What’s obvious to you and your hard-working colleagues might be a complete mystery to your family, friends, and strangers on the internet. The fact is, no matter how educated and curious we are, there are so many things that we still don’t know about the world that others learn while working.
Inspired by a post on Threads, working professionals spilled the tea about the facts and secrets that only people working in their career fields would know, and it is mind-boggling. We’ve collected their most intriguing insights that range from the fun and unusual to the bizarre and even scary.
#1
You’re not getting a good designer deal at outlet stores. That is not Tommy Hilfiger mainline, they’re actually separate diffusion lines designed specifically for the budget market. They’re lower quality.
Image source: theessentialman
#2
Bad horses usually just dislike their owners.
Image source: creighallday, YuliiaKa
#3
You can’t code a stroke based on symptoms alone, there must be diagnostic proof via CT and/or MRI that clearly shows the location of the infarct/hemorrhage. A diagnostic statement from the provider is not enough evidence to report the diagnosis of stroke or infarct. (Job: Inpatient medical coder)
Image source: mariah_book_lover, anatoliy_cherkas
Everyone, no matter their career, can burn out at their job. However, some occupations are at a greater risk due to the chronic stress they have to deal with. The most stressful jobs are often incredibly complex and include massive risks, important responsibilities, and far-reaching consequences. The upside is that you often get recognition and a large salary for performing well. You also have a positive impact on the world. The downside is that your physical and mental health take a toll.
According to Indeed, some of the most stressful occupations include working as a physician, nurse, anesthesiologist, surgeon, and police officer. Alongside them are firefighters, paramedics, soldiers, patrol officers, airline pilots, air traffic controllers, CEOs, lawyers, and project managers. Event coordinators, social workers, dispatchers, and compliance analysts also face a lot of daily stress.
#4
We are more closely related to starfish than to earthworms. Such a useful bit of information.
Image source: cecicmorgan, pvproductions
#5
Your teeth are porous and have super tiny holes almost like your skin!
Image source: pocket.tinaa, prostooleh
#6
Working in data for 25+ years now, what I find fascinating is that your data and mostly everything about you and what you do in the US, aside from your name and PII, is worth about $1-10/person, legitimately and legally, depending on who’s buying and how much of the data. All of the top companies use the same few data providers that sell this data. If you want just name, phone/email, and professional title, it ranges up to $20. My specialty became learning how to ingest and use the vast data.
Image source: hophoang, rawpixel.com
The American Psychiatric Association notes that burnout is a gradual process. Some of the earliest warning signs of burnout include increased irritability, a lack of motivation, social isolation, and chronic fatigue.
If you find that you can’t seem to get proper rest, withdraw from the people around you, and that even the smallest inconveniences lead to major frustrations, you need to start making changes.
Again, everyone can experience burnout, no matter their career. If you’re unable to forge a healthy relationship with work and stress, your job performance and the quality of your private life will suffer.
Mental Health America explains that some of the most common signs of burnout include:
- Constant exhaustion that doesn’t go away with rest
- Feelings of dread for responsibilities you once enjoyed
- Feeling detached
- A lack of motivation
- Emotional numbness
- Struggling to focus and making more mistakes
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Physical problems such as headaches, digestive issues, muscle tension, etc.
#7
They are called vocal folds not cords/chords. 🤗
Image source: sgrmag1, cottonbro studio
#8
It is almost impossible to forget your own name, and if you do your entire memory system is so impaired that you won’t know that you forgot your name
Image source: luvlanguage_books, jcomp
#9
An 8-to-5 marching step (8 steps every 5 yards) is 22.5 inches.
Image source: andrewszypula, sandraviei
There are no easy or quick fixes for burnout. It’s a process that requires a shift in your mindset and habits. Where you can start is by focusing on setting healthy boundaries at work, giving yourself credit for your accomplishments, and prioritizing your self-care.
For example, aim for a healthier work-life balance and don’t do any work-related tasks after office hours. Take more breaks. Say ‘no’ to extra work when you realistically cannot handle it, or prioritize by setting other tasks aside.
