt before the unit is sold.

Storage wars style shows are fabricated on lies ?

Also 95% of units have very little of value in them, if someone had thousands in value in storage they would come and pay their bill.

#42

Most people don’t realize that many artists and celebrities who do meet-and-greets or photo ops are often doing it out of financial need. In these moments, they’re typically not as “present” as they might seem—some are under the influence or simply exhausted. Behind the scenes, they often have two designated handlers watching for subtle cues to end the interaction and move you along.

But what happens after the smiles fade is unexpectedly heartbreaking. Once they’re done, many spend the next 30-45 minutes processing a wave of emotions, often feeling profoundly lonely and disconnected. They know they couldn’t engage with fans on any meaningful level, and there’s a sadness in realizing they’re not who people think they are. It’s one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen in this industry, a reminder that fame is sometimes just a carefully crafted illusion, hiding very human struggles beneath.

#43

When you get angry and yell at a customer service agent, they’ll make fun of you in their Teams chat. Yes, even the supervisor.

#44

As my old head chef Frank used to say “the only difference between a $15 plate and a $30 plate is a half stick of butter.”

He was right.

#45

This is not a secret but isn’t well known:

Getting an ambulance ride doesn’t get you seen at the hospital faster. They just triage you (sort you by severity) like everyone else. You can get an ambulance ride for a broken finger and then sit in the waiting room for 6 hours, having just wasted the money on an ambulance.

Call an uber or get driven/drive yourself.

Edit: Yes people, if you’re having an emergency definitely DO call and ambulance, and you probably WILL get seen right away.

However, you’re not being seen right away BECAUSE you took the ambulance, you’re being seen right away because you’re critically ill/injured. If someone were to drive you while you’re having a heart attack (which I DO NOT recommend) then you would be seen right away as well. It’s an injury severity thing not an ambulance vs taxi thing.

#46

The largest US manufacturer of eyewear is a total scam. They are insanely overpriced and mostly all of the eyewear in the US is made using the same labs and they just slap a different brand name on them to create diverse product. The markup is anywhere from 500-1000% or even more.

#47

The US Military throws away hundreds of thousands of pounds of good food away after every meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, perfectly decent meals are trashed after the troops eat.

#48

If sugar isn’t labeled specifically as “cane sugar”, it’s made from beets.

#49

Professor here. I’ve never taken any classes on how to teach. None of us have. Trial by fire.

#50

In d**g commercials, that huge long list of potential side effects is meant to offer fair balance to the positive claims in the ad. ANYTHING that happened to the people in the trial has to be listed. I once worked on a d**g given to people after they’ve had liver transplants. Liver transplants are often necessary because of the damage of hepatitis, which can be a consequence of illegal d**g use and needle sharing. Ergo, many of the patients in the trial had led rough lives. Three died during the trial period, which means “death” had to be listed among the potential side effects. Except one was shot and two died in car accidents. Nothing whatsoever to do with the d**g.

#51

One episode of your favorite animated sitcom (Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons) takes 9-12 months to complete from script to screen.

#52

Video game development is a chaotic mess, it’s a miracle that any game comes out at all—let alone with any amount of polish.

Also, audiences like to blame QA for bugs, but that’s extremely misguided. I guarantee that QA knows about every bug in detail (including tons most players have never even encountered). The real folks to blame are management who choose not to put resources towards fixing these bugs.

#53

Many therapists need therapy themselves. Sometimes a lot of it.

#54

Your professors hate grading your papers almost – if not more – than you hate writing them.

#55

This one will be obvious to most people, but it wasn’t to me at the time:

**Not all doctors are good at their jobs.**

I use to assume that doctors were held to such a high standard that they were all fairly competent. This isn’t true.

I would recommend asking someone in the field who they would recommend for their own family before picking a surgeon.

#56

I am a landscaper. I will make your yard beautiful but it will need constant maintenance.

