Every job is its own weird little universe, with its own set of unbreakable rules and unspoken truths. It’s the “common knowledge” that professionals learn on day one that the rest of us are completely, blissfully unaware of. It’s the secret menu of every single industry.
An online community threw open the doors and asked people from all walks of life to share one of these secrets. The responses are a mind-blowing peek behind the curtain, revealing the things we were never supposed to know about our food, our health, and even our pets. Prepare to look at some jobs in a totally different way.
More info: Reddit
#1
I don’t know about the “average person,” but as a former consular officer, it never failed to surprise me how many American citizens are shocked to learn that they have no special privileges overseas, that they are fully subject to local laws even if something is legal “back home,” and that the most a consulate or embassy will likely be able to do for you if you get in trouble is visit you in jail some time in the first few weeks and bring you a list of local lawyers.
If you’re really lucky, we’ll bring along some fresh fruit and a couple of old paperbacks, although that’s getting rarer.
Image source: ExtremelyRetired, Getty Images
#2
Half my job is basically watching people find out the hard way that “no one reads that stuff” is not a legal defense.
Image source: NoC0mplaint, Planet Volumes
#3
That the ‘urgent’ project request you just submitted will sit untouched for three days before anyone actually starts working on it.
Image source: GoldenHourShot, Scott Graham
Ever seen an expert look at you like you have three heads because you don’t know something that’s incredibly obvious to them? There’s a name for that brain glitch: the “Curse of Knowledge.” As the experts at The Decision Lab explain, it’s a cognitive bias where someone who knows a lot about a subject forgets what it’s like to not know it.
They can no longer imagine seeing the world from a beginner’s perspective. This is the reason so many professionals in the online thread were genuinely shocked by what the public doesn’t know. To them, it’s just a normal Tuesday; to us, it’s a mind-blowing secret.
#4
A lot of wannabe authors pick writing because they think it’s the easiest way to put their story into an artistic format. Fun fact: writing is not any easier than any other art.
Image source: ElectricLeafeon, Dustin Tramel
#5
As a locomotive engineer I’m not supposed to apply the emergency brakes until after I’ve hit you.
Image source: kcjonezz, Getty Images
#6
Any Naval vessel manned and maintained from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s is likely operating with electronic components purchased from Radio Shack by desperate sailors who knew that obtaining the same parts through The System might take as long as 6 months.
Don’t ask me how I know.
Image source: Illuminatus-Prime, Daniel Seel
If you’ve ever felt guilty for letting a single banana go brown, brace yourself. One of the most common and shocking secrets came from people in the food industry, from grocery store clerks to restaurant chefs: the sheer, epic scale of food waste. We’re not talking about a few scraps either. These insiders are talking about mountains of perfectly edible produce, bread, and meals getting tossed every single day.
According to The Restaurant HQ, a single restaurant can produce an estimated 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of food waste in just one year. This terrifying statistic also contributes to the global climate crisis, so maybe think twice next time you send back that untouched side salad.
#7
There are more people with personality disorders (borderline, narcissistic, antisocial) walking among us than most realize.
Also, your therapist most certainly has their own psych diagnosis. Your psychiatrist probably does.
Image source: courtqnbee, Hrant Khachatryan
#8
Accounting for big businesses isn’t as black and white as people think it is. There are rules for a lot of it but at the same time there is a ton of gray area that we have no idea how to navigate. I’ve seen multiple high level directors get annoyed because they got into accounting because they liked the strict rules of the numbers and where the numbers go, only to now be forced to make decisions for millions of dollars with very little direction or rules.
Image source: Memory_Of_A_Slygar, Getty Images
#9
How much store brand stuff is basically name brand stuff in different packaging. It’s wild how much I have learned and saved from knowing this.
Image source: DiscombobulatedTwo66, Khuc Le Thanh Danh
Here’s a secret that will change the way you shop forever. Several retail and manufacturing insiders on the thread confirmed what we’ve all secretly suspected: the fancy brand-name product and the cheaper store-brand version are often the exact same thing, made in the same factory, just put in a different box.
