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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.

#1

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

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El Dee
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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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."

#3

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

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Ace
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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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.

#4

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

NeighborhoodMothGirl Report

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!

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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.

#7

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

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Biljana Malesevic
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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!

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#8

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

LazerFile , Milangel Melendez / pexels Report

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Biljana Malesevic
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

Mike
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. They are gross, and most men think they look stupid.

Jules
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They look like those dolls who's eyes close when they lie down and open when the doll is upright

Spellflinger
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t know how they even keep their eyes open. And they aren’t cheap. They just make you look cheap.

Damned_Cat
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm still surprised that false eyelashes ever came back into fashion. They're a pain to deal with and can cause infections or allergic reactions. The super thick or even "fuzzy" style lashes I've seen lately are just ridiculous.

Almost sunny
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They look stupid for everyday wear, should be only used for costume dress ups if you want to be taken seriously.

OneHappyPuppy
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw a mom at the beach just this passed summer with these monstrosities on her, her kid was misbehaving and when she went in to give him an earful he pulled on those fake things. Yikes

El Dee
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've told you a hundred million times NOT to exaggerate..

Alexia
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They look like giant spiders. Huge nails also, along with duck lips.

Zaach
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remember the quote "bleached blond, built bad, butch body" - MT Green also did not like long eyelashes

Virginie Michaud
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's just that they're sooooo big, I swear I saw a woman's lashes as she was walking across the street and I was driving by. They stuck out of her profile like the cap on a baseball cap. I mean, at that point, who have to wonder if the person doing that to themselves has some kind of body dismorphia or mental illness. It's just not normal.

Ace
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stupid, maybe, just a passing fad, sure, but gross? I don't see what's gross about it. Other 'beauty' thing like ultra-plumped lips are a lot worse.

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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.

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#10

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

#11

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

RandomNameGenFai1 , freepik Report

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CD King
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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#12

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

carrotwhirl , freepik Report

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Maryland
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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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

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Sedona
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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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

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LakotaWolf (she/her)
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#16

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

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Biljana Malesevic
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#17

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

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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

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The Other Guest
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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#19

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

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Dimp1961
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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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

#23

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

Greyattimes Report

#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

#25

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

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Ace
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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#26

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

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Alexis Pandas
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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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

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LakotaWolf (she/her)
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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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

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Mrs Irish Mom
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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

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#29

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

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#30

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

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