Humans are a hilarious bunch. We’ll happily snap a selfie teetering off a cliff, but hand us a yogurt that’s a day past its “best by” date and suddenly it’s a threat. Our sense of danger is just extra these days.
Think about it: microwaves are still accused of “zapping DNA”, and plenty of folks swear cracking your knuckles is a one-way ticket to arthritis. But many of these so-called threats are more bark than bite.
So, why do we treat the harmless like horror? Well, one Redditor wondered the same thing and asked, “What’s actually safe, but people still think it’s really dangerous?”
More info: Reddit
#21
GMO foods.
britsol99 replied:
For Me, it isn’t the GMO food itself, it’s what they’ve been modified for. The majority of GMO crops are plants modified to be resistant against [pesticides] (glyphosate, dicamba). This means farmers can spray [pesticides] over their entire field, the weeds die, the crops don’t. So the crops then are tainted with the [pesticide] residue.
It’s the glyphosate that is dangerous, not the GMO crop itself.
britsol99 replied:
For Me, it isn’t the GMO food itself, it’s what they’ve been modified for. The majority of GMO crops are plants modified to be resistant against [pesticides] (glyphosate, dicamba). This means farmers can spray [pesticides] over their entire field, the weeds die, the crops don’t. So the crops then are tainted with the [pesticide] residue.
It’s the glyphosate that is dangerous, not the GMO crop itself.
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25points
#22
Traveling. Don't be a moron and wear expensive watches etc and mostly you'll be fine. In fact most countries are way safer than people believe them to be.
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25points
#23
It’s perfectly safe to have some salt in your diet, especially if you are a healthy normal person. There is a strange problem for many decades where people completely cut out salt from their diet and think they need to drink a gallon of water per day, which often leads to some dilution of normal blood salt levels. Only when you have poor quality high sodium diets, hypertension, old age, or heart failure do we start restricting salt intake.
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23points
#24
Sharks
Edit: Orcas are harmless to humans too! They even like humans (when not held prisoners).
Edit: Orcas are harmless to humans too! They even like humans (when not held prisoners).
22points
#25
Chicago.
TheRealXlokk replied:
I moved to Chicago six years ago. I've only been [ended] twice in that entire time.
Seriously, though, the worst crime I've seen here are the idiots on the road flagrantly disregarding traffic laws.
The only crime that has directly impacted me was when some Tik-Tockers were smashing eggs in an aisle at Target that I wanted to go down. Not wanting raw egg on my shoes, I skipped buying whatever it was that day.
TheRealXlokk replied:
I moved to Chicago six years ago. I've only been [ended] twice in that entire time.
Seriously, though, the worst crime I've seen here are the idiots on the road flagrantly disregarding traffic laws.
The only crime that has directly impacted me was when some Tik-Tockers were smashing eggs in an aisle at Target that I wanted to go down. Not wanting raw egg on my shoes, I skipped buying whatever it was that day.
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21points
#26
Airport scanners.
I was once at Dulles Airport and the lady in front of me demanded that she not get the full body scan. She also refused to be patted down. TSA explained it had to be one or the other. Then the lady went into a rant about how she doesn't want that radiation.
Her: Those cause cancer!
TSA: Lady, they are just radio waves..."
Her: I know what they are! I'm a physician!
I tried to look her up so I could make sure I never have her as my physician but I didn't have any luck.
I was once at Dulles Airport and the lady in front of me demanded that she not get the full body scan. She also refused to be patted down. TSA explained it had to be one or the other. Then the lady went into a rant about how she doesn't want that radiation.
Her: Those cause cancer!
TSA: Lady, they are just radio waves..."
Her: I know what they are! I'm a physician!
I tried to look her up so I could make sure I never have her as my physician but I didn't have any luck.
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21points
#27
Australia.
flameylamey replied:
Yep. For the longest time I just assumed the whole "everything is trying to [end] you" thing was a meme and everyone understood it was just a joke, but I've since learned that some people genuinely believe it and that it's actually deterred some people from wanting to visit.
