30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross

Interview

Over the course of thousands of years, our hygiene habits have improved to suppress outbreaks of diseases and protect our health. However, a handful of them somehow survived and have become quite the norm, despite being pretty gross.

People in the AskReddit community were discussing such examples in hopes that others would give them up. Scroll down to find them, and be sure to let us know if you agree or disagree with them!

While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with redditor, who started this interesting discussion in the first place.

This post may include affiliate links.

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Billionaires. You don't get that much money without seriously ruining some lives.

xTarot , freepik Report

Final score:

97points

POST

El Dee 3 weeks ago

The whole thing about 'rich men' and the 'eye of a needle'? Spot on..

13points

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The redditor who started this thread was inspired to spark this discussion online when their partner noticed something gross they did by accident.

"I sneezed and wiped some snot on my sleeve, my wife found it disgusting and I thought it was normal," they share.

Fortunately, the Reddit user tells us that this was the only instance that their habits were found to be gross by others.

When it comes to their own tolerance for gross things, they say that not much phases them. "I’m pretty hard to gross out."

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross People monetizing their kids on YouTube.

Remarkable-Camp8577 , freepik Report

Final score:

92points

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Biljana Malesevic 3 weeks ago

Should be illegal.

30points

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30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Spitting. I feel physically ill when I witness someone hawking and spitting in public or see spit sitting on the pavement.

Melora_Rabbit , Polina Zimmerman / Pexels Report

Final score:

89points

POST

Ace 3 weeks ago

The "hawking' thing, actually drawing snot down into your mouth, always makes me feel nauseous. Use a farking handkerchief, for dog's sake.

17points

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No one is safe from other people’s questionable habits, especially not in the office. Online printing company Instantprint surveyed 1,000 UK employees to uncover the hidden truth about coworkers grossest habits.

It was found that more than 5% of Brits admitted to cleaning their computers or work areas yearly or never at all. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 employees never wash their mug, water bottle, or glassware when enjoying a beverage of their choice. Either they have an office cleaner who does it for them, or they feel content being surrounded by some serious crumbs, dust, stains, and bacteria.

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Not washing your hands after going to the bathroom. Nasty.

NeighborhoodMothGirl Report

Final score:

89points

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Cynthia Christie 3 weeks ago

For those who need to hear this, rinsing your fingers quickly doesn't count.

29points

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30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross The sound of people chewing.

sogajif653 , freepik Report

Final score:

87points

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Mrs Irish Mom 3 weeks ago

1 of the most annoying sounds in this world

22points

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30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Children with food on their face. And snot.

sogajif653 , jcomp / freepik Report

Final score:

86points

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Susie Elle 3 weeks ago

Also the drooling

15points

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Only 16% of respondents revealed that they wash their hands regularly at the office, and a whopping 19% confessed to rinsing them solely after using the bathroom. It’s worth being cautious about who you shake hands with!

When it comes to other gross workplace habits, almost a quarter admitted to taking off their shoes at work. And over 30% of Brits confessed to eating something from the back of the fridge that was way past its use-by date.

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Employers paying new hires more than tenured employees. Having drastically different pay rates for people with similar credentials doing the same job.

BonnaroovianSky , Drazen Zigic / freepik Report

Final score:

80points

POST

Biljana Malesevic 3 weeks ago

This is happening to me all the time. I am senior who is paid less then juniors because I have been longest in the company. Get that logic!

10points

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30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross 5 foot long eyelashes.

LazerFile , Milangel Melendez / pexels Report

Final score:

79points

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Biljana Malesevic 3 weeks ago

Not gross. But super-long nails on the other hand... How do you even keep them clean?

34points

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30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Unkept beards.

TheSnoz , fxquadro / Freepik Report

Final score:

78points

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Mrs Irish Mom 3 weeks ago

Smelly especially if they smoke

9points

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It seems that not everyone learned the pandemic lesson, as 39% of employees said that they would still come to work if they had a cold. However, it’s not all that bad, with almost 60% of respondents having tissues on hand, 41% always having sanitizer, and 30% bringing deodorant or perfume to work.

