this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2025
827 points (99.4% liked)

The Onion

6734 readers
826 users here now

The Onion

A place to share and discuss stories from The Onion, Clickhole, and other satire.

Great Satire Writing:

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Chozo@fedia.io 6 points 1 week ago

I felt so called out by this that I just threw away a box of cables. Thank you for giving me the push I needed to wait hold on I think I still need those USB-A cables for that old printer I've got in storage so I should dig those out of the trash real quick

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 6 points 1 week ago

2002? Those are rookie numbers.

[–] Glitch@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 week ago

Well I start and stop hobbies on a whim, needing a random cable from my (super well organized) cable box does come in handy.

Just wish I could finish a project now and then :D

[–] nucleative@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If eBay didn't suck so bad, I'd say just use that as your "box"

Heck, maybe what we really need is an online exchange. Mail in a cable, get a cable of your choice in return. So when you need some rare cable you've got it on demand... Just 5 days and $6 in shipping. Aww fuck it.

[–] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

When I buy anything electrical in the UK, they often give you a UK plug, a European Plug and an American plug. Over time, or if you use a lot of electric things at work, you can end up with a huge pile of plugs that don't work in your own country.

If they do similar elsewhere, we could definitely swap.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 week ago

I feel personally attacked.

[–] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have three largish ones, started in 88. One is just power cables. That's the one my psichyatrist worries about.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] fckreddit@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago

Who knows when he might need a cable? Surely, he might need one this year.

[–] weegee90@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

"Well, of course I know him. He's me."

[–] fadhl3y@feddit.uk 3 points 1 week ago

In Australian accent:

"That's not a box... that's a box"

Gestures to my stacks of old computer equipment

[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That reminds me. I've had a box of cables since '22 and every time I go through it I think, "damn, I really need to organize this and get rid of some shit". And then I shove it into my closet out of sight and out of mind until the next time I need something from within it.

Just use toilet paper rolls to keep them neat and seperated. You could even label each roll if you wanted to go all out.

It's nothing huge, but it's gonna make finding them so much easier.

[–] paraphrand@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I have a 5 gallon “bucket of USB.”

It’s only 3/4 full!

[–] Bebopalouie@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

What a tiny little stash. I have boxes and not by the hair of my old serial modem cable will I give any of it up.

[–] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 week ago

Ive got several drawers of them. I might need those SATA cables someday. And mini USB cables. And cell phone charger and data cable for a Motorolla Razr.

[–] Today@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

I packed mine and moved it to a new house today; along with the voice module to the Odyssey game system i got for my 11th birthday.

[–] GuyFawkes@midwest.social 3 points 1 week ago

Hahaha…asshole. I’m going through it tomorrow, promise.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)
load more comments (2 replies)

Heh. Went through just that box of mixed cables this year. Got rid of all the ancient cable duplicates (like 2.5 floppy ribbon cable) and kept one of each, more useful ones I kept duplicates of like SATA cables. The rest were gotten rid of.

[–] jcs@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

There's a myriad of reasons to retain a healthy variety of outdated cables, but the most important for me has been ones to make digital archives. You probably have some hardware laying around in your attic somewhere and, someday, you may wish you had archives of your content. If you don't, you probably know someone who does.

Old tech like this is something that would be nice for your local library to keep stock of. I've been to libraries in the past that had a section carved out as a "library of things," where you could rent odds and ends like sewing machines, non-consumable art supplies, and even assorted computer equipment. If your local library doesn't have something like this, maybe you could propose that they start one and perhaps donate some equipment to help them get started!

load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›