18 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.

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.

Not washing newly purchased clothing items

I use my earring to scrape out the muck from under my nails then put the earring back in my ear

I’m surprised to not see this here: wearing shoes inside. My family was not a shoes off family and they always wore outside shoes inside. I remember a few friends homes were strict shoes-off homes, but I thought that was the minority. I was about 27 years old before I realized it was disgusting and people were definitely judging my etiquette.

Not washing behind ears

I was taught to wash my sheets once a month. Realized you’re supposed to do it way more.

I always had dry hands as a kid and it didn't like how it felt so I'd spit on my hands all the time

Used to pluck my eyebrows on public transport.
So sorry to anyone who got those sticky little living hair follicles stuck to their clothes and skin.

Eating snow, just take the same handful of snow you might see a kid stuff in their mouth and let it melt in a glass. Bet you wouldn’t willingly drink it!

Showered in a dirty tub. Once I discovered how gross it really was, my hoarder mother didn’t like it when I cleaned the bathroom, so I just lived with it til I was able to get a place.

I casually use cat whiskers as toothpicks when I find them laying around. I still do but not in public after I was sitting on a bus next to a stranger and got a bit happy when I found a whisker in my scarf. Poor stranger got discussed and surprised at the same time.