“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe

The ability to quickly and accurately perceive unexpected threatening or harmful situations is critical to our survival.

But our brains are incredibly complex and, sometimes, prone to errors. So Reddit user Smeghead9916 made a post on the platform, asking everyone, "What is something that people perceive as safe, but in actuality is pretty dangerous?"

The question immediately went viral and folks started sending in their answers. From giving birth to gossiping, we collected the most popular ones to help you readjust.

This post may include affiliate links.

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Ladders. 7 times more likely to kill you than a gun. Which is why I keep 7 guns in the house in case some MANIAC tries to sneak a ladder in here!

kitten_twinkletoes , ushindinamegabe Report

Final score:

165points

POST

View more comments

You May Also Like:

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Childbirth. Still the number one k****r of young women globally.

Ok-Computer-1033 , solenfeyissa Report

Final score:

133points

POST

View more comments

We managed to get in touch with Smeghead9916 and they agreed to have a little chat with us. "The post was inspired by an opposite post I saw about safe things considered dangerous," the Redditor told Bored Panda about its origins.

"I didn't get the chance to read every response, but I noticed many people mentioning driving," they added.

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Driving while tired. When we get exhausted, our minds stop working as efficiently as they should. Our reaction time slows down, we tend to daydream, we hyperfixate, we make poor judgement calls. That scene in Better Call Saul where Kim runs off the road is probably the most accurate depiction of driving while tired ever to be shown on TV. That scene is supposed to take place over the span of at least an hour; watch the background for clues. Note how the city just quickly vanishes. One second everything is fine, the next second you're in a ditch. Don't try to be a hero and "power through it". On a long drive, stop every two hours and walk around, even if it's just for a few minutes. Don't be afraid to stop longer. And try not to push yourself more than 6-8 hours a day.

Fair-Equivalent-8651 , samuele_piccarini Report

Final score:

112points

POST

View more comments

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Heavy drinking. A lot of people, including myself thought that it took a long long time for heavy drinking to catch up to you, like when you're in your '50s or older. And mostly for people whose drinking was clearly catastrophic. And even then that a lot of the damage can be reversed through quitting, in the same way quitting smoking can. I was shocked when people I was acquainted with, or friends of friends, started dying of alcoholism in their 30s-40s. All of these people were high functioning- had successful careers, family, friends. And it was liver failure that came on without much warning. I was kind of shocked- I assumed there were many decades of warnings before your system finally failed, and I thought that most people who drank themselves to the point of it killing them were people whose behavior was clearly out of control, not people who are pretty well functioning in every other way.

RiceandLeeks , amseaman Report

Final score:

105points

POST

View more comments

And people are definitely onto something here. For example, one study found that about three-quarters of American drivers think their overall skills are better (57%) or much better (17%) than average.

At the same time, 58% say they had been in at least one prior vehicle crash as a driver.

"Most people think they are above-average drivers, and if drivers are a problem, it is other drivers, not themselves," the researchers noted. "This may explain, in part, the considerable public apathy about highway safety."

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Following another vehicle too closely, especially in a group on the highway. Unbelievable to me that people will be 1-2 car lengths or less in a pack of cars going 60-70 mph+, especially with 18-wheelers in the mix.

chaqintaza , 5tep5 Report

Final score:

105points

POST

View more comments

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Tanning. You're literally cooking your skin and increasing your risk of skin cancer.

smeghead9916 , olly Report

Final score:

104points

POST

View more comments

We also asked the author of the now-viral post why they think we sometimes underestimate or overlook potential dangers in everyday activities or objects.

"That's either because of previously held beliefs that people don't realize have changed or stubbornly refuse to change (for example, how smoking was once considered safe, now we know better but people still smoke) or because statistics relating to accidents or illness are small compared to other things, so it simply isn't on most people's radar," the Redditor explained.

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Not wearing a helmet while cycling or skateboarding or roller skating. I have called an ambulance for a teenager who hit his head on a curb doing a skateboard trick and had such a terrible head injury that he slipped into a coma at the hospital and died. It haunts me.

Humans are resilient and can survive crazy things but it can also take as little as an unfortunate fall to kill you.

SecretBattleship , ocen Report

Final score:

98points

POST

View more comments

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Climbing in and out of the bath tub.

thathorsegamingguy , sora-shimazaki Report

Final score:

90points

POST

View more comments

Indeed, beliefs are our brain's way of making sense of and navigating the world. They are mental representations of what we expect from things in our environment and how they should be related to each other. Beliefs are templates for efficient learning and are often essential for survival.

