Top Ten Most Overlooked Dangers in Everyday Life

In life, there's a ton of problems we all know about. We know what we need to avoid doing and what we need to do to stay healthy, happy, and safe. Unfortunately, there are also a ton of other dangers that people really fail to notice because these things that actually cause lots of deaths and injuries seem normal and even safe! This is not okay, so here I'll be listing the top ten most overlooked dangers, with detailed descriptions on why they're dangerous and why they're ignored. Enjoy, and take this seriously! No stupid items! This is a serious list!
The Top Ten
Cars

It may seem like a no-brainer that driving can be dangerous, but it really is very dangerous! Sure, it's extremely convenient and useful, but there's something I have to tell you. 1,350,000 people die every year on the roads. Yes, that's one million, three hundred and fifty thousand. Isn't that insane? That's over two people dying in a car accident every single minute.

Since you started reading this, multiple people have died in car accidents, depending on how fast you read. And that's not counting the tens of millions of injuries from cars. This is not a joke. They're literally that dangerous. It's horrible how many injuries there are, and unfortunately, there isn't really a way of preventing this from happening. Just be mindful while driving. There's no telling whether you'll be one of the two people dying every minute.

Food

If you're not sure that the food you're putting in your mouth is safe, don't eat it. That's right, don't eat it. Never eat a berry off a tree, eat something you could possibly be allergic to, or something with fishy packaging. We need food to eat, but this applies to unsafe food. Around 600 million people, which is basically 1 in 10 people in the world, fall ill after eating contaminated food, and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years. That's pretty crazy.

Over 100 billion American dollars are spent every year on unsafe food-related medical expenses, and 125,000 children under five die every year from unsafe food. Not to mention all the horrible choking deaths and other food-related deaths.

Stairs

You're always told by your parents not to read on stairs, not to horse around, and not to sprint down them, but most of the time you roll your eyes and say "sure, mom" in an exasperated voice. It may seem unlikely, but it can actually happen. Depending on which study you reference, it's possible that almost 15,000 people die from falling down stairs or other stair-related accidents every year.

And that's just deaths. There are probably way more injuries caused by falling down stairs. I'm sure some of you have gotten winded or injured a knee or something from falling down the stairs at a young age. Be careful while walking down the stairs, and make sure your attention isn't on something else while going down them.

Phones

This doesn't just apply to phones but to computers, tablets, and other devices like that. Now, how are you reading what I'm writing right now? It's likely that you're looking at a computer or phone screen. That's not good, despite how important what I have to say is. Your eyes are being exposed to blue light, and it may be contributing to something known as screen fatigue.

If left untreated, screen fatigue can cause huge problems, including lack of sleep and eye issues. You have to limit your screen time each day to avoid this problem. If you have insomnia problems, they are likely caused by this. Not to mention all of the freak selfie accidents and incidents where people play Pokemon Go and walk off a cliff.

Ice

Ice is way more dangerous than you think. Just to clarify, I'm talking about frozen water, not what you use to melt frozen water, which is also dangerous. Slipping on ice causes at least 17,000 deaths every year. There have been so many injuries from slipping on ice - I'm sure everyone reading this has at least fallen over on ice before if you live in a climate with ice.

Ice can stop power lines, ending heating in a cold winter and slowly freezing families to death in their own homes. Seemingly harmless iced-over lakes for skating can suddenly collapse, swallowing people and freezing them to death in cold water. Usually, they can't escape the water due to the ice. Ice can make cars stop and have people freeze to death. Ice is dangerous.

Ovens

Ovens are very convenient, very useful things. They cook our food much quicker and better than most other methods. Unfortunately, ovens are not just a leading cause but possibly the leading cause when it comes to house fires every year, responsible for one in five houses that go up in flames. That's not something we can just ignore.

Ovens can be very dangerous. They can possibly give out radiation, give you bad burns, and even cause a gas build-up, which can lead to many other problems. Treat them with caution, and make sure you handle them carefully.

