We tend to expect actually dangerous things to have warnings, labels and perhaps even wavers to sign before they can be approached. Unfortunately, physics and our frail human bodies are a combination that puts at risk considerably more often than we might think.

Someone asked people online to share their best examples of common things that are actually rather dangerous and the internet delivered. So get comfortable as you scroll through, make sure you aren’t near any irate cows, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section down below.

#1

Smoke inhalation. People vastly overestimate the survivability of fires, when in reality taking a few breaths can mess you up beyond salvation. There’s a reason firemen have breathing masks.

RangerHikes:

It’s because people don’t understand not all smoke is simply, smoke. They imagine smoke from a wood fire and think oh well that’s not so bad as long as I can cover my mouth. When you’re in a house fire the smoke is a mix of paint fume and wood smoke and urethanes and insulation and all this other horrible stuff.

catsonhigh:

Fun fact: Modern homes are filled with plastic, particle board, and polyurethane foam. They burn faster, hotter, and the smoke is insanely toxic. Firefighters need to wear breathing protection inside even after the fire is out and the smoke is gone because this stuff continues to put off toxic fumes for a long time.

© Photo: insecurity_trickster

#2

That bleach mixed with ammonia creates chloramine gas. Bleach plus vinegar or toilet cleaners can produce chlorine gas. Bleach and rubbing alcohol create chloroform. Bleach and hydrogen peroxide can have an explosive reaction. Just don’t mix bleach with things. Mixing bleach with things is the leading cause for at home accidental poisonings.

Wanni25:

When I was a teenager, my mom made me clean up years of cat pee in the basement. She had me use bleach. She told me I could stop when I started wheezing and my vision started to get foggy.

© Photo: RunFiestaZombiez

#3

I was driving home from work in late November last year after a 10 hour warehouse shift where I usually lift heavy stuff and walk 10+ miles/day. I had 2 Monsters and a coffee that entire shift and a a couple cigarettes… Driving down the street after work, came to a stop sign, and my vision starting completely turning black, I managed to pull my truck over and park in some old lady’s front yard before I completely passed out. Next thing I remember is being wheeled through the hospital and my mother coming in the room and the Paramedics said my heart stopped beating for 2 minutes. Doctors said it was from stress and caffeine and not enough sleep. I’m only 34 years old. Scared the life out of me. Take care of what you put in your bodies people. I’m 6’0″ 200+ lbs and lifted weights, stayed active… But stress and caffeine still can have a huge toll on you.

Edit – Thank you guys for all of the likes and awards. Hope everybody is taking care of themselves!! 💚.

jarhead716:

This needs to be put way up because this is 75%+ of the blue collar industry. Long work hours and heavy work loads.

© Photo: No_Sense_7316

#4

Distracted driving.

Taciteanus:

I fell asleep at the wheel once — just nodded off for a second, maybe two at most. Woke up drifting into the wrong lane towards an oncoming truck.
Since then, I do not drive tired, full stop.

© Photo: EaglePerch

#5

Very cold weather.

Last year (18 January 2025) I went to get something out of my car when it was -20F. Figured I’d only be out for 30 seconds, maybe a minute, so I didn’t bother with a coat or gloves.

Tripped on my walkway and face planted into a snow bank. Put my hands into the wet slush underneath.

Crawled back to my door and couldn’t get my hands around the knob.

Put my hands in my armpits to keep them warm and started yelling for help until a neighbor heard me.

Woke up in the ER with a doctor telling me that 20 more minutes out there, it wouldn’t have been an ambulance picking me up.

Lost half my right thumb and a couple of other pieces of other fingers to frostbite. Will have nerve damage in my hands and toes the rest of my life.

If I’d just put on a coat and gloves, I’d be fine. And not 130k in medical debt.

© Photo: LoligoTX

#6

Don’t take apart your microwave unless you really know what you’re doing.

There are two components of microwaves that are generally the most dangerous during disassembly:

There are high-voltage capacitors capable of discharging lethal doses of electricity if not discharged safely, and they retain their charge even after being unplugged for long periods of time (weeks to months).

The magnetron (the part that actually generates the microwaves that “irradiate” food) can contain beryllium ceramic insulators, which can be extremely toxic if damaged.

© Photo: BenTherDoneTht

#7

Carbon dioxide. It displaces oxygen and is heavier than air. Some influencers put a bunch of dry ice in a pool and some of them were overwhelmed by it and died. Nasty way to go. Burns your lungs like fire.

Used to work with it in 50lb cylinders filling smaller tanks. Don’t mess around and make sure you have plenty of fresh air.

thispartyrules:

A bunch of carbon dioxide came out of a lake in Cameroon and [unalived] over 1700 people overnight.

© Photo: ktmfan

#8

A single punch to the head.

arantee:

Or getting in a fight while standing on concrete. If the punch doesn’t end you, the ground will.

© Photo: Imaskeet

#9

Aneurysm …

Just yesterday one of my coworkers just keeled over dead.