As a prediction machine, our brains must take shortcuts for pattern recognition as it processes the vast amounts of information received from the environment. Beliefs allow it to quickly categorize and evaluate that information and to jump to conclusions.

But in doing so, our brains have a preference for familiar conclusions over unfamiliar ones. Thus, they are prone to error, sometimes seeing patterns where there are none, like assuming something to be safe when in actuality it can be quite dangerous.

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Energy drink. I did a presentation on caffeine in school and was shocked to discover that small children can overdose on only a few cans of energy drink... particularly scary when my 10 year old sister (at the time) drunk so much of the stuff.

smeghead9916 , theshuttervision Report

Final score:

89points

POST

View more comments

#10

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Putting your feet on the dash of your car while traveling.

Thanles , vicbils Report

Final score:

88points

POST

View more comments

#11

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Social Media (Reddit included)

AshwoodAurelia , mikoto Report

Final score:

86points

POST

Loverboy 1 year ago

Yep. I wonder what percentage of suicides are caused or influenced by social media

36points

Happy Homemaker 1 year ago

According to Wikipedia, social media (cyber bullying) increases su*cidal thoughts by 14.5% and attempts by 8.7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_and_suicide#:~:text=Additionally%2C%20cyberbullying%20increases%20suicidal%20thoughts,harm%20and%20enact%20suicidal%20behavior.

12points

Load More Replies...

Daniel Kim 1 year ago

More like Reddit especially. That place sucks.

5points

Beans 1 year ago (edited)

I mean, half the content here is stolen from Reddit so I guess this place kinda sucks by association. (Edit: including this post)

11points

Load More Replies...

Pittsburgh rare 1 year ago

If you stick to dogs and gardens it's a nice place. The moment you venture elsewhere is depressing.

5points

LillieMean 1 year ago

I would blame the algorithms more. Instead of offering more potentially dangerous content to a person who is in trouble, the algorithms should direct them towards mental health services and helplines. Social media platforms also use far too few resources to effectively remove disinformation. Algorithms now too easily pull you into a downward spiral, at the bottom of which is a scary bubble full of nightmarish content. Incels, self-harm, eating disorders and incitement to violence are just a few examples.

4points

Dainty72 1 year ago

I don't mind Reddit if I'm honest. I think what anyone and everyone can read on the internet can be very suspect! It's sites that help with becoming anorexic/bulimic and/or giving hints to how to take your life are alarming. I know you can put anything in the search bar and it will give you an answer! WHAT!!! WWW was meant to be something that we open our eyes to and learn about the world, but it's used to hurt/harm, destroy and bully vulnerable people looking for help. My daughter was bullied terribly over the internet! She's absolutely gorgeous and a successful 23 year old that's going places, but god she worked hard for this and what she went through broke me, because I was bullied terribly when I was young. I still suffer now. I thank my lucky stars that she's absolutely amazing!!!

2points

Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 1 year ago

Some small subredits are quite nice

2points

Happy Homemaker 1 year ago

There are a few subreddits that are nice to visit. But yeah, some can be soul crushing.

1point

Lame Llama 1 year ago (edited)

Wow and you are here on bored panda, where 80% of the articles are lifted el from reddit.

0points

Dawnieangel76 11 months ago

Playing the Devil's Advocate here, Social media can be & often is something wonderful as well. I think it's a mixture of knowing who to un/follow, and not letting yourself react to some compete stranger online.

0points

Clover 1 year ago

I quit fb, and never looked back.

0points

Garfield rules hehe 1 year ago

Ironic that this was posted on Reddit, which according to the author and me IS social media.

0points

Me. Just Me. 1 year ago

This should be a lot higher in the list.

0points

View more comments

#12

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Blocking fire escapes.

Used to see this all the time, "Oh I was just putting it there for now", "there's another door right there!", "people can just walk around/over it", "how am I supposed to do my job with all these mad rules.?!"

In an emergency, most people turn into idiots.
Give them the scenario of an obstical course, or die:

Some people just die.

worldworn , matthiaszomer Report

Final score:

85points

POST

View more comments

#13

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Stairs. Stumbling and falling down is one of the most common fatal accidents at home.

Anxious_Sound_9823 , jorgearturo-andrade-270022 Report

Final score:

82points

POST

View more comments

#14

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Any mechanism involving a cable or rope can redirect drastic amounts of force, and gain or lose tension unpredictably.

