TikTok is home to a host of various “life hack” videos that offer up advice on how to travel, cook, sleep, work, and generally live better. Though at first glance it doesn’t seem like a traditional “life hack,” there’s a new trend taking over the platform that gives viewers an insight into the tips and tricks you only know if you work in a specific environment. Typically captioned “5 things I would never do,” the videos show people disclosing things they know to avoid thanks to their jobs, and it’s been used by everyone from hotel workers to doctors.
The videos typically use the hashtags #thingsineverdo, which has over 12 million views, and #5thingsiwouldneverdo , which has over 10 million. Many of these videos have hundreds of thousands of views, with some reaching over 1 million. Here are nine pieces of advice from TikTokers who say they have insider knowledge.
A TikToker who said they are flight attendant has said they would never touch anything in the bathroom with their bare hands , including the flush button or opening the door, due to hygiene concerns. They went on to explain that if it was a push-and-slide door, they would kick it open or use tissue to touch the handle and lock. This followed on from their points about not going to the bathroom barefoot or leaning their head against the plane window due to potential transfer of germs.
According to LiveScience, research by microbiology professor Charles Gerba at the University of Arizona found that airplane bathrooms were often visited by 50 people between cleanings, with some being visited by up to 75 people. The outlet also reported that Gerba had previously told MyHealthNewsDaily that an airplane bathroom is “probably the germiest toilet you’ll come across. ” A TikTok user who said they worked in hotels said they wouldn’t use the glasses available in a hotel room without, at the very least, washing them first.
They said that they weren’t referring to styrofoam, plastic, or paper cups that hotels often provide but rather the actual glassware that has likely been used by many hotel guests before you. Fact-checking site Snopes reported that concerns about drinking glasses in hotels likely stem from an investigation using hidden cameras by reporter Dana Fowle that was broadcast on the Atlanta station WAGA-TV in 2007, showing that some hotels did not wash or sterilize glasses in between guests. There is no evidence that this is a widespread practice in hotels.
A person who said they are a jewelry designer explained that they would not encourage people to spend the equivalent of multiple months’ salary on an engagement ring, unless “you want to do this” and it’s “within your budget”. According to the BBC, the tradition of spending two to three months’ salary on a ring can be traced back to an advertising campaign by popular jewelers De Beers in the 1980s , which stated, “2 months’ salary showed the future Mrs. Smith what the future will be like.
” The TikToker said that spending so much on a ring is “unnecessary unless that is in your values. But, if that’s in the plan for you and if that’s not in your values, don’t do it. ” Actor Elaine Hendrix, known for playing Meredith Blake in the 1998 movie “The Parent Trap,” joined in on the trend by adding her own “things I would never do” as an actor.
Hendrix’s list was relatively short. In fact, it only had one thing on it: “Become an actress. ” Hendrix recently went viral with a TikTok video in which she argued that her character Meredith, who was broadly perceived as the villain of the movie, had been unfairly maligned.
A TikToker who said they are a bridal make-up artist and has spent more than 50 mornings at bridal suites, said the one thing they would never do is have a big group of people there . They said, “I would never have people in the room who don’t need to be there. The only people that will be there will be me and my bridal party, and maybe mum if she’s got her nerves under control.
” They suggested the bridal party should only be accompanied by a photographer, make-up artist, and hair stylist for the bride, adding that in their experience having “more people” is “more stress”. A TikToker who said they are a veterinarian has shared that they would never let their own dog lick their face because “dogs have a lot of bacteria in their mouths and they can even give us things like roundworm and tapeworm. ” The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has official guidance on roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms , stating that “worms that infect pets can infect people, too.
” It recommends washing hands with soap and water after playing with pets and before eating, as well as avoiding touching soil, sand, plants, and other objects that might be contaminated by animal feces. It does not mention dog licks. National Geographic previously reported that there are “around 400 kinds of oral bacteria in dogs and almost 200 in cats , but that licks are typically harmless when the recipient is a healthy adult with a strong immune system and no open wounds coming into contact with pet saliva.
A TikToker who goes by Dr Azmain Chowdhury and whose social-media bios say he’s a junior doctor working in the UK has over 16,000 followers on TikTok, where they often share medical advice. In a recent video , they explained they would never buy branded pain medication over the counter again because “it’s a rip-off”. Chowdhury said, “Non-branded paracetamol has the same bioavailability as more expensive brands like Panadol.
And the differently branded Nurofen products all contain ibuprofen as the active ingredient. ” According to the National Library of Medicine , bioavailability refers to the rate of drug absorption — how long it takes for the drug to get into your blood circulation after taking it orally. The BBC reported that in the UK there’s “no real benefit to paying more money for a branded product as the generics are legally required to be just as good.
” Chowdhury added that there are exceptions to the advice, such as when buying inhalers and epilepsy- or Parkinsons-related medication as differences in their brands mean “you can’t just swap them around. ” Another user, who said they are a teacher with a son due to start kindergarten soon, shared they would never “implicitly believe my kid’s version of events over their teacher’s. ” “One is a fully-formed adult with a pre-frontal lobe and the other is a child who is paying attention at best 30% of the time,” they said.
Several comments underneath the video said they didn’t agree with this and would believe their child first and foremost. In response to one such comment, the creator said, “The idea is not to walk into a meeting assuming what your kid said is the entire story. Gather information from all sides first.
” A TikToker who said they are a mortgage advisor warned against using “buy now, pay later” services, saying they are “just another form of credit. ” These services allow people to make purchases without immediately paying the balance upfront, instead spreading the payments out in installments or paying the full amount at a later date. Failure to make these payments often results in additional fees.
The TikToker said, “if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t buy it. ” Refinery29 reported that “buy now, pay later” services could potentially negatively affect a person’s eligibility for future loans, particularly if they default on a payment, but two people quoted in the article said they were refused a mortgage despite having paid on time. The piece noted that while “buy now, pay later” services did not automatically mean they would be rejected by a mortgage lender, it could count against an applicant as part of an affordability assessment.
Financial planner Hanna Horvath wrote about “buy now, pay later” for Insider earlier this year , saying that these services “make it too easy to spend more than you have. ” For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider’s Digital Culture team here. .
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/tik-tok-flight-hotel-5-things-never-do-profession-2022-8
