Now, of course, he was clear to say "safe for human consumption" and not things you should be eating or are exactly good or nutritious for you.
Well, the thread soon filled up with thousands of comments as people began sharing things they were surprised to learn are relatively safe if consumed (which, again, take with a grain of salt). Here are some of the top-voted comments:
1. "You can eat everything inside of a natural beehive, including the bees. Just don’t get stung!"
2. "When I had my gallbladder removed a few months ago, the doc told me, apropos of nothing, I could eat the stones they let me keep. I mean, I guess they're mostly cholesterol, so it makes sense."
3. "Ballistol. It's a general purpose oil for lubrication and rust protection — and can be used for metal, wood, and leather. It's completely safe to drink, and it even smells like licorice."
4. "Some Indigenous tribes eat clay in small amounts due to the minerals and texture."
5. "Petroleum jelly. Small amounts have been used as a laxative and stool softener."
6. "Shellac. Yes, the stuff they use to seal wood. It's used in everything from finger nail polish to candy. Its secreted by a bug. Yummy!"
7. "Some packing peanuts are actually made out of cornstarch. They, of course, aren't produced in a food-safe environment, and all of the nutritional components like sugars are removed so as not to attract bugs. But yeah, some packing peanuts are edible."
"The ones that aren't made of cornstarch, though, are made of polystyrene, a petroleum-based plastic. So definitely do your research before you decide to ~sample some packing peanuts.~"
8. "Kudzu. We see it as a pest, when in reality we should be farming it. The foliage makes great grazing for animals, and it can grow to massive sizes. Given that it takes almost no effort to grow, it seems like a perfect farm crop."
9. "The little stickers on the fruit you buy in the store. Even the glue for them is FDA approved."
10. "Dog and cat food. The FDA requires pet food to be human-grade because during the Great Depression, so many desperate people died from eating pet food."
"I haven’t done extensive research on the topic, but I learned about this in a college-level history class."
11. "Dandelions. Most folks see them as just weeds, but they're completely safe to eat and actually quite healthy. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach, the roots can be peeled and boiled into soup or tea, and the flowers can be made into wine and jelly, or eaten by themselves."
12. "Crocs. One of the original selling points was them being made out of 100% non-toxic materials."
13. "The young leaves of pokeweed are edible if cooked properly. I remember my brother-in-law's dad made a poke salad. He said the idea is to cook 'most' of the poison out, but leave enough for your lips to tingle."
14. "Charcoal — well, not the one you'd buy for BBQs, but medical charcoal has a similar composition and is not only safe, but awesome at cleaning up some unfortunate gastrointestinal interlopers."
15. "Silica gel packets."
16. "Starburst wrappers. They're pieces of colored wax paper that are safe to eat, but your body can't digest them very well."
17. "Hydrogen peroxide. I found out this tasteless liquid is used to induce vomit in certain situations and can be digested."
"I learned this when Hurricane Irma hit Florida. My wife decided to put it in an unlabeled water bottle, next to other water bottles. We had no electricity and I was thirsty, I was about 3/4 into the bottle when foam started coming out and all I could smell was the slightly stinky foot aroma it gives off. I called poison control and they assured me I wouldn't die. I wouldn't recommend it, though."
Again, do not eat these things. Also, you can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.