50
Why are faucets so expensive?
(lemm.ee)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2024
50 points (100.0% liked)
Asklemmy
44122 readers
640 users here now
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
- Open-ended question
- Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
- Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
- Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
- An actual topic of discussion
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
- Lemmyverse: community search
- sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
- !lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Fashion. Same reason we don't have standardized flashlights, knives, shoes, toilets, etc.
Huh. Ok but there are actually standards to say, shoe sizes, and the materials used in their manufacture, and that flashlights are accommodating standard battery sizes... and the toilet’s fixtures so that it would actually work with… the standard plumbing. Literally the world around you is built on standards. 📏📐
You’re not wrong about fashion though! Style and everything which supplements all that standard, is what we want. Just anything so that it doesn’t look standard. We humans are a bit funny. 😄
I didn't mean "standardized" as in interchangeable parts or uniform sizing. I meant standardized as in limited selection, like how armies have historically standardized their equipment. You want a pair of boots, for example? Then choose from a handful of types with limited options, and everyone picks from the same list. There is no reason for Zappos to carry 2,600 types of mens boots other than fashion.
Similarly, there is no reason for Home Depot to carry 500 types of toilet seat other than fashion. The seats are "standardized" in that they are interchangeable, but there is no standard toilet seat style that everyone uses. You could do the same with lots of other consumer goods: everyone uses the same shower faucet, the same knife set, or the same style of flashlight. The world would save a tremendous amount of money and material by manufacturing everyday thing at scale and refining the designs to near-perfection.
I'm not advocating for such a world, though. It would be incredibly bland and boring.