#57

The lumber industry is actually pretty crazy. The federal government will raise tariffs on Canadian lumber if the price starts to beat American lumber. If this happens, lumber mills will sometimes shut down for extended periods of time, essentially causing a lumber shortage. Because of supply and demand, this artificially inflates the price of US lumber. This is a never ending cycle. All of this causes incremental increases in the price of goods.
ANY goods that arrive on white wood pallets, as well as building materials, start to increase in price because companies pass along this higher cost to the consumer – as with everything else that impacts goods. Everything that is transported or built with lumber, you pay for the inflated costs on a daily basis.
But it’s probably the last thing you think about when going to the store.

#58

A lot of the tv news you watch isn’t really news, just a press release from a business, an organization or a government turned into a news story. Used to work for a newsclipping transcription agency. We’d have organizations or companies or governments calling us say they sent some press release to the newspapers, radio and tv and wanted every news item that mentioned it. One local tech college changed its name after they repeatedly sent out press releases and had press scrums and nothing they announced ever made it on the news because no one cared. Used to get angry phone calls from them saying we weren’t doing our jobs and we would check again and tell them no one talked about them.

#59

IT will absolutely slow walk tickets if you’re an a*****e.

#60

If there is 2g of gold in a ton of Earth, it’s profitable to make a mine there. They prefer around 4g for it to be really worth it.

Silver is 6g per ton. Copper and Nickel is 8g.

Which is why they have dumptrucks that have a load capacity of 250 tonnes and they run them around the clock.

Diamond mines treat their workers the best. Stunning accommodation, wifi and TV, free food, free drinks and cigarettes, easy shifts, lots of time off, and huge wages because you can’t detect Diamonds leaving the mine and on planes very well so it pays to keep their staff so happy that they don’t want to risk losing their job.

#61

Nurse patient ratios are too high in most of the country. Lower nurse patient ratios are associated with shorter length of stay, lower readmission rates and lower mortality rates. Nurses who have less patients give better care and their patients are literally less likely to die. But there are only a few states in the US that have legally mandated nurse patient ratios. (I think only California and Oregon.) In other states, many nurses have too many patients. They have too many tasks to complete in too little time; and this is why nurses are burning out in droves and leaving the profession–because they feel like they are drowning. They are performing complex, technical tasks under significant time pressure with a high degree of liability and it is highly stressful. 17% of nurses quit within their first year. 56% quit within five years.

Also medical error kills somewhere between 250,000 – 400,000 people a year in the US. No one knows the exact number as medical errors tend to be underreported. Because who wants to admit they may have killed a patient and throw away their lucrative career that they slaved away in school for many years to achieve?

People are horrified when a single jumbo jet crashes and 500 lives are lost. And it is a big news story with lots of coverage when it happens. But the conservative estimate of 250,000 lives lost each year due to medical error is the equivalent of 500 jumbo jets crashing every single goddamn year– and no one talks about it. Not a peep. It is happening silently in hospitals all over the country, including the one in your town. This issue is highly underreported.

#62

I work in product development. No one is bringing manufacturing back to US from China. If they’re forced to leave, they’re going to Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico etc.

#63

When financing a car at the dealership (this includes leasing) they can and will mark up the interest rate almost certainly. Unless you, the consumer, specifically ask them “is this the best rate I qualified for?” then they technically don’t have to give you the best rate. They can add as much as they feel they can get away with, then act like they’re doing you a favor by “discounting the rate”. The Truth in Lending Act states that if asked, they must disclose, but only if asked.

#64

My Uncle worked for as an accountant for the construction of a fee MGM casinos and resorts. Here’s some of the things he says:

1. Don’t use the slot machines, they are under a carefully constructed algorithm to keep you hooked, but insure the house gets all the profit.

2. There are numerous cameras, but only a few individuals watching them. The people watching the cameras are expert card-counters.

3. Casinos don’t have vaults. All profit a casino makes is loaded into armored trucks every few hours, and is shipped to the bank.

4. When a casino opens it’s doors, it has zero cash inside. All profits are brought on by the people.

5. Only about 2% – 5% of customers will make a profit.

#65

When cities go out to bid for projects, they already know who they want and craft the request for proposals (RFPs) in such a way to guarantee their preferred contractor is awarded the project.

The transparency that the RFP/Q process is supposed to provide is largely a sham.

#66

Software engineer, we google a lot of answers too.

