“Friend Died Aged 32”: 50 Everyday Things Most People Don’t Realize Are Deadly

When I was growing up, I used to make fun of my mother for being scared of seemingly everything. I felt invincible as a kid, and I couldn’t understand why playing in the park alone, swimming without adult supervision, driving home after midnight and leaving a candle burning when I left the house was so dangerous. As an adult, however, I’ve become painfully aware of how many dangers are lurking around us at all times.

Redditors have recently been discussing seemingly harmless yet potentially fatal things that most of us don’t worry about at all, so we’ve gathered some of the most frightening replies below. Good luck getting through this list without unlocking some new fears, and be sure to upvote the things you'll be extra careful with in the future!

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“Friend Died Aged 32”: 50 Everyday Things Most People Don’t Realize Are Deadly My wife and I were at a Cracker Barrel and my wife ordered a salad. She asked for no bacon. She explained to the waiter that it was a bad allergy.

Food is delivered and there is bacon on the salad. We send it back and reiterate the health implications. The waiter brings it back, and it was clearly the same salad as before but with the bacon scraped off. Some bacon pieces were still in the bottom of the bowl.

At this point I asked for the manager. I explained what happened, what we told his waiter, and then showed him the bacon on the plate that got returned to us.

He looked furious. Excused himself briefly and returned with a fresh salad. Assured us he made it himself and to not worry. Then be disappeared with the waiter for five minutes. I don't know what he said, but the waiter was visibly down the remainder of the evening.

My wife winds up spending an entire day puking with an agonizing migraine and severe pain under every joint in her body after contact with any pork (gelatin and chemical derivatives included).

Other people aren't so lucky and go into anaphylaxis.

Just don't cross contaminate food or assume someone is just being picky... You might kill them.

littlesweetiebabe , Valeria Boltneva / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

225points

POST

StrangeOne 5 months ago

Exactly. Doesn't matter how "rare" the allergy is, if you've heard of it or not. Just respect people. It's really not that hard.

101points

Michael Largey 5 months ago

An allergy is 100% pervasive for the person who has it.

7points

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Colleen Glim 5 months ago

People that fake an allergy because they don’t like a particular food need to be confined to a tenth circle of hell. Allergies can’t really be life threatening. Don’t mess with them

20points

Emie N. 5 months ago

Exactly! If one doesn’t like a certain food then just say you don’t like it! Why lie about it?

3points

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Tyke 5 months ago

Quite a high end restaurant in London puts nuts in their cheesecake base - no mention of it on the menu. Stayed up until 3am watching my husbands face go back to it's normal size as I was concerned about his breathing. They still won't put it on the menu.

19points

Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 5 months ago

Surely that has to be illegal

14points

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Regina Holt 5 months ago

Nuts have become such a prevalent allergen, they should really make it known that there are nuts in their cheesecake base. I would have never thought to ask, who puts nuts in their cheesecake base?

2points

Isabel Galvez 5 months ago

In London? I'm sure you can sue them. In England they're very careful with allergies. When I was there last week I had the manager coming out of the kitchen to talk me through the menu.

1point

Petra Schaap 5 months ago

name and shame them!!

1point

Jeevesssssss 5 months ago

PSA because I only learned this the other day. If someone is allergic, has a reaction, and uses their Epipen, even if they feel fine they NEED TO GO TO HOSPITAL. The Epipen buys time, it is not a cure. Also, dumping that much adrenaline into your system can have bad effects on things like your heart and you need to be monitored, and it effects your cognitive functioning so you may not be able to make that decision for yourself. If you are with someone who's used their Epipen, INSIST. (This also applies to Naloxone)

12points

Spocks's Mom 5 months ago

I have news for you. Cracker Barrel puts bacon grease in EVERYTHING. Even the corn muffins.

12points

Grimmis 5 months ago

Cracker Barrel Chef here. You are pretty much correct, but we stopped using it in the corn muffins. Which unfortunately, they are now very dry.

5points

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Bernd Herbert 5 months ago

And that’s why I hate when people falsely claim an allergy

8points

Teddy O'Malley 2 months ago

And that's why I hate servers ASSUMING people are lying about having allergies

0points

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Batwench Premium 5 months ago

That sounds like an auto immune disease, this is similar to what happens to me and gluten (Celiac), those described are just the symptoms that you can see. It the internal damages your body does when it attacks itself that is the worst.