#10

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross People. Seriously, we are gross.

RandomNameGenFai1 , freepik Report

Final score:

74points

POST

CD King 3 weeks ago

I wish I could up vote this a million times. The longer I live the more I realize how gross and stupid a vast portion of the population really is

12points

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#11

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Maybe not “normal” but I am repulsed by the smell created by clothing not properly drying. The smell is on clothing that sat in the washer machine too long. Or dish towels and bathroom towels that dried without being spread out.

I smell it on people from down the isle in stores. And don’t get me started on drying my hands in someone’s bathroom and finding out the smell is lingering on my hands now.

heinz570001 , freepik Report

Final score:

74points

POST

The Doom Song 3 weeks ago

Half my customers smell like mildew.

13points

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#12

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Long nails.

carrotwhirl , freepik Report

Final score:

72points

POST

Maryland 3 weeks ago

Pet peeve. If you keep long nails please scrub underneath. They are bacteria beds.

8points

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#13

Lip fillers.

Strange_Shadows-45 Report

Final score:

65points

POST

Kim Steffen 3 weeks ago

They make a woman look like a suckerfish.

12points

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#14

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Spitting, coughing without covering mouth. I have multiple sclerosis. Get sick really easy.

OkRickySpinach Report

Final score:

59points

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Sedona 3 weeks ago

Not only people with MS get sick easy, the whole healing process takes ages and is much harder on the body, to the point when simple cold might land you in hospital.

10points

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#15

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross When someone else 'washes' my dishes for me and I drink from a 'clean' glass and it smells of rotting food and I look at my sponge and it's covered in food because someone thought that smearing food around my dishes with a sponge somehow made them clean you're all fired I never want to see you again.

cajaye3260 , Racool_studio / freepik Report

Final score:

57points

POST

LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago

I use one of those net-ball-scrubby things (I think they're made of nylon?) and I literally wash it after I finish washing the dishes with it XD It gets a regular soak in vinegar as well, and I switch to a new one every other week. I cannot STAND when I look at a scrubby or a sponge and SEE bits of food stuck to it. I use a regular scrubbing-side dish sponge for washing my pets' dishes and bowls, but that bad boy ALSO gets washed and rinsed after use, and I microwave it to sanitize it every day. And I replace it every other week. I can handle a lot of gross things (I have four pets, and they produce a variety of bodily substances from every orifice) but food residue on sponges/dish-cleaning tools just squicks me out. I'm with OP on this one.

8points

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#16

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross On colder days when my dad walks the dog he’ll sometimes hold the dog poop bag in his hands to warm his hands.

Agreeable-Abalone328 , Lisa Parker / flickr Report

Final score:

57points

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Sue User 3 weeks ago

And i am done.

8points

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#17

Smacking gum. I hate it. And loud chewing/swallowing noises.

solg5 Report

Final score:

56points

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Biljana Malesevic 3 weeks ago

God, I hate that sound. When I am in the bus and someone is puckering the damn gum, I just want to yell them to stop! I have misophonia so I can't stand that sound.

10points

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#18

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Not washing hands before a meal. You have been in filth and you are going to touch your food with those hands? Yuk.

Linamoon22 , freepik Report

Final score:

52points

POST

The Other Guest 3 weeks ago

Wash before eating, wash before cooking, wash during cooking if you've handled raw meat (especially pork or poultry) with your bare hands.

10points

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#19

Sitting on a warm toilet seat.

ForeignEggplant2119 Report

Final score:

52points

POST

K- THULU 3 weeks ago

Especially when you live alone...

50points

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#20

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Washing dishes in a tub of soapy water and not rinsing off the soap suds. Or not scrubbing the outsides of pots and pans as well. Makes me want to vomit. I'd rather not taste stale soap and bacteria in my cup of tea or food thanks. I can always tell as well.

Holy s**t thanks for the 1000 upvotes. I've never had a post get this many upvotes.

