People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren’t That Bad

It may sound counterintuitive that when outside threats decrease, we manipulate ourselves into finding new ones, even if they are completely benign. However, researchers found exactly that; we are often tricked by our own perception and see threats that aren't actually there.

So in an attempt to explore our misconceptions, Reddit user ThexLoneWolf made a post on the platform, asking everyone to list the things that society portrays as dangerous but in reality are pretty safe. From animals to medical procedures, here are some of the most popular replies they've received.

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Vaccines. They are extremely safe and effective despite what a very loud few say.

evilpercy , RF._.studio/pexels Report

Final score:

229points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Wolves. Wolf attacks on people are so rare they have individual entries on the Wikipedia page.

GrymEdm , Jonathan lajoie/pexels Report

Final score:

155points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Foxes. For some reason my local fb group ALWAYS seems to post about when they see a fox in town like “careful on your walks”

Do you think foxes EAT PEOPLE????

Autistic-Teddybear , Pixabay/pexels Report

Final score:

154points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Sending your kids outside to play. Go. Outside. It’s good for them.

DiscoJuneBug , Allan Mas/pexels Report

Final score:

147points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Quicksand. We were misled by '80s action films. It's pretty hard to actually die in it.

(Conversely, regular old riptides in the ocean are WAY more dangerous than people think).

smathna , Martin Hearn/flickr Report

Final score:

127points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad I do risk assessment for a living.

Humans are terrible at assessing risk, in general.

flyover_liberal , Tima Miroshnichenko/pexels Report

Final score:

119points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Movies really do sharks dirty. Wouldn’t say they’re completely safe, but definitely no where near as dangerous as perceived to be.

anon , Guryan /pexels Report

Final score:

115points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Black bears are pretty harmless. They *can* [harm] you, but usually would rather leave you alone.

bluegiant85 , Enric Cruz López/pexels Report

Final score:

113points

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People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Using a sharp knife in cooking. It's actually far more dangerous to use a dull knife.

Tribalbob Report

Final score:

110points

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#10

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Eating slightly out of date food.

anon , watthhekshudiputhere/reddit Report

Final score:

107points

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#11

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Small bubbles in an IV line aren’t going to [unalive] you like the movies. The amount of panicked patients I’ve had is wild.

truecolors110 , Navy Medicine/flickr Report

Final score:

89points

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#12

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Bees and wasps. I used to get stung a lot when I was a kid but I learned that if you don't wave your arms like a lunatic they'll leave you a lone. Also don't throw rocks at their nest and you should be okay.

shaka_sulu , Oktavianus Mulyadi/pexels Report

Final score:

85points

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#13

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Being a cop. Logging is over six times more dangerous.

Plodderic , Kindel Media/pexels Report

Final score:

80points

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Miryaa 6 months ago

This comment has been deleted.

85points

censorshipsucks 6 months ago

Or in Breonna's case, being black while sleeping on the couch.

22points

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Celesta 6 months ago

Or driving period. Cops have killed more people driving like they are in NASCAR than actual drag racing. Especially KIDS. And they usually face ZERO consequences.

0points

🇫🇮 Goth Nurse 🇫🇮 6 months ago

..in USA.

0points

debrina blackmoon 6 months ago

Sad

0points

General Stukov 6 months ago

Don't toss around generalized statements as that's not true everywhere and it's legit becoming rarer. Also incites fear of officers. Not cool.

-1point

james stevenson 6 months ago

No. Not being white in america. america is like the "you don't want to end up like them" of countries.

-2points

whiterabbit 6 months ago

Lol.

-3points

Krod Mandoon 6 months ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

LaserBrain 6 months ago (edited)

It's not even in the top 10 list of dangerous jobs. Commercial fishing, driving taxi, construction work - all have higher rates of injury or death. And the top cause of death for active police officers is car accidents caused by their own dangerous driving.

13points

Alex Ruddies 6 months ago

Hell, working at a convenience store is more dangerous.

9points

TheBlueBitterfly 6 months ago

Can attest to this.

3points

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Geoffrey Scott 6 months ago

Depends on how you present yourself. If you are respectful to those you contact, and seem regretful if there is an issue, it should go well. If, however, you walk around with your testicles bouncing off you knee caps, or your uniform looks like you are a Special Forces reject? I, a law abiding citizen, am immediately pissed off at you.

4points

Admiralu 6 months ago

Didn't apply to Breonna Taylor asleep on her couch.

1point

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Simeon Nevel 6 months ago

Being a cop isn't even in the top ten most dangerous professions.

1point

Bryn 6 months ago

I remember listening to a Podcase (Would you Believe, it's amazing) and one of the guests talked about how much paper work you have to do for every. little. thing.

0points

Lawpanda 6 months ago

Very true and shooting a tree will not keep it from killing you.

0points

Racing Tadpole 6 months ago

Don't run off or run your mouth off when stopped by cops...basic common sense..some people lack a survival instinct

0points

Rabbit Of ill Portent(she/her) 6 months ago

Unless you're in Memphis TN..

0points

Marnie 6 months ago (edited)

Isn't one of the reasons it's not so dangerous because of many reforms in the past 30 years? (Talking about the US.)

0points

cryssH 6 months ago

I grew up in a logging town. Nobody died logging the 15 years I lived there. I don't see loggers being shot and killed for making a traffic stop. But dying by cop has a higher death rate for PoC.

-3points

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#14

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad I’m sure other people have said, but trick or treating. Any danger in d***s or razor blades in candy is wildly overblown in actuality I think there have been only one or two instances of someone actually being malicious with their candy handouts.

Jconnor35 , Charles Parker/pexels Report

Final score:

74points

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#15

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad MSG.

