It may sound counterintuitive that when outside threats decrease, we manipulate ourselves into finding new ones, even if they are completely benign. However, researchers found exactly that; we are often tricked by our own perception and see threats that aren't actually there.
So in an attempt to explore our misconceptions, Reddit user ThexLoneWolf made a post on the platform, asking everyone to list the things that society portrays as dangerous but in reality are pretty safe. From animals to medical procedures, here are some of the most popular replies they've received.
#1

Vaccines. They are extremely safe and effective despite what a very loud few say.
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229points
#2

Wolves. Wolf attacks on people are so rare they have individual entries on the Wikipedia page.
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155points
#3

Foxes. For some reason my local fb group ALWAYS seems to post about when they see a fox in town like “careful on your walks”
Do you think foxes EAT PEOPLE????
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154points
#4

Sending your kids outside to play. Go. Outside. It’s good for them.
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147points
#5

Quicksand. We were misled by '80s action films. It's pretty hard to actually die in it.
(Conversely, regular old riptides in the ocean are WAY more dangerous than people think).
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127points
#6

I do risk assessment for a living.
Humans are terrible at assessing risk, in general.
119points
#7

Movies really do sharks dirty. Wouldn’t say they’re completely safe, but definitely no where near as dangerous as perceived to be.
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115points
#8

Black bears are pretty harmless. They *can* [harm] you, but usually would rather leave you alone.
113points
#9

Using a sharp knife in cooking. It's actually far more dangerous to use a dull knife.
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110points
#11

Small bubbles in an IV line aren’t going to [unalive] you like the movies. The amount of panicked patients I’ve had is wild.
89points
#12

Bees and wasps. I used to get stung a lot when I was a kid but I learned that if you don't wave your arms like a lunatic they'll leave you a lone. Also don't throw rocks at their nest and you should be okay.
85points
#13

Being a cop. Logging is over six times more dangerous.
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80points
#14

I’m sure other people have said, but trick or treating. Any danger in d***s or razor blades in candy is wildly overblown in actuality I think there have been only one or two instances of someone actually being malicious with their candy handouts.
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74points
#16

Flying on a plane. You are more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash.
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73points
#18

This is kind of a meta answer, but I’ve injured myself a lot more doing stupid projects around the house than I have while on duty in an actual dangerous industrial jobsite. Universally because I didn’t do a proper pre-work analysis and ensure I was using PPE.
72points
#19

Alligators. They are big and look scary but don't generally attack humans and don't consider us prey. Florida has millions of gators but only averages like 8 unprovoked attacks per year with about one fatal death every 3 years. They are dangerous to small pets, however, and I'm pretty sure many of those attacks are from trying to save a pet. But alligators are everywhere is Florida so it's quite surprising how few attacks there are.
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66points
#20

A lot of 3rd-world travel destinations; just because a country is poor doesn't mean that the people are robbers/murderers.
64points





