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While we think that our home is our safe haven, in reality, it's probably more dangerous than we realize.

Obvious things like gas-burning stoves and chemical cleaning products aside, there's plenty of questionable stuff lying around that can inflict serious damage on us.

Recently, Reddit user Cool_Kid_Lit_Fam_Sam asked other people on the platform to list these potentially life-threatening household objects and that kickstarted a viral online discussion that has reached 4,400 comments and the number is still growing.

So we compiled some of the most popular replies and present them for your judgment—continue scrolling and upvote the ones you think we need to handle with great caution.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Oven cleaner. Had a friend of the family use it on a warm oven and breathed it in. Messed up her lungs and died in hospital.

queenofthemeeps , osseous Report

Final score:
244points
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We managed to get in touch with the person who made the post and they were kind enough to tell us more about what led to it. "I got the idea for the question from a meme which has two identical cups of blue liquid," Cool_Kid_Lit_Fam_Sam told Bored Panda.

"Behind one of the cups was a bottle of blue mountain dew and behind the other cup was a bottle of Windex. When I saw this I started thinking about how deadly accidentally drinking a cup of Windex would be even though it's an everyday household item that a lot of people have. From this original thought, I turned to Reddit to see what other household objects we were underestimating," the Redditor recalled.
#2

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear my mom used to boil a pot of bleach mixed with ammonia every saturday after cleaning. She said it was to “make the house smell clean” surprised im still alive

Icecreamkillax , Mathanki Kodavasal Report

Final score:
227points
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#3

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Not sure if this is entirely related but i feel like it’s surprising that most people don’t know that you can’t put out a grease fire with water

themountainlotus , State Farm Report

Final score:
196points
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Cool_Kid_Lit_Fam_Sam believes it's easy to forget that many household objects are, in-fact, life-threatening because of the status these items have in our lives.

"The word 'household objects' means objects or items that most people have around their home. Whether it's a sponge or a broom these are things most people have in their homes which makes it interesting when you think about how these everyday items could end up being the death of you. Also may I add, most people would not think these items could hurt and/or kill them due to how accessible they are, which adds to the interest of it."
#4

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear I have an important story!!

When my dad was a kid, one of his good friends died by inhaling Pam cooking spray. The boy was a good, smart kid and just thought inhaling Pam would get you a little high, like sniffing a Sharpie or whatever. But Pam coats your lungs and very quickly suffocates you if you breathe it in. He had no idea how dangerous it was and he was dead in minutes. It was absolutely devastating for everyone who knew him.

TLDR; never ever inhale Pam and be very careful leaving it around kids! Make sure your kids are aware that it is deadly!

greenoctopusink , Mike Mozart Report

Final score:
196points
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#5

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear My wife's favorite pans.

See you with a metal utensil anywhere near it, and she will kill you.

DWBKC , Annie Spratt Report

Final score:
180points
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However, according to the National Safety Council, over the last 10 years, American home and community deaths have increased by 76%, and the death rate per 100,000 people has increased by 66%.

In 2020, an estimated 156,300 preventable injury-related deaths occurred in the country's homes and communities, or about 78% of all preventable injury-related deaths that year.

The number of deaths was up 18.9% from the 2019 total of 131,400. An additional 46,800,000 people suffered non-fatal medically consulted injuries.

The leading cause of death American homes and communities is poisoning (56%), followed by falls (26%).
#6

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Doesn't exactly kill but can f**k your hand up for life so remember kids:

A falling knife has no handle.

Corvus_Manufaktura , Lauren Jong Report

Final score:
174points
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#7

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Bleach and other cleaners accidentally mixed together.

Luder09 , Mike Mozart Report

Final score:
162points
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ii_3 avatar
I I
I I
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

bleach and rubbing alcohol will knock you out as it makes chloroform

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Bernd Herbert
Bernd Herbert
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why is this downvoted? This is true! In general, you should never mix substances containing chlorine with anything.

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Vic D
Vic D
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My neighbor blew up the pipes by mixing bleach and clog remover a few years ago.

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Shane S
Shane S
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I truly did this accidentally. I mixed bleach and oxyclean trying to get bright whites. Apparently, you don’t mix bleach with peroxide either. I didn’t think about it. I just thought oxyclean was detergent.