Never take a wrap on a line that you aren't certain the potential load on if you like your fingers. Could be a tow rope on a car. A ratchet strap securing a heavy load that shifts.

And stay clear of any line under tension. You got a high speed machete if it snaps.

samtresler , shottrotter Report

Final score:

81points

POST

View more comments

#15

Am I the first to mention garage door springs?

Utterlybored Report

Final score:

81points

POST

View more comments

#16

Living. Everyone who have tried end up dead at some point.

Fenrisulfr1984 Report

Final score:

81points

POST

View more comments

#17

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Being comfortable working around machinery.

I have heard too many horror stories of people getting too comfortable and acting in ways they shouldn’t around moving equipment and machines and horribly maiming themselves or dying.

Now you shouldn’t be terrified but you should always be afraid enough to always remain cautious

Grundle_Gripper_ , chevanon Report

Final score:

77points

POST

View more comments

#18

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Not knowing what medications you take.

Can’t tell you how many times someone gets brought in to the ER without a thought in their mind about what they take for meds. “Oh my spouse/kids/etc take care of that for me.” What meds you are given in the ER/hospital can be dependent on what you are already on.
It is your health, you should have some knowledge about it.

Castmo , towfiqu999999 Report

Final score:

76points

POST

View more comments

#19

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Gossip. I've seen too many lives ruined by it.

frikanih , tim-douglas Report

Final score:

72points

POST

View more comments

#20

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Eating raw flour. Everyone's worried about the eggs but flour's up there with raw chicken.

Azthun , klaus-nielsen Report

Final score:

69points

POST

View more comments

#21

Removing a blade from a stabbed individual.

Carteeg_Struve Report

Final score:

69points

POST

View more comments

#22

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Surgery in general. I feel like people look at a lot of surgeries as something foolproof, because doctors need to have a lot of practice and skills to be able to perform what they do, but with high skill requirement jobs comes high consequences for failure, and it sometimes seems like people don't give surgery enough respect, as it is literally opening up your body in a controlled environment, something that can usually end up being fatal when not done by experts. Like yeah, the surgeons are well trained and this is their job, but at the same time i'm still holding my breath when a professional daredevil does something risky, and to not have any level of respect for the risks associated with surgery is in my opinion very naive.

For an example of what i mean, there's a noticeably large number of mothers who hold the bad opinion that if you had a c-section, you're not a mother because "You took the easy way out", which always angers me so much because of a variety of reasons, one of them being that having to need surgery for any reason is not the easy way, and it shows their lack of respect for what surgeons do.

jabaash , raul-infante-gaete-2660047 Report

Final score:

68points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#23

Home fireworks displays. Every time I’ve been involved in one it’s very nearly gone horrid in a very bad way due to something falling over or not launching or the fuse being way shorter than expected/advertised (usually not to do with me!).

Plodderic Report

Final score:

68points

POST

View more comments

#24

Hiking. If it‘s a big area without proper trail marking people tend to overestimate themselves and get lost easily. Without a cell phone with connection and enough water it can get tough really soon. Cold nights outside, nothing to eat/drink, dense forests that prevent being spotted by helicopters or wide unvegetated areas where the sun burns down on the hikers and dehydrates them even more

Icy-Cow-6808 Report

Final score:

66points

POST

View more comments

#25

Mosquitoes! bad mfs

creatinsumthinpretty Report

Final score:

63points

POST

View more comments

#26

Alcohol. You're literally drinking poison

CanaryFit6608 Report

Final score:

61points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#27

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Sitting, at home or during long work hours, sedentarism is already bad but sitting turbochargers all bad effects it has on your health, they are not kidding when they say its as bad as smoking, higher risks for heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol you name it.

I have had a deskjob most of my adult life and hobbies centered around a computer but I still jog everyday and try to move as much as possible during iddle hours at work, my coworkers have even asked me why I walk around so much.

Zuliano1 , studiorepublic Report

Final score:

61points

POST

View more comments

#28

Motorcycles: I've known more than one guy who wanted to be a biker and gets himself a Harley and then finds out how hard they are to drive and get killed.

Also guys even though they have been riding all their lives dont realize they are getting older and dont have the same sense of balance or riding skills. And they get killed.

Urbanredneck2 Report

Final score:

59points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#29

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Vape

SimonPetrikov12 , rosssneddon Report

Final score:

58points

POST

View more comments

#30

Eating rice that hasn’t been refrigerated/reheated properly. If you store rice at the wrong temperature, it can allow the bacteria Bacillus cereus to grow in the rice. People who have gotten sick from the rice have had severe vomiting, sometimes as little as 20 minutes after eating the rice. I only learned about this after hearing about a restaurant where about two dozen people got sick from eating contaminated rice, and the restaurant ended up shutting down because of it.

