Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app

Continue in app Continue in browser

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives

ADVERTISEMENT

While we try not to think about it too much, our mortality is often just around the corner. Humans underestimate the dangers to themselves all the time, often putting themselves at unnecessary risk.

So one internet user wanted to know about the simple and generally avoidable risks people have subjected themselves to, often with lethal results. Netizens gave some insightful and often frightening tales of deaths that could be avoided. So read through and make sure to take some notes, it just might save your life. Remember to upvote your favorites and comment your own stories and suggestions.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

Basing test dummies on the proportions of the average man. Many women and children have died in car crashes because the seatbelt is up too high across their body or the airbag hits at the wrong angle because it was designed to expand to accommodate a taller person. Just wish SOMEONE figured out not everyone is the same size BEFORE people died

Beetlejuice1800 Report

Final score:

341points

View more comments

#2

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives There's a super famous example which got made into a film eventually I think called open water

But the original story was a yacht was found sailing adrift with a baby aboard and no crew anywhere to be seen. No signs of panic were found. The baby was dehydrated but otherwise fine.

Eventually it was assumed that whilst at sea they went for a swim. The sides of yacht stick out of water quite high in place but on most boats the stern is lowered so you can climb into and out of the yacht from a tender (small dingy). This yacht was different and had a ladder lowered from the back.

This was either up or missing. But they couldnt get back on the boat and eventually drowned or were attacked by predators.

Now I never jump in without thinking about this. Because you can't ever garuntee the person behind won't do the same.

Imagine trying everything to get back to your screaming baby mere feet away and just being out of reach. It'd get dark. The wind might pick up and carry the boat away.

Those final moment would be agony from such a simple mistake

Danither , Artem Verbo Report

Final score:

314points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#3

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not using a f*****g turn signal.

UncleBathTime , Krzysztof Hepner Report

Final score:

292points

View more comments

While often we think of life-threatening situations as somewhat dramatic, involving at least a car, if not a natural disaster, the sad truth is that in most cases, it’s our body malfunctioning that gets us. In the developed world, heart disease, often manifesting as a heart attack, is one of the most common killers. In general, a healthy lifestyle is the most important, preventative measure, but this often comes too late, so it’s vital that people know and recognize the symptoms of an attack.

The first thing most people will jump to is chest pains. These are indicators of a heart attack, so please don’t ignore any random spasms of discomfort in this area. Pain in the arms and shoulder are symptoms as well, so be vigilant. If you are relatively healthy and have no other indicators, it could be nothing, but a heart attack isn’t one of those things to leave up to chance.

#4

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Go to hospital after almost drowning!!!! Water can still be in your lungs and kill u later!!

EdgyBrokeArtist , Blake Cheek Report

Final score:

289points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#5

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Baby in the backseat.

I’m in childcare and I’ll do some insane things to remember there’s a baby back there. Take my shoes off, put my phone back there, dirty diaper as a reminder.

People forget. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Mom, nanny, father, nurse, firefighter. It happens.

And yet there’s always someone who says “I’d never forget my baby”. And every year babies die because of it.

lighthousek , Erik Mclean Report

Final score:

269points

View more comments

#6

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Mao's idea to get rid of sparrows.

In short, Chinas great leader Mao had calculated that sparrows eat grain and if china got rid of them, they would have more food. So they did indeed decimate the sparrow population.

They did not consider that sparrows eat lots of insects aswell, which started to thrive. Including locusts. The locusts ate the grain, famine, between 16 and 30 million people died.

When he recognized his mistake, he asked the soviet union for help and they secretly shipped sparrows to china.

This is a bit a stretch though, lots of factors led to the famine, lots of mistakes were made. But of all of them, this was probably the most obviously stupid one.

ir_blues , P A Report

Final score:

247points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

But chances are most of you already know about heart attacks. However, did you know that the symptoms for men and women can be quite different? This is the unfortunate result of medical samples that aren't balanced by gender. Unexplained tiredness and nausea are more common signs for women but often go overlooked until it's too late. So understanding the symptoms and risk factors of a leading cause of death seems like a no-brainer, yet many people just don’t.

#7

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives The most common cause of quadriplegia is diving into water without checking the depth of the water. Always check the water depth before you jump.

WoodsAreHome , Simone Mascellari 🇮🇹 Report

Final score:

234points

View more comments

#8

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not wearing a seatbelt

Ok_Distance9511 , RDNE Stock project Report

Final score:

221points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#9

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not looking both ways when crossing a street

Irovior , Gigi Report

Final score:

216points

View more comments

While less likely, people often underestimate the weight and risk factors of dying from a large, falling object. While modern fridges are quite stable, vending machines often aren’t due to the number of items inside that will vary over time. Of course, vending machines, notoriously, will end up with items stuck. So people will vent their frustration, unbalancing the machine that then falls and crushes the unlucky person.

