r/YouShouldKnow

Why YSK: It can lead to some real real real problems

Why YSK: I recently bought a house. That kind of transaction is subject to public record and has a good amount of information attached (my new address, full name, closing date, loan amount, and mortgage provider at least from what I've noticed), so it's a prime target for a snail mail scam.

I've gotten multiple "we've been trying to reach you about your car house's extended warranty" letters almost every day since I moved in. They all prominently feature my mortgage provider's name (with a bit of very fine print at the bottom saying that they aren't affiliated.) I'll admit that I didn't immediately clock them as scam letters when I first opened one because I wasn't used to scam attempts in physical letters (and the homebuying process meant I was getting a good amount of important mail that looked similar.) Luckily I noticed the fine print and connected the dots before calling.

This was my first time getting a lot of scam snail mail, but I'd imagine there are other situations where this happens (probably any sort of situation that puts your address in public records.)

The advice for dealing with this kind of letter is similar to the advice for digital scams: if you know it's a scam, throw it away (you knew that). If you think it may be legit, google the contact information before taking action. If you think it may still be from someone you trust but aren't sure, look up their number on your own instead of using the one on the letter.

Stay safe!

There’s a hidden button on the bottom of the aisle side armrests usually at the base, right by the joint where they raise up. Push this button in and you can raise the armrest. They’re locked in place otherwise.

Why YSK: it makes it much easier to move in and out of the aisle seat, especially if your tray table is down. Plus everyone else will look at you like your seat has super powers lol

Why YSK:

Airbags have been required in the US since the 1980s, with side airbags required by the 2000s. However many developing countries don't have these requirements or only recently implemented them.

Cars in developing countries may also have fewer airbags than the cars you're used to. For example, many basic cars may only have one or two airbags instead of the 6 that most modern cars have in the US. Even for the same model, automakers will include fewer safety features. This is in an effort to save cost and due to lower disposable income in developing countries.

Furthermore other features that are standard on cars sold in the US or Europe may not be found on a lot of cars elsewhere like ABS, ESC, a Backup camera, or collision avoidance technology.

In fact, in some countries, cars that were structurally designed in the 1990s are still being made and sold new, the Nissan Tsuru in Mexico for example.

Why YSK: it is handy for finding points of interest near your home you might not know about, while on vacation it can be your personal tour guide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Nearby

Why YSK: Many people think that swallowing their anger or walking away from an argument to "process" things is the mature thing to do. But often, this turns into a toxic conflict style where one partner silently collects evidence, builds a case, and returns to prosecute the other.

When you have an argument or someone does something hurtful, the healthiest thing is usually to say, right there: "That hurt me" or "I don't like it when you do that." You can argue, laugh, cry, or hug it out, but at least both people know what is happening in the moment.

Instead, a common and damaging dynamic happens when someone swallows the issue. They think about it. They build an entire argument around it. And then, days later, they come back with: "I need to ask you something."

Except it isn't really a question. It's a closing argument.

When this happens, the person on the receiving end is no longer defending something they just did; they are suddenly forced to defend who they are against a carefully constructed prosecution.

People fight in different ways. Some fight by exploding. Some fight by running away. And some go quiet, collect evidence, prepare their speech, and return when they're ready to put you on trial.

None of these extremes are useful. If you are the type to run away, you need to learn to stay. But if you are the type to wait and build a case, YSK that this approach often feels like an ambush to your partner.

The healthier option is much less dramatic: Tell your partner you're hurt while you are still in the room. Don't build a case against them. Give them the chance to understand and apologize before it turns into a courtroom trial.

Why YSK: Today is National Check the Chip day in the US. It is a good reminder to check your pet’s microchip registration and confirm your contact information is accurate.

I work at a shelter and one of the most frustrating parts of the job is seeing pets that should have gone home but didn’t.

Most people assume that if their pet is microchipped, they’re good. A microchip only helps if the chip is actually registered. A lot of pets that come in are chipped, but the chip isn’t registered anywhere, so we have no way to contact the owner.

