This is largely unedited, in respect to the original anecdotal nature of this time-tested thread. May it be of benefit!

1. “You should still attempt to dial 911 in an emergency even if you have no bars of signal. There are protocols that allow your phone to bounce signals off any tower available, including military/first responder ones and towers not on your network in the event that you attempt to call 911.”
2. Teach your kids that if they’re ever separated from you to find any closest adult (in emergencies).
   The likelihood of THE next person you would walk up to being a pedophile are slim to none. But the odds increase dramatically waiting for the first person to approach a child alone.
   I was taught that if I were separated from my mom to go up to a woman, especially one with kids, for help. Far less likely to be a pedophile.
   “Find another mother.”
   That’s the phrase I was taught.
   It’s also been suggested for really busy places with lots of people is to find people that are clearly part of a group, all wearing the same t-shirts or something like that. It increases the number of people willing to help and since they are familiar with each other, they can communicate more easily if they separate to find help.
3. don’t mix bleach with anything but water
4. Baking soda will extinguish a fire, even grease and electrical fires.
   You should always keep a box of it nearby when you’re cooking and grilling.
   Do NOT mix up with baking powder. Why not a fire extinguisher or a fire blanket ?
5. You lose heat 20 times faster when wet vs being dry. Shed wet clothes.
   There is a saying: “Cotton kills”… because cotton when it gets wet will retain wetness and cling to your body, speeding up hypothermia. If you’re doing anything where hypothermia is even a possibility (like camping or hiking in colder climate) having wool or synthetic clothing can save your life. (and watch out for the cotton blends!)
   It depends on the fabric. Wet wool can retain heat; wet cotton will suck the heat out of you like 5x faster than being naked. Don’t take a single yes/no answer here — it depends on your circumstances.
6. If you fall through the ice… the dark spot is the way out. Edit > the sun reflects off the ice surface. The spot you entered has no ice or reflection, so will be dark … opposite what we would naturally think
   Also, if you fall through the ice, make sure you grab the ice behind you to crawl back out, not in front of you. The ice behind you was obviously strong enough to hold you up until that point.
   My grandpa always tells me this, and his brother had unfortunately drowned this exact way when he was 6.
   My dumbass was thinking “so put your arms behind you to get out?” But I understand now. Of course if you fall and get turned around in the water it may be difficult.
   To add: I was told that when getting out, slide out like a seal and starfish your body to make a larger surface area, much like a snowshoe when walking in deep snow. Of course I live in the desert so what the hell do I know about ice and snow.
7. Carbon monoxide is odorless. Get a detector.
   And TEST THAT DETECTOR REGULARLY. My cousin had to evacuate his 4th floor apartment due to carbon monoxide when his daughter was only a week old – someone on the ground floor was using machinery without proper ventilation & the scary thing was that the 2nd & 3rd floors’ alarms were dead & didn’t go off. Thanks to his making sure his detector was working everyone was fine.
8. If you can’t find you kid in your house, don’t search common places they would be. Search the most deadly places; pools, freezes, washing machines and dryers. Seconds count and if they are hiding under the table for an extra minute, who cares.
9. The rocks from a river absorb water. When rapidly heated it causes the absorbed water to boil much quicker than steam can escape the rock. This buildup of steam causes the rock to explode, sending hot rock fragments everywhere.
   So don’t use rocks from a river to make a fire pit.
   That is cool and kind of scary
   The general rule of thumb is 150 feet from a body of water if you’re gathering rocks for a fire pit.
10. Signs of a stroke: FAST.
    Face drooping? Arm weakness? Speech slurred? Time to go to the hospital! (EDIT: it’s now BE FAST: Balance Eyes (sudden vision loss or trouble seeing) Face Arm Speech Time. Thanks multiple commenters!!)
    Speed of response makes the difference between “sometimes walks a little funny when tired” and “bedbound lump.” If you know old people, you need to know how to spot a stroke.
    Had a friend die suddenly from a stroke at 34. She was incredibly healthy. It happened actually right after a workout class. I then 3 months later had another friend (he was 38) have the exact same symptoms but the doctors thankfully caught it. He had brain surgery and recovered in a few weeks. This was a reality check for me that life is fragile and can end at any moment.
11. Do not I REPEAT DO NOT lay in the snow or walk home alone in the cold when you are far too drunk. I had a friend die from hypothermia and alcohol poisoning because she wanted to take a nap in the snow.
    The typical “I did not expect this” but wow it’s crazy how many people have experienced this and had some close calls. I am so thankful for all of your lovely comments. She would be very happy that I mentioned this❤️
    It’s also how you get run over.
    No one can see a person drunkenly lying down in a street/parking lot late at night.
12. If you get caught in a rip current, don’t fight it. It won’t pull you under. People die because they panic, fight it, and get tired and then drown.
    When you can, swim parallel to the shore out of the rip and then diagonally back to shore.
13. Check your breasts/testicles regularly for lumps
    What does it mean if your testicles and penis have a lot little soft ball-shaped lumps? Totally asking for a friend
    if they’re soft you might be okay, it’s usually the hard lumps you need to look out for. that being said, going to the doctor no matter what hardness the lump is is the best thing to do. good luck to your friend 🙂
    For the balls those soft lumps are sperm banks, usually on only one of the testicles
    Everyone who read this comment groped themselves for a quick checkup.
    And testicular cancer is a young man’s cancer. Parents should talk about checking for lumps with their sons (we did it as part of the ‘now that you’ve hit puberty, here’s what you need to do in the shower’ talk).
    Thanks for adding this. I thought you needed to start checking your testicles when you are older. Just found out you need to do them when you’re between 15 and 40.
