Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share Simple Mistakes That Have Actually Ended Lives

Reddit user SuffocatedByThighs asked: 'What simple mistake has ended lives?'

Not to startle any of you, but death stalks us.

We all have nightmares about diseases and murderers.


But what if, in the end, we just choke on a pickle we inhaled too fast?

Maybe instead of a pickle, a little coleslaw would have been the wiser choice.

We'll never know.

The most minute things can send us packing.

Redditor SuffocatedByThighs wanted to discuss the things that can extinguish our lives in the most basic ways, so they asked:

"What simple mistake has ended lives?"

Tripping over untied shoelaces.

It can break your neck.

TIE YOUR SHOES!!!

Off the Rocks

On No Falling GIF by Outside TVGiphy

"There have been too many instances of rock climbers rappelling off of the ends of their ropes, which could have been easily avoided by tying stopper knots at the ends of their ropes."

LZRDLZRD

Seconds

"I worked at a tire place for a summer and the first thing they told me was 'See that torque wrench? One mistake with this and you can kill a whole family in a matter of seconds.' I thought well, better take this thing seriously."

FrenchMicrowave

"Man for a second I was thinking 'F**k you'd have to swing that thing around fast to take out an entire family' and just bluescreened on the idea of changing a tire."

lurking_my_a**_off

How Vexing...

"THERAC-25. The world’s deadliest software error. Cost several radiation patients their lives by administering lethal amounts of radiation, and for a while, the doctors didn’t even know."

Longjumping_Event_59

"THERAC-25 suffered a particularly vexing sort of error known as a race condition. Essentially, the circuit required multiple inputs in a particular sequence, but sometimes the timing of that sequence could get thrown out of whack and it would lead to all sorts of nonsensical output."

"This is less than ideal when all you're doing is manipulating pixels, but when your software is handling radiation beams you really don't want this to happen."

"Even more vexing is that race conditions are frequently heisenbugs, which can vanish altogether when one attempts to study them. If you don't have a good idea of what's causing the error, you may never cotton on to what sort of bad input is required to test it. Under those circumstances, it's easy to write them off as imaginary, only to then find."

dancingmadkoschei

Heavy Drifting

"Leaving the stranded vehicle on the road in winter and trying to walk to get help. It happens in rural parts of our province once or twice a year and they find the body a few days later. They get disoriented and freeze."

Regina_Runner

"I got blown off a road in high winds. Heavy drifting. Less than a mile from a friend's house after I had turned around. Drifts made it impossible to complete the trip. Trying to run a mile in full blizzard conditions was a fight for my life as an in-shape 24-year-old male athlete.

"rotyag

Simple Slips

Uh Oh Omg GIF by BounceGiphy

"Almost any simple mistake can end a life if you're an anesthesiologist, that's how my grandpa died in his early 60s."

dwserps

Any second. Any moment.

Stay vigilant people.

Celibacy could be better...

Oh My Wow GIFGiphy

"Not being honest with doctors about Viagra. It has many dangerous drug interactions and can cause a lot of problems from what I’ve heard. Trust me the doctor ain’t gonna judge you guys, they have seen many more embarrassing things. And it would suck to die because you wanted to hide something just for it to be later stated in your death certificate."

The_upsetti_spagetti

Check the Numbers

"As a healthcare worker, giving the wrong amount of insulin."

UzumakiHorror

"During the first shift of my first clinical rotation in nursing school, I watched a nurse draw up insulin out of an auto-injector pen that was CLEARLY marked to specifically not do that AND she was drastically wrong about the dosage and almost killed a guy by giving him essentially like a hundred times the intended dose."

someguynamedg

Stay In

"Pulling the knife out of someone."

rcadephantom

"Yeah, I did that but it was a broken tree branch that had impaled my leg. Without even thinking I pulled it out. Blood started gushing so I pulled off my shirt and tied it into a pressure bandage. I was lucky I didn’t bleed to death."

Olddog_Newtricks2001

"Shock is an IQ reducer. I once sliced a bit off the side of my hand with a broken glass, and sort of dazedly picked off the piece of me and tried to stick it back on. It did not work."

UncannyTarotSpread

Stay Dirty

"Mixing cleaning ingredients."

