We all have ideas of what would make the world a better place.
"If only everyone had unlimited supplies of THIS," you might think. Or, "If only everyone had easy access to THAT," others might suggest.
You could spend hours making up what would make the world better if you could give everyone what they want.
Yet, not often do we think of what would make the world a better place if we got rid of something.
What if, one day, a particular thing was simply gone? Would that make life better?
Reddit user, alpham_11, wanted to know what would make the world a better place if it was gone when they asked:
"If you could remove one thing from the entire world to make it a better place, what would it be?"
Maybe the thing we'd have the power to get rid of is small, minuscule, but its impact would be felt the world over.
Protect My Bum
"those toilet paper dispensers that only let you take out one square that is inevitably torn as a result."
Andmoreagain96
"do you mean paper towels or is this some other monstrosity I have yet to encounter"
Mike2220
"You know when you know. You're one lucky person to have never encountered it."
InfamouslyishFamous
Poor Horses
"Horseflies"
LucifugeRofocaleX
"Frick those things, I thought I’d been stabbed by a needle once when I got bit by a very large horse fly on the back of the neck. Everybody thought I’d just lost my sh-t when I was freaking out and squealing atop my horse. I can only imagine what horses feel all the time"
montananhooman
Are We Ever Going To Be Rid Of It?
"Facebook"
djmonsta
"It occurred to me a while back, eventually somebody would’ve invented it, just named it differently."
Cable3805
"It occurred to me a while back, eventually somebody would’ve invented it, just named it differently."
Slithy-Toves
Perhaps everyone can see its influence spreading already. After all, no one likes to be lied to, but we do it all the time.
Not Everyone Can Be Leslie Knope
"Corrupt politicians"
DieLawnUwU
"You can just call them 'politicians.'"
Star_x_Child
"Wouldn't it be crazy if public servents actually served the public?"
rastashem
Protect Yours And Loved Ones Necks, But Don't Overdo It
"Greed"
chillmagic420
"Was gonna say this. So many of the problems humanity has caused for itself and the Earth are born from greed"
spaloof
"I dunno, definitely has some extreme cases. But I would argue greed has evolutionary roots. It's almost a survival mechanism. It definitely played a part in getting us where we are. But that being said, I think if we could now just remove the idea of greed from current society, would it have a positive impact, is a really interesting question."
Slithy-Toves
We Don't Need To Know Everyone's Thoughts On Every Situation
"24 hour news cycle."
urbexcemetery
"What happened to only reading newspapers after breakfast?"
Very-berryx
"News shouldn't be a profit center in general. If the aim is to make a profit then content will be selected based on audience preferences. Turns out, people like programming that entertains them and confirms their worldview - which makes for pretty sh-t "news"."
silenttd
Opinions Are NOT News
"Infotainment "news" networks. I want a quick, easy, unbiased way to know what's going on in the world. I don't need your damn opinion on the matter."
bradpliers
"I agree, the news has never been the same since they came out with 24hr news channels. It's all about ratings."
"The newscaster's or network's opinion should not be what they call "'news'"
"How are you supposed to be able to come up with your own opinions or stances on whats going on if all you hear is someone else's opinion and bias one way or the other"
nemesis-of-HEman
And then there's situations like these, where a little more of a delicate touch is needed to make sure the world is handled carefully after these things are gone. We want people to be happy, after all.
A Clear Mind
"Mental illness"
Emergency-View-1258
"God maybe even more considering how much of human suffering is caused by people with mental illness who inflict suffering on others"
"Like you just know dictators are sociopaths, and mass shooters would largely be eliminated"
Peppinito
No Place On This Planet For Them
"Child abusers"
Spoonloops
"Children will one day run the world. It’d be amazing to see a generation of people who were all properly loved and cared for in childhood"
LeeannC_137
"I luckily got out of an abusive household but I had many friend in my old hood not get out... it's f-cking tragic to see yourself grow and do well while your childhood friends circle the drain. It's a terrifying reminder of what could have happened to me. I would give my life if it meant no more kids got the childhood I had and worse."
kitkatattacc04
"Bad/abusive/toxic parent and child relationship. There’s too many children who are starving, hurting, alone, confused, belittled, abused, molested, and mentally destroyed at the hands of their parents. I would remove all of that to make sure every child has a chance to grow up in a healthier household and given a better chance to thrive."
kaitlinhathaw
Shouldn't Be Happening
"Addiction"
duckdancerr
"Yeah. This is it's own kind of cancer. And it affects so many more people than just the person with the addiction."
"My brother is an addict and my brother-in-law's brother died a few years ago of liver disease caused by alcoholism. He was in his 40's and died a slow, painful death in a hospice surrounded by people much older than he was."
"That sh-t shouldn't be happening."
AjaxTheWanderer
It's fun to imagine.
It's tough to actually do the work. Maybe it's time to do something tough, today.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
rPolitics/Reddit
@leftynavyseal/Bluesky
rPolitics/Reddit
@skippyoz/Bluesky
rPolitics/Reddit
rPolitics/Reddit
rPolitics/Reddit
jordi baste robot GIF by No pot ser! TV3
sing schitts creek GIF by CBC
Well Done Ok GIF by funk
Two Face Ernst GIF by ZWEIMANN
