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40 Bits Of Knowledge People Learnt That Feel Almost Illegal To Know, Shared In This Online Group
People realized that knowledge is power very early on and the phrase is often attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General (1613-1617) and as Lord Chancellor of England (1617-1621).
Not everyone possesses the same knowledge, but not everyone is allowed to. At the same time, there are things that you think you shouldn’t know because it’s not your place, but actually it’s not classified information, it just sounds like it.
If you would like to hear some examples of such information, this list contains all sorts of cases when people think that it’s almost illegal to know what they know. The thread started when craftygalcreates asked “What's a piece of information you learned that now feels almost illegal to know?” In two days, the question got almost 40k upvotes as people were interested to read the secrets that are not really secrets.
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was a kid, my dad taught me how to pick a lock. I became very interested in different kinds of locks and purchased a lock pick set. I practiced for years and became pretty good at certain types of locks. So over the years every now and then, if a neighbor locks themselves out of the house or a friend loses the key to a padlock or a lock box I’ve been able to help. But the reactions I tend to get from people, even while I’m helping them with their lock is mainly one of mistrust. I’m not a cat burglar. I just like locks.
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#2
Well I'm in med school and funny enough learning how to not kill a person involves learning about a s**t ton of ways to kill a person
#3
(This is England knowledge, other countries may vary) If you are struggling to pay bills, make water the first one you skip. Access to water is protected by law so the utility supplier cannot cut you off.
#4
You can ask scientists for their research paper that you usually have to pay money to view in a journal. They are allowed to just email it to you no questions asked and they like to do it!
#5
Totally another route of what everyone else is posting but.... the lion at The Animal Kingdom safari ride isn't chained (Disney World park). He is fed a huge piece of meat every morning and sits on a rock that is changed to the perfect temperature for him everyday so he has no reason to attack anyone on the safari ride.
April W 2 years ago
I work at Disney and this is only partially true. The lions aren’t chained (no zoo or attraction chains lions…c’mon). The rock is heated and air conditioned to provide comfort for the lions and to entice them to stay out in the open, visible to guests. There are absolutely barriers, though, between the lions and guests, and between the lions and other animals. The level of barrier varies by animal. You may have a giraffe walk up to the safari ride to say hi, but you will never get too close to a lion…or hippo, or elephant, or gator….
NotTodaySatan!! 2 years ago
That was my question lol. Does he know the plan?? Did he sign a contract??
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buttonpusher 2 years ago
The ones I've seen in zoos like to stride over to the viewing booth and spray piss on the glass. This would be hilarious on a safari ride.
SCamp 2 years ago (edited)
A salient reminder that animals generally do not attack people without reason: usually only for defence, protection (of young or themselves) or for food. The revenge or pure violence motives we attach to animal attacks are for the most part simply not there. Though, that said, the famous attack on a ship by a whale that inspired Moby D**k did reek of a revenge attack. In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, a great book about the events - the whale attack was just the start of it!
Kisses4Katie 2 years ago
Just a big napping kitty. He also has a gulch dug between him and the road.
Joe Reaves 2 years ago
Male lions are lazy as f**k. being fed regularly with no effort required and being able to sleep on a warm rock every day is basically their idea of heaven. Female lions maybe not so much but a male lion in this kind of enclosure is pretty much living his best life.
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Pinkie is 2 years ago
They are also just like the rest of there animals and fish taken care of extremely well. Cincinnati zoo worker told us this hints why Zoos are willing to trade animals or give them some of there's. They also do great research, have cryo lab DNA like some zoos and are part of breeding programs. The reason being thousands upon thousands see them so they have to look and be treated like kings and queens.
Julieandthephatones 2 years ago
huh honestly im kinda happy he's not chained cause the poor lion but them the safety soo..
Laurie Lapka 2 years ago
There's also a deep gorge that they can't cross. So no one is endangered on the truck driving through the safari.
Aline Gharakhanian 2 years ago
I didn’t realize ze wild animals and especially known as the king of the jungle needs reason to “attack” I thought being lion is reason enough!!!!
Ani Johnson 2 years ago
Yes but he is still trapped for our amusement and should be living free in a preserve.
Upstaged75 2 years ago
The dangerous species actually couldn't attack the people on the safari ride even if they wanted to. They are separated by fences and moats that are hidden so it just LOOKS like all the animals are together - but they actually aren't. That would be too risky.