6points

María Hermida 5 months ago

Honestly, if I had such an extreme allergy I'd only eat in vegetarian or vegan restaurants. A lot of people don't understand the concept of"cross contamination". I wouldn't risk getting so sick.

6points

R Dennis 5 months ago

Whenever someone came in with a food allergy, I either made the food or supervised it being made... people are trusting you with their lives and people need to appreciate that!

6points

Darth Kittius 5 months ago

I'm allergic to garlic. I have horrible stomach cramps that have me doubled over in pain. Unfortunately, garlic is in almost everything at most restuarants

5points

Isabella 5 months ago

Same, but for all alliums. Onions give me bad reactions... but garlic give me full blown anaphylaxis :/ pro tip - you can swap garlic and onions for asafoetida in cooking at home, really no difference in taste! and since it is a cousin of carrot plant - it will not give you allergic reaction.

2points

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Michelle C 5 months ago (edited)

This is why I always ask about sweeteners in desserts like cake, sweetened drinks such as Vietnamese coffee, etc. I am sensitive or allergic to a few.

5points

Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 5 months ago

Cross contamination is a thing. Just using the same tongs is enough for some people to get sick. At my work we use USDA guidelines for allergen tracking. If nuts. dairy. or grains touch anything, it's a full breakdown and clean before it can touch fresh product again. Same goes for staff. We change our gloves and work clothes after handling any allergens. This in a production plant that specializes in cured meat products.

4points

CG 5 months ago

Whenever I do food prep of any kind, and I have to cut ingredients down to size (like meat or veggies), I always use a different cutting board, a different knife, clean the food I'm about to cut, and I always wash my hands before I touch a new ingredient.

3points

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Ample Aardvark 5 months ago

A few places around here ask if it's a preference, diet or allergy when I ask for oat milk or to sub eggs for salad so they know how to prepare it properly

4points

Sven Grammersdorf 5 months ago

If you're that sensitive then you shouldn't be eating food from a kitchen that cooks pork at all

3points

BossyHossy1 Premium 5 months ago

Also important, allergic reactions aren't always the same. With repeated exposure, they can go from itching palms to full anaphylaxis!!

3points

Regina Holt 5 months ago

I had also heard that about repeated exposure. I'm allergic to coconut, I spit it out so quickly, and rinse my mouth out thoroughly. I often ask if there is coconut in stuff, and I get weird looks, like wondering why I think there might be coconut in the beef stew. I ask everytime.

2points

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Hey! 5 months ago

I was served a fresh "orange juice" at a restaurant. I take a few sip. My husband looks at me and says I look like I've been kissed "are you okay?". Nope, my whole face started shutting down. My husband found my activated charcoal and gave it to me then asked for the server to come over, actually she was right there checking what was going on. Apparently, their "orange" juice was mixed with some mango juice, to which I'm extremely allergic to. He told the manager that they can't sell their mixed juice like that, it's dangerous. We didn't make more fuss but from then on, I asked questions every time I was offered any juice.

2points

distant_echo 5 months ago

This. I have the same issue with shellfish. It gives me severe vomiting and diarrhea. The number of times I have gotten sick because a restaurant thinks it's ok to cook my onion rings in the same oil as my husband's shrimp is incredible. I've only had one restaurant that refused to serve me a certain food because they couldn't guarantee that it had not come in contact with shellfish.

2points

Hannah Taylor 5 months ago

Same problem here with shrimp. There's nothing like being a walking Mount Vesuvius, and the allergist calls that a MILD reaction! I choose to forego the EpiPen (the thought of stabbing myself with a needle scares me). My sister has a problem with shrimp, but she packs a lot of Benedryl, something I should consider.

0points

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Georgia Ireland 5 months ago

I used to work in food services, and I took dietary concerns and restrictions VERY seriously. One time, a fellow asked for no tomatoes, as he was allergic. I dutifully recorded the order, noting no tomatoes. Three times I had to send this fellows' order back because it had tomatoes. I got yelled at by the customer, which turned into me screaming at the cooks for either not reading the order screen, or being incompetent and illiterate.

1point

Anxiety Panda 5 months ago

Making one post to cover replies to several. As a parent of a food allergic child, it is completely possible to safely navigate eating out for many people with this issue. There are a handful of places we go because we know their allergy practices. We always review with management and staff prior to ordering and don't hesitate to leave if the response isn't appropriate. That said, there are of course people for whom the number of allergies is prohibitive and they likely cannot dine out.