Rare-Park-6490 , gpointstudio / freepik Report

Final score:

51points

POST

Dimp1961 3 weeks ago

We wash with washing up liquid in the UK and leave to dry in a dish rack. Can't say I've ever tasted soap.

10points

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#21

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Leaving the toilet seat up when flushing.

freakerbell , https://www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/3110646027 / flickr Report

Final score:

49points

POST

Yellow dot 3 weeks ago (edited)

Gotta hate the public toilets with no lids, just the seat.

25points

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#22

Talking while eating. You get to see the inside of their mouth, and its disgusting

Just eat and swallow the food and then talk 🙄.

anon Report

Final score:

45points

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roddy 3 weeks ago

Or chewing with an open mouth.

14points

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#23

Spitting, especially loogies. I literally almost throw up when I see someone doing it.

Greyattimes Report

Final score:

44points

POST

featherytoad 3 weeks ago

Same with people that chew (tobacco) when they spit it in a cup.

4points

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#24

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Childbirth.

We're all here because of it, and it's currently my day job to catch a baby or two per day, but goddamn is it like watching a woman's genitals go through Vietnam each time.

sogajif653 , wavebreakmedia_micro / freepik Report

Final score:

43points

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Val 3 weeks ago

I mean...it's f*****g painful as f*****g f**k so, yeah.

22points

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#25

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Licking their fingers to turn a page. Turns my stomach!

lanurk , RDNE Stock project / pexels Report

Final score:

41points

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Alexis Pandas 3 weeks ago

I once stopped by a combined bakery/butcher shop (should have been a red flag) in a rural area on my way to a gig. There was an elderly lady in queue before me who asked the clerk about a larger order of meat. The clerk took out her ledger and licked all over her middle three fingers before turning every single page. She didn't find the order immediately so there was a lot of licking and flipping. Used that hand to take and bag my croissant. I was too perplexed to react properly, paid, and left. Didn't have breakfast that day.

8points

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#26

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Wearing those big a*s engagement rings and never properly cleaning them. Especially in a hospital, nobody should be wearing anything below the elbow for good hand hygiene. I can’t imagine how many germs live between all those diamonds that now are spreading to my patients. Just take it all off, leave them at home!

LaAndala , [deleted] Report

Final score:

40points

POST

Ace 3 weeks ago

Some TV chefs that are always so keen to get their hands in, like when dressing a salad or just mixing stuff, rather than just using a spoon like a normal person, but then leave all their jewellery on, make me cringe every time.

18points

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#27

I see so many videos of people letting their cats walk all over their kitchen counters and I want to vomit. Do these people think their cats are washing their paws and butts after they use the litter box?

Late_Again68 Report

Final score:

37points

POST

LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago

How do you propose I STOP my cats from getting onto the countertops? XD I gave up on that decades - and three cats - ago (and I tried EVERY method.) Now I just, you know, WIPE OFF THE COUNTERTOPS before I cook/prep. And it's not like I'm putting food directly ON the countertop itself anyway.

75points

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#28

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Blowing out birthday cake candles. Here let me blow my spit all over this cake, then cut it up and expect everyone to eat it.

Instead we should do a sheet cake for all and a cupcake with candle for the blower.

rodstroker , freepik Report

Final score:

34points

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Mrs Irish Mom 3 weeks ago

Never thought about this one before, was just at aunts birthday last week and she took her teeth out to blow properly 🤢

19points

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#29

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross Perhaps not gross, but I am repulsed by holding chalk and writing on a chalkboard. The touch, the feel, the sound, everything.

cajaye3260 , Diana ✨ / pexels Report

Final score:

31points

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Rob D 3 weeks ago

Makes me queasy too.

6points

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#30

Not gross but the sound of a dentist drill. Makes me shiver at the sound.

anon Report

Final score:

31points

POST

Toxic 3 weeks ago

And the smell when they're fixing a cavity 🤢🤢

8points

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Note: this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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What’s something everyone finds normal, but you find it to be gross?