Lori Caswell 2 years ago
Why do the work and waste energy when you can just lay around and look good all day!
Luke Busby 2 years ago
His enclosure is actually designed to look like there is no fence when in fact there is a huge moat between you and them. The rock fact is indeed true but even if he wanted too.. he’s not getting close to you.
Tashiku Brock 2 years ago
I have sworn off the dolphin and whale shows before they were stopped because it was no unnatural to see them this way. One year my son and I stayed at Disney's animal kingdom. While it was fascinating to see the animals close up, like the giraffe looking in the lobby while we checked in, we wondered where they all went at night. When we went on the safari ride I asked the question. We were told they go into enclosures at night. I immediately felt awful for taking him there. Humans are terrible for using animals for their entertainment.
Upstaged75 2 years ago (edited)
Oh please! Do some research before jumping to conclusions. Those animals are treated like royalty and their keepers love and spoil them. (I'm not talking about whales and dolphins - I mean the Animal Kingdom animals) "Enclosures" doesn't mean they live in cages! The giraffes have a huge barn and each other species has a large comfortable and appropriate place to sleep full of bedding, food and water. It's for their safety - the weather in Florida can get awful very quickly at night. Plus all of the accredited zoos in this country are working on the conservation of endangered species. At some point it may be possible to repopulate the wild if a species was to become extinct. I assure you that no one working with the animals at these places is doing it to get rich.
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Aliquid 2 years ago
The person posting this assumes people know what this safari ride is like... which I certainly don't. Do you drive by the lion in an open vehicle like a normal safari? Is this an amusement park type ride where you go by on a vehicle on a track? Is he behind a fence? How close do you get? The fact that the lion isn't "chained" isn't overly significant if I don't know how exposed you are to him in the first place.
Leara Bridges Brown 2 years ago
If this is the one in Florida , I s**t you not were in the very back of the jeep and my dad's ass is gonna go here kitty kitty!! Swear on my mom's eyes.. lmao. I about died
Leslie Burleson 2 years ago
Seems untrue. They can attack for other reasons besides hunger . I think there must be something in place to keep him from being able to reach the guests
L Melville 2 years ago
There is. The barriers are just more built-in environmental barriers rather than obvious steel bars.
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Joe Reaves 2 years ago
Male lions don't generally hunt at all. Hunting is done by lionesses.
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Jesse Taylor 2 years ago
Zoos are prisons and they're filled with innocent animals who should be living in their own natural environments. They are prisoners who are there for life, just to entertain. Anyone who goes to a zoo supports animal cruelty.
L Melville 2 years ago
Nope. Just the equivalent of you eating a big turkey dinner at Christmas and then vegging in front of the TV. ;-)
Load More Replies... #6
Unionization saves you more money than it costs you, you cannot be punished for attempting to do so, and it is NOT in any way illegal, rude, or improper to discuss your salary with your coworkers.
It feels illegal because every company on the f*****g planet has tried to make people think unions are evil monsters trying to get you to pay union dues for no return. This is false because union dues are much less expensive than a company underpaying you and trying to work you to death, which a union fights against. Unions are there to prevent worker exploitation, stop it if people were being exploited when they got there, and get you a fair wage that will actually let you live off of one job instead of needing 4-5 or to work criminal amounts of overtime.
Francesca Annoni 2 years ago
Not "on the f****ing planet...Only USA..in Italy we have "sindacati" and it's a normal thing..
#7
Creating Nitrogen triiodide. When in liquid form it is stable but once it dries so much as a fly landing on it creates a purple smoke explosion. It's so unstable that alpha radiation can be used to detonate the stuff.
It's actually easy to get the materials and create the stuff. Filled my high school hallway stairs with purple smoke on the last day of school.
#8
Police are allowed to lie to you. So are military recruiters.
#9
One thing I learned is in the state of California if you are squatting a property for five years and have been upkeeping it with proof, you can file a claim of ownership with the courts and take over any property as long as it was deemed that the original owner never tried to remove you within the same timeframe.
#10
It is legal to grow opium poppies in the United States, but only if you don't know they can be used to make drugs
#11
Read a personal finance book that recommended calling your providers once a year (credit card companies, TV/internet providers, cell phone company, etc) and demand a lower rate or price. I’ve been following that advice for two years and have not been denied once.