One second he was joking and laughing, the next he was gone …

scoolio:

My aunt was on her honeymoon (Driving to their destination) and had an Aneurysm while in the Gas Station bathroom. My heart breaks just thinking about this and how her newly minted husband felt.

© Photo: Royal_Ad_2653

#10

Cows. Theyre surprisingly fast and have bad tempers when crossed.

qualityerections:

While cows can of course be dangerous just like any 300kg plus animal its mainly when there is a calf around, bulls on the other hand will mess you up without warning because they dont like the way your hair blew on the last gust of wind.

© Photo: nor_cal_woolgrower

#11

Heavy Machinery. The amount of morons walking in front of my forklift would…… probably not shock you.

CWinter85:

My friend’s dad lost his arm to a grain auger. Said the worst part was that “it took 2 tries.” Jesus Christ.

© Photo: CWinter85

#12

Heating or welding metal parts after cleaning with brake cleaner. Heating the residue creates deadly Phosgene gas.

If “I just got cancer” had a smell it would smell like brake cleaner. People will realize theses risks, but wouldn’t guess the heating risk after you thought it all evaporated.

Ok_Necessary820:

As a welder this is genuinely one of the scariest things most people don’t know about. Apparently phosgene gas smells like fresh cut grass so that’s nice I guess.

© Photo: geekworking

#13

Stairs. Put your foot down in the wrong spot and it could be goodnight for you.

susan1375:

I was in a spinal injury unit for 3 months. The safest case I saw (apart from mine, I tripped over a wire and broke my neck) was a lady who had slipped down the last stair and broke her neck. She was paralysed from the neck down and on a ventilator for the rest of her life.

© Photo: Obvious_Reporter_235

#14

A distant train.

800 to 1,000 people are ended by trains in the US every year.

Cicer:

They come out of nowhere on random trajectories. 

DirtandPipes:

There’s really no way of predicting where a train will appear next, if only we had some method to track them.

© Photo: Hanzo_The_Ninja

#15

A family friend who taught me how to drive many years ago told me that you have to drive as if everyone else on the road is an absolute idiot and has no idea what they’re doing. I never forgot that.

Gold_Willingness_256:

Just last week my buddy was driving in front of a guy. He was getting ready to take a right when the guy behind him merged left and tried to overtake him and smashed right into him.
Literally couldn’t wait 3 seconds to turn.

© Photo: brie_rain

#16

Sitting on a toilet that has hairline cracks

Edit for context:

If the toilet breaks while sitting on it (don’t forget you have most of your body weight sitting down), broken porcelain is extremely sharp and will cut you to the bone. With the arteries in your legs, you might actually bleed out before the help gets to you.

FunnymanBacon:

Yep, I made the mistake of Googling pictures one time. Never pour hot water into your toilet to try to unclog it. If you see a crack in a toilet, don’t sit on it. If it’s in your home, replace it.

Anthem-ringthebells:

New fear unlocked 
Edit: new incentive to lose weight. 

Broxios:

Note to self: get a steel toilet

© Photo: DanOverflow

#17

A hippo.

mm42_uk:

Hippos can swim faster than you, run faster than you, so your only chance is to beat them on the cycling.

RonaldTheGiraffe:

What if the hippo had a bike? You’re done.

Yippykyyyay:

I had a guide tell me that to survive in Africa you basically have to reverse all of your fears and tendencies. For example, never turn your back on a big cat and run. Also, humans tend to run away from hippos on clear paths but that’s hippo territory and they’re confronting you over their territory. If you were to run perpendicular to their path then they’d lose interest. You’ll get scraped by some bush but you won’t be bitten by a hippo.

© Photo: SneakyAlienMax

#18

Driving, yet most people don’t take it as seriously as they should.

Puzzleheaded_Bed1781:

That’s because people are too busy being speed demons and or on power trips. The human ego grows to about the size of the car they’re driving.

Voldemorts__Mom:

I used to get so annoyed that I can never drive the speed limit (120kph here in SA), because the fast lane always has people driving over the limit, and the next fastest lane always has people driving 100. So it’s like a constant moving back and forth between lanes.
Now I just drive 100 in the second lane rather than having to deal with the scary lane.
But my pet peave is people not keeping a safe following distance. Like, rather just flash your lights or hoot at me, but dont get 5cm to my car ffs. And my stepfather does this. And I’m like, if that guy brakes, we will instantly hit him, and you’re putting all of our lives in danger.

© Photo: PlanetGuardian-42

#19

Garage door springs.

body_by_monsanto:

Oh yeah. Our garage door was broken and my husband was going to repair it himself. After about 5 seconds of Internet research, we hired a professional.

© Photo: dakeyjake

#20

Cold water.

I’m a swift water rescue technician and lifeboat coxswain and have to try and rescue, or recover if unsuccessful, people who think they’re a strong swimmer and plunge into cold water. Here in the UK most rivers are above 15 celsius water temperature below which cold water shock becomes a risk for a month or two at most a year.

