Everyone knows that parenting is simultaneously wonderful and stressful and changes your life forever. But unless you really press your parent friends, they might not tell you the juicy details of child-rearing.

Over on Quora, people with kids of all ages share the stuff they only learned after becoming parents. Some of it's good; some of it's ... less good. If you're expecting a kid, or thinking about having one in the not-too-distant future, read on to find out what no one else will remember to tell you — or have the guts to share.

SEE ALSO: A psychologist says 4 factors determine whether you're ready to have a kid — but most people focus on just one

'You'll develop a new sense of what you consider gross'

"You'll eventually notice baby barf on your pants and think, 'Eh, not bad enough to change to go to the store.'

"You'll go out in public and realize you have a little poop on your sleeve, shrug your shoulders, and continue your shopping.

"You'll show up in three-day old clothing to drop kids off at daycare and not even flinch."

— Janice Schwarz

'Your child could be exactly like your partner'

"After conceiving, carrying, and delivering our baby, when she finally arrived, I expected her to be ... well, like me!

"When I first laid eyes on her, my thought process went: Thank goodness we are all alive, I need sleep, and then, wow, she looks a lot like Jay.

"That first night she slept 'skin to fur' with Dad. They frequently snoozed together. Nobody told me how often I'd find her out of her crib and in his arms, nor how cute I'd find this."

— Mira Zaslove

'Nobody told me how much my emotional range would expand'

"In just the first year, I would have feelings I'd never even imagined myself capable of, good and bad ...

"Your little baby can make you feel lower than low, exhausted, upset, inept and angry, and the next minute you can feel like everything on earth was smiling on you; you hurt from laughing and your heart feels like it's literally going to explode."

— Valerie Fletcher

If you feel a twinge of jealousy each time you read about another successful person who wakes up at 4 a.m. to meditate, jog, read a novel, and eat two grapefruits, take heart.

You don't need to add that much time or energy to your current morning routine to be happy or productive.

In fact, plenty of the habits that can help you start your day take five minutes or less.

We found a bunch of those habits on the Quora threads, "What can I do in 5 minutes in the morning to make my whole day better?" and "How can I improve my morning routine?"

Below, check out some of the simplest routines to start your day feeling refreshed and ready to tackle whatever challenges come your way.

SEE ALSO: 7 things not to do when you first wake up

Take 3 deep breaths

That's a tip from Jusice Setlodi. Sleep doctor Michael Breus gave us the same advice— breathing deeply as soon as you wake up jumpstarts your respiratory system.

Make your bed

Raviteja Chirala says he loves coming home to a neatly made bed.

Meanwhile, journalist Charles Duhigg writes in his book "The Power of Habit" that making your bed can help increase your productivity for the rest of the day. That's because it's a "keystone habit" that can "spark chain reactions that help other good habits take hold."

Meditate

Science suggests meditation has myriad benefits, from helping you deal with stress and negative emotions, to boosting your memory, to strengthening your immune system.

But meditation doesn't necessarily mean sitting in silence for hours on end. As Ariel Banayanpoints out, "sitting for five minutes to detach from the thoughts of your mind will have a profound impact on your day."

If you're unsure how to get started, the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center offers some free guided meditations, some of them five minutes or shorter.

This post from Tim Berry, an angel investor, member of Willamette Angels, and founder and president of Palo Alto Software, originally appeared on Quora as an answer to the question, "What is the best way to build strong business relationships so that you can leverage those relationships when you network for jobs or opportunities?"

You asked for my answer, so I'm going to give you my opinion straight out.

Forget networking. "Networking" as a business activity is a hoax.

Business relationships that you build as business assets are meaningless. As soon as you use this vocabulary, it's self serving, superficial, and ineffective. The people being used as assets know it and are not fooled by it. So "networking" doesn't work.

Instead, just be a decent person.

Meet people because you want to. Listen to them when they talk. Do them a favor when you can and it's not weird or out of balance. Be a friend.

Friendship can't be done as a business task and relationships intended as assets mean nothing. Do favors for friends because they're friends, not as a deposit in some business asset bank. And — hooray for human nature — you'll enjoy that more, and when you need a push or some help, people you've done favors for will be happy to reciprocate. That's human nature.

The business types who started talking about "networking" 40 or 50 years ago did the world a disservice.

They didn't realize that all that was really happening was friendship, or nothing. They looked at friendship from the outside in, with business on their mind but apparently not humanity. So they parsed friendship into a business buzzword, misunderstood it, and named it networking. Then they decreed that it's a business task.

People aren't assets. Relationships aren't assets.

Nobody with any sense of self is going to Gollum themselves up to somebody in their so-called network to ask for favors, out of the blue, without having been a friend first. If you even try, it's obvious, and it's off-putting, so it doesn't work. Google glad-handing.

SEE ALSO: Why networking is a waste of time

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Want to pick up some good habits?

The best approach is to start small.

In the Quora thread "What are some good 'mini habits' to practice each day?" readers shared the simple habits you should follow every day to become a happier, healthier, or more productive person.