Chances are people will never even come close to seeing any of the "dangerous" things they imagine they would, especially if they're visiting Sydney or Melbourne or any of the typical tourist destinations.
Hell, I spent a large portion of my childhood exploring the local bushland around where I grew up in the far northern suburbs of Sydney, where we were basically surrounded by bushland. We'd frequently stray off the track and go climbing up around cliffs, while building forts out of sticks, running through some pretty thick vegetation etc.
I've never even seen a wild snake - and if any of the kids in the neighbourhood saw one, it would be a story they'd be talking about for weeks. My biggest fear/phobia as an Aussie kid was the possibility of getting bitten by leeches, haha.
flameylamey replied:
Yep. For the longest time I just assumed the whole "everything is trying to [end] you" thing was a meme and everyone understood it was just a joke, but I've since learned that some people genuinely believe it and that it's actually deterred some people from wanting to visit.
Chances are people will never even come close to seeing any of the "dangerous" things they imagine they would, especially if they're visiting Sydney or Melbourne or any of the typical tourist destinations.
Hell, I spent a large portion of my childhood exploring the local bushland around where I grew up in the far northern suburbs of Sydney, where we were basically surrounded by bushland. We'd frequently stray off the track and go climbing up around cliffs, while building forts out of sticks, running through some pretty thick vegetation etc.
I've never even seen a wild snake - and if any of the kids in the neighbourhood saw one, it would be a story they'd be talking about for weeks. My biggest fear/phobia as an Aussie kid was the possibility of getting bitten by leeches, haha.
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15points
#28
Raw eggs are mostly fine for you. It's not impossible, but you're highly unlikely to get salmonella from eating them.
The reason you shouldn't eat raw cookie dough is the raw flour (which is actually dangerous), not the raw eggs.
The reason you shouldn't eat raw cookie dough is the raw flour (which is actually dangerous), not the raw eggs.
13points
#29
New York City.
alwoking replied:
Yeah. I lived in NYC about 1/2 my life, and only had two issues. Once a guy tried to mug me, but I was drunk and told him to F*** off, and he did. The other time I was knocked down by a group of teens, and I thought I was being mugged, but it turned out I matched the description of someone who had just robbed one’s sister. They were very apologetic when they figured out their mistake.
alwoking replied:
Yeah. I lived in NYC about 1/2 my life, and only had two issues. Once a guy tried to mug me, but I was drunk and told him to F*** off, and he did. The other time I was knocked down by a group of teens, and I thought I was being mugged, but it turned out I matched the description of someone who had just robbed one’s sister. They were very apologetic when they figured out their mistake.
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12points
#30
5g babyyyy.
thisismycleanuser replied:
All cellular signals in general are safe when you are 10’+ away from the antenna. They are putting out non-ionizing radiation that causes heating and that’s it. Kinda like a lightbulb, depending on the wattage, closer you are to the source the more likely you are to get burnt. Cellular towers and small cells are low wattage therefore safe up until very close to the antenna.
thisismycleanuser replied:
All cellular signals in general are safe when you are 10’+ away from the antenna. They are putting out non-ionizing radiation that causes heating and that’s it. Kinda like a lightbulb, depending on the wattage, closer you are to the source the more likely you are to get burnt. Cellular towers and small cells are low wattage therefore safe up until very close to the antenna.
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12points
#31
Eating the "do not eat silica" packets you find inside packages
other than a choking hazard, they're pretty much chemically inert.
other than a choking hazard, they're pretty much chemically inert.
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10points
#32
Skydiving. The equipment has been pretty much the same for a good 20ish years and is as safe as can possibly be made. Total equipment failures are super rare and even then mostly due to negligence or in maybe 1 or 2 cases sabotage. The buck stops with you as your own “pilot” essentially. You are supposed to check your gear a minimum of three times according to the handbook. Altitude awareness is key and if you follow all the safety protocols it is quite literally impossible for you to get injured. Going to the right type of place if your doing a tandem jump is also super important but again if a safety minded culture exists in the place your all good.
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9points