Insider information is a great thing, especially in today's world. From insiders, we learn everything we need and don't need to know. From Charlie D'Amelio's personal breaking news to stock tickers, from the Lakers locker room to the White House.
In addition to established insiders who have made gossip their job and main source of income, there are also other types of insiders. These are just people who not only do their job, they are well versed in it - but at the same time, they know something about it that an ordinary person could hardly guess.
And, to be honest, we would hardly have thought of it, if not for this thread in the AskReddit community, whose topic starter asked both a simple and non-standard question: "What are the facts about your job that general public has no idea about?" To date, the thread has over 11.6K upvotes and almost 8.5K comments, where people willingly reveal all the light and dark sides of their work.
Bored Panda collected for you the most interesting, surprising and unusual revelations from representatives of various professions. Some, perhaps, you already knew well, and some will probably shock you. Either way, feel free to scroll to the very end of the post not to miss something really interesting. And now, a little inside info from our work - more than anything in this life, we love your upvotes and comments!
More info: Reddit
#21 Many Systems Are Raggedy Messes Of Bare-Bones Functionality
Working for giant companies, it’s comical how many systems are raggedy messes of bare-bones functionality. All available money gets thrown at certain projects, leaving everything else to work on complete shoe-strings.
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87points
#22 Any Golf Lawn Grass You See On Camera Has Been Sprayed Green
I’m the spray tech at a golf course. We use green dye on our putting greens.
The grass at Augusta national is sprayed green as well; “any grass you see on camera has been sprayed green”
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83points
#23 If You Fall Overboard, Don't Try To Swim - Just Stay On The Surface And Conserve Energy
If you ever fall off a ship/ferry at sea and were lucky enough to be spotted - don't try to swim your way to safety. The more you try to swim, the lesser the chances of survival. Just try to keep afloat and conserve energy (and body heat) while the rescue team does what they're supposed to. Unless you are in hypothermic waters, the best bet always is to stay afloat without trying to swim to 'somewhere'. This information about falling overboard, hypothermia and conditions, survival at sea etc are based on my own experience of many years sailing on [mega container ships]
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76points
#24 In Newswriting, If We Like You We Don't Quote You Exactly
In newswriting, if we like you we don't quote you exactly. If we don't like you, best believe you're getting a 'sic'.
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72points
#25 Government Departments Are Really Massive Bureaucracies
Government worker here. You know how you all have the opinion that government departments are massive bureaucracies that take forever to get anything done efficiently, if at all?
It's true. And we hate that, too. It can take me 2 months to get an answer that would normally take 1 day in the private sector.
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69points
#26 The Pharmaceutical Industry Is A Lot Of Paperwork
I'm in pharma. So. Much. Paperwork.
Also we use a lot of single-use stuff, so the pharma industry's probably responsible for a not-insignificant amount of the world's plastic waste.
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66points
#27 The Job Of A Structural Engineer Has Too Many Unknown Variables
Structural Engineer
We take materials we do not entirely understand, form them into shapes we cannot precisely analyze to resist forces we cannot truly assess in such a way that the public at large has no idea of the extent of our ignorance!
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64points
#28 Crisis Hotline Sometimes Get Really Disturbing Prank Calls
Crisis hotline. Sometimes we get really disturbing prank calls. I always encourage people to call back if they are ever in crisis. A lot of times, they (the prank callers) do.
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64points
#29 Unless You’re Flying On Delta, Your Flight Attendants Aren’t Getting Paid During Boarding And Deplaning
US based flight attendant here. Unless you’re flying on Delta, your flight attendants aren’t getting paid during boarding and deplaning. We’re just as annoyed as the next person that the flight is delayed because of a mechanical issue, weather, etc. If the boarding door is closed we (usually) don’t mind though.
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57points
#30 Radioactive Contamination Can Often Just Be Cleaned With Windex Or Even Water
Radioactive contamination can often just be cleaned with Windex or even water
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45points