The best part is, each one takes only a few minutes to complete.

Here are some of our favorites:

SEE ALSO: 18 things successful 20-somethings do in their spare time

DON'T MISS: 15 skills that are hard to learn but will pay off forever

1. Brush your teeth and floss

Quora user Pankesh Bamotra says brushing and flossing your teeth not only prevents gingivitis and tooth decay, but it can also save your life.

The American Dental Association recommends you brush twice a day for two minutes and floss once a day. If you don't, you could be putting yourself at greater risk for developing dementia, diabetes, kidney disease, and cancer, among other things.

2. Smile at yourself in the mirror

Just after you brush your teeth, look at yourself in the mirror and smile, holding the smile for 10 seconds, suggests Quora user Nistha Tripathi.

Dr. Robert Zajonc, a renowned psychologist, believed facial action leads to changes in mood, and in a 1989 study he found that participants who watched themselves smile in a mirror experienced a greater boost in mood than those who simply smiled.

3. Write down the day's most important task

Also known as "eating the frog," decide on the one task you must perform that day to be successful and do it first thing when you get to work, writes Quora user Patrick Mathieson.

The prospect of making small talk alternately causes people to roll their eyes and/or shudder.

But opting out of superficial chat isn't really an option if you're ever planning on going to a conference, or a cocktail party, or really any place where there are other human beings you don't know that well.

To help you out, we checked out Quora, Reddit, and other resources, and highlighted some of the best tips for upping your small-talk game.

You can even make a habit of practicing with strangers you'll probably never see again, since research suggests that making conversation with fellow commuters leaves people happier.

Read on to make small talk less a burden and more an experience that's actually (gasp!) enjoyable.

SEE ALSO: 12 ways to avoid awkward small talk and have real conversations

Demonstrate interest in your conversation partner

Several Quora users said the best way to keep a conversation rolling is to show you care about what the other person has to say.

"If you don't fundamentally care about the person you are speaking with, that will show, and that may be the primary reason why you are running out of things to discuss,"Kai Peter Chang writes.

That also means letting your conversation partner share information about himself or herself.

"Let the other person speak more,"Anam Gulraiz writes. "People LOVE talking about themselves."

Ask open-ended questions

Instead of asking yes/no questions that lead to dead ends, encourage your conversation partner to share some more detail about his or her life.

"In general, open-ended questions lead to more conversational paths,"Craig Weiland says.

For example, instead of asking a fellow party guest, "Are you here with your family?" you might ask, "How did you meet the host?"

Allow your conversation partner to teach you

"If there's a subject you're not familiar with, just be honest with that person and nine out of 10 times they'll teach you about it,"Michael Wong writes.

It goes back to that central idea of letting other people do most of the talking. Asking other people to explain what they mean might prompt them to talk for at least another few minutes.

The INSIDER Summary:

• Other cultures are often baffled by the foods that Americans eat.
• We gathered some of these foods from a Quora thread that asked, what types of food do Americans eat that people from other parts of the world find disgusting?
• Answers included biscuits and gravy, processed cheese, Jell-O, peanut butter, corn dogs, root beer, jerky, Pop Tarts, corn on the cob, Hershey's chocolate, mustard, and grits.

Other countries are often fascinated by American food — and sometimes not in a good way.

We took a look at a Quora thread that asked, what types of food do Americans eat that people from other parts of the world find disgusting?

Peanut butter, biscuits and gravy, and Jell-O are some of the foods other countries are most baffled by.

Keep scrolling to see more.

Processed cheese

"That peculiar, bright yellow and wholly unnatural looking thing called 'processed cheese.' It's clearly not the work of anything natural."- Steve Jones

Biscuits and gravy

"Don't get me wrong, I love America... But who the h--- decided to one day drown poor and unsuspecting biscuits in half a pint of creamy, sausage gravy? How did these two seemingly uncorrelated food items converge to form this hybrid monstrosity?"- Karla Poleski

Root Beer and Dr. Pepper

"It tastes like Listerine. Why would someone drink mouth wash?" - Kristine Darz

"I love soft drinks, but I've had cough syrups that tasted better than those things."- Juliano Oselame

Jerky

"You walk into any gas station or convenience store anywhere in the US and you should be able to find it in packaged form. Tastes like plastic and you may feel you are chewing a worn shoe sole." - Ashutosh Mehndiratta

Hershey chocolate

In other places, specifically the UK, American chocolate like this is seen as disgusting, especially compared to a similar product they produce — Cadbury. "Hershey's chocolate has been described by them as bitter, tasting like wax, having a bad after taste." - Chelsea Bak

Wonder Bread

"Highly processed bread that has the consistency of Styrofoam. I've been around a lot of international students, and a lot of Europeans, in particular, find American bread very unappetizing."- Deepthi Amarasuriya

Corn dogs

"For some reason I thought they would be sweet. When I hit the sausage I nearly vomited."- Deirdre Beecher 