Jonnysource

"My dad was trying to unclog his kitchen drain and mixed drain cleaners by adding one then adding another a few minutes later. It started bubbling and he began coughing intensely. I heard him coughing from the other room, saw what happened, and opened the nearby window to get rid of the chlorine gas he just produced."

"I forgot there was a large hive of wasps that had moved into that window and they did not appreciate this unexpected interruption. I took him to the emergency room for the gas exposure and it was tough explaining that the wasp stings were not why we were there."

CharmingTuber

Dear God

Jeff Goldblum What GIF by The Late Late Show with James CordenGiphy

"A friend’s husband locked himself out of their home. He tried to get in through a window that had security bars. While squeezing through his foot slipped and he essentially hung himself on the window sill."

Cokej01

Life is fleeting. Here is proof.

LIVE!! But live smart.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Kathy Hochul; Greg Abbott
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Kathy Hochul Offers Shady Response After Greg Abbott Shares Meme Of Him 'Dunking' On Her Ahead Of Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals

New York Governor Kathy Hochul offered a shady quip about MAGA's stance on transgender athletes after Texas Governor Greg Abbott shared an AI-generated meme showing him dunking a basketball on her as President Donald Trump watches on ahead of the series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals.

The Knicks and the Spurs are set to meet in the NBA finals for the first time since 1999, when San Antonio captured the championship. Game 1 is scheduled for June 3 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

Keep ReadingShow less
MAGA Influencer Ripped For Mind-Numbing Posts Comparing Melania To Michelle Obama—And The Obsession Is Real
@BrilynHollyhand/X; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images; Billboard Music Awards via Getty Images

MAGA Influencer Ripped For Mind-Numbing Posts Comparing Melania To Michelle Obama—And The Obsession Is Real

MAGA podcaster Brilyn Hollyhand was widely mocked by X users after he shared a clip of First Lady Melania Trump talking about immigration to claim that former First Lady Michelle Obama "wishes" she was as great.

The 19-year-old—who previously served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council—shared a clip from Mrs. Trump's January 29 appearance on Fox Business' Mornings with Maria in which she claimed that her husband President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown is rooted in his desire for a safe country for all.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Pete Hegseth attempting a grapevine workout with Navy members
@DOWRapidResponse/X

Pete Hegseth Is Getting Roasted Over His Hilariously Awkward Attempt To Do A Grapevine Workout With Navy Sailors

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was dragged hard on social media after video footage of his attempt at doing a grapevine workout with U.S. Navy soldiers in Singapore went viral online.

Hegseth was in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, a top regional defense forum. While there, he insisted the American military is not "turning our backs" on Asia while fulfilling "global obligations" such as the Iran war.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Jon Ossoff; Donald Trump
@Acyn/X; Evan Vucci/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Jon Ossoff Perfectly Explains Why Trump Wants To Build His Ballroom And Put His Face On Money—And Yep, That Tracks

Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff called out President Donald Trump at a rally in Atlanta on Sunday, saying Trump's plans to build a ballroom at the White House and his push to put his face on $250 bills say a lot about why he is "a failed president."

Last year, Trump ordered the demolition of the entire East Wing to make way for a 90,000 square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the size of the White House itself, sparking alarm from historical preservationists and the public alike.

Keep ReadingShow less
After Lisa Kudrow (left) recounted being mistaken for Dionne Warwick (right), the singer weighed in with a priceless response.
XNY/Star Max/GC Images; Amy Sussman/WireImage via Getty Images

Lisa Kudrow Reveals She Was Once Mistaken For Dionne Warwick—And Warwick's Reaction Is Hilariously Priceless

Celebrity mix-ups are practically their own meme at this point, but Lisa Kudrow being mistaken for Dionne Warwick probably wasn't on anyone's 2026 bingo card. It all unfolded during a recent Hollywood Reporter Comedy Actress Roundtable featuring Ashley Padilla, Hannah Einbinder, Keke Palmer, Quinta Brunson, Rachel Sennott, and Kudrow herself.

The actresses were asked about the strangest fan interactions they'd ever experienced, and Kudrow's answer quickly stole the conversation.

Keep ReadingShow less