In the meantime, focus on getting the basics right: get adequate sleep, eat nutritious food, get your body moving, spend time outdoors, and have an active social life where you prioritize your positive relationships. All of these things should help you recharge and give you more breathing room
If you find that you’re struggling with any of these things, it’s important that you either confide in someone you trust or reach out to a mental health professional for support.
#10
Rooms where patients are given anaesthesia or similar gases need a very specific room air circulation design— otherwise there is a risk that surgeons pass out during surgery. Clean air needs to be provided to the room in a way that prevents surgeons from breathing any anaesthetic that may leak out from the mask given to the patient.
The tower of Pisa is slowly rotating itself into the ground like a screw. This is caused by soil expansion and contraction by the heat produced through the sun!
Image source: _baldan, gpointstudio
#11
Donkeys in the wild will dig for water up to five feet down. Those water holes benefit the critters around it.
Image source: dusty.dinky.donkeys, wirestock
#12
All Microsoft CD’s were made in Puerto Rico from 2002 through 2015.
Image source: eril_amid, TreatNova2005
What are some secrets that you’ve learned while at your job that you don’t think anyone outside of your field actually knows? What are the biggest pros and cons of your work that outsiders usually don’t see?
What’s your relationship with work stress like, and where do you think you could improve it? Tell us all about it.
#13
Covid severely impaired the ability of young people to learn.
Image source: individualdax, shapovalphoto
#14
Bank tellers can get fired for cashing or depositing your bad checks, so between that and a variety of banking regulations around fraud and money laundering, they HAVE TO ask questions when your transaction seems out of the ordinary.
Image source: sassypantzter, senivpetro
#15
having no health insurance is cheaper than health insurance if you are healthy due to self pay discount
Image source: step.a.90, Drazen Zigic
#16
Children thrive under discipline and structure.
Image source: awyotumbleweed
#17
When you open a ream of printer/copier for a laser printer or photocopier paper, remove the top and bottom sheet and use them as notepaper or something else.
Glue and wax from the wrapper can leech onto the top and bottom sheet and will build up on the rollers over time, causing more paper jams and poor print outs.
(You don’t need to do this for inkjet printers because they don’t run hot)
Image source: gregbromage
#18
You can take 3 random points anywhere on the planet and they will share a common radius point.
Image source: earnestkarloff
#19
Deodorants and antiperspirants make your body odor worse over time.
I’m a BO scientist, I’ve been researching this for 15 years and lead many clinical trials. We found that these products help odor-causing bacteria (who are more resistant) take over the armpit microbiome.
Lemon juice is a much better alternative, many in my community have tried it and seen their smell improve within 7-14 days
Image source: drarmpit
#20
I’m a school/passenger bus driver. Driving a bus is MUCH more mentally taxing than driving a car. Also, buses do not have a parking gear. Instead, you put it in neutral and manually pull the parking brake. And finally, most buses have air brakes, meaning the brakes only work if you have enough air pressure. Any punctures in the break system means you’re doomed. Well, actually that’s exactly why the parking brake is separate.
Image source: rebekahm704
#21
The key to learning and writing music is pattern recognition. When you play, breaking down similar sections will help you learn quicker than naming notes (as you advance your learning). What makes a good song is pattern recognition too (or in some jazz intentionally breaking those patterns). Pattern recognition creates familiarity and connection.
Image source: njdavoli
#22
Most professors do not know how to design courses or teach. We are not “trained” to develop curriculum nor deliver it. We are trained to be experts in our respective fields and to develop others. So please show your professor some mercy and love. 🙏🏽
Image source: bizsurgeon
#23
Your skin “feels” different to tattoo depending on if you’re hydrated, on certain medications or where you’re at in your hormonal cycle! Weirdly enough I can usually tell if my client is on their period or not because the skin behaves differently
Image source: kailah.tattoo
#24
Vineyards use roses as early warning systems [against diseases]
Image source: shoejunkiez
#25
Paper straws make your drink go flat, as does citrus
Image source: tobusdraperus
#26
Fast flowing water has lower pressure than static (non-flowing) water, therefore a pressure washer should be called a high velocity washer.