Mustard

"Mustard that is bright yellow and tastes like vinegar, and not like mustard. You can only get this in North America. Anywhere else mustard looks, tastes, and smells entirely different." - Mads Brink

Jell-O

"In France in particular, gelatin is seen as a packing material for meats, or as an ingredient for savory aspics. The idea of adding fruit flavors and sweeteners to this is unthinkable to many people."- Andy Kerr

Peanut butter

"The color is off; it doesn't taste like peanuts because the sugar content is way too high."- Mads Brink

Grits

"I grew up in a poor family and had to make do with porridge but that in no way prepared me for the tasteless goo that is Grits."- Tony Bartlett

Corn on the cob

"Most of my relatives live in Germany, and when they come to visit during the summer we occasionally have a lakefront picnic. Standard American picnic fare includes corn — usually "on the cob." My German relatives find this revolting, and consider it pig food."- Oliver Hoffmann

Pop Tarts

"The texture of Pop Tarts is weird. It literally tastes like cement at times. Every bite gets more and more weird. I have heard expats from Germany, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria, and India saying how strange it was. Now, there are some people who take this to the next level, they heat their pop tarts. It stinks up the microwave and I have tried eating a heated up Pop Tart once, it literally tasted like plastic."- David Fantuzzo

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The INSIDER Summary:

• American tourists are notorious for standing out like sore thumbs when visiting Europe.
• A Quora thread found which mistakes American tourists make the most when visiting Paris, France.
• They say that Americans are often too loud, and that they don't even attempt to speak any French at all.
• They also suggest saving money by avoiding taxis.

Between the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe, there's plenty driving American tourists to Paris, France. 

But they often stand out like sore thumbs once there.

A recent Quora thread asked locals what mistakes American tourists make while visiting Paris, and some of the answers may surprise you.

Keep scrolling to find out how to blend in better on your next trip.

You're trying to see all the sights in one day 

One mistake is "trying to squeeze too many landmarks into a short space of time, to the exclusion of two of Paris' chief joys: exploring, and just sitting and watching the world go by," Quora user Diana Arneson said. "People tend to underestimate how much time it takes to get from one attraction to another, and to overestimate how important it is to get a selfie by those famous landmarks," she added.

You're spending too much time in touristy spots, like the Champs-Elysées

Another user advised steering clear of overly crowded tourist destinations. "Do not spend too much time in Champs-Elysées. Even if the view is iconic, it is really not a good place to feel the Parisian way of life, and you will meet more other tourists than actual locals," Martin Blanchard said. 

You're not even attempting to speak a little French

Another popular mistake is not attempting to use French at all. "Just learn the basics — a little effort goes a long way," Quora user Katherine Marie said.

User W Kasmer advised, "Use French when entering and leaving shops (greeting when entering, and goodbye and possibly thank you when leaving)."

You're wasting your money on taxis

User Iain Compton pointed out the benefits of discovering Paris on foot. "Paris is a relatively small city (geographically speaking), so walking is often an option — many times it is the best option."

You're dressing too sloppily 

"Parisians do dress casual, but usually smart casual, so looking sloppy might get you refused entry to some more expensive restaurants," W Kasmer, said.  

You're being loud

Another common mistake is "talking too loudly in public places. It’s part of [American] culture and we’re not generally aware of it, but it does tend to make us stick out like sore thumbs in restaurants, shops and train cars," Diana Arneson said. 

"What would be a conversational volume and tone in the US would sound very loud in France, so please pay attention to not be louder than the people around you in public spaces, restaurants, etc...,"Martin Blanchard added.

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The INSIDER Summary:

• The US is vast, and features many local delicacies that vary by region.
• A recent Quora thread reveals which local foods are must-eats.
• Soft shell crab from Maryland is a must.
• When in Florida, try a Cuban sandwich.

 
The United States is not only a melting pot of cultures, it's also a melting pot of flavors.

Different regions are famous for different specialties, such as New York pizza, Philly cheese steaks, and Southern barbecue. But which ones are best?

A recent Quora thread asked "What are the top US regional foods to taste before you die?"— here are the 18 best answers.

Soft shell crab in Maryland

In part due to its proximity to the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland is known for all things crab. From crab cakes to fried crabs, locals won't let you leave without trying at least one dish.

Quora user Stephanie Vardavas raved about the fried soft shell crab sandwich as one of the best crab dishes around, even if eating a whole crab can be a bit intimidating.

"It does take a little getting used to, because the idea of an entire deep-fried small animal on a bun is weird. But it's totally worth it," she said.

Pokē in Hawaii

Pokē, a traditionally Hawaiian dish, has been popping up in restaurants all over the US recently, and user Garrick Saito helped explain the food phenomenon. 

"[Pokē] is conceptually very similar to the sashimi you might have at a sushi bar (they both have the raw fish and soy sauce in common), but pokē also contains other goodies such as green onions, chili pepper flakes, sesame oil, Hawaiian seaweed (called ogo), and sometimes a little garlic," he said.

