Some things can be learned without having to go through a traumatic experience; after all, common sense can go a long way. But there are certain life lessons that we can only understand if we go through them ourselves.
People in this popular Reddit thread realized this by accident. Their unfortunate “messed around and found out” stories range from learning that ducks can bite to discovering that poison ivy is actually poisonous. If you’re curious to know more about how this went down, scroll down below.
We also reached out to AyrionUpaka, who started this discussion in the first place.
You can find our interview with them below!
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Bored Panda reached out to AyrionUpaka, who kindly agreed to tell us what inspired them to start this discussion online.
"It's a fairly common saying I hear quite often. It's a warning, and it got me thinking about what happened to those who chose not to heed the warning. This subreddit seemed like a great place to ask for a large and varied response. Although I really wasn't expecting a response quite so large."
If they were to answer this question themselves, they would go back in time to when they were just six years old.
"The playground teachers always warned us not to venture behind the outbuilding towards the back of the playground since it was dangerous back there.
One day, I heard a bunch of kids playing behind the building, and curiosity got the better of me, so I went to join them. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and found the "danger" when I accidentally stepped on a board with an upturned, rusty nail in it. The nail slid straight into my heel.
Almost immediately after, a teacher found us all, scolded us, and told us to come out. Another unfortunate part of the story is that they wrongly believed I was crying because I'd been caught breaking the rules, so they didn't think to ask me if anything else was wrong. As a 6-year-old, I was shy and not very articulate, so it took them a fair while to figure out that I was actually injured. My mom was called, and I got to take the rest of the day off school, so it's not an entirely unhappy ending."
For them, life lessons learned the hard way seem to stay in memory longer. "I always believe positive reinforcement is the way to go when teaching lessons, but lessons learned the hard way do tend to stick out for me personally. I'm 34 now and remember being 6 years old behind that school building like it was yesterday, but I'd find it more difficult to conjure on the fly a memory of a lesson learned via positive enforcement."
They signed off by saying, "I appreciate all the stories that were shared on the post and found it super interesting reading through all of them. My favorite was the user who was warned by their dad that ducks have teeth and can bite.
It reminded me of my own story that I shared above since both come from childhood misadventures. One of the ones I felt worse for was the guy who warned his opponent in a fight and was an expert in kickboxing. Poor guy. I think the responses on the post all showed a clear message that it is for sure best not to mess around and find out."
When i was a kid I was short and fat and I got picked on mercilessly. Then one summer I went and worked in the Alaska Bush and grew to 6'3" and got pretty ripped. I also got taught some very basic moves from some of the surveyors I was working with. Came back to high school and got into it with every person who bullied me. I won and learned all the wrong lessons.
New kid started at my school and I was the a*****e this time. He was always polite, walked away, and generally asked me to stop but I didn't. Finally he told me that he'd meet me on a Saturday and we could have it out. We showed up, he asked one more time for me to just stop. That's the point that I should have realized I'd done f****d up.
I went after him and he took me apart. It was the proverbial "He hit me with so many rights I was desperate for a left." But when he had me down he stopped, helped me sit up, and then sat down to talk to me. He gave me advice on how I was acting, how i was just doing the same thing that had been done to me, and that I'd never be happy if I went down that path. Then he helped me clean up and sent me home.
That conversation made such an impact on me it 100% changed me overnight and I owe it to him. I absolutely f****d around and found out, but in the best way possible.I was a teenager working retail with a guy named Stephen and I always just called him Steve. He pulled me aside one day and asked me politely if I could call him Stephen since he preferred that. My smart a*s replied “Well I want to be called Gladiator but you don’t see me complaining.” He just said “deal” and walked away.
For the next two years he only referred to me as Gladiator. Need help finding something? Gladiator here would be happy to help you. He would get on the intercom and be like “Gladiator to the front desk…Gladiator, front desk.”
Learned not to be a smart a*s and never called him Steve again.If someone will cheat to be with you, then they will also cheat on you to be with someone else.Abusers aren't worth a second chance. If they know you're willing to leave, they'll just go harder. Being lonely is better than being broken.Drank for too many years. Went from Fun Bobby to Mean Bobby. Stayed as Mean Bobby for way too long.
Sober now, getting on ten years. There’s still a path of destruction behind me, but the new path has been very good for me.I was late for work and starving. The chicken I pulled from the fridge for a quick dinner smelled a little weird. But it was organic and I had roasted it myself, so it must be fine.
So very f*****g wrong. 18 hours of pure hell. I would have gone to the hospital but I literally couldn’t get off my bathroom floor. Fainted twice and ended up with a black eye from hitting my head on the toilet.
When in doubt, throw it out.As a young girl, I used to kick boys in the shins when they annoyed me. One finally kicked me back. That s**t hurt more than I expected, and I stopped kicking the boys.I chased a giant white squirrel and I found out it was actually a skunk.When the infected tooth is on a Saturday, and the dentist opens on Monday, and you're at urgent care on Sunday asking for painkillers because holy s**t it hurts, and they offer you antibiotics, say yes.