Last week I saw a commercial for my internet provider offering a super low introductory rate so I called to demand that I get that rate. They said no problem and now I save an extra $700 a year because of a 5 minute call. I am a very passive introvert so it’s not the most easy or comfortable thing but the money I save is worth it. They may so no initially but if you ask a few times or ask to speak to their supervisor they very usually give in.
*Edit the book is called “I Will Teach You to be Rich” (cringey title, awesome book imo)
Catherine Binder 2 years ago
I call bs. When has a call to an internet company ever lasted less than a half hour.
#12
Hospitals have but don’t tell you about a program to reduce your bills depending on how much you make. You can go to their website and find a usually hidden link for financial assistance policies and really cut your bill down
#13
Well, I gave my 9th grade chemistry class a detailed report on diacetylmorphine (heroin) for a project about organic molecules, including how to make it. It was pretty interesting to do and fun to present, but I feel like I broke the law somehow.
#14
When you have a debt with a collection agency you can pay the debt and then call back a few weeks later and say, “I was told when I called and paid that you’d remove this from my credit score.” And then you ask for documentation saying they’re gonna do it. Apparently collection agencies don’t keep super good records on stuff like that; they just want your money. It worked for me, and I hope it can work for you if you need it in the future.
#15
There is a book called "100 deadly skills" that teaches you how to do all sorts of potentially illegal stuff
#16
I don't know if it's still a thing, but if you listen to Pandora radio the songs download into your temp folder under your browser. Just add the. Mp4 after it and you can play it.
I spent lots of college listening to Pandora, and if I liked a song I'd save it. If you paused the song in time then the most recent song was the top one in the temp folder.
#17
In Canada you can record any conversation with someone without their knowledge, unless it is in furtherance of an offence.
I had to do this with an auto restoration shop in order to do a Visa chargeback when they did nothing to my car but steal parts for almost a year (Curtis Customs in Nova Scotia - I don’t mind mentioning them because there are already news stories about their scams)
EDIT: A lot of replies from people possibly misreading. If "you" are recording a "conversation with someone," you are part of the conversation and would be the consenting individual (one party consent). It's definitely wrong and illegal to record just any conversation between two or more other people
Monkey Spunk 2 years ago
Yeah, my wife had a disciplinary at work, I bought her a USB pen (not admissible in court) but she used it to transcribe. The audio distorted slightly when her boss started shouting at her though (she sued and won for constructive dismissal).
#20
When companies ask for your name/age/sex/race/occupation/salary/etc. you can just lie.
You’ll never be able to remove the information about yourself off the internet, but you can muddy the water quite a bit.
#21
Aluminum foil can block the thefts detection signals in super markets.
#22
Confidence can open a lot of doors. A lot of times, you can get away with more with some swagger than you otherwise would being meek about it.
#23
90% of home locks are easily pickable with a little know how and a couple pieces of metal.
Rachel Ainsworth 2 years ago
Despite this, most burglars either find an open window or break the glass. So locks are generally effective at their intended job.
#24
That in Ireland there is no legal age to get tattoo. Legally you can tattoo a newborn as long as the parents consent. We can get done for bodily harm to a minor if their is no consent. We have an industry standard of 16 with parent or 18 with ID. I'm a tattooist in Ireland.
#26
I worked for a giant tech company and apparently share the same name as a very high up hardware engineer, got put on email threads I definitely didn’t belong on.
Bettie-Jean Neal 2 years ago
Had a co-worker who made me stalk my boss. Found out he had a girlfriend and was paying for her apartment. Felt awful every time his wife called. Kept my mouth shut though. Looking at you Cliff D.
#27
I had a stats prof who used to work for the US government. I'm not sure exactly what his job was, but it definitely involved evaluating the status and readiness of nukes, both ours and the USSR's (he was probably at least 70 and had been retired from that job for a while). One day in class he just started talking about the percentage of nukes that fail (ours and theirs) and why they fail and all kinds of other, seemingly sensitive, information. I don't think he would have told us anything classified, but his personality was boisterous and irreverent enough that I am not sure. I literally expected a team of spooks to bust down the door at any minute and drag us all off for interviews in windowless rooms.