POST

LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago

My ex would use the same drinking glass for DAYS AT A TIME. And he has oily skin texture, so the glass would get literally BLEARY with skin oils on the first day. It would go from clear-glass to literally opaque with skin-oil. And don't even get me started on how NASTY the glass's rim looked from his lips touching it over and over. I cannot FATHOM how he could use that glass day after day without horking the second he went to drink from it. I'd sometimes grab the glass surreptitiously and I'd wash it. I sometimes gagged just from TOUCHING the glass while washing it. And - for years his Brita pitcher used to look NASTY filthy (skin oils, food smudges, grease, dust, dirt, etc.) - I would call it his "cholera pitcher" and he'd get all pissed off. When we lived together I would wash the pitcher regularly. He also thought I was overreacting for wanting to wash the pets' bowls every day so they could eat from CLEAN BOWLS. I am now free, after 23 years of skin-oils XD

12points

LillieMean 3 weeks ago

Touch screens, especially at self-service checkouts. You know how many times I've witnessed someone cough or sneeze at the screen. In the cold season, I wear touch screen gloves when using it and at other times I use hand sanitizer. Disgusting surfaces for bacteria frolicked on.

8points

Icomefromthelanddownunder 3 weeks ago

I hate seeing someone pick up their kids dummy (pacifier) off the floor & put it in their mouth to clean it 🤢 pin it to their clothes ffs

6points

J. Maxx 3 weeks ago

Some of you, no doubt, get sick a lot. I grew up playing out doors in the dirt, always had pets (still do), and rarely got sick. Know why? GERMS. I came in contact with germs, bacteria, and viruses of all kinds, and my body built up a strong immune system. Studies have shown that children who grow up in such situations tend to be healthier. For some of you, every little thing grosses you out. I feel sorry for you.

3points

kristina law 3 weeks ago

One of my major grossers is pet or human hair. Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Just can't stand it

1point

Bob Jones 3 weeks ago

Letting a dog sleep on (or even worse in ) your bed.

1point

Shane S 3 weeks ago (edited)

Your belt is disgusting. You handle it before and after going to the restroom but no one ever thinks to wash their belt. Also Im a weirdo and frequently sanitize my bank cards. You hand them to people all day long and then put those germs back in your wallet.

0points

geezeronthehill 3 weeks ago

Glad I live alone.

0points

Darth Kittius 3 weeks ago

Its not necessarily gross, but I absolutely cannot touch emery boards. I can't touch them, use them, watch someone else use them, nothing. They make my teeth itch.

0points

Sabrina Sharda 3 weeks ago

People who wipe their kids snot/drool with their bare hands and then wipe it off their own clothes - seen this many times in my own family. And once I saw a dad pulling out a big nasty booger of his child's nose with his bare fingers. You can be parents without becoming disgusting!

-1point

Grey Beard 3 weeks ago

This is like the top list of Boomer complaints.

-1point

POST

LakotaWolf (she/her) 3 weeks ago

12points

LillieMean 3 weeks ago

8points

Icomefromthelanddownunder 3 weeks ago

I hate seeing someone pick up their kids dummy (pacifier) off the floor & put it in their mouth to clean it 🤢 pin it to their clothes ffs

6points

J. Maxx 3 weeks ago

3points

kristina law 3 weeks ago

One of my major grossers is pet or human hair. Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Just can't stand it

1point

Bob Jones 3 weeks ago

Letting a dog sleep on (or even worse in ) your bed.

1point

Shane S 3 weeks ago (edited)

0points

geezeronthehill 3 weeks ago

Glad I live alone.

0points

Darth Kittius 3 weeks ago

Its not necessarily gross, but I absolutely cannot touch emery boards. I can't touch them, use them, watch someone else use them, nothing. They make my teeth itch.

0points

Sabrina Sharda 3 weeks ago

-1point

Grey Beard 3 weeks ago

This is like the top list of Boomer complaints.

-1point

30 People Share Disgusting Things People Don’t Realize Are Very Gross

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