These are clearly well cared for pets that end up sitting in the shelter taking up space and resources from other animals who need help, all because we can’t reach the owner.

If you know where your pet is registered, log in and check that your phone number, email, and address on file are accurate.

If you have no idea where your pet is registered, search their microchip number through the AAHA microchip lookup tool which will tell you which registry they are with. Check the details that are on file with the registry are accurate.

If they aren’t registered, please register them! It takes a few minutes.

Edit: grammar

Why YSK: In compliance with the EU's new AI regulations Anthropic has integrated a watermarking system. It is not just a pseudo-physical digital tell like the "metadata" that would be removed if you just replicated the response text in a different environment. (i.e re-typed a paragraph on a google doc)

This applies to essentially all responses from Claude AI models from now on, and worldwide not just in the EU.

For example, if you asked Claude to generate a """painting""" of it's ten favourite fruits the choices of fruits, the order of the fruits that appear on the image, the positions of the fruits on the """painting""", the colours of the fruits, the sizes of the fruits depicted etc.

All of these choices are influenced by the watermarking process.

So while yes, you could just screenshot the AI's response and essentially scrub the signed provenance metadata, you can't remove the actual watermarks.

Just to give you a super rough estimate, likelihood of 2 different entities having an identical list of fruits, order of fruits and depictions of said fruits is around ~1 in a hundred million to even several hundreds of billions.

While not the exact system implemented, you can read about a comparable system known as "SYNTH-ID" here:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08025-4#Abs1

You can read about how Claude specifically does it here:

https://support.claude.com/en/articles/16266773-how-claude-marks-ai-generated-content

Why YSK- it is painful and a little scary to put them right on top of your pupil! The best way to do it is to look to the side, place the contact on the large white area (your sclera), blink, and your contact will be magically centered and you’re good to go! I’ve seen a lot of people put it directly on the pupil and there’s no need.

Putting it directly on your pupil is a little scary because, you know, something is coming right at your eye, and it’s very sensitive and can be uncomfortable or downright painful!

Why YSK: A lot of people treat their credit score like a mystery number the bank assigns. It's actually a formula with five known inputs, and you can move it deliberately.

Payment history is 35%. One thing matters: never 30+ days late. Autopay the minimum on everything, even if you pay the rest manually. This single habit protects the biggest slice.

Utilization is 30%. It's your balances divided by your limits, and it has no memory. High utilization this month hurts this month, but drops off the moment you pay down. Two tricks: pay before the statement date (not the due date) so a lower balance gets reported, and ask for limit increases on cards you don't carry balances on.

The last three are length of history (15%), new credit (10%), and mix (10%). Mostly these reward doing nothing: keep old cards open, don't apply for five things in a month.

The part nobody told me: closing an old card can hurt you twice, shorter history and less total limit, so utilization jumps. Cut it up if you must, but let it stay open.

What's the credit myth you believed the longest? Mine was that carrying a small balance "builds credit." It doesn't. It just pays them interest.

Psychologists call this the “Spotlight Effect.”
When you make an embarrassing mistake, wear an unusual outfit, or say something awkward, it feels like everyone notices.
In reality, most people are too busy thinking about themselves to pay much attention.

WHY YSK: This can help reduce social anxiety and make it easier to try new things without worrying so much about being judged.

If you completely eliminated every single residential lawn in every city from Denver to Phoenix to Los Angeles, you would save less than 5% of the Colorado river's flow. Taking aim at summer alfalfa irrigation yields 4x to 5x the water savings of tearing out every lawn in the American West.

Why YSK: my neighborhood is turning into a wasteland of dead grass and trees, unnecessarily. We have plenty of water but it is wasted by an entitled few

Why YSK: doesn’t it seem strange that the word starts with two L’s? It’s because it is actually a Spanish word and it is pronounced Yah-Mah. Way cooler sounding in my opinion.