#28
someNSFWprofile said:
How to make a few different drugs. Organic chem at uni
xk543x responded:
How to make many illegal drugs
Freelance Pharmacy institute of research and testing
#29
LittleOrangeBoi said:
When you're on a jury you can vote for someone as innocent even if you think they did it. Most common reasoning for this would be if you just think that they shouldn't be punished for whatever they did. I can't remember the term for it something like Third Option.
rjlupin5499 added:
Jury Nullification. It's definitely a thing in the U.S.
#30
In regards to military grade bombs and missiles, it takes actual effort to make one go off on the ground. Like, you literally have to go out of your way to arm the fuse, then sit around for a timer to detonate said bomb.
Its not like in the movies, where a soft breeze or some nutjob with a hammer, will make a bomb just explode for no reason.
#31
You can say no when cashiers ask for your email or phone number.
Benita Valdez 2 years ago
Yeah I say no all the time; I do not want companies blowing up my inbox
#32
1284x is a Ford fleet key. Not chipped, can be found on Amazon for $7 and perfectly legal to replicate.
Searching "1284x" filetype:.pdf site:.gov
Will pull government bids that involve that key, and also show you what agencies you could open up or drive away a police car.
#33
The last airplane you rode was likely assembled with parts not fully conforming to qc standards but passed through inspection anyways.
Sarra Johanssen 2 years ago
Can confirm. I have friends who work at Boeing and they say that the QA people and the Manufacturing Line people are always butting heads.
#34
When you do a kfc survey you get free food, you can do them over and over again Steps- go in the survey site, it’s usually (franchise)listens on google Next enter a random code and keep refreshing for a good 15 seconds, then do anything on the survey because they don’t care, then just show them your code at the register, they also have to do it because it’s part of their job, this also works for crispy cream and other places to, don’t do it heaps because it’s sorta scummy (but enjoy)
#35
If you rent out your home for 14 or fewer days a year, you do not have to pay taxes on this income….Section 280A(g) of the Internal Revenue Code
Sean Matherne 2 years ago
Regardless of the amount of rent? "No I didn't win the lottery. Someone rented my house for a million dollars per night."
#36
Most large retail employers don’t have a policy against recording your interactions with your bosses.
#37
The tricks doctors use to distract you when they’re trying to check your reflexes
#38
How to make Thermite. I don't know why, Thermite itself itsn't actually all that useful or destructive. It burns hot sure, but it's not going to melt anything very well without a proper vessel to contain and direct the heat into the thing you want to melt.
Jefferson Selvy 2 years ago
The Ukrainians have found that it's good for permanently parking Russian tanks
#39
51 is divisible by 17
#40
What the inside of a British post box looks like
What do you think ?
Eppe 2 years ago
My (now long time latent) anxiety disorder made me realize some truths about life, nature and our place in the universe that I don't discuss with others to not bring them existential despair. I'm doing OK by the way.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
I have to keep a lot to myself too. Hugs to you, if you don't mind accepting them. It's a bit lonely sometimes, isn't it?
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TheNewJenBrady 2 years ago
The small dirt lot down the street from me has a water spigot coming out of the ground. That's where your "bottled at the source" Northern California spring water comes from. Big tanker trucks pull into this dirt lot off the street and connect to this little pipe with only a padlocked little fence around it and fill up with my town's water and then sell it in fancy bottles for $$$$$
Emmett O'Brian 2 years ago
That's gotta be a big spigot. Most tankers fill from 4-6 inch lines because a regular spigot would take something like 50 hours to fill a taker truck.
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Barbara Skolly 2 years ago
In Ontario Canada a resident of a long term care home cannot be evicted for non-payment. The LTC can remove perks like cable and move you to a cheaper room but cannot make you leave. If you really want to play it smart one could give their kids most of their money as an early inheritance (also saves taxes since it is a gift) and keep enough to pay only a few months. Hopefully the kids will spend money on a good ipad and internet plan for you and buy you some nice meals
The Redhead 2 years ago
Former long term employee of a large sporting goods company. When you go to any store to get a regular soccer, football, volleyball, ect. it doesn't matter what brand you get. Nike, Wilson, Spalding, & many more meant for stores in foreign countries ALL come from the same manufacturering plant in China. It was relatively common open a box of "our" deflates only to find a competitors product in the box. So unless it's 'An Official Game Ball' (ie made of real leather) then it doesn't matter what brand you buy it's literally all the same. Just pick the design you like best the Brand Name means nothing.
