Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Describe The Biggest Potential Disaster They Successfully Avoided In Their Life

Every red light, elevator ride, roller coaster... they're all riddled with danger. Seriously, the amount of crisis that we as humans escape on the regular is staggering.

I try not to think about the statistics of it all. If I thought any harder about it, I'd never have restful sleep.

I mean at this rate, just leaving a building that didn't collapse is something to be thankful for. How many times have you said... "But I was just there an hour ago!"

Makes you appreciate anytime we've got left.

Redditor NinjaNate123 wanted to hear about all the times many of us found a way to keep crisis at bay, by asking:

What is NOT a bullet you dodged, but a huge tactical nuke you dodged?

Most of my minor, well major miracles when you think about it, have been in cars. I've lost track of the amount of vehicle disasters I've averted, by the skin of my teeth.

Out Damn Spot!

GIF by Warner ArchiveGiphy

"My wife dragged my butt to the dermatologist for a cyst I have had for years. While there, the doc noticed a mole on my ankle that he didn't like. Turned out to be melanoma. Would have never gone if my wife didn't force me." ~ TheDistric

Say "AHHHH!"

"24 years old, had a pesky sore on my tongue that was really bothering me. My boyfriend's dad was a dentist so when I was over at his house one night I asked him to take a look. He recommended I go see an oral surgeon the next day for him to check it out."

"The next day I decided it was feeling better so I tried to cancel my appt but my boyfriend's dad insisted I go. I went, and the oral surgeon pretty much diagnosed it as cancer on the spot. It was aggressive and by the time of my surgery to remove it it had already spread to multiple lymph nodes."

"They ended up removing over half my tongue followed by chemo and radiation. Given how aggressive it was, I often think that if I had put off the doctors visit any longer I probably wouldn't have survived. I'm coming up on my 10 year anniversary in January." ~ bobear2017

Flip Out!

"When driving in the upper peninsula in Michigan last summer a truck full of logs flipped and barrelled straight into my car. Completely demolished the car, someone else had to come open the door for me after the fact because they were all pinned shut by logs. I walked out of there without a scratch on my body." ~ Tman2588

Pit Stop

"On a road trip in college with 4 friends. We stopped halfway for a pit stop because I had explosive diarrhea and was getting more sick by the minute. Friends carried on to Vegas and left me with one of the guys who rented us a car to return home. The friends that carried on got into a roll over: 1 died, 2 will be injured for life." ~ 4fingertakedown

Stay Single

Samuel L Jackson Reaction GIF by Coming to AmericaGiphy

"I was engaged to someone, but then came to my senses and broke it off. Nine months later I found out she got married to someone else, then about 1 year after that she killed her husband." ~ Green-Boysenberry396

Life is a minefield when you think about it. Sometimes the heartbreak of love is worth it in hindsight. You look back and realize you loved a psycho and just say... "thanks for looking out God."

Leaks

relief GIFGiphy

"The second floor of the house I was renting collapsed a month after I moved out. ETA: apparently a water pipe sprung a leak shortly after we left. We weren't in any trouble." ~ RenaKunisaki

On Impact

"I was driving home from visiting my brother in Vermont when a snow storm started. I didn't have much experience driving in serious snow and I completely lost control. Car careened off the road and I was heading for a giant boulder at around 50 or 60 mph. I felt time slow down and I reflected on my life for a moment and then said goodbye to my body. Suddenly, I was jolted out of it by an abrupt impact, but I could see that the boulder was still 20 or 30 feet away."

"When I got out of the car, I saw that I had hit a little skinny tree that I could have easily grabbed with one hand. However, it had a giant root system that lifted the car off the ground and stopped me. Car was totaled, but I was completely fine because of that little tree. There is no way I would have survived the other impact." ~ senatorbolton

These Gestures Are Offensive In Other Countries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Winter Days

"Walking to work in the winter. Half way through a step forward under a skybridge when an icicle taller than me (6') and probably 2' around at the base crashes down right in front of my nose. If my bus had been a half second earlier, if I had walked even a tiny bit faster pace."