Cuban sandwiches in Florida

"A uniquely satisfying pressed sandwich that is believed to have originated in the Cuban emigré populations in Florida," Stephanie Vardavas said. 

The INSIDER Summary:

• A Quora thread asked locals about reasons why people shouldn't visit their countries.
• Norwegians say that the people there are not very friendly.
• In Australia, everything from the animals to the sun is trying to kill you.

---

Generally, people like to brag about how their hometowns and countries are the best.

However, a recent Quora thread urged people for some real talk, asking "Why should I not visit your country?"

Here are some reasons that might make you want to think twice about your next vacation.

Norwegians say that they aren't very friendly

Norwegians are aloof

According to Petter Brenna Rian,"Don’t visit if you expect to befriend lots of Norwegians. They tend to be quite aloof and cold. We have a saying in Norway: 'If a stranger smiles at you on the street, he or she is either a crazy person or American.' Norwegians only talk to people they know (unless they’re drunk)."

Norway is pricey

Rian also says that in Norway, "Everything is expensive." He cites the "Big Mac Index," according to which a Big Mac in Norway costs $5.67, making it the second most expensive Big Mac in the world. According to him, "Unless you’re the 1%, Norway will annihilate your wallet."

The weather sucks

"If you like sunny and warm weather, Norway is not for you," Rian says. "During winter it’s cold, snowy, and dark. And, there have been summers with continuous rain. Bergen is known for massive amounts of rain. In 2015, it rained on 279 out of 365 days!"

The animals and environment in Australia is trying to kill you

The US is really expensive for foreign travelers

Adam D'Angelo, Facebook's former chief technology officer (CTO) and the founder of Q&A site Quora, is skeptical about Europe's chances of creating a consumer internet company on the same scale as Google, Amazon, or Facebook.

Interviewed at the Tech Open Air conference in Berlin last Wednesday, D'Angelo, who joined Facebook when it had around 20 staff, said he'd be "very surprised" if a consumer internet company "succeeded" in Europe.

Europe is yet to create one of the tech megacorporations that have spawned out of the US and Asia over the last few decades. The continent's most valuable company is a German-based enterprise software business called SAP, which has a market cap of $111.7 billion (£85.5 billion). But it's tiny compared to tech giants on other continents.

However, things are starting to change, as the cofounders of successful European tech companies like Skype, Bebo, and Autonomy start to invest the hundreds of millions they made from exiting their companies to the US giants into new European startups.

"I'd be very surprised if consumer internet companies succeeded in Europe but it could be that there's some other ... maybe like cryptocurrency companies or pure AI research companies," D'Angelo told Business Insider in Berlin, while touting the fact that Quora is now available in five languages, with German being the most recent addition. "If things are different enough, then huge companies could be created here."

Asked why Silicon Valley has the edge over Europe and the world when it comes to consumer internet businesses, D'Angelo said: "It's just everyone is there. It's very hard to break out of that."

He added: "If you're applying machine learning to consumer internet, there's no way that that is going to work in London. No one is there."

One of Europe's best-known consumer internet companies is music streaming service SoundCloud, which laid off 40% of its staff earlier this month as it looks to raise additional funding.

Europe stands to benefit from soaring living costs in Silicon Valley and the fact that immigration is getting harder in the US under President Donald Trump, D'Angelo said. 

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The INSIDER Summary:

• We combed through a Quora thread to unearth secrets that airline pilots don't want you to know.
• Apparently, oxygen masks are only meant to last 15 minutes.
• Pilots don't eat the same food as passengers, and wouldn't drink the tap water.
• They often forget to turn the "fasten seatbelt" sign off.

While flight attendants and airport workers have plenty of secrets to share about the ins and outs of air travel (or rather, the ups and downs) pilots are the ones who make it all possible.

We combed through a Quora thread to unearth secrets that airline pilots don't want you to know. Here are the nine most surprising things we learned.

Flight durations are inflated so that they're "on time" even if they're late.

If a flight is only supposed to take an hour, it will be scheduled as an hour and 15 minutes so that it will still be officially "on time" even if it runs late.

Pilots don't eat the same food as passengers.

"Flight attendants give us special meals, so that if the airline food shipment was contaminated, we won't get sick," wrote Quora user Hari Sanil.

Tap water on planes can be filthy.

An EPA study found that one in every eight planes fails the agency’s standards for water safety. According to one Quora user, this is because the ports to empty the toilets and refill drinking water are near each other and can cross-contaminate when serviced at the same time.

This is why flight attendants would never drink coffee or tea on a plane.

Tourists get a bad rap.

And while being a tourist can be great, it's really all about respecting the culture you're exploring.

Unfortunately, not every tourist does that.

A Quora thread asked, "What are the most annoying things that foreigners do in your country?" and many, many people aired their grievances.

Here are the things that tourists repeatedly do in 14 countries that gets locals' blood to boil.

DENMARK: Getting in the way.

INDIA: Going on yoga retreats.

ITALY: Not following the rules.

From San Francisco down to San Diego, California has no shortage of tourist destinations.

