Wow, good to know!

[steuard]

I've been soliciting suggestions from various social networks to help me make a list of surprising but important bits of life knowledge that my college students may not have heard. I gave three examples to start things off:

• Tylenol/acetaminophen OD can be awful: no symptoms for 12 hours, but without help in 8 you need a liver transplant to live.
• Unless you need help, NEVER talk to police without a lawyer (innocent or not). WATCH THIS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc.
• A tender, warm, swollen spot on a leg could be a blood clot waiting to dislodge and kill you: see a doctor fast!

My twitter tag #WowGood2Know utterly failed to draw interest, but on Facebook this is easily the most commented post I've ever had. Early consensus was "This is the scariest FB post ever" (followed by "Steuard, walk. away. from. the. computer."), but it really took off. People have suggested some rather silly things ("Each human has a unique tongue print") and some very valuable ones ("Always be friendly to the secretaries"). I plan to keep collecting and summarize my favorites eventually.

So, any new ideas from folks here? What important insights do you think more people ought to know by college?

Comments

[pmb.livejournal.com]

I wish that the Geek Social Fallacies were more widely known.

[feuervogel]

Don't take Tylenol for your hangover; you'll end up in liver failure.