#67

Chewy will send you flowers and a card in condolences for your deceased pet when you cancel their food prescriptions.

#68

Growing up on film and television sets, names like Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstien, and Diddy were well known… the details, however, were not, so that is how you have an industry simultaneously shaken and not surprised when this info comes out.

Also, open relationships feel more common, and so tabloid pictures aren’t always of cheating, but just people with different relationship dynamics.

#69

Work in pharmacy.

We get calls every day from patients asking for ways to make their medications last longer, skip doses, etc. Because they can’t afford their meds until they stop calling because they skipped 1 too many doses.

And we know this is happening and there is nothing we can do about it.

I’ve taken one of those calls told a patient that if they don’t take their medications as directed, THEY WILL DIE only for them to ask what their odds are of living without food. Only to go back to the register and continue getting patients their medication.

It sucks a lot.

#70

IT workers, if the company can manage it, are never fired while in the building or with notice. The risk of damage and retaliation is too large.

#71

Former farmhand here. I’m surprised many people are still shocked by this one but manure/water mix is still one of the best fertilizers. Meaning the salad you’re eating has been showered with s**t at least twice in its life.

#72

The amount of people that k*ll themself in the room or parking lot of hotel and casinos. I think they make a deal to not talk about it in the news or local media.

#73

Corporate consultant here. Probably not that big of a secret, but most executives are unqualified for their jobs and were placed there due to cronyism or nepotism; most job titles and roles in the middle are b******t, and nearly all work in a company is done by individual contributors. In other words, the people making the stuff are getting robbed by the people who don't know how to make anything.

#74

As a real estate photographer—almost everyone’s home is disgusting. You would think they would be in tip top shape ready for their close ups, but no. I have gone into stranger’s homes every day for the last 10 years and 85% of the time they are gross and cluttered. Doesn’t matter if it’s a trailer or a mansion. People generally don’t clean and their houses are often cluttered and messy. So don’t beat yourself up if your house doesn’t look like a model home. No one else’s does either.

#75

You can brew 1 beer and market it like 20 different beers just by ajusting added water content.

#76

Working as an data analyst across multiple industries. If you want bring the world to its knees, fix a way to k*ll Microsoft Excel. If Excel were ever to blow up or stop working for a bit, goodbye almost all departments across multiple companies.

#77

Pharma industry. We actually are trying to make the best medicines, we don’t want you to stay ill, and we’re not hiding cures.

#78

I work at the Hershey factory. This place is really clean and does better in that regard than Lindt and other manufacturers most of the time during inspections but we have occasional dings. Some of those dings can be pretty bad (like standing water in a wash pit which is a big nono) so it makes me wonder how much worse those others are sometimes.

But really, if you ate chicolate lately that wasn’t homemade, we probably have the most sterile and clean candy. Even if the ingredient quality isn’t the highest.

We also dont use spoiled milk of any kind. We take raw milk and turn it into Sweet Condensed Milk and the process of cooking it scalds the milk for a very slight sour taste that some claim to taste.

Also, yeah, all our incredients are quite cheap, but our milk is really high quality and locally sourced when possible. They usually dont have enough capacity, though, so we have to get some from Indiana. And the caramel in Rolos is 100% legit. It’s one of the few things we dont skimp on at all.

Also that little number on the wrapper of each bar you can call to complain or praise is real. And management and factory workers see everything thats posted and what we need to work on to be better. So if you have any complaints or well wishes we actually see those even down to the rank and file.

#79

Sometimes insurance companies will set “automatic denials” of insurance claims after natural disasters so people will have to resubmit their claim, thus reducing the amount of claims they have to handle.

#80

The kitchen in any moderately priced dine-in chain restaurant is 75% staffed by stoned teenagers with a few journeyman cooks barely holding it all together, and if the manager hadn’t gotten notice beforehand there’s virtually no chance they’d have passed inspection.

#81

Web Analytics guy here. 

Just about every big company with a website uses the same two free google web-programs (GA4 and GTM) to track your data, and the setup takes only takes about an hour. If you're starting a business and want the same marketing data quality as the high-rollers, just use GA4 and GTM.

#82

Architects and engineers, while having a degree, still usually have s**t drawings for buildings.

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