I said no, and wound up with IV antibiotics three days later.About six years old. Having a picnic with my dad by the lake. Some ducks wander up near us. Dad says, “You know, ducks will bite you.”
“That’s silly, they don’t even have teeth.”
“Stick your finger out and see for yourself.”
Got bit. Cried.If you throw rocks at chickens and laugh at the angry rooster, the rooster will find a way through the fence to hunt your a*s down.I discovered that procrastination doesn't make problems disappear; it just delays the inevitable and often makes them worse.After years of my parents forcing me to paint my nails on the linoleum floor of the bathroom with a towel under me, I got my own apartment and was like HAH, NO DUMB RULES HERE.
And that’s how I lost my first down deposit.I once thought I could easily handle spicy food, so I challenged my friend to a hot wing eating contest. Turns out, my tolerance wasn't as high as I thought, and I spent the rest of the night regretting my decision in the bathroom. Lesson learned: don't underestimate the power of spicy food!For my 40th birthday a friend of mine, who is about ten years older than me got me a really nice 12 year old scotch.
Up to that point I had never tried any type of whiskey, or bourbon. Only was drinking vodka, gin, margarita's, and rum. Would only drink one or two saturday's a month, it was no big deal.
I fell in LOVE with the taste, the look and feel of having a glass of scotch or bourbon every night, like the classy dudes in those old movies I grew up watching, so much so, that I ended up drinking some everyday and developed a drinking problem.
I Have spent the last two working hard on getting completely off alcohol.
I can now say, as I approach my 50th birthday, I am off alcohol all together.I tried to break up a dog fight. Was holding my dog, on leash, when an unleashed dog ran in and began attacking him.
I went for the dog's scruff to try to pin him to the ground (while also trying to hold my dog back with the other hand). The attacking dog bit my hand three times quickly, the third time he punctured my thumb bones and got a real good grip. Proceeded to try to rip my thumb off. All I remember thinking is, "That's my primary hand, even if I let go of Fitzy (my dog) with the other hand, you are NOT going to be able to pry this thing's mouth open."
This was all of course happening in the span of 5-10 seconds. Out of nowhere my then girlfriend swooped in like f*****g Batman from behind the dog, sunk her fingers into its' scruff, and her knee into the back of its' neck, ripping it off me. Anyway I ended up proposing to her after that and the settlement paid for a big chunk of our wedding. In retrospect I'm damn glad this thing went after me, it was a 4th of July party and there were little kids everywhere.
What makes me angriest about this whole thing is the way it impacted my dog. He was very social and friendly with other animals before this, but it has been ten years and he won't give any other pup a chance now. He has lived a life lacking what he deserves due to those poor dog owners.Brake checked a tailgating jerk. He flew around me and slammed the brakes with no intention of letting off. Should have known better since he had an old beater and I had a fairly new car. 6500 dollar lesson to just let things go.Don’t mouth off to the judge or he will throw the book at you….Chose to disturb my cat - who was already pissed at me - by telling him to move off my spot on the couch.
The scars are healing nicely.Putting a 9V battery on your braces is not a great idea. It melts the rubber bands and you have to explain it to the orthodontist.It was a hot sweltering day and I wanted to get my bike fixed. Played outside all day as kids do and didn't hydrate enough. Walked to the bike shop in the late afternoon, got my bike fixed and felt faint walking back but thought I'd be okay after drinking water.
Came home, drank some milk then some water. Immediately puked everything and then some more. Everything I'd eaten since the morning(not much) was in the commode. Stomach hurt and my face went pale. Went and lay down, puked in a few minutes again but only bile came out. Puked bile every few minute for the next hour until my father came home and saw me weak and pale. Went to the doctor and he said I'd been severely dehydrated barely away from hospitalization. Put me fluids for some time. If my dad hadn't come home when he did I don't know what would have happened.
Drink water folks. Ignoring my medical problem didn’t make it go away lol.Decided at the tender age of 8 or 9 that I was immune to poison ivy, since I spent quite large amounts of time outside and had never once gotten a rash from it. Since I was a born scientist, apparently, I decided to test this...by rubbing egregious amounts of the plant all over my upper body. Needless to say, I was not immune. In the slightest.During a fight someone announced to me they were an expert in Kickboxing. 'Course you f*****g are' was my sarcastic reply *Narrators voice "they were an expert."* He beat me into the ER. Skateboarding is not easy, not at 40 anyhow.Reported my manager for inappropriate and unprofessional behavior. Ended up costing me my job. Working for a company that considers integrity optional is soul crushing.My uncle once f****d around with a raccoon and found outLifting and Twisting while working in a supermarket with large 50+ lb bags. Probably did this for 10-15 minutes without any thought on form or proper technique. 72 hours later I had surgery to remove Disc L4 in my spine due to drop foot and partial paralysis. Thankfully I made a 95% recovery.I physically grabbed and lifted my dog out of a fight with another dog and he bit meGave a hitchhiker a ride. He thanked me for my kindness while attempting to steal my medication out of my purse.
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