Image source: cajunexpatriot
#27
A shocking number of people sleep on mattresses with no sheet(s).
Image source: sisyphus8
#28
In Antarctica, you can design and build piled foundations in the ground, by drilling a deep hole, putting the pile in, then mixing the dirt that came out of the hole with water, and freeze the pile in place by pouring it back down the hole. These piles are robust enough to support a building
Image source: mattykjordan
#29
In the US, a lot of bottled water is bottled regionally at a single facility that has contracts with multiple companies.
Say you’re buying bottled water in Houston. 95% of that is made at 1 facility, just placed into different shaped bottles w/ different labels for each client.
Image source: screaminneuron
#30
we can take a frozen section during surgical procedures that can give us a diagnosis within 20 minutes of removal. it’s nice because a lot of the time these patients are awake and anxious. they can have their diagnosis during their procedure and it doesn’t have to be a long drawn out thing.
Image source: shadyscrazy00
#31
DEI doesn’t just benefit people of color, women and those in the LGBTQ+ community. It also benefits veterans, fights against ageism and supports workers with disabilities.
Image source: heynoelledei
#32
To help kern (evenly space) lettering – look at the word upside down. You’ll see the spaces that need adjusting rather than read the word.
Ok – that’s not fun is it? But still, a nugget of design knowledge…
Image source: paul_peps
#33
Let’s say a baptized Catholic – even one who hasn’t seen the inside of a church in years – marries someone at a courthouse, or in front of a JOP or at the Elvis chapel in Vegas, and later gets divorced, and they want a Church wedding for try #2.
All they’d need is to do is complete a Lack of Valid Form Investigation, with *official* copies of their Baptism Certificate, Marriage abstract and Divorce decree. Takes three weeks.
Image source: paul.stokell
#34
Your phone and smart devices are definitely listening to you. Don’t think for a second Amazon, Apple, and Google aren’t selling your data (ie conversations) to advertisers. Turn them off.
That said, if you block all cookies, you’ll still get ads. Your IP address has a zip code associated. They just won’t be as relevant to you = more annoying. Pick your poison.
Or use a flip phone and a VPN.
Your shopping habits and what you search online is VERY valuable to marketers.
Image source: dianedfw
#35
The full moon does in fact have a bad effect on psych patients.
Image source: stripey777
#36
Nothing is “secure”. Starts with locks and safes – they’re rated based on how much time a decent attacker could break into them. Your computers and other digital devices live and die on the same principle. Eventually a dedicated attacker can find a way in. Society’s illusion of security and civilly is proof that most people are basically decent, because if no one was, property and information would never stay out.
Image source: mikethecanuckpdx
#37
If you have a baby, get accidental death insurance. Almost all the causes of infant/child death are technically ruled as accidents, think car crash, SIDS, drowning etc. Now, this is NOT to profit from tragedy, this is to keep you housed and fed while you PROPERLY grieve.
Image source: nikki.stitchez
#38
Please don’t get your mouth too near the mic at an open mic night. The spit of 10-20 people is all over that thing, still nice and wet from that evening.
Image source: karensvintagepieces
#39
When you watch a livestream on a streaming service like Netflix, the feed getting cut out is never the service’s fault, it’s usually ground crew affected by something like weather or the company that the service is sourcing the feed from
Image source: r4vezer0
#40
If you were trapped in a burning building, and our fire system deployed, you’d be unharmed by the chemicals and none of the unburned assets would be damaged. It’s magic 🪄
Image source: jmezart
#41
Fascia is one continuous piece of collagen and other squishy substances throughout your body, holding it together, and causing pain somewhere other than where it is damaged or non-squishy. A scar on your ankle might be causing headaches.