Strategy expert Bob Caporale explains this is a genius business move because if a company can market one product under several brands, they can cover way more ground in the market but also cut their costs.” So next time you’re in the cereal aisle, remember that the only real difference between those two boxes might just be the price tag and the quality of the cartoon mascot.
#10
Working wholesale produce , it would break your heart to know how much food you have to throw away.
Image source: arcticvalley, Getty Images
#11
Mothers of the brides are the worst people in the world to deal with.
Image source: sarahmayim, Rodrigo Rodrigues | WOLF Λ R T
#12
Most food goes to waste just because it has a dent or produce/fruit has a blemish. They refuse to donate the food because they get tax write offs for damaged goods, and even after they document it; they still lock up their garbage so nobody can have the perfectly good food that is being wasted away.
Image source: PryedEye, Marek Studzinski
We imagine a corporate headquarters is like Fort Knox, with firewalls, biometric scanners, and laser grids. The shocking truth? According to IT professionals and office workers in the thread, your entire digital life is often being protected by the digital equivalent of a piece of tape, with passwords simply being stored on a sticky note.
The statistics are just as terrifying as the stories. A report from Spacelift found that 45% of people still write their passwords down, and a staggering 55% use the same password for multiple accounts. The IT guy in the thread is right to be sweating because the biggest security threat isn’t a master hacker, it’s Brenda from accounting and her love of the password “Password123.”
#13
Oil is used in almost every product you can think of. It’s in just about everything.
Image source: surveyor2004, Getty Images
#14
Many theater costumes aren’t washed but are sprayed with vodka water to get rid of the bacteria that otherwise causes them to stink. It’s worse if the show is double cast, and it’s a 2 show day. The second performer has to wear a costume that’s slightly damp with someone else’s sweat. Wearing a t-shirt underneath helps. Pit pads, also known as dress shields, are sometimes used. They’re snapped in place and laundered daily.
Image source: stoicsticks, Jorge Daniel Lopez Lagarreta
#15
That an ungodly amount of people in big fancy office buildings have their usernames/passwords on a sticky note on their monitor.
I’m a janitor.
Image source: Sufficient_Energy_32, Getty Images
We look at professionals like surgeons, teachers, and engineers as infallible superhumans who have it all figured out. But the most common, and perhaps most terrifying, secret shared by insiders is just how much of their job involves guesswork, winging it, and making mistakes. According to the Niagara Institute, the average person makes about 15 human errors for every 100 opportunities.
So when a teacher in the thread admits to passing a kid who can barely read, or a surgeon confesses that a lot of what they do is an educated guess, they’re just revealing the messy, human reality of every single profession. It’s a terrifying, but also weirdly comforting, reminder that everyone is just trying their best.
Do you have any trade secrets that you want to share with the layman? Share them in the comments section!
#16
If you didn’t put it there, you DONT TOUCH IT. People at my work have been fired for picking up the “cool thing” they found out in a field.
Image source: stonedfishing, Unsplash+ Community
#17
Animal rescue and vet tech: People will give up a dog they’ve had for years and not shed a tear. They treat it like an errand. Some people don’t stay with their pet when it gets euthanized. In the first instance, the dog will not want to leave the lobby and will watch you walk away, confused and try to follow. In the second, they look expectantly around the room for their person before they fall asleep.
Image source: sint0xicateme, Madeline Bowen
#18
Deadlines are usually arbitrary and may often be ignored without any consequences.
Image source: ZealousidealTop6884, Towfiqu barbhuiya
#19
The process of getting electricity to your house is so complex and technical, you can’t believe how cheap it really is.
Image source: Silly-Resist8306, Fré Sonneveld
#20
Working at an opticians taught me that most people have no idea how bad their eyesight actually is.
They’ll walk in saying “my vision’s fine”, then read the chart like they’re trying to guess lottery numbers.
The wild part is when they finally put on the right prescription and go, “Wow, I didn’t know the world looked like this.”
Happens way more often than you’d think.
Image source: Dr-Figgleton, JSB Co.
#21
I actually cannot have you instantly “committed” if you say you want to hurt yourself. In fact I probably could not get you into inpatient psych treatment if you wanted very much to go and clearly needed it.