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Debbie Burton
Debbie Burton
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I work with the elderly and we are not allowed to use bleach.... one old lady knew that so asked me to pour vinegar in her toilet. She had already put the bleach in apparenlty :O found out after the fumes nearly knocked us both out

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Clover
Clover
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I try to tell my husband about this, but he just acts like I'm " whistling Dixie ".

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Adam Eve
Adam Eve
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Start replacing "bleach" with "5-10% chlorine solutions" maybe your Google search gets a bit more real

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Steven Meyer
Steven Meyer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you mix bleach and ammonia together you make mustard gas… This will kill you.

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Omi bub
Omi bub
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes the cleaner wherevI worked got COPD from this. It was really sad, such a debilitating illness & seeing her struggle for breath looked like torture. Killed her in the end.

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Raphael Richarz
Raphael Richarz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember once mixing shock chlorination tablets with the standard ones. The reaction was quite "intense"

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SkekVi
SkekVi
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This should be WELL known not 'you may not know' READ LABELS AND SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS MY GOD

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Vector
Vector
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BOOM

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NsG
NsG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not necessarily explosive, but it is very toxic. Don't use bleach on a cat litter tray for example because cat urine contains ammonia and you'll basically create a version of the chlorine gas used in the Wars.

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Cool_Kid_Lit_Fam_Sam is inclined to think that these tragedies are a result of "people being people."

"As stated before, most folks would not see [their homes] as outright dangerous henceforth they shall let their guard down until... They've accidentally crafted an extremely poisonous gas or simply missed a step on their ladder."
#8

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Candles. Just because they're trendy and smell nice, doesn't mean they're not still a naked flame that can cause a housefire that can kill you in your sleep.

NeverCadburys , Katy Report

Final score:
159points
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#9

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Pressure washers. The jet immediately penetrates the skin, injecting whatever's inside the washer or lining the washer into the blood stream. Even new, first time use cases can cause severe damage to the body. Do NOT play with pressure washers.

anon , Peachtree Pressure Report

Final score:
158points
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#10

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Unsecured free-standing shelves are pretty dangerous, ESPECIALLY for kids who might try to climb on them.

MedChemist464 , danielle_blue Report

Final score:
143points
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#11

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Cold and flu products/pain killers containing paracetamol . You’re suffering. You taken paracetamol, then lemsip, then more paracetamol, then more lemsip etc, before you know it you’ve had 8g of paracetamol. Your liver starts to fail.

Read medicine labels. Don’t mix paracetamol products.

VixenRoss , Ambrose Heron Report

Final score:
142points
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#12

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear I used a mold removing product in my shower. Noticed a wierd unpleasant smell and didn't feel well. Checked whats in the product and quickly realised I almost killed myself.

Moral of the story. Don't pee in the shower or make sure you know your chemicals and how they can react with other chemicals... Or p**s.

SnarkoCockedYourWife , Henry Burrows Report

Final score:
129points
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#13

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear A peanut

The number of idiots who think it is so cool to catch peanuts in their mouth. The risk of it sailing into your lungs is far higher than you think.

Novel-Structure-2359 , cyclonebill Report

Final score:
124points
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#14

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Dryer lint causes nearly 3,000 fires every year. Source: Karen Kilgariff’s dad.

Quixidiocy Report

Final score:
119points
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#15

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Wet floors, usually bathrooms. Anything that can make hitting your head easier can kill.

Also, rotten potatoes exhale a gas that can be bad if you are in a closed room with a fairly large amount of them. It can kill within seconds.

Brew did a video about it on YouTube.

Flowy_Aerie_77 , Charles Brewer Report

Final score:
116points
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#16

Magnets. Toddlers will put *anything* in their mouth. If they swallow one magnet, they’ll likely be fine. If they swallow two, they can have intestinal perforation. Without the words to communicate what’s wrong, it can easily be deadly

opossum-effigy Report

Final score:
115points
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#17

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear The two most common types of accidental death in the home are falls in bathtubs and from ladders.