Social Media

Social media is one of the most dangerous things in the world, and yet many people don't know that. Technically, you're on social media right now, and while I'm a safe, fun guy (which is actually what evil people will say), there are a ton of other dangers. Sometimes, people will abuse you on social media, which can put you into a state of depression or worse.

People can steal your identity if you open up to them and do bad things using your alias. People can use your personal information to hurt you, and there are so many other problems. You have to be really careful not to reveal too much personal information to strangers over social media.

Dogs The dog or domestic dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf, and is characterized by an upturning tail. The dog is derived from an ancient, extinct wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. The dog was the first species to be domesticated,... read more

Dogs are man's best friend. They're amazing animals, we love them a lot, and many are inseparable from their pet. However, dogs are actually the fourth deadliest animal to humans, behind mosquitoes, humans themselves, and snakes. At least 25,000 people are killed in dog-related incidents each year, though most of them aren't dog attacks but dogs getting rabies and spreading it or similar issues.

Why I don't trust dogs:
Once, when I was 4, I was on a walk, and my parents stopped to visit our neighbors who were also out on a walk. They had lots of dogs, and, not knowing any better, I assumed they were all friendly like my dog was. One was looking at me a bit strangely. I overlooked it and just tried petting him. Then he bit a hole in my hand. My hand was bleeding for days. Never trust dogs.

Bicycles

Thousands of people die on bikes every single year, and countless more are injured. Biking isn't a horrible thing or huge cause of death like driving, but it's more dangerous than almost everyone treats it. You need to start treating biking with a bit more caution, or else you may get badly injured.

For bikers, you have to watch out for blind spots in both cars and trucks. The same applies to motorcyclists, who face a huge danger from opening car doors.

Although warnings like these are commonly seen everywhere, it's still noteworthy to pay attention to your surroundings.

Mosquitoes Spanish for "small fly," mosquitoes are insects that have been known to cause various diseases. A sample of diseases caused by mosquitoes: malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, West Nile virus, dengue fever, filariasis, Zika virus.
The Contenders
Toilets

Well, tens of thousands of Americans injure themselves on the toilet every year, so I guess this earns its merits.

Drugs
Cigarettes

I wouldn't say this is an overlooked danger. In fact, many smokers are aware of the consequences they are inflicting on their bodies, but most don't have the proper coping methods to counter their addiction. It's not easy to force someone out of their nicotine addiction, and a single sentence telling them to stop doesn't help persuade them to get rid of their habits.

Smoking is extremely bad because it causes many health problems. Plus, you can get lung cancer and might have a shorter life expectancy.

Be wise, don't smoke!

Cats The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal.
It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family. A cat can either be a house cat, a farm cat or a feral cat; the latter... read more
Birds

Yeah, especially bats, which are nocturnal, and they surely aren't blind!

Edit: Bats are mammals. For some reason, I thought they were birds.

Dryers

It's shocking how dangerous this common and useful item can be. Dryers are a huge and extremely ignored fire hazard. While nearly 3,000 home clothes dryer fires are reported to the Fire Administration in the United States every year, the National Fire Protection Association says it responds to almost 15,000 such fires every year.

Now, 15,000 may seem like a big number, so this actually isn't an enormous problem, but 15,000 from something you wouldn't expect more than 100 odd accidents from in a year is pretty big, especially in a country with only 300 million people, many of whom don't have a dryer.

Alcohol
Pesticides

Such an overlooked danger. This kills wildlife and causes serious health problems for humans.

Water
Motorcycles
Advertising
Computer Viruses
Religion
Rain
Canoes

Through many studies, scientists have realized that canoes actually have the most deaths per person using them, by a huge amount.

This is largely due to how solitary they can be and how sudden danger can strike while in a canoe.

This statistic may not be as worrying as it seems, though, because most of these deaths are caused when drunk.

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