"I would have been impaled from brains to testicles. I was frozen in place for a minute, quietly surveying my near-death. There was another pedestrian nearby who witnessed it and the wide-eyed, ashen look on his face as he stared at me confirmed just how narrowly fortunate I was that day." ~ MoridinXP

where I had just been...

"This happened before cellphones existed. I had a long commute home and on a rare occasion my husband drove into the city to meet me. I started for home about fifteen minutes before he did. On the stretch of Highway 101 that I needed to be on for about twenty miles, there was a big rig in front of me that seemed to be driving erratically."

"I got this weird feeling and just moved over to the next lane and accelerated past him. In my rear view mirror, I saw the big rig run over the car in front of him, flip to its side crushing the cars in the next lane (where I had just been). My husband was behind the accident and as the police were letting cars file past in single file."

"He saw one of the crushed cars had a red bumper. He got home a couple of hours after me and said he'd never been so happy to see my red car in the driveway. That he'd been holding his breath as he turned down our street because he really expected me to be under the big rig." ~ susgrigs

The Rising

Water Douse GIFGiphy

"My wife and I were prepared to buy a nice riverfront property in 2019, but the owners ( her dad and uncle) were dragging their feet. We had our down payment, we were approved for the mortgage, and we had even been living there paying rent."

"Then the river rose 30ft/10m and we had to evacuate. The water kept rising. The house was destroyed before we bought it. So we didn't buy it." ~ Idiot_Savant_Tinker

And these are just the disasters we know about. The truth is, we probably survive near-death experiences with every breath we take. God speed everyone.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Jason Segel attends The Critics' Choice Association's 4th Annual Celebration.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

Jason Segel Admits He Didn't Tell His Parents About His 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' Nude Scene As A 'Practical Joke'

In 2008, the world was graced with Jason Segel’s epic magnum opus, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, an R-rated comedy that went on to make over $105 million worldwide.

The film stars Segel alongside Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Paul Rudd, and Russell Brand. Written by Segel himself, the movie follows Peter, a heartbroken music composer who escapes to Hawaii to recover from a devastating breakup, only to discover that his ex-girlfriend, played by Bell, and her new boyfriend, portrayed by Brand, booked the exact same vacation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Guy Fieri
Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images

Guy Fieri Decided To Change Up His Signature Hairstyle For His Birthday—And Fans Don't Know What To Think

Love him or hate him, we all know who Food Network's Guy Fieri is. With a shock of spiky, bleached-blond hair and a voice constantly raised in excitement, he's hard to miss, even from a mile away. Make that two miles.

But this year for his 58th birthday, Fieri apparently decided to change his look in celebration of approaching his sixth decade—and for Super Bowl LX.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

Jimmy Kimmel Gets Choked Up Talking About Deaths Of Renee Good And Alex Pretti In Poignant Monologue

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was visibly emotional on his program as he talked about the deaths of ICE shooting victims Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, calling out crimes "committed by this gang of poorly-trained, shamefully-led, mask-wearing goons."

Earlier this month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Good in her car. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Harry Styles; Pope Leo
Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images; Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Harry Styles Hilariously Reveals Why He Was Randomly At Pope Leo's Conclave Election

At the end of 2022, Harry Styles wrapped up a two-year tour that led to a much-needed break to rest his body and mind. But that break turned into an almost three-year hiatus, leaving his fans to miss him and worry about whether he would return to the stage.

The former One Direction singer did not just stay at home in bed watching rom-coms, however.

Keep ReadingShow less
Connor Storrie; Hudson Williams
Harold Feng/Getty Images

The 'Heated Rivalry' Stars Got To Carry Olympic Torch Through Italy—And Fans Are Cheering

Life seems to be imitating art for Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams.

Don't get too excited—this is not an announcement that the pair are a real couple now. But they are getting to bask in one of the highest honors for an athlete: carrying the Olympic torch.

Keep ReadingShow less