When we thing of something being gross, or nasty, or cruel, there are certain examples that we can all think of, like bullying or an uncleaned bathroom.
But there are other things in our lives that are actually much nastier than we would expect them to be, and we can only really uncover the truth by taking a closer look at them.
Cringing already, Redditor Strawberry_no_cake asked:
"What is nastier than people realize?"
Not So Sweet Now
"Ice machines in restaurants."
- Goodygumdrops
"I worked at a golf course after I lost my law firm internship during the pandemic. I basically just cooked people easy food (burgers, hot dogs, fries, BLTs, etc.) and tended bar in the clubhouse."
"I can confirm that the ice machine can get gross. I’d always do a quick wipe down clean if I saw anything on the ice, but it was typically on parts of the machine that never touched the actual ice we’d use."
- S**tfacedGrizzlyBear
Unexpected, but Makes Sense
"RN here: Hospital floors!"
"Seems obvious, but apparently it isn’t. I can’t believe how many folks will allow their CHILDREN to sit or play on the floors, or just generally treat them like they are sterile. I don’t even wear my work shoes into my own house."
"The other day I spilled a few drops of tea on the floor where I work… gave it a very light wipe with a cloth and the cloth was BLACK."
"I think people assume that since it’s a hospital the floors are in mint condition… absolutely no way, lol (laughing out loud)."
- gracebloome
Secondary Symptoms in Autoimmune Diseases
"Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis."
"Thanks to drug company ads, most people think it's just about going to the bathroom a few times a day. There's never any mention of fissures, fistulas, fevers, extreme pain, extreme fatigue, depression, anemia, drug side effects, joint pain, painful and horrific surgeries, mouth sores, skin disorders, etc."
- reddy_kil0watt
Our Enemies Don't Even Deserve This
"Dementia, especially advanced dementia. It's not just quirky memory problems, your brain controls every bodily function."
- youngboomergal
Carer Fatigue is Real
"Being a caregiver. Again, people know it might be nasty, but I think they still overlook the awful experience it is for people who are caring for an elder."
"My mom took care of my bedridden grandmother for three years. The amount of s**t everywhere (she had chronic diarrhea, and I don't know if it's just me, but old people's s**t smells like something of another realm), awful body odor (even when we were cleaning her constantly), the difficulty of changing diapers/sheets/covers as constantly as she needed (at least two times during the night)."
"So what I meant is that sometimes people think is 'nice' of a certain daughter/son to take care of their old parents (at least in my country where putting your parents in facilities is not common). But it's just such an intense, nerve-wracking, hard, and disgusting job, with no breaks, with little rewards (because at least my grandma was not in her right mind), and almost no social recognition that it blows my mind how underappreciated it is."
- FuelSelect
One Word: Cancer
"Cancer. People know it’s nasty. People know it’s nasty as all h**l. But here’s the thing. Going through it myself, I could have never imagined how nasty it truly is."
"I watched my mom fight stage four ovarian cancer 18 years ago (I’m 40 right now for reference). She was so far along, and so riddled with the cancer that she was given weeks to live, and sent away from three oncologists who told her to check into hospice and prepare for the end."
"Thankfully she found an oncologist (who is mine now) who took her in, and went to war with her. They cut her open from the chest down, and spent hours plucking tumors out of her while rearranging her internal organs. Taking out the bad stuff and building what he could with what was left. Then two long rounds of chemo. Hospital visits. Illness left and right. Side effects. Recovery. It was h**l for her, but she beat the odds and lived."
"Watching this, I understood what I could. I saw the pain, but now, going through it myself, couldn’t possibly comprehend how bad it truly was. I saw the illness, the nausea, the neuropathy, all the stupid side effects that hit you for no reason at all."
"So yeah, cancer. Everyone knows it’s nasty, but man is it even worse than that!"
- jdizzle161
Travel Luggage
"Luggage. It gets rolled throughout the world, often in gross airport bathrooms where floors are literally wet with pee, and then when people get to their destination, the first thing they do is toss it on the bed to unpack."
"Come to think of it, this also makes hotel comforters that never get washed even more disgusting."
- jgilbs
That One Article of Clothing
"Your belt. Think about it, it´s basically the only piece of clothing you never wash. And you always have to touch it after you pooped and before you wash your hands."
- KeplerFinn
Dusty Keyboard Keys
"Your keyboard."
"Seriously man, wash that thing. I can see the dirt from your window!"
- BowlOfJello___
A World of Germs in Your Pocket
"Phones."
"One time I was in line at a food service place, think Chipotle style where you tell them what you want and they make it behind the counter."
"There was this sweaty Door Dasher guy who couldn’t really articulate the order so he handed his phone to the kid behind the counter. The kid proceeds to take his phone, starts swiping and touching it WITHOUT GLOVES ON, and goes right back to touching people’s food."
"Disgusting."
- white_cyclosa
Where Has That Been?
"The top of a soda can. People buy them from a store and put it right onto their mouth without hesitation."
- fuzzynavel5
Far Beyond the Stereotypes
"OCD. It's not some goofy personality quirk. It's h**l on earth."
- MERT-x123
"'Oh, you have OCD? Well, how come your house is a mess?'"
"Oh, I dunno, maybe because I'm so consumed with intrusive thoughts I can't function?"
"'lol (laughing out loud), I get those too! They're normal, just ignore them.'"
"ha-ha-ha-ha sob."
- SerakTheRegallian
What We Wear Everywhere
"Shoes. They are filled with sweaty feet and go everywhere. Think about the gas station and airport bathrooms. The bathrooms you can feel the ick in."
- golamas1992
Also, Watch Straps
"Your watch strap: mine is white and the notches for the buckle go all the way around and every week I have to clean out all the lint and build up to stop it going funky. Makes me shudder at the idea of other watch straps where it may not be as obvious."
- durkbot
Kids Who Don't Know Better
"Speaking as a teacher of four- to five-year-olds:"
"Kids with colds who do not know how to blow their noses or cover their coughs and sneezes. Sometimes they just leave the snot on their faces, or wipe it on their clothes. They can produce a mind-boggling amount of snot!"
"The awful gross things kids will willingly put in their mouths, and then share with others!"
"I love them regardless!"
- CreepyCandidate4449
We're absolutely squirming at the thought of all of these situations, mostly because we haven't thought about them to this degree before, or perhaps even considered it (we're looking at you, belts).
Take this as a reminder to clean the things you haven't in a while, and perhaps take some extra health precautions in public spaces where other people may not be.