And while you can't avoid all the crowds, there are some alternatives to well-known tourist traps that will change your trip for the better.

Quora users help us identify some of he worst tourist traps in the state, and gave us some tips on what to see instead.

Keep scrolling to see where to go — and where to avoid.

Instead of visiting the crowded Hollywood Walk of Fame, experience the Hollywood Sign up close by hiking the Hollywood Reservoir.

"You would rarely find movie stars in Hollywood itself,"Quora user David Mullich said.

If you're on the lookout to spot celebrities, Mullich suggests visiting Beverly Hills, the Pacific Palisades, or Malibu instead. If you still want to get the Hollywood experience minus the crowds, try hiking the Hollywood Reservoir path for a stellar view of the famous sign.

Instead of taking a typical hike in the Muir Woods, explore the equally beautiful Lost Coast and Shelter Cove.

The Muir Woods National Monument is known to be the place to see Northern California's famous redwood trees. However, Reddit user democritusparadise suggested checking out Lost Coast and Shelter Cove for a more unique experience that's arguably better than the famous site. 

"If you want to see redwood forests, go to the Lost Coast and Shelter Cove and you see sights that make the Muir Woods look like a shrubbery without a path going down the middle," they said. 

Instead of visiting SeaWorld in San Diego, see whales in their natural habitat on a whale watching boat trip.

Instead of burning money to see whales in captivity, go whale watching to see them in their natural habitat.

Whale watching can be done all up and down the California coastline, so enjoy a day on a boat, whether you're up north in Monterey or down south in Orange County.

"I'd suggest a whale watching trip in either Dana Point or San Diego,"Reddit user Allalison said. 

The INSIDER Summary:

• You may think they're just there to take your order and hope for a good tip, but servers know a lot about the restaurant industry.
• Chefs, restaurant owners, former servers, and managers weighed in on a recent Quora thread asking about secrets that waiters will never tell you.
• From "today's specials" being a dish that might be about to expire, to lemon slices being filthy, these are some server secrets you should know.

When you go to a restaurant, there's plenty going on behind the scenes that the average customer won't see.

Thanks to former waiters and waitresses, restaurant owners, and hospitality experts, a recent Quora thread shed some light on secrets of the restaurant service industry. 

Servers spitting in food is (mostly) a myth

"It is extremely rare that someone will ever mess with your food," Quora user Nikki Elliot, who worked as a waitress for 10 years, said. "If you are polite about your complaint, we will do our utmost to rectify the mistake, cook you a fresh dinner as fast as possible, and take it off the bill. Even if you are a total a**hat about your complaint, we still won't spit in or mess with your food. Your service may rapidly go downhill, but your food will always be clean." 

We say "mostly" a myth, because even though Elliot and her team may be morally upstanding individuals, they obviously can't speak for every server. 

"Today's special" is probably a dish that's about to expire

"The 'specials' are often items that are close to expiring due to over-purchasing or poor sales performance," Quora user Ryan Swallow, a multi-unit director of restaurants, said. 

But on the other hand...

However, specials are often the chef's favorite dishes 

"Any time a server verbally announces a special, you should pay attention," Quora user and longtime restaurant worker Ujala Gill said. "I know a lot of people come in and know exactly what they want, but always listen up when the specials are being read, because that means they are 100% seasonal and it is something that the chef prepared himself."

Lemons are usually filthy

"Lemons rarely get washed properly before they are cut," Quora user and longtime server Kathy Kalayci said. "In most places they are lucky to get a quick rinse! I always, no matter where I am, request no garnishes at the bar and when I order from a menu."

You're overpaying, especially for wine 

"The house pour Cab Sav has a wholesale cost of $3/bottle, and you're going to pay $8/glass," user and restaurant consultant David Williamson said. 

In urban areas though, that $8 per glass average creeps up to $12 to $14, making the wholesale difference even more painful. 

Servers will probably recommend you dishes based on price, not preference

"Servers are more likely to sell you more expensive items than best-tasting items, unless you dig for their personal favorites," Ryan Swallow said. "Ultimately they want you to have a great experience and make money."

The fish might not be fresh

Your "catch of the day" might not exactly be that day's catch, David Williamson said.

Requests to alter a dish are more of a pain than you might think

"These tiny modifications you would like, such as butterflying your steak, cooking a steak well well done, getting no bell peppers, etc., are often bigger and more time consuming than you think," Quora user and longtime restaurant worker Emily Carver said. "The restaurant preps as much as they can ahead of time and some things come pre-made, so there is no way of taking the jalapenos out of the queso... If you order things like that, be prepared for it to take just a little longer."

Not all servers know what they're talking about

"If you want to know how well your server knows the menu, or whether to trust their opinion on the dishes, ask them about any particular dish," Ujala Gill said. "If all they can say is a few ingredients of the dish, you know not to trust them."

A restaurant running out of ingredients can be a good thing

"Running out of things in the kitchen is common because the restaurant bases what they order on last year’s sales, not the previous weeks'," Emily Carver said. 