Leftrightthere , gosheshe Report

Final score:
115points
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#18

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear A humidifier

I thought I cleaned it well but apparently you need to drown it in bleach and or hot water to get all that bacteria out from giving you a severe lung infection

TheRestIs_Confetti , HS You Report

Final score:
98points
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#19

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Because it hasn’t been said here yet … F*****G STAIRS
I’ve fallen down stairs at my work , banged my head and woke up in the hospital…. I wasn’t running down them , one f*****g loose floor board on the edge made me fall down 6-8 steps

SexandPsychedelics , Ben Pugh Report

Final score:
95points
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#20

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear you should clean ur toaster bc if too many bread crumbs collect they could actually catch fire thru the heat of the toaster.

joa_nh , Robert Couse-Baker Report

Final score:
93points
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#21

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Car jack.

If it fails and you didn't use jack stands, and you can't bench press a couple thousand pounds..... you gonna die.

racerx21 , EricTheCarGuy Report

Final score:
89points
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#22

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Lift cords on blind windows. I've heard alot of stories of children getting tangled in them by the neck and dying. They have cordless blinds now so those are way better.

AlwaysShip , Matthew Paul Argall Report

Final score:
87points
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#23

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear A toilet. Saw a picture once of a woman who stood on a toilet to change her bathroom lightbulb, the toilet broke in half and when she fell the toilet cut her back wide open and she bled out. You could see everything inside of her, brutal.

BoomHazard , dirtyboxface Report

Final score:
83points
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#24

Cheap extension cords and power strips, especially ones without built in fail-safes that trip them if they are overloaded. The number of people who I see using those cheap, brown, dollar store extension cords, loading up every single available outlet, and leaving them plugged in 24/7 for years on end, makes me cringe.

emartinoo Report

Final score:
82points
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#25

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Apparently people can die from hair dryers catching fire. Because they sleep with them.

Reading warning labels on household objects really gets me questioning how humans aren't all dead from idiocy.

chut2906 , Siyavula Education Report

Final score:
80points
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#26

Eye drops, like the kind that removes redness. Slipped into a drink for example even a small amounts can cause cardiac issues or even death as the vasoconstricting properties can stifle blood flow to the heart

--VoidHawk-- Report

Final score:
66points
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#27

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Microwaves. There's a reason they have a warning to not f**k with them even if they're not plugged in- you can still absolutely get fried if you open it up to mess with it. You're not safe just because it's unplugged.

thewhitepearlreaper , Chris Lawrence Report

Final score:
64points
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#28

Gas oven, we have cheapo oven where the stove top burner controls aren't the ones you have to push in to release and adjust, the amount of times I have smelled the gas because someone brushed against the damn oven and slightly opened a valve on one of the burners...I'm just glad I have the doors open most of the time.

Don't know if it counts but gas fireplace heaters are dangerous if they are not properly checked by a qualified maintenance tech, or in the case of my high school friend the gas appliance engineer took a bribe from the landlord's son, and my friend died from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result, arseholes got suspended sentences but ten year probation.

outamyhead Report

Final score:
61points
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#29

People who are left handed using everyday items that were designed to be used with your right hand

seventh-death Report

Final score:
57points
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#30

Food.

Improperly handling just about any food can easily kill you or leave you wishing you were dead.

Picker-Rick Report

Final score:
54points
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#31

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Lithium batteries, idk if this is a normal household object but it burnt my whole 3200 sq ft house in 30 mins

no-one-p , Ramesh NG Report

Final score:
54points
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#32

Dinner plate.....let me explain.

Went to sleep watching TV on the couch😴
Woke up and decided to go to bed but tripped over the vacuum cleaner and fell face forward onto the corner of the coffee table.

I had left my plate from dinner there. Plate broke in half as I fell and sliced me open from lower right rib the top of left pelvis.

60km ambulance ride, hospital and surgery to put me back together.

rastagizmo Report

Final score:
53points
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#33

Garage door opener - specifically the springs. Those springs have a crapload of tension in them and if you mess with them they can mess you up. I had a contractor working at the house and he set up his work area in the garage. While he was working, one of the springs just broke on its own. He was okay, but he said it was so loud he thought a car had crashed into the garage.

Thirty_Helens_Agree Report

Final score:
51points
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#34

Cutting boards. Cross contaminations a b***h if you have a bad immune system

Sus_bedstain26 Report

Final score:
50points
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#35

Acetaminophen (Tylenol).

OD’ing on it only takes about twice the amount on the box’s directions, which is very low compared to other common medications. Its negative effects are kidney failure, which starts with kidney pains, but quite quickly leads to a painful death.