LightyearKissthesky9 , Douglas Muth/flickr Report

Final score:

74points

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#16

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Flying on a plane. You are more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash.

ohnoitslemur , Skitterphoto /pexels Report

Final score:

73points

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#17

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Nuclear power.

ProductFinal1910 , Markus Distelrath/pexels Report

Final score:

73points

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#18

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad This is kind of a meta answer, but I’ve injured myself a lot more doing stupid projects around the house than I have while on duty in an actual dangerous industrial jobsite. Universally because I didn’t do a proper pre-work analysis and ensure I was using PPE.

MadisonPearGarden , Ksenia Chernaya/pexels Report

Final score:

72points

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#19

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Alligators. They are big and look scary but don't generally attack humans and don't consider us prey. Florida has millions of gators but only averages like 8 unprovoked attacks per year with about one fatal death every 3 years. They are dangerous to small pets, however, and I'm pretty sure many of those attacks are from trying to save a pet. But alligators are everywhere is Florida so it's quite surprising how few attacks there are.

Wizzdom , Los Muertos Crew/pexels Report

Final score:

66points

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#20

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad A lot of 3rd-world travel destinations; just because a country is poor doesn't mean that the people are robbers/murderers.

ColgateHourDonk , marcos quinteiro/pexels Report

Final score:

64points

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#21

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad My step mom is convinced that if a steak has any pink in the middle (I'm talking about anything less then well done) that its raw and will give you Salmonella.

Dragon_Knight99 , Dmitriy Ganin/pexels Report

Final score:

62points

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#22

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Silica packets say ,'Do not eat' on them because they are a choking hazard, not because they're poisonous.

l06ic , Scott Brown/flickr Report

Final score:

58points

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#23

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Nuclear waste, specifically the high-level spent fuel that needs to be dropped in cooling ponds for years. Make no mistake, it can absolutely [unalive] you if you’re exposed to the neutron emissions, but once it’s cooled off, it’s melted down into glass and sealed away in concrete casks. For all intents and purposes, these casks are indestructible; you could hit them with a runaway train and they wouldn’t break open. They can also be sealed away in deep boreholes underground for billions of years, more than enough time for the radioactive elements to decay to harmless amounts. When it’s handled correctly, nuclear waste may be the safest kind of waste there is. Ash from coal power plants emits far more radioactive particles than a nuclear reactor ever will, and it’s handled way less responsibly.

ThexLoneWolf , Savannah River Site/flickr Report

Final score:

50points

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#24

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Spiders in your house.

jonpertwee2 , Jim, the Photographer/flickr Report

Final score:

48points

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#25

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Living in Chicago, I did it for 10 years, still don't own a bulletproof vest.

Inside-Bid-1889 , Leon Macapagal/pexels Report

Final score:

47points

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#26

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad My dad is an electrician, and he taught me when I was pretty young how to fix electrical things, so I am always amused at how terrified people are by anything to do with electricity.

funky_grandma , Emmanuel Ikwuegbu/pexels Report

Final score:

39points

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#27

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Going in the ocean. Talking to those people afraid of seaweed.

VanManDom , Anastasiya Vragova/pexels Report

Final score:

38points

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#28

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Anxiety/Panic Attacks. you'll feel like you're having a Medical Emergency, but you're not.

defunkman , David Garrison/pexels Report

Final score:

33points

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#29

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Changing the brakes on your car. They're trivially easy to do, don't require any special tools outside of a torque wrench, and dealer and mechanic prices are outrageous (parts can be found online for a fraction of the dealer price at places like AutoHausAZ, and shop rates for labor are super expensive). It's pretty hard to screw up, and can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

boxsterguy , Mikhail Nilov/pexels Report

Final score:

32points

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#30

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Roller Coasters and Amusement Park Rides: While these rides may seem scary, they are designed with strict safety regulations and are statistically very safe.

thinktaj , Nati/pexels Report

Final score:

30points

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#31

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren't That Bad Tandem Skydiving - strongest safety statistics of any type of jump, with only 0.003 fatalities per thousand jumps over the past 10 years. You're more likely to be struck by lightning or win the lottery than to die on a tandem skydive. Only done it twice, but such an incredible experience and rush....

NIstcomp111 , Tom Fisk/pexels Report

Final score:

27points

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What do people perceive as dangerous but are actually pretty safe?

David Paterson 6 months ago (edited)

Good. So much perceived risk is overstated. And so much real risk is understated.

General Stukov 6 months ago (edited)

I have to stress this, unless you are handy with repairwork with vehicles and did extensive research do not mess with the breaks, engine, electrical systems. You will get hurt. Jackstands, proper equipment, do your research and understand that if you screw up you will have to take it by the shop anyways.

7points

Freya the Wanderer 6 months ago

Pit bulls. Properly bred and raised, they can be sweethearts.

5points

A lifetime ago i used to live in low income housing and i did pc repair work for a buddy of mine. Real good guy but he had issues since he was a weed dealer. Had to protect himself. He had an ak behind his door and a pretty big pit. He was like, "normally i don't let people just knock on my door" and his big pit came right over to me and started licking me and quite happy to be around me. He was just shocked and i told him i had no ill will, I'm no cop i just was an ol school pot smoker that wanted to enjoy some extended payed time off. He said, "she's never done that before man... you're cool people". After that we became great friends and he was really trying to turn his life around and to my knowledge he did, has a sweet little girl, the pit is still quite happy and sweet with everyone now and he's actually got a really good job doing something he loves.

DB 6 months ago (edited)

The only thing dangerous about vaccines was that the Fauci-ites thought it made them invincible.

Carol LeMay 6 months ago

I lost count of the number of idiots I had to tell to back off and get out of my face. "Oh but I had the shot".Yeah, well that doesn't make you bulletproof. Keep your distance.

8points

People Share 31 Things That Seem Dangerous But Actually Aren’t That Bad

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