Never underestimate the power of nature. Be it living or non-living, the things out in the wild are more ferocious than you realize.

Water Always Wins

"Water, specifically moving water. People have no sense about how powerful large volumes of moving water can be."

EarthAngelGirl

"My grandfather used to point out boulders in flash flood channels and ask us how they got there. A flash flood is literally thousands of gallons of water moving with the force of a hurricane, mowing down anything in it path; your odds of survival if you get caught in one are slim to none. Water is no joke!"

They're Called "Wild" For A Reason

"Chimpanzees."

2guyshangingoutnaked

"Ever since I saw that woman on TV that was ripped apart by her own pet chimp, I swear I would freak out if I ever had to be in the vicinity of a chimp irl. She didn't die but it f-cked her up bad enough that those things scare me. When people use them in music videos or whatever, I always think of that lady."

brychav

"It wasn't her chimp - it was her neighbor's. And she was known to the chimp, and had interacted with it for years before, on friendly terms."

"One day it just went, well, ape.."

suid

It's Literally A Big Ball Of Burning Death

"THE SUN. Skin cancer is a major killer that is easily preventable by wearing sunscreen. Sun damage is more significant than many people realize and it's such an easy thing to avoid."

theredditdetective1

Even The Cute Ones...

"ALL wild animals are dangerous, even if they don't look it. Most people know that large predators like mountain lions and bears are dangerous, but many underestimate herbivores and/or smaller animals like deer and squirrels. A lot of people assume smaller animals/herbivores are tame, and try to get close or even touch them."

"This is extremely dangerous- these animals don't understand humans, and an animal that feels cornered or threatened will lash out to try and escape. Please keep a safe and respectful distance from any animal you don't know!"

pretty-as-a-pic

Greater Chance To Be Struck By...Oh.

"Lightening! You know when people say, "you have more chance of being struck by lightening then..." it's because it happens!! I saw someone die from lightening in front of everyone at the Grand Canyon weeks ago. It was horrific. His flip flops flew off, and he pooped himself. Poor guy! They don't report on it much, but it happens all the time there."

Ghouliejulie86

Wait For It...

"Deer. I had a friend walk up to a doe because that moron thought they where just cute little docile creatures. that moron is now a 1 eyed moron."

ContemptSmoothie

"You mean a buck?"

nycperson2741

"no."

ContemptSmoothie

"Oh - figured antler = eye gone. My bad"

nycperson2741

"it impaled him in the eye with a hoof."

ContemptSmoothie

Going to the doctor can feel like a big weight, especially if you don't have the right kind of medical coverage. That's probably why things like the following can lead to dangerous outcomes.

Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth

"An infected tooth."

pegasustoonkingdom

"True! An abscess under the gum line can literally kill you."

Sidivan

"Argued with a receptionist about this. I had one badly and she said she'd never heard of it killing anyone. Like... yeah, ask your damn boss."

2FingersWhiskey

People Describe Their Best Chance Encounters | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Go For A Walk

"A bad diet and sedentary lifestyle. Most people don't think about how these two can lead to an incredible amount of health problems and how they can remain asymptomatic for years and suddenly have a heart attack or stroke."

IntelligentMeat138

Ever Seen A Sports Doctor?

​"ANY. SPORT. EVER."

"While there is definitely a hierarchy of dangerous sports any sport can be potentially dangerous. You can pull something in baseball just as easily as you in basketball and you can get a concussion in wrestling just like you can in football (American). There are many ways to prevent injury of course but there is always always chance that you will hurt yourself when playing any sport"

Playing_With_Fire123

Inexplicable Loss

"Epilepsy,"

"SUDEP has no warning, no known cause and leaves loved ones with no answers as to what happened"

Nixilaas

And then there's these, typical, every day actions or items we might come into contact with which actually pose more of a threat than we realize.

Watch out for those springs.

Buckle Up

"Driving. The forces involved in driving are way above anything the human body can withstand should things go wrong. All the safety features built into cars lead us to believe that it's a safe activity, which encourages additional risky behaviors like texting. Everybody should be hyper focused while driving down the highway at 80mph, but almost everybody is doing something else in addition to driving."

Sidivan

Buckle Up THE RIGHT WAY

"90% of children are improperly restrained in the car."

"I spent a decade as a CPST and the things I've seen are deeply upsetting knowing they're easily fixable with an hour or two of effort."

"I've seen children internally decapitated. Parents put their kids in car seats forward facing far too early, booster seats before they're truly large enough, coats under the straps, straps never properly tightened."

"Car accidents are still a leading cause of death. The awareness has gotten better in the last 15 years but with plenty of room for improvement."

"If you have a child, please make an appointment with a certified CPST whenever they are big enough for their next seat or seating position. It's worth the effort."

"Also, not every fire fighter is a CPST. The goal is to teach YOU how to install the seat, not to have them do it for you."

bionicback

Eyes Up Or It's Going To Be Face Down

"Walking down the street staring at your phone! Look I do it like everyone else, and find myself almost collecting a lamp post or bollard every sixty seconds. Or tripping over something. STOP and look at my phone, then keep moving. I gotta do this more."

Amazing-Violinist-11

Think Of Your Mental Health

"toxic workplace. stay there long enough and you will hate life itself"

pk1950

"And then the toxic people who say "think about the money" when you mention quitting for your mental health"

kgiaaaa

Hire A Professional

"Garage door springs will f-ck you up."

Tommy_Roboto

"I'm generally a do-it-yourselfer, but I don't mess with breaker boxes or garage door springs."

p38-lightning

Be safe out there. You never know when a wild spring is going to jump out of the dark, ready to attack.

Want to "know" more?

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.