14. Choking is silent. If they’re coughing, they’re not actually choking. If someone goes silent and starts pointing to their neck, start the Heimlich maneuver.
15. Drowning is also silent.
    ESPECIALLY if you have kiddos that like swimming:
    5 stages to drowning, you’re unconscious for 3 of them
    Google shallow water blackout and understand how it works (not like regular drowning). DO NOT ALLOW KIDS TO HAVE BREATH-HOLDING CONTESTS.
16. Don’t drink alcohol especially if you’re the responsible adult at a pool. Just don’t.
17. no babies in hot tubs, ever. For any reason.
18. A lifeguard’s biggest blind spot is right at their feet/base of chair. Do no advise kids to “swim near the lifeguard” and be on the other side of the facility. They’re easier to spot further away.
19. In pools/waterparks, shallow water is FAR MORE dangerous than deep water because of the risk of spinal injury. An adult can drown in 2″ of water. Seriously: do not run at a pool. Ever. Do not jump in headfirst w/o a diving board and lifeguard present. EVER!
    Source: former guard instructor and auditor for big waterparks.
20. If someone comes at you with a weapon and tells you to go with them, DO NOT. Never go to the second location.
    My mom told me from a really young age – if you get in the car you are never going home. Never ever get in the car. I taught my sons the same thing.
    I was selling pest control just out of college and knocked on a guy’s door, we had a long friendly conversation. I can’t remember if he purchased from me or not, but as I was walking away to go to the next neighborhood (my car was some distance away) he passed me with some others in his car, and he offered to give me a ride to my car.
    I said no I’m fine it’s just a half mile or so down that way, etc. He kept insisting, over and over. I finally relented because I’m a fucking dumbass and there were multiple people in this car and they were friendly enough and in the neighborhood and all of that, but I remember being intensely terrified that I wouldn’t ever see the light of day after today, but still got in the damn car anyway.
    Turns out he just wanted to reverse sell me on some pyramid scheme and talked to me about it the whole way to my car (about 1 minute or so was all), and dropped me off, no harm.
    But man, that was a lesson. Even when you REALLY don’t want to do something, peer pressure and social niceties and whatnot still can get you to do something that will end your life. I got lucky, and vowed from that point forward that if I do not know the person, I am allowed to be rude and tell them, under no uncertain circumstances, that I am unwilling to do the thing they want me to do, which may endanger my life.
    Don’t be like me. It may save your life. Don’t keep saying no in a nice way. Say no nicely once. Then say no very rudely once. And then refuse to engage after that.
    I have also found, since then, that mentally preparing yourself for situations by running through them in your head and confirming your reaction if it happens helps combat panic-freezing immensely. While it’s never exactly saved my life to do this, I have been able to think with a cool head under some stressful circumstances that other people were panicking about, simply because I had played the situation out in my brain/imagination ahead of time.
21. Never walk/ski/snowboard near trees when there is heavy snow- there is something called a “tree well” that sometimes forms under trees where if you fall in you will become impacted by snow, often upside down and suffocate to death
22. If your kid gets kidnapped, don’t teach them to say “help”. Teach them to say something like “who the fuck are you, you’re not my fucking dad, fuck you.” That’s gonna turn a lot more heads and get you actual help a lot quicker.
    Once someone tried to nab me and I think the reason I’m alive today is because I said “who are you and why do you want me to go with you?”
    Back when I was a toddler in the early 90s I didn’t want to leave a sporting event. My dad had to throw me over his shoulder and I proceeded to scream “help me, help me” all the way to the car. No one stopped him.
23. know the signs of sepsis.
    T – Temperature higher or lower.
    I – Infection – may have signs and symptoms of an infection.
    M – Mental decline – confused, sleepy, difficult to rouse.
    E – Extremely ill – severe pain or discomfort, shortness of breath.
    sepsis kills within HOURS, and kills 11 million people a year. that’s 1 in 5 deaths. and it’s the number one death in hospitals.
24. If someone breaks into your house at night, don’t switch on the lights. You know your house better than they do.
25. If you are on a sidewalk getting robbed/someone is fucking with you, go into the street.
    Cars will just drive by usually even if they see someone in trouble. If you’re in the street, you have a very small risk of being run over, and a much higher likelihood of the attacker simply not following you into the street or someone actually going to help you.
26. Don’t drive distracted please guys
    It’s literally a ton of metal and plastic that has killed millions. And I will never understand why people think their text is more important.
27. Those uncomfortable cancer tests when you get older, such as colonoscopies, aren’t some kind of conspiracy to humiliate you or drain insurance money. Cancer is real and it can get you, this message brought to you by my uncle who ignored lung cancer until it reached stage 4 and killed him within a week of discovery
28. If you live where the winter gets cold and you are traveling by car:
    Always bring extra clothes
    Have candles in the car
    Try to always know where you are
29. Always run from a street fight no honor in winning and deadly if you loose.
30. Basic rule of 3 you can survive
    3 minutes without breathing (asphyxiation, blood loss)
    3 hours without shelter in an extreme environment (exposure)
    3 days without water (dehydration)
    3 weeks without food (starvation)
31. CPR requires a flat surface!
    When Michael Jackson died, it was mentioned on the news that someone tries CPR with him on his bed. My mom said, “You’re just pushing the mattress up and down!”
32. Getting a second or even third opinion. You know yourself better than they do. If you don’t get answers please keep looking. Please don’t settle.
33. If you’re at the beach and the water recedes suddenly, run and get to the highest ground you can find. A Tsunami is on the wayAll helpful comments from this amazing life-saving thread.