ADVERTISEMENT

#10

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Leaving the stranded vehicle on the road in winter and trying to walk to get help. It happens in rural parts of our province once or twice a year and they find the body a few days later. They get disoriented and freeze.

Regina_Runner , Oleksandr Pidvalnyi Report

Final score:

215points

View more comments

#11

A man in Toronto wanted to show off to his colleagues about the new “shatter-proof” glass that was installed in their high-rise office, so he ran at the window full speed and threw all of his weight into it.

He fell to his death, because the entire window pane popped out.

numbersev Report

Final score:

211points

View more comments

#12

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Long, long ago I was on the crew of a submarine older than me. We went into the shipyard; one of the planned jobs was to install some new equipment that required a hull penetration. One Friday afternoon a shipyard worker drilled a 1/8 inch pilot hole through the hull, intending to come back on Monday to finish the job. The job got cancelled, he got reassigned, and the hole remained. It was covered with duct tape to keep dirt out.

The painters went ahead and sprayed over the tape.

How deep can a piece of duct tape + paint hold on a dive? About 218 feet. Before you ask, yes, we survived.

BobT21 , Darren Halstead Report

Final score:

208points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

While it seems straight out of a comedy or the Final Destination movies, vending machines cause less than a hundred deaths a year. Interestingly, the vast majority of these cases are caused by men, who seem to believe that violence against the machine will help them get their soda or candy bar. Still, the odds of dying to a vending machine are quite low, unless you take it upon yourself to fight one. Just remember, you will probably lose.

#13

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives I worked at a tire place for a summer and the first thing they told me was “See that torque wrench ? One mistake with this and you can kill a whole family in a matter of seconds”. I thought well, better take this thing seriously

FrenchMicrowave , Jimmy Nilsson Masth Report

Final score:

205points

View more comments

#14

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives People outdoors getting amazed when their hair stands up during a thunderstorm.

PS: it means you're about to die.

wrath28 , Michaela Pereckas Report

Final score:

197points

View more comments

#15

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not cleaning the lint catcher on the dryer

Baylisstico , shiwork Report

Final score:

195points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

A much more common, and unfortunately avoidable death is when a pedestrian inattentively crosses the road and gets hit by a car. In some cases, the driver is to blame, but in most collisions between a car and a person, you can guess who comes out worse. Mobile phones create enough distractions that let a person somehow not notice a multi-ton vehicle moving towards them. As a result, some counties, such as Lithuania, have passed laws against using a phone when on the street at any time.

#16

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Pulling the knife out of someone

rcadephantom , Markus Spiske Report

Final score:

189points

View more comments

#17

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Mixing cleaning ingredients.

Jonnysource , Kelly Sikkema Report

Final score:

186points

View more comments

#18

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Near me there was a serious traffic collision. Several cars and 2 trucks. 3 people died when one truck ploughed into stationary traffic at around 50mph. The crash and resulting fire was so horrific 2 people were only identified by their dead dog on the carriageway (it was microchipped).

It was on the BBC news and have been documentaries about it.

The truck driver was on his phone. He was charged and is now in prison.

velazquezisabella , Seb Creativo Report

Final score:

181points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

#19

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives That all heart attacks have the exact same symptoms. They don't.

Trust yourself and seek help ASAP if you are afraid that you're having a heart attack.

EntertainmentOne8416 , Puwadon Sang-ngern Report

Final score:

169points

View more comments

#20

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Oily paint/staining rags will combust.

Per the internets:

"Spontaneous combustion of oily rags occurs when rag or cloth is slowly heated to its ignition point through oxidation. A substance will begin to release heat as it oxidizes. If this heat has no way to escape, like in a pile, the temperature will rise to a level high enough to ignite the oil and ignite the rag or cloth."

My Dad worked in construction and this had happened on job sites a time or two.

bailey1149 , Craig Morey Report

Final score:

154points

View more comments

#21

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not leaving where you are during a hurricane.

Journeyj012 , NASA Report

Final score:

152points

View more comments

#22

The “I had the right of way” argument while driving.

Even if you did, are you willing to literally… die on that hill?

titankyle08 Report

Final score:

149points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

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

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

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

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

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

#23

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Drinking while taking medications

algaebomb , Joey Nicotra Report

Final score:

146points

View more comments

#24

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not checking and planning for the weather

PM_ME_UR_DATAVIZ , Ross Sneddon Report

Final score:

142points

View more comments

#25

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Cutting towards yourself, rather than away.

