Knowing what we know now, it can be hard to believe that people in the past used toxic chemicals as makeup or went sunbathing for hours on end without a drop of SPF.
At the time, though, these habits were completely normal and not even worth a second thought. That got Reddit user u/tiredblind wondering, “What do you think is today’s version of asbestos: something we’ll only discover is harmful decades from now?” Readers did not hold back when answering the question, and these were some of their top answers:1. “We already have microplastics and PFAS; also, pseudo-hormones are a good contender.”
“Polyester clothing is the leading source of microplastic pollution in our oceans and household dust. It’s depressing.”
2. “Replacing critical thinking by leaning entirely on AI.”
3. “Scented air fresheners.”
“UGH, or those laundry scent boosters. Those things make it feel like someone is attacking my sinuses with a potato peeler.”
4. “Social media (especially algorithmically pushed). Okay, to be less completely flippant, it’s mostly the algorithmic, rage-bait-inducing fight for likes and awards. I mean, asbestos was written about as a miracle product in Little House on the Prairie, and they were super sad they couldn’t buy asbestos napkins. It seems fine until it isn’t.
Related: “21 People Who Decided To Confess Their Most Downright Disgusting Habits”
5. “Energy drinks. I see so many people basically addicted to them.”
“It’s undiagnosed ADHD people.”
Bauwimauwi / Getty Images
6. “Wealth. We’re currently in the ‘finding out’ phase of what happens when some people are allowed to hoard unsightly amounts of wealth and power.”
7. “Long-term effects of COVID.”
“I came here to say this one. Many viruses cause long-term harm or cause issues later, so I don’t know why people think COVID will be different. Chicken pox causes shingles, EBV is linked to autoimmune diseases and lymphoma, HPV to cancer, and polio causes post-polio syndrome…
Not to mention the effects we’re already seeing in people with long COVID.”
8. “Disappearing second and third spaces. People are drinking less (a good thing) and working from home more (also a good thing). Lots of bars and offices are being closed as a result. While there are obviously benefits to drinking less and working remotely, the bad thing is that this is taking away a lot of in-person social interaction. People have fewer friends, fewer relationships, less sex, and are physically moving less. This is a big part of what’s driving increasing mental health issues, especially among men.”
Jessie Casson / Getty Images
9. “Vapes.”
“My friend quit smoking 25 years ago. 11 years ago he picked up vaping. 9 months ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer that spread to his brain. He died 3 months ago.
It’s anecdotal, and correlation isn’t always causation. But damn, that one sucked.”
10. “All the lint that disperses into the air when you clear out the dryer lint trap. Dryers are rock tumblers for clothes. And with so many fabrics being synthetic now, it’s microplastics straight to the lungs!”
11. “Spray foam insulation.”
“Man, I hope not. That stuff underwent a ton of environmental review in development and is about as close to perfect as you can get for building shell sealing. If found to be a problem, it’s going to have to come from a genuine class of chemicals that we don’t even know to check on yet.”
Related: “Adults Are Admitting The Wild, Weird, Or Unhinged Ways They Use ChatGPT”
12. “Silica dust…a number of tile and countertop guys are gonna die.”
13. “Eating factory-farmed meat. I don’t know how to explain it. The mental well-being/energy should be more humane, more positive, and more natural. The meat we’re eating now, they’re not really even, especially, chickens anymore. So fat they can’t walk, then butchered. All for what? Because we’re brainwashed to think we need meat every day, every meal, or it’s not a real meal; it’s disgusting. My main point: I think the bad energy is in all those animals, and we absorb it in more ways than we know.”
“I kind of agree. My family and I hunt, and I am so glad we do. Those deer have a great life and are killed quickly and humanely. They don’t go through the hell of knowing that they are going to the slaughterhouse, crammed in a truck just to wait in line to be snuffed out. No meat gets wasted; all of it is eaten in some form or another.”
Tatsiana Volkava / Getty Images
14. “Something seemingly harmless that everyone takes. Like melatonin. Unfortunately, a lot of parents already give it to their kids instead of teaching them how to self-regulate.”
15. “Posting your babies/toddlers/children on your social media.”