It is scarily common. People first take Tylenol for a good reason but they take too much, so they start feeling kidney pain, so they take more Tylenol for that kidney pain, because they think it’s harmless and should help to feel good. By the time it gets bad enough that they go to the ER, they’re already dead, their body just doesn’t know it yet.

Always follow medication directions, particularly on Tylenol.

ritswd Report

Final score:
47points
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#36

My brother's father in law died falling off a ladder. He wasn’t even high up, just fell badly. His wife (a nurse) tried CPR, but he didn’t make it. He had no other health problems

estherloveseevie Report

Final score:
46points
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#37

An air compressor not maintained can explode.

No-Werewolf2037 Report

Final score:
45points
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#38

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Using compressed air cans near a stove.

Im_Not_A_Human_4 , Household Hacker Report

Final score:
44points
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#39

A stovetop espresso maker.

The method of operation is the water in the bottom chamber boils, and the steam pressure pushes up the hot water through the coffee grounds into the upper pot.

There is only one safety on these things, and it's the valve on the water tank. If the water is filled too high so it covers the valve, you've made a pipe bomb. If the coffee is ground too fine or tamped and the safety valve is blocked it WILL explode and send boiling coffee and water everywhere.

Luckily this is very easily avoidable. Never fill the water over the safety valve, and never tamp the coffee in the basket.

windowpuncher Report

Final score:
43points
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#40

Due to certifications like UL, and GFCI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms, there is way more safety built into things than decades ago. Certain woodworking tools are the first to come to mind, but most people realize they are dangerous. Using a table saw wrong and having it launch a board at your face? Or pulling yourself down onto it could easily cause fatal injuries if someone isn’t around to offer quick medical assistance. Lathes, mills, or drill presses can be super dangerous if they snag any loose clothing or hair and pull you in. It seems the people who are least aware of the danger are people who are fairly new to using them so they know the basics but end up overconfident and assume they know everything they need to know.

robotmonkeyshark Report

Final score:
35points
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#41

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Pressure cooker

pfghost , Alabama Extension Report

Final score:
33points
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#42

Inserting a copper penny into a screw-in fuse box circuit as a "temporary measure" until replacement fuses can be obtained.

Back2Bach Report

Final score:
32points
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#43

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear A garbage disposal sink, seriously if you have long hair and it gets caught in it your in trouble

AffectionateBus9086 , Dean Hochman Report

Final score:
32points
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#44

Cupboard door. One fast wrong turn and a lucky corner shot to the temple and you’re done.

wombatau Report

Final score:
31points
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#45

Smoke detectors, if you forget to change the battery or you don’t check if your smoke detector is still working, undetected smoke at night when you are sleeping could kill you.

manhalnet Report

Final score:
28points
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#46

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Every electrical appliance and outlet because it only takes about 10ma of current to start causing a heart to stop beating. And most homes have at least 100 amp main breakers and I know my place has a 200 amp main, they won't pop when it kills you either.

Tons of the stuff in our homes has some sort of plastic in it. They get hot and can give off fumes that will at the very least make us sick and may even start to smoke but not be hot enough to cause the smoke to rise to set off a smoke detector.

nightshade00013 , BBJ- Report

Final score:
27points
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#47

I remember all the boilers being super dangerous when I was younger. I can't really remember why because they where being fazed out in the UK when I was growing up but it was either carbon monoxide or they could blow up

Yaboijustlikesgoats Report

Final score:
21points
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#48

People Are Listing Household Objects That Are Actually Way More Dangerous Than They Appear Too much of certain spices. Some spices contain small amounts of exotic substances, that when consumed too much of, can easily cause organ failure.

Grace_Dirig_body , brookpeterson Report

Final score:
20points
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#49

The breaker box is about as dangerous as can be by design code changes.

Ariusrevenge Report

Final score:
19points
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#50

An outlet and a fork.

Oppisite_ Report

Final score:
15points
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#51

Used a grinder once. Never again. That thing constantly wanted to kill me due to the lopsided torque.

EconArch Report

Final score:
7points
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#52

Red pepper flakes , if you inhale them on accident while taking a bite of food , your throat will close.

gleepglop43 Report

Final score:
1point
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