FlapjackFilibuster Report

Final score:

58points

POST

View more comments

#31

Being overweight

ToineMP Report

Final score:

57points

POST

View more comments

#32

Night shifts. It’s so damaging to the human brain to go against our natural sleep-wake cycle aligned with the day-night cycle, yet we don’t have the appropriate countermeasures to help shift workers stay healthy and safe.

diddygem Report

Final score:

57points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#33

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Plastic surgery.

Moceannl , darksidoo Report

Final score:

56points

POST

View more comments

#34

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Modern day coke.."but I KNOW the guy he'd never sell me bad stuff" said a lot of people who aren't with us anymore.

Scumbag787 , mart-production Report

Final score:

55points

POST

View more comments

#35

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Sugar.

Look at how much sugar is in that grande caramel frappuccino or soda you're drinking. Now go into your kitchen and pour out that much sugar on a scale. Would you down that much sugar in one setting?

Fair-Equivalent-8651 , yosef_fxum Report

Final score:

54points

POST

View more comments

#36

People thinking they need to put their hands on every animal they see

ResponsibleTaro1759 Report

Final score:

52points

POST

View more comments

#37

Hot weather. In the UK because we normally associate this country with being very cold, windy and rainy, the dangers of extreme heat is often overlooked. It's quite easy to die from heatstroke in 30 celcius weather, if you stay in the sun too long!

Cat-guy64 Report

Final score:

51points

POST

View more comments

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

#38

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Showering.

Everything in your bathroom is made out of material that can kill you. A slip and fall out of a shower/tub onto the hard porcelain of the toilet (or tub edge), or the corner of the bathroom counter? The tile floors? Immediate brain bleed.

Walking down stairs comes in a close second, especially if you have pets or small children.

RD_Life_Enthusiast , karolina-grabowska Report

Final score:

48points

POST

View more comments

#39

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe Walking in a field of cows

trixlife , feyzayildirimphoto Report

Final score:

48points

POST

View more comments

#40

Doing “stunts”or “pranks” involving fire. I’m not saying people think fire is 100% safe, but the level to which they underestimate it is astounding.

TyrannosaurusBecz Report

Final score:

43points

POST

View more comments

Note: this post originally had 69 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.

What do you think ?

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago

HOW did GUNS not make this list once? Just Having a gun in the house increases the chances of self unaliving by 1000%. I'm pulling those numbers out my a*s but the point is roughly 25,000 people commit suicide by gun every year. That one's real. If you track gun ownership vs. gun deaths, the result is LINIER. More guns = more dead people because guns are made to kill people. Alright I think I'm done now, sorry for the rant.

9points

Miss Frankfurter 1 year ago

“ ‘Guns don’t kill people . People kill people’ That’s very true, but if you’re holding a gun in your hand, it helps” Comedian Eddie Izzard. Making a point about gun ownership in the US.

10points

B Jones 1 year ago

Add to this list...Dry Ice. There are videos that show people putting in big chunks into a pool for a party on a calm day. Big cloud looks cool and fun then one person passes out then the next and drown. People forget it's just carbon dioxide.

8points

Zedrapazia 1 year ago

Caffeine is also a good candidate. Everyone consumes it every once in a while, some of us several times per day, but it's not good for your health and actually makes sleeping issues continuously worse. If you have sleep issues and drink coffee to wake up faster, congratulations, you've not done yourself a favor but just made sure that you'll be tired again tomorrow again for all eternity. Caffeine takes more than one day to vanish from your blood, and it deteriorates your sleep

megamarkd 1 year ago

These became dumber and dumber as the page rolled down. One post summed up the feeling of the article; "Living. Everyone who have tried end up dead at some point."

Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago

Wasn't this topic done not all that long ago?

Ranger Kanootsen 1 year ago

Ah yes, worry worry worry and dont do ANYTHING because it's all DANGEROUS. See how fun life becomes for you.

Tiff Day 1 year ago

How does this stupid list keep coming back!! What writer thinks nobody ever heard that stairs, fire and cars are dangerous

“Eating Raw Flour”: 40 Dangerous Things That Most Perceive To Be Safe

Games

Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Rugilė Žemaitytė

Rugilė Žemaitytė