There's a lot of behind the scenes info most of us don't know.
One strange reality of life is that there's a lot that happens behind the scenes of…well, everything…that people simply never know about. I'm not talking about deep state conspiracies here or anything, just normal run-of-the-mill industry secrets that only people who work in those industries knows.
Some of these "secrets" are actual secrets meant to be kept sacred, like how certain magic tricks work. Some are things we don't really want to know, like how the sausage gets made. And some are simply things that industry folks know but don't bother to inform the rest of us about, like the fact that the average movie theater employee really doesn't give a hoot if you sneak in candy as long as you're not obvious about it.
We're all curious, though, about what goes on in the back room, behind the counter, under the radar, etc. So when someone on Reddit asked "What industry 'secret' do you know that most people don’t?" people flocked to answer—and to see what people said.
To be clear, there's no way to officially verify these insider secrets, but it's still fun to see what people who work in various industries reveal.
Do you know who actually wrote that nonfiction book you loved?
"Most—probably 80 percent or more—of the books on the nonfiction bestseller list (autobiographies, memoirs, political/business books, etc.) are ghostwritten.
Source: am ghostwriter." – RSquared787
The ghostwriter added an encouraging caveat, though:
"Most (good) ghostwritten books are a true collaboration: somebody with an amazing story (or great idea/argument or whatever) who genuinely has the 'goods,' so to speak… but not the major league-level writing chops it takes to execute the best/most effective/most entertaining version of their story. So they bring in a specialist who knows the craft of storytelling and how to structure and execute something on the scale of a book, and—together, over the course of a year or so of deep collaboration—they bring the story to life. It’s the only way these voices would be heard in book form, in a lot of cases, and (IMHO, as someone who collaborates on these books), there’s no downside as long as the author genuinely invests time and effort."
The house always wins, but especially on slot machines
"I saw how slot machines for casinos were designed... don’t play slots." – Eliza_Lisa
"I had a buddy that was in the casino industry and claimed that 80% of their profits came from slot machines. This was the older mechanical types. The newer computerized ones can be programmed to do anything." – Mo_Jack
That security guard? Not all that helpful if the ish hits the fan.
"I'm an unarmed security guard.
Every now & then I'll get a comment from someone about how they're glad I'm around in case there's an active shooter or something.
Yea; if that happens? We're not doing anything aside from getting ourselves to safety and calling the cops.
We're literally told in training that if we try to intervene directly with an active shooter we'll be fired." – disinfo_bot_47·
"'Detect, Deter and Report' was the slogan at Securitas back in the day.
We were frequently told we were there for insurance purposes and were expected to NOT take action beyond calling the cops and getting ourselves to safety.
Great student job." – IBoris
Want to see a study that's behind a paywall? Just ask the researcher.
"I'm an academic researcher and I can speak for a huge number in my field when I say:
If you want access to our studies and they're behind a paywall, you can email us and we will send you the study.
We are genuinely delighted to share and if you want further context for the results or what have you, I'll always try my best to oblige.
The only limiters on that last bit is that:
- the original data for the study might have reached the end of our right to keep it, in which case it will have been destroyed.
- I might have forgotten details or I might have written that paper during a particularly hectic time and my file system might be total shit.
Also a lot of us are on ResearchGate and various social media things so you can contact us through there. If you can't contact us directly or we're being slow, one of the other authors on the paper might be contactable." – and_so_forth
Bestsellers might be bestsellers because people buy their own books
"The New York Times best seller list has a lot of people on it who buy massive numbers of their own books." – Ibringupeace
"Apparently, there is a symbol that indicates that while it did make best seller status, there was a bulk buy. A footnote, if you will, or similar to an asterisk." – spoda1975
"It’s a dagger! †" – Tarledsa
(It's true.)
Private messages aren't 100% private, in case you hadn't figured that out yet
"Worked in online community management and social media for years - Admins CAN read all of your PMs. Private only means private from the masses, not from administration, we had to be able to read them to check reports of abuse, grooming, illegal activity etc. I can't tell you how much cringeworthy shit I had to read through, especially from guys trying to hook up." – will_write_for_tacos
You may not have actually witnessed your baby's first steps
"If your baby goes to a nursery/daycare, chances are those weren't their 'first' steps/words etc that you witnessed. Industry standard is to not tell parents when these things happen as it makes them feel bad. I've seen kids up and walking about the room for weeks, even months before their parent proudly announced at drop off that they 'Took their first steps last night.'" – by_the_way_mate
Being extra nice can get you some sweet free upgrades
"If you’re nice to hotel staff they are more likely to give you free sh*t." – Archibald_Thrust
"A good friend of mine (Korean) visited las Vegas for her honeymoon. The husband was just a student at the time and she worked at a call center to pay their bills. When they were checking in at the hotel, the man at the front desk asked where they were from. She told them we are from Korea! And the man responded," oh I love Korean food!". They were a bit early to check in so they left their bags and went out to get some food at a local Korean restaurant. When they came back they bought some food for the front desk guy and when they handed the food over the guy was shocked and upgraded them to the penthouse. Little did my kind friends know, the guy was a manager and the penthouse was available. Friend sent me pics after they got in their room and wow... Las Vegas penthouse is probably a room I will never be able to afford in my lifetime... All for a little Korean food they got a memory they will never forget." – GroovinBaby
"Oh for sure. I worked in hospitality for years, and all my favorite guests got upgrades, free snacks, etc. And the awful guests got the exact opposite lol." – PalerEastMadeIt
Photo via iStock.
