Some of us always err on the side of caution.
And as such, we will triple check dates of our travel or dinner reservations, take a picture of the stove before leaving the house, to ensure we didn't leave it off, or check in with our babysitters every half hour (or less!) to ensure that the kids are alright.
In most cases, we needn't have worried, as everything was fine, and was always going to be fine.
It was just our own, neurotic instincts getting the better of us.
In other cases, however, doing what seemed like a simple little dummy check may have been far more valuable than we would have thought, as it may have ended up being a life-saving measure.
Figuratively or literally.
Redditor OvertOperation was wondering how many people once found themselves in a situation where triple-checking seriously paid off, leading them to ask:
What "you know what, just to be safe..." thing you did ended up saving you later?
Clarity Is Important
"I was an expediter at a restaurant."
'It was super busy and I was trying to get runners for food."
"Was about to send out a stack of dim sum when I looked at the ticket again with a note that said 'no peanuts on the tempura tofu'."
"I had read it earlier and didn't sprinkle peanuts on it."
"Another server was about to run it to the table when I told him to wait and get the actual server for the table."
"We were slammed and he was kinda pissed but went and got him."
"The actual server comes back and he's all frustrated when I ask him 'Does your 'no peanuts' guy not like peanuts or is he allergic to them?'"
"Server responds with 'he's very allergic to them, that's why I put no peanuts on the ticket!'"
"He was all being sh*tty with me."
"I told him 'well the f*cking tempura tofu is fried in fucking peanut oil!'"
"Didn't realize the head chef was behind me and heard the whole thing."
"Server didn't know we only used peanut oil. It was an Asian fusion really nice upscale restaurant."
"Needless to say she, the head chef, f*cking reamed this guy."
"I was a half second from sending that food out too."
"Would have been bad."- Leftpaw
peanuts lol GIF by gifnewsGiphy"Safety" Is Not Just Part Of Their Name...
"Safety glasses."
"When working away it's easy to talk yourself into doing something really quick without them and there is always a voice in your head yelling at you to put them on."
"Stopped grinding the thing I was working on got my glasses came back, and then this chunk flies up and cracks the right lense."
"Spidy senses 1 Murphy's law 0."- Turtlemonk92
Being "Itsy" and "Bitsy" Makes Them Good At Hiding
"I knock out my shoes and squeeze the toes for good measure."
"Hi Mr. BROWN RECLUSE!"
"Only happened once, but once was enough to convince me it was a good habit to have."- ilikeitsharp
They Should Really Think Of A Different Name Than "Dummy" Check...
"Arrive in San Francisco a week into a trip."
"As we gather our things during a moment of downtime I go back to check the bus cause, you know, it never hurts."
"Found my passport, which I had no idea I'd dropped."- gy6fswyihgtvhivr
Celebrate 90 Day Fiance GIF by TLCGiphyNot So Different Than A Cave, If You Think About It
"Was about to put a new load of laundry into my washing machine in the dark, saw what looked to be a large sock still in the washing machine"
" Put my hand halfway into the washing machine then pulled my hand back up and thought huh, I usually don't leave things in my washing machine."
"Turned on the light, and it was a bat sitting in there."
"Never touched him, put him in some Tupperware and brought him outside."
"Left the container open and left him a bag of Doritos and he was gone in the morning."- mikechief411
Machinery Can't Always Be Trusted...
"I had a car sitting on jack stands because I needed to do some transmission work."
"Before climbing under it, I thought it'd be a good idea to rock the car around."
"One of the jack stands was not in the right spot and the car slipped off it, slamming down on the front disk brakes."
"Would have killed me."- Goyteamsix
A Sneaky Test...
"This is from 30 years ago, so some details may be different these days."
"After enlisting in the Army recruits get a list of everything they must bring to boot camp."
"On this list was a padlock."
"During 'processing', the five or so days before the real training starts, recruits are given their military equipment including duffel bags and told to put their things, they brought with them, in the duffel bag."
"After finally getting everything in I was left with just the padlock."
"I had no idea what to do with it, but I noticed if I closed my duffel bag in a certain way, I could close the lock on the hook."
"So when we get to the training unit and off the 'cattle trucks' and a few hundred drill sergeants are yelling and screaming and telling us to line up, which we do, with our duffel bags in front of us."
"The drill sergeants then proceed to check if the bags are locked and if not they grabbed them at the bottom and whirled them around flinging the entire contents on the ground."
"Everyone in the entire company had their stuff dumped except for me and one other guy."
"Only because locking my duffel bag was the only thing I thought of doing."
"Putting it in my pocket was not an option because they were very clear about not having any 'civilian' items in our uniform pockets."- Berlin_Blues
Safety Security GIF by DrawifyGiphyYou Never Know When You Might Need It...
"I was going on a road trip."
"We packed everything in the trunk."
"Then I realized that I forgot to check the air in the spare tire."
"Faced with unpacking the and repacking, I thought 'What are the odds? We've had the car for years, never had a flat, we probably won't have a flat now'."
"Then I thought 'screw that' and tossed the floor pump I use for my bicycle into the trunk, 'just in case'."
"Got a flat in the middle of f*cking nowhere."
"Spare was too flat to drive on."
"Floor pump saved my a**."
'It gets packed on every trip now."- Zorkeldschorken
It Helps To Have It In Writing
"Saved an email where a lead developer told me to do something stupid."
"A couple years later, him, now a manager who liked to yell at his subordinates."
"We were talking about this stupid behavior and he yelled, 'Well, why did you do that?!'"
"I pulled up his email, clearly instructing me to do just that."
"He sputtered and walked off, speechless."
"This guy is one of the reasons I still have trust issues with management, even after a string of really competent, caring, trustworthy managers."- thuktun
Working Hurry Up GIF by SNICKERSGiphyOr Twenty...
"Take 10 before you send has saved me countless times."
"Means take 10 seconds to re-read your email/post/whatever written communication before you send."
"Emails, especially in the workplace, last forever."- Meaningless_Is_Life
You Never Know When It Might Work In Your Favor...
"I bought a used Subaru Baja that was 5 years old at the time and had 75k miles for $12k."
"The salesman offered an extended warranty that covered the engine for $2500, would last 3 years/36k miles."
"That was kind of a lot, and I usually don't buy those."
"I don't know what got into me that day, but I said sure."
"One month and 750 miles later after an oil change at a mechanic shop, oil started shooting into the pistons?"
"I'm not good with cars, oil went where it wasn't supposed to go."
"Completely ruined the engine and turbo."
"The dealer had to keep it for 3 weeks, the warranty company flew someone out to inspect the car, and eventually approved a replacement engine, turbo, and any other affected parts."
"Total repairs cost almost $11k, and the warranty then applied to all the new parts too."
"Car drove like it was brand new! "
"Later discovered the car had 5 previous owners before me, but I couldn't find any accident or serious repair history."
"This is probably the only time buying an extended warranty on something actually worked out in my favor."- Comicspedia
homer simpson road GIFGiphyThere are those of us, myself included, who are almost never able to let our minds rest easy and are constantly worried that we forgot about something.
However, next time someone accuses you of being a worry wort, think of all these stories.
And every time your instinct to double, triple or quadruple check ended up paying off for you.
