No matter how weird it might sound, fear can actually be a positive thing. It helps guide our understanding of the world. It informs us about potentially dangerous situations and protects us from pain and long-lasting harm. However, some people’s metaphorical danger and common sense radars aren’t working like they should. Their survival instincts seem to be malfunctioning and lead to, frankly, reckless behavior.
In a thoroughly entertaining thread, the r/AskReddit community shared the things that exist only “because of people’s stupidity.” Do you know those warnings that you shouldn’t iron your clothes while still wearing them? That’s exactly the kinds of things they mean. We’ve collected some of the most bonkers examples to share with you. Scroll down, check them out, and upvote the most ludicrous ones.
Bored Panda wanted to figure out why some people seem to lack common sense and behave in risky ways, so we reached out to Glenn Geher, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz and a published author. He shed some light on our questions. You’ll find Dr. Geher’s insights as you read on.
#1
Kardashians’ Fame
Image source: Viks101, Eva Rinaldi
#2
The anti-vax movement
Image source: _Caramel-Kitty_, Becker1999
#3
All those drug commercials that tell you not to take said drug if you’re allergic to it.
Image source: InfernalCape, Ron Lach
#4
The labels on superman costumes that say ‘Wearing this does not enable you to fly’
Image source: Musical_Toad557, Lobo Larson
#5
Influencers
Image source: anon, George Milton
#6
The tag on the iron that says “Do not iron clothes while wearing them.”
Image source: flipping_birds, unknown
#7
In the user manual for RVs it specifies that the driver must remain in the drivers seat at all times when the RV is in motion because someone thought that cruise control was auto pilot and went to take a shower while on the freeway and crashed.
If I remember right, part of their argument against the company was that the manual did not say he had to remain in the drivers seat when cruise control was being used…
Image source: TimeMasterBob, Mark Doliner
#8
Darwin Awards?
The Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor that originated in Usenet newsgroup discussions around 1985. They recognize individuals who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool by dying or becoming sterilized via their own actions.
Image source: Darktal0n75, unknown
#9
Racism.
Image source: AA144
#10
Flat earth theory.
Image source: rshnsrt, star5112
#11
religion
Image source: STK1369, Pixabay
#12
[This sign at the London Luton airport](https://imgur.com/WqYDff0)
Image source: Bran_Solo, Bran_Solo
#13
Traffic jams. Except for in outlying cases it’s literally only bc people are too dumb to be efficient
Image source: frogseyes, Mikechie Esparagoza
#14
The ban on Kinder eggs in the US.
Are people really stupid enough to swallow those eggs whole? Even if they didn’t know about the toy, you can’t possibly want to deepthroat a f*****g egg, can you?
Image source: I_hate_traveling, Nenad Stojkovic
#15
Do not open door in flight
Edit: Neat, an award stating how helpful my comment is. Thank you, glad to help
Image source: aftcg, Mengliu Di
#16
Televangelists.
Image source: Fart_connoisseur1
#17
Multi-Level-Marketing (aka pyramid schemes)
Image source: The78thDoctor, Luis Quintero
#18
Label on Swiss chainsaw, do not attempt to stop chain with hands and genitals
Image source: CannaBlasta, Karolina Grabowska
#19
Panic buying
Image source: mooli1978, Ben Schumin
#20
Meetings that could have been emails
Image source: Jenn_097
#21
The law in Pennsylvania that *specifically* states that you can not barter infant children
Image source: MostlyFuckedUp, Anastasia Trofimczyk
#22
California’s Prop 65.
It says everything sold in California must have a label warning consumers that the product is made with ingredients/components known by the state of California to cause birth defects or cancer. Unless the seller can prove that the item does not contain such components. However, nobody can actually say if anything causes cancer or not. So if you sell something in California, you must either pay a laboratory to test everything in your product, then provide reports stating that each element does not cause cancer. OR you can buy a 1 cent sticker and slap it on your packaging. As a result everything sold in California, EVERYTHING, has that sticker on it. Because why wouldn’t you just slap the sticker on?
We voted for this.
Image source: ClownfishSoup, sta5is
#23
The warning sticker on lawn mowers telling you not to touch the blades while they are in motion.
#24
The Tide Pod challenge
Image source: i_fuckin_luv_it_mate, SuffrnSuccotash
#25
“Warning may contain nuts” warnings on packets of nuts
Image source: ConnorA94, DefectiveDonkey
#26
I worked at Cabela’s for years and they carry a product called “The Butt Out” and its a tool a hunter would use to remove the a**s from a deer. On the back of the packaging in the bottom corner is a warning stating “Not for sexual use”
Image source: TheSchoeMaker, t_wittenburg
#27
Warning labels telling you not to eat things that are not food.
Image source: tylerss20, Toshiyuki IMAI
#28
“Do not place child in shopping bag”
Image source: McManARama, Stefanie Seskin
#29
The phrase, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Image source: anon, Monstera Production
#30
The sticker on curling irons that say “for external use only”
Image source: IAmAFrogOk
#31
Bullying
Image source: Doehap
#32
https://imgur.com/gallery/F3apENt This was in front of a catholic school I did some work on. This is not the only tree in the area, it’s not even the only tree in front of a parking space. How did this sign come to be? The world may never know
Image source: Mok0bo, i3onezman
#33
Warning labels on electric appliances warning you not to use them in a bathtub.
Image source: filthy_pikey, TheJediPikachu
#34
Most people
Image source: PurpleFirebolt, Davi Pimentel
#35
The f*****g message on my in dash display on my Honda Fit.
YES I KNOW I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OPERATION OF THIS MOTOR VEHICLE.
Imagine the car not telling me that every time I start it, me getting in an accident, and suing Honda for NOT telling me that I’m responsible for the car I’m driving?
Image source: ChuckawaspSlanders, Mike Bird
#36
The warning on strollers, “Do not collapse while infant is seated”
Image source: MarkOfTheDragon12, Lisa Fotios
#37
The belief that brown cows give chocolate milk
Image source: digger200
#38
Fruit roll boxes that warn “Remove plastic wrap before eating”
Image source: faragorn, deleted
#39
There was a washing machine I saw in Thailand and it said please do not put children in here
Image source: anon
#40
Tabloid newspapers
Image source: dublinblueboy
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