1point

Steve Hall 5 months ago

If I had a severe food allergy, I wouldn't ever eat out.

1point

Julia Ford 5 months ago

Or I’d just eat at vegetarian or vegan restaurants; they are less likely to accidentally add something and they are usually very good about knowing exactly what is in each dish.

0points

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Dl B 5 months ago

Cracker Barrel is one of the worst there is. I never eat there.

1point

Anxiety Panda 5 months ago

As a mom to a child with severe food allergies, I agree. We completely avoid Cracker Barrel. They are clueless.

1point

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KieLeaHar 2 months ago

I found out this year I’m allergic to shellfish at 38. I’ve never like the smell or look of seafood and never tasted it including fish. I broke out in a massive rash and hives when I had a tiny little bite of prawn dumpling and I had welts, my face swelled up and my throat closed. I couldn’t breathe properly, I was asking for air, but thankfully I didn’t go into full anaphylactic shock.

0points

Marina Nygard 2 months ago

I have a less severe but similar disorder; I would probably do fine with a few bacon bits on a salad but if I eat a pork chop I'll have severe joint pain for weeks afterwards. It is SOOOO hard to explain to people why I don't eat pork! It doesn't matter whether I 'like' it or not! I get sick from it. End of story.

0points

Bryn 4 months ago

Go back & say something - that shiht is unexcusable

0points

Bryn 4 months ago

Definitely go back & complain. That's unexcusable.

0points

Bryn 4 months ago

Definetly go back & tell that. That's unexcusable.

0points

Isabel Galvez 5 months ago

They should train people at restaurants better. I have allergies too and often they staff have no idea.

0points

Quinn 5 months ago

There's *waiters* at Cracker Barrel... ?!

0points

Isabella 5 months ago

It is happening to me all the time with onions. I have bad [anapohylaxia bad] allergy to alliums and always make sure if there is a dish without onions I could get or onions easily not put there - for example burgers. Can't count how many times I had to use epipen just because for waiters and cooks "there is no such thing as onion allergy and it needed garlic for flavor". jesus frigging christ, I pay you to cook my food - cook it how I asked.

0points

Alicia M Goodner 5 months ago

I have the same reactions to ANY type of pepper , even pain black pepper... Sigh... It's always been a problem.

0points

Misha Writer 5 months ago

My mom has a severe mushroom allergy. It is a rare one, and one waiters tend to not take seriously, but she will end up in the ER if she eats something that has even had contact with a 'shroom.

0points

Regina Holt 5 months ago

I once ordered a slice of chocolate cake. It was cut with the same knife as a coconut cake. I told them to bring me another piece of cake that was sliced with a clean knife. And I held on to the original slice until they got back, because I wanted to make sure they didn't just pick off the coconut.

0points

Mike m 5 months ago

I won't even order decalf when out because i don't trust people that much.

0points

Dizzie D 5 months ago

As much as I agree with what they did, I personally think that if you have a very severe allergy you should not eat out at restaurants or just bring your own food if you want to join others and explain to the restaurant. It's so not worth it. You can be at the safest restaurant in the world but some people get a reaction from the slightest particle or from something someone else has touched. Some peanut allergies can be set off by simply drinking from the same glass that someone else drank from, even after cleaning.

-2points

Isabella 5 months ago

ah, yes, we should just sit at hopme or preferably die silently because staff is lazy. Great. Like being sick is not making our lives s****y enough we should also avoid going out. Sure.

0points

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Phillip Moderow 5 months ago

People with potentially deadly allergies shouldn't go to restaurants. Period. Make your own food or by someone with the same food allergy condition. Never trust a restaurant any more than you would trust a green light in Las Vegas.

-2points

Isabella 5 months ago

ah, yes, we should just sit at hopme or preferably die silently because staff is lazy. Great. Like being sick is not making our lives s****y enough we should also avoid going out. Sure.

-1point

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D 5 months ago

Wholly agree in the concept, but Cracker Barrel or some other similar restaurant is not the place to expect specialized service or care. This is not high end dining, it is fast casual and volume and replication is the formula. People with allergies also need to take care themselves.

-2points

j k 5 months ago

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Julia Ford 5 months ago

I kind of agree, just because the manager was described as “furious.” I’m sure he wasn’t that mad about it.

0points

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Nicole 5 months ago

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Hannah Taylor 5 months ago

Intolerant much?

-1point

“Friend Died Aged 32”: 50 Everyday Things Most People Don’t Realize Are Deadly

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