Of course, there’s a level of subjectivity to pain. One person might find listening to Kid Rock to be more painful than stubbing their toe. Another person might enjoy a little bit of pain. And who can say how painful heartbreak feels? But we can still generally identify most of the worst sensations that people don’t ever want to experience.
As the makers of the informative video below point out, one thing to keep in mind is that there’s only so much pain that a person can take before the body’s built-in painkiller steps in and knocks you out. So, if a person gets burned, for instance, a third-degree burn might not be as bad as a second-degree burn due to damaged nerve endings and the likelihood that a person would pass out in the process. But many burn victims agree that the worst pain comes in the recovery process.
Bullet ant stings are considered the most painful insect sting according to Justin Schmidt, the creator of the Pain Scale for Stinging Insects. These vicious little ants got a recent boost in notoriety when Coyote Peterson released a video of himself being stung by one. He didn’t have a good time.
And your own body turning against you can be worse than most outside pain inflictors. Britain’s National Health Service ranks shingles, heart attacks, and cluster headaches among the most painful conditions a person can experience.
I won’t spoil any more of the most painful experiences this cruel world can inflict on you. Just watch the video. And there’s a shoutout to Gizmodo. Time is a flat circle and what goes around comes around, I guess.