this post was submitted on 24 Apr 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:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  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
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

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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[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 points 2 weeks ago

Load of dirt: $20.

Truck and diesel to get it to you: $1200

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 27 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

After seeing the news piece on guys using two cars to steal a haybail I think in australia it makes me realize just how much worse this is than the depression. I mean people would steal food, heck even eggs, and maybe even live chickens. But straw?! Things are sooooo trumped.

[–] Rooskie91@discuss.online 13 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

If you think it's bad now, just wait untill climate change gets worse. We're going to live through some serious shit. Like awful times for thousands of years if we can't get it under control.

[–] rekabis@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I’ve looked at some tentative projections, and it’s downright apocalyptic.

At our current “business as usual” path, we should be expecting wholesale collapse of countries by 2035 or shortly thereafter, with +4℃ temps causing agriculture destruction that leads to a 60-80% drop in human populations by 2050.

And when people are desperate to live another day, they will absolutely tear apart any infrastructure they can get their hands on in order to survive. We’re talking about reverting to the Iron Age or even the Stone Age.

And when almost 100% of all resources required for building or even maintaining high tech civ are no longer accessible without high tech civ… there is no coming back from this collapse.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 3 points 2 weeks ago

yeah and I kinda new this all along since the late aughts at least but still its hard to live through. the desperation of the ones at the top is more than I could fanthom to.

[–] tristynalxander@mander.xyz 0 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

For what it's worth, a lot of synthetic biologists are looking into Carbon Concentrating Mechanisms (e.g. carboxysomes) so that we can improve carbon capture in native plants. Honestly, as a protein engineer / synthetic biologist myself there's even odds I could end up working on it too; though, it's not my first choice.

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like we need to start building giant hypertufa obelisks to grow moss on. Maybe labyrinthine windtunnels and stuff like that. Stuff that'll make future archaeologists go "whoa," but mostly just replace oxygen in the atmosphere while absorbing carbon dioxide...

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The science isn't the issue. It's the politics.

[–] tristynalxander@mander.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The politics isn't a problem I can solve as an individual.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

And the science isn't a problem that needs solving. Almost as if the answer to this was something that no-one can do alone.

Soldiers! In the name of democracy, let us all unite!

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I love the use of "trump" as a verb here. Totally stealing that.

[–] SynAcker@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 weeks ago

As a frequent player of euchre.. I hate that his name has tarnished the game I love.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

The list of nouns and verbs he has attached his name to grows with me. initially I think it was just fuck but now it fuck, ass, and shit and im thinking of adding cunt. Maybe shit was first. So hard to remember.

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago

How about a truck load of kitkats?

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sand of various types are running out around the world, and it can be quite the expensive challenge to get the right type for your particular project, many times involving trying to preserve land from water erosion.

Maybe industry is working to create artificial sand grades for current and future projects, I'm not sure...

[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Thats pretty shocking to my untrained ass. I always assumed they did mass-produced sand, grinding up their own stones and stuff.

[–] sparkyshocks@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

River sand is the right amount of jaggedness to where it can pour and settle into the right density in cement to have the right strength in the finished concrete. Ocean/beach sand works, too, but needs to be rinsed with fresh water, and is usually pretty valuable where it is (for beach resorts and what not).

They're testing for how to use different types of sand (desert sand, manufactured sand, recycled sand) and testing the pouring characteristics and resulting concrete strength, so that they can make reasonable decisions on when it's worth using substitutes.

[–] fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Civil engineering really is just the study of concrete isn't it

No shade, just amazed I'm always nearing more about concrete lol

[–] sparkyshocks@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, one of the issues I've read about happening for concrete failures was that some construction crews are under enormous pressure to salvage concrete that had been mixed too early, or delayed in pouring, or whatever, and where the concrete pouring characteristics cause issues (or crews add unauthorized water or things to slow down curing and then alter the characteristics of the poured concrete without the engineers' awareness).

It's wildly counterintuitive to those of us who don't work in the space.

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 4 points 2 weeks ago

One would think, right?

I'm not remotely knowledgeable enough to say with any confidence, but:
https://www.google.com/search?q=why+are+various+types+of+sand+so+irreplaceable%3F

Note: sleepy, about to take nap. will get back to this topic...

[–] Gork@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 weeks ago

I once saw a yard sign near a crematorium that said, "Free Dirt."

[–] GeekyOnion@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Heck, even death is hella expensive.

[–] tristynalxander@mander.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Welp, that settles it. I'll just have to live forever.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

And you think dying is expensive?

[–] SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] SolidShake@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] myplacedk@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

So it's free because it's already yours?

[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And what did all that dirt and trees cost to buy?

[–] SolidShake@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'll buy it from you for double what you paid.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Everything you already own is technically "free", I suppose.

I'm guessing SolidShake inherited the land.

[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 1 points 7 hours ago

Or lives somewhere you can dig.

[–] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

You can dirt for free around here.