“This isn’t exactly an unknown.
However, I have a friend from high school (20 years ago) who posts everything her child does. Even when she poops.
I feel bad for the kid.”
Oscar Wong / Getty Images
16. “Brake dust”.
17. “Peptides. Especially unregulated gray market peptides with zero clinical studies, so we don’t even know what the long-term effects are. Some being sold haven’t even been available long enough to have long-term effects yet.”
“Came here to say this, people blindly injecting themselves with shit based on some TikTok bro’s testimony is unhinged.”
Related: “12 Hygiene Habits That People Learned Way, Way, Way Too Late In Life”
Tatsiana Volkava / Getty Images
18. “Plastic water pipes. I’m a plumber who specializes in water treatment. Microplastics are new to the public’s concern, but we have suspected for years that it could be an issue, and every day we learn it’s becoming more and more of a threat. Most people think of plastic water bottles as being a concern for them without realizing that the pipes themselves that supply their homes could also be an issue. Almost all modern water lines in the US are made of plastic.”
19. “Growth hormones in chickens and other farmed animals.”
20. “Chronic stress. We’ve normalized being stressed 24/7 so much that I think future generations will be shocked that we lived like this.”
“Gosh, I hope for future humans that this is a thing!”
21. “Most likely it’ll be something no one thinks about and is just accepted that you probably don’t even know is a thing. It’ll probably turn out in 30 years that some random component they started adding to TVs that’s part of why TVs now cost $200 for a 65-inch flat screen actually causes it to shoot cancer beams into your eyes that only start working after 30 years.”
22. “Teflon coating on pans.”
23. “Triclosan will turn out to be the cause of so many hormonally driven issues, from behavior to cancer. It’s bad, folks, worse than PFAS or microplastics. It’s the stuff no one talks about that they’re trying to hide. PFAS and the plastics are bad, but not nearly as bad as triclosan.”
“I just looked this one up; you have a good point! Especially for antibacterial resistance, that will likely be an issue in the near future despite best medical efforts to avoid it.”
24. “Data cemeteries, I mean, centers.”
25. “GLP-1s or Ozempic.”
“It’s wild how angrily people are reacting to comments like this. If you think Ozempic or similar drugs are worth it for you, you do you! I do believe that we have not fully evaluated either the short- or long-term consequences of drugs like this when used on a large population.
To clarify, it’s obvious that they can be used safely and to great benefit by some people. But rare, terrible side effects become much more significant when many people are taking a drug.”
Related: “31 Nightmare Las Vegas Stories Where People Risked — And Lost — It All”
26. “‘Disposable’ lithium batteries. Those little shits are going to cause a mountain of issues in the future, from fires to drinking water issues to brain chemistry issues in both man and beast.”
27. “Glyphosate. Yeah, I know it’s pretty well known as a carcinogen in the direct exposure scenario, but I think its effect on gut flora and ubiquity in our food supply is a more profound national health emergency, and in coming decades we will wonder how we lacked the will to outlaw it.”
28. “Spray sunscreen. Tons of ‘white lung’ class action lawsuits in the medium-term future, I bet you.”
Oscar Wong / Getty Images
29. “High fructose corn syrup.”
30. “Surprised no one thinks religion is bad yet.”
“My social media feed is 80% full of creators who know the harmful effects of organized religion, many firsthand.”
31. “Quartz worktops. They’re already banned in some countries.”
“They are banned, not because they are necessarily toxic, but because their manufacture exposes the fabricators to potentially toxic dust. No need to rip out existing countertops…”
32. And lastly, “All the additives in American food, and we all know that it will kill you; only Americans don’t know that. That’s why we don’t import food from there. And if we import, they won’t sell much because we aren’t as dumb as they are.”
Alexander Spatari / Getty Images
Feeling uneasy yet? Many of the items on this list are extremely common, but that doesn’t mean you need to throw them all away or avoid exposure at all costs. Remember: These are only things people are suspicious of, and a little research and awareness will help you make the best decisions for your health.
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Do you have your own we-might-realize-this-thing-is-harmful-later submission to share? Drop it in the comments or the anonymous form below.
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