Plus, that way you know the restaurant is making dishes with fresh ingredients.

Treat your server nicely and you may get free stuff

"If you are nice to us, we will go out of our way to do nice things for you," Ujala Gill said. This includes drinks, appetizers or desserts on the house.

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The INSIDER Summary:

• A recent Quora thread revealed travelers' best tips and tricks when it comes to packing light and saving time. 
• Using small containers, like contact lens cases, for storing cosmetics is a great way to save space in your suitcase.
• Packing an extra bag will come in handy if you're bringing back souvenirs.

From packing an extra tote bag in your suitcase for bringing back souvenirs to sticking to just a carry on bag whenever possible, there are plenty of ways to make traveling a little less of a hassle.

In a recent Quora thread, travelers shared their best advice when it comes to dealing with luggage. Keep reading for their top hacks. 

Wear your heaviest clothing instead of packing it

"You can basically take what you want IF you can wear it. They cannot stop you [from] wearing 5 pairs of pants and 5 jackets if you wish," Quora user Nadia said about saving precious suitcase space.

Pack and extra bag for gifts and souvenirs

"Find a great bag that you can pack inside another bag so you can have more capacity on the way home," Jane Melvin said. 

Make sure your luggage is traceable

Lost luggage can seriously interrupt your travel plans, although there are ways to make the process go a little more smoothly in the event that your luggage does get lost.

"Place a paper inside your luggage (whether checked or carry-on) with your name, contact info, and your flight information. This will help reunite your luggage with you in the event the tags get ripped off the outside," Jonathan Johnson said.

Use contact lense cases to save space on liquids

Successfully packing light is all about saving room in unexpected places.

"For liquid toiletries of which you require really small amounts, use contact lens cases. I found I could go for several days on the amounts of makeup primer and foundation that would fit into a contact case, and it saved huge amounts of space in my clear, quart-sized bag," Penny Visalli said. 

Pack less than you think you need

Depending on where you're going, you can actually leave a lot of necessities at home if you're trying to save space.

"When in doubt, leave it at home. Try to limit your travel clothes to garments you’ll use regularly on your trip. Scale back on the quantity of toiletries (you’ll be able to buy more on your trip if needed), and diligently resist bringing lots of electronic gadgets," Sudipta Das said. 

Stick to carry-on luggage

"Never check a bag if you don’t have to," Jane Melvin said.

Checking a suitcase at the airport may seem like an obvious travel choice, but lost or stolen luggage can definitely hinder your travel plans. Using a carry-on bag is much more reliable, and you'd be surprised at how much you can fit into them.

Don't put your entire home address on your luggage tags

"Don’t put a residential address on luggage tags. It says 'This house is empty, please burgle — and take your time.' Don’t put a friend’s house because the burglars don’t know it’s a friend’s house and will still burgle it. Ideally, put a work address and mobile number on it,"Richard Clive Rowlands said.

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The INSIDER Summary:

• A recent Quora thread asked restaurant servers to share the things customers do that get under their skin.
• Don't steal the pens or stack the plates haphazardly.
• Use your phone only when waiting in line for a table and not when you're seated.

Anyone who's spent time working in the service industry can tell you that it's not always easy to juggle customers' demands with the fast pace of a restaurant floor. Some people thrive on the frantic energy of the business and love working in hospitality. Others just do it to pay the bills.

A recent Quora thread asked restaurant servers to share the things customers do that get under their skin. Here are 10 of the worst offenses.

Making them run back and forth

Try to ask for everything you need at once to save your server the trouble of making several trips.

"The single most irritating thing that happened regularly while waiting tables has to be the table that asks for extra items, each after the delivery of the last so that I have to run back and forth several times," wrote Quora user Kane Mantyla.

Treating them like a servant, not a server

Servers are people, too. They're there to make sure you have everything you need for a positive dining experience, but they're not there for you to boss around or talk down to.

"Just because somebody's serving food to you doesn't mean they're below you. Their job is just different than yours," wrote Quora user Cheryl Lemanski.

Snapping your fingers to get their attention

Just don't.

The INSIDER Summary:

• Quora users posted their worst restaurant experiences in a recent thread on the site.
• One diner suffered minor burns from a Hibachi grill.
• Another user posted about finding a praying mantis in her sandwich.

A recent Quora thread gave users the chance to reveal their worst restaurant experiences. From finding foreign objects — or even insects — in their food, to suffering injuries, diners shared moments that made them never want to dine out again.

Keep reading for more of the worst restaurant experiences.

They found glass in their food.

Finding hair in your food is gross, but not entirely uncommon. Glass, on the other hand, is particularly upsetting — as well as dangerous.

"Quite a few years ago, I was visiting Paris and stopped for a bite to eat on the Champs Elysées. I wasn’t expecting a Michelin star experience, but I also wasn’t expecting the big piece of glass hidden in my salad. When I say big, I’m not exaggerating," Quora user Jason Gaskell said.

They got burned by a Hibachi grill.

