While we think that our home is our safe haven, in reality, it's probably more dangerous than we realize.
Obvious things like gas-burning stoves and chemical cleaning products aside, there's plenty of questionable stuff lying around that can inflict serious damage on us.
Recently, Reddit user Cool_Kid_Lit_Fam_Sam asked other people on the platform to list these potentially life-threatening household objects and that kickstarted a viral online discussion that has reached 4,400 comments and the number is still growing.

So we compiled some of the most popular replies and present them for your judgment—continue scrolling and upvote the ones you think we need to handle with great caution.
#21

Car jack.
If it fails and you didn't use jack stands, and you can't bench press a couple thousand pounds..... you gonna die.
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89points
#22

Lift cords on blind windows. I've heard alot of stories of children getting tangled in them by the neck and dying. They have cordless blinds now so those are way better.
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87points
#23

A toilet. Saw a picture once of a woman who stood on a toilet to change her bathroom lightbulb, the toilet broke in half and when she fell the toilet cut her back wide open and she bled out. You could see everything inside of her, brutal.
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83points
#24
Cheap extension cords and power strips, especially ones without built in fail-safes that trip them if they are overloaded. The number of people who I see using those cheap, brown, dollar store extension cords, loading up every single available outlet, and leaving them plugged in 24/7 for years on end, makes me cringe.
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82points
#25

Apparently people can die from hair dryers catching fire. Because they sleep with them.
Reading warning labels on household objects really gets me questioning how humans aren't all dead from idiocy.
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80points
#26
Eye drops, like the kind that removes redness. Slipped into a drink for example even a small amounts can cause cardiac issues or even death as the vasoconstricting properties can stifle blood flow to the heart
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66points
#27

Microwaves. There's a reason they have a warning to not f**k with them even if they're not plugged in- you can still absolutely get fried if you open it up to mess with it. You're not safe just because it's unplugged.
64points
#28
Gas oven, we have cheapo oven where the stove top burner controls aren't the ones you have to push in to release and adjust, the amount of times I have smelled the gas because someone brushed against the damn oven and slightly opened a valve on one of the burners...I'm just glad I have the doors open most of the time.
Don't know if it counts but gas fireplace heaters are dangerous if they are not properly checked by a qualified maintenance tech, or in the case of my high school friend the gas appliance engineer took a bribe from the landlord's son, and my friend died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result, arseholes got suspended sentences but ten year probation.
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61points
#29
People who are left handed using everyday items that were designed to be used with your right hand
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57points
#30
Food.
Improperly handling just about any food can easily kill you or leave you wishing you were dead.
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54points
#31

Lithium batteries, idk if this is a normal household object but it burnt my whole 3200 sq ft house in 30 mins
54points
#32
Dinner plate.....let me explain.
Went to sleep watching TV on the couch😴
Woke up and decided to go to bed but tripped over the vacuum cleaner and fell face forward onto the corner of the coffee table.
Woke up and decided to go to bed but tripped over the vacuum cleaner and fell face forward onto the corner of the coffee table.
I had left my plate from dinner there. Plate broke in half as I fell and sliced me open from lower right rib the top of left pelvis.
60km ambulance ride, hospital and surgery to put me back together.
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53points
#33
Garage door opener - specifically the springs. Those springs have a crapload of tension in them and if you mess with them they can mess you up. I had a contractor working at the house and he set up his work area in the garage. While he was working, one of the springs just broke on its own. He was okay, but he said it was so loud he thought a car had crashed into the garage.
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51points
#34
Cutting boards. Cross contaminations a b***h if you have a bad immune system
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50points
#35
Acetaminophen (Tylenol).
OD’ing on it only takes about twice the amount on the box’s directions, which is very low compared to other common medications. Its negative effects are kidney failure, which starts with kidney pains, but quite quickly leads to a painful death.
It is scarily common. People first take Tylenol for a good reason but they take too much, so they start feeling kidney pain, so they take more Tylenol for that kidney pain, because they think it’s harmless and should help to feel good. By the time it gets bad enough that they go to the ER, they’re already dead, their body just doesn’t know it yet.
Always follow medication directions, particularly on Tylenol.
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47points
#36
My brother's father in law died falling off a ladder. He wasn’t even high up, just fell badly. His wife (a nurse) tried CPR, but he didn’t make it. He had no other health problems
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46points
#39
A stovetop espresso maker.
The method of operation is the water in the bottom chamber boils, and the steam pressure pushes up the hot water through the coffee grounds into the upper pot.
There is only one safety on these things, and it's the valve on the water tank. If the water is filled too high so it covers the valve, you've made a pipe bomb. If the coffee is ground too fine or tamped and the safety valve is blocked it WILL explode and send boiling coffee and water everywhere.
Luckily this is very easily avoidable. Never fill the water over the safety valve, and never tamp the coffee in the basket.
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43points
#40
Due to certifications like UL, and GFCI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms, there is way more safety built into things than decades ago. Certain woodworking tools are the first to come to mind, but most people realize they are dangerous. Using a table saw wrong and having it launch a board at your face? Or pulling yourself down onto it could easily cause fatal injuries if someone isn’t around to offer quick medical assistance. Lathes, mills, or drill presses can be super dangerous if they snag any loose clothing or hair and pull you in. It seems the people who are least aware of the danger are people who are fairly new to using them so they know the basics but end up overconfident and assume they know everything they need to know.
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35points