Debbie 2 years ago
We don't pay for water in Northern Ireland it's part of your house rates ,, only farmers pay what they use for livestock plus the area I live in the mournes there's a old folk tale that because of the men from mourne built the biggest dam silent valley that supplies most of Northern Ireland if it did come to us paying we would be exempt
Robert Thompson 2 years ago
In the USA you can buy and drive a 18 wheeler on a class c driver's license if you are not using it for commercial use. (Like taking it to the store to get one gallon of milk.)
Droopsnoot 2 years ago
A lot of tgings on the internet that are somehow legal, but have damaged me
mcborge1 2 years ago
I used to have the Anarchists cookbook on disk (Amiga text files). I never tried anything on it and lost the disk years ago but you would most likely get into a lot of trouble just having a copy these days.
Kate Jones 2 years ago (edited)
In the US if you want to avoid taxes on a small amount and you trust your spouse, you're allowed to make a one time gift to them of up to 30K tax free as long as it goes into a separate account just in their name. You can really give it to anyone, but the recipient then doesn't need to claim it on their taxes. So if you trust your spouse, give it to them and file taxes separately. You'll lose other benefits of filing jointly, but if you don't have kids or really benefit greatly from that filing, then you can keep gifting 30k to each other every year and take it out of the bank and hide it under your mattress or whatever.
Eppe 2 years ago
My (now long time latent) anxiety disorder made me realize some truths about life, nature and our place in the universe that I don't discuss with others to not bring them existential despair. I'm doing OK by the way.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
I have to keep a lot to myself too. Hugs to you, if you don't mind accepting them. It's a bit lonely sometimes, isn't it?
Load More Replies... TheNewJenBrady 2 years ago
The small dirt lot down the street from me has a water spigot coming out of the ground. That's where your "bottled at the source" Northern California spring water comes from. Big tanker trucks pull into this dirt lot off the street and connect to this little pipe with only a padlocked little fence around it and fill up with my town's water and then sell it in fancy bottles for $$$$$
Emmett O'Brian 2 years ago
That's gotta be a big spigot. Most tankers fill from 4-6 inch lines because a regular spigot would take something like 50 hours to fill a taker truck.
Load More Replies... Barbara Skolly 2 years ago
In Ontario Canada a resident of a long term care home cannot be evicted for non-payment. The LTC can remove perks like cable and move you to a cheaper room but cannot make you leave. If you really want to play it smart one could give their kids most of their money as an early inheritance (also saves taxes since it is a gift) and keep enough to pay only a few months. Hopefully the kids will spend money on a good ipad and internet plan for you and buy you some nice meals
The Redhead 2 years ago
Former long term employee of a large sporting goods company. When you go to any store to get a regular soccer, football, volleyball, ect. it doesn't matter what brand you get. Nike, Wilson, Spalding, & many more meant for stores in foreign countries ALL come from the same manufacturering plant in China. It was relatively common open a box of "our" deflates only to find a competitors product in the box. So unless it's 'An Official Game Ball' (ie made of real leather) then it doesn't matter what brand you buy it's literally all the same. Just pick the design you like best the Brand Name means nothing.
Debbie 2 years ago
We don't pay for water in Northern Ireland it's part of your house rates ,, only farmers pay what they use for livestock plus the area I live in the mournes there's a old folk tale that because of the men from mourne built the biggest dam silent valley that supplies most of Northern Ireland if it did come to us paying we would be exempt
Robert Thompson 2 years ago
In the USA you can buy and drive a 18 wheeler on a class c driver's license if you are not using it for commercial use. (Like taking it to the store to get one gallon of milk.)
Droopsnoot 2 years ago
A lot of tgings on the internet that are somehow legal, but have damaged me
mcborge1 2 years ago
I used to have the Anarchists cookbook on disk (Amiga text files). I never tried anything on it and lost the disk years ago but you would most likely get into a lot of trouble just having a copy these days.
Kate Jones 2 years ago (edited)
In the US if you want to avoid taxes on a small amount and you trust your spouse, you're allowed to make a one time gift to them of up to 30K tax free as long as it goes into a separate account just in their name. You can really give it to anyone, but the recipient then doesn't need to claim it on their taxes. So if you trust your spouse, give it to them and file taxes separately. You'll lose other benefits of filing jointly, but if you don't have kids or really benefit greatly from that filing, then you can keep gifting 30k to each other every year and take it out of the bank and hide it under your mattress or whatever.
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