"I had taken my mom out for her birthday to a Teppanyaki restaurant. Everything was great until we got to the point where the chef flambés the shrimp. After he put it out, there was a little patch of oil still burning.  The chef slid his spatula over the oil to smother the fire.  Unfortunately, the motion kicked up the burning oil and splashed it in her face. It didn't require hospitalization or leave any permanent marks, but it was quite painful. To make it up to her, the manager offered her a discount on dessert," Andrew Stein said.

They had a surprise allergic reaction.

Quora user Charita Johnson said she ordered barbecue shrimp at a restaurant with her husband on Valentine's Day, and suddenly broke out in hives.

"Despite my dark skin he could see that I was very red and broken out in hives all over. I was wearing a v-neck dress, so people could see the thick, red blotching on my neck, chest, and also some of my back... I was pretty mortified," she said.

The experience wasn't all bad, however. "The restaurant felt a little bad for my experience and gave us $10 extra off our bill," Johnson said.

 They were served tainted scallops.

"I ordered scallop risotto and it arrived in a reasonable time. One bite and I knew the scallops were bad. They had the ammonia taste that everyone recognizes. I quietly told the server who was horrified and fell all over himself apologizing. Even he recognized that ammonia meant bad. He took it away and I ordered something else. A few minutes later the manager came over," Bobbi Spofford said.

If that wasn't bad enough, the restaurant's response to Spofford's complaint made matters even worse.

"I expected another apology, but no, she argued with me over whether they were actually bad. She informed me that I just didn't know what scallops tasted like, they had a strong taste that I just didn't like. I told her that I'd been eating scallops for over 50 years and she was risking the health of anyone who ordered them and she just walked away," she said.

They were ignored in favor of a food critic.

"Once, at a posh restaurant in Chicago, my girlfriend and I had the bad luck of being seated next to a table that included a television food critic. For the next two or three hours the wait staff made it clear how little they cared about our experience. They were busy impressing the VIP at the next table. Since then I've always thought that critics should not write about their experience of the service, they should ask the people at adjacent tables. Their experience is the real one," Mark Diller said.

They found an insect in their sandwich.

"My sandwich was cut in half and had a giant green praying mantis also cut in half. It was still alive and crawled across the plate dragging its guts behind it. Management offered me to replace the sandwich. Um… no thanks," Elena Ledoux said.

Ledoux went on to say that it wasn't just the insect that bothered her, it was the way she found it.

"Honestly, I wouldn’t even be that upset if it was completely alive. Or completely dead. It’s the in-between part that was bothersome," she said.

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The INSIDER Summary:

• Food delivery workers shared their weirdest stories on a Quora thread.
• Some deliveries involved scuffles with wildlife or vicious pets, while others braved drunk customers.
• One pizza delivery person stumbled into a crime scene.

Food delivery workers have seen some strange things and met some even stranger people on the job.

A recent Quora thread asked delivery workers to divulge the weirdest things they had ever experienced while bringing food to hungry customers.

Here are eight of their most memorable encounters, ranging from unusual to just plain terrifying.

"A drunk guy offering me his wife if I wanted her."

"A drunk guy offering me his wife if I wanted her (I was 20 at the time and more than a little freaked out by the offer)" — Scott Cairns

"I drove into a crime scene."

"I drove into a crime scene. A murder occurred and the police surrounded my vehicle forced me out, cuffed me, asked me what I was doing. I told them I was delivering a pizza. They told me I had to leave the area. Scary."— Carmelo Pappalardo

"She was looking through binoculars into someone else’s house."

"On a delivery, I once saw a woman parked on the side of the road in her car. She was looking through binoculars into someone else’s house. (Husband cheating?)" — Scott Cairns

They say youth is wasted on the young.

It doesn't have to be. If you take a look at Quora and Reddit, hundreds of people older and wiser than you have shared their best tips for living life to the fullest before you hit middle age. All you have to do is heed their advice.

We checked out some of those Quora and Redditthreads and highlighted some of our favorite insights about maximizing your youth. Read on to see what life changes you can make, starting today.

SEE ALSO: 13 things you'll probably regret doing in your 20s

'Learn to accept and love yourself first.'

So says Quora user Ruchi Rashinkar.

In other words, show some self-compassion. Scientists say it can make you more successful because you're learning from your missteps, instead of just berating yourself for them.

One self-compassion exercise involves treating yourself as you would treat a friend or a colleague who has failed. You might say to yourself: "This is really hard right now," or, "I'm sorry you are struggling."

'Learn to say no with confidence.'

That's another tip from Rashinkar.

It's best to learn this skill now, while it's still relatively early in your career. That way, you can prioritize the people and experiences that are truly meaningful to you.

If you're looking for tips on turning down an invitation— without seeming antisocial — etiquette and civility expert Rosalinda Oropeza Randall recommends keeping it simple: "It sounds great, but I think I'll pass this time."

