this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2025
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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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I know it never could or would work, but every so often I wish there was some imaginary huge tract of land that nobody had owned before...and I guess somehow didn't affect the environment for all the assholes that want to play power games or pretend they could rule the world or just live lawlessly so they could be silo'ed off from society. Of course it would fall apart, innocent people would somehow end up in there. They'd probably end up attacking the rest of the world and I'm sure a myriad of other terrible problems. But man that'd be nice.

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[–] ileftreddit@piefed.social 41 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That’s just called the USA

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Nah but I'm stuck here., womp womp. I want a place people voluntarily go into. This is not based in reality lol. As I've gotten older and learned more about history, I realized what a cursed nation we are though...

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

As soon as people start having kids, you're back to square one

[–] Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org 32 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Sorry, you're born too late. You would have loved 19th century colonialism. As long as you could get over the "uninhabited" part of course.

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Everybody is assuming I want to take part in this. I want an imaginary zone for all the assholes to go to...

[–] INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone 2 points 1 month ago

This is it 👍

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[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Even more adventurous and lawless and dangerous in earlier centuries.

As long as you could get over the “uninhabited” part of course.

They sure did back then, easy as pie.

And some very influential people want that era back. Incl. trampling on people already living there. [Techbroligarch "Freedom" Cities]

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago

Yes. Somalia has 1,900 miles of coastline, a government that knows its place, and all the guns and wives you can afford to buy. Why have I never heard of this paradise before?

-Pierce Hawthorne

[–] Longmactoppedup@aussie.zone 12 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I imagine it becoming a haven for profitable vices like drugs, gambling and prostitutes to make money off tourists.

[–] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 16 points 1 month ago

So you're saying someone would make their own country, with blackjack and hookers?

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Sure. And in my imaginary head canon that is fine and everyone assumes the risk of going into that zone. Once again...this would never work.

[–] doingthestuff@lemy.lol 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] scytale@piefed.zip 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

It would be easier to somehow trick those people into a matrix-style virtual reality where it's literally the same as the current world at the point where they enter (so they don't realize). Then they can act out whatever they want to do as they do in the real world with all the consequences, but instead affecting nothing in reality. Having an autonomous zone to act it out won't work because they won't be satisfied if the real world they perceive isn't affected.

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

So we trick the red pilled into taking the blue pills...

[–] NegentropicBoy@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Huh I've never seen this!

Spot on. Never seen that one before

[–] TheFogan@programming.dev 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Honestly I'm more wishing the opposite was possible. Imagine a utopia to test out, UBI, communism etc... somewhere that capitalists aren't going to sabatoge and declare war on it while it's in it's infancy.

[–] AlecSadler@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Danish countries.

And...huh, it works.

[–] Deckname@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 1 month ago

I guess by "Danish countries" you mean scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland)? Then i regrettably have to inform you, that they are just slightly less horrendously capitalistic. Compared to the USA they probably seem like star trek though, so i get the sentiment.

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago

You should watch Westworld! It's basically what you describe.

[–] falidorn@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You might want to read Neuromancer to find out why that’s a terrible idea. If it’s in a cyberpunk world, it’s almost assuredly a giant red flag the author is waving.

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)

To be clear, I don't want to go to this autonomous zone. I want others to go do their weird shit there ha. But yea I'll have to read Neuromancer, have heard it's a good read.

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[–] svcg@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Have you heard about what happened when libertarians took over Grafton, NH?

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[–] Moonweedbaddegrasse@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That was essentially why the US was founded.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You might be interested in the history of Kowloon Walled City after WW2

As a result of the absence of any widely recognized bureaucracy, the city's residents and businesses had no municipal codes to govern them. Enabled by the enclave's anarchic nature, trade in banned products thrived, ranging from narcotics to dog meat. From the 1950s to the 1970s, it was controlled by local triad gangs and had high rates of prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse.

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Yea that place sounds nuts. My mom was for a time from Kowloon, not the walled city but I'm guessing around the same time it operated which is wild to imagine.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 7 points 1 month ago

Would you kindly make Rapture a real place?

[–] NONE_dc@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago
[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 6 points 1 month ago

sounds like the purge.

[–] Wigners_friend@piefed.social 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

It wouldn't work, even in principle. They want to force you to live by their lunacy. It would be totally pointless if they couldn't exert power over the unwilling.

[–] realitista@lemmus.org 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Of course it wouldn't work. That's the whole point. But I say we just ship them there whether they want to go or not.

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[–] SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Unfortunately they're probably not stupid enough to all fuck off to Mars soon…

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Oooh how I wish I could convince all those space obsessed oligarchs to expand civilization over there...

[–] HexadecimalSky@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

*See Australia, Taiwan, U.S.A., Japan

Society used to exile people, send them to penal colonies or some people that felt ostracized packed up and left Society. Where? To some of the grea open uninhabited or not so habitatated lands. Taking U.S.A. as an example, there where religious extremists who became unwelcome in Britain, so they left to a place they could practice thier beliefs without competition, America.

Every Society worked better because you didn't need to imprison or kill people that where criminals and people that where ostracized somewhat had the option of making thier own land. Now every single piece of land is claimed there is nowhere to exile people and no where to just run to.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How about a boat in international waters?

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[–] NerdyPopRocks@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I thought you said Autozone and I was excited that someone else was also enthusiastic about a do-it-yourself auto repair shop

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Fuck it, I'll take an autonomous AutoZone!

[–] YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

“Walkaways” is a good piece of fiction about this

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ooh interesting. Is it by Cory Doctorow?

[–] YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I misread. Walkaways is about autonomous communities apart from capitalist society. They walk away from it. But the dangerous stuff isn’t part of the book. But it is a very good book.

Yes it is by Doctorow.

[–] griff@lemmings.world 2 points 1 month ago

Walkaway by Cory Doctorow on the free libby app available from public libraries

https://share.libbyapp.com/title/3205253

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Are we just Curtis Yarvin-posting now?

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[–] BaroqueInMind@piefed.social 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Afghanistan exists. See how well that idea has worked out

[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

That sounds like you want to deport people

[–] devolution@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

There is. It’s called Detroit.

[–] lemmyng@piefed.ca 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Westworld explored that idea. It doesn't end well.

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