this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
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[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 10 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

This is not even close to being true. Elon Musk's net worth is $850 billion. In order for that to be 1 in 200 of all wealth in the US, it would mean US wealth would have to be $170 trillion. For comparison, the World Bank estimates the entire world's GDP in 2024 to be $111 trillion.

He, in fact, owns a much larger share than 1 in 200. Though it's also obvious to anyone watching that most of this money is fake and comes from the fact that he holds a lot of assets which have extremely inflated valuations (i.e. are a bubble with no underlying economic justification).

[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Total US wealth seems to be $150-160 trillion, so it checks out?

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 0 points 12 hours ago (1 children)
[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

How about you give whatever number you think is the accurate one first?

GDP isn't directly related to wealth, so it's not relevant.

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 0 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

I'm guessing you or the AI chatbot you may have asked are talking about the total US household wealth as reported in this Reuters article. That's where I see the $180 trillion number.

[–] rbos@lemmy.ca 3 points 18 hours ago

GDP is a yearly figure, not cumulative, so it could still work.

I agree that it sounds much too low.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 0 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I literally said wealth and you literally repeated it back at me, then you brought up GDP?

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world -1 points 12 hours ago

How do you define wealth? Physical stuff? Money in your bank account? GDP measures everything that someone pays money for.