Image source: ripleyinct1
#42
An infant’s linear growth doesn’t really start to take off until they start weight bearing (pulling to stand and cruising ) … If they are delayed in weight bearing then you notice that their length isn’t where it should be on the growth chart
Image source: lisatuttlewv
#43
The sound engineers for everyone’s favorite music artists from the last 20 years use pitch correction on vocals (auto tune or similar brand) the way a chef at a restaurant uses salt and butter. Even a lot of the rootsy sounding stuff. Once you get used to hearing it you can’t unhear it and it’s eeeeeverywhere. And I’m ok with it, because here’s another less known fact: you still have to be a great singer to sing with pitch correction. It cannot make up for being a bad singer. That’s false.
Image source: addisoncrawfordmusic
#44
Stocks and bonds are typically presented as the “go-to” investments for building wealth, but in reality there’s so much more: REITS, ETF’s, CD’s, UIT’s, Annuities and Life Insurance.
Also, BLACK PEOPLE need to look into setting up trusts and holding accounts to protect their assets.
I don’t see a lot of with trusts.
Image source: tajtakesthedmv
#45
A pair of shoes that cost $100 in the store, cost $5 when procuring… Old ladies are the largest customer group that buys bacon.
Image source: mhagdahl
#46
If you know the color code for telephony cables, you can terminate up to 3600 pairs of copper wires (more common), with the largest cable recorded being 4200 pairs.
Blue, orange, green, brown, slate
White, red, black, yellow, violet
Image source: aviationphotofan
#47
adding lemon juice to pico that’s too salty helps neutralize it
Image source: cjj.992
#48
Stop using visine. It’s bad for your ocular health and can lead to eyes being chronically red and inflamed. Preservative free artificial tears are where it’s at. Use them frequently and enthusiastically 👀 💦
Image source: ohmygoth
#49
I worked in a government treasury. If you have millions of dollars, you can buy a CD for a single day and make a few hundred or thousands of dollars depending on the CD amount. Single day CD’s for the rich, but not for us.
Image source: scotteh8271
#50
Bariatric patients patients who are like 400, 500, 600, 700 pounds if we don’t have a MRI to scan them then we call the aquarium to take the patient to the same MRI scanner that they use for whales and orcas 😭😂😅
Image source: _jcheddarm
#51
jdoranstratton
1d
Cannabis in CA is far less regulated then tobacco when it comes to what pesticides. A lot of commercial cannabis growing facilities that are 100% legal spray their plants while they’re in flower to keep bugs and mold off the plants, but many of the oils& chemicals in the sprays used are not meant to be eaten let alone smoked. Most if not all of the chemicals have never been tested for smokable products especially not the good herb. unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to grow your own
Image source: jdoranstratton
#52
Growing pains don’t exist! Of course when a kid is growing this can cause some muscle/ bone aching but it only comes and goes, but if it’s sustained pain it’s something else, usually hypermobility related! So for if your kid is having pain that’s sustained enough to get into a specialist, it’s not growing pains!
Image source: em_langdon
#53
If you are going to cook something to its correct internal temperature you do NOT need to wear gloves to handle it. Ie; cheese on pizza
Image source: mightymighty_samson
#54
When you approach a door, look for the hinges. If you can see them, the door swings towards you, so pull. If not, it swings away from you, so push.
Image source: doorboy1970
#55
Music doesn’t just light up the listening and comprehension part of the human brain. 🧠 the brain actually lights up and activates in all areas speech memory, cognition, motor movement, emotion etc. this is why music is such a diverse and powerful therapeutic tool. Movement can be strengthened and illicited by music for those with Parkinson’s. Memories and emotions unlocked for those with dementia. It’s absolutely amazing- signed a music therapist
Image source: kkroo917
#56
The hardest time for someone with dementia is later afternoons and even worse during the winter with daylight savings time.
Image source: diggerdp
#57
White space is used to cut down on eye strain. (Former UX professional).
Image source: imjustinandersondotcom
#58
Chlorine was invented as a chemical warfare agent. Now we are mandated to use it to disinfect our drinking water.
Image source: phrannkss
#59
The correct way take one post-it note from the block isn’t from bottom up, but from left to right.
It won’t be curved
Image source: stefano.studio
#60
80% of world trade is on an open account basis. It is taken on trust that if one party sends to goods the other party will pay.
Image source: courtcricket
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