People jump off bridges in summer, or in winter for that matter, and simply pass away. It matters not how good a swimmer you are if your body has stopped working, you’re aspiring water as you gasp and your hands and feet won’t swim for you. Some suffer massive cardiac events on impact and it’s over even quicker.

© Photo: mm42_uk

#21

Blood clot.

#22

Snails.

Specifically cone snails. There is no anti-venom.

The death takes 1-5 hours but the sting takes less than a second and then you just gotta pray while you struggle to breathe.

#23

Falling down, tripping on a rock in a parking lot for example, hitting your head on something curb parking block etc. just loosing your balance where there are things your head could land on. Loosing your footing on stairs. Etc Falling is my answer.

#24

Texting and driving. Stop it.

#25

Eating too fast.

#26

Ice sheets on metal roofs like to slide down, more or less in tact, dumping a ton or so of ice on a concentrated area in a matter of seconds.

#27

Two sets of train tracks.

With one set, it’s easy to see and hear if there’s a train or not. You look, you listen: No train, no problem.

With two sets, if there’s a train going by on the near track, you see it and it makes a ton of noise. No, problem- you wait.

When it passes, you will be tempted to go. BUT- the noise from the train on the closer track masks the noise from the train on the second track going in the opposite direction. And, it also blocks it visually.

So, the first train passes, you say, “Finally…”, and go. Boom! You get smoked by the locomotive of the second train.

#28

Carbon monoxide from your car running in a closed space. Just a couple minutes can make your garage deadly enough that it knocks you out and then you’re gone.

#29

Working under your car. Jacks are far less stable than people think. You wouldn’t believe how many people die from having a car fall on them. .

#30

My aunt walked into the hospital thinking she had the flu

She died 2 days later.

Not all cancers show symptoms. 3 masses and lungs started filling with fluid.

Not knowing you have cancer is harrowing. Get screenings pls.

#31

Not staying hydrated when you’re sick. My mom had a virus that gave her a headache, aches and pains and stomach upset. She didn’t want to go to the doctor, and didn’t drink the Gatorade people brought her or hydrate enough. Although she had no diseases and was active, she fell over and died. Doctor said, without hydration, the electrical signals that go through your heart, controlling the heart’s muscles and nerves, can work wrong, making the heart not beat, and end you. She passed immediately. I had an autopsy to make sure nothing else was at play, and it wasn’t.

#32

Electricity. Only 0.1 to 0.2 Amps will end you. Most Circuit breakers in a house are rated for 15 AMPS. They are there to prevent fires.

#33

Trying to open up a power supply for a PC. Modern quality ones typically are designed to discharge the capacitors fairly quickly, but theoretically there’s enough power stored in the capacitors end you. Typically you’ll still find warnings on the side of PSUs that say “DO NOT OPEN. NO SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.”

#34

Prions. The scariest stuff on the planet.

#35

Your own immune system. Bacteria take days to end you, viruses take weeks. You immune system can do it in about 3 minutes.

#36

Riptides.

#37

Anything. A random bullet from a gun in your neighbor,’s apartment. A car crashing through your bedroom wall. A slip in the bathroom. A sign or decoration falling from the ceiling in a mall. A random rabid animal. Plugging into the wrong plug that you didn’t know has been damaged. Hell, being hit by falling space-debris. A million things completely outside your control or even your awareness can shut you off like a lightbulb from one moment to the next. There’s nothing to be done about it and well most likely never see it coming.

#38

Cars. The amount of people who act like they’re NOT driving a two-ton metal death trap PISSES ME OFF.

#39

Loneliness if you’re depressed 💔.

#40

Fumes from burning plastic.

Dude with a tv. Tv starts smelling funny. Like something electrical is getting burnt. Dude takes a look and dies. No smoke but toxic fumes.

#41

Potassium.

Too much or too little in your system can imbalance the electrical current in your heart and send you into sudden cardiac arrest.

#42

Choking. Scariest thing ever. Standing by kitchen sink, I took last mouthful of remaining coffee. Obviously went down the wrong way, I’m gasping and all I’m thinking is who is going to find me. Trying not to panic, I realized i could breathe a little through my nose (instead of gasping) slowly got oxygen into my lungs and lay on floor for about 1/2 hr.

#43

Cutting off a semi.

#44

Polar bears.

#45

I had no idea how dangerous a paint sprayer is until a friend recently sprayed his finger. That is a much more dangerous thing than I ever imagined.

#46

A sliced artery.

#47

Blue ringed octopus.

Young man picked one up on Manly beach. By the time he had finished standing up he was dead.
Just fell over.

#48

Deep sea fishing. A friend of mine in Florida told me once he was out deep sea fishing with a few other guys. One man had the harness on him, with the harness attached to the fishing pole. His line with bait was in the ocean, but he was not strapped into the deck chair, anchored to the deck. He caught a huge bite, and was pulled overboard in a brief second, into the ocean. Never seen again. I believe the fishing trip ended abruptly and made way back to port.

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