35 Disturbing Things People Were Actually Doing Before Learning How Bad They Were

As a dude, standing up to pee. Seriously, the stuff sprays everywhere. We got one of those flashlights made for highlighting pet urine on carpet, and out of curiosity I shined around in the bathroom. It’s everywhere. Gentlemen, it’s really gross what we’re exposing the women in our lives to. We’re not talking about truck stops or rest areas, but the bathrooms of those we know and love. Sit down, it won’t emasculate you.

I pick my nose (privately then wash my hands). I just can’t deal with a clogged nose & my fingers work better than a tissue ever could

I love to eat the crispy, crunchy white yucca flowers from my yard.

I ate them for years before discovering there are tiny little white waxy worms that live in the flowers and blend in.

I eat other bugs and worms and stuff, but not raw, so I started to wash them out of the flowers before I ate them.

I learned the flowers are nowhere near as nutty and crunchy and delicious without the worms, so now I leave them in.

I didn’t use to close the lid on the toilet before flushing. Oh the sharticles.

Omg this isn't something for me personal, but men?? Not washing their hands after they pee?? I seen this statistic during covid and asked my male friends and I couldn't believe how many said this was true. It's stayed with me ever since lol.

I was in my late teens before I learned you're supposed to wipe front to back not back to front. I was like damn and started doing it the right way. I could never get a good clean front to back. I figured I just needed practice but I did it for 6 months and it never improved. I went back to the way I've always done it. I've never had a yeast infection or UTI. Idk how far you guys are wiping but I don't have an issue 

As a child I would dig up bits of clay from the local sandbox. It wasn’t as good as play-doh, so I would cast it aside and continue digging.

Maybe I didn’t have a very good sense of smell at that age, because I was well into adulthood before I realized it was probably cat s**t.

When I was like 5 or 6 years old I would love going to the grocery store with my mom because the vegetable and fruit and meat tables always had the best ice to chew on....

I used to really like those self service lollies/candy buckets with the scoops. They were in most big box stores in Australia, like Kmart, Target, Big W. So much fun mixing and matching.

But then one day I started working at Target. Every single day I caught old people and kids with their hands directly inside grabbing them out and munching down all slobbery like. Turned me off forever.

Though not too long after they started disappearing from businesses so obviously someone got the unsanitary message.

I am 66yo and only learned a week ago that you are supposed to FLOSS FIRST & THEN BRUSH your teeth! I saw something on Reddit about this & I asked my family (3 adult kids & husband). They ALL knew to floss first, brush second - WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME??? They just thought what I did was weird but never mentioned it.

I flushed my tampons my whole life until I was about 30. No one had taught me they weren’t flushable. I stupidly thought they were like toilet paper.

One expensive and embarrassing plumbing problem later, I never did it again.

When I was a kid, I had pinworms. That’s no big deal, kids have them often from playing in dirt and putting their fingers in their mouth. However I was too embarrassed to tell my parents I had them, so I just…left it alone. I had recurrent bouts of worms on and off until I was in my late teens, and then at that point I developed a serious eating disorder for unrelated reasons and they all sort of died off because I wasn’t eating and pinworms feed on sugars in your intestines.

as an asian i was always taught growing up to throw used toilet paper in the trash bin. it wasnt until i went on a school trip to italy the chaperone mentioned to everyone “the plumbing system here isnt as good as the USA so you guys are just gonna have to throw it in the trash bin” and everyone went “ew”. and thats when i learned that it was gross to throw toilet paper in the trash bin since the issue was youre basically having s**t bits sitting around in a bin.

not brushing my teeth every day.

i struggle with life-long dysthymia (basically chronic mild depression), and during the covid lockdown it got pretty bad and i'd straight up brush my teeth every other week, at best. i didn't see the point because i didn't leave my room.

i forced myself to get a thorough professional clean after about a year of this and it felt amazing. i've miraculously never had a cavity, though.

Spitting in public(on the sidewalk, streets, etc.)

Growing up in a smaller Texas Town, spitting whenever and wherever was a p common thing. It was totally acceptable to be walking down the street, and just kinda spit if you felt the need to. Never really thought anything of it. I didn't realize people found spitting on sidewalks offensive until was about 30 or so. I still to this day don't understand why. I try not to do it as much anymore. But.. if there ain't anybody around bet'chur a*s I'ma spit tho.

EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that spitting can be a factor in spreading specific diseases/viruses. After doing some quick research on it, I have found this to be factual. Moving forward, I will be even *more* mindful of my spitting habits.

Sharing a bar of soap with my husband. I thought it was normal until it came up in my mom group. If we are going to bump uglies, we can definitely share soap. I don’t care if it’s gross, we only have one soap holder. 🥴

All my life I wiped my toothbrush on the hand towel to dry it up until my sister asked what the f**k I was doing

Not washing newly purchased clothing items

Never take out my contact lenses.

Double dipping snacks. Pretty logical but only found out recently that’s very bad etiquette