this post was submitted on 19 Sep 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:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
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- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- 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
- Posts must be original/unique
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If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.
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Do you have solar panels and an electric car?
Most car chargers have the ability to read the solar production and only charge the car when there is excess power, but there is another way. With a smart plug, Wi-Fi connected solar, and Home Assistant (and either technical knowledge or persistence), you can create a fairly primitive version of solar only charging for a much lower price.
If you already have a compatible car, a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charger can provide the same benefits as a house battery for a fraction of the cost (a house battery is still cheaper if you factor in the price of the car). You can set limits, so you never have to worry about the house completely draining the car battery.
The biggest energy cost for houses is heating and cooling. While a new reverse cycle air conditioner is a flashy solution, you can usually get better energy savings by just improving the house insulation.
If you can't afford that, find any particularly hot or cold spots in the house, then search around them for holes in the walls or gaps around door frames. Just filling gaps can improve both energy usage and comfort.
A heat pump water heater is the same technology as air-conditioning. It moves best from the air to your hot water tank, and some units can be as much as 6 times more energy efficient than a resistive heater.
They do work in cold climates, but if you're worried, you can buy one with a backup resistive heater.
Why do EVs lose so much range when driving fast (110kph, 70mph)?
It turns out that all cars do - air resistance increases dramatically at higher speed. It's just that internal combustion engines are so inefficient at low speed that the efficiency gain of driving at the optimal RPM somewhat masks the additional energy requirement from the increased air resistance.
If you're trying to maximise your driving range, try to keep at or below 90kph/55mph.
The main benefit of hybrid cars is not regen braking, it's actually the ability to tune the combustion engine for efficiency instead of performance. Without an electric motor to assist, the performance would be so bad that no-one would want to buy the car. They still burn fuel, so I wouldn't recommend buying one new since EVs have reached price parity.