Image source: Apprehensive-Log8333, Kateryna Hliznitsova
#22
Concrete doesn’t “dry” it cures through a chemical reaction and will do so under water. The same design mix of concrete will cure harder under water than above water.
Image source: grayboard1, Getty Images
#23
Safety guy for a construction company.
You know those diagrams at a butcher shop that shows what part of the animal makes what cut off meat.
Every state work comp has what is called a “meat chart”. It basically lists out what each body part is worth and how many weeks off you get if you lose said body part or if it becomes non functioning.
Image source: Pimpdaddypepperjack, Getty Images
#24
Engineering and project management boils down to telling clients “no” without saying the word and finding creative ways to do so.
Image source: HelpmeObi1K, Curated Lifestyle
#25
You can get a joint replacement without general anesthesia.
Image source: orangecatmom, Getty Images
#26
Most software you use is held together with some of the worst code imaginable
Source: some of which I have written.
Image source: AccomplishedIgit, Fotis Fotopoulos
#27
Most men say they like deep tissue massage, but they can’t handle it. So I dial it way back and many will say “so can anybody else handle as much pressure as me?” Nope. You’re one in a million, my guy.
Image source: Solid-Quotes-Girlie, Getty Images
#28
That we’re horribly understaffed and always on the verge of causing people to go homeless or starve or both.
Image source: tangcameo, Curated Lifestyle
#29
That big companies in charge of your money, utilities, health etc. are all useless at IT and data security.
Image source: simonhi99, Getty Images
#30
How emotionally draining teaching is.
Image source: bluesn0wflake
#31
“but it worked on me” does not replace sound scientific evidence.
Image source: fritzkoenig
#32
The number of hungover teachers watching your children is pretty horrifying.
Image source: JollyGood444, Getty Images
#33
If you have dementia and can’t feed yourself because you forgot how to swallow or use the restroom, have no clue who anyone is, wander off, but other than being almost completely non-functional are healthy etc. you do not get the same medical benefits from the government as someone who has had a heart attack, diabetes, or other medical issue if your monthly income is over $1448.
Image source: Sudden_Idea9384
#34
If the person in front of you came to a stop and you had to stop behind them it DOES NOT count as you stopping. Do not go through the sign without stopping at the line yourself.
Image source: Normal-Hall2445
#35
To all the people that post doorbell camera footage of a delivery driver tossing/dropping/throwing your package, chances are they didn’t damage it. Packages go through way, way worse in warehouses during the sorting process.
Image source: ObjectiveOk2072
#36
Nonprofit (and also education):
First three quarters: spend as little as possible
Last quarter: IF WE DON’T SPEND THIS GRANT THEY WON’T GIVE US AS MUCH NEXT YEAR.
Image source: smuffleupagus
#37
We are graduating students who cannot read, write, or do simple Math; and not just a few.
Image source: heathers1
#38
You can put a peripheral IV in a baby’s scalp. That and that you can put a central line for fluids in their belly buttons.
Image source: EaglesLoveSnakes
#39
How much guess work is involved in knee and hip joint replacements.. it’s incredible how forgiving the body can be.
Image source: Odd_Foundation_4401
#40
I can mess up a LOT and pretty badly, but as long as I don’t noticably react to the mistakes, the only people who will ever notice are other professionals.
Image source: DaCrazyJamez
#41
Bleeding gums mean you have to keep brushing them, not stop and avoid it. It can be a sign you are starting to brush them correctly.
They will only get better if they are bleeding when you brush. They heal and get tougher.
If you don’t brush gums that bleed they will get worse and very painful.
Image source: PomPomBumblebee
#42
Restarting any electronic device really does solve a lot of problems…..
Edit to add: a lot of my “skill” for new problems is Google-fu. Aa lot of the rest is from *everything* in our systems working in roughly the same way….
Image source: PublicDragonfruit158
#43
Dog behavior is highly, highly hereditary. It’s not “all in how you raise them.” Along those lines, most dogs with anxiety weren’t mistreated. They have some bad genetics working against them and nobody bothered to socialize them right in early puppyhood.
Image source: Kayakchica
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