Being on statins for high cholesterol plus amiodarone for cardiac issues and having a glass of grapefruit juice before going to bed.

Smoking in bed.

former paramedic

Cross_Contamination , Klaus Nielsen Report

Final score:

134points

View more comments

#26

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Getting fired up from road rage.

Claudius96 , gpointstudio Report

Final score:

134points

View more comments

#27

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not having a carbon monoxide detector

I-like-oranges75 , Abi Begum Report

Final score:

131points

View more comments

#28

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Not being honest with doctors about viagra.
It has many dangerous drug interactions and can cause a lot of problems from what I’ve heard. Trust me the doctor ain’t gonna judge you guys, they have seen much more embarrassing things. And it would suck to die because you wanted to hide something just for it to be later stated in your death certificate.

The_upsetti_spagetti , Tim Reckmann Report

Final score:

124points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

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)

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

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

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

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

#29

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives As a healthcare worker, giving the wrong amount of insulin.

UzumakiHorror , Mykenzie Johnson Report

Final score:

124points

View more comments

#30

Nigerian Airlines flight 2120 (operated by Nationair) departed Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after a maintenance worker reinflated a tyre with air instead of Nitrogen. The tyre heated up, burst, and caught fire during the take off roll. The landing gear was retracted into the aircraft and burned the airfract from the inside out. The fire caused a mid air structural failure shortly before the pilots could return to Jeddah. My father's first wife was a flight attended on that flight. Her and 260 others died. It remains the most deadly aviation accident involving a Canadian airline.

Final score:

124points

View more comments

#31

I once listened to a guy telling the story of how, when he fell down the stairs, he desperately clutched onto the glas of wine he was carrying, in order not to break it, instead of grabbing the railing to stop his fall. He survived with a broken hip, but I imagine lots of people probably have the same weird instinct and some may not be able to tell the tale.

onesmilematters Report

Final score:

119points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

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

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

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

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

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

#32

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives There have been too many instances of rock climbers rappelling off of the ends of their ropes, which could have been easily avoided by tying stopper knots at the ends of their ropes.

LZRDLZRD , Katya Wolf Report

Final score:

118points

Jeremy James 1 year ago

Did anyone else have nightmares after watching that documentary, "Free Solo," about the climber Alex Honnold who does it without ropes?

40points

Ample Aardvark 1 year ago

Thanks for letting me know of a documentary not to watch, just the though of it makes my stomach hurts!

18points

Load More Replies...

Altea 1 year ago

crazy crazy guy...

4points

I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS 1 year ago

My palms sweat just thinking about that movie

2points

Gabriela Cink 1 year ago (edited)

I liked the movie. I'm pretty sure i will never free soloing anything, so i don't have nightmares. But of course i was super nervous when he was climbing 😬. I understood his friends who don't want to look at him durring filming. For me nightmare fuel was his relationship .. it was so bizzare their interactions.

1point

E Eng 1 year ago

Yeah. Hy dad told me about free solo climbing and I knew: never doing that

1point

G'ma B 1 year ago

You just can't cure stupid!

0points

Vicki Cunningham 1 year ago

Couldn't watch. Just thinking of it causes nightmares.

0points

Michaelann Dahlman 1 year ago

I was a freestyle climber until I got into an accident in 1982. I haven't climbed since.

0points

The Original Bruno 1 year ago

The most disappointing Star Wars movie since the Christmas Special. J/K.

0points

JL 1 year ago

There are enough ways to die that are out of my control, I don't go out looking for additional ways to take me out.

9points

Kaseylulu 1 year ago

This happened to an acquaintance of my husband in Yosemite. His name was Cody Byers and he fell to his death at the royal arches while repelling down. Him and his climbing partner were going to hike down but at the last minute decided to repel instead. Incredibly sad. I can't imagine having to watch that happen.

5points

That Goth Demon (zey/zem) 1 year ago

😭 sorry for your loss

0points

Load More Replies...

the_harbinger_of_dooms/t/h 1 year ago

i dont do heights, so luckily this wont be a problem for me

3points

That Goth Demon (zey/zem) 1 year ago

Oh jeez, neither do I, and I NEVER EVER go near cliff edges

1point

Load More Replies...

G'ma B 1 year ago

OMG! You just can't cure stupid!

0points

pamela nichols 1 year ago

I have a fear of heights so I can't imagine, I can't walk across bridges and someone drives me across my stomach hits my shoes.