You can even push back on your boss when they give you an assignment you feel like you can't take on. For example, if you're already overloaded with other projects, national workplace expert Lynn Taylor suggests responding:

"I would be happy to do that project, but what that could mean is that [whatever other project you're working on] will have to be put off until tomorrow, because I was actually going to spend the next three hours finishing that proposal. Would you like me to put that off?" 

'Take risks.'

Quora user Pranav Park writes:

"This is possibly the best time to take multiple leap of faiths and learn your lessons the hard way. If you succeed, you succeed. If you fail, you have a great story to tell in your 40s. At this age, you will have all the energy, courage and spirit required to rise back. Moreover, you will not be afraid to fail which apparently sets apart successful people from the others."

Similarly, Redditor Bhruic says:

"Don't talk yourself out of doing things you want to do. Don't let fear win. If you want to vacation in Europe, do it. If you want to talk to that hot girl/guy at the bar, do it. If you want to start your own business, do it (and do the research first). Getting to your 30s and having a string of regrets is going to haunt you."

Park is right about successful people not being afraid to fail some, and therefore being more willing to take risks. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, for example, is notorious for this quality. Bezos has said: "Given a ten percent chance of a 100 times payoff, you should take that bet every time."

• This post from Josh Boehm, former SpaceX employee and Co-Founder of Cyph.com, originally appeared on Quora as an answer to the question, "How does Elon Musk inspire/encourage his employees even though he makes them work long hours?"
• He says SpaceX doesn't force anyone to work 12-hour days, they just hire people who are very passionate about the mission.
• The company has great perks that entice people to stay late, including an in-office masseuse, celebrity talks, and amazing company outings.
• The company is flexible and offers the freedom and responsibility to work in the way best for them.

This seems to be a common misconception about the culture at SpaceX — one even I had before I worked there. The thing is no one, especially not Elon, is forcing you to work long hours. SpaceX just hires self-driven people who are extremely passionate about the mission. Long hours is just usually what it takes to get the job done, especially if you're working with limited resources.

Even while SpaceX hires those who don't really need extra encouragement, there were lots of great perks to entice you to stay at the office longer and enjoy coming to work more like free dinners, coffee & froyo, an in-office masseuse, and monthly little celebrations with free goodies. Plus the environment of working in a rocket factory is amazing on its own. We could watch camera feeds of the factory floor from our desks and we're encouraged to explore.

We'd frequently see celebrities getting tours, for example I saw Jennifer Aniston having lunch with Elon at the table across from me, ran into Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the bathroom, and had other people like Will Smith and Morgan Freeman come through the factory while I was working. The more often you'd be at the office the more likely you'd be around when someone cool was visiting. Some would also come by to give private talks, like Jeremy Edberg (co-founder of Reddit) and George Takei (Oh my…).

Plus Elon would give encouraging speeches to the company, do the same in emails, and everyone gathers outside of mission control for the launches, which is an amazing experience to be a part of when you've all been working your butts off for that moment. Then of course there were amazing company outings and holiday parties. We'd celebrate at local bars on the company card, and seeing movies like Gravity and The Martian is a lot more fun when SpaceX buys out all the tickets and you watch with a bunch of smart-asses who are actually rocket scientists!

That team culture and environment really helps as a motivator as well, kind of like working out in a group instead of at home by yourself. You don't want to let anyone down and those who work hard are respected. The very open office space contributes to this I think, since you see everyone else working hard and know they see you too.

We would sometimes joke and say, "What're you, working part time?" when someone was leaving 'early' at like 7 or had only put in a 50–60 hour week. It was never entirely dead or too lonely around the office either, since a bunch of people worked late and the factory floor never really shuts down.

So I frequently did work 12+ hour days and pulled many all-nighters at the office, but again this wasn't because I was forced to, but because I loved my work and saw the value I was bringing to the team. I technically reported to the CIO, but was essentially self-managed like many others there at the time. A phrase we threw around a lot was,"You are your own slave driver."

Burnout is real though, and passion can only take you so far. There was pretty high turnover for people that didn't work well in that environment, and some people had to take short sabbaticals and come back later.

We had some team meetings about work-life balance though, and while I had to be on call and available most of the time to test and deploy hotfixes, SpaceX was always very flexible with me and let me work remotely when possible and manage my own schedule. I was given more responsibility and freedom there than any other company I had worked for, which ultimately became invaluable experience for running my startup company Cyph after leaving.

Having heard stories and rumors before I started there, I was worried about the long work hours, but the truth is that time flew by because it was challenging, interesting, and rewarding work. They were also only focused on results, giving me the freedom and creativity to work how I want. Now I'm sure if someone wasn't getting their job done or actually putting in part time hours it'd be an issue, but from my experience that would never be the bottleneck for me or any of the people I worked with.

Just as an addendum, the culture between departments at SpaceX varies. I know for some contractors and people on the factory floor, their hours were more closely monitored and tracked. Also, I am only writing about my experience working there — none of the preceding should be interpreted as a statement from SpaceX.

SEE ALSO: 3 smart strategies geniuses like Albert Einstein and Elon Musk use to learn anything faster

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