Reddit user u/huggles7 recently asked, "What is common knowledge in your profession that not a lot of people know about?"
Here are the top-voted responses:
1. "The lighter the coffee roast, the more caffeine it has. The darker the roast, the less it has."
2. "Computer clouds are just someone else’s computers. Younger folks generally get this."
3. "When doctors or nurses shock someone with 'paddles' or an automated external defibrillator (AED), it doesn't restart your heart, it actually STOPS it."
4. "A family-owned grocery slicer is always more sanitary than a chain deli. Without fail. Typically, a family-owned establishment has two slicers, one for meat, one for cheese. They ALWAYS wipe them down between customers."
"Why? Business is slower, they know all the customers personally, and the customer usually watches more closely. Chain grocery stores rarely wipe down the blade. It's all about the speed of service. It's POLICY to not wipe it down at most chains except on even-numbered hours or at the half, even if you just sliced pastrami and are doing turkey next. One place I worked at was every third hour. So gross. I had to quit. Family-owned is more pricey, better quality."
5. "When you brush your teeth, do NOT rinse with anything afterwards. Just spit out the toothpaste. You get more benefit from the fluoride sitting on your teeth than just rinsing it off."
6. "If a column fails, then it's very likely the whole building fails."
7. "I used to work in fast food. A long time ago, we figured out when people ordered 'something fresh,' what they really meant was they wanted it hot, so we would just dump it back on the grill or in the fryer for a few seconds and then you’d have a piping hot patty/meat."
8. "That language isn't stationary! I'm a translator, and for the last few years, my native language (Ukrainian) changes a lot. We are bringing some old words and rules back and, at the same time, creating new ones, which is awesome."
"But, unfortunately, I'm hearing all the time about 'truth is only in vocabulary' and 'new words aren't real,' and sometimes, it is really pissing me off. Languages are changing all the time! It's their nature. Yes, there's a set of main rules and words, but even they are changing from time to time. People creating new words all the time, some of them are disappearing with time, some staying for much longer, and that's okay."
9. "Fire engines don’t have keys to start them, just a switch or two. Anyone could steal a fire engine fairly easily."
10. "You can over lubricate something; too much grease will cause just as much of an issue as no grease in things like bearings."
11. "The manager is responsible for the horrible requirements on job descriptions, not the recruiter or HR person. We try our best to convince them they are ridiculous."
12. "I'm an artist. Art isn't a talent, its learned."
"I was hanging out with an artistic friend of mine, and one of our other friends said 'gee, I wish I could draw,' and my artist friend (having heard it enough) said, 'I'm not talented, I've spent hundreds and hundreds and THOUSANDS of hours trying to make what I want to see.'"
13. "Most people will try anything but reading the instructions. I know this because I write the instructions."
14. "Breathing isn't done the way most people think. Most people think they take a deep breath, and their lungs/chest cavity expands. It's the other way around. We use the muscles in and around our chest to expand our chest cavity, which creates a suction that draws air into our lungs."
"Too much tension or stress in those muscles makes them act like a corset and prevents you from breathing deeply."
15. "Lots of very talented and successful criminal defense attorneys can’t make enough money from retained clients, so they also take on court appointments (not all court appointments go to public defenders, at least in Texas). I’ve seen defendants fire really good court appointed lawyers to hire mediocre attorneys simply because of the misconception that court-appointed lawyers are bad. Some of best criminal defense attorneys are actually public defenders."
16. "I'm a truck driver. My semi-truck can't stop as fast as your car. I need a couple football fields to slow down from highway speed, and that's in absolutely clear weather. Stop merging 13 feet in front of me and slamming on the brakes for an exit. Just stay behind me and wait an extra two seconds so I don't kill you and endanger everyone around us."
"First lesson my dad taught me when I got my permit was you mess with a motorcycle, you kill someone, you mess with a semi, it kills you."
17. "I'm in IT, and 90% of my fixes come from Google. Even corporate systems can mostly be googled. Most of us have no particular training at the field level. Sure, we pick up tricks along the way, but we largely wing it."
18. "Most plants you buy in stores are not grown from seeds, but are multiplied by taking a cutting off of a mother plant."
And finally...
19. "No one is going to like this one, but stop using Q-Tips to clean wax out of your ears. All you are doing is packing it further in and clogging your ear canals until the wax turns to a rock against your eardrum. I highly recommend using Debrox or some sweet oil and then flushing with warm water instead!"
Now, it's your turn! What's an obvious piece of knowledge everyone should know about your job? Comment below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.