0points

Gypsy Lee 1 year ago

My daughter is a climber. She’s broken both ankles (each on separate climbs) being no further off the ground than 8-10 feet. Clip in sooner. Don’t boulder. Use ropes! Or maybe don’t climb.

0points

Edward Dwyer 1 year ago

Thin the herd

0points

Timbob 1 year ago

Much better way of avoiding it would be NOT TO CLIMB ROCKS IN THE FIRST DAMN PLACE. !

-1point

Gabriela Cink 1 year ago

For rock climbing is more fatal human error and ego than gear breakage. Stopper knots are 101 lection, but many people never go hrougho course to learn safety.

1point

Load More Replies...

zena bena 1 year ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

View more comments

#33

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives Shaking a vending machine

oneofyrfencegrls , Kenny Eliason Report

Final score:

117points

View more comments

#34

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives A friend’s husband locked himself out of their home. He tried to get in through a window that had security bars. While squeezing through his foot slipped and he essentially hung himself on the window sill.

Cokej01 , MontyLov Report

Final score:

104points

View more comments

#35

35 Silly And Careless Mistakes That Have Cost People Their Lives I read an article a long time ago about a aircraft maintenance worker not removing a piece of tape that was put in place to protect a sensor during cleaning. The pilot failed to notice during the preflight inspection. 70 people died in the plane crash.

JM_Flynn , Andrew Palmer Report

Final score:

89points

View more comments

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

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

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

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

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

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

Justin Sandberg

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Kotryna Br

Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

What do you think ?

Henry Myers 1 year ago

Several new fears have been unlocked.

19points

Brobro McDuderson 1 year ago

BPs job is done for the day.

4points

Load More Replies...

Phillip Moderow 1 year ago

Yak walking. Stop walking and yakking on your dang phone! Oblivious people on their phone have walked in front of trains. It's also a good way to mugged because you're unaware of your surroundings. Also, shut up and DRIVE!

10points

Mila Preradović 1 year ago

But my yak isn't going to walk itself /jk 🫣

15points

Load More Replies...

Hiro Lee 1 year ago

Chainsaw ... if you don't know how to use a chainsaw and you refuse to read directions, do not buy a freaking chainsaw!

2points

Junebugjump! 1 year ago

Never drive into a flooded road. You do not know the depth nor the current. Don't assume because you live nearby. I see it all the time in my neighborhood. The cops set up barriers and people move them. Knock on my door for help, I say nope. One time a lady was in a Porsche. We tried to stop her, car totaled. When we're helping the PD, we tell folks... it's deeper than you think. I can't tell if people are stupid, a******s, or both.

2points

Lace Neil 1 year ago

Don't let your children fly the plane if you're a pilot. Just Google aeroflot 593.

1point

María Hermida 1 year ago

To sum up: we are lucky to be alive, because we are surrounded by idiots.

0points

Vermonta 1 year ago

When it was realized that the rocket for the ejection seat was installed upside down

0points

Henry Myers 1 year ago

Several new fears have been unlocked.

19points

Brobro McDuderson 1 year ago

BPs job is done for the day.

4points

Load More Replies...

Phillip Moderow 1 year ago

Yak walking. Stop walking and yakking on your dang phone! Oblivious people on their phone have walked in front of trains. It's also a good way to mugged because you're unaware of your surroundings. Also, shut up and DRIVE!

10points

Mila Preradović 1 year ago

But my yak isn't going to walk itself /jk 🫣

15points

Load More Replies...

Hiro Lee 1 year ago

Chainsaw ... if you don't know how to use a chainsaw and you refuse to read directions, do not buy a freaking chainsaw!

2points

Junebugjump! 1 year ago

Never drive into a flooded road. You do not know the depth nor the current. Don't assume because you live nearby. I see it all the time in my neighborhood. The cops set up barriers and people move them. Knock on my door for help, I say nope. One time a lady was in a Porsche. We tried to stop her, car totaled. When we're helping the PD, we tell folks... it's deeper than you think. I can't tell if people are stupid, a******s, or both.

2points

Lace Neil 1 year ago

Don't let your children fly the plane if you're a pilot. Just Google aeroflot 593.

1point

María Hermida 1 year ago

To sum up: we are lucky to be alive, because we are surrounded by idiots.

0points

Vermonta 1 year ago

When it was realized that the rocket for the ejection seat was installed upside down

0points

Related on Bored Panda

Related on Bored Panda

Word Search

WordroW

Jigsaw

Crossword

Sudoku

Picdoku

Killer Sudoku

Kriss Kross

Word Flower